Monday, March 29, 2010

39x - The Lord Has Re-established His Kingdom (Church) On The Earth And Sees To It That All, Throughout the World, Have Free Access to Its Message! #4


To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From The End of This Post.
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TODAY'S THEME

The Lord Jesus Christ -by Heinrich Hofmann

Isaiah 2: 2(Also, II Nephi 12: 2-3) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that (when) the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (emphasis added)
In order to clarify the reason why I chose the above scripture from the Book of Isaiah from the Old Testament and also from the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, I give you the opportunity to read and ponder these words of our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ which he delivered to the surviving righteous Nephites (from the great cataclysm that had killed a great portion of their nation - the more unrighteous portion) near the temple in their Land Bountiful (located somewhere in Ancient Central America in 34 A.D.):

The Resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ Teaches the Nephite Survivors - Painting: John Scott

3 Nephi 23: 1 AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.
If you choose to do so, you can delay your experiencing of those conference sessions until later. They won't remain available after a certain amount of time has expired! I urge you to tune into them, using the instructions I give below to experience them when they actually are taking place!

 Elder Jeffrey Holland's Easter Message.


"Abide With Me; 'Tis Even Tide" (The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is accompanied by the Orchestra on Temple Square. (Arrangement by: Barlow Bradford) The Choir is not seen in this recording. The words of the song are shown on the screen with pictures of scenes depicted in the words of the song, from time to time.

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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.

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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: The Lord, Jesus Christ Has Re-established His Kingdom On the Earth. -Post 39x. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)

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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch

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

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 an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

39w - The Lord Has Re-established His Kingdom (Church) On The Earth And Sees To It That All, Throughout the World, Have Free Access to Its Messages.#3

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From The End of This Post.
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TODAY'S THEME
The Lord Jesus Christ -by Heinrich Hofmann
Isaiah 2: 2(Also, II Nephi 12: 2-3) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that (when) the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (emphasis added)
I have repeated the scripture above as part of TODAY'S THEME of this post as well as that of my just previous post because I continue to prepare you, my blog readers for the possibility of your choosing to listen, be you members of this church or not, via your own Internet source, to the upcoming General Conference sessions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be held Saturday April 3, and Sunday April 4, 2010.

I have emphasized these words from that Isaiah scripture: That is surely how the Lord helps us, members and non-members alike, in LDS Church General Conferences, through the messages given by inspired men and women leaders of His church.

. . . and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.
In order to clarify the reason why I chose the above scripture from the Book of Isaiah from the Old Testament and also from the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, I give you the opportunity to read and ponder these words of our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ which he delivered to the surviving righteous Nephites (from the great cataclysm that had killed a great portion of their nation - the more unrighteous portion) near the temple in their Land Bountiful (located somewhere in Ancient Central America in 34 A.D.):

3 Nephi 23: 1 AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.
2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. (emphasis added)
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Here again is a video based on General Conference Talks given by General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which can serve as a prelude to your experiencing a General Conference of that Church using your computer's Internet capacities.
After this video is a beautiful musical video in which the World-famous Tabernacle Choir performs a very special rendition of "Lillies of the Field.".  


The World Famous Tabernacle Choir, will also be featured at each of the General Sessions of General Conference on the dates listed above.
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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.


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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: LDS General Conference, Preparing To Experience It No Matter Where You live in the World - Part 4 - Post -39w. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To A Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)
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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 in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is my Spanish Blog: Its content is translated from the English in this blog:

Neil Birch

Friday, March 19, 2010

39v- The Lord Has Re-established His Kingdom (Church) On The Earth And Sees To It That All, Throughout the World, Have Free Access to Its Message! #2

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From The End of This Post.

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TODAY'S THEME

The Lord Jesus Christ - Painting: Heinrich Hofmann
Isaiah 2: 2(Also, II Nephi 12: 2-3) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (emphasis added)
I have repeated the scripture above as part of TODAY'S THEME of this post as well as that of my just previous post because I continue to prepare you, my blog readers for the possibility of your choosing to listen, be you members of this church or not, via your own Internet source, to the upcoming General Conference sessions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be held Saturday April 3, and Sunday April 4, 2010.

I have emphasized these words from that Isaiah scripture: That is surely how the Lord helps us, members and non-members alike, in LDS Church General Conferences, through the messages given by inspired men and women leaders of His church.
. . . and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.
In order to clarify the reason why I chose the above scripture from the Book of Isaiah from the Old Testament and also from the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, I give you the opportunity to read and ponder these words of our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ which he delivered to the surviving righteous Nephites (from the great cataclysm that had killed a great portion of their nation - the more unrighteous portion) near the temple in their Land Bountiful (located somewhere in Ancient Central America in 34 A.D.):


The Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ Teaching the Nephite People in Ancient Central America -by John Scott
3 Nephi 23: 1 AND now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah. 2 For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. (emphasis added)



Just a very personal note! Whenever I view the interior of the huge LDS Conference Center it becomes extra amazing to me because right there in its auditorium's more Southerly area (on your right side as you view the podium and organ), many years ago, was located the actual first hospital of several versions of the famous Primary Children's Hospitals that have existed over the years,


including the very successful and spacious hospital which is now located East of the University of Utah Campus in Salt Lake City, Utah (U.S.A.). (Click on the picture for a close-up view).


This is the earliest Primary Children's Hospital and was located at 40 W. North Temple St. in Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.A. Formerly it was the Orson Hyde home. (Click on the picture for a close-up view). I was admitted there as a six year old patient in 1938 and where I remained for fourteen months completing my first grade schooling there within the hospital! I was being treated for osteomylitis of my left knee caused by T.B. My family lived 700 miles West of there in Roseville, California. I have both very happy and also very sad memories of my time there, as I personally view the interior of this relatively new Conference Center. Please forgive my personal reflections!
However, I do enjoy greatly being inside the Conference Center and just viewing it like you will have done, in just a few moments from now!
Recently, in a voluntary church service assignment I accepted with others from our LDS Church ward, I spent about two and a half hours very late one night cleaning the backs of seats while two others cleaned the front parts of the seats that are in one section on the lower level of that auditorium. Another ward member, a counselor in our bishopric, vacuumed several sections. It wasn't very dirty! The Church really keeps that building in good shape! I, along with the others, enjoyed the assignment!



Neil Birch, Age 7, in front of the Primary Children's Hospital located at 40 W. North Temple Street, Salt Lake City Utah. (His mother, Virginia Jensen Birch took this photo. To view this and a second photo and explanations of both, please view my post #14, dated: July 12, 2008 View This It Shows Various Views of the LDS Conference Center and of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah

I have inserted below a photograph of a Boeing 747 Jet Airliner. When the LDS Conference Center was under construction, I heard it often reported from a number of sources that one of those very huge Boeing 747 airliners could fit inside the new Conference Center Auditorium! Do not copy or alter this photo!
Now, having a few minutes ago, finished your Panoramic View of the Conference Center auditorium, I suggest you, after reading the next five paragraphs, click again on the link which is now just above the words: IMPORTANT NOTE you'll find up the page from here, just several paragraphs. Or if you have already had two visits to the panoramic view scenes, Please, right now, scroll down to below the two red asterisks below. When you are there, you are close to the key part of this post, the several videos I have provided you! Start under the blue line: ______________________

As you may be learning, if you didn't already know, the State of Utah came into being because of The Mormon Pioneers. As you have time, you may want to explore other buildings and places in Salt Lake City and other cities in Utah using that panoramic view program which has been brought onto your screen. And then you could go to the Utah natural wonders that are in the link also. They are really amazing, but with the use of this device they are almost more than amazing!
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As I have promised in the first blog post of this series. I now will give you the opportunity of viewing additional musical videos and of LDS General Conference talks given by general authorities of this church. As was so with the videos I showed in my previous post, they do not contain the entire talks that were given. Music, paintings and photos have been added to give an added sense of feeling, spirit and understanding to what is said by the speaker/s.

My purpose in providing these videos for you is to prepare you for the possibility of your being able to tune into, with the help of your computer's Internet, the upcoming General Conference of this Church which will be held on Saturday, April 3, and Sunday April 4th. In the post that I will publish on March 29, I will give you specific instructions which will help you prepare your computer and yourself to be ready to function in the way it/you will need need to function.

I assure you talks at all General Conferences are given by very inspired men and women of our day and time who are very well prepared and have all of our welfare in mind!
The actual General Conference talks, of course, do not have the features that the videos you will be experiencing in the previous post and in this and in the two following posts, but I assure you that you will be able to find application from them in your own life, whether you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not. As you sincerely ask the Lord to help you to be in tune for this spiritual feast, you will find that He will! You may have already learned that by viewing the videos of Conference speeches in my previous post! I'm also sure each of the talks you may experience by tuning into Conference sessions, will be well worth your while.

Those talks will be directed to the attention of LDS Church members rather than non-members. I say this to assure you non-members, that these Church leaders are not trying to convert you. No-one will know you are listening except you or others close to you!

I believe this first video I'm presenting in this post gives us an entire Conference address except for some brief opening remarks. This was the speaker's first address given by him after he had been called by the Lord through His prophet, to become a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He had spoken in previous General Conferences as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He was Elder Neal A. Maxwell who then served long and very well for a good number of years as an apostle before he died of a very serious disease which he endured patiently.

He was well known for his great and loving character and powerful testimony of the Lord, Jesus Christ, as well as being a superbly inspired and skilled speaker as you will soon discover for yourselves!

As I mentioned in my just previous post, a regular and very important part of each General Conference Session is the presence of and the inspired performance of, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

Here is an example of one of their video recordings: Tabernacle Choir:  Musical by MoSop

As that recording nearing its end, I suggest you consider selecting an additional Tabernacle Choir musical video from a list of Related Videos which you will see to the right of the smaller screen you will be in after having pressed (esc.) on your keyboard. I recommend the third listed video down: The Mormon Tabernacle Choir - The Holy City (Time: 5:14 minutes.)

I will now end this post by offering you the opportunity of viewing the following video made up of a number of small portions of General Conference talks given by a number of General Authorities. You will find it full of testimony of living apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is entitled:

Lifting Burdens, the Atonement of Jesus Christ

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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.

________________



TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: LDS General Conference, Preparing To Experience It No Matter Where You live in the World - Part 2 - Post 39v. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).

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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch
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Google Analytics Report of "Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?"
During the Period beginning: Feb. 16, 2010 and ending Mar. 18, 2010:
There were 1,238 visits from 67 countries/ territories.


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


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 an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Sunday, March 14, 2010

39u - The Lord Has Re-established His Kingdom (Church) On The Earth And Sees To It That All, Throughout the World, Have Free Access to Its Message! #1

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From The End of This Post

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TODAY'S THEME

The Lord Jesus Christ -by Heinrich Hofmann
Isaiah 2: 2(Also, II Nephi 12: 2-3*) And it shall come to pass in the last days, that (when) the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (emphasis added)

The Prophet Isaiah


In my just previous post, 39t, I told about the Latter-day Saint pioneers first entering the Great Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Here is the painting I showed then:

Artist Unknown

One of the most significant features of the Salt Lake Valley in the State of Utah, U.S.A. is that it is located at an elevation of approximately 4,500 feet above sea level between two large mountain ranges. In this painting the view of the Valley is from the vantage point of the somewhat higher Wasatch Mountain Range on the East.

As the Mormon Pioneers' covered wagons are shown descending at a steep angle toward the Valley below, on the far left side of the painting, in the distance, can be seen the very Northern end of the Oquirrh Mountain Range which is just South and slightly East of the Great Salt Lake which appears as a small white band, running from left to right in the distance. Both of these two mentioned mountain ranges run North and South. Other mountains can be seen still further West. Literally then, The Salt Lake Valley is situated in the Top of the Mountains.

As you read above, the Prophet Isaiah saw in vision that in "the last days" (the days just before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ) "the LORD's House shall be established in the top of the mountains."

In that scripture the Lord's House refers to one of the first few of the Lord's 330 temples which have already been built by His Restored Church in our days, throughout the world. There are 30 more either under construction or in planning stages. There are still many more to come before (and I believe), after the Second Coming of our Lord!

Below is a world map on which is shown where the present 330 (plus) LDS Temples are located. You can also view photos of them.

The temples are also listed alphabetically. They are usually named after the city and state or city and nation where they are located.

You will find it easy to view photos of the temples about which you choose to learn. They are very beautiful buildings, but more than that, the work done in them by members of the LDS Church for their deceased relatives and ancestors such as vicarious baptism, brings a closeness, even a bonding, with those who have departed from this life before, whom we will no doubt meet after we too leave this present life. Because of our vicarious actions in their behalf, we can rejoice with them when we meet them in the world of spirits where we all go after our lives here on earth have ended.

World Map On Which LDS Church Temples are found. 

Isaiah also prophesied that "all nations shall flow unto it." One remarkable thing about Salt Lake City and all of Utah is that many of its present citizens' ancestors and even many of its present citizens and/or their parents come from homelands located throughout the earth. That prophesy was also literally fulfilled, at least temporarily, when the very successful Worldwide Winter Olympics of the year 2002 was headquartered in Salt Lake City.

Beginning soon after the Mormon pioneers arrived there, construction began on the Salt Lake Temple, literally a House of the Lord. It was built out of solid granite hewed out of the Wasatch Mountain range. It took forty years to complete.

Below this paragraph can be seen two photos taken at night: The one on the left shows a small part of Salt Lake City with the Wasatch Mountain Range (to the East) in the background. The photo on the right shows the East side of the Salt Lake Temple as it appears today. Between you and the temple is a pond of water in which the temple is reflected.


Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. is where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is headquartered. Across the street to the North of the Salt Lake Temple, shown above, is the Church's relatively new Conference Center. Twice a year, once in early April and then in early October this world-wide church with a membership nearing fourteen million, holds General Conference.
In Isaiah's prophecy which I quoted above, I also highlighted these words:

On April 3rd and 4th of this year (2010), a Saturday and and a Sunday, the annual Church conference is scheduled. It is a world-wide conference. In times past leaders of the church from many different lands would travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. along with other world-wide members who could afford to travel here. In October 2010 the Semiannual General Conference of the Church will be held here also.

Now, because of modern means of electronic communications, church leaders and other members of the church from lands throughout the entire earth are able to experience this time of being "taught in his ways" by remaining in their homelands at General Conference time, thus helping them to learn more regularly how to "walk in his paths," without making the sacrifice of traveling so far from home!

Not only are the means of being as if one were in attendance at General Conference, available to church leaders and church members in foreign lands, they are also available to each of you viewers of this blog post no matter where you live in the world, in your own language because of the means of modern TV communications, expert translators, and the power of the Internet, to which each of you have access or you would not be reading this blog post right now!

In my blog post which I will publish on March 29, (2010) I will give you specific instructions which will help you read and listen to the Church's General Conference, as if you were right here in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A. in attendance in the Church's huge Conference Center located directly across the street from Temple Square where one of the Lord's Houses, the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple (shown above) is located.

Here are two views of the exterior of the LDS Conference Center, followed by an interior view of the Center's auditorium showing its immensity. Right there is where the Church's General Conferences take place. The Center is located on North Temple Street just North, across the street from the Salt Lake Temple shown in the photo above.





Now, I'm planning to treat you, in this and in my next three posts, to the special opportunity in each of them, of your experiencing two LDS general authority talks using the medium of musical videos. Those videos have been developed from talks which were given in fairly recent General Conferences of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can expect the next three posts of mine to be published on March 19, 24, and 29.

Also, in my very next post I have decided to treat you to the experience of viewing various scenes in Salt Lake City using a new (at least it is new to me) innovation in viewing various buildings and even the wonders of nature in the State of Utah. It is called: 360 degree Panoramic views. You will enjoy using that simple to use device, for example, to swivel the photograph, you see right above, of the huge interior of the Conference Center which will help you experience in a fascinating way, the immensity of the auditorium of that huge, attractive building!

You can have also, in my next post, a similar experience using that same device in viewing the amazingly beautiful interior of the Utah State Capitol Building located right here in Salt Lake City.

You will now view a video based on a talk given by former LDS President, Gordon B. Hinckley in a General Conference session about a year or so before his death. In this talk he relates a story told him by his own father.

That was only one of the two General Conference talks I am making available to you through the medium of Mormon Messages Videos in this post.

Here is the second one. It was given in the October 2009 General Conference of the Church. The speaker is the Second Counselor to the present LDS Church Prophet, Thomas S. Monson who succeeded President Hinckley after his death several years ago. He is President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. He was born in Czechoslovakia to German parents. They were members of the LDS Church. They lived for a time in East Germany where they endured very difficult circumstances during World War II. They then moved to Frankfurt, Germany. He eventually became a pilot in the German Air Force and subsequently was an airline pilot and then an official of a commercial air line. He served very faithfully as a church leader in Germany. Please click on the following link to experience the Mormon Messages Video which was made to illustrate that which he was teaching in his General Conference address.

President Dieter Uchdorf's Conference Address.

That video covered only a relatively small yet very important portion of a very touching and very helpful talk.

Here is his complete talk in case you want to hear it.


A very regular part of each General Conference Session of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the presence of the famous, Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They sing several numbers in each session of conference.

The Tabernacle Choir Video you will now view was recorded in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on Temple Square located not far from the Conference Center where General Conference is held where they perform at Conference Time.
"I Know that My Redeemer Lives"


IMPORTANT NOTE: After much careful deliberation and humble prayer, I have decided to focus on preparing you for the opportunity you may possibly choose to take of reading and/or listening in the language of your choice, to the sessions of the LDS Church's April Conference that will take place on Saturday, the third of April and Sunday the fourth of April 2010. Sessions on each day begin at 10:00 A.M. (U.S.A) Mountain Standard Time and 2:00 P.M. U.S.A. Mountain Standard Time.

I am attempting to prepare and interest you by selecting six additional Mormon Messages Videos (based on previous conference speeches given by Church general authorities along with three recorded performances of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir by dividing these up equally for you to experience in my next three posts. I will do my utmost to choose the most interesting, touching and vital of the Mormon Messages at my disposal.

Please also note: You can choose to tune into these conference sessions after the listed time. I believe they will remain available for a time after these sessions are held. I will check this out and let you know for sure in my next post. All of the addresses will also be available in written form in the November Issue of the Church's Ensign Magazine which you can obtain through lds.org. I will help you on that later also. There are also Liahona Magazines in many languages other than English. You can access those through LDS.com also.

I have been viewing the Mormon Messages (most are based on General Conference talks) regularly for over a year and I can't think of one that would not be appealing to any of you, be you a member of the LDS Church or not.

As I mentioned above, in each of those three posts, I will link you to Mormon Tabernacle Choir videos. I will give much thought to which ones I use, but if you are like me, you enjoy most any music the Mormon Tabernacle Choir along with the Orchestra on Temple Square, performs .

* I called your attention by the asterisk I used in the scripture at the head of this post and the corresponding asterisk at the beginning of this paragraph, to indicate that an identical quote from the Book of Isaiah is found in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, II Nephi 12: 2-3. You will note that there is just one word different in Nephi's record from what is in Isaiah's record as recorded in our Old Testament, Nephi's when for Isaiah's that.

I remind you that Nephi and his three brothers were sent back to Jerusalem from near the Red Sea, by their father, Lehi who had begun leading them (with direct guidance from the Lord) toward their promised land which we now know to be, Central America, in the Western Hemisphere.

The purpose of Nephi and his brothers having been sent back to Jerusalem by their father was that the Lord had commanded Father Lehi to have his sons go there to obtain the Brass Plates which contained engravings of the sacred scriptures which were available to them and other Jewish people of their day.

These Jewish immigrants, Father Lehi and his family and Ishmael, a relative of his, along with his family, and another man who was not related to them; greatly needed to have these inspired scriptures among them, or at least that was what the the righteous among them realized.

I'm sure Father Lehi knew that unless they had these sacred scriptures which were recorded on the Brass Plates of Laban with them, their righteousness would gradually or perhaps, even rapidly diminish. Besides, the Lord had commanded Lehi to send his sons back to their homeland to obtain those sacred records
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The same holds true for all of their righteous descendants and many who much later became righteous after periods of wickedness. To remain righteous it was necessary to have God's sacred scriptures to study and serve as guides in their lives. This truth of people needing the holy scriptures to serve as guides to righteous living surely applies to each of us too!

Isaiah's writings were recorded on those brass plates along with the writings of many other prophets. This, of course explains why Nephi could quote Isaiah so acurately! We learn later in the Book of Mormon of scriptures of other prophets and their prophecies who are not even mentioned in our Old Testament.

I continue to marvel at the Book of Mormon! What a record! We all need to be grateful that the Lord saw to it that His Nephite prophets wrote and preserved it so that His modern-day prophet, Joseph Smith could, under the inspiration of the Lord, translate it for our use in our day! I remind myself and you that the Prophet Joseph Smith said the Book of Mormon is "the Keystone of our Religion!"
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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: LDS General Conference, Preparing To Experience It No Matter Where You live in the World - Part 1 - Post 39u. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)


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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch
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I deeply appreciate your readership and very much hope you you will find that which was presented to you in this blog post, very beneficial.


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 an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

39t - The Tender Mercies of the Lord are Over All His Chosen Ones Because of Their Faith. Who is Among Them? Are You?

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From The End of This Post

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TODAY'S THEME

Painting: Liz Lemon Swindle
Book of Mormon, I Nephi 1:20 . . . But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.
Be it a mother alone with her little children, after having left the comforts of their home in beautiful Nauvoo, Illinois, U.S.A. to go west with other members of their church. In the cold winter of 1846; they, along with many other distressed Latter-day Saints, are crossing over the frozen Mississippi River to begin their long, at times by foot, but with the help of covered wagons.

(the artist who painted this picture was depicting Emma Smith and her children. She is the widow, and they are the children, of the prophet Joseph Smith who was killed by enemies of their church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, several years before).
With the Lord's tender and merciful blessings strengthening them, these first Mormon pioneers steadily continued their very difficult one thousand mile journey and finally reached the safety provided them in the then desolate Great Salt Lake Valley. That first group, under the direct leadership of the Lord's prophet, Brigham Young, arrived July 24, 1847. That place, chosen by God, was to eventually become, through their faith, and and the faith of all the many others who followed, the fruitful and inviting place which we now know as: the Salt Lake Valley of the State of Utah, U.S.A.
Artist Unknown LDS Pioneers Entering the Great Salt Lake Valley July 24, 1847
Or Be it. . .
Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Philanthropies
Children in Lowama, Sierra Leone, (Africa) who have followed visiting LDS Church members to the river bank to bid farewell. (Their families look forward to a new well. constructed with the help of LDS Charities, that will soon be operational there.
In the case of both the Mormon Pioneers and the People of Lowama, there is ample evidence of their great faith and the tender mercies of the Lord spoken of by the Prophet, Nephi, son of Lehi as quoted above.

Sierra Leone water project: Tribal communities work together to improve health - Hygiene training helps 123,000 in 150 villages
By Howard M. Collett
LDS Philanthropies
Published: Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010

BO, SIERRA LEONE
As we emerged from the canoe on the banks of the Sewa River, singing in the distance told us that this was going to be an extraordinary day. We were in the bush an hour east of Bo, in central Sierra Leone. Hiking up a trail to the small forest village of Lowama, we saw a procession of about 50 villagers coming toward us singing praises to God, thanking Him that their prayers had been answered. It was an unexpected but exceptionally warm welcome to a small contingency from Latter-day Saint Charities who had come to teach villagers about hygiene in preparation for a water well being constructed in their village.

Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Philanthopies


Life in rural Sierra Leone is simple — no electricity, plumbing, or refrigeration. Yet the people are resilient and work together for the common good. In rural villages, obtaining water is the work of women and children as young as seven years of age.


Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Philanthropies
In a picturesque setting of mud-walled, thatch-roofed homes and open cooking fires, we listened to rice being pounded for the evening meal and observed beautiful children everywhere as we were escorted to the chief's home. We visited with the village elders in the shade of an open porch. The chief told us how much he appreciated our efforts to help improve his community. While Bo is the second largest community in Sierra Leone with more than 130,000 people, most people live in rural villages that don't even appear on a map. Here, people have no paved roads, electricity, or water systems.

Photo by Howard M. Colett/LDS Philanthropies
Photo by Howard M. Collett/ LDS Philanthropies
More than 400 families rebuilt Lowama following a lengthy and devastating civil war that ended in 2003. In this community, some women and children make a long trek daily to haul drinking water from a neighboring village. Cooking is done over open fires on hot coals of wood briquettes made by the villagers themselves. Most families keep the coals alive 24 hours a day, as it is easier than restarting them.
Photo by Howard M. Collet/LDS Philanthopies
We were in Lowama to film the beginnings of a clean water project sponsored by Latter-day Saint Charities. To ensure ownership of a well by the community, each project is started with the formation of a water committee and training in hygiene for families months in advance of the well digging. If a problem arises, the community will have been empowered to find a solution without reverting to getting water the way they had for generations — out of streams with questionable purity.
Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Philanthropies
Wells in central Sierra Leone must be dug 9 feet below the low water line to a depth of 30 feet.
Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Philanthropies
"The Church has always been more concerned with building people than water systems," said Matthew Heaps, clean water initiative manager for Humanitarian Services. "Our training has increased our impact in reaching that goal. This training allows families to discover the importance of hygiene, how to keep their hands clean, and how to properly care for water once it has been obtained from the well. Our goal in each community is for them to feel complete ownership so they will maintain the well and take responsibility for their health."

Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Philanthropies
Even clear water from streams is often teeming with bacteria that can cause intestinal diseases. Nearly two-thirds of the people of Sierra Leone don't have access to clean water.
The key to success in such projects is the people themselves. For the Bo area and the town of Kenema one hour to the east, LDS Charities contracted a project manager, hygiene supervisor, 10 site monitors, and 10 hygiene instructors for this 150 well project. Each is a member of the Church, and most are recently returned missionaries.

"People have come to realize they really can prevent sickness in their community," said Inmpey Cabinah, a recently returned missionary who oversees hygiene training in nearly 150 villages. "This is a new concept for them because they have never experienced this kind of training. While other people have come to Sierra Leone to dig wells, they have never emphasized hygiene — the things people can do to prevent sickness. We teach seven lessons in each community, such as good sanitation and how to wash hands properly with soap. Then we go back to see if people are really doing the things we taught them."

Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Phlanthropies
A long-time resident of Baomahun recalls joy that clean water brought to her village. LDS Charities is constructing 150 wells in Sierra Leone.
Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Philanthropies
Villagers in rural Sierra Leone congregate at the well before sunrise and again before sunset. Each well provides clean water for an average of 800 to 900 people.
Inmpey oversees 10 hygiene instructors who are also returned missionaries. Each hygiene instructor selects and trains a volunteer facilitator in each of 10 villages to conduct weekly hygiene training for two to four months. This train-the-trainer concept extends the training to 150 villages and some 123,000 people. This is essential in villages with no bathrooms, and it also ensures villagers' commitment to the need for clean water to prevent the disease and death so prevalent in emerging nations. Interestingly, most of these small communities — averaging about 900 people each — consists of Muslims and Christians, who work together with Latter-day Saint Charities for a common good, regardless of their different beliefs.

Photo by Howard M. Collett/ LDS Philanthropies
Many villagers walk long distances to get water, returning with 40 pounds in containers on their heads.Once hygiene training is under way, the project manager hires an experienced contractor. Each site monitor works with the contractors in 10 villages to help organize the communities and select volunteers to provide manual labor. The wells in these areas are dug by hand to a depth of about 30 feet. More than 31 cubic yards of rock and dirt are removed — one bucket at a time. Surprisingly, most wells are dug in less than one week. Concrete casings are then cast on site and lowered one at a time to line the well, which is about six feet across. The well is then capped with a concrete pad, and a hand pump is installed.
Richard Gobba oversees water project development in Lowama and eight other villages. "As site monitor I assist in coordinating the contractors, the technicians and the community," he said. "I work with the community to help them provide their own labor, and I help ensure that a better job is done in each community." Gobba said that because of the sacrifice individuals make in contributing to the Church Humanitarian Fund, LDS Charities also encourages sacrifice on the part of community members to provide sand, hand-cut rock and labor to help build the well.

Most communities charge each family a small fee to help maintain the well. But in one enterprising community, the leaders decided to use the fees to buy goats. The goats would give milk and when the well needed maintenance, a goat would be sold to pay for it. The investment paid a far better return than interest in the bank.

Once the pump is operational, women and children line up their buckets at sunrise and for the next two hours take turns pumping clean water for their cooking needs that day. This needed ritual takes place every morning, during the wet season or the dry season. While still an arduous task — women carry as much as 40 pounds of water on their heads and small children carry up to 15 pounds on theirs — it is much less time-consuming than walking a mile or more for water. The greatest benefit is that the water is free from the harmful bacteria that can cause disease that too often proves fatal for infants and small children.

The value of clean water cannot be completely appreciated until it is realized that Sierra Leone has the world's second highest infant mortality rate. Water-borne typhoid fever is one of the leading causes. Last year, LDS Charities provided clean water in Sierra Leone and 22 other countries for nearly one million people. Funding came from individual contributions to the humanitarian fund on meetinghouse donation slips and through LDS Philanthropies.

"If I could speak for the people of Sierra Leone," said Mustapha Turay, project manager for the new wells, "I would say a big thank you to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for blessing our lives, for coming to our aid at a most needed time. Thank you for saving lives, for saving children who would have died, and for creating jobs for our brothers and sisters who are employed in this water project."

After an afternoon of successful interviews and filming, it was time to go. As we left by canoe, the village children came down to the riverbank and waded into the water to say their goodbyes. We circled back toward the shore one last time to bid farewell and received shouts of "Thank you," "We love you," and "Goodbye!"

Photo by Howard M. Collett/LDS Philanthropies
We sat there feeling humbled and grateful. For so much of the year we live in air-conditioned or heated comfort, with easy access to clean air and water. We rededicated ourselves to doing more with whatever resources we can bring to those who need them. While we are changing other people's lives, they are changing ours as well.

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Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon Legal /StatementThank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch

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 Mormon Messages video. In this video Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, tells how the scripture quoted at the beginning of this post (which I have quoted again) applies very personally to each of us:
Book of Mormon, I Nephi 1:20 . . . But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.
Elder David A. Bednar's Talk

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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.

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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: The Tender Mercies of the Lord are Over All of His Chosen Ones. You May Well be Among Them -Post39t; When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed)._____________



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

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 an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch