Peter and John’s Experiences with the Pharisees

I love these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ULxa5JhpQ&feature=share

https://youtu.be/CrOmq3otiBo

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.

The Portrait of a Prophet

As I’ve pondered the warning by John in the Book of the Revelation of a false prophet who will deceive the people with miracles, I’ve pondered the portrait or pattern of what a true prophet looks like. I want to make sure I’m recognizing true messengers from the Lord to help me as these days we live in continue through the tribulations and into the plagues and destruction prophesied of in scripture. 

Here’s a list of questions I think are helpful to consider:

How is the prophet called? 

Who calls him to be a prophet?

Is he called a prophet by his peers? 

Does he prophesy?

What is his message?

Why does he share the message?

Is his message well received or rejected?

Is his message from the Lord or from himself?

Does he testify he has seen the Lord, Jesus Christ or God, the Father?

Does he testify he has heard the voice of the Lord, Jesus Christ or of God, the Father?

Is he popular with the church of his day?

Is he killed for his witness or how does his life end?

Does he testify openly of angels ministering to him?

Here is a list of some of the prophets and holy men in scripture we can study:

Lehi

Many prophets in Jerusalem with Lehi

Nephi

Jacob

Enos

King Benjamin

Abinadi

Alma

Alma the younger

Nephi

Mormon

Moroni

Enoch

Noah

Melchizedek 

Abraham

Isaac

Jacob

Moses

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

John the Baptist

Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and King but His call and the way the people receive Him is profitable to us as well. 

Peter

Paul

Joseph Smith

I started this exercise with Lehi:

How is the prophet called? 

I don’t see a formal call as a prophet. He is shown things and then shares them. 

He has a series of visions. He thinks he saw God sitting on His throne. He sees One descending out of the midst of heaven who is brighter than the sun. Jesus gives him a book and asks him to read it. 

Who calls him to be a prophet?

I don’t see a formal calling, more a series of events and then he shares what the Lord reveals to him. 

Is he called a prophet by his peers? 

The Jews mock him and seek to take away his life. 

Does he prophesy?

Yes, he saw many things in visions and dreams which he prophesied unto his children and the people. He told them of their wickedness, abominations, that Jerusalem would be destroyed, that many would perish by the sword or be carried away captive into Babylon. He prophesies of the coming of a Messiah. 

What is his message?

He goes forth among the people and prophesies and declares unto them concerning the things he had seen and heard concerning the destruction of Jerusalem. 

Why does he share the message?

Is his message well received or rejected?

Is his message from the Lord or from himself?

Does he testify he has seen the Lord, Jesus Christ or God, the Father?

Does he testify he has heard the voice of the Lord, Jesus Christ or of God, the Father?

Is he popular with the church of his day? The Jews try to kill him. They cast him out.

Is he killed for his witness or how does his life end? He leaves before they can kill him. 

O Wretched Man That I Am!

I just finished watching, “I Can Only Imagine.” If you haven’t seen it, I’d highly recommend it to you. 

For me it led me to the dust again. I felt more deeply how wretched I truly am and how I am absolutely nothing without Jesus, my Lord, my God and my Redeemer and friend. 

These words came to my mind. Oh how I feel these words in my broken heart!

“Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.

19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.

22 He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.

23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.

24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.

25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.

26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?

32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.

34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen” (2 Nephi 4:17-35).

How is it that Jesus can forgive me, a wretch? I don’t know how it is done. As I ask this, these great verses come to mind from Enos, “I said: Lord, how is it done? And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole” (Enos 1:7-8). 

I don’t know exactly how Jesus buys us back with His blood, pain, agony and tears. All I know is He does. I have felt it again and again. Tonight as my heart is broken, I feel Him reaching down to me again in my depths of pain and sorrow, telling me, “Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen...wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.” 

I will love and praise Him forever and ever. Blessed be the name of Jesus! Only in Him is there peace and wholeness.

Righteousness

“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (1 John 3:7).

I was studying this morning and came across this verse. It hit me that men exercise faith in God and yet we live in a day where a man exercising faith in God can still be accused of unrighteousness and others will believe them. Just as Isaiah prophesied, evil will be made to look good and good will be made to look evil. Great counsel from John above.

By the grace of Jesus Christ we can exercise faith in Him unto repentance and we can become who we came here to become. No one can take that away from us. They killed the Son of God but they could not take away who He was.

Coming Unto Father

I was pondering my Father this morning. I am grateful He gave me an earthly father that shared the word of God with me. He taught me to pray to my Father and to study His word that I might learn of Him and know how to come unto Him. When I was on my mission to northern Spain, my earthly father sent me the Lectures on Faith and the King Follett Discourse. As I read these things with the holy scriptures, the eyes of my understanding were opened and I began to see more clearly the whole purpose of our existence on this earth. I was filled as I sought for the blessings of the Fathers. 

We know Jesus has become as Father is, perfect (3 Nephi 12:48). We know Jesus taught us to be even as He is (3 Nephi 27:27), which is like the Father. I have been pondering over the Lectures on Faith again. They used to be included in the early editions of the Doctrine and Covenants when Joseph Smith was on the earth. In Lecture 3 we learn “that three things are necessary for any rational and intelligent being to exercise faith in God unto life and salvation.

3. First, the idea that he actually exists;

4. Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes;

5. Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which one is pursuing is according to His will. For without an acquaintance with these three important facts, the faith of every rational being must be imperfect and unproductive. But with this understanding, it can become perfect and fruitful, abounding in righteousness unto the praise and glory of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The word of God teaches us of His character, perfections and attributes. We also learn of Him as we come unto Him. We learn, “if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness” (Ether 12:27). When one enters a dark room, all of that person's physical flaws are hidden. Let’s suppose the room is a dark corridor with a small light at the end of it. As one approaches that light, his or her physical flaws start to appear. So it is with each one of us spiritually and physically. As we come unto Him, we see our weaknesses. At that point we can decide to change, repent, and become as He is or turn back and leave the light because it is too uncomfortable or painful to change. Many choose to turn back. It requires too much humility to keep coming unto the Light. 

We know that many do exactly as the Jews did in Jesus’ day. They hated the Light.  They hated it, Him, because He revealed their weakness. There are a couple options as one approaches the Light: the first is to accept the Light and change so you don’t feel uncomfortable in the presence of the Light, the second is to turn away from the Light and the third is to put out or kill the Light. When Jesus was in Israel there were a few who chose to change but the vast majority chose to turn away from Him or to kill Him. We learn this great truth in John. He said, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:19-21). 

The incredible blessing in this is that God and His Son, Jesus, are incredibly graceful Beings. They give us a grace period to work out our salvation. I know I have turned back from that Light at times in my life or at different moments throughout each day, either intentionally or unintentionally. Each time I turn to Him He continues to show me my weakness with the perfect touch of love. It takes time to fully come unto Him. For this reason we are given a mortal probation, a time to prepare to meet God so that we may be able to abide in His presence, fully in the Light. 

I love Father. I’m grateful He sent His Son to cleanse me from sin that I may abide the Light of His glory. It is interesting that we learn that, “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36). So, as we grow in light and truth we decide if we want to know the whole truth. Knowing the whole truth and acting accordingly leads to receiving the glory of God, even Jesus Christ, the personification of light and truth.

We learn, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). So, if we are to receive eternal life, we must know Jesus Christ and Father. Since the fullness of Their glory includes all light and truth, it behooves us to learn all things. 

Sometimes as we learn the truth it is uncomfortable. Many feel a certain level of comfort and security in the life they presently know. We get used to the dim lights in our tabernacles and more light feels too bright. Learning more truth creates discomfort as we realize we need to act to conform to the new truths we are learning. This discomfort of the unknown is sometimes equated to darkness. I have heard people say that a certain truth is darkness to them and so they fear exploring it. I believe what they are really saying is, “this truth is new to me and I don’t understand it, therefore, it is darkness and I will not search it out to know if it really is the truth or not.” This leads to a stunting of growth, or what the scriptures call damnation. 

Nephi explained it this way;

“24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!

25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!

26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!

27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!

28 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.

29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!

30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have” (2 Nephi 28:24-30). 

God will not cast you out for entertaining ideas that are foreign to you as you search out greater light and knowledge. James said, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (James 1:5-6). Trust God. Allow Him to guide you.

It’s difficult to leave our comfort zone to find additional truth. I have allowed myself to search out the truth on things that I thought I understood. It turns out that I had only scratched the surface and God was waiting for me to come unto Him so He could reveal more truth to me and expose more of His glory to me. As I come to understand more clearly the truth, it amazes me how He works with us where we are at. He has veils in place that He wants to remove as soon as we are willing to learn and act on that new knowledge. As we tiptoe to Him, He tiptoes to us. As we step into the dark in faith, He opens the path and lights the way. He is amazing! 

I’m grateful for Father. He loves me. I know that. I love Him. I know that as I come unto Him and repent, He will eventually reveal all my darkness to me that I might lay upon the altar the complete beast in me. This sacrifice, a living sacrifice, will be enough and my Lord will take it upon Himself and allow me, the prisoner, to go free. Praise be to God and the Lamb!

Memorial Day

I empathize with this post by a God-loving, Christian man:
https://www.thelunaticfarmer.com/blog/5/25/2020/weeping