Words of Jesus

Yesterday I was pondering a situation I am in and the Lord brought these words to my mind:

“They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me” (John 16:2-3). 

This day these words are fulfilled again. 

It’s not a new thing for those preaching the word of God to be accused of unrighteousness and pride. Paul, Abinadi and our Lord, Jesus Christ, were all accused of being mad, blasphemous and possessed of devils. Search the record and you will see that those in the chief seats of organizations have always struggled with those not in authority sharing the word of God with them.

In today’s language they call those sharing the word of God from the scriptures as being deceived and mentally unstable. Because one chooses to honor God’s word they call them prideful. They insist that all men should bow to their words instead of God’s word. They praise those who bow to their words as humble and call those that hold up the word of God as prideful. 

The day of the Lord’s wrath and vengeance is descending upon us. I pray for those that are so wrapped up in false traditions and false beliefs that they are unwilling to receive the word of God and His servant, Joseph Smith Jr. directly to them as pure intelligence. If they can humble themselves before the Lord, He will give them eyes to see and ears to hear and they will have the power to repent and be healed. He will give them a new heart and mind and they will be able to penetrate the veil of unbelief. 

Paul was once Saul. His words bring hope to me and others that have once persecuted the righteous among us. He said,

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:12-15).

Remember, Saul was dedicated to the law that had developed over time from the law of Moses. It had been safeguarded and correlated by the Pharisees and expanded into the Mishnah. The oral tradition had perverted the law and the whole meaning of the law. Saul was zealous in defending this perversion of the law, even to the point of killing those that followed Jesus Christ. But, for his heart, Jesus had mercy upon him. He was willing to change when the Lord showed him he was kicking against the pricks. He was fighting against the Messiah, the One he thought he was fighting for. 

I pray for those persecuting the saints of God. I am forgiving those that have judged me wrongfully. I hope that they are as Saul, ignorantly sinning but believing they are on the Lord’s side. Time will tell. Truth will prevail. 

Jesus gave us some keys to knowing who is deceived in the last days. The Joseph Smith Translation of Matthew 24 has these keys. I invite you to ponder and pray over His words. He will guide you as you go directly to Him, the God of light and truth.