Sunday, December 23, 2012

Clerks

Doctrine and Covenants 47:3-4
3 And again, I say unto you that it shall be appointed unto him to keep the church record and history continually; for Oliver Cowdery I have appointed to another office.
4 Wherefore, it shall be given him, inasmuch as he is faithful, by the Comforter, to write these things. Even so. Amen.

Doctrine and Covenants 69:2-6

2 Wherefore, I, the Lord, will that my servant, John Whitmer, should go with my servant Oliver Cowdery;
3 And also that he shall continue in writing and making a history of all the important things which he shall observe and know concerning my church;
4 And also that he receive counsel and assistance from my servant Oliver Cowdery and others.
5 And also, my servants who are abroad in the earth should send forth the accounts of their stewardships to the land of Zion;
6 For the land of Zion shall be a seat and a place to receive and do all these things.

Doctrine and Covenants 85:1-2
1 It is the duty of the Lord’s clerk, whom he has appointed, to keep a history, and a general church record of all things that transpire in Zion, and of all those who consecrate properties, and receive inheritances legally from the bishop;
2 And also their manner of life, their faith, and works; and also of the apostates who apostatize after receiving their inheritances.

Annual Histories

Doctrine and Covenants 47:3-4
3 And again, I say unto you that it shall be appointed unto him to keep the church record and history continually; for Oliver Cowdery I have appointed to another office.
4 Wherefore, it shall be given him, inasmuch as he is faithful, by the Comforter, to write these things. Even so. Amen.

Doctrine and Covenants 69:2-6

2 Wherefore, I, the Lord, will that my servant, John Whitmer, should go with my servant Oliver Cowdery;
3 And also that he shall continue in writing and making a history of all the important things which he shall observe and know concerning my church;
4 And also that he receive counsel and assistance from my servant Oliver Cowdery and others.
5 And also, my servants who are abroad in the earth should send forth the accounts of their stewardships to the land of Zion;
6 For the land of Zion shall be a seat and a place to receive and do all these things.

Doctrine and Covenants 85:1-2
1 It is the duty of the Lord’s clerk, whom he has appointed, to keep a history, and a general church record of all things that transpire in Zion, and of all those who consecrate properties, and receive inheritances legally from the bishop;
2 And also their manner of life, their faith, and works; and also of the apostates who apostatize after receiving their inheritances.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Book of Mormon

Isaiah 29
About the Book of Mormon

Mormon 5:14-15 - Why do we have the Book of Mormon
 14 And behold, they shall go unto the unbelieving of the Jews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the land of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his covenant;
 15 And also that the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall go forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be scattered, and shall become a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry.

President Ezra Taft Benson, “A New Witness for Christ,” Ensign, Nov. 1984, 8
“When used together, the Bible and the Book of Mormon confound false doctrines”

 1And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well;whose branches run over the wall:
26The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
President Thomas S Monson, Priesthood Power, General Conference April 2011
"If you have not read the Book of Mormon, read it...If you do so prayerfully and with a sincere desire to know the truth, the Holy Ghost will manifest its truth to you. If it is true—and it is—then Joseph Smith was a prophet who saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. The Church is true. If you do not already have a testimony of these things, do that which is necessary to obtain one. It is essential for you to have your own testimony, for the testimonies of others will carry you only so far. Once obtained, a testimony needs to be kept vital and alive through obedience to the commandments of God and through regular prayer and scripture study."

Tad R Callister, Of the Presidency of the Seventy, The Book of Mormon—a Book from God, General Conference October 2011“Years ago my great-great-grandfather picked up a copy of the Book of Mormon for the first time. He opened it to the center and read a few pages. He then declared, ‘That book was either written by God or the devil, and I am going to find out who wrote it.’”

“But why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the Bible to teach us about Jesus Christ? Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same Bible? It is because they interpret the Bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1).

The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.
What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses.”