Hold to the Rod

In response to a request posted in my topic of “Charity and the Gospel of Jesus Christ”, I began a study about Sanctification and Justification. This has actually been a very enlightening study, and I look forward to discussing it with any who view this and wish to engage in a discussion.

In order to understand this topic, we first need to understand: why there is a law, how men are cut off from God by the law, and how Christ overcame the law. However, I will quickly touch on these points, and others are free to discuss them Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t think that there is any question that God is on the right of the political spectrum. In fact, you will find hints of this throughout the scriptures. In a recent study of the Book of Mormon, I was able to find hard evidence of this fact, thanks to a prophet named Alma, who said:

“I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.” (Alma 7:20)

Now, before you question my insight, let’s get some background in scriptural language.

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“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25)

If you were to ask a logician or mathematician, they would tell you that the above statement is an example of transitivity. At the risk of sound like a complete nerd, the law of transitivity states the following:

“If A is in relation to B and B is in relation to C, then A is in relation to C”

How does this apply to the verse above?

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When I was living in Arizona in the summer of 2007, one of the counselors to the Branch President asked me to give a talk on an article that is found in the August 2007 Ensign entitled “Overcoming Feelings of Inadequacy” by Elder David S. Baxter. I was impressed by the article because I knew that many, if not all, members of the church must feel that they are inadequate in their lives about some things.

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I’ve often pondered the story found in the book of Moses chapter 5, where Adam, having been driven out of the Garden of Eden, had been commanded to offer sacrifices to the Lord.

“And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Abraham saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.”(Moses 5:6)

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I’ve taken for the text of this post the following words of Alma:

“… do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way…” (Alma 37:46)

It is my estimation that these words are likely disbelieved as much as the power of the atonement itself. Having said that, what is the way, and why is it easy?

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As I was studying from the Book of Mormon, I came across a scripture that stood out to me in Helaman 14:15-16. I will quote some of it:

“… [T]his death [speaking of the Savior’s death] bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death-that spiritual death…”

When I first read this scripture, I had two questions come to mind. First, I asked myself, “Isn’t the first death, physical, and the second death, spiritual?” I quickly learned that this wasn’t the case, and I’ll illustrate this point later on. Second, I thought to myself, “The resurrection is the power that overcomes spiritual death. I originally thought that it was the Atonement, or, the sufferings of Christ.”

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During a zone conference that I attended on my mission to Louisiana, I remember our mission president asking us missionaries the following question: “How many of you sin because you want to”? Almost simultaneously, everyone’s hand shot into the air.

I have often thought about that experience since, and that question has stuck with me. Do I sin because I want to? Are my sins often the result of premeditation? I think these are important questions.

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While writing my recent post about Angels and Dispensations, I was reminded of a conversation I had recently with a friend of mine. I will not try to reproduce the conversation for fear of misrepresenting any thoughts or feelings of someone other than myself, but I will pose a question influenced from the conversation.

The question is this: Does the Church (i.e. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) enjoy (in general) the ministering of angels to the same extent as it did during the days of Joseph Smith the prophet?

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As I’ve thought about the Book of Mormon and how it has influenced my life, I reflect back to an experience I had while I was serving as a missionary in the Arizona Mesa Mission. I had been out for approximately 18 months, and was transferred from Snowflake to the East side of Mesa in the Salt River Stake.

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