"...trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved;" (Moroni 9:22) - We must trust in Christ and live our lives as He has commanded in order for us to be saved and live with Him again. Trusting isn't always easy but it is so essential and so important especially when developing and working on a relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ. "...be faithful in Christ;" (Moroni 9:25) - We must live our lives according to Christ and care more about what He thinks then what the people of the world and in the world think of us. We must live our lives faithful as a tribute to Christ. For really we have not other choice but to perish . Marion D. Hanks said, "Christ in our lives is not meant to grieve us or weigh us down unto death because we have been imperfect. Through him we may be lifted up by accepting his gifts and his mercy and long-suffering. These blessings we must seek to keep in our minds always." (Ensign, July 1973, "What Manner of Men") We...
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- God will call us to do great things in His name if we are worthy and living our lives ready to receive the call. We must always be ready and willing to listen and heed his words. - Children and brought into this world innocent and perfect, there is no need for baptism at this point. M. Russell Ballard said, "In other words, we're born good; we learn to sin as we grow older. And if you need evidence of the truth of that doctrine, please see your nearest infant. Look deeply into the child's eyes. Have you ever seen such sweetness and purity? It's like you can look through a baby's eyes right into heaven. "Of course, that changes a little later in their lives when wide-eyed innocence turns into wild-eyed mischievousness. That's when children become accountable and capable of sin-when they know and understand the difference between right and wrong. Through the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord revealed that the age of accountability is eight years old. (...
"...have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise." (Moroni 7:41) - Sometimes I try to hope for things in life and they don't happen the way I want them to and it makes me lose faith for a little while. This is an important reminder that we must have " hope through the atonement of Christ" and nothing else. We must do our best because of that hope we plant in ourselves and because Christ already did everything needed to return. and gain eternal life. Moroni 7:45 Charity is a great attribute to gain and to be used and worked on now as well as used in Marriage. CHARITY, noun- In a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good. In a theological sense, it includes supreme love to God, an...
"...Christ hath said; If y will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." (Moroni 7:33) - Gaining faith in our Savior Jesus Christ is one of the most important and sometimes hardest but most rewarding things we can do on this earth. By having faith we can have a sure hope and a stronger relationship with our Elder Brother and Savior Jesus Christ. -People often think that miracles don't happen anymore and that it was only in the days of Christ or the days of the Bible that God would show Himself to us. Moroni 7:37 tells us what really happened, "it is by faith that miracles are wrought;" We must have faith in the God of miracles and there are a lot of people who don't and who don't even believe He exists. How can we change this? How can we strengthen the faith of God's Children? Spencer W. Kimball said, "If the Bible were 'the end of the prophets,' it would be through lack of faith, and th...
Moroni 7:20,22 "...how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?" ---> 7:22 "...the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing." -My Savior Jesus Christ will bring all things good into this world. He did when He lived here and He will do it again when He returns. (Moroni 7:23) "...all things which are good cometh of Christ;" (Moroni 7:26) " ...by faith, they become the sons of God." In Mosiah 5:7 it also says, "because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called children of Christ," -It is so important to make covenants with our Father in Heaven and to keep them. We make covenants with Him at baptism and we make covenants with Him when we go to His Holy Temple. We also partake of the sacrament each week in church to "renew" our covenants and to remind us what we promised we would do and who we promised we would become. RENEW-To renovate; to restore t...
"Christ... the author and finisher of their faith." (Moroni 6:4) - Christ did EVERYTHING already. Bruce R. McConkie "Christ is the Author of Salvation. This means that he made salvation available to all men in that he worked out the infinite and eternal atonement. Paul's statement that Christ is 'the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him' (Heb. 5:9), as the marginal reading shows, means that he is the 'cause' thereof; that is, salvation is possible because of his atoning sacrifice; without this sacrifice there would be no salvation." (Mormon Doctrine, p. 66) (Moroni 7:3) "I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope..." -How do we obtain a sufficient hope? What is sufficient? (Moroni 7:9) "...if he shall pray... not with real intent of heart;...it profiteth him nothing," - We need to be more conscious of the t...
- In Institute yesterday we were talking about the importance of the sacrament and that there are so many people in the church who don't understand the purpose or the importance of coming to the sacrament and partaking of it. We renew our covenants with God, not just our baptismal covenants but also the covenants we made in the temple with Him. We need to remember them and to remember what we are responsible for and most important reflection on what we need to improve on or do better at. - When we partake of the sacrament WORTHILY we are allowing Christ into us, both in a spiritual and a physical sense. We are asking Him to heal us and to make us more like He is. Are we allowing that to happen or do we just partake of the sacrament because that's what we do each week? "took upon themselves the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end." (Ether 6:3) - Taking upon ourselves the name of Christ is a big deal. It makes me think of our last names th...
- Moroni is alone. I have felt alone before but been around many people, I think it's interesting though that there were people around him but none that were or wanted to live the way he did. I think of that today, sometimes we are surrounded by people and yet feel alone in our beliefs, actions, and words because of the way we are trying to live. But it's important to ALWAYS REMEMBER that Christ is there for us always. I have a tendency to forget this and to rely on my own strength and knowledge which isn't much. "...they ordained them by the power of the Holy Ghost, which was in them." -What a blessing to have the Holy Ghost with us always as long as we are striving to live our lives to have Him with us. I also think of the men who hold the priesthood and have been loaned the power of God to bring to pass His gospel and His purpose. How much more could we achieve if we were to always live worthy of it and therefore grow closer to God? "Elder James E. T...
- People often rejected God's servants and Prophets that were sent to teach and testify to them what was to happen. In what ways today do we do that? We don't stone the Prophet or throw him our of our cities but in what ways do we likewise do these things to reject the Prophet and God's word? I feel like not listening or taking heed to His words and his counsel is the same thing today. When we don't do as we are asked we are doing as they did in old times when they rejected the prophets for telling them to live as our Father in Heaven would have them live. -The wicked receive strength and more power with their secret combinations. I never understand how those who are wicked receive strength more than those who are righteous. - I don't particularly like to read the many many war chapters in the Book of Mormon but it is interesting to compare the success or lack thereof when the people us the strength of God or when they go about using their own strength the...
Moroni testifies of Christ for his posterity and those who might read his writings, because of the marvelous miracles, visitations, and blessings he has received. We are also invited to "...seek this Jesus..." seek- To go in search or quest of; to look for; to search for by going from place to place. - To "seek this Jesus" takes more effort and time then I think we typically give it some days. If we were seeking for an answer or a cure for a sickness or for cancer for a loved one how hard would we seek? Would we go to the end of the world to read all the books we could about it or would we just rely on others and their knowledge? How can we better seek Him? And not only seek Him but find Him in our own lives? Blessing- happiness!!! :) 😁
"...faith is things which are hoped for and not seen;...for ye recieve no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether12:6) - God will bless us always but we are the ones who aren't trustworthy all the time so we have to do our part before he will bless us and give us what we need at that time. - Faith is one of the hardest things to get and yet I would think it would be one of the most rewarding to have unwavering faith and to work to wards a knowledge and true understanding of all things by living our lives righteously and by obeying the commands of God. We are asked to be meek, Neal A. Maxwell said, "Meekness ranks low on the mortal scale of things, yet high on God's: 'For none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart.' (Moroni 7:44.) The rigorous requirements of Christian discipleship are clearly unattainable without meekness. In fact, meekness is needed in order to be spiritually successful, whether in matters of the...
-It's interesting how some in the scriptures can have wicked parents and turn out good and rule righteously and some can have righteous parents and rule wicked? What is it today that we can do to have our kids stay in the gospel and to love and live it? -Why do we have to be told to things so many times? I think it is interesting also that we often times can't learn from the mistakes of others we have to learn from our own mistakes over and over again. When God tells us something to do or not to do to it should be obvious but not always is it, even to me. -How much faith do you have? How often are you willing to exercise your faith? - I can't imagine the miracles we would see every day or even recognize every day if we were to have greater faith in ou God. I'm sure there is so much more going on around us that we don't even know, recognize or can't even comprehend. Blessing- I had fun at my photo shoot
-Because the people had a righteous king to rule over them they were both " exceedingly strong " and " exceedingly rich ". I also think that God will bless us in the ways He sees fit when we are living our lives righteously. By better recognizing or trying to recognize our blessings we can become truly happy. It is easy to recognize not receiving blessings we wanted but that doesn't do us any good, but make us bitter and upset. - Let's look for extraordinary blessings in our lives, recognize daily the things the Lord gives us and does for us. -It's interesting how many times in the scriptures people fight or kill others in their own family for wealth or for the thrown. What does it mean to you to be in a family? Is it just a group of people you were stuck with or do you truly care about them? Blessing- I was blessed with a beautiful body and mind. (I am pretty and seek to be like my Savior)
-It's interesting that in the scriptures people become wicked and then they recognize their wickedness and repent and become better. -Today I don't feel like that happens, people don't recognize their great sin and that there is a need to change if they are happy, which is an artificial happiness. Ether 8:26 says, "...they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved." It's amazing the things people will do for power and recognition, from the beginning of time to today. It seems like God's people always take the same paths. Although in the scriptures they usually came from or had some kind of influence around them that was good that could turn them back to their Savior Jesus Christ and bring them back to Him. Blessing- Good nights rest!!
REND- To separate any substance into parts with force or sudden violence; to tear asunder; to split; as powder rends a rock in blasting; lightning rends an oak. "...when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief..." (Ether 4:15) - To get rid of all unbelief and to truly gain a knowledge of the Gospel and of my Savior Jesus Christ. -Often times we are told that or hear people say that God doesn't speak to His children and that revelations or God revealing Himself is of the past. Why do we put limitations on our God? Don't we think that if He want's to find a way to talk to us He will, and has done so? Do we even read the words like the Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, and other amazing works to better understand what He wants from us and wants us to know? We can't get more until we have used what we have been given. -When the Jaredite's made it to the promise land they sang praises and gave thanks to God. Do we always give God credit for our accomplishment...
Faith- believing without seeing. - This can be a lot easier said than done. I find myself forgetting the promises given to me and doubting at times and then realizing like it says in Ether 3 that Heavenly Father is the "God of truth, and canst not lie." (Ether 3:12) So when we are promised something by Him it will come either in this life or in the next, but we also much be willing to listen to Him and live our lives according to his counsel. "...they who shall believe on my name;... shall become my sons and my daughters. " (Ether 3:14) - Do we truly believe in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer? That He has redeemed us from the fall and is the ultimate and only source of Salvation. What would that be like to be the brother of Jared and have "faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting." Ether 3:19 - I think that is a goal of everyone's but it is also a goal we can't achieve on our own. We must have for help and become humble to our...
"The Lord i s My Light" Lyrics 1. The Lord is my light; then why should I fear? By day and by night his presence is near. He is my salvation from sorrow and sin; This blessed assurance the Spirit doth bring. (Chorus) The Lord is my light; He is my joy and my song. By day and by night he leads, He leads me along. 2. The Lord is my light; tho clouds may arise, Faith, stronger than sight, looks up thru the skies Where Jesus forever in glory doth reign. Then how can I ever in darkness remain? 3. The Lord is my light; the Lord is my strength. I know in his might I'll conquer at length. My weakness in mercy he covers with pow'r, And, walking by faith, I am blest ev'ry hour. 4. The Lord is my light, my all and in all. There is in his sight no darkness at all. He is my Redeemer, my Savior, and King. With Saints and with angels his praises I'll sing. Text: James Nicholson, 1828-1876 Music: John R. Sweney, 1837-1899 ...
Ether 1:43 "...there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth." The United States of America was a chosen land and nation. We were chosen to bring forth the restoration of the gospel in these latter-days. Ether 2:13 has a condition with it; "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written." -This is kind of scary in these days because there are so many people who don't believe in God or Jesus Christ and more and more all the time are turning to science and not to the miracles of the Almighty ones. The rising generation is so mixed, we have amazing strong youth and we also have those youth who want to be accepted so badly that they will do whatever it tak...
- Everyone one wants to live with God again after we complete our work in this life. But will we feel comfortable living with Him? What did we do to improve our lives and become more like our Savoir Jesus Christ? Or did we? We must improve our lives each day and if we don't know or aren't sure where to start, then pray. Heavenly Father has promised us that He will answer our prayers if we ask. Mormon 8:11 "But behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles ," -Heavenly Father has done and continues to do miracles for His children today. He uses His magnificent powers to give us blessings, to heal us, to create things every day for our sake. -I think often times we give science and scientists way to much credit. If it weren't for God we would have nothing. Yes, our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ created this world and all that is in it but he created just that "all that is in it". Just like Thomas Edison created the light bulb which we use every...
- Oh my goodness... When we are feeling bad for ourselves or lonely we should just read Mormon 8. It is so sad, this man that is so alone and writing to people who are not born yet and won't be for many many years. -Mormon 8:12, Moroni bears his testimony of the truth of the words written in the Book of Mormon and says that "were it possible, I would make all things known you." He would bear his witness to Gods people so that we would better understand what he went through and all he suffered and was at that point suffering. Mormon 8:22 "For the eternal puroses of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled." cross reference D&C 4 Missionary scripture. We are all asked to do the work of God and to be HIs servant in fulfilling his purpose. He could do it alone but then we wouldn't get the blessings He wants us to have or the growth He wants us to have. Mormon 8:24- the word of God is so powerful it can protect us from harm o...
-Christ is the keeper of the gate and will be there to greet us when we pass on the other side. (Mormon 6:17) "O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!" -That will be amazing to be in the arms of the Savior after fighting the fight here on earth and doing my best to do as was asked of me. Am I doing my part to know Him and to have a relationship with my Savior while I'm on earth so that I can and will recognize Him always? - We have been blessed because we are in the house of Israel that blessings will be bestowed upon us. We must follow the gospel and do our best to repent and come unto him. We are asked to; "come to the knowledge of your fathers..." "repent of all your sins and iniquities..." "believe in Jesus Christ..." (Mormon 7:5) Blessing- THE IDAHO FALLS TEMPLE IS REDEDICATED!!! I have my temple back!!!
The Nephites "did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them." (Mormon 5:2) - Are there times in our lives that we struggle and go through hard things without calling upon the Lord? The one that understands all and can truly help. Let's commit right now to call upon the Lord throughout our lives and include him in our struggles and our happy times. Whatever the Lord promises us will come to pass, for God cannot lie and will not bring His children down the path of destruction like Satan. We must believe what Heavenly Father has told us and promised us. Believe that we are His sons and daughters and that we have great potential to be like Him and to live with Him again. Don't give up on yourself, for God will NEVER give up on you. "...the seed of this people may more fully believe his gospel," (Momon 5:15) - What would this take to have more of Gods people believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ? We have missionaries out teachi...
"the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in their sin." (Mormon 2:13) - The Lord won't allow us to sin and be truly happy. We must find happiness among our trials and tribulations but not among sin and sinners. We have to change and become better every day. We must find ways to find joy and recognize the blessings we have been given in our life. Ammon clearly understood the difference between the strength of the Lord and mortal man's weakness. He testified: 'I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things' (Alma 26:12). -I need to remember this more often, that what I have been given is not because of anything I have done or deserve. It's so that God can use me to continue His work. I must stay positive in order to ensure His trust and ensure that I have a job " ...to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of...
Mormon is visited by Christ and "knew of the goodness of Jesus" (Mormon 1:15) -Do we have to have a visit from Christ to know of His goodness or does it just require on our part a desire to know Him and to have a relationship with Him? Blessing- Christ want's to have a relationship with me all I have to do is have the same desire and do my part.