Monday, April 16, 2018

The Book of Mormon and the Gathering of Israel 3 Nephi 21:7


President Russell M. Nelson

President Russell M. Nelson:
“The Book of Mormon is central to this work. It declares the doctrine of the gathering. It causes people to learn about Jesus Christ, to believe His gospel, and to join His Church. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur [see Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith (1985), 554]” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 80).

Monday, April 9, 2018

Ponder 3 Nephi 17:3


President Henry B. Eyring

President Henry B. Eyring:

“Reading, studying, and pondering are not the same. We read words and we may get ideas. We study and we may discover patterns and connections in scripture. But when we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit. Pondering, to me, is the thinking and the praying I do after reading and studying in the scriptures carefully” (Henry B. Eyring, “Serve with the Spirit,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 60).

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Helaman 16

President Henry B. Eyring

"When we reject the counsel which comes from God, we do not choose to be independent of outside influence. We choose another influence. We reject the protection of a perfectly loving, all-powerful, all-knowing Father in Heaven, whose whole purpose, as that of His Beloved Son, is to give us eternal life, to give us all that He has, and to bring us home again in families to the arms of His love. In rejecting His counsel, we choose the influence of another power, whose purpose is to make us miserable and whose motive is hatred" (Henry B. Eyring, "Finding Safety in Counsel," Ensign, May 1997, 25).

Friday, March 9, 2018

Helaman 12:5 Don't Forget God

President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency: 
President Henry B. Eyring
“We so easily forget that we came into life with nothing. Whatever we get soon seems our natural right, not a gift. And we forget the giver. Then our gaze shifts from what we have been given to what we don’t have yet. …
“Confronting death and difficulty does return memory and therefore gratitude to righteous people as well as the wicked. But there must be another way to remember, one we can choose. …
“You can choose to remember the greatest gift of all. Next week, you can go to a meeting where the sacrament is administered. You will hear the words, ‘Always remember him.’ You can pledge to do that, and the Holy Ghost will help you” (Henry B. Eyring, “Remembrance and Gratitude,” Ensign, Nov. 1989, 12, 13).

Monday, March 5, 2018

Helaman 2:2-3 Don't excuse your sins!

Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
Elder Richard G. Scott
“If you have seriously transgressed, you will not find any lasting satisfaction or comfort in what you have done. Excusing transgression with a cover-up may appear to fix the problem, but it does not. The tempter is intent on making public your most embarrassing acts at the most harmful time. Lies weave a pattern that is ever more confining and becomes a trap that Satan will spring to your detriment” (Richard G. Scott, “Finding Forgiveness,” Ensign, May 1995, 77).

Helaman 3:27-30-God wants us back!

Elder J. Devn Cornish

“The God of heaven is not a heartless referee looking for any excuse to throw us out of the game. He is our perfectly loving Father, who yearns more than anything else to have all of His children come back home and live with Him as families forever. He truly gave His Only Begotten Son that we might not perish but have everlasting life [see John 3:16]! Please believe, and please take hope and comfort from, this eternal truth. Our Heavenly Father intends for us to make it! That is His work and His glory [see Moses 1:39].

“… None of us will ever be ‘good enough,’ save through the merits and mercy of Jesus Christ [see 2 Nephi 2:6–8], but because God respects our agency, we also cannot be saved without our trying” (J. Devn Cornish, “Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It?” 33, 34).

Monday, February 12, 2018

Types of Resurrected Bodies-Alma 40-41

Joseph Fielding Smith:

KINDS OF RESURRECTED BODIES. In the resurrection there will be different kinds of bodies; they will not all be alike. The body a man receives will determine his place hereafter. There will be celestial bodies, terrestrial bodies, and telestial bodies, and these bodies will differ as distinctly as do bodies here… (See D&C 76:50-113; 88:15-32; 1 Corinthians 15:35-42).
    Bodies will be quickened according to the kingdom which they are judged worthy to enter. Elder Orson Pratt many years ago in writing of the resurrection and the kind of bodies which would be raised in these kingdoms said:
    "In every species of animals and plants, there are many resemblances in the general outlines and many specific differences characterizing the individuals of each species. So, in the resurrection. There will be several classes of resurrected bodies; some celestial, some terrestrial, some telestial, and some sons of perdition. Each of these classes will differ from the others by prominent and marked distinctions; yet, in each, considered by itself, there will be found many resemblances as well as distinctions. There will be some physical peculiarity by which each individual in every class can be identified" (Doctrines of Salvation 2:286-287).

PROCREATION LIMITED TO CELESTIAL BODIES. Some will gain celestial bodies with all the powers of exaltation and eternal increase. These bodies will shine like the sun as our Savior's does, as described by John (See Revelation 1:12-18; D&C 110:1-4; Exodus 24:9-10).
    Those who enter the terrestrial kingdom will have terrestrial bodies, and they will not shine like the sun, but they will be more glorious than the bodies of those who receive the telestial glory.
    In both of these kingdoms there will be changes in the bodies and limitations. They will not have the power of increase, neither the power or nature to live as husbands and wives, for this will be denied them and they cannot increase.     Those who receive the exaltation in the celestial kingdom will have the "continuation of the seeds forever" (D&C 132:19). They will live in the family relationship. In the terrestrial and in the telestial kingdoms there will be no marriage. Those who enter there will remain "separately and singly" forever (D&C 132:15-32).
    Some of the functions in the celestial body will not appear in the terrestrial body, neither in the telestial body, and the power of procreation will be removed. I take it that men and women will, in these kingdoms, be just what the so-called Christian world expects us all to be -- neither man nor woman, merely immortal beings having received the resurrection (Doctrines of Salvation 2:287).

Friday, February 2, 2018

Alma 34:8-10 Why we need Jesus

President Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
President Russell M. Nelson“His Atonement is infinite—without an end [see 2 Nephi 9:7; 25:16; Alma 34:10, 12, 14]. It was also infinite in that all humankind would be saved from never-ending death. It was infinite in terms of His immense suffering. … It was infinite in scope—it was to be done once for all [see Hebrews 10:10]. And the mercy of the Atonement extends not only to an infinite number of people, but also to an infinite number of worlds created by Him [see D&C 76:24; Moses 1:33]. It was infinite beyond any human scale of measurement or mortal comprehension.
“Jesus was the only one who could offer such an infinite atonement, since He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. Because of that unique birthright, Jesus was an infinite Being” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Atonement,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 35).