The Lds Life

Isaiah 43:10 (10-12 explained)

2011-09-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've had someone pose a question to me about Isaiah:43:10 where it reads:

"10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."

Some interpret this to mean that there is no one else in the GodHead or that the Godhead is not plural. Or that somehow this disqualifies the standard, Biblical teachings that indeed there IS a Godhead made up of God The Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost as explained in the Doctrine and Covenants.

(D&C 20:28, the Father and the Son have bodies of flesh and bone, the Holy Ghost is personage of spirit, D&C 130:22)

THIS may be a bit lengthy but it's food for good thought. At least you'll know why we believe what we do and that at least it's plausible based on these Bible Passages...

We believe in the Godhead, as taught in the Bible and other evidences as found in the Bible to support the belief. It is also important to read scriptures in context. They are, after all, more than just words written on pages that take on certain meanings as they are read properly.

Genesis 1:26-27, 2:22
26 ¶And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after our likeness: (Paraphrased...)

(If it was truly only one being up in heaven, then reading it like this with a few words changed is:
"And God said I will make man in my image and after MY likeness..."

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Ch 3: ¶And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of US, to know good and evil... (paraphrased)

We claim that we are literally sons and daughters of God as if He and heavenly parents would have trillions of Spirit Children as we know that we are.
(See also Job 38:4-7, Hebrews 12:9 and is fairly clear on who the Spirit Children of God is and who the father could be too. Even more so than Romans 8:15-18)

Also in Hebrews 1:2, we learn that "Jesus Christ" was appointed as an "Heir of All Things"
The usage of the word "Heir" makes sense that the Father has handed him all rights and powers as an Heir would be. This same "Heir" relationship between Us and the Father is spoken of in Revelations 1:5-6, 30:19-21) So who handed the "Father" all things? Can this chain be as old as eons and eternities without end. Who knows yet. It's not our worry to know all things yet. Just to be faithful in a FEW things...

Isaiah was referring to the "Law" and that only THROUGH the One True God and not the other Gods which may have been formed both in the minds or by the hands of other men. The Bible talks about those also.

Exodus 20:
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
(Again, Gods' that are formed by the hands or imaginations of men.)

and also how it agrees with Joshua 24:15 were we ALSO see...
"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
Before the God of Israel manifested himself again to a prophet, Moses, he YET existed as also the God of Adam, of Enoch, Noah, Abraham and so forth, are we on the same page still?

We do not interpret Isaiah 43:10 as to contradiction to Genesis or Exodus or Joshua or EVEN itself if not read in its entirety. Isaiah goes on to say, speaking for the Lord Jehovah, who we know to be Jesus Christ, the member of the Godhead mentioned in the Old Testament:

11 I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour.
12 I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God.

So we know that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between man and the father and only in and through him can mankind be saved and return to the presence of the Father...

As Jesus Said himself, we return home to that God who gave us life...

Jesus also is talking to the Father as if he were a different person than himself...
"That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. - John 17:21 - and later mentions this, just to clarify, that he and the Father are two distinct beings, as he says to Mary,

"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." John 20:17 -

It wasn't until the New Testament came along where we learn that there are two other members of the Godhead not completely talked about in the Old Testament or not in much detail, anyhow.

(See Also Gen. 11:5–17; Ps. 110:1; Dan. 4:8; Dan. 5:14)

These things aren't HIDING... now you may interpret these verses differently than me but in the reading of them, surely you could see why we believe the Bible on this wise, correct?

Many people are only kept from the truth because the know not where to find it. Some are kept from the truth because of traditions or what others tell them the truth should be.
But don't take my word for it! Pray to learn for yourself the true nature of the Godhead and clarify what we are taught in the Bible. That's all I ask you to do, brother. (See James 1:5-6, 1 John 5:9)

The scriptures affirm that there is "One God" consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. A great debate in Christian history has been the nature of this oneness.
Main article: Godhead and the Trinity
Protestant critics do not like the fact that Latter-day Saints reject the nonbiblical Nicene Creed, which teaches a oneness of substance. Latter-day Saints believe that God is one, but accept the Biblical witness that this is a oneness of purpose, intent, mind, will, and love, into which believers are invited to participate (see John 17:22-23). Thus, it is proper to speak of "God" in a singular sense, but Latter-day Saints also recognize that there is more than one divine person—for example, the Father and the Son.
This is not a contradiction; it merely demonstrates that the Latter-day Saints do not accept Nicene trinitarianism.

http://en.fairmormon.org/Latter-day_Saint_scripture/Supposed_contradictions/Multiple_versus_single_creators

Search Me On Mormon.org - I am A Mormon - Josh Nelson

2011-03-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

https://mormonorg.lds.org/profile/

Message From Scott Gordon, President of FAIR LDS

2011-02-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
-----------------------------------
When most members of the Church think of anti-Mormonism, they
immediately flash on sign-carrying protestors outside of Temple
Square, or they visualize a debate on whether faith or works leads
to salvation. The problem with those visualizations is that those
types of protests and discussions aren't the kind of anti-Mormonism
that has any real impact on members of the church. Some are lulled
into a false sense of security believing that their testimonies are
unshakable. It is with that attitude they venture onto the Internet
to read what others have to say about our beliefs. They may soon
discover that the Church and its history is often conveyed in a
fashion that is totally foreign to what they have learned.

Emails to FAIR have included phrases such as, "I recently became
aware of some things from church history I have never heard before,
"or "Joseph Smith doesn't appear to be the person I learned he was
in Primary."

There are things written in books and on the Internet that sound
very damaging to Joseph Smith and others in Church history. Some
members get very upset when they read it and realize they have not
heard it before. They sometimes come to believe that the items have
been hidden from them through some grand conspiracy of deception and
find their testimony shaken.

The truth is that many of the allegations are taken out of context,
are presented with a negative spin, come from less reliable sources,
or are simply false. While some feel they "should' know about it,
there really should be no expectation for the Church to teach things
about Joseph Smith that aren't true, simply so people are familiar
with those claims. False allegations remain false, even if they are
from a long time ago.

For example, perhaps you will read the common claim that there was
no record of the First Vision prior to 1870. The claim is usually
made with absolute certainty and bravado. The average reader doesn't
know that there are over 62 recorded instances of the First Vision
stretching from 1840 to 1870.

http://en.fairmormon.org/First_Vision/Seldom_mentioned_in_LDS_publications_before_1877_(long)

Perhaps you may read that Brigham Young said that he lives "above
the law." What the average reader doesn't know is that Brigham was
talking about living better than the law, not escaping from it.

http://en.fairmormon.org/Quote_mining/Journal_of_Discourses/JoD_1:361:Analysis

There are numerous other examples that can be cited. But, know that
the arguments and negative treatment put forward by the various
books and anti-Mormon websites have been examined and found to be
unconvincing and often dishonest. FAIR exists to continue to expose
those dishonest claims and to help members of the Church find
answers without having to become research specialists.

I hope that you continue to support us in our efforts by spreading
the word about FAIR and letting people know where they can find the
truth about disturbing claims they may hear.

--Scott Gordon
President of FAIR

Q & A with SolomonSpamming

2010-12-11T15:41:00.000-08:00

@ THELDSLIFE
Did you know the mormons did not allow non-whites into their priesthood until 1978 when the gov't threatened to take their tax-exempt status?

Response: What is the priesthood? Who held it historically? The authority to act in "Who's" name? Until you give me a clear definition of what the priesthood is, how can you explain who is to hold it?

Did you know that not even ALL Jews were allowed to hold the priesthood?
Did you know that until 34-100 A.D. Gentiles were not allowed to hold the priesthood? The Seven Churches that were written to by Paul and also John were ALSO churches where the Gentiles had established churches in their midst. Each of these churches had the priesthood authority apart from the presence of Paul, Peter, or John.

P.S. - The Tax-Exempt Status issue was and continues to be a "Non-Factor." Blacks had always been a part of the LDS church and none were denied entrance, baptism, or helping with meaningful callings within the church. You got to get your facts straight! Furthermore, in our doctrine, the gospel of Christ is available to ALL men.

2 Nephi 26: 33 "...for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile."

Your words:
Did you know the mormons teach that you will go to hell if you are not mormon?
Joseph Smith - When asked, "Will all be damned but Mormon?" he replied, "Yes, and a great portion of them unless they repent and work righteousness" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 119)

Answer: Unless ALL men repent... makes sense. All must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, show fruits for repentance, be baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (These things are all in the Bible) - This baptism must be performed by one with authority to do so. A counterfeit baptism will not work. In order to enter in at the straight gate, a man must be baptized. If baptism is a Key and there are MANY out there offering that key, then one should BE SURE that the key they hold onto helps get them past the "Pearly Gates."
There will be many, if not all, that will have the chance to choose "Eternal Life" between now and the end of the Millennium.

"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." - 2 Nephi 2:27

Did you know there are many INVERTED PENTAGRAMS on LDS temples?

What do the symbols on the Temple mean to you?
Do you even see evil inverted pentagrams?
Is there something wrong with an actual pentagram?

"Inverted Pentagram
The pentagram may be inverted with one point down. The implication is of spirit subservient to matter, of man subservient to his carnal desires. The inverted pentagram has come to be seen by many pagans as representing the dark side and it is abhored as an evil symbol.
Fundamental christians, indeed, see any form of pentagram as such. However, these are recent developments and the inverted pentagram is the symbol of Gardnerian second degree initiation, representing the need of the person to learn to face the darkness within so that it may not later rise up to take control. The centre of a pentagram implies a sixth formative element - love/will which controls from within, ruling matter and spirit by Will and the controlled direction of sexual energies...

Protection against evil...

The pentagram has long been believed to be a potent protection against evil, a symbol of conflict that shields the wearer and the home. The pentagram has five spiked wards and a womb shaped defensive, protective pentagon at the centre. (Yes, protection against Evil is also Evil, eh?)

Here is a comprehensive look at temple symbolism and what those symbols really mean.

http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/saltlake/

Also where symbols are placed and the number of each is also important.
Symbols have their meanings... perhaps one day, people will look back at the
"Symbol of the Stop Light" and wonder why we would ALL stop before it and pay it reverence.
Perhaps the Stop Light is Evil! HAHAHAHAHA...

Run And Not Be Weary - Walk And Not Faint - Gospel Principles Lesson 29 - The Lord's Law of Health

2010-09-05T11:27:00.001-07:00

Our Bodies Are Temples of God

One of the great blessings we received when we came to earth was a physical body. We need a physical body to become like our Heavenly Father. Our bodies are so important that the Lord calls them temples of God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 6:19–20). Our bodies are holy.
Because our bodies are important, our Father in Heaven wants us to take good care of them. He knows that we can be happier, better people if we are healthy. The Holy Ghost can be with us if our bodies and minds are clean. Our Father knows that we face temptations to treat our bodies unwisely or to take harmful things into them. For this reason He has told us which things are good for our health and which things are bad. Much of the information God has given us concerning good health is found in Doctrine and Covenants 89. This revelation is called the Word of Wisdom.
We must obey the Word of Wisdom to be worthy to enter the temple. If we do not obey the Word of Wisdom, the Lord’s Spirit withdraws from us. If we defile the “temple of God,” which is our body, we hurt ourselves physically and spiritually.
We Are Commanded Not to Take Certain Things into Our Bodies
What has the Lord commanded us not to take into our bodies?

The Lord commands us not to use wine and strong drinks, meaning drinks containing alcohol. The First Presidency has taught that strong drink often brings cruelty, poverty, disease, and plague into the home. It often is a cause of dishonesty, loss of chastity, and loss of good judgment. It is a curse to all who drink it. (See “Message of the First Presidency,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1942, 686.) Expectant mothers who drink can cause physical and mental damage to their children. Many automobile accidents are caused each year by people who drink alcohol.

For teachers: Writing lists can generate interest and help learners focus their attention. As class members or family members discuss substances that the Lord has commanded us not to take into our bodies, you may want to ask someone to write their answers on the board or on a large piece of paper. You could do the same when they discuss things that are healthful for our bodies.

The Lord has also told us that “tobacco is not for the body” (D&C 89:8). It is harmful to our bodies and our spirits. We should not smoke cigarettes or cigars or use chewing tobacco. Scientists have shown that tobacco causes many diseases and can harm unborn children.
The Lord also counsels us against the use of “hot drinks” (D&C 89:9). Church leaders have said that this means coffee and tea, which contain harmful substances. We should avoid all drinks that contain harmful substances.

We should not use drugs except when they are necessary as medicine. Some drugs are even more harmful than alcohol and tobacco (which are also drugs). Those who misuse drugs need to seek help, pray for strength, and counsel with their bishop so they can fully repent and become clean.
We should avoid anything that we know is harmful to our bodies. We should not use any substance that is habit forming. We should also avoid overeating. The Word of Wisdom does not tell us everything to avoid or consume, but it does give us guidelines. It is a valuable temporal law. It is also a great spiritual law. By living the Word of Wisdom, we become stronger spiritually. We purify our bodies so the Spirit of the Lord can dwell with us.
What are some things that are not specifically mentioned in the Word of Wisdom that we should avoid?

We Are Taught That Certain Things Are Good for Our Bodies
According to the Word of Wisdom, what are some things the Lord says are good for us?

Fruits, vegetables, and wholesome herbs are good for us. We should use them with wisdom and thanksgiving.

The flesh of birds and animals is also provided for our food. However, we should eat meat sparingly (see D&C 49:18; 89:12). Fish is also good for us to eat.

Grains are good for us. Wheat is especially good for us.

How has the use of these things blessed you?

Work, Rest, and Exercise Are Important
What do work, rest, and exercise have to do with the Lord’s law of health?

In addition to Doctrine and Covenants 89, other scriptures tell us how to be healthy. They tell us that we should “cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; … cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated” (D&C 88:124). We are also told, “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work” (Exodus 20:9). The Lord counsels us not to labor more than we have strength for (see D&C 10:4).

A latter-day prophet has told us that we should keep our bodies healthy. He counseled, “Nutritious meals, regular exercise, and appropriate sleep are necessary for a strong body, just as consistent scripture study and prayer strengthen the mind and spirit” (Thomas S. Monson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1990, 60; or Ensign, Nov. 1990, 46).

Promised Blessings for Living the Lord’s Law of Health
What blessings come to us as we obey the Word of Wisdom?

Our Heavenly Father has given us health laws to teach us how to care for our bodies. The scriptures tell us about God’s laws: “No temporal commandment gave I … , for my commandments are spiritual” (D&C 29:35). This means that His commandments concerning our physical state are for our spiritual good.

When we keep the Lord’s law of health and obey His other commandments, the Lord promises to bless us physically and spiritually.

Physically we have been promised good health. As a result of this good health we “shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint” (D&C 89:20). This is a great blessing, but the spiritual blessings He has promised us are even greater than the physical ones.

The Lord promises us that we “shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures” (D&C 89:19). We will be taught important truths by the Holy Ghost through revelation. President Boyd K. Packer taught: “Our physical body is the instrument of our spirit. In that marvelous revelation the Word of Wisdom, we are told how to keep our bodies free from impurities which might dull, even destroy, those delicate physical senses which have to do with spiritual communication. The Word of Wisdom is a key to individual revelation” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1989, 16; or Ensign, Nov. 1989, 14).

The Lord also promises that the destroying angel shall pass us by. President Heber J. Grant said, “If you and I desire the blessings of life, of health, of vigor of body and mind; if we desire the destroying angel to pass us by, as he did in the days of the children of Israel, we must obey the Word of Wisdom; then God is bound, and the blessing shall come to us” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant [2002], 192).
U
Add a Note

How can we help children and youth understand the eternal significance of the Word of Wisdom?

What can we do to help family members or friends who have difficulty obeying the Word of Wisdom?

Additional Scriptures
Judges 13:13–14; Proverbs 20:1; Isaiah 5:11–12; Daniel 1 (avoid strong drink)

D&C 59:16–20 (things of the earth for the benefit of man)

Proverbs 23:20–21 (warning against drunkenness, gluttony, laziness)

D&C 136:24 (cease drunkenness)

Ryan's Conversion Story - Conversion Through The Book of Mormon

2010-08-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

Finding Strength And Hope Through Christ

2010-08-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

No Rest For The Wicked : Anti-Mormons Beware!

2010-08-27T19:21:00.001-07:00

The Lord is 100% aware of those who try to thwart the work of the Lord. He said as much in the Doctrine and Covenants regarding those who endeavor to stop his will when we read:

How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. D&C 121:33

Anti-Mormons Beware! I have your number and I'm dialin' it all day long. Shining light into your eyes and watching you retreat to the darkness. Your works are the works of darkness. You lie about the LDS church and are responsible for keeping MANY honest of heart folks from discovering the restored gospel. One day you'll have to reconcile with that great God, our father in heaven, and have to explain yourselves before the judgment bar.
For the honest of heart! Do your own research and DO SO apart from the opinions, commentary, and words from others. Read the scriptures. Speak with the missionaries and use the Lord's guidance through thoughtful and careful prayer to DISCOVER these answers for yourself. The Lord will answer the prayers of the willing of heart. (See 1 John 5:9, James 1:5-6)
Honest of heart... take note. Enemies to the LDS church work tirelessly to KEEP you from the blessings which our Heavenly Father has for ALL of us. Do not let them pull you into the chasm that they are inevitably going to fall into unless they repent before the end!!!

The doctrines of the church are plainly available to the world. Nothing is kept in darkness. There are not ADDED things that Mormon's are unaware of... just enemies to the church who would have you believe such a farce.

Anti-Mormons (or otherwise people who profess to love Mormons and hope to save them or keep folks from investigating the LDS church) would also be "Enemies To The Church" by nature, they have said the following about us to others and are daily trying to convince them that we believe the following...

1. Mormons worship Joseph Smith.
2. Gordon B. Hinckley was false because he was fooled by the Salamander letter.
3. Mormons force dead people to join the church through temple baptism.
4. Mormons are brainwashed by their leaders and are not allowed to question doctrine.
5. Moroni was an "angel of light" and therefore false (re: Galatians 1:8)
6. Mormons added to the Bible.
7. Mormons are "forced" to pay tithing or risk being excommunicated. (pay and pray)
8. Mormons believe in endless numbers of gods.
9. Joseph Smith wrote the BoM based on a fictional book.
10. Mormons worship Moroni.

Other strange beliefs that they'd like you to think about Mormons:

Mormons believe in another Jesus, you know, the one documented in the New Testament. Mormons believe that their works will save them, even though the scriptures are clear that JESUS died for us and PAID the price of sins.
Mormons vote on other people's rights, even though marriage is defined as beiung between a man and woman ONLY in the Bible.
Mormons believe in many Gods, even though the scriptures are clear that there is only ONE God, Elohim, which btw is a plural noun, go figure. What does ONE mean then?

Contributions by channels: M424Filmcast and MormonAnswerMan

How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. Jude 1:18

¶ Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. Jeremiah 17:5

The Day Of Rest is coming, indeed. I will feel no joy for those who spent their entire lives in the labor of tearing down. God did not send us down to tear it down but to build up the kingdom. The reason why I did this video was to show the WORLD just how silly these zealots REALLY are. The honest of heart will not be duped or fooled. Those who live their lives the way that they CHOOSE to do so are usually MORE inclined to follow after the Ed Decker's of the world vs. Jesus.

How Jesus Christ is Both the Father and the Son

2010-08-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

Josoph Smith's First Vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ clarified almost 2,000 years of debate over the nature of God in an instant. Joseph Smith said, "[he] saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” This is exactly what Stephen described in Acts while being stoned to death, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). However, if Jesus Christ is a separate being from God the Father (Eloheim), why does the Bible in many instances call Jesus Christ, the Eternal Father? How is Jesus Christ both the Father and the Son? And, if a separate being, how is Jesus Christ "one" with the Father?

Jesus Christ is the rightly called the Eternal Father of Heaven and Earth because:
1. Jesus Christ existed with God the Father in the beginning as the first spirit Son of God and became the only begotten Son of God (John 1: 1-10, John 3: 16).
2. Jesus Christ volunteered to perform the Atoning sacrifice for the salvation of mankind in a grand heavenly counsel before creation (Rev. 13: 8, Isa. 6: 8, Abr. 3: 27).
3. Jesus Christ, under directions of the Father, created both the heavens and the Earth. Therefore, just as the writers of the Constitution are considered the Fathers of the Constitution, Christ is considered the Eternal Father of the Heavens and the Earth (John 1: 1-10).
4. Jesus Christ of the New Testament is Jehovah of the Old Testament (Ex. 3: 14, John 8: 58).
5. Jesus Christ gave the Law of Moses and the Ten Commandments to Israel (3 Ne. 15: 5).
6. Jesus Christ speaks on behalf of God the Father though divine investiture of power, which is akin to a divine “ durable power of attorney” (John 5: 19, 30).
7. After accepting Christ as Savior, He becomes the granter of, or the father of our eternal life. The righteous are considered his sons and his daughters (Rom. 8: 16-17, Mosiah 5: 7).
8. Jesus Christ received all that the Father hath (Rom. 8: 16-17).
9. Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God the Father (John 14: 6-11).
10. Jesus Christ is one in purpose with God the Father (John 17: 19-23).

Posted by David B at 10:26 AM
Original Post Found At http://ldsdoctrine.blogspot.com/2006/10/jesus-christ-father-and-son.html

LDS Doctrine :

Trust Not In The Arm of Flesh Alone

2010-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

¶ Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
Jeremiah 17:5-7

A continued conversation with a fellow YouTube Subscriber:

He wrote:

Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price all HERESY! Read Revelation 22:18-19 for me. No other text can be considered sacred other that what is in the BIBLE! Even a fifth grader can understand that.

First of all, I'm not upset. I always welcome a good scriptural challenge but folks? Revelations 22:18-19? This perhaps is the most mis-quoted passage used the most frequently and yet it's the easiest to explain when read in context. Even easier than Galatians 1:6-9; which has also been bastardized beyond it's original context and vomited out onto the tables for the good Christians to "eat right up."
I'm not even upset that he considers me a 5th Grader. I happen to know a few 5th Graders that are much SMARTER than some adults; hence, "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader" has made for such a popular T.V. game show... so no, I'm not upset that he insulted my intelligence one bit. They are just believing what they are told and have continued in a long line of just "Believing in what someone else says is true..." or else we would have all came to a "Unity of the Faith" long ago. And if all unified in the faith, we would have welcomed ANY new information about our lost bretheren found upon the Isles of the Sea and all jumped for joy to learn that the Lord has had his hand in this mighty work upon all nations and within the House of Israel for centuries before and also after the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon would have then been HAILED as a marvelous addition to the mighty works of GOD...but I digress.

Straight up. Here is my response as follows

You only believe in the Bible the way that you do because someone told you that their way is correct and our way is wrong... but if you went about believing everything that you were told, then there is someone out there willing to sell you beach front property in Arizona.

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son." 1 John 5:9 -
This is what we should seek above all else.

I'm willing to suggest that your religious persuasion comes mostly from what others tell you to believe and they have not encouraged you to inquire of the Lord over the matter at hand or else they'd have no problem with encouraging you to pray and ask God whether there is a current true prophet in Israel and a re-established Zion: The Kingdom of God.. (James 1:5-6)

Keep reading... I'll have your theory about Revelations 22 completely turn a 180, if you'll let it.

If you were told that The Book of Revelations, written by John on the Isle of Patmos, that this was the absolute LAST book ever written chronologically, and that around the final part of Revelations, it means to say that John meant the entire Bible, then history may just not support this theory. Many scholars agree that Revelations came before 1,2, and 3rd John. Some even suggest it came before the "Gospel of John" was recorded; written well before the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as these were written in the Twilights of their Apostleship.

Secondly: Moses paraphrased the same words in Deuteronomy; which if taken literally, would have disqualified any additional writing after his mysterious death and burial by the Lord. (See Deuteronomy 34) leaving ancient Israel in a bind not being able to receive any additional revelation from God. The Books of Joshua and all other books that would follow would be rendered as "Heresy" being unnecessary and adding to the already 5 written books of Moses...but this is not comparing literally to the context of Revelations 22 either.

The critics misuse Revelation, misunderstand the process by which the Bible cannon was formed, and must ignore other, earlier scriptures to maintain their position. (Deuteronomy 4:2-4) Their use of this argument is a form of begging the question whereby they presume at the outset that the Book of Mormon and other scriptures are not the Word of God, which is precisely the point under debate. In its proper context, the passage in Revelation actually supports the teachings of the Book of Mormon that many plain and precious things would be taken away from the Bible. It also shows clearly the need for another book of scripture like the Book of Mormon to restore those lost and sacred teachings. (See Revelations 14:6-7, where John also discloses the need for an Angel to return to the Earth in order to restore the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" by bringing with him that record.)

If the Book of Mormon and other modern scriptures are the work of uninspired men or the arm of flesh, then of course one ought not to trust them. If, however, they are indeed the word of the Lord to prophets, then all who desire to be saved ought to carefully heed them.

I, for one, do not rely on my religious leaders, professors, teachers, pastors, or friends when it comes to understanding and becoming aligned with the gospel message or whether the Lord has called modern prophets to help guide Israel in the latter-days. I go to a higher authority to obtain answers. None in our church are told to believe the prophet and to never question things. In stark contrast, they are encouraged to inquire (or ask) of the Lord to receive a witness of the spirit surrounding the truth of new prophets, the book of Mormon, and the once-again-restored Church.

No Other Gods Before Me Or After Me - An In Depth Look into Isaiah 43:10

2010-07-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

I wanted to address a scripture, which is probably the most used by Anti-Mormons and certainly the most mis-quoted. I am a very big stickler about reading scriptures in context and it bothers me when they're not. Scriptures are not written words to mold to one's understanding. They must truly study Ancient Israel in all of its aspects while also having a running understanding of the Bible in order to understand these verses in context. The verse I want to address today is Isaiah 43:10

"Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me."

If we were to ONLY read this verse without verses 9 leading up to it and 11 after wards, then I can see how easy it would be to go willy nilly in the internet and drop this verse all day long to suit ones purposes. If you were to read it WORD for WORD with these collection of words, as it appears in the English Language, one may possibly be hearing... "No God Formed" and they might loosely interpret this as saying, "No God Created" or "No God Born" but this isn't even what the question is all about. Continuing in verse 11, we learn...

"I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour."

Let's remember at what point in time this was written also. It is late in the years after Israel has already been organized and have been living in the promised land for quite some time. They had already dealt with the introduction of other false God's such as Baal. They have already been influenced by the God's of other nations.

So what is Isaiah really writing? It's the Lord saying the same thing here as he did on Mt. Sanai when he told Moses this:

Thou shalt have NO other GODS before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
(Emphasis Added) *Exodus 20:3-5*

What evidence do we have that there were other Gods that were worshiped before the one true God, the God of Israel? One only needs to go back to the book of Joshua.

Joshua 24:15-16

15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;

So we learn that we must not follow after the Gods that were worshiped by Men during ANY other time in the history of this world, that exist now, or can possibly be invented before the great day of judgment shall surely come to pass. The words mis-quoted in Isaiah do not disqualify Men from reaching their true potential. The Lord himself said, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Revelations 3:30. These are not IDLE words spoken by the Lord to his servant John while on the Isle of Patmos. Those early church members once had a perfect knowledge of their true potential. To him that overcomes the world will be granted the opportunity to rule and reign in the house of Israel as the Kings and Priests which they are.

In conclusion, chapter 43 of Isaiah are the Lord's words to ancient Israel, that they should rely upon ONE savior and only that ONE TRUE MESSIAH and to not follow after the God's who were worshiped in those days, worshiped in the past, or could POSSIBLY be invented in the future. This reference holds no connection to Man's potential to becoming like his Father in Heaven; which I have found more evidence in the Bible than can possibly be written on this blog that supports Man's true potential versus a badly, mis-quoted verse of scripture such as Isaiah 43:10 being quoted out of context. Chapter 43 is all about the Lord's word to Israel. The Lord says: "I am thy God; I will gather thy seed; beside me there is no Savior; ye are my witnesses."

All who belong to covenant Israel are now the witnesses for the Lord and we witness unto the world with the power of the Holy Ghost that there are prophets once again in Israel and for the whole earth. We testify to the world that Isaiah said it best. There is only one name under heaven through which men can receive a forgiveness from their sins and that name is Jesus Christ.

2 Nephi 31: 20-21

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God...

If you are already a member of this new and everlasting covenant, then continue to press forward as covenant Israel in these latter-days. Let not the gods of this world occupy your time and attention. Let not the graven images of our world today replace the one true Lord, which is Jesus Christ, in our importance. Let the words of Isaiah, spoken in true context, teach men on earth that there is only ONE God, as far as he is concerned, that we must worship and laud as the only means through which we may be saved in that glorious kingdom which is shortly to come to be.

These things I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Man's Potential to Become like his Heavenly Parents

2010-05-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

We teach what the Bible mentions as man's potential to become like his heavenly parent. This is not a new concept and was shared by some of the earliest of Christians; (before the Nicean Creed) The concept of Theosis has existed long before that group of philosopher's got together to declare that God is TOO big to understand or too dogmatic. I, for one, choose to believe that God is literally our father in heaven. He is the father of Spirits. Jesus Christ called him, "Abba" which interpreted literally means, "Daddy or Papa"
and we were encouraged to do the same while being members of the covenant... not that being a member gives us some sort of right but it means we acknowledge that he LITERALLY is the father of spirits.
(Compare Rom. 8: 15-18, Galatians 4:6)

Here, below, are examples of men who shared a similar belief that we as latter-day saints do and they did so WELL before God was declared TOO dogmatic for men to dare comprehend:

(This information was found at: http://en.fairmormon.org/Nature_of_God/Deification_of_man )

Irenaeus (ca. AD 115-202)

Saint Irenaeus, who may justly be called the first Biblical theologian among the ancient Christians, was a disciple of the great Polycarp, who was a direct disciple of John the Revelator. Irenaeus is not a heretic or unorthodox in traditional Christian circles, yet he shares a belief in theosis:

While man gradually advances and mounts towards perfection; that is, he approaches the eternal. The eternal is perfect; and this is God. Man has first to come into being, then to progress, and by progressing come to manhood, and having reached manhood to increase, and thus increasing to persevere, and persevering to be glorified, and thus see his Lord.

Like the LDS, Irenaeus did not believe that this belief in any way displaced God, Christ, or the Holy Ghost:

there is none other called God by the Scriptures except the Father of all, and the Son, and those who possess the adoption....Since, therefore, this is sure and stedfast, that no other God or Lord was announced by the Spirit, except Him who, as God, rules over all, together with His Word, and those who receive the Spirit of adoption.

Yet, Irenaeus—whom it is absurd to exclude from the ranks of orthodox Christians—believed in theosis in terms which agree with LDS thinking on the matter:

We were not made gods at our beginning, but first we were made men, then, in the end, gods.

Also:

How then will any be a god, if he has not first been made a man? How can any be perfect when he has only lately been made man? How immortal, if he has not in his mortal nature obeyed his maker? For one's duty is first to observe the discipline of man and thereafter to share in the glory of God.

And:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, of his boundless love, became what we are that he might make us what he himself is.”

And:

But of what gods [does he speak]? [Of those] to whom He says, "I have said, Ye are gods, and all sons of the Most High." To those, no doubt, who have received the grace of the "adoption, by which we cry, Abba Father."

And, Irenaeus considers the doctrine clearly Biblical, just as the LDS do:

For he who holds, without pride and boasting, the true glory (opinion) regarding created things and the Creator, who is the Almighty God of all, and who has granted existence to all; [such an one, ] continuing in His love and subjection, and giving of thanks, shall also receive from Him the greater glory of promotion, looking forward to the time when he shall become like Him who died for him, for He, too, "was made in the likeness of sinful flesh," to condemn sin, and to cast it, as now a condemned thing, away beyond the flesh, but that He might call man forth into His own likeness, assigning him as [His own] imitator to God, and imposing on him His Father's law, in order that he may see God, and granting him power to receive the Father; [being] the Word of God who dwelt in man, and became the Son of man, that He might accustom man to receive God, and God to dwell in man, according to the good pleasure of the Father.

Further quotes from Irenaeus available here.
Said one Protestant theologian of Irenaeus:

Participation in God was carried so far by Irenaeus as to amount to deification. 'We were not made gods in the beginning,' he says, 'but at first men, then at length gods.' This is not to be understood as mere rhetorical exaggeration on Irenaeus' part. He meant the statement to be taken literally.

Clement of Alexandria (AD 150-215)

Clement, an early Christian leader in Alexandria, also taught the doctrine of deification: yea, I say, the Word of God became a man so that you might learn from a man how to become a god.

And:
"...if one knows himself, he will know God, and knowing God will become like God...His is beauty, true beauty, for it is God, and that man becomes god, since God wills it. So Heraclitus was right when he said, "Men are gods, and gods are men."

Those who have been perfected are given their reward and their honors. They have done with their purification, they have done with the rest of their service, though it be a holy service, with the holy; now they become pure in heart, and because of their close intimacy with the Lord there awaits them a restoration to eternal contemplation; and they have received the title of "gods" since they are destined to be enthroned with the other "gods" who are ranked next below the savior.

Origen (ca. AD 185-251)

And thus the first-born of all creation, who is the first to be with God, and to attract to Himself divinity, is a being of more exalted rank than the other gods beside Him, of whom God is the God, as it is written, "The God of gods, the Lord, hath spoken and called the earth." It was by the offices of the first-born that they became gods, for He drew from God in generous measure that they should be made gods, and He communicated it to them according to His own bounty. The true God, then, is "The God," and those who are formed after Him are gods, images, as it were, of Him the prototype.

The Father, then, is proclaimed as the one true God; but besides the true God are many who become gods by participating in God.

Origen also defined what it means to "participate" in something:

Every one who participates in anything, is unquestionably of one essence and nature with him who is partaker of the same thing.

Justin Martyr (d. ca. AD 163)

Justin the Martyr said in 150 A.D. that he wishes

to prove to you that the Holy Ghost reproaches men because they were made like God, free from suffering and death, provided that they kept His commandments, and were deemed deserving of the name of His sons... in the beginning men were made like God, free from suffering and death, and that they are thus deemed worthy of becoming gods and of having power to become sons of the highest...

Also,

[By Psalm 82] it is demonstrated that all men are deemed worthy of becoming “gods,” and even of having power to become sons of the Highest.

Hippolytus (AD 170-236)

Now in all these acts He offered up, as the first-fruits, His own manhood, in order that thou, when thou art in tribulation, mayest not be disheartened, but, confessing thyself to be a man (of like nature with the Redeemer,) mayest dwell in expectation of also receiving what the Father has granted unto this Son...The Deity (by condescension) does not diminish anything of the dignity of His divine perfection having made you even God unto his glory.

Athanasius

In 347, Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria and participant in the council of Nicea, said:

the Word was made flesh in order that we might be enabled to be made gods....just as the Lord, putting on the body, became a man, so also we men are both deified through His flesh, and henceforth inherit everlasting life...[we are] sons and gods by reason of the word in us.

For as Christ died and was exalted as man, so, as man, is He said to take what, as God, He ever had, that even such a grant of grace might reach to us. For the Word was not impaired in receiving a body, that He should seek to receive a grace, but rather He deified that which He put on, and more than that, gave it graciously to the race of man.

He also states that Christ "became man that we might be made divine."
Augustine (AD 354-430)

Augustine, considered one of the greatest Christian Fathers, said

but He himself that justifies also deifies, for by justifying He makes sons of God. For He has given them power to become the sons of God, (John 1:12). If then we have been made sons of God, we have also been made gods.

Jerome (AD 340-420)

Jerome also described the deification of believers as an act of grace, which matches the LDS understanding precisely:

“I said 'you are gods, all of you sons of the most high.’" let Eunomius hear this, let Arius, who say that the son of God is son in the same way we are. That we are gods is not so by nature, but by grace. “but to as many as receive Him he gave power to becoming sons of God” I made man for that purpose, that from men they may become gods. We are called gods and sons!...[Christ said] "all of you sons of the Most High," it is not possible to be the son of the Most High, unless He Himself is the Most High. I said that all of you would be exalted as I am exalted.

Jerome goes on to say that we should

give thanks to the God of gods. The prophet is referring to those gods of whom it is written: I said ‘you are gods’ and again ‘god arises in the divine assembly’ they who cease to be mere men, abandon the ways of vice an are become perfect, are gods and the sons of the most high...

Modern Christian exegesis

The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology describes "deification" thusly:

Deification (Greek Theosis) is for orthodoxy the goal of every Christian. Man, according to the Bible, is ‘made in the image and likeness of God’...it is possible for man to become like God, to become deified, to become God by grace. This doctrine is based on many passages of both O.T. and N.T. (Psalms 82: (81) .6; 2 Peter 1:4), and it is essentially the teaching both of St. Paul, though he tends to use the language of filial adoption (Rom. 8:9-17, Gal. 4:5-7) and the fourth gospel (John 17:21-23).

Joseph Fitzmyer wrote:

The language of 2 Peter is taken up by St. Irenaeus, in his famous phrase, ‘if the Word has been made man, it is so that men may be made gods; (adv. Haer v, pref.), And becomes the standard in Greek theology. In the fourth century St. Athanasius repeats Irenaeus almost word for word, and in the fifth century St. Cyril of Alexandria says that we shall become sons ‘by participation’ (Greek methexis). Deification is the central idea in the spirituality of St. Maximus the confessor, for whom the doctrine is corollary of the incarnation: ‘deification, briefly, is the encompassing and fulfillment of all times and ages’,...and St. Symeon the new theologian at the end of the tenth century writes, ‘he who is God by nature converses with those whom he has made gods by grace, as a friend converses with his friends, face to face...’

Finally, it should be noted that deification does not mean absorption into God, since the deified creature remains itself and distinct. It is the whole human being, body and soul, who is transfigured in the spirit into the likeness of the divine nature, and deification is the goal of every Christian.

According to Christian scholar G.L. Prestige, the ancient Christians “taught that the destiny of man was to become like God, and even to become deified.”

William R. Inge, Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote:

"God became man, that we might become God" was a commonplace of doctrinal theology at least until the time of Augustine, and that "deification holds a very large place in the writings of the fathers...We find it in Irenaeus as well as in Clement, in Athanasius as well in Gregory of Nysee. St. Augustine was no more afraid of deificari in Latin than Origen of apotheosis in Greek...To modern ears the word deification sounds not only strange but arrogant and shocking.

In conclusion:

This view of the early Christians' doctrines is not unique to the Latter-day Saints. Many modern Christian writers have recognized the same doctrines. If the critics do not wish to embrace these ancient doctrines, that is their privilege, but they cannot logically claim that such doctrines are not "Christian." One might fairly ask why modern Christians do not believe that which the ancient Christians insisted upon?UnBiblical?

Theosis has been taught by many Christians through the centuries. They pulled these beliefs from the Bible itself. The Father is the one true God. This thing is certain: no one will ever ascend above Him; no one will ever replace Him.

Till We All Come To A Unity Of The Faith

2010-05-12T11:39:00.001-07:00

Till we all come to a unity of the faith.
The gospel as it has been restored only differs from how you see the gospel message.
You could easily say the same thing about a Baptist if you happened to be a Methodist because they both teach the gospel differently. The same goes for the 20,000 + sects of Christianity which have certainly not helped to fulfill the Lord's words through Paul as he gave them to the Ephesians in which, "all would come to the unity of the faith."
And this UNITY does not mean compromise one with another... but to actually ALL have preached to them the gospel of Christ in its purity; only how Apostles of the Lord can teach it. (1 Tim 2:7)

It was in its fullness when the early church began because there were Apostles and Prophets on the earth.
Not even in the Catholic church, the supposed stewards of the Lords' priesthood authority, continued to call additional Apostles.

When Judas Iscariot was found as dead (committed suicide) his vacancy was filled by the calling of Matthias. Else if he were not called, then the purpose and function of the 12 Apostles may have seemed benign and unimportant... but the calling of Matthias proves that the Lord's organization as it was established by him was meant to continue. If it were possible, there would have been a church ALWAYS upon the earth guided by Apostles and Prophets as the Lord had established. (Ephesians 4:11-14)

The day of the gentiles would one day come, according to the Lords' words in Luke 21:24... and that day would not come for centuries later. The Jews indeed have been trodden down and continued to be despised of men (and in many ways still are) but the times of the Gentiles is beginning to be fulfilled.

The last shall be first and the first shall be last is a literal insight into the Lord's plans to gather Israel one last time. The priesthood of God (as restored in 1830) was in preparation to restore Israel one last time. Indeed... the Lord's words in Luke chapter 21 have already begun to be fulfilled but they could ONLY fulfill themselves with priesthood authority.

Gentiles would not take upon themselves this honor. They would have to have been called of God as was Aaron...

But I know what you may be thinking... you might be thinking that Joseph Smith... or those called by Angels to receive the priesthood may not have had any rites to have it.

Israel had been scattered upon the whole face of the earth. The blood of Ephraim and Manasseh along with the blood of many of the other 10 tribes has had a chance to mix with the Gentiles for the many hundreds of years after the Lord completed the supreme sacrifice. At some point, if you're truly intrigued, I'll share with you the many epiphanies that I've received while studying the Bible as it pertains to Ephraim, the seed through with the Lord blessed via the birthright.

Even though Jesus Christ was born through the loins of Judah, great were the promises and responsibilities of they who belonged to Joseph's descendants. (both Ephraim and Manasseh)

Although we won't see this unity until "WELL" into the Millennium, the ball got rolling; ie, "The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain" that was cut without hands, according to the words of Daniel, the prophet, in chapter 2 of his record.

He that has ears... let him hear.

The church to be built upon the foundation of Apostles and Prophets

2010-05-12T11:32:00.001-07:00

Jesus Christ has always been the bedrock of his church however, as in Simon "also called Peter" one must realize that the church organization should have always included a prophet, 12 apostles, a quorum of 70, pastors, teachers, evangelists, elders, etc.

Examine this scripture: Now we both know that the translation from language sometimes takes on a different idea when it goes from one to another.

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matt. 16: 18

We learn that his name was Simon, also called Peter. In the Greek direct translation, Petra (Greek "πέτρα" (petra), meaning rock, is something that signifies a "smaller rock" versus the more firmer "bedrock" which is upon Christ. When it reads; "and upon this rock" I will build my church, the second rock as also translated back into Greek and re-examined = "Bigger Rock"
(So we have "Little Rock" and "Bigger Rock.")

So if we were to read this scripture adding the direct translation, it would read,

"And I say also unto Thee, (Simon) also called, "The Smaller Rock", and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

But what rock would the gates of Hell not be able to prevail against? The smaller one or the larger one?
The Larger one because it means 'Jesus Christ,' who is the bedrock.
If man was infallible, then perhaps Jesus would have meant that Peter was unconquerable but we know
that this isn't the case nor would it. Later in the New Testament, we also learn that Jesus Christ acts as the "Chief Cornerstone" of his own church; in exactly the same fashion as he sits today; as the cornerstone of his church. If his church was permitted to exist in the same form that it was, there would have been NO restoration needed but we learn in Acts chapter 3 that the first efforts of Christ's original church may fall short because a restitution of all things was predicted.
"The Church is built upon foundation of apostles and prophets with Christ at the head. (Ephesians 2:20)

Peter was never more important than Jesus Christ. If you lived during his day, you'd probably say that the church was putting too much focus or attention on Peter... or the Church... because it's the same language you use today. Peter was never meant to be the primary focus but his calling as "leader of the church" as acting head of it; or the Lord's mouthpiece on earth, then you understand why we as Latter-day Saints put the same amount of value upon the acting prophet who stands as the Lord's living oracle today.
This man's name is Prophet Thomas S. Monson, current prophet in modern Israel.

Without Prophets and Apostles, we have no foundation; no temple of the Lord on the earth.
The Apostasy was imminent and the servants of God, all but John the Beloved, were to be removed from the Earth. It wouldn't be until a later date that a 'restitution' of all things would once again be needed. (Acts 3:19-23) and the days would not yet come before the Lord.
The events which are mentioned of in verse 23 had not taken place or else we would have seen it written.
This event has NOT yet taken place but is being fulfilled in our day as we one by one cast our votes:
Modern Israel and the Lord or rely on our own understanding; which wisdom, according to Isaiah, is considered "Foolishness." (Isaiah 29:11-14)

It happened once with Moses, who not unlike Joseph Smith, had to restore the knowledge of ALL things from the beginning (of Adam) to his present day. Jesus Christ was that same "Moses" whom was preached should come unto the people and restore/fulfill the law unto the people.
And not totally unlike that instance, another 1800 years or so goes by and the Lord sets forth his hand one last time to gather Israel from ALL parts of the earth to once again establish his Zion as he has hereto before done both in HUGE degree as well as smaller degrees all throughout the Bible.

1 Peter 2: 6-9
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Your only argument would be whether or not Jesus Christ had the power to restore all things once again.
If you've read the Bible, at all, you'd know that this sort of "restitution" has taken place several different times in the history of mankind. The same argument you are making today was also made by the Jews unto Christ as they referenced verses of the Old Testament as THEY understood them and not how the Lord had intended for those verses to mean. I am willing to submit that the same case exists today with hordes of people who do not inquire of the Lord and rely upon their own understanding, which according to Peter, it is fruitless and without power to do so. The scriptures are not for "private interpretation."
(2 Peter 1:19-20) -

Private = pertaining to or affecting a particular person or a small group of persons; individual; personal: for your private satisfaction; undertaken individually or personally: private research.

Scriptures were meant to be studied together with the Lord and that they should ask for access of the Holy Spirit of Prophecy in order to understand them. This spiritual gift is given to all who have been granted the "Holy Ghost" which no matter how far removed from the church you are, you have ACCESS to that gift!
We should also do as Matthew suggests earlier in Matt. Chapter 16 vs. 17 and... be blessed for not having flesh and blood having reveal truth to you, but have our Father which is in heaven do so..." via the holy spirit, a spiritual confirmation, or the established manner in which to confirm truth.
(1 John 5:5-6)

The Work of Righteous Women

2010-04-22T09:51:00.001-07:00

The work of righteous women ought never to be discounted or ignored. Their roles as Queens and Priestesses unto the most high God ought never to be forgotten. The role of Mother and Wife is the most important one in our heavenly father's plan for all of his children.

Satan Hates Light and Loves Dwelling in the Shadow

2010-04-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

Return with Honor

2010-03-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

The facts about Proposition 8 and declaration of funds used by the LDS church

2010-02-25T15:04:00.001-08:00

Over 1 year ago on 2 February 2009, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints clarified erroneous news reports following the filing of its final report on donations to the ProtectMarriage.com coalition.

On Friday, 30 January, the Church filed the final report of its contributions (all of which were non-monetary) to the ProtectMarriage.com coalition. The report, submitted in advance of the 31 January deadline, details in-kind donations totaling $189,903.58.

The value of the Church’s in-kind (non-monetary) contribution is less than one half of one percent of the total funds (approximately $40 million) raised for the “Yes on 8” campaign. The Church did not make any cash contribution.

Because media coverage about this filing ran without a comment from the Church, the following statements of fact from the Church add context to this story and should help correct the record:

Fox13 (Utah): “The documents show the amount spent by the Mormon Church is greater than what was initially stated.”

Fact: The Church, like other organizations on both sides of the ballot issue, was required to publicly file these donations by the 31 January deadline. The Church has been filing required contribution reports throughout the campaign. Those earlier donations “initially stated” were filed for specific time periods prior to this last reporting period, as required by law. Other groups are also filing their final contribution reports to meet the same deadline.

San Francisco Chronicle : “Mormon church officials, facing an ongoing investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, Friday reported nearly $190,000 in previously unlisted assistance to the successful campaign for Prop. 8, which banned same-sex marriage in California.”

Sacramento Bee : “The disclosure comes amid an investigation by the state's campaign watchdog agency into whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints violated state laws by not fully disclosing its involvement during the campaign.”

Fact: This filing is in no way prompted by an investigation by the California Fair Political Practices Commission. Many organizations are filing this week to meet the deadline required by law. We believe we have complied with California law.

KFMB 760 AM (San Diego) :

“Mormon Church Misstated How Much It Spent in Prop 8 Fight.”
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints previously claimed only about $2,000 was spent in support of the measure.”
365Ga y : “Mormon Church admits it spent 100 times more for Prop 8 than reported”

Fact: Again, the previous disclosure of an in-kind donation was to meet an earlier deadline. In fact, previous filings detailed over $50,000 out of the total non-monetary contribution of $189,903.58.This week’s filing reported donations that fell within a different time period and required reporting by the 31 January deadline. Other groups also made their final contributions reports this week.

Understanding the extent of donations from other organizations may help the media and the public better understand the context in which the Church’s donations were made.

Apparently good news travels slowly.

Joseph Smith from a "Mason's" Perspective

2010-02-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

"In matters of religion and matrimony I never give any advice; because I will not have anybody’s torments in this world or the next laid to my charge." Lord Chesterfield(1694–1773), English statesman, man of letters. Letter, 12 Oct. 1765
(published in Lord Chesterfield’s Letters to His Godson, no. 73, Appendix, ed. by Earl of Carnarvon, 1890).

Those who fall into the category of 'Religious Intolerant' seem to have significant problems with the Mormon faith and its adherents. Whether by trickery or force, they make strong efforts to convert Mormons to their particular brand of salvation, generally attempting to defame the Mormon Church in any way possible. Many of those who are anti-Mormon are also, interestingly, anti-Mason as well despite the fact that one is a religion and the other, a fraternity. It's also curious that several of the most outspoken anti-Masons of today are also the most outspoken anti-Mormons.

Mormon founder, Joseph SmithA brief history: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, sometimes seen abbreviated as LDS, was organized by Joseph Smith after he experienced a series of visions from 1826 to 1830 that called him to restore true Christianity. Smith translated the Book of Mormon from gold plates that he said the angel Moroni revealed to him. His new religion drew converts rapidly but they were severely prosecuted by outsiders. They fled from New York to Ohio and Illinois where a mob, suspicious of the economic and political power of the Mormons as well as the Mormon practice of polygamy (having more than one wife), killed Smith and his brother Hyrum in Carthage, Illinois in 1844.

Much is made, primarily by 'religious intolerants', of supposed similarities between certain religious rites of Mormons and the ceremonies of Freemasonry. Conveniently overlooked is the fact that such similarities exist in many other institutions also. Freemasonry, as the oldest fraternity in the world, certainly had its ceremonies and forms copied either consciously or unconsciously throughout the past three centuries. Likewise, its forms and ceremonies did not arrive 'fully-formed' and have elements from institutions, beliefs, and societies well before their own existence. Whether any of this 'proves' that Joseph Smith was not a Prophet or that Mormonism is a false religion is specious at best and is irrelevant to the discussion from a Masonic perspective.

There is both a past and a present when discussions relative to Freemasonry and Mormonism occur. We'll begin with the past:

Freemasonry became acquainted with the Latter Day Saints at Nauvoo, Illinois in the 2½ years between March, 1842 and October, 1844. Although Freemasonry had been in Illinois since 1805, it's presence there was tenuous and a Grand Lodge formed in 1823 expired very shortly thereafter due to (according to Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia) poor administration. It was not until 1840 that another Grand Lodge was formed but it too met great difficulties, being soon after the Morgan Affair and encountering some jurisdictional disputes over lodges chartered by Missouri.

Joseph Smith had been expelled from Missouri as well and in 1839, settled in Commerce, soon renamed Nauvoo. The population of that location increased from almost nothing to somewhere between 8,000-10,000 souls. In another three years, it was the largest city in Illinois and second only to St. Louis in the whole Northwest. In 1841, Bodley Lodge at Quincy was asked to approve a body of petitioners for a charter at Nauvoo but refused. (There was at this time in many areas a requirement that a new lodge forming in the 'territory' of an established lodge ask permission to do so.) Later in the same year, Grand Master Jonas issued a dispensation and personally instituted the lodge at Nauvoo on March 15, 1842. Some Masonic scholars have indicated that Jonas might have done this for his own personal motives.

In any event, Joseph Smith was initiated the day the lodge was instituted and became a Master Mason the next. Bodley Lodge subsequently charged that the Grand Master had violated Masonic Law in the handling of certain matters surrounding this and on August 11, 1842, the Grand Master suspended the dispensation which had allowed the Lodge at Nauvoo to work.

In a period of less than 6 months, in excess of 250 Masons had been created - an extraordinary number for ANY lodge anywhere at any time. Additional lodges related to that at Nauvoo were 'springing up' in the area without following proper Masonic protocol and there were investigations into the Grand Master's conduct by the Grand Lodge which ordered that the spurious lodges be closed. Those orders were disobeyed and at the Grand Lodge communication of 1844, all Mormon lodges were declared clandestine and all their membership suspended. Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia says:

"These lodges might have continued as clandestine bodies had not the Mormons got into other difficulties. In 1844, a revolt which had been smoldering in the Mormon church broke out, resulting in considerable violence and in the flight of both Joseph and Hyrum Smith. In a few days, the Smiths returned, submitted to arrest and were jailed at Carthage, Ill., where on the afternoon of June 27, 1844, they were lynched and murdered by a mob."

(Masonicinfo Note: Historical accounts indicate that actual death occurred by shooting although apparently lynching was the original intent....)

Myth and legend claims that Joseph Smith used a uniquely Masonic 'signal' to garner assistance from the Masons at the time of his death. These reports persist to this day but were unsubstantiated at the time and remain so now. Additionally, there were conflicting statements from those closest to him physically when his murder occurred. What really happened is obscured by the frenzy of the mob activity, the motivations of the person recounting the story, and the passage of time.

Thereafter, the Mormons made their long and arduous trek across the barren plains and desert, seeking asylum. Brigham Young succeeded to the presidency of the Mormon Church and in the Great Salt Lake Valley, he set his exiled people to work with order and industry, building what was probably the first large-scale system of irrigation in the West.

Because, however, of the stigma of the events in Illinois as well as the moral outrage felt by Masons over the issue of polygamy which the Mormons were then practicing, Grand Lodges in both Nevada and Utah banned Mormons from Masonic membership en masse for several decades thereafter.

Salt Lake City TempleToday, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are free to become Masons and vice-versa without any hindrance whatsoever. A common 'threat' made by some religious intolerants is that Mormons are not able to advance in their Church or its rites if they are known to be Masons. Many Masons who are of that faith will readily attest to the fallacy of this statement.

Regardless of whether there exist similarities between certain Mormon Temple Rituals and Freemasonry (or with anything else for that matter), it is not a concern of Freemasonry. Using this argument against Freemasonry is but another 'red herring' employed by those who seek to defame the fraternity and divert the discourse. Persons with common sense realize that what the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or any other religious body does or does not do has no effect whatsoever on the functioning of a totally separate and different organization.

Masonicinfo Note: The material above has been necessarily brief. It has been prepared for those who might have heard of some 'link' between the LDS and Freemasonry and were curious. It does not attempt to describe the entire history of Mormonism nor the entire history of Freemasonry during that period but instead is intended as a capsule summary, fairly (we hope) presenting events and circumstances. We trust you have found it unbiased and interesting.

http://www.masonicinfo.com/mormons.htm

As a Mormon and Master Mason, I can say you have done a fine job with this presentation. It's about time people quit being hysterical about both organizations. The one thing.... THE **ONE*** thing, first and foremost amongst Masons is the building up of good men, helping them become better men. That, above all else, is the serious motto of Masonry. "TheBackyardProfessor"

"What the critics blithely ignore are the many instances when God's appointed prophets used tools to accomplish their work: Moses using his staff to divide the Red Sea, Moses hitting the rock with his staff to bring forth water, Aaron's rod, etc., even Jesus used a mud plaster to heal a blind man's eyes. It's pretty obvious to me that God does allow the use of tools in his works. Then again, many of our critics are allergic to the idea of works having anything to do with salvation, so why would anybody need tools. Of course, I've noticed also from my work in apologetics, amateur though I be, that some of the critics blithely skip over the Old Testament, feeling that it isn't as relevant as the New Testament, especially the writings of Paul. I guess that might be one reason they feel the Book of Mormon isn't relevant, either.

Well, anyway, great video. Keep up the good work! And now you know where I'm coming from, too. :)" Youtube User; Arklyn

Find out what Masons think about Joseph Smith or the Mormons go to http://www.masonicinfo.com/mormons.htm

The Official Website for FreeMasonry http://freemasonry.org/
For an article about Joseph Smith and his involvement with the freemason's,

click this link; http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith...
For questions about "Temple Symbolism" visit http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/saltl...

The official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or the Mormon Church, visit http://www.lds.org or http://www.mormon.org

Only a witness of the spirit can overcome the Father of All Lies

2010-02-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

2 Nephi 2:27
"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."

Satan = the Adversary of all righteousness and the father of all lies... According to this great plan of Happiness, our Father in heaven has allowed Satan, our common enemy, to provide opposition in all things to prove us now herewith that we will yet choose God and that plan and do so for ourselves. This isn't Mormon Apologetics... it's just how things are. God has afforded us a chance to choose him but there is someone also in the mix who is trying to persuade us to follow him and his plan of misery.

One of the things you'll have to come to terms with is that if there be a God, then there is also a Devil and that there is an opposition in all things. We learn more about Satan from the Book of Mormon... if you think the previous verses or this is one whit behind your idea of the devil or how he behaves, you're welcome to tell me why.

Moroni 7:17
"But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him."

Part of you... the part that makes use of deductive reasoning happen must also include Satan in this equation that you say is difficult to add up and begin asking yourself questions such as...

Is Satan miserable forever? Why would he be miserable? Would he endeavor to take the rest of us down with him if he could? If one encounters the true church of God, would there be opposition against it or not?

Would Satan do all that was within his power to fight against God creating all manner of lies and deceit to keep people from finding it? If your answer is "Yes" to all of these questions, then there should be at least some doubt in the information you've hereto received. I don't care of Joseph Smith was a "boy scout" ... Satan would try to exploit his involvement with the Boy Scouts to promote his hatred against God. That is what he does. Satan is the great deceiver. He desires that NO man or woman may have the joy that this gospel brings to me and my family.

The only way you'll be able to settle all matters is ask of God.

James 1:5-6
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

This is what Joseph Smith did. He took one of his questions to the Lord and had no doubt in the response. Whether this is something you remember or not, this is how it all got started. Since then, Joseph Smith received his answer via the brilliant vision of God the father and his son Jesus Christ. Because of this and the subsequent experiences afterwards, Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God. There is not one prophet throughout all recorded events or times that have been popular in the eyes of men. Brother Joe has become a disturber and annoyer of Satan's dominion.

Would Satan be pissed off about that? That's a 100% YES!

So just ponder that. You tell me that certain things don't add up.
Could Satan be inserting his input into the equation or not?
I guarantee that he doesn't want you to add 1+1 to get 2.

What I'll do for you, since you seem to have one opinion on certain symbolism occurrences on the temples is let me share with you the symbols in question. I assure you that the description you have received up until this point about these symbols are nothing less stigmatized than the Hindu symbol of the Swastika...

Though once commonly used all over much of the world without stigma, because of its iconic usage in Nazi Germany the symbol has become stigmatized in the Western world, notably even outlawed in Germany. The same thing could be said about the "Southern Cross." and other symbols of our day. It's not difficult for anyone to hijack the meanings of certain symbols, package it up and sell their bill of goods and use the "Fear of the unknown" to fuel their fire.

Go here and see for yourself on what we proclaim are the meanings of certain symbols. http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/saltlake/

It shouldn't be difficult to take this in objectively but after wards, I encourage you to pray. Pray to that same God that Joseph did and ask him in faith regarding these things. Perhaps the Lord will help you set in order the things that seem out of place. Perhaps through your prayers, you will be able to discover where Satan has been part of the mix. After putting your faith in God, you will see that you can sort out any problems with the validity of Joseph Smith's claims and other things which you mentioned in your email to me;

Your words...
The Masonic link appears to similar to be coincidence, the racist stance that appears to change to suit the change in world or American viewpoint. According to many reports the masonic Smith family were practioners of necromancy & other wiccan practices. Smiths 'prophecies' that did not come to pass, the polygamy proofs of Smith, the Kabbalah belief system similarities & mystery schools drama ceremonies, No archeological proof of the ancient Mormon peoples & the book of Abraham being an Egyptian religion papyrus.

Temples and Symbolism
The answer to this is there is answers to all of these concerns.
Answers that explain the man made interpretations of our symbols, a definition of symbols on temples has already been clearly defined. http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/saltlake/

His affiliation with the masonic order.

Masons believe in building themselves into better men & better fathers and they do so in a "Non Denomination" and if I were not member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I would seek after these kinds of experiences as should all men.

Regarding him being a practitioner of necromancy or wiccan practices?

Seriously, this is just reaching by the opponents of the church. The priesthood of God is the power to heal under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ would also heal the sick and was repeatedly accused of serving the Devil. The accusation of Joseph Smtih performing those healings via the power of the Holy Ghost is no whit behind such an accusation against the Savior but now it's just said of Necromancy or Witch Craft.

Plural Marriage/ Polygamy-Polyandry
We do not deny that the practice of plural marriage was taught and practiced by Joseph Smith and many other church leaders but we do put down the assessment made by those who would suggest the worst about this practice. It was a commandment from the Lord. It was lived in honor and obedience to God despite the persecutions that happened before and after wards. There are reasons why certain things were lived in secret and they are just as telling as to the reasons it was lived at all. The Lord commanded that it should be so and the bretheren did all that they could to be faithful in it not withstanding the persecution they had to live under.
More on this practice is located at this link;
http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Polyandry

What about the Kabbalah?
I don't know what to say about Kabbalah. That's a new thought entirely. It seems that the enemies of the church won't concede on all the other things so now they've come up with this? How similar are we to Kabbalah? Since I don't know much about that form of worship, I really don't have much to say except visit their website as I did. If you want to study all other religions and try to compare them, by all means do so. I'm sure they've got nothing to hide just like we do not as well.
Kabbalah is probably just as mis-understood as the LDS church so on this wise, I suppose we could be compared to them.

Masons... Kabbalah... Mormonism... these are all compared together because people like to put a face to the name of their "fears of the unknown" and it makes it easier for some to not really put much thought or study into these things to gain an actual knowledge of them. They'll sooner read someone else's assessment of these organization with something quick and easy just like "Instant Coffee." They want answers and they want them now. The most pleasing explanation will do so long as it's quick. Nothing truly studied can be studied quickly and one's sources ought to be

And the fact is there have surfaced scores of proofs and evidence to the support of the Book of Mormon as well as the authenticity of the Book of Abraham... one should only find those things and discover for themselves. It's no less a game of "Guess Who" when Satan places his hands over our eyes. All we but should do is say, "We know who you are, Satan... so take a hike." for him to let loose of our eyes and allow us to see these things versus allow him to whisper whatever he wants to with his hands cupped across our eyes.

All of these things are dead issues now and have been answered long ago but that won't stop Satan from perpetuating the lies and trying them out with new people. His earnest diligence in the work that he does will never let him concede a victory. He never sleeps. His thoughts, will and actions represent a desire to do evil continually and cause that all men might do the same.

It is my prayer that you will seek that witness of the spirit and refrain from putting your trust in the arm of flesh, setting aside all things that have influenced you up till this point and allow God chance to influence you now. Take the things in which I share with you and make an attempt to pray over them. Even if it be at first a simple prayer to know that God is there and that he is mindful of you, the finding out of this could not be counted for evil. Perhaps God will nudge you to continue learning about the church of his son, Jesus Christ and that you will discover the same joy that I have finding out these answers already for myself.

Warm Regards,
Josh Nelson

http://www.kabbalah.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika
http://www.masonic-network.com/green.html
http://en.fairmormon.org/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy/Polyandry

The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times

2010-02-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

Angels are coming to visit the earth... the Lord is preparing to return for the 1,000 years of peace during this millennium that has been awaited and hoped for now going on 6 Millennium. The Fullness of the everlasting gospel is now being taught upon the earth and the fullness of the Gentiles is blossom as a flower on a tender new plant. Truly, the marvelous work and a wonder has already begun to come forth for decades now in preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ!

The everlasting Gospel has been brought back as promised
(Revelations 14:6-7)and it came in the form of an ancient record un-touched by human hands for nearly one and a half Millenniums of time to reach our eyes and ears in these final days. Just as "Stones and Arrows" were slung at the Lord's servant Samuel, so it will be that men shall symbolically throw stones and arrows at the Book of Mormon and none shall touch it. It will stand as a witness for righteousness and as a witness against wickedness and will testify against those who would not believe in the words which were written by true prophets of our father in heaven... and like Samuel, it will be an instrument in the hands of the Lord until such time that the Lord see's fit to withdraw his word from among the people. And in the latter-days, the gospel will be removed in like manner from the Gentiles, who will reject this restored gospel as a whole and it will once again be given unto the Jews; remnants of the house of Jacob and it will be taught to them so that they too will believe that Jesus is and WAS the promised Messiah since the foundation of the earth.

"Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me."
Isaiah 49:22-23

It is my belief that Samuel, the Lamanite, showed us the manner in which this record, The Book of Mormon, would be received by the world.

Helaman 16:2-7
2 But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were angry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows.
3 Now when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words, insomuch that they went away unto Nephi to be baptized.
4 For behold, Nephi was baptizing, and prophesying, and preaching, crying repentance unto the people, showing signs and wonders, working miracles among the people, that they might know that the Christ must shortly come—
5 Telling them of things which must shortly come, that they might know and remember at the time of their coming that they had been made known unto them beforehand, to the intent that they might believe; therefore as many as believed on the words of Samuel went forth unto him to be baptized, for they came repenting and confessing their sins.
6 But the more part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel; therefore when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.
7 And as they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy among his own people.

I believe this to be an Allegory for our day. As in verse 2, we learn that stones and arrows could not slay Samuel... in like manner, the Book of Mormon has had its share of Stones or Arrows flung at it and in NO way has anything been able to hit it. As much as they try, it will JUST NOT happen. There were they who were converted unto the Lord and went seeking Nephi... and they were baptized. In our day, there would also be many who would seek after baptism as they discover the testimony of this record to be true...

But in the end, the people became wroth with Samuel and seeked to destroy his life but in that moment, Samuel departed... and in verse 7, we learn that Samuel went to preach among his own people. Likewise, in modern revelation, we learn that the gospel will be removed from all other nations in preparation to bring this message to the tribe of Judah as the Gentile nations will reject the gospel, as a whole, and it will be removed from among them.

What If?

2010-02-12T07:48:00.000-08:00

What if Men ceased relying on their own understanding and turned their trust towards God above trusting in the arm of flesh?
2 Nephi 4:34

What if Men starting reading the scriptures as if they were not just words on paper reading them with real intent while praying to the Lord for understanding and having faith that God would give unto them the "gift of prophecy" and of "revelation?"
Moroni 10:3-5

What if Men ceased to read them and interpret them privately using their own wisdom? 2 Peter 1:19-21

What if men began to have unshakable faith in the Lord that he could understand all things and all points of truth free from the opinions of others? Mormon 8: 24

What if men could be found humble enough for the Lord to show them all things? Ether 4: 1, 8, 13

What if when the Lord were to show them all things that these men would actually dedicate their life to God following him with exceeding faith and not just KNOWING the path but were willing to walk the path doing all the Lord's commandments?
1 Nephi 3:7

What if men had the faith to refute the godless; the greatest of those who subject themselves to the will and power of the Devil?
Jacob 7: 5

What if men such faith that it gave them power to move mountains?
Ether 12: 30

What would it do to Satan's dominion if we were all like unto Captain Moroni? Alma 48: 17

What if those who fight against this restored church are also fighting against God? Acts 5:39

What if they fight against Zion under the guise of fighting for God? Isaiah 29:8

What if the Book of Mormon is true and the subsequent restoration of the Gospel that Jesus Christ had taught was now being taught in its fullness and purity? "
I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."
Joseph Smith, Jr.

The question you need to ask yourself is, "What if?"

What if I'm missing out in the Lord's blessings because of my unbelief? What if Angels are returning to the earth visiting others and not me? What if this Christ I believe in is coming back to a people more prepared than I? What if all the things that are spoken against the church is influenced by Satan? What if there was an Apostasy and I'm on the wrong end of it? What if there are prophets today and I am rejecting them because of my own lack of understanding regarding warnings given by Jesus Christ about future prophets? What if I deny the miracles of God based on my own unbelief because I think that visions and miracles and healings and the visitation of Angels ceased long ago? What if families can be together forever and I'm steering clear from this? What if it's not about Mormonism but its about the restored Church of Jesus Christ? What if this church has been reestablished in the same way it was anciently? What if authority to perform such sacred saving ordinances like baptism has been made available once again? What if I leave life without receiving this sacred ordinance? What if I can just never see myself becoming Mormon? What if I never find the strength to quit smoking, drinking, pornography, or any other vices non-conducive to the spirit of God? What if I remain just a casual follower of Christ obeying some commandments while submitting to other weaknesses... will that be enough? Last but not least... What if I disqualify myself from eternal blessings because I would rather hear the opinions of men never giving thought to ask God for myself if these blessings have truly come to men on earth through his marvelous work and a wonder? (Isaiah 29:11-14)

We all have to make a choice in this life and it will be based on our actions.
"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
...And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom."
(2 Nephi 2:27, 29)

The Lord has commanded that his people be perfect. (Matt 5:48) He has made it abundantly clear that he will not support a slothful and unwise servant as mentioned in the "Parable of the Talents." He will not recognize those who have not had a proper baptism for there will be many which say, "Lord Lord" but will not enter in.

Do what Moroni suggests...
"...Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot."
Moroni 10:32-33

And IF you do these things, you will become mighty men and women unto God; even like unto the Brother of Jared, of Nephi, of Captain Moroni, of Mormon and Moroni, of Joseph Smith, of Ether, of Paul and Peter, and you will be like unto ALL the best examples that the world had to offer as they followed Jesus Christ. If you follow the Lord Jesus just as they did, in nowise would you NOT receive this heavenly gift of Eternal Life. This I testify to you, in the Holy name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Temple Blessings For Our Kindred Dead

2010-02-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

For more information and other blogs related to this theme visit; click here ---> Blogs for Temple Study! and also Click here for more of what goes on inside the temple.

Cuicuilco & Quetzalcoatl vs Jesus- Are they "one in the same" if only a bare resemblance of the Christ?

2010-02-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

The Legend and Tradition of a Great White God is found in one either named as Cuicuilco or Quetzalcoatl. It is not LDS church doctrine that these names or definitions represents Jesus Christ as this, "Great White God" who visited them but for the sake of argument, let's explore how this same Jesus could in fact be the same beings of legend held by the Aztec and the Mayans.

Jesus Christ, when he visited the Nephites and Lamanites shortly after his resurrection. The family of Lehi made their home in Meso-America;

After the Nephites were completely destroyed, images of this "Great White God" continued to exist in the from of Quetzalcuatl and Cuicuilco; Just before the Nephites were whiped out, they had already begun sacrifice women and children to their "Idols" which may have included their diluted version of the White deity.

Spanish arrivals, beginning with Columbus, began traveling to the new world. Men who were wrought upon by the spirit of God. Men would follow Columbus and arrive on the new world to colonize and conquer. Instead of meeting with heavy resistance, Cortez was met with veneration and he was treated like a God. They thought that Cortez was the return of the "Great White God" of promise who said he should return.

Cortez attempted to destroy all of their writings and condemned them as a "Pagan form of Christianity." but a few survived, as a testimony that the Lord would not whipe them nor their memory completely off the face of the earth. Mormon endured and possibly foretold the behavior of these that should dwindle in his account.

"...And they did also march forward against the city Teancum, and did drive the inhabitants forth out of her, and did take many prisoners both women and children, and did offer them up as sacrifices unto their idol gods. Mormon 4:14

In like manner in which the Book of Mormon was preserved, a few of the Mayan texts were also preserved and later translated, taking them several decades within 4 centuries or so to accomplish this feat.

There were few who survived the conquering Spaniards of which may also be a similar foreshadowing of when Jesus Christ returns, bringing about the "Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord" where few will endure that day; the most of which who will survive the times will be those who remain in the covenant which was created by Jesus Christ in the restoration of his true church.

Rome is burning with the "Spirit of God" - Announcement of the Rome, Italy Temple

2010-02-04T09:39:00.000-08:00

(Original article at; http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/rome/)

Announcement: 4 October 2008

Construction Status

On December 6, 2009, another special fast was held by members and friends of the Rome Italy Stake for City approval of the Rome Italy Temple. While significant progress has been made, the process is not over. Additional meetings are expected in the month of December. A beautiful design has been completed for the temple, but it is not available for public view. An Italian residence that once stood on the temple site and housed full-time missionaries has already been razed in preparation for the temple complex. (1)

On September 6, 2009, a special fast was held for the temple by members in Rome and many former missionaries and friends in anticipation of a review of the Church's request by City officials later that month. Plans call for a complex of buildings that include the temple, a meetinghouse, and a patron housing facility. Although just a small section of the site was originally permitted for construction of the temple, recent zoning modifications—a miracle in itself—allow the entire parcel of land to be used for construction of these buildings. (2)

On February 24, 2009, Elder Dallin H. Oaks met with all of the missionaries of the Italy Rome Mission in a spiritually charged meeting. That evening, he was the speaker at a special member and investigator fireside. His comments focused on preparing for the temple. He spoke of paying tithing, preparing to be ordinance workers, and of receiving what the temple offers: knowledge, covenants, and promised blessings. He urged all in attendance to pray daily that the hearts of the government officials would be softened in regards to the temple. Elder Oaks had already met with these officials to discuss its construction, which he said went very well. (3)

Temple Site

The Rome Italy Temple will be built on an elevated 15-acre site in northeast Rome near the Grande Raccordo Anulare, the circular road (beltway) that surrounds the city. The picturesque country site, punctuated by an exiquisite stand of olive trees, sits on the outskirts of the city at a freeway interchange. (4)

Building sites in Rome must be examined for Roman ruins before construction is permitted. The inspection is carried out by digging trenches every 10 to 15 feet across the property. The day the temple property was to be inspected, Church members in Rome held a special fast. No ruins were found over the entire property, yet an old Roman village was discovered just 100 yards beyond the property boundary line. The Church purchased the property in the late 1990s. (5)

Temple Announcement

Italian members met the announcement of the Rome Italy Temple with the animated cheering and enthusiasm you would expect to see in a sports arena during a last-second win, explained President Massimo De Feo, president of the Rome Italy Stake, in a recent interview. He also added that since the temple announcement, the Stake is seeing the baptism of full families for the first time. In just the past five years, the number of stakes in Italy has grown from three to six. And temple attendance at the distant Bern Switzerland Temple has been much higher from the Saints in Italy than from any other country in the temple district. (6)

President Thomas S. Monson's announcement of a temple to be constructed in Rome was met with an audible gasp and smiles from the congregation gathered in the Conference Center for the Saturday morning session of the October 2008 General Conference. (7) The Rome Italy Temple will be the first temple in Italy and in the Mediterranean region.

Temple Facts

The Rome Italy Temple will be the twelfth temple built in Europe and the first built in Italy.

A charming home, which stood at the highest point of the temple site, was razed to make way for the Rome Italy Temple. It served for a time as an apartment for the full-time missionaries.

Temple History

The growth of the Church in Italy has not been without its opposition. Just three years after the Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, the first missionaries arrived in Genova, Italy, on June 25, 1850, including Elder Lorenzo Snow, who would become the fifth president of the Church. Over the next three years, 221 people were baptized and organized into three branches. But most proselytizing in Italy stopped in the early 1860s in the face of local opposition and because of a request from Church leaders for Italian members to immigrate to Utah. An attempt to reopen missionary work in Italy in 1900 was refused by the government.

The Church was finally reestablished in Italy in 1951, following the conversion of Vincenzo di Francesca, who happened to find a burned copy of the Book of Mormon with a missing cover and title page. Italians who had joined the Church in other countries began to return to Italy during this period. They attended Church with LDS serviceman stationed in Italy in various branches. By the end of 1964, Church records showed 229 members in Italy. That same year, Elder Ezra Taft Benson, an apostle who would become the 13th president of the Church, petitioned the government for permission to resume missionary work. Permission was granted, and missionaries began to proselyte on January 27, 1965. By 1978, membership has grown to over 7,000 and increased to 14,000 by 1990. Today there are over 22,600 members organized into 6 stakes and 7 districts. (8)

Although missionary work had been allowed in Italy since 1964, the Church began in 2000 the lengthy process of seeking a concordat with the government that would grant it state-sponsored status. This status was granted to the Roman Catholic Church in a concordat signed by Mussolini—a relationship that was perpetuated into Italy's post-fascist constitution. Since 1984, however, the Catholic Church has had to share this level of government recognition with other religions operating in Italy. Approved churches become concordates, which receive tax funds and other rights from the government similar to those received by the Catholic Church. (9)

At a London fireside, Elder Kenneth Johnson of the First Quorum of the Seventy related events that have contributed to the Italian government's official recognition of the Church. In October 2006, he accompanied other high-ranking Church leaders, including Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, to a meeting in Rome to make a case for the Church to the government. President Uchtdorf noted the Church's longtime presence and reputation in Italy, but the presiding government official seemed unmoved. Instead, he related that he had traveled—without announcement—to Salt Lake City in preparation for the meeting. Two Italian sister missionaries had served as his guides on Temple Square. He noted the deep impression left on him by these two Italian citizens, and then inquired when the Church might build a temple in Rome. Once these papers are signed, Elder Uchtdorf replied. The officer signed. In April 2007, Prime Minister Prodi gave his signature, and then it proceeded to Parliament. (10)

With legal recognition still stalled in Parliament in late 2009, the Church took the step of hiring a Washington, D.C., lobbyist to help push through the approval. A. Elizabeth Jones, a former high-level State Department employee and ambassador to Kazakhstan, who is now an executive vice president at APCO Worldwide, is lobbying the U.S. embassy in Italy to support the Church's application. The intesa—an Italian term referring to an "understanding" with the government—would carry certain privileges including facilitating the authorization of bishops to perform civilly recognized marriages and making the renewal of visas for missionaries easier. (11)

1. President and Sister Pacini, "Special Fast December 6, 2009," Facebook 3 Dec. 2009, 7 Dec. 2009
2. President and Sister Pacini, "Fast for Temple," Facebook 28 Aug. 2009, 29 Oct. 2009
3. Karen & Will, Online Posting, e' Felice Italian 28 Feb. 2009, 29 Oct. 2009
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, "New Temple Site Locations Announced," 7 Oct. 2008
5. "Rome Italy Temple News," Online posting, 9 Nov. 2008
6. Massimo De Feo, "Massimo De Feo—Stake President in Rome, Italy," Mormon Channel: Into All the World 29 Apr. 2009, 13 Jun. 2009
7. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, "Church Continues Temple Building Throughout the World," 4 Oct. 2008
8. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, "First Temple Announced in Rome," 4 Oct. 2008
9. Peggy Fletcher Stack, "LDS Church Wants to Be Official in Italy," The Salt Lake Tribune 9 Sept. 2000: A1
10. John F., "Two LDS Senators in London," Online posting, 21 May 2007, 6 Oct. 2008
11. Carrie Levine, "For Italian Job, Mormons Ask a D.C. Insider for Help," The National Law Journal 6 Oct. 2009, 29 Oct. 2009

(Story Update!!!)

Jane Parker, who is the late Elder Wirthlin's daughter, told us the following story today in Relief Society. She went to a talk by a lawyer for the European Area (each area of the Church has a legal department.) The talk was about the ability to have a temple built in Rome, Italy.

He stated that they knew they needed to have contact with the cardinals of the Catholic Church to see if they would approve or go along with our desire to have a temple built there. He heard of a reception at which the cardinals would be present, and the legal department for the church was also invited. He approached one cardinal
and talked to him about the issue.

The cardinal said, "We will support you in any effort you want because of your support of Proposition 8 in California."

Jane's comment was that she doesn't think the Church people in California who worked so long and so hard on getting that proposition passed and many even suffered persecution probably know that they were the instruments in getting a temple built in Rome, Italy.

Please allow me to add a little more to this inspiring story. (Joseph I. Bentley)

The lawyer mentioned was John Zackrison -- a friend of mine who told LDS attorneys attending our Annual JRCLS Leadership Conf. about this last month. John told us that the Church has owned this temple site for several years. But it was close enough to the Vatican that in order to build a temple there, it required consents from both the Mayor of Rome and the Pope.

At the reception John met the one Cardinal who was charged with approving the temple on behalf of the Pope. The cardinal arranged a followup meeting and John invited the European Area President to attend. He could not attend, but sent his counselor. At the meeting the cardinal soon discovered that both he and the counselor spoke French.
Then they discovered that both of them were from the same city(Bordeaux). And, then, they learned that both had gone to the same school!

Who can deny the Lord's hand in all of this?

Joseph I. Bentley, Director
Orange County Public Affairs

The Un-Read Letter

2010-02-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

I was recently told that after I took the time to write him this letter, that it was erased before reading it. The letter was to You Tube user, "thejizzman99" My letters probably get ignored all the time but the fact that he returned to rail me, I decided at that moment that this letter must really be worth something and should live on someplace else.
I put it here, on my blog as, "The Un-Read" letter. My only request from others is that you be upfront and honest with me. If I'm going to write you a letter and you already know in advance that you won't be reading it, please give me the courtesy of at least letting me know. Give me some kind of clue that says, "I'll not accept anything that you say." and say this, for all I care, so I at least know how unreasonable you intend to be.
I value your time and if you value mine, I would appreciate knowing that my time will be well spent and not just tossed in the garbage. I take careful time and plan out these letters. Let me present the filth to you, in its entirety, so you can judge for yourself. To read this letter in context, one must know that it was like giving a child a pill that he would not swallow but since it was never taken, I have little doubt that the person this letter was intended for will ever overcome his self-inflicted wounds...
Josh Nelson

The Letter Proceeds as follows;

As an anti-Mormon myself once, there is hope even for you. Is it hard to kick against the pricks? Are you a "Saul of Tarsus-type?" or are you just a kin to the men who fought against God in yester-year? (Acts 5:33-39)

Acts 5:
33 ¶ When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them.
34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.
36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

(In the letter, I did not quote the scripture but since he erased my message altogether, I didn't want this scripture to also fall by the wayside. It is a very revealing look into those men who fight against God. It almost makes someone wonder if they're really in the right since fighting against the true word of God has never went well for those who do.)

I was once encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but in God's great mercy, he opted to return me to the everlasting light unto salvation. I was preserved by the "Hand of God" and now I'm encircled about with his matchless bounty. I was preserved by the hand of God from a serious accident and while I was recovering, it was made known to me that I was given a chance to repent of my flight from God, having left my first love and undoubtedly, I helped many follow down forbidden paths and they are now lost because of my foolishness in attempting to live as my own person thinking I knew of myself.

I've been redeemed of and commissioned by the Christ as an instrument in his hands to work once again in his vineyard. No unholy hand can divert me. I covenanted to never leave him again. I'm God's go to man forever, so I hate to break it to you. I can only pray that they will notice the mask that you wear and the wolf that lies beneath. God has always proved and by sore experience of my own, that his wisdom is greater than the cunning of the Devil and of those who subject themselves unto him. Although they shall speak louder than some may be able to bear, I am prepared and have put on the whole armor of God.

My only question to you is simply this... how much longer will you endure living with so much wreckless hate against the Lord's established Zion. What chance do you have that the Lord could soften your heart as he has softened mine? Only time will tell. If God can find an honest bone in your body, he can show you the error of your ways if you humble yourself before him, as I was made to do.I was brought low unto nigh unto death until I would mend my ways and return to the fold. One thing he has shown me and he can show unto you is WHO the correct enemy is, even Satan.

Until you know with a perfect knowledge that he is fighting against Zion and enlisting any and all who are willing to join his campaign, you will merrily fight against the Lord's established truth on the earth. They'll continue to do so under the guise of fighting for the cause of God trying to save the damned Mormon's when they are doing all that they can to stand against the fiery darts of the adversary and keep the covenants in which they made. I find it a sad situation when someone as intelligent as you are unable to humble himself and become as a "Little Child" but this pointless argument and debate ought not to be "Childish." That is not what Christ meant about being as a little child, unfortunately...

Good luck to you. Hopefully, the Lord will see fit to grace your life with a life altering experience... and he may, if he discovers that you are not past feeling. He'll work with anything that he sees as whole about the person and he can work with it. If one is rotten to the core and himself is a dead tree that brings forth bitter, the Lord of the Vineyard has not choice but to remove the tree and cast it into the fire.

I sincerely hope this is not your fate. I am eternally grateful that God was able to pluck me out from where you now stand as a disturber of his kingdom to then be like unto Paul, who did much good for the
"Cause of Christ." I bid you well and good luck in this life. I sincerely hope that the hand of providence finds a way to channel the passion that you have and use it for building up of his kingdom on earth...

Sincerely,
Josh Nelson

Come and See - An invitation to visit the LDS church

2010-01-31T00:57:00.000-08:00

This is a copy of a recent YT letter I wrote to another you tube user.

You write; so why do you not allow some people into your temples, if ALL are welcome? I've always found that frankly offensive. If I have a Mormon friend and I'm not allowed to attend their marriage, this is out and out exclusion. It's NOT the form of Christianity I was raised in, where EVERYONE was welcome. A town drunk used to routinely walk into services in our church, and people would not shun him, but try to help him.... Why do LDS exclude people? Such as blacks in the early days...

Who may enter a temple.
At baptism, we make certain covenants; to always remember Jesus Christ, to keep his commandments and be a witness unto God as a member of the body of Christ's church. In doing so, we are promised the spirit of the Lord. This is the beginning of our journey.
After 1 year of being baptized, those who have lived after the "law of the Lord" then meet with a bishop. He asks them questions about their convictions and recommends the member to enter a temple, after ample preparation is complete. One does not and ought not to enter a temple on a whim. There is no "Sunday School" test that someone has to pass save ones desires to make additional covenants as discovered by the Bishop, the father of the ward. (A bishop is like a pastor who is given charge to be a judge in Israel)

Furthermore, Christ himself said, "Give not that which is holy unto Dogs... cast ye not your pearls before swine..." and he doesn't say this to belittle anyone... but a certain amount of preparation must be in order for those who are temple bound. Just as a child must be weaned from the milk before it can eat meat, so must a member prepare to enter into a temple. None are withheld from achieving this goal. Preparation is needed. The church has a program and does its part to prepare the membership for temple blessings.

In a world of "Instant Gratification," the Lord has it in mind to ensure that we prepare for eternity and that we don't do so lightly! The purpose of the church is to edify and prepare its members to keep baptismal covenants and continue to make additional covenants that prepares them to return to God's presence as Kings and Queens... priests and priestesses unto the most High God. (Compare Revelations 1:5-6)

None are or have been discouraged to be members of the LDS church and it is a common work to suggest otherwise. Although racists, bigots, and intolerant people exist in all walks of life and not just pertaining to things outside of religious organizations, the LDS church has always been the forerunner to tolerance. If you put away the pamphlets you've read and actually dig deeper into things, you'll discover that the LDS church was among the first to have multi-ethnic church service in the South while segregation remained a common attitude there and at no point were they denied membership, marriage, or other essential saving ordinances given to the faithful disciples of Christ.

We were first in the idea of abolishing of slavery in fact Joseph Smith announced his candidacy for US president in 1844 and one of his platforms would have been to "Abolish Slavery" altogether... we were the first to shun segregation but this is not what you've been programmed to accept.
We're not a different church from before... we never were the evil that some suggest we are or were. We never had horns growing out of our head or any other silly concoction developed by fearful people. Misunderstanding breeds fear. Fear of the unknown... which is why LDS folks are labeled a cult... because in the minds of those who say, "You're a cult!" they're saying, in fine, "We do not understand you and we're afraid to find out so by saying you're a cult, it makes us feel better about not getting to know the real you..."

Who has been allowed to enter?
Blacks have never been excluded from receiving the sacrament, having callings in the church, or been excluded from church services and other social events... ever! One passage in the Book of Mormon sums it up! "...and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." 2 Nephi 26:33

Apparently, you've not been to a sacrament service... or a Sunday school at an LDS church, have you?
You'll find a warm welcome and possibly startled group of folks wanting to make your experience comfortable. You'd find the peace that Christ brings to the meeting and experience the joy that we all feel when we enter the chapel doors. Until you've experienced church for yourself, how could you know what goes on inside these doors? I welcome you to experience it one day just for yourself. I pray for this opportunity for you. May you know the Love that pours out of our church membership while you are yet around to enjoy it! Do not let your whole life's ideas or choices be based on what you see on "South Park" or what you've read on a deplorable pamphlet made to denigrate the LDS church!

Sincerely,
Josh Nelson

The Second Coming Of Jesus Christ.

2010-01-30T10:44:00.001-08:00

This blog entry is under construction...

Pray to the Father in the Name of Jesus Christ

2010-01-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Recently, I encountered someone on You Tube who suggests we worship Joseph Smith. I assure you we do not. We do not pray to Joseph Smith. No prayer recorded or implied suggests we do. Nothing in our church is done in the name of Joseph Smith. We revere him for being the prophet of the Restoration, that great restitution of all things predicted by Peter and others who were apostles.

¶ Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Acts 3:19-21

I'm surprised I have to clarify certain things regarding what we believe as far as to whom we pray to. We pray as Jesus taught us to pray, addressing
"Our Father which art in heaven..." and we do all things in the name of Christ, who is our advocate with the father. Everything done by the early Apostles was so done in the name of Jesus Christ. So did the Elder's of the church.

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: (James 5: 14)

John 16:23-26
"...Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you."

We pray to God the Father...speaking to the father
and we close our prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jesus Christ acts as an advocate with the Father...
"we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
1 John 2:1 (paraphrased)

John's words have been translated and the person translating the ancient text figured that the word, "Advocate" best describes Jesus Christ as we appeal to return and live with the Father in heaven.

Advocate;
1. a person who speaks or writes in support or defense of a person, cause, etc. (usually fol. by of): an advocate of peace.
2. a person who pleads for or in behalf of another; intercessor.
3. a person who pleads the cause of another in a court of law.

Satan has been described as the "prosecutor." and Christ's role
as advocate comes between us and the Father just as a court of
law one has a lawyer who speaks on our behalf.

God calls messengers to represent him today.

2010-01-22T10:13:00.000-08:00

"Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father." John 6: 46

God will choose whom he will and men will deny it. They will find reasons why not to believe them and their reasoning may be well thought out and logical but this does not change the plan in which God uses to reveal truth unto men. Jesus Christ, the greatest of them all, was still somehow found guilty of treason and heresy but there are few Christians today who would subscribe to such an idea. Having written that, there are many who have taken the role of the Jews and use their reasoning to condemn the things that they do not understand today. They pit the restored gospel up against their own knowledge and they consider their wisdom above the revealed word of God.

Isaiah saw a day when the wisdom of men would be proven folly.

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." Isaiah 29:13-14

The precepts of men have prevailed for centuries. Ideas like the Nicene Creed would perish along with any other man made theory about the doctrines and gospel of Christ. We are living in a great time with the light of the gospel taught in its purity or neither you or I have the full story. Without prophets, both of us would be in error and neither of us would be correct... but the Lord has begun this mighty work... the stone which has been cut out of the mountain without hands continue to roll forth throughout the whole earth and will continue to do so with or without our consent.

I only prefer that I am found helping to push or pull this great stone foreseen by Daniel instead of watching it from the sidelines, arms folded, and wondering what all of the fuss is about.

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

In other words, during the days of the many European Kingdoms as represented by the iron mixed with miry clay, would this kingdom of the Lord then be established. We just have to but track the kingdoms from the Babylonians on down the line until there were "many kingdoms" round the world. The Spaniards were not united with the English... the French were separate from the Portuguese... all in fine, were the kingdoms in which Daniel saw and it would be during the existence of these kingdoms that we would see this great work. If Christ had not set this great work up, it would be everlastingly too late for the prophecy in which Daniel saw should come forth. There are no longer many of those kingdoms. The stone has already begun to break these kingdoms up. This work has already begun.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

The prophecies of Daniel would come forth and all be fulfilled or he is not a prophet.

"How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the heavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints."
D&C 121:33

It is my desire that you no longer aim to prove these things to be false... but that you seek to learn from God in heaven that they are true. Be not like unto the Jews who continuously questioned Jesus and ultimately found him guilty of heresy. You will always find something that you don't agree with but it is not the labor of men to bend the will of God to their understanding of it... but the other way around.

I testify that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration... that Thomas Monson is the Lord's representative today. He is the steward of modern Israel and we continue to be directed by prophets. The Lord has chosen these men to be his representatives until the time in which Jesus Christ shall return. We look forward to the day when he does. There is much to do in the Lord's vineyard. It is my prayer that someday we will work along side one another in this great work.

Proving Colossians - Scriptures are not meant for "Private Interpretation" or to be read out of Context

2010-01-18T12:47:00.000-08:00

On one of my YT video threads, I had just a Book, Chapter and verse to review. I'm not criticizing him for leaving the scripture. It's a wonderful verse but it, in kind, is an example of 'scripture mining' and reading them out of context. In this blog entry, I attempt to bring this scripture to life as it was left on my comment thread as still born.

Take Col 2:8 for example; let me give you a full and complete background for it.

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." Col 2:8

Who: Paul is writing. To whom? The Church in Colossae, or the Colossians.
Why? Or what problems were they facing in that early church?

The warning was written to the saints or members of the church as Colossians and in this verse, he counsels them to avoid the traditions of their day; from the article, "Unearthing Ancient Colossae in Southern Turkey: theology and archaeology in dialogue." by Michael Tanner, we learn,

"Some Colossian Christians had become very attracted to the ascetical and religious practices of local folk religions. The exact nature of these practices is uncertain though it is clear that they contained a mixture of pagan elements and Jewish ascetical practices, combined with the worship of local and foreign deities."
(ie, Roman or Greek Gods... Zeus, Jupiter, etc...)

Let's apply this apples to apples comparison to our day;

What Paul warned the the Colossian Church about could very well equate to our celebration of Christmas and Easter. Now I like both Christmas and Easter but not for the reasons we see them portrayed.

Christmas = Family and Presents ... or it is a time to reflect on Jesus Christ; his birth, life and resurrection.

Easter = A bunny who hides eggs for the world to find?
or we take time out to reflect on Christ's suffering for our sins, his death, and resurrection on the 3rd day.
Or we celebrate this to the "Letter of the Law" like Orthodox Christians do and reject it altogether... but I see no harm in having special days of the year to reflect on the life of Christ...

In addition:
The thinkers who lived in Colossae were into philosophy, science, astronomy and all manner of intellectual thinking. Paul wrote this letter to the church in order to help them fortify against the ideas that were espoused by those men of the City which did not support God as being the supreme being.
They thought they knew of themselves and their wisdom of the cosmos trumped the understanding of God's people and his prophet, Peter... or the 12 Apostles, as well.

Such "Theorists" of Evolution, "Big Bang" and other non-creationist ideas prevail in our world today compare to the "great thinkers" in Colossae and is an "Apples to Apples comparison."

However, the more powerful the "telescope," the more support through evidence proves that the universe is "Galaxies without End" and denotes the hand of a "Great Creator" vs a big bang.

http://www.compassreview.org/summer02/8.html

Conclusion;
Scriptures are not meant for private interpretation. They are not just words you can apply as a "Blanket CoverAll" over things that disagree with your assessment of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I invite you to read scriptures in context. As I've said before, they are not just words to interpret. It was written for the church and canonized in scripture. Canonization does not mean blanket cover over all themes based on the understanding of the "reader." You were neither alive during their day nor are you a member of Paul's congregation. The Church of Jesus Christ of "Latter-day Saints" claims to be a modern counterpart to the early church & of the same organization. Just because your understanding of the gospel differs from Latter-day Prophets does not mean that we are not a modern extension of the early church.

I could do the same thing for you about Galatians 1:6-9... just about any other with proper preparation and study into the "context." What happens when people actually read the scriptures in the proper context, is they lean towards accepting the "True Gospel of Jesus Christ." as it is taught by modern prophets because those folks quickly realize that understanding prophecy is beyond them and an accurate understanding of the scriptures were best held by the prophets who wrote them. Those people yearn for the understanding of the prophets and imagine what it was like to sit down at Peter's feet to learn doctrine... and then they question to themselves, "Could those guys [Mormons] really have a prophet or not? But as long as you rely on your own understanding, which is limited to the understanding of men, it's a never ending cycle of "I know better because this verse says this..." or "My pastor says this..." never putting your own credentials or the credentials of others in check.

But if you interpret them privately or accept the private interpretations of your pastors and colleagues, they are just words that are hoped to befuddle or debunk the LDS church given without power or precedent. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church on the face of the earth that claims revelation from God through his prophets. I testify that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of the Lord and the prophet of the restoration. That Thomas S. Monson is a prophet and the current steward in Zion. I know that I learn the Gospel at the foot of prophets and I testify that priesthood authority is held by those men as well as myself, being an Elder in this church... the same sort of Elder found mentioned of in James 5:14

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

America - God's "Land of Liberty"

2010-01-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

2 Ne. 1: 7
7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.

2 Ne. 10: 11
11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.

The Standard Erected - Our message to the world, even an ensign to all nations!

2010-01-14T10:08:00.001-08:00

Well our peaceful message is simply this;

God wants to call prophets. Because he loves us, he wants us to know his son, Jesus Christ, and the atonement he has made for men so that we too may be healed and washed clean from our sins. God wants all to be partakers of eternal life with him in the kingdom of his father, which is also our father.Our message is that he does and that he did again in the final days before his return. The only true way to understand the will of the Lord is by knowing it through his prophets.

Even Isaiah has said,

"For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts." - Isaiah 28:8-9

Vomit meaning "partially consumed word of God spewed out having been influenced by men's interpretation." Filthiness = (blushes) erm... well, yeah. (Poop) Digested food or digested word of God. Even excrement has SOME un-digested nutrients left in it. God's word with lost meaning or lost in translation. Who is up for Poop Soup? Apparently much of the world is.
Wouldn't you and I rather take our nourishment from Mother's breast?

Most Christians consider us [Mormons] as a lesser version of Christianity because they assume that our gospel looks different than the one the way they understand it. Mainstream Christians only understand the gospel based on the source in which they draw forth living waters. What we claim, as Latter-day Saints, is access to these living waters from the "Rock," or a pure stream of living water. Just as Moses smote the rock and water came out to replenish the children of Israel, modern prophets do this for us today. [Compare Numbers Chapter 20]

Our water definitely looks different than water that has traveled downstream, picking up sediments and other influences of the earth as it travels across the ground heading towards the oceans and seas... but how can one know whether we are "Main Spring" Christians or not? We don't just say, "Hey, we're LDS! Hear and believe our message." by means of "Scriptural or Doctrinal Knowledge"
We're not converted by spiritualism either...

The Lord has promised that we could know for assurance that we have living prophets today by testing the fruits of that prophet responsible for the restoration. One way to do so is to read the Book of Mormon and ask God if this work comes from him and then subsequently, had chosen Joseph to be a prophet.

Moroni, the last steward to the Book of Mormon therein gives us a promise;

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
Moroni 10:3-5

The experiment has been set forth in the realm of human learning and in the laboratories of our minds. What most folks now have permission to do is simply discover for themselves. Men can ignore it altogether by whatever reason they can imagine; they can listen to the opinions of others and choose not to test these things out. They can also just be disaffected by the whole thing and never get around to it. But Christ has promised great blessings to those who become,
"As a little child..." For theirs is the kingdom of heaven and always has been. But none can say that the opportunity was not provided them who now live on the earth and come into contact with it.

The question on my mind is; Who will humble themselves enough to test these things out? Satan has been busy hardening hearts even since the days of Jesus when he speaks to his disciples saying,

"He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them." John 12:40

My prayer for all men is that they soften their hearts to make the experiment, setting aside all previous opinions had by men about this book or the church that preaches from it.

If Einstein had conceded to the previous concepts written about the Universe; most of which, were made by Newton his hero, he might not ever have pushed through that barrier of understanding enough to test his theory of general relativity. In like manner, regardless of your previous understanding of things, I would exhort you, as Moroni did, that you test these things out for yourself.

My prayer is that you rely on God alone to know this "Marvelous work and a wonder" long prophesied by Isaiah should come about in our day. (Isaiah 29:11-14) That you may be the fruit harvested in the Lord's vineyard as well as a laborer in the vineyard, as the days of the Lord's return draw ever so close; even in the 11th hour does he call laborers to help lay up fruit against the season.

Josh Nelson

P.S. We believe we have a living prophet today just as God continued calling prophets after Moses. Joseph Smith was a modern day Moses for the contemporary gathering of Israel and in like manner, we have a prophet on the earth today. We have had modern day versions of Joshua, and Samuel and Isaiah and more. Thomas S. Monson is the current prophet and by him, we better understand the mission of Jesus Christ and how to be saved in the kingdom

The Bold Assertion That God is our Father in Heaven & He Desires Us To Know Him

2010-01-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

"ALL SATAN NEEDS TO DO TO KEEP A PERSON AWAY FROM SALVATION IS TO MAKE THEM REJECT THE TRUE CHRIST". Truer words could not have been written. But I believe just as some do in this Jesus of Nazareth, even Jehovah or the promised Messiah.

Some folks have discovered that my ministry began not too long ago. I too have done my time in the prisons of thought and had been subject to habits that kept me from my place of worship. We've all been taught what we know and we are all creatures of habit.

We believe what we do because of the traditions of our fathers but none can live on borrowed light. As in the parable of the 10 virgins, it is meet that all men prepare to meet God and can not borrow oil from the lamp of another.

It really does all boil down to this.
Joseph see what he said he saw or not? Because if he did, then it trumps all understanding.

It suggests a code previously unknown; having been lost over centuries all in thanks to uninspired men who suggest that God's involvement with men has ceased. It also goes toward Biblical prophecy seen by Daniel and Isaiah who not only saw the events which led up to the Messiah... but also the history of the world from the beginning to the end of days... (or the end of the world as we now know it)

Creeds were formed and ideas not made by the prophets and apostles have kept men in a funk for several centuries. It was those men who proclaimed "receiving divine inspiriation" that no more divine inspiration should occur again. These men act as doctors who suggest that I somehow have a non cureable cancer.

If it took us this long to realize that the world wasn't the center of the universe unto a more perfect understanding of the universe, why then could it not have been true for spiritual things?

He, just as Einstein (who proved and reproved centuries of scientific thought now trumps such men as Aristotle, then later Capernicus... then later Galileo... then Newton until finally, a correct thought about the universe in which we live could have been offered up) and similar to Einstein, men once again have broken through barriers of thought but not intellectually... but with the help of the divine. As I mentioned before about Moses, who also was a prophet of restoration, God has chosen prophets once more.

According to the words of Jeremiah, we may know how to tell.
He shows us the way to judge in chapter 28; which reads,

"The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him." In other words, by their fruits, ye shall know them!

We believe that it is impossible for men to shut God up and keep him from speaking. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness... to which we interpret as, "God's work is never finished. It neither has beginning or end."

Why would we let men rob us of our faith by suggesting that miracles have ceased among men?
This is what Satan would have us believe and not God. He succeeded in squelching the original church until there were no longer miracle workers upon the earth. Satan also works line upon line and teaches men precept upon precept beginning with creeds once thought to have been divinely inspired. How divinely inspired is it to suggest that "God is no longer a God of miracles?" Or that so unattainable is a knowledge of God or that we are not meant to understand the true nature of our father which art in heaven? God is not a calloused ruler who sits in the heavens above and says, "I've done all I can and now it is up to you."
If this God in heaven differs from the one you think he is, get a second opinion.

If God never meant for us to know his true nature while traversing this world and we are just to have faith that somehow we'll be worthy to be in the presence of this unknown God (also having faith that we'll actually want to be around him for eternity) why do we persist and seek after that?

Thomas Jefferson said this, "Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." but I want to add to this; "Question with boldness the ideas of men that suggest that God is unsearchable and unrelated to us."
For to not do this brings us back to an age where men of Greece and Rome believed that their God's lived exalted above us in the heavens existing only to toy with us and move us around like pawns on earth as their play things.

It is my bold assertion that God is a loving father in heaven who desires that we as his children may come to know him through the Son. Jesus Christ, the great mediator of all men, helps us return to our heavenly home. The place where God dwells.

One can test the fruits of this latter-day prophet by reading one of the revealed works which was translated through Joseph Smith; who if having the power and gift of God to translate this record, this would help the Lord convince you that was the prophet of the restored church of Christ.

Book of Mormon at a glance. You Tube, "The Stick of Ephraim Part 3"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovWubpJHGkw

Knowing this would also help us discover the mysteries found in the scriptures regarding the "Apostacy" or the great falling away. Although we could discuss scripture for months at a time, it would all come to a point time and time again.
Did God call Joseph Smith to be his latter-day messenger of truth? Read in the Book of Mormon to know for sure and do this for yourself!

I testify that this record is true! The stick of Ephraim has become one in our hands in these latter-days to add its witness of the divinity of the Lord, Jesus Christ!
Prophets... restoration... everything that the Bible has mentioned would happen leading up to the second coming has come to pass and we are in the final moments, even in that late hour before his return. This I declare in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen!

The truth about Galatians 1:6-9

2010-01-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

Galatians 1:6-9 is the most quoted 4 verses in the Bible to prove somehow that the Book of Mormon came from an Angel of which Paul said we should not accept? Somehow, this scripture has been taken WAY out of context! Somehow, people don't read the verses of scripture in context anymore.

They do not take into account;
Cultural Background of the people receiving the words or of the man giving the word.

Context; Who is writing and to whom and what for.

General scriptural knowledge of the surrounding verses further into the letter or sometimes in other records; ie, something written in Acts coincides with one of Paul's letter's, disagreements between Apostles, practices of the Jews and how those early Christians had trouble letting them go, etc.

A working knowledge of the people who are receiving the message and what kind of spiritual error they had found themselves in. It's sad that people take what is in the scriptures and then create bastards son's from that information and then pass it off as a true interpretation. Please enjoy the following; and then you'll see why this particular verse of scripture is the most used by opponents to the LDS church and why it is the easiest verse to refute or make understandable in context.

Galatians 1:6-9
6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Do Latter-day Saints Teach Another Gospel?
Question: Are Latter-day Saints not Christian because they teach another gospel? Paul warned us about such people in Galatians 1:6-9.

A typical response to this accusation is that Latter-day Saints do not teach a different Gospel than was preached by the ancient apostIes--it is the various Christian sects who do. But this response is incomplete because the original question is based on an erroneous understanding of Galations 1:6-9. We should examine this scripture closely and determine who was writing to whom, when, and why.

Paul was writing to the Galatians to warn them about what he perceived as a growing problem within the Church itself. People had entered his flock, attempting to mislead it by preaching another gospel, a perverted one, different from the one that Paul himself had preached to these Gentiles who had just joined the Church.

Who were these people? Were these pagans or some other brand of non-Christians preaching a perverted gospel? It was neither. In fact, they were fellow Christians from the Church at Jerusalem who were trying to solve what they saw as a growing problem among the non Jewish converts. The brethren from Jerusalem wanted all male converts, Jewish and Gentiles alike, to comply with the requirement of circumcision and to make a commitment to keep the Law of Moses.

Earlier, Paul had been upset when Peter entered Paul's mission field teaching "another gospel" -- a gospel of circumcision, while Paul advocated the gospel of uncircumcision (Gal. 2:7). It was Peter who received the vision to widen the ministry to all people, including the Gentiles. This was a marked change from the ministry of Christ, who took his message only to the House of Israel. Yet Peter still wasn't convinced, as evidenced in Galatians 2, that there should be full fellowship with the uncircumcised Christians. Paul therefore referred to what Peter was teaching as another gospeI--the gospel of circumcision.

Students of the Bible know that circumcision was a divisive issue in the New Testament church for many years, even after Peter's vision of the "unclean" animals when he was told "what God hath cleansed, that call not thou common" (Acts 10:15-35). This controversy over the gospel of circumcision (Gal. 2:7) caused so much of a disruption in the church that the Apostles once gathered in Jerusalem to resolve the issue and to determine and write their unified position (Acts 15).

But back to Galatians--Paul was upset with Peter, who had been dining with the Gentile Christians until some of the Jewish Christians came into the area. Peter then separated himself from the Gentiles, which was so upsetting to Paul that he "withstood him to the face," or in other words, discussed it openly with Peter at Antioch (Gal. 2:11).

Paul continued to be angered by Peter and certain others who were still preaching the gospel of circumcision to the uncircumcised Gentile Christians. Noted Christian theologian F. F. Bruce adds his comments on the issue Paul was addressing in Galatians chapters 1 and 2:

If God's redeeming grace was to be received by faith, and not by conformity with the Law of Moses, then it was available on equal terms to Jew and Gentile and to make a distinction in practice between Jewish and Gentile believers, as Peter and the others were doing, was in practice to deny the gospel (Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, p.178).

Galatians 1:6-9 has to do with a specific doctrinal problem confronting the early Christians. To apply this scripture to any other doctrine with which detractors disagree is to wrest the scriptures.

Derived from the original source at;
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/answers/another-gospel.htm

One-Minute Answers by Stephen R. Gibson

Hold On A Little Longer

2009-12-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

For the actual article, visit
http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,2043-1-5024-1,00.html

One of the enduring lessons of the Kirtland period is that our spirits need constant nourishment. We need to stay close to the Lord every day if we are to survive the adversity that we all must face.

Last summer my wife and I took our twin grandsons to Kirtland, Ohio. It was a special and precious opportunity for us to spend time with them before they left on their missions.

During our visit there, we learned to better understand the circumstances of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Saints who lived in Kirtland. That era of Church history is known as a time of severe trials but also supreme blessings.

In Kirtland the Lord bestowed some of the most remarkable heavenly manifestations and spiritual gifts this world has ever experienced. Sixty-five sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were received in Kirtland and surrounding areas—revelations that brought new light and knowledge about topics such as the Second Coming, caring for the needy, the plan of salvation, priesthood authority, the Word of Wisdom, tithing, the temple, and the law of consecration.1

It was a period of unparalleled spiritual growth. Indeed, the Spirit of God like a fire was burning. Moses, Elijah, and many other heavenly beings appeared during this time, including our Heavenly Father and His Son, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.2

One of the many revelations Joseph received in Kirtland was a revelation he called the "olive leaf . . . plucked from the Tree of Paradise, and the Lord's message of peace to us" (introduction to D&C 88). This remarkable revelation includes the sublime invitation, "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me" (D&C 88:63). As the Saints of Kirtland drew near unto the Lord, He truly did draw near unto them, pouring out the blessings of heaven upon the heads of the faithful.

A Spiritual Outpouring

Perhaps the culmination of these spiritual manifestations occurred during the dedication of the Kirtland Temple on March 27, 1836. One of those present was 28-year-old William Draper, who described the day as a "day of Pentecost." He wrote: "There was such a time of the outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord, that my pen is inadequate to write it in full or my tongue to express it. But I will here say that the Spirit was poured out and came like a mighty rushing wind and filled the house, that many that were present spoke in tongues and had visions and saw angels and prophesied, and had a general time of rejoicing such as had not been known in this generation."3

These spiritual manifestations were not limited only to those inside the temple, for "the people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple), and were astonished at what was taking place."4

Lorenzo Snow (1814–1901), later to be President of the Church, was living in Kirtland during this blessed period. He observed, "One would have imagined that after receiving these wonderful manifestations no temptation could have overthrown the Saints."5

But, of course, great spiritual experiences do not make us exempt from opposition and trials. Just a few months after the temple dedication, a widespread economic crisis shook the United States, and Kirtland felt the effects deeply. Banks failed, leaving many in difficult financial straits. To make matters worse, many of the Saints who were immigrating to Kirtland came with very few material possessions, not knowing what they would do once they arrived or how they would survive.

Before long, persecutions arose and mobs formed against the Saints. Members of the Church—even some of those closest to the Prophet, many of whom were present at the dedication of the temple—apostatized and condemned Joseph as a fallen prophet.

As I walked near the Kirtland Temple with my wife and grandsons, I pondered how tragic it was that some could not remain faithful even after the spiritual manifestations they had witnessed. How sorrowful it was that they could not endure the ridicule and criticism of disbelievers. How sad that, when faced with financial trial or other struggles, they could not have reached inside themselves and found the strength to remain faithful. How unfortunate it was that they somehow lost sight of the miraculous spiritual harvest at the dedication of the temple.

The Lessons

What can we learn from this remarkable era in the history of the Church?

One of the great, enduring lessons of the Kirtland period is that our spirits need constant nourishment. As President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) taught: "Testimony isn't something that you have today and you keep always. Testimony is either going to grow and grow to the brightness of certainty, or it is going to diminish to nothingness, depending upon what we do about it. I say, the testimony that we recapture day by day is the thing that saves us from the pitfalls of the adversary."6 We need to stay close to the Lord every day if we are to survive the adversity that we all must face.

In some ways our world today is similar to Kirtland of the 1830s. We too live in times of financial distress. There are those who persecute and rail against the Church and its members. Individual and collective trials may sometimes seem overwhelming.

That is when we need, more than ever, to draw near unto the Lord. As we do, we will come to know what it means to have the Lord draw near unto us. As we seek Him ever more diligently, we will surely find Him. We will see clearly that the Lord does not abandon His Church or His faithful Saints. Our eyes will be opened, and we will see Him open the windows of heaven and shower us with more of His light. We will find the spiritual strength to survive even during the darkest night.

Although some of the Saints in Kirtland lost sight of the spiritual experiences they had, most did not. The majority, including William Draper, held fast to the spiritual knowledge God had given them and continued to follow the Prophet. Along the way they experienced more bitter trials but also more sweet spiritual growth until, ultimately, those who endured to the end were "received into . . . a state of never-ending happiness" (Mosiah 2:41).

You Can Hold On

If ever you are tempted to become discouraged or to lose faith, remember those faithful Saints who remained true in Kirtland. Hold on a little longer. You can do this! You are part of a special generation. You were prepared and preserved to live at this important time in the existence of our beautiful planet earth. You have a celestial pedigree and therefore have all the necessary talents to make your life an eternal success story.

The Lord has blessed you with a testimony of the truth. You have felt His influence and witnessed His power. And if you continue to seek Him, He will continue to grant you sacred experiences. With these and other spiritual gifts, you will be able not only to change your own life for the better but also to bless your homes, wards or branches, communities, cities, states, and nations with your goodness.

It may be hard to see that at times, but hold on a little longer, for "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" and wait for Him (1 Corinthians 2:9; see also D&C 76:10; 133:45).

I bear witness of the truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the truth of this, His Church. I testify with all my heart and soul that God lives, that Jesus Christ is His Son and stands at the head of this great Church. We have a prophet on the earth again, even President Thomas S. Monson.

May we ever remember the lesson of Kirtland and hold on a little longer—even when things look bleak. Know and remember this: the Lord loves you. He remembers you. And He will ever sustain those who "endure in faith to the end" (D&C 20:25).

Notes
1. See, for example, sections 45; 56; 76; 84; 89; 97; and 104.
2. See D&C 76:23; 110:2–4, 11–13.
3. William Draper, "A Biographical Sketch of the Life and Travels and Birth and Parentage of William Draper" (1881), typescript, Church History Library, 2; spelling and capitalization standardized.
4. History of the Church, 2:428.
5. Lorenzo Snow, "Discourse," Deseret Weekly News, June 8, 1889, 26.
6. Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee (2000), 43.

Ideas for Teaching from This Message

After prayerfully studying this message, consider the needs of those you teach, and choose points or passages from the message that you feel will be most useful to them. The Holy Ghost can help you prepare and teach the message (see D&C 42:14; 43:15–16). In addition to sharing your own testimony, you may feel impressed to ask the people you teach to share experiences or testimonies if they wish. (For other teaching ideas, see Teaching, No Greater Call.)

Youth: Strengthening Your Testimony

Take this self-evaluation quiz to help you think about how you are doing in strengthening your testimony:

Do I desire to believe?
Do I fast and pray for a stronger testimony?
Do I read and ponder the scriptures each day?
Do I try to keep the commandments each day?
Do I try to follow promptings from the Holy Ghost?
Do I bear my testimony when prompted to do so?

Children: Drawing Near to the Lord

In Kirtland, Ohio, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation. The Lord told him, "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me" (D&C 88:63). One way we can draw near to the Lord is by following His prophet.

Match each picture below with the things President Thomas S. Monson has asked us to do.

Pray
Be kind
Work hard to learn
Help others
Share your testimony
Read the scriptures

As we seek the Lord ever more diligently, we will surely find Him. Our eyes will be opened, and we will see Him open the windows of heaven and shower us with more of His light.

From Malachi to Joseph; the Prophecies of Malachi have been and are becoming fulfilled

2009-12-17T23:09:00.000-08:00

http://en.fairmormon.org/Temples/Elias_and_Elijah_at_the_Kirtland_Temple

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Malachi 4:5-6

What do we know about Malachi's prophecy about Elijah coming back? The Jews suggest that he is still supposed to return by setting an extra plate at their table during the "passover." ... but only one Church has recorded a visit from this prophet as he came to the temple in Kirtland, Ohio to visit the prophet Joseph Smith.

Joseph Smith was the promised messenger also mentioned by Malachi!

Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:1, 2-5)

Some suggest that this messenger was John the Baptist but they do not understand the scriptures;
Nahum and Malachi used the same words to describe the "great and dreadful day of the Lord" which we know as the second coming;

Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. (Nahum 1:6)

This prophecy of Malachi indeed is a "latter-day" prophecy for he used words such as,
"Who shall abide the day of his coming?" and "Who shall be able to stand?" in reference to the massive destruction predicted shall happen shortly before the return of the Messiah.

The full account of Jesus Christ coming to the temple and the visitation of Elijah is as follows;
Doctrine and Covenants Section 110

The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.
2 We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.
3 His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:
4 I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father.
5 Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice.
6 Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name.
7 For behold, I have accepted this house, and my name shall be here; and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house.
8 Yea, I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not pollute this holy house.
9 Yea the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the ablessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house.
10 And the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands; and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people. Even so. Amen.
11 After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.
12 After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying that in us and our seed all generations after us should be blessed.
13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—
15 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—
16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.

...he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.
Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Acts 3:20-25

Joseph Smith is that "said prophet" which should come to prepare the way of the Lord; This restitution of all things has been under way for decades. Malachi 3:1-2 This latter-day work has moved forward and continues to fill the whole earth.
(See also Daniel Chapter 2)

A still small voice and a burning of the bosom;

2009-12-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

A modified copy of a letter written to a recent you tub'er who commented on a Book of Mormon video by DefendingMormonism. (To visit DM, go to http://www.youtube.com/user/DefendingMormonism)

Dear freetube1to1,

There are a lot of opinions made about the Book of Mormon and whether it is real or not; I use this passage in the Bible as a test to see where people are at on faith;

How do you know that Jesus Is the Christ?

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say aye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Matt 16:13-17

Without the spirit of God or an answer from him, how can we know? Christ died? Was buried but we're expected to believe that he rose from the dead? He played peekaboo with his disciples for 40 days and disappeared? To most, this would seem unreasonable.

Unless you had a "Great pastor" who convinced you that Jesus did all these things, teaching you that Christ was divine (instead of grave robbers stealing his body) and he was resurrected (and not just removed from the tomb so that it looks like it) how are we to believe?

The old testament talks about the "voice of the Lord as the "still small voice." God does not speak with a voice of thunder to convey truth.

"Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."
1 Kgs.19: 11-12

Furthermore, 2 men from Palestine, discovered the savior. After walking with him for a short time, they recognized who he was and he vanished straight away. They asked themselves, "Did our hearts not burn within us?" (Luke 24:13-32) In this same manner do men receive witness of all things spiritual A still small voice... a burning in our bosom.

Some say... that the Book of Mormon is a sham... it was written by Joseph Smith. But what does God say about it? Flesh and Blood can NOT reveal truth to another; I don't care if its Mr. Solomon Spaulding or the prophet, "Thomas S. Monson" Neither of these men have the final word. Only God does.

I know Jesus is the Christ. I have my answer from the Lord. In like manner, I find the words of Christ are found in the Book of Mormon just as powerfully as I find them in the Bible. Read the Book of Mormon for yourself; or remain ignorant of it. Its your choice! Ignorance, in this case, is not bliss.

But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. (D&C 9:8)
Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?
Proverbs 6:27

Either Joseph was a masochist or he endured the worst in the cause of the Lord's kingdom.

2009-12-08T23:07:00.001-08:00

Docterine and Covenants secion 38:30 gives me strength;

Revelation of the Lord given to Joseph Smith
"I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness, in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.

Most people forget to factor in the "Adversary" when they examine the many... (I'd say COUNTLESS) accusations against the church as they pass it off for wisdom. If we are the true church of Jesus Christ, we could expect no less from Satan; his angels; and they who subject themselves unto him... could we?

Does one think that Satan would stand idly by and just let folks wander into our church at their own free will and choice? I suggest that Satan desires no one to be happy; he desires that all men might be miserable like unto himself; never have I seen a force rise up against another church as I see being mounted up against the Mormon church.

Even you would have to agree on this wise; the very existence of my church is cause for excitement not only in your own congregation...but world wide.

Would you ever find workshops, books, pamphlets, basement meetings, church house groups, prayer circles, signs and other printed material, rally's, parades, dedicated time during Sunday School to discuss another churches teachings, talk shows, "You Tube" channels, study groups, discussion groups, towns, communities and many other means of folks organizing themselves to come up against... the baptist church?
No, but the LDS church gets this sort of attention and then some.

Yet all of these things and more combine up against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do they not? I am willing to suggest that if the LDS church (or Mormons) were not in existence, the rest of the catholic, protestant and other new age thinking would actually be quite bored with no one to pick on.

You may disagree with many of the words of this prophet of the restoration, but one revelation you would have to acknowledge is simply this;

He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.
Joseph Smith History 1:33 -

Joseph never denied these things either for one of two reasons;

1) He was masochistic and the idea of being utterly hated by the world, being beaten, cursed at, falsely accused, denied, tarred and feathered, and one day killed was something exciting to him; not to mention that his reputation would be felt for generations for good or for evil and it would bring conflict to his childrens childrens childrens children...
(but it would probably be a majority of evil spoken against him and his descendants)

or its all true and that any attempt to thwart the work of the Lord would be designed and carried out by the Devil through him, his angels and they who subject themselves unto him be it unwilling, unknowing, or being fully aware of the damage they seek against the Lord.

We'll let God be the judge and let him set things right when we're all up at the bar of judgment and if brother Joseph stands along side Jesus Christ as one of his greatest testators, I'm sure many will have hoped they hadn't remained ignorant of his prophetic calling...

Can the Children of God TRULY expect to reach their full potential: Being as our Heavenly Parents; even as God?

2009-12-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

This blog entry is derived from a letter I wrote to a YouTube User; (remember this was derived from a letter between myself and another "YouTube" user; if you would like the context in which these things were written, do not suppose that this is directed towards all; I made very valid points but they were points made to someone else...

In John Chapter 16, Jesus Christ gives hints to his disciples about his divine calling; Jesus discourses on mission of Holy Ghost; He tells of his death and resurrection, announces his own divine Son-ship, and says he has overcome the world.

I like verses 14-15 because Jesus Christ promises to show us all things as they not only pertain to his glory but also of the Glory of the Father;

"He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you." John 16:14-15

The father intends to show us all things; if it be that we have entered into the covenant with the Father and have Christ be the advocate between ourselves and the Father. He has done more than just promise to show us his glory! He has invited us to be "heirs" to it and "joint-heirs" with Christ.

Sure; I'll tell him when he's ready to believe in the Bible;
I'll explain it out. It's in the BIBLE... Black and White and not even difficult to understand; I'll even provide "Dictionary References" so that the scriptures can even be understood;

You've read in the bible some, right? Romans; in the New Testament;
I just present the information; You Decide!

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: (We are either children of God or we're not. We can forge alliances with Satan and no longer be considered children of God but the potential of man is an always will be to grow up and become like his or her heavenly parents)

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
And how can we be heirs? Only if we enter into a covenant with Jesus Christ through baptism and other saving ordinances. We enter into a covenant that Jesus Christ will purge us from our sins and wash us clean through the atonement; (Revelations 1:5-6)

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:16-18

And Paul is exactly right! In this life, we fall short of the glory of God. We are not worthy of this glory on our own. Only through the merits of Jesus Christ can one hope to attain sanctification; a process which will last for eternities of time until we finally perform all things with perfection;

Paul also best explains how the children of the covenant should perform if they are to attain the blessings of exaltation in the kingdom of our heavenly father;

"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13: 20 and 21)

It is important to know that while members of the "everlasting covenant" that we do well with what we know and that we perform the will of the Lord and makes our lives pleasing in his sight then Jesus Christ will show us all things, just as he has promised; we give glory to him forever and ever, being the first fruits of the resurrection, we should only follow after him in his footsteps to also obtain eternal life and everything which is defined therein.

Back to Paul's letter to the Romans. And this is the Biblical translation in the King James Version but I've used www.dictionary.com to derive the true meaning of the word "Heir" which is the word Paul had chosen to describe the fates of those who endure in the covenant and serve the Lord until we leave this mortal realm...

Dictionary definition to the word, "Heir"
(NOT a bible dictionary; I'll provide a link) and I'll explain it in Lay Man's terms; Men are invited to get all God's stuff!

1: a person who inherits or has a right of inheritance in the property of another following the latter's death. (Well we both know God can't die but it says something about property.)

What do you know about God's property? What exactly does God own? He owns stars right? Worlds without end? Galaxies? Worlds? Is there really ANY end to his dominion?

2. a) Common Law Inheritance
b) Civil Law Inheritance

3 a person who inherits or is entitled to inherit the rank, title, position, etc., of another.
What sort of rank does God have? Position? Title? Etc?

4. a person or group considered as inheriting the tradition, talent, etc., of a predecessor.

What sort of "Talents" does God seem to have? Have you admired his handiwork lately?
What could God's tradition be? Does he have a knack for creating worlds? Family? Children?

I have to assume that with these scriptures, we're not just going to "Tour Heaven" and see what things are like and then go find our "Harps" and only sing praises unto God or else the Bible would have told us these things?

"In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2)
If we would be given "mansions" it would suggest that we would also have dominion over it. We would still be the children of God but he would have us in our own "Mansions" Amazing! It truly is!

If it was never the potential for the "Children of God" or "His Offspring" to become like the parent, then he would have said we'd only get to "SEE" the things of God, admire them, and then go find some tiny little shack somewhere to dwell... In Heaven, God has "Many Mansions" and they have been promised to the faithful!

John, the Revelator says more on the subject;
"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" - Revelations 3:21

The word: "Throne"
1. the chair or seat occupied by a sovereign, bishop, or other exalted personage on ceremonial occasions, usually raised on a dais and covered with a canopy.
2. the office or dignity of a sovereign: He came to the throne by succession.
3. the occupant of a throne; sovereign.
4. sovereign power or authority: to address one's pleas to the throne.
5. an episcopal office or authority: the diocesan throne.
6. mourner's bench.
7. thrones, an order of angels. Compare angel (def. 1).
8. Facetious. a toilet.

I'm sure God isn't inviting us to use his "toilet" but these are words that define what a "Throne is" Sovereign power or authority, he wishes to invite us to have. In sitting upon the throne with him, we preside over something.

And if we are "heirs of God" we are then invited to preside over ALL that the father has; not that we replace God or preside in his stead but we as Children of God; God in Embryo, preside over our own kingdom... for the father has promises his children MANY mansions! He has invited us to sit on his throne as though we should one day become like him; not as an act of a "Tour Group" getting to set there for a moment. He desires that we become like him just as our earthly parents wish that we should become "Parents" of our own kids as well and become "Full Fledged" adults independent of their help. It will take us eons and eternities to go from Embryo to the state in which our father in heaven is at but make no mistake about it! We are his children; he will always be "our God!" and he will forever be teaching us the mysteries of life and of the cosmos; the home and life in which God now lives.

Why would we be invited to sit in his throne? What does it mean to sit on a throne? Sitting on a throne = presiding over those who are not Kings; Presiding as "Heirs to a King." sealing our fate as "Potential" Heirs to God's dominion and talents.

These things are promised to all those who do the "works" of the Lord and endure to the end. I don't know where you will be regarding all of this. I suggest if you are humble, and are a possessor of Charity in the last day, it might be well with you!

Did God make any children or are we not his children?
If inheriting the things of God also includes the ability to procreate, would this mean we could also do this in heaven? Why not? If God says he will give us "ALL THAT HE HATH" then what does "ALL" mean to you? If you do not believe these things, then you really don't believe the Bible and neither do anyone else in your sphere of influence if they're not teaching u these things.... do they?

We as latter-day saints don't believe in a "foreign" set of beliefs! All our beliefs come from the Bible. What separates us from others, is we believe the Bible 100%; all of it! Every Jot and Tittle and we deny them not!

We know who will NOT inherit the things of God is fairly well outlined;
1 Cor. 6: 9-10,
(See: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_cor/6 )

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/heir

Christianity was a cult LONG before Mormonism

2009-11-29T23:13:00.000-08:00

This is derived from an article found at: http://www.14lds.com/cult.htm

Dear God-fearing friend,

I am writing this letter because of a great threat to the cherished words which the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has given us through His holy prophets.

You've probably had Christians come around to your door, wanting to engage you in "discussions" about their faith. And maybe, as a good Jew, you've let them in the door. They seem to be nice, well-dressed, well-mannered. They may speak about Israel's God, and they may carry the Bible under their arms, but don't be deceived-they are not Jewish. Christianity is an insidious cult that seeks to tear real adherents of Judaism away from Moses and the Bible.

Take, for example, their principal message, about the Messiah. They bring you their "New Testament, Another Witness of the Prophets" and try to convince you that their founder, Jesus, was the Messiah. But believe me, this is not the Messiah of the Bible. No, my friend, the Christians teach a very a different messiah than what the holy prophets wrote about. While the biblical Messiah is a king who will liberate us from our enemies, the Christian messiah is said to have died to liberate us from our sins, despite the fact that the Bible teaches that every man is responsible for his own sins (Leviticus 20:19-20). If a man commits murder, for example, he is to be executed for his sin, and there is no provision for someone else dying in his stead (Genesis 9:6). The law of God clearly states that "every man shall be put to death for his own sin" (Deuteronomy 24:16). For those not guilty of capital crimes, the Bible is clear about the procedure that must be followed in order to be cleansed from sin. One must confess his sins, make restitution for wrongs, and offer the proper sacrifice (Leviticus 4:2-4; Numbers 5:6-7).

The Christians believe that, because their leader died, it is no longer necessary to offer sacrifices at the temple. But the Bible says otherwise, commanding, "thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement . . . two lambs of the first year day by day continually" (Exodus 29:36, 38). These sacrifices are to be made "throughout your generations" (Exodus 30:10).

Ironically, the founder of the Christian Church was conceived out of wedlock, which, under the Law of Moses, disqualifies him from participating in religious functions (Deuteronomy 23:2). The Christians' own scriptures acknowledge that Jesus was a winebibber (Matthew 11:19). The Bible warns us, saying, "a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink" (Micah 2:11). The false prophet Jesus, who also claimed divine prerogatives, was tried and found guilty of high crimes (blasphemy and treason) and executed by crucifixion. And yet some people are gullible enough to believe that he was sent by God!

And what of those who perpetuated this false messiah? The Christians claim that some of the disciples of Jesus, including a sometime fisherman and money-digger (Matthew 17:27) named Simon (who goes under the alias of Peter), along with a traitorous Roman money collector named Matthew and ten others who go by the title of apostles, are prophets who speak with God. But their messages contradict the word of God as given through ancient prophets such as Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah and their behavior violates all the laws of God.

Peter was once arrested and put into prison until he could answer charges brought against him. But the night before he was to be arraigned before King Herod, he escaped from the guards and ran away (Acts 12:6-9). Tradition has it that after fleeing to Rome and practicing his treasonous religion there, he was again imprisoned, this time by the Roman authorities, who found him guilty of crimes against the state and was executed by crucifixion.

The most outspoken of the followers of Christ was a Roman Jew who preferred to be known more by his Gentile name, Paul, than by his God given Israelite name, Saul. It is this man, more than all the others, who is responsible for writing the "new" testament which Christians deem more holy than the law God gave to Israel through Moses. What kind of a person was he? I will tell you. He was expelled from the cities of Antioch (Acts 13:50), Iconium (Acts 14:5,6), and Lystra (14:19) where his preaching had stirred up riots. In the city of Thyatira Paul and one of his companions were brought before the magistrate and accused of being trouble-makers. When the evidence was presented, Paul was found guilty and sentenced to a beating and ordered to do time in prison. (Acts 16:20-25) The last eight years of his life he spent in a Roman prison and was eventually executed according to Roman law because of his crimes. These are the kinds of people Christians look up to and whose words they claim came from God.

But their words cannot be from God for one simple reason: Malachi's record marks the end of the scriptures which God intended to give mankind. Since prophecy ceased some four centuries before the time Jesus was even born, this is absolute proof that Jesus was a false prophet! Along with the ending of scripture, so did the visitation of angles. Yet Christians claim that angels appeared to Mary, the mother of Jesus and to her cousin Zacharias, to Peter and to Paul. The Bible tells us to beware of false prophets (Isaiah 9:15; Jeremiah 28:15), and the Lord warned us through Moses not to add or detract from his word (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32). The Bible, from Genesis to Malachi, is inerrant and all-sufficient, and it is blasphemous to suggest that God should give us additional scriptures, a "new" testament that contradicts in every particular what he has already given us. And yet, that is exactly what the followers of the man Jesus have done. They dare to give us more of God's word, which, in reality, contradicts the words of God's true prophets.

One such contradiction is found in a supposed "revelation" of Simon Peter's where he claims that God told him not to make a distinction between clean and unclean animals (Acts 10:9-16), despite the fact that the Bible clearly commands that we make such a distinction (Leviticus 10:10; 11:2-31, 41-47; 20:25; Deuteronomy 14:3-20). The "revelation" which he had itself contains a clue to its false nature. It says (verse 10) that Peter was suffering hunger when "he fell into a trance" (Acts 10:10) His supposed "vision" (Acts 10:17)-or should we call it what it really is, an hallucination-was from the feeling in his stomach, not from God. I had a dream very much like Peter's one night, but instead of attributing it to a heavenly revelation, I chalked it up to a morsel of undigested food.

This same Peter states that all Christians belong to a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5,9). The Bible makes it clear that the priesthood is restricted to the tribe of Levi, and that God curses anyone else who tries to officiate in priesthood functions (2 Chronicles 26:18-19). When Aaron and his sons were anointed, God said, "for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations" (Exodus 40:15). God made a "covenant of an everlasting priesthood" with Aaron's grandson Pinehas (Numbers 25:13). It is people like the Christians whom the Bible condemns because they have "cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods" (2 Chronicles 13:9).

As for the supposed Christian "miracles," it is clear that they do not follow the biblical pattern. Their founder is said to have healed people by telling them their sins were forgiven (Matthew 9:2), while some people were supposedly healed by touching his garment (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 6:55-56). This practice of magical rites is confirmed in another Christian scripture, Acts 19:12, which says people can be healed by being touched with handkerchiefs or aprons touched by someone who has healing powers. Even more fantastic is the story in Acts 5:15, where we read that people were healed when the shadow of Peter fell on them!

The Christians also deny the efficacy of circumcision, wanting to replace it with baptism. But in the Bible, God clearly states that circumcision is "a token of the covenant betwixt me and you," and is to be "an everlasting covenant." If a man is not circumcised, God says, "that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant" (Genesis 17:10-14). But Christians do not believe God's word. Instead, they invent a "new testament" to justify breaking sacred, everlasting, holy commandments.

In his "sermon on the mount," the founder of the Christian Church openly spoke out against Bible teachings that had been revealed from heaven. Even while professing that he had not "come to destroy the law, or the prophets" (Matthew 5:17), he changed the sixth commandment from "thou shalt not kill" to "whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" (Matthew 5:21-22). He also reworded the seventh commandment, rejecting the words "thou shalt not commit adultery" and substituting, "whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28). And though the Bible specifically says that we should perform oaths in the name of the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:13; 10:20), Jesus abrogated the commandment and taught "swear not at all" (Matthew 5:34). He also denounced the biblical law of divorce (Matthew 5:31-32). In the same sermon, he showed his utter depravity and demented state by telling his disciples to pluck out their right eyes and to cut off their right hands (Matthew 5:29- 30). It is hard to believe that anyone could accept someone like this as the Messiah.

Still, Christians revere their leader as a martyr, one who "gave his life" willingly. Yet the facts tell a different story: When the chief priests came to lawfully arrest this Jesus, his principal disciple lashed out with a sword, inflicting serious head wounds upon the high priest's servant (John 18:3- 10)! Jesus, the "martyr," was involved in a sword fight shortly before his death! By both Jewish law (blasphemy) and Roman law (treason and sedition), Jesus was condemned to death as a common criminal. This is the kind of man whom his followers admire and ask us to put our faith and trust in.

Then we are told that this condemned criminal rose from the grave as an immortal being three days later! But how do we know this? Where is the proof that such a thing actually happened? Christians can only point to their "new" testament. But who wrote this testament? Why, it was the followers of Jesus, and, more especially, his closest friends and associates. So the only real proof we have is what they tell us. As I have already shown, these disciples were not men of moral virtue and trustworthiness. The proof of this is that Peter admittedly lied three times in one night! (Mark 14:66-72). Judas betrayed his own master. And these were supposedly the most devoted admirers of Jesus. Yet, Christians ask us to believe that the words which such men wrote are just as holy and inspired as the true prophets of God!

Finally, Israel's God pronounced a curse upon anyone who put their trust in another man. Moreover, the Bible clearly states that the heart of such a person had departed from the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5). In direct opposition to God's holy word, Jesus told his disciples to come follow him (Luke 18:22). Not even our great lawgiver, Moses,
ever told us to follow him. He always commanded our fathers to put their trust in God. But the followers of Jesus go so far as to take upon themselves his name rather than the name of God. That is why they call themselves "Christians." We honor Moses but we don't take upon ourselves his name. We revere the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Elijah, Samuel and all the others, but we don't claim our allegiance to them. We worship God, not some man who claims to speak for God. But Christians have no such belief. They put their trust in the man Jesus.

Now, you might want to try helping your Christian neighbor find his way to the God of the Bible. But bear in mind that it will be difficult to talk to him because Christians have their own unique definition of biblical terms. So when they use the term "Messiah," they're not thinking of the biblical Messiah, but of the criminal Jesus. When they speak of "sacrifice," they don't mean the sacred rites of the temple of God, but refer to the execution of the criminal Jesus. A true Jew understands salvation to be God's intervention in the affairs of men to save his people, Israel, from their enemies. But Christians use the term "salvation" to mean resurrection and going to heaven to live with God. And this comes only if you believe in their other messiah!

We love the Christian people and need to do everything in our power to bring them back to the God of the Bible. You should, of course, pray for your Christian friends. But you can do more. The ministry we have organized here at Yeshivah Ahuvat ha-Shem needs your help in order to continue its work in exposing the insidious Christian conspiracy against the Jewish people. Please send your love offerings to us at Yavneh-Yam. Thank you and God bless you for your faithfulness to his ways and your generosity in helping us protect his word.

Sincerely,
Rabbi Yohanan bar Alcalai
(adapted from "Solving the Christian Puzzle" by John Tvedtnes)

Before anyone accuses a Mormon of belonging to a Cult, one should take Christianity from the "point of view" as it might be seen from a Jewish perspective. Perhaps you wouldn't be "SO SURE" that what you are saying isn't the same nonsense that you could be hearing from a Jew regarding our savior, Jesus Christ.

Moreover, instead of deal harshly with the Mormons and give them a hard time, making judgments without cause, consider what Christ said in the "Sermon on the Mount."
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

POSTSCRIPT: It might be argued that the above characterization of Christian beliefs is inaccurate or misleading. However, every allegation, as seen from the Jewish viewpoint, has been stated factually. What a Christian would really object to is how those facts have been presented in an unflattering and biased way, while ignoring other important information which might convince an objective reader to view Christians differently. Yet, that is exactly how Latter-day Saints feel about the way most Christian writers and preachers often characterize Mormons to their followers.

P.S.S. Christianity. A standard would be set up and it would reclaim Israel!

Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders. Isaiah 49:22

The Great Falling Away Predicted by Paul - Explained by John In Revelations

2009-11-29T07:26:00.001-08:00

This blog is mirrored from:
http://ldsdoctrine.blogspot.com/2006/12/great-falling-away.html

What is the Great Apostasy? Both the Old and New Testaments foretell of the apostasy or great falling away. Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2 tells them that the second coming of Christ would happen after a “falling away.” The original Greek, Latin, and Spanish bibles use the word “apostasia” instead of “falling away” to describe the period that would precede the second coming of the Lord.

"NOW we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first" (2 Thes. 2: 3).

Amos 8 gives the clearest prophesy with regard to the future apostasy. Throughout the centuries, man has continually rejected the truth and fallen into apostasy. However, at no other time in history was the authority of God completely taken from the Earth. Amos says a person would travel north to east and not find the words of the Lord. The people at the time of Abraham were in a state of apostasy. However, the Bible says Abraham was inspired to leave Ur and was led to Melchizedek in Canaan. The people of Israel were in a state of apostasy during the time of Moses, however Moses left Egypt and was led to the tent of Jethro, the High Priest of Midian. The Israelites were again in a state of apostasy before the coming of Jesus Christ, but believers could find the truth preached by John the Baptist. However, during the Great Apostasy, the words and authority of the Lord could not be found anywhere on earth; not in Jerusalem, not in Constantinople, not in Europe, and not in America. During the Great Apostasy, the Earth plunged into the dark ages, the darkest period with respect to spiritual and secular enlightenment in human history.

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it" (Amos 8: 11).

John the Revelator tells of the upcomming falling away:
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (Rev. 12: 1-17)

The woman is the true Church of Christ or the Kingdom of God. The red dragon is Satan. The child being delivered is the Kingdom of Heaven or the true political organization of Heaven. The woman fleeing into the wilderness represents the great spiritual famine. 1260 days is equivalent to 3 and 1/2 years which is the duration of the famine in Israel during the days of Elijah. In this case, the famine will be spiritual instead of physical.

When Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he also foretells of the great apostasy:
"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. . . And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Dan. 2: 37).

Great Image = Kingdoms of the Earth
Head of Gold = Babylonian Empire
Breast of Silver = Persian Empire
Belly of Brass = Greek Empire
Legs of Iron = Roman Empire
Feet of Iron and Clay = European Gentile Nations
Small Stone Cut without Hands = Restored Church of Christ

Some mistakenly interpret the small stone as the Church of Christ that Christ himself established during his day. But this church was crushed by the Roman Empire. "Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?" (Matt. 21: 42).

Jesus foretold his initial rejection but eventual triumph. The restoration that is foretold by Daniel doesn't happen in the days of the Roman Empire (Legs of Iron) but much later during the Last Days and the days of the Gentile European Nations (Feet of Iron and Clay). A new stone would be cut without men's hands which would roll forth and grow until it topples the image and fills the entire Earth. This stone is the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

During the Day of Pentacost, Peter talks about the the future restoration of the Church of Christ:
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3: 19)

Peter is clearly talking about a day of restitution of all things that should happen at some future day after the ascension of Christ. This future day is in the Last Days, during a period that Paul refers to as the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, " That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:" ( Eph. 1: 10).

Isaiah talks about the restoration of the temple in the last days. "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Isa. 2: 2-3). In the dispensation of the fulness of times all things would be gathered together. That is, all knowlege would be restored including the temple.

Some people would say that all this restoration will happen after the second coming of Jesus Christ. However Isaiah reminds us that, "Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion" (Isa. 52: 8). Isaiah says that God's Kingdom will be fully established before the Lord's coming. At the second coming the Lord will accept his Kingdom from the care and custody of his watchmen.

Isaiah warns the present and future remnent of Ephraim (Gentile Nations), "But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness (excrement), so that there is no place clean. . . Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? . . . Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste" (Isa. 28: 8).

This vomit, excement of which Isaiah speaks is false doctrine and precepts of men. False doctrine is likened unto vomit because it is partially digested and only retains some of its spiritual nutients. Other false doctrine is like excrement because it is fully digested and retains none of its origional nutrients.

Isaiah also warns those of his day, Christ's day, and us in the Last Days, "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid" (Isa. 29: 13).

Isaiah foretells that in the Last Days the Lord will re-establish his Kingdom and Church. Israel will be gathered home to Zion and Jeruselem. This is the God's marvelous work and a wonder in the Last Days, the Dispensation of the fulness of Times.

Daniel speaks of the establishment of the God's kingdom in the Last Days before the second coming, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. . . I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (Dan. 7: 9-22).

Ancient of Days is not Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ (Son of man) comes to the Ancient of days and gives him dominion over the Earth. The Ancient of Days is referring to Adam, who is Michael the Archangel and member of the heavenly council and has all the keys pertaining to government of this Earth. When God establishes his kingdom on Earth, in the Last Days, in the Dispensation of the fulness of times; The keys of the Kingdom of God will be returned to Father Adam, or Michael the Archangel, or the Ancient of Days. Later, at the second coming of Jesus Christ those keys will then be returned to Jesus Christ who will reign during the Mellenium, after the end of the world, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And at the end of the Mellenium, or End of the Earth, Jesus Christ will return the the keys of God's Kingdom back to Eloheim, or God the Father. Those who enherit the Celestial Earth will dwell with God the Father (God of gods) and Jesus Christ in everlasting burnings as the Earth will appear as a "sea of glass mingled with fire"
(Rev. 15: 2)

Restoration of the Gospel

2009-11-29T07:12:00.000-08:00

This is not my content. It is found on:
http://www.mormonbeliefs.com/Gospel%20Restoration.htm

A gospel restoration was promised in the last days; after the gospel and Melchizedec Priesthood was overpowered by Rome for 1260 years. "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over ALL kindreds, and tongues, and nations." (Rev. 13:7) Every major minister of the gospel in the Bible, including Jesus and the Apostles, held the Melchizedec Priesthood.

Divine authority and the gospel were lost by the time of the Papacy (570 AD). They were to be lost for 1,260 years. Then, they were to be restored (shortly before the return of Jesus) for a brief period; and the times of the Gentiles were to end. Only a "very small remnant" of this restoration were to survive and be delivered to a refuge shortly before the return of Jesus. Jesus will return, restore all divine authority, gather the House of Israel from the four corners of the earth, they will be recognized by all men as the people of God, and Jesus will stand as their God forever.

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." (Matt. 3:11)

"4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. 5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee." (Heb. 5-1-5)

"And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach." (Mark 3:14)

"And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." (Acts 14:23)

"Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection." (Acts 1:22)

"And the woman [Church of Christ] fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days [1,260 years]." (Rev. 12:6)

"And it was given unto him [Satan] to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." (Rev. 13:7)

"6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven [after the 1260 years], having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth [by the power of the Melchizedec Priesthood], and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Rev. 14)

"24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land... 28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezek. 36)

Restoration of the Priesthood, James J. Strang.

Restoration of the Gospel, Joseph Smith, Jr.

As the priesthood and gospel had been lost by the great apostasy, it was necessary that it be restored by divine proclamation. "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the

earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." (Rev. 14:6) Enter Joseph Smith and the restoration. Here is the foundation of Mormon belief. Here is the only claim that God once again spoke to man after the 1,260 years of apostasy, restored a knowledge of God, the priesthood, and the gospel of Christ. If Joseph Smith's claims were false, the world has never had an opportunity to do otherwise than lament that terrible condition of apostasy.

Joseph Smith was born on Dec. 23, 1805. His family moved to Palmyra in the state of New York' when he was about ten years old. At the age of fifteen he became immersed in serious reflection about religion and became greatly concerned about the great religious excitement in the area. While laboring to understand these contentions and unable to learn on his own which of these contenting sects were right, he read the Epistle of James, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5)

He finally decided to take the issue to God in prayer. He went to the woods alone to pray. Suddenly a great and dark force came upon him. Exerting all his strength he called upon God to deliver him out of the hands of this enemy. A pillar of light suddenly appeared over his head. "When the light rested upon me I say two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other-- This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (History of the Church, vol. 1)

He asked these personages which of all the religious sects he should join. "I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: 'they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."

After he told his experience to the various professors of religion, he was subjected to the most severe persecutions. He wrote, "though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects-- all united to persecute me."

"I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise."

Through this farm boy, with only a third grade education, came the hope of hundreds of thousands. On Sep. 22, 1827, Joseph received a set of plates that had been hidden on a nearby hill; together with the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. The Urim and Thummim was used in the translation of the Book of Mormon; which was among those plates. Here was a history of a people that inhabited Central and North America from 600 BC until 400 AD. It also included a history of another people that had traveled to the Americas at the time of the confounding of tongues. It was not until Catherwood and Stevens explored Central America and published their work years after the Book of Mormon that anyone realized that the Book of Mormon truly taught of a civilization, culture, and people of that time.

Joseph Smith never claimed that the Book of Mormon was to replace the Bible; but, that it was only the work of another branch of the House of Israel and was a work additional to the Bible. Another testament of Jesus Christ. He later wrote, "We believe in the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."

On May 15, 1829, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery claimed to have been ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist; under the direction of Peter, James, and John who had been Apostles under Jesus. "He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and afterwards that he should baptize me. Accordingly we went and were baptized. I baptized him first, and afterwards he baptized me, after which I laid my hands upon his head and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid his hands on me and ordained me to the same Priesthood-- for so we were commanded." (History of Church, vol. 1, p. 39)

"Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings from our Heavenly Father. No sooner had I baptized Oliver Cowdery, than the Holy Ghost fell upon him, and he stood up and prophesied many things which should shortly come to pass. And again, so soon as I had been baptized by him, I also had the spirit of prophecy, when standing up, I prophesied concerning the rise of this church, and many other things connected with the Church, and this generation of the children of men. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.

"Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the Scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of. In the meantime we were forced to keep secret the circumstances of having received the Priesthood and our having been baptized, owing to a spirit of persecution which had already manifested itself in the neighborhood. We had been threatened with being mobbed from time to time, and this, too, by professors of religion. And their intentions of mobbing us were only counteracted by the influence of my wife's father's family (under Divine providence), who had become very friendly to me, and who were opposed to mobs, and were willing that I should be allowed to continue the work of translation without interruption; and therefore offered and promised us protection from all unlawful proceedings as far as in them lay." (Ibid., p. 40)

This was the first occasion, since the great apostasy, that any man had been baptized and received the Holy Ghost according to the law of God through one holding authority to administer the ordinances of the gospel of Christ. For centuries men had been "sprinkled" as innocent children. Some had even been baptized (immersed) according to the specification of the ordinance; but, those administering that ordinance made no claim of being called of God. Christians had rejected the doctrine of revelation; that God must communicate to man and make His will known concerning the calling of men to the gospel and ordaining men to the priesthood. For centuries they denied the law, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." (Heb. 5:4) They had forgotten the admonition of Paul, "3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Tim. 4)

The words of Oliver Cowdery are a testimony for all who do not believe that God is either dead, or will no longer speak to man. "These were days never to be forgotten-- to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, 'Interpreters,' the history or record called 'The Book of Mormon.'

"To notice, in even few words, the interesting account given by Mormon and his faithful son, Moroni, of a people once beloved and favored of heaven, would supersede my present design; I shall therefore defer this to a future period, and, as I said in the introduction, pass more directly to some few incidents immediately connected with the rise of this Church, which may be entertaining to some thousands who have stepped forward amid the frowns of bigots and the calumny of hypocrites, and embraced the Gospel of Christ.

"No men, in their sober senses, could translate and write the directions given to the Nephites from the mouth of the Savior, of the precise manner in which men should build up His Church, and especially when corruption had spread an uncertainty over all forms and systems practiced among men, without desiring a privilege of showing the willingness of the heart by being buried in the liquid grave, to answer a 'good conscience by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.'

"After writing the account given of the Savior's ministry to the remnant of the seed of Jacob, upon this continent, it was easy to be seen, as the prophet said would be, that darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. On reflecting further it was easy to be seen that amid the great strife and noise concerning religion, none had authority from God to administer the ordinances of the Gospel. For the question might be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny revelations, when His testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy, and His religion based, built, and sustained by immediate revelations, in all ages of the world when He has had a people on earth? If these facts were buried, and carefully concealed by men whose craft would have been in danger if once permitted to shine in the faces of men, they were no longer to us; and we only waited for the commandment to be given 'Arise and be baptized.'

"This was not long desired before it was realized. The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called Him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest to us His will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us. While the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance. What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted-- while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard, as in the 'blaze of day'; yes, more-- above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, 'I am thy fellow-servant,' dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! 'Twas the voice of an angel, from glory, 'twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!

"But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, 'Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!'

"I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion; but you will believe me when I say, that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage. No; nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit! Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior's goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease." (Messenger and Advocate, October 1834, vol. 1, pp. 14-16)

Joseph Smith later claimed to be ordained under the hands of Peter, James, and John as an Apostle of the higher Melchisedec Priesthood-- the same as prophets of old. Only by ordination to the office of Lawgiver (first degree Apostle), as Moses, could he give revelations and commandments from God, for His people.

On April 6, 1830, Joseph Smith organized the Church of Christ in the township of Fayette, Seneca County, New York, as unincorporated religious body in accordance with the law of the state of New York and the freedom of religion provision of the U. S. Constitution (1891). When it was later discovered this name conflicted with an earlier organization, the name was changed to the Church of the Latter Day Saints. Later it was again changed to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Restoration of the Priesthood

By James J. Strang

Book of the Law of the Lord

1. The restoration of the Priesthood, of the gospel, and of the Law of God, in the last days, is the subject of numerous prophecies. All the prophecies of the Kingdom of God, to be established in the last days, involve the idea of instituting a Priesthood, with plenary power to make disciples, to administer all the sacraments necessary to their sanctification and perfection, and to take the dominion and administer justice and judgment. (Dan. ii, 44, 45. vii, 13, 14, 18, 22, 27. Mic. iv, 1, 2. Isa. ii, 2, 3. x1ii, 1-4. Jer. xxiii, 5. xxxiii, 15-26. Oba. 21. Matt. vi, 10. Rev. xi, 15. xiv, 6, 7. xviii, 4. xix, 15.)

2. Without going over the mass of these, a single one, by John the Revelator, concerning the restoration of the gospel, will be sufficient: "I saw another Angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying, with a loud voice, I fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come."' (Rev. xiv, 6, 7.)

3. As John was in this vision shown one of the things which should happen thereafter, (Rev. iv, 1,) the grave question arises, why was an Angel to be sent with the gospel to be preached to men that dwell on the earth? For no reason, but that men on the earth were destitute of the gospel. If there was a knowledge of the gospel, and a godly ministry to preach its truths, and administer its sacraments on earth, there could be no occasion for sending an Angel with it.

4. And as this Angel was sent with the gospel, to be preached "to every nation, kindred, tongue and people," it follows that every nation, kindred, tongue and people were destitute of it; otherwise the Angel would not have been sent with the gospel, to be preached to them.

5. This text thus stands as a distinct announcement that God would, in the latter days, restore the gospel to the earth, which would then be destitute of it. But the idea has become so prevalent among Protestants that the gospel may have a separate existence without the Priesthood, that it is worthy of passing notice, that simply revealing the doctrine of the gospel would not bring the gospel to men.

6. If a book containing the whole doctrine of the gospel were placed in the possession of a Pagan people, and they should read and believe it, they could not be said to possess the gospel. Neither could they become Saints by that fact alone. For God has appointed a door into his Church, by which only can any one enter, to wit, baptism. So that even Jesus himself could not fulfill all righteousness, except by being baptized. (Matt iii, 15. John iii, 5. x, 1, 3.)

7. Or, to be more explicit, the gospel does not consist in doctrine only, but also in sacraments, and in the power from God to administer those sacraments. Consequently this Angel seen by John, is sent of God to restore to men on earth the doctrine of the gospel, with the knowledge of its sacraments, and the power or Priesthood to administer those sacraments.

8. Let no one imagine for one moment that this Angel is to preach the gospel. Such is not the prophecy. John saw the Angel flying through the midst of heaven, not through the earth or air, but having the gospel to preach to men on earth. The Angel was a Minister of the will and work of God in heaven; not on earth.

9. Nor would it be meet or proper to send an Angel actually to preach, but only to commit a dispensation of the gospel to men to preach. Even Christ took not on him the nature of Angels, but the seed of Abraham; made in all things like unto his brethren; that he might be a merciful and faithful High Priest, (Heb. ii, 16, 17,) because thus he could be touched with a feeling of our infirmities, being in all things tempted and tried as we are. (id. iv, 15.)

10. The office of the Angel is accomplished in committing a dispensation to the chosen of God, and preparing him for the work, by giving him a proper knowledge of the gospel, and the authority to administer in all the appointments of God. And this work was accomplished in the calling of Joseph Smith, and Oliver Cowdery, and in the Priesthood and revelations committed to them, for the beginning of the ministry.

11. As this proposition is fundamental, it deserves to be treated with more than a passing notice. That they did receive a dispensation of the gospel, does not rest merely on their assertion that they received the Priesthood of life under the hand of John the Baptist, and afterwards the Priesthood of an endless life under the hands of Peter, James, and John, (D. & C. 1, 2, 3,) nor on the testimony of the eleven witnesses of the Book of Mormon. Nor does it rest on any similar testimony, or any testimony which the voice of man can possibly impeach.

12. They instituted the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which, alone, of all the Churches on earth, is possessed of the gospel of the Son of God. How should men bear the gospel without a preacher? and bow shall they preach, except they be sent? (Rom. x, 14, 15.) And no man taketh this honour, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron; (Heb. v, 4;) who was selected by the mouth of a Prophet. He who is not so called, cannot preach the gospel, because "the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God. Now, we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God, which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1st Cor. ii, 11-14.)

13. As in the Church instituted by them alone, of all the Churches on earth, the doctrine of the gospel as it came from God is preached and believed, the conclusion is inevitable that this alone is the true Church of God. As the Priesthood derived in succession from Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery do understand the things of God and proclaim them according to God's word, unquestionably they are sent of God. That the gospel preached by this Priesthood, and believed in this Church, is that revealed by Jesus Christ, is made apparent in its proper places throughout this Book of the Law, and the arguments and testimonies need not to be repeated here. That no other Churches give heed to it, their creeds and confessions of faith sufficiently show.

14. God established two Priesthoods in the Church, consisting of divers Orders and Degrees. None of the sects have such, and none pretend to it, because, not being sent of God, they cannot work by his pattern. They are even ignorant of the distinction between the two Priesthoods, and know not whether to claim their Priesthood as one or the other, or something different from either.

15. Jesus Christ, when he sent the Apostles to preach the gospel to all the world, gave promise that certain signs should follow those that believed the word preached. (Mark xvi, 15-18.) As all Christendom avow that those signs do not follow the preaching of their gospel, they are selfcondemned as not preaching and believing the true gospel. As these signs do follow the preaching of the gospel and the belief of it among those whom Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery sent in the name of God, it is equally satisfactory evidence that they have received a dispensation of the Priesthood from the Angel whom John saw flying through the midst of heaven.

16. The publication of the Book of Mormon is the first epoch in the publick attention to the dispensation of the fulness of times. Aside from literary defects and editorial and mechanical blunders, it is the most extraordinary Book of this productive and progressive age. It traces, for a period of one thousand years, the history of a semicivilized population, extending over half the American continent with such minuteness, that the student in modern geography finds no difficulty in locating their nations and cities, and most of the events in their history.

17. Their cities, temples and structures used in religion and war, form the same prominent feature in their history which such works usually do in the history of a people in a low state of civilization, and in some instances are minutely described. Such a work should have commanded the attention of antiquarians and historians in all the world. Prejudice has shut the eyes of the learned to this vast fund of knowledge.

18. A few years later the American government sent the distinguished traveler and learned savan, John L. Stevens, as Embassador to Central America, accompanied by the artist, Mr. Catherwood, with permission to inquire into and examine the antiquities and aboriginal monuments of that country. These learned gentlemen, after a sojourn of less than two years, returned and published, as the result of their labours, a minute account of cities, temples, altars, fortresses, kingly palaces and national monuments, of gorgeous grandeur, scattered in vast and rich profusion over all that sunny region; desolated and without inhabitant over which the ancient forest had grown in gigantick majesty, which the prying curiosity of man had not penetrated for countless ages. These cities, these towers, these temples, these palaces, were the same that the Book of Mormon had before mentioned. The same rivers water them, and the same mountains surround them, which the believing student had read of ten years before, in the writings of the Seer of Palmyra.

19. Even the pictures painted upon the walls of palaces, temples and dwellings, are a faithful illustration of the history contained in the Book of Mormon, and as plainly record the great events there written out, as the pictures and statuary in the Capitol at Washington do the written history of the United States. The correspondence between the monumental and pictorial history, as discovered by Stevens and Catherwood on the one hand, and the written history as translated by Joseph Smith on the other, was perfect.

20. Yet learned men, antiquarians and historians, still close their eyes to its consequence. Concede for once what is claimed by all but the disciples of Joseph Smith, that the Book of Mormon is an imposture, no matter by what means got up, how did its authors discover the secrets of past history, and make their writing correspond with the since discovered monuments? The power to do it is essentially a divine power, quite as much so as that of prophecy.

21. This fact alone, sustained as it is by an overwhelming mass of evidence, is enough to vindicate the sacred character of the Book of Mormon, the Apostolick character, and true witness of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and to vindicate the Church by them instituted as the institution of heaven, and the new dispensation as a dispensation of life from the Almighty.

22. If the Book of Mormon was an imposition, it could scarcely fail to contain modern figures, modern forms of speech, allusions to modern facts and modem discoveries in the arts and sciences, and ten thousand other evidences of its modern origin. So certain was this, that the sincere unbelievers in its divine authority made this the ground of their attack upon it, and based their unbelief on the assumption of the existence of such evidences of a modern origin.

23. In searching for such evidence, it was discovered that the Book of Mormon mentions the use of steel several centuries prior to the Christian era, and history was appealed to, to show that the manufacture of steel was a modern art, invented since the Roman Republick. Against this it appears from the Bible that steel was used in the time of King David. (2d Sam. xxii, 35. Ps. xviii, 34.)

24. It is now a well known fact, that the art of making steel of an excellent quality is one of the ancient arts of the Hindoos, practiced by them from remote and unknown ages, by a process different from that in use among the western nations. Their art and that of the Hebrews are doubtless the same. It is only the European process which is modern. So this argument falls to the ground.

25. An imperfect compass was in use among the nations whose history is written in the Book of Mormon. Such is now proved to have been in use among the Chinese, from the earliest antiquity. The Book of Mormon shows the existence of herds of horses and cattle in America in early periods, whereas the present stocks are supposed to have all originated with the European stocks brought over since the time of Columbus.

26. The lama and the buffalo are beasts of burden and draft, which might with propriety be called by those names. The buffalo is as truly an ox as the European bos. And the evidence that the wild horses all sprang from European stocks is anything but satisfactory. Though it is certain that the Mexicans of the time of Cortez, did not use horses, the Mexicans of this time insist that certain breeds of horses now running wild, are of American origin, and were not introduced by Europeans. Their great unlikeness to horses of western Europe, justifies the Mexican opinion.

27. Dr. Leidy, of Philadelphia, has proved, in a very interesting work, published by the Smithsonian Institution, that there existed in America in ancient times two species of ox of great size and value, which have disappeared so recently that several specimen of their bones and horn cores are in existence. These were the oxen spoken of in the Book of Mormon, and have become extinct for want of attention. Domesticated for ages, they perished when they lost all attention from man, not being adapted to a wild state in this climate. Thus answers the unbeliever to this cavil.

28. The call. of a successor to the Prophet Joseph in exact fulfillment of prophecy, and the continuation of the work of the dispensation in the very order in which be had begun it, though the largest share of the disciples of Joseph went off on another plan, is not one of the least evidences that it was God's work. And the revelation to the Prophet James, by the divine word of the plates at Voree, is probably the best proved, to this generation, of any miracle since the world began. No man, either Apostate, Christian, or Infidel, has ever attempted to answer the evidence of it, though it was a subject of rather general notice in the newspapers at the time, and has been before the publick for more than ten years.

29. Indeed, in more than a quarter of a century, which has elapsed since the restoration of the Priesthood, and the opening of the dispensation, no attempt has been made to meet and answer the evidence that it was of divine authority. Numerous false tales have been put afloat, for the purpose of bringing the institution and the Priesthood into disrepute; none to meet the question of its divine authority on the merits.

Restoration of the Gospel

By Joseph Smith, Jr.

The following account is extracts from the History of the Church, Vol. 1, Chapters 1-5, as contained in the Pearl of Great Price.

"1 Owing to the many reports which have been put in circulation by evil-disposed and designing persons, in relation to the rise and progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, all of which have been designed by the authors thereof to militate against its character as a Church and its progress in the world—I have been induced to write this history, to disabuse the public mind, and put all inquirers after truth in possession of the facts, as they have transpired, in relation both to myself and the Church, so far as I have such facts in my possession.

"2 In this history I shall present the various events in relation to this Church, in truth and righteousness, as they have transpired, or as they at present exist, being now the eighth year since the organization of the said Church.

"3 I was born in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and five, on the twenty-third day of December, in the town of Sharon, Windsor county, State of Vermont...My father, Joseph Smith, Sen., left the State of Vermont, and moved to Palmyra, Ontario (now Wayne) county, in the State of New York, when I was in my tenth year, or thereabouts. In about four years after my father’s arrival in Palmyra, he moved with his family into Manchester in the same county of Ontario-

"4 His family consisting of eleven souls, namely, my father, Joseph Smith; my mother, Lucy Smith (whose name, previous to her marriage, was Mack, daughter of Solomon Mack); my brothers, Alvin (who died November 19th, 1823, in the 26th year of his age), Hyrum, myself, Samuel Harrison, William, Don Carlos; and my sisters, Sophronia, Catherine, and Lucy.

"5 Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, ‘Lo, here!’ and others, ‘Lo, there!’ Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist.

"6 For, notwithstanding the great love which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they pleased; yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts were more pretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued—priest contending against priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions.

"7 I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father’s family was proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that church, namely, my mother, Lucy; my brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison; and my sister Sophronia.

"8 During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. In process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.

"9 My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others.

"10 In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?

"11 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

"12 Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.

"13 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to ‘ask of God,’ concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.

"14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.

"15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

"16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

"17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

"18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.

"19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.’

"20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, ‘Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.’ I then said to my mother, ‘I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.’ It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?

"21 Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned religious excitement; and, conversing with him on the subject of religion, I took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only lightly, but with great contempt, saying it was all of the devil, that there were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of them.

"22 I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute me.

"23 It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself.

"24 However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise.

"25 So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that light I saw two Personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true; and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision; and who am I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I have actually seen? for I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it; at least I knew that by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.

"26 I had now got my mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world was concerned—that it was not my duty to join with any of them, but to continue as I was until further directed. I had found the testimony of James to be true—that a man who lacked wisdom might ask of God, and obtain, and not be upbraided.

"27 I continued to pursue my common vocations in life until the twenty-first of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, all the time suffering severe persecution at the hands of all classes of men, both religious and irreligious, because I continued to affirm that I had seen a vision.

"28 During the space of time which intervened between the time I had the vision and the year eighteen hundred and twenty-three—having been forbidden to join any of the religious sects of the day, and being of very tender years, and persecuted by those who ought to have been my friends and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed me—I was left to all kinds of temptations; and, mingling with all kinds of society, I frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God. In making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was never in my nature. But I was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been. But this will not seem very strange to any one who recollects my youth, and is acquainted with my native cheery temperament.

"29 In consequence of these things, I often felt condemned for my weakness and imperfections; when, on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him; for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had one.

"30 While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.

"31 He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.

"32 Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me.

"33 He called me by name, and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do; and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people.

"34 He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;

"35 Also, that there were two stones in silver bows—and these stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim—deposited with the plates, and the possession and use of these stones were what constituted ‘seers’ in ancient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book.

"36 After telling me these things, he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi; and he quoted also the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:

"37 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

"38 And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

"39 He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.

"40 In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when "they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people," but soon would come.

"41 He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be. And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. He quoted many other passages of scripture, and offered many explanations which cannot be mentioned here.

"42 Again, he told me, that when I got those plates of which he had spoken—for the time that they should be obtained was not yet fulfilled—I should not show them to any person; neither the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim; only to those to whom I should be commanded to show them; if I did I should be destroyed. While he was conversing with me about the plates, the vision was opened to my mind that I could see the place where the plates were deposited, and that so clearly and distinctly that I knew the place again when I visited it.

"43 After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him; when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance.

"44 I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling greatly at what had been told to me by this extraordinary messenger; when, in the midst of my meditation, I suddenly discovered that my room was again beginning to get lighted, and in an instant, as it were, the same heavenly messenger was again by my bedside.

"45 He commenced, and again related the very same things which he had done at his first visit, without the least variation; which having done, he informed me of great judgments which were coming upon the earth, with great desolations by famine, sword, and pestilence; and that these grievous judgments would come on the earth in this generation. Having related these things, he again ascended as he had done before.

"46 By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind, that sleep had fled from my eyes, and I lay overwhelmed in astonishment at what I had both seen and heard. But what was my surprise when again I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before; and added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them.

"47 After this third visit, he again ascended into heaven as before, and I was again left to ponder on the strangeness of what I had just experienced; when almost immediately after the heavenly messenger had ascended from me for the third time, the cock crowed, and I found that day was approaching, so that our interviews must have occupied the whole of that night.

"48 I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, went to the necessary labors of the day; but, in attempting to work as at other times, I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable. My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home. I started with the intention of going to the house; but, in attempting to cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a time was quite unconscious of anything.

"49 The first thing that I can recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name. I looked up, and beheld the same messenger standing over my head, surrounded by light as before. He then again related unto me all that he had related to me the previous night, and commanded me to go to my father and tell him of the vision and commandments which I had received.

"50 I obeyed; I returned to my father in the field, and rehearsed the whole matter to him. He replied to me that it was of God, and told me to go and do as commanded by the messenger. I left the field, and went to the place where the messenger had told me the plates were deposited; and owing to the distinctness of the vision which I had had concerning it, I knew the place the instant that I arrived there.

"51 Convenient to the village of Manchester, Ontario county, New York, stands a hill of considerable size, and the most elevated of any in the neighborhood. On the west side of this hill, not far from the top, under a stone of considerable size, lay the plates, deposited in a stone box. This stone was thick and rounding in the middle on the upper side, and thinner towards the edges, so that the middle part of it was visible above the ground, but the edge all around was covered with earth.

"52 Having removed the earth, I obtained a lever, which I got fixed under the edge of the stone, and with a little exertion raised it up. I looked in, and there indeed did I behold the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate, as stated by the messenger. The box in which they lay was formed by laying stones together in some kind of cement. In the bottom of the box were laid two stones crossways of the box, and on these stones lay the plates and the other things with them.

"53 I made an attempt to take them out, but was forbidden by the messenger, and was again informed that the time for bringing them forth had not yet arrived, neither would it, until four years from that time; but he told me that I should come to that place precisely in one year from that time, and that he would there meet with me, and that I should continue to do so until the time should come for obtaining the plates.

"54 Accordingly, as I had been commanded, I went at the end of each year, and at each time I found the same messenger there, and received instruction and intelligence from him at each of our interviews, respecting what the Lord was going to do, and how and in what manner his kingdom was to be conducted in the last days.

"55 As my father’s worldly circumstances were very limited, we were under the necessity of laboring with our hands, hiring out by day’s work and otherwise, as we could get opportunity. Sometimes we were at home, and sometimes abroad, and by continuous labor were enabled to get a comfortable maintenance.

"56 In the year 1823 my father’s family met with a great affliction by the death of my eldest brother, Alvin. In the month of October, 1825, I hired with an old gentleman by the name of Josiah Stoal, who lived in Chenango county, State of New York. He had heard something of a silver mine having been opened by the Spaniards in Harmony, Susquehanna county, State of Pennsylvania; and had, previous to my hiring to him, been digging, in order, if possible, to discover the mine. After I went to live with him, he took me, with the rest of his hands, to dig for the silver mine, at which I continued to work for nearly a month, without success in our undertaking, and finally I prevailed with the old gentleman to cease digging after it. Hence arose the very prevalent story of my having been a money-digger.

"57 During the time that I was thus employed, I was put to board with a Mr. Isaac Hale, of that place; it was there I first saw my wife (his daughter), Emma Hale. On the 18th of January, 1827, we were married, while I was yet employed in the service of Mr. Stoal.

"58 Owing to my continuing to assert that I had seen a vision, persecution still followed me, and my wife’s father’s family were very much opposed to our being married. I was, therefore, under the necessity of taking her elsewhere; so we went and were married at the house of Squire Tarbill, in South Bainbridge, Chenango county, New York. Immediately after my marriage, I left Mr. Stoal’s, and went to my father’s, and farmed with him that season.

"59 At length the time arrived for obtaining the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate. On the twenty-second day of September, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, having gone as usual at the end of another year to the place where they were deposited, the same heavenly messenger delivered them up to me with this charge: that I should be responsible for them; that if I should let them go carelessly, or through any neglect of mine, I should be cut off; but that if I would use all my endeavors to preserve them, until he, the messenger, should call for them, they should be protected.

"60 I soon found out the reason why I had received such strict charges to keep them safe, and why it was that the messenger had said that when I had done what was required at my hand, he would call for them. For no sooner was it known that I had them, than the most strenuous exertions were used to get them from me. Every stratagem that could be invented was resorted to for that purpose. The persecution became more bitter and severe than before, and multitudes were on the alert continually to get them from me if possible. But by the wisdom of God, they remained safe in my hands, until I had accomplished by them what was required at my hand. When, according to arrangements, the messenger called for them, I delivered them up to him; and he has them in his charge until this day, being the second day of May, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight.

"61 The excitement, however, still continued, and rumor with her thousand tongues was all the time employed in circulating falsehoods about my father’s family, and about myself. If I were to relate a thousandth part of them, it would fill up volumes. The persecution, however, became so intolerable that I was under the necessity of leaving Manchester, and going with my wife to Susquehanna county, in the State of Pennsylvania. While preparing to start—being very poor, and the persecution so heavy upon us that there was no probability that we would ever be otherwise—in the midst of our afflictions we found a friend in a gentleman by the name of Martin Harris, who came to us and gave me fifty dollars to assist us on our journey. Mr. Harris was a resident of Palmyra township, Wayne county, in the State of New York, and a farmer of respectability.

"62 By this timely aid was I enabled to reach the place of my destination in Pennsylvania; and immediately after my arrival there I commenced copying the characters off the plates. I copied a considerable number of them, and by means of the Urim and Thummim I translated some of them, which I did between the time I arrived at the house of my wife’s father, in the month of December, and the February following.

"63 Sometime in this month of February, the aforementioned Mr. Martin Harris came to our place, got the characters which I had drawn off the plates, and started with them to the city of New York. For what took place relative to him and the characters, I refer to his own account of the circumstances, as he related them to me after his return, which was as follows

"64 ‘I went to the city of New York, and presented the characters which had been translated, with the translation thereof, to Professor Charles Anthon, a gentleman celebrated for his literary attainments. Professor Anthon stated that the translation was correct, more so than any he had before seen translated from the Egyptian. I then showed him those which were not yet translated, and he said that they were Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac, and Arabic; and he said they were true characters. He gave me a certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had been translated was also correct. I took the certificate and put it into my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back, and asked me how the young man found out that there were gold plates in the place where he found them. I answered that an angel of God had revealed it unto him.

"65 ‘He then said to me, ‘Let me see that certificate.’ I accordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces, saying that there was no such thing now as ministering of angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, ‘I cannot read a sealed book.’ I left him and went to Dr. Mitchell, who sanctioned what Professor Anthon had said respecting both the characters and the translation.’

"66 On the 5th day of April, 1829, Oliver Cowdery came to my house, until which time I had never seen him. He stated to me that having been teaching school in the neighborhood where my father resided, and my father being one of those who sent to the school, he went to board for a season at his house, and while there the family related to him the circumstances of my having received the plates, and accordingly he had come to make inquiries of me.

"67 Two days after the arrival of Mr. Cowdery (being the 7th of April) I commenced to translate the Book of Mormon, and he began to write for me.

"68 We still continued the work of translation, when, in the ensuing month (May, 1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us, saying:

"69 Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.

"70 He said this Aaronic Priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred on us hereafter; and he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and that afterwards he should baptize me.

"71 Accordingly we went and were baptized. I baptized him first, and afterwards he baptized me—after which I laid my hands upon his head and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid his hands on me and ordained me to the same Priesthood—for so we were commanded.*

"72 The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this Priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament, and that he acted under the direction of Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which Priesthood, he said, would in due time be conferred on us, and that I should be called the first Elder of the Church, and he (Oliver Cowdery) the second. It was on the fifteenth day of May, 1829, that we were ordained under the hand of this messenger, and baptized.

"73 Immediately on our coming up out of the water after we had been baptized, we experienced great and glorious blessings from our Heavenly Father. No sooner had I baptized Oliver Cowdery, than the Holy Ghost fell upon him, and he stood up and prophesied many things which should shortly come to pass. And again, so soon as I had been baptized by him, I also had the spirit of prophecy, when, standing up, I prophesied concerning the rise of this church, and many other things connected with the Church, and this generation of the children of men. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.

"74 Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of. In the meantime we were forced to keep secret the circumstances of having received the Priesthood and our having been baptized, owing to a spirit of persecution which had already manifested itself in the neighborhood.

"75 We had been threatened with being mobbed, from time to time, and this, too, by professors of religion. And their intentions of mobbing us were only counteracted by the influence of my wife’s father’s family (under Divine providence), who had become very friendly to me, and who were opposed to mobs, and were willing that I should be allowed to continue the work of translation without interruption; and therefore offered and promised us protection from all unlawful proceedings, as far as in them lay."

This blog was originally found on:
http://www.mormonbeliefs.com/Gospel%20Restoration.htm

Our Articles of Faith

2009-11-24T17:09:00.001-08:00

1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing,interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste,benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Joseph Smith

Los Artículos de Fe - versión escrita en español

1 Creemos en Dios, el Eterno Padre, y en su Hijo, Jesucristo, y en el Espíritu Santo.
2 Creemos que los hombres serán castigados por sus propios pecados, y no por la transgresión de Adán.
3 Creemos que a través de la expiación de Cristo, todo el género humano puede salvarse, mediante la obediencia a las leyes y ordenanzas del Evangelio.
4 Creemos que los primeros principios y ordenanzas del Evangelio son: primero, la fe en el Señor Jesucristo, en segundo lugar, el arrepentimiento, en tercer lugar, el bautismo por inmersión para la remisión de los pecados; cuarto, Imposición de manos para comunicar el don del Santo Ghost.
5 Creemos que el hombre debe ser llamado por Dios, por la profecía, y por la imposición de manos, por aquellos que tienen la autoridad para predicar el evangelio y administrar sus ordenanzas.
6 Creemos en la misma organización que existió en la Iglesia primitiva, es decir, apóstoles, profetas, pastores, maestros, evangelistas, etc.
7 Creemos en el don de lenguas, profecía, revelación, visiones, sanidades, interpretación de lenguas, y así sucesivamente.
8 Creemos que la Biblia es la palabra de Dios hasta donde esté traducida correctamente, también creemos que el Libro de Mormón es la palabra de Dios.
9 Creemos todo lo que Dios ha revelado, todo lo que actualmente revela, y creemos que aún revelará muchos grandes e importantes asuntos pertenecientes al reino de Dios.
10 Creemos en la congregación literal de Israel y en la restauración de las Diez Tribus, que Sión (la Nueva Jerusalén) será edificada sobre el continente americano, que Cristo reinará personalmente sobre la tierra, y que la tierra será renovada y recibirá su gloria paradisíaca.
11 Reclamamos el derecho de adorar a Dios Todopoderoso conforme a los dictados de nuestra conciencia, y permitir que todos los hombres el mismo privilegio: que adoren cómo, dónde o lo que deseen.
12 Creemos en estar sujetos a los reyes, presidentes, gobernantes y magistrados, en obedecer, honrar y sostener la ley.
13 Creemos en ser honrados, verídicos, castos, benevolentes, virtuosos y en hacer el bien a todos los hombres, de hecho, podemos decir que seguimos la admonición de Pablo-Creemos que todas las cosas, esperamos que todas las cosas, hemos soportado muchas las cosas, y espero ser capaz de soportar todas las cosas. Si hay algo virtuoso, o bello, o de buena reputación, o digno de alabanza, buscamos después de estas cosas.
Joseph Smith

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/a_of_f/1

10 Keys to Understanding Isaiah

2009-11-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy. But I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn.
Yea, and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah, for I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews, and I know that the Jews do understand the things of the prophets, and there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews.
2 Nephi Chapter 25:4-5

10 Keys to Understanding Isaiah: As above and also other chapters in the Book of Mormon, Nephi and Jacob BOTH used the words of Isaiah extensively in their own teachings and also to make sense of their own journey to the "Isles of the Sea"

Keys:
1) Gain an over-all knowledge of the plan of salvation and of God's dealings with his earthly children.
2) Learn the position and destiny of the house of Israel in the Lord's eternal scheme of things.
3) Know the chief doctrines about which Isaiah chose to write.
4) Use the Book of Mormon: (See videos enclosed)
5) Use latter-day revelation.
6) Learn how the New Testament interprets Isaiah.
7) Study Isaiah in its Old Testament context.
8) Learn the manner of prophesying used among the Jews in Isaiah's day.
9) Have the spirit of prophecy.
10) Devote yourself to hard, conscientious study.

By doing these things and only by doing them should we hope to gain knowledge regarding this "Ancient Latter-day Prophet)

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!

Satan, the father of All Lies!

2009-11-17T16:12:00.000-08:00

You you to suggest that Satan hath caught us into the Mormon church, how is it that every effort devised by man is trying to get people away from this? Think again!
Do you even remember that there is a Devil? His name only comes up when the enemies of God fight against his church! A father of all lies and a deceiver? Would he then sooner do this towards someone of the other churches? I say unto you, Nay! He would not see the need to! There are only two churches and two churches only.
The church of God and the Church of the Devil.

Do ye not know there is a war going on? Is it possible that ye have forgotten the foe in which we fight? For he would suggest that no man should do good; no not one. And if that be him keeping ANYONE from receiving exaltation, then he has succeeded in keeping ONE soul from arriving there. He is bound to fall and if ye are near the cliff even the slightest, he will reach out with his whip and do all that he can to drag you down there with him... for misery loves company! (Moro. 7: 17, 30)

He does not sleep. He does not eat. He has ALL time on his hands to enact his hatred upon the family of Adam! For people to think that Satan waits idly by for people to wander onto his turf, you are SORELY mistaken! He desires that ALL men might be miserable like unto himself! He seeks out the weak just as he does the strong. He is SO subtle about it that it doesn't even seem like he takes any interest in you at all!

Ye have probably heard:

God votes for us.
Satan votes against us.
Each of us has to make the "split decision" vote.

He waits. He is patient.
A lie here... a lie there.
A half truth here... a half truth there.

We as members of the LDS church have had enough of what some Christians consider as "dignified action against the LDS" church. I have made a video that I wish to proclaim to all "You Tube" or "BLOGGER" members and invite all to JOIN us and fight against the "father of all lies" and expose Satan who who he is! It is my humble prayer that you watch this video and get enangered against the deceiver for permitting what used to be a god fearing nation to fall into anger one towards another. God is the father of contention. Consider the words of the great King Benjamin of the Book of Mormon when he reads:

And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness. Mosiah 4: 14

Moroni also suggests:

But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. Moroni Chapter 7:17

Remember, this is WAR. Satan has declared war against men and winning recruits at an alarming rate! We must encourage our christian bretheren to stand as witnesses of Christ, and aim their weapons away from us and against the Enemy of All righteousness. Then I hoist my " Title of Liberty" high in the air here on blogger as my "You Tube Video"... that we do this so that not ONE more innocent child of God may wander into the "YouTube" page of the wicked and let this man or woman cheat them out of their chance to know the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! One is WAY too many! It is my prayer that we help as many of our brothers and sisters from out of their hands and help them "Come Unto Christ" unto true repentance on his name that they may enjoy ALL the blessings of Salvation which has been made available to us through the revelation of the "everlasting covenant of marriage" as revealed to us by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

We are fighting for our spiritual lives and that of our bretheren. No longer will I stand idly by and watch Satan capture another soul due to Pornography and other lascivious behavior and allow our Christian bretheren to prime their GUNS and FIRE AT US ANYMORE! They are no friend to Christ if their behavior is to slow the plow!
They do not even know that Satan is behind their rebellion! The greatest generals of all times that actually belonged to the enemy were most cunning at being able to convince his troops that he is not the devil deserving of the attack. This is why SO many soldiers followed Hitler in Nazi Germany. He was SO skilled as a speaker and so confident as a ruler, none of his followers dared to go against him, save a few only.
He was crafty... subtle... at first, he played the friend. When the time was right, he did strike his neighboring countries. The Devil works after the same manner.

This is a CALL TO ACTION!

WE must purge Satan from our borders... he is the REAL enemy from within and we must aim our influence towards him even unto "destroy him form our midsts" never allowing him to have power over our hearts again! Let us be like unto Captain Moroni, where it is written,

Alma 48:17: "Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men."

Be ye men and women like unto Moroni that the gates of hell would be shut forever! That no man or woman would entertain the thought of committing sin or any other behavior contrary to the commandments of God!

Today, I declare war against Satan and all those who would be subject unto him.
I will not let another light of the an Innocent man or woman be diminished by the cunning craftiness of man! I can not fight this battle alone! I raise the "title of liberty before you" and encourage you to share this video of which I have prepared.

Watch this... ponder it... and then become enlisted as Christian Soldiers and take up your arms unto battle against the Evil one! We are fighting for our lives... for our friends... and our families.

Let us remember that "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God!"

We must flood this internet with our Goodness, with our prayers and with our love towards them... let us NOT allow ONE MORE child of GOD be brought down to HELL by the evil one or by those who claim to be helping them by dissuading them from learning about the TRUE GOSPEL!

If SATAN did not want members of the LDS church to leave it, then it wouldn't matter to him. It would be a mute point. He'd just sooner let you wander about each faith including the LDS church yet many FIGHT so hard to keep you from its doors. There are many enemies within the church who also cause damage to new member converts as unwitting participants. We all make mistakes but NO mistake about this.

Satan would take little interest in you if you were to move from one church to another just as ONE church from another usually do not quarrel over its membership changes. They get an influx of members month after month, year after year. We do not see many "workshops" set up to destroy the evangelical faith if one is now a Lutheran. It just doesn't happen. Satan doesn't care.

He now does whatever he wants to at his own will and pleasure because he cares not.
He cares not if a man begins a drinking habit, quits going to church or returns to church... but then again he may. It is entirely up to his "own will and pleasure." seeing that a man belongs to ANY church other than the church which CHRIST had prepared for he is jealous of Jehovah forever. He is also angry with all its members or those who belong to the LDS church.

So do the math.

How many times more do churches pick fights with the LDS church? Numerous!
How many anti- Church of Jesus Christ organizations are there? Numerous!

How many anti-catholic LDS groups does the church sponsor? 0 How about protestants? 0
What about its members? Possibly. People are not perfect... but the Lord's church and his gospel is!

Is Satan worried about the apostate? They are usually full of spit fire and vinegar and would make excellent priests unto the most high God. Satan knows our potential for he was with us. He uses our stubborn behavior and our zeal to do what we think is right in his favor. He doesn't even have to work very hard. Once he's put the apostate on his path, he performs MUCH better for him than Satan could EVER do on his own. He is not even worried about the missionaries or the bishop anymore. He has this man hook, line and sinker. He no longer needs much but a simple reminder here and there... whispered into his ear, and Satan says,
"You know, you're right about no horses being among the Indians before columbus!"

And it sparks the fire once more that might have been distinguished.

I once heard a non Mormon say this:

A block a Mormon a day (on youtube) keeps Satan away...

I have to say that they are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!
Satan might get worried for a moment that perhaps myself or any other well meaning latter-day saint happen to come across his page and make a friendship invite.

"The thought comes to his mind: I need to block this Mormon and show him that I can't be convinced! I'll hollar at him and call him a heretic! That'll show him."
Satan then sees that this man or woman has the situation well in hand on their own. They didn't even NEED Satan's help... thus, it keeps him away.

I have something to say to you Apostates! You are hypocrites and liars! You have been deceived by the evil one and he wraps your hands with a flaxen chord and tells you they are bracelets of power! He tells you that he will help loose your tongue and he does this so that you can speak against God and his church! Cursed are ye!
Thou children of HELL! Would would steal the glimmer from the eye of the hopeful. You would lie unto the innocent to keep them from the truth!

Ye are DAMNED for fighting against GOD and forever will be unless you yield to the promptings of the Holy Ghost unto repentance! God gives me authority that I should speak! If ye do not repent and forsake to fight against GOD and his church, you will have no part in the 1st resurrection which is prepared for the righteous! You will confess before the judgment bar that ye were deceived but it shall be forever too late! For a time has been provided unto man that he may repent. If ye waste your days of your probation in the constant struggle against God and his servants, it will not be well with you!

If ye continue to fight against God, then this is an everlasting farewell for my words, along with the words of ALL the holy prophets will condemn you on the last day! God will show you with power and great Glory that the Book of Mormon was prepared for you unto your salvation and that he might not have seen you be beguiled by the serpent unto your destruction but this is and ever has been your decision all along!

Are you with me? If ye are with me, then point your weapons away from the church that is leading the charge against Satan! Cease striving to destroy the church of Jesus Christ and assist us in our ridding Satan ONCE and for all from our very lives!
If ye be with me against our common enemy, then join with me against Satan! It is my prayer that we save as many souls that we can before the war is over so that we may be cleansed from the blood and sins of this generation!

"They that are with them are greater than they that are with us!"
May angels continue to be your support and also may God give you strength to withstand the evil one in the day of your trials before him!

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty ctorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. (Helaman 5:12)

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;"
D&C 18: 10

This I pray, in the Name of Jesus Christ... our Captain... Our General.

Amen!

This was the Anthem Version sung by David Cook; Adapted to me:
Words to the Song "Declaration" as I interpret the song to mean to myself:

God's words to me:

I'll take you just the way you are
imperfect words inside the perfect song
I feel you closer than you are
and I've been waiting far too long,
too long
My declaration to the World!
It's my declaration
to anyone whose listening
You're my inspiration
as I stand alone against the world
cause you love,
and you bleed,
and you stole my soul to set me free
It's my declaration

My words to the WORLD!
Do you care what I believe
('cause I'm still breathing)
or that I wear a heart upon my sleeve
sometimes I think you never knew
the only truth I see is-you
It's you

It's my declaration
to anyone whose listening
You're my inspiration
as I stand alone against the world
cause you love,
and you bleed,
and you stole my soul to set me free
It's my declaration

and are there any words to say
that I would ever mean enough
when the light runs from the day
Will the darkness be too much?
Will I ever be enough?

It's my declaration
to anyone whose listening
You're my inspiration
as I stand alone against the world
cause you love,
and you bleed,
and you stole my soul to set me free

It's my declaration
so tell me you can hear these words tonight
It's my declaration!

Official Version: English, with Enya music:

Versions in Spanish:

Version 1, Con el Canto, "Declaration" cantado por "David Cook"

Las palabras de Dios a mí:

Te llevaré a la forma en que está
incluso con palabras imperfectas dentro de la canción perfecta
Me siento más cerca que tú
y he estado esperando demasiado tiempo,

(Mis palabras en el mundo)
Es mi declaración
a cualquiera que esté escuchando
Dios es mi fuente de inspiración
mientras yo me quedo solo contra el mundo
causa que usted ama, y que sangren,
y se robó mi alma para liberar a mi
Es mi declaración

Mis palabras al mundo!
¿Te importa lo que yo creo
(porque todavía estoy vivo todavía)
o que comparto estas cosas libremente
Creo que usted no sabe
la única verdad que veo es que sé que Dios

Es mi declaración
a cualquiera que esté escuchando
Dios es mi fuente de inspiración
mientras yo me quedo solo contra el mundo
causa que usted ama, y que sangren,
y se robó mi alma para liberar a mi
Es mi declaración
y ¿Hay alguna palabra que decir
que yo iba decir lo suficiente
cuando la luz se extiende desde el día
¿La oscuridad ser demasiado?
¿Volveré a ser suficiente?

Es mi declaración
a cualquier persona cuya audición
Eres mi inspiración
como que estoy solo contra el mundo
causa que usted ama,
y sangrar,
y se robó mi alma al para liberar de mi mismo

Es mi declaración para decirme que se puede escuchar estas palabras de esta noche, porque es mi DECLARACIÓN

La Segunda Version con Exitos de ENYA, Cancion de "Paint the Sky With Stars"

The Story of Joseph Smith , his first vision and the Coming forth of the Book of Mormon - The Restoration -

2009-11-16T11:12:00.000-08:00

Foreword: If God would permit false Christs and false Prophets to abound upon the earth, the law of opposites would suggest that there should be a hero commissioned by Jesus Christ to be a "true prophet" to rebuke the false teachers and restore "the truth" lest God be an unfair and unjust God, allowing Satan 100% reign upon this earth. God will not allow Satan to completely monopolize all the influence of man unchallenged!

"The Prophet of Days"
The Coming forth of that great messenger, even Joseph Smith. The messenger of the restored gospel. He whom the angel visited; that same angel who brought with him the "Everlasting Gospel" as spoken of by John in his book, "Revelations." (Rev. 14:6)

Since the days of Joseph Smith the prophet, he has repeatedly been accused of being a false prophet. Even Old Testament prophets warned us of false prophets. And it is his suggestion that his people "love it" when this false prophet arrives because he will not invite them to do good nor will he have them follow the counsels of God. (Jer. 5: 31)

If a prophet is popular among men, you must needs suppose that he is a "false prophet" for God's prophet has NEVER been a popular one. The more he does for mankind as pertaining to "Lead Men and Women" unto Christ, the more he is reviled. Opponents to the Prophet Joseph Smith have NO idea that they help make his cause by "speaking of him for evil, as the prophet Moroni promised him that he would.

This was his life. Joseph weighed the costs. He at one point could have said, "Uh, never mind God. I just want to be a humble farmer. Let this cup pass from me and give it unto another." but this would have frustrated the designs of God even unto the prophecies of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt and those of all the holy prophets who surely prophesied of the "Coming of this messenger who should prepare the way of the Lord. For all prophecy pointed to our day and the coming forth of that "Great Latter Day Work" spoke of by Daniel, Isaiah, Malachi, and John the Revelator. Joseph Smith was a man who turned the "Christian world around a complete 180 degrees unto the true path of the Lord.
This messenger would hold the keys necessary to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ once again upon the earth! and that the Lord would suddenly come to his temple, just as Malachi had predicted regarding the latter-days. Joseph Smith stood upright before the Lord, even though he was chastened and tested, he stood up and accomplished his mission, sealing his testimony of the savior in his own blood. Joseph Smith did what Jesus Christ commanded of him and he waivered not. He is truly the Lord's messenger sent back to reclaim Israel and make his paths straight before them and there shall come a day where "every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Is The Christ" and Christ will recognize brother Joseph as his latter-day prophet before God, Angels and the rest of the family of Adam.
All who followed the prophet wisely will endure eternal blessings. All who reject his prophetic calling shall never enjoy them thenceforth and forever... for like the parable of the bridegroom, Christ will say unto them, "I know you not." for they did not come when he did call for them!

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
For we saw him, even on the bright hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten dons and daughters unto God."
(Doctrine and Covenants Section 76: 22-24)

By their fruits, ye shall know them. My brothers and sisters. I testify to you that this man was a prophet of God and that he is the "Prophet of the Last Dispensation" and the one who helped usher in the "fullness of times."

God saw fit, amongst all things which had transpired and that would transpire to see fit that prophets should return to the world and provide their influence once more that mankind would no longer be henceforth as children, being tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.
FOR GOD WOULD NOT ALLOW THAT SATAN SHOULD MONOPOLIZE THE INFLUENCE THAT HE HAS UPON MANKIND FOREVER!!
If God would permit false Christs and false Prophets to abound upon the earth, the law of opposites would suggest that there should be a hero commissioned by Jesus Christ to be a "true prophet" lest God be an unfair and unjust God, allowing Satan 100% reign upon this earth. A God that would do that wouldn't be the same God as in yester years.
Just as when the villain shows up, a hero is prepared to confront that villain and in like manner, God raised up a prophet unto the nations to dispute the claim which Satan had upon all the hearts of the children of men and forevermore would testify that God is the same today, yesterday and henceforth FOREVER. Even the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, even the God of Israel in whom I put my faith and trust in forever, Amen!

Jesus Christ has given me a holy calling to proclaim repentance unto the world. I testify that this account is true and as a humble servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, unto all who are able to receive this message, know this! There are no accidents! You came to this page for a purpose. God has allowed you the sight to see and the ears to hear and if you be found as honest believers in Christ, you will also believe my words for I truly testify of Jesus Christ, the only means by which mankind may be save. In and only through his merits may man look to in order to have forgiveness from their sins and return once again unto the father.
This I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

(New video coming soon! Look for, "False Prophets Shall Abound!" during the month of November. Until then, enjoy a first glimpse of the "mission of the boy who would become the prophet." and through him would all the blessings of Abraham be restored and bestowed upon the Children of Israel once more.

English Version

Spanish Version

The Members of His Church Receive Exaltation

2009-11-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

There are countless ways that the church of Jesus Christ resembles HE who stands at the head of it. His prophet, who stands at the helm, has but only one mission...
To Bring Souls unto Christ, our Lord. Jesus Christ is the author of it. He is the authority behind it and has called men to service in the latter days to preach repentance unto this people.

I am Elder Josh Nelson and it has been my calling to serve the Lord and proclaim his gospel at the ripe old age of 14. Nearly 19 years ago, one of the Lord's servant ordained me into the office of a "teacher." and I have been, at best as one may expect from a "playful youth" worthy of his service. I saw many of my friends become converted unto the Lord as a youth.

I served the people of Ecuador during my two year mission. I continue to serve mankind by crying repentance unto the world and that they may also become acquainted with my savior and redeemer through membership in his "one true church." I testify to you that ALL saving ordinances are found upon the earth today in and by authority from God to receive these ordinances. I hold the priesthood of God and have been commanded to preach these things to the nations! That I may be held blameless before God at the last day knowing that I did all that I could, after the time of my repentance, to be worthy to stand before him!

It is my prayer that all may escape the endless woe and condemnation that I once found myself in... It was in and only through the "Lamb of God" that my sins have been purged from my breast. I have been washed clean through my sacrifice unto the Lord being a "broken heart" and a "contrite spirit" and through the proper saving ordinances which have been made available to me through the tender mercies of the Savior and the design of God.

My desire is that all men might be happy like unto me and shake free from the Devil who would keep you for his own! That you might recognize the call from the Bridgegroom and not be foolish in the days of your repentance and deny his saving power unto your own salvation... for no man is in charge of this salvation save it be that of your own choosing.

You can not look to the left or to the right when the day of judgment has arrived! The Lord will ask you, "What have you done with the commandments which I have given unto you by my servants, the prophets! Did I not command them to write my words? Even unto the prophets I spake in the land of Israel and the areas round about? Did I not command the Nephites that they should write? And did I not command all who were in the house of Israel, amongst the lost 10 tribes that they too should testify of these things? Did I not prove that I am the same God yesterday, today and forevermore?" and God will have in plain view, these words which he has spoken to or to the world at the time you lived upon it, and he will ask you, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THEM."

All men from Adam even down to the present time will offer their solemn testimony that they did write the words of God. Just as Moses did... as did Isaiah, as did Malachi, as did Nephi, as did Jacob, the brother of Nephi, as did King Benjamin and Mosiah, and also Alma, and also Helaman, and also Samuel, the lamanite, and also Mormon and also Moroni ALL will testify that they prophesied of Christ and his atonement with man.

And in that day which you find yourself before God and all they who spoke for God, it is my hope that you will say unto him, "I have done all things which the Lord hath commanded me by the mouth of ALL the holy prophets. I have done all that I may be worthy to stand!"

And God in that moment may say, "You have proven yourself worthy to enter into my house. Well done, good and faithful servant. The blessings of salvation are yours for you, and your family, and your children's children!" To live forever as Kings and Queens... Priests and Priestesses unto the MOST HIGH GOD through the merits of Jesus Christ, who is mighty to SAVE!

It is my prayer that you will be there with me, my brothers and sisters.
I admonish you to come unto Christ and be perfected in him; sanctified by your good works unto the ordinances carried out through the Priesthood of God which now is found upon this earth! That you too will come forth in the morning of the first resurrection clothed with a perfect frame and dwell in the incorruptible tabernacle that God promises to those who endure to the END!

There are indeed MANY similarities between Christ and his church! For those who follow him, follow him unto Salvation and Exaltation to never again be removed from their place in heaven... forevermore. Amen.

The patriarchal blessing of Jacob to his son, Joseph - Part 2 of his latter-day dream.

2009-11-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

Amos 5:15 - Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.

I think I had an epiphany while making the second video about Joseph. It was while I was working on the "Spanish Version" of it that I felt compelled to include things that were revealed to me before my eyes! I wrote one of my close YouTube friends just shortly after posting the video. This is the result of that letter:
Judge for yourselves and pray unto God that he may show you the truth of this enlightenment that I received. I am not the first nor will I be the last to have such an epiphany... but for what it's worth, this is what I wrote.

Joseph had 2 dreams.
The first pertained to his immediate family. (saving the house of Israel)
Most folks assume that the two dreams were one in the same just as Pharaoh's three separate dreams that were also one in the same. He did in fact win the favor of Pharaoh and saved his family from the famine (which also was important... no Israel... no more Abrahamic Covenant)

There were many prophecies regarding Joseph that his other 11 brothers did not receive. For example: In Genesis 49:22-26, he received a "grand blessing" compared to his other siblings. His (Joseph) descendants would inherit the land full of bounty, occupying the "everlasting hills as it were... which helps explain the 2nd dream in greater detail! "His posterity would be as numerous as the sands of the sea upon this land of their inheritance... which could JUST not have happened in the tiny country of Israel." It said Joseph would be a fruitful vine and clearly be like a cup overfilled with water spilling out across the Isles of the sea.

This second dream would explain what would happen to the world as a result of this "righteous branch" leaving the Holy Land and would inhabit the Isles of the Sea, as Isaiah suggests were remnants of Israel being very fruitful and multiplying exceedingly! (See Isa. 23: 2) Joseph's second dream, about the sun, the moon and the stars represent a much BIGGER vision of the Latter-days that I had never before thought! That there would also be a famine upon the earth... not of "food and water" but of receiving the word of God. (Amos 8:11) or a "Great Apostacy" as we know to have come about, according to both Old and New Testament prophecy.

The Sun, Moon, and Stars all bowing down before Joseph in his dream signifies all men and women both bond and free from each of the 3 degrees of Glory will one day be made to bow down before God and confess that they had the opportunity to hear about the great coming forth of the Gospel which John, the revelator saw, as it is recorded in Revelations 14:6-7

Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Christ is the savior and we will be judged according to our access to the Bible, or both the Bible and the Book of Mormon respectively according to their access of either. (Rom. 14: 11, Mosiah 27: 31)

And that Joseph, though his descendants, would be the remedy to the famine which should surely come to pass, and already did, during the great Apostacy.

And the revealing of the "everlasting gospel" which the Angel should bring was contained in "The Book of Mormon" Note: the Nephites were of the geneology of Joseph. Nephi makes this point clear in 1 Nephi 6:1-2... So the righteous branch of the House of Israel was indeed from the lineage of Joseph according to the genealogy which Lehi discovered upon the plates of Brass.

Although I had the epiphany while making the Spanish video, my one in English touches lightly on this. I'll at least add those things into my "about the clip" section of the movie.

Thank you for letting me share this with you!

I now share with you both videos in each language, English and Spanish.
It is my prayer that if you have not read the Book of Mormon, that you read it.
If you have read this book, read it again along with the Bible for the Lord will judge us according to how well we lived his commandments. And we learn his commandments through the gift of the Holy Scriptures which we surely have received!

En Espanol:

In English:

Parte 2 En Espanol:

Part 2: In English

CNN Transcript - The Mayan Temples of The Book of Mormon as found on You Tube - Los Templos Mayanos del Libro De Mormon - Una Histora Completo de CNN

2009-11-12T21:34:00.000-08:00

Original Transcript for the Hearing impared: This is not an official transcript and was transcribed into English to the "best of my abilities" and also translated into Spanish using some Spanish to English software as well as my own fluency in Spanish.
A special thanks to CNN for the story and also to FairLDS for broadcasting this.

Table of Contents

1) English Commentary (comentario en Ingles)

2) Spanish Commentary (comentario en Espanol)

3) Editorial - Conclusion - Mis palbras con
respeto al descubrimiento/ some of my own words

4) Video Data: (datos del video; no sea traducido)

5) You Tube Video - El video de "YouTube" asi
como es en el canal "FairLDS" - Channel "FairLDS"
This video is also hosted on "TheLdsLife" amongst my favorites:

1) Begin Transcription:

Wolf Blitzer: Guatemala and Archeologists are making a fascinating discovery.
Lets go to CNN correspondent who traveled to "Mirador" and came back with an "Amazing Story" Tell our viewers what's going on!

Correspondent: "Wolf, I think I'm officially an Archeology Geek! Our CNN crew were the first officially in the world to shoot the face of what MAY be the worlds "LARGEST" pyramid by "VOLUME" This pyramid is covered by the Canopy of the Jungle and it is currently facing several threats!

From the air, it looks like just jungle but these forests hide an ancient secret, what is called, "The City of Mirador" often what is referred to as, "The Cradle of Mayan Civilization" the size of a modern day metropolis.

"This is no mountain! It's a Pyramid! and according to the mirador basin project, it may be the LARGEST pyramid by volume in the WORLD! CNN is traveling with the project's director and lead archeologist, Richard Hansen and the founder of the "Global Heritage Fund" Jeff Morgan.

Richard Hansen: The Pyramid of "Levantez (spelling)" is a structure that the world should know because it represents an investment of labor unprecidented in the world history. Every single stone in that building from the "bottom to the top" was carried by human labor.

CNN Correspondent: And the work to save this pyramid is delicate; done by hand. Guatemalan Archeologist, painstakenly (pains takenly) help uncover peices of history built by their ancestors and the view on top of of "La Danta"... spectacular!

Random voice: *This is some of the Mayan' world*

CNN Correspondent: Here at the "Top of La Danta" we are 72 meters or 224 feet from "The Forest Floor" and when we talk about "sheer size of this area that is "El Mirador" , one mayan city, Archeologist

Dr. Richard Hansen says, "Its size is larger than all of Down Town Los Angeles, (los Angeles, California) and he says that "THOUSANDS" of pyramids are left to be "uncovered" Then Dr. Hansen shows us things that few people have ever seen. A relic, which is referred to as the "Popul Vuh" , the Mayan's story of "Creation"

Woman (In Awe) Says, "Oh My God"

Correspondent: CNN cameras are the first to record this "fresh discovery" which Dr. Hansen say, "Will re-write Mayan history!"

Correspondent Inquires: But this is "The Creation Story?"

Dr Hanson: "This is the creation story and it goes back to about 300 to 200 B.C."

Correspondent: For decades, historians beleived that the Popul Vuh was tainted by the catholic views of spanish "Conquistadors" Finding this changes "EVERYTHING!" because it predates the spanish arrival by more than a Millenium

*The challenge now is preserving this area. A jungle constantly under threat by "narco-trafficers" "loggers" and "cattle ranchers." Hansen's guards are in constant standby to keep "Looter's Out"

Dr. Hansen: "where we have guards in cities around the basin, we have had no new looters. Where we have had NO resources for that, we have lost 100%"

Correspondent: "Hansen has made Mirador 'his life's work' and hopes to share these Mayan secrets with "Guatemala and with the Rest of the World"

Dotctor Hansen: The science for the sake of Science is sterile if simply to bless the lives of people and by conserving this, we bless the lives of an entire nation."

End Transcription

You Tube Id: Definition of the video Mayan Temples and The Book of Mormon
Recently, archaeologists have discovered the creation engraved in a Mayan temple in El Mirador, Guatamala. This is the same creation from the Popul Vuh, a Mayan work which relates many Biblical stories including the creation, and the great flood in Noahs time. It was thought that these stories were influenced by Catholic Priests, but, as this clip shows, there may be a more ancient setting for these stories. This is a CNN report, which shows the discovery of the largest pyramid to date, along with a carving of the Mayan creation dated to around 300 B.C. This may place the stories of the Popul Vuh, and it's Christian stories, to pre-Columbian times

2) Spanish: En Espanol- traducido de la cuenta en Ingles -
El Video es en Ingles

*Empezamiento:

Wolf Blitzer: "En Guatemala, archeologos hacen un descubrimiento maravilloso. Vamos con nuestro correspondiente de CNN, la cual a viajado a "Mirador" y ha vuelto con una historia asombroso!"

*Correspondiente: "Gracias, Wolf! A ahora bien, me pienso como archeologo tambien. Nuestro equipo de CNN y yo fueramos los primeros oficialmente del Mundo para sacar fotos
de la cara a lo que puede ser La Piramida mas grande del mundo.
Esta pirámide está cubierto por el dosel de la selva. que actualmente se enfrenta varias amenazas.

Desde el aire se parece a la selva, pero estos bosques en Guatemala esconder un secreto antiguo, "La ciudad de Mirador"

Mas bien se le refiere a ", Empezamiento de la Civilización de Maya" y es ese Ciudad del Tomano de un moderno ciudad.

*Ese no es una montana! Es un piramido! Y de acuerdo al proyecto "Mirador Basin", puede ser la Pyramida mas grande por volumen entre todo el Mundo. CNN viajan con Ricard Hanson, El director al proyecto y jefe de operaciones
y con Jeff Morgan, el fundador del "Global Heritage Fund"

De Richard Hansen: La Piramida de "Levantez" Es un estructura cual debe ser mostrado al mundo porque representantes de una obra sin precedentes Inversión y tremendo entre toda la historia humana.
Cada piedra de ese estructura desde el fundamento hasta fue lo alto hecho por medio del trabajo humano.

Correspondiente al CNN: Y la obra para salvarle a esa piramida es delicado; hecho por mano. Archeologos Guatemalen cuidadosamente descubre pedazos de historia construidos
por los antepasados principales del area y la vista al tope de esa piramida... es muy espectacular!

Voz aleatorio: *pertanece del mundo de los mayos*

Correspondiente al CNN: Aqui al tope de "La Danta" somos del altura de 72 metros o aproximadamente 224 pies arriba del suelo del bosque y cuando habalamos del tamaño de ese area de "El Mirador"
"lo que representa una ciudad maya," dice Richard Hansen, es un tamaño mas grande que el centro de Los Angeles, EEUU" y dice El tambien que hay miles de piramidas que aun se espera para ser descubiertos.
Y ahora El Richard Hanson nos muestra cosas que pocas personas han visto. Una reliquia, que se conoce como el Popol-Vuh ", la historia de los mayas de la" creación "

La mujer correspondiente dice: Dios Mio

Correspondiente al CNN: Cameras de CNN son los primeros de registrar ese nuevo descubrimiento entre el cual, dice Doctor Hanson, "Eso reescribira a la historia maya"

Correspondiente: Pero esta es la historia de la creación?

Do. Hanson: "Esta es la historia de la creación y que se remonta a alrededor de 300 a 200 aC"

Correspondiente: Durante décadas los historiadores creen que el Popol Vuh se vio empañado por los puntos de vista católico de los conquistadores hispanico. El descubrimiento de eso se cambia at todo.
porque es anterior a la llegada de los españoles por más de un milenio.

*La prueba ahora es el preservar ese area. Una selva constantemente bajo amenaza por medio de traficantes de drogas, madereros y ganaderos.

*Doctor Hansen: "Donde tenemos guardias en las ciudades alrededor de la cuenca, no hemos tenido nuevos saqueadores. Donde no tenemos recursos por ello, hemos perdidos hasta cien porciento.

*Correspondiente: "Hanson ha hecho la obra de Mirado como la obra de su vida y el espera a compartir los secretos mayanos con Guatemala y con el resto del mundo.

*Doctor Hansen: La ciencia para el bien de la ciencia es estéril si simplemente es para bendecir la vida de las personas y por la conservación de esta, y con ello, benecimos
a las vidas de una nacion entera.

El Fin del periodico:

In conclusion:

"There is truth becoming evident the founding of a great civilization at around 300 B.C. are those of a Judeo-Christian society or worshipers of Israel's God. The uncovering of archeological findings helps to prove and support the claims of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints regarding this people found in The Book of Mormon. Although it is not 100% conclusive, it does accurately describe the people of the Book of Mormon, a Judeo-Christian society established by the "People of Nephi" and that of Mormon. Claiming, in short, to be members of "The House of Israel" is also part of the Book of Mormon record.
(Story of the great flood, of the creation, and others are found from the Popul Vuh which suggests that these folks had parts of the Bible, as the Book of Mormon also suggests, were brought with them from the Holy Land.)
In my opinion, they may have found "The Land of Nephi" of which housed the civilization of several peoples including but not limited to: The Lamanites of the people of the Crocodile as some archeologists have suggested their names would be, "The People of Lamoni" and also the people of Mulek, which joined up with the Nephites several decades into their sojourn upon the American Continent and also of the Nephites, the principal writers of the Book of Mormon history.

La conclusion: Hay verdades que sea evidente por medio de ese video con respeto a ese gran civilizacion los cuales ocuparon ese area que ahora se llama "Guatemala" y de que ellos eran descendientes verificados de un pueblo judeo-cristiano. La gran ciudad fue establecido alreadador de los 300 a.C. y ellos adoraron a un dios Israelita. La descubrimiento archeologo no ayuda a probar las evidencias del Libro de Mormon del cual la Iglesia SUD nos brinda por medio del profeta Jose Smith. Ese pueblo ha de ser entre los Nefitas del Libro de Mormon asi como se explica en el
Popul Vuh... una creencia antigua que tenia la gente Maya con respeto a la inundacion del Mundo y la creacion del Mundo tambien. Surgerimos como Mormones que ese pueblo del libro De mormon tenia entre sus creencias Las Palabras de los profetas antiguos de La Biblia asi como nos explica por medio de la historia de Nefi, uno de los profetas antiguos de ese gente. Ya existe evidencia de lo que los Miembros de la Iglesia de Jesucristo al SUD ha testificado sobre los tiempos con respeto a un pueblo Cristiano entre el pueblo Maya.

The CNN story: Hosted on You Tube by "FairLDS"

You Tube Id: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5I504_Olrg

Definition of the video:
Recently, archaeologists have discovered the creation engraved in a Mayan temple in El Mirador, Guatamala. This is the same creation from the Popul Vuh, a Mayan work which relates many Biblical stories including the creation, and the great flood in Noahs time. It was thought that these stories were influenced by Catholic Priests, but, as this clip shows, there may be a more ancient setting for these stories. This is a CNN report, which shows the discovery of the largest pyramid to date, along with a carving of the Mayan creation dated to around 300 B.C. This may place the stories of the Popul Vuh, and it's Christian stories, to pre-Columbian times.