a stone of stumbling.

I shared this quote in a devotional I did in seminary the other day (from my favorite talk ever that you can read here)...

"I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies. If anyone is foolish enough or misled enough to reject 531 pages of a heretofore unknown text teeming with literary and Semitic complexity without honestly attempting to account for the origin of those pages—especially without accounting for their powerful witness of Jesus Christ and the profound spiritual impact that witness has had on what is now tens of millions of readers—if that is the case, then such a person, elect or otherwise, has been deceived; and if he or she leaves this Church, it must be done by crawling over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make that exit. In that sense the book is what Christ Himself was said to be: 'a stone of stumbling, … a rock of offence,' a barrier in the path of one who wishes not to believe in this work. Witnesses, even witnesses who were for a time hostile to Joseph, testified to their death that they had seen an angel and had handled the plates. 'They have been shown unto us by the power of God, and not of man,” they declared. “Wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true.'"

-Jeffrey R. Holland

Okay so I know that was a long quote... but so good, right??

I underlined my favorite parts... oh, and you really should hear him give the talk. He is such a good speaker. I'm sure you could find it on youtube... the talk is called Safety for the Soul. 

So I wanted to do a post on the Book of Mormon because it is just such a blessing in my life and a major - and often misunderstood - part of our gospel.

I love this picture. 

You know, people sometimes find it hard to follow the Book of Mormon and don't learn from it the way they could. 

Ha. Who am I kidding? Me included.

But the Book of Mormon is so cool. It is a history book. 

Something I think is so cool is that this great book - well - makes perfect sense. 

Let me explain. We believe that the Book of Mormon is the record of the people living in the Americas in ancient days... The Old and New Testaments - the Bible - aren't set in North or South America. But people were there. 

And after Christ was resurrected, He appeared to them. 

It's such a cool record - and explains what went on among the Ancient Americas. See? History book. We just got it later than we got the Bible. 

Until 1827, the records were simply buried in the ground. 

I mean, even thinking it out logically it still makes sense to me. And reading it - praying about it - just seals the deal. 

When I went to Nauvoo and later to Kirtland visiting some church history sites, I learned a little about a group of people that broke off of our church a long time ago because after Joseph died, they didn't believe Brigham Young was a prophet. They created a completely separate church from ours that still exists today. 

Anyways. My point in this is that that church still claims to believe in the Book of Mormon. They were selling copies, in fact. 

There are so many things wrong with this in my mind. ha. But one thing I thought was interesting was that those people still didn't deny the Book of Mormon. Even if they don't practice their religion in the way I believe the Book of Mormon teaches - they don't deny its truthfulness. 

One of my favorite parts of the very first quote was when he said that to leave this church you would have to crawl over or under or around the Book of Mormon to make your exit. 

The witness of Jesus Christ it contains simply Cannot. Be. Denied. Because of this, it should act as a barrier. 

I guess they wanted to leave the church, so they took the Book of Mormon with them! Dumb loopholes. jk haha.

And now, in our day, this precious, absolutely true book is being attacked from all sides. 

So what do we do about it? 

I love one action the Church took. 

They bought ad space in the Broadway show The Book of Mormon's play books. 

They sought out a way they could make this a somewhat positive thing. And I have to say, I think those ads are pretty sweet. 

Anyways. Don't get all ticked off. People just don't know. 

So explain. Understand. Share your testimony. 

Because a testimony of the Book of Mormon is something I wish everyone could have in their life.

So be grateful for this wonderful book! Try to see it as a history of your people (whether they are technically your ancestors or not)!

See it as a blessing from God. An undeniable truth. A constant in your life. 

And you will be so incredibly blessed and learn so much. 

This I know. 

And I promise you can know too.

A Marked Generation

We all know those people around us that just amazing.
They are smart, funny, spiritual, and just all around... good.

And there is no doubt in our minds that they are going straight to the Celestial Kingdom...

And then there's us.

At least that's how we seem to always see it.

We tend to often feel that we are not measuring up, that we're just not good enough.

Well...
There have been people on this earth for thousands of years.
There was Adam, the Ancient of Days.
From him came many, many prophets who preached to millions of people that we read about in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament, We read about Christ being born. He preached healed, and offered himself up for a sacrifice.
There were many, many generations following that.

Read history books. Read about the Indians, the Revolutionary War, Ancient Rome, Chinese history...

There have been a lot of people on this earth.

Billions.

Billions of people have lived and died here over the course of six thousand years, each with their own special mission.

And then you were born.

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For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming. Every previous gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not.... God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God...." Make no mistake about it you are a marked generation.

- Ezra Taft Benson
(read more)

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You came here for a reason. You have a mission to complete that no one else can complete for you.

We are the strongest generation... the generation strong enough to defeat Satan.

Strong enough to stand up for what we believe.

Strong enough to make a real difference.

The fact that you live on the earth at this time... makes you amazing.

The Father saw something in you during the pre-existence. He knew you were strong enough.

You were foreordained to be great.

Of course, that means that we have a great responsibility. We can't let our Father down.

We have to work hard to accomplish what we came here to do.

But. I promise.

It will be worth it.

His Words Never Cease

I had an interesting experience at Joseph Smith's Red Brick Storehouse in Nauvoo, Illinois a couple years ago. You know... our church does not own that little store. It's instead owned by... well, another church.

Anyways. A customer asked the cashier what made their religion different from Mormonism. I overheard/pretty much eavesdropped on their conversation. The cashier said that while the Mormons believed in Eternal Progression, they believed that God was the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Pause. Wait, what??

She said a whole jumble of things that didn't really make sense, and most of them had nothing to do with anything, but she seemed to win over the lady she was talking to.

Now I didn't butt in, because it wasn't my place and that's not really in my nature. Plus I wasn't supposed to be listening, remember?

But it got me thinking about the way different religions interpret things. Now I most certainly would never judge an entire religious sect based on something that one person said. That's ridiculous.

But I started thinking about how we all have the same bible, but everyone translates it differently. I mean, we believe that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. At least nine scriptures that I just looked up would tell you that.

That's what the video above made me think of. I don't understand how so many people believe in an unchanging God that would cut off all communication between Him and His people.

Just like we did in ancient days, we have prophets to guide us. We have continued revelation including personal revelation. We have the Priesthood. We have twelve apostles.

I liked how he said that "The Old Testament does not lose its value in our eyes when we're introduced to the New Testament, and the New Testament is only enhanced when we read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ."

And hopefully you know that the Book of Mormon was talked about in the Old Testament.

Ezekiel 37
15 - The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
16 - Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

Stick of Judah = Bible
Stick of Joseph = Book of Mormon


Anyways... I pray that we will always remember that God truly is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And that we can still freely communicate with Him. He still speaks to us through the prophets and through the Spirit. The Heavens are open.

The Bible is the word of God, and the Book of Mormon is too.

His words... NEVER cease.

182 Years...

Just if you were wondering... the Church was organized on Apr. 6, 1830. 182 years ago today.

An Introduction to The Book of Mormon

     I've been writing this blog with the mind-set that it would be members of the church reading it... As I've gotten many page views from people all over the web, I decided that I want to do a basic introduction of the Book of Mormon and the missionaries...(missionaries tomorrow).



 

   
The following video is about a man whose life was changed forever because of this wonderful book. I'm sure that the lives of many others will also be changed because of him...




     I looked up the talk given by Tad R. Callister at the last General Conference to find a quote, because I remembered he gave an awesome talk on the Book of Mormon in the Sunday morning session last October...
     But there were too many good ones! It seriously took me forever to decide which words to quote on here... I did finally decided, but I would invite you to read the entire talk here. 


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"But why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the Bible to teach us about Jesus Christ? Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same Bible? It is because they interpret the Bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1)."

"The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church."

"What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses."

This is my attempt to recreate the picture they showed...  Don't laugh at it... I'm already feeling a little OCD about the top part! :)

-----

Okay...
     Do we believe in The Bible? Obviously yes.
One of our Articles of Faith states
"We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God."
(AofF 8... to read the others, click here.)

     So does that make us Christian?
Absolutely. 
     A Christian is anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, and that He is the redeemer of our sins. I don't know how anyone can argue that we are not Christians... our church is named after Christ!

     Now... I am not a convert to the church. I was born into the gospel. I do have a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. I see miracles happen in our church every day. I know that this is the true gospel restored to the earth, because I feel the Spirit when I learn about the scriptures, and when I go to church.
     I've had the opportunity to go to pretty much all of the Church history sites in the U.S. When I was in Palmyra, New York, which is where the First Vision occurred, I gained a deeper gratitude for this book, and for all that Joseph Smith sacrificed to give it to us.
     When I was in Nauvoo,  Illinois, one of the cities that the early saints settled, it was peaceful. It felt like taking a step back in time, and I gained a deeper gratitude there too. A gratitude to those early saints who gave all that they could to have the gospel.

     I know that the Church is true, and that the Book of Mormon is true, because I have felt things. I just know it in my heart, and I could never deny it.


Please click here to learn about the Book of Mormon in greater depth.
To request a free copy of this amazing book, please click here. 


Moroni 10:4 - And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 - And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

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In Honor of President's Day... (I Know... Yesterday...)

"It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible."
-George Washington


"Do not let any one claim to be a true American if they ever attempt to remove religion from politics."  
-George Washington

"In regard to this great book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to man. All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to found portrayed in it."

-Abraham Lincoln

“I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for the day.” 

-Abraham Lincoln

"Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future. Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people."   
-Ulysses S. Grant

"The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God...... Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty...... With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own." 

-John F. Kennedy


"We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief.
-Ronald Reagan


"Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under. If I could just make a personal statement of my own -- in these 3 1/2 years I have understood and known better than ever before the words of Lincoln, when he said that he would be the greatest fool on this footstool called Earth if he ever thought that for one moment he could perform the duties of that office without help from One who is stronger than all.
-Ronald Reagan

A man had deprived himself of the best there is in the world who has deprived himself of this, a knowledge of the Bible. When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the Word of God, because you will have found it the key to your heart, your own happiness and your own duty.

-Woodrow Wilson

2 Nephi 10

10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.

 11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.

 12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.

 13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.

 14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.

Click here to view my other post about America.

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