Saturday, January 30, 2016

The Godhead

God the Father presides over and directs the other two.


God the son is the creator and authority over this earth and things pertaining to it. He is the Redeemer of this earth. He give immortality to all through resurrection. He gives eternal life to all those that repent and accept him daily.

God the Holy Ghost testifies of the father and the son. He testifies of all truth. He comforts. He teaches. He is differentiated as ghost or spirit because he is the only member of the Godhead who does not have a physical body.

The Holy Ghost


Elder Dallin H Oaks, The Godhead and the Plan of Salvation, General Conference April 2017
“The third member of the Godhead is the Holy Ghost, also referred to as the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord, and the Comforter. He is the member of the Godhead who is the agent of personal revelation. As a personage of spirit (see D&C 130:22), He can dwell in us and perform the essential role of communicator between the Father and the Son and the children of God on earth.”

Doctrine and Covenants 88:66
66 Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.

My thoughts
{
People try to say that God is only a spirit based on what they read in John 4:24
24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

DnC 88:66 seems to add a different dimension to that.  His voice is a spirit, that spirit being the Holy Ghost.

The Joseph Smith Translation also clarifies this.  His translation gives that verse as John 4:26:
26 For unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth.
}

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Personal Progression / Self Improvement

Elder James E Faust, “Some Great Thing”, October 2001 General Conference quoting Elder Henry B. Eyring, “Waiting upon the Lord,” Brigham Young University 1990–91 Devotional and Fireside Speeches, 22
A story shared by our beloved associate, Elder Henry B. Eyring, illustrates this principle of commitment still further. This story is about his father, the great scientist Henry Eyring, who served on the Bonneville Stake high council. He was responsible for the welfare farm, which included a field of onions that needed to be weeded. At that time, he was nearly 80 and suffering from painful bone cancer. He assigned himself to do weeding even though the pain was so great that he pulled himself along on his stomach with his elbows. The pain was too great for him to kneel. Yet he smiled, laughed, and talked happily with the others who were there that day weeding that field of onions. I now quote what Elder Eyring said of this incident:
“After all the work was finished and the onions were all weeded, someone [said to] him, ‘Henry, good heavens! You didn’t pull those weeds, did you? Those weeds were sprayed two days ago, and they were going to die anyway.’
“Dad just roared. He thought that was the funniest thing. He thought it was a great joke on himself. He had worked through the day in the wrong weeds. They had been sprayed and would have died anyway.
“… I [asked] him, ‘Dad how could you make a joke out of that?’ …
“He said something to me that I will never forget. … He said, ‘Hal, I wasn’t there for the weeds.’”

The War In Heaven

Teachings of Presidents of the Church:  Ezra Taft Benson Chapter 3, Freedom of Choice, an Eternal Principle
“The war that began in heaven over this issue is not yet over. The conflict continues on the battlefield of mortality.”

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Fatherhood

Elaine S. Dalton, Love Her Mother, October 2011 General Conference
By the way you love her mother, you will teach your daughter about tenderness, loyalty, respect, compassion, and devotion. She will learn from your example what to expect from young men and what qualities to seek in a future spouse. You can show your daughter by the way you love and honor your wife that she should never settle for less. Your example will teach your daughter to value womanhood. You are showing her that she is a daughter of our Heavenly Father, who loves her.”

A Theodore Tuttle, The Role of Fathers, October 1973 General Conference
"The father is the protector of the home. He guards it against the intrusion of evil from without. Formerly he protected his home with weapons and shuttered windows. Today the task is more complex. Barred doors and windows protect only against the intrusion of a corporeal creature. It is not an easy thing to protect one’s family against intrusions of evil into the minds and spirits of family members. These influences can and do flow freely into the home. Satan can subtly beguile the children of men in ways we have already mentioned in this conference. He need not break down the door.

"Fathers, you will have to live close to the Lord. Develop a sensitivity to the impressions of the Spirit.

"There is yet another intrusion into the home that needs to be mentioned. It is an unwise father who carries to his family his daily business cares. They disturb the peace existing there. He should leave his worries at the office and enter his home with the spirit of peace in his heart and with the love of God burning within him. If there is friction, his presence should soothe it. If there is turmoil, he should resolve it."



A Theodore Tuttle, The Things That Matter Most, Ensign December 1971 
“We chase mechanical rabbits, too.

“We chase paychecks, and don’t give a second look to the glint of the rising sun on a snow-topped peak.

“We chase our way through the appointments of a crowded desk calendar, and fail to take time to chat with the next-door neighbor or to drop in on a sick friend.
“We chase social pleasures on a glittering noisy treadmill—and ignore the privilege of a quiet hour telling bedtime stories to an innocent-eyed child.
“We chase prestige and wealth, and don’t recognize the real opportunities for joy that cross our paths. …”
The world is full of foolish schemes. They contravene and hinder the purposes of the Lord. Some seek to change the God-given roles of the sexes. Some invite mothers to leave the home to work. Others entice fathers to find recreation away from their families. These questionable practices weaken the home!


"Some fathers provide a good house, clothing, cars, and food, and forget what real fatherhood is. Fatherhood is a relationship of love and understanding. It is strength and manliness and honor. It is power and action. It is counsel and instruction. Fatherhood is to be one with your own. It is authority and example.”