Category: General Conference

Jesus is the Living Resurrected Christ who soon will come in power and great glory to cleanse the earth of war and sin and usher in His Great Millennial Reign of love and peace and prosperity. So you may want to repent of your sins and get ready to meet Him.

The Love of Jesus Christ by Richard W Linford

THE LIVING CHRIST

THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLES

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.

He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.

He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.

We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world.

He rose from the grave to “become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His “other sheep” (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised “dispensation of the fulness of times” (Ephesians 1:10).

Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: “His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying:

“I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father” (D&C 110:3–4).

Of Him the Prophet also declared: “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

“For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:22–24).

We declare in words of solemnity that His priesthood and His Church have been restored upon the earth—“built upon the foundation of … apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Ephesians 2:20).

We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.

We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.

January 1, 2000

THE QUORUM OF THE TWELVE

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“With God, nothing is impossible.” Jesus is the Resurrected Living Christ, the Holy Messiah, the Prince of Peace, who soon will come in power and great glory to cleanse the earth of war and sin and usher in His great Millennium of peace and prosperity. So you may want to repent so your life is in order. You may want to get ready to meet Him.

“With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible”

Russell M. Nelson

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I echo the testimony of our beloved associate, Elder Dallin H. Oaks. With him and the other Brethren, I applaud the efforts of Latter-day Saints throughout the world who willingly serve in building the kingdom of God. Likewise, I respect those who quietly do their duty though deepening trials come their way. And I admire those who strive to be more worthy by overcoming a personal fault or who work to achieve a difficult goal.

I feel impressed to counsel those engaged in personal challenges to do right. In particular, my heart reaches out to those who feel discouraged by the magnitude of their struggle. Many shoulder heavy burdens of righteous responsibility which, on occasion, seem so difficult to bear. I have heard those challenges termed impossible.

As a medical doctor, I have known the face of adversity. I have seen much of death and dying, suffering and sorrow. I also remember the plight of students overwhelmed by their studies and of those striving to learn a foreign language. And I recall the fatigue and frustration felt by young parents with children in need. Amidst circumstances seemingly impossible, I have also experienced the joyous relief that comes when one’s understanding is deepened by scriptural insight.

The Lord has often chosen to instruct His people in their times of trial. Scriptures show that some of His lasting lessons have been taught with examples terrible as war, commonplace as childbearing, or obvious as hazards of deep water. His teachings are frequently based on common understanding, but with uncommon results. Indeed, one might say that to teach His people, the Lord employs the unlikely.

Warfare, for example, has been known since time began. Even in that ugly circumstance, the Lord has helped those obedient to His counsel. Going into battle, all would assume the obvious advantage of outnumbering an enemy. But when God’s disciple Gideon was leading an army against the Midianites, “the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many …, lest Israel vaunt themselves …, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me” (Judg. 7:2).

So the Lord directed Gideon to reduce his numbers. He first decreased the troops from twenty-two thousand to ten thousand.

Then the Lord said to Gideon, “The people are yet too many” (Judg. 7:4). So another reduction was made. Finally, only three hundred remained. Then the Lord delivered the victory to the outnumbered few (see Judg. 7:5–25).

Even more widely known than war is an understanding of childbearing. Everyone “knows” that old women do not bear children. So upon whom did the Lord call to bear Abraham’s birthright son? Sarah, at age ninety! When told this was to be, she asked a logical question: “Shall I [which am old] of a surety bear a child?” (Gen. 18:13). From heaven came this reply: “Is any thing too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14).

So decreed, she gave birth to Isaac, to carry the crucial Abrahamic covenant into the second generation (see Gen. 26:1–4, 24).

Later, for one of the most important events ever to occur, the other extreme was chosen. As all knew that an elderly woman could not bear children, it was just as obvious that a virgin could not have children. But Isaiah had made this prophetic utterance:

“The Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14).

When Mary was notified of her sacred responsibility, the announcing angel reassured, “For with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

The expression deep water means danger! That very hazard challenged the Israelites led by Moses at the Red Sea (see Ex. 14). Later, they were led by Joshua to the river Jordan at flood time (see Josh. 3). In each instance, deep water was divinely divided to allow the faithful to reach their destination safely. To teach His people, the Lord employs the unlikely.

Turning to our day, have you ever wondered why the Master waited so long to inaugurate the promised “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21)? Any competitor knows the disadvantage of allowing an opponent to get too far ahead. Wouldn’t the work of the restoration of the Church have been easier if begun earlier?

Suppose for a moment you are a member of a team. The coach beckons you from the bench and says: “You are to enter this contest. I not only want you to win; you shall win. But the going will be tough. The score at this moment is 1,143,000,000 to six, and you are to play on the team with the six points!”

That large number was the approximate population of the earth in the year 1830 when the restored church of Jesus Christ was officially organized with six members (see James Avery Joyce, sel., World Population Basic Documents, 4 vols., Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1976, 4:2214). The setting was remote and rural. By standards of the world, its leaders were deemed to be unlearned. Their followers seemed so ordinary. But with them, the work was begun. Assignments had been revealed:

  • The gospel was to be preached to every kindred, nation, tongue, and people.
  • Ordinary folk were to become Saints.
  • Redemptive work was to be done for all who had ever lived.

The great dispensation of the latter days had commenced, and they were the ones to usher it forth!

Furthermore, the Prophet Joseph Smith was unjustly held in the unspeakable isolation of a distant prison. In such obscurity, then and there, he was told by the Lord that “the ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name” (D&C 122:1).

If any tasks ever deserved the label impossible, those would seem to qualify. But, in fact, our Lord had spoken: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26; see also Mark 10:27; Luke 18:27). To teach His people, the Lord employs the unlikely.

A century and a half later, the burdening baton of that opportunity has now been passed to us. We are children of the noble birthright, who must carry on in spite of our foredetermined status to be broadly outnumbered and widely opposed. Challenges lie ahead for the Church and for each member divinely charged toward self-improvement and service.

How is it possible to achieve the “impossible”? Learn and obey the teachings of God. From the holy scriptures, heaven-sent lift will be found for heaven-sent duties. To so achieve, at least three basic scriptural themes loom repeatedly as requirements.

Faith

The foremost requisite is faith. It is the first principle of the gospel (see A of F 1:4). In his epistle to the Hebrews, Paul so taught. He concluded that by faith the great deeds of Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, and others were accomplished (see Heb. 11:4–34).

Prophets on the American hemisphere similarly taught the fundamental importance of faith. Moroni said it included things “hoped for and not seen” and then warned his skeptics, “Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6). Then he spoke of leaders whose faith preceded their miraculous deeds, including Alma, Amulek, Nephi, Lehi, Ammon, the brother of Jared, and the three who were promised that they should not taste of death (see Ether 12:13–20).

The Lord personally taught this truth to his disciples: “If ye have faith,” he said, “nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matt. 17:20).

Faith is nurtured through knowledge of God. It comes from prayer and feasting upon the words of Christ through diligent study of the scriptures.

Focus

The second requisite I have classified as focus. Imagine, if you will, a pair of powerful binoculars. Two separate optical systems are joined together with a gear to focus two independent images into one three-dimensional view. To apply this analogy, let the scene on the left side of your binoculars represent your perception of your task. Let the picture on the right side represent the Lord’s perspective of your task—the portion of His plan He has entrusted to you. Now, connect your system to His. By mental adjustment, fuse your focus. Something wonderful happens. Your vision and His are now the same. You have developed an “eye single to the glory of God” (D&C 4:5; see also Morm. 8:15). With that perspective, look upward—above and beyond mundane things about you. The Lord said, “Look unto me in every thought” (D&C 6:36). That special vision will also help clarify your wishes when they may be a bit fuzzy and out of focus with God’s hopes for your divine destiny. Indeed, the precise challenge you regard now as “impossible” may be the very refinement you need, in His eye.

Recently I visited the home of a man terminally ill. The stake president introduced me to the man’s family. His wife demonstrated such focus when she asked for a blessing for her dying husband—not for healing, but for peace, not for a miracle, but for ability to abide to the end. She could see from an eternal viewpoint, not merely from the perspective of one weighted with the responsibilities of her husband’s day-to-day care.

Elsewhere, a mother with focus nurtures her son, crippled for the whole of this life. Daily she thanks her Heavenly Father for the privilege of laboring in love with a child for whom mortality’s vale of tears will be mercifully brief. Her focus is fixed on eternity. With celestial sight, trials impossible to change become possible to endure.

Strength and Courage

A third theme in the scriptures requisite for significant accomplishment is difficult to summarize in one word, so I shall link two to describe it—strength and courage. Repeatedly, scriptures yoke these attributes of character together, especially when difficult challenges are to be conquered (see Deut. 31:6, 7, 23; Josh. 1:6, 7, 9, 18; Josh. 10:25; 1 Chr. 22:13; 1 Chr. 28:20; 2 Chr. 32:7; Ps. 27:14; Ps. 31:24; Alma 43:43; Alma 53:20).

Perhaps this is more easily illustrated than defined. Our pioneer forefathers are good examples. They sang, “Gird up your loins; fresh courage take” (“Come, Come, Ye Saints,” Hymns, 1985, no. 30). They feared no toil and no labor. Among them were Johan Andreas Jensen and his wife, Petra, who left their native Norway in 1863. Their family included six-week-old tiny twin daughters. As handcarts were pulled in their rugged journey, one of those little girls died along the way. The child who survived grew up to become my Grandmother Nelson!

There are pioneers in the Church today just as strong and courageous. Recently, I interviewed a married couple three days after their release as full-time missionaries in a large metropolis. “We are converts,” they said. “We joined the Church ten years ago. Even though we just completed a mission, we want to go again! But this time, we would like to volunteer for a more difficult assignment. We want to teach and serve children of God who live in remote areas of the world!”

As I countered with the grim realities of their request, they continued their expression of commitment. “Our three children and their spouses will assist with our expenses. Two of those couples have joined the Church already, and the third is equally supportive. Please send us among humble people who love the Lord and desire to know that His Church has again been restored to the earth.” Needless to say, their petition was gratefully heard, and now they have received their second call to missionary service.

Strength and courage also characterize another couple. As faithful members of the Church, they had always upheld its doctrines, including the twelfth article of faith. When their country went to war, military conscription called the dutiful husband away from his wife before either had learned she was to bear their child. He was captured by enemy troops and taken as a prisoner of war. Months elapsed. Their baby came. Still no word to know whether the new father was alive. A year after his capture, he was permitted to write to his wife.

Meanwhile, though countries apart, they each remained faithful to covenants made at baptism. Even though clothed in prisoner’s stripes and able to speak the language of his captors’ country only in a limited way, he became Sunday School superintendent of the branch. He baptized four fellow prisoners during their confinement. Three years after the war ended, he returned home to his wife and a son he had never seen. Later, he served for ten years as the first stake president of his country. Now he is a member of the presidency of one of our temples! His wife stands faithfully beside him in the privilege of that sacred assignment.

You who may be momentarily disheartened, remember, life is not meant to be easy. Trials must be borne and grief endured along the way. As you remember that “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37), know that He is your Father. You are a son or daughter created in His image, entitled through your worthiness to receive revelation to help with your righteous endeavors. You may take upon you the holy name of the Lord. You can qualify to speak in the sacred name of God (see D&C 1:20). It matters not that giants of tribulation torment you. Your prayerful access to help is just as real as when David battled his Goliath (see 1 Sam. 17).

Foster your faith. Fuse your focus with an eye single to the glory of God. “Be strong and courageous” (2 Chr. 32:7), and you will be given power and protection from on high. “For I will go before your face,” the Lord declared. “I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88).

The great latter-day work of which we are a part shall be accomplished. Prophecies of the ages shall be fulfilled. “For with God all things are possible” (Mark 10:27), I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Click on this link to listen to President Nelson’s remarks

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1988/04/with-god-nothing-shall-be-impossible?lang=eng

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Jesus is the Resurrected Living Christ, the Holy Messiah, the Prince of Peace, who soon will come in power and great glory to cleanse the earth of war and sin and usher in His great Millennium of peace and prosperity. So you may want to repent so your life is in order. You may want to get ready to meet Him.

Do not doubt, Thomas. I AM THE RESURRECTED LIVING CHRIST. oil painting by Richard W. Linford

And you may want to take a look at invitations President Nelson has extended since he became Prophet

By Sydney Walker  Updated13 JAN 202210:02 AM MST

Be baptized, Receive the Holy Ghost, and Stay on the covenant path 

In a press conference in January 2018 following his ordination as President of the Church, President Nelson said: “Now, to each member of the Church I say: Keep on the covenant path. Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual blessing and privilege available to men, women and children everywhere.”

Whether one is moving along the covenant path, has slipped from the path or can’t see the path from where they are, President Nelson said to the priesthood brethren during the April 2019 general conference: “I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance — of doing and being a little better each day.”

Increase your spiritual capacity and ‘hear Him’ and do what “He” inspires you to do

During his first general conference as the Prophet, President Nelson urged Latter-day Saints to increase their spiritual capacity to receive revelation. “In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost,” he said.

In light of the home-centered, Church-supported curriculum emphasized during the October 2018 general conference, President Nelson invited individuals and families to remodel their homes into “a sanctuary of faith” and “center of gospel learning.” He promised, “Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining.”

To help women increase their spiritual capacity, President Nelson invited them during the October 2019 general conference to prayerfully study Doctrine and Covenants 25 and “all the truths you can find about priesthood power.” 

“As your understanding increases and as you exercise faith in the Lord and His priesthood power, your ability to draw upon this spiritual treasure that the Lord has made available will increase,” he promised. 

In a February 2020 social media post, President Nelson extended an invitation tied to the 200th anniversary of the First Vision. Heavenly Father personally introduced His Beloved Son Jesus Christ to Joseph Smith, with a specific charge to “hear Him.”

“I invite you to think deeply and often about this key question: How do you hear Him?” President Nelson wrote. 

Watch 15 #HearHim videosfrom the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Heavenly Father knows that when His children are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, “what will help us the very most is to hear His Son,” President Nelson said during April 2020 general conference. “Because when we seek to hear — truly hear — His Son, we will be guided to know what to do in any circumstance.”

Help Gather Israel and let God prevail

The doctrine of the gathering of Israel has captured President Nelson’s attention for the more than 36 years he has served as an Apostle, he said during the October 2020 general conference. “Anytime we do anything that helps anyone — on either side of the veil — to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.”

One of the Hebraic meanings of the word “Israel” is “let God prevail,” President Nelson said. Following an invitation for Latter-day Saints to lead out in abandoning attitudes and actions of prejudice, he asked: “Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life?”

The gathering is “the most important thing taking place on earth today,” President Nelson told youth during a worldwide devotional in June 2018, inviting them to enlist in the Lord’s youth battalion to gather Israel. “This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.”

He challenged the youth to read daily from the Book of Mormon to learn more about the gathering. He also extended five invitations he promised “will change you and help change the world”: hold a seven-day fast from social media, make a weekly sacrifice of time to the Lord, stay on the covenant path, pray daily that all of God’s children might receive gospel blessings, and stand out and be a light. 

During his address in the general women’s session in October 2018, President Nelson extended “a prophetic plea” to the women of the Church to participate in the gathering of Israel. He invited the women to hold a 10-day fast from social media, read the Book of Mormon before the end of the year, attend the temple regularly and participate fully in Relief Society. 

#GiveThanks several times daily

To bring hope and healing during a time of global instability and uncertainty in November 2020, President Nelson prescribed a “fast-acting and long-lasting” spiritual remedy to the world. He extended two invitations related to the “healing power of gratitude.” 

“First, I invite you — just for the next seven days — to turn social media into your own personal gratitude journal. Post every day about what you are grateful for, who you are grateful for and why you are grateful,” he said in a Nov. 20, 2020, video message, inviting all to use the hashtag #GiveThanks. https://www.youtube.com/embed/i51gcWCs-Ho?feature=oembed

“Second, let us unite in thanking God through daily prayer. Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray by first expressing gratitude to God, and then petitioning Him for the things we need. Prayer brings forth miracles.”

Increase your faith in Christ

Faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest power available in this life, said President Nelson during the April 2021 general conference. 

“My dear brothers and sisters, my call to you this Easter morning is to start today to increase your faith,” he declared. “Through your faith, Jesus Christ will increase your ability to move the mountains in your life, even though your personal challenges may loom as large as Mount Everest.”

President Nelson offered five suggestions to help Latter-day Saints develop that faith and trust:

  • First, study. Become an engaged learner.
  • Second, choose to believe in Jesus Christ.
  • Third, act in faith.
  • Fourth, partake of sacred ordinances worthily.
  • Fifth, ask Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for help.

Strengthen your spiritual foundation

When the major renovation to the Salt Lake Temple is complete, there will be no safer place during an earthquake in the Salt Lake Valley than inside that temple, said President Nelson during October 2021 general conference. He called on Latter-day Saints to implement “extraordinary measures” to strengthen their personal spiritual foundations. 

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tours the Salt Lake Utah Temple in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 22, 2021.
President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tours the Salt Lake Utah Temple in Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

“My dear brothers and sisters, these are the latter days. If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

“So, I ask each of you: ‘How firm is your foundation? And what reinforcement to your testimony and understanding of the gospel is needed?’ …. Please believe me when I say that when your spiritual foundation is built solidly upon Jesus Christ, you have no need to fear.”

https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2022-01-13/president-nelson-invitations-prophet-gather-israel-hear-him-covenant-path-198003

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Jehovah Jesus Christ, the holy Messiah, King of kings, Lord of lords, Our Advocate with the Father, Our Exemplar, Our Judge, the kind and merciful one, is the healer of our souls who soon will come, so you may want to repent of your sins today and get ready.

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What and Who is God?

If you would like our Savior Jesus Christ’s promised peace and eternal life, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ I invite you to call right now 1-888-537-7700 or 1-800-453-3860 extension 2-4914 or 801-240-4914 in order to visit with the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can also reach them via the website https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/easter-2021/talk-with-missionaries

God our Eternal Father in Heaven

  1. It is life eternal to know God Our Eternal Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jehovah Jesus Christ, Yeshua, The Holy Messiah.
  2. There are three separate Gods in heaven with whom we have affinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Of God the Father we testify:
  3. “There is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them.” (D. & C. 20:17.)
  4. He is not a progressive being in the sense that liberal religionists profess to believe.
  5. He was not created by man.
  6. He was not a God of vengeance and war in Old Testament times and a God of love and mercy in a later New Testament era.
  7. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
  8. God is known only by revelation.
  9. He stands revealed or remains forever unknown.
  10. He cannot be discovered in the laboratory.
  11. He cannot be discovered by viewing all immensity through giant telescopes.
  12. He cannot be discovered by cataloging all the laws of nature that do or have existed.
  13. A knowledge of his powers and the laws of nature which he has ordained does not reveal his personality and attributes to men. This kind of knowledge comes only by revelation from the Holy Ghost as a consequence of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
  14. Man’s purpose in life is to learn the nature and kind of being that God is, and then, by conformity to his laws and ordinances, to progress to that high state of exaltation wherein man becomes perfect as the Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48; Teachings, pp. 342-362.)
  15. He is God Almighty.
  16. He is THE ALMIGHTY God.
  17. He is not an amorphous personage of Spirit. He is not properly defined by apostate creeds.
  18. Apostate creeds teach that God is a spirit essence that fills the immensity of space and is everywhere and nowhere in particular present.
  19. In a vain attempt to support this doctrine that God is a spirit essence, formulated by councils in the early days of the great apostasy, it is common for apologists to point to the statement in the King James Bible which says, “God is a Spirit.” (John 4:22-24.) The fact is that this passage is mistranslated; instead, the correct statement, quoted in context reads: “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. For unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth.” (Inspired Version, John 4:25-26.)
  20. It is true that God may be said to be a Spirit, but this statement must be understood to mean that he is a Spirit in the same sense that a resurrected man is a spirit.
  21. When the apostles, beholding the resurrected Lord, “were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit” (Luke 24:36-43), there was not the slightest intimation that the “spirit” was a vaporous nothingness that filled immensity. Spirits are personages. God the Father is a glorified and perfected Man, a Personage of flesh and bones (D. & C. 130:22), in which tangible body an eternal spirit is housed. It is in this sense that God is a Spirit.
  • HIS NATURE IS DIVINE AND ETERNAL.
  • God the Eternal Father, our Father in Heaven, is an exalted, perfected, and glorified Personage having a tangible body of flesh and bones. (D. & C. 130:22.)
  • All men, Christ included, were born as Heavenly Father’s spirit children in pre-existence. (D. & C. 93:21-23; Moses l; 2; 3; 4; Abra. 3:22-28.)
  • He is married for eternity to our Heavenly Mother.
  • He is the Great Creator. Through His Son He created, which is to say organized, our universe. He organized the earth and universe from existing matter. All things are round about and known by God the Father including past, present, and future.
  • He embodies all virtues perfectly – honesty, trustworthiness, faith, hope, charity, love, kindness, long-suffering, courage, chastity, purity, knowledge, wisdom, happiness and joy.
  • BECAUSE HE LOVED US FIRST, HE ASKS THAT WE LOVE HIM AND LOVE HIS SON AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
  • He asks that we show our love for Him by helping Him accomplish his singular objective which is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of us his children.
  • He asks that we show our love for Him by repenting of our sins and by keeping His commandments for such will bring us his children the greatest happiness. Righteousness is happiness. Wickedness never was happiness.
  • He asks that we show our love for Him by visiting with Him in prayer multiple times daily.
  • WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.
  • He desires to exalt his children by giving them experience in mortality, death, the resurrection, and exaltation
  • He gave his only begotten beloved son that we might not perish.
  • He forgives our sins and remembers them no more conditional on our acceptance of Christ Jesus as our Savior and repentance of our sins.
  • He is GOD the First in the godhead.
  • He is bound by law.
  • He is Holy, Holy, Holy.
  • He is immortal which is to say He cannot and will not die.
  • Once again, He has a resurrected, glorified, perfect body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.
  • He is an exalted being.
  • He is Perfect in Spirit, Mind, and Body.
  • He is Omnicharitable (all loving).
  • He is Omnipotent (all powerful).
  • He is Omnipresent (all present, in and through all things).
  • He is Omniscient (all knowing).
  • His is the great plan of our Happiness.
  • He implemented His great plan of joy and happiness, salvation and exaltation.
  • He holds the keys of presidency of our universe.
  • He holds the keys of creation delegated to His Son.
  • He holds the keys of the priesthood from eternity to all eternity delegated to His Son.
  • He holds the keys of the resurrection delegated to His Son.
  • His Son mirrors Him in person and attributes.
  • If you know the Son, you know the Father.
  • Like His Son, He is a God of mighty miracles.
  • We come to the Father only through His Beloved Son.
  • He is our Father in Heaven.
  • He is our Holy Father.
  • He is the Father of our spirits.
  • Like His Son, He is the God of truth and cannot lie.
  • Like His Son, He is the Great Creator of our universe.
  • All of his billions if not trillions of creations were organized by His Son and are known, named and numbered to both of them.
  • We worship the Father in the Son.
  • We also worship the Son.
  • Heavenly Father is the only true God whom we worship in the name of His Son.
  • He is the source of good.
  • He is the supreme being in our universe.
  • He is the Supreme God we worship in the name of his son Jesus Christ.
  • He lives in eternal celestial burnings.
  • He lives in the center of our universe near a great governing star Kolob.
  • He receives and answers our prayers proferred in the name of the Son.
  • He too has a father and a mother as rightly taught by The Prophet Joseph Smith.
  • Lucifer opposed Him and His Son.
  • In pre-existent counsels, He was opposed by his son Lucifer.
  • By Jehovah and Michael Heavenly Father banished Lucifer with “a one third part” of His rebellious children.
  • As consequence, Lucifer with his fallen angels became Satan the god of evil on earth.
  • His Son Jesus Christ is in His express image.
  • In addition to the fact that all men are brothers in the sense that all have descended from Adam, they are also brothers in that they have the same personal Father who begat them in the spirit.
  • Pre-existence.
  • In heaven, He convened the grand council and other councils to discuss the plan of salvation and exaltation.
  • Sacrament.
  • In the name of Jesus Christ, He blesses the sacrament in remembrance of His son’s atoning sacrifice, including His broken body and shed blood.
  • Fatherhood of God
  • It is only by understanding the real and literal sense in which God is our Father that we are able to understand what is meant by the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.
  • Our Lord had reference to this when he said, “Go to my brethren, arid say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:17.)
  • The designation Father is to be taken literally; it signifies that the Supreme Being is the literal Parent or Father of the spirits of all men. (Heb. 12:9.)
  • This is the reason men are commanded to approach Deity in prayer by saying, “Our Father which art in heaven.” (Matt. 6:9.)
  • We are His and our Heavenly Mother’s spirit children.
  • Beatitudes and Ten Commandments
  • Through His Son, He is the source of beatitudes.
  • Through His Son, Jehovah, He is the source of ten commandments
  • Godhead.
  • There are three Gods-the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost-who, though separate in personality, are united as one in purpose, in plan, and in all the attributes of perfection. Thus anything, in these fields, which is revealed with reference to any of them is equally true of each of the others; and hence no attempt need be made in these fields to distinguish between them.
  • By definition, . God (generally meaning the Father) is the one supreme and absolute Being; the ultimate source of the universe; the all powerlul, all-knowing, all-good Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things.
  • Of him, when considering the object upon which faith rests, the Prophet observes “that God is the only supreme governor and independent Being in whom all fulness and perfection dwell; who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient; without beginning of days or end of life; and that in him every good gilt and every good principle dwell; and that he is the Father of lights; in him the principle of faith dwells independently, and he is the object in whom the faith of all other rational and accountable beings centers for life and salvation.” (Lectures on Faith, p. 9.)
  • The godhead is comprised of three glorified, exalted, and perfected personages. They are the supreme presidency of the universe. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. I, pp. 1-55.)
  • They are: God the Father; God the Son; God the Holy Ghost. (First Article of Faith.) “Everlasting covenant was made between three personages,” the Prophet said, “before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages, according to Abraham’s record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator.” (Teachings, p. 190.)
  • Though each God in the Godhead is a personage, separate and distinct from each of the others, yet they are “one God” (Testimony of Three Witnesses in Book of Mormon), meaning that they are united as one in the attributes of perfection. For instance, each has the fulness of truth, knowledge, charity, power, justice, judgment, mercy, and faith. Accordingly these three separate persons think, act, speak, and are alike in all things; and yet they are three separate and distinct entities. Each occupies space and is and can be in but one place at one time, but each has power and influence that is everywhere present. The oneness of the Gods is the same unity that should exist among. the saints: (John 17; 3 Ne. 28:10-11.)
  • Perhaps no better statement defining the Godhead and showing the relationship of its members to each other has been written in this dispensation than that given by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Lectures on Faith. “There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing, and · supreme, power over all things, by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible, whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space. They are the Father and the Son, the Father being a personage of spirit meaning that he has a spiritual body which by revealed definition is a resurrected body of flesh and bones (I Cor. 15:44-45; D. & C. 88 :27)], glory, and power, possessing aII perfection and fullness.
  • The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, is a personage of tabernacle, made or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or rather man was formed after his likeness and in his image; he is also the express ·image and likeness of the personage of the Father, possessing all the fullness of the Father, or the same fullness with the Father; being begotten of him, and ordained from before the foundation of the world to be a propitiation for the sins of all those who should believe on his name, and is called the Son because of the flesh, and descended in suffering below that which man can suffer; or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be. “But, notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God, and remained without sin, showing thereby that it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin; and also, that by him a righteous judgment might come upon all flesh, and that all who walk not in the law of God may justly be condemned by the law, and have no excuse for their sins. “And he being the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fullness of the glory of the Father, possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one; or, in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme, power over all things; by whom all things were created and made that were created and made, and these three constitute the Godhead, and are one; the Father and the Son possessing the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power, and fullness-filling all in all; the Son being filled with the fullness of the mind, glory, and power; or, in other words, the spirit, glory, and power, of the Father, possessing all knowledge and glory, and the same kingdom, sitting at the right hand of power, in the express image and likeness of the Father, mediator for man, being filled with the fullness of the mind of the Father; or, in other words, the Spirit of the Father, which Spirit is shed forth upon all who believe on his name and keep his commandments. “And all those who keep his commandments shall grow up from grace to grace, and become heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ; possessing the same mind, being transformed into the same image or likeness, even the express image of him who fills all in all; being filled with the fullness of his glory, and become one in him, even as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one.” (Lectures on Faith, pp. 50-51.)
  • That exaltation which the saints of all ages have so devoutly sought is godhood itself. Godhood is to have the character, possess the attributes, and enjoy the perfections which the Father has. It is to do what he does, have the powers resident in him, and live as he lives, having eternal increase. (D. & C. 132:17-20, 37.) It is to know him in the full and complete sense, and no one can fully know God except another exalted personage who is like him in all respects. Those attaining this supreme height are sons of God (D. & C. 76:50-60); they receive the fullness of the Father and find membership in the Church of the Firstborn (D. 294 GODHOOD & C. 93:17-22); they are joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:14-18), inheriting with him all that the Father hath. (D. & C. 84:33-41.) They are gods. (Ps. 82:1, 6; John 10:34-36; Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, pp. 35-79; Gospel Kingdom, pp. 27-30.) Joseph Smith said: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! … I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see …. It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a· man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, ·the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible . . .. “Here, then, is eternal life-to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power … . [Such persons are] heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a god, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before.” (Teachings, pp. 345-347.) Again: “Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a god to his dominions.” (Teachings, p. 374,)
  • . Christ is the God of, our Fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (D. & C. 136:21-22; Ex. 3:1-16.) It was he who appeared to and covenanted with Abraham (Abra. 2:6-11), who was the one by whom salvation should come (I Ne. 6:4), and who was destined in due course to come into the world and be crucified for the sins of the world. (I Ne. 19:7-17.) 2. Since Abraham, who had the fulness of the gospel, worshiped both the Father and the Son, Peter and others have taken occasion, quite properly, to refer to the Father also as the God of our Fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Acts 3:13; 5:30; 22:14.)
  • “Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a god to his dominions,” the Prophet said. (Teachings, p. 374.) Hence, the Father, who shall continue to all eternity as the God of exalted beings, is a God of Gods. Further, as the Prophet also taught, there is “a God above the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . … If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that he had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? … Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that he had a Father also?” (Teachings, pp. 370, 373.) In this way both the Father and the Son, as also all exalted beings, are now or in due course will become Gods of Gods. (Teachings, pp. 342- 376.)
  • Christ [the Son] is the God of Israel (I Ne. 19:7-17; 3 Ne. Il:7-17), the God of Jacob (Ps. 146:5; Isa. 2:3; D. & C. 136:21), the Lord God, the Mighty One of Israel (D. & C. 36:1), the Lord God of the Hebrews. (Ex. 3:18.) These names signify both that he came of Israel himself and also his personal, attentive care toward that chosen race. They point to his “great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his Iovingkindnesses.” (Isa. 63:7-9; D. & C. 133:52-53.) Christ is the God of Jeshurun (Deut. 33:26), meaning that he is the God of Israel. Jeshurun or Jesurun, translated as upright one, is used by Moses and Isaiah as a symbolical name for Israel. (Deut. 32: 15; 33:4-5; Isa. 44:2.) Many who do not profess belief in God as he is revealed in the scriptures, or even as he is described in the false creeds of sectarianism, yet recognizing that law prevails in the universe and among all forms of life, speak of the manifestations of this law as the God of Nature. In reality, Christ [the Son] is the God of Nature (l Ne. 19:12), for it is in and through his almighty power that all things are created, upheld, governed, and controlled. Our Father in Heaven (Matt. 6:9) is the God of Spirits (Num. 16:22; 27:16) or the Father of Spirits (Heb. 12:9), meaning that he is the literal Parent of the Spirit Christ and of all other spirits. Inasmuch, however, as Christ attained Godhood while yet in preexistence, he too stood as a God to the other spirits, but this relationship was not the same one of personal parenthood that prevailed between the Father and his offspring. Christ is the God of the Whole Earth (Isa. 54 :5; 3 Ne. 11 :14), an appellation he carries to bear record of his universal interest in all men and their salvation. He is not alone the God of the Jews, or of Israel, or of the Latter-day Saints, but of the whole earth and all life on its face. This world of carnality and lust, of every lascivious and · evil thing, belongs to Satan. He created it; he is its father and its god. All those who belong to it-all those who are carnal, sensual, and devilish- are _his children, the children of disobedience. The earth itself is the Lord’s, and he is its ruler; but the world (the corrupt society on earth) is under the rule of him who is the god of this world. “If our gospel be hid,” Paul wrote, “it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Cor. 4:3-4.) Christ is a God of Truth (Ex. 34:6; Deut. 32:4; Ps. 31 :5), meaning he is the embodiment and personification of truth. In the same sense he is the God of grace, mercy, love, righteousness, charity, integrity, and all of the attributes of godliness.
  • Sources. Holy Scriptures. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine.
  • Godhood. See CELESTIAL MARRIAGE, CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN, DAUGHTERS OF Gon, ETERNAL LIFE, ETERNAL LIVES, EXALTATION, fULNESS OP THE FATHER, JOINT-HEIRS WITH CHRIST, PLURALTI’Y OF Gons, SALVATION, SoNs OF Goo God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. See CHRIST, Gon, Gon OF ISRAEL, GREAT I AM, JEHOVAH.

  • If you would like our Savior Jesus Christ’s promised peace and eternal life, as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ I invite you to call right now 1-888-537-7700 or 1-800-453-3860 extension 2-4914 or 801-240-4914 in order to visit with the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can also reach them via the website https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/easter-2021/talk-with-missionaries

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If you would like our Savior Jesus Christ’s promised peace and eternal life, I invite you to call right now 1-888-537-7700 or 1-800-453-3860 extension 2-4914 or 801-240-4914 in order to visit with the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can also reach them via the website https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/easter-2021/talk-with-missionaries

I am Richard Linford and I share my testimony with you that Jesus Christ is the Living Son of God the Father and the promised Millennial Messiah and that He has restored His true Church on earth, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, once more with living apostles and prophets to lead and guide it. With that in mind, I invite you

  1. to pray to Our Heavenly Father in the name of His Son Jesus Christ,
  2. to accept the following ARTICLES OF FAITH, having FAITH in Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son Jesus Christ,
  3. to REPENT of your sins each day,
  4. to be BAPTIZED BY IMMERSION FOR THE REMISSION OF YOUR SINS,
  5. to be confirmed a member of THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, the restored Church of Jesus Christ with its living apostles and prophets,
  6. to attend Church each Sunday and partake of the sacrament thus renewing your baptismal and other sacred covenants,
  7. to prepare and to go to the temple to make covenants and receive special blessings including being sealed to your family for eternity,
  8. to endure to the end of your life in striving to be righteous,
  9. better knowing Our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ in order to receive eternal life.
  10. [And p.s. you may also want to read the scriptural account of the Life of Christ found in the book of Matthew and the Book of Mormon which is a second witness that Jesus is the Christ. These scriptures are available in multiple languages and free at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website. www.churchofjesuschrist.org.]

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3.

Articles of Faith Repositionable Poster

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If you would like our Savior Jesus Christ’s promised peace and eternal life, I invite you to call right now 1-888-537-7700 or 1-800-453-3860 extension 2-4914 or 801-240-4914 in order to visit with the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can also reach them via the website https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/easter-2021/talk-with-missionaries

I invite you

  1. to pray to Our Heavenly Father in the name of His Son Jesus Christ,
  2. to accept the following ARTICLES OF FAITH, having FAITH in Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son Jesus Christ,
  3. to REPENT of your sins each day,
  4. to be BAPTIZED BY IMMERSION FOR THE REMISSION OF YOUR SINS,
  5. to be confirmed a member of THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, the restored Church of Jesus Christ with its living apostles and prophets,
  6. to attend Church each Sunday and partake of the sacrament thus renewing your baptismal and other sacred covenants,
  7. to prepare and to go to the temple to make covenants and receive special blessings including being sealed to your family for eternity,
  8. to endure to the end of your life in striving to be righteous,
  9. better knowing Our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ in order to receive eternal life.
  10. [And p.s. you may also want to read the scriptural account of the Life of Christ found in the book of Matthew and the Book of Mormon which is a second witness that Jesus is the Christ. These scriptures are available in multiple languages and free at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints website. www.churchofjesuschrist.org.]

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. John 17:3.

Articles of Faith Repositionable Poster

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What is The True Nature of God?

God our Eternal Father in Heaven lives and loves us for we are His children.

  1. It is life eternal to know God Our Eternal Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jehovah Jesus Christ, Yeshua, The Holy Messiah.
  2. There are three separate Gods in heaven with whom we have affinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Of God the Father we testify:
  3. “There is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them.” (D. & C. 20:17.)
  4. He is not a progressive being in the sense that liberal religionists profess to believe.
  5. He was not created by man.
  6. He was not a God of vengeance and war in Old Testament times and a God of love and mercy in a later New Testament era.
  7. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
  8. God is known only by revelation.
  9. He stands revealed or remains forever unknown.
  10. He cannot be discovered in the laboratory.
  11. He cannot be discovered by viewing all immensity through giant telescopes.
  12. He cannot be discovered by cataloging all the laws of nature that do or have existed.
  13. A knowledge of his powers and the laws of nature which he has ordained does not reveal his personality and attributes to men. This kind of knowledge comes only by revelation from the Holy Ghost as a consequence of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.
  14. Man’s purpose in life is to learn the nature and kind of being that God is, and then, by conformity to his laws and ordinances, to progress to that high state of exaltation wherein man becomes perfect as the Father is perfect. (Matt. 5:48; Teachings, pp. 342-362.)
  15. He is God Almighty.
  16. He is THE ALMIGHTY God.
  17. He is not an amorphous personage of Spirit. He is not properly defined by apostate creeds.
  18. Apostate creeds teach that God is a spirit essence that fills the immensity of space and is everywhere and nowhere in particular present.
  19. In a vain attempt to support this doctrine that God is a spirit essence, formulated by councils in the early days of the great apostasy, it is common for apologists to point to the statement in the King James Bible which says, “God is a Spirit.” (John 4:22-24.) The fact is that this passage is mistranslated; instead, the correct statement, quoted in context reads: “The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. For unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth.” (Inspired Version, John 4:25-26.)
  20. It is true that God may be said to be a Spirit, but this statement must be understood to mean that he is a Spirit in the same sense that a resurrected man is a spirit.
  21. When the apostles, beholding the resurrected Lord, “were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit” (Luke 24:36-43), there was not the slightest intimation that the “spirit” was a vaporous nothingness that filled immensity. Spirits are personages. God the Father is a glorified and perfected Man, a Personage of flesh and bones (D. & C. 130:22), in which tangible body an eternal spirit is housed. It is in this sense that God is a Spirit.
  • HIS NATURE IS DIVINE AND ETERNAL.
  • God the Eternal Father, our Father in Heaven, is an exalted, perfected, and glorified Personage having a tangible body of flesh and bones. (D. & C. 130:22.)
  • See Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith – History Chapter 1. (Freely available at www.churchofjesuschrist.org.
  • All men, Christ included, were born as Heavenly Father’s spirit children in pre-mortality. (D. & C. 93:21-23; Moses l; 2; 3; 4; Abra. 3:22-28.)
  • God the Father is married for eternity and we have a Heavenly Mother.
  • He is the Great Creator. Through His Son He created, which is to say organized, our universe. All things are round about and known by God the Father including past, present, and future.
  • He embodies all virtues perfectly – honesty, trustworthiness, faith, hope, charity, love, kindness, long-suffering, courage, chastity, purity, knowledge, wisdom, happiness and joy.
  • BECAUSE WE ARE HIS CHILDREN, HE ASKS THAT WE LOVE HIM AND LOVE HIS SON AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
  • He asks that we show our love for Him by helping Him bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children.
  • He asks that we show our love for Him by repenting of our sins and by keeping His commandments.
  • He asks that we show our love for Him by visiting with Him in prayer multiple times daily.
  • WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.
  • He desires to exalt his children by giving them experience in mortality, death, the resurrection, and exaltation
  • He gave his only begotten beloved son that we might not perish.
  • He sent Christ into the world to save the world not to condemn the world.
  • He forgives our sins conditional on our acceptance of Christ Jesus as our Savior and repentance of our sins.
  • He is GOD the First in the godhead.
  • He is bound by law.
  • He is Holy, Holy, Holy.
  • He is immortal which is to say He cannot and will not die.
  • He has a resurrected, glorified, perfect body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s.
  • He is an exalted being.
  • He is Perfect in Spirit, Mind, and Body.
  • He is Omnicharitable (all loving).
  • He is Omnipotent (all powerful).
  • He is Omnipresent (all present, in and through and able to communicate with all things).
  • He is Omniscient (all knowing).
  • His is the great plan of His and our Happiness.
  • In pre-mortal counsels, He announced and implemented His great plan of joy and happiness, salvation and exaltation.
  • He holds the keys of presidency of our universe.
  • He holds the keys of creation including those delegated to His Son.
  • He holds the keys of the priesthood from eternity to all eternity including those delegated to His Son.
  • He holds the keys of the resurrection delegated to His Son.
  • His Son mirrors Him in person and attributes.
  • He looks like the Son.
  • The Son looks like the Father.
  • If you know the Son, you know the Father.
  • Like His Son, He is a God of mighty miracles.

  • We come to the Father only through His Beloved Son.
  • It is the Son’s prerogative to reveal the Father to us.
  • He is our Father in Heaven.
  • He is our Holy Father.
  • He is the Father of our spirits.
  • Like His Son, He is the God of truth and cannot lie.
  • Like His Son, He is the Great Creator of our universe.
  • All of his billions if not trillions of creations were organized by His Son and are known, named and numbered to both of them.
  • We worship the Father in the name of the Holy Son.
  • We also worship the Son.
  • Heavenly Father is the only true God whom we worship in the name of His Son.
  • He is the source of good.
  • He is the supreme being in our universe.
  • He is the Supreme God we worship in the name of his son Jesus Christ.
  • He lives in eternal celestial burnings.
  • He lives in the center of our universe near great governing stars.
  • He receives and answers our prayers proferred in the name of the Son.
  • He too has a father and a mother as was rightly taught by The Prophet Joseph Smith.
  • Lucifer opposed Him and His Son.
  • In pre-existent counsels, He was opposed by his son Lucifer.
  • By Jehovah and Michael, Heavenly Father banished Lucifer with “a one third part” not “one third of” His rebellious children.
  • As consequence, Lucifer with his fallen angels became Satan the god of evil on earth together with his evil minions.
  • The Father’s Son Jesus Christ is in His express image.
  • In addition to the fact that all men are brothers in the sense that all have descended from Adam, they are also brothers in that they have the same personal Father who begat them in the spirit.
  • Pre-existence. Pre-mortal life.
  • In heaven, The Father convened the grand council and other councils to discuss the plan of salvation and exaltation.

  • Sacrament.
  • In the name of Jesus Christ, The Father blesses the sacrament as we remember His son’s atoning sacrifice, including His broken body and shed blood.
  • Fatherhood of God
  • It is only by understanding the real and literal sense in which God is our Father that we are able to understand what is meant by the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.
  • Our Lord had reference to this when he said, “Go to my brethren, arid say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:17.)
  • The designation Father is to be taken literally; it signifies that the Supreme Being is the literal Parent or Father of the spirits of all men. (Heb. 12:9.)
  • This is one reason men are commanded to approach Deity in prayer by saying, “Our Father which art in heaven.” (Matt. 6:9.)
  • We are His and our Heavenly Mother’s spirit children.
  • Beatitudes and Ten Commandments
  • Through His Son, He is the source of the beatitudes.
  • Through His Son, Jehovah, He is the source of the ten commandments
  • Godhead.
  • There are three Gods-the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost-who, though separate in personality, are united as one in purpose, in plan, and in all the attributes of perfection. Thus anything, in these fields, which is revealed with reference to any of them is equally true of each of the others; and hence no attempt need be made in these fields to distinguish between them.
  • By definition, . God (generally meaning the Father) is the one supreme and absolute Being; the ultimate source of our universe; the all powerlul, all-knowing, all-good Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things.
  • Of him, when considering the object upon which faith rests, the Prophet observes “that God is the only supreme governor and independent Being in whom all fulness and perfection dwell; who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient; without beginning of days or end of life; and that in him every good gift and every good principle dwell; and that he is the Father of lights; in him the principle of faith dwells independently, and he is the object in whom the faith of all other rational and accountable beings centers for life and salvation.” (Lectures on Faith, p. 9.)
  • The godhead is comprised of three glorified, exalted, and perfected personages. They are the supreme presidency of the universe. (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. I, pp. 1-55.)
  • They are: God the Father; God the Son; God the Holy Ghost. (First Article of Faith.) “Everlasting covenant was made between three personages,” the Prophet said, “before the organization of this earth, and relates to their dispensation of things to men on the earth; these personages, according to Abraham’s record, are called God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the witness or Testator.” (Teachings, p. 190.)
  • Though each God in the Godhead is a personage, separate and distinct from each of the others, yet they are “one God” (Testimony of Three Witnesses in Book of Mormon), meaning that they are united as one in the attributes of perfection. For instance, each has the fulness of truth, knowledge, charity, power, justice, judgment, mercy, and faith. Accordingly these three separate persons think, act, speak, and are alike in all things; and yet they are three separate and distinct entities. Each occupies space and is and can be in but one place at one time, but each has power and influence that is everywhere present. The oneness of the Gods is the same unity that should exist among the saints: (John 17; 3 Ne. 28:10-11.)
  • Perhaps no better statement defining the Godhead and showing the relationship of its members to each other has been written in this dispensation than that given by the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Lectures on Faith. “There are two personages who constitute the great, matchless, governing, and · supreme, power over all things, by whom all things were created and made, that are created and made, whether visible or invisible, whether in heaven, on earth, or in the earth, under the earth, or throughout the immensity of space. They are the Father and the Son, the Father being a personage of spirit meaning that he has a spiritual body which by revealed definition is a resurrected body of flesh and bones (I Cor. 15:44-45; D. & C. 88 :27)], glory, and power, possessing aII perfection and fullness.
  • The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, is a personage of tabernacle, made or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or rather man was formed after his likeness and in his image; he is also the express ·image and likeness of the personage of the Father, possessing all the fullness of the Father, or the same fullness with the Father; being begotten of him, and ordained from before the foundation of the world to be a propitiation for the sins of all those who should believe on his name, and is called the Son because of the flesh, and descended in suffering below that which man can suffer; or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be. “But, notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God, and remained without sin, showing thereby that it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin; and also, that by him a righteous judgment might come upon all flesh, and that all who walk not in the law of God may justly be condemned by the law, and have no excuse for their sins. “And he being the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, and having overcome, received a fullness of the glory of the Father, possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit, that bears record of the Father and the Son, and these three are one; or, in other words, these three constitute the great, matchless, governing and supreme, power over all things; by whom all things were created and made that were created and made, and these three constitute the Godhead, and are one; the Father and the Son possessing the same mind, the same wisdom, glory, power, and fullness-filling all in all; the Son being filled with the fullness of the mind, glory, and power; or, in other words, the spirit, glory, and power, of the Father, possessing all knowledge and glory, and the same kingdom, sitting at the right hand of power, in the express image and likeness of the Father, mediator for man, being filled with the fullness of the mind of the Father; or, in other words, the Spirit of the Father, which Spirit is shed forth upon all who believe on his name and keep his commandments. “And all those who keep his commandments shall grow up from grace to grace, and become heirs of the heavenly kingdom, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ; possessing the same mind, being transformed into the same image or likeness, even the express image of him who fills all in all; being filled with the fullness of his glory, and become one in him, even as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one.” (Lectures on Faith, pp. 50-51.)
  • That exaltation which the saints of all ages have so devoutly sought is godhood itself. Godhood is to have the character, possess the attributes, and enjoy the perfections which the Father has. It is to do what he does, have the powers resident in him, and live as he lives, having eternal increase. (D. & C. 132:17-20, 37.) It is to know him in the full and complete sense, and no one can fully know God except another exalted personage who is like him in all respects. Those attaining this supreme height are sons of God (D. & C. 76:50-60); they receive the fullness of the Father and find membership in the Church of the Firstborn (D. 294 GODHOOD & C. 93:17-22); they are joint-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:14-18), inheriting with him all that the Father hath. (D. & C. 84:33-41.) They are gods. (Ps. 82:1, 6; John 10:34-36; Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, pp. 35-79; Gospel Kingdom, pp. 27-30.) Joseph Smith said: “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! … I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see …. It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a· man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, ·the same as Jesus Christ himself did; and I will show it from the Bible . . .. “Here, then, is eternal life-to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power … . [Such persons are] heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a god, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before.” (Teachings, pp. 345-347.) Again: “Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a god to his dominions.” (Teachings, p. 374,)
  • . Christ is the God of, our Fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (D. & C. 136:21-22; Ex. 3:1-16.) It was he who appeared to and covenanted with Abraham (Abra. 2:6-11), who was the one by whom salvation should come (I Ne. 6:4), and who was destined in due course to come into the world and be crucified for the sins of the world. (I Ne. 19:7-17.) 2. Since Abraham, who had the fulness of the gospel, worshiped both the Father and the Son, Peter and others have taken occasion, quite properly, to refer to the Father also as the God of our Fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Acts 3:13; 5:30; 22:14.)
  • “Every man who reigns in celestial glory is a god to his dominions,” the Prophet said. (Teachings, p. 374.) Hence, the Father, who shall continue to all eternity as the God of exalted beings, is a God of Gods. Further, as the Prophet also taught, there is “a God above the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . … If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that he had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? … Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that he had a Father also?” (Teachings, pp. 370, 373.) In this way both the Father and the Son, as also all exalted beings, are now or in due course will become Gods of Gods. (Teachings, pp. 342- 376.)
  • Christ [the Son] is the God of Israel (I Ne. 19:7-17; 3 Ne. Il:7-17), the God of Jacob (Ps. 146:5; Isa. 2:3; D. & C. 136:21), the Lord God, the Mighty One of Israel (D. & C. 36:1), the Lord God of the Hebrews. (Ex. 3:18.) These names signify both that he came of Israel himself and also his personal, attentive care toward that chosen race. They point to his “great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his Ioving kindnesses.” (Isa. 63:7-9; D. & C. 133:52-53.) Christ is the God of Jeshurun (Deut. 33:26), meaning that he is the God of Israel. Jeshurun or Jesurun, translated as upright one, is used by Moses and Isaiah as a symbolical name for Israel. (Deut. 32: 15; 33:4-5; Isa. 44:2.) Many who do not profess belief in God as he is revealed in the scriptures, or even as he is described in the false creeds of sectarianism, yet recognizing that law prevails in the universe and among all forms of life, speak of the manifestations of this law as the God of Nature. In reality, Christ [the Son] is the God of Nature (l Ne. 19:12), for it is in and through his almighty power that all things are created, upheld, governed, and controlled. Our Father in Heaven (Matt. 6:9) is the God of Spirits (Num. 16:22; 27:16) or the Father of Spirits (Heb. 12:9), meaning that he is the literal Parent of the Spirit Christ and of all other spirits. Inasmuch, however, as Christ attained Godhood while yet in preexistence, he too stood as a God to the other spirits, but this relationship was not the same one of personal parenthood that prevailed between the Father and his offspring. Christ is the God of the Whole Earth (Isa. 54 :5; 3 Ne. 11 :14), an appellation he carries to bear record of his universal interest in all men and their salvation. He is not alone the God of the Jews, or of Israel, or of the Latter-day Saints, but of the whole earth and all life on its face. This world of carnality and lust, of every lascivious and · evil thing, belongs to Satan. He created it; he is its father and its god. All those who belong to it-all those who are carnal, sensual, and devilish- are _his children, the children of disobedience. The earth itself is the Lord’s, and he is its ruler; but the world (the corrupt society on earth) is under the rule of him who is the god of this world. “If our gospel be hid,” Paul wrote, “it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Cor. 4:3-4.) Christ is a God of Truth (Ex. 34:6; Deut. 32:4; Ps. 31 :5), meaning he is the embodiment and personification of truth. In the same sense he is the God of grace, mercy, love, righteousness, charity, integrity, and all of the attributes of godliness.
  • Sources: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Scriptures – Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price; www.churchofjesuschrist.org; Joseph Smith, Lectures on Faith; McConkie Mormon Doctrine; The Encyclopedia of Mormonism.

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Will you have bread and water and heat and light and funds during the next emergency or disaster? Now is the time to prepare to protect yourself and your family keeping in mind that Jesus Christ is the Bread and Water of Life.

  1. There Was Bread
  2. By Bishop W. Christopher Waddell
  3. First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric
  4. As we seek to become temporally prepared, we can face the trials of life with increased confidence.
  5. Prior to travel restrictions caused by the current pandemic, I was returning home from an international assignment which, due to scheduling issues, created a Sunday layover. I had time between flights to attend a local sacrament meeting, where I was also able to share a brief message. Following the meeting, an enthusiastic deacon approached me and asked if I knew President Nelson and if I had ever had a chance to shake his hand. I answered that I did know him, that I had shaken his hand, and that, as a member of the Presiding Bishopric, I had the opportunity to meet with President Nelson and his counselors a couple of times each week. The young deacon then sat down on a chair, threw his hands in the air, and shouted, “This is the greatest day of my life!” Brothers and sisters, I may not throw my hands in the air and shout, but I am eternally grateful for a living prophet and for the direction we receive from prophets, seers, and revelators, especially during these times of challenge.
  6. From the beginning of time, the Lord has provided direction to help His people prepare spiritually and temporally against the calamities and trials that He knows will come as part of this mortal experience.
  7. These calamities may be personal or general in nature, but the Lord’s guidance will provide protection and support to the extent that we heed and act upon His counsel.
  8. A wonderful example is provided in an account from the book of Genesis, where we learn of Joseph in Egypt and his inspired interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream.
  9. “And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, … God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. …
  10. “Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
  11. “And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt.”1
  12. Pharaoh listened to Joseph, responded to what God had showed him in a dream, and immediately set about preparing for what was to come. The scriptures then record:
  13. “And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls.
  14. “And he gathered up all the food of the seven years. …
  15. “And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, … until he left numbering; for it was without number.”2
  16. Once the seven years of plenty had passed, we are told that “seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.”3
  17. Today we are blessed to be led by prophets who understand the need for us to prepare against the calamities “which should come”4 and who also recognize the limitations or restrictions that we may encounter in striving to follow their counsel.
  18. There is a clear understanding that the effects of COVID-19, as well as devastating natural disasters, are no respecter of persons and cross ethnic, social, and religious boundaries on every continent.
  19. Jobs have been lost and incomes reduced as the opportunity to work has been affected by layoffs and the ability to work has been impacted by health and legal challenges.
  20. To all who have been affected, we express understanding and concern for your situation, as well as a firm conviction that better days are ahead.
  21. You have been blessed with bishops and branch presidents who seek out members of their congregations with temporal needs and who have access to tools and resources that can help you reestablish your lives and place you on the path to self-reliance as you apply principles of preparedness.
  22. In today’s environment, with a pandemic that has devastated whole economies as well as individual lives, it would be inconsistent with a compassionate Savior to ignore the reality that many are struggling and ask them to begin building a reserve of food and money for the future.
  23. However, that does not mean that we should permanently ignore principles of preparation—only that these principles should be applied “in wisdom and order”5 so that in the future we might say, as did Joseph in Egypt, “There was bread.”6
  24. The Lord does not expect us to do more than we can do, but He does expect us to do what we can do, when we can do it.
  25. As President Nelson reminded us in our last general conference, “The Lord loves effort.”7
  26. Church leaders have often encouraged Latter-day Saints “to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.”8 
  27. At the same time, we are encouraged to “be wise” and “not go to extremes”9 in our efforts to establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve.
  28. A resource entitled Personal Finances for Self-Reliance, published in 2017 and currently available on the Church website in 36 languages, begins with a message from the First Presidency, which states:
  29. “The Lord has declared, ‘It is my purpose to provide for my saints’ [Doctrine and Covenants 104:15].
  30. This revelation is a promise from the Lord that He will provide temporal blessings and open the door of self-reliance. …
  31. “… Accepting and living these principles will better enable you to receive the temporal blessings promised by the Lord.
  32. “We invite you to diligently study and apply these principles and teach them to your family members.
  33. As you do so, your life will be blessed … [because] you are a child of our Father in Heaven.
  34. He loves you and will never forsake you.
  35. He knows you and is ready to extend to you the spiritual and temporal blessings of self-reliance.”10
  36. This resource includes chapters devoted to
  37. creating and living within a budget,
  38. protecting your family against hardship,
  39. managing a financial crisis,
  40. investing for the future,
  41. and many more and is available for everyone on the Church website or through your local leaders.
  42. When considering the principle of preparedness, we can look back to Joseph in Egypt for inspiration.
  43. Knowing what would happen would not have been sufficient to carry them through the “lean” years without a degree of sacrifice during the years of abundance.
  44. Rather than consume all that Pharaoh’s subjects could produce, limits were established and followed, providing sufficient for their immediate, as well as their future, needs.
  45. It was not enough to know that challenging times would come.
  46. They had to act, and because of their effort, “there was bread.”11
  47. This leads to an important question: “Therefore, what?”
  48. A good place to begin is to understand that all things are spiritual to the Lord, “and not at any time” has He given us “a law which was temporal.”12 
  49. Everything, then, points to Jesus Christ as the foundation upon which we must build even our temporal preparedness.
  50. Being temporally prepared and self-reliant means “believing that through the grace, or enabling power, of Jesus Christ and our own effort, we are able to obtain all the spiritual and temporal necessities of life we require for ourselves and our families.”13
  51. Additional aspects of a spiritual foundation for temporal preparedness include acting “in wisdom and order,”14 which implies a gradual buildup of food storage and savings over time, as well as embracing “small and simple” means,15 which is a demonstration of faith that the Lord will magnify our small but consistent efforts.
  52. With a spiritual foundation in place,
  53. we can then successfully apply two important elements of temporal preparedness—
  54. managing finances
  55. and home storage.
  56. Key principles to manage your finances include
  57. the payment of tithes and offerings,
  58. eliminating and avoiding debt,
  59. preparing and living within a budget,
  60. and saving for the future.
  61. Key home storage principles include
  62. the storage of food,
  63. the storage of water,
  64. and the storage of other necessities based on individual and family needs,
  65. all because “the best storehouse”16 is the home,
  66. which becomes the “most accessible reserve in times of need.”17
  67. As we embrace spiritual principles and seek inspiration from the Lord, we will be guided to know the Lord’s will for us, individually and as families, and how best to apply the important principles of temporal preparedness.
  68. The most important step of all is to begin.
  69. Elder David A. Bednar taught this principle when he said:
  70. “Taking action is the exercise of faith. 
  71. … True faith is focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ
  72. and always leads to action.”18
  73. Brothers and sisters, in an ever-changing world,
  74. we must prepare for uncertainties.
  75. Even with better days ahead,
  76. we know that the temporal peaks and valleys of mortality will continue.
  77. As we seek to become temporally prepared,
  78. we can face the trials of life
  79. with increased confidence,
  80. peace in our hearts,
  81. and like Joseph in Egypt, we will be able to say, even in stressful circumstances, “There was bread.”19 
  82. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
  1. Set of Preparation Questions for your consideration? Use these questions to audit your own situation and then build your own list of things to do so you and your family are prepared.
    1. The Principle: D&C 38:30? If ye are prepared, ye shall not _ _ _ _?
    1. The Principle: Conduct your own periodic audit and make preparedness adjustments accordingly.
    1. Disasters? Accident? Roadside assistance? AAA? Towing?
    1. Disasters? Active Shooter?
    1. Disasters? Assault? Battery?
    1. Disasters? Civic unrest?
    1. Disasters? Crime? Theft? Burglary?
    1. Disasters? Drought?
    1. Disasters? Earthquake?
    1. Disasters? Fires? Wildfires? Home fires? Business fires?
    1. Disasters? Flood? Landslide? Mudslide? Volcanic?
    1. Disasters? Hazmat?
    1. Disasters? Hurricane? Tornado?
    1. Disasters? Insect or snake or animal invasion?
    1. Disasters? Job loss? Income loss?
    1. Disasters? Pandemic?
    1. Disasters? Poison?
    1. Disasters? Power outage? Water or Food supply shortage?
    1. Disasters Prevention?
    1. Disasters Preparation?
    1. Disasters Response?
    1. Disasters Rehabilitation?
    1. Disasters? Severe Illness?
    1. Disasters? Snow? Ice? Wind storm?
    1. Animals?
    1. Anxiety? Fear? Paralysis? Inaction?
    1. Backpacks?
    1. Bedding?
    1. Bedding sleeping bags? Cots?
    1. Buy and sell limitations? Ability to Trade? Silver coins? Food? Other items?
    1. Camping?
    1. Camping equipment and supplies?
    1. Church contacts and Church action plan?
    1. Church? Temple?
    1. Clean up?
    1. Cleaning supplies?
    1. Clothing? Shoes? Socks? Undergarments? Coats? Sweaters? Ponchos?
    1. Communication cell phones?
    1. Communication internet?
    1. Communication radio and television?
    1. Communication ham radio?
    1. Community contacts and action plan? First Responders – Police – Fire – Poison Control?
    1. Cooking?
    1. Cooking recipes?
    1. Cooking equipment?
    1. Cooking pots, pans, utensils?
    1. Cooperation?
    1. Finances Debt elimination?
    1. Finances Investments?
    1. Finances Savings?
    1. Finances Some Cash on hand?
    1. Documents and photos and records and any coins or jewelry or art or precious items? Will? Trust?
    1. Electricity EMT?
    1. Electricity power outage?
    1. Emotional response?
    1. Equipment? Computers? Backup physical? Backup cloud?
    1. Family contact plan calling tree?
    1. Family preparation plan? Death? Funeral? Burial?
    1. Fire and Flood audit?
    1. Fire drills?
    1. Fire evacuation?
    1. Fire extinguishers?
    1. First Aid? Materials? Supplies?
    1. First Aid? Training? Practice?
    1. First Aid? Medical and Dental providers?
    1. First Responders? Police? Fire? Poison control?
    1. Follow evacuation directives?
    1. Follow FEMA directives?
    1. Follow local leaders?
    1. Food? Cooking?
    1. Food? MREs?
    1. Food? perishables?
    1. Food? preparation? Cooking?
    1. Food? Types?
    1. Food storage?
    1. Food storage? Grain? Wheat? Rice? Pasta? Flour?
    1. Garbage?
    1. Garbage? Human waste disposal?
    1. Garden? Vegetables? Berry bushes? Fruit trees?
    1. Garden greenhouse?
    1. Garden fertilizer?
    1. Garden seeds? Plant Perrennials vs Annuals?
    1. Garden sprays?
    1. Garden squarefoot? Container? Vertical?
    1. Garden tools?
    1. Garden water? Fertilizer? Potting soil?
    1. Heat?
    1. Heat? Fuel? Wood? Propane?
    1. Heat? Fuel? Misuse and Danger?
    1. Heat? Standby generator?
    1. Heat? Generator?
    1. Law and order?
    1. Legal Will and Trust? Deeds? Insurance? Various kinds?
    1. Light?
    1. Materials? Maintenance?
    1. Materials? Building?
    1. Materials? Tarps – plastic – other?
    1. Materials? Tools?
    1. Medical help? Dental help?
    1. Medicine?
    1. Mold? Water damage?
    1. Muck out?
    1. Neighbors? List? Contact? Help plan?
    1. News? Equipment? Sources?
    1. Pandemic? Masks? Social Distancing? Vaccinations?
    1. Phone Numbers and addresses? Keys? Computer passwords?
    1. Prayer? Faith?
    1. Response to accident?
    1. Response to active shooter?
    1. Response to civil unrest?
    1. Response to earthquake?
    1. Response to fire?
    1. Response to flood?
    1. Response to pandemic?
    1. Response to rain, snow, wind?
    1. Response to sickness?
    1. Sanitation?
    1. Sanitation toilet paper?
    1. Sanitation waste disposal?
    1. Schooling?
    1. Search and rescue?
    1. Security? Animals?
    1. Security? Babies? Children?
    1. Security? Data?
    1. Security? Personal? Family? Weapons?
    1. Security? Neighbors?
    1. Security? Those with special needs?
    1. Security? Wife? Husband?
    1. Security? Women in general?
    1. Security? Yourself?
    1. Shelter? Above ground?
    1. Shelter? Underground?
    1. Shelter car?
    1. Shelter tent?
    1. Shelter with family?
    1. Special needs?
    1. Special needs babies and young children?
    1. Special needs elderly?
    1. Special needs sick?
    1. Tools? Equipment? Chain saw?
    1. Transportation? Cars? Bicycles? Motorcycles?
    1. Vermin? Flies, rats, mice?
    1. Water?
    1. Water heater?
    1. Water purification?
    1. Water storage?
    1. Water swimming pool? Stream?

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If you are stressed about the political or financial situation, keep in mind that Jesus is the Living Christ who is the light and the life and the peace of the world. I personally invite you to join THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, THE RESTORED TRUE CHURCH OF JESUS ONCE MORE WITH LIVING PROPHETS AND APOSTLES. Richard Linford.


(P.S. You can contact me if you want to at r.linford@comcast.net and I will help you meet with a pair of wonderful missionaries and attend Church and learn about Jesus.
Or contact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by clicking here https://www.comeuntochrist.org/contact-us

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He is your Resurrection and Eternal Life.
“And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)
Contact The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by clicking here https://www.comeuntochrist.org/contact-us
Or CALL 1-240-1000 or
CALL 801-240-3500 or
CALL 1-240-2222
or check your internet or phone directory for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
If you would like, Missionaries can contact you to share with you the principles of the gospel, to help you repent of any sins, and to schedule your baptism by immersion for the remission of your sins, and laying on of hands for your confirmation as a member of the Church, and your reception of the Gift of the Holy Ghost,
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Missionaries would love to meet with you in person or online and answer any of your questions.
And if Missionaries meet with you in person, most of these missionaries are young people ages 18 or 19 or close, they come bearing gifts!
If you’d like free copies of the Book of Mormon or the Bible, they’d be happy to bring one or both when they come. 
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Regarding the subject of the Resurrection – here are scriptures for your consideration.
he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up, 1 Sam. 2:6.
If a man die, shall he live again, Job 14:14.
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God, Job 19:26 (Moses 5:10).
swallow up death in victory, Isa. 25:8.
together with my dead body shall they arise, Isa. 26:19.
I will open your graves, and cause you to come up, Ezek. 37:12.
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Dan. 12:2.
ransom them from the power of the grave, Hosea 13:14.
Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, Matt. 22:23 (Mark 12:18; Luke 20:27; Acts 23:8).
graves were opened; and many bodies … arose, Matt. 27:52 (3 Ne. 23:9).
as touching the dead, that they rise, Mark 12:26.
thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection, Luke 14:14.
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have, Luke 24:39.
Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, John 5:21 (Rom. 4:17; 1 Tim. 6:13).
come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, John 5:29 (D&C 76:17).
raise him up at the last day, John 6:54.
I am the resurrection, and the life, John 11:25.
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains, Acts 2:24.
apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord, Acts 4:33.
they heard of the resurrection of the dead, Acts 17:32.
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust, Acts 24:15.
Why … incredible … that God should raise the dead, Acts 26:8.
we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection, Rom. 6:5.
he … shall also quicken your mortal bodies, Rom. 8:11.
God … will also raise up us by his own power, 1 Cor. 6:14.
by man came also the resurrection of the dead, 1 Cor. 15:21.
Christ the firstfruits, 1 Cor. 15:23.
So also is the resurrection of the dead, 1 Cor. 15:42.
it is raised a spiritual body, 1 Cor. 15:44 (D&C 88:27).
trust … in God which raiseth the dead, 2 Cor. 1:9.
quickened us together with Christ, Eph. 2:5.
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his, Philip. 3:21.
you … hath he quickened together with him, Col. 2:13.
dead in Christ shall rise first, 1 Thes. 4:16.
erred, saying that the resurrection is past, 2 Tim. 2:18.
that they might obtain a better resurrection, Heb. 11:35.
unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus, 1 Pet. 1:3.
doth also now save us … by the resurrection of Jesus, 1 Pet. 3:21.
when he shall appear, we shall be like him, 1 Jn. 3:2.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection, Rev. 20:6.
after he had been slain he should rise from the dead, 1 Ne. 10:11.
that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, 2 Ne. 2:8 (Alma 33:22; 40:3; Hel. 14:15; Morm. 7:6; D&C 88:14).
bodies and the spirits of men will be restored, 2 Ne. 9:12.
obtain a resurrection, according to the power, Jacob 4:11.
they are the first resurrection, Mosiah 15:22.
there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, Mosiah 16:8.
day cometh that all shall rise from the dead, Alma 11:41.
body is raised … the whole becoming spiritual, Alma 11:45.
all things shall be restored to their proper order, Alma 41:4.
many saints who should arise from the dead, 3 Ne. 23:9.
death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, Morm. 9:13.
my spirit and body shall again reunite, Moro. 10:34.
then shall all the dead awake, D&C 29:26.
he might be raised in immortality unto eternal life, D&C 29:43.
shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, D&C 43:32 (101:31).
they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection, D&C 45:54.
rise from the dead and shall not die after, D&C 63:49.
have slept in their graves shall come forth, D&C 88:97.
spirit and element, inseparably connected, D&C 93:33.
Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones, D&C 129:1.
intelligence … will rise with us in the resurrection, D&C 130:18.
graves of the saints shall be opened, D&C 133:56.
departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, D&C 138:14.
dry bones, which were to be clothed upon with flesh, D&C 138:43.
bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man, Moses 1:39.
See also Deut. 32:39; Ps. 16:9; 17:15; Matt. 25:46; Heb. 6:2; Rev. 20:12; D&C 43:18.

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