"This is, to use the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the “office” of marriage, the “post of responsibility towards … mankind,” that this divine institution “from above, from God” occupies. It is the “link in the chain of the generations” both here and hereafter—the order of heaven."
4/20/15,
Monday,2:39pm @ Hello
Brandon, Welcome to a new week. @ I
haven't been able to get up and get going today. I kept falling
asleep in my recliner listening to the Saturday pm session of
conference. I have probably listened 10 times. It is the 2nd
session I have absorbed. The first one was the General Priesthood
session. You are wonderful and are loved by the way! @ The talk that
seems the most potentially offensive to me and you is
Christofferson's. Did you feel like it didn't apply to you or that
oh, not this again? I did. But I journaled about my marriage/ single
feelings last week and I feel much more at peace. I even asked
myself, “Is this something I need to make an appointment with my
psychotherapist, Mark Clayton about? @“The
first principles of man are self-existent with God. God himself,
finding he was in the midst of spirits [or intelligences] and glory,
because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby
the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. … He has
power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that
they may be exalted with himself” (Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith
[2007], 210). THIS
IS MIND BOGGLING. WHO COULD IMAGINE SUCH A THING? BUT TO JS IT WAS
COMMON PLACE, JUST MADE SENSE, HE JUST KNEW IT, IT HAD BEEN REVEALED
TO HIM. WOAH, WAS HE EVER GIFTED!! MORE THAN ANY PROPHET SINCE AND
PERHAPS MORE THAN ANY PROPHET PREVIOUS. HAVE YOU NOTICED WE DON'T ADD
TO THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS NOR PEARL OF GREAT PRICE VERY OFTEN.
WHAT HAPPENED? ANS: JOSEPH DIED. : (
@9.
The Prophet Joseph Smith offered this summary statement: “The
design of God before the foundation of the world was that we should
take tabernacles [bodies], that through faithfulness we should
overcome and thereby obtain a resurrection from the dead, in this
wise obtaining glory, honor, power, and dominion.” WOW.
FOR REAL? DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?The
Prophet also stated: “We came to this earth that we might have a
body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The
great principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has
no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can
obtain the tabernacle of man, and when cast out by the Savior he
asked to go into the herd of swine, showing that he would prefer a
swine’s body to having none. All beings who have bodies have power
over those who have not” (Teachings:
Joseph Smith,
211). WHO
DID THAT COME FROM BRANDON? JOSEPH SMITH HIMSELF. SO WHAT KIND OF
QUESTIONS COULD WE ASK AND ANSWER USING THAT PARAGRAPH? 1) CAN THE
DEVIL BE HAPPY? WHY OR WHY NOT? 2) WHAT DOES OUR BODY DO OR HAVE THAT
IS TIED TO HAPPINESS? A. WE HAVE OUR 5 SENSES, B. WE CAN LOVE EACH
OTHER AND MAKE BINDING LOYALTY COMMITMENTS, C. WE HAVE ANCESTORS AND
CAN HAVE DESCENDANTS THAT WE CAN LOVE AND BELONG TO, D. WE MIGHT BE
ABLE TO RAISE OTHERS UP LIKE UNTO OURSELVES, LIKE HF IS, AT SOME
POINT IN THE FUTURE, E, WE GET TO SEE WHAT WE ARE REALLY MADE OF
AFTER HAVING OUR MEMORY ERASED AND BEEN BORN INTO A WORLD SPIRITUALLY
DEAD, F. WE GET TO EXPERIMENT AND START FROM SCRATCH AND SEE WHAT
INFLUENCE WE CAN HAVE AND WHAT WE CAN LEARN TO DO AND BE. 3) HOW AM I
GOING TO PRESENT MY BODY PURE BEFORE GOD IN THE CELESTIAL KINGDOM?
YOU MEAN I AM GOING TO HAVE TO OVERCOME MY ADDICTIONS? AND
SELFISHNESS? 4) WHY IS CAIN A KING OVER SATAN? 5) HOW MANY OTHERS
WILL BE IN SATAN'S KINGDOM OF MISERY FOR EVER? : ( @13.
See 2
Nephi 2:15–18;
Alma
12:24;
Doctrine
and Covenants 29:39;
Moses
4:3.
Joseph Smith said: “All persons are entitled to their agency, for
God has so ordained it. He has constituted mankind moral agents, and
given them power to choose
good or evil; SOME
PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE MUCH AGENCY. LIKE YOU, BRANDON, BUT HOW WELL ARE
YOU USING THE AGENCY YOU DO HAVE? WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING AFTER? HOW DO
YOU PACIFY YOURSELF? HOW ARE YOU SERVING OTHERS? YOU COULD ALWAYS
WRITE US AND DRAW FOR US AND MEMORIZE FOR YOURSELF. to
seek after that which is good, by pursuing the pathway of holiness in
this life, which brings peace of mind, and joy in the Holy Ghost
here, and a fulness of joy and happiness at His right hand hereafter;
or to pursue an evil course, going on in sin and rebellion against
God, thereby bringing condemnation to their souls in this world, and
an eternal loss in the world to come.” The Prophet also noted:
“Satan cannot seduce us by his enticements unless we in our hearts
consent and yield. Our organization is such that we can resist the
devil; if we were not organized so, we would not be free agents” WE
WILL
RECEIVE
AS WE “WILL” AS WE WISH. THOSE THINGS WE HAVE SOUGHT! (Teachings:
Joseph Smith,
213). Even those who do not repent are redeemed from spiritual death
by the Atonement in the sense that they come again into the presence
of God for the Final Judgment RELIEF,
THAT MAKES MORE SENSE TO ME.
(see Helaman
14:17;
3
Nephi 27:14–15).
@19.
People may be loyal to one another in nonmarital relationships, and
children can be born and raised, sometimes quite successfully, in
other than a married two-parent family environment. NOTICE
BRANDON HOW HE PUTS THE OPPOSITION TO REST! HE STATES IT. AND THEN .
. .But
on average and in the majority of cases, evidence of the social
benefits of marriage and of the comparatively superior outcomes for
children in families headed by a married man and woman is extensive.
On the other hand, the social and economic costs of what one
commentator calls “the global flight from the family,” weigh
increasingly on society. Nicholas Eberstadt catalogs the worldwide
declines in marriage and childbearing and the trends regarding
fatherless homes and divorce and observes: “The deleterious impact
on the hardly inconsequential numbers of children disadvantaged by
the flight from the family is already plain enough. So too the
damaging role of divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing in
exacerbating income disparities and wealth gaps—for society as a
whole, but especially for children. Yes, children are resilient and
all that. But the flight from family most assuredly comes at the
expense of the vulnerable young. That same flight also has
unforgiving implications for the vulnerable old.” @ THE
PREVIOUS QUOTES CAME FROM HIS FOOTNOTES. DID YOU NOTICE WHO HE MOSTLY
DEPENDED ON? THIS NEXT PART IS FROM HIS TALK. @This
is, to use the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the “office” of
marriage, the “post of responsibility towards … mankind,” that
this divine institution “from above, from God” occupies. It is
the “link in the chain of the generations” both here and
hereafter—the order of heaven. THE
OFFICE OF MARRIAGE, THE CALLING OF MARRIAGE, WHAT AN INTERESTING NEW
IDEA. @A
family
built
on the marriage of a man and woman supplies the best setting for
God’s plan to thrive—the setting for the birth of children, who
come in purity and innocence from God, and the environment for the
learning and preparation they will need for a successful mortal life
and eternal life in the world to come. I
LOVE THINKING THAT THIS WORLD WILL PASS AWAY BUT OUR FAMILIES WILL
NOT. THEY ARE ETERNAL, UNLESS OF COURSE MEMBERS CHOOSE THE LONELY
PATH. PURITY AND INNOCENCE FROM GOOD IS THE PURE TRUTH! I HAVE
GRANDKIDS, MY MEMORY WITHOUT THE RESPONSIBILITY IS RENEWED! A
critical mass of families built on such marriages is vital for
societies to survive and flourish. REMINDS
ME OF LOT SEARCHING FOR 10 RIGHTEOUS. NO LUCK!
That is why communities and nations generally have encouraged and
protected marriage and the family as privileged institutions. It has
never been just about the love and happiness of
adults. @The
social science case for marriage and for families headed by a married
man and woman is compelling.19
And
so “we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon
individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by
ancient and modern prophets.”20
NOW
WE KNOW WHAT WILL BRING THE CALAMITIES! But
our claims for the role of marriage and family rest not on social
science but on the truth that they are God’s creation. It is He who
in the beginning created Adam and Eve in His image, male and female,
and joined them as husband and wife to become “one flesh” and to
multiply and replenish the earth.21
DON'T
YOU HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT THIS? HOW CAN ONE GO TO SCHOOL WHERE THAT IS
NEVER TAUGHT, BUT MAN'S PHILOSOPHIES ARE TAUGHT INSTEAD AND EXPECT
SOCIETY TO BELIEVE GOD? IT MAKES US WONDER DOESN'T IT! THAT IS WHY
WE NEED TO TEACH AND SPIRITUALLY FEED OURSELVES. THE PLAN OF GOD WILL
NOT BE COMING FROM THE WORLD. FROM THE WORLD WE GET THE TEACHINGS OF
MAN AND THE DEVIL. HOW COULD THERE REALLY HAVE BEEN A FLOOD? HOW
COULD MOSES LEAD THE ISRAELITES ACROSS THE RED SEA ON DRY GROUND AND
THEN HAVE THE EGYPTIANS DROWNED. ARE THERE REALLY SUCH THINGS AS
MIRACLES? HOW CAN I STRENGTHEN MY FAITH?Each
individual carries the divine image, but it is in the matrimonial
union of male and female as one that we attain perhaps the most
complete meaning of our having been made in the image of God—male
and female. TOGETHER
THEY MAKE ONE WHOLE. AND UNITY IS REQUIRED AND GOD'S PLAN PROVIDES
THE PERFECT END TO ANY COMPROMISES WE FORM. Neither
we nor any other mortal can alter this divine order of matrimony. It
is not a human invention. YES!
Such
marriage is indeed “from above, from God” and is as much a part
of the plan of happiness as the Fall and the Atonement. OK,
BRANDON, ARE YOU FEELING DISCOURAGED YET? DON'T WORRY, ALLOWANCES
WILL BE COMING UP. @In
the premortal world, Lucifer rebelled against God and His plan, and
his opposition only grows in intensity. THE
WORD PLAN NEVER APPEARS IN THE OLD OR NEW TESTAMENT! DO YOU THINK
SOME PLAIN AND PRECIOUS THINGS MAY HAVE BEEN REMOVED? He
fights to discourage marriage and the formation of families, and
where marriages and families are formed, he does what he can to
disrupt them. MY
OLDEST DAUGHTER SAYS OUR HOME WAS SURELY NOT A HEAVEN ON EARTH! He
attacks everything that is sacred about human sexuality, tearing it
from the context of marriage with a seemingly infinite array of
immoral thoughts and acts. WHAT?
NO WAY. THIS IS SOMETHING SACRED AND PERSONAL. HE WOULDN'T USE THIS
PRECIOUS DRIVE WOULD HE?
He seeks to convince men and women that marriage and family
priorities can be ignored or abandoned, or at least made subservient
to careers, other achievements, and the quest for self-fulfillment
and individual autonomy. I
HEARD DANAH BOYD ON NPR LAST WEEK AND GOT UP AND STUDIED HER FOR A
COUPLE OF HOURS IN THE EARLY MORNING. I WAS CAPTURED BY HER VOICE AND
VOCABULARY AND SPEED OF TALKING AND THINKING. BUT I WAS SO SADDENED
TO SEE SHE HAD HER SECOND SON IN JAN'15 WITHOUT A HUSBAND. Certainly
the adversary is pleased when parents neglect to teach and train
their children to have faith in Christ and be spiritually born again.
HOW
CAN THEY WHEN THEY HAVE A FAULTY INTRUMENT? HOW DID PEOPLE EVER
BELIEVE THE BIBLE? HOW DID THEY SACRIFICE FOR IT? YES IT TEACHES GOOD
THINGS TO DO AND BE BUT IT NEVER TELLS WHY! THERE IS NO PLAN! HEAVEN
AND HELL, THAT'S A LITTLE EMPTY ISN'T IT? GLORY BE WE HAVE THE OTHER
SCRIPTURES! BTW, DID YOU NOTICE THAT IT ONLY TOOK 84 YEARS AFTER
CHRIST'S VISIT TO AMERICA BEFORE REBELLIOUS GROUPS BRANCHED OFF. AND
DID YOU NOTICE THAT THEY STARTED UP A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT
CHURCHES? WHY? THEY ALREADY HAD THE TRUE CHURCH?
Brothers
and sisters, many things are good, many are important, but only a few
are essential. @To
declare the fundamental truths relative to marriage and family is not
to overlook or diminish the sacrifices and successes of those for
whom the ideal is not a present reality. THIS
IS YOU AND ME. Some
of you are denied the blessing of marriage for reasons including a
lack of viable prospects, same-sex attraction, physical or mental
impairments, or simply a fear of failure that, for the moment at
least, overshadows faith. Or you may have married, but that marriage
ended, and you are left to manage alone what two together can barely
sustain. Some of you who are married cannot bear children despite
overwhelming desires and pleading prayers. @Even
so, everyone has gifts; everyone has talents; everyone can contribute
to the unfolding of the divine plan in
each generation. Much that is good, much that is essential—even
sometimes all that is necessary for now—can be achieved in less
than ideal circumstances. So many of you are doing your very best.
And when you who bear the heaviest burdens of mortality stand up in
defense of God’s plan to exalt His children, we are all ready to
march. INTERESTING
With confidence we testify that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has
anticipated and, in the end, will compensate all deprivation and loss
for those who turn to Him. No one is predestined to receive less than
all that the Father has for His children. BRANDON,
SOME OF THE DEATH RECORDS I INDEX IN ITALIAN HAVE UP TO HALF DIE AS
CHILDREN. THERE IS GOING TO BE ONE HECK OF A MARRIAGE
RECEPTION/PARTY ON THE OTHER SIDE WHEN THEY ALL GET
CONNECTED/MARRIED! WE FEEL SO ALONE UNMARRIED/SINGLE ON THIS EARTH
BUT HF HAS A PLAN. AND IT MAY BE LONG AND PAINFUL IN THIS LIFE BUT WE
ARE LIVING IN THE LAST DAYS, AND WE ARE SPECIAL TO BE CHOSEN FOR THIS
GENERATION, AT LEAST THAT IS WHAT THE PROPHETS SAY. SO WHO WOULDN'T
WANT TO MARRY US ON THE OTHER SIDE? @One
young mother recently confided to me her anxiety about being
inadequate in this highest of callings. I felt that the issues that
concerned her were small and she needn’t worry; she was doing fine.
But I knew she only wanted to please God and to honor His trust. I
offered words of reassurance, and in my heart I pleaded that God, her
Heavenly Father, would buoy her up with His love and the witness of
His approval as she is about His work. IN
MY HEART
I PLEADED THAT GOD. . . SEE HOW HONEST HE IS! HE DID NOT SAY THAT
AFTER SHE LEFT HE KNELT DOWN TO PRAY FOR HER. HE DID IT RIGHT THEN
WHILE HE VISITED WITH HER! WE CAN DO THAT. WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT. WE
CAN PLEAD IN OUR HEART RIGHT WHILE IT IS HAPPENING! @That
is my prayer for all of us today. May we each find approval in His
sight. May marriages flourish and families prosper, and whether our
lot is a fulness of these blessings in mortality or not, may the
Lord’s grace bring happiness now and faith in sure promises to
come.
YOU
AND I NEED TO HAVE FAITH IN THE SURE PROMISES TO COME! @ ~ ~ ~
4:15PM GBY-BLTPJS, vj
@brandon
l tom perry joseph smith
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