I Am No Respecter of Persons

Posted on by Jared

Heavenly Father has revealed many things about himself. Among these revealed truths we learn one of His chief characteristics—“he is no respecter of persons”. The Lecture on Faith teaches in order, “to exercise faith in God we must first have ‘a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes’.” The prophet listed six of these and number five says: “God is no respecter of persons, meaning that all his children in all ages will be taught the same gospel and granted the same privilege to enjoy its blessings.”

What does this bit of knowledge mean to you and me? What use can you put this knowledge to, this very hour, to help you acquire greater faith?

I’d like to offer a few ideas to answer these questions.

Elder Boyd K. Packer said, “No member of the Church is esteemed by the Lord as more or less than any other…The Lord is ‘no respecter of persons.'” Boyd K. Packer, “The Weak and the Simple of the Church,” Ensign, Nov 2007, 6-9. Continue reading →

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We Come Unto Christ By Diligently Seeking The Holy Ghost

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One of the great experiences of life is owning the car of your dreams. In my case, I would like to own a Metallic Blue, Ford Shelby Cobra, with a 427 cubic inch engine.

If I were to purchase this car, I can imagine how I would feel if after taking delivery it didn’t start, and upon raising the hood I found it didn’t have an engine. Of course, I would have a lot of questions for the seller. I would have expected the car to be in working order when I took delivery. How could something so foolish like this happen, would be the question on my mind?

This car tale is a little like the parable of the Ten Virgins. The parable, like my car tale, is about crushed expectations. Fully half of those who expected to go out to meet the bridegroom were unprepared and not allowed to enter the bridal party.

The Savior gave the parable of the Ten Virgins for a reason. President Spencer W. Kimball said it was given as a warning to LDS church members.

The difference between the virgins who were prepared or unprepared to meet the Savior didn’t have anything to do with worthiness. It wasn’t a matter of being good or evil, righteous or unrighteous. The parable states that the difference was that of being wise or foolish. Continue reading →

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Why I Can Testify, “I Know the Mormon Church is True.”

Posted on by Jared

By the time I was in 8th grade I stop going to church. One of the reasons I left church activity was what I learned at church. I learned that all those who are born in the covenant are choice spirits from the pre-mortal life.

As I thought about this teaching—I realized  I was not a choice spirit—I wasn’t born in the covenant. My dad wasn’t a member and my mother didn’t attend church. As this false idea took root, it didn’t take long before I began to believe I was a second class spirit.

I decided to ask the Bishop for a Patriarchal blessing. Maybe the Lord would tell me more about who I am. The Bishop said, I was too young. 

It wasn’t long after that that my parents divorced. None of my friend’s parents were divorced, so I thought this is what happens to second-class spirits. We moved to a new neighborhood and that was the end of my activity in church. I dropped out of school and took up with friends who lived after the ways of this world.   Continue reading →

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We Could Spend Our Life Reforming and Never Repent

Posted on by Jared

The name of this blog is, “LDS Alive in Christ”. Those who follow Christ become alive in Christ when they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In order to be eligible to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost one needs to be baptized by one having authority.

Prior to baptism and certainly after baptism a follower of Christ must learn and apply the principle of repentance. I read the following from a book published in 1986. I felt the following chapter did a good job describing the difference between reforming and repenting. I thought you would enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

In my opinion, it is essential to understand the difference between repentance and reformation in order to make progress in things of the spirit.

Building Faith with the Book of Mormon, by Reid E. Bankhead, Glenn L. Pearson p. 155-156 Continue reading →

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Exercising Willpower and Self-Discipline in Overcoming Bad Habits and Weakness of the Flesh Doesn’t Qualify As Repentance

Posted on by Jared

Click here for Table of Contents

Concerning our salvation the prophet Joseph Smith taught: “If men would acquire salvation, they have got to be subject, before they leave this world, to certain rules and principles, which were fixed by an unalterable decree before the world was.”

In the next sentence he went on to say, without explanation: “The disappointment of hopes and expectations at the resurrection would be indescribably dreadful.” History of the Church, 6:50-51).

This sobering pronounced by the prophet should weigh heavily on our minds. One of the most oft-repeated statements in the scriptures is to repent. Certainly repentance is one of the principles the Prophet was referring too. The purpose of this post is to further our understanding of the second principle of the gospel; repentance.

A Question for the Saints Continue reading →

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A Group of Liberal Mormons—the Swearing Elders—Encounter Hugh Nibley

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Maybe the term “liberal mormon” had its origin at the University of Utah with a group of men who were referred to as the “swearing elders”. 

This is an interesting and revealing history from Hugh Nibley’s life. This account makes it clear that Hugh Nibley was first and foremost a testimony bearing member of the church.

From Hugh Nibley’s: A Consecrated Life, p. 160.

At some point before his 1955 debate with Sterling McMurrin, Hugh was invited to speak to a meeting at the University of Utah, of the “Swearing Elders”-a group of liberal Mormons associated with Utah universities. After giving his presentation, Hugh says they took him aside and told him “You’re among friends now, you can say what you really feel about the Book of Mormon.” Hugh simply bore his testimony that the Book of Mormon is, in fact, a true record of ancient people and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. “Oh, were they mad,” Hugh states. “They were just boiling.” He recalls one member of the group launching into a harangue about the Book of Mormon and how “we have to get rid of it. It’s driving the best minds out of the church! You can’t see it, but with my training, I know it. Joseph Smith was a deceiver, but he was a sly deceiver.” Hugh was chilled by such reactions: “They had a real active hatred of the Book of Mormon.” These were, for the most part, members of the Church in good standing.

From the same book, page 159, Hugh in a letter to Sterling McMurrin makes an interesting comment about the church, along side another testimony: Continue reading →

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Noted Mormon Writer, S. Michael Wilcox’s Struggle to Gain a Testimony of the Book of Mormon

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In his new book, Face To Face, brother Wilcox relates his struggle to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. 

He says that he “was raised by a mother who had a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon. It had been the key to her own conversion as she struggled out of inactivity and rebellion.”

Because of his mother’s testimony he never doubted the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He had assumed when the time came to read it for himself that he would gain his own witness. So at age fourteen he decided to read the Book of Mormon independently for the first time. 

He writes, “however, for whatever inexplicable reason, as I started to read it I was filled with darkness. Doubts seemed to consume me. I sometimes physically trembled with a gripping fear that at certain moments was terrifying. How could my mother be wrong? How could the wonderful people and organization I loved have arisen out of fraud and deception?”

As the weeks turned to months and then into years he continued to struggle the Book of Mormon. He hoped that studying the Book of Mormon in his senior year of high school seminary would bring about the testimony he needed. It didn’t, he tried to drop out but his Bishop pressured him to stay. Continue reading →

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Resisting the Holy Ghost—LDS Style

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The gift of the Holy Ghost is available to those who enter into the waters of baptism and are confirmed members of the Lord’s church. In order to actually receive this gift one must hunger and thirst for it. Without the ordinance of baptism, by one having authority, the gift of the Holy Ghost is not available.

The prophet Joseph Smith touched on this subject. He explained the difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost:

There is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Cornelius received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, which was the convincing power of God unto him of the truth of the Gospel, but he could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he was baptized. Had he not taken this sign or ordinance upon him, the Holy Ghost which convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him. History of the Church 4:555.

I think it is accurate to say that most of the manifestations of the Lord’s Spirit given to mankind come by the Light of Christ. The Holy Ghost is a gift for the saints and the Light of Christ is a gift for all men. Continue reading →

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Finally, one night…I broke down. I began to sob and to pray.

Posted on by Jared

The following sacrament talk was given by Michael R. Conder. Michael, his wife, and four children live in Colorado. He is a system engineer.

I contacted Michael by email and asked for his permission to post his talk, which he gave. Thanks Michael. I hope others with similar experiences will benefit from Michael’s experience.

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Joseph Smith has said, “It is the privilege of the children of God to come to God and get revelation.”

About a year ago, it had seemed I had completely forgotten that principle as I experienced a major crisis of faith. I didn’t know why at the time, but I felt disconnected from God. There were a number of issues that my family and I needed His help with, but it seemed He was not speaking to me anymore. I began to wonder if He ever had. So, I began to search for Him. Because I felt spiritually separated I turned my search into a purely intellectual pursuit. Continue reading →

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An Introduction to the Gifts of the Spirit

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Premortality

I believe, as a general rule, the scriptures reveal to mankind the laws of the Celestial world. The purpose for doing so is to prepare as many of the sons and daughters of God as possible for entrance into the Celestial Kingdom of God. In our pre-mortal state we lived in the presence of God, but at some point we must have relocated to spirit earth to exercise our agency and to participate in the “war in heaven”. In Fathers presence sin was not possible, thus the war in heaven must have taken place elsewhere, and we know that the earth was created spiritually before being made temporally, so it is reasonable to opinionate that is where we lived while en route to the world we now live on.

Parley P. Pratt wrote:

In order to multiply organized bodies, composed of spiritual element, worlds and mansions composed of spiritual element would be necessary as a home, adapted to their existence and enjoyment. As these spiritual bodies increased in numbers, other spiritual worlds would be necessary, on which to transplant them. Key to the Science of Theology, P. 62.

As in this world, there mankind exhibited varying degrees of faith and good works. Jesus Christ was the central figure there, and to our knowledge, there was no veil of forgetfulness, as there is here. We walked by sight there, whereas we walk by faith here, but we had our agency to choose good or evil, and certainly we must have fallen short of keeping all the laws. That being the case, repentance there, as here, was necessary. Were their souls who initially followed satan, but were persuaded by the followers of Christ to “repent”?[1] Certainly, this must have been the case. If so, then we would have relied on the future Atonement of Christ to repent there, as we do here. Continue reading →

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