The Following Blog Description Explains Why This Blog is named: "Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ!
Jesus the Christ -by Del Parson
WELCOME, NEW AND PREVIOUS 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 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through the Prophet Joseph Smith early in the Nineteenth Century. Also intimately involved, and 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 rightousness 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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| Jesus the Christ -by Del Parson |
WELCOME, NEW AND PREVIOUS 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.
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TODAY'S THEME:
Now, I invite you to earnestly, and even prayerfully, launch into learning from the Inspiring April 2013 General Conference talk given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
However, you Are First Invited to Experience Elder Oaks' Resume which is provided by the church in which he nobly serves:
http://www.lds.org/church/leader/dallin-h-oaks
Now, you have the special opportunity of listening to the inspired message of this Apostolic Witness of His and Our Savior Jesus Christ.
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/followers-of-christ?lang=eng
It is now my special opportunity of doing as I have been doing in the previous eleven blog posts of mine, reporting on and illustrating in various ways, including the presentation of paintings which depict scriptural events, mentioned in Elder Oak's NOTES which he provided at the end of his written and published message entitled: "Followers of Christ." (Published in the May, 2013 General Conference Issue of the Ensign Magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
I am certain Elder Oaks would be pleased if you and perhaps, if you are willing, other members of your family who are available, could be invited to sing with you two sacred hymns from the Hymn Book of the L.D.S. Church which Elder Oaks mentioned in his Notes in the published version of his talk concerning Our Savior Jesus Christ's desire that each of us rise up and follow Him:
The music and the words to both of those hymns are provided through your internet screen and sound systems. You are welcome to decide beforehand among yourselves, which vocal part each of you could best sing in each of these two hymns. You may consider switching parts among yourselves from the first to the second hymn.
1. "Come Follow Me," Hymn, no. 116: http://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/come-follow-me?lang=eng
In his talk (not in his Notes) Elder Oaks asked each one of us to consider the following:
"Like all other Christians, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints study the life of our Savior as reported in the New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I will review examples and teachings contained in these four books of the Holy Bible and invite each of us and all other Christians to consider how this restored Church qualifies and each of us qualify as followers of Christ:"
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| Christ Calling Peter and Andrew. -by Harry Anderson |
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| John Baptizing Jesus -By Harry Anderson |
John 3:22 ¶ After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized.
23 ¶ And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized.
26 And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.
"We Latter-day Saints do likewise":
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| Young Man Being Baptized -Hyun-GYU Lee |
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| Girl Being Baptized -Photo IRI |
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| Jesus Preaching -by Heinrich Bloch |
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| Jesus the Christ -by Del Parson |
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
John 15: 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
Elder Oaks then continues: "Latter-day Saints understand that we should not be "of the world" or bound to the tradition of men," but like other followers of Christ, we sometimes find it difficult to separate ourselves from the world and its traditions. Some model themselves after worldly ways because, as Jesus said of some whom He taught, "they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43).
Elder Oaks then guided us yet further: "Jesus' teachings were not meant to be theoretical. Always they were to be acted upon. Jesus taught, "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man."
Here is one other of Elder Oak's examples of Jesus' teachings: Matthew 7:24: ¶ "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
In his talk which you listened to just before beginning to be involved with my (Neil Birch's) recap of the scriptures Elder Oaks quoted in his talk, he quoted a number of other scriptures which I will not list or discuss here. You can locate them in your own May 2013 Issue of the Ensign Magazine. If you do not have a copy of you can access his written words through the link to his talk provided above.
2. You are now invited in Elder Oak's Notes to plan to access a book written by Karen Lynn Davidson, Our Latter-day Hymns: The Stories and the Messages (1988), 142-43, 419. I was unable to access it via the Internet, but you may want to search the shelves of your particular ward's library to find it if you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If you are not, you perhaps may want to ask for assistance in doing that from a member of that Church whom you may know. That book was recommended by Elder Oaks in his Notes at the end of the printed version of his talk found in the May 2013 Ensign Magazine.
3. "Lord, I would Follow Thee," Hymn no. 220. Once again, I Neil Birch invite you to sing as a family this hymn (or you may choose to sing it all by yourself!):
http://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/though-deepening-trials?lang=eng
Now if you choose to do so, you can sing another hymn found in the LDS Hymn Book, using the same Internet device you may have just used, to provide you with the music and the words:
3. http://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/come-follow-me?lang=eng
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| Thomas S. Monson -Official Church Photo |
(In the very beginning of Chapter 11 which is entitled: "HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD" the author of that book, Sister Heidi Swinton, wrote: "THOMAS S. MONSON'S INTRODUCTION to the Church's welfare program came ten years before he was called as a bishop. He was twelve years old, a new deacon, when his bishop asked him to take the sacrament to a bedfast brother who longed for that blessing. On that sunny morning, Tommy didn't mind the three-quarter mile walk down the street and across the railroad tracks to the modest residence. He knocked at the kitchen door and heard a feeble voice say, "Come in." He uncovered the sacrament for Brother Wright, who was so weak that he needed to ask Tommy to place the bread in his trembling hand and press the cup of water to his lips. Recognizing the overwhelming gratitude of Brother Wright, Tommy felt "the spirit of the Lord" in the room, and he recognized that he "stood on sacred ground."
Brother Wright asked him to "stay awhile," and the elderly man proceeded to bear his testimony: "Tommy, this Church is divine. The love which the members have one for another is an inspiration." He then talked of the Relief Society president, Sister Balmforth. "Do you know what she did one week many years ago?" he asked. "She took her little red wagon, went to members' homes and gathered a jar of peaches here, a can of vegetables there, and brought to my cupboard shelves the food that sustained me." Brother Wright cried as he told of the experience and "described watching the Relief Society president walk away from his home, pulling behind her, over the bumpy railroad tracks, the red wagon of mercy."
Welfare to President Monson has always been about filling the 'red wagon' with whatever is needed: food, clothing, friendship, or personal attention. The welfare plan "would never succeed on effort alone," he has attested, for this program operated through faith after the way of the Lord."In the heading of that chapter of the Biography of Thomas S. Monson, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote:
"In a message he gave to all of the General and Area Authorities, he (Thomas S. Monson) said that one of our responsibilities is to to help the members feel the Savior's love. That's who he is. His whole ministry is focused on discerning the needs of an individual and offering a smile or a pat on the back--doing some simple, very gracious thing that you never would really expect the President of the Church to do." Elder David A. Bednar5. Chris Williams, in Jessica Henrie, "Father Relies on Faith to Forgive Intoxicated Teen Driver," Deseret News, Aug. 1, 2012, Deseret News: This is a very griping story. Be prepared for your emotions to be deeply touched!
http://deseretbook.com/Let-Go-True-Story-Tragedy-Forgiveness-Chris-Williams/i/5080536
6. See "Emergency Response: Church Assists Worldwide," Church News, Mar. 9, 2013, 9:Welfare Services Emergency Response, "2012 Year in Review," 8. I was unable to access that. Perhaps you can.
7. Hymn, no. 116 Elder Oaks once again calls our attention to the same hymn we experienced in 1. above. After experiencing what we each did in #5 above we may once again benefit by singing that same song by yourself or with other family members. Here is that hymn once again You may just want to listen to the music and read the words to yourself!:
"Come Follow Me," Hymn, no. 116: http://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/come-follow-me?lang=eng
You are welcome to listen to Elder Oaks talk once again if you so desire. He has provided much which will help each of us in our efforts to follow the teachings and example of our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Thank you for having logged into my blog post today! J. Neil Birch
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/followers-of-christ?lang=eng
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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.
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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"Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ! 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.
I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested.
I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested.
Neil Birch
