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Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Understanding the Covenant Path

A friend of mine typed this up and sent it to me last week and I found it valuable to share here. I had actually been studying the covenant path because it was the theme of General Conference. I was so happy he took the time to organize this in the outline below. As mentioned in my upcoming video message, it's so important for us to re-visit the covenants we have made and understand how they help us become like our Savior.

“The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done,” taught Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become."

COVENANTS I HAVE MADE / STAYING ON THE COVENANT PATH


1) Baptism /Confirmation of Holy Ghost 

Baptismal CovenantMosiah 18:8-10 


8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

My Part of the Covenant:

  • Serve him & keep his commandments 
  • Desire to come into the fold of God
  • Take upon you the name of Christ
  • MINISTERING
    • Bear one another's burdens
    • Mourn with those that Mourn
    • Comfort those in need of comfort
    • Stand as a witness of God in all places 
God's Part of the Covenant:
  • Redeem you from your sins
  • Numbered you among those of the 1st Resurrection
  • Give you Eternal Life 
  • Pour his spirit out more abundantly upon you


Sacrament Covenant Renewal
  • Blessing on the Bread
    • O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
  • Blessing on the Water
    • O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
  • Eat the bread / in remembrance of his body and be a witness of Him in all places.
  • Take his name upon us, keep his Commandments, and always remember him
  • Drink the water or wine in remembrance of the blood that he shed in your behalf.
  • We are promised that we will have his Spirit to be with us always if we do the above things. 
2) Oath & Covenant of the Priesthood



D&C 84:33-41

33 For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

34 They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.

35 And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;
36 For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me;

37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;

38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

39 And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

40 Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.

41 But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in the world to come. 

My Part of the Covenant: 

  • Receive the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, emphasis on RECEIVE
  • Magnify their calling to the priesthood.
  •  Receive Christ 
  • Receive the father

God's Part if the Covenant: 

  • Sanctified / Body Renewed
  • Become sons of Aaron, Moses, Abraham
  • Become the church, Kingdom, & Elect of God.
  • Receive Christ (Second Comforter) 
  • Receive the Father (Third Comforter) 
  • Receive All the Father Has 

3) Temple Covenants Made During the Endowment 


Sacrifice & Obedience 

  • We agree to obey God's laws and keep his commandments. ( Harken)
  • Early followers of Christ agreed to keep the law of Sacrifice by following the laws that were given in the Old Testament concerning sacrificing of animals and the first fruits unto God by following the Law of Moses.
  • Followers of Christ , after his atonement, Covenant to give unto him a broken heart and a contrite spirit, as well as to sacrifice of themselves. 
  • During the temple endowment we receive instructions and make covenants related to our eternal exaltation.
Law of the Gospel & Charge Associated with It 

  • The Sermon on the Mount / Sermon at the Temple during Christ's Ministry. The Beatitudes show us a stairway to Christ (see image below).  

3 Nephi 12:1-12

1 Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.

2 And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins.

3 Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.

7 And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

8 And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

10 And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake;

12 For ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.





Beatitude Steps


0) Believe in words of God's servants, receive baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, humble themselves = Baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, and remission of sins. 

1 Faith & Repentance = Visited by the Holy Ghost, remission of sins. 

2 ) Poor in Spirit (acknowledge your need for and reliance on God) = Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 

3) Those that Mourn for others and their own sins= Comforted by Holy Ghost. 

4) Meekness = Inherit the earth. 

5) Hunger and thirst after righteousness = Filled with the Holy Ghost. Baptism of Fire.

6) Merciful = Obtain Mercy from the Lord

7) Pure in heart = See God 

 Peacemakers = Children of Christ ( Reborn spiritually into his family) 

9) Persecuted = Heir of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

LIVING THE VIRTUES TAUGHT IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT OR AT THE TEMPLE IN BOUNTIFUL. (Treating others as we would like to be treated) 

Charge

  • Avoiding Sexual Impurity, Levity & Raucous Living. Avoid speaking evil about the Lord's Elect or Covenant people. Avoiding taking the Lord's name in vain. 

Chastity 

  • Fidelity in marriage and Chastity before marriage. Sexual purity. 

Consecration 

  • Giving all you have to build the kingdom of God. 

4) Sealing - New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage




D&C 132:7

7 And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.

  • All agreements must be made and sealed by the holy spirit of promise, under priesthood authority delegated by the Prophet.
  • All contracts not made in this way have an end when men pass into the spirit world and are not effective after the Ressurection.


Friday, October 12, 2018

Insight from General Conference & A Message for Now!

Here it is! What a powerful and important message I have taken away not only from General Conference, but also from the top news stories of last week. It all fits together. Did you notice too? After 18 hours of filming, editing, and uploading, I'm happy to announce that my 10-day social media fast begins right now! See you all after the 22nd. :)


Wednesday, October 10, 2018

The Gathering is Hastening - A Delightful Experience!



A dear sweet sister (Marsha), approached my good friend Lynn Ridenhour and I at the FIRM expo a couple weeks ago. The FIRM expo is an International Book of Mormon evidence conference held twice a year. Lynn had just finished speaking to a large crowd of 800 attendees about our "Believers Building Bridges" tour, and was over at his table signing books. There was a long line of people wanting to meet Lynn, and many of them approached me as well and we made some wonderful connections. 

Marsha excitedly introduced herself to Lynn and I and said, "I just had to run home and get a copy of this for you! The Spirit told me to run home and get this, and so I did!" In her hand she held some papers stapled together and explained to us that she had been on a journey over the past several years to gather scriptures and quotes that in a sense promoted our message of interfaith unity. She had put together this document and had kept it to herself until now. She said she was delighted to find that there are others out there on this same journey. It brought her so much joy and hope. The excitement of her energy was contagious and I asked her for permission to share what she had collected on my blog. She happily consented and gave me a copy. 

She later concluded in an email:

"The scriptures are the ones the Lord gave me on my personal journey in understanding His great work, which has been a life changer for me; I am so happy to share them with the hope they will bless others as well. I thought at first only LDS [Latter-day Saint] people would be interested, but the Lord has impressed upon my mind that they will bless many others as well in helping them understand the beautiful words He has given to some of His Latter-day prophets, which have been recorded and given to us today. I have written commentary explaining the use of these scriptures. I think it's worded pretty well, so just read it!"

I have included her research below and if you click on the images, you can make them bigger and they are much easier to read. :)







Saturday, October 6, 2018

A Battle For Your Mind - & An Epic General Conference!

Yay! I am so excited that this day has finally arrived. This General Conference should one we never forget. I have the orange rolls rising in the oven and spent some time in the early hours this morning being with the Lord. I am so ready to hear the inspired new messages that the Lord will reveal to us today. I pasted links below if you'd like to watch.

In this week's video message I share about more symbolism in local and world events as well as the battle that is raging right now within the kingdoms, the world, and our very own minds. How can we come prepared to the battle? Watch to find out.

WATCH GENERAL CONFERENCE LIVE TODAY AND TOMORROW:
https://www.lds.org/

RE-WATCH PAST BROADCAST:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference?cid=HP16GC&lang=eng

Monday, October 1, 2018

In the End, Only Kindness Matters

Last night my husband shared these map images with me. The first is a current weather radar image of the U.S. The second is a radar image of the next few days in which we’ll go from parched, to grab your life jacket! Rain from both ends of the country meeting in the heartland. When was the last time this happened?

This morning I woke up to this 1998 Jewel song playing in my head. I have not heard this song in a really long time, so I took it as a message from the other side. As I began to sing it out loud, I realized just how relevant the lyrics are to this hour we are living in. I pasted the music video below which very much resonates with what's going on in the world.



Hands

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all OK
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these
I won't be made useless
I won't be idle with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear

My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken

Poverty stole your golden shoes
But it didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
But I knew it wasn't ever after

We'll fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing

My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken

In the end only kindness matters
In the end only kindness matters

I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray

My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken

My hands are small I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken
We are never broken

We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's mind
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's heart
We are God's eyes
God's hands
God's eyes
We are God's hands
We are God's hands