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From this Instagram account MrDaveButler
Showing posts with label The Scriptures Interpreted. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Scriptures Interpreted. Show all posts
Monday, April 6, 2026
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
LOOK WHAT I FOUND - INCREDIBLE OLD TESTAMENT STUDY HELPS!! ENJOY!!
TWO AWEWSOME RESOURCES TO GLEAM FROM -
THIS IS SOOOOO AWESOME!!!
RESOURCE NUMBER ONE:
1973 October Ensign
Special Issue: Old Testament, Exodus to Malachi
It starts off with 3 wonderful articles - but then moves onto to snippets of wonderful info!! Find this on your gospel library app and you will enjoy learning so much!
LINK HERE You should get the option to open in the gospel library app, if you're on your phone or tablet.
And you can always find it in the old Ensign magazine on the app, too.
I found this in the Old Testament Institute Manual
There are 6 "Enrichment Sections" throughout the manual. I can't wait to get to them. I have posted the first one below:
Old Testament
Enrichment Section A
Who Is the God of the Old Testament?
Who Is the Lord?
The hardhearted pharaoh, impudent and proud, asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice … ? I know not the Lord” (Exodus 5:2). Many people today are just as ignorant of the God of the Old Testament as the pharaoh was. They regard Him as a being created by the minds of the ancients, a God of wrath and low religion who would destroy people with floods and plagues. Could this be the same God as the being of love in the New Testament revealed through the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ? Others contend that the Jehovah of Old Testament times was the same as God the Father in the New Testament. Why all this confusion? Who, really, was the God of Adam, of Enoch and Abraham, of Israel and Moses?
Jehovah, or Christ, Is the God of the Old Testament
Although for many it seems a paradox, Jehovah of the Old Testament was none other than the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He created the world under the authority and direction of God the Father. Later, Jehovah came to earth as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. This truth is one of the most misunderstood doctrines in the history of the world, despite the fact that the Old Testament and the other standard works are filled with evidence to support it.
Before looking at the scriptural evidence, it may be wise first to better understand the names and titles for God the Father and His Only Begotten Son. Generally, two Hebrew words for God are used throughout the Old Testament. These are Elohim and Jehovah, as it is presently pronounced. (Since the original Hebrew was written without vowels, scholars disagree on the original pronunciation of the name written YHWH in Hebrew. In modern revelation, however, Jesus accepted the title Jehovah [see D&C 110:3].)
Jehovah was the premortal name-title given to the Firstborn Son of God. He is now referred to as Jesus Christ. The meaning of the name Jehovah was explained by Elder Talmage:
“Jehovah is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew, Yahveh or Jahveh, signifying the Self-existent One, or The Eternal. This name is generally rendered in our English version of the Old Testament as LORD printed in capitals. The Hebrew, Ehyeh, signifying I Am, is related in meaning and through derivation with the term Yahveh or Jehovah.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 36.)
The Jews regarded the name of Jehovah as so sacred that it could not be spoken. Instead, they substituted for Jehovah the word Adonai, which signifies “the Lord.” (See Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 37.) The King James translators followed the same practice out of respect for the Jewish custom. Sometimes the word lord, however, is used to refer not to God but to royalty or other important people. To distinguish the sacred name from common usage, the translators capitalized lord when it referred to Jehovah and left it in lower case letters otherwise. (See 2 Samuel 15:21 for an example of both uses of the word lord.)
The word Elohim is a plural form of the Hebrew word for God, although modern scholars agree that it should be taken as a singular noun even though the im ending is a plural form. Joseph Smith, however, indicated the significance of the plural form:
“If we pursue the Hebrew text further, it reads, … ‘The head one of the Gods said, Let us make a man in our own image.’ I once asked a learned Jew, ‘If the Hebrew language compels us to render all words ending in heim in the plural, why not render the first Eloheim plural?’ He replied, ‘That is the rule with few exceptions; but in this case it would ruin the Bible.’ He acknowledged I was right.
“In the very beginning the Bible shows there is a plurality of Gods beyond the power of refutation. It is a great subject I am dwelling on. The word Eloheim ought to be in the plural all the way through—Gods. The heads of the Gods appointed one God for us; and when you take [that] view of the subject, it sets one free to see all the beauty, holiness and perfection of the Gods.” (Teachings, p. 372.)
Elder James E. Talmage explained the special significance Elohim has for Latter-day Saints:
“The name Elohim … is expressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and power. Elohim, as understood and used in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, is the name-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the spirit is Jehovah—the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 38.)
It is vital to remember the place of God the Father: He is the Father of our spirits (see Hebrews 12:9) and is our God. The existence of other Gods cannot alter that fact. He is the author and sponsor of the eternal plan of salvation. It is equally essential to note, however, that the agent by whom He administers His affairs on this earth is His Firstborn Son, known as Jehovah in the Old Testament. He gave Jesus the full “Fatherly” authority to organize and govern the earth, then through the Atonement Jesus became the Father of the faithful. The Savior thus became the chief advocate of the Father’s plan.
Because Jesus is one with God and is also God, the Old Testament prophets sometimes referred to Him as “Jehovah Elohim,” which the King James translators rendered “LORD God.” To avoid awkward repetition, “Lord GOD” was used to translate the Hebrew phrase “Adonai Jehovah,” which otherwise would translate as “Lord LORD” (see Genesis 15:2, 8; Deuteronomy 3:24). Thus, in the King James Version of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for Jehovah is almost always translated just this way: LORD or GOD.
One other name or title of Jesus needs explanation. He is known as Jesus the Christ. The word Christ comes from the Greek word christos, which means “the anointed one.” The Greeks used the title Christos to translate the Hebrew word meshiach, which means “the anointed one.” The Hebrew word has been anglicized into messiah. Jesus the Christ means “Jesus the Messiah.”
Jesus Christ: The God of This World
There was confusion in the minds of the later Jews, Jesus’ own people, regarding the identity of their God because they no longer understood their own scriptures. That is likewise the problem today with most of the Christian world. The mystery of understanding the identity of the God of the Old Testament arose in both cases because of wickedness and the loss of many plain and precious truths from the scriptures. By contrast, Jesus said that life eternal consisted of gaining a full knowledge of the Father and the Son (see John 17:3). In the final analysis the individual comes to know the true God through experiences that train him to be like Him, and thus he understands, or knows, Him (see 1 John 2:3; 3:1–2; Ether 2–3).
By the time Christ came, the Jews had lost the knowledge of the three distinct members of the Godhead. They had lost the truth that Jehovah, who had given them the law of Moses, would come into the world as the Redeemer of all mankind, even though the prophets had clearly taught this principle (see 1 Corinthians 10:4; 3 Nephi 15:10; Isaiah 41:14; 44:6). They yearned for the appearance of the promised Messiah as a political savior to free them from Roman rule. But Matthew testified that John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus, was “he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, … Prepare ye the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3). This is a reference to Isaiah 40:3, where the word LORD is used to mean Jehovah. Christ Himself told the Jews in Jerusalem that “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The people considered this blasphemy and picked up stones to kill Him, because they realized that His using the phrase I am in this way was another way of saying “I am Jehovah” (see v. 59).
All scriptures point to Christ.
Scriptural Evidence That Jesus Christ Is the God of the Old Testament
Abinadi, testifying before the court of the wicked King Noah, bore witness that all the prophets from the earliest times had testified that God (Jehovah) would “come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man” (Mosiah 13:34; see also v. 33). Latter-day Saints, who have the benefit of additional scripture, are taught this truth very clearly. For example, the Doctrine and Covenants shows that Jesus Christ is Jehovah and the great “I Am” (see D&C 110:3–4; 29:1).
But many in the Christian world have not carefully considered the evidence found in the Bible, which clearly teaches that Jehovah is the premortal Jesus. The following scriptures are only a sampling of the biblical evidence. (Remember that LORD means that Jehovah is the Hebrew word used.)
Statement Graph with OLD and NEW Testament - I've made screenshots - to make it easier to see - but it is best to see GRAPH ON COMPUTER OR TABLET
The Importance of Knowing the Identity of the God of the Old Testament
Many people, including numerous Bible scholars, have concluded that the God depicted in the Old Testament was the product of the superstitions and primitive beliefs of a primitive and superstitious people. They come to this conclusion because they see things that seem contradictory to their conception of the God of the New Testament. To know that the Lord of the Old Testament was the premortal Jesus Christ has tremendous implications, however, not only for a correct understanding of the Old Testament and the New Testament, but also for a correct understanding of the nature and purposes of God and of man’s relationship to each member of the Godhead.
For example, the same Person who said, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44), said of the Canaanites in the land of promise, “Thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: but thou shalt utterly destroy them” (Deuteronomy 20:16–17). The same Savior who said to forgive “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22) destroyed the entire population of the earth with the exception of eight souls (see Genesis 7–8).
On the other hand, the Jesus of the New Testament who said that one who refuses to forgive another’s trespasses will be “delivered … to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due” (Matthew 18:34–35) is the Lord of the Old Testament who said, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). And the Christ depicted in the book of Revelation, who is shown with the great sickle ready to reap the grapes of the earth and tread them in the winepress (see Revelation 14:14, 20), is the same God of the Old Testament who said to Micah, “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8).
There is no inconsistency in the nature of God. He is always perfectly merciful and loving, but He is also perfectly just and will not “look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (D&C 1:31). As He said to Joseph Smith, “God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, … his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round” (D&C 3:2). In the Old Testament is the same perfectly consistent God found in all scripture. In the Old Testament great richness is added to the understanding of God and how He deals with His children, blessing them according to their obedience and receptivity, or punishing them for rebellion and wickedness. If one would get to know Christ better, one must study the Old Testament, for in His role as Jehovah He permeates the whole record. Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament just as He is the God of the earth today. Keeping this important fact constantly in mind is one of the keys to understanding both the Old Testament and the nature of God.
Old Testament
Enrichment Section A
Who Is the God of the Old Testament?
Who Is the Lord?
The hardhearted pharaoh, impudent and proud, asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice … ? I know not the Lord” (Exodus 5:2). Many people today are just as ignorant of the God of the Old Testament as the pharaoh was. They regard Him as a being created by the minds of the ancients, a God of wrath and low religion who would destroy people with floods and plagues. Could this be the same God as the being of love in the New Testament revealed through the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ? Others contend that the Jehovah of Old Testament times was the same as God the Father in the New Testament. Why all this confusion? Who, really, was the God of Adam, of Enoch and Abraham, of Israel and Moses?
Jehovah, or Christ, Is the God of the Old Testament
Although for many it seems a paradox, Jehovah of the Old Testament was none other than the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He created the world under the authority and direction of God the Father. Later, Jehovah came to earth as the Savior and Redeemer of the world. This truth is one of the most misunderstood doctrines in the history of the world, despite the fact that the Old Testament and the other standard works are filled with evidence to support it.
Before looking at the scriptural evidence, it may be wise first to better understand the names and titles for God the Father and His Only Begotten Son. Generally, two Hebrew words for God are used throughout the Old Testament. These are Elohim and Jehovah, as it is presently pronounced. (Since the original Hebrew was written without vowels, scholars disagree on the original pronunciation of the name written YHWH in Hebrew. In modern revelation, however, Jesus accepted the title Jehovah [see D&C 110:3].)
Jehovah was the premortal name-title given to the Firstborn Son of God. He is now referred to as Jesus Christ. The meaning of the name Jehovah was explained by Elder Talmage:
“Jehovah is the Anglicized rendering of the Hebrew, Yahveh or Jahveh, signifying the Self-existent One, or The Eternal. This name is generally rendered in our English version of the Old Testament as LORD printed in capitals. The Hebrew, Ehyeh, signifying I Am, is related in meaning and through derivation with the term Yahveh or Jehovah.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 36.)
The Jews regarded the name of Jehovah as so sacred that it could not be spoken. Instead, they substituted for Jehovah the word Adonai, which signifies “the Lord.” (See Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 37.) The King James translators followed the same practice out of respect for the Jewish custom. Sometimes the word lord, however, is used to refer not to God but to royalty or other important people. To distinguish the sacred name from common usage, the translators capitalized lord when it referred to Jehovah and left it in lower case letters otherwise. (See 2 Samuel 15:21 for an example of both uses of the word lord.)
The word Elohim is a plural form of the Hebrew word for God, although modern scholars agree that it should be taken as a singular noun even though the im ending is a plural form. Joseph Smith, however, indicated the significance of the plural form:
“If we pursue the Hebrew text further, it reads, … ‘The head one of the Gods said, Let us make a man in our own image.’ I once asked a learned Jew, ‘If the Hebrew language compels us to render all words ending in heim in the plural, why not render the first Eloheim plural?’ He replied, ‘That is the rule with few exceptions; but in this case it would ruin the Bible.’ He acknowledged I was right.
“In the very beginning the Bible shows there is a plurality of Gods beyond the power of refutation. It is a great subject I am dwelling on. The word Eloheim ought to be in the plural all the way through—Gods. The heads of the Gods appointed one God for us; and when you take [that] view of the subject, it sets one free to see all the beauty, holiness and perfection of the Gods.” (Teachings, p. 372.)
Elder James E. Talmage explained the special significance Elohim has for Latter-day Saints:
“The name Elohim … is expressive of supreme or absolute exaltation and power. Elohim, as understood and used in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, is the name-title of God the Eternal Father, whose firstborn Son in the spirit is Jehovah—the Only Begotten in the flesh, Jesus Christ.” (Jesus the Christ, p. 38.)
It is vital to remember the place of God the Father: He is the Father of our spirits (see Hebrews 12:9) and is our God. The existence of other Gods cannot alter that fact. He is the author and sponsor of the eternal plan of salvation. It is equally essential to note, however, that the agent by whom He administers His affairs on this earth is His Firstborn Son, known as Jehovah in the Old Testament. He gave Jesus the full “Fatherly” authority to organize and govern the earth, then through the Atonement Jesus became the Father of the faithful. The Savior thus became the chief advocate of the Father’s plan.
Because Jesus is one with God and is also God, the Old Testament prophets sometimes referred to Him as “Jehovah Elohim,” which the King James translators rendered “LORD God.” To avoid awkward repetition, “Lord GOD” was used to translate the Hebrew phrase “Adonai Jehovah,” which otherwise would translate as “Lord LORD” (see Genesis 15:2, 8; Deuteronomy 3:24). Thus, in the King James Version of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for Jehovah is almost always translated just this way: LORD or GOD.
One other name or title of Jesus needs explanation. He is known as Jesus the Christ. The word Christ comes from the Greek word christos, which means “the anointed one.” The Greeks used the title Christos to translate the Hebrew word meshiach, which means “the anointed one.” The Hebrew word has been anglicized into messiah. Jesus the Christ means “Jesus the Messiah.”
Jesus Christ: The God of This World
There was confusion in the minds of the later Jews, Jesus’ own people, regarding the identity of their God because they no longer understood their own scriptures. That is likewise the problem today with most of the Christian world. The mystery of understanding the identity of the God of the Old Testament arose in both cases because of wickedness and the loss of many plain and precious truths from the scriptures. By contrast, Jesus said that life eternal consisted of gaining a full knowledge of the Father and the Son (see John 17:3). In the final analysis the individual comes to know the true God through experiences that train him to be like Him, and thus he understands, or knows, Him (see 1 John 2:3; 3:1–2; Ether 2–3).
By the time Christ came, the Jews had lost the knowledge of the three distinct members of the Godhead. They had lost the truth that Jehovah, who had given them the law of Moses, would come into the world as the Redeemer of all mankind, even though the prophets had clearly taught this principle (see 1 Corinthians 10:4; 3 Nephi 15:10; Isaiah 41:14; 44:6). They yearned for the appearance of the promised Messiah as a political savior to free them from Roman rule. But Matthew testified that John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus, was “he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, … Prepare ye the way of the Lord” (Matthew 3:3). This is a reference to Isaiah 40:3, where the word LORD is used to mean Jehovah. Christ Himself told the Jews in Jerusalem that “before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). The people considered this blasphemy and picked up stones to kill Him, because they realized that His using the phrase I am in this way was another way of saying “I am Jehovah” (see v. 59).
All scriptures point to Christ.
Scriptural Evidence That Jesus Christ Is the God of the Old Testament
Abinadi, testifying before the court of the wicked King Noah, bore witness that all the prophets from the earliest times had testified that God (Jehovah) would “come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man” (Mosiah 13:34; see also v. 33). Latter-day Saints, who have the benefit of additional scripture, are taught this truth very clearly. For example, the Doctrine and Covenants shows that Jesus Christ is Jehovah and the great “I Am” (see D&C 110:3–4; 29:1).
But many in the Christian world have not carefully considered the evidence found in the Bible, which clearly teaches that Jehovah is the premortal Jesus. The following scriptures are only a sampling of the biblical evidence. (Remember that LORD means that Jehovah is the Hebrew word used.)
Statement Graph with OLD and NEW Testament - I've made screenshots - to make it easier to see - but it is best to see GRAPH ON COMPUTER OR TABLET
The Importance of Knowing the Identity of the God of the Old Testament
Many people, including numerous Bible scholars, have concluded that the God depicted in the Old Testament was the product of the superstitions and primitive beliefs of a primitive and superstitious people. They come to this conclusion because they see things that seem contradictory to their conception of the God of the New Testament. To know that the Lord of the Old Testament was the premortal Jesus Christ has tremendous implications, however, not only for a correct understanding of the Old Testament and the New Testament, but also for a correct understanding of the nature and purposes of God and of man’s relationship to each member of the Godhead.
For example, the same Person who said, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44), said of the Canaanites in the land of promise, “Thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: but thou shalt utterly destroy them” (Deuteronomy 20:16–17). The same Savior who said to forgive “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22) destroyed the entire population of the earth with the exception of eight souls (see Genesis 7–8).
On the other hand, the Jesus of the New Testament who said that one who refuses to forgive another’s trespasses will be “delivered … to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due” (Matthew 18:34–35) is the Lord of the Old Testament who said, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). And the Christ depicted in the book of Revelation, who is shown with the great sickle ready to reap the grapes of the earth and tread them in the winepress (see Revelation 14:14, 20), is the same God of the Old Testament who said to Micah, “What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8).
There is no inconsistency in the nature of God. He is always perfectly merciful and loving, but He is also perfectly just and will not “look upon sin with the least degree of allowance” (D&C 1:31). As He said to Joseph Smith, “God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, … his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round” (D&C 3:2). In the Old Testament is the same perfectly consistent God found in all scripture. In the Old Testament great richness is added to the understanding of God and how He deals with His children, blessing them according to their obedience and receptivity, or punishing them for rebellion and wickedness. If one would get to know Christ better, one must study the Old Testament, for in His role as Jehovah He permeates the whole record. Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament just as He is the God of the earth today. Keeping this important fact constantly in mind is one of the keys to understanding both the Old Testament and the nature of God.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
The War In Heaven Continues on the Earth Today
Messages from LDS Mormon Prophets
and Apostles in the 70's
and current Apostles
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Quote by Boyd K. Packer:
The virtue of tolerance has been distorted and elevated to a position of such prominence as to be thought equal to and even valued more than morality. It is one thing to be tolerant, even forgiving of individual conduct. It is quite another to collectively legislate and legalize to protect immoral conduct that can weaken, even destroy the family.
There is a dangerous trap when tolerance is exaggerated to protect the rights of those whose conduct endangers the family and injures the rights of the more part of the people. We are getting dangerously close to the condition described by the prophet Mosiah, who warned:
“Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything
contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of
the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye
observe and make it your law—to do your business by the
voice of the people.
And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose
iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come
upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great
destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land”
(Mosiah 29:26–27).
Tolerance can be a dangerous trap.
This address was given at the BYU Women’s Conference, May 5, 2006.
Obey the Law of the Land - No Matter What?
The 12th article of faith states,
“We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and
magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.”
Many today have interpreted this to mean that it is a part of our faith that we are to obey any and all governmental laws and regulations no matter their compatibility with the laws of God.
However, this paradigm does not take into account the Lords definition of law, as well as precedence set by ancient as well as modern (including the author of said article) Prophets.
In the Doctrine & Covenants, section 98 verses 5-7 lays out what “the law” is:
And that law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle
of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind,
and is justifiable before me. Therefore, I, the Lord, justify you, and your
brethren of my church, in befriending that law which is the constitutional
law of the land; And as pertaining to law of man, whatsoever is more or
less than this, cometh of evil.
Any law that is not Constitutional or fails in “supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges” is evil. In verse 11 the Lord tells us what we should do with such evil when He says, “And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil”. Therefore, according to an actual revelation, the Lord tells us to forsake any laws that are unconstitutional or that violate principles of freedom. This conclusion is also supported by several statements from modern prophets Quotes
In addition to this commandment from the Lord in this the last dispensation, we have precedence that reveals this as a universal principle.
Here are just a few examples:
We all remember the Sunday School lesson about Daniel and the lions den. Why was Daniel, a Prophet of God, sent to the lions den? He was sent there by the government because he violated the “law of the land”!
- Daniel knew it was against the law to pray to God Dan 6:10
- Daniel openly defied the law
Let’s skip now to modern examples:
Polygamy as practiced by Joseph Smith and contemporary apostles was against “the law of the land” in every single state they were in.
John Taylor said, “We believe in … loyalty to our country, but when they enact laws, forbidding us the free exercise of our religion, we cannot submit. God is greater than the United States; and when the government conflicts with Heaven, we will be ranged under the banner of Heaven against the government… If the United States say different the Saints cannot obey it. … [W]e will worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.” (1/6/1880)
Heber J. Grant: “No matter what restrictions we are placed under by men, our only consistent course is to keep the commandments of God. We should, in this regard, place ourselves in the same position as that of the three Hebrews who were cast into the fiery furnace.” (4/5/1885)
George Q. Cannon: “I admit that those raising children by plural wives are not complying with man-made laws, but in the sight of God they are not sinning, as there is no sin in it.” (Reed Smoot Hearings 1:9)
Wilford Woodruff: “God says, “We shall be damned if we do not obey the law.” Congress says, “We shall be damned if we do.” It places us precisely in the same position that it did the Hebrews in the fiery furnace, and Daniel in the den of lions. … Our enemies have pursued the same course … and made it a law of offense to obey one of the laws of our God. Now who shall we obey? God or man? My voice is that we obey God.” (4/21/1879)
Apostles Penrose & Richards wrote a letter to John Taylor stating: “We then say, we consider the law of God superior to the law of the State, and if we have to break the law of the State to keep the law of God, we will stand by the consequences.” (2/16/1887)
The First Presidency: “God is superior to governments and courts. But he tells his Church to befriend the constitutional law of the land. If it is not constitutional, He says it comes of evil. It must support the principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges; if not, it comes of evil. Who is the Lord directing? His Church. Whatever is contrary to the freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, which includes not mere belief but the “free exercise” of religion, He does not command His people to obey, but says they shall do His will.” (First Presidency 7/7/1886)
John Taylor: “I defy the United States. I will obey the will of God. These are my sentiments, and all of you who sympathize with me in this position raise your right hand.” (1/6/1880)
It is dangerous to take one statement, or verse, or part of a verse in a vacuum, with no context. That is how we get all the false creeds of men that lead to the great apostasy. Prophets, both ancient and modern, are clear on this principle.
God’s law is supreme, and all laws that violate His are to be “forsaken”.
About Ezra Taylor
Ezra Taylor has appeared in national (Fox news, USA Today), as well as several other regional publications. Ezra also writes for several freedom oriented publications, has been a radio talk show host and is a grassroots organizer.
View all posts by Ezra Taylor
The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles
Go to the page where this comes from HERE
(17-6) Must a True Disciple Make a Choice between the Kingdom of God and the World?
Concerning the need to choose, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the First Quorum of the Seventy, has written the following:
(17-6) Must a True Disciple Make a Choice between the Kingdom of God and the World?
Concerning the need to choose, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the First Quorum of the Seventy, has written the following:
“There is a special sense of urgency infusing itself into many Church members everywhere that says, quietly, but insistently—this is the time for us to choose! It is not just that God will insist that we choose for our own sake, but that those who depend upon us, or use us as a reference point, need and deserve to know which way we are going. It is no good posing as a lifeguard if one is a non-swimmer. It is no good being a guide if one leaves his post and wanders with the multitude in search of another way, ‘for there is none other way,’ especially at a time when there is a sharper and sharper divergence in the way of the world and the straight and narrow way. The disciple must not only stand in ‘holy places’ but on holy issues and ‘not be moved.’
“In short, the events of our time and spiritual decay in the world have produced for us the equivalent situation faced by many of the disciples who followed Jesus. They followed him until he began to preach the ‘hard sayings’—the doctrines that really demand not only belief, but performance; doctrines which would distinguish them from their contemporary society. The Lord wants us to put some distance—behaviorally—between ourselves and the world, not because we love mankind less, but precisely because we do love men. It is for the world’s sake that we must sanctify ourselves. When Jesus’ followers faced their moment of truth, John records, ‘From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.’ Jesus turned to the remainder and queried them, ‘Will ye also go away?’ (John 6:66–67.)” (A Time to Choose, pp. 39–40.)
Nearly two hundred years before the public ministry of Jesus began, Antiochus Epiphanes, a Selucidian king who controlled Palestine, attempted to destroy Judaism by compelling his subjects to accept the Greek culture. In a show of utter contempt for the Jewish faith, Antiochus sacrificed a pig (the filthiest of animals, according to the Jews) upon a small Greek altar built for the occasion within the temple confines. Following this, Antiochus prohibited all religious ordinances enjoined by the law of Moses and ordered the burning of all known copies of the Jewish law. Finally, he ordered that heathen altars be constructed throughout Palestine and that the Jews worship the heathen gods or suffer death. This suppression of the Jewish religion precipitated what is known as the Maccabean revolution.
Judas Maccabaeus, together with his four brothers, gathered about him a number of devout Jews who refused to honor the demands of Antiochus. They formed a guerilla army and waged relentless war against the troops employed by Antiochus to enforce his religious policies. Eventually, the Maccabees seized control of Jerusalem. Judas then proceeded to purify the temple (which for three years had been used to make offerings to Zeus) and restore the worship of Jehovah. The Feast of Dedication, sometimes called the Feast of Lights, or Hanukkah, was inaugurated to celebrate the recovery and rededication of the Jewish temple. The feast takes place in the month of Chislev, corresponding to portions of our months of November and December, and lasts for eight days. It is marked by elaborate meals, special synagogue services, and extra illumination in all homes. Hence its title, “Feast of Lights.” (See Harper’s Bible Dictionary, pp. 133, 406–7.)
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Psalm Explained
Psalm 23
The Lord is my Shepherd = That's Relationship!
I shall not want = That's Supply!
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures = That's Rest!
He leadeth me beside the still waters = That's Refreshment!
He restoreth my soul = That's Healing!
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness = That's Guidance!
For His name sake = That's Purpose!
Yea, though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death = That's Testing!
I will fear no evil = That's Protection!
For Thou art with me = That's Faithfulness!
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me = That's Discipline!
Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies = That's Hope!
Thou annointes t my head with oil = That's Consecration!
My cup runneth over = That's Abundance!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life =That's Blessing !
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord = That's Security!
Forever = That's Eternity!
Face it, the Lord is crazy about you.
What is most valuable,
is not what we have in our lives, but
WHO we have in our lives!
Do not ask the Lord to Guide your Footsteps
if you are not willing to move your Feet
Even though you can't see Him, GOD is there for you
Forward January 2009
Who Are the Gadiantons Today?
The Ancient America Foundation (AAF) is pleased to present AAF Notes: a series of research articles by scholars of Book of Mormon culture and history and reviewed by AAF editors. Visit our Web Site
Who Are the Gadiantons Today?
An excerpt from W. Cleon Skousen’s Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3, pp. 3271-3272. Edited by Alan C. Miner in Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon unpublished.
Helaman 2.13 Ye Shall See That This Gadianton [Band] Did Prove the Overthrow, Yea, Almost the Entire Destruction of the People of Nephi:
According to Cleon Skousen, since the Book of Mormon prophets warn us that the same type of conspiracy would exist in our own day (see 2 Nephi 26.20-22), let us briefly summarize the characteristics of this movement and the criminal tactics which it employed.
1. It often turned out that their leaders rose to power by murdering their former friends and associates (Ether 8.13-17; 9.4-12).
2. The leaders made flattering promises to any who would join in the subversive conspiracy which was designed to use criminal tactics in acquiring wealth and then seizing control of the government (Helaman 2.5; Ether 8.17)
3. They did not come out in the open and allow the people to know of their intentions or tactics, but operated as an illegal, underground apparatus (Helaman 6.21-22).
4. They had their own secret code of discipline and their own secret police to bring in dissenters or defectors for punishment (Helaman 6.24) The penalty for revealing their secrets was death (Moses 5.50).
5. They demanded all their "rights" under the Constitution until they came into power, then they destroyed the liberties of the people and claimed "rights" exclusively for themselves (Helaman 7.4; 3 Nephi 6.30; 7.6).
6. As soon as they came into power they discharged those who occupied key positions and appointed their own hard-core members to all positions of trust (Helaman 7.4).
7. All who tried to defend the Constitution and preserve traditional order and justice were prosecuted as though they were the offenders (Helaman 7.5).
8. However, the leaders ignored or deliberately covered up the crimes of their own members (Helaman 7.5)
9. They created a privileged, bureaucratic class of criminal aristocrats to govern the people (Helaman 7.5).
10. They radically altered the provisions of the law so they could claim to be operating "legally" (3 Nephi 7.6).
11. They employed propaganda to obscure the weaknesses of their own administration and used the voice of prominent people to spread their propaganda line (Helaman 8.1, 7-8).
12. They waged continuous ideological warfare to break down the moral and political independence of the people. As part of this campaign they killed religious leaders (3 Nephi 7.6-7).
13. Then they turned the whole society toward moral debauchery similar to their own profligate lives (Helaman 6.23; Ether 8.16).
14. They tried to replace revealed religion by encouraging the people to practice primitive, heathen rites with emphasis on the collection of gold and silver to contribute to their idolatrous priestcraft (Helaman 6.31).
15. They would not tolerate any kind of resistance or public discussion of the issues. They called their own kind of criminal dictatorship the only "good" government and demanded that every citizen support them or be exterminated (3 Nephi 3.7-8).
16. In attacking the legitimate government and seeking to overthrow it they claimed they were waging war to recover "their" rights and restore "their" government which had been wrongfully taken away from them (3 Nephi 3.10).
17. They used Communist-type peace propaganda, claiming they did not want war. They merely wanted their opposition to accept the inevitable and surrender "peacefully" (3 Nephi 3.4-7).
18. They promised that if the opposition would surrender, its people would not be placed in slavery but would become partners and brethren in the great new order. They neglected to mention that under their police state all their partners and brethren were subject to the most rigorous death-penalty oaths, and were therefore under a system of criminal slavery (3 Nephi 3.7).
19. Their administrations were always characterized by assassinations, immorality and revolution. They waged total war of such wholesale proportions that established government broke down completely and entire kingdoms were literally wiped out (Ether 9.11-12; 11.6-7).
20. If the people did succeed in overthrowing the Gadianton movement and burying their secret oaths and plans of operations, Satan revealed them to the next generation and the whole terrible cycle began all over again (Alma 37.29,32; Helaman 6.26-27).
Helaman 2.13 Ye Shall See That This Gadianton [Band] Did Prove the Overthrow, Yea, Almost the Entire Destruction of the People of Nephi:
Copyright © 1999-2002 Ancient America Foundation. This message may be forwarded with identifying information. For more information or to subscribe or unsubscribe to AAF Notes or utilize the AAF order form, visit Our Web Site
Forwarded August 2008
Ancient America Foundation | 1090 N 300 E | American Fork | UT | 84003
Who Are the Gadiantons Today?
An excerpt from W. Cleon Skousen’s Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3, pp. 3271-3272. Edited by Alan C. Miner in Step by Step Through the Book of Mormon unpublished.
Helaman 2.13 Ye Shall See That This Gadianton [Band] Did Prove the Overthrow, Yea, Almost the Entire Destruction of the People of Nephi:
According to Cleon Skousen, since the Book of Mormon prophets warn us that the same type of conspiracy would exist in our own day (see 2 Nephi 26.20-22), let us briefly summarize the characteristics of this movement and the criminal tactics which it employed.
1. It often turned out that their leaders rose to power by murdering their former friends and associates (Ether 8.13-17; 9.4-12).
2. The leaders made flattering promises to any who would join in the subversive conspiracy which was designed to use criminal tactics in acquiring wealth and then seizing control of the government (Helaman 2.5; Ether 8.17)
3. They did not come out in the open and allow the people to know of their intentions or tactics, but operated as an illegal, underground apparatus (Helaman 6.21-22).
4. They had their own secret code of discipline and their own secret police to bring in dissenters or defectors for punishment (Helaman 6.24) The penalty for revealing their secrets was death (Moses 5.50).
5. They demanded all their "rights" under the Constitution until they came into power, then they destroyed the liberties of the people and claimed "rights" exclusively for themselves (Helaman 7.4; 3 Nephi 6.30; 7.6).
6. As soon as they came into power they discharged those who occupied key positions and appointed their own hard-core members to all positions of trust (Helaman 7.4).
7. All who tried to defend the Constitution and preserve traditional order and justice were prosecuted as though they were the offenders (Helaman 7.5).
8. However, the leaders ignored or deliberately covered up the crimes of their own members (Helaman 7.5)
9. They created a privileged, bureaucratic class of criminal aristocrats to govern the people (Helaman 7.5).
10. They radically altered the provisions of the law so they could claim to be operating "legally" (3 Nephi 7.6).
11. They employed propaganda to obscure the weaknesses of their own administration and used the voice of prominent people to spread their propaganda line (Helaman 8.1, 7-8).
12. They waged continuous ideological warfare to break down the moral and political independence of the people. As part of this campaign they killed religious leaders (3 Nephi 7.6-7).
13. Then they turned the whole society toward moral debauchery similar to their own profligate lives (Helaman 6.23; Ether 8.16).
14. They tried to replace revealed religion by encouraging the people to practice primitive, heathen rites with emphasis on the collection of gold and silver to contribute to their idolatrous priestcraft (Helaman 6.31).
15. They would not tolerate any kind of resistance or public discussion of the issues. They called their own kind of criminal dictatorship the only "good" government and demanded that every citizen support them or be exterminated (3 Nephi 3.7-8).
16. In attacking the legitimate government and seeking to overthrow it they claimed they were waging war to recover "their" rights and restore "their" government which had been wrongfully taken away from them (3 Nephi 3.10).
17. They used Communist-type peace propaganda, claiming they did not want war. They merely wanted their opposition to accept the inevitable and surrender "peacefully" (3 Nephi 3.4-7).
18. They promised that if the opposition would surrender, its people would not be placed in slavery but would become partners and brethren in the great new order. They neglected to mention that under their police state all their partners and brethren were subject to the most rigorous death-penalty oaths, and were therefore under a system of criminal slavery (3 Nephi 3.7).
19. Their administrations were always characterized by assassinations, immorality and revolution. They waged total war of such wholesale proportions that established government broke down completely and entire kingdoms were literally wiped out (Ether 9.11-12; 11.6-7).
20. If the people did succeed in overthrowing the Gadianton movement and burying their secret oaths and plans of operations, Satan revealed them to the next generation and the whole terrible cycle began all over again (Alma 37.29,32; Helaman 6.26-27).
Helaman 2.13 Ye Shall See That This Gadianton [Band] Did Prove the Overthrow, Yea, Almost the Entire Destruction of the People of Nephi:
Copyright © 1999-2002 Ancient America Foundation. This message may be forwarded with identifying information. For more information or to subscribe or unsubscribe to AAF Notes or utilize the AAF order form, visit Our Web Site
Forwarded August 2008
Ancient America Foundation | 1090 N 300 E | American Fork | UT | 84003
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