The Importance of the Priesthood in Our Homes

The prophet Alma taught that this life is the “time to prepare to meet God”. (Book of Mormon | Alma 12:24) The Lord taught Moses: “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:39).

What does eternal life mean and why do we need to prepare to meet God? In Moses 7:35, the Lord taught Enoch that “Eternal is my name”. (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 7:35) Eternal thereby being a noun, not a verb changes how we might understand Moses 1:39, which again reads: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

There is much more to eternal life than living forever. Eternal life is literally God’s life. God wants us to live as he does because it is his work and his glory, or in other words, God’s very purpose is for us to live as he does.

Since God’s purpose is for us to live as he does, he has prepared a way for us to learn the things that will prepare us for that life. This is why we are all here upon this Earth. More specifically, this is why God has given us the family unit where as described in The Family: A Proclamation to the World: “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and . . . the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

Though not always possible, our families are designed to be organized in the same way that God’s family is organized, a father, a mother, and children. The way God serves and cares for his children is through his power. God gives a portion his power to men to act in his behalf, to serve and care for our families on this Earth just as he does with his eternal family. This power is the Priesthood.

The Priesthood is not restricted to those who lead congregations, only to be enjoyed by parishioners once per week. It is not granted as a certificate evidence of knowledge or a degree by man. Rather, God shares a portion of his power with all worthy males so that God’s work will be carried out unto all his children who will receive it so that potentially every member of every family, or all people, have the opportunity to have the literal power of God in their home.

Joseph F. Smith said: “[The priesthood] is nothing more nor less than the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the Earth for the salvation of the human family, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and act legitimately; not assuming that authority, nor borrowing it from generations that are dead and gone, but authority that has been given in this day in which we live by ministering angels and spirits from above, direct from the presence of Almighty God. . . . It is the same power and Priesthood that was committed to the disciples of Christ while he was upon the Earth, that whatsoever they should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, and that whatsoever they should loose on Earth should be loosed in heaven” (Gospel doctrine, 139-40)

Put more briefly, in “Preach My Gospel” it is written: “The priesthood is the power and authority given to man to act in God’s name for the salvation of His children. Through the priesthood we receive the ordinances of salvation, as well as blessings of healing, comfort, and counsel.”

God literally has given us the opportunity to work as him, in his name, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of everyone.

Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Priesthood is power like none other on earth or in heaven. It is the very power of God himself, the power by which the worlds were made, the power by which all things are regulated, upheld, and preserved.

It is the power of faith, the faith by which the Father creates and governs. God is God because he is the embodiment of all faith and all power and all priesthood. The life he lives is named eternal life.

And the extent to which we become like him is the extent to which we gain his faith, acquire his power, and exercise his priesthood. And when we have become like him in the full and true sense, then we also shall have eternal life.

Faith and priesthood go hand in hand. Faith is power and power is priesthood. After we gain faith, we receive the priesthood. Then, through the priesthood, we grow in faith until, having all power, we become like our Lord.

Our time here in mortality is set apart as a time of probation and of testing. It is our privilege while here to perfect our faith and to grow in priesthood power.”

“All of us who have calls to minister in the holy priesthood were foreordained to be ministers of Christ, and to come here in our appointed days, and to labor on his errand.” (“The Doctrine of the Priesthood”, Ensign May 1982).

Working backwards though some of these statements, fathers are ministers of Christ to their families. We are here on this Earth at this time in the world’s history because it was appointed for us to be here but also because it was appointed for our children to be here and in Elder McConkie’s words we have “come here in our appointed days to labor on [Christ’s] errand”. So we are Christ’s ministers to our children in our homes. Put in those terms, I feel the magnitude of responsibility placed on myself a priesthood holder in my home.

The priesthood in our homes allows each of us to gain more faith. The first principle of the Church is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The more faith we have, the more our testimonies will grow. Then the more likely we and our children are to choose righteous paths. As we increase in faith as families, the power of the priesthood is able to be more readily manifested and exercised in our homes until, one day, Heavenly Father grants all of his power unto us, so that we may live as God lives, having eternal life, in our family units as they are constituted here upon this Earth.

The priesthood is the power of government, or organization. There are specific activities that must occur on this Earth for people to reach their full potential—that of salvation in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom.

These activities are the saving ordinances. They are administered on the Earth by those holding the power and authority of the Priesthood. Going back to the statement from Preach My Gospel, it says: “through the priesthood we receive the ordinances of salvation”.

With worthy priesthood holders in our homes, we will draw our families closer together as fathers perform the saving ordinances of baptism and confirmation on all of their children and by performing the saving ordinance of the ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood upon their sons. I feel these bonds will last through eternity. I feel like the bonds created by these ordinances, especially as I’ve learned more and more the value and importance of them, have drawn me closer to my parents, as they taught me to the best of their knowledge in the right ways and when the time for each ordinance was right, my father baptized me, confirmed me, an ordained me to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Stronger bonds to each other and in the gospel will only make for a stronger family, with a foundation in Jesus Christ as Helaman, a priesthood holder himself, taught his sons Nephi and Lehi: ” Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall“ (Book of Mormon | Helaman 5:12)

Elder D. Lee Tobler of the Seventy said it another way: “Where the priesthood foundations to cope with [life’s] challenges are in place in the family . . . then we will not fear the eventual outcomes in future years. . . . Families, where the priesthood is honored and exercised, will be able to endure the present pressures and become eternal families. And in the process, individual members of families will have been perfected and prepared for the rewards of the faithful.” (Elder D. Lee Tobler of the Seventy. “Priesthood and the Home,” Ensign May 1999, 43).

The power of the priesthood will surely bring us nearer to Jesus Christ, fortifying our families against the exponentially increasing wickedness of the world we live in.

Finally, I have a couple of points of perspective from Elder McConkie that I have take the liberty to add to, so they might apply to the family.

“Truly, there is power in the priesthood—power to do all things!”

“If the world itself was created by the power of the priesthood, surely that same power can move mountains and control the elements” and keeps us from fighting in our homes.

“If one-third of the hosts of heaven were cast down to earth by the power of the priesthood, surely that same power can put at defiance the armies of nations or stay the fall of atomic bombs” or stop harsh or demeaning words towards each other from being spoken in our homes.

“If all men shall be raised from mortality to immortality by the power of the priesthood, surely that same power can cure the diseased and the dying and raise the dead” and helps us forgive and remove barriers to love with in walls of our very own homes.

“Truly there is power in the priesthood—a power which we seek to acquire to use, a power which we devoutly pray may rest upon us and upon our posterity forever” (“The Doctrine of the Priesthood”, Ensign May 1982).

In Doctrine and Covenants Section 121 we learn how the Priesthood should be used in our home in a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith from Jesus Christ:

“No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy” (Section 121:41 - 43).

I have relied heavily on the words of others today. I do not have a miraculous story to tell about the priesthood in my home, though I do believe with complete certainty that miracles do happen in individual homes each and every day. What I can tell you is that growing up the priesthood was always in my home. I know that my parents had a much better understanding of what I was going through when I was a teenager with teenager issues than I thought they did at the time. I know that from the time I was a small child I was given blessings that comforted me and assisted me in life’s challenges. I know that through the faith of my parents I was taught in the gospel, which gave me a sure foundation, so sure than when I tried to make myself fall, I could not.

I know that learning from how my father exercised his priesthood while I was growing up; I am an effective priesthood holder in my family. It is certainly difficult to do every good thing in our homes. However, I have been very blessed to be inspired at times with the knowledge of when and how we should modify or add to the things we do in our home. Following these inspirations has had a distinct and absolute difference on our family, including increased faith, knowledge, and love. I know as I continually study out new and changing issues in our family, hold council with my wife, and with the children, when it is time to hold council with my Father in Heaven he will give our family the guidance we need.

I am thankful for the legacy of faith I am privy to. I know the power and influence of the priesthood has allowed me to grow in great strides as a person, a husband, and a father. I know that the Priesthood blesses lives and I know that God wants to share his power and all that he has with his children on this Earth. I am very thankful that I am able to serve my family with the power of God. I know it is real. I have felt it flowing through me. I feel it in my heart and soul each and every day. I share this with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

How to Obtain Self-Mastery, According to the Scriptures

Become as a child with the qualities of submissiveness, meekness, humility, patience, being full of love and yielding to the enticings of the Holy Ghost (Mosiah 3:19), bridle your passions (Alma 38:12), pray always (D&C 10:5), don’t ask for things when you know better (D&C 8:10), choose to stop committing wickedness (D&C 88:121), be diligent in your duties (D&C 107:99), let your heart be softened by doing charity which gives you more ability to stop doing evil (D&C 124:116), submit yourself to God the Father (James 4:7, Matt. 26:39), be temperate, in other words use moderation (1 Cor. 9:25), answer and speak softly (Prov. 15:1), take up your cross, outwardly living faithfully (Matt. 16:24), follow the Savior in word and deed (Matt. 16:24), remove any unholy thing from yourself (Mark 9:43), behave well, do not put yourself first, do not create or think evil (1 Cor. 13:5), control your tongue and do not use deception (1 Pet. 3:10).

Those Who Keep the Commandments and Trust God Will be Lifted Up

In Alma chapter 36, Alma the Younger promises teaches wonderful truths to his son Helaman that apply to each of us. In verse 1 Alma instructs: “I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land”. Continuing in verse 3 he teaches: “I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.”

I know these are true principles because I have seen them in my life. As I have improved in keeping the commandments, the Lord has certainly prospered my family and I in the land. I do not think I realized it at the time because it was not some big event. Rather, slowly through time God blesses us. Upon reflection of where we have been and how considerably our situation has improved, certainly beyond my capabilities alone, it is clear that we have been “prospered in the land”, or our spiritual and economic situations have considerably improved as my family and I have strove move completely to keep the commandments.

Concerning the second principal spoken of in verse 3, while we have prospered in the land, it is not like is has come easily. It certainly has not. There have been many trials and tribulations. However, as we have followed the commandments by having faith in and trusting in God as Lehi taught, “and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain” (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 2:2). This is certainly what God does.

I testify that when we strive to follow God’s commandments and when we trust in him during the hard times, he will bless us greatly! I know this is true. I have seen in my own life. I share this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

A New Website Devoted to Jesus Christ With the Testimonies of His Prophets

A new website has been created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as "The Mormons" about our Savior Jesus Christ. Please visit this new website "Jesus Christ, The Son of God". There you can learn many things about the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the Messiah, our Lord and God, including the opportunity to read inspiring testimonies from Christ's modern day prophets. You may also draw nearer to the Saviour by reading through the list of names and titles of Jesus Christ with scripture references below (all linked, of course!) that he is referred to throughout the scriptures from the LDS Bible Dictionary:

Names, Titles, and Concepts of the Lord Jesus in the O.T.

Seed of the woman, Gen. 3: 15.

The Prophet, Deut. 18: 15-16.

Emmanuel, Isa. 7: 14; Isa. 8: 8; cf. Matt. 1: 23.

Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Isa. 9: 6.

Everlasting Father, Isa. 9: 6.

Prince of Peace,Isa. 9: 6.

Stem of Jesse, Isa. 11: 1 (see D&C 113: 1).

Mighty One of Jacob, Isa. 60: 16.

Servant of the Lord, or of Jehovah, Isa. 42: 1-7; Isa. 52: 13-15; Zech. 3: 8.

The Lord our Righteousness, Jer. 23: 6; Jer. 33: 16; Mal. 4: 2.

The Messiah, Dan. 9: 25.

The Messenger of the covenant, Mal. 3: 1.

Redeemer, Job 19: 25; Isa. 59: 20; Isa. 60: 16.

Holy One, Ps. 16: 10.

Holy One of Israel, Isa. 1: 4.

Blessed of God, Ps. 45: 2.

Names, Titles, and Concepts of Christ of Jesus in the Gospels and Acts

The son of David, the son of Abraham, Matt. 1: 1.

Son of David, Matt. 9: 27; Matt. 12: 23; Matt. 15: 22; Matt. 20: 30-31; Matt. 21: 9, 15; Mark 10: 47-48; Mark 12: 35; Luke 18: 38-39; Luke 20: 41.

The son of Mary, Mark 6: 3.

Joseph’s son, Luke 4: 22; John 1: 45; John 6: 42.

The carpenter’s son, Matt. 13: 55.

The carpenter, Mark 6: 3.

Jesus of Galilee, Matt. 26: 69.

Jesus of Nazareth, Matt. 26: 71; Mark 1: 24; Mark 10: 47; Mark 14: 67; Mark 16: 6; Luke 4: 34; Luke 18: 37; Luke 24: 19; John 1: 45; John 18: 5, 7; John 19: 19; Acts 2: 22; Acts 3: 6; Acts 4: 10; Acts 6: 14; Acts 10: 38; Acts 22: 8; Acts 26: 9.

A Nazarene, Matt. 2: 23.

The beloved Son of God, Matt. 3: 17; Matt. 17: 5; Mark 9: 7; Luke 3: 22.

The Son of the living God, Matt. 16: 16.

Son of the most high God, Mark 5: 7.

The Son of the Blessed, Mark 14: 61.

Son of the Highest, Luke 1: 32.

God’s holy child Jesus, Acts 4: 27,30.

Only begotten of the Father, John 1: 14,18.

One with the Father, John 10: 30.

The Lord’s Christ, Luke 2: 26.

The Christ of God, Luke 9: 20.

The chosen of God, Luke 23: 35.

The Messias, John 1: 41; John 4: 25.

God’s anointed, Acts 4: 27.

The Lamb of God, John 1: 29, 36.

A teacher come from God, John 3: 2.

He that cometh in the name of the Lord, Luke 19: 38; John 12: 13.

Meek and lowly, Matt. 12: 19.

The prophet of Nazareth, Matt. 21: 11.

A prophet, John 4: 19; John 9: 17.

The prophet, John 7: 40.

King of the Jews, Matt. 2: 2; Matt. 27: 11, 37; Mark 15: 9, 12, 18, 26; Luke 23: 3, 38; John 18: 33, 39; John 19: 3, 14-15, 19 ,21.

Governor that shall rule Israel, Matt. 2: 6.

King of Israel, Matt. 27: 42; Mark 15: 32; John 1: 49; John 12: 13.

King of Sion, Matt. 21: 5; John 12: 15.

Emmanuel, Matt. 1: 23.

The consolation of Israel, Luke 2: 25.

Savior of Israel, Acts 13: 23.

Savior, Matt. 1: 21; Luke 2: 11; Acts 5: 31; Acts 13: 23.

The Savior of the world, John 4: 42.

The Lord, Matt. 28: 6; Mark 16: 19-20; Luke 2: 11; Luke 22: 61; Luke 24: 3, 3, 4; John 11: 2; John 20: 2, 18, 20, 25; Acts 2: 36: Acts 8: 24-25, 39; Acts 9: 5-6, 10-11, 15, 17, 31, 35, 42; Acts 10: 48; Acts 11: 21, 23; Acts 13: 12, 48-49; Acts 14: 3, 23; Acts 15: 35; Acts 16: 10, 32; Acts 18: 8-9, 25; Acts 20: 19; Acts 21: 20; Acts 22: 10, 16; Acts 23: 11.

The Lord Jesus, Luke 24: 3; Acts 7: 59; Acts 8: 16; Acts 9: 29; Acts 11: 17, 20; Acts 15: 11, 26; Acts 16: 31; Acts 19: 5, 10, 13, 17; Acts 20: 21, 24, 35; Acts 21: 13; Acts 28: 31.

Lord of all, Acts 10: 36.

Lord of the sabbath, Mark 2: 28.

Rabbi, John 1: 38,49; John 3: 2, 26; John 6: 25.

Rabboni, John 20: 16.

The Word, John 1: 1, 14.

The Light, John 1: 7-8.

The bread of life, John 6: 35, 41, 48.

The living bread, John 6: 51.

The light of the world, John 8: 12; John 9: 5; John 12: 46.

The door of the sheep, John 10: 7, 9.

The good shepherd, John 10: 11, 14.

The resurrection and the life, John 11: 25.

The way, the truth, and the life, John 14: 6.

The true vine, John 15: 1.

The vine, John 15: 5.

The Holy One and the Just, Acts 3: 14.

The Just One, Acts 7: 52; Acts 22: 14.

The Prince of Life, Acts 3: 15.

A prince, Acts 5: 31.

Judge of quick and dead, Acts 10: 42.

A righteous man (by the centurion), Luke 23: 47.

That deceiver (by the Jews), Matt. 27: 63.

A sinner (by the Jews), John 9: 24.

A Samaritan (by the Jews), John 8: 48.

Names, Titles, and Concepts of Christ in the Epistles.

A propitiation through faith, Rom. 3: 25; 1 Jn. 2: 2.

The end of the law for righteousness, Rom. 10: 4.

The deliverer, Rom. 11: 26.

Lord both of dead and living, Rom. 14: 9.

A minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, Rom. 15: 8.

The power of God and the wisdom of God, 1 Cor. 1: 24.

Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption unto us, 1 Cor. 1: 30.

He sanctifieth the people by his blood, Heb. 13: 12.

Our passover, 1 Cor. 5: 7.

By whom are all things, and we by him, 1 Cor. 8: 6.

By whom God made the worlds, Heb. 1: 2.

The spiritual rock, 1 Cor. 10: 4.

The head of every man, 1 Cor. 11: 3; cf. Eph. 4: 15.

Captain of man’s salvation, Heb. 2: 10.

Propitiation for the sins of the whole world, 1 Jn. 2: 2; 1 Jn. 4: 10.

One body, 1 Cor. 12: 12.

The firstfruits of them that slept, 1 Cor. 15: 20, 23.

The forerunner, Heb. 6: 20.

The Lord from heaven, 1 Cor. 15: 47.

Not yea and nay, but in him was yea, 2 Cor. 1: 19.

The image of God, 2 Cor. 4: 4.

The express image of God’s person, Heb. 1: 3.

The only wise God our Savior, Jude 1: 25.

Who knew no sin, 2 Cor. 5: 21; Heb. 4: 15.

Separate from sinners, Heb. 7: 26; did no sin, 1 Pet. 2: 22.

Blessed for evermore, 2 Cor. 11: 31.

Consecrated for evermore, Heb. 7: 28.

Who gave himself for our sins, Gal. 1: 4.

Suffered for us, 1 Pet. 2: 21.

Bare our sins in his own body, 1 Pet. 2: 24; 1 Pet. 3: 18; 1 Pet. 4: 1.

The seed of Abraham, Gal. 3: 16; Heb. 2: 16.

Of the seed of David, 2 Tim. 2: 8.

Made of a woman, made under the law, Gal. 4: 4.

Our peace, Eph. 2: 14; the chief cornerstone, Eph. 2: 20.

A living stone, disallowed of men, but chosen of God and precious, 1 Pet. 2: 4,7.

An offering and sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savior, Eph. 5: 2.

Foundation of the Church, 1 Cor. 3: 11.

The head of the Church, Eph. 5: 23.

The Savior of the body, Eph. 5: 23.

The Savior, Philip. 3: 20.

Our Savior, 1 Tim. 2: 3; 2 Tim. 1: 10; Titus 2: 10, 13; Titus 3: 6.

Savior of the world, 1 Jn. 4: 14.

The hope of glory, Col. 1: 27.

Who sitteth on the right hand of God, Col. 3: 1; Heb. 1: 3; Heb. 10: 12; Heb. 12: 2.

Who is passed into the heavens, Heb. 4: 14; Heb. 8: 1; Heb. 9: 24; 1 Pet. 3: 22.

Our life, Col. 3: 4.

Which delivereth us from the wrath to come, 1 Thes. 1: 10.

Who died and rose again, 1 Thes. 4: 14.

Who was raised from the dead, 2 Tim. 2: 8.

Who came into the world to save sinners. 1 Tim. 1: 15.

Who gave himself for us, Titus 2: 14.

Tasted death for every man, Heb. 2: 9.

The mediator between God and men, 1 Tim. 2: 5.

Appears in the presence of God for us, Heb. 9: 24.

God manifest in the flesh, 1 Tim. 3: 16.

The great God, Titus 2: 13.

The brightness of God’s glory, Heb. 1: 3.

In whom is salvation, 2 Tim. 2: 5.

Appears in the presence of God for us, Heb. 9: 24.

God manifest in the flesh, 1 Tim. 3: 16.

The great God, Titus 2: 13.

The brightness of God’s glory, Heb. 1: 3.

In whom is salvation, 2 Tim. 2: 10.

Author of eternal salvation, Heb. 5: 9.

Hath obtained eternal redemption for us, Heb. 9: 12.

Who shall judge the quick and dead, 2 Tim. 4: 1.

Is ready to judge the quick and the dead, 1 Pet. 4: 5.

The righteous judge, 2 Tim. 4: 8.

Heir of all things, Heb. 1: 2.

Upholding all things by the word of his power, Heb. 1: 3.

By himself purged our sins, Heb. 1: 3.

Put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, Heb. 9: 26.

His blood cleanseth from all sin, 1 Jn. 1: 7.

Better than the angels, Heb. 1: 4.

Made lower than the angels for the suffering of death, Heb. 2: 7, 9.

The first begotten, Heb. 1: 6.

Crowned with glory and honour, Heb. 2: 9.

Made higher than the heavens, Heb. 7: 26.

A merciful and faithful high priest, Heb. 2: 17.

Apostle and high priest of our profession, Heb. 3: 1; Heb. 4: 14; Heb. 10: 21.

Able to succor them that are tempted, Heb. 2: 18.

Worthy of more glory than Moses, Heb. 3: 3.

Tempted in all points as we are, Heb. 4: 15.

A priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec, Heb. 5: 6; Heb. 6: 20.

Hath an unchangeable priesthood, Heb. 7: 24.

Learned obedience by the things which he suffered, Heb. 5: 8.

Surety of a better testament, Heb. 7: 22.

Mediator of a better covenant, Heb. 8: 6; Heb. 12: 24.

Mediator of the new testament, Heb. 9: 15.

Able to save to the uttermost, Heb. 7: 25.

Ever liveth to make intercession, Heb. 7: 25.

Holy, harmless, undefiled, Heb. 7: 26.

A minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, Heb. 8: 2.

A high priest of good things to come Heb. 9: 11.

Offered himself without spot, Heb. 9: 14.

A lamb without blemish and without spot, 1 Pet. 1: 19.

Shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation, Heb. 9: 23.

He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, Heb. 10: 14.

He hath consecrated a new and living way, Heb. 10: 20.

The author and finisher of our faith, Heb. 12: 2.

The same yesterday, today, and forever, Heb. 13: 8.

Suffered without the gate, Heb. 13: 12.

The great shepherd of the sheep, Heb. 13: 20; 1 Pet. 5: 4.

The shepherd and bishop of souls, 1 Pet. 2: 25.

The Lord of glory, James 2: 1.

Angels, authorities, and powers being made subject to him, 1 Pet. 3: 22.

Left us an example, 1 Pet. 2: 21.

The word of life, 1 Jn. 1: 1.

Sent that we may live through him, 1 Jn. 4: 9.

In him is eternal life, 1 Jn. 5: 11, 20.

An advocate (Gk. Paraclete) with the Father, 1 Jn. 2: 1.

The propitiation for our sins, 1 Jn. 2: 2; 1 Jn. 4: 10.

He that came by water and blood, 1 Jn. 5: 6.

Hath given us understanding that we may know him that is true, 1 Jn. 5: 20.

Names, Titles, and Concepts of Christ in the Apocalypse.

The faithful witness, Rev. 1: 5; Rev. 3: 14.

The first begotten of the dead, Rev. 1: 5.

He that liveth and was dead, Rev. 1: 18; Rev. 2: 8.

The prince of the kings of the earth, Rev. 1: 5.

Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, Rev. 1: 8, 11; Rev. 21: 6; Rev. 22: 13.

Which is, and which was, and which is to come, Rev. 1: 8; Rev. 4: 8; Rev. 11: 17; Rev. 16: 5.

The Almighty, Rev. 1: 8; Rev. 4: 8; Rev. 16: 7.

The first and the last, Rev. 1: 17; Rev. 2: 8; Rev. 22: 13.

He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, Rev. 3: 7.

The Amen, Rev. 3: 14.

The beginning of the creation of God, Rev. 3: 14.

That liveth for ever and ever, Rev. 4: 9.

The Lion of the tribe of Judah, Rev. 5: 5.

The root of David, Rev. 5: 5.

Root and offspring of David, Rev. 22: 16.

The Lamb, Rev. 5: 6, 8, 12-13; Rev. 6: 16; Rev. 7: 9, 14, 17; Rev. 12: 11; Rev. 14: 1, 4, 10; Rev. 15: 3; Rev. 17: 14; Rev. 19: 7, 9; Rev. 21: 9, 14, 22, 27; Rev. 22: 1, 3.

King of kings, and Lord of lords, Rev. 17: 14; Rev. 19: 16.

Faithful and true, Rev. 19: 11.

The word of God, Rev. 19: 13.

The bright and morning star, Rev. 22: 16.

The Testimonies of Others

Edward Richard Kwabena Dwemoh in Ghana shares his testimony and conversion story in the Accra Daily Mail of Ghana: Why I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Radio and television personality Glenn Beck shares his conversation story below:

Are Mormons Christians?

In the current political climate, many questioning whether members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also referred to as the Mormons, are Christians. One of Jesus Christ's twelve apostles on the Earth today, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland recently addressed this issue during the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference this past October. You may watch here, listen here, or read it here and below.

The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings.

As Elder Ballard noted earlier in this session, various crosscurrents of our times have brought increasing public attention to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord told the ancients this latter-day work would be “a marvellous work and a wonder,”¹ and it is. But even as we invite one and all to examine closely the marvel of it, there is one thing we would not like anyone to wonder about—that is whether or not we are “Christians.”

By and large any controversy in this matter has swirled around two doctrinal issues—our view of the Godhead and our belief in the principle of continuing revelation leading to an open scriptural canon. In addressing this we do not need to be apologists for our faith, but we would like not to be misunderstood. So with a desire to increase understanding and unequivocally declare our Christianity, I speak today on the first of those two doctrinal issues just mentioned.

Our first and foremost article of faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.”² We believe these three divine persons constituting a single Godhead are united in purpose, in manner, in testimony, in mission. We believe Them to be filled with the same godly sense of mercy and love, justice and grace, patience, forgiveness, and redemption. I think it is accurate to say we believe They are one in every significant and eternal aspect imaginable except believing Them to be three persons combined in one substance, a Trinitarian notion never set forth in the scriptures because it is not true.

Indeed no less a source than the stalwart Harper’s Bible Dictionary records that “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found in the [New Testament].”³

So any criticism that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not hold the contemporary Christian view of God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost is not a comment about our commitment to Christ but rather a recognition (accurate, I might add) that our view of the Godhead breaks with post–New Testament Christian history and returns to the doctrine taught by Jesus Himself. Now, a word about that post–New Testament history might be helpful.

In the year A.D. 325 the Roman emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea to address—among other things—the growing issue of God’s alleged “trinity in unity.” What emerged from the heated contentions of churchmen, philosophers, and ecclesiastical dignitaries came to be known (after another 125 years and three more major councils)⁴ as the Nicene Creed, with later reformulations such as the Athanasian Creed. These various evolutions and iterations of creeds—and others to come over the centuries—declared the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to be abstract, absolute, transcendent, immanent, consubstantial, coeternal, and unknowable, without body, parts, or passions and dwelling outside space and time. In such creeds all three members are separate persons, but they are a single being, the oft-noted “mystery of the trinity.” They are three distinct persons, yet not three Gods but one. All three persons are incomprehensible, yet it is one God who is incomprehensible.

We agree with our critics on at least that point—that such a formulation for divinity is truly incomprehensible. With such a confusing definition of God being imposed upon the church, little wonder that a fourth-century monk cried out, “Woe is me! They have taken my God away from me, . . . and I know not whom to adore or to address.”⁵ How are we to trust, love, worship, to say nothing of strive to be like, One who is incomprehensible and unknowable? What of Jesus’s prayer to His Father in Heaven that “this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”?⁶

It is not our purpose to demean any person’s belief nor the doctrine of any religion. We extend to all the same respect for their doctrine that we are asking for ours. (That, too, is an article of our faith.) But if one says we are not Christians because we do not hold a fourth- or fifth-century view of the Godhead, then what of those first Christian Saints, many of whom were eyewitnesses of the living Christ, who did not hold such a view either?⁷

We declare it is self-evident from the scriptures that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are separate persons, three divine beings, noting such unequivocal illustrations as the Savior’s great Intercessory Prayer just mentioned, His baptism at the hands of John, the experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, and the martyrdom of Stephen—to name just four.

With these New Testament sources and more⁸ ringing in our ears, it may be redundant to ask what Jesus meant when He said, “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.”⁹ On another occasion He said, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”¹⁰ Of His antagonists He said, “[They have] . . . seen and hated both me and my Father.”¹¹ And there is, of course, that always deferential subordination to His Father that had Jesus say, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.”¹² “My father is greater than I.”¹³

To whom was Jesus pleading so fervently all those years, including in such anguished cries as “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me”¹⁴ and “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”?¹⁵ To acknowledge the scriptural evidence that otherwise perfectly united members of the Godhead are nevertheless separate and distinct beings is not to be guilty of polytheism; it is, rather, part of the great revelation Jesus came to deliver concerning the nature of divine beings. Perhaps the Apostle Paul said it best: “Christ Jesus . . . being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”¹⁶

A related reason The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is excluded from the Christian category by some is because we believe, as did the ancient prophets and apostles, in an embodied—but certainly glorified—God.¹⁷ To those who criticize this scripturally based belief, I ask at least rhetorically: If the idea of an embodied God is repugnant, why are the central doctrines and singularly most distinguishing characteristics of all Christianity the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the physical Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ? If having a body is not only not needed but not desirable by Deity, why did the Redeemer of mankind redeem His body, redeeming it from the grasp of death and the grave, guaranteeing it would never again be separated from His spirit in time or eternity?¹⁸ Any who dismiss the concept of an embodied God dismiss both the mortal and the resurrected Christ. No one claiming to be a true Christian will want to do that.

Now, to anyone within the sound of my voice who has wondered regarding our Christianity, I bear this witness. I testify that Jesus Christ is the literal, living Son of our literal, living God. This Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer who, under the guidance of the Father, was the Creator of heaven and earth and all things that in them are. I bear witness that He was born of a virgin mother, that in His lifetime He performed mighty miracles observed by legions of His disciples and by His enemies as well. I testify that He had power over death because He was divine but that He willingly subjected Himself to death for our sake because for a period of time He was also mortal. I declare that in His willing submission to death He took upon Himself the sins of the world, paying an infinite price for every sorrow and sickness, every heartache and unhappiness from Adam to the end of the world. In doing so He conquered both the grave physically and hell spiritually and set the human family free. I bear witness that He was literally resurrected from the tomb and, after ascending to His Father to complete the process of that Resurrection, He appeared, repeatedly, to hundreds of disciples in the Old World and in the New. I know He is the Holy One of Israel, the Messiah who will one day come again in final glory, to reign on earth as Lord of lords and King of kings. I know that there is no other name given under heaven whereby a man can be saved and that only by relying wholly upon His merits, mercy, and everlasting grace¹⁹ can we gain eternal life.

My additional testimony regarding this resplendent doctrine is that in preparation for His millennial latter-day reign, Jesus has already come, more than once, in embodied majestic glory. In the spring of 1820, a 14-year-old boy, confused by many of these very doctrines that still confuse much of Christendom, went into a grove of trees to pray. In answer to that earnest prayer offered at such a tender age, the Father and the Son appeared as embodied, glorified beings to the boy prophet Joseph Smith. That day marked the beginning of the return of the true, New Testament gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and the restoration of other prophetic truths offered from Adam down to the present day.

I testify that my witness of these things is true and that the heavens are open to all who seek the same confirmation. Through the Holy Spirit of Truth, may we all know “the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He has] sent.”²⁰ Then may we live Their teachings and be true Christians in deed, as well as in word, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

NOTES
1. Isaiah 29:14.
2. Articles of Faith 1:1.
3. Paul F. Achtemeier, ed. (1985), 1099; emphasis added.
4. Constantinople, A.D. 381; Ephesus, A.D. 431; Chalcedon, A.D. 451.
5. Quoted in Owen Chadwick, Western Asceticism (1958), 235.
6. John 17:3; emphasis added.
7. For a thorough discussion of this issue, see Stephen E. Robinson, Are Mormons Christian? 71–89; see also Robert Millet, Getting at the Truth (2004), 106–22.
8. See, for example, John 12:27–30; John 14:26; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 1:1–3.
9. John 5:19; see also John 14:10.
10. John 6:38.
11. John 15:24.
12. Matthew 19:17.
13. John 14:28.
14. Matthew 26:39.
15. Matthew 27:46.
16. Philippians 2:5–6.
17. See David L. Paulsen, “Early Christian Belief in a Corporeal Deity: Origen and Augustine as Reluctant Witnesses,” Harvard Theological Review, vol. 83, no. 2 (1990): 105–16; David L. Paulsen, “The Doctrine of Divine Embodiment: Restoration, Judeo-Christian, and Philosophical Perspectives,” BYU Studies, vol. 35, no. 4 (1996): 7–94; James L. Kugel, The God of Old: Inside the Lost World of the Bible (2003), xi–xii, 5–6, 104–6, 134–35; Clark Pinnock, Most Moved Mover: A Theology of God’s Openness (2001), 33–34.
18. See Romans 6:9; Alma 11:45.
19. See 1 Nephi 10:6; 2 Nephi 2:8; 31:19; Moroni 6:4; Joseph Smith Translation, Romans 3:24.
20. John 17:3.

If There is a God, Why Does He Let People Suffer?

I have heard many people question why a God, a merciful and loving being, would let his children suffer. If he is God, why would he not step in and stop all suffering, make all people healthy, wealthy, and equal in every way possible. By this same line of thinking, if God loves everyone the same, he certainly would make everyone equal,

Rather, because there is an all-knowing, all-loving, and wholly-merciful God, he does let us experience good and bad. He allows us to learn by letting us experience sweet and bitter, pleasure and pain, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty, equality and inequality, strength and weakness, knowledge and ignorance, love and hate, good and evil. Without experiencing opposing feelings or situations, would it be possible for us, the children of God to truly know the difference?

Lehi, an ancient prophet in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ taught:

11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

12 Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God.

13 And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away. (2 Nephi 2:11 – 13)

So, without opposing forces in existence, the creating of the Earth and humankind would have been a waste of time, there would have been no reason for it to occur. Without sin there could not exist its diametric opposite, righteousness. What this all really means is if suffering or bad things did not exist there would not be a God. Why does God let bad things happen to good people? Because he is God, as the all-knowing being he knows the best way for us to have joy is by learning what is good as opposed to what is bad. Lehi also taught: “Men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). So God’s purpose is for us, his children, to have joy! But to have joy, we must learn what joy is, and the only way to learn what joy is is to experience the opposite of joy.

Elder Richard G. Scott, one of Jesus Christ’s Apostles on the Earth today said:

No one wants adversity. Trials, disappointments, sadness, and heartache come to us from two basically different sources. Those who transgress the laws of God will always have those challenges. The other reason for adversity is to accomplish the Lord’s own purposes in our life that we may receive the refinement that comes from testing. (Trust in the Lord, Ensign, Nov 1995, 16).

Adversity or suffering is certainly biblical. The Proverb says: “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth (Proverbs 3:11 – 12 KJV). Elder Scott also commented on this verse saying

Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more. He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain . . . Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love. (Trust in the Lord, Ensign, Nov 1995, 16).

It is clear from the words of this Apostles of Jesus Christ that experiences of bad things that happen to us are for our good, that God and Jesus Christ know exactly how much adversity we need in our lives to grow to our full potential and that is exactly what they bless us with.

What each of us chooses to do with our trials is up to us. We can choose to be bitter or choose to endure them well, learning from them. Often, what happens to me is I look back and learn even more, because as I gain more experience in life, I am able to better understand the impact and benefit particular trials have had on me and continue to have on me. I know that I have a Father in Heaven, who is God, who loves me and knows what is best for me. I know that Jesus Christ is his son, a separate being, who atoned for my sins and was resurrected so I can be forgiven of my sins and my body and spirit can be reunited again one day, so I can live in the eternities with God, Jesus Christ, and my family. I know this is true because the third distinct personage in the Godhead, the Holy Ghost has testified of it to me. I share this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Why I Believe in Christ, Part 1

I've noticed I probably get more hits to my post "My Favorite Hymn—I Believe in Christ" than anything else I've written on this blog. Yet all I did was post the lyrics. I think several of my next posts will describe exactly why I believe in Christ and why this hymn is true. First, let me start with the author, Bruce R. McConkie. Watch the two videos below. They are his final talk given to the general body of the church in April of 1985 entitled "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane". You may also read it here.





I feel the Holy Spirit testifying to me as Elder McConkie speaks that his words are true. This is the same Spirit I feel when I hear or read the words of the hymn "I Believe in Christ". I testify this is one of the many witnesses I have received that Jesus is the Christ. It is also one of the many witnesses I have received that Jesus Christ has apostles on the Earth today, that in the same pattern as Matthias was called to join the original 11 apostles after Judas had fallen in Acts 1:24-26 (KJV), new apostles are called today, the most recent being Elder Quentin L. Cook, who was called as an apostle of Jesus Christ in October 2007.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know he has special witnesses of his mission and divinity on this Earth today. They are his apostles, in the same mold as his apostles of old. I know Jesus Christ was literally resurrected, that he has a body of flesh and bones. I share this in his name, even Jesus Christ. Amen.

A New Prophet, Seer, and Revelator

I love how the next President of our church is chosen seamlessly, without politicking. It has been decided in this manner since the Lord reveled how the next President should be when Brigham Young succeed the Prophet of the restoration, Joseph Smith.

The new President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who has also been set apart as and is a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator, is Thomas Spencer Monson. Just the other day I read something President Monson said in June of 2004 that is now written on the whiteboard in my office because of its business application: “When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.”

I know this is a true principle. It applies to our own accountability in our church assignments. This principle applies in our personal lives. I have found I am more likely to exercise and lift weights when I measure and record exactly what I do each day. This principle applies to work. Transparency to others in one’s performance always leads to an improved performance.

I know Thomas S. Monson is called of God. I am thankful to have a living prophet who leads and guides this church, who clarifies doctrine in a confused world filled with the philosophies of men, and who receives revelation from God in my behalf and in behalf of over other inhabitant of this Earth. I know this is true because I have done as we are invited to do in James 1:5 (KJV) “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.”

I have asked God. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. We do have living prophets on this Earth today. Thomas S. Monson is one of these prophets. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

An Apostle Teaches Us About Goal Setting

One of the of Jesus Christ’s modern day Twelve Apostles has taught us how to achieve significant results in our lives:

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.”
-Elder M. Russell Ballard in a talk given to Salt Lake Area Young Adults, October 18, 1981.

I have learned in both the professional and personal spheres that goal setting is a vital key to success. We can proactively make goals in every aspect and sub-aspect of our lives that we want to stretch our abilities or results in. When I constantly push myself for more, I always achieve more. When I do not push myself, I always achieve much less. I testify that this is a true principle, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.