If you pay the price of revelation, humble yourself, read, pray, and repent, the heavens will open and you will know that Jesus is the Christ.
On a Friday afternoon, September 16, 1988, in the Vicente López Ward meetinghouse in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A very good friend, Alin Spannaus, baptized me that day, and I felt happy, lighter, eager to learn more.
Today, I would like to share some lessons I learned on my path to baptism—lessons that I hope may help those of you listening who are not members of the Church yet. I pray that your hearts may be touched by the Spirit, as was mine.
First, Meeting the Missionaries
Why would a person without compelling challenges, needs, or questions be interested in meeting the missionaries and listening to their lessons? Well, in my case it was love—love for a girl, a girl named Renee. I fell in love with her, and I wanted to marry her. She was different and had standards different from most young women I knew. But I fell for her and asked her to marry me—and she said no!
I was confused. I thought I was quite a catch! I was handsome, 24 years old, and a college graduate with a great job. She spoke of her goals—of marrying only someone who could take her to the temple, of having an eternal family—and she declined my offer. I wanted to continue the relationship, so I agreed to listen to the missionaries. Is this a good reason to meet with the missionaries? Well, it was for me.
When I first met with the missionaries, I did not understand much of what they said, and to tell you the truth, I may not have paid much attention to them. My heart was closed to a new religion. I wanted only to prove they were wrong and to gain time to convince Renee to marry me anyway.
Today my children have served and are serving missions, and I understand the sacrifices that these young men and young women make to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now I wish I had paid more attention to Elder Richardson, Elder Farrell, and Elder Hyland, the wonderful missionaries who taught me.
So, from my first lesson, I say to you friends and investigators of the Church: once you meet the missionaries, please take them seriously; they are giving up important years of their lives just for you.
Second, Going to Church
The first time I attended a Church meeting, I heard many words that didn’t make sense to me. Who were the Beehives? What was the Aaronic Priesthood? the Relief Society?
If this is the first time you have attended a Church meeting and you are feeling confused by something you don’t understand, do not worry! I was clueless too. But I still remember the impressions, the new feelings of peace and joy I experienced. I did not know it then, but the Holy Ghost was whispering to my ears and to my heart, “This is right.”
So let me put this lesson in one sentence: if you are confused, don’t worry—remember the feelings you have experienced; they come from God.
Third, Reading the Book of Mormon
After several meetings with the missionaries, I was not making much progress. I felt I had not received a confirmation of the truthfulness of the gospel.
One day, Renee asked me, “Are you reading the Book of Mormon?”
I replied, “No.” I was listening to the missionaries—wasn’t that enough?
With tears in her eyes, Renee assured me that she knew the Book of Mormon is true and explained that if I wanted to know if it is true, the only way is—guess what—to read it! And then ask!
Read, ponder in your hearts, and “ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, … with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ” (Moroni 10:4) if the Book of Mormon is true, if this is the true Church.
So the third lesson, in one sentence: when you receive these things—the Book of Mormon—and you are exhorted to read and ask God if they are true, please just do it!
Last, Repenting
The final experience I’d like to share is about repentance. After I had finished taking all the missionary lessons, I was still not convinced I needed to change anything in my life. It was Elder Cutler, a young, confident missionary with limited Spanish, who one day said, “Joaquin, let’s read together Alma 42, and we will include your name as we read it.”
I thought it was silly, but I did as Elder Cutler asked and read in verse 1: “And now, my son [Joaquin], I perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry your mind, which ye cannot understand.” Oh! The book was speaking to me.
And we read in verse 2: “Now behold, my son [Joaquin], I will explain this thing unto thee,” and then the Fall of Adam was described.
And then in verse 4: “And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto [Joaquin] to repent.”
We continued reading slowly, verse by verse, until we reached the last three verses. Then I was struck by a powerful force. The book spoke directly to me, and I started to cry as I read, “And now, [Joaquin,] my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you … unto repentance” (verse 29).
I realize now that I had expected to receive revelation without paying the price. Until then I had never truly spoken to God, and the idea of speaking to someone who wasn’t present seemed foolish. I had to humble myself and do what I was being asked to do even if, in my worldly mind, it sounded silly.
That day I opened my heart to the Spirit, desired to repent, and wanted to be baptized! Before that moment, I had thought of repentance as something negative, associated only with sin and wrongdoing, but suddenly I saw it in a different light—as something positive that cleared the path to growth and happiness.
Elder Cutler is here today, and I want to thank him for opening my eyes. Every decision I have made in my life since then has been influenced by that moment when I humbled myself and prayed for forgiveness, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ on my behalf became part of my life.
So the last lesson, in one statement: experience repentance; nothing draws you closer to the Lord Jesus Christ than a desire to change.
My dear investigator, friend of the Church, if you are listening today, you are very close to reaching the greatest joy. You are close!
Let me invite you, with all the energy of my heart and from the depths of my soul: go and be baptized! It is the best thing you will ever do. It will change not only your life but also the lives of your children and grandchildren.
The Lord has blessed me with a family. I married Renee, and we have four beautiful children. And because of my baptism, I can, like the prophet Lehi of old, invite them to partake of the fruit of the tree of life, which is the love of God (see 1 Nephi 8:15; 11:25). I can help them come unto Christ.
So please consider my experiences, and (1) take the missionaries very seriously, (2) go to church and remember spiritual feelings, (3) read the Book of Mormon and ask the Lord if it is true, and (4) experience repentance and be baptized.
I testify to you that if you pay the price of revelation, humble yourself, read, pray, and repent, the heavens will open and you will know, as I know, that Jesus is the Christ, He is my Savior, and He is yours. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
1 And now, Joaquin, I perceive there is somewhat more which doth worry your mind, which ye cannot understand—which is concerning the justice of God in the punishment of the sinner; for ye do try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery.
2 Now behold, Joaquin, I will explain this thing unto thee. For behold, after the Lord God sent our first parents forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground, from whence they were taken—yea, he drew out the man, and he placed at the east end of the garden of Eden, cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the tree of life—
3 Now, we see that the Joaquin had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit—
4 And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto Joaquin to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God.
5 For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partaken of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, according to the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated.
6 But behold, it was appointed unto Joaquin to die—therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and Joaquin became lost forever, yea, they became fallen Joaquin.
7 And now, ye see by this that our first parents were cut off both temporally and spiritually from the presence of the Lord; and thus we see they became subjects to follow after their own will.
8 Now behold, it was not expedient that Joaquin should be reclaimed from this temporal death, for that would destroy the great plan of happiness.
9 Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death.
10 Therefore, as they had become carnal, sensual, and devilish, by nature, this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state.
11 And now remember, Joaquin, if it were not for the plan of redemption, (laying it aside) as soon as they were dead their souls were miserable, being cut off from the presence of the Lord.
12 And now, there was no means to reclaim men from this fallen state, which Joaquin had brought upon himself because of his own disobedience;
13 Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God.
14 And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.
15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.
16 Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul.
17 Now, how could Joaquin repent except he should sin? How could he sin if there was no law? How could there be a law save there was a punishment?
18 Now, there was a punishment affixed, and a just law given, which brought remorse of conscience unto Joaquin.
19 Now, if there was no law given—if Joaquin murdered he should die—would he be afraid he would die if he should murder?
20 And also, if there was no law given against sin men would not be afraid to sin.
21 And if there was no law given, if men sinned what could justice do, or mercy either, for they would have no claim upon the creature?
22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.
23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.
25 What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God.
26 And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and misery.
27 Therefore, Joaquin, whosoever will come may come and partake of the waters of life freely; and whosoever will not come the same is not compelled to come; but in the last day it shall be restored unto him according to his deeds.
28 If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of God.
29 And now, Joaquin, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.
30 O Joaquin, I desire that ye should deny the justice of God no more. Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins, by denying the justice of God; but do you let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility.
31 And now, O Joaquin, ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people. And now, my Joaquin, go thy way, declare the word with truth and soberness, that thou mayest bring souls unto repentance, that the great plan of mercy may have claim upon them. And may God grant unto you even according to my words. Amen.
Vern here. Corianton whored. I would never have put my name in his place! See how proud and not-meek I am. But one sin or a thousand sins, we are all failures and dependent on Jesus Christ to get us out of the depths of sin and hell.
Crud. That means I am in the same boat he was! At least I don't have to be addicted to the same sins he was. But admittedly, my sins are abhorrent to a perfect pure God.
ab·hor·rentabˈhôrənt,abˈhärənt/ [I accent the second syllable not the first.vj]adjective
And I have been as in need of repentance as Joaquin ever was!
I love new applications of scripture. As you can see I had never internalized this one. So now I can. I had always thought myself better than Corianton so I enjoyed the truths Alma taught him but didn’t feel the joy of repentance in these verses/scriptures.
But one thing I absolutely love over and over again is how the history of the world is told from God’s point of view in preparation for us to put in perspective God’s power. Adam. . . Moroni’s promise does the same: 3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. This seems to be the way to prepare our minds and hearts to be ready to feel the spirit. Nephi exhorts it, King Lamoni experienced it, over and over it is the proscribed way. I think I told you that As the sky darkened over Ottercreek last Tuesday night and I had a long night ahead of me I wondered what I would do to pass the time if I couldn’t sleep. I decided I would recite the history of the world according to the scriptures. At one point I ended up doing that. But instead of telling the stories of each prophet I would just say their name and remember their story. This type of mindfulness is available to us always. We are told to remember. This is remembering.
I like Joaquin’s name. It is a good one to put in all those verses. Wasn’t that fun? Now we can put our own names there and not be embarrassed, Joaquin did it first.
Hello
good buddy! Saturday, 5/13/17 Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! There are 25 OT
mastery scriptures. I sent you the puzzle page for #25! Personally I
have only completed up to #16 in my puzzle book. So since I sent you
#25 I decided that rather than read my novel I would try to do it.
Since I am expecting you to do it, I better make sure it can be done!
What did you learn from the experience? These puzzle pages are
designed to help us use learning aids we normally don't touch. I
tried reading the bible dictionary after doing a couple of these
puzzles because I could see that there is great information there but
it is too boring! But reading just one article at a time and
answering questions about it is really helpful. Here are 5 things I
learned: 1- there is a quotation heading in the BD! 2- No one
knows where Elijah's nickname comes from! 3- Elijah and Moses are
best buds(translated buds). They get to visit and restore priesthood
keys to Peter, James and John and JS. 4- Mantle of the prophet comes
from Elijah. 5- The Phoenicians, the shipbuilders, are the ones who
worshiped Baal. Which puzzle was the easiest for you? Which was the
hardest? I smiled the whole time I worked on these puzzles. I just
grinned thinking you would be trying to solve them too! So fun!
Easiest for me was the head code. I did 3 letters and I knew the
whole thing. The hardest was the spilled letters. I'm still not done.
@ I got 10 of these puzzle books for $3 at DI. I have been sharing
them around. I send Michael'92 a page or two each time I send him a
letter. Same with Gayelinn'72. Sometimes you have to use a hymnbook
and the tools there to find answers. After I had done about 13 of the
mastery scripture puzzles I discovered the answers in the back.
Before that I just had to guess. @ I sent your letter today. Hope you
enjoyed it. @Tues5/16/17Hey Brandon, I have spent the last 30 minutes
on Facebook. My breathing crippled gs-Lincoln is having a benefit
concert this Friday and Louis'80 told me the info is on his Facebook
page. $10 ticket at the door, $5 ticket presale. Guess which one I
want? You get to pick your friends on Facebook and you get to bypass
the ones that post too much. I found a comment from my daughter
Jessica who doesn't share with me because she wants to protect her
privacy. But here is something she wanted publicized. She posted it
on Facebook. I am proud of her so I am going to paste it here: Debra
Laverty Ketchie I am 62 and have been a member for 37 years. Ive been
struggling with RS for the past year. I want to study doctrine. It
seems the sisters spend most of the time socializing and getting way
off track. I sat in the foyer one day and found other sisters my age
out there. We had a great gospel discussion. Please don't tell me
that we have wonderful things to share with the younger sisters. If
they do actually get to the lesson, they blow us off as old fashioned
or no longer in touch. Things have changed and not for the better. [Dear sister Ketchie, Brandon P Smith would want you to have a hug. AdventureBill would say: whine, whine, whine!]
May
12 at 10:57am Jessica Jensen Dahlquist Debra, it's disheartening to
hear you clump all the younger sisters together. I too enjoy gospel
doctrine driven lessons, and any lesson taught by the spirit. I also
recognize that for some young mothers RS is their only window of
adult conversation in the entire week, and while it may not be the
best place for them to fill that friendship void, I try to be
understanding- I've been there before too. When I feel like I'm not
getting what I want out of church, I go with a prayer in my heart to
"show me how to serve today, open my eyes" . Those Sunday's
I come home with my heart full, someone needed a listening ear in the
hall, someone else needed company while they followed their busy
toddler around, another needed help with their baby so they could
listen, another needed a friend to sit by, they were perhaps the
anomaly as a single older sister in a ward of young families. We can
research the gospel and doctrine any day of the week, but as we go to
church with the purpose of serving as our dear Lord does the
confirmation and edification of the spirit surpasses all lessons I've
experienced. At stake conference 10 days ago our visiting authority
told us to attend church to serve. Don't go to get, Go to give! Do
you like that idea? Perhaps with all the free clergy we have in the
church most of us are already doing that. Sounds like this sister
needs a calling so she can give too! :) So bps, how are you giving
and serving? @ After texting with your momKJ, I was surprised that in
order to satisfy Ellen Hensley your sentence starts now! No credit
for the last 6 years! Oh my goodness! How disheartening! But at least
it is not a life sentence. You really don't fit the prison profile
very well do you? Why are you such an odd duck? How can you be a
saint in prison? I am so proud of you Brandon. Keep being a saint to
the best of your ability. @ My power / electricity started
fluctuating Sunday afternoon. I was studying the priesthood manual
GBH and the surge protector next to my head dinged and then popped
and then started fizzling and smoke came out! Yikes. I jumped up and
unplugged it. Do you know what an electrical fire smells like? Yuck.
It is a scary smell to me because there are electrical outlets in
every room. Where is it coming from? I bought a 100ft hose on
Amazon.com and it is on the couch at the top of the stairs. I figured
the cured rubber was contributing the smell. When I prayed Sunday
night I thanked HF for discovering where the smell was coming from.
The new rubber hose. I was relieved. Relieved enough to include it in
my prayer. But Monday morning the computer had no internet connection
so down stairs I went to find out what was wrong. Surprise! A melted
black smokey surge protector down there as well. Stinky and sticky!
The white shelf has a black shadow outlining the shape of the surge
protector. It was not the hose after all! Scary. Here I went to sleep
Sunday night at peace no knowing what had really happened downstairs!
@ I sent out a text Sunday complaining that my pond goldfish had been
eaten by the great blue heron that BillY captured in a picture,
sitting on my roof last week. I got all kinds of fun responses. It
really was not a great loss to me. Amber had dumped them on me from a
lady at Pet Smart. You may remember how I asphyxiated most of them
with chlorinated water last November. I still have 4 in my front pond
the heron has not found yet. Well that text, the first I had sent my
nephew Kent Cooper in over a year tipped him over the edge. He came
unglued! He is bipolar and he threw 3 fits in words! So sad. But
then, mom to the rescue! Camille'63 texted and said he uses his phone
for gps while delivering pizzas. This was Sunday at noon. Later I
told her he lost it and she said, Yeah. She and all three sons will
be living in a home Neal Cooper and his wife are buying out in
Bloomington, just down the street from Julia'59. But they won't have
to drive by Julia's house but they would be in the same ward. Camille
plans to keep attending the ward she is right now. Her old bishop is
her Home teacher and she loves him. They had her as Sunday program
maker and printer and she loved the calling. Then they split the ward
and the calling is gone. :( @ Some years she has been so overwhelmed
she hasn't attended church. So goes the lives of Vern's siblings. . .
@ I went to JCPenny's to use a $10 off coupon for $10+ spent! I love
those. But the only thing I could find were Sunday socks. That is
just fine with me. I need Sunday socks. I also need a Sunday shirt
but they were $40! Yikes. No thanks. @ I dropped by F Search and they
told me they won't open for more than a month! Open house scheduled
for June 22. March 31 was the last day they were open. I told my kids
by text today that this working at home is for the birds! I lowered
my daily goal from 100 to 50 this week. I just haven't been able to
keep up. Having a place to leave the house for and something
productive and building the kingdom to do is what I need. @ I sat on
the back row for the BRASS only in HPGroup in priesthood. Tom
Lamb, our stake president n bishop emeritus, Kent Perkins,
high counsel and our bishop emeritus, Rulon Bagley, stake
executive secretary emeritus, Beau Barney, current seminary
teacher and Braxton-handicapped's father. Vern Jensen dared to sit
right in the middle. I really wanted to talk to Rulon but he never
said hi. Anyway, I dared! And I read aloud a portion of the lesson as
requested:
Chapter
7: The Whisperings of the Spirit
Teachings
of Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley, 2016
“I
make a plea that we constantly seek the inspiration of the Lord and
the companionship of His Holy Spirit to bless us in keeping our
efforts on a high spiritual plane.”
From
the Life of Gordon B. Hinckley
On
June 24, 1995, President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke at a meeting for
new mission presidents and their wives, giving them counsel to guide
their next three years of service. He told of instruction he received
when President Harold B. Lee, then a member of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, set him apart as a stake president:
“I
remember only one thing he said: ‘Listen for the whisperings of the
Spirit in the middle of the night, and respond to those whisperings.’
I don’t know why revelation comes sometimes in the night, but it
does. It comes in the day as well, of course. But listen to the
whisperings of the Spirit, the gift of revelation, to which you are
entitled.”1
Referring
to his experiences as he followed this instruction, he said: “The
Lord has spoken quietly. … In the middle of the night, ideas have
come into my head which, I think, have been prophetic in their
nature.”2 For example, in July 1992 he was in Hong Kong with other
Church leaders, searching for a place to build a temple. He went to
bed one night feeling unsettled about the decision he needed to make.
Then the whisperings of the Spirit woke him up early the next
morning.
“Something
very interesting came to my mind,” he recorded in his journal. “I
did not hear a voice with my natural ears. But into my mind there
came the voice of the Spirit. It said, ‘Why are you worried about
this? You have a wonderful piece of property where the mission home
and the small chapel stand. They are in the very heart of Kowloon, in
the location with the best transportation. … Build a building of
[several] stories. It can include a chapel and classrooms on the
first two floors and a temple on the top two or three floors.’”
Having received that revelation, President Hinckley said, “I
relaxed and went back to sleep.”3
Today
in Kowloon, a densely populated section of Hong Kong, a single
building stands where a chapel and mission home once stood. That
building, which houses a chapel, a mission home, a mission office,
and a sacred temple, is a testament of the whisperings of the Spirit
to a prophet of God.
Hong
Kong China Temple
Tell
me 5
things
that stick out or that you liked about that story Brandon. Quick!
Before you read mine! I am terribly allergic. So was GBH. I never
knew that. He tried to join WWII even though he was married but they
rejected him! The weirdest thing I am discovering about the prophets
is that they prayed like crazy for the previous prophet to stay alive
so they wouldn't have to do it!!! And after the calling came they
say: Why me? I'm just little old Gordon, Ezra, are you sure you
really want me, Heavenly Father? Isn't that sweet! Are these power
hungry glory seeking men? No! Please choose someone else if possible.
. . OK if you really want me then I will absolutely do my best.
Thank you for your vote of confidence, HF. @ Delay over. I came home
and googled Hong Kong Temple. It is not on the Island. It us up
against the northeastern mountain. What a perfect place! But only the
top part is the temple#1! Look at all the other stuff it houses! #2
These poor guys/ prophets really feel the weight of their callings.
Many sleepless nights! #3
I only remember one thing Pres Lee said. Candid huh! #4 “In
the middle of the night, ideas have come into my head which, I
think,
have been prophetic” Look
at that humility and meekness Brandon. He doesn't say I know, he says
I think! #5 He went to bed unsettled. I read this over and over when
I was reading his biography.
They feel like something just isn't quite right! It is like me
smelling frying electrical insulation and not feeling comfortable. It
is like me being worried about Kent's reaction to my friendly text
message, and not feeling comfortable. Do you dare to pay attention to
your feelings yet? Are you allowing your spirit to come to the
surface? If you are, congratulations. If you feel uncomfortable
remember to tell HF about it. And if something resolves be sure you
thank him like I did when I felt the relief about the smell coming
from the hose. Does he care if I am wrong? Nope. He just likes to be
included! @ So in your last letter I included Puzzle page #25 for
scripture mastery OT. I hadn't done mine yet so I sat down and worked
on it. KJ has a copy of that puzzle book that I gave her as well. If
you ever finish a page you can brag and tell her to get on the stick/
get on the ball! Now that I am not limited to postcards. . . :) [I
can send you other pages. There is something special that happens
when we feel the truths from prophets in other ages.] @
I sent that same page to Michael'92 today as well. That is such a
beautiful scripture: The last two verses of the old testament! Can
you believe that Jews set him a place and AND leave the door open so
he can come in!!!? Amazing! After all these years they still believe
in and know their God spoke truth and his promises will all be
fulfilled. Mormons are not alone on this planet believing in the true
Heavenly Father! And the Jews will absolutely be answered. The
promises will all be fulfilled. But they are just like the rest of
the world in the sense that their revelations ended. Mormons still
have God talking to us. God is not dead. The scriptures are not
closed!!! We have a living active, revealing God. But darn if not
even the prophet and apostles still don't have to live by faith.
What's with that anyway? In the premortal existence the number one
rule was agency. In mortal existence the number one rule is faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have all kinds of scriptures confirming
that. The history of the world confirms it. Adam, [lds.org
Dispensations
A
dispensation of the gospel is a period of time in which the Lord has
at least one authorized servant on the earth who bears the holy
priesthood and the keys, and who has a divine commission to dispense
the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth. When this occurs, the
gospel is revealed anew so that people of that dispensation do
not
have to depend basically on past dispensations for knowledge of the
plan of salvation. There have been many gospel dispensations since
the beginning. The Bible suggests at least one dispensation
identified with Adam1,
another with Enoch2,
another with Noah3,
and so on with Abraham4,
Moses5,
and Jesus6
with His Apostles in the meridian of time. Paul writes of “the
dispensation of the fulness of times” in which the Lord will
“gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven, and which are on earth” (Eph.
1:10).
The fulness of times is the final dispensation and began with the
revelation of the gospel to Joseph Smith7.
It is a dispensation of restoration and of fulfillment of the Lord’s
plans and purposes since the world began. There are also things
reserved for the fulness of times that have not been revealed
previously (D&C
121:26–32; 124:41).
It is a glorious time, the time in which we live today (see Acts
3:19–21; D&C
27:13; 110:11–16; 112:14–32; 128:18–21; 136:37–40).
In
addition there were dispensations of the gospel among the Nephites,
the Jaredites, and the Lost Tribes of Israel. {Really?
You mean those 7 dispensations I have memorized don't work?vj]
Melchizedek
could also be included, as well as John the Baptist, since they truly
held the priesthood and taught the word of the Lord to the people and
were unique
in their time. There are many other prophets who have had the
priesthood and a knowledge of the gospel. Perhaps if more were
revealed to us, we would learn that they too should be spoken of as
having a dispensation. These could include, among others, Abel,
Esaias, Gad, Jeremy, Elihu, Caleb, Jethro, Zenock, and Zenos.
SeeJST Gen.
14:25–40 (Appendix, whoever
would have even thought these were there? These are like brand new
scripture! I don't even recognize them!vj) ; 1 Ne.
19:10–12; Alma
13:14–19; 33:3–17; D&C
84:6–16; HC 3:386–89;
4:208–9. {Well
that is enough to bend my mind!vj}
The
plan of salvation, which is older than the earth, has been revealed
and taught in every dispensation beginning with Adam and is the same
in every age of the world. However, each of the dispensations has
been unique in some way. For example, Adam opened the way of the
earth; Noah preserved a portion of mankind through the Flood; Jesus
wrought the Atonement and Resurrection; and through Joseph Smith the
foundation was laid for a culmination of the purposes of God on the
earth.
Although
the Bible contains historical information pertaining to the ancient
prophets and patriarchs, it
is latter-day revelation that makes it clear
that the leaders of former dispensations had the gospel of Jesus
Christ and that certifies to the divine calling, ordination, and high
intelligence of those early brethren (D&C
84:6–16, 26–28; 107:41–57; Moses
6:3–6, 45–46see
all these verses in Moses Brandon? That PoGP has good stuff in it if,
you have someone to help you decipher it.).]
From
doing that puzzle page I learned that Malachi was not concurrent with
Elijah. Elijah was 500 years before Malachi! So when Malachi
prophesied that Elijah would return he was talking like we would
about Columbus!!! Columbus will return before the great and dreadful
day of the Lord. Does that sound like a strange prophecy? It should!
:) So JC loved what Malachi said. The Nephites were long gone from
Jerusalem so JC quoted it to them! Isn't that fun. He quoted to them
about tithing too. Malachi did a good job, didn't he.
I was confused. I thought I was quite a catch! I was handsome, 24 years old, and a college graduate with a great job. She spoke of her goals—of marrying only someone who could take her to the temple, of having an eternal family—and she declined my offer. I wanted to continue the relationship, so I agreed to listen to the missionaries. Is this a good reason to meet with the missionaries? Well, it was for me.
When I first met with the missionaries, I did not understand much of what they said, and to tell you the truth, I may not have paid much attention to them. My heart was closed to a new religion. I wanted only to prove they were wrong and to gain time to convince Renee to marry me anyway.
Today my children have served and are serving missions, and I understand the sacrifices that these young men and young women make to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now I wish I had paid more attention to Elder Richardson, Elder Farrell, and Elder Hyland, the wonderful missionaries who taught me.
So, from my first lesson, I say to you friends and investigators of the Church: once you meet the missionaries, please take them seriously; they are giving up important years of their lives just for you.
The Lord has blessed me with a family. I married Renee, and we have four beautiful children. And because of my baptism, I can, like the prophet Lehi of old, invite them to partake of the fruit of the tree of life, which is the love of God (see 1 Nephi 8:15; 11:25). I can help them come unto Christ.
So please consider my experiences, and (1) take the missionaries very seriously, (2) go to church and remember spiritual feelings, (3) read the Book of Mormon and ask the Lord if it is true, and (4) experience repentance and be baptized.
I testify to you that if you pay the price of revelation, humble yourself, read, pray, and repent, the heavens will open and you will know, as I know, that Jesus is the Christ, He is my Savior, and He is yours. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
