39o - In Ancient America, Jesus, in giving the Same Basic Sermon He Gave as a Mortal in Palestine, Now Has His Father's Full Power!

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TODAY'S THEME

I will continue Today's Theme of this post after I have finished updating you on the Relief Effort Launched by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the island nation of Haiti about which I wrote in my just previous blog post. Please feel free to scroll down to that if you have not yet read it, or desire to review it before reading this update!

UPDATE ON LDS CHURCH RELIEF EFFORT IN HAITI

Help for Haiti: a long-term effortWelfare manager outlines Church's humanitarian aid
By Sarah Jane Weaver Church News staff writer
Published: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010

Latter-day Saint help and support in Haiti will be a long-term effort, said Dennis Lifferth, managing director of Church Welfare Services.

Photo: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret NewsRESponse Doctors and volunteers unload water sent by the Church on Jan. 24 for earthquake victims.

Speaking to the Church News two weeks after a Jan. 12 earthquake leveled much of the Caribbean island nation — and more than a week after Church medical teams arrived in the country to offer help — Brother Lifferth said the next steps for Church relief in the devastated country are being developed "at this very moment."

"The Area presidency is considering how to help rebuild, how to help the members with employment and how to provide additional medical support," he said, noting that the Church will also work with the United Nations and other relief organizations to formulate long-term recovery needs and rebuild schools, hospitals and infrastructure.

"This will not end in the next week or two," he added. "This will be a long-term effort."

That, he explained, is one of the benefits of the Church's involvement. "They tend to take a long-term view," he said.

For example, the Church is still providing support in Indonesia and Peru years after disasters devastated those areas.

"The Church will be in Haiti for a long time, providing the help that is needed to rebuild," he pledged. Brother Lifferth said that already the Church response, led by the Caribbean Area Presidency, has been remarkable. In the two weeks following the disaster — which killed as estimated 200,000 (including 20 Latter-day Saints) and left more than a million homeless — the Church:

*Distributed more than 1 million pounds of food, water and other necessities to thousands of people. Five planes carrying relief supplies were sent to the country immediately. Another two planes are scheduled to arrive in Haiti this week. In addition, the Church purchased food locally. In total, the Church's contribution thus far equates to 25 truckloads, each carrying 40,000 pounds of food and other supplies.

*Shipped more than 2,000 tents for families forced to leave their homes. More than 1,000 additional tents are en route to the country.

*Provided medical doctors, medicine and wheelchairs for the injured. In the first few days after the initial quake, the Church called on 14 doctors and nurses and a pair of licensed social workers to participate in humanitarian aid. A half-dozen of them spoke Haitian Creole or French.

*Opened the doors of nine meetinghouses located in and around Port-au-Prince to provide shelter to members and their neighbors. According to a Church welfare report, the number of individuals taking refuge at meetinghouses continues to decrease slowly as people return to their homes or find better locations for refuge.

*Partnered with other charitable organizations, including Food for the Poor, International Relief and Development, American Red Cross, Islamic Relief, CARE and United Airlines. In addition, the Church is working closely with the United Nations to coordinate relief efforts on the ground.

*Organized priesthood leaders in Port-au-Prince to assess the needs and provide the direction for relief efforts. Local leaders organized the members and missionaries to load and unload the trucks carrying the supplies, to help and care for the injured, feed the people, and clean local meetinghouses and grounds. In addition, local leaders have offered hope and encouragement.

*Coordinated the donations of thousands of Latter-days Saints, who made "significant contributions" online and through Sunday contribution forms to help with relief efforts in Haiti.

*Purchased four additional vehicles for use in delivering supplies and moving aid workers, according to a Church welfare report. In addition, the former mission home is being renovated for use by the local priesthood emergency response committee and as a base for medical response.

Brother Lifferth said day by day, the conditions in Port-au-Prince are slowly improving. Traffic is flowing better. Commerce is slowly increasing and more food appears to be available on the streets. Medical clinics are functioning again.

"We are very pleased and grateful for the remarkable progress in Haiti," Brother Lifferth said.

The Caribbean Area Presidency has two major goals, Brother Lifferth noted. "The first is to provide relief to those who have been displaced or injured or are otherwise suffering from the effects of the earthquake. The second is to help the people continue along the path that leads to self reliance and self worth."

Brother Lifferth said the Church's quick response in Haiti was made possible because the organization had the needed supplies already stored in warehouses across the United States and could quickly assemble and have them ready to ship.

Second, he said, quick response was possible because of the number of friends and relationships that have been established by the Church over the years in emergency response. Specifically in Haiti, he added, the Church had established friends that made large warehouses and compounds available to the Church, where relief supplies could be held before they were distributed.

And finally, local priesthood leaders helped the Church assess the problems and immediately communicated needs.

"We are seeing a unique level of cooperation among all interested parties working together to help the Haitians solve their problems," he said. "It is remarkable."

Brother Lifferth said medical teams returning to headquarters reported "how profoundly grateful [the Haitians] are for the tremendous outpouring of support they have received."

Now we go back to Today's Theme: In Ancient America, Jesus, in giving the Same Basic Sermon He Gave as a Mortal in Palestine, Now Has His Father's Full Power!



The Resurrected Jesus' Sermon at the Temple in the Land Bountiful -by John Scott



The Sermon on the Mount in Palestine -by Carl Heinrich Bloch 



As you have no doubt just discerned, the teachings of Jesus in each of these two different sets of scriptures are identical in many ways! However, in verse 25 of 3 Nephi 13 we will find that the Lord begins specific instructions to his Twelve Apostles whom he has chosen there in Ancient America among the Nephite-Lamanite people. It appears to me that the shift from teaching the members of his church to teaching his apostles was, for some unknown reason, left out of verse 25 of Matthew, Chapter 26.

Certainly the instructions given in verses 25 through 27 in both scriptures weren't meant to apply to the general membership of his church, but only to his full-time apostles who serve him constantly and don't have the time to earn a living.

However, as you would have learned from my post 39l there are other significant differences between what is recorded in Chapter 12 of 3 Nephi (from the Book of Mormon) and in Chapter 5 of Matthew: Here is just one of a good number of such examples of significant differences:

AND BEFORE THAT, IN PALESTINE: As you would have learned from my Post 39l, it is very understandable that Jesus changed his words which he had spoken to his followers in Palestine, by adding the words, "even as I" in his same basic sermon he gave to the Nephites in Ancient Central America, near their temple.

It was logical and very informative for Jesus to add those words, "even as I" to his same basic message he was delivering to another portion of his flock who lived in a different part of the world, after his resurrection from the dead and glorification, or in other words: after having become fully perfect!

One thing that helps us know that Jesus had become fully God and equal to His Father in Heaven, is that he was able to tell the Nephites the following when he first spoke to them from the air after the great destruction had taken place in Ancient America among the more wicked portion of their nation: I would now like you to listen to that which the Lord told the Nephites out of the sky above them. III Nephi 9.

Sermon on the Mount

As promised in my just previous post, I will continue reviewing in this post that which the Lord told the Nephites (and all readers of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ) which I began in my post, 39m, in 3 Nephi, Chapters 13 and 14 from the Book of Mormon and then compare them to Chapters 6 and 7 of Matthew in the New Testament. I will not cover all of it in this post. It will be continued to at least the next post, "Post P" and perhaps beyond.

This post is planned as a follow-up to the comparison I made in my Post, 39l of that which was recorded in 3 Nephi, Chapter 12 to what was recorded in Matthew Chapter 5.

Please read the following quotation from Chapter 14 of 3 Nephi in which the Resurrected Jesus Christ delivers a sermon which he also gave in Palestine during his mortal ministry which you can read in Matthew, Chapter 6. I'm sure you'll agree with me that were we to live by Jesus' guidance given then in Ancient America, which was also given to those who heard Him teach in Palestine during His earthly ministry, that we would be at great peace with our God and ourselves. Now here are the same verses from Matthew, Chapter 6:

3 Nephi, Chapter 13: 24 ¶ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the twelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken, For behold, ye are they whom I have chosen to minister unto this people. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

24 ¶ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

3 Nephi 12:48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect. (emphasis added)

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

I suggest you use the Listen feature when this scripture is on your screen.

3 Nephi 9:1-22

I would like you to now focus on several passages which you have just read and listened to in Chapter 9 of 3 Nephi:

3 Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof.

4 And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be sunk in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned.

5 And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them.

6 And behold, the city of Gilgal have I caused to be sunk, and the inhabitants thereof to be buried up in the depths of the earth; (emphasis added)

As shown so clearly above, The Lord Jesus Christ, after his glorification, is fully God, inasmuch as it appears that only then was He able to bring judgements on the wicked and has become equal in all aspects to his (and our) Heavenly Father's intentions and abilities. Clearly, Jesus, during his mortal mission would have been out-of-role if he had said that which is quoted just above!

Some very uninformed people who certainly could not have carefully compared such scriptures as we have above and much more extensively in my Post 39l, claim that the Sermon at the Temple as recorded in 3 Nephi of the Book of Mormon was simply a matter of plagerism!

As I have demonstrated in this post and other recent posts there are significant differences between the recorded words of Jesus before and then after, his atonement, crucifixion and resurrection, when he had become glorified! This is so because after glorification he became fully equal in his godly abilities to his (and our) Father in Heaven.

In my next post I will continue comparing the words of the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon at the Temple so you will be more fully informed about this very important matter.

I Neil Birch, know personally by the witness of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon stands side by side with the New Testament as the word of God, written by one of His holy prophets, Mormon, using the records of many other prophets who preceded him, and finished by his faithful son, Moroni, who hid the golden plates, upon which the Book of Mormon was written, in New York State (U.S.A.) in a place where he led young Joseph Smith, Jr. to view them and then a few years later to take them out of their many centuries long hiding place in order to translate them, by the special means of help which God had prepared centuries before by a Nephite father (Mormon) and his son (Moroni.
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Here is a video I invite you to view.

In watching this video you will notice that the present Prophet, Seer and Revelator (President) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson, is speaking to you and me about service to others. Look for the word, Haiti, on some of the boxes of goods which are being sent to the needy. I tell you that knowing that you have been reading earlier in this post about the service this church is providing to the victims of the huge earthquake and aftershocks that took place very recently in Haiti, along with the service of many others.

Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?
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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 Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: Jesus Christ, in Ancient Central America, Gave the Same Basic Sermon He Gave As a Mortal in Palestine, By Then He Had His Father's Full Power - Post 39o. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, 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 very much hope you you will find that which was presented to you in these, my blog posts, very beneficial.

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

39n - The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ Sheds New Light On the Purposes of Our Eternal God, Jesus Christ, as Does His Church!

 To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fourth Paragraph From The End of This Post.

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TODAY'S THEME

The Book of Mormon, Alma 34:32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

The Resurrected Jesus Christ Begins Instructing and Blessing the Nephites in Central America in A.D. 34 -by John Scott

As promised, in my just previous post, I will review in this post that which the Lord told the Nephites (and all readers of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ) in my just previous post, 39m,

in that which was written in 3 Nephi, Chapters 13 and 14 from the Book of Mormon and then compare them to Chapters 6 and 7 of Matthew in the New Testament.

This post is planned as a follow-up to the comparison I made in my Post, 39l of that which was recorded in 3 Nephi, Chapter 12 as compared to that which was recorded in Matthew Chapter 5.

Please read the following quotation from Chapter 14 of Third Nephi which is very similar to what you will read in Matthew, Chapter 6. I'm sure you'll agree with me that were we to live by Jesus' guidance given then, which was given to those who heard Him teach in Palestine during His earthly ministry, that we would be at great peace with our God and ourselves. I'm quoting the last four verses from Chapter 14 in Third Nephi:

24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock—

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand—

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

Now here are the same verses from Matthew, Chapter 6:

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:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

As you have no doubt just discerned, the words of Jesus in each of the two different sets of scriptures are identical!

Certainly that is what we should expect from such an important set of teachings given by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in both Ancient America where he ministered among the Nephite-Lamanite people after his resurrection and ascent into Heaven and then which he taught to his followers in Palestine before his resurrection.

However, as you would have learned from my post 39l there were some significant differences between what is recorded in Chapter 12 of 3 Nephi (from the Book of Mormon) and in Chapter 5 of Matthew: Here is just one of a good number of such examples of significant differences:

3 Nephi 12:48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

AND

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (Emphasis Added)

As you would have learned from my Post 39l, it was very correct for Jesus to have added three certain  words in his same basic sermon to the Nephites in Ancient Central America.

even as I was added to what he said, in an otherwise identical statement which he had previous to his resurrection from the dead, said to his followers in Palestine.

It was logical and perfectly truthful for Jesus to add those words, "even as I" to his same basic message he was delivering to another portion of his flock after his resurrection from the dead and glorification, or in other words, after having become fully perfect!

Some very uninformed people who certainly could have not have carefully compared such scriptures as we have above and much more extensively in my Post 39l, and still claimed that the Sermon at the Temple as recorded in 3 Nephi of the Book of Mormon was simply a matter of plagerism!

I Neil Birch, know personally by the witness of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon stands side by side with the New Testament as the word of God, written by one of His holy prophets, Mormon, using the records of many other prophets who preceded him, and finished by his faithful son, Moroni who hid the golden plates, upon which the Book of Mormon was written, in New York State (U.S.A.) in a place where he led young Joseph Smith, Jr. to view them and then a few years later to take them out of their centuries long hiding place in order to translate them, by the special means of help which God had prepared centuries before by a Nephite father (Mormon) and his son (Moroni.

So far in this post I have begun to fulfill my promise made in post 39m to complete the comparisons of the final part of our Savior's Sermon on the Mount in Palestine with his sermon near the temple in Bountiful in 34 A.D. to the Nephite people.

However, because of the terrible disaster in the Carribean Island Nation of Haiti which occurred several days ago, I have decided to be diverted for at least one more post from finishing what I intend to do regarding those very important comparisons.

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Instead, I will make some comments about the importance the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attaches to bringing relief to those who are in such great need of it, anywhere in the world. Haiti is not too far from our shores (U.S.A.).

In fact, during the time my wife, Melva, and I were serving as a missionary couple in the Nation of Finland (friom 2004 - 2006) where I had served as a young missionary in my twenties, Melva's brother, Curtis Giles was serving with his dear wife as the president of LDS Church's mission in Haiti. They went through some very difficult circumstances there including having all of their non-Hatiian missionaries sent out of that country for a period of time and then toward the end of their mission being forced to lead that mission from the Dominican Republic which is on the eastern half of the same island where Haiti is located.

Curtis and Ilene still love that people with all their hearts. We haven't spoken with them since the 7.0 earthquake struck there, but we're certain that their hearts are right now very much with that people which they learned to love so much. Curtis learned their language well after having spoken French on his mission as a young man in France. French is spoken much in Haiti.

It is very clear to me and I hope that your reading the sermons given by our Savior that were recorded in the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi are such that any people who take upon themselves Jesus' holy and sacred name will naturally seek to bless and comfort the people of that nation who come to be in critical need for such aid.

I first show you a before and an after photograph of the Haitian Presidential Palace located in the Captitol City of Port Au Prince, Haiti. There are much more disturbing photographs that have been appearing in our newspapers and over the Internet and perhaps you have seen many of them already.

I now think that I should show several more pictures which more accurately display the terror and horror the people of Haiti are going through:

A Young Pretty Haitian Girl is Shown Recovering! 

Many infants were injured and killed!Many people are living in makeshift tents! Many people were trapped underground for many hours!

I read in this morning's Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT U.S.A.) That a team of doctors is being sent by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Haiti along with the needed supplies.

Other Deseret News articles of told of planeloads of relief supplies being flown by the Church to Haiti. Many plans are underway. Of course, the United States of America is, as a nation, providing much relief to the people of Haiti as are many other nations of the world.

 In a later post I hope to summarize better what the Church has been able to do. I believe it will have provided considerable and valuable help as our past record in disastors demonstrates.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been very much involved for many years in assisting in disaster areas throughout the world. I refer you to my post 20 dated: August 19, 2008. The presiding bishop of the Church gave a talk in the April 2008 General Conference of the Church. He spoke of all of the humanitarian aid done in 2007 under his guidance, under the overall direction of the First Presidency of the Church. Instead of quoting Bishop Burton's talk I give you the opportunity of viewing a video made of it. 

Presiding Bishop Burton's Talk 

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Here is another glimpse at the effectiveness with which this church is doing its humanitarian service: In that same April 2008 General Conference, one of the two counselors to the then prophet of the LDS Church, President Gordon B. Hinckley, Henry B. Eyring, told the following:

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.

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."

President Gordon B. Hinckley, just previous president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 In ending this important diversion from my initial blog post subject, I would like to share with you an article written last Thursday in the Mormon Times' Section of the Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah)

I, Neil Birch want you readers to know that which the author of this following article said is very accurate. I have learned that over my years as a member and an employee of that church. 

The reason this church is the way it is in these matters of service to humankind, is that as the title of the church indicates, it is Jesus Christ's Church and we love and follow him. This service to humankind is in the likeness of his great example of service which far surpasses anything we weak humans can do!

'The Mormons are the only utopia that ever worked'

By Mark W. Cannon
For the Deseret News
Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010

Peter Drucker

World-class organization and management guru Peter Drucker told me at a Harvard seminar on voluntarism in 1989 that "the Mormons are the only utopia that ever worked."
Drucker has been widely recognized as the father of modern management and as one of the most astute observers of organizational and managerial effectiveness of modern times.

The Nov. 19, 2009, issue of "The Economist" celebrated the century since Drucker's birth, declaring that "four years after his death Peter Drucker remains the king of the management gurus" and that he "remained at the top of his game for more than 60 years, advising generations of bosses and avoiding being ensnared by fashion."

The November 2009 Harvard Business Review also commemorated "The Drucker Centennial" with 30 essays on Drucker's influence.

The Financial Times headlined a story on Nov. 23, 2009, "Drucker's ideas stand the test of time."

Particularly in his later life, he focused on the independent, nonprofit sector and the enormous social benefits that can be accomplished by volunteer uncompensated human effort to help others.

So why would he declare The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the "only utopia that ever worked"?

The word "utopia" was coined by Sir Thomas More to describe a mythical island with ideal economic and social conditions -- where everyone was educated, wise and prosperous. Attempting to live the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ -- including the voluntarism that fascinated Drucker -- would approach a utopia or an ideal Christian society.

Drucker saw the fruits of Mormonism in the multitude of effective service and educational activities that were successfully carried out by volunteers in the LDS Church. He taught at Claremont Graduate University (its graduate school of management is named after him) in Southern California where there is a large Mormon population.

Almost 3,000 Mormon stakes and 25,000 wards and branches in more than 150 countries function with no paid clergy or staff, yet carry out a rich variety of well-organized, effective educational, spiritually enriching, advisory and service programs for people of all ages. Not counting the value of the volunteer activity of more than 50,000 full-time missionaries and a larger number of part-time missionaries -- literally billions of dollars that would have gone to personnel costs are saved and available to expand the mission of the church more rapidly.

Each ward typically has between 400 and 700 members and is directed by an unpaid bishop and two unpaid counselors. Several dozen uncompensated members in each congregation also accept a variety of callings in leading or teaching in organizations such as Relief Society, priesthood, Sunday School, Young Men, Young Women, Primary and the early morning seminaries for high school students, or the Boy Scouts and special service projects like vaccinations, sanitation and emergency relief.

It is not surprising that the astute Drucker came to his remarkable conclusion about the fruits of Mormonism.

Intuitively, people might suspect that sacrificing so much time and resources would interfere with the ability to gain a good education and earn a decent income.

However, the rate of Mormons obtaining higher education was substantially higher than the national average. Also, 12.5 percent more Mormon households earn more than $50,000 per year compared to households in the general population. (This data was developed by The Pew U.S. Religious Landscape Survey of the Pew Forum on Religious & Public Life, 2007.)

At the time Drucker shared his extraordinary conclusion about the Mormons, I was a guest scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. I did not want to quote him without obtaining his approval. So, I wrote him a letter and asked if he would "have any objection to my using the statement you made that: 'The Mormons are the only utopia that worked.'"

Drucker replied and gave his permission -- with one change: When I spoke to him originally, he told me, "The Mormons are the only utopia that ever worked." When I wrote to him, I left the word "ever" out to avoid stating it too strongly for him.

Drucker, however, wanted the statement to be strong and sweeping. He took his pen and wrote "ever" back into the quote.

Mark W. Cannon lives in McLean, Va. He was the first person to fill the statutory position of administrative assistant to the chief justice of the United States, and was subsequently staff director for the Commission on the Bicentennial of the United States Constitution. He has a doctorate in political economy and government from Harvard University. This article is a shortened version of a post on his blog, http://www.fruitsofmormonism.com/.

Mormon Messages

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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 An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: (The) Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, . . . Post 39n. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, 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 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

39m - The Holy Scriptures Tell Us That Jesus and His Great Redemption Breathe Additional Spiritual Life Into the World!

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fourth Paragraph From The End of This Post.

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TODAY'S THEME

In A.D. 34 the Resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ descends to instruct the Nephites. by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

This painting is a second artist's depiction of Jesus as He descended from Heaven to meet with that portion of the Nephite people who lived sufficiently worthy to survive the devastating disaster that had killed a very large number of people in their land in ancient Central America in the year A.D. 34.

After the Resurrected Jesus Christ had been with them for just a relatively short time he demonstrated his divine love and patience by inviting each one of the approximately 2,500 people there with him to personally.

"come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and feel the prints of the nails in my hands and and in my feet that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world." " (3 Nephi 11:14)

Jesus then called twelve men from among them to serve as his disciples or apostles, special witnesses of him, Jesus Christ, in their particular part of the world.

How did He know which twelve men to call? The same way he did when he called the twelve in Palestine. It was by the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation which flows forth from him, Heavenly Father and the Holy Ghost, who are of one mind and heart, yet three separate beings. This gift is made available to all of his worthy and faithful followers who submit to baptism.

Jesus had been teaching the Nephites principles that he had taught during His mortal life in Palestine, such as His "Sermon on the Mount" which we reviewed in the just previous post.

In the my just previous post, 39l, dated December 21, 2009, we determined that there were a number of insignificant differences in wording between that which Jesus taught his flock in Palestine before his Atonement, Crucifixion and Resurrection which brought about his glorification and after those holy events.

However, there were also some significant differences between what he taught in those two different locations (Palestine and Central America).

I tried to show in my just previous post how our Savior's perspective of the things he taught in Palestine had been altered in some details by experiencing the atonement, crucifixion and resurrection by the time he taught the same basic Gospel truths to the Nephites in ancient America.

Surely he had fully anticipated all of those changes. It wasn't that his doctrines had changed, it was that he had received a fullness of glory through having experienced the great challenges of his succesful atonement and crucifixion and then having achieved the fully new status of his being the first resurrected individual of all those who have or ever will in the future be born on this earth!

In my previous post, 39l, I dealt with that part of our Savior's Sermon at the Temple in Ancient Central America which was covered by 3 Nephi, Chapter 12 and that part of his Sermon on the Mount which was covered in Matthew, Chapter 5.

I have decided to cover Chapters 13 and 14 of 3 Nephi and Chapters 6 and 7 of Matthew in my next post which should be identified as post 39n.

AN EXPLANATION FOR MY BLOG HAVING BEEN DELAYED IN PUBLISHING BETWEEN DECEMBER 21, AND NOW, JANUARY 10.

As many of you regular viewers and followers of my blog know, I customarily, for over a year and a half, have published a new post every three days. The reasons for my non-publishing the past two and a half weeks are as follows:

1. Our only computer in our home needed upgrading urgently. My good friend and computer expert, Rick Dansie, who lives not too far from us here in Murray, UT (U.S.A.) was able to provide the upgrade needed rather quickly, effectively and inexpensively. However, this delay caused me to use some extra time to focus on several things:

1. I fine-tuned (edited) rather extensively my just previous post, 39l: "The Calling of the Nephite "12." The Resurrected Christ's Ancient American Version of His Sermon of the Mount has an adjusted Point of View!"

I thought that for several very good reasons I should make that particular post as accurate as possible. Especially I had come to more fully appreciate the role of the Book of Third Nephi (in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ), in accurately describing the added capacities and extended view point that had come to our Savior because of his atonement, crucifixion and resurrection.

2. I felt very good about what I had written in my just previous post, but decided to read what several authorities on the subject had written about that. Therefore, I have been devoting time that I would have usually spent in writing additional posts in reading several books which you also may desire to read. They are:

Illuminating the Sermon at the Temple and the Sermon on the Mount, written by: John W. Welch, written for the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, of Provo Utah. That organization's name has been changed to: The Neal A. Maxwell Institute Institute for Religious Scholarship, headquartered at the Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, U.S.A - That Book was Published in 1999.

AND

Christ and The New Covenant, written by: Jeffrey R. Holland (an apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and a former president of Brigham Young University in Provo, UT - Published in 1997.

Some of the editing I had been doing on my Post 39l came about because of what I read in the two aforementioned books and also from some e-mail correspondence with my oldest child, a daughter, A. Jane Birch, (a professional educator and a long-time employee of Brigham Young University - Provo, Utah). She made several helpful suggestions that I followed. I have not yet, however, been able to meet her standard of brevity. Perhaps I will become gradually more able to meet the standard she advocates, in the not too distant future. It would take some real effort on my part to do so!

I stand firmly behind what I wrote in that just previous post, 39l on which I spent some time in the past two weeks editing. I wanted to get the wording just right because of the importance of the subject of that post.

Another reason for my taking time off of my usually very much on-time publishing of posts every three days, is that I've been striving to lift my level of spiritual energy. This is being done primarily by reading Elder Jeffrey K. Holland's book listed above. I'm continuing to finish reading his book before very long. I feel that is strongly helping me.

I believe Elder Holland's subject for his book is very similar to the purpose of my Blog: to Show that the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ is, along with the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, a very crucial and substantive witness of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

As a modern-day apostle of our Lord, Jesus Christ, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in our day, Elder Holland's inspired views are continuing to uplift me. I also enjoy reading the words of the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and those of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the present Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Thomas S. Monson, and his two counselors all three of which are also apostles and special witnesses of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ in our day and time on earth!

It also goes, without saying, that I also greatly benefit from reading the words from the New Testament of the apostles that Jesus called while serving his earthly ministry. Included with these witnesses is also the great apostle, Paul, who was chosen by Jesus to serve as one of his special witnesses soon after the time of our Savior's ascension into Heaven.

All of those special witnesses of our Savior Jesus Christ were previously and then now, authorized by him. However, there is special application to our present day spiritual needs which can best be addressed by apostles of the Lord who live in our day and time who know and understand our very challenging and complicated needs while we hopefully are all striving to live righteously in this very tumultuous and challenging time in this world's history. You Just Have to read the newspapers and watch the News on Television to see how challenging things are right now!

The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ -by Harry Anderson

Many of you may realize that it isn't too long until the Lord's Second Coming (depicted in the painting above, will take place. This means much preparation needs to be made by each of us and we need the help of those who the Lord, Jesus Christ personally has authorized, before and then now, to represent him in helping us meet these challenges we are now facing and will continue to face!

I have decided to end this post with something I wrote in one of my posts about one year ago. I did this mostly because of a kindly admonishment from my daughter Jane Birch who I mentioned above. These are reflections from my youth of things which I learned about our Savior, Jesus Christ that helped me then:

When I was about ten or eleven years of age, living in Roseville, California when those teachings of the Savior to the Nephites might have meant much more to me then, than a few years later in my teenage years (despite my relatively young age of ten or eleven). It was in about early 1942.

World War II was the big news then and was of very great concern in this and in many other nations, including in some of the nations, where you, my readers, reside.

I had lots of personal concerns. One of my perhaps most serious concerns was that my father might be drafted to serve in the U.S. armed forces. My mother had mentioned this possibility to me and my two brothers, one who is two years younger than me and the other one who had been born in 1940.

Neither of my brothers, were really old enough to know much about what World War II meant to them. My being almost ten years of age I really began feeling, early on, strongly about what the war meant to us as a family. I'll never forget reading the huge headlines in one of the Sacramento, CA (U.S.A.) newspapers on that day, Sunday, December 7, 1941 when the Nation of Japan's military forces attacked Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands. I also remember later hearing a radio broadcast made by the then President of the United States of America, Franklin Delano Roosevelt informing the nation of that which had occurred.

U.S. sailors in a motor launch rescue a survivor from the water alongside the sunken USS West Virginia. The USS Tennessee is inboard of the sunken battleship. Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941

I continued worrying about my father being drafted to serve in the U.S. military, but after awhile, my father was able to discuss with me personally this concern of mine, after he finally found some time from his busy work schedule to talk with me. (He worked so much overtime as a Railway Clerk with the Southern Pacific Railroad that he didn't have much time to talk with his three children). There were so many troops and war supplies being shipped by railway in those very urgent times.

My Dad eased my concern about him having to become a part of the American military force, by telling me that, as a Southern Pacific Railroad clerk in a very key railroad terminal in the American West, (it was the largest railway terminal in the U.S.A. west of the Mississippi River at that time and still is) his skills were a vital part of the war effort and he learned that he wouldn't be "drafted," into the United States military effort. That brought peace to my mind on that worrisome subject.

Another worry that was talked about on the radio some was that the Japanese might invade our state, California, which at that time was the most westerly (of all the 48 states in the U.S.A. then) and was the nearest U.S. state to Japan at that time.)

In my young mind I, at times, imagined Japanese troops sweeping into our home town of Roseville, California which was only about 110 miles North-east from San Francisco, CA. That big concern kept coming back to my mind, but finally went away. It was very sad for me to see newscasts at the local movie theater (There was no Television then) showing the deaths of soldiers serving in the military forces of both the U.S.A and the Empire of Japan, in the battles on the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

About that time there was a Sunday afternoon radio broadcast that I was drawn to.


Hold on: I just now stopped typing and involuntarily cried silently for several minutes while thinking about what I was going to type next. I think what I have to tell you now may have value to each of you who read the Savior's teachings to the Nephites in that chapter I asked you to read and listen to in the just previous post.

Back to my telling about that Sunday afternoon radio program. I was strongly drawn to it for quite a few months after discovering it on a radio station when I was about nine years of age. I'm not sure who was sponsoring it. The title of the program might have been: "Our Savior's Voice."

Events from the New Testament were acted out over the radio. When the man who was to speak what the Savior had to say, (which were exact quotes from the New Testament), we would hear a special sound effect to Jesus' voice which made listeners pay more attention to what he had said through the man speaking Jesus' part.

The ten year old me, really paid close attention to every word that was spoken by the actor playing the part of our Savior. There was a good reason for my paying attention to that weekly program.

It was during this time of my life when the World War seemed so very threatening to the ten year old me, that the teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that I heard on that Sunday program each week began to really cause me to begin "feeling" the meaning of what I heard Jesus' "voice" telling me. I wish that feeling about what he had taught had stayed in me as strongly while going through my teen-age concerns, etc.

My weeping today that I mentioned above came because I remembered the feelings I had when listening to that radio program. I realized I was strengthened when listening to someone taking the part of our Savior. The special sound effects, mentioned above, helped. Jesus had become real to me.

I attended church regularly with my family, but perhaps radio then had a greater effect on me than my Sunday school and Primary teachers. My parents didn't really notice the radio program I was listening to.

It actually was that weekly radio program which helped me realize later why the Nephites, listening to the resurrected Savior's voice, after having just barely survived a great cataclysmic destruction that had killed huge numbers of their people, some of whom were close relatives; had become so emotionally and spiritually prepared by what they had just been through for what He was to soon teach them.

Like me and my concerns about how World War II might be effecting me and my family, these Nephites, the Savior was teaching, had deep emotions that had come to the surface in their lives. In other words, the Savior came to them at a very teachable point in their lives. Are you and I at a very teachable point in our lives right now? A good question for each of us to answer! I'll be back in about five days!
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Here is the most recent Mormon Messages video.

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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 An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: (The Resurrected) Jesus Christ by His Great Atonement and Resurrection Has Breathed New Spiritual Life Into This World -Post 39m. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, 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 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

39l - The Calling of the Nephite "12." The Resurrected Christ's Ancient American Version of His Sermon on the Mount Has an Adjusted Point of View!

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

In 34 A.D. the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ called and set apart twelve apostles of the Nephite Nation in the Western Hemisphere as a key step in setting up his kingdom among them too, as he had done during his mortal ministry among his fellow Jewish followers in Palestine. The painting I used is one which is used to depict the setting apart of the Twelve in Palestine. I used it because to my knowledge there isn't a painting available of that particular event in ancient Central America. 

Jesus Ordaining the Twelve in Palestine -by Harry Anderson (I am using this painting to remind us of the ordination of the Twelve in Central America.) 

3 Nephi 12: 1 AND it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.

2 And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins. (emphasis added)

The Resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ Teaches the Nephites in Ancient Central America -by John Scott

In Chapters Twelve through Fourteen of 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, is recorded a sermon given by the Resurrected Jesus Christ to the Nephites of Ancient Central America who were the remaining more righteous citizens of the Nephite Nation after a great cataclysm had destroyed a larger and very wicked portion of their people.

That discourse is very similar to the one recorded in the New Testament, Matthew Chapters Five through Seven, which is commonly referred to as The Sermon on the Mount. We should expect that which the then, immortal and glorified, Jesus Christ had chosen to teach the Nephite-Lamanite people who were to be his followers at that time in the Western Hemisphere, would be very similar to that which he had taught his flock in Palestine during his mortal ministry there. We should expect that he would be teaching in each of his two sermons, the basic principles of his unchanging gospel.

In this present post I will have the space to only compare Chapter Twelve of 3 Nephi to Chapter Five of Matthew. There appear to be, besides many key similarities, a few insignificant differences between the two sermons. and also some very significant differences! I will quote just a portion of our Lord's Sermon on the Mount as recorded in Matthew, Chapter 5 allowing us to compare what was said by Him in those passages there in Palestine with that which He said near the temple in the Land Bountiful (in Central America) for the purpose of identifying significant differences that exist between these two very similar sermons which were both given by Jesus Christ, the one in Palestine as a mortal and the one near the temple in the Land Bountiful in Ancient Central Americas by Him as an immortal resurrected being. I hope we can learn something very significant about the reasons for there being striking differences between these two otherwise very similar sermons.

I have used the brown print I typically use when quoting from the Bible in my blog when quoting Matthew Chapter 5. When quoting what the Savior taught his fold in the Americas as is recorded in 3 Nephi Chapter 12 I have used the blue print I typically use  when quoting Latter-day Scriptures. I will use red print when making interspersed clarifying comments.

One might expect that which Jesus taught both groups; his followers in Palestine on a mount, depicted in this painting and then his Nephite followers in the Land, Bountiful near the temple there, to be very similar if not identical in most of what He teaches because they can be identified as key points of doctrine of his unchanging gospel. 

The first two verses of Chapter 5 of Matthew and Chapter 12 of 3 Nephi are basically introductory and therefore I won't compare them. Please note also that I have skipped over verses four and five in both 3 Nephi Chapter 12 and Matthew 5 because they are word for word identical!

The Sermon on the Mount in Palestine -by Carl Heinrich Bloch

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

3 Nephi 12: 3 Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (emphasis added)

Note: It appears that Jesus in his mortal ministry did not yet use the words, "who come unto me," because he had not yet experienced His Atonement, Death, and Resurrection, which brought on his glorified state, which is surely the reason that would cause mortals to seek to come unto him, He who had become fully their God!)

Matthew 5: 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

3 Nephi 12: 6 And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Please Note: Jesus did not include in this comparable New Testament scripture the words, "they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost," which were used in 3 Nephi 12:6. His apostles in Palestine had not yet received the Gift of the Holy Ghost at the time of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. They received that sacred gift only after His Resurrection.

Acts 1: 4 And, being assembled together with them (His Apostles in Palestine), (He, Jesus) commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. (clarification added)

5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (emphasis added)


Go Ye Therefore and Teach All Nations -by Harry Anderson



The Ascension -by Harry Anderson

Acts 1: 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

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Matthew: 5:18 for verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

3 Nephi 12:18 For verily I say unto you, one jot nor one tittle hath not passed away from the law, but in me it hath all been fulfilled. (emphasis added)

Note: As you may have already determined, in the Matthew version of this verse it is written in the future tense. However, in the 3 Nephi version you will have noted it is written in the past tense. By then, Jesus personally had fulfilled the Law (of Moses) by His Atonement, Death and Resurrection!

Matthew 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.


3 Nephi 12:19 And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law (of Moses) is fulfilled. (emphasis and clarification added)

It would also seem to me that only then was Jesus actually able to fully know personally through His great atonement and sacrifice the full meaning of: a broken heart and a contrite spirit. The Savior just before descending from the heavens to be with the Nephites near His Temple had previously emphasized that phrase:

3 Nephi 9:20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit, And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

Again, those words were spoken by the Resurrected Jesus Christ from the heavens in the darkness that covered those Nephites and probably others who had survived the holocaust which the Lord had put into action Himself.

See (3 Nephi 9: 12) And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.

Matthew 5: 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

 Nephi 12:20 Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. (emphasis added)

In that scripture the Resurrected and Glorified Savior of Mankind doesn't refer to just righteousness as was the case in Matthew 5:20, but to "my commandments," in speaking to the Nephites after His resurrection.

Once again I present a scriptural verse that comes from the time when the resurrected Redeemer of the World, Jesus Christ spoke from the Heavens just before descending to speak with the Nephites:

3 Nephi 9:18 I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

19 And ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.

20 And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. (emphasis added)

Please Note: One difference between those two verses is that while in 3 Nephi 12:20 the Savior says, "come unto me and be ye saved," he also mentions keeping his commandments. He doesn't say that in Matthew 5:20.

Then too, the very last verse of each chapter we considered from each book ought to be compared:

Matthew 5: 48: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

3Nephi 12: 48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

That verse 48 in each of the two books is the perfect way to end this comparison of the two chapters, one from the New Testament and the other from the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I will refrain from further comment recognizing that you won't need any assistance from me in recognizing that the comparison of those two last verses caps the discussion very surely and decisively!

The issue of possible plagiarism of the Sermon on the Mount that has been raised by disbelievers of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, that may possibly have been considered by some of you readers too has just faded away into the clear blue blue sky!

Thank you for your patience with me as we went through much effort in comparing these two special and very true chapters!


The comparison of our Savior Jesus Christ's words before and after His sacred atoning sacrifice and resurrection using both sets of holy and sacred scriptures, the New Testament and the Book of Mormon tells us that which our Savior and God has done!

Blessed be His name for ever and ever and may each of us strive with all of our hearts, might, minds and strength to try to be worthy of what He has done for each of us and for each of our Loved Ones!

In Case you would like to Read and Listen to Matthew Chapter Five and/or III Nephi Chapter 12, Here is Your Opportunity!

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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: The Atoning Sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Has Opened up the Doors of Exaltation and Salvation for Each of us!  -Post 39l. 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.

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

Neil Birch

39k - There Was A Great Purpose In Jesus Christ's Going to the Americas to Minister Among the Nephites Soon After His Ascension Into Heaven!

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 Ascension -by Harry Anderson



In this, the third in a series of posts in which we have been learning about the Savior's Ministry among the descendants of Father Lehi, the Nephites; I will make an effort to help you more fully understand just what our Resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ's purpose was during his extended ministry to this nation of Israelites living in the Western Hemisphere of this earth. Actually, it consisted of a series of visits in a relatively short span of time.

I now quote a scripture I've used in several previous posts in describing our Savior's sacred "job description."

Moses 1:39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

When our Savior undertakes to save those who are of his sheep fold he surely sets forth a plan that will bring about their being saved if they, his followers, choose to continue to live worthily. The scriptures emphasize the free agency (or the power to choose) of mankind. Here is one example of many others.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (emphasis added)

Many of Jesus' flock who were in Palestine, chose to follow him faithfully and were witnesses of his atonement and resurrection. The Lord successfully taught and prepared his apostles, and then left the work in their hands of preaching the gospel to others of the House of Israel and soon afterwards, under the guidance of his Spirit, to the Gentiles also.

After his ascension into Heaven, the Savior then went on to the Western Hemisphere to gather his "other sheep" about which He had told them (See John 10:16).

However, his apostles and other followers in Palestine did not understand who those other sheep were. We know that because in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Jesus told the Nephites to whom he came, this:

3 Nephi 15: 21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: 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.

22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching.

23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost.

24 But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given me.

(The Nephites had been helped since the days of Father Lehi and his fourth son Nephi, to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ to minister to their descendants in their promised land located in the Western Hemisphere, most likely, in what we now call, Central America.)


This preparation was helped along by all of the many faithful prophets among them over the 634 years from when they left Jerusalem to when the Savior appeared to them not long after his resurrection.

The key prophet who worked very hard preparing the faithful Nephites from even before our Savior's birth was also named Nephi, as was his father. He was a direct descendant of Nephi, the son of Lehi. Now, the bigger picture of what had happened earlier among the Nephites of which our Lord and Savior had full knowledge was that while those who were being prepared through the prophecies and teachings of faithful Nephi, there were many Nephites who were scorning his and the words of another significant prophet, Samuel the Lamanite.

3Nephi 7:19 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.

You may remember that those scorners had been foiled in their plot to execute all the believers of the prophecies of Samuel if the signs he had prophesied of, concerning the coming of the Lord, did not appear by a certain day.

You have read before in these posts, that after praying all day long this prophet, Nephi, was told by the voice of the Lord, that he, Jesus Christ, would be born the following day and that the signs would each appear then as Samuel the Lamanite prophet had prophesied. When all these signs then appeared, the planned execution was foiled and it was those who had chosen not to follow the prophets who were distraught:

The holy scriptures, of both the Old World, the Bible; and the Book of Mormon, in the New World are filled with examples of disruptive natural disasters in the past, such as the great flood of Noah's day that eliminated all human life except for Noah and his family. God, our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, allowed that because most all living souls had at that time, rejected God's way of life and had instead, fully endorsed Satan's plans for their lives.

3Nephi 1:16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand. (emphasis added)

Noah's Preaching Scorned -by Harry Anderson



The Ark is Loaded -by Clark Kelley Price

Mortal life is something which Satan and his followers couldn't have because they had rejected Heavenly Father's plan which had been endorsed by and defended by Jesus Christ at the time we were all (including Satan and his followers) in the spirit world where we all had spirit bodies instead of mortal bodies because this earth had not yet been formed.

After the Great Flood, Noah and his family lived righteously for a time and then the pattern of apostasy which has so sadly been oft repeated in this world's history appeared again. Now in our day and time on earth, it has again raised its very ugly head.

Well, that pattern of apostasy had also, in great measure, taken place in the Western Hemisphere by A.D. 34. The unbelievers there,who were living according to their lusts and unrighteous desires, suffered the consequences of their choices. I'd like you to once again read and listen to Chapter 8 of 3Nephi from the Book of Mormon so you can remember more clearly what their choices of living styles brought them. Its not a very pretty picture:

3 Nephi 8: 1-25

Now, after having read that many times in my life, reading and listening to it again made me shudder and grieve for those who died in the destruction they had, in effect, brought upon themselves as was the case of the many millions who lost their lives in the great flood of Noah's day, by not heeding Noah's pleas to join him and his family in their ark.

Now perhaps would be the best time for you and me to read and listen again to Chapter Nine of 3Nephi, in which we learn that the people who remained after the cataclysmic seismic event had taken the lives of so many, heard the voice of Jesus Christ speaking to them from the sky.

You may have listened to and read this chapter in a very recent post of mine. Please listen again! After really absorbing this scripture you will much better understand why the Nephites to whom the resurrected Jesus appeared, were so teachable and so willing to obey him. In following posts we will learn more about the Savior's words and actions and the reactions of the Nephite people.

We should understand that our Savior, Jesus Christ, had a plan and it would surely result in eternal blessings for this people among whom he was ministering and would bring great blessings to their posterity. Wait and see! You can't even begin to imagine the great results that would come from his ministry among them! Please follow the instructions given above regarding listening to as well as reading these scriptural links.

 3 Nephi 9:1-22

Again, I realize that you may have read and listened to both of these chapters in a fairly recent post. However, I suggested you read both of them again so you can more fully comprehend that the events described show us much about the divine plan our Savior, Jesus Christ had for this people that would result in over two hundred years of righteous living and eternal salvation for millions of Nephites.
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Please left click on the link just below to view this most recent Mormon Messages video. Until about Christmas Day of December, 2009, this will link you to a Very Special Christmas Message. These messages are changed automatically on a regular basis.

Mormon Messages

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Also, just in case you have not yet had the opportunity of experiencing the very special Brigham Young University Video first shown in this blog in December 2008, which I have been offering again this year in recent posts. Here it is again for you to view if you so choose.






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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 An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: Jesus Christ, Had a Great Purpose in Going To Minister Among the Nephites After . . . -Post 39k. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, 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 very much hope you you will find that which was presented to you in these, my blog posts, very beneficial.

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