4.02.2014

No different


God the Eternal Father
"… Every process of nature is orderly. Chance, disorder, chaos are ruled out of the physical universe. If every condition involved in a system is precisely the same, the result, anywhere, everywhere, today or at any other time, will be the same. The sun does not rise in the east today and in the west tomorrow. That means that the phenomena of nature are products of law. The infinitely large or the infinitely small move in obedience to law. In man’s earnest search for truth, no exception to this process has been found. …
“… The universe, itself, declares that there is intelligent purpose in nature, and that there must be, therefore, a supreme intelligence directing the universe. This is God. …
“The evidence for God which comes from the invisible world, the world as yet only feebly explored by science, is equally convincing. …
“Such, for example, is the evidence of conscience. If one seeks to do right, he is warned whenever he is tempted to stray from the proper path. Similar is the evidence of prayer. The vast majority of mankind agree that prayer helps people meet or solve the problems of life. Or, note the results of obedience to the law of the Lord. They who obey law find a joy not otherwise to be secured. From such conformity, prayer, and heed to conscience has come to millions of people the revelation, the certain conviction, that God lives and guides His children on earth. The message is as real as the words issuing from the radio tuned to the broadcaster. Certain it is that man has within himself the power to find and to know God. …
“As a supplementary evidence is the further historical fact that a number of men have declared that they have seen God, and even spoken with Him, or that they have received messages from Him for themselves and others. The historicity of their claims is in most cases well established. That which was done, for example, by Paul the Apostle and Joseph Smith the Prophet after their heavenly experiences helps confirm the truth of their claims” (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 19–21)."

Unity
"You will recall that on the night of the Last Supper, as the Savior met with his Apostles, he prayed that they might be one with him, as he was one with the Father. He prayed not for them alone, “but for them also which [should] believe on [him] through their word;
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” (John 17:20–21.)
Always the aim has been unity, oneness, and equality among the members of the Church of Christ. As an example, I call your attention to the record of Enoch, how he and his people reached a state of unity when the rest of the world was at war.
“And there went forth a curse upon all people that fought against God;
“And from that time forth there were wars and bloodshed among them; but the Lord came and dwelt with his people, and they dwelt in righteousness.
“The fear of the Lord was upon all nations, so great was the glory of the Lord, which was upon his people. And the Lord blessed the land. …
“And the Lord called his people Zion.” Why? “Because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” (Moses 7:15–18; italics added.)"

Spirit of Oneness 
"I feel in my heart to bless the faithful members of the Church. Just as surely as they continue to walk in paths of truth and virtue, they shall have the desires of their hearts in righteousness and shall go on to eternal reward in our Father’s kingdom in due course of time.
I have sought all my days to keep the commandments and do those things which will please the Lord, and I desire to bear testimony of his goodness to me and likewise his goodness to all his children who have made covenant to keep his commandments.
As I stand now, in what I might call the twilight of life, with the realization that in a not-far-distant day I shall be called upon to give an account of my mortal stewardship, I bear testimony again of the truth and divinity of this great work."

The Image
"Such is the manner in which the Lord established the first husband and wife relationship. As such, the parties were in His image, male and female. They were united as one—each a part of the other. He instructed them together. The language He used applied to both equally. With the Lord, the man is not without the woman, nor is the woman without the man.
Husbands and wives should never forget these basic truths. They should remember their relationship and the purpose of it.
They should be one in harmony, respect, and mutual consideration. Neither should plan or follow an independent course of action. They should consult, pray, and decide together.
Remember that neither the wife nor the husband is the slave of the other. Husbands and wives are equal partners, particularly Latter-day Saint husbands and wives. They should so consider themselves and so treat each other in this life, and then they will do so throughout eternity.
“The gospel of Jesus Christ is the law of love, and love of God with the whole heart and mind is the greatest commandment, and the next is like unto it: love thy neighbor as thyself. This … should be remembered in the marriage relation, for, while it is said that the desires of the woman shall be to her husband, and he shall rule over her, it is intended that that rule shall be in love and not in tyranny. God never rules tyrannically, except when men so corrupt themselves that they are unfit to live.” (Gospel Doctrine, p. 274.)"

You Know
"He framed the heaven and the earth; that we are His children and He is our Father; that we are begotten in His image and after His likeness; that there is a plan for our becoming as He is; that the plan was challenged by him who rebelled against the Father and who was cast down to the earth to become Satan, the devil, the father of lies and transgression; that our Father allowed our spirit bodies to come to this earth to take upon them physical bodies; that here on earth we may, if we will, obey the Father’s commandments, which will qualify us to return to His presence and live the glorious style of life He lives."

My Brother’s 
"Those who labor so diligently and unselfishly with aching backs and blistered hands on welfare projects are doing so because they love their brothers and sisters and do not want them to suffer from cold nor hunger.
The home teachers and visiting teachers who faithfully visit their assigned families regularly to determine if all is well and in order surely believe, Cain, that they are their brother’s keeper.
When one visits the houses of the Lord, the temples, he is impressed by the dedicated members of the Church who have sought out their deceased loved ones through research. They attend the temples often to perform vicarious ordinances for them that will make exaltation and eternal life possible. Truly they believe that they are their brother’s keeper.
As we observe the sincere and enthusiastic labors of the thousands of missionaries throughout the world declaring the restored truth, not for their individual benefit, but to teach the glorious principles of the gospel to the peoples of the earth for their blessing, we are again impressed, Cain, that they have a conviction that they are their brother’s keeper."

No comments: