37d - The Prophets Mormon and Moroni Were Assigned by Jesus Christ to Prepare the Book of Mormon to be Translated in Our Day - 3. Mormon's Role

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TODAY'S THEME

Painting: Tom Lovell The Prophet Mormon with the Golden Plates

This is the third post in a series on the subject:

"The Prophet Mormon's role in bringing about The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ."

The painting above is the only one of Mormon, of the two of him to which I have access, that I've used in my blog thus far. This second painting of him portrays him in, perhaps, the final hour of his life.

Painting: Arnold Friberg

Mormon Bids Farewell to a Once Great Nation

Mormon 6:17 O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!
18 Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss.
19 O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen!
20 But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return.
21 And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible bodies; and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, to be judged according to your works; and if it so be that ye are righteous, when are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you.

22 O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy. (Emphasis Added)

That touching scripture along with my having just viewed that painting, brought tears to my eyes and an even greater love for Mormon. What a man he was! He testified of Christ! His love and great concern was extended to his people in our day whom Latter-day Saints (and Mormon himself) refer to as: Lamanites.

However, he knew very clearly by the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation which was a constant guide to him, (even through the awful battles in which he participated. I'm sure of that although it may seem impossible to you that the Holy Ghost could be with him during battles.) I'm grateful that we, to whom he refers to as Gentiles, were much loved and prayed for by Mormon. I know he sought to prepare us to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Lamanites of our day especially by bringing that which he wrote which was to become:

The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ

which he, Mormon knew would be a great and an eternal blessing to those of us who believe in what he wrote and especially when we live by what is taught in it!

Painting: Arnold Friberg

Captain Moroni and The Title of Liberty

Mormon, himself, as you know by now, had been a soldier since age sixteen and perhaps even before. He was much like a Moroni who lived in about 75 B.C. whose life's story he knew because he read the record written by Helaman about him and etched those accounts onto the golden plates.

Captain Moroni had much success against very hostile Lamanite armies led by a Nephite traitor, Amalakiah, who cunningly and by evil means had become the king of the Lamanites who considered the Nephite Nation to be enemies.

Here are Mormon's own words he wrote during the abridgement of the records from the Plates of Nephi concerning one of the battles in which that Captain Moroni was leading the Nephite army of that day through to victory. These are Captain Moroni's words as written by the Prophet Mormon many centuries after these events took place:

Alma 48: 7 Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.
8 Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.
9 And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.
10 And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians.
11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;
12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.
13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.
14 Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.
15 And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;
16 And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.
17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. (Emphasis Added)

After reading that, we all know now that the Prophet Mormon strongly identified with Captain Moroni! Anybody willing to dispute my guessing where he, Mormon got the name for his son, Moroni?

In Post 37b I helped you understand how it was that Mormon was selected to do things that prepared him to actually write the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

In Post 37c I told you that Mormon besides being told at age ten of the assignment by a Prophet of God to write the record of His people on what are named The Plates of Nephi at the age of twenty-four, was also assigned to produce after that, that which came to be named:

The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Mormon was also the father of at least one child, Moroni. His wife's name isn't mentioned. However, in his writings we learn that family is very important to him and I'm sure she was too. We are also told that he had been serving, since age sixteen, as a top leader in the Nephite Army. Perhaps he served even before then as what we perhaps would call, in the U.S.A., "an enlisted man."

In Post 37c, the just previous post, I got you involved in several serious matters regarding Mormon's early work with sacred records. If you read (and listened to Chapter 12- of the Book of Helaman) your soul should have been deeply touched and you would have recognized that the Lord God through His faithful and obedient servant, Mormon, was reaching out to each of us to prepare us for that day when when we stand before the Lord Jesus Christ/or His apostles in great humility to be judged by Him for how we lived our lives!

Also in Post 37c, I alluded to how Mormon, throughout the entire Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, on many occasions, including his writing of Helaman, Chapter 12, had written words of explanation and encouragement and even of admonishment, while pursuing his course of teaching key principles and about special spiritual events throughout his assignment of abridging the records found on the Plates of Nephi from Father Lehi's day whose history begins in about B.C. 600, and then down to Mormon's own day in the mid A.D.300 years.

I expect, that in an upcoming post I will consider some more of Mormon's written words of explanation and encouragement and even words of admonishment as mentioned above in the previous paragraph. Those words will show you how important it was to Mormon, through the Lord's guidance, to assist you in your quest for a happy life and for living in the Lord's presence in the afterlife and in the resurrection!

In the next post, 37e, which I will publish on about July Twelfth, I will delve into a very interesting and crucial step which Mormon was guided by the Lord to take regarding his abridgement, or using another word, condensation of the Nephite records, to bring us The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, in its present form!

_________________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have two additional blogs. One is in Spanish: http://varsinaisella.blogspot.com/ and one is in Finnish: http://varsinaisesti.blogspot.com/ The content of each is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

37c - The Prophets Mormon and Moroni Were Assigned by Jesus Christ to Prepare the Book of Mormon to be Translated in Our Day - 2. Mormon's Role

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TODAY'S THEME

Painting: Tom Lovell

The prophet, Mormon, according to the part of his record we read in my just previous post (37b), and according to what we will read about him in this post, lived in the most challenging period of Nephite history. Their unrighteousness ultimately led to the demise of the Nephite Nation as a nation. The Nephite remnant became Lamanites.

In about A.D. 327-328 Mormon tells us that when he was yet a boy (according to our U.S.A. way of looking at age), he was considered a man by his people:

Mormon 2:
1 AND it came to pass in that same year there began to be a war again between the Nephites and the Lamanites. And notwithstanding I being young, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies.
2 Therefore it came to pass that in my sixteenth year I did go forth at the head of an army of the Nephites, against the Lamanites; therefore three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away. (since the visits of the Resurrected Jesus Christ with the Nephites)
3 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and twenty and seventh year the Lamanites did come upon us with exceedingly great power, insomuch that they did frighten my armies; therefore they would not fight, and they began to retreat towards the north countries. (Emphasis and Clarification added)

In this post, I'm first giving you information about Mormon's life so that you can see how difficult were his life circumstances. It is apparent that he was being raised by righteous parents. His father (whose name was also Mormon) and his mother whose name isn't mentioned by Mormon (Possibly that is a cultural matter shared with other Israelite people) must have taught him to have a very different view than most all of its other citizens had about what was going on in their nation.

However, before I end this post (37c), you will read one of Mormon's own personal comments which is only one from among a good number of them which he interspersed within the record that he eventually was assigned by God to write. That which was to become our Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ is clear evidence that the exceedingly difficult circumstances Mormon had been living in throughout all of his life had given him great wisdom about the necessity of living righteously.

Remember from what you read in post 37b, that the prophet Ammaron had chosen Mormon, son of Mormon when he was only ten years of age to eventually write a record of, (in which Ammaron prophetically knew would be), the continuation of the horrid details of what was happening among his (Ammaron's and Mormon's) people because the greater part of them had forsaken that which the Lord, Jesus Christ had personally taught them soon after His resurrection, and after having lived, as a united righteous people, on a very high spiritual and temporal level; and in every way, had lived very righteously for over 200 years!

Evidently things had become so horrid and evil that Ammaron told ten year old Mormon that the task he was asking him to take upon himself at age twenty-four, was writing a history of what was taking place during his (Mormon's) life, was to be written only on the Plates of Nephi and not on the golden plates upon which he, Mormon was to eventually write that which was to be, in our day, The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

In other words, the readers of the Book of Mormon (you and I and many many countless others since 1830 when it was first published) were to be spared the terribly evil details of what happened during Mormon's and his son, Moroni's lifetimes.

In searching for the most evil actions reported by Mormon, I found this which Mormon wrote to his son Moroni:

Moroni 9:
7 And now I write somewhat concerning the sufferings of this people. For according to the knowledge which I have received from Amoron, behold, the Lamanites have many prisoners, which they took from the tower of Sherrizah; and there were men, women, and children.
8 And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the flesh of their husbands, and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them.
9 And notwithstanding this great abomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue—
10 And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most cruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death; and after they have done this, they devour their flesh like unto wild beasts, because of the hardness of their hearts; and they do it for a token of bravery.
11 O my beloved son, how can a people like this, that are without civilization—
12 (And only a few years have passed away, and they were a civil and a delightsome people)
13 But O my son, how can a people like this, whose delight is in so much abomination—
14 How can we expect that God will stay his hand in judgment against us?
15 Behold, my heart cries: Wo unto this people. Come out in judgment, O God, and hide their sins, and wickedness, and abominations from before thy face! (Emphasis Added)

Dear Esteemed Prophet Mormon, We, Neil Birch, author of this blog, along with the readers of this blog, recognize that the above 15 verses from chapter 9 of your son, Moroni's book, Moroni, contained descriptions of extremely gross iniquities committed by both the Nephites and the Lamanites.

We recognize that those descriptions of great evils committed were merely written by you in a letter to your son which he only afterwards, most likely after you had died, inscribed them into the golden plates which you had earlier turned over to him.

We know that you were not responsible for those evil descriptions being inscribed on the golden plates by your dear and faithful son, Moroni.

With all the tremendous difficulties occurring in both of your lives at that time we can see that Moroni most likely, wasn't aware of Ammaron's instructions to write such things only on the record you had been commanded by him, to write on the Plates of Nephi. Perhaps Ammaron had instructed you concerning this matter even before Moroni was born!

I'm grateful we don't have the record contained on the Plates of Nephi! We, and I'm speaking for my blog readers too, never want to read about all the atrocities most likely described on those plates which were no doubt even more more wicked than the above descriptions in red if that is even possible!

However, we can see that the records contained on the Plates of Nephi could be made available to Thy Holy apostles who will assist on that great Judgement Day that we, all of Thy children who have lived on Earth, must eventually face. Thou hast often caused to be written by Thy faithful prophets, that We all will be judged by that which has been written!

Perhaps, and this only our guessing, You, Dear Lord, chose not to prompt Moroni to leave those gross evils out of his writings in the Book of Mormon because you wanted to accentuate, at least partially, what can happen to a formerly righteous people who ultimately allow your and our enemy, Satan , and his vast number of followers - one third of the hosts of Heaven) to take over their lives. Thus, Thy servant, Mormon did not violate Thy servant Ammaron's instructions to him.

"We love Thy ways, Dear Lord, not Satan's ways!"

Blog Readers: Please now read and listen to Chapter 11 of the Book of Helaman (which Mormon wrote later in his life) in order to prepare you and me and all mankind to try to understand that Mormon could see in the actions of Nephites who lived long before his own time on earth, many of the same patterns of living that people during his lifetime had gone back to, even though their ancestors several generations before had actually been taught, converted and blessed personally by the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

As you will before long learn from this series of posts, Mormon was also very concerned that we, in our day, will have to face similar challenges as did his ancestors and his people during his lifetime.

Please keep in mind that that which you will be reading next, occurred many years prior to Mormon's lifetime, nonetheless as I've been saying, many of the patterns that occurred during his lifetime were very similar (but perhaps much more inexcusable because those Nephites who were involved in the events told about in Helaman Chapter 11 had not had the sublime experience of having been taught on continuing occasions by their resurrected Lord and Savior as did Mormon's people's ancestors a few generations back who certainly had passed on to their posterity accounts of those sacred occasions and had been raising their children so that they could follow in the "Master's footsteps.")

After you have clicked on the link below and the scripture is on your screen, please scroll up and click on the word, Listen, which you will see on the upper left hand side of your computer screen. When you hear the voice reading the words of the scripture you can click on the minus (-) sign you will see on the Audio Window which has come onto your screen, so it will be removed and become non-distracting. After you have finished reading and listening to this chapter, please click on the white left arrow in a blue background. That action will bring you back to this post.

Helaman 11: 1-38

You have just read about the up and down things that were going on among the Nephites and Lamanites in about B.C. 20 - 6, I now want to expose you to Mormon's wise commentary below which I feel was a response to the events described in Helaman, Chapter 11.

However, I am very positive that this commentary of Mormon's was intended for us in our day. After telling us about the Nephites' wickedness he described in Helaman 11, Mormon surely, by the prophetic power of the Spirit of God that he possessed, knew that we, in our day would sorely need to know these truths upon which Mormon bases his inspired advice:

Helaman, CHAPTER 12 (Chapter Heading) Men are unstable and foolish and quick to do evil—The Lord
chastens his people—The nothingness of men compared with the power of God—In the day of judgment men shall gain everlasting life or everlasting damnation. About 6 B.C. (This was the time of these happenings he had been telling us about in Chapter 11. It was not concerning the time during which Mormon was writing this.)
1 AND thus we can behold how false, and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men; yea, we can see that the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.
2 Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people, yea, in the increase of their fields, their flocks and their herds, and in gold, and in silver, and in all manner of precious things of every kind and art; sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; softening the hearts of their enemies that they should not declare wars against them; yea, and in fine, doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—(The Lord Jesus Christ) yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.
4 O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world!
5 Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom's paths!
6 Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.
7 O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.
8 For behold, the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither, to the dividing asunder, at the command of our great and everlasting God.
9 Yea, behold at his voice do the hills and the mountains tremble and quake.
10 And by the power of his voice they are broken up, and become smooth, yea, even like unto a valley.
11 Yea, by the power of his voice doth the whole earth shake;
12 Yea, by the power of his voice, do the foundations rock, even to the very center.
13 Yea, and if he say unto the earth—Move—it is moved.
14 Yea, if he say unto the earth—Thou shalt go back, that it lengthen out the day for many hours—it is done;
15 And thus, according to his word the earth goeth back, and it appeareth unto man that the sun standeth still; yea, and behold, this is so; for surely it is the earth that moveth and not the sun.
16 And behold, also, if he say unto the waters of the great deep—Be thou dried up—it is done.
17 Behold, if he say unto this mountain—Be thou raised up, and come over and fall upon that city, that it be buried up—behold it is done.
18 And behold, if a man hide up a treasure in the earth, and the Lord shall say—Let it be accursed, because of the iniquity of him who hath hid it up—behold, it shall be accursed.
19 And if the Lord shall say—Be thou accursed, that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and forever—behold, no man getteth it henceforth and forever.
20 And behold, if the Lord shall say unto a man—Because of thine iniquities, thou shalt be accursed forever—it shall be done.
21 And if the Lord shall say—Because of thine iniquities thou shalt be cut off from my presence—he will cause that it shall be so.
22 And wo unto him to whom he shall say this, for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity, and he cannot be saved; therefore, for this cause, that men might be saved, hath repentance been declared.
23 Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved.
24 And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works.
25 And I would that all men might be saved. But we read that in the great and last day there are some who shall be cast out, yea, who shall be cast off from the presence of the Lord;
26 Yea, who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery, fulfilling the words which say: They that have done good shall have everlasting life; and they that have done evil shall have everlasting damnation. And thus it is. Amen. (Emphasis and Clarification Added)

Are you fully convinced that Mormon was directing the above words to us? There is no doubt in in my mind that that was his intention. The entire Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ was written for our benefit, to help prepare a people who will be ready for The Second Coming of Jesus Christ!

As I may have said before, the people of Mormon's time never saw The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. By the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation, Mormon knew we would need to read, believe in and trust in his words (Chapter 12 of Helaman) above, for the rewards are great, and on the other hand when we forsake what he taught us, the punishment will be worse than you could ever imagine!

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I want you to know that I really put a lot of thought into what picture/s I could show you in this post which could effectively demonstrate that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints take very seriously, Mormon's poignant words found in Helaman Chapter 12. At first, I didn't know what I would show. Then the following happened:

My dear wife, Melva suggested at about 4:00 p.m. today, the Fourth of July, 2009, the Independence Day Holiday (for those who live in the U.S.A.) that we ought to get into our 2005 Dodge Stratus car and after heading over to the "Artic Circle" for some berry milkshakes, we should consider celebrating this important holiday, not by going to a fireworks demonstration which we usually have done, but instead drive over to see one of the four LDS temples that are now in this Salt Lake Valley. Until very recently there were only two. One of the newer ones, the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple, is not yet dedicated, but will be next month.

Official LDS Temple Photo

Draper Utah Temple

I suggested to Melva that we drive down about twenty miles to view the Draper Temple which was just recently dedicated as a House of the Lord. It has been functioning as that for just several months. Because it is a holiday here today the temple was closed, but we enjoyed its beauty and both of us reminisced about its and all LDS temples' purposes.

I personally thought: "right here in this sacred building, a House of the Lord, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are living worthily (righteously would probably be the way the prophet, Mormon would put it if he spoke english) come as often as possible to renew their covenants made with the Lord, in a temple, to live righteously."

"Dear Prophet Mormon, we love you for the great gift of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, about which, as our first prophet in our time, Joseph Smith, taught: "the Book of Mormon is the Keystone of our Religion." Of course, you Mormon, surely have met him in the Spirit World by now.

I had lived in Draper briefly sometime ago and because I came to appreciate that once "little city" before, I really enjoy viewing this marvelous temple located there whenever I can. We drove all around it and noticed the beautiful landscaping and the sheer beauty of this "House of the Lord." Our "Lord" being the Resurrected Jesus Christ who is before too long, scheduled to return to earth when His people are prepared for Him to do so.

Official LDS Temple Photo

Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

As Melva and I finished viewing the Draper Temple, I suggested that we drive Northwest to view the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple which will be dedicated next month. We attended the open house there recently. And again, because of the National Holiday, it was easier viewing this temple too, because there was no traffic, only us.

Official Temple Photo
The Jordan River Utah Temple

Before our mission to Finland several years ago, both Melva and I served in The Jordan River Utah Temple as temple workers. The landscaping of all LDS Temples is superior, but to me it seems particularly beautiful at this temple.

We didn't plan together to view all four of the temples that are located in the Salt Lake Valley today. The plan just materialized. After driving around this temple, I reminded Melva that each of us were sealed to our own parents in the Salt Lake Temple, in her case when she was an adult living in Wasatch County, Utah. In my case it was when I was a baby living with my parents in Roseville, California.

Official Temple Photo

The Salt Lake Temple

Such a grand edifice! It took forty years to build it. This temple means so much to both of us for many reasons, and our sealings to our parents is not the least important!

A Final Comment to the Great Prophet Mormon in the World of Spirits:

"We deeply appreciate your counsel given us in Helaman, Chapter 12. We continue to need it and will keep on heeding it. Even in Utah, the news we learn every day from various news media, tells us of all kinds of wickedness that is taking place right here, all the time!"

"At the same time, in Utah and throughout the United States and in many many countries of the World, the Lord Jesus Christ has a people preparing for His Second Coming which you advised us to do. Many things the Lord has commanded us to do through His Latter-day prophets, many of us are striving valiently to do."

"Our happy drive from temple to temple today reminds both of us, Melva and me, how much spiritual strength comes from having made temple covenants which we strive mightyly to keep, and from having a sealing link to our children and to our parents and with ancestors back along the line."

"We will continue to remember your counsel given us in Helaman, Chapter 12 and will follow the guidance of our Church prophet and all the other assigned spiritual leaders. We will continue to make the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, our personal guidebook."

It was a Happy Fourth of July, celebrated in a different way by Melva and I. We did hear the fireworks from nearby Murray Park from within the house and outside in our backyard too after returning home just before dark.

__________________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have two additional blogs. One is in Spanish: http://varsinaisella.blogspot.com/ and one is in Finnish: http://varsinaisesti.blogspot.com/ The content of each is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

37b - The Prophets Mormon and Moroni Were Assigned by Jesus Christ to Prepare the Book of Mormon to be Translated in Our Day - 1. Mormon's Role

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TODAY'S THEME

The Prophet Mormon's Role Was Key to Providing what came to be Named, The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Painting: Tom Lovell

Mormon took his divinely assigned task very seriously; that of bringing together centuries of writing by inspired Nephite prophets (plus inserting key comments from time to time to assist readers) in preparing a book of scripture which he knew the Lord would, by His effective means cause it to play a key role in preparing His people for His (Jesus Christ's) Second Coming at the beginning of the long prophesied MILLENNIUM.

Painting: Harry Anderson

The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ

I desire that you, the readers of this blog post, learn how and why Mormon was chosen for the role he was to have in preparing the book which was to be Another Testament of Jesus Christ which itself would have a very key role in preparing people on earth for that Long Awaited Millennial Day.

The Nephite people, of whom Mormon was a part of, had rapidly deteriorated from the state of superb righteousness, that had lasted about 300 years after the Resurrected Jesus Christ had visited them in their homeland of what is most likely known as Central America in the Western Hemisphere of our day. It was known by them as their Promised Land.

Mormon and his son, Moroni's, ancestor, Lehi of Jerusalem, in 600 B.C. was guided along with his family and a relatively few others to come to their "Promised Land" by the hand of the Lord.

To learn how Mormon was chosen for his key role in bringing about the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, please click on the scriptural link below after reading the following instructions.

After you have clicked on the link below and the scripture is on your screen, please scroll up and click on the word, Listen, which you will see on the upper left hand side of your computer screen. When you hear the voice reading the words of the scripture you can click on the minus (-) sign you will see on the Audio Window which has come onto your screen, so it will be removed and become non-distracting. After you have finished reading and listening to this chapter, please click on the white left arrow in a blue background. This will bring you back to this post.

Book of Mormon 1:1-19

Now that you have read and listened to that chapter I'd like to call your attention to several verses you have just read:

Mormon 1:
2 And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe;
3 Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.
4 And behold, ye shall take the plates of Nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are; and ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people.
5 And I, Mormon, being a descendant of Nephi, (and my father's name was Mormon) I remembered the things which Ammaron commanded me. (Emphasis Added)

Thus, the Prophet Ammaron evidently received an inspired impression of ten year old Mormon when he said: "I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe." Thus Ammaron enlisted Mormon, adding him to a vast select number of inspired Nephites over the previous (approximately) six centuries who had followed their inspired ancestors, Lehi, Nephi and Jacob) in keeping a careful and complete record of the more spiritually insightful history of their people.

Now I'd like you to read and listen to Mormon, Chapter 2 also. (Please follow the same instructions given above regarding reading and listening to scriptural links.)

Mormon 2: 1-29

I now desire to help you focus on verses 16-19 from that which you just read and listened to:

Mormon 2:
16 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and forty and fifth year the Nephites did begin to flee before the Lamanites; and they were pursued until they came even to the land of Jashon, before it was possible to stop them in their retreat.
17 And now, the city of Jashon was near the land where Ammaron had deposited the records unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed. And behold I had gone according to the word of Ammaron, and taken the plates of Nephi, and did make a record according to the words of Ammaron.
18 And upon the plates of Nephi I did make a full account of all the wickedness and abominations; but upon these plates I did forbear to make a full account of their wickedness and abominations, for behold, a continual scene of wickedness and abominations has been before mine eyes ever since I have been sufficient to behold the ways of man.
19 And wo is me because of their wickedness; for my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days; nevertheless, I know that I shall be lifted up at the last day. (Emphasis Added)

I sobbed out loud as I typed the part I highlighted in red italics in verse 18.

There is one small part of chapter 3 of the (sub) Book of Mormon I want you to also read. In it, this courageous (I don't think that word comes up to what this saintly man "was really made of") prophet, Mormon, tells us what is most important to him: We of the LDS Faith (or Mormons as we are often called) might say "Mormon was bearing his testimony." Actually what he says here I think is much more than bearing testimony. He is, in effect pouring out his whole soul!

Mormon 3:
16 And it came to pass that I utterly refused to go up against mine enemies; and I did even as the Lord had commanded me; and I did stand as an idle witness to manifest unto the world the things which I saw and heard, according to the manifestations of the Spirit which had testified of things to come.
17 Therefore I write unto you, Gentiles (He's speaking now to you and me here - we are at least partly, Gentiles), and also unto you, house of Israel, when the work shall commence, that ye shall be about to prepare to return to the land of your inheritance;
18 Yea, behold, I write unto all the ends of the earth; yea, unto you, twelve tribes of Israel, who shall be judged according to your works by the twelve whom Jesus chose to be his disciples in the land of Jerusalem.
19 And I write also unto the remnant of this people, (the Lamanites of our day) who shall also be judged by the twelve whom Jesus chose in this land; and they shall be judged by the other twelve whom Jesus chose in the land of Jerusalem.
20 And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;
21 And also that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall have among you; (The Holy Bible) and also that the Jews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have other witness (The Book of Mormon) besides him whom they saw and heard, that Jesus, whom they slew, was the very Christ and the very God. 22 And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ. (Emphasis and Clarification Added)

I needed that and I would guess you needed that also. It brought me to tears several times as I read it. How about you? If it didn't affect you the way it did me, try reading it again later on.

Painting: Greg K. Olsen

The painting I just inserted into the end of this post illustrates what the great work of Mormon has brought about, the joining of the Holy Bible which is a Testament of Jesus Christ, with the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Mormon, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

There is much more to be said about the role of the Prophet Mormon in bringing about the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This will be given in upcoming posts in this current series. There will also be more about Moroni's role.

On this day, July 3, 2009 I'm inserting into this post which was published on July 1, an LDS Video about Freedom inasmuch as tomorrow, July 4, is American Independence Day. Freedom, however, is something of great value to the people of all nations so I make this video available to you wherever in the world you may live. Best wishes to each of you!

Neil Birch

Mormon Messages

Note: If you are clicking on the above link after July 4, 2009 you may receive a different Mormon Message than the one listed above as this is a generic link I'm using. Thank you for your patience with this matter.

_________________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have two additional blogs. One is in Spanish: http://varsinaisella.blogspot.com/ and one is in Finnish: http://varsinaisesti.blogspot.com/ The content of each is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

37a - The Prophets Mormon and Moroni Were Assigned by Jesus Christ to Prepare the Book of Mormon to be Translated in Our Day - Moroni's Role

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TODAY'S THEME

Moroni's Role in the Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ

Painting: Tom Lovell

Moroni Burying The Plates

After Moroni's father, Mormon had finished his abridgement work with the writings he had etched onto the Golden Plates which he, had provided so as to ensure that the precious writings on them would endure the ravages of time and the elements buried underground (from approximately A.D. 421 to A.D. 1823), he, Mormon, then entrusted these writings contained in the golden plates, to his faithful son, Moroni.

Look again at the artist's depiction of Moroni preparing to bury the sacred records from which the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, was recorded in "reformed" Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Notice that Moroni was praying before he buried the plates. That is an illustration of the special devotion Moroni had to this very important project his dear father had entrusted him with. A dedicated man of faith and action - this Moroni, son of Mormon and prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Both father and son, were prophets of the Resurrected Jesus Christ and testified by the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation of the realities contained in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His being the Son of God, The Savior of Those who believe in and are faithful to Him.

Revelation 19:
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

This is something all of the prophets, in all ages of time possessed, including Moroni and his father, Mormon, two very special and significant prophets who wrote to all of those who seek to know Jesus Christ.

I now provide you the very special opportunity of reading the words with which Moroni ends the sub-book named by his father and him, "The Book of Mormon." These are mighty and spiritual words directed to "those who do not believe in Christ" and calls them to repentence. If you perhaps fit the category of readers mentioned in the highlighted quote in italics, two lines above, please consider saying a silent prayer in your heart asking Your Heavenly Father to open your mind and heart and to forgive you of your sins and allow the Spirit of the Lord to penetrate you to your very soul and assure you that which you will now have the opportunity of reading and listening to, are the inspired words that will assure you with great spiritual impact so you will know that Jesus Christ is your living Savior.

Please click on the scriptural link below after reading the following instructions.

After you have clicked on the link below and when the scripture is on your screen, please scroll up and click on the word, Listen, which you will see on the upper left hand side of your computer screen. When you hear the voice reading the words of the scripture you can click on the minus (-) sign you will see on the Audio Window which has come onto your screen, so it will be removed and be non-distracting. After you have finished reading and listening to this chapter, please click on the white left arrow in a blue background. Doing that will bring you back to this post.

Mormon 9:1-37

After you prayed as suggested by me above you may have received the special witness you may have asked for. If you did ask for it, but did not receive the the witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, allow yourself to, in time, be humbled until you have "a broken heart and a contrite spirit" which will have prepared you to receive that witness. That may require you to study the entire Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ and even requesting that full-time missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ come to teach you in your home or apartment. If you do not know how to contact them please use my e-mail found in the final section of this post.

Let me know the name of the city in which you live, and the state or region of the country in which it is located. If you request that of me by e-mail, I will send you the phone number and address of the nearest LDS Mission office to where you live. I will e-mail you soon after receiving your e-mail giving you the information you will need to contact the nearest LDS Mission office to you. I will not share your e-mail address with anyone including the LDS missionaries. That is my sure word.

I will end this post about Moroni's role in bringing forth the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ by quoting in its entirety the Title page of that Book. It was written by Moroni.

THE
BOOK OF MORMON

AN ACCOUNT WRITTEN BY

THE HAND OF MORMON

UPON PLATES
TAKEN FROM THE PLATES OF NEPHI

Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The interpretation thereof by the gift of God.
An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.

TRANSLATED BY JOSEPH SMITH, JUN.
Published by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
1988
First English edition published in 1830

Painting: Tom Lovell

This is another painting done by the same LDS artist who painted the lead painting, depicting this time the resurrected Moroni appearing to the young Joseph Smith in his small upstairs bedroom in the Smith farm home in upstate New York during the night of September 21, 1823.

As shown by Moroni's experience there is actually a resurrection for each of us. Because of his righteousness during his earthly life and his assignment along with his father, Mormon, regarding the Book of Mormon, Moroni is an example of how our existence and even our responsibilities in God's work can continue on after death.

In this series 37, of which this post is the first, I will feature Moroni and some more of his work with the Book of Mormon later after featuring his father, Mormon beginning with my next blog post.

________________________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have two additional blogs. One is in Spanish: http://varsinaisella.blogspot.com/ and one is in Finnish: http://varsinaisesti.blogspot.com/ The content of each is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

36j What Makes a Mormon Family What it is? The Book of Mormon and other Scriptures Tell Us.

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TODAY'S THEME

Painting: John Scott

The Resurrected Jesus Christ Taught the Nephites in the Western Hemisphere and through their Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, also taught Those of us in our Day and Time; Many Important Things, They and We, Should Do and be:

PHOTO: HYUN-GYU LEE - PHOTO TO THE RIGHT: - IRI

One of the first things Jesus taught the Nephites to do was to be baptized by His authorized authorities. He taught them that this is always something members of His Church must do no matter when or where they live. Thus, this applies to us in our day. Baptism is then followed by the laying on of the hands for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

3 Nephi 11:
23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:
25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
26 And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.

Photo: IRI

D&C 39:
6 And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and
then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.

One of the other things Jesus taught the Nephites, was the importance of the Sacrament. He taught them the sacramental prayers and commanded them to partake of the sacrament regularly. Here are the words one of His Nephite prophets, Moroni taught that He gave them:

MORONI 4:
1 THE manner of their elders and priests administering the flesh and blood of Christ unto the church; and they administered it according to the commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true; and the elder or priest did minister it—
2 And they did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ, saying:

3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

MORONI 5
1 THE manner of administering the wine (water in our day)—Behold, they took the cup, and said:

2 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (Clarification Added)

The partaking of the Sacrament by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is done every Sunday at what is called: Sacrament Meeting. Only on occasions where something like a Church General Conference meeting is being held is the Sacrament service not available. The Sacrament is definitely a key thing that makes a baptized member a Latter-day Saint.

Photo: IRI

Service To Others

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

1 John 4:11
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Official LDS Temple PhotoSan Diego California Temple

Another very important way in which Latter-day Saints serve is by attending regularly the Temple (The House of the Lord) to do soul saving priesthood ordinances (ie. baptisms, confirmations, for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Priesthood (for the men, ) etc., for their and others' ancestors (the dead) and family members who have more recently passed from life into the World of the Spirits. Faithful Mormon couples marry and raise children, not just for this life, but for all eternity.

Photo: IRI

Family Home Evenings, held once a week in every LDS home, is the ideal way for keeping family members close to one another and for teaching the children the true value of their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It then becomes something each child will hopefully do when they grow up and establish their own families.

Two Photos: IRI

As explained in my just previous post, the tithing of one-tenth of each members's annual interest is expected by the LDS Church. No other budget funds are asked for by Church Headquarters from individual members. Tithing is all that members pay for Headquarter's expenses. Headquarters expenses include building and maintanence of chapels throughout the world. Members of each church unit world-wide pay for their own activities. That which Church Headquarters owns is uninsured.
Repairs and rebuilding is done from Tithing funds.

This photo is of Utahn, Josh Romney and his wife and children. Josh is a son of Mitt Romney, a former governor of the state of Massachusetts. Mitt's father, George Romney, Josh's grandfather, was a governor of the state of Michigan. Both Mitt and his father served as stake presidents in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Recent news has it that Josh presently may have political ambitions for a Utah state office.

Latter-day Saints are taught by one of their scriptures, the Doctrine and Covenants, and by their church leaders, to be involved loyal citizens in whatever nation they may live in. I chose this picture of Josh and his young family as an example of that.

I end this blog post by sharing with you something that I found on the Internet as I was just searching for nothing in particular. I just happened to find the following somewhere on the Internet. I wouldn't identify who wrote this letter even if I knew who they are. (I did not write it. A young non-Mormon family did.)

I find that which they propose to do, very interesting. I appreciate them for seeing the great good that can be found in an active (in their church) LDS family. Here is their letter. I will respond to it after you have read it.

I can't respond to the couple that wrote it directly because I don't know their names nor their address, but sharing such with you may help you with some important insights that tie into what has been written in this blog post you have been reading. Maybe that family may possibly come across this blog post of mine and read it too!

Posted 6/19/09

Hi! My husband and I aren't LDS (or religious at all), but we've been really impressed by all of the LDS folks we've met both in undergrad and law school. We particularly like how the LDS families we have met seem to be strongly characterized by respect between all of the family members and a real sense of togetherness. We're expecting twins in the fall, and would like our new family to have some of those characteristics. So... if you could give someone a few specific tips on how to start living an "LDS lifestyle", what would they be? The tips don't have to be big, grand lifestyle changes - but maybe just small ways in which we could try to be more family oriented?

Wow! What a lead-in to what I would like to tell them if they had directed that question to me personally! I would write them a letter much like this:

Dear Couple desiring to live an LDS Family Lifestyle,

I appreciate your wanting to be like those LDS families you have come to know. I'm sure it would be a great blessing to you if you could emulate their LDS Lifestyle. I'm sure you would also bring with you some unique and special lifestyle features of your own that you shouldn't overlook.

You may not altogether appreciate my suggestions. I don't think you are expecting a response like mine. However, I am very sure that my answer is the one you need to hear.

I am positive that the LDS families whose lifestyles you'd like to emulate, didn't start out by just effectively emulating other successful LDS families they knew. They surely may have emulated the LDS families they were a part of when they were growing up. It is almost certain, however that they became the kind of families they are now because each of these sets of parents had, as individuals, become spiritually enriched by living the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which are taught to the young and old in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on a regular basis.

If I may so suggest: it's not so much what they do that you should desire to emulate, but, I suggest, it has more to do with what they have individually and together become, because of their living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His restored Gospel.

There is so much that makes up the goodness of active-in-the-faith LDS husbands and wives that it would take some serious studying on your part with, may I suggest, the young LDS missionaries who give freely, two years of their lives to teach good people like you that which you would need to come to know and do, to "come unto Christ" and feel His redeeming love and be baptized in His one and only true church.

In fairly short order the LDS missionaries would teach you what God has required of your LDS friends to help them become what they are inside. It is really what they are inside that makes them the kind of parents they are.

I suggest that as you analyze what I have just written, you'll begin to agree that it really is what they are spiritually, that makes them the kind of parents they have become. They are faithful members of a Church led by living prophets and inspired local church leaders who regularly help and urge them to be guided by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost which is gifted to all who wholeheartedly accept baptism into the Lord's only true Church on the earth today. A key thing about them surely is, that they are led through the great trials and tribulations that they confront by the Gift of the Holy Ghost, a priceless gift!

Above, in the main body of this post I used pictures and explanations which demonstrate the great faith that underlies your LDS friends' ways of raising their families. I would perhaps emphasize what I have written above under the photo of an LDS Temple, which indicates that faithful Mormon couples marry and are raising their children, not just for this life, but for all enternity.

A Seventy seven year old Mormon who sincerely admires your desire of having a Truly Happy Family. May the Lord bless you!

J. Neil Birch
______________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have two additional blogs. One is in Spanish: http://varsinaisella.blogspot.com/ and one is in Finnish: http://varsinaisesti.blogspot.com/ The content of each is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

36i - Jesus Christ Teaches the Nephites that Tithing is His Law in All Times - Taught in the Book of Mormon for us in our Day

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TODAY'S THEME

The Lord's Law of the Tithe - Our Obligation Which Brings Manifold Blessings When We Obey it. Our ward bishop is the Lord's steward in this important matter.

Doctrine & Covenants 119:
4 And after that, those who have thus been tithed shall pay one-tenth of all their interest annually; and this shall be a standing law unto them forever, for my holy priesthood, saith the Lord.

Paying a full and honest tithe is a basic requirement in order to be a worthy member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is just one of many obligations the Lord expects of His Saints. By much experience members of this church learn that paying an honest and full tithing brings blessings of all kinds, often way beyond what they ever hoped for.

Tithing is not a requirement of the Lord just for our day and time. It actually has been a basic requirement of God since man's beginning on the Earth.

Genesis 14:
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. (Emphasis Added)

And in addition:

Leviticus 27:30
30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy unto the LORD. (Emphasis Added)

And again:

2 Chronicles 31 5 ¶ And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the fields; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.
6 And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them by heaps.
7 In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month.
8 And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel.
9 Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps.
10 And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings (Tithing) into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store. (Emphasis and Clarification added)

In the just previous post I promised to have you study 3 Nephi, Chapter 24 which is about tithing, in this post. I have already commenced teaching about tithing using scriptures from the Doctrine and Covenants and the Old Testament.

So now we come to 3 Nephi, Chapter 24: These are the words of Malachi, whose book is found in our Old Testament but was not in the Nephites' Brass Plates (their version of the Old Testament). As I mentioned earlier, Malachi's book was not in the Nephite's version of the Old Testament because Father Lehi and his family left Jerusalem at the command of the Lord before Malachi's time.

Please prepare yourself to read 3 Nephi Chapter 24 by reading these instructions:

After you have clicked on the link below and when the scripture is on your screen, please scroll up and click on the word, Listen, which you will see on the upper left hand side of your computer screen. When you hear the voice reading the words of the scripture you can click on the minus (-) sign you will see on the Audio Window which has come onto your screen, so it will be removed and be non-distracting. After you have finished reading and listening to this chapter, please click on the white left arrow in a blue background. This will bring you back to this post.

3 Nephi 24: 1-18

I now wish to emphasize part of that which you just read that our Savior Jesus Christ taught the Nephites in ancient Central America by inserting it on your screen.

3 Nephi 24:
9 Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the fields, saith the Lord of
Hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of Hosts.

I want you to know my personal experience with paying tithing. With their mother, I raised a large family of nine children, (five daughters and four sons.)

I was employed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for about 34 years before retiring. I loved the work I did. I didn't expect the salary to to be comparable to that which I could have earned working for a large business or even for the government. Nonetheless, we paid a full tithing. If we ever got behind, we eventually got caught up. I know personally that the blessings that come from paying a full and honest tithing are like we were told above in:

2 Chronicles: 31:10 Since the people began to bring the offerings (Tithing) into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people;

I will now show pictures of two important things payed for by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from tithing funds.

1. Missionaries pay almost all of their own ongoing mission costs (Young male missionaries serve for two years (young female missionaries serve for one and a half years) They pay for their expenses from their own savings and from funds provided them by family and friends. Tithing pays for their travel (this includes the travel of older missionary married couples) to and from their missions and administrative mission costs, etc.

2. The planning, construction of and maintenance of the almost one hundred and forty six temples which are for the most part already built, are paid for by tithing funds. We have seen in a recent blog post of mine what great blessings come to not only Church members from the availability of these temples, but also to their dead ancestors who are "alive" in the World of Spirits.

1. & 2. Washington, D.C. and Buenos Aires, Argentina Temples

3. & 4 Preston, England and Manila, Philippines Temples

If you would like to access the LDS Church's "Temples Around the World" feature which includes pictures and important information about each of the 146 listed, please click on this following link:

http://www.lds.org/temples/geographical/0,11380,1899-1,00.html
__________________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have two additional blogs. One is in Spanish: http://varsinaisella.blogspot.com/ and one is in Finnish: http://varsinaisesti.blogspot.com/ The content of each is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

36h - Jesus Christ prophesys that Elijah will Appear to His Church in Our Day - Book of Mormon Prophecies are Fulfilled in Our Day

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TODAY'S THEME

Painting: Dan Lewis

Elijah Appearing in the Kirtland LDS Temple April 3, 1836

D&C 110:
13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:
14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—
15 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—
16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. (Emphasis Added)

In the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, we read the following report about something our Resurrected Savior Jesus Christ commanded the Nephites living in Meso-America to write: (AD 34)

3Nephi Chapter 24
1 AND it came to pass that he commanded them that they should write the words which the Father had given unto Malachi, which he should tell unto them. And it came to pass that after they were written he expounded them. . . (Emphasis Added)

The Nephites, of course, did not have the prophecies of Malachi because he was born and served his ministry after Father Lehi had left Jerusalem in 600 BC. Malachi's prophecies therefore could not have been recorded on the Plates of Brass which their ancestor, Lehi, brought with him when he journeyed to the Western Hemisphere.

In my next post I will deal with some of that which Malachi taught that is recorded in 3 Nephi 24. For now we will deal with what is recorded in the following chapter of 3 Nephi:

Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi Chapter 25 Chapter Heading: At the Second Coming the proud and wicked shall be burned as stubble—Elijah shall return before that great and dreadful day—Compare Malachi 4. About A.D. 34
1 FOR behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall.
3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of Hosts.
4 Remember ye the law of Moses, my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Emphasis Added)

The key words of that scripture above, which from my point of view, fit TODAY'S THEME, I have marked in red.

President Joseph F. Smith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1918

Now I'd like to allow you to learn more on this subject. Please click on the scriptural link below after reading the following instructions.

When the scripture is on your screen, please scroll up and click on the word, Listen, which you will see on the upper left hand side of your computer screen. When you hear the voice reading the words of the scripture you can click on the minus (-) sign you will see on the Audio Window which has come onto your screen, so it will be removed and be non-distracting. After you have finished reading and listening to this chapter, please click on the white left arrow in a blue background. This will bring you back to this post.

D&C 138:1-60

There are things I desire to comment on about which you have just read and listened to. The prophet Joseph F. Smith who received that revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ, was a nephew to Joseph Smith, Jr. the first prophet of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in what can be referred to as the "Latter-days."

What was taught in that scripture can give all of us bright hope which could remove our concern about family members we feel died without being qualified to be raised in the resurrection of the righteous about which Alma, the Nephite Prophet, taught us in my just previous post. That which you have just read in D&C 138 is surely calculated to turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.

That concern mentioned in the previous paragraph may possibly be extended to yourselves and your living family members. All of you can still be taught the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and become members of His authorized church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then seek to have the priesthood ordinances (such as baptism and granting the Gift of the Holy Ghost) done for your deceased ancestors.

The following inspired words taken from the scriptural link you have just read, can help you to relieve your concerns about your deceased ancestors not having had the opportunity to be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its ordinances during their lifetimes.

D&C 138:
19 And there he (Jesus Christ) preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance.
20 But unto the wicked he did not go, and among the ungodly and the unrepentant who had defiled themselves while in the flesh, his voice was not raised;
21 Neither did the rebellious who rejected the testimonies and the warnings of the ancient prophets behold his presence, nor look upon his face.
22 Where these were, darkness reigned, but among the righteous there was peace;
23 And the saints rejoiced in their redemption, and bowed the knee and acknowledged the Son of God as their Redeemer and Deliverer from death and the chains of hell.
24 Their countenances shone, and the radiance from the presence of the Lord rested upon them, and they sang praises unto his holy name.
25 I marveled, for I understood that the Savior spent about three years in his ministry among the Jews and those of the house of Israel, endeavoring to teach them the everlasting gospel and call them unto repentance;
26 And yet, notwithstanding his mighty works, and miracles, and proclamation of the truth, in great power and authority, there were but few who hearkened to his voice, and rejoiced in his presence, and received salvation at his hands.
27 But his ministry among those who were dead was limited to the brief time intervening between the crucifixion and his resurrection;
28 And I wondered at the words of Peter—wherein he said that the Son of God preached unto the spirits in prison, who sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah—and how it was possible for him to preach to those spirits and perform the necessary labor among them in so short a time.
29 And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them;
30 But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.
31 And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel.
32 Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets.
33 These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands,
34 And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
35 And so it was made known among the dead, both small and great, the unrighteous as well as the faithful, that redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross. (Emphasis and clarification Added)

As we just learned from this revelation, your deceased family members and all your ancestors can be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ by His representatives on the other side of the veil.

If you have personally received all the necessary Gospel ordinances (such as baptism by immersion) yourselves, you can do your deceased loved ones' ordinances for them on their behalf, or you can allow Temple worthy LDS members you may or may not know personally, do these ordinances on their behalf. We call these: vicarious temple ordinances.

There most likely is an LDS Temple (often referred to as The House of the Lord) available not too far from where you live. There are according to my count, 146 temples throughout the earth, including those presently under construction and those which are in the planning stages. Please click on this link to access a directory map which will assist you in finding the nearest temple to where you live in the world.

http://www.lds.org/temples/geographical/0,11380,1899-1,00.html

The revelation (D&C 138) you read today significantly adds directly to the pertinent information given by the Book of Mormon prophet, Alma the Younger regarding the resurrection of the dead which we studied in my just previous post.

I will next tell you about an experience related to the above, my wife and I enjoyed the day before this post was published.

Oquirrh Mountain Utah LDS Temple - South Jordan, Utah

My wife and I along with one of my wife's sons and his wife and three school-aged children, attended an open house of the LDS Church's newest temple, which is shown in the official LDS Temple photo above.

Melva and I have attended other temple open houses and have both witnessed something at this Temple Open House that we also had witnessed at each of the other temple open houses we have attended:

Even the youngest children appeared to sense somehow the special spirit in that holy place. There was no acting out, no rudeness to one another, actually, no crying by any of them.

There were a good number of parents with children of all ages there, some were LDS members but others were not. The guides did not ask for reverence there. It just seemed to come automatically.

The guides were very kind and very willingly answered our questions and helped us with things we needed, like finding an elevator or a restroom. If you had been there with us I'm certain you would have made the same observations as we did. It wasn't the beautiful new temple or the helpful guides that kept everyone peaceful, including young children and babies, it was the spirit that could be actually felt that is a part of that building in some wonderful way.

I have heard others, including non-LDS friends, say the very same thing about the childrens' demeanor, as well of that of the adults, at these open houses. We were being led through the entire structure which took about an hour and a half. This included viewing a video in which LDS leaders explained temple matters.

I am now providing a link to a video entitled:
"Why Mormons Build Temples"

I have provided that video in a recent post, but provide it again in case you missed it and also because it fits in today's post so well. After putting on your ear phones and adjusting your volume control on your computer, please click on the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8&feature=channel_page-Change-Remove

________________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have two additional blogs. One is in Spanish: http://varsinaisella.blogspot.com/ and one is in Finnish: http://varsinaisesti.blogspot.com/ The content of each is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch