Tag: Gospel

Gospel oriented posts.

Luke 2 Christ is born

Luke 2

https://www.lds.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/2

Chapter 2
Heavenly messengers herald the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem—He is circumcised, and Simeon and Anna prophesy of His mission—At twelve years of age, He goes about His Father’s business.

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
34 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
35 (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.
42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.
48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?
50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Tags Christmas, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Luke 2, Nativity, Scripture

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

God and Creation

Just Finished watching Discovery Channel’s “Curiosity? Did God create the Universe?” Stephen Hawking says god doesn’t exist because nothing existed before the big bang even time so therefore God doesn’t exist. Mostly the dvd explores how life on earth could end everything from Alien invasion, Asteroids, Ark storms and they gave an example where northern California had over 30 days straight of an inch of rain an hour, I don’t remember the year. Earth quakes and volcanoes, the yellow stone super volcano is a bit disturbing to me and it has been more active of late.. Could lay waste to all of north America.

At the end there is bonus feature where several physicists and cosmologist and one “theologian” discuss various things.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints I’m thinking to myself and now you, that they have it all wrong. No where in scripture do I see God say he created the whole universe. I do see where he has said he created the Earth and many other worlds. Abraham chapter 3 of the Pearl of Great Price is a fascinating chapter.

11 Thus I, Abraham, ^atalked with the Lord, face to face, as one man talketh with another; and he told me of the works which his hands had made;
12 And he said unto me: My son, my son (and his hand was stretched out), behold I will show you all these. And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof.

19 And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am ^amore intelligent than they all.
20 The Lord thy God sent his angel to ^adeliver thee from the hands of the priest of Elkenah.
21 I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the ^aworks which my hands have made, wherein my ^bwisdom excelleth them all, for I ^crule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
  22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the ^aintelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the ^bnoble and great ones;
  23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast ^achosen before thou wast born.   24 And there stood ^aone among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and ^bwe will make an earth whereon these may ^cdwell;
  25 And we will ^aprove them herewith, to see if they will ^bdo all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
  26 And they who ^akeep their first ^bestate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second ^cestate shall have ^dglory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the ^aLord said: Whom shall I ^bsend? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And ^canother answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will ^dsend the first.
28 And the ^asecond was angry, and kept not his first ^bestate; and, at that day, many followed after him.

Genesis 1: 1-2 1 In the ^abeginning ^bGod ^ccreated the ^dheaven and the ^eearth.
2 And the earth was without ^aform, and void; and ^bdarkness was upon the face of the deep. And the ^cSpirit of God ^dmoved upon the face of the waters.

I wanted to embed The Creation Russell M. Nelson conference talk video, but word press said sorry we can’t embed that content..

Tags Abraham, creation, existance of God, Genisis, Gospel, LDS, Pearl of Great Price, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Temple Garments

This is not a subject I’m real comfortable with but apparently there is a LOT of misinformation about Temple Garments or as they are variously called Mormon garments, LDS garments, Mormon underwear or even magic underwear. Much of which I find offensive. Priesthood, or the power to act with the authority of Jesus Christ is not magic. You should not take the word of some one you know who told you such things. Find out for yourself.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently posted a style change about using the proper name of the church in print and so on.

Mormon Newsroom: President Nelson in Montreal: We’re Correcting—Not Changing—the Church’s Name

Doctrine and Covenants 115:4, “Thus shall my church be called … The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

One of the news (channel 15) posted on Facebook about the style change and I was surprised about all the comments about being a cult, magic underwear and so on. I trolled the trolls back and was surprised no one hassled me about it.

Let me explain that Temple Garments are Sacred not secret. Only after you have been interviewed, found worthy to receive a temple recommend and gone through the temple and received your endowments you are then expected to wear the garments as a reminder and convent with God to keep the promises you made in the temple.

I received my endowment and was sealed to my parents and siblings as a family unit for all time and eternity in 1983 just before I entered the Missionary Train Center or as we frequently call it MTC for short. There we (missionaries) were taught the basics of missionary work before we were sent to where ever we were called to go. I was called to the Sacramento California Mission for 18 months.

Scriptures

Exodus 29: 4-9, 21, 29   4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the ^adoor of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt ^bwash them with water.
5 And thou shalt take the ^agarments, and put upon Aaron the ^bcoat, and the robe of the ^cephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the ^dcurious girdle of the ephod:
6 And thou shalt put the ^amitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
7 Then shalt thou take the ^aanointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
9 And thou shalt ^agird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and ^bput the bonnets on them: and the ^cpriest’s office shall be theirs for a perpetual ^dstatute: and thou shalt ^econsecrate Aaron and his sons.       •  •  •

21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and ^ahe shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons’ garments with him.
• • • 29 ¶ And the holy ^agarments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be ^banointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.

Leviticus 8 Aaron and his sons are washed, anointed, clothed in their priesthood robes, and consecrated before all Israel—Moses and Aaron offer sacrifices to make reconciliation and atonement with the Lord.

Alma 5:21–24; Alma 7:25; Alma 13:11–12 Alma 5: 21-24 21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be ^asaved; for there can no man be saved except his ^bgarments are washed white; yea, his garments must be ^cpurified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.
22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with ^ablood and all manner of ^bfilthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?
23 Behold will they not ^atestify that ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are ^bguilty of all manner of wickedness?
24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with ^aAbraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white?

Alma 7: 25 25 And may the Lord bless you, and keep your garments spotless, that ye may at last be brought to sit down with ^aAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments ^bspotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.

Alma 13: 11-12 11 Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were ^asanctified, and their ^bgarments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb.
12 Now they, after being ^asanctified by the ^bHoly Ghost, having their garments made white, being ^cpure and spotless before God, could not look upon ^dsin save it were with ^eabhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.

Moroni 10:30-33 30 And again I would exhort you that ye would ^acome unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good ^bgift, and ^ctouch not the evil gift, nor the ^dunclean thing.
31 And ^aawake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of ^bZion; and ^cstrengthen thy ^dstakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest ^eno more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled
32 Yea, ^acome unto Christ, and be ^bperfected in him, and ^cdeny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and ^dlove God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be ^eperfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye ^asanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the ^bblood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your ^csins, that ye become ^dholy, without spot.

Topical guide: Clothing, garment, Covenant

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Resources.

New Temple Reflects Biblical Parallels

Temple Garments

Tags garments, Gospel, LDS, LDS garments, Mormon garments, Mormon underwear, temple, Temple garments

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Are Mormons (LDS) Christians?

Post author By Scott
Post date July 29, 2018
No Comments on Are Mormons (LDS) Christians?

You would think the name of the church would clue most people in; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but there are many out there that claim other wise for various reasons.

One of my favorite scriptures 2 Nephi Chapter 25:23-26

23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.

25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

This was written by a Prophet of God, Nephi who was preaching to his people hundreds of years before Jesus Christ was born in to the world. It is from the Book of Mormon a second witness of Jesus Christ, a companion to the Bible. Where the Bible mainly deals with the Jews, the book of Mormon deals with people who were led to the American continent, during various exoduses from Israel by the tribes. (John 10: 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be cone fold, and one shepherd) Mainly it deals with a Prophet named Lehi and his children who lived around the time of Jeremiah during the first year of the reign of King Zedekiah and were told to leave Jerusalem after testifying of the prophecies that Lehi had received from God and of the wickedness of the Jews and their abominations 1 Nephi 1:20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away…

The Book of Mormon has many passages about Christ, his church, teachings and prophecies.. Alma 46:15 And those who did belong to the church were faithful; yea, all those who were true believers in Christ took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ, or Christians as they were called, because of their belief in Christ who should come.

The bible tells us why it is important, John 17: 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Our Articles of Faith state: A of F 1: 1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost

A of F 1: 6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

I invite you to read The Book of Mormon yourself and learn of the teachings of these prophets about Jesus Christ. Free Book of Mormon or read the Book of Mormon online.