35f - The Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation is a Key Principle Taught About and Demonstrated By the Actions of True Prophets Throughout the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and Throughout All of God's Other Scriptures!

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TODAY'S THEME

I Nephi 11: 1 FOR it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen,* and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

2 And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?

3 And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw.

4 And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?

5 And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father.

6 And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.

7 And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God. 

Jesus Descending Out of Heaven and Appearing to Righteous Nephites in Ancient Central America in A.D. 34

 

8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.

Lehi's Dream -By Jerry Thompson



9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all.

10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?

11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.

12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence.

13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. 

The Annunciation - Mary and the Angel, Gabriel -By John Scott



14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?

17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. 

Baby Jesus With His Mother, Mary and Joseph -By Ted Henninger



21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.

25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God! 

Jesus Being Baptized by John -By Harry Anderson

 27And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.

28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.



Twelve Others Following Him

 29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were   carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them. 

Angels Did Minister Unto Them

31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.

Jesus Did Heal them!



The Crucifixion -By Harry Anderson

 32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world. (emphasis added)

I have attempted to emphasize that which the Prophet, Nephi wrote which I have used as TODAY'S THEME, by inserting pictures of the then future various life experiences of our Savior about which Nephi learned from the Spirit of the Lord, through the means of the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation, which is always in use when the church authorized by Jesus Christ is present and led by Him through His prophets here on earth.

During my life I have been blessed to have experienced the power of that Spirit, directly and indirectly, as have all active and faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether or not they fully realize it. Here is something very significant regarding the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation which I quoted in my blog post 35a from the book, "The World and the Prophets," written by Dr. Hugh W. Nibley.

A Caution!: Don't let Dr. Nibley's long foreign words throw you! He got his information right from the original texts, written in their original language, (be it Greek, Latin or whatever.) He was an expert in many Near Eastern languages, including Arabic.

What Dr. Nibley wrote which I quote below, along with his quote from the Apostle Paul, taken from the New Testament, establishes the fact that the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation was lost from the original Christian Church after the death of Paul and all the other Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. It certainly was actively present over the centuries in the Nephite Church of Jesus Christ in Ancient America until its collapse in about A.D. 421 (Which is when the Prophet Moroni's last words during his mortality were written.) As I made clear above, the gift of Prophecy and Revelation is very much a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today and has been present again on the earth since just about a decade before its organization on April 6, 1830!

"Paul had prophesied that Here the so-called original text uses the identical word for the failing of prophecies and the vanishing of knowledge, (katargethesontai - "to be taken out of circulation, to be made inoperative,") used both times in the future indicative. There is no sense of contingency here; the whole statement is simple and emphatic: "Such propheciies as there are shall be stopped; such tongues as there are shall be made to cease (pausontai) such gnosis as there is shall be done away with." These gifts were not simply to fade away; they wre going to be taken away."

". . . whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away" (I Corinthians 13:8)"

I want to remind you once again of the contrast between what some people believe about the Book of Mormon and what is true about it. Again, as in the last several blog posts I quote from the PBS Video presented in May 2006 on prime time TV.

Professor Alex Caldiero

"I hear Joseph Smith's voice every time I read it (The Book of Mormon), He was a farmer. He was young. He was unlettered and he put this all together. So you have this rough hewn kind of text..." Alex Caldiero, poet and scholar, Utah Valley University. (clarification added)

Where is the "rough hewn kind of text that the young farm boy, Joseph Smith put together to form the Book of Mormon?" It certainly isn't in the Book of Mormon scripture that formed TODAY'S THEME in this post!

The sureness of Nephi's prophecies quoted today are so very important to each one of us. Believing them enough to live by Jesus' commandments can save you and I and our families from the universal burning that will take place at His second coming just as the flood in Noah's day saved only him and his family along with the many animals which were with them in his ark.

2Thessalonians 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

The Second Coming -By Harry Anderson

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