Thursday, July 30, 2015

Dynamic Truths


WORDS OF NOTE  (Taken the writings of Joseph Fielding McConkie and his book, 50 Truths The Devil Doesn’t Want You to Know)

1. First from the Introduction:  “The need to worship is as essential to the soul of man as the necessity of breath to the mortal body.  The atheist who claims no belief in God has simply chosen to worship at the shrine of his or her own intellect while the believer has chosen to worship that which is greater than himself or herself.”…

2. “By definition God is not and cannot be a tyrant.  He did not create us to serve his every want and need, for he is not a slave to such things.  He created us for the joy of creation: to share that same love that parents do in their own children.”

3. “Four principles must be operative for agency to exist.  First, God, and he alone, must ordain sure and absolute laws by which we can advance and be blessed.  Second, opposites must exist. Third, we must have a knowledge of those laws so that we might conform to them or war against them.  Fourth, we must possess an unfettered freedom to act upon those laws.”

4. …”Satan insults and fights that which he finds most threatening.  If something threatens him, that thing must be an evidence that the Church is true…These are the kind of things that make the devil holler.  The louder he hollers, the more threatened he is.”

5. From page one, “ The First Vision is the foundational story of the personal testimony of every member of the Church…No true Latter-day Saint has claim to a testimony that is valid and binding independent of the witness of the Spirit of truthfulness of this event and a faith in Joseph Smith’s account of it.  There is no middle ground where the telling of this story is concerned.  It will always invoke the spirit of peace, light and truth, which in turn will always be countered by the loud, ugly ranting of the adversary.”

6. From page three, “What spirit, we are left to ask, would fight such a story?  Our response can only be one that feeds upon the spiritual dependency and poverty of others.  All else must say, I too must pray about this, doing so in the hope that it is true.”

7. “The gate of Gethsemane for those of our dispensation is through the Sacred
Grove.  One cannot accept Christ while rejecting those who he commissioned to come in his name with his message.  Any man or woman who does not have the courage to ask God about the truthfulness of the First Vision cannot have the truth.  You cannot expect to drink the water from Jacob’s well if you refuse to lower the bucket into the well.  No man has a right to speak for God who does not believe that God speaks.”

8. From page five, “As the foundational doctrine of the Restored gospel is the First Vision, so the foundational doctrine of the meridian dispensation is the resurrection of Christ.  If Jesus the Christ did indeed lay down his body in death and take it up again in life as an immortal and eternal being, then he must of necessity be the Son of God and the divinely appointed source of salvation for all men.  The Book of Mormon stands as an independent witness of his resurrection, for it was the resurrected Christ that appeared to the nation of the Nephites to declare anew to them the covenant of salvation.”

9. “The Book of Mormon is the perfect witness of the reality of the events attested to in the Old World and the best friend the Bible and the Christian message have.  All professing Bible believers should rejoice in this new and independent witness of Christ.”

10. From page 10…”Revelation is light and light is the source of life.  All true revelation has the power of life within it and thus is intended to perpetuate and give birth to additional revelation.  (D&C 84:45)  No revelation was intended to be complete and final.  Such an idea stands contrary to the very nature and purpose of revelation; it is to argue that life was not intended to produce life.”

11. “Indeed, the greatest revelation of this dispensation was not the First Vision but rather the revelation that led Joseph Smith to the Sacred Grove where that great theophany took place.  How singularly interesting it is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has become the sole steward of the doctrine of James, that we ask of God.  The challenge to ask of God is given by all Latter-day Saint missionaries to all investigators.  No other church invites its investigators to accept James’s injunction to so ask.  Some demand that we acquiesce to the authority of the church.  Others insist that answers can only come from reading the Bible; meaning reading the Bible as it has been interpreted by religious leaders, which excludes the thought of asking God, which thought they freely ridicule.”

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

A Test

The Mystery of Life (By Boyd K. Packer Oct 1983 General Conference, only a part is included).
“There are so many unanswered questions. Why the inequities in life? Some are so rich. Some so wretchedly poor. Some so beautifully formed, and others with pitiful handicaps. Some are gifted and others retarded.
 
Why the injustice, the untimely death? Why the neglect, the sorrow, the pain? Why divorce, incest, perversion, abuse, and cruelty? If there be order and meaning to life, they are hardly visible in what mortals do to one another and to themselves. In counterpoint, we see love and devotion, sacrifice, faith, and humility; we see humanity in exalted expression of courage and heroism. When at last the mystery of life is unraveled, what will be revealed?
 
…Simply this: Life did not begin with mortal birth. We lived in spirit form before we entered mortality. We are spiritually the children of God.
 
This doctrine of premortal life was known to ancient Christians. For nearly five hundred years the doctrine was taught, but it was then rejected as a heresy by a clergy that had slipped into the Dark Ages of apostasy.
 
Once they rejected this doctrine, the doctrine of premortal life, and the doctrine of redemption for the dead, they could never unravel the mystery of life.
 
They became like a man trying to assemble a strand of pearls on a string that was too short. There is no way they can put them all together.
 
Why is it so strange a thought that we lived as spirits before entering mortality? Christian doctrine proclaims the Resurrection, meaning that we will live after mortal death. If we live beyond death, why should it be strange that we lived before birth?
 
The Christian world in general accepts the idea that our condition in the Resurrection will be determined by our actions in this life. Why can they not believe that some circumstances in this life were determined by our actions before coming into mortality?
 
The scriptures teach this doctrine, the doctrine of premortal life. For His own reasons, the Lord provides answers to some questions, with pieces placed here and there throughout the scriptures. We are to find them; we are to earn them. In that way sacred things are hidden from the insincere.
 
Essential facts about our premortal life have been revealed. Although they are sketchy, they unravel the mystery of life. When we comprehend the doctrine of premortal life, we know that we are the children of God, that we lived with him in spirit form before entering mortality.
 
We know that this life is a test, that life did not begin with birth, nor will it end with death.
Then life begins to make sense, with meaning and purpose even in all of the chaotic mischief that mankind creates for itself... I do not think the Lord is quite so hopeless about what’s going on in the world as we are. He could put a stop to all of it any moment. But He will not! Not until every player has a chance to meet the test for which we were preparing before the world was, before we came into mortality…
 
There is no way to make sense out of life without a knowledge of the doctrine of premortal life. The idea that mortal birth is the beginning is preposterous. There is no way to explain life if you believe that. The notion that life ends with mortal death is ridiculous. There is no way to face life if you believe that.
 
When we understand the doctrine of premortal life, then things fit together and make sense. We are the children of God, created in his image. Our child-parent relationship to God is clear. The purpose for the creation of this earth is clear. The testing that comes in mortality is clear. The need for a redeemer is clear. When we do understand that principle of the gospel, we see a Heavenly Father and a Son; we see an atonement and a redemption. We understand why ordinances and covenants are necessary.
 
When one knows the gospel of Jesus Christ, there is cause to rejoice. The words joy and rejoice appear through the scriptures repetitively. Latter-day Saints are happy people. When one knows the doctrine, parenthood becomes a sacred obligation, the begetting of life a sacred privilege. Abortion would be unthinkable. No one would think of suicide. And all the frailties and problems of men would fade away.
We have cause to rejoice and we do rejoice, even celebrate.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

The Faith of Others


Sacred Clothing

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has included a recent film and dialog which states, in part, the following:

“From ancient times, men and women have embraced sacred music, different forms of prayer, religious vestments full of symbolism, gestures and rituals to express their innermost feelings of devotion to God…

To those outside a particular faith, the rituals and clothing may seem unfamiliar. But for the participants they can stir the deepest feelings of the soul, motivate them to do good, even shape the course of a whole life of service.

The nun’s habit. The priest’s cassock. The Jewish prayer shawl. The Muslim’s skullcap. The saffron robes of the Buddhist monk. All are part of a rich tapestry of human devotion to God…

Some people incorrectly refer to temple garments as magical or “magic underwear.” These words are not only inaccurate but also offensive to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is nothing magical or mystical about temple garments, and Church members ask for the same degree of respect and sensitivity that would be afforded to any other faith by people of goodwill…

To Church members, the modest temple garment, worn under normal clothing, along with the symbolic vestments worn during temple worship, represent the sacred and personal aspect of their relationship with God and their commitment to live good, honorable lives.”

From the book: 50 Truths The Devil Doesn’t Want You to Know, by Joseph Fielding McConkie, page 124 is written:

“The Savior tells the story:  The King (of heaven) sent out his servants to announce the marriage of his (Only Begotten) son.  As was the custom of the day, the King would provide the white robe in which everyone was to be dressed.  That the King supplied the robe, was a reminder of his grace, which is the same for all and that everyone was to be clothed in righteousness.  However, a man came to the feast clothed in filthy garments.  As was the tradition, the wedding was held at night.  The palace was lighted by the glory of the King, who had the man in the filthy garment bound and then cast outside to outer darkness (Matthew 22:11-14).

The more familiar one is with the Bible, the more familiar one is with such stories.  Similarly, the more familiar one is with mocking the faith of others, the more familiar one is with the spirit of the adversary.”