Sunday, November 8, 2020

Lust

Elder Elder Ulisses Soares, Seek Christ in Every Thought, October 2020 General Conference

"Moroni also reminded his people not to be consumed by their lusts. The word lust refers to an intense longing and improper desire for something. It encompasses any dark thoughts or evil desires that cause an individual to focus on selfish practices or worldly possessions rather than doing good, being kind, keeping the commandments of God, and so forth. It is often manifested through the most carnal feelings of the soul."

Sunday, February 2, 2020

DIligence

Definition of Diligence from Webster's Dictionary 1828
"Steady application in business of any kind; constant effort to accomplish what is undertaken; exertion of body or mind without unnecessary delay or sloth; due attention; industry; assiduity."

Preach My Gospel [2004], 121
“Diligence is steady, consistent, earnest, and energetic effort in doing the Lord’s work”


Doctrine and Covenants 4:6-7
6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.

Doctrine and Covenants 30:8
8 Wherefore, give heed unto these things and be diligent in keeping my commandments, and you shall be blessed unto eternal life. Amen.

2 Peter 1:5
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;


Saturday, September 7, 2019

Baptism for the Dead

Baptism for the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:29

29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?


1 Corinthians 15 talks mostly about resurrection.  He is preaching, trying to convince people that do not believe in the resurrection of the dead that we will indeed be resurrected.


Those who have died who have baptisms done on their behalf have the opportunity to choose to accept baptism or not.  Then no one can say they were never presented the choice. (1 Peter 4:6)


1 Peter 4:6

6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.


1 Peter 3:20

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.


Sunday, June 23, 2019

Teaching About Temples

Elder Davis A Bednar, “Prepared to Obtain Every Needful Thing”, April 2019 General Conference
Two basic guidelines can help us achieve the proper understanding emphasized by President Benson.

“Guideline #1. Because we love the Lord, we always should speak about His holy house with reverence. We should not disclose or describe the special symbols associated with the covenants we receive in sacred temple ceremonies. Neither should we discuss the holy information that we specifically promise in the temple not to reveal.


“Guideline #2. The temple is the house of the Lord. Everything in the temple points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ. We may discuss the basic purposes of and the doctrine and principles associated with temple ordinances and covenants.”


Temples.lds.org

Russell M. Nelson, “Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple,” Ensign or Liahona, Oct. 2010, 47.

“I recommend that members … read entries in the Bible Dictionary that are related to the temple, such as ‘Anoint,’ ‘Covenant,’ ‘Sacrifices,’ and ‘Temple.’ One may also wish to read Exodus, chapters 26–29, and Leviticus, chapter 8. The Old Testament, as well as the books of Moses and Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price, underscores the antiquity of temple work and the enduring nature of its ordinances.”

Why Does the Statue of Moroni Usually Face East on Temples?
Moroni is the angel spoken of in Revelation 14
6 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,

This part of the revelation is foretelling Moroni coming and resulting the everlasting gospel before Christ returns. The statute faces east to symbolize waiting for Christ's return. The sun rises in the east and is symbolic of the list of the world.

Matthew 24:27 tells us of Christ's return being like the dawn that comes from the east and shine on the west.
27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

Article of Faith 10

Article of Faith 1:10
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.

Elder Russell M Nelson, “Thus Shall My Church Be Called”, April 1990 General Conference
"It is true that scriptures foretell the final days of the earth’s temporal existence as a telestial sphere. The earth will then be renewed and receive its paradisiacal, or terrestrial, glory. (See A of F 1:10.) Ultimately, the earth will become celestialized. (See Rev. 21:1; D&C 77:1; D&C 88:25–26.) But its last days must be preceded by its latter days!"

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Judging Others

16 ¶ 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.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith
"I advise all of you to be careful what you do, or you may by-and-by find out that you have been deceived.17Stay yourselves;18 do not give way;19 don’t make any hasty moves, you may be saved. If a spirit of bitterness20is in you, don’t be in haste.21 You may say, that man is a sinner.22 Well, if he repents, he shall be forgiven.23 Be cautious:24 await. When you find a spirit that wants bloodshed25—murder, the same is not of God,26 but is of the devil.27 Out of the abundance of the heart of man the mouth speaketh.28"

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Gifts of the Spirit

Brother Douglas D Holmes, Deep in Our Heart, April 2020 General Conference
"Seeing others as God does is a gift. I invite all of us to seek for this gift."

Elder John C. Pingree Jr., “I Have a Work for Thee”, October 2017 General Conference
“Heavenly Father gave us these gifts to help us identify, perform, and enjoy the work He has for us.”

D&C 46:11–12
11 For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God.
12 To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.

Elder John C. Pingree Jr., “I Have a Work for Thee”, October 2017 General Conference

“So how do we come to know our gifts? We can reference our patriarchal blessing, ask those who know us best, and personally identify what we are naturally good at and enjoy. Most important, we can ask God (see James 1:5; D&C 112:10). He knows our gifts, since He gave them to us (see D&C 46:26).”

Faith

Elder Juan Pablo Villar, “Exercising Our Spiritual Muscles”, April 2019 General Conference
"The spiritual gift of faith, for example, is not just a feeling or a mood; it is a principle of action that frequently appears in the scriptures linked to the verb exercise."

Godly Sorrow
President Ezra Taft Benson, “A Mighty Change of Heart”, October 1989 Ensign
“Godly sorrow is a gift of the Spirit. It is a deep realization that our actions have offended our Father and our God. It is the sharp and keen awareness that our behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no sin, even the greatest of all, to endure agony and suffering. Our sins caused Him to bleed at every pore. This very real mental and spiritual anguish is what the scriptures refer to as having “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” (See 3 Ne. 9:20; Moro. 6:2; D&C 20:37; 59:8; Ps. 34:18;Ps. 51:17; Isa. 57:15.) Such a spirit is the absolute prerequisite for true repentance.”