A Curious Instrument

Here is a wonderful discourse on "Visitors Welcome" directly from Jesus Christ himself. 3 Nephi 18:28-32 28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it; 29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him. 30 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name, then shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood. 31 But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered. 32 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogu...

Some want to know why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints behaves in the way it does and why it accepts some behaviors and not others. In the strange climate of belief that Christ covers all behavior in his never-ending shroud of love, it can be hard to see why a church that considers itself the only organization actually created and led by Christ acts in certain ways. Actually, I think the actions of the Church of Jesus Christ can be readily understood and perhaps even predicted by an understanding of the "Agenda of God", which goes something like this:  to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through Joseph Smith;  to provide authoritative ordinances;  to administer God's covenants; and  to preach obedience and righteousness that lead people to exaltation . The goal of Christ and his Church is exaltation , the life that God enjoys. The conditions of exaltation are readily known: entering and keeping the temple covenant sealing together of...

Just in case one thinks this will be about slogans on coins and bills, this isn't about money. This is about who we trust.  When it comes to very important matters, those we trust become very important as well. As time passes, you should learn that people and their institutions are not very trustworthy. Too many expect the local store to always operate in ways that make customers happy, but a business can't do that consistently.  Sometimes inflation intervenes, wages rise, and prices go up. If a customer has a fixed income, that isn't the store's problem and you can't trust the store or its owners/managers/employees to make sure the price of goods are always affordable for you. The larger problem is that people are expecting far too much in almost every way from every external source.  Physicians must provide painless and complete heath. Governments must provide large assets (such as houses) at no or little cost to citizens.  God must punish the wicked immediately a...

Many people spend time making bigger choices, such as buying a car or a house.  These things should be considered and the more information you have on big decisions, the better your decision will be. There is no decision larger than who or what your God is.  I wrote about that before . It is important to choose wisely what gets your fullest devotion. Sadly, circumstances are not working in favor of taking lots of time to make your choice on approaching God or not. Because of all the terrible things that people are doing in our world, God will soon take away the opportunity to have his blessings: 3 Nephi 15 :10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner ...

In updating this, I see that it is a fore-bearer for the Agenda of God .  The concept didn't arise out of nowhere! Often enough on this blog, I have spoken of exaltation, or becoming as God. One could look on that goal as being like a destination. Others, in this case Jesus Christ, have reached the destination of exaltation and have mapped out a path that we can follow to come to the same place.  I have sometimes called this the Mariner's Log  and those within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often call this the Plan of Salvation . Whatever the name, the road to take and the destination to which it leads are the same. As with any destination, as log as you are on the proper road, faced in the right direction, and moving forward, you will reach it. Prophets and the Savior himself called this road the " straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life." It doesn't matter how slow you move as long as you are on this path, you will reach the promis...

In this time of dubious justifications for dwindling liberties and forced compliance, it is good to recall Christ's teachings on such times as these. I take some excerpts from the retelling of the Sermon on the Mount to those in America in the Book of Mormon , but the concepts are the same as those found in the biblical Book of Matthew . 3 Nephi 13:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him, lest at any time he shall get thee, and thou shalt be cast into prison. Christ doesn't want us to do jail-time that we may not escape.  Although a few of his servants were cast into prison, it is not something he wants for us.  We are to comply with our adversaries to avoid incarceration. Note the use of the word "adversary" - we are not to join the other side, only to work together as partners when it is advantageous. Don't make others destroy you as you can't preach to the living if you are dead. 3 Nephi 13:30 For it is better that ye...

A rather unique doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reveals that all of us had an existence before birth as spirit children of God.  The Bible mentions this in reference to Jeremiah (1:5) and Job (38:4, 7). Revelations 12:7 talks of the "war in heaven", where the spirit children of God chose to follow either Jehovah (Christ) or Lucifer (Satan).  Satan's followers were cast down and Christ's followers were prepared to come to earth through birth. When you chose Christ before you were born in mortality, it wasn't just a choice, it was a commitment .  You said you would follow Christ - that is why you are here.  Mortality is called a lot of things, but it may be thought of like a very extended military "boot camp".  It is designed to ascertain if you are qualified to be part of God's "army". The biggest thing to remember is that you committed to this.  You enlisted in God's development program. I suppose you can sa...