An Interview with New York Missionaries!

This popped up in my YouTube feed the other day and I really enjoyed it. I loved that the man interviewing the missionaries was so kind, understanding, and open. With each question he asked I imagined how I would have responded. You know me, my answers would have been long. 😄

I would love to be able to have a conversation with someone like this man, who truly wants to learn more. These missionaries were so genuine, sweet, and radiated virtue. I loved their spirit!

New Way to Minister?

As ministering is becoming a big part of the saints of the Church, I think it's important to look for new "outside of the box" ways to minister. I think we can get creative when serving those both in and outside of our ward communities.

Here is what a church in Houston did to serve those outside of their walls. I have often mentioned in videos and on facebook that I'm happy to take requests, and many times people have written me asking me to pray for them - which I have. This is prayer request on a whole new level for today's fast paced modern world.

It's a great service to be able to help pray for others, but it's even more power when we vocally pray with them. I believe it increases the faith of both the person praying and the person being prayed for. It creates strength, unity, and bonds as well. 

Could you imagine what this would look like in an LDS community? Missionaries standing on the side of the road with signs offering drive up prayer. Or young men and young women, instead of washing cars for fundraising, standing by the side of the road with posters offering drive up prayers at no cost. Forget fundraising, how about soul saving? This would be awesome! I mean even walking into a retirement center and asking the residents if anyone would like a word of prayer? Taking the time to talk with them and ask them what they need prayers for, and then taking the time to pray over them each, individually.  

When I saw this, I imagined a weary man or exhausted mother driving home from a long and stressful day, feeling hopeless and at the end of their rope. Not finding a reason to continue living and feeling so alone in their trials. Then seeing a sign on the side of the road that says, "Drive-Thru Prayers. Let us Pray for You". Just imagine what that one prayer and act of kindness could do for that one soul. Beautiful!

Baptist Minister Preaches from the Book of Mormon? Here's A Movement You Need to Know About!

Recently, I had mentioned on my YouTube channel an amazing movement that everyone needs to know about. Founded by Missouri Baptist Minister Lynn Ridenhour, who preaches support of and belief in the Book of Mormon; this ministry is called Building Bridges Ministry.

Yes, Lynn preaches from the Book of Mormon every Sunday over the pulpit of his church, and in addition to that he holds conferences and meetings in which he invites members of several denominations (LDS, RLDS, Community of Christ, Lutheran, Catholic, Baptist, etc.) to come together and share what's on their hearts as they worship together and praise the Lord. In my mind, this paints a picture of how Zion will be during the Millennium - people of diverse Christian faiths and beliefs all living together in peace and harmony, serving the Lord. The sooner we can usher in this brotherhood/sisterhood uniting in Christ, I believe the sooner we prepare the earth for our Savior's return.


I first met Lynn at a Book of Mormon Conference last month here in Layton, Utah. Having never heard of him before and not sure what his presentation was about, I felt prompted to attend and was so glad that I did! What an incredible man on an incredible mission!

Lynn is passionate about building bridges between what he terms "Book of Mormon Believers" and "Bible Believers". Yes, those who believe in the Book of Mormon also believe in and read the Bible (just so there's no confusion), but this term refers to us Bible Believers who also believe in the Book of Mormon! Over the years, Lynn's ministry has resonated with so many Latter-day Saints including our beloved prophet Gordon B. Hinckley who while President of the Church, once invited Lynn to dinner to personally meet him and thank him for his genuine message to the members of the LDS church. Upon meeting Lynn, President Hinckley said, "We've never had a Baptist preacher come to our town and ask for our forgiveness."

The reason I am thrilled beyond words about Lynn's message and ministry is because a few years ago I was searching for something like this. One day while on the phone with my sister, I expressed to her that I believed a day would soon come when these two groups would come together and be powerful for the Lord. I truly believed that there was much we could learn from our Christian brothers and sisters and also that there was much we could share with them. I truly believed that we could have these conversations without offense or contention. That we would realize we actually have more in common than we do differences.

Many of the things that the Spirit has been teaching me over the past few years are common place among Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians - as well as common place among the early Saints of the Church. For a while, I felt that I couldn't share many of these things that I was learning with my fellow LDS friends because they wouldn't understand or would not be ready to hear, but truly felt that I wouldn't have to because someday in the near future, our two groups would come together and teach each other!

Some of these priceless gems I have learned over the years are:

• How to improve my prayer closet
• How to improve my prayers
• How to strengthen my faith in healing and miracles
• Spiritual warefare
• The power of praise
• And the truth about Halloween

Truly, I feel that the Lord often uses my blog and YouTube channel as a platform to give a voice to His other children whom He is using as instruments in His hands. I am happy to share their messages and help hasten the Lord's work. He is doing a work among all of His children, not just through the members of the LDS church. Whoever is willing, He will use for His wise purposes - purposes that we are often slow to understand and comprehend. 

This post needs to be shared with everyone. It's so important for us to help build these bridges between our different Christian communities. There are so many creative ways we can do this! For example, my sister has shared with me that her ward Relief Society has arranged an interfaith worship night once a month. One night each month, many sisters from various Christian denominations come together and celebrate the Lord. A different church hosts each month. They've been doing this for a few months now and it has been amazing! My sister shared with me her favorite night when a Christian worship band took requests. My sister and I are fans of Christian contemporary music mainly KLOVE radio and The Message on Sirius XM. As my sister threw out song requests, her fellow LDS sisters were confused as they were not familiar with this music nor these artists or songs. They were amazed that my sister knew all the words and stood with her fellow Christian sisters with arms raised to the ceiling while singing along. She said they looked a little unfamiliar and awkward but she fit right in! These are the fruits of stepping outside of our Mormon bubbles - a message I have shared over the last several years and will continue to share.

As we come together and have these experiences and conversations we can eliminate the awkwardness of our different religious cultures, traditions, and terminology. As explained so eloquently in Lynn's third video below, we have more in common than we realize. We believe in many of the same things, we just call it something different. As we tear down the walls of prejudice, misjudgment, misunderstanding, and old quarrels from the past, and we lose the mentality of us vs. them or whose right and whose wrong, and instead focus on our common denominator which is our love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and our desire to serve Him and be like Him, we will experience compassion and miracles on a level we have never experienced before! I believe this with all my heart, in Jesus' name amen. 

Here are three videos that sum up everything about this blogpost as well as offer a little more introduction about Lynn and his background. The second video is powerful!

 

Did the Shift Finally Happen?

What a historical and incredible General conference! This week's video message is about the theme and message of conference. Did the Heavenly shift mentioned in last week's video message come to pass? Do we really understand the magnitude of living in the hour of 11:59 pm?

A Profound Dream I Had - This Week's Video Message!

2018 is going to be quite the year! I had a profound dream about a personal forecast for the new year that can be applied to all. Part of that message is how loving your enemies is crucial to your spiritual growth and success. I'm amazed at the feedback I've already been receiving about this video in private messages. It truly is inspiring!

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend!

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Something incredible I have learned about gratitude, is the real power it has to transform. It can transform a moment, a circumstance, a life, a relationship, a person, and a heart. The real power happens when expressing it towards anything you might feel normally inclined to complain about. If something goes “wrong” praise God that He is still in control and express gratitude for His will. This shows Him that you trust His plans for you. Express gratitude in ALL things especially the things that hurt the most. Express gratitude and praise for the things you are being taught from the unexpected road bumps in life. It might be a health challenge, a financial trial, a difficult relationship, or an act of unkindness from a complete stranger. Complaining will only pull you further down the path of despair but gratitude and praise towards the Lord will quickly pull you to a higher level where you can feel peace and where you can have a higher perspective from the Lord’s point of view. From this place you can look down upon the “valley of the shadow of death” and see its value and purpose in blessing your life. A unique perspective and understanding that only can come from a place of peace. God has an interesting way of turning what we deem as “bad” into some of our greatest blessings! Even when we don’t see it in the moment, if we exercise trust by genuinely thanking Him in those moments when it seems hardest to do, we often find that suddenly those trials become lighter and often times resolve and disappear much more quickly than we could have imagined. This is something I have learned over the last four years. Gratitude truly is powerful and can take us from the valleys and depths of despair to those beautiful peaks of peace and joy!

A Week of Prophetic Dreams

It has been an intense week. With so much happening and so quickly, there is so much I want to share but there's not always enough time to do so.

As I edited this "message of the week" video for my Happy Lady series on my HappyMarriages channel, several thoughts came to my mind after I had uploaded it. Last night, while watching the headlines the Spirit said to me, "Look up the meaning for the name Harvey". So, I pulled up the name and here is what I learned:

Name: Harvey

Origin: Scottish-Gaelic.
Meaning: Carnage worthy, warrior, eager for battle.

Yes, I would agree that this storm is carnage worthy. The name is appropriate. Just what battle is this storm fighting? I wanted to know more from the Spirit. It was then I was reminded of the all the hate news that had dominated the headlines days prior. The race wars that appeared to be going strong according to the news. As I looked at the images on my TV screen, I saw black, white, Hispanic, and Asian races all coming together in love. Love was winning! It was now love that was dominating the national headlines. I was led to this article that said it best!

"You don’t need to wait for a devastating disaster to love. You don’t need to wait until your neighbors are drowning to reach across the color, religious, nationality, political boundaries. This world is suffering a different kind of storm, one far more dangerous than Harvey–a storm of hatred. Let’s refuse to let it break us."

God sent this storm to cleanse our nation of hatred. To turn our hearts towards Him. To love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Shortly before going to bed last night, I was led by the Spirit to the words of an evangelist who said that the Lord told him beginning in 2017 through the year 2021, the Lord would pour out an abundance of spiritual gifts upon His children. He spoke of what he terms the "global harvest" and that this outpouring from God would create a fire that would help gather in souls to come to know their Savior.


He said the Lord showed him Acts 2:17-21 to confirm his message. Notice the numbers of the scripture: 2017-2021.

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:

19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

I was touched by the Spirit upon reading this, after having had the experiences I shared in my video below. We truly are living in marvelous and wondrous times. Let us continue to pray for our nation, for this world, and for our local communities and families. Prayer and love will be the most powerful weapons in this Last Days battle. God bless!

Unity Among the Churches - Part of Zion?

A couple of weeks ago, I was on the treadmill watching a new episode of one of my favorite shows. It's an evangelical Christian show, and I love that the host of the show often interviews people who have had miraculous experiences that changed their lives profoundly.

On this particular episode, the guest began talking about being a Mormon. I thought to myself, "Wow! The host is interviewing a Mormon. This is awesome!" Then as she continued, she began to say that she was brought into Mormonism by a step father during her rebellious teenage years. She wasn't happy to be on board and was in a dark place making bad choices. Long story short, she came to know the Lord through another church and because that experience changed her and pulled her out of her dark place she was now on a mission to share.

I began to think about how we are all at different places in our lives. We are all at different levels of learning and understanding. We are on different journeys but we all have the same destination which is our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what resonates with us and how we best learn. We all have different learning styles, different perspectives and different experiences we have been through that has shaped the way we think. This is why we should never judge other people's paths and we should never allow other people's paths or choices create doubt upon our own decisions and where the Spirit has led us.

The Lord will reach us however He can. He will lead us to people who resonate with us, and speak our language. He will lead us to whatever we are ready for and will never force upon us, knowledge that we are not ready to learn, understand, or accept. It's line upon line. A little light here, a little light there until our light gradually increases, and we are ready for more.

I had love and compassion for this woman as I truly believe she felt she was doing her very best. As the interview progressed, she began to talk about how Mormon's are deceived and are not Christian and will not be saved. She said that we teach our members to avoid Christians and not talk to them (That defeats the mission of the Church). She had created brochures and presentations on why Mormonism was wrong. I truly feel that from what she shared, she did not take make the effort to wholeheartedly study out the gospel or ponder it while attending off and on the LDS church in her teenage years. Her heart wasn't in it and she was in a dark place - but nonetheless I respected her beliefs and experiences.

At this point in the video, I felt a desire to share the truth. It did sadden me to hear what is so precious to me, spoken of this way. I have written posts earlier this year about beautiful stories of evangelical Christians who joined the LDS church because they saw and felt Christ in the members. Our church belongs to Jesus Christ. It is His Church not ours. We take on Christ's name and strive to be like Him. We are very much Christian in every way. I felt that so many would watch this video and take her opinions as truth. I couldn't be passive, or silent. I needed to share my perspective.

When I found the video in YouTube, I scrolled down through the comments. There were so many negative comments about Mormons being evil and of the devil. And so many statements that just were not true. There was one lone woman who was not a Mormon but stood up for the LDS church regardless and pointed out that we are good people who work hard to serve the Lord. That made me smile, and I thought, "Yes. We need to support and defend each other more often. We should never speak falsehoods or make unkind comments about other churches and their members - and have an us vs. them mentality. Instead of making invested efforts to prove other religions are 'wrong' as this woman had done, we should focus on what is 'right' about them and their members & communities, and how they are doing the best they can to serve the Lord, the best way they know how. We should take that energy and serve. We need to unite not divide."

If we truly are serving the Lord, doing His will, and have a personal relationship with Him, we would only feel inspired to serve, love, uplift, and share, with no other motives other than pure charity. If our motives are to show someone they are wrong, or to make them feel ashamed of their beliefs, or to make them fear that they have been deceived or have not been saved, then we need to re-evaluate those motives - they are not pure.

So, here is the comment I made:

I love ______ and I never miss an episode. I was saddened when I watched this episode and the guest spoke of Mormons as not being Christian. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (AKA Mormon) Jesus Christ is the center of my life. He and the Father are all I worship. Everything I do, I do it in His name and for Him. I have had the most beautiful supernatural experiences with Jesus and with Heaven which is why I'm a fan of this show. I can relate! Jesus is in my heart and the very core of who I am. The Spirit is my constant companion and my personal teacher. I enjoy the most beautiful spiritual gifts that I use daily to bless everyone. I have never been taught by anyone in my church to avoid Christians of other churches, that's the opposite of what Christ taught. That's not the gospel we practice as believers and followers of Christ. I have so many friends and family members of other religions & faiths and I love them just as much as my fellow church members. I am sorry this woman's experience was different. The gospel of Jesus Christ that I have studied my entire life has brought me closer to God and helped me become an amazing mother, wife, leader, and friend. I live to serve and love others. I feel so blessed, charitable, and loved. I have been a part of and witnessed healing miracles of biblical magnitude. I have participated in creative miracles. I've had beautiful encounters with the Holy Spirit daily and beautiful pictures of the Savior all over my home. I have been born of the Spirit and I feel so blessed - I will never be the same. It hurt my heart to hear Mormons spoken of this way. I believe that God has a plan for everyone. Every plan is tailored just for that person and what they need. We all came here to learn what we needed to and to help others whom God needs us to help. God leads us each to where He needs us to be. We all have a purpose and we all have great value in His Kingdom. Wherever you are right now is exactly where God needs you to be. Your imperfect life is perfect in Gods eyes because He knows the plan. Where the Lord leads me, may be different than where He leads you but it doesn't mean either of us is lost or misled. If Jesus truly is our Shepard and we truly believe in Him as our personal Savior and the only way to salvation and we do all that we can to be like Him and love like Him, that's what matters most. I could never judge any of Gods children and determine whether or not they belong to Christ based on what church they belong to. Your relationship with Christ is very personal and between you and Him. Wherever the Spirit has led you to be right now, is where you should be and that's why it feels so right and so good. We all have the same destination but a different journey and plan for getting there and that's what's so beautiful about Gods mysterious ways. If I had a judging heart I would not be able to experience such beautiful experiences as I have - that have really built my testimony and foundation on Christ. My open heart and mind leads me to many spiritual giants of many different faiths who I believe all have something valuable to offer. I wish my brothers and sisters in Christ could be more compassionate towards and accepting of my faith. I wish we could join together on what we have in common. We could accomplish so much good! I wrote this message from my heart and send love and prayers to everyone out there! ❤️❤️


...Different faiths  naturally have doctrinal differences but it's my hope that we can steer away from our differences, debates, arguments, and comparisons and focus on what we have in common which is our undeniable love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We all seek to follow Him and try our best to be like Him. God is so very proud of each of us through all our differences, mistakes, and weaknesses. Only He knows what's truly in our hearts. We are all doing our very best with what the Spirit has taught us and God knows that and delights in our genuine desires. It's my prayer that we can begin to see ourselves and all of God's children the way that He sees us and through that we can have nothing but unconditional love for each other, a desire to serve one another, be friends with one another, and unite on our common foundation of Christ. We are children of the Most High God and that makes us all brothers and sisters - and that's pretty awesome!! ❤️❤️

For an entire week, no one commented on my comment, or liked it, or disliked it. It stood on it's own and I think it made a powerful point. Since then, one person has commented and thanked me for opening my heart and asked me to consider reading this woman's book. I didn't reply, but I will say that I haven't felt impressed by the Spirit to read it, nor to share her name in this post. I don't wish to slander her character in any way, nor lead other people to feel the need to speak against her, so I will keep that information quiet, it's not what's important. 

The purpose of sharing this experience is to bring awareness that this is another tactic that Satan is using to divide our country and the children of God. When we are busy squabbling with others over politics, religion, world views, and even squabbling with others within our own church over doctrine and personal beliefs, we are helping out the Adversary. He wants us to forget what has been prophesied by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Doctrine and Covenants 27:13-14

13 Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times, in the which I will gather together in gone all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;

14 And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out of the world.

Doctrine and Covenants 101:22,28

22 Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places;

28 And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man.

Matthew (JST) 1:27 

27 And now I show unto you a parable. Behold, wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together; so likewise shall mine elect be gathered from the four quarters of the earth.

John 11:52

52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.

Mark 13:27

27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

In reference to the Kingdom of God and what it truly means for everyone on the earth - Brigham Young taught,

"The Kingdom we are talking about, preaching about and trying to build up is the Kingdom of God on the earth, not in the starry heavens, nor in the sun. We are trying to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth to which really and properly everything that pertains to men—their feelings, their faith, their affections, their desires, and every act of their lives—belong, that they may be ruled by it spiritually and temporally (DBY, 339)."

"When the Kingdom of God is fully set up and established on the face of the earth, and takes the preeminence over all other nations and kingdoms, it will protect the people in the enjoyment of all their rights, no matter what they believe, what they profess, or what they worship (DBY, 440)."

Evangelical, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Jehovah Witness, Episcopalian, Pentecostal, Protestant, Mormon, etc. if our hearts are in Jesus, we are all on the Lord's team. Doctrinal differences aside, we all believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. Together we make up the children of God. We are brothers and sisters. As Moroni tells us, God gives gifts unto all of His children, not just members of a particular church. These gifts are used to bless and benefit all. On this earth, it is the Lord's Kingdom against Satan's Kindom - there are no other teams to be on. When we try to be like Christ, and serve like Him, love like Him, we become His hands on this earth. We truly are on the same team and He uses all of us for His different purposes. He is gathering us all together into one fold. Let's not forget that. We should be rejoicing in this!

Dallan H Oaks

Dallan H. Oaks said it best when he said,

"We should all follow the gospel teachings to love our neighbor and avoid contention. Followers of Christ should be examples of civility. We should love all people, be good listeners, and show concern for their sincere beliefs. Though we may disagree, we should not be disagreeable. Our stands and communications on controversial topics should not be contentious. We should be wise in explaining and pursuing our positions and in exercising our influence. In doing so, we ask that others not be offended by our sincere religious beliefs and the free exercise of our religion. We encourage all of us to practice the Savior’s Golden Rule: “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12)."

Perry Stone

Lastly, I came across an interview with Evangelist author and minister Perry Stone. He shared some visions he had of the last days that are very similar to many Latter-day Saint visions I have heard. I found it very genuine and humbling when he counseled the viewers in part 2 of the interview,

"Don't fall out with people who differ from you. Try to understand, 'why do they believe that?'...you have to show love even in unlovable times, when people are not returning love back...Jesus said they are going to know you by the love you show one another. So we've got to start treating each other better."

Furthermore I found it fascinating when he said, 

"I believe there is a remnant church that is going to come together. There will be baptists in it, there will be Methodists in it, there will be Spirit filled Catholics, there will be Pentecostals, Charismatic, Episcopalians, and they are going to be truth seekers and truth lovers. They are going to love the Word so much, that you're going to see them together in meetings and conferences, going together, and praying together, and meeting together, and God is going to pull a fragmented bride together and he's going to come at with what is His true bride without wrinkle or blemish." 

Brigham Young

I believe this to be a big part of the gathering, as the righteous from all over the world will gather together. Brigham Young said,

“By and by the Jews will be gathered to the land of their fathers, and the ten tribes, who wandered into the north, will be gathered home, and the blood of Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, which is to be found in every kingdom and nation under heaven, will be gathered from among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles who will receive and adhere to the principles of the Gospel will be adopted and initiated into the family of Father Abraham, and Jesus will reign over his own and Satan will reign over his own” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 121–22).

Spencer W Kimball

Spencer W. Kimball said,

"This gathering shall continue until the righteous are assembled in the congregations of the Saints in the nations of the world." (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 438–39).

In Nephi 1:14 we learn that there are only two teams: the Church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil. The Saints of God in all nations are persecuted by the great and abominable church (the devil). Here is a great podcast on the Church of the Lamb, by LDS institute instructor Mike Stroud.

According to the LDS Bible Dictionary, the word saint is a translation of a Greek word also rendered “holy,” the fundamental idea being that of consecration or separation for a sacred purpose; but since what was set apart for God must be without blemish, the word came to mean “free from blemish,” whether physical or moral. 

We know that during the Millennium, good and just members of many religions will be living upon the Earth. It will be Zion on the Earth. Leading up to that time, as the earth gets more wicked, I believe many people of different faiths will come together as there is strength in numbers. It will no longer be this church vs. that church but instead a united stance of righteousness vs. evil. 

It is my hope and prayer that we can set not just our theological differences aside but all of our differences aside, and do our best to love all of our brothers and sisters. By doing so we will become pure in heart, the very definition of Zion, and will further prepare the earth to be ready to receive our Savior. I say this in Jesus' name amen.

Other Churches Teaching that Native Americans Originated from Israel!

This video popped up in my feed yesterday and I was delighted to see that leaders of other Christian faiths are teaching that Native Americans originated from Israel! For me, it’s another witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I was so happy, I left this as my comment below the video.

I love this! Amen :) It supports what I already believe as a fan of the Book of Mormon. A great history of the ancient tribes in America and their record of coming here from Jerusalem, as well as their incredible prophecies about America.

One of their ancient prophets in the Book of Mormon prophesied of the destruction and demise of their future generations in America because in his day they killed off the prophets on the land and turned from the word of God. He said that they would be scattered and smitten by the white Gentiles who would arrive on this land to colonize it. 

1 Nephi 13:12-15 

12 And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land. 

13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters. 

14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten. 

15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain. 

But there was a prophecy given for their hope and salvation in our day. I love these verses:
 "And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews." 

“And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.” (2 Ne. 30:4–5.) 

"And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.” (1 Ne. 14:1–2.)  

Beautiful scripture ❤️

After posting, I received some unkind comments towards my comment, even though it was from my heart. I did not respond, and I don't wish to expand on what was said.

I follow many different Christian leaders on social media because I am inspired by so many. Their testimonies are additional witnesses to what I already believe and I have even learned some things that were very helpful. I am so grateful for the diversity we have not only within the church but outside of it. 

It brings me so much joy to find common ground and share little bits and pieces of truths with each other that build us up rather than tear us down. Sometimes I find that many in the Christian community are not so kind or accepting towards my own beliefs when they find out I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I am always doing my best to love them anyways and respect their opinions about me. I am hopeful that one day they will see the good fruits of our members and notice the light and the service we freely offer – and give us a chance. A chance at just being friends without judgment or criticism. We can chat about our love for the Savior, our love for His gospel, miracles we have experienced…but as soon as they find out I am Mormon a wall goes up. We shouldn’t see labels on those around us, we should see everyone as a child of God. We are all equally loved by Him, therefore we should love each other just as much as we love Him. 

I am hopeful that one day others who are not favorable of Mormons will understand that our testimonies about what we believe are very real, personal, and sacred to us. If the Spirit had not born witness to our hearts, we would not have a testimony. This applies to members of all faiths. A testimony is a very personal thing. If the Spirit did not bear any witness to you of light and truth about your faith, you would not believe it. We all belong to the churches that we do, because the Spirit guided us to them. They are right for us because we have been guided to them. I cannot tell another person what is “right” for them just as another person cannot tell me what is “right” or “wrong” for me. The Lord knows us and knows our individual needs. He guides us to where we need to be. It is important to respect that. Our paths are all different, we are all at different places in our lives, different levels of light and knowledge, and we are all doing the best we can with what we know. All who follow the Savior Jesus Christ belong to the Church of the Lamb. Our doctrines may differ but our principals are still the same. We can surely unite on that.

Religion is good because it gives us standards to live by. It helps us rise to a higher potential. No matter what church we belong to, if our religion teaches peace and love – then we are in a good church! We all want to share what we believe because it has made us so happy! We want to share that happiness. When guided by the Spirit, I often share my beliefs with others if they seem interested or they ask, however I never force my opinions or beliefs on anyone. Even missionaries are taught to always serve and love all people first. If you have truth you want to share, others will not want to hear it if you are telling them their beliefs are wrong or evil or they have been deceived. Criticizing others for what brings them joy, is a sure sign of personal unhappiness. When someone is truly happy and truly has the Spirit with them, they are at peace and don’t feel the need to criticize others for their differences. The core of the gospel is treating others how you would want to be treated and loving everyone without conditions attached. I am hopeful that someday we’ll get there, or at least close to it!

Not all people in the Christian Community are critical towards Mormons, and yes, there are even some Mormon’s who don’t practice the Golden Rule themselves. Regardless of our experiences with people outside of our faiths, we should seek to give everyone we meet the benefit of the doubt. We should express gratitude that our Father in Heaven has given us free agency so that we can believe what feels right to us. We are all so blessed! 

Claim Your Blessings Today!

Several years ago I wanted to run a promotion for my skin care product that I had newly re-branded. I met with the owner of a popular coupon magazine that circulates monthly here in Utah. After receiving advice from a successful local business owner, I decided it would be a fantastic idea to offer my product for free in this magazine! A shipping fee of $9 would cover the cost of the manufacturing on each product as well as packaging, the cost to mail it, and hopefully the cost to place the ad. This same idea with this same shipping amount, offered in this same magazine, is what launched this certain business owner's success. I was so excited to follow suit!

Because my product had been an As Seen on TV product, I had that advantage over the other business owner. I was sure that I would have just as much, if not more success with this offer. I paid the large amount of money for my ad to be featured with fingers crossed that enough people would claim the free product to cover that cost. The ad was big, beautiful, had striking colors and font and my very best before and after pictures. The title of the ad was FREE!! The details explained the coupon was good for one free product (excluding shipping) and explained the benefits of the product with bullet points. I was very excited for it to run.

Without any doubt, I was certain that several hundred people or more would claim this free offer. It was an incredible deal because the product truly was free. The product sold for retail at $20 a jar. In fact, in order to be eligible to place the ad, I had to have 2,000 products made as the magazine owner told me I could expect to surely get half of that as a minimum claimed on my offer.

The day the magazine came in the mail, I opened it up to find my ad. I was so excited! I checked my online store several times a day to see the status. And....as the hours, days, and weeks passed by...nothing. No one claimed my offer. I could not believe it! Towards the end of the month I was amazed to see that one person had claimed my offer. A couple years later when we moved, I became her neighbor and when she learned I was the owner of this product, she told me she had a jar that she had claimed on the free offer. She told me how much she loved it. She had no idea that she was the only one who had claimed the free offer.

For several months I could not wrap my mind around this. I could not believe that only one person saw the value of this offer and claimed it. There were so many people who saw the ad, saw what it could do for their feet, saw that it was free, and all they had to do was go to the link and enter the code. It was so simple! There would never be such a good deal offered again.

Years later, I ran a similar promotion on social media and again, this time, no one claimed the offer. Months passed and I ran another free promotion in which I went to the fan page of my product. I notified everyone on social media that all they had to do was like, share, or comment on the post, and they would be entered in a drawing in which I would pick several winners  to win free product with free shipping! They could enter as many times as they liked and the contest was only 24 hours.

Again, I was amazed. Only a handful of people responded and so every person who entered won. I could not believe how many loyal customers and fans did not make the easy effort to get the product they always purchase for free. I wondered if they doubted they would win, or doubted it was actually free, or just too busy to take the step.

Lastly, I recently held a promotion where I drew several winners who each won $50 of free product plus free shipping. The winners were very excited to have won, however to this day not one of them have claimed their prize. On the contrary, for the past several years, whenever I offer a discount such as buy 5 get 5 free or 50% off, my orders explode. I have learned that when something is free, people do not associate value with it. However, when something  is slightly discounted and the customer must also pay for shipping, they attach a value to that and jump on the opportunity.

As I have pondered this, I made a connection to the Plan of Salvation and our blessings that the Father has in store for us. Salvation is for everyone, you don't have to earn it or pay for it. Jesus already paid the price and His gift is free to all who will just accept it. As simple and incredible as it seems, many do not jump at the opportunity.

Spiritual gifts are also free, they are a gift to us. However, many of us do not claim them.

There are mountains of blessings being stored for each of us, all we have to do is claim them. However, many of us never make the simple effort to claim them. I imagine giant warehouses all over Heaven full of blessings, just sitting on the shelves, waiting to be claimed.

Maybe we are deceived to think that there is catch, nothing can really be free can it? Or, do we think if something is free, it must not be very valuable, so what's the point of checking it out? Or are we simply lazy, thinking it seems like work to have to claim an offer. You have go to the link, click on it, enter your information. Maybe we'll just wait until we have some free time or wait until the next offer comes around.

Living the gospel can seem like work at times. Going to church every Sunday, giving service, paying tithing, studying scriptures, praying, and the list goes on. Sure what's being offered sounds wonderful, but we'll get around to it when we have more time.

Are you claiming your gifts, your blessings, and your place in God's Kingdom? It's there for the taking, and you don't even have to pay for shipping. What are you waiting for? I know that when you claim all the Father has to give you, it is then you find your greatest peace and happiness! I say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen.