Mormons in California Called to Defend Marriage by Top LDS Leaders

Mormons in California Called to Defend Marriage by Top LDS Leaders

Read from the pulpit Sunday was a letter from our LDS leaders with a call to "do all that you can" to defend the traditional definition of marriage that is being voted upon in the upcoming elections in November in California. This is a great article that discusses that letter and the duty we have as LDS members to defend this great cause.

Make sure you read the comments that follow the article, they are just as informational as the article itself. One I loved in particular was from Ama, it gave an example of what may occur in the future if this marriage is redefined. This new definition of marriage could open up a proverbial can of worms. If you read this article make sure to make your own opinion known by voting a thumbs up and getting involved with a comment of your own.

Rarely do our leaders request that we become involved in political issues assuming a stance for one issue over another. When they do, we must listen to what they are saying. This is a time to open our mouths.

Doctrine and Covenants Section 1- Instructions on How to Gain Eternal Life

Eternal Life is something that we as Latter Day Saints are taught to prepare for now.

The Lord is very specific when He teaches exactly how that will be achieved. He answered that question Himself in the preface of the Doctrine and Covenants, or Section 1.

A "preface" typically outlines what the rest of the book is about, and in His perfect way the Lord does exactly that. He outlines beautifully who the book is for, what is contained in the book itself, and the reason that He is giving the information in the book to His people.

Who is the book for?

"For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated."

Clearly the book is for all people everywhere. It is for everyone.

What is the reason for the book?
Furthermore, it is explained that there are several reasons why the book is to be compiled.
Among them is simply that of preparation, for He is coming again.
"Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh;"

Part of that preparation comes about by listening to His appointed servants, mainly His prophets and apostles. This may be one of the first and most important steps in living the kind of life that is needed to prepare for "eternal life."

Another reason the Lord needed to reiterate His instructions to His people is related by this verses:
15 For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;
16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.

I personally think that this is precisely the description of the world we live in today or modern day Babylon, don't you?

Now for the exact reason he decided to give us the blessing of this added book of scripture...
"Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;"

Calamities are surrounding us, but the biggest one would be that of forgetting the first commandment, to love the Lord thy God and to remember the covenants He has made with His children.

The biggest reason for this added scripture is so that weak things will break down the mighty and strong, faith will increase, every man might speak in His name, his "everlasting covenant" might be established, and the "fulness of his gospel" might be exclaimed.

So what exactly is His "everlasting covenant?"
It is, simply stated, "I will be your God, and you will be my people".

This is what it will take to have eternal life...this is the main condition set by the Lord himself. But what does this really mean though?

It means that you will do everything he says, be everything he requires and love Him unconditionally.

How can you do that?

By listening to His appointed servants, mainly His prophets and apostles. It is really one Eternal Round!

Now what is the second part all about, the "fulness of His Gospel"?
It is referring to the Everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ as preached to the earth from the beginning of time.

It involves the restoration of His "ordinances" that are required for admittance into His presence.

The Doctrine and Covenants is an instruction book of these required ordinances, the first one being Baptism and receiving the Gift of The Holy Ghost. He instructs that repentance and living His commandments (one of them being baptism), will give one the light from the Spirit which is available to "all flesh". Upon reception of the Holy Ghost, he will instruct you by his spirit all things which you must do.
Finally, he gives added instruction and testimony:
37 Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.

38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

39 For behold, and lo, the Lord is God, and the Spirit beareth record, and the record is true, and the truth abideth forever and ever. Amen.

In perfect fairness, the same thing is required of all men everywhere, and he "excuses even not himself" from this path or way to return back to be in the presence of the Father. The path is perfect, fixed, set, and immovable.

So if you think that by "grace" you may be the exception to the rule, perhaps a study of law must be further discussed.
The Doctrine and Covenants outlines beautifully what is required to return to our Father in Heaven. Now all we have to do is "learn and do" or "search and apply" that which is written.

In The Book of Mormon- Learning the Law of Judgment

When some people first start reading the Book of Mormon they are aghast to discover the story in which Nephi is required by the Lord to slay Laban. This incident is shown as the sons of Lehi go to Laban to procure the plates of brass, as commanded by the Lord.

First, we must remember how important these plates were. It is discussed that they were needed to not only preserve the language of their fathers, but also to help the people always remember the covenants that were made with their fathers to the Lord. We see the effects of a people without scriptures as we later learn the fate of the people that Mosiah discovers in the land of Zarahemla.

At first, it may seem quite harsh for the Lord to have commanded Nephi to slay Laban, but after studying it, I have come to understand the principle of judging others from this incident, as combined with the principle of LAW.

In Matthew 7:1-2 the Savior warns us about the law of judging when he says, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

In the course of the story in question, if you will recall, the brothers had several ideas about ways to gain the plates from Laban. The first plan they had was to cast lots and see who would simply go and ask for the plates, the lot fell on Laman, and this is what happened,

“And we cast lots—who of us should go in unto the house of Laban. And it came to pass that the lot fell upon Laman; and Laman went in unto the house of Laban, and he talked with him as he sat in his house. And he desired of Laban the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, which contained the genealogy of my father. And behold, it came to pass that Laban was angry, and thrust him out from his presence; and he would not that he should have the records. Wherefore, he said unto him: Behold thou art a robber, and I will slay thee."

It is here that Laban passes judgment on Laman, calling him a robber and then inflicting the punishment for a robber, as death. Thus with what measure he judged he will be judged, as the law states.

The next plan was to go to their father's house and get the "inheritance" that was left behind and take it to Laban and try to "purchase" the plates from him. When Laban sees the gold and precious stuff they bring to try and buy the plates he "lusts" after it, "And it came to pass that when Laban saw our property, and that it was exceedingly great, he did lust after it, insomuch that he thrust us out, and sent his servants to slay us, that he might obtain our property. And it came to pass that we did flee before the servants of Laban, and we were obliged to leave behind our property, and it fell into the hands of Laban."

Oh no, guess who is the actual robber in the story? Yep, you guessed it Laban. Now, remember the punishment Laban himself attaches to robbers, is death. When he passed judgment he cast his own fate.

As Nephi catches Laban in a drunken state he is reluctant to slay him but the Lord commands it. He is simply enforcing a "law" that he had already set, “and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again".

Hope this adds another insight to your study. At last, be careful not to pass unrighteous judgments, not only your life, but your eternal life may depend on it.

Tithing: Open The Windows of Heaven

I believe that paying tithing to God is similar to the "Word of Wisdom", a principle with a promise. I think that the ultimate blessing we receive from paying tithing is simply being able to gain a testimony of the first law of heaven, which is the law of obedience and sacrifice.

There are many wonderful stories of financial success attributed to the fact that the individuals involved are full tithe payers. These stories can be very faith promoting but there are many instances of people who pay a full and honest tithe and do not receive monetary gain in return.

That is not the promise, the promise is: (Malachi 3:10) "and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

When the "windows of heaven" open I feel that the blessing is simply a more increased power to receive light, just as an open window lets in the sunlight. Obedience to the commandment of tithing or any commandment for that matter, allows one to "prove" the Lord to see if His word is sure.

Understanding law helps: D&C 130:20 "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated— 21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."

Paying tithing allows one to call upon the blessing attached to obedience to that law, of added light and knowledge. The temple is, among other ways, one of those places we are permitted to go to receive that added light and knowledge; it is allowed because of the obedience to the laws that predicated it, one being tithing.

In the Christian society there is often a debate over who we are to pay our tithes and offerings to.

I remember an old joke that went something like:Lord, I will throw my money up into the air and whatever you need you keep, and whatever you don't need, let it fall to the ground and I will keep.

Similar to this bit of humor, when we decide the conditions of the law instead of the Lord and choose who we want to pay our tithes and offerings to, we are essentially doing the same thing as the person in the joke.

One of the earliest recorded instances of tithes being offered is in the scriptures, in the book of Genesis. It is when Abraham paid tithes, after his return from his conquest in battle, while delivering Lot from his enemies.

In Genesis 14:20 it explains what Abraham does next with his increase, “And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” It is more interesting to note to whom he paid the tithes. In Genesis 14:18 we read, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.”

He paid tithes to Melchizedek because he was the rightful priesthood holder being the priest of the "most high God", or in other words, one having authority to act in God's name. I think the matter of debate is not one of "if the Lord requires tithing" but more the matter of who is the rightful representative of the Lord, holding the office of High Priest for one to pay their tithing to. For me, that holder is the Bishop of my ward, the High Priest of the Aaronic Priesthood, and Melchizedek Priesthood holder of the most high God.

Finally, God does not need our money for himself, but we need to learn to become obedient and learn to sacrifice for ourselves so that by "law" he can bless us with the further light and knowledge that is required to come to truly KNOW Him. He, as a loving Father is leaving that decision in our hands, and we must learn to open our hands and give, and make it as an offering in righteousness to know HIM.

Wheelchair Foundation - Deliveries Videos - Embedded Video

Wheelchair Foundation - Deliveries Videos - Embedded Video

As I was looking at the LDS.org website this morning, I noticed that the church has a new link to LDS Philanthropies. I couldn't help but notice the story on the church's Wheelchair Initiative and decided to check more fully into it. The church in partnership with the Wheelchair Foundation has been responsible for the delivery of more than a quarter million wheelchairs around the world. I was even more surprised to learn just how that foundation was started. This is a video of the BYU graduation speaker for 2002, Kenneth Behring and his story about the foundation and it's beginnings. Hope you enjoy it!

Book of Mormon Importance

Ezra Taft Benson

I saw this on YouTube and knew I simply must post this on my own little Blogspot in the great Blogosphere. This is such a great evidence that President Benson is a true prophet. He prophesied that the Book of Mormon would flood the earth and that is taking place today. He warned us of the importance that we needed to place in studying the Book of Mormon, and instructed us to read it everyday. This has been council that we must heed.

In his landmark talk of 1992, "The Keystone of our Religion", President Benson stated these facts:
"In 1829, the Lord warned the Saints that they are not to trifle with sacred things. (See D&C 6:12.) Surely the Book of Mormon is a sacred thing, and yet many trifle with it, or in other words, take it lightly, treat it as though it is of little importance.

In 1832, as some early missionaries returned from their fields of labor, the Lord reproved them for treating the Book of Mormon lightly. As a result of that attitude, He said, their minds had been darkened. Not only had treating this sacred book lightly brought a loss of light to themselves, it had also brought the whole Church under condemnation, even all the children of Zion. And then the Lord said, “And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon.” (D&C 84:54–57.)

Has the fact that we have had the Book of Mormon with us for over a century and a half made it seem less significant to us today? Do we remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon?"

He gave us three reasons why we should make the pursuit of a lifetime.
1)The first is that the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.
2)The second great reason is that it was written for our day.
3)The third reason that the Book of Mormon is of such value to Latter-day Saints is given in the same statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith cited previously. He said, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” (Introduction to the Book of Mormon.)

I love the Book of Mormon. I know that it is exactly what it professes to be, "Another testament of Jesus Christ."
I am thankful for this wonderful prophet who acted as a "Watchman on the Tower."