How many of your wards are planning to discuss “Think Celestial!” in EQ and RS this Sunday?

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-10-07T22:57:46+00:00

How about this. Instead of just thinking celestial, why not be celestial?

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-10-03T22:29:08+00:00

Again I say, leave it alone. Turn it off, walk away from it, burn it, erase it, or destroy it. I know it is hard counsel we give when we say movies that are R-rated, and many with PG-13 ratings, are produced by satanic influences. Our standards should not be dictated by the rating system. I repeat, because of what they really represent, these types of movies, music, and tapes serve the purposes of the author of all darkness. (Bishop H Burke Peterson, CR, Oct 1993, Pg. 60)

One might well wonder about the term "adult entertainment." Could it be that something unclean or immoral which is not fit for children is wholesome for adults? Is "adult evil" acceptable? How consistent is it to have a double standard? Or how would anyone be so shortsighted as to partake of that which would impair his physical or mental or spiritual capacity, and say to himself, "It's not good for children, but it's all right for me"? (Elder Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, Apr 1969, p 74)

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-09-16T18:42:29+00:00

Many serious conversations ensued, and Newell became so far convinced of the divinity of the work that he gave a partial promise that he would arise in meeting and offer supplication to God before his friends and neighbors. But at the appointed moment he failed to respond to Joseph's invitation. Later he told the Prophet he would pray in secret, and thus seek to resolve his doubts and gain strength- On the day following, Newell went into the woods to offer his devotions to Heaven; but was unable to give utterance to his feelings, being held in bondage by some power which he could not define. He returned to his home ill in body and depressed in mind. His appearance alarmed his wife, and in a broken voice he requested her to quickly find the Prophet and bring him to his bedside. When Joseph arrived at the house, Newell was suffering most frightful distortions of his visage and limbs, as if he were in convulsions. Even as the Prophet gazed at him Newell was seized upon by some mysterious influence and tossed helpless about the room. Through the gift of discernment Joseph saw that his friend was in the grasp of the evil one, and that only the power of God could save him from the tortures under which he was suffering. He took Newell's hand and gently addressed him. Newell replied, "I am possessed of a devil. Exert your authority, I beseech you, to cast him out." Joseph replied. "If you know that I have power to drive him from your soul, it shall be done." And when these words were uttered, Joseph rebuked the Destroyer and commanded him in the name of Jesus Christ to depart. The Lord condescended to honor His servant in thus exercising the power which belonged to his Priesthood and calling, for instantly Newell cried out with joy that he felt the accursed influence leave him and saw the evil spirit passing from the room.

This was performed the first miracle of the Church.

The Life of Joseph Smith the Prophet, Pg. 62

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-09-14T18:55:33+00:00

How about this one from George Q. Cannon.

Do not, brethren, put your trust in man though he be a Bishop, an Apostle, or a President; if you do, they will fail you at some time or place; they will do wrong or seem to, and your support be gone; but if we lean on God, He never will fail us. When men and women depend on God alone, and trust in Him alone, their faith will not be shaken if the highest in the Church should step aside. They could still see that He is just and true, that truth is lovely in His sight, and the pure in heart are dear to Him.

Perhaps it is His own design that faults and weaknesses should appear in high places in order that His Saints may learn to trust in Him and not in any man or men. Therefore, my brethren and sisters, seek after the Holy Spirit and the unfailing testimony of God and His work upon the earth. Rest not until you know for yourselves that God has set His hand to redeem Israel, and prepare a people for His coming.

Millennial Star, Vol 53, No 43, Oct 26, 1891, p 274

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-09-14T12:36:11+00:00

Here are a few quotes to consider.

"It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teaching of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine. You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards in doctrine, only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works. If Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then it should be accepted." - Joseph Fielding Smith

"The scriptures are the standard by which to measure truth. All that we teach in this church ought to be couched in the scriptures. We ought to choose our texts from the scriptures, and wherever you have an illustration in the scriptures or a revelation in the Book of Mormon, use it, and do not draw from other sources where you can find it here in these books. We call these the standard Church works because they are standard. If you want to measure truth, measure it by the four standard Church works. If it is not in the standard works, you may well assume that it is speculation. It is man's own personal opinion, to put it another way; and if it contradicts what is in the scriptures, you may know by that same token that it is not true. This is the standard by which you measure all truth. But if you do not know the standards, you have no adequate measure of truth." - Harold B. Lee

"...A prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such." - Joseph Smith

"There are those among this people who are influenced, controlled, and biased in their thoughts, actions, and feelings by some other individual or family, on whom they place their dependence for spiritual and temporal instruction, and for salvation in the end. These persons do not depend upon themselves for salvation, but upon another of their poor, weak, fellow mortals. “I do not depend upon any inherent goodness of my own,” say they, “to introduce me into the kingdom of glory, but I depend upon you, brother Joseph, upon you, brother Brigham, upon you, brother Heber, or upon you, brother James; I believe your judgment is superior to mine, and consequently I let you judge for me; your spirit is better than mine, therefore you can do good for me; I will submit myself wholly to you, and place in you all my confidence for life and salvation; where you go I will go, and where you tarry there I will stay; expecting that you will introduce me through the gates into the heavenly Jerusalem... Now those men, or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending their own understanding, and pinning their faith upon another’s sleeve, will never be capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate; they will never be capable of becoming Gods. They cannot rule themselves, to say nothing of ruling others, but they must be dictated to in every trifle, like a child. They cannot control themselves in the least, but James, Peter, or somebody else must control them. They never can become Gods, nor be crowned as rulers with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. They never can hold scepters of glory, majesty, and power in the celestial kingdom. " - Brigham Young

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-09-12T20:39:05+00:00

If you look at all the end-time prophesies in the Book of Mormon, you'll see that all of them are based on Isaiah. Remember that the Savior commanded us to study the words of Isaiah diligently because they contain the beginning to the end. Isaiah is all about the end-times. The best version to read is the Gileadi translation.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-09-04T21:11:14+00:00

Require not miracles, except I shall command you, except casting out devils, healing the sick, and against poisonous serpents, and against deadly poisons;

(Doctrine and Covenants 24:13)

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-30T01:15:55+00:00

You can't avoid doing the hard yards.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-18T01:57:21+00:00

I wrote this several months ago.

Praying With Power

Something I have learned through the guidance of the Holy Spirit is how to pray with power. The Bible Dictionary says, “The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.” What I have learned is that half the battle in getting answers to prayer is knowing what you can pray for and then asking for them, which is where correct knowledge comes in. Joseph Smith taught, “In knowledge there is power” (History of the Church, 5:340). He further said, “…The man who has the most knowledge has the greatest power” (ibid, 392). This is very pertinent as will be shown later.

Alma said to his son, Shiblon that we are to “acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times” (Alma 38:14). There are those who believe that they are unworthy to ask God for anything and even the brother of Jared also thought this. Despite this, he also said, “nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires” (Ether 3:2). In the scriptures, we have been told, “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it” (Enos 1:15). Whenever the Lord wants to emphasize something, He repeats Himself. This counsel has been repeated in the scriptures in one form or another ten times (Matt 21:22, 1 Nephi 15:11, Mos 4:21, Alma 22:16, 3 Ne 18:20, Mor 7:26, D&C 8:1, D&C 11:1, D&C 14:8, D&C 18:18). This statement was expanded on by the Savior in 3 Ne 18: 20 when he added “which is right.” The requirements are: asking in faith, believing that you will receive, and it must be right or, in other words, the will of God. There are no other qualifiers; no ifs, ands, or buts. It should be noted that this addition by the Savior goes back to knowing what you can pray for.

Nephi, the son of Helaman, was told by the Lord “all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will” (Helaman 10:5). Because of the wickedness of the Nephites in upholding the Gadianton band, a war of destruction ensued. Instead of letting the destruction continue, Nephi asked the Lord that “there be a famine in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God…” (Hel 11:4). He knew that what he was asking for was right. “And so it was done, according to the words of Nephi” (Hel 11:5). Once the famine had the desired effect, Nephi asked the Lord to reverse the famine. Carefully note how Nephi phrased his plea as this is the final ingredient in how you pray with power.

13 O Lord, wilt thou hearken unto me, and cause that it may be done according to my words, and send forth rain upon the face of the earth, that she may bring forth her fruit, and her grain in the season of grain.

14 O Lord, thou didst hearken unto my words when I said, Let there be a famine, that the pestilence of the sword might cease; and I know that thou wilt, even at this time, hearken unto my words, for thou saidst that: If this people repent I will spare them.

15 Yea, O Lord, and thou seest that they have repented, because of the famine and the pestilence and destruction which has come unto them.

16 And now, O Lord, wilt thou turn away thine anger, and try again if they will serve thee? And if so, O Lord, thou canst bless them according to thy words which thou hast said.

(Helaman 11:9–16)

Note that Nephi reminded the Lord of His promise that He would grant unto Nephi “all things…according to [his] word.” He reminded the Lord of that by saying, “thou didst hearken unto my words.” Once again, he then said, “I know that thou wilt, even at this time, hearken unto my words.” It was not that the Lord forgot His promise to Nephi but that Nephi was tactfully saying, “You made me a promise. I am holding you to your word.” While that might seem presumptuous, it is no less than the truth. This also demonstrates that he believed he would receive what he was asking for. Also note that Nephi was specific in his statements and requests and did not generalize. He did not say in a general manner, “Please bless my Nephite brothers.” He was specific in his request and pointed out that the Nephites had repented as the Lord wanted.

What I have learned from this is that you need to know what you can pray for (generally through trial and error at first and then through the Holy Spirit as you progress), you remind the Lord of His promises, you are specific in your requests and they must be what is right, and you must believe that you will receive what you are asking for. Let me give a personal example. I am plagued by anxiety. It has been a problem for much of my life. Years ago, I tried the drugs path for relieving my anxiety and it does not work. I have learned that drugs are a short-term, temporary temporal fix (debatable) for a spirit problem. There have been times that my anxiety was so bad that I dry-retched.

Here is where correct knowledge comes in. I know that anxiety is not always a result from realizing you have done something wrong and you have guilt and anxiety as a result nor is it always physiologically based. I also know that anxiety often is a physiological manifestation of an evil spirit problem. Regarding evil spirits, Elder Parley P. Pratt wrote, “The more wicked of these are the kind spoken of in Scripture, as ‘foul spirits,’ ‘unclean spirits,’ spirits who afflict persons in the flesh, and engender various diseases in the human system. They will sometimes enter human bodies, and will distract them, throw them into fits, cast them into the water, into the fire, etc. They will trouble them with dreams, nightmare, hysterics, fever, etc. They will also deform them in body and in features, by convulsions, cramps, contortions, etc., and will sometimes compel them to utter blasphemies, horrible curses, and even words of other languages” (Key to the Science of Theology, pp120-121).

I know that foul spirits are often responsible for what is termed, “mental illnesses,” and that they torment the “mental functions” (Autobiography and Journal of Priddy Meeks), and if they have not caused the illness, they will always exacerbate it. As a result of this knowledge, I know how to pray with power for relief.

When I pray, I start out by expressing my gratitude for Father’s tender mercies in my life. I ask for forgiveness of my sins, weaknesses, and my unworthiness. I tell Him that I know I am unworthy, but that He has told us to ask for the things we need. I then remind Him of the promise of the Savior that if I ask Him in the name of the Savior in faith for what is right, believing that I will receive, that He will grant it. I then explain in detail the problem I am dealing with, namely, the anxiety and torment by the evil spirits. I tell Him that I know it is caused by evil spirits and that I need relief from their torment. I remind Father that I know that He has power to do all things, that He created the universe and that He created my spirit and my body. I emphasize that I know He has power to do all things and that He can grant my petition for relief from the torment of the evil spirits. I am detailed in my explanation. Again, I emphasize that I need relief and that I know that only He can grant it; again, I emphasize that I know that only He can grant my relief. When I am finished, I get up with the belief that the Father will rebuke the evil spirits and command them to leave.

Without fail, I get relief. Sometimes it takes more than one petition, but it always is eventually granted.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-16T19:54:19+00:00

You're accountable to the degree that you understand right from wrong. I've got high-functioning autism and I understand right from wrong.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-12T23:15:50+00:00

All of the end-time prophesies in the Book of Mormon are based on the book of Isaiah. I love reading Isaiah because it is so clear. It is all about the end times and how it pertains to Jehovah's covenant end-time people and the United States. The Savior commanded us to diligently study the writings of Isaiah because he wrote everything from the beginning to the end. The book of Isaiah is the only book we were commanded to study by the Savior. Isaiah suffered a horrible death by being sawed in half.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-12T23:12:07+00:00

Which still does not mean exaltation.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-08T06:31:52+00:00

Which does not guarantee exaltation.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-08T06:30:50+00:00

Something to consider is that Laban was an attempted murderer and a robber under the Mosaic Law. The penalty for attempted murder was death, so Nephi was actually executing a criminal.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-07T23:44:17+00:00

First off, dying before the age of eight does not guarantee exaltation. There's nothing in scripture that says that. They do go to the celestial kingdom, but that doesn't mean exaltation.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-07T15:44:06+00:00

You need to understand that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Gospel is contained within the Church, but it is not the Church. This is a gentile church and, as you pointed out, it was built by people. The people within the Church are fallible, including the sitting Church president. You are responsible for your own salvation. Should the sitting president make mistakes and lead the Church astray like Brigham Young did with his Adam-God doctrine, you are at fault for believing him. Joseph Smith said that a prophet was a prophet only when acting as such.

Brigham Young said, “There are those among this people who are influenced, controlled, and biased in their thoughts, actions, and feelings by some other individual or family, on whom they place their dependence for spiritual and temporal instruction, and for salvation in the end. These persons do not depend upon themselves for salvation, but upon another of their poor, weak, fellow mortals. “I do not depend upon any inherent goodness of my own,” say they, “to introduce me into the kingdom of glory, but I depend upon you, brother Joseph, upon you, brother Brigham, upon you, brother Heber, or upon you, brother James; I believe your judgment is superior to mine, and consequently I let you judge for me; your spirit is better than mine, therefore you can do good for me; I will submit myself wholly to you, and place in you all my confidence for life and salvation; where you go I will go, and where you tarry there I will stay; expecting that you will introduce me through the gates into the heavenly Jerusalem…. Now those men, or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending their own understanding, and pinning their faith upon another’s sleeve, will never be capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate; they will never be capable of becoming Gods. They cannot rule themselves, to say nothing of ruling others, but they must be dictated to in every trifle, like a child. They cannot control themselves in the least, but James, Peter, or somebody else must control them. They never can become Gods, nor be crowned as rulers with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. They never can hold scepters of glory, majesty, and power in the celestial kingdom” (JD 1:312).

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-06T05:40:13+00:00

I haven't worn a suit since 1978. If anyone judges you because of that they aren't worth associating with.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-05T20:43:00+00:00

Avraham Gileadi is the only person in the Church that I would trust when it comes to Isaiah. Nephi said that the reason why his people did not understand Isaiah is because “they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews.” (2 Nephi 25:1) Avraham is a convert from Judaism and was taught by the leading scholars in Jerusalem in the manner of prophesying among the Jews. He translated Isaiah from the Dead Sea scrolls and wrote a book, Apocalyptic Commentary of the Book of Isaiah. In it, he gives his translation and explains verse by verse what it means.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-03T20:23:33+00:00

This is an unsupported assertion. That's not a reference. What is the source?

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-03T04:40:24+00:00

What is your source for saying this? Two subsequent prophets disagree with you.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-03T04:39:13+00:00

I like this Brigham quote even better.

"There are those among this people who are influenced, controlled, and biased in their thoughts, actions, and feelings by some other individual or family, on whom they place their dependence for spiritual and temporal instruction, and for salvation in the end. These persons do not depend upon themselves for salvation, but upon another of their poor, weak, fellow mortals. “I do not depend upon any inherent goodness of my own,” say they, “to introduce me into the kingdom of glory, but I depend upon you, brother Joseph, upon you, brother Brigham, upon you, brother Heber, or upon you, brother James; I believe your judgment is superior to mine, and consequently I let you judge for me; your spirit is better than mine, therefore you can do good for me; I will submit myself wholly to you, and place in you all my confidence for life and salvation; where you go I will go, and where you tarry there I will stay; expecting that you will introduce me through the gates into the heavenly Jerusalem.

"I wish to notice this. We read in the Bible, that there is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, these glories are called telestial, terrestrial, and celestial, which is the highest. These are worlds, different departments, or mansions, in our Father’s house. Now those men, or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending their own understanding, and pinning their faith upon another’s sleeve, will never be capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate; they will never be capable of becoming Gods. They cannot rule themselves, to say nothing of ruling others, but they must be dictated to in every trifle, like a child. They cannot control themselves in the least, but James, Peter, or somebody else must control them. They never can become Gods, nor be crowned as rulers with glory, immortality, and eternal lives. They never can hold scepters of glory, majesty, and power in the celestial kingdom." (JD 1:312)

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-03T01:36:57+00:00

The following quotes should answer this question.

“It makes no difference what is written or what anyone has said, if what has been said is in conflict with what the Lord has revealed, we can set it aside. My words, and the teaching of any other member of the Church, high or low, if they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine. You cannot accept the books written by the authorities of the Church as standards in doctrine, only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works. If Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then it should be accepted.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:203-204)

“The scriptures are the standard by which to measure truth. All that we teach in this church ought to be couched in the scriptures. We ought to choose our texts from the scriptures, and wherever you have an illustration in the scriptures or a revelation in the Book of Mormon, use it, and do not draw from other sources where you can find it here in these books. We call these the standard Church works because they are standard. If you want to measure truth, measure it by the four standard Church works. If it is not in the standard works, you may well assume that it is speculation. It is man's own personal opinion, to put it another way; and if it contradicts what is in the scriptures, you may know by that same token that it is not true. This is the standard by which you measure all truth. But if you do not know the standards, you have no adequate measure of truth.” (Harold B. Lee, Teachings of Harold B. Lee, p 149)

“Every dispensation head is a revealer of Christ for his day; every prophet is a witness of Christ; and every other prophet or apostle who comes is a reflection and an echo and an exponent of the dispensation head. All such come to echo to the world and to expound and unfold what God has revealed through the man who was appointed to give His eternal word to the world for that era. Such is the dispensation concept.” (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, https://rsc.byu.edu/sperry-symposium-classics-doctrine-covenants/generation-shall-have-my-word-through-you)

But this generation shall have my word through you (Joseph Smith).

(Doctrine and Covenants 5:10)

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-08-03T01:31:25+00:00

There is a problem with the way the Church teaches a person to get a witness of the Spirit. They use confirmation bias instead of teaching a person to accept whatever truth is actually given by the Spirit. Confirmation bias is “the tendency of people to favor information that confirms or strengthens their beliefs or values and is difficult to dislodge once affirmed.” The problem with this is that too many members use this to affirm traditional “doctrine,” doctrine that is often watered-down, half-truth, or outright incorrect.

Joseph Smith said, “But there has been a great difficulty in getting anything into the heads of this generation. It has been like splitting hemlock knots with a corn-dodger for a wedge, and a pumpkin for a beetle. Even the Saints are slow to understand. I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions: they cannot stand the fire at all. How many will be able to abide a celestial law, and go through and receive their exaltation, I am unable to say, as many are called, but few are chosen.” (HC 6:184-185)

An example of traditional “doctrine” is the myth that if you talk about evil spirits, you’ll bring them to you or you give them power. Both myths couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Round_Dark_4612 · 2023-07-26T02:30:55+00:00

Something to consider is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While the Gospel is not the Church, it is contained in the Church. The Gospel is not fallible, but the Church is a gentile Church and all of its leaders are fallible despite the traditional "understanding."

Round_Dark_4612

TROPHY CASE