Post 24 - Are You Ready For The Second Coming?

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TODAY'S THEME

by Harry Anderson

If this great event, The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, should happen when you and I are still living, and it very possibly could, I'm sure we would be desirous of being worthy enough to have escaped the destruction the prophets have told us will come upon the unrighteous at that time.

For this reason I'm giving you the opportunity to learn from the Book of Mormon about what it is we are all facing in this life of good and evil.

The eighth chapter of First Nephi in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, is one of the best sources in all of the holy scriptures for learning, very graphically, what it is we all are facing in life, this preparatory state we are now are in.

The Lord gave Father Lehi a dream/vision that helpfully summarizes what we are facing in life. After his righteous son, Nephi, heard his father's account of his dream, he desired to know its meaning and through prayer sought to find out the meaning of the dream.

You will first be given the opportunity of reading Nephi's record of his father's dream as he heard it from him. Afterwards you can learn more fully of the meaning of the dream from the record Nephi gives us of his meeting with the Spirit of the Lord on a high mountain.

Lehi's vision is a description of what we have to go through in life and shows how people handle it in different ways.

This Tree of Life vision is something that I'm sure various people have tried to re-create as a picture because it is very descriptive. I have found just the one painting and have placed it here.



Lehi's Dream -by Jerry Thompson

You are welcome to listen to this  as well as read it.  I Nephi 8

Now you will be learning what Nephi learned about the more full meaning of his father's vision.

I haven't given you the Internet version of this set of Book of Mormon verses and have instead copied them into this post in order that I could illustrate verses with paintings I have at my disposal which I feel match the events described to Nephi by the Spirit of the Lord.

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.

by Harry Anderson

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. (emphasis added)

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.

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.

The Angel Gabriel and Mary -by John Scott

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.

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.

by Ted Henniger

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.

by John Scott

by Harry Anderson

27 And 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.

by Del Parson

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.

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.

by Robert T. Barrett

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.

by Del Parson

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.

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.

by Harry Anderson

My purpose in creating this particular blog post was to better prepare you and me and our dear families for the Second Coming of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I hope that through what we have learned from Father Lehi's dream, we will be better prepared to make the right decisions in how we are living our lives. That is my hope and prayer!

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

34 And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.

35 And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

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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 BlogPost, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other BlogPost You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: Jesus Christ's Second Coming. Are You Prepared For That? -Post 24 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).

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

Neil Birch

Post 23 - The Rolling Forth Of God's Kingdom

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 Prophet Daniel Interprets King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream -by Grant Romney Clawson

"A Stone Cut Out of the Mountain Without Hands!"

The highlighted words above are a key part of the interpretation by Daniel, a prophet of ancient Israel, of the forgotten dream that troubled Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

This painting shows Daniel as he interprets the kings' dream after having given him the details of his forgotten dream.

Daniel explained to the king that God had revealed the dream and its meaning to him, Daniel, in a night vision.

Daniel was one of the members of the House of Israel that had been brought forcibly to Babylon from Jerusalem not many years after Lehi and his family had been led by the Lord out of Jerusalem and were being led to their land of promise in ancient America. Please click on the scriptural link at the end of the next paragraph to read about Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

Before doing so, please 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.

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.

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, Joseph Smith who is almost 18 years of age for the huge task ahead of him. Please read all of the following.

 jstestimony

You have just learned about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which in Joseph Smith's later years, he said was 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 -by Tom Lovell

The Hill Cumorah

The Golden Plates

Joseph Smith is Given the Golden Plates -by Kenneth Riley

You may want to review later my Blog Post 20 in which the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, H. David Burton, reviewed the many humanitarian projects this church accomplished during the year, 2007, through the voluntary efforts from among the 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 D.C.. 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." (*Reference above was to President George W. Bush of the United States of America.)

Air Force One

In ending this blogpost, I take the liberty of saying that what was accomplished in humanitarian services in 2007 and for many years before that 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 which is striving to do all of those things our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ would have us do in preparation for His Second Coming.

You can expect my next blogpost in about one week from the date of this one. I'll look forward to sharing things again with you at that 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 BlogPost, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other BlogPost You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: God's Kingdom To Roll Forth In The Last Days. -Post 23. 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).


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

Neil Birch

Post 22 - Does Christ Require Works of Us?

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

Christ in Gethsemane -by Harry Anderson

With the painting I have chosen to begin this post, it should be obvious that I am getting right to the very core of the Gospel - the atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In my second ever blogpost, entitled: "By Grace are We Saved After All We Can Do," One of my dear, close relatives said in a comment he inserted into that post:

"A couple of comments about 2 Nephi 25:23. If grace only applies after all you can do, how do you know when you have done enough? Have you truly done ALL you could do? If not then it would seem that grace would not apply. A Christian rejoices in grace as presented in the Holy Bible."

"Good works are a *result* of grace, not a way to achieve it. (Gal 5:22-23 and Eph. 2) You do not pay for a gift. Grace is not a license to sin, but if you truly love God, you will want to please Him."

The following is the full scripture he was referring to: (Book of Mormon)

In my blog post , Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon, Post 3, I made an effort to answer his question. However, a few days later, Richard K. Miller, a member of the LDS Church clarified this matter with this comment in the earlier blog.

II Nephi 25;23: For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

To me, the question of doing "all that we can" seems to be about our willingness to keep the commandments, even if we fall short. The blessing offered on the sacrament each week asks for the Spirit to be with those who are "willing". Willingness drives us to try and will produce good works, even if the works alone don't matter.

What's more, I believe there's room for our "willingness" to improve, like the man who asked Jesus to help his "unbelief." In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma says that those who don't have faith but have a "desire to believe" can let it work within them and grow into faith. (Alma 32) To me this implies that even a "willingness to be willing" is a step in the right direction and qualifies us for the grace of Christ.

On the other hand, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matt 7:21)

Let's now refer back to the Book of Mormon. I think that Lehi's third oldest son, Sam is a person to now focus on in this discussion. Sam clearly supported his brother, Nephi, (who was just younger than himself) regarding the issue of whether or not he and his three brothers, Laman, Lemuel, and Nephi should go back to Jerusalem for a third attempt to obtain the scriptural records contained in the "Brass Plates" which the Lord had commanded Lehi to have his four sons obtain from the keeper of those records, Laban, a man of some importance in Jerusalem.

Sam supported Nephi to the extent that he was beaten along with Nephi by their elder two brothers, Laman and Lemuel, in their effort to keep Nephi from talking them into getting them to go back into Jerusalem to do what they knew was a very dangerous task.

As you may recall from your reading of the Book of Mormon, an angel of God appeared to the four young men and commanded Laman and Lemuel to cease and desist! They did and Nephi was led by the Lord to successfully obtain the Brass Plates.

At various times as recorded in I and II Nephi , Father Lehi made statements about his sons and gave blessings to them. In the following verse (I Nephi 8:3 ) Father Lehi mentions Sam.

3. And behold, because of the thing which I have seen, I have reason to rejoice in the Lord because of Nephi and also of Sam ; for I have reason to suppose that they, and also many of their seed, will be saved. (emphasis added)

Along with his other brothers, Sam was given a father's blessing not long before Lehi died. This is the blessing given Sam.

II Nephi 4:11 "And after he had made an end of speaking unto them, he spake unto Sam, saying: Blessed art thou, and thy seed; for thou shalt inherit the land like unto thy brother Nephi. And thy seed shall be numbered with his seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in all thy days." (emphasis  added)

Through the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation Lehi was able to say that. There is no further information about Sam or his descendants in the Book of Mormon. However we can say that this can be attributed to these words from the blessing "And thy seed shall be numbered with his seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed;"

My point here is in answer to my dear relative's question: "If grace only applies after all you can do, how do you know when you have done enough?"

There is no record given of what good things Sam did throughout his life. Neither was there any word about him or his children having fallen by the wayside spiritually. The amount of good works Sam did aren't the key things. His willingness is a key thing, however.

Again referring back to Richard K. Miller's comment made at the end of the same blog post to which my relative responded, it is willingness which is really required. I am sure the Savior's grace applies to Sam and many others in this world who have done all they were able to do to further the Lord's work. Because so little was said about Sam I have supposed that he just didn't possess many of the leadership attributes that his younger brother and leader, Nephi, possessed. Despite that, his inspired father, Lehi, still indicated that Sam along with Nephi would be saved!

It is obvious that Sam kept the commandments of the Lord in showing us that he, at great personal risk, supported his younger brother Nephi in his decision to make that third attempt at getting the sacred records from Laban who had armed men to help him keep these sons of Lehi from getting them. Sam obviouslyknew the Lord had commanded their father, Lehi to have his brothers and him, Sam, obtain those sacred records and bring them back to their father in the Arabian desert.

Now continuing in my efforts to support Richard K. Miller who said it is willingness that really counts, not a certain calculated amount of good works that brings salvation along with the Savior's grace, I am going to remind you of Alma the Younger, the son of Alma who baptized at the Waters of Mormon as explained in a number of previous blog posts.

He, as those of you who have read blog posts 7 and 17, know well, was obviously possessed with many talents which he wrongly used to tear down the Church of Jesus Christ, that his father, Alma had painstakingly struggled, (as you have read about in previous blogs) with much success, to bring that church into being.

Remember that after the Angel of the Lord had appeared to him and his four friends, Alma the Younger had felt damned and severely condemned himself until he remembered his hearing his father, Alma teach about the redemption and salvation (grace)provided by the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, who was to come into the world in the future.

At that very moment Alma the Younger called out to that Jesus to save him. It was instantly done. The Lord did not wait for him to begin performing all of the deeds of service he eventually did! He could have thereafter slacked off in his efforts to serve others, but had he done so he would have lost that salvation or grace he had been given.

Alma the Younger became one of the most successful of all of the Savior's missionaries told about in the Book of Mormon, He was comparable to the Apostle Paul in his righteous zeal to do the Lord's work until the end, when his life was taken by the Romans.

I want you to read these particular words this younger Alma spoke some time later during his life of service rendered to others because of his great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These words demonstrate his willingness to do all that he could do.

Alma 29:1-10

Now back to Sam. We have no record of great service on his part, yet his inspired father, Lehi, states in this sacred word of God, the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, that he supposes Nephi and Sam will be saved. It was Sam's willingness to serve that qualified him to be saved through the Grace of Christ. It was after "all Sam could do" that qualified him to possess the precious gift of salvation. Maybe Sam's all he could do wasn't as much Alma the Younger's all he could do, but our Savior's grace applied to him equally.

So it is with each of us, my dear relatives and all of your dear family members, too. This applies to the rest of you readers of this blog also. The Lord Jesus Christ loves all of us!

The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ -by Harry Anderson

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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 BlogPost, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other BlogPost You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: Works are Required of Us As Well as Grace - Post 22. 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).

_____________

"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

_______________

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 teaching, 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 in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch