Proverbs 3:5-6
5 ¶Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
My Thoughts
{
When we don't consult the Lord it is like not turning to the dictionary when we went to find the precise definition of a word instead groping for context clues in the sentence we are reading.yes we may get some level of understanding, but we may not come up with the precise definition of that word.
without the precise definition of the word we may end up using the word incorrectly in other contexts.
}
Sunday, June 22, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
What Happens To Children That Die Without Baptism?
Moroni 8:19-23
19 Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy.
20 And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption.
21 Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the judgment-seat of Christ.
22 For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing—
23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works.
Doctrine and Covenants 29:46-47
46 But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
47 Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me;
19 Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy.
20 And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption.
21 Wo unto such, for they are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment. I speak it boldly; God hath commanded me. Listen unto them and give heed, or they stand against you at the judgment-seat of Christ.
22 For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing—
23 But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works.
46 But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
47 Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me;
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Choice/Chosen Generation
Randall L Ridd, The Choice Generation, General Conference April 2014
"I would like to address you as the 'choice generation' because never before in history have individuals been blessed with so many choices. More choices mean more opportunities; more opportunities mean more potential to do good and, unfortunately, evil."
"I would like to address you as the 'choice generation' because never before in history have individuals been blessed with so many choices. More choices mean more opportunities; more opportunities mean more potential to do good and, unfortunately, evil."
Friday, May 30, 2014
Priesthood Keys
Joseph Fielding Smith, In Conference Report, April 1967, 98
"There is a difference between receiving an office in the priesthood and in receiving the keys of the priesthood. This we should clearly understand. …
… While all men hold the priesthood who are ordained to any office, yet there are special, or directing, authorities, bestowed upon those who are called to preside. These authorities are called keys."
"There is a difference between receiving an office in the priesthood and in receiving the keys of the priesthood. This we should clearly understand. …
… While all men hold the priesthood who are ordained to any office, yet there are special, or directing, authorities, bestowed upon those who are called to preside. These authorities are called keys."
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Personal Revelation
Marvin J. Ashton, Love of the Right, April 1971 General Conference
"Do we realize that the Lord has promised us a physical manifestation if we but ask him to direct us in the right?"
Robert D Hales, Eternal Life—to Know Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, General Conference October 2014
“My own testimony grew as I learned about Heavenly Father and the Savior from the teachings and testimony of my parents, teachers, the scriptures—which I read diligently—and especially the Holy Ghost. As I exercised faith and obeyed the commandments, the Holy Ghost testified that what I was learning was true. This is how I came to know for myself.”
...
“In this process, seeking for personal revelation is a key. Nephi invites each of us to ‘feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.’4”
Elder Ian S Ardern, Shunning Temptation: A Key to Receiving Revelation
"In this world of increasing turmoil, keeping ourselves worthy of receiving revelation is of utmost importance.
"For many of us, a barrier to revelation is being unwilling to truly repent of “small things” the Spirit cannot tolerate. "
...
"Not all revelation comes immediately or as clearly as we may want, but it does come. The receipt of revelation depends on our faithfulness, but the clarity of revelation depends on our listening skills. Learn to listen for it, learn to feel it, learn to recognize how it comes to you, act upon it, and be grateful for it."
1 Nephi 15:11
11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.
"Do we realize that the Lord has promised us a physical manifestation if we but ask him to direct us in the right?"
Robert D Hales, Eternal Life—to Know Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, General Conference October 2014
“My own testimony grew as I learned about Heavenly Father and the Savior from the teachings and testimony of my parents, teachers, the scriptures—which I read diligently—and especially the Holy Ghost. As I exercised faith and obeyed the commandments, the Holy Ghost testified that what I was learning was true. This is how I came to know for myself.”
...
“In this process, seeking for personal revelation is a key. Nephi invites each of us to ‘feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.’4”
Elder Ian S Ardern, Shunning Temptation: A Key to Receiving Revelation
"In this world of increasing turmoil, keeping ourselves worthy of receiving revelation is of utmost importance.
"For many of us, a barrier to revelation is being unwilling to truly repent of “small things” the Spirit cannot tolerate. "
...
"Not all revelation comes immediately or as clearly as we may want, but it does come. The receipt of revelation depends on our faithfulness, but the clarity of revelation depends on our listening skills. Learn to listen for it, learn to feel it, learn to recognize how it comes to you, act upon it, and be grateful for it."
1 Nephi 15:11
11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.
Scriptural "Contradictions"
We can not take a verse by itself and state absolute truth. We do not always know:
No Man Hath Seen God
John 1:18
18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
1 John 4:12
12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Exodus 33:20
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
The above would seem to say that either we aren't allowed to see God or it is impossible to see him. The following scriptures offer clarification.
Exodus 33:11 - The same chapter as above that stated that no man can see him.
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Why in one verse does he say that someone spake face to face with him and a few verses later say that no one can see him? There must be a piece we are missing, perhaps a condition that must be met to see God.
God is Invisible
Colossians 1:14-15
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature
Some might use this to make assumptions about God's attributes. Some might assume God is a vapor or something mystical and unknowable.
Some clues are in these verses themselves. Christ is in the image of God, so what people saw in Christ should give us a hint to the physical characteristics of God, who most people do not see.
Genesis also speaks of man being made in God's image, not in the image of something unseeable and unknowable.
The Spirit Leads Into Temptation
Matthew 4:1
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Jesus went into the wilderness to be with God and to be instructed. It was a taxing experience and at the time of His exhaustion Satan tries to temp Him.
- The context.
- If something has been left out of the record.
- If some other knowledge of the word of God is assumed.
- If some other knowledge of the time period in which the author spake or wrote is assumed.
Because of these things we must reconcile single verses or groups of verses against all things that the Lord has given to us.
Below are some ideas that can erroneously be adopted as doctrine if they are not reconciled with other scripture.
No Man Hath Seen God
John 1:18
18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
1 John 4:12
12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Exodus 33:20
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
The above would seem to say that either we aren't allowed to see God or it is impossible to see him. The following scriptures offer clarification.
Exodus 33:11 - The same chapter as above that stated that no man can see him.
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Why in one verse does he say that someone spake face to face with him and a few verses later say that no one can see him? There must be a piece we are missing, perhaps a condition that must be met to see God.
God is Invisible
Colossians 1:14-15
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature
Some might use this to make assumptions about God's attributes. Some might assume God is a vapor or something mystical and unknowable.
Some clues are in these verses themselves. Christ is in the image of God, so what people saw in Christ should give us a hint to the physical characteristics of God, who most people do not see.
Genesis also speaks of man being made in God's image, not in the image of something unseeable and unknowable.
The Spirit Leads Into Temptation
Matthew 4:1
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Jesus went into the wilderness to be with God and to be instructed. It was a taxing experience and at the time of His exhaustion Satan tries to temp Him.
Memorizing Scripture
Elder Richard G. Scott, “The Power of Scripture,” Ensign, Nov. 2011, 6
“Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change."
“Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change."
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