tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post3956126049161681122..comments2024-03-26T14:29:25.921-06:00Comments on To The Remnant: Automotivism: Detours on the Drive to HeavenAdrian Larsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17173995703995901609noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-7663702696679972016-05-22T17:21:50.407-06:002016-05-22T17:21:50.407-06:00Hi, just checking in. Good thoughts on living in t...Hi, just checking in. Good thoughts on living in truth and love. Being born again is a very vital and healthy growth pattern to nourish. So thankful to my dear Savior for the chance at daily even hourly renewal. I cherish my connection with my Father in heaven and with Christ. So thankful for simple sweet personal prayer. Thankful for my parents and their examples and teachings. We are blessed to have the Book of Mormon. Bless it and bless you and yours in your travelsSuzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02692281064761540435noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-85314464941063420972016-05-22T09:21:29.286-06:002016-05-22T09:21:29.286-06:00While on the fathers and sons campout this weekend...While on the fathers and sons campout this weekend I was reading in Mosiah 18 when Alma baptized Helam.<br /><br />A unique phrase popped out at me in verse 9.<br /><br />"Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—"<br /><br />It's seems from a simple reading that the covenant of baptism (fire included) leads to eternal life (see D&C 88:3-5).<br /><br />Yet when reading Elder Bednar's latest conference talk this evening with my wife he implies that the process of "baptism provides a necessary initial cleansing" (original emphasis his). And the. Goes on to explain its promised blessing.<br /><br />"The baptismal covenant includes three fundamental commitments: (1) to be willing to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, (2) to always remember Him, and (3) to keep His commandments. The promised blessing for honoring this covenant is “that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us].” Thus, baptism is the essential preparation to receive the authorized opportunity for the constant companionship of the third member of the Godhead."<br /><br />Sometimes we see that the LDS church will downplay the significance of baptism in order to highlight and aggrandize the importance of the temple covenants made there.<br /><br />The gospel truly is simple, yet over time the church has distorted it. Ahuizotlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-79220691521181968182016-05-20T16:33:29.424-06:002016-05-20T16:33:29.424-06:00"junior functionary" LOL!!! Good one Pat... "junior functionary" LOL!!! Good one Patty.Xoticbyrdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306859757928195093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-31382896122378279092016-05-20T13:06:45.735-06:002016-05-20T13:06:45.735-06:00The commandments of Jesus Christ are foolishness t...The commandments of Jesus Christ are foolishness to men. This is because men know that it will lead to destitution.<br /><br />The ideas of men are foolishness to God. This is because God knows they will lead to destitution.<br /><br />It turns out part of becoming a driver in the next life is being a fool in this one.Benmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-38443026652183330512016-05-19T23:51:07.968-06:002016-05-19T23:51:07.968-06:00“Priestcraft is toxic, not just to the listeners, ...“Priestcraft is toxic, not just to the listeners, but to the practitioners. If what you are preaching is greeted with wild enthusiasm and doesn’t get you shunned, then you are probably not saying anything that God would agree with.” (Denver Snuffer, Moab talk, p 15)<br /><br />Having grown up in the cult of the holy car club myself, as I’ve read and pondered this essay I’ve had a nagging sense of waking from a dream not unlike Neo in The Matrix. The grand challenge is not to become a perfect member of some club but to remove the obstacles we pose to God in his quest to claim us as his own. Your post fleshes out one of the most disturbing ideas I have ever run across, Adrian. Well done. This would have gotten you shunned, tarred and feathered had not some of the grand poobahs of the club already insisted on a junior functionary expelling you. Some poor drone working for the LDS Strengthening Church Members Committee is reading this, thinking, “It’s a pity we’ve already excommunicated this guy—he needs a good thumping.” <br /><br />Love and forgiveness for them all. The actual plan of the gospel is about loving and forgiving everyone, starting with the club’s self-important paper tigers. God will gladly claim them too, when and if they choose to actually learn to drive. Pattynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-81128559198265112502016-05-19T18:41:07.598-06:002016-05-19T18:41:07.598-06:00I this powerful and thought provoking lesson from ...I this powerful and thought provoking lesson from Adrian and Underdog.. seriously... <br /><br />I think it is valid to bring up that it isn't about us knowing Him as much as it is about Him knowing us. Consider the scripture reference in Matthew 7 ..21 ¶Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.<br /><br /> 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?<br /><br /> 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.<br /><br />or here in Matthew 25: 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.<br /><br /> 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not<br /><br />For Him to 'know' us is for Him to be invited into our lives to take our sins and to be intimately involved and that means He takes up His abode with us... John 14. Joseph Smith taught it this way..The Second Comforter<br /><br />The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted.<br /><br />When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses.<br /><br />Note the 16, 17, 18, 21, 23 verses: [Quoted.]<br /><br />Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions--Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn.<br /><br />The Spirit of Revelation<br /><br />The Spirit of Revelation is in connection with these blessings. A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.,) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.<br /><br />Sandra Harper<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-46813711337115159782016-05-19T15:04:54.206-06:002016-05-19T15:04:54.206-06:00From above, Adrian said, "You were born into ...From above, Adrian said, "You were born into a dangerous, sinful state of separation from God, which will end in death and permanent separation."<br /><br />From DC 76:<br /><br />109 But behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore;<br /><br /> 110 And heard the voice of the Lord saying: These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever;<br /><br /> 111 For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared;<br /><br /> 112 And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end.<br /><br /> 113 This is the end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while we were yet in the Spirit.<br /><br />***********<br /><br />It appears here the Scripture clearly describes and defines "permanent separation" from God, "but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end."Underdognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-12759132181349306092016-05-19T12:34:02.523-06:002016-05-19T12:34:02.523-06:00Define 'permanent' :)Define 'permanent' :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250101867795058195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-31271779434375514262016-05-19T11:22:12.909-06:002016-05-19T11:22:12.909-06:00You make an incredible point. I'm blown away t...You make an incredible point. I'm blown away thinking about how the philosophy of this girl is one I had adopted for years myself. My entire family have adopted this same philosophy. There is no need to "know" God since we already know him.<br /><br />Thanks for the eye-opening comment. I believe this thinking is widespread in the LDS church membership, and I need to do some thinking about the implications of it, or any way around it.Benmnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-38814586785580085022016-05-19T10:53:53.432-06:002016-05-19T10:53:53.432-06:00Very recently I was teaching a group of teenagers ...Very recently I was teaching a group of teenagers in the LDS Church. I shared the following idea with the class: that if we are praying to Heavenly Father but only talking TO him, and not WITH Him, in other words, if we aren't having a give-and-take conversation with him like we would talk to another person here on earth, then what kind of relationship are we developing with Him? I asked them, Imagine if you haven't met your earthly father since you were born, and then one day you were suddenly introduced to him. You're 17 years old, let's say, and you're now standing in the same room with your father. Would the conversation be a bit awkward? The kids agreed it would be. <br /><br />Now imagine that your body dies, after a lifetime of having one-sided monologues in your prayers, just you talking to Him and not really listening to Him or having conversations with Him. Imagine how strange it would be when you see Him and try to initiate a dialogue with Him. He might say something like, "Hi there Suzy, nice to meet you. I've heard from you almost daily for many years, but did you hear from me? I tried to speak to you, but you weren't even listening to my still, small voice, and besides you seemed to be in a hurry to finish your prayer anyway. It's a shame. I was always there. I wanted to talk. I wanted to help you and give you direction, and answers, but you didn't listen. What do you know about me? Yes, I know tons about you, but what do you know about me, about my personality, about how much I cared about you, about how much I wanted to be a part of your life? How would you rate our relationship? Are we close, do we KNOW each other?" <br /><br />This was the gist of the scenario I described when one of the youth said the following with what I sensed was a hint of a rebuking tone in her voice at worst and at least a dash of a condescending attitude, "I've been taught that because we lived with God for eternity before we were born, and because this earth life is just a "blink of the eye" in eternity, that when we return to His presence, we will know Him just like before, and all will be like it was before." <br /><br />I was a bit horrified by the certainty in her voice, and the look of, "What are you talking about? I ALREADY know Heavenly Father, but I just don't remember, and returning to His presence will be quite natural. There's nothing to worry about." <br /><br />She continued, "It's like leaving home and going away to college for 4 years. When I return, I'll still know my father and mother. We'll still have our relationship like before." To which I ran with her analogy and asked, "So would you not call your father or mother on the phone, and check in with them from time to time, or would you choose to not call and wait till you returned home after graduation?" To this, she did reply that she'd call home to talk with her parents, so I was able to connect with her a little, but what I learned is that this particular LDS youth's brain is wired up to think that there is not even a need to develop a relationship by prayer with Heavenly Father, and that there is NO NEED to "know" Him in an intimate way now because, she believes, that once she returns to the other side of the veil that all will be like it was before.<br /><br />I wonder how widespread this notion is with Mormons? Comments? <br /><br />In conclusion, this real-life example I just shared is a perfect illustration of your driver analogy above, where religions today are totally missing the point of what redemption is. In Matthew 23:13, the Savior says, "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in."Underdognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8665085267750808287.post-36540831478731031812016-05-19T09:59:00.305-06:002016-05-19T09:59:00.305-06:001 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for ...1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. <br />I love to study the scriptures and see what I am suppose to learn everyday. After reading your post early this morning I just now finished my morning scripture study. Can you believe my study lead me to 1 John 4:7 when I was reading Moses Ch. 7<br /><br />I keep telling my children .... He speaks to us and teaches us from our scriptures. <br /><br />But unless you are reading and studying them, asking for him to teach you, and allowing him to take the lead what good does it do? Why count the number of times you have read the Book of Mormon if you don't believe it and haven't learned what it is all about?<br /><br />How will you ever learn to drive yourself?<br />Thanks for the great post today. I will share this with my children. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com