The "Road Map" to Life

What a beautiful message we have. What a glorious thing to share with the world. 

So many of our spiritual brothers and sisters endure this life in feeling alone or forsaken. They are lost with no one offering to help them on their way. They can be " ...tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive; " - ( Ephesians 4:14 ). The world can be and is a difficult place to exist without the knowledge of our true nature as children of a loving Heavenly Father.

So many blessings and answers come with the message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that first and foremost, God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct and separate beings. We know that the Heavens are not closed to the Children of God on Earth. Revelation still flows to the world through a living Prophet, just as it did in days of old.God loves each and everyone of His children deeply and individually. 

We recognize His love for us in our lives through the great Plan of Salvation that He has designed for His children. Found in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, the Plan of Salvation, also known as the Plan of Happiness or the Plan of Redemption, teaches us all of God's desires and wants for His children both on Earth, and in the life to come. In this plan that was perfectly developed by our Heavenly Father, we learn of our pre-mortal existence with our Father in Heaven. We also learn that, " ...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. " - ( Alma 34:32 ). Also that after this life we shall either be in a state of rest in a Spiritual Paradise, or in a state of sorrow in a Spiritual Prison awaiting the day of our Judgement, Resurrection, and state of Glory awarded to us by our Father.

The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ offers us a "road map" to our existence. It answers the questions that so many people have in their hearts that they may not voice. It is my Testimony that God is our Father. As such, He loves His children. He loves us! He loves YOU! This is not a secret to be kept from the world. It is a blessing to share with everyone that we meet. I know that the Plan of Salvation truly does bring happiness. I know that it can and will bring peace into the lives of those who are seeking it. Just as it brought peace into the lives of these three people who heard it for the first time, while feeling alone and forsaken.

For more information on the Plan of Salvation visit www.mormon.org. Truth heals and fills. Truth has been Restored!

Pride- The cause of all our Faults

What is pride? President Ezra Taft Benson, a prophet of God, once defined pride as the following, " Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness... The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means ' hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition. ' It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us. "

When I think of pride, I think of the cause of every sin, fault, and short coming of people in life as we have ever known it. Pre-dating even this world in it's existence, pride was the sin that brought division among God's spirit children. When God presented his plan of happiness and salvation to his children, it was pride that ruled Lucifer's heart. Wanting the glory for himself, putting enmity between himself and is Father, Lucifer stepped forward with a desire to impose his plan over that of the Father's. It was because of pride that Satan and 1/3 of the host of Heaven became fallen angels, and were cast our of the presence of their Father. Pride is what brought into existence the Devil himself.

How does pride affect us in our lives? How do we know when we are being prideful? President Ezra Taft Benson identifies pride in this way, " Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s. "

If we can not find it in our hearts to forgive, repent, serve, or be taught in our relationship with God, and our relationship with our fellow men, then we are guilty of the sin of pride. This is the root cause of all sin. We can not be with our Father after this life if we do not forsake the sin of pride that rules the " natural man's " heart.

Pride can be, and is overcome on a daily basis. What is the opposite of pride? Humility is what we must seek in our lives if we do not wish to be separated from God through pride. Humility can be defined as the following, " To be humble is to recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord—to understand that we have constant need for His support. Humility is an acknowledgment that our talents and abilities are gifts from God. "

How is it that we " recognize gratefully our dependence on the Lord? " Humility is realized best through the act of charity. What I mean by charity is the as the scriptures define real charity: " 45 And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily ^dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things... 47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth ^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. " -( Moroni 7: 45&47 )

Through charity we can overcome the sin of pride. We can become more like our Savior Jesus Christ, who when presented with the Plan of Salvation by God our Father before this world was, stepped forward and said , "...^cFather, thy ^dwill be done, and the ^eglory be thine forever. " -( Moses 4:2 )

Jesus Christ has no enmity towards His Father, or any other, nor has he ever. He is the prime and perfect example of Humility. All His life was lived in the service of His Father and his fellow men. His love and charity towards others is the formula that we must use in our lives to forsake the condemning sin of pride that so easily finds its way into the hearts of men.

Faith in God -the basics

So let us start at the basics, shall we. If nothing else in this world or this work is true, I know that one thing is true that can never be denied or proved wrong, regardless of the words of those who fight it. I know that there is a God. I know that He lives, and that He is our loving Heavenly Father. As Paul taught the people in Athens, "  28 For in him we ^alive, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his ^boffspring.  - Acts 17: 28

So how do we know that there is God? Well as we are taught by the prophet Alma in the Book of Mormon, everything denotes that there is a God. In the Book of Mormon, there is an Anti-Christ, or false prophet, named Korihor. Korihor was going about the cities of the righteous Nephites teaching that there is no God, no Christ, no Devil, and no Sin. Unfortunately Korihor turned many of the hearts of the Nephites away from the Gospel of Jesus Christ before being brought to the prophet and High Priest, Alma. While  confronting Korihor and his evil teachings, Alma gave the following rebuke and testimony, " 37 And then Alma said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?

 38 And he answered, Nay.

 39 Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that there is a God, and also deny the Christ? For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a God, and also that Christ shall come.

 40 And now what evidence have ye that there is no ^aGod, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye have none, save it be your word only.

 41 But, behold, I have all things as a ^atestimony that these things are true; and ye also have all things as a testimony unto you that they are true; and will ye deny them? Believest thou that these things are true? " - Alma 30: 37-41

Personally I love the bold statement given by the prophet Alma in verse 40 above. Then to fulfill his calling and priesthood responsibility as a witness of Christ, Alma gives a short, simple, yet profound testimony in verse 41 also above. Alma testifies to Korihor and to all that are listening that everything testifies of God. Let's think about that for a moment, shall we? When you look into the eyes of an infant, when you look into a clear blue sky, when you feel the soft soothing breeze of the wind blowing on your face, and hear the beautiful sounds of birds singing, and people laughing. What's more, when you look into the heavens in a beautiful night sky. Can you honestly say that all this happened by accident? Now for my bold statement. If you can, you are lying to yourself.

The order, organization, and beauty of everything in this world, and what surrounds it, are pure evidence of the existence of our Supreme Creator. Our Father in Heaven loves us. He gives us evidence of His love through, scriptures, prophets, our families, and most importantly His Son, Jesus Christ. He gives us these blessings in our lives so that our faith in Him may grow. Everything we do in life we do through faith. We wake up in the morning with the faith that the sun will be out. We go to sleep the night before with the faith that we will wake up the next day. We go to work with the faith that we will still have our job, and if we don't, we can't blame it on God.

To conclude I would like to share the story of a remarkable young boy of 14 years of age, who showed great faith in God during a time of religious confusion in his life. " 8 During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness;...  still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit... but so great were the confusion and ^astrife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was... to come to any certain conclusion who was ^bright and who was wrong.

 10 In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be ^aright, which is it, and how shall I know it?

 11 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of ^aJames, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack ^bwisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

 12 Never did any passage of ^ascripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed ^bwisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know...

13 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in ^adarkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God...

15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God...

16 ...exerting all my powers to ^acall upon God...I saw a pillar of ^clight exactly over my head, above the brightness of the ^dsun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me...

17 ...When the light rested upon me I ^bsaw two ^cPersonages, whose brightness and ^dglory defy all description, ^estanding above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My ^fBeloved ^gSon. Hear Him! " - Joseph Smith - History 1:8-17

Because of the faith that one boy had in God, and specifically the faith that God answers prayers, the fullness of Christ's Gospel was restored to the earth. God does exist. He loves us and just like with the young 14 year old boy Joseph Smith, He wants to hear from us so that He can answer our prayers. I know that these things are true. I know that God is real, because I see His work all around me everyday. I'm grateful for the faith in God that I have been blessed to have in my life. I'm grateful for the faith of others before me who have been great examples and influences in my life. I challenge all to act in faith, and sincerely ask God if He is there and listening. I know that as you do, you will receive an answer through the Spirit. If nothing else, start with the Desire to have faith. From there it can build. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Lord's Power over Death

I was recently reading a book written by James E. Talmage, an Apostle of the Lord, entitled " Jesus the Christ ". It was written as a depictive account of the Savior's calling as the Redeemer, His ministry on Earth, and His Divine Godship in the Eternities. While reading in the 20th chapter about the miracles performed by the Lord in His earthly ministry, I fell upon Elder Talmage's narrative about the power of the Lord Jesus Christ over death.

As a missionary we teach people about the Plan of Salvation. This is the plan that our loving Heavenly Father has given for all His children on this Earth. Part of that plan is the Resurrection of all those who have ever lived, live now, and ever will live a mortal life. Sometimes while teaching this principle of the Gospel I have been asked, " Did Jesus Resurrect Lazarus? " Distinguishing between a restoration of life, and the resurrection of life is something that I have had to do frequently as a missionary. Normally right now I would give my explanation of the difference between Resurrection, and the Savior raising others from the bonds of death. However, I feel that the explanation that Elder Talmage gave is much better then any I could offer. To quote Elder Talmage - " the miracle consisted in reuniting the spirit and the body in a continuation of the interrupted course of mortal existence. That the subject of each of these miracles had to subsequently die is certain. " ( Jesus the Christ ) In other words, those who were risen from the dead by the Savior, Elijah, Elisha, Peter, and Paul all had to suffer physical death again at the end of their lives.

The important things to know in Christ's raising of the dead compared to that of Prophets and Apostles, is that the power to conquer death is held by the Savior Himself. Elder Talmage also address this difference in the process that was needed for the Prophets Elijah and Elisha to raise the dead, in respect to the Savior Himself commanding the dead to rise. " By both Elijah and Elisha the wonderful change was brought about only after long and labored ministrations, and earnest invocation of the power and intervention of Jehovah; but Jehovah, embodied in the flesh as Jesus Christ, did nothing outwardly but command, and the bonds of death were immediately broken. He spoke in His own name and by inherent authority, for by the power with which He was invested He held control of both life and death. " ( Jesus the Christ )

Now to address the Resurrection. Resurrection is a beautiful gift given to all by the loving mercy and grace of the Savior, made possible through the finalization of His infinite Atonement. The final step in the Atonement of Jesus Christ was his glorious resurrection from the dead. As stated by Elder Talmage, " Jesus Christ was the first of all men who have lived on earth to come forth from the tomb an immortalized

Being; He is therefore properly designated as ' the first fruits of them that slept. " ( Jesus the Christ )

Jesus Christ's triumphant rise from the dead ushered in the fulfillment of both scriptural prophecy of the Savior, and of the bonds of death being loosed for all. " 12 And he will take upon him ^adeath, that he may ^bloose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to ^csuccor his people according to their infirmities. " ( Alma 7:12 )

I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, and the Son of the Living God. I know that he lives and loves each and everyone of us. I know that my Savior has risen so that I to can rise from the bonds of death. I feel blessed to know that all of us will one day live again after this life as immortal and physically perfected beings. Through the Power the Lord has shown over death, we will live again, all of us. This is my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.