A Curious Instrument

In my continuing study of scripture, I have found that my understanding of Jesus Christ has been altered and that I have worked to share that new-found understanding with others. As an example, I have re-examined the incident with the loaves and fishes in the life of Jesus and additional insights that can be found in it. Mark 6 41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men. All of us acknowledge the miracle that Jesus performed in feeding the five thousand.  As I have pondered what more we can take from this miracle and apply to our own experience, I see that the multiplying of loaves and fishes is a metaphor for the multiplicativ...

It sounds like it might have been hard for the record-keeper at this point to write what the Lord Jesus Christ told them to say.  It certainly isn't politically correct and paints an entire section of the human family with a very broad brush of defamation. I can't think of many modern people who would defend these words for fear of being shunned. This is the entire contents of a chapter of the Book of Mormon and the closing statement on the record of Christ's visit to the western hemisphere.  It is both damning and hopeful, which typifies the tenor of the root message that Jesus has always given.   3 Nephi 30 1 Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying: 2 Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your s...

I hope I have made it more than obvious over the years that the disobedient should fear God. The scriptures we have are replete with warnings of the destruction that will come to those who choose not to reconcile themselves to Christ and his commandments, who broadcast behavior against publishing gratitude for their personal blessings from the Lord and his merciful kindness toward us. All of the quotes in this post come from the  3rd Book of Nephi, chapter 29  and were written by an ancient Western hemisphere prophet named Mormon living three hundred years after the coming of Christ to the Americas, following his resurrection. This comes to us through the larger Book of Mormon .  1 And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings shall come unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that the covenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the lands of their in...

Recent messages from general conferences remind us of the imminent second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to prepare ourselves and to warn our neighbors of this prophesied future event. A common theme is the absolute necessity for all to better hear and feel the Spirit of God and act on its promptings. We are counseled to turn more purposefully toward Christ and to follow the Savior far more stridently and be more dedicated as his disciples. Doing the will of Christ for each of us in the last days is a personalized endeavor that you and I only learn through direct inspiration from the Spirit. One of my purposes in this talk is to persuade more of us to open ourselves to the influence of the Lord and the Spirit so we can be led to the situations we are meant to be in and so we can become the people we are meant to be. This has been referred to with the phrase Let God prevail , because he loves us, knows what is best for us, and we need to better learn to put our trust in him ....

Have you ever wondered what makes Jesus happy? Through all his service to others, one might think it might be staying busy in healing and teaching. Yet again, the Book of Mormon records a tidbit of insight into the key to the joy of the Savior.. 3 Nephi 27 30 And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are lost. 31 Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are now alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I have fulness of joy. In asking the question to my wonderful wife, she offered several thing in relation to our obedience to Christ's commandments and remembering him.  When I said that Jesus himself encapsulated all that she had said into a simple statement, she of course wanted to know this statement. This is what he said, not just once but twice in two verses: ...

I wrote this bit of an essay some years ago.  It came to mind several times since and I shared the concept of "the Utah cultural center" with others recently and there was general agreement that it rang true with their experience in LDS-dominated places.  "Utah" here can mean an LDS-dominated place (like the State of Utah) or the attitude of only associating in a significant way with certain Latter-Day Saints of the same background. Many people think that where they live and the occupation that they pursue are the basic manifestations of themselves. Can I redirect you into a different way of thinking? Over the years, I have become convinced that it is who we are (our background), who we are striving to become (our attitudes and activities), and (perhaps most importantly) the people that we touch which should be the attributes that define us the most and steer our future plans. Each of us need an ultimate goal to attain, a goal that defines our lives and give purpose...

The verse before  was a simple statement of the "good news" of Christ found in the Book of Mormon , framed in the cleanliness needed to be with God in the hereafter.  Now, Christ commands us in what needs to be done to be cleansed by the Savior: 3 Nephi 27 20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. The fourth Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a statement of belief around these principles and ordinances: “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” There has already been much said of faith and repentance previously in the blog, but the concept of the Holy Gho...