Friday, December 27, 2013

Post 47u: This Blog Post Has a Very Important Role to Play in My Blog. In it I Feature the Talk Given by Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Which He Delivered During the October 2013 General Conference in the Church's Conference Center Located in Salt Lake City, Utah on the Subject of: "General Conference: Strengthening Faith and Testimony!" Therefore You Will Learn From an Inspired Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ of Our Day and Time About How the General Conferences of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Can Greatly Bless Our Lives!

The Following Blog Description Explains Why My Blog is named: "Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ!


Jesus the Christ -by Del Parson

WELCOME, NEW  AND REGULAR VIEWERS OF THIS BLOG: In this and in every additional post of this blog you will be led on a carefully and prayerfully planned exciting and inspiring journey as you prepare by means of a guided study of the four sacred books of scripture I am shown holding above; which will assist you in becoming more righteously happy now and more fully prepared for eventual After-Mortality Eternal Endeavors on your part, along with your loved ones and countless other mortals who are seeking to qualify as our Heavenly Father's worthy children. 

Those enabling Books of Scripture were brought about through the love of the Heavenly Father of our immortal spirits which now inhabit our mortal bodies; and were a key part of the Restoration of the Gospel, and of the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through the Prophet Joseph Smith early in the Nineteenth Century. Leading out in all of this, was of course, Our Heavenly Father's Only Begotten Son who is our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, Jesus Christ (who initially was our eldest spirit brother and is the only one of us our Heavenly Father will have ever sired into mortality). 

Jesus accomplished His Infinite Atonement, the Ultimate Mortal Sacrifice, along with His infallibly witnessed Resurrection. He is our Redeemer and Savior and has opened the way for each of us to learn with certainty through those four books of scripture, and through the inspired teachings of His prophets, seers and revelators of our day and those authorized by them; that some time after our mortal deaths, because of His atonement and resurrection, and depending on the level of individual righteousness we each attain to, through His grace, we can eventually experience Eternal Life in our own resurrected bodies, which in the case of those who fully heeded all of His scriptural guidance and the guidance of His authorized living servants, there will be full possession of Godly capabilities! J. Neil Birch

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post! For Those of You Who May Be In a Hurry to Access it, Here it is now: Neil Birch's Blog Index.

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TODAY'S THEME:

I, J. Neil Birch, Author of this Post as you have been informed
in my Introduction, have chosen this week to feature the 
October 2013 General Conference talk given by Elder Robert 
D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church 
mentioned above. First, I desire that you each learn about his 
background before he was called to his position as an Apostle 
of the Lord Jesus Christ along with something about his family:

http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/what-are-prophets/bio/robert-d-hales?lang=eng

Now you will have the opportunity of listening to Elder Hales 
deliver his most recent General C0nference Address which is 
the subject of this Blog Post of mine:
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/general-conference-strengthening-faith-and-testimony?lang=eng
Now it is my opportunity of assisting you to benefit from the 
Notes which Elder Hales inserted at the very end of his General 
Conference Talk which you just listened to.  I invite you to 
read through Elder Hales' talk in order that I may assist 
you in your efforts to more fully benefit from Elder Hale's 
notes in making those notes of his as fully  functional as possible: 
To do so I will insert various professionally done paintings 
and make his notes explicit  in an effort to make each of 
them more fully beneficial:

General Conference: 

Strengthening Faith 

and Testimony

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Robert D. Hales
Oh, how we need general conference! 
Through conferences our faith is 
fortified and our testimonies deepened.

Thank you, President Monson, for your teaching and example of
Christlike service and your charge for all of us to be missionaries.
We ever pray for thee.   
In our dispensation, the Savior Jesus Christ referred to a
gathering of Saints as “my general conference.”1 
 Doctrine and Covenants 124: 88 Let my servant William 
go and proclaim my everlasting gospel with a loud voice, and
 with great joy,  as he shall be moved upon by my Spirit, unto
the inhabitants of Warsaw, and also unto the inhabitants of
Carthage, and also unto the inhabitants of Burlington, and also
unto the inhabitants of Madison, and await patiently and
diligently for further instructions at my general  conference, 
saith the Lord.
Wherever we are in this world, however we receive these
proceedings, I testify that we are gathered in His 
conference.  I also testify that we will hear His word, 
for He has said, “Whether by mine own voice or by 
the voice of my servants, it is the same.”2
Doctrine and Covenants 1:38 What I the Lord have
spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and
though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall
not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own
voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.
Conferences have always been part of the true Church of Jesus 
Christ. Adam gathered his posterity and prophesied of things to 
come.   

Adam and Eve Teaching their Children -by Del Parson












Moses gathered the children of Israel 
and taught them the commandments 
he had received. 
Moses Taught Israel Important things! -by Judith Mehr 














The Savior taught multitudes gathered both in the Holy Land













and on the American continent. 

Jesus Visits the Americas












Peter gathered believers in Jerusalem! 
(No Painting Available)


The Whitmer Log House in Fayette, New York Where the First General
Conference in these Latter Days was convened. 











The first general conference in these latter days was convened 
just two months after the Church was organized, and 
conferences have continued to this very day. These conferences 
are always under the direction of the Lord, and His Holy Spirit 
guides them.

 Doctrine and Covenants 46:2 But notwithstanding those things 
which are written, it always has been given to the elders of my 
church from the beginning, and ever shall be, to conduct all meetings 
as they are directed and guided by the Holy Spirit.

We are not assigned specific topics. Over weeks and months
often through sleepless nights, we wait upon the Lord. 
Through fasting, praying, studying, and pondering, we learn
the message that He wants us to give. Some might ask, 
“Why doesn’t the inspiration come more easily and quickly?” 
The Lord taught Oliver Cowdery, “You must study it out in 
your mind; then you must ask me if it be right.” 
Doctrine and Covenants 9:8 But, behold, I say unto you, that 
you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be 
right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn 
within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.
Conference messages come to us after prayerful 
preparation, through the Holy Ghost. This principle is true 
for all members of the Church as we prepare to participate in 
ward, stake, and general conferences. We study out in our 
minds what we need  and desire from Heavenly Father, and 
we pray to understand and apply that which we are taught.  
As the time for conference arrives, we sacrifice other activities, 
“laying aside the things of this world, [to] seek for the things of
a better.”
Doctrine and Covenants 25:10 And verily I say unto thee that 
thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things 
of a better.
Then we gather our families to hear the word of the Lord, as
King Benjamin’s people did.6
King Benjamin Preaches to the 
Nephites  -by Gary Kapp












Mosiah 2: 5 And it came to pass that when they came up to 
the temple, they pitched their tents round about, every man 
according to his family, consisting of his wife, and his sons, and his 
daughters, and their sons, and their daughters, from the eldest 
down to the youngest, every family being separate one from 
another.
Children and youth love to be included. We make a serious mistake 
if we assume that the conference is above their intellect and spiritual 
sensitivity. To the young members of the Church, I promise that if 
you will listen, you will feel the Spirit well up within you. The Lord 
will tell you what He wants you to do with your life. In Conferences 
we can receive the word of the Lord meant just for us.  

One member testified:  “As I listened to your address, I was 
astounded. … 
Your talk was personal revelation directly from  the Lord to my 
familyI have never experienced such a strong manifestation of the 
Spirit in my life as those minutes when the Holy Ghost spoke directly 
to me.”
Another said, “I have never before felt so profoundly that a talk was
being given to me.” This is possible because the Holy Ghost carries
the word of the Lord unto our hearts in terms we can understand.7
2 Nephi 33:1 And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which 
were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like 
unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy 
Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the 
children of men.
When I take notes at conference, I do not always write down
exactly what the speaker is saying; I note the personalized
direction the Spirit is giving me. What is said is not as important
as what we hear and what we feel.8

 https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1976/10/a-report-and-a
-challenge?lang=eng
That is why we make an effort to experience conference in a 
setting where the still, small voice of the Spirit can be clearly 
heard, felt, and understood. Oh, how we need general conference! 
Through conferences our faith is fortified and our testimonies deepened. 
And when we are converted, we strengthen each other to stand 
strong amid the fiery darts of these last days. 
Luke 22:31  And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan 
hath desired to have you, that he may sift you  as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when 
thou are converted, strengthen thy brethren.
In recent decades the Church has largely been spared the terrible
 misunderstandings and persecutions experienced by the early 
Saints. It will not always be so. The world is moving away from 
the Lord faster and farther than ever before. The adversary has 
been loosed upon the earth. We watch, hear, read, study, and 
share the words of prophets to be forewarned and protected.
For example, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”
was given long before we experienced the challenges now
facing the family. “The Living Christ: The Testimony of the 
Apostles” was prepared in advance of when we will need it
most.
We may not know all the reasons why the prophets and
conference speakers address us with certain topics in
conference, but the Lord does. President Harold B. Lee taught:
“The only safety we have as members of this church is to …
give heed to the words and commandments that the Lord shall
give through His prophet.
There will be some things that take patience and faith. You may
not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may
 contradict your [personal] views. It may contradict your social
views. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you
listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord Himself,
with patience and faith, the promise is that ‘the gates of hell
shall not prevail against you; … and the Lord God will disperse
the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens
to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.’ 
(Doctrine and Covenants 21:10  6 For by doing these 
things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and 
the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from 
before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good and 
his name’s glory.
How did President Lee know what we would be facing in our day?
He knew because he was a prophet, seer, and revelator.  And if
we listen and obey the prophets now, including those who will
speak in this very conference, we will be strengthened and
protected.
The greatest blessings of general conference come to us after
the conference is over. Remember the pattern recorded
frequently in scripture: we gather to hear the words of the Lord,
and we return to our homes to live them. 
After King Benjamin taught his people, “he dismissed the multitude,
and they returned, every one, according to their families, to their
own houses.”11 
Mosiah 6:3  And again, it came to pass that when king Benjamin 
had made an end of all these things, and had consecrated his son 
Mosiah to be a ruler and a king over his people, and had given him 
all the charges concerning the kingdom, and also had appointed
 priests to teach the people, that thereby they might hear and know 
the commandments of God, and to stir them up in remembrance of 
the oath which they had made, he dismissed the multitude, and they 
returned, every one, according to their families, to their own houses.
In his day, King Limhi did the same.12 
4 And it came to pass that after he had done all this, that king Limhi 
dismissed the multitude, and caused that they should return every one 
unto his own house.
After teaching and ministering to the people at the temple in Bountiful, 
the Savior entreated the people, 
3Nephi 17:3 “Therefore, Go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon 
the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye 
may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto
 you again.”
We accept the Savior’s invitation when we ponder and pray to
 understand what we have been taught and then go forward and do 
His will. Remember President Spencer W. Kimball’s words:  “I have made 
up my mind that when I go home from this [general] conference … there 
are many, many areas in my life that I can perfect. I have made a mental 
list of them, and I expect to go to work as soon as we get through.” 
Spencer W. Kimball, "Spoken from Their Hearts," Ensign, Nov. 1975, 
111. (14)
President Monson recently said: “I encourage you to read the talks … 
and to ponder the messages contained  therein. I have found in my own
life that I gain even more from these inspired sermons when I study them  
in greater depth.”
In addition to inviting us to hold personal and family scripture 
study, Heavenly Father wants us to regularly to study and testify 
and apply what we have and apply what we have learned in 
conference. I testify that those who put their trust in the Lord 
and heed this counsel in faith will gain great strength to bless 
themselves and to overcome.

Heavenly Father has provided the way. At this conference, 97 percent of
the Church can hear these  messages in their own language. Millions
of members in 197 countries will watch this conference in 95 languages. 
In just two or three days the messages will appear on LDS.org in English, 
and within one week they will begin to be available in 52 languages. Now 
we receive the printed Church magazines within three weeks of the 
general conference. No longer do we have to wait months for the talks to 
arrive by mail. On a computer, phone, or other electronic device, we can
read, listen to, watch, and share the teachings of the prophets. Anytime, 
anywhere, we can enlarge our knowledge, strengthen our faith and 
testimony, protect our families, and lead them safely home.
The messages of this conference will also be woven into the online youth 
curriculum. Parents, you may access youth lessons for yourself on LDS.org.
 Find out what your children are learning, and make it the subject of your 
own study, family discussions, family home evenings, family councils, 
and personal interviews with each of your children concerning what they 
need to be taught individually. I encourage all members to use the resources 
on the Church’s websites and mobile apps. They are continually being 
refined so that they are easier to use and more relevant to our lives. 
On LDS.org  you will find resources to help you study the gospel, strengthen 
your home and family, and serve in your calling. You can also find your 
ancestors who need temple ordinances and resources to support you in the 
work of salvation, including sharing the gospel. Parents can take the lead 
in preparing their children for baptism, the priesthood, full-time missions, 
and the temple. They can help us walk the strait and narrow path of temple 
ordinances and covenants and qualify for the blessing of eternal life.
In last April’s conference, in the general priesthood meeting, I told about 
my father drawing a picture of a knight in armor to teach me about putting 
on the whole armor of God and the spiritual protection it brings. After that 
session was over, a father reported to his family what he had learned.  
Inspired, their young son Jason searched LDS.org to hear the message for 
himself. A few days later he appeared in family home evening to share the 
lesson with his brothers and sisters. Here he is.

Here he is.

A simple conference message, inspired of the Lord, received by a child, 
was taught to a family in a personal,  powerful way. I love his breastplate 
of righteousness. I love his shield of faith to thwart the fiery darts of the 
adversary. These are the blessings of conference.
My brothers and sisters, I bear my special witness that the Lord Jesus Christ 
lives and stands at the head of this Church. This is His general conference. 
I promise you in His name that if you pray with a sincere desire to hear your
 Heavenly Father’s voice in the messages of this conference, you will discover 
that He has spoken to you t+

____________
Now as is usually done in each of these Blog Posts of mine, I, Neil Birch 
suggest that you consider gathering together those nearby who might 
desire to  join you in singing one of the LDS Hymns. 

I feel that Hymn # 243 from the LDS Hymn Book, "Let Us All Press On"  
fits the message delivered by Elder Hales.You may think of others and 
if you do you can scroll through the Internet device provided 
you, to find them.

You may want to have those present with you who want to sing to 
choose which part: Soprano, Alto, Tenor or Base, they each would like
 to sing. The music is provided in this link which you can access 
by clicking.

_____
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 Post Title Shown at the End of this following paragraph: 
When You See a Portrayal of  Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To 
Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down To our Target: General Conference! 
This Blog Post is Based on the October 2013 General Conference Talk 
of Elder Robert Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. -Post 47u

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"Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ! Legal /Statement.
Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and 
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in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

____________

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.

Neil Birch