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TODAY'S THEME
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| Living Water -by Simon Dewey |
Isaiah 12: 3 and 2 Nephi 22: 3 Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Please now read an account written by the Apostle John where our Savior tells of these living waters:
John 4: 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Those words of Jesus quoted by one of his twelve apostles, John, sums up what Jesus had to offer the people he taught among in Palestine during his mortal ministry and that he would soon be offering to the Nephites in Central America after his resurrection. They also apply to each of us as we drink deeply from the wells of Living Water contained in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon as well as in other Latter-day Scriptures the Savior has revealed to us in our day and time.
Once again, before we check on the state of affairs of the Nephite faithful who are waiting for the visit of their Resurrected Redeemer, Jesus Christ, we will review the progress Jesus was making in the final portion of his mortal ministry.
Again I'll use paintings from lds.org and link you to matching New Testament scriptures which these paintings illustrate.
This post will cover Jesus' ministry up to near the time of His atonement and crucifixion. Reporting on all of these very important matters is very challenging to me. I do not want to treat it lightly nor do I want to guess about unclear details when dealing with such sacred matters.
We may never fully know all of the things that our Savior was involved in during His earthly ministry in Palestine. I mention such a possible matter which is reported on in a Book of Mormon scriptural passage in the paragraph of this post that comes just before my typical ending which is headed by a straight line that runs about half way across this post's column.
It is my hope that the paintings, along with the scriptures that explain what is depicted in the paintings, will help you renew your understanding of our Savior's very crucial ministry in His home nation, Israel, and the role the specifics of his ministry played in His sacred development as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind. I hope this post will adequately prepare our minds and hearts for the next post in which we will discuss our Savior's atonement, crucifixion and resurrection.
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Jesus in the Home of Mary and Martha -by Del Parson |
Luke 10:38 ¶ Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
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The Ten Virgins - "Five of them were wise." -by Walter Rane |
We should understand that our Savior knew exactly what the immediate future of his mortal life held for him. He knew that he would be experiencing the atonement, the crucifixion and resurrection, and that he would eventually return to the earth in what the scriptures refer to as: The Second Coming.
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The Second Coming -by Harry Anderson |
Although his disciples and all the others who followed Jesus at the time of his mortal ministry in Palestine and all those who would come to believe in their teachings there after his earthly ministry was over, would not be living at the time of his actual Second Coming, he knew they must prepare for such as if it were occuring in their lifetime.
Jesus wanted all of those who believe in him, including you and me in our day and time on earth to prepare now as if he were returning very soon. I wouldn't be surprised if some of us are still living when that occurs. Please connect with this next scripture.
I now invite you to listen and read the Parable of the Ten Virgins.
Matt 25:1-13
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| Jesus Washing the Feet of the Apostles -by Del Parson |
John 13:4-15
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| Christ's Triumphal Entry Into Jerusalem -by Harry Anderson |
With your having just read of Jesus' celebrated entry into Jerusalem the time is very close when that which he knew would and should happen did happen. We will review these events in the next post.
Now it is our opportunity to shift to events in another continent to the descendants of Father Lehi, in Central America. Those who were faithful and looking forward to Jesus' visit to them in the not so distant future had many difficulties to deal with.
Lehi's descendants who were not faithful and who had allowed themselves to be led by Satan, appear to be going downhill fast!
3 Nephi 7:1-26
After you have read and listened to Chapter 7 I would like you to review the following set of verses of that chapter which really sum up the very difficult situation that the righteous among the Nephites were facing.
3 Nephi 7:9 Now this secret combination, which had brought so great iniquity upon the people, did gather themselves together, and did place at their head a man whom they did call Jacob;
10 And they did call him their king; therefore he became a king over this wicked band; and he was one of the chiefest who had given his voice against the prophets who testified of Jesus.
15 And it came to pass that Nephi—having been visited by angels and also the voice of the Lord, therefore having seen angels, and being eye-witness, and having had power given unto him that he might know concerning the ministry of Christ, and also being eye-witness to their quick return from righteousness unto their wickedness and abominations;
16 Therefore, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds—went forth among them in that same year, and began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
17 And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot be written, and a part of them would not suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority.
18 And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.
19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people.
20 And the people saw it, and did witness of it, and were angry with him because of his power; and he did also do many more miracles, in the sight of the people, in the name of Jesus. (emphasis added)
Perhaps you noticed that in verse 15 it was said by the Prophet Mormon, he who was summarizing all of this, that not only did angels minister to Nephi but he also was spoken to by the voice of the Lord, meaning, of course, Jesus' voice. Where was Jesus? He was in Palestine finishing up His ministry. Being the Son of God, although still in mortality, He was able to be involved in some way we perhaps do not fully understand in the work being performed among some of His other sheep at that time.
John 10:16Nephi, who was the prophet-leader of one flock of Jesus' "other sheep" was being spoken to by the voice of the Lord Jesus who was still in mortality in Palestine.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. ( highlighting added)
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Here for you is this most recent Mormon Messages video. Hopefully you will find it very beneficial in meeting your needs.
Mormon Messages
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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 Decide To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following link: Jesus Offered Living Waters to the Jews and Would Later Offer That to the Nephites after His Resurrection. Part 1 -Post 39f. When You See The Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Automatic Alphabetical Finding Device (When It Has Been Installed!)
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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you will find very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post. If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.
I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.
Neil Birch
