Inasmuch as this post was published on Tuesday, April 19th it will be viewed beginning five days before Easter, therefore, in keeping with the spirit of that important and sacred annual event I will begin this post by sharing with you this Easter Video produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We will then pursue the message I have chosen for this particular post. That message is very compatible with the sacred spirit of Easter because it is about the Work of the Lord in Our Day! Please enjoy this very special Easter video:
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TODAY'S THEME
Book of Mormon, 1Nephi 14: (This is a continuation of the message of an Angel of the Lord delivered through the Spirit and Power of Prophecy and Revelation, to the Prophet, Nephi sometime between 600 and 592 B.C.) 1 AND it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—
2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.
3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.
4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him.
5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.
6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.
7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.
8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.
9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil.
10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.
13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.
14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. (clarification and emphasis added)Again, as I have done in several previous posts of mine, I have inserted (below) a link to a map of the World in which important facilities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are indicated. The church facility which first comes up are the chapels of that Church located throughout the entire earth. If you click out of that initial facility you can click on another facility of the church as you desire, such as temples, etc.
I have provided you with the map link below to demonstrate that which the angel of the Lord told the Prophet Nephi in that highlighted verse 12 above:
An important factor in interpreting correctly the angel's words quoted just above in blue, is: While the Church of the Lamb of God is "also upon all the face of the earth" its dominions upon the face of the earth were to be small." i.e. the total membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a little over fourteen million, while the total population of the world is over six billion!
Please click here to view and manipulate the map:
Now in the remaining portion of this post I will demonstrate through several LDS Church authorized publications how what the angel said will happen, is really happening:
(The last phrase of verse 14 above) "AND THEY WERE ARMED WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS AND WITH THE POWER OF GOD IN GREAT GLORY."Please click on each link, one at a time and "soak in" these great things that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is accomplishing through its dedicated members, who are very blessed and strengthened because of their willingness to serve with "all their mights, minds and souls."in devotedly and energetically doing the work of the Lord Jesus Christ!
(Please note that these are just a very few examples of what is being accomplished throughout the World by the Church of the Lamb of God (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) spoken of by the Angel of the Lord to the Prophet Nephi by the voice of Prophecy and Revelation (which is the Lord's word.)
Please note that when you have finished reading #1 below (Welfare Program defined by Pres. Monson), you should consider clicking on the: Latest Church News Stories, (that are listed in the lower left side of that article). One of them is in video form. They each are very interesting. Please do not overlook them!#1
#2
#3 Note: This is a video! Tyler Haw's dedicated efforts to play basketball well is an example to all of us as we seek to do the Lord's work the way it should be done! His accepting a Call to Serve a Mission for his Church, at the age of nineteen, thus leaving basketball for several years, adds greatly to that example!
#4
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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: Service of Others is What the Lord, Jesus Christ Wants From Members of His Restored (Re-established) Church.-Post 42q 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 Legal /Statement.
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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.
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Neil Birch
