Monday, July 31, 2017

Urim and Thummim

Elder Quentin L Cook, Foundations of Faith, April 2017 General Conference
What about the aids to translation—the Urim and Thummim, the seer stones? Were they essential, or were they like the training wheels on a bicycle until Joseph could exercise the faith necessary to receive more direct revelation?

Thursday, March 16, 2017

Elijah

Face to Face with Elder Rasband, Sister Oscarson, and Brother Owen, January 20, 2016
"And I know there are many of you around the world who are listening to this tonight. You may not live exactly close to a temple. But you can get the temple spirit by doing family history work. This is called the spirit of Elijah. It's a spirit that broods in us to care for our departed ancestors."

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Grace

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, The Gift of Grace, April 2015 General Conference 
"A powerful expression of that love is what the scriptures often call thegrace of God—the divine assistance and endowment of strength..."

2 Corinthians 6:1
We then, as workers together with him,beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

My Commentary on 2 Corinthians 6:1
If one is indeed saved by grace as a one time event of accepting Christ how could grace be in vain?


Elder David A Bednar,  In the Strength of the Lord, Ensign November 2004
"Brothers and sisters, please pay particular attention to the word grace as it is used in the verse I just read. In the Bible Dictionary we learn that the word grace frequently is used in the scriptures to connote a strengthening or enabling power:
"'The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ.
"'… It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts' (p. 697).
"Thus, the enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement helps us to see and to do and to become good in ways that we could never recognize or accomplish with our limited mortal capacity. I testify and witness that the enabling power of the Savior’s Atonement is real. Without that strengthening power of the Atonement, I could not stand before you this morning."

Grace Is An Enabling Power.


  1. 10 ¶ And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of aspeech, and of a bslow tongue.

  2. 31 And when Enoch had heard these words, he abowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: bWhy is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people chate me; for I am dslow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?
Alma 26:12
  12 Yea, I know that I am anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will bnot boast of myself, but I will cboast of my God, for in his dstrength I can do all ethings; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

2 Timothy 1:7-10

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of afear; but of bpower, and of clove, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore aashamed of the btestimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy acalling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and bgrace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10 But is now made amanifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished bdeath, and hath brought clife and dimmortality to light through the gospel:


2 Nephi 25:23

  23 For we labor diligently to write, to apersuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by bgrace that we are saved, after all we can cdo.

Ether 12: 27

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their aweakness. I bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my cgrace is sufficient for all men that dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make eweak things become strong unto them.

2 Nephi 31:17
17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

Bible Dictionary - Grace

"A word that occurs frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul. The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ."


Elder Jeffrey R Holland, The Laborers in the Vineyard, General Conference April 2012
Speaking of the Parable of the Laborers - "This parable—like all parables—is not really about laborers or wages any more than the others are about sheep and goats. This is a story about God’s goodness, His patience and 
forgiveness, and the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a story about generosity and compassion. It is a story about grace. It underscores the thought I heard many years ago that surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it."
My thought - The laborers at the end of the day partook of grace, but they still worked.  They did not get paid just for showing up at the payment table.


Elder Jeffrey R Holland, The First Great Commandment, General Conference October 2012

"After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of it."