Saturday, June 30, 2012

Preexistence

Jeremiah 1:5
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Ephesians 1:3-4
 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Prophets

Amos 3:7
 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.


My thoughts on Amos 3:7:
How can the works of the churches be the works of God without a prophet directing it, if Amos' words are true?


How does the gathering of Israel happen without a prophet, if Amos's words are true that nothing is done without it being revealed to his prophets?  If the argument is made that they were revealed to the prophets in the old testament like Isaiah, then how is any new direction based on our time revealed if Amos' words are true?


How can two prophets be dead in the street for three days in the future if there are no prophets on the Earth and they are no longer necessary after Jesus?


Jeremiah 1:5
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Priests

In the Old Testament Priests Are the Keepers of the Sacrifice
Ezekiel 44:15
  15 ¶ But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord God:


2 Chronicles 35:10-14

  10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king’s commandment.
  11 And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them.
  12 And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the Lord, as it iswritten in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.
  13 And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people.
  14 And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.



In Our Day One of the Priests Duties Is the Sacrament
Doctrine and Covenants 20:46-47

  46 The priest’s duty is to preach, teach, expound, exhort, and baptize, and administer the sacrament,
  47 And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Infidelity

President Gordon B Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1995, 53
“If every man in this church who has been ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood were to qualify himself to hold a temple recommend, and then were to go to the house of the Lord and renew his covenants in solemnity before God and witnesses, we would be a better people. There would be little or no infidelity among us. Divorce would almost entirely disappear. So much of heartache and heartbreak would be avoided. There would be a greater measure of peace and love and happiness in our homes. There would be fewer weeping wives and weeping children. There would be a greater measure of appreciation and of mutual respect among us. And I am confident the Lord would smile with greater favor upon us.”

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Boring Meetings


Spencer W Kimball, Ensign, Jan. 1978, 4–5
We do not go to Sabbath meetings to be entertained or even solely to be instructed. We go to worship the Lord. It is an individual responsibility, and regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, he may do so by attending his meetings, partaking of the sacrament, and contemplating the beauties of the gospel. If the service is a failure to you, you have failed. No one can worship for you; you must do your own waiting upon the Lord.”

Preparation

Spencer W Kimball, Ensign, Jan. 1978, 4–5
We do not go to Sabbath meetings to be entertained or even solely to be instructed. We go to worship the Lord. It is an individual responsibility, and regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, he may do so by attending his meetings, partaking of the sacrament, and contemplating the beauties of the gospel. If the service is a failure to you, you have failed. No one can worship for you; you must do your own waiting upon the Lord.”