The title under the painting above is a key phrase in an interpretation of a dream by a young Jewish prophet, Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (in about 590 B.C.) had forgotten a dream which was very troubling to him. None of the wisemen in his kingdom could tell him the details of his dream, except the young Jew, Daniel, who had turned to his God for help in doing that. The king had threatened to kill all of them, including Daniel, if they couldn't help him.
In the painting above you will see the stone as it is rolling rapidly down from the mountain (in the background) and is about to strike the image (statue of an ancient warrior - perhaps a warrior king) that Daniel has described in great detail to the king.
The man in white clothing is Daniel, who, not long before, had been taken captive into Babylon, along with many other Jews, just a few years after Father Lehi and his family and friends had left Jerusalem and were being led by the Lord to Central America (or were there already).
The Lord had told Lehi and his fourth oldest son, Nephi that Jerusalem was to soon be destroyed and that some of their people, the Jews, would be taken into captivity. They most likely had never known Daniel, but surely they knew many who had been destroyed by the Babylonians and some who, like Daniel, were eventually taken captive into Babylonia.
Daniel told the king that God had revealed the dream and its meaning to him, (Daniel), in a night vision.
In this painting young Daniel by the spirit of prophecy and revelation is depicted interpreting the dream that greatly troubled Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. By that same gift of God, Daniel had given the king each of the intricate details of his dream. The king had forgotten them but he evidently was sure that the dream meant something he should understand.
Nebuchadnezzar was very pleased that Daniel's god helped him to remember and understand the dream that had troubled him so much. Because of this, Nebuchadnezzar elevated Daniel to a high position in his government.
Please click on the scriptural link at the end of the next paragraph to read about Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream directly from the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament.
I suggest that you consider listening to this scripture while reading it. After clicking on the scriptural link, scroll up on the scripture and click on the word, Listen, which is on the upper left hand side of the scripture. Listening while reading will make it more interesting. After finishing please click on the white left arrow (with a blue background at the upper left hand side of your computer screen which will bring you back to this blog post.
Daniel 2:1-47
Let me emphasize verses 44 and 45 of that chapter by quoting them:
44. And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
45. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the
mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made it known to the king what shall come to pass here-after: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. (Emphasis Added)
You will now have the opportunity of reading the personal account of the individual who was chosen by God to begin the establishment of His latter-day kingdom that was foretold anciently in the prophet Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
Please note the great care the Heavenly Messenger takes in preparing this young man who is almost 18 years of age for the huge task ahead of him.
Again, as before, after clicking on this scriptural link, I advise that you click on the word, "Listen" on the upper left side of the page. It will make your experience more interesting. Please re-read the instructions given just before the previous scriptural link.
jstestimony
You have just learned about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, about which in Joseph Smith's later years, he said: "The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our Religion."
Here are three paintings and a photo that depict important events you have just read about and perhaps listened to.
Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith (Painting: Tom Lovell)
The Hill Cumorah
The Gold Plates
Joseph Smith is given the Gold Plates (Painting: Kenneth Riley)
When you have time you may want to review my blog post 20, in which the present Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, H. David Burton in an LDS General Conference talk, reviews the many humanitarian projects this church accomplished during the year, 2007, through the voluntary efforts of a goodly portion of the over thirteen million members of the Church.
I now give you the opportunity of reading a quote from a member of the First Presidency of this church, President Henry B. Eyring. It is from his speech given at the same general priesthood session of the Church's April conference in April 2008 where Bishop Burton gave his speech reporting the Church's Humanitarian efforts during the year, 2007.
"I have seen the miracle of that growth in charity in the hearts of priesthood holders, So have many of you. And so have many outside the Church. I was in the office of President Gordon B. Hinckley when he was asked to take a phone call. He spoke briefly on the phone and then returned to our conversation. But he took a moment to explain. He said that the call was from the president of the United States, who was flying over Utah in Air Force One on his way to Washington. The president of the United States had called to thank President Hinckley for what priesthood holders had done in the aftermath of a hurricane. The president of the United States had said that it was a miracle that we were able to get so many people, so quickly, working together so well. He praised our people by saying that we knew how to do things."
In ending this blogpost, I take the liberty of saying: That which was accomplished in humanitarian services in 2007 and for many years before that and in 2008 and now in 2009 and into the future, is what we should expect from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with its population growing from thirteen million members to a much larger number in years to come. Of course, this is the Lord's latter-day kingdom, or the Stone Cut out of the Mountain without Hands which Nebuchadnezzar saw and was helped by Daniel to understand by the power of the gift of prophecy and revelation which he, the Prophet Daniel, used in interprepting the king's dream.
This church, under the direction of a living prophet, is striving to do all of those things our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ would have us do in preparation for His Second Coming.
Painting: Harry Anderson
This church regularly accomplishes much more than that which I have been able to describe here. Through the gift of Prophecy and Revelation which ordinary worthy members of the this church can possess, the young, the elderly, both male and female, from every race, are led to Heavenly Peace and Security in this world of rapidly increasing turmoil, temptation and disasters.
Serving Others - and - Family Prayer 
Photos provided by lds.org
I have entitled this post, a part of the series: Book of Mormon (& Bible) Prophecies are Fulfilled in Our Day, The Prophet Daniel Interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's Dream. I added the (& Bible) part for this post. After all, the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon are one in the hand of our Lord. His holy gift of Prophecy and Revelation was used by the Lord's servants (prophets) in both books to present His word.
Painting: Greg K. Olsen
You can expect my next blogpost in about three to four days from the date given at the beginning of this post. I'll look forward to sharing things again with you at that time.
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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
