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.

you can save lives...

     I've been wanting to write this post for a week now... but I included some of the following stories and thoughts in a talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting today.


So... I didn't want to give it away on here before I actually gave the talk.


But I still wanted to post it for those of you who are not in my ward. So. Here you go.

----------

You know... I think that when you gain a strong testimony and you realize the happiness and fulfillment that the Gospel brings to your life... you naturally gain a desire to share that happiness with others. 

It's why I started this blog.

You can do missionary work wherever you live - amongst nonmembers or even members of the Church.

I know that some people get scared to share the Gospel with their friends.

I mean, lots of things can go wrong. Maybe you don't know an answer to one of their questions. Maybe you find that your testimony isn't strong enough. Maybe they won't accept your beliefs.

Well... Let those fears go. 

Because I know that if you pray about it... Heavenly Father will tell you who needs the Gospel... and who will accept it. 

D&C 84:85 - Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.

Study the scriptures. Pay attention in church. Like the above verse explains, if you are treasuring up and learning about that which is good... you will know how to answer questions about the Church.

The Spirit will remind you what you read or heard in the very instant you need it. 

But the Spirit cannot remind you of something that you never read/heard in the first place.

So seek knowledge. And do not be afraid that someone will ask you a question. 

And remember... you can always say "I don't know, but I will try and find out". 

Now... I like to play soccer. 

And something that I've learned from soccer is that just one touch on the soccer ball... can change the whole game.

The same is true with our lives. One touch by the Master can change someone forever.

And something you say... even something little that you will forget about tomorrow... could change someone forever too.

You just never know.

Let me illustrate that with a couple stories. 

First of all... let me share with you the story of Wealtha Bradford Hatch.

Wealtha was born in 1804 in Maine. She married Ira Stearns Hatch and they ended up living near Farmersville, New York.

She was a wife. She was a mother. 

But she was no one incredibly significant to history.

(If you are one of her descendants... you might disagree with that (: haha. )

Anyways. After the Church was organized in 1830, missionaries were sent west to preach to the Lamanites (indians).

The specific missionaries in this story were Oliver Cowdrey, Peter Whitmer, Jr., Ziba Peterson, and Parley P. Pratt. 

Recognize some of them? Sweet. :)

These missionaries went to preach to the Catteraugus indians that were living on a reservation very near where Wealtha and Ira lived. 

So Wealtha got her hands on a Book of Mormon. And she read it. And she wanted to join the Church. 

This was a time of heavy persecution of Mormons, so her husband asked her to wait a while and see if the persecution kinda died down. 


Well... a year and a half later the missionaries had looped back around... and Wealtha was done waiting. She was seven months pregnant and they cut a hole in the ice for her to be baptized. 


A couple years later, her husband, Ira, went to meet the prophet in Kirtland, Ohio. I guess he decided that he was ready, because he joined the Church shortly afterward.


Eventually, Ira and Wealtha went west with the saints to Nauvoo. There, Wealtha died of cholera.


Okay. Why am I telling you this? Why is her story special? 


Well... Wealtha had seven children. If you count up her children and their converts, and their children and their converts... up until the present day... you can trace the membership of over a million members of the Church today back to the decision that Wealtha Bradford Hatch made in 1832 to join the Church. 

Does that make sense? Crazy.


Okay. One more example. This post is getting long. 

Abinadi. Abinadi went about preaching the Gospel. He ended up being killed for it - which was ordered by King Noah. 


After all that sacrifice... Abinadi only ended up with one convert. Alma.


Well, let's take a look at who descended from Alma. 


Alma ==> Alma the Younger ==> Helaman ==> Helaman ==> Nephi ==> Nephi ==> Nephi


Many of Alma's descendants ended up writing in the Book of Mormon. 


Actually, we pretty much have half of the Book of Mormon because of Abinadi. 


And just look at how many people the Book of Mormon has converted!








So... hopefully we learned the effects that just one touch has on generations to come. 


It's amazing. Amazing. 


You truly have no idea what could result from you sharing the Gospel with just one person.


You can save hundreds or thousands or millions of lives... who knows. 


And greater than that... you are saving their eternities.


D&C 18:15 - And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
                16 - And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!


It's so amazing to think about how happy and grateful you and so many others will be far into the eternities for your decision to share the Gospel.


Even if it's just by being a good example... or bearing your testimony in front of a friend...


The Lord works in mysterious ways.


Oh. One more quote. Then I'm done.


"Your call has eternal consequences for others and for you. In the world to come, thousands may call your name blessed, even more than the people you serve here. They will be the ancestors and the descendants of those who chose eternal life because of something you said or did, or even what you were. . .You see, there are no small callings to represent the Lord."
- Henry B. Eyring 






I guess you just never know.

P.S. Hopefully this freakishly long post can last you a week. I will be at Girl's Camp until Friday!! :)
(I'm thinking of auto-posting a great EFY song for Wednesday... So tune in then...!)

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.

One Big, Interconnected Tapestry

     People say a lot that our life is like one big tapestry. Although our lives seem to have a lot of loose threads and bumpy places, we are failing to see it from God's perspective. It is He who can see the other side of the tapestry... how all of those threads come together to create a beautiful picture.

     Our lives are divinely woven together. There are no coincidences... not when spiritual matters are involved, at least.

     In seminary we have been learning about the prophets that lived about 600 BC.

     And how their lives were connected.

   In the Old Testament, Jeremiah told the people living in Jerusalem to repent... or their city would be destroyed.

     Can you think of who else did that? Lehi. In the Book of Mormon. At the same time. In the same city.

     Also at the same time... Daniel was interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Babylon.

     Not even fifteen years later... Jerusalem was destroyed. But Lehi was gone by then. He had left to go to the promised land.

     And I think Jeremiah was thrown in a pit...

     And now Ezekiel is the prophet of Babylon... which was ruled by Nebuchadnezzar... and Daniel was his advisor...



     Zedekiah, who becomes king of Jerusalem, watched all of his sons be killed, and then he himself had his eyes put out and was blinded.

     Except one of his sons escaped... and was not killed...

Mulek.

    Sound familiar? You read about him in the Book of Mormon... in the promised land...


I may have made that sound a little confusing...

But my point is that I learned a really cool lesson today... I mean... we study the stories. I'm sure you know Daniel's story and Lehi's story, but it's fun to see exactly how they connect together.

Just another little reminder that when you study the scriptures - not just read them - you will get a lot more out of it!!





P.S. Check out the post I wrote on Piano Mastermind here!!

Appreciating the Scriptures

You can learn more about the coming forth of the King James Bible and William Tyndale from the Fires of Faith documentaries. (If you haven't already watched them...)

I'd be willing to bet that there are many, many, MANY people that hugely take for granted the sacrifices of others.

I'm one of those people.

It happens a lot in life, and in our church.

Things that meant so much to people long - or not so long - ago... Things that they would die for... Mean little or nothing to many people nowadays.

The fact that we have all of this amazing scripture now... that is a miracle. 


Now... I can't always understand the Old Testament. I think that very few people can...

But.

Seminary has taught me so much about understanding the Old Testament... and any scripture for that matter.

First of all, if you need help understanding what's going on... use study helps!!
We have a bunch of Institute study books that I've used when reading the Old Testament. There are all sorts of books that you can buy to help you read the scriptures - no matter where you're reading!


And remember that you will gain a lot from really studying, not just reading the scriptures. Try and pick apart the verses and find the hidden meanings. Sometimes they're not even that hidden, we just tend to skim over them when reading quickly. 


And also, if you start getting frustrated, remember that you don't have to understand every little verse. Hopefully you will spend your whole life studying the scriptures, and you can get something different from them every time. 


If you can't figure it out, move on. Just try to get the big, general picture. 


The scriptures are full of stories. They are history books. If you don't understand every principle that's written, stop and figure out what's going on, what people are involved, and what's the general lesson to be learned.


And if you are still having a hard time getting yourself to read the scriptures... here's my tip.


Start with the Doctrine and Covenants. Because it was written more recently, it's easier to understand, and is filled with amazing and beautiful scriptures.


So here's to not taking sacrifices for granted. 


Learn to appreciate the scriptures. They really will add more meaning to your life. 

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. 


-----

"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.

Did one of my posts leave a lasting impression on you? I'd love to hear about it! Comment below! 

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