 
### We Believe The Bible!

Copyright 2007 Eugene Foss Olsen

and/or Janice Elaine Olsen Williams

and/or Jesse Dale Olsen

Published by Jesse Dale Olsen at Smashwords
This book "We Believe The Bible" had its origin as a possible way to interest the Southern Baptists in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is also beneficial to members of the church who may not recognize the many ways the Bible supports doctrines taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All opinions expressed herein are those of the author and in no way are to represent official policy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints.

Great treasures of knowledge have come out of The Holy Bible, but only because of the inspiration of those who initially wrote it! Thanks be to God for the inspiration of those who wrote it! May we have the inspiration to read and understand it!
I dedicate this book to my angel wife, Rae, who didn't live to see its publishing, but spent many years helping this book come to light and was my secretary and typist through them all.

### I also appreciate the help of my daughters and others who assisted me with this book.
Table of Contents

Chapter One – Let There Be Light!

Chapter Two – Keep All the Good!

Chapter Three – New Wine In Old Bottles

Chapter Four – Creeds

Chapter Five – Under Oath

Chapter Six – Our Father In Heaven

Chapter Seven – Foreordained

Chapter Eight – The Book Of Books

Chapter Nine – If Any Man Shall Add

Chapter Ten – As Little Children

Chapter Eleven – They Have Changed The Ordinance

Chapter Twelve – Christ Went And Preached

Chapter Thirteen – Times Of Refreshing

Chapter Fourteen – The Truth Shall Make You Free

Chapter Fifteen – Christians

Chapter Sixteen – Conservators, Reformers, And Restorationists

Chapter Seventeen – Behold I Will Send You

Chapter Eighteen – Restoration

Chapter Nineteen – A Book That Is Sealed

Chapter Twenty – Over The Wall

Chapter Twenty-one – "And Other Sheep I Have..."

Chapter Twenty-two – The Great Gentile Nation

Chapter Twenty-three – Blessed Is The Nation

Chapter Twenty-four – The People Mourn

Chapter Twenty-five – Enough And To Spare

Chapter Twenty-six – Desire And Agency

Chapter Twenty-seven – I Will Be Thy God

Chapter Twenty-eight – Values

Chapter Twenty-nine – Providence

Chapter Thirty – Wealth

Chapter Thirty-one – Sharing And Caring

Chapter Thirty-two – "It Is My Purpose To Provide"

Chapter Thirty-three – Service Oriented

Chapter Thirty-four – To Read, To Learn, And To Obey

Chapter Thirty-five – My Cup Runneth O'er

Chapter Thirty-six – Families

Chapter Thirty-seven – In My Father's House

Chapter Thirty-eight – Ask, And It Shall Be Given You

Chapter Thirty-nine – Conversion By The Spirit

Chapter Forty – Saved

Chapter Forty-one – The Holy Ghost

Chapter Forty-two – Teaching By The Spirit

Chapter Forty-three – The Articles Of Faith

Chapter Forty-four – The Flame Of Devouring Fire

Chapter Forty-five – The Holy Bible

Chapter Forty-six – Latter-Day Kingdom

Chapter Forty-seven – If The Gentiles Will Return

Chapter Forty-eight – God Lives!

About the Author

Other books by this author
Chapter One – Let There Be Light!

When Elder James E. Talmage was a student, a man approached him to sell an excellent oil lamp. Elder Talmage already had a lamp he felt was satisfactory, but he allowed the lamp seller to come up to his room to demonstrate.

"We entered my room, and I put a match to my well trimmed lamp. My visitor was high in his praise, it was the best lamp of its kind, he said, and he had never seen a lamp in better trim. He turned the wick up and down and pronounced the judgment perfect.

"Now," he said, "With your permission I'll light my lamp," as he took it from his satchel. Its light made bright the remotest corner of my room. Its brilliant blaze made the flame in my lamp weak and pale. Until that moment of convincing demonstration I had never known the dim obscurity in which I had lived and labored, studied and struggled."

Elder Talmage bought the new lamp and he later suggested what we could learn from the lamp seller as we teach the gospel. "The man who would sell a lamp did not disparage mine. He placed his greater light alongside my feebler flame, and I hasted to obtain it."

How we should thank our Father in Heaven for all the light and truth He sends us! What a blessing to our lives is the light of the Lord! How fortunate we are today to live when the gospel has been restored for the last time and the restitution of all things is to be brought about! This is the day to prepare for the Savior's second coming and the inauguration of His glorious millennial reign.

In high school, we learned an axiom in geometry: "The whole is always greater than any of its component parts." That is a true principle. The totality of truth embraces all truths in existence. The totality of goodness embraces all goodness in existence everywhere.

As we move into high school, do we need to give up any of the truths we learned in grade school? As we move into college, do we need to give up any of the truths we learned in high school?

"It is better to light one small candle than to hurl a thousand curses at the dark!" Let There Be Light!

We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Two – Keep All the Good!

We are to teach the restored gospel to all the world with love and kindness. President George Albert Smith, eighth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, frequently emphasized that no one need give up anything they already have that is good and true to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Keep all the truth and goodness you already have," he would say, "and we will share with you additional truths the Lord has revealed as part of the Restitution of all things, predicted by the Apostle Peter, a great refreshing that was to be sent from the presence of the Lord." (Acts 3:19-21)

Brother John Carter, of Wallace, North Carolina, says that several years ago his brother, director of the Baptist School of Divinity at Dunn, North Carolina, asked him to entertain one of their instructors coming to San Diego for a convention.

Brother Carter took the visitor to Tijuana and Rosarito, Mexico. While they were together the visitor said, "John, your father was a Free Will Baptist preacher all his life and I knew him well. Your brother has been a Free Will Baptist preacher all his life, and I know him well. Others in your family are Free Will Baptist preachers also. With that kind of a background, how could you possibly have joined the Mormon Church?"

Brother Carter responded. "You believe in God, and in Jesus Christ. You believe in the Holy Ghost, and in the Bible. You believe in faith and prayer. So do we. They are our basic core beliefs just like they are yours. But in addition to that, we have many more things our Father in Heaven has revealed in our day as part of the promised restoration that had to occur before the Second Coming of Christ."

Then he told his visitor some of those things the Lord has restored in our day. His guest thanked him for that information and said he now understood the matter in an entirely different light.

As we live and obey any truth, its worth soon becomes apparent to us. On one occasion Jesus proclaimed, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32)

Is that not what truth always does for us, as we learn it and live it? Is not truth the knowledge of things as they really are, as they really were, and as they really shall be? Moreover, is not that true knowledge the key to our success in any endeavor?

Many years ago, I borrowed a transit to prepare a topography chart of the hillside property on which I was about to build my home. Try as I would I could not make that instrument work. So, I finally took it back to the builder who had loaned it to me, and with just the touch of his finger he showed me a tiny screw I had to adjust to get the instrument into focus so I could use it.

How indispensable is knowledge of truth! Surely, truth does indeed set us free. Moreover, is not truth a statement of correct principles, or laws that must be obeyed if we are to obtain a blessing in any field?

"My doctrine is not mine," the Savior declared, "but his that sent me. If any man will do his will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak it of myself." (John 7:16, emphasis added)

You can know too. As you obey and live each truth you learn you will know of its truth through the witness of the Holy Ghost to you, if you will ask our Father in Heaven in prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, with true purpose of heart.

That is how Peter received his witness, or testimony, that Jesus is the Savior, you will recall. "Whom do men say that I am?" Jesus had asked his apostles. "Some say you are one and some say you are another," they had responded.

"But whom do you say that I am," he then insisted, whereupon Peter, boldly declared, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

"Blessed art thou," Jesus responded, "for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 16:13-17, emphasis added)

Was not this personal testimony by revelation from our Father in Heaven the very rock on which Christ then said he would build his Church?

As we live correct principles of truth, we find ourselves living a healthier, happier, and more prosperous life. That is the "Law of the Harvest" Jesus taught. We do indeed reap as we have sown. If we plant cucumbers, cucumbers we shall harvest, and not squash or watermelons even though they do all grow on a vine.

Moreover, is not that same principle as true in all phases of life as it is in gardening? So keep and live all the truth you already have and be diligently engaged in obtaining more.

That is the key to happiness and success in every endeavor. It is the key to contentment and joy in this life and endless felicity in the life to come, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free!" (John 8:31-32) So says the Bible, and—

### "We Believe the Bible!

As we live and obey any truth, its worth soon becomes apparent to us.
Chapter Three – New Wine In Old Bottles

Jesus cautioned, "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." (Matt. 9:17)

The "bottles" referred to were actually leather containers and the new wine, with its powers of expansion, was put into new leather containers, which would stretch to accommodate the expansion of the wine.

Probably a good example of this principle occurred when the budding scientist Galileo was announcing some of his scientific discoveries. When he announced that he had discovered that the earth revolved around the sun, he was compelled to crawl on his hands and knees to beg the forgiveness of the Pope. The Establishment taught that this earth was the center of the whole universe. Therefore, everything else had to revolve around the earth.

That is unfortunate for it gave the impression that science and religion are inescapably opposed to each other. The truth of the matter is that it is truth and error that are opposed to each other. Any time new ideas are introduced, they come with the expansive force of new wine, and they can only be contained by minds capable of doing a little "stretching."

"Truth is truth, wherever it is found, whether on Christian or on heathen ground."

The case of Galileo is a good example of the new wine of scientific progress being poured into the old bottles of a Dark Ages mentality. Christ came as a restorer of Gospel Truth to an Establishment of "Dark Ages" mentality in. his day. Therefore, he had to be rejected and done away with. He was a threat to the "establishment."

"The most powerful force in the earth is an idea whose time has come." But, are not all-new ideas new wine, meeting the resistance of an "old bottle" mentality unable to accommodate them?

It would probably be difficult to find a better example of Jesus' teaching of "new wine" being poured into "old bottles," than the Restoration of the Gospel in our day. It was a threat to the establishment and had to be stamped out at all costs.

"And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said...

"Is not this the carpenter's son?... And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house." (Matt. 13:54-57)

He could have added, and in his own time. Sometimes a century or two after they are dead, men begin to pay some attention to the "new ideas" they expressed. Sometimes even earlier than that! Josiah Quincy, former mayor of Boston, had met the Prophet Joseph Smith and was deeply impressed by him. He said:

"It is by no means improbable that some future text- book, for the use of generations yet unborn, will contain a question something like this: What historical American of the nineteenth century has exerted the most powerful influence upon the destinies of his countrymen? And, it is by no means impossible that the answer to that interrogatory may be thus written: Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet. And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to most men now living, may be an obvious commonplace to their descendants. History deals in surprises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The man who established a religion in this age of free debate, who was and is today accepted by hundreds of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High---such a rare human being is not to be disposed of by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets." (Josiah Quincy, Figures of the Past, p.376)

Eventually the pigeons come home to roost. Truth can sometimes eventually become quite irresistible.

Joseph Smith doesn't appear really timid in his presentation of the case:

"Our missionaries are going forth to different nations... The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, and calumny may defame. But the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done." (March 1, 1842—from the Wentworth Letter, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Vol. 4, page 540)

If this just happens to be the latter-day kingdom that Daniel said the God of Heaven would set up, then it will continue to grow until it becomes a great mountain in the midst of the earth, and it will continue to grow until it fills the whole earth. That's what the Bible says, and ---

### We Believe The Bible!

"...the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

~ Joseph Smith
Chapter Four – Creeds

When fourteen-year old Joseph Smith asked which was the true Church and which church he should join, in the spring of 1820, he was told that he should join none of them. He was told that they taught for doctrines the commandments of men, and they had a form of godliness but denied the power thereof.

The Lord said, moreover, that "all of their creeds" were an abomination in his sight. That has offended many people. Not as offended by what he did say as by what they thought he said.

Let us take a look at that.

Most people think the Lord was saying that all of their teachings were an abomination unto him. But that really isn't what he said. He said all of their creeds were an abomination unto him.

What is a creed? The dictionary I have in my hands defines a creed as:

"A formally phrased confession of faith; a brief, authoritative, summarizing statement of religious belief; as, the Apostles' or the Nicene Creed;"

A common ingredient in the creeds of the churches in Joseph Smith's day, and many today, was the baptism of infants and small children stemming from the doctrine of "In Adam's fall, we sinned all."

The Restoration corrects that with the Second Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which states: "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression."

Another error of doctrine in the creeds of that day involved a belief that men are predestined, stemming from an error in translation. The Restoration corrects that error to say that people are often "foreordained," as were Abraham and Jeremiah. We are never predestined, as that would take away our freedom of choice, which our Father in Heaven would never do.

But by far the most abominable part of creeds of the churches of that day, and of many today, is their acceptance of the so-called Nicene Creed, which is a categorical contradiction of the testimony of the Apostles of Jesus Christ concerning his resurrection. If the testimony of the Eleven Apostles is true, sealed in blood, then the Nicene Creed is false, for each of them categorically contradicts the other.

The Nicene Creed says the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are all one and the same thing, and adds that they are without body, parts, or passions. The Eleven Apostles testify that Christ appeared to them after his resurrection saying to them, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." (Luke 24:39, emphasis added) They testified that they saw and felt and know. The Nicene Creed says he does not even have a body.

One of them is lying. They cannot both be true. That being the case, how could anything be more abominable to the Lord than the Nicene Creed?

If all their creeds include the Nicene Creed, would that not be sufficient reason to say their creeds were all an abomination in the sight of the Lord? We believe the Bible, including the testimony of the Eleven Apostles.

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Five – Under Oath

Preparing to testify at my first trial as a rather new agent of the F.B.I., I asked an older agent for any suggestions he might have to help me.

"Well," he said, "the most common thing a defense attorney would be apt to ask a new law enforcement agent serving as a witness would be whether he had ever told a lie. If he says yes, the attorney will ask the jury if they think they should believe the testimony of a witness who has already admitted he is a liar. If he says no, the whole courtroom will break into laughter, for there won't be a man there who hasn't told his wife how beautiful she was, even when both he and she knew that she was anything but beautiful, at least at that moment."

"There is only one answer you can give," he continued, "And that is 'I have never told a lie under oath.'"

So that was my answer then, and it has been my answer ever since. I have never told a lie under oath. No other answer could be correct, for the witness has taken an oath that the testimony he is about to give shall be "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," so help me God.

And do we not also have the same obligation when we are talking about the things of God? Are we not then also under obligation to speak "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

That is certainly the way I feel about it, and I therefore solemnly declare that I shall so do, and would like to suggest that I believe everyone else ought to feel that same responsibility.

Several years ago I was paneled to serve on a jury for the trial of a case involving illicit drugs. Since I was frank in stating I was a retired F.B.I. Agent, I was surprised that the defense attorney did not ask to have me dismissed from the jury, but he did not.

In the deliberations of the jury at the conclusion of the trial I stated to the jury, "It is my personal opinion that the accused is guilty, but in my opinion that certainly has not been established by the testimony of witnesses in the trial of this case.

In the United States the accused is presumed to be innocent until he is shown to be guilty by the testimony of competent witnesses. In my opinion this man's guilt has not been established by the testimony of witnesses in this trial, and for that reason I am voting to acquit him." Acquit him we did.

Thereafter, I was talking with the defense attorney and told him what a poor case I thought this was for prosecution and also expressed surprise at having been left on the jury. The defense attorney replied "Yes, in my opinion this was a poor case, and yes, I knew you are a retired F. B. I. Agent and for that very reason I wanted you to serve on the jury."

I was surprised the prosecuting attorney would have authorized prosecution of such a poor case, because under the laws of the United States a person cannot be tried twice for the same offense. Therefore, when the accused was acquitted he cannot be tried again for the same offense.

Incidentally, that is what happened in the trial of those accused of assassinating Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Carthage Illinois on June 27, 1844. The sheriff had furnished a list of men he felt sure were guilty of this crime, but in Carthage, Illinois at that time there was so much persecution against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that they were all acquitted. And therefore, they could not be tried again for this crime, even though a number of them, thereafter, boasted of the part they played in this assassination.

Many years ago I attended a week-end retreat at a Church at Malibu Beach, California. While there I was reading a book written by a Catholic author evaluating a dozen of the principle non-Catholic Churches from a Catholic point of view.

That author started with the Book Mormon, spoke favorably of it, and especially expressed appreciation for the favorable treatment shown to Mary, the mother of Jesus. After several favorable comments about the Book of Mormon the author then said, "It is readily apparent, however, that The Book of Mormon contains errors. It says, for example, that Christ was born at Jerusalem, when actually, he was not born in Jerusalem, but at Bethlehem." Had the author studied further she would have noted that the book said he would be born "At Jerusalem, the land of our fathers." She would also have noted that throughout The Book of Mormon the term city and "land" were used as we now use the terms city and county. Thus, Jesus was indeed born at Jerusalem, not in the city of Jerusalem, but in the land of Jerusalem.

To disprove the L.D.S. concept of Jesus Christ being today a resurrected person with a body of flesh and bones, she first quoted the scripture where Christ said to the woman at Samaria "God is a Spirit" and then quickly she quoted from Luke where Christ said, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones," unquote real quickly.

That, of course, is scriptural rail-splitting at its very worst. In the first instance it was Jesus talking by the well in Samaria "God is a Spirit..." Perfectly true. He could also have added "I am a spirit, and so are you," and that would have been true, also. If we were not a spirit we would be dead, and our body would be buried, and our spirit would be somewhere else.

Why didn't she quote the whole thing? Why didn't she tell the whole truth? That is Christ's whole message in the other half of the quotation, the part the author left out: "And they that worship him (God) must worship him in spirit and in truth!" (John 4:24, emphasis added)

That was Christ's message then, and it is still his message now! Our worship is acceptable to God only if we are worshiping in Spirit and in truth. What was that other quotation they unquoted so quickly? What was that all about?

Well, it was Jesus, meeting with his ten Apostles on the evening of resurrection Sunday. Jesus was there and he was resurrected. Weren't there Twelve Apostles? Well, Judas Iscariot had committed suicide and Thomas wasn't there for some other reason I don't know about. Maybe he just wrote down the wrong time or address, or maybe he just got sidetracked or lost.

Now what was that statement by Christ that the author was half quoting and then un-quoting so quickly?

Well, it was the first time any of them had ever seen a resurrected person, and he must have appeared in a cloud of glory, for the Bible says, "They were terrified and affrighted and thought they had seen a spirit." (Luke 24:37 (emphasis added.)

It was to allay their fears that Christ said to them: "Peace be unto you. Why are you troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold, [see] my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:36-43, emphasis added)

That's a little different from the way that author quoted it. Isn't it?

So how is this debate developing? First of all, for the purpose of establishing credibility of witnesses in this case, let us first consider: "For where a testament is, there must also, of necessity, be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead, otherwise, it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." (Hebrews 9:16-17)

Now let us see how these witnesses sealed their testimony with their death as set forth in Fox's Book of Martyrs, quoted on page 19 of A Practical Reference to Practical Passages on the Doctrines of the Gospel by Elder Louis A. Kelsch, copyright, 1899 by L. A. Kelsch, Salt Lake City:

Peter was crucified about 66 A.D. at Rome.

James was beheaded in the year 44 A.D.

John was banished in the year 96 A.D.

Andrew was crucified (bound to a cross).

Philip was crucified about 52 A.D.

Bartholomew was flayed (skinned) alive.

Thomas had a lance run through him.

Matthew was slain with a battle axe, year 60 A.D.

James, the Lesser, was beaten to death.

Thaddaeus shot to death with arrows.

Simon crucified 74 A.D.

Mark dragged to death in the streets of Alexandria.

Paul beheaded in Rome by Nero 66 A.D.

Barnabas stoned by the Jews 73 A.D.

All of these eye witnesses testified that they saw Jesus Christ after His resurrection. At his invitation they felt the wounds in His hands and feet and side. They had known Him intimately while He was still living. They testified that He was resurrected with His own body of flesh and bones, now glorified with Celestial Glory.

The "witnesses" who testify against the above eye witnesses are not really themselves witnesses of anything at all. They are simply contradicting the testimony of the apostles and

other witnesses as they quote from a document known as the Nicene Creed drawn up in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicea assembled by the orders of the pagan Roman Emperor Constantine, who was exploring the possibility of adopting Christianity, as the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The Nicene Creed states:

"We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co- eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father is un-create, the Son un-create, and the Holy Ghost un-create. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal and yet, there are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also, there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one incomprehensible. So likewise, the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, the Holy Ghost Almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God and yet there are not three Gods, but one God."

Dr. James E. Talmage, author of the book The Articles of Faith adds the commentary, "It would be difficult to conceive of a greater number of inconsistencies and contradictions expressed in words as few." (p. 48)

Dr. Talmage then quotes the present orthodox view of God, as stated by the Church of England: "There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body parts or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness."

Dr. Talmage then quotes: "The immateriality of God as asserted in these declarations of sectarian faith is entirely at variance with the scriptures and absolutely contradicted by the revelations of God's person and attributes as shown by citations already made. We affirm that to deny the materiality of God's person is to deny God; for a thing without parts has no whole and an immaterial body cannot exist."

It should be noted that in His prayer to our Father in Heaven in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus declared, "And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)

If the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are "incomprehensible", then they cannot be known and if they cannot be known, no one could possibly have life eternal, for life eternal depends on knowing them, according to Jesus, as quoted in the Bible.

If the resurrected Jesus is without body, parts, or passions, then he could not have hands, feet, and side for the apostles to "handle" as instructed by the resurrected Jesus. The apostles testified they saw and handled the resurrected body of the Savior, but the man-made creeds we have quoted declare that none of the three of them even have a body.

Since the Nicene Creed is a categorical contradiction of the testimony of eyewitnesses of the resurrection, either one or the other has to be lying. That the apostles were truthful witnesses is established by the fact that they sealed their testimony with their blood. The whole Nicene Creed was the product of lengthy debates and discussions of conflicting opinions none of which had anything to do with anybody being a witness of anything.

Concerning the resurrection of Christ, you will note that the testimony of associates is that Christ was resurrected with his own tangible body of flesh and bones, just like He himself said. The Nicene Creed says, God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost are all one and the same thing and then adds they are without body, parts or passions. It would be a little hard for the apostles to testify seeing and handling His hands and His feet, part of His resurrected body, if He does not even have a body. Also the person they saw was not the Father nor the Holy Ghost, but Jesus Christ the Son.

It is difficult for many to understand and accept the reality of Christ's resurrection, since it was the resurrection of his body. They forget that the scripture promised Christ's body would never see corruption. Many of them are thinking only that He continues to live as a Spirit which would mean that He has no body, which of course is not true.

One chemistry professor illustrated the possibility of the resurrection by taking a silver dollar, obviously back in the days when dollars were actually made of silver and he dissolved that silver in nitric acid causing it to disappear. Then he precipitated the silver and formed it again into its original shape as a silver dollar. Thus is the resurrection accomplished. That seems a little hard for us to comprehend as the resurrection is truly a miracle, but probably no more of a miracle than for the body to have taken the materials out of the foodstuffs to form the body as the person was growing in the first place!

When I was a missionary in Texas as a young man, my companion and I were singing Church hymns with a Baptist preacher and his family on Easter Sunday. I asked him if he really believed the Bible testimony of the resurrection of Jesus. He said, "But Paul says flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God."

I responded, "The apostles didn't say the resurrected Christ had a body of flesh and blood. They said flesh and bones. The blood is what makes us mortal. A resurrected person has in his veins a spiritual substance, which makes him immortal.

Not only did the apostles see Christ the day he was resurrected but on other occasions as well. When he finally ascended into Heaven, they stood there watching as He arose. Two angels appeared and said to them, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye thus gazing into heaven, for this same Jesus shall so come again in like manner as ye have seen him ascend into Heaven. " (Acts 1:10-11)

He had His resurrected body every time they saw Him and as He rose into heaven He still had it. According to the angels He will still have it again when He returns. If He had that body when He arose and He will have it when He returns where is the body now? Obviously, He still has it. Therefore, the Nicene Creed is making statements which are not true. The testimony of the Apostles of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is absolutely true and its truth is established by the fact that they sealed that testimony with their blood.

That is the way He was when He went into Heaven and that is the way He will be when He comes back. That is my humble testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Six – Our Father In Heaven

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

"Who being in the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on High..." (Hebrews 1:1-3, emphasis added)

It would be hard for the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be in the express image of His Father's person, if His father did not even have a person, but was only an influence or power like gravity or light.

Continuing: "Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

"For unto which of the angels said He at any time, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son? And again, when He bringeth in the first begotten into the world He saith, and let all the angels of God worship Him.

"And of the angels He saith, who maketh His angel spirits, and His ministers, a flame of fire.

"But unto the Son He saith, thy throne, oh God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy Kingdom.

"Thou hast loved righteousness and hateth iniquity, therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Hebrews 1:4-9, emphasis added)

By latter-day revelation we are told that the name of our Father in Heaven is Elohim. The name of Jesus Christ is Jehovah. The name of Adam is Michael. Elohim is God the Eternal Father. He directs and controls everything.

We read: "All men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the Kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there... for in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, and even Jesus Christ. (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 6:57)

Christ is said to have spoken of our Father in Heaven 40 times in the Gospel of John. In every instance, he called him Father. Christ said he was doing nothing his Father had not already done before him.

Jesus Christ created this earth under the direction of Our Father in Heaven:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...

"All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made....

"He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." (John 1: 1-10)

"The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us." (Doctrine & Covenants 130: 22)

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Seven – Foreordained

We have seen how in the Restoration the Lord has restored in our day many of the plain and precious things that were lost to the world after the death of the early apostles. When revelation from the Lord ended and the world was plunged into the dreadful drought and famine foretold by the Prophet Amos, which terminated in the latter-day Restoration by the "Times of Refreshing" that were to come from the presence of the Lord, as promised by the Apostle Peter.

We have also seen how in the Restoration, the Lord corrected errors that had come into the creeds of the churches of the world in the centuries following the death of the early apostles, when there were no longer prophets and apostles available to obtain correct answers by revelation from the Lord.

One of those serious errors was the Nicene Creed, which taught that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost were all one and the same thing, "without body, parts, or passions," which categorically denies the testimony of the eye-witness apostles who declared that they had both seen Christ after his resurrection, and handled and felt the wounds in His hands, His feet, and His side, at His invitation. Therefore, their solemn testimony to all the world is that the resurrected Christ does indeed have a body, and hands, and feet, and side, in direct contradiction to the Nicene Creed, which declares the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are all one and the same thing, "without body, parts, or passions."

Another serious error in the creeds of churches of the world at the time of the Restoration was the doctrine of "predestination," stemming from an error of translation in the Bible, saying that God had "predestinated" us, which error was corrected in the Restoration to "foreordained."

People are never "predestined" to do anything, for that would deprive them of their moral agency," or right to choose, which our Father in Heaven never does. We are foreordained, but never predestined.

The reason the translators did not know about "foreordination" was because that was another thing that had been lost and had to be restored. They could not have known about fore-ordination because they had no knowledge of our pre-mortal existence.

But by modern revelation we are told that we are the spirit children of our Father in Heaven, who is a glorious resurrected person, just like Jesus Christ now is. Jesus lived in our Heavenly Father's presence before being brought forth into mortality here on this earth when He was born as a babe in Bethlehem, as we read about in the testimony of Luke and Matthew every Christmas.

However, all of us also are spirit children of our Father in Heaven and we lived in His presence until we, also, were born into mortality on this earth. The Apostle Paul talks about that in his sermon on Mars' Hill. He says that when we are born, or before, our date and place of birth are chosen for us, and the "bounds of our habitation." All of that is part of that foreordination we were talking about.

To quote from the book of Abraham, in the Pearl of Great Price:

"Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

"And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou was chosen before thou wast born.

"And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those that were with him: We will go down, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

"And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.

"And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.

"And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and at that day, many followed after him." (Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:22-28)

In the Bible we read: "And his [the dragon's] tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth...

"And there was war in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

"And prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.

"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with h i m ...

"For the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time...." (Revelation 12:4, 7-9, 12)

That gives us a lot of information too, doesn't it? When Satan rebelled against our Father in Heaven, he took with him one third of all our Father's spirit children. No wonder they are such a formidable adversary.

If Satan had great wrath because he knew he had but a short time, two thousand years ago, he must really have a lot more wrath now, because he now has two thousand years less! Because when the Savior comes, Satan is going to be put in prison for a thousand years.

To the Prophet Jeremiah the Lord said, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)

Like Father Abraham, Jeremiah was foreordained. He was foreordained, but not predestined. He was faithful because he desired to be faithful, not because he was compelled to be.

Abraham and Jeremiah were foreordained. So were all the other apostles and prophets. So were you and I. We were foreordained, but not predestined.

If it is our sincere desire, we will be able to fulfill our calling and assignment and stewardship, and all our responsibilities, with the help of our Father in Heaven, if we ask him for it, asking in faith and in the name of Jesus Christ.

Elder Jacob de Jager said people often ask why the Latter-day Saints are so happy. One big reason, he says, is because they know:

1. Who they are

2. Where they came from

3. Where they are going

4. Why they are here

In the Book of Moses, in the Pearl of Great Price, we learn a little more about what Father Abraham was talking about. To Moses the Lord said, "That Satan whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying-

\--"Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost: and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

"But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me---'Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever'.

"Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that if I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

"And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice." (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 4:1-4)

That tells a little more about Satan and his unholy ambition, and his rebellion that was not granted. One philosopher I was listening to a while ago observed that the basic question all philosophers are trying to solve is to learn the meaning of life, "if indeed there is any meaning." But, the Lord has now taught us the meaning of life, and why we are here, so we now need wonder no longer.

I overheard a discussion between two ministers concerning the meaning of life. Since they had no knowledge of our pre-mortal existence they were discussing the so-called "Baker-in-the-Sky" theory.

According to this theory, since God is the baker and each of us is whatever he made us, then he has full responsibility for the whole thing and must answer for it all.

That really takes away fully the whole meaning of life. We did not begin at conception, or even at birth. We have been living since much longer than the planet on which we reside. We had our same free agency then, just as we have it now. We were very faithful then, and some were perhaps not quite as faithful, just as some are more faithful now, and some less faithful. But at least all of us were faithful enough that we fought in the right army in the War in Heaven! Otherwise we would not have been born!

So then, we are sons and daughters of our Father in Heaven. We lived before our mortal existence, and even there, we were foreordained by our Father in Heaven for whatever calling he felt we should have. And here, to fill that calling, he will help us to do it, if we ask him for his help, and if we have faith.

We are also here to be tested, tried, and proven, to see if we are "willing to do all things whatsoever the Lord our God shall command us."

All of us will be tested and tried, some in one way and some in another. Some are tested by Sickness, accidents, handicaps, and the death of husband, or loved one. Others are tested by poverty and problems.

Some are even tested by wealth, health, and prosperity, to see if they will remember to love and serve the Lord and bless the lives of others as much then, as in times of privation and want.

In order not to give erroneous impressions, perhaps we should note that although none of the churches of the world, at the time of the Restoration were teaching of our life before our birth here in mortality. There were some persons who had some belief of it just from their own reading of the Bible and their own meditation and prayer.

The poet William Wordsworth-author of "An Intimation of Immortality" wrote:

"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;

The soul that rises with us, our life's Star,

Hath elsewhere had its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness,

Nor yet in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home."

Perhaps Wordsworth had been reading the Bible, for there we read in Ecclesiastes concerning death: "Then shall the dust - - return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto the God who gave it." (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

That's pretty clear isn't it? It would be a little difficult to "return" to the God who gave us, if we had not come from there before we got here, right?

Incidentally, is that not good evidence that there has been in reality a Restoration? If something has been given as part of the Restoration, in this case the knowledge of our pre- mortal existence, but none of the churches in the world were teaching it at the time of the Restoration. But now, with that knowledge restored, we make a serious study of the Bible and find, that in the days of the ancient prophets and the early apostles, lo and behold, that knowledge was previously here, isn't that evidence that we really have had that Restoration?

And, through that restoration the Lord has corrected some serious mistakes taught in the creeds of churches at the time of the Restoration. One of these serious mistakes was the Nicene Creed, which was a categorical denial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is the doctrine of predestination of people. We are foreordained not predestined, as that would strip us of our God given free agency, or our right of choice.

### We Believe The Bible!

People are never "predestined" to do anything, for that would deprive them of their moral agency," or right to choose, which our Father in Heaven never does. We are foreordained, but never predestined.
Chapter Eight – The Book Of Books

It is said that Sir Walter Scott, in his last days of life, one night asked his assistant to bring him The Book.

His assistant naturally protested, "But, Sir, there are many books! Which book do you want me to bring?"

Scott responded, "Many books? There is only one book, my friend. Bring me The Book of Books, bring me The Bible!"

Actually, The Bible really is the Book of Books, for the very name "Bible," comes from the Greek word biblia and really means books, for it is truly a library, a collection of books: The Old Testament contains the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Joshua, and many others. The New Testament contains the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and many others.

These books are known as "scriptures," but since the name of "scripture" is also sometimes used at times for legal documents, we call The Bible a "sacred scripture," or Holy Scripture, to set it apart from other written documents, to avoid confusion.

What is the difference between "holy scriptures" and other writings? Let us take a look at what the Apostle Peter had to say about the matter: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And this voice, which came from heaven, we heard when we were with him in the holy mount.

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and. the day star arise in your hearts; knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: But holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter 1:16-21)

Prophecy came not by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. That which worthy men have spoken, as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, when written down, became "holy scripture."

But, no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation (v. 20). Therefore, to understand the Holy Scriptures we must pray to our Father in Heaven, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and ask him to grant us the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to enable us to understand what we are reading.

The power of The Bible in the lives of individuals and of nations can be comprehended, perhaps, when we note the importance it played in the life of such a literary master as Sir Walter Scott referred to above. The "Founders" who drew up the Constitution of the United States and set up the government it was to have under that Constitution, were all God-fearing Bible-believing men. Most of the ideas they obtained for that government and its laws they obtained from the Book of Deuteronomy in the Bible, according to Dr. W. Cleon Skousen in his book, The Majesty of God's Law.

Sometimes some people make claims for the Bible that the Bible does not make for itself. Sometimes that ends up being a disfavor. Sometimes when readers learn that some of those claims were not justified they end up rejecting the whole work, instead of just the incorrect claim concerning it.

Many years ago there was a man who was firmly convinced that Heaven was right up there overhead in the sky, and Hell was somewhere down in the center of the earth. But one night he happened to be passing by some telescopes and he put in a quarter to take a look. He looked right out, through the floor of his Heaven, into the enormity of space beyond. That shook his faith, not only in that incorrect concept, but also in just about everything else he had ever been taught.

There are those who proclaim that every word in The Bible comes right out of the mouth of God. However, when we actually read the Bible, lo, and behold we find it contains not only the words of God, but also the words of men, the words of the devil, and the words of an ass.

As we read the Bible we need to ask who is speaking, to whom is he speaking, and what is he speaking about, and that way we can always learn the lessons that are there to be obtained, even from listening to the words of Balaam's ass! (Numbers, Chapter 22)

There are some that think The Bible, as we now have it, contains every scripture the Lord has ever given. It does not require a great amount of study however; to note that The Bible itself makes reference to many scriptures not presently included in our Bible.

Among these lost scriptures are the following:

1. The Book of the Covenant (Exodus 24:7)

2. The Book of the Wars of the Lord (Numbers 21:14)

3. The Book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13)

4. The Book of the Statutes (I Samuel 10:25)

5. The Book of Enoch (Jude 14)

6. The Book of the Acts of Solomon (I Kings 11:41)

7. The Book of Nathan the Prophet (I Chron. 29:29)

8. Book of Gad the Seer (I Chron. 29:29

9. The Book of Ahijah, the Shilonite (II Chron. 9:29)

10. The Visions of Iddo the Seer (II Chron. 9:29)

11. The Book Shemaiah the Prophet (II Chron. 12:15)

12. The Story of the Prophet Iddo (II Chron. 13:22)

13. The Book of Jehu (II Chron. 20:34)

14. The Acts of Uzziah, by Isaiah, the son of Amos (II Chron. 26:22)

15. The Sayings of the Seers (II Chron. 33:19)

16. The Missing Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (I Chron. 5:9)

17. The Missing Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians (Ephesians 3:3)

18. The Missing Epistle of Paul to the Colossians (Colossians 4:16)

19. The Missing Epistle of Jude (Jude 3)

20. The Declaration of Belief Mentioned by Luke (Luke 1:1)

Will the things Paul said God would gather together in the last days include some of these lost scriptures, perhaps? (Ephesians 1:10)

Some are offended at the suggestion that there could possibly be any errors in the Bible as we presently have it. Yet even today, no two translators will always translate the same thing in exactly the same way. As far as copying and transcriptions are concerned, even today, with modern printing facilities and the most painstaking proofreading by skilled and highly educated editors and secretaries, it is almost impossible to find any book absolutely and totally free of any error.

So it should not be surprising, really, if there may have been any such errors made in copying by hand whole books carefully written by hand during the many centuries during which there was no other way for records to be made. In any case, omissions were made and errors did creep into the text, and as part of the promised restoration, many of these have been corrected by revelation in our day.

In the King James Translation of The Bible, for example, we are told that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. In the Inspired Version it is clarified that it was Pharaoh himself who hardened his own heart. This, of course, should be readily apparent in light of the statement of the Apostle James "Let no man say, when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted, neither tempteth he any man, but every man is tempted when of his own lusts he is led away and enticed." (James 1:13-14)

(From corrections made in the translation of the King James version of The Bible, we obtained the Inspired Version. It will be noted that these corrections were made by revelation through Joseph Smith as part of the Restoration we have been talking about from the beginning of this book.)

In the King James Translation of The Bible it states that in the time of general wickedness in the world, before the flood, the wickedness was so great that "It repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Gen. 6:6) In the Inspired Version it states: And it repented Noah that the Lord had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart."

In the King James Version we read: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." (Genesis 1:26) In the Inspired Version it more clearly states, "And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning. Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and it was so."

The King James version reads, "And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him...take now thy son, Isaac...and offer him for a burnt offering. (Genesis 22:1-2) A better translation is given in the Inspired Version, "And it came to pass after these things, that God did try Abraham." We are here to be tried and proven, but as the Apostle James says, God does not tempt any man.

The King James Version says that when the Spirit of the Lord left King Saul, "an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him." (I Samuel 16:14) However, in the Inspired Version it clarifies that this evil spirit that then came upon King Saul was not from the Lord.

Another thing, we need to watch out for, is what some have called scriptural "rail-splitting".

The story is told of a family back in the Ozarks many years ago. The father and mother had become converted and had "gotten religion," but their grown son had not. Hoping to hasten the son's conversion, his mother carefully packed The Bible in with his lunch each morning, as he was leaving to go out to work splitting rails.

One day the son came home in the middle of the afternoon, with his axe over one shoulder and the open Bible in his other hand, and he was singing out, "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." His mother quickly ran out to meet him and said, "Son, how wonderful that you have been converted! And just which verse in The Holy Bible has brought about this wondrous Conversion?"

"Right here," the son said, "Right here in Mark 10, verse 9, which says, 'what therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.' Thank heaven I'll split no more rails!"

When I left to fill a mission, as a young man, my cousin's wife, Beatrice Merrell, gave me a little counsel: "There will be many who will try to trip you up by quoting to you a verse of scripture. Always stop long enough to read the six or seven preceding verses, and the six or seven following verses. Find out who is talking, to whom is he talking, and what is he talking about. Invariably you will find that he is saying the exact opposite of what they are trying to show by quoting the one verse, which they have taken out of context, by scriptural rail splitting."

I found that to be true. By scriptural "rail-splitting," you can make the Bible say almost anything. For example you can say, "And Judas went out and hanged himself. Go thou and do likewise." Some people do that when they play the game of Bible-bashing, also sometimes known as "scriptural Ping-Pong."

The "Law of the Harvest" is an eternal law. We really do reap what we sow. If we plant cucumber seeds we are not going to harvest tomatoes, or watermelons, or squash, even if they do all grow on a vine. We boast of our "free agency, our freedom of choice. However, free agency is a two-edged sword. With it some people slay the dragon. Others commit suicide.

Would you like to be uplifted and inspired, comforted and strengthened? Then read The Book, the "Book of Books," The Holy Bible. Moreover, as you read it, pray for the inspiration of the Lord's Holy Spirit to give you understanding and enlightenment, and you will receive it.

"Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Nine – If Any Man Shall Add

One of the arguments sometimes heard in rejection of the Restoration is the verse with which the Apostle John closed the Book of Revelation:

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

"And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Revelation 22:18-19)

Now, obviously, if that were intended to terminate all revelation from the Lord, and close the scriptures forever, then the Apostle John himself would have been forbidden forever to ever write anything more on the matter, including the Gospel of John and his epistles, which we now have in the Bible, and perhaps other writings also that we haven't yet received.

"The prophecy of this book..." (v. 18) "the book of this prophecy..." (v. 19) What book is he talking about? The Bible hadn't even been gathered up and compiled as a "book," as we have it now, so obviously he is forbidding unauthorized men from adding to or detracting from the Book of Revelation, or for that matter anything else the Lord has revealed.

A similar warning against unauthorized men tampering with the revelations of God was given many centuries earlier, as recorded in the Book of Deuteronomy, in the Bible:

"Now therefore hearken, 0 Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.

"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you." (Deut. 4:1-2)

But of course that doesn't prohibit the Lord from adding anything, any time he sees fit. We find a specific example of that in the Book of Jeremiah, in the Bible, as recorded in the whole chapter of Chapter 36.

1. The Lord gave a revelation to the Prophet Jeremiah (v. 1) and commanded him to write it in "a roll of a book" (v. 2) that the house of Judah and all the people might "repent every man from his evil way," that the Lord might forgive their iniquity and their sin." (v.3)

2. Jeremiah called his scribe, Baruch, and dictated to him the revelation he had received from the Lord, and Baruch wrote it upon "a roll of a book." (v.4)

3. Jeremiah commanded Baruch to take the roll and go into the house of the Lord and read it to the people on fast day, even "in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities" (v.6) that they might repent and "return every man from his evil way." (v. 7)

4. Baruch did as he was commanded and read the roll "in the ears of all the people." (v. 8-10)

5. When Michaiah "had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord (v. 11) he went to the king's house where all the princes were gathered (v.12) and "declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people." (v. 13)

6. The princes sent for Baruch to bring the roll to them, and he did so. (v. 14)

7. They commanded him to read the roll to them, and he did so. (v. 15)

8. When the princes had heard these words, "they were afraid" and said, "We will surely tell the king of all these words." (v. 16)

9. They then asked Baruch how the revelation was received and how he wrote it down, and he told them. (v. 17-18)

10. As a matter of prudence, the princes then suggested that both Baruch and Jeremiah go into hiding, because when the king heard what was on that roll he wasn't going to like it! (v. 19)

11. Therefore, the princes told the king (v. 20), the king sent for the roll, and had it read to him. (v. 21)

12. The king was as upset as the princes had expected, and he cut the roll up with a knife and threw the whole thing into the fireplace and burned it up (v. 22-23) refusing to listen to counsel to the contrary. (v. 24-25)

13. The king ordered Baruch and Jeremiah arrested, but "the Lord hid them." (v. 26)

Then came the Lord's response:

"Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

"Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned..."

Therefore, Jeremiah dictated to Baruch the scribe all the Lord had given him the first time, plus all the additional information he was now giving him, and Baruch wrote it all down as the Lord commanded, and we then read:

"Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe... who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words." (Jeremiah. 36:27-28)

"And there were added besides unto them many like words."

What man is so bold and so presumptuous as to tell the Lord when he may and when he may not speak, and what scriptures he may and may not give?

As Mary said: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name...

"He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.... (Luke 1:46-49, 51-52)

"But Joseph Smith was only a farm boy," some will protest.

Yes, and Paul was a tentmaker, Amos was a herdsman, Matthew was a tax collector, and Peter was a fisherman. In addition, Jesus himself was born in a stable and cradled in a manger!

Who is to presume to tell our Father in Heaven whom he may and whom he may not call?

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Ten – As Little Children

A common practice among churches of the world at the time of the Restoration was the practice of baptizing infants and little children, and many of the churches still do so. This, they say, is for the "original sin," involved in the transgression of Adam. In the Restoration we are told that "men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." (Article of Faith No. 2)

We are told that Christ atoned for the transgression of Adam, for which reason we will all be resurrected from death. Also, through his atonement all of us are innocent at birth and remain innocent until we ourselves commit sin after reaching the age of accountability, which has been given as age eight for persons of normal mentality. Thereafter, after reaching the age of accountability, we all need to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repent of our own sins and be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, being "born again," of water and of the Spirit.

Therefore, we will not need to worry about Adam's transgression, but only about the sins we ourselves have committed. "We believe that all men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression."

Nowhere in The Bible do we find that Jesus ever baptized little children, or commanded anyone else to do it, or said or implied that they needed it. Instead, he "laid His hands on them" or perhaps took them in his arms, if they were even smaller and "blessed" them, just like we do. (Matthew 19:15)

He said of little children, "Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven" and He said further that unless we become AS a little child we will not even get in. Little children don't have to become as little children, for they already are little children. To all the rest of us he has said, "Verily I say unto you, except ye become converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 18:3)

He has also said, "Suffer little children and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 19:14) That is the mind and will and law of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the Bible.

Again, in the Restoration it was revealed that "men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression." But that is not what was being taught by the churches of the world at the time this knowledge was restored. But now that we have this knowledge, we turn to The Bible and what do we find? Lo, and behold we find that the way it was being taught in The Bible in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ is that infants and little children are so pure and innocent that all the rest of us have to become just as they are to even get in to the Kingdom of Heaven.

That is pretty good evidence that there really has been a restoration just like the Apostles Peter, Paul, and John and the Prophets Isaiah, Daniel and Amos said there would be, does it not?

### We Believe The Bible!

"Suffer little children and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." ~ Matthew 19:14
Chapter Eleven – They Have Changed The Ordinance

In the Original Church of JESUS CHRIST, baptism was always by immersion, was always for the remission of sins, and was always of persons capable of committing sin; of persons who had reached the age of accountability and who had repented of sins they had committed.

But after the death of the early apostles, a lot of peculiar things began to happen. People began to make somewhat of a game of baptism, if not indeed a mockery of it. If baptism was for the remission of sins, it was argued, why not wait as long as possible, and commit all the sin you wanted, and then very quickly get baptized just before you died?

So the ordinance got changed a bit. You cannot baptize someone by immersion who is teetering on the edge of the grave, so they began to baptize them by just sprinkling them a bit. Also, since someone had come up with the idea that even babes had to be baptized, that could also be done more easily (and more safely) by just sprinkling.

Therefore, the ordinance got changed, as had been foreseen by the Prophet Isaiah, who loudly protested it and lamented it.

"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.

"And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.

"The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.

"The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

"The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, and broken the everlasting covenant.

"Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." (Isaiah 24:1-6, emphasis added)

So what was the cause of all these great judgments that would sweep over the earth?

"The earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, and broken the everlasting covenant."

It doesn't sound like the Lord was very happy with people changing his ordinances without his authorization, does it?

### We Believe The Bible!

In the Original Church of JESUS CHRIST, baptism was always by immersion, was always for the remission of sins, and was always of persons capable of committing sin; of persons who had reached the age of accountability and who had repented of sins they had committed.
Chapter Twelve – Christ Went And Preached

Brother John Carter, from North Carolina, related a conversation he had with his brother, a Free Will Baptist preacher in that state. He told his brother of some of the things revealed anew by the Lord in our day as part of the great refreshing from the presence of the Lord to prepare for the Second Coming of the Savior. His brother responded, "Such as what, for example?"

Brother Carter suggested they read Chapter 3 of the First Epistle General of Peter in the Bible, which they did. He then said to his brother, "Just what do you understand from that part which reads:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

"By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison:

"Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (I Peter 3:18-20)

His brother pondered for a few moments and then replied, "I've never heard anyone talk about it before. It almost sounds like he is saying that while Christ's body was lying in the tomb for three days, awaiting his resurrection, his spirit went and preached to the spirits in prison, which had been disobedient in the days of Noah, before the flood."

Brother Carter responded to his brother, "No, you have never heard that taught, even though it is in the Bible, because the knowledge and understanding of this principle of the gospel was lost to the world after the death of the ancient Apostles. That is why it had to be restored by the Lord in our day by revelation, as part of the "Refreshing" that was to come from the presence of the Lord, so eagerly anticipated by the early apostles and the prophets of old.

"Well," his brother repeated, "I've never heard of this before. I'll have to ask our theologian about it."

"You would do better to ask the Lord," replied Brother Carter. "Your theologian doesn't know any more about it than you do. That knowledge got lost with the death of the ancient apostles when all revelation from the Lord ended. That is why the Lord had to reveal it anew as part of that great restitution of all things promised by the Apostle Peter who declared:

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

"And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you;

"Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." (Act 3:19-21)

The prophet Amos said, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)

That being the case, could there come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord without renewed revelation from God?

If the heaven must receive Jesus Christ until the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, would not that restitution have to take place before the Second Coming of Christ could occur?

Brother Carter then explained additional information revealed anew by the Lord in our day concerning the preaching of the gospel in the spirit world.

Christ went in the spirit to preach to the spirits in prison, who once were disobedient in the days of Noah. This gave even them an additional opportunity to repent and obey the gospel. Would not our Father in Heaven then provide that all his children everywhere should have the same opportunity? They all shall have the fullness of the gospel preached to them, either in this life or in the spirit world after death.

Brother Carter then read to his brother verse 6 of chapter 4 of First Peter, which says, "For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (I Peter 4:6)

What a glorious revelation from the Lord! Every person who ever breathed the breath of life shall have the opportunity to hear the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ preached unto them, either in this life or in the spirit world after death!

There are millions of people who have lived on this earth who died without ever even hearing the name of Jesus Christ, much less having any knowledge or understanding of his gospel.

Although we speak of those who have died as being "dead," actually only their body is dead. Their spirit is just as alive as we are! The gospel can be preached unto them, as the Apostle Peter said it was. They are capable of hearing, of understanding, of exercising faith, and of repenting. But they cannot be baptized because at this point they have no body.

Yet the Savior told Nicodemus that without baptism, without being born again "of water and of the Spirit," we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. (John 3:3-5) So, what about those in the spirit world who, at the present time, have no body?

What was done anciently, and what do we do today? We note in the Apostle Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, that this was accomplished in that day by the living being baptized vicariously for the dead:

"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" (I Cor. 15:29, emphasis added)

That is the way they did it then, and that is the way we do it today, by revelation from the Lord.

Do we believe all that? Yes, we do indeed. Why? Because the Bible says so, and

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Thirteen – Times Of Refreshing

We have seen that although unauthorized men are forbidden to add to or subtract from the revelations and commandments of God (Deuteronomy 4:2), the Lord himself both can and does add to his revelations and scriptures as he sees fit (Jeremiah 36:32)

How else could there be such a Restoration as promised in the Bible? For such a Restoration was indeed promised!

The Apostle Paul wrote: "That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth." (Ephesians 1:10)

And who is going to do all that? Well, looking back a little further we find that it is "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". (v. 3)

But the Prophet Amos says, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)

It would appear, therefore, that when the Lord "gathers together" all things, both which are in heaven and on earth, that is going to involve revelation and prophets, according to the Prophet Amos. And since the Lord will most likely command it all to be written, it also will involve additional scriptures to be brought about by the Lord.

When is that "dispensation of the fullness of times"? Is it not the very dispensation in which we are now living? Is not this the very climax of it all, when our Father in Heaven will gather all things together in one? And is not that renewed revelation from the Lord part of the latter-day "Refreshing" from the presence of the Lord promised by the Apostle Peter himself? (Acts 3:19)

Let's take a look at what the Apostle Peter had to say about this latter-day Restoration we are talking about. Peter and John, about to enter the temple in Jerusalem, were intercepted by a crippled beggar asking them for alms. "Look on us," said Peter, and the beggar looked up, expecting alms. Instead, the Apostle Peter declared to the crippled beggar: "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have, give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God." (Acts 3:4-8)

To the astonished multitude who had just witnessed this healing by the power of God, Peter then bore a stirring testimony of Jesus Christ as the long-awaited Messiah, crucified by his foes, but now resurrected from the dead by the power of God. Then Peter added: "The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses, and his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."

Then he continued, "And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled."

Then he called them to repentance: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:1-9, 13-21, emphasis added)

As the Apostle Peter bore fervent testimony of the Savior to an earlier multitude on the Day of Pentecost, "they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?"

To which Peter answered, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts 2:38-39)

No need for delay here. They could repent and be baptized at once, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost without waiting. And that promise would include us, would it not, for are we not indeed "a far off," both in distance and in time?

But to the second multitude, perhaps not so guiltless in the crucifixion of the Savior, no such immediate promise was made. They might have to wait to have their sins blotted out, perhaps even until the times of refreshing should come from the presence of the Lord when Jesus Christ should be sent to earth again, which would not be until the time of the Restitution of all things.

To repeat the words of the Prophet Amos, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)

Therefore, it would be impossible to have a time of Refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and a Restitution of all things, without a renewal of revelation from the Lord, and without having again prophets on the earth to whom those revelations would be given. Moreover, if the heavens had received the Savior "until the times of the restitution of all things," then that Restitution, or Restoring, would have to occur before he could come again, isn't that correct?

Some have felt that the early apostles were expecting the Second Coming of the Savior to occur without delay, but from the declaration of the Apostle Peter, quoted above, it is obvious that he understood well that there would first have to occur a restitution, or restoration, of all things. And prior to that, obviously, there would have to have been many things lost, or such a restoration would not have been necessary.

Do we believe Peter's promised "times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord"? Do we believe his promised times of the restitution of all things?

Indeed we do, for---

### We Believe The Bible!

"That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth." (Ephesians 1:10)
Chapter Fourteen – The Truth Shall Make You Free

Back in the days when we were still trying to find a way to land on the moon, someone coined the expression, "What man can conceive, man can achieve."

In those days we conceived of the idea of landing on the moon and coming back with a bag full of rocks. Before it was all over with, that is what we did.

First of all, we had to get serious about our desire, and our commitment, and then we had to get serious in our studies, research, and preparation. When we had finally learned how, then we had to do it!

But that's even true in baking a successful batch of blueberry muffins or raising a successful crop of Idaho sugar beets. We always first have to learn how, and then we have to do it .

Or, as expressed in one latter-day revelation: "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (Doctrine & Covenants 130:20-21)

First, we learn the law, then we obey it, and as a natural consequence of our obedience, we obtain the blessing.

In his trial before Pontius Pilate, Jesus declared, "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice." (John 18:37)

Pilate's only response was to ask, "What is truth?" (v. 38, emphasis added) and without waiting for an answer, he turned and left the room, leaving the question unanswered.

In our day, however, we are told the answer, by revelation from the Lord: "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come." (Doctrine & Covenants 93:24, emphasis added)

In 1844, when Joseph Smith was a candidate for president of the United States, a number of governmental officials from various parts of the nation came to see him, attracted by some of the ideas he had declared. Among these was Josiah Quincy, mayor of Boston. As they walked about the city of Nauvoo, Illinois, where Joseph Smith was then mayor, Mayor Quincy was deeply impressed.

There were no beggars, no drunks, no idlers, no run- down houses or broken fences or trash in the streets. There was a jail, but no one was in it. Nowhere did he see signs of anything but prosperity and progress.

Finally, in amazement, Mayor Quincy exclaimed, "Mr. Smith, how do you govern your people?"

His reply, quoted today by eleven and a half million Latter-day Saints, all over the earth,

"I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves."

Correct principles are the law we must obey in order to obtain the blessing of success in every worthy endeavor, from baking blueberry muffins to raising Idaho sugar beets, or just taking a flight to the moon now and then!

Sometimes we almost get it right, and we almost get the blessing. That is the experience of individuals and of nations. It is the biggest lesson to be learned from the Nephites for a whole thousand years!

Sometimes we suffer a disadvantage from even small errors in our knowledge. For example, when I borrowed a surveyor's transit, to prepare a topographer's chart of a property where I was planning to build a house on a hillside. Try as I would, I couldn't get that transit to work, and finally had to ask for help. With just touch of his finger, the owner showed me a small screw that had to be turned to get the instrument "in focus," and with that bit of correct information, I had that chart finished in almost no time at all.

Sometimes a whole nation or culture suffers a disadvantage from faulty information they have received. For example, a few years ago when India was having severe flooding only a few weeks after several months of severe drought I discussed the matter with a friend and neighbor, Dr. Rao, professor of geothermal physics at San Diego State University, if I recall correctly.

Since Dr. Rao is from India himself, I expressed an observation that seemed logical to me: "Surely in a land as big as India there must be places they could build dams and construct reservoirs to store excess water in rainy seasons for irrigation in times of drought."

"The problem of India," responded Dr. Rao, "Is in the heads of its people."

"And what do you mean by that?" I asked.

"The people of India are very fatalistic," responded Dr. Rao. "If there is a flood, that must be what God wants or there wouldn't be one. But if there is a drought, that must be what God wants, and we shouldn't be trying to do anything to change it."

That is just about exactly opposite from a revelation given in Missouri on August 1, 1831:

"Wherefore, let them bring their families to this land (Missouri) as they shall counsel between themselves and me.

"For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;"

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in no wise, lose their reward.

"But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded (India!), and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned." (Doctrine & Covenants 58:25-29)

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Fifteen – Christians

When Hartman Rector, of Hannibal, Missouri, was Mission President at San Diego, California, a few years ago, someone told him Latter-day Saints are not Christians.

He responded, "If you mean by that we are different because we don't believe that Jesus went out into the Garden of Gethsemane and there prayed to himself, no, we don't believe that, and neither did Jesus or his Apostles, and that is not what the Bible says, and we believe the Bible."

The dictionary defines Christian as: (1) A believer in the religion of Christ; a member of a Christian Church; (2) A person whose life and character conform to Christ's teachings; (3) A member of a race which as a whole adheres to the religion of Christ in distinction from Jew, Mohammedan or heathen; colloq., a civilized person, in distinction from a brute or savage.

That is the definition we usually use, but according to The Bible Jesus defined his disciples a little more closely. He said; "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35, emphasis added)

Many years ago there was an argument among musicians as to who was the best musician of all. After they had stood around for a while beating each other over the head with their fiddles and drumsticks, it finally dawned on some of them that a better way to tell might be to have them produce some music.

That is what the Savior is saying: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, not by how loud you proclaim it, but if ye have love one to another!"

There are hundreds of religions and churches in the world today. "Christian" churches fall into three groups.

(1) Those claiming to be the continuation of the

Church established by Christ himself, including at least the following:

a. The Roman Catholic Church

b. The Greek Orthodox Church

c. The Egyptian Coptic Church

Their strength has been in keeping alive in the earth the knowledge of the birth and mission of Christ and his apostles in the long dark night that fell over the earth after the death of the early apostles when revelation from God to man through his prophets ended.

(2) The Protestant Churches, so-called because in every instance they broke away from, or protested against some other Church.

The greatest strength of the Protestant Churches, and the Reformers who brought them forth, was in the translation of the Bible and making it available to the people in their own language, often in spite of the determined opposition of the Roman Catholic Church.

Their strength and blessing also has been in teaching their followers to read the Bible and to have faith in God, and to obey his commandments.

The greatest weakness of both Catholics and Protestants has been their lack of prophets and apostles and revelation from God, for when even the best of well-meaning men make their own decisions without revelation from God, usually there are about as many opinions as there are heads. This can only lead to confusion.

(3) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, claiming to be the original Church established by the Savior restored in our day by revelation from God, as predicted by the Apostle Peter (Acts 3:19-21) and by the Prophet Daniel. (Daniel 2:44)

Some splinter groups have broken off from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whereby they are themselves protestant churches.

Since Christ said, "By their fruits ye shall know them"; (Matt. 7:20) let us look at these churches claiming to be disciples of the Savior.

Before the Protestant Churches even existed, the Catholic Church organized the so-called Crusades, sending whole armies to the land now known as Israel, to wrest the land from the Muslims then possessing it, and they slaughtered them in a holy war as fierce as the Muslims now slaughter their foes as a favor to Allah.

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

It does not sound like the Muslims or the Crusaders qualify at all. In addition, if we look at the present-day Ireland, where Catholics and Protestants continue to slaughter each other, as they have done for generations, this does not seem to qualify either. In fact, in World Ward I and World War II, did we not see everywhere professing Christians slaughtering each other endlessly?

Is that really the badge of discipleship? Where can we find true Disciples of Christ anyway?

No wonder there had to be a Restoration!

### We Believe The Bible!

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."

~ John 13:34-35
Chapter Sixteen – Conservators, Reformers, And Restorationists

The dictionary defines the term "Christian" to mean:

1. A believer in the religion of Christ: a member of a Christian Church;

2. A person whose life and character conform to Christ's teachings;

3. A member of a race, which as a whole adheres to the religion of Christ: in distinction from Jew, Mohammedan, or heathen: colloq., a civilized person, in distinction from a brute or savage.

By that definition, as also mentioned in the previous chapter, there are basically three divisions or groups of churches claiming to believe in the Jesus Christ of the Bible as their Savior, Redeemer, and Lord:

1. Those claiming to be, still, the perpetuation of the original church established by Jesus Christ himself, which I am therefore calling the Conservators. There may be more, but the three I have knowledge of are:

a. The Roman Catholic Church

b. The Greek Orthodox Church

c. The Egyptian Coptic Church.

2. The Protestant Churches, so named because they came into existence through protesting and endeavoring to reform either the Roman Catholic Church or some other Protestant church. These originated principally from the labors of the Reformers, so that is what I am calling this group. Their desire and goal was to correct and purify and get back to the original Church of Jesus Christ through the process of reform.

3. The Restorationists: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and half a dozen splinter groups that have broken off over the last 170 years. Actually, it would probably be more correct to refer to these splinter groups as Protestants, since they came into existence by protesting one thing or another in the original Restoration Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Evidences and Observations:

Paul says that in his day many were proclaiming that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent. Paul corrected them declaring that before Christ's Second Coming there would be a "falling away" first.

The very existence of all the Protestant churches is a proclamation to all the world that such a "falling away" had indeed already occurred prior to that time, for if it had not, then the work of the Reformers would have been unnecessary.

For example, when Martin Luther, a Catholic Priest in Germany, nailed his 95 theses on his church door demanding a reformation of the whole Catholic Church, the principal object of his attack was the sale of "papal indulgences."

Not only were sins being forgiven for money, but also people were being encouraged to buy the forgiveness of sins in advance, even before they committed them. That was the so-called sale of "indulgences."

When Luther, as an Augustine monk, visited Rome in 1510-1511 he was "shocked by the wealth and corruption of the papacy" (Reader's Digest Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary, p 1006). It didn't take him long to figure out where that wealth was coming from, and he "protested" it, demanding reform.

No reform was forthcoming however, and instead he was excommunicated for heresy. In 1520, he burned the papal bill of excommunication and started his own church, as one of the initiators of the whole Reformation, which gave birth to the hundreds of Protestant churches now in existence.

In a class I was taking in Italian Literature a few years ago at San Diego State University we noted how many of the Italian writers of Luther's day wrote freely of the corruption of popes and other high officials. It was both common knowledge and completely accepted. The professor, Dr. Luisa Vergani, a loyal Italian and devout Catholic, explained there was no objection to such observations, but when Luther attacked the Catholic Church itself he had to be excommunicated.

The "falling away" foreseen by Paul, however, did not occur in Luther's Day. It had already taken place a few generations earlier, completed, perhaps, when the pagan Roman emperor Constantine bought out the remnants of the whole Christian movement, "lock, stock, and barrel," to serve as the state religion for the whole Roman Empire.

That the falling away had already occurred is obvious from the fact that Constantine had to call together the local leaders of the discordant and fragmentized Christian branches at the Council of Nicia in A.D. 325. Only after four weeks of debates, discussions, and compromises could doctrinal disputes be sufficiently settled to permit enough unification to even serve as the religion of the Roman Empire.

I am sure that the leaders of those discordant branches congratulated themselves forever for their accomplishment. Before, they were disunited, weak, and unpopular. Now they were truly popular, and powerful, as the Emperor's own church, and no longer would they be fed to the lions as dessert!

But let us get back to evidence. When Jesus Christ promised the Holy Ghost to the saints in his Church, he referred to him as the Spirit of Truth, and said he would lead them into all truth (enlightenment) and show them things to come (revelation). (John 16:13)

But under the universal dominion of the great Mother Church, given unlimited power and dominion by the Roman Emperor, you had a total lack of revelation from God and such a bleak and total cloud of ignorance and lack of truth that even in secular history it is universally denominated "The Dark Ages." That does not sound like they were being led into "all truth."

In the Middle Ages when Europeans were afraid they might tumble off the edge of the earth, if they ventured too far into the sea, the Egyptians still retained a correct knowledge of the roundness of the earth and other basic principles of astronomy.

Where did the Egyptians get that knowledge? Abraham said he is the one who taught them, many years before. And how did Abraham know all that? He says he learned it by revelation from the Lord. For Abraham, you see, still had the Holy Ghost, which "leads people into all truth" and reveals to them the things of God.

While the apostles of Jesus Christ were still living, the Holy Ghost directed the Church of Jesus Christ through them. And because of their true authority from God, the Holy Ghost was in the church, and because the Holy Ghost was in the church, the Church was still enjoying revelation from the Lord.

The "falling away," then, consisted not only in the loss of knowledge of correct points of doctrine. More importantly, it was the loss of the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Even more importantly it was the loss of true authority whereby the Gift of the Holy Ghost and all other powers and blessings could be conferred.

That was the "falling away" foreseen by Paul, and it must have occurred shortly after the death of the ancient apostles, when revelation from the Lord obviously ended, at least among the general populace.

When the work of the Lord is on the earth among the children of men, there will always be there, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, all gifts of the Spirit, including revelation, and the true authority whereby these gifts and blessings are conferred through effective authoritative priesthood ordinances. That is what had been lost and that is what had to be restored.

### Conservators

Our Father in Heaven only requires of us that we do the best we can with what we have. When we do that, He will bless us.

Those who came to earth after the falling away we have spoken of, found many things missing. Missing were the true authority of the Holy Priesthood, the Gift of the Holy Ghost and other spiritual gifts stemming there from, and a correct understanding of many basic points of doctrine.

But, many of them labored diligently to conserve what was still left. They kept alive the knowledge of Jesus Christ, of his apostles, of his birth, and of his resurrection. And they kept alive a sizeable volume of scriptures concerning them, and the Lord will bless them for it.

When we first arrived in Bolivia, where my wife and I served for nearly three years as Regional Representative and assistant, we were helping Elder David B. Haight, an apostle in our day, organize a stake in Cochabamba, where there are now half a dozen stakes and a temple. As we talked with Elder Haight he made an observation I would like to include here.

He pointed out what a sweet spirit is felt in these lands where the Conservators have kept alive such deep faith in Jesus and his apostles. This is a sweetness, he added, that is not felt in some of the other countries that have permitted themselves to plunge so suddenly and so completely into totally unrestrained pornography and immorality.

I express sincere appreciation to those, who through the ages, have sought to the best of their knowledge and ability to keep alive and intact whatever things of God they have been permitted to receive.

### Reformers

The whole Reformation, from the Czeck reformer John Huss, who was excommunicated in 1412 and burned at the stake in 1415, to the English brothers John and Charles Wesley, founders of what is now the United Methodist Church, is a totally indispensable preamble to the Restoration which followed.

The Reformers were great, good, worthy and bold men of God and great was the work they accomplished. Were it not for the Reformers and their work of preparation, how could Joseph Smith's First Vision stemming from his reading James 1:5 ever have occurred? There would not even have been any Bible there for him to read! Or for anyone else to read either, for that matter!

And the book you are reading right now would never have been written, obviously. There would not even have been any Bible to write about!

These were great and good men of God and they were also inspired. We still sing some of those beautiful hymns some of them wrote. In fact, in the hymn book I hold in my hand, as I am writing this, I see half a dozen hymns by Charles Wesley alone and one by Martin Luther.

One of the counselors in the Stake Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at Lemon Grove, California is a former Presbyterian minister, President Ray Williamson. In the Stake we moved from to come here, a counselor to the Bishop of his ward and former member of the Stake High Council, Brother Norman Knight, was formerly the head minister of the largest United Methodist Church in San Diego County. Also, the third president of the whole Church, President John Taylor, was a former Methodist minister from Canada.

But what thrills me is to note that some of the Reformers themselves actually foresaw and anticipated the great Restoration they were then preparing for. Roger Williams, pastor of the oldest Baptist Church in America, at Providence, Rhode Island, for example, refused to continue as pastor. He declared there was "no regularly constituted church of Christ, on earth, nor any person authorized to administer any church ordinance, nor can there be until new apostles are sent by the great head of the Church, for whose coming, I am seeking." (Picturesque America, p. 503, as quoted in Le Grand Richards' A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, p. 25)

### Restorationists

The new apostles Roger Williams was waiting for have now arrived and the restored Church of Jesus Christ is again on the earth. Authority has been restored to administer church ordinances, and once again we are enjoying in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints every gift, power, and blessing that were in Christ's Church in the days of Peter and Paul.

In Chapter 2 of the Book of Daniel in the Bible we read of a very powerful dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had in the days of Daniel. To get a feeling for it, I suggest you read the whole chapter and give it some serious thought.

So, what do we read?

First, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dazzling and powerful dream. But when he called in his "wise men," Magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans, to tell him the interpretation of the dream, he couldn't even remember what the dream was.

So that's where he started. He demanded that these "wise men" first tell him the dream and then the interpretation thereof. This they could not do, of course, so in his anger the king ordered all of them executed. (verses 2-13)

Since Daniel was one of the king's "wise men," when he first heard of the matter, he asked the captain of the king's guard to ask the king for a little more time. He would ask the Lord to reveal to him both the dream and its interpretation. (verses 14-18)

This was granted, and the Lord did reveal to Daniel both the dream and its interpretation (verses 19-23). Daniel was granted an audience with the king (verses 24-25) and to him he declared:

"The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers' shew unto the king;

"But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days." (verse 28)

### The Dream:

"Thou, O king, sawest and beheld a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

"This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

"Thou sawest that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

"Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king." (verses 32-36)

Daniel then told King Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of the dream:

"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory...Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

"And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

"And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

"And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

"Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure." (verses 37-45)

Daniel told the king that in this dream the God of heaven was showing him what was to happen "in the latter days." The God of heaven would set up His kingdom which should then "never be destroyed," nor "left to other people," but it should "stand forever" (verse 44). This would occur in the days of the discordant kingdoms that would result from the breakup and disintegration of the fourth kingdom, counting from the Babylonian Empire as No. l (the head of gold).

So what were those mighty kingdoms or empires foreseen in that dream?

1. Head of gold was the Babylonian Empire; who followed Babylon?

2. Breast and arms of silver would have been the Medes and Persians who conquered Babylon;

3. Belly and thighs of brass would have been the Greeks or Macedonians under Alexander the Great, who sat down and wept when he had conquered them all and there were no more left;

4. Legs of iron would have been the Roman Empire, who defeated the Greeks, and they were as strong and ruthless as iron!

Now, our Father in Heaven, the God of heaven, set up his church and kingdom on the earth two thousand years ago through the personal ministry of his Son Jesus Christ. However, that was not "in the latter days," and it was in the days of the Roman Empire, "of iron," not in the days of the discordant kingdoms that would result from its disintegration.

Therefore, as a matter of evidence:

1. The God of Heaven did set up his kingdom at Jerusalem, two thousand years ago, under the rule of and in the time of the Roman Empire, the kingdom of iron.

2. The Prophet Daniel said the God of heaven would set up his kingdom on the earth "in the latter days," which would be in the day of the discordant kingdoms that would result from the breakup and disintegration of the kingdom of iron, which would have been the Roman Empire. Therefore, in this second instance, he would have been setting up his kingdom again, isn't that true?

3. And, if he is now setting up his kingdom again, then there must have been a loss or falling away after the first time he set it up, isn't that true?

He set up his kingdom two thousand years ago and he is setting it up again now, as foretold by Daniel. That means there was a loss or falling away after the first time, as foretold by Paul, and the present setting up of the kingdom is therefore a restoration, as foretold by Peter. If it had not been lost after the first time he wouldn't have to do it again, isn't that true?

### Splinter Groups

Splinter groups that have broken off from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have no claim to legitimacy that I can see. If The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, the others who have broken off are false, for they have been cut off. If it is false, they have even less claim to legitimacy, for if it is false, then they must be also, since they had, or claim to have had, their origin there.

The kingdom that Daniel said the God of heaven would set up in the latter days would:

1. Never be destroyed.

2. Never be "left to other people".

3. Stand forever.

Two concluding points:

1. If the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the kingdom the God of heaven was to set up in the latter days, where is it? It won't do you any good to ask the Jews. They don't know either! The Catholics and the Protestants haven't heard anything from the Lord for the past nineteen hundred years, more or less, but the Jews haven't heard anything from the Lord for about another five hundred years before that!

2. If this really is the kingdom the God of heaven was to set up in the latter days, it will continue to grow with the same vitality it has now until it fills the whole earth, according to the Prophet Daniel. Now don't blame me for that. Daniel said it, I didn't. In fact, it was the Lord who said it. Daniel is just quoting him.

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Seventeen – Behold I Will Send You

A few years ago a man wrote a book entitled "Roots." In it he related his experience in tracing back his ancestry for several generations and expressed his joy and excitement with what he had found.

Today many thousands are doing the same thing, all over the earth, and finding it just as exciting and rewarding. As they do, how thankful they are to find such an abundance of genealogical records available through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For many years they have been microfilming genealogical records from all over the world, and these microfilms, millions of them, are now stored in an enormous repository deep in the solid granite mountain near Salt Lake City, now available to all who seek them.

What does all this have to do with the Bible? Well, probably a lot more than you might initially think.

One of the very significant things to be restored before the Second Coming of Christ, part of the "Restitution of all things" foretold by the Apostle Peter, we find promised in the last two verses in the Old Testament.

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6)

And, when is that? When is the "great and dreadful day of the Lord"? That is the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, great to those looking forward to it with joyful anticipation, but dreadful to those refusing to pay any attention.

On April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Ohio Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elijah the Prophet did indeed appear, as promised by the Lord through the Prophet Malachi. He conferred on the heads of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the keys of priesthood authority for the redemption of the dead and the sealing power for work in the temple.

It is interesting to note that on that very date every devout Jewish family in all the world, in partaking of the feast of the Passover, set a place at the table, with chair, plate, and glass of wine, for Elijah the Prophet, as promised by Malachi.

And Elijah did indeed come, not to a Jewish synagogue, not to even a Jewish home, but to a Latter-day Saint Temple, built for that very purpose at the command of the Lord.

When was he to come? Before the Second Coming of the Savior. For what purpose? To turn the heart of the fathers to their children and the heart of the children to their fathers.

Has that been done?

Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, in the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, years ago, pointed out that at the time of the return of Elijah the Prophet all the bound genealogical records in the whole earth would have fit on one shelf of a small bookcase. Today there are millions of records gathered and available and thousands of people busily using them. The Internet is filled with programs to find Genealogy. Resources are almost overwhelming. Does that sound, perhaps, like our hearts have been turned to our fathers?

We discussed earlier the declaration of the Apostle Peter that when Christ was put to death in the flesh his spirit went and preached the gospel to the spirits in prison which were disobedient in the days of Noah while the Ark was being prepared. (I Peter 3:18-21)

And obviously he preached to others as well, for the Apostle Paul tells us that in his day the members of Christ's church were being "baptized for the dead." (I Corinthians 15:29) When this phase of the gospel was first restored, the saints were permitted to perform baptisms for the dead in the Mississippi River. Later the Lord instructed us to perform all our baptisms for the dead in our temples, and we have been doing that ever since.

Our first 100 temples are now either finished or nearing completion. I am sure that the next 100 will follow close behind. President Kimball, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said we would have at least one temple in every state and province of the United States and Canada, and at least one temple in every nation where there are stakes of Zion. Then he added, "That will be the beginning.

There will be hundreds of temples."

The temple is a house of learning and of revelation for the living. It is a house of "endowment," for the additional understanding we obtain is indeed an endowment from the Lord. However, more than anything else our temples are used for the ordinances of the gospel performed vicariously by the living for the deceased, including, as we said before, baptisms for the dead, which, of course, they are free to either accept or reject.

Like Solomon's Temple, our temples today are built as The House of the Lord, and are the best and finest we are able to build. Therefore, the fact that they are built and used is further evidence that the hearts of the children have indeed been turned to their fathers, from the coming of Elijah.

Now, there are two more things I would like to comment on while we are still on this matter. First, all those wonderful records that have been so painstakingly microfilmed from all over the earth, wouldn't even have been there if it were not for conscientious, God-fearing, Catholic priests and Protestant ministers having felt the great need for preparing and preserving them. What prompted them to do it? The Holy Ghost? Or was that the turning of the heart of the fathers to their children, prompting them to keep these records so faithfully? Moreover, maybe it is what is moving these thousands of people now to search for the records of their fathers?

Therefore, I would like to appeal to all who read this, to feel greater love and appreciation to those who prepared and preserved these records initially, and to pray to our Father in Heaven to express appreciation for them.

Secondly, those records are about our own fathers, our own great-great-grandparents. I would appeal to all who read this to pause to appreciate them more than we usually do. By and large, they were the hardworking men and women who carried the weight of the world on their shoulders. Usually they had neither the wealth nor the opportunities that we, their children, have. I hope we will pause to love and appreciate them more.

It was concerning them or others like them that the poet wrote:

"Let not ambition mock their useful toil,

Their homely joys and destiny obscure,

Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile,

The short and simple anals of the poor.

Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,

Where wealth accumulates and men decay.

Princes may flourish and may fade,

A breath can make them, as a breath hath made,

But a bold peasantry, their country's pride,

When once destroyed, can never be supplied!"

"Honor thy father and thy mother," commanded the Lord, "that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee!"

Many years ago, in England, the Beatles told the youth of the world that their parents were their greatest enemy. That may be the doctrine of the world, but it is not the doctrine of the Lord. To the youth of today, and the youth of all days, the Lord would say, "Honor and respect and love and appreciate your father and mother, and your own children will honor and respect and love and appreciate you in like manner."

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:5-6)

Let us be faithful to our roots!

### We Believe The Bible!

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

"And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

~ Malachi 4:5-6
Chapter Eighteen – Restoration

We have noted how the knowledge and understanding of the principle of salvation for the dead have been restored again in our day by revelation from the Lord. This was part of the great latter-day Refreshing that was to come from the presence of the Lord. In fact, this latter-day Restoration the Apostle Peter spoke of would have to be carried out before the Second Coming of the Savior could even take place.

The Lord has likewise restored many other great and important things in our day as part of this promised Restoration. We mentioned that this Refreshing from the presence of the Lord, this promised latter-day Restoration, was eagerly anticipated by many of the apostles and prophets of old. In this chapter, we shall mention a few of them.

To begin with, we note that on the top of the main spire of most of the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints is a gold-plated statue of the Angel Moroni blowing his trumpet to the nations of the earth. This represents the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Apostle John the Revelator, in the Book of Revelation, in which he declared:

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6-7)

The Lord was to send an angel flying through the midst of heaven. This would be at some time future from the time when this revelation was given. He was to bring the everlasting gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. That would imply that the gospel in its purity and fullness would not already be here in any nation, or kindred, or tongue, or people, or it wouldn't be necessary for the Lord to send another angel to bring it back. Isn't that true?

When was this angel to come? Obviously at a time future from the time the revelation was given. Since his message was to serve as a warning to men to repent of their sins, he would have to come at the beginning of the hour of God's judgment, or just before it. Isn't that true?

The angel's warning message was to call men to fear God and give glory to him, and to worship him who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the fountains of water.

From that, it would appear that the inhabitants of the earth at that time would not be worshipping and giving glory to God, even the God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the fountains of water (steeped in the teachings of organic evolution, perhaps?) In any case, it would appear that the inhabitants of the earth at the time of the coming of this angel would be in a condition of a "falling away," or of straying from the path of the Lord, and therefore in need of the Restoring we have spoken of.

Why would such a falling away have occurred, and what would have brought it about? We note that in the preceding chapter the Lord says that power was given to the "dragon," representing the power of Satan, to "make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, tongues, and nations...." (Revelation 13:7)

No wonder the Lord had to send an angel! Was this the Falling Away the Apostle Paul said would occur before the Second Corning of the Savior?

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

"By letter as from us..." That would make it appear that some had written letters purporting to be from the apostles, which in fact were not. The epistle continues: "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first..." (ibid. v. 3)

There was to be a falling away. So a restoration would be needed. To repeat, this would be the "restitution of all things" that Peter said must occur before the Second Advent of the Savior. And what was that "Refreshing" that Peter said must come from the presence of the Lord? Was it not indeed renewed revelation from God after the lengthy famine in which there had been none?

And was that not indeed the famine foreseen of old by the Prophet Amos: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." (Amos 8:11-12)

Was that perhaps during the long night of darkness that hung over the earth following the death of the apostles, when for such long centuries there was no longer revelation from the

Lord, as there had been while they were yet alive?

Things were so dark in those days that we still call that era "the dark ages."

No wonder we needed such latter-day rain, such a "refreshing" from the presence of the Lord, to break that dreadful drought and famine!

Do we believe all that? Yes, we do. Why? Because that's what the Bible says, and

### We Believe The Bible!

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people"

~ Revelation 14:6
Chapter Nineteen – A Book That Is Sealed

In Chapter 29 of the Book of Isaiah, the Lord speaks of a book that was to come forth at some time future from the time of Isaiah. He specifically mentions the book in verses 11, 12, and 18, and has some interesting things to say about it.

A people are spoken of who would be destroyed. They would be "brought down" and would "speak out of the ground" and their speech would "whisper out of the dust." (v. 4) Their destruction would be sudden (v. 5) and they would be "visited of the Lord" by thunder, earthquake, noise, storm, tempest, and tumultuous destruction. (v. 6)

The book itself would be sealed" (v. 11), but "words" from that sealed book would be taken to "one that is learned," who would protest, "I cannot read it because it is sealed." (v. 11) The book itself would then be delivered to an unlearned person to read, and he would protest his inability because of his lack of education. (v. 12)

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and their understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." (Isaiah 29:13-14)

The people are vain, and lifted up in pride, their heart is far from the Lord, and their fear toward the Lord is taught by the precept of men. (v. 13) Therefore the Lord would proceed to do a marvelous work among the people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, that would cause the wisdom of the wise men to perish and the understanding of their prudent men to be hid. (v. 14)

In that day men would be trying to hide their counsel from the Lord (v. 15), and would be denying their Creator and promoting the teaching of organic evolution. (v. 16) The book would come forth a short time before the land of Israel would become fertile and productive again, after generations of infertility, and their fruit orchards would be "esteemed as a forest". (v. 17)

The deaf would hear the words of the book and the blind would read them. (v. 18)

The book would cause the meek to increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor would be caused to rejoice (v. 19). After the book has come forth, the wicked shall be removed and the Lord's people shall be restored and established (v. 20-23). "They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine." (v. 24)

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon fulfills exactly the conditions of the book spoken of by Isaiah, and it is the only book that does, that I have any knowledge of:

1. It tells of a great people who were destroyed suddenly, the record came forth out of the ground, and through it that people now whisper out of the dust.

2. Words from the book were taken by Martin Harris to a Professor Charles Anthon in New York City, renowned as an authority in ancient languages, who told him the characters were genuine and the translation correct.

3. "He gave me a certificate, certifying to the people of Palmyra that they were true characters, and that the translation of such of them as had been translated was also correct. I took the certificate and put it in my pocket, and was just leaving the house, when Mr. Anthon called me back, and asked me how the young man found out that there were gold plates in the place where he found them. I answered that an angel of God had revealed it unto him.

4. "He then said to me, 'Let me see that certificate.' I accordingly took it out of my pocket and gave it to him, when he took it and tore it to pieces, saying that there was no such thing now as ministering of angels, and that if I would bring the plates to him he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, 'I cannot read a sealed book.'"

5. The book itself was then given to Joseph Smith to translate, though he was forbidden to touch the part that was sealed. Joseph Smith was only 22 years old at that time, had very little education, and was therefore under the necessity of translating the book totally by the gift and power of God.

6. The book has come forth at a time when great numbers of people are lifted up in pride, deny their Creator, and widely teach and promote the doctrine of organic evolution.

7. In the coming forth of the book, and in events leading up to it, Joseph Smith was told by the Lord, as stated by Isaiah, that the churches of the world "draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof." (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History 1:19)

8. The Lord did then proceed to do a marvelous work, even a marvelous work and a wonder, and as it continues to roll forth in the earth in power and with breathtaking vitality, more and more is the wisdom of the wise beginning to perish and the understanding of the prudent to be hid.

9. It has been since the book came forth that the land of Israel has again become a fertile and fruitful area, for the first time in modern centuries, and its orchards are now as expansive as forests.

10. Not only do the spiritually deaf and blind hear and read the words of the book today, but even those who are physically deaf or hard of hearing can now listen to the words of the book with a hearing aid, or through sign language, and the whole book can be read by the blind in Braille.

11. The book has certainly caused the meek to increase in their joy in the Lord, and it has caused the poor to rejoice.

12. Moreover the book has served to correct errors, has caused those who erred in spirit to come to understanding, and those who murmured to learn doctrine, just as Isaiah foresaw.

We remember again the words of the Prophet Amos, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)

Therefore, since all that Isaiah has here foretold is what the Lord was going to be doing, it would necessarily be accomplished by revelation from the Lord; there would have to be again on earth, true prophets of God to receive them from the Lord.

This has all resulted just as the Bible said it would. Do we believe it? Indeed we do, for---

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Twenty – Over The Wall

Before his death, exercising his patriarchal priesthood authority, Jacob, whose name the Lord had changed to Israel, called his twelve sons together and gave each of them a blessing concerning their lives and future. (Genesis 49:1-28)

1. To Reuben, his firstborn, he said, "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel" and he took from him his birthright because of his unfaithfulness. (v.3-4)

2. Simeon and Levi he cursed because in their fierce wrath they slew a man, and he said, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." (v. 5-7)

3. Judah he blessed with leadership, and declared, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (the Messiah) come: and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (v.9-12)

4. Shiloh being the Messiah, not only were Israel's kings almost always of the Tribe of Judah, but even Jesus Christ himself was of that tribe and was the legal heir to the throne at the time of his birth. It is He who shall soon reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords throughout the great Millennium, when he comes again in the clouds of glory.

5. Dan was blessed as a judge to his people (v. 16-18) and the other sons were likewise blessed in their inheritances, but,

6. Unto Joseph, to whom Jacob had given a coat of many colors, as a token of his special affection for him, he said. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall." The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him. But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel)

7. "Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." (v. 22- 26, emphasis added)

Now let us look at that a little more closely and see what it tells us about the future of Joseph and his seed:

1. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall." (v. 22) They would multiply and become exceedingly numerous. The lands of their inheritance would not be limited to the land of Israel, for Joseph's branches would run "over the wall," the greatest wall in that day being the ocean itself.

2. "The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him." (v. 23) His brothers had hated him and tormented him in jealous rage. They had contemplated killing him, but had then decided to cast him into a pit and just let him die, but finally they got him out of the pit and sold him as a slave, for twenty pieces of silver, to a caravan of Midianite merchants traveling to Egypt, where Joseph was put into bondage as a slave.

3. The Lord blessed Joseph in Egypt (v. 24-25) and caused his master, Potipher, to prosper in everything he assigned Joseph to get done (Gen. 39:3) and eventually Potipher made him the overseer over all his affairs (v.4), save only his wife. (v. 9)

Joseph was such a handsome young man, and had such a pleasing personality, that eventually Potipher's wife fell madly in love with him, and tried to persuade him to go to bed with her. "But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:8-9)

But she persisted, and he continued to refuse. One day, when no one else was near, "she caught him by his garment, saying, 'Lie with me'; and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out." (Genesis 39:12)

So Potipher's wife, like some lying women today, called to the men of the house and told them Joseph had tried to rape her and when she cried out he fled, leaving his garment behind.

So Joseph was cast into prison on the false testimony of Potipher's lying wife. But even there, "the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison." And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.

"The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, (Joseph), and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper." (Genesis

39:12-13)

And while Joseph was in prison, the king's butler and his baker were cast into prison for offending the king. And bye and bye, they each had a dream, both in the same night, which Joseph interpreted for them by the inspiration of the Lord: the butler would be restored to his position in three days, but in three days the baker would be hanged.

Then to the butler Joseph said, "But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:

"For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon." (Genesis 40:14-15)

And in three days, as Joseph had said, the butler was restored and the baker was hanged. (Genesis 40:20-22)

However, true to form, the butler in his renewed prosperity promptly forgot Joseph even existed. (v. 23)

Then one day Pharaoh himself had a dream, even the famous dream you have all heard about so often:

Seven beautiful well-fattened cattle came up out of the river and fed in the meadow. Then seven lean-fleshed and half-starved cattle came up out of the river after them and stood by the first cattle. Then, as he watched, the seven lean cattle ate up the first seven cattle, and that woke Pharaoh up. (Genesis 41:1-4) Pharaoh went back to sleep and continued his dream, and now, "behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stock, rank and good." And, behold seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold it was a dream." (Genesis 41:5-7)

The dream was very impressive and Pharaoh desired to learn its meaning. (v.8) About that time, the butler suddenly remembered Joseph and told the Pharaoh of his ability to interpret dreams. (v. 9-13)

Therefore, the Pharaoh sent for Joseph, told him his dream, and asked him to tell him its meaning.

"And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And the seven thin and ill- favored kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine...

"Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:

"And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land;

"And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of the famine following; for it shall be very grievous." And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass." (Genesis 41:25-27, 29-32)

Then Joseph gave Pharaoh a little counsel: "Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt." Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine." (v. 33-36)

"And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

"And Pharaoh said unto his servants, can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?" And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none as discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than t h o u ."

"And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt."

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." (Genesis 41:37-44)

There then came the seven years of abundant harvests, foreseen by Joseph, followed by seven years of severe famine. But because of the great food-storage program so wisely planned and carried out by Joseph, through the inspiration of the Lord, not only were the Egyptians themselves saved from starvation, but during the famine "all the countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands." (Genesis 41:57)

Now let us return to Jacob's blessing to Joseph, in Genesis chapter 49, given after the famine was all over. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The Almighty shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above ... blessings of the breasts and of the womb..." (Genesis 49:22-25)

The Lord would greatly multiply the seed of Joseph, and would provide the means for that to occur, by blessing him with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb. (v. 25)

"The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors...." (v. 26)

What were the blessings of Jacob's progenitors? Unto Abraham the Lord gave the whole land of Israel, as far as he could see in all directions. Then unto Isaac, the Lord gave the same land he had given to his father Abraham. When Jacob came along the Lord gave to him the same blessings he had given to Abraham and Isaac before him. These were the blessings of Jacob's progenitors.

But the blessings of Joseph's father to Joseph were to exceed the blessings of Jacob's fathers, even "unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." (Genesis 49:26)

And where are the "everlasting hills"? Are they not the Rocky Mountains of North America and the Cordillera Andina of South America, including even the Sierra Madre of Mexico, extending like a huge chain, all the way from Alaska in the north to the south end of Chile in the south?

My wife and I have lived among them and traveled among them from Alberta to southern Chile and they are everything Jacob described them as being.

It was to the Americas the Lord brought Father Lehi and his family from Jerusalem, 600 years before Christ, they being of the Tribe of Joseph. It was in the Americas that they multiplied and spread over all the face of the land. It was in the Americas that they were prospered by the Lord, when they kept His commandments, and were chastened by the Lord when they did not.

It was in the Americas that Lehi's people divided into two opposing factions, the Nephites and the Lamanites, who for centuries thereafter were in more or less constant contention and warfare.

It was in the Americas that the resurrected Christ appeared to the righteous who remained after the wicked had been swept off the land by devastating destruction. The righteous to whom the Savior appeared in the Americas, as the sheep He was to visit who were not of the same "fold" as those at Jerusalem (John 10:16) bore witness of Christ's resurrection and of his divinity. And the record they made of the matter became a Second Witness of Christ, as a companion to the Bible, which was the First Witness.

It was in the Americas that the Nephites then lived in peace and harmony as a unified and righteous people for a "Golden Age" of two hundred years.

It was in the Americas that they were then again torn asunder by apostasy, division, sin, wickedness, strife, and warfare, and where the Nephites were finally destroyed by a furious and prolonged civil war, when they had fully ripened in their iniquity, even as the Jaredites had been destroyed on this same land at an earlier time. (Book of Mormon, Ether 15:29-32)

It was in the Americas where Mormon was commanded to make the "abridgement" or summary record of the history of his people with the title of "The Book of Mormon" which his son Moroni completed after Mormon was slain in battle.

It was to the Americas the Lord would bring the "Gentiles" from Europe and where He would raise them up as a great and God-fearing nation, to be protected, preserved, and prospered by the Lord so long as they worship and serve the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ, or to be visited with devastating destruction, if they rebel against the Lord. (Ether 2:7-12; 4:13-19; 9-20)

It was to the righteous "Gentiles" in the Americas that the Lord would speak in the last days and among whom He would establish his restored Church, as promised in both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

And it is from this land that fifty-five thousand missionaries are traveling today among all nations to let them know of this "marvelous work and a wonder rolling forth in the earth" as promised by Isaiah.

It is in the Americas, and also in the islands of the sea, that millions of the seed of Lehi, descendants of those ancient Book of Mormon people, are still living today, still waiting for the redemption and restoration promised them by the Lord, in the Book of Mormon.

The Lord has promised to redeem, restore, and bless the seed of Lehi in our day so abundantly that they will serve as an example to all of our Heavenly Father's children in all the world.

And it is in the Americas, in the Lord's due time, that the Lord will eventually establish his Zion, to bless his children throughout the earth.

And where did all this come from? From the seed of Joseph whose branches ran "over the wall," as promised by the Lord through Jacob. Where did we learn about all that? From the Holy Bible, and

### We Believe The Bible!

"Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall."

~ Genesis 49:22
Chapter Twenty-one – "And Other Sheep I Have..."

"I am the good shepherd," Jesus told his followers at Jerusalem, "and I know my sheep, and am known of mine."

Then he continued, "As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep."

Continuing, he added, "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (John 10:14-16)

When Jesus appeared to the Nephites in America, shortly after his resurrection, he quoted to them the last quotation, and then said to them:

"Verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." And they (his disciples at Jerusalem) understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching.

"And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice - that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost.

"But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given me." (The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 15:21-24)

He taught them teachings similar to those he had taught his followers at Jerusalem, he organized his Church among them, and he called and ordained twelve worthy men to direct it.

He taught them to baptize by immersion, but only those who had reached the age of accountability, and only those who had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and who had sincerely repented of their sins.

He taught them to pray, and he himself prayed among them as an example. He introduced among them the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion as it is sometimes called. Bread was broken and blessed and given to his worthy followers to eat, in remembrance of his body, torn and slain for them. Wine was blessed and gave to them wine to drink, in remembrance of his blood, which had been shed for them as an atonement and infinite sacrifice for sin.

He taught them not to partake of that bread or drink of that wine unworthily, and that as they did partake worthily they would be witnessing to our Father in Heaven that they did always remember his Son Jesus Christ, that they were willing to take upon them his name, and that they would always keep his commandments which he had given them, that they might always have his Spirit to be with them.

He taught them to love and serve one another, to worship our Father in Heaven, and to serve him and keep his commandments.

He told them of the great Gentile nation that would be raised up by the Lord on this land in the latter days, and of the blessings and protection of the Lord they would be given if they would but serve and worship him, and of the judgments and punishments with which they would be visited by the Lord if they did not. And finally he taught them that he will come again in the latter days in the clouds of glory.

The people were all converted to the Lord and lived for 200 years in such righteousness that it was written of them:

"And there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.

"And they had all things in common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift...

"And the Lord did prosper them exceedingly in the land; ...

"And they did walk after the commandments which they had received from their Lord and their God, continuing in fasting and prayer, and in meeting together oft both to pray and to hear the word of the Lord."

"And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people." And there were no envyings, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.

"There were no robbers, nor murderers, neither were there any Lamanites, nor any manner of ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God." (The Book of Mormon, 4 Nephi 1:2, 3, 7, 12, 15, 16, 17)

What a tribute to any people - "and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God!"

However, after two centuries, pride and class

distinctions again began to divide the people, and before long some were unbelievably wealthy and others were in wretched poverty, even as we are seeing in our own land today.

Lehi, the first of The Book of Mormon prophets, had declared, "But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:24-25)

Joy or happiness is the very purpose of our existence, and all the commandments of the Lord, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have been given us as the right recipe, but some of us seem to be determined to refuse to bake the cake!

So the Nephites refused to listen to the prophets, refused to repent of their sins, and pressed on in their rebellion against the Lord their God, until they had succeeded in destroying themselves, as the Jaredites had done before, and as we may end up doing if we don't clean up our act pretty soon.

It has been said that the reason history repeats itself is because we were not listening the first time. Isn't that why the Lord has given us the Stick of Judah, and now the Stick of Joseph (Ezekiel 37:16-17), to get our attention, and get us to remember the Lord our God? Is not that what The Bible and The Book of Mormon are all about? Isn't it about time we started to pay attention?

### We Believe The Bible!

Joy or happiness is the very purpose of our existence, and all the commandments of the Lord, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have been given us as the right recipe, but some of us seem to be determined to refuse to bake the cake!
Chapter Twenty-two – The Great Gentile Nation

Noah had three sons - Ham, Shem, and Japheth. Ham was the father of the black race in the earth, Shem was the father of the Semitic races (Shemites) and Japheth was the father of the white races.

Jewish tradition holds Shem as being identical with Melchizedek who is described in the Book of Mormon as being a great High Priest, in fact, it says, "There were none greater." It was through Melchizedek that Abraham paid tithing. Abraham had such great faith that he was told that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through the seed of Abraham.

Abraham's son Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was given the birthright and the Lord changed his name to Israel. His twelve sons became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Since our Father in Heaven is the father of the spirit of every person living on the planet earth we sometimes wonder why there was a need for a "House of Israel." One of the apostles, however, explained that what our Father in Heaven had in mind was obviously having a special group of human beings who would be so faithful in all things that they would serve as an example for the entire earth. People in all nations should be able to look to the House of Israel and exclaim, "Oh, that's how you do it!"

Instead, in the long centuries that followed in many instances the House of Israel were not really a great example, and in some instances their example was downright miserable. As we read the Old Testament we read where the Lord sent prophets among the people of Israel calling them to repent and warning of the disasters that would befall them if they did not. Among other things they even warned them that if they did not repent they would be carried away into bondage in foreign lands, a fate that actually befell them.

It is interesting to note that in many instances those same prophets were permitted to see the last days in vision and frequently exclaimed, "but in the last days the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the tops of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it and many people shall be heard to say, "Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."

Thus, in our day, it is the responsibility of the House of Israel, with others whom the Lord shall call, to stand forth and accomplish all things our Father in Heaven has ever introduced that have not yet been fulfilled.

One of the things that needs to be fulfilled in our day is the preaching of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Another is the building of the sacred city of Zion to be known as, "The New Jerusalem." And in these last days the Lord's people will finally get around to accomplishing everything He has assigned them to do. What a choice time in which to live! It should be noted that among the posterity of Shem, you not only have the Jews and others still remaining with them, but you also have the posterity of the other Ten Tribes of Israel, who have been scattered throughout the earth by the hand of the Lord. It is also interesting to note that among the seed of Abraham you see a great deal of contention, sometimes even coming to the shedding of blood stemming from family disputes and feuds from as far back as Esau, the brother of Jacob and Ishmael the brother of Isaac.

In addition, after Sarah died Abraham married again and had additional children. From Ishmael and other sons of Abraham and from Esau, brother of Jacob have sprung up the multitudes of Arabic people now often contending with the present Israelis over lands of their inheritance. Hopefully, all the seed of Abraham and everyone else as well will be so converted to the Lord that they will stop their fighting and quarrelling and live in love and peace as the people of the Lord.

Now it should be noted that anciently the land of Israel was all one nation. However, after the death of King Solomon, a delegation came to Jerusalem to consult with Rehoboam the new King, son of Solomon. They had come to protest the increasingly high and ever higher taxes. King Rehoboam consulted with the counselors of his father Solomon who encouraged him to lower the taxes to appease the people. However, when he consulted with his own counselors, all younger men, they encouraged him to "crack the whip" and increase the taxes instead of lowering them, which he decided to do.

As a result, the complaining tribes, known as the Ten Tribes of Israel, revolted against the remaining tribes at Jerusalem and formed their own Kingdom as a separate nation. The tribes at Jerusalem were thereafter known as the Kingdom of Judah. The other tribes were known as the Kingdom of Israel. In the process of time the Kingdom of Israel was defeated in battle and its people carried away in bondage to Syria. For about 250 years the two kingdoms maintained a separate existence.

Afterwards, about 721 B.C., the independent state of the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, and the people were brought back into captivity by the Assyrians under Shalmanezer. The Kingdom of Judah was recognized for over a century longer. Then it was brought to an end by Nebuchadnezzar, who inaugurated the Babylonian captivity. For 70 years the people remained in subjection. After which, the Lord softened the hearts of ruling kings and emancipation was begun by Cyrus the Persian. The Hebrew people were permitted to return to Judea and rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. The people, then commonly known as Hebrews or Jews retained the name of their nation as Israel though by then they scarcely comprised two complete tribes out of the original twelve. The balance of the tribes of Israel, who had been taken captive by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. were thereafter released and took their journey westward and north instead of returning to the land from which they had come. They crossed the Dan and the Danube and named them both. It is interesting to note that the name of Denmark in Danish is Danmark, which in Danish means the land of Dan.

When I was a boy, I was reading literature from a group known as British Israel. They pointed out that the coat of arms of Great Britain, the Lion and the Unicorn, is identical to the coat of arms of the tribe of Judah. They also pointed out that the name British means man of the covenant.

It is common knowledge that the Jews, who fled from Jerusalem after its destruction by the Romans in 70 A.D. fled to many different lands, where many of them still remain and from which others have gathered out to return to the land of Jerusalem in recent years.

It should be noted that when Joseph brought his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim to Jacob for a patriarchal blessing in the land of Egypt, Jacob deliberately crossed his arms to place his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the older. Joseph responded, "Not so, my father, not so, Manasseh is the older, not Ephraim" Jacob said, "I know it my son, I know it: he also shall become a people and he also shall become great, but truly his younger brother [Ephraim] shall be greater than he and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." (Genesis 48:15)

The ancient inhabitants of the Americas were a people known as the Nephites, of the tribe of Joseph. When they came to the Americas from the land of Jerusalem about 600 B.C. they brought forth a record engraved on brass plates which contained the Holy Scriptures as they existed at that time.

They were led by prophets and kept sacred records, as did their fellow Israelites in Jerusalem. The Book of Mormon, which has come to us as a record from these ancient inhabitants of the Americas contains prophecies and revelations given by the Lord to their prophets some of which concern us in as much as they speak of what the Lord would be doing in our day. Among these prophecies are revelations concerning a great Gentile Nation that would be raised up by the Lord in the Americas in the last days. The record speaks of them as being gentiles, a term normally given to anyone who is not of the House of Israel. However, it is obvious that much of the blood of Israel had already spread among the nations of the earth so that even though the people spoken of were called to be a great Gentile nation they obviously have much of the blood of Israel in them.

The prophecies concerning these people begin by telling of their gathering out of the lands from which they came many times for the purpose of finding freedom of religion. They were a scripture reading, sincere and righteous people led by the Lord. One man spoken of particularly, who is obviously Christopher Columbus, seen in vision was said to have been moved by the Holy Ghost to come to this land. Having read this in the record it is interesting to note that Christopher Columbus himself exclaimed that he felt he had been moved upon by the Holy Ghost to undertake this voyage from Europe to the Americas. This turned out to be the opening of the gates for the European discovery and colonization of the Americas. These God-fearing Gentiles were favored and blessed by the Lord. Concerning them we read, "It appears that the House of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the earth and also among all nations...the more part of all the tribes had been led away and they are scattered to and fro upon the Isles of the Sea. These things have been prophesied concerning them and also concerning all those who hereafter, shall be scattered and confounded because of the holy one of Israel.

For against him they will harden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be hated of all men. But in the days to come, the time cometh that after all the House of Israel have been scattered and confounded, the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land (the Americas); and by them shall our seed be scattered. And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms, and upon their shoulders. And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles, and not only unto the Gentiles, but also unto all the house of Israel, unto making known the covenants of the Father in Heaven unto Abraham saying: "In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed." (The Book of Mormon, I Nephi 22:6-9)

The Gentiles brought by the Lord to the Americas to set up this great nation were promised special blessings by the Lord: "He will bring them again out of captivity, they shall be gathered together to the lands of their inheritance. They shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the mighty one of Israel.

"And every nation that shall war against thee...shall be turned one against another and they shall fall into the pit, which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord and all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed." (Ibid. I Nephi 12:12-14)

"And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise;...and I beheld the spirit of the Lord that he was upon the Gentiles and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance...and it came to pass that I Nephi beheld that the Gentiles, who had gone forth out of captivity, did humble themselves before the Lord, and the power of the Lord was with them.

"And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land, also, to battle against them. And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.

"And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations...." (Ibid. I Nephi 13:14-19)

This great Gentile Nation would become the most powerful nation on earth:

"Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations upon the face of the land, which is choice above all other lands, which is the land the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have the land for their inheritance." (Ibid. I Nephi 13:30)

An angel tells Nephi of the blessings and cursings to fall upon the Gentiles:

"Wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God." (Ibid. 2 Nephi 14:6)

Unfortunately, it would also be one of the most wicked nations on earth:

"And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceit, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all these things and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, behold, sayeth the Father, I will bring the fullness of my gospel from among them." (Ibid. 3 Nephi 16:10)

The Book of Mormon warns of the judgments of God that will be visited upon the heads of the people of this great nation when they have ripened in their iniquities and become as wicked as just related. However, even in this dark hour, when our hands are stained by the blood of millions of unborn babies we kill each year by abortions, our Heavenly Father still holds out before us promises of hope if we will even now repent and return unto Him.

"But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, sayeth the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people O House of Israel.

"And I will not suffer my people who are of the House of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, sayeth the Father.

"But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O House of Israel, that they shall go through among them and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath lost its savor which is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under feet of my people, O House of Israel.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you thus hath the Father commanded me—that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance...the Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God." (Ibid. 3 Nephi 16:13-20)

This, again, is one of those either/or prophecies. Which it will be depends entirely upon us, the choice is ours.

Referring again to Chapter 26 of the book of Leviticus, note how very timely is all the counsel contained therein: "Ye shall make you no idols...ye shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

"If ye walk in my statutes and keep my commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

"And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

"And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

"And ye shall chase your enemies and they shall fall before you by the sword.

"And five of you shall chase an hundred and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

"For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you... and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people...

Then : "But if -

"Ye will not hearken unto me

"And will not do all these commandments,

"And if ye shall despise my statutes, and break my covenant: I will appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, ...and I will set my face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies. They that hate you shall reign over you, and ye shall flee when none pursueth you....and if ye walk contrary unto me and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.

"I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate..." (Leviticus 26:1-22, emphasis added)

### We Believe The Bible!

"And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations...." ~ I Nephi 13:14-19
Chapter Twenty-three – Blessed Is The Nation

In the chapter just finished we read of some of the good things we will have in our land and communities when we learn to work together as God-fearing Christians, Arabs, Jews, and others, for the advancement of righteousness in the earth and the blessing of the lives of our Father in Heaven's children all over the earth.

"Blessed is the Nation Whose God is the Lord!" the Bible declares triumphantly. (Psalms 33:12) What a delight that would be!

And what else do we learn about government from the Holy Bible?

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when the wicked bear rule, the people mourn." (Proverbs 29:2)

Now what do you think would cause that? Confiscatory taxes, perhaps? So much crime in our communities that we need to have a good dog, a gun, or iron bars on our windows, or move to a "gated community"? Or just widespread homelessness, depression, and devaluation of our money?

No inflation, our politicians assure us, and almost no unemployment. We never had it so good!

Then why does it now cost from ten to twenty times as much to buy a house to live in now as it did thirty or forty years ago? And why do so many women feel compelled to leave their children to go to work outside the home, to help earn enough money to even survive? Some say, "We never had it so good." Are we sure?

Two hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson predicted: "If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

The issuance of our money has been controlled by private banks throughout nearly all of our existence, as a nation, and totally since the establishment of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1913. Are we seeing any of the results Jefferson predicted? He continued:

"The issuing power of money should be taken from the banks and restored to Congress and the people to whom it belongs. I sincerely believe the banking institutions having the issuing power of money, are more dangerous to liberty than standing armies." (Dwinell, Olive C., "The Story of Our Money," quoted in Jaikaran, Jacques S., M. D., Debt Virus, A Compelling Solution to the World's Debt Problems, p. 97)

An article in the newspaper The News at Lynchburg, Va. on Sat. March 26, 1977, entitled "The National Debt," traced the National Debt from less than one billion dollars in 1901, to $25 billion at the close of World War I; $49 billion on the eve of World War II; $72 billion in 1941; $265 billion in 1952;, $303 billion in 1962; $383 billion in 1970; to $631 billion in 1976; with the National Debt estimated to reach $727 billion by the end of 1977, and over $800 billion in 1978, "having nearly doubled in the past eight years."

The article then continues with some rather interesting predictions: "If the present trend continues, and there is no evidence whatsoever that it will not continue, we can expect the national debt to nearly double again within the next six to eight years. By then, the interest on the debt alone should be in the $400 billion a year range. Eventually, the Government will own nothing, the people will own nothing, the banks will own everything."

Are we starting to see anything like that? Who own their own homes any more, or for that matter even their own automobiles? And if all the so-called 'owners" really own is the privilege of making payments on them for the next thirty years or so, who is really the "owner"?

Five years ago I bought a book entitled, Debt Virus, by Jacques S. Jaikaran, M.D., the full title of the book being Debt Virus, A Compelling Solution to The World's Debt Problems.

During one presidential campaign, I sent an open letter to the President, with copies to all other serious presidential candidates, as well; and even had it published in the local newspaper.

My letter was pretty much a two-page summary of the above book, including the author's proposed solution.

As you will have noted the author is a medical doctor, M.D. He spent eight years researching monetary systems all over the earth and found that nearly all of them are all-debt money systems, like the system we have. As a good doctor, he feels this serious flaw is about to destroy us, hence the name "Debt Virus." "When money is created as a debt, is the interest charge owed on that money likewise created? The answer is no, and that is the crux of the problem in our all-debt monetary system. This flaw dooms our present monetary system to failure, not only in the United States but also for the rest of the globe as well. It is speeding our day of judgment, unless entirely new corrective measures are taken." (p. 7)

"The disease is our debt-dominant money system, which has a built-in mathematical error. Correct this error and cure the disease. The symptoms will disappear." (p.70)

On page 96, Jaikaran quotes Abraham Lincoln as saying, after the passage of the National Banking Act in 1863:

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed."

To this Jaikaran adds, "The ugly fact is that, through an iniquitous monetary system, we have nationalized a system of economic oppression that is equally as damnable as the Lincoln era of chattel slavery." Our all-debt money system has produced inflation, recession, and depression, resulting in bankruptcies, business failures, unemployment, foreclosures, and untold human suffering.

"Whenever the private system creates money out of thin air as debt and loans this money to the government, sooner or later such an act will lead to escalating government debt, high interest rates, high taxes, and political and economic instability." (p.99)

"The Federal Reserve System was supposed to avoid financial panics, recessions, and economic depressions and to stabilize the purchasing power of our currency. Yet, we suffered the most devastating depression in our history in 1929, a mere sixteen years after its establishment. Additionally, a 1990 dollar is now worth no more than six cents compared with the 1900 dollar."

"Most people are busy searching for the American dream, forgetting that dreams are only for those who are asleep. It is time to wake up. All freedom is dependent upon economic freedom, which is having the ability to produce goods and services without monetary constraints. That leads to price stability, efficiency, growth, and equity. We do not have economic freedom in this country because of a fundamental flaw in our monetary system, and without it, who can dare say we are free?" (p. 108)

"The money creators, by withholding credit, can cause an economic depression at will..." It was the gradual contraction of the money supply that eventually led to the recession of 1920-21, and "The Great Depression of 1929 was similarly engineered." (p.109)

Let's correct that now! You really ought to read the whole book, and maybe a few more books as well, to know what is really going on. When I first became aware of the fact that under the present system, the Federal Reserve Bank creates our money out of thin air and then gives it to the federal government as a loan, for the tax-payers to have to pay interest on, I said to myself, "That is the stupidest thing I ever heard of! Why doesn't the government create its own money and loan it to the banks and let the banks pay interest on it and use the interest to pay the legitimate constitutional expenses of government?"

That is exactly what this author, Dr. Jaikaran, recommends as the only effective cure of our present disease of Debt Virus, which is going to destroy us absolutely if we do not do it.

What does this doctor recommend?

1. Central banks not owned by the government should be dissolved, and private banks will then be under a 100 per cent reserve requirement;

2. Banks thus chartered and organized could loan only what they have, or what they can borrow, but would be absolutely forbidden from creating money;

3. It is legally the government's business, through its national Treasury, to print, create, and provide coins, paper, or checkbook money for the national economy;

4. The national Treasury, on orders of Congress, would create money and purchase interest-bearing bonds from the borrowing banks;

5. The interest rates charged on all treasury loans would be determined by the treasury's computer, which could be programmed to maintain the flow of treasury revenues in close balance with the flow of treasury expenditures;

6. Money would be added to the economy through debt-free government expenditures and through loans made by the treasury mainly to banks or, in certain cases, directly to industry;

7. Banks would be just like any other business enterprise. They would not create money nor would they receive any free raw material like reserves. The principal source of their lendable funds would be the savings of the people. If banks did need more money, they could borrow from the national treasury.

8. Income taxes and most other taxes would be abolished.

9. Legitimate constitutional expenses of the government would be paid for by check from the national Treasury, thus injecting that money into the economy of the nation.

Note: The Federal Reserve System and the Internal Revenue Service would both be abolished.

This whole recommendation, of course, is exactly what the Constitution says was supposed to be done in the first place:

Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5, of the Constitution of the United States says, "Congress shall have power to coin [print] our money and regulate the value thereof."

In over 200 years, Congress never did get around to filling this assignment by the Constitution, ever, which caused endless confusion, as many different state banks and private banks were printing their own money. And finally, in 1913, in the passing of the Federal Reserve Act, they turned the whole matter over to the banks to handle, which some people have felt was about as smart as assigning the fox to guard the henhouse.

As I write this, our national debt is now at roughly 8.2 trillion dollars (as of March 15, 2006, according to the following web site, http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov). If present trends continue, in our all-debt money system, Dr. Jaikaran points out that by about the year 2012 "the annual interest on the total public debt will be equal to or greater than all the money in circulation. At this time, the bubble will burst, and there will occur a total financial collapse in the United States..." (p. 105)

Well, that is His weather report on the approaching storm. We can do nothing and just let the storm hit, or we can decide to re-instate the Constitution and do it like the Constitution says it is supposed to be done.

All that brings us back to the point of beginning. The Bible says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

The founders of this nation, and its Constitution, were God-fearing, Bible-reading, and Bible-be1ievng men. They studied the Bible, especially the Book of Deuteronomy, for their inspiration for setting up our government and our Constitution. And this nation was set up, initially, as a nation whose God is the Lord.

And by the inspiration of the Lord, the Constitution was framed to make sure we stayed that way, and to "form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

Several years ago, I saw a sign in the back window of a car in front of me. It said:

"They took prayer out of our schools. They took the Bible out of our schools. They took God out of our schools. And now our prisons are full!"

That reminded me of a video I had just seen at the recommendation of our son, Dr. Maynard Robert Olsen, M.D., entitled America's Godly Heritage, produced by David Barton, Wall Builders, P. 0. Box 397, Aledo, TX 76008.

In this video David Barton points out first, that the founding fathers who drew up the Constitution and founded this nation were God-fearing Bible-reading Bible-believing Christians, Secondly, that they set this nation up very definitely to be a Christian nation. Thirdly, that time after time, during the first century and a half of our existence, the Supreme Court ruled that this nation is indeed a Christian nation.

He then shows that in the Supreme Court rulings of 1962, banning prayer, and the Bible, and God, from our public schools, the Supreme Court was exceeding-their constitutional functions, and were in reality usurping the legislative powers of Congress in the ruling they issued.

I remember reading an article in the Reader's Digest about that time telling of the new functions of this great liberal activist Supreme Court and how proud the Chief Justice, Earl Warren, was of the manner in which they were getting so much new good accomplished in the land.

In his book The Majesty of God's Law, Dr. W. Cleon Skousen points out that in the "Northwest Ordinance" of 1787, Congress specified that our schools were to teach:

1. Religion

2. Morality

3. Knowledge

He also points out that this was the same Congress that had just passed our Constitution a short time before.

Naturally it did not take long for people to ask, "Which religion, or whose religion, was to be taught?"

Benjamin Franklin's response was "The universal religion," which he then explained as follows. He said that "all sound religions teach:"

1. There exists a Creator who made all things, and mankind should recognize and worship him;

2. The Creator has revealed a moral code of behavior for happy living which distinguishes right from wrong;

3. The Creator holds mankind responsible for the way they treat one another;

4. All mankind live beyond this life;

5. In the next life mankind are judged for their conduct in this one.

Thomas Jefferson called these basic beliefs the "principles in which God has united us all."

So when the Earl Warren Supreme Court threw that out, it was supposed to be progress, an improvement?

Barton then presents a number of charts of statistics, including bar charts, and it is just uncanny how the year 1962 is the breaking point, the exact point where everything that is bad in the United States, suddenly became much, much worse, and everything that is good in the United States suddenly plummeted.

"They took prayer out of our schools. They took the Bible out of our schools. They took God out of our schools. And now our prisons are full!"

We also now graduate vast numbers of students who are so functionally illiterate they cannot even read their diploma!

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!"

The Lord raised up the Reformers to do the great work of Reformation that had to be done in preparation for the Restoration that was to follow. The Reformers translated the Bible into the languages of the common man, and organized societies and churches to promote the reading and understanding of the Bible.

The Lord then raised up the God-fearing men who established this great nation with its inspired Constitution and its laws of liberty and freedom, which was the only nation on the face of the whole earth where he could restore his Church and his Gospel at the time they were restored.

By latter-day revelation, the Lord has said that he raised up the men who drew up the Constitution of this nation and inspired them to produce it. It is therefore our civic responsibility to preserve and sustain it. To Latter-day Saints, that is the mind and will of the Lord, and Holy Scripture. To everyone else it is proposed as a good idea quite capable of standing on its own merits.

In any case it should be quite apparent that if it is going to be sustained, it is we citizens who are going to have to sustain it!

And how do we do that? First of all, by repenting of our own sins ourselves, since men and women without integrity are not apt to elect into office men who have integrity!

And what does the Bible have to say about that?

"The God of Israel said, "the Rock of Israel spake to me, he that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God!" (2 Samuel 23:3, emphasis added)

What's all this prattle about our leaders not having to be men of integrity? That's not what the Bible says!

You might wonder why I am so concerned. My biggest concern is that everyone seems to be so unconcerned. I am not sure that we have all that much time to waste.

From the statistics presented by the author of the book Debt Virus, "If we assume the present public debt grows at the same exponential rate as in the past and that the volume of money available for immediate spending in the economy, also grows at its same exponential rate, the annual interest on the total public debt will be equal to or greater than all the money in circulation in about the year 2012. At this time, the bubble will burst, and there will occur a total financial collapse in the United States. Major stockholders in the Federal Reserve banks will benefit from this collapse but not many others". (p. 105)

Can this problem be corrected? It really can! The solution is to go back to the Constitution as it was originally given us by the Lord. To do that we will need a Congress who are men of integrity, and a president who is a man of integrity also!

The genius of this government is its system of checks and counter-checks. But as we abandon the Constitution the system breaks down, and we end up with bureaus like the IRS that draw up their own legislation (Legislative Branch), and just have Congress approve it, and then rely on their own enforcing (Executive Branch), and then they even do their own Judicial work as well! All three in one bureau, and we never even get to vote on them!

It is also obvious that the founding fathers never intended for the Supreme Court to serve as a super-legislature and do their own legislating, or we would have the privilege of voting on them, which we don't.

Who controls them when they get out of line? Well, they have to be approved by Congress at the outset, or they wouldn't get the appointment. Maybe we need an amendment that will require them to be re-confirmed by Congress, every eight years, or more often. Maybe we even need an amendment that will provide that Congress and the President shall have veto powers over the Supreme Court.

Our most pressing need is our faulty monetary system. One University professor of economics expressed the opinion that today we are totally controlled by the Federal Reserve. He said some have challenged him on that but, "When the Federal Reserve are the ones who determine what the average man's car payments are going to be, what his house payments are going to be, and whether he is going to have a job. Is not that total control?"

Right now, there is a movement afoot to pass a Flat Tax proposed by Rep. Dick Armey, and others. That would certainly be a real logical place to start.

Then about the next thing we need to do is to pass the proposed Monetary Reform Act. This would abolish the Federal Reserve, have Congress order the U. S. Treasury to create our money, replace Federal Reserve notes with United States currency, pay off the national debt, and prohibit banks from lending out at interest ten times as much money as they actually have, as they are permitted to do at present.

And how do you get these corrections made? By electing as our Congressmen and as our President men who are good (men of integrity), wise (with good judgment), and honest (monetarily honest and also truthful). And who will elect that Kind of men? Only citizens of integrity.

In his book The Majesty of God's Law. Dr. W. Cleon Skousen seems to feel it is a foregone conclusion that it is already too late to rescue us from the total collapse just ahead, for which reason he is proposing that citizens of integrity get themselves thoroughly informed concerning the Constitution, and the Majesty of God's Law, so that the survivors will be able then to finally restore and then preserve the Constitution.

However, when President Harold B. Lee was President of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, he used to say, "Brethren, don't preach pessimism. Maybe we'll convert them and they won't have to destroy themselves, as has now happened twice before--- to the Jaredites, some 600 years before Christ, and to the Nephites a thousand years later, both by a devastating civil war!"

So that's why I am writing this book! There is one thing in our favor. In most elections, the results have consistently been about 52% on one side versus 48% on the other. The only problem is that often, perhaps even usually, the 52% are on the wrong side.

But to correct our problems we wouldn't have to change the thinking of half the people. We would have to do is to change the thinking of about 5% of them, and move them from the left side to the right side, and we could get the job done!

Another note of encouragement, although our elections seem to be essentially controlled by the powerful money trusts who own the newspapers and the radio and. television stations, and about everything else, and therefore are in a position to feed to the voters what they want the to voters to hear, there are indications that we may have more widespread integrity among the people of our nation than we are normally permitted to believe. I'm counting on it!

What am I hoping to accomplish by writing this book? Hopefully, I would like to see a few sincere preachers converted to the Restoration and come into the restored Church of Jesus Christ, and bring their whole congregation with them.

Also, I would hope to be able to persuade a lot of people to actually sit down and read The Bible, the whole thing, and pray about it, and then repent of their sins and do their very best to live true to their consciences, and endeavor to persuade others to do likewise.

I would hope to persuade people to believe in the Constitution as an inspired document and to make every effort to restore it and preserve it.

When I have said I hope to persuade five percent of the voters to switch from the left side to the right, I have been told it would be a miracle if I could persuade five percent to even vote at all.

And I guess that's about right. Religious people often feel that politics is "dirty" and therefore they avoid it totally, and do not even vote.

But what they forget is that The Bible says, "When the righteous are in authority; the people rejoice, but when the wicked bear rule, the people mourn". (Proverbs 29:2)

And who control that? You and I do, the voters. So we'd better get out and vote, and let others to do likewise.

Study the issues, and study the candidates, and pray about them, and then let your conscience be your guide. Hopefully, if we are sincere, and if we pray in faith, we will get some help from our Heavenly Father and get this thing turned around before we go off over the edge of a cliff.

What else do we find in the Bible that has any bearing on this subject?

"To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin". (James 4:17)

In one political campaign a few years ago, one man said he was not going to do any more because he found out that another man working in the movement belonged to a different church than he did.

I said to him, "Let me tell you a little story:

"A very faithful Christian gentleman was sitting on his front porch, when he noticed that the waters were rising rapidly and his home was now surrounded by water on all sides.

"As he continued to observe, he noted the water was rising even much faster than he had first thought. Soon the water was about to rise over the top of his porch.

"Just then two men went by in a boat, and called to him, inviting to take him to safety, but he replied, 'No thanks, the Lord will save me!'

"A little later, as he was looking at the flood from an upstairs window, two other men went by in a boat, and also offered to take him to safety. However, he responded, 'No thanks, the Lord will save me.'

"But the flood waters got higher and higher, and finally he was observing them from his roof. About that time, two more men went by in a helicopter overhead, and they called down to offer to take him to safety, but he responded, 'No thanks, the Lord will save me.'

"A little later, in heaven as he was talking with the Lord, he said, 'You really let me down! I had such complete faith that you would save me!'

"But the Lord said, 'Let you down? I sent you two boats and a helicopter and you refused to get in!'

"If we're going to be saved in this flood, maybe we're going to have to all cooperate, and not refuse to get in the boat just because the driver doesn't happen to belong to our particular parish or synagogue!"

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own Inheritance." (Psalm 33: 12)

### We Believe The Bible!

The Lord then raised up the God-fearing men who established this great nation with its inspired Constitution and its laws of liberty and freedom, which was the only nation on the face of the whole earth where he could restore his Church and his Gospel at the time they were restored.
Chapter Twenty-four – The People Mourn

One night as I was taking the Massachusetts Avenue exit from Highway 94, a man was standing at the side of the road, at the traffic light, holding a sign which said, "Homeless

Vet. Please Help. God Bless."

I did not happen to have any bills in my wallet, so I just reached into my pocket and handed him a whole handful of coins, and he even appreciated that. As I drove home, I remembered the scripture in the Bible that says, "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people mourn."

As homes become harder and harder to get, and even the price of food gets higher and higher, I could not help wondering if having no roof over your head and no food in your stomach might not cause a lot of people now days to "mourn." I doubt if it is causing them to do much "rejoicing."

Our politicians, of course, keep reassuring us that we have no inflation. Then why does it now cost from ten to twenty times as much to buy or build a house as it did thirty or forty years ago? And why do so many mothers now feel that they are compelled to go to work just to make ends meet? Is that causing a little mourning? And what about the social problems that become the natural consequences of mothers leaving their children to go to work? Are those causing a little mourning also?

"When the wicked rule, the people mourn." (Proverbs 29: 2)

So I sat down to read a bit. I am now in the Book of Jeremiah. And why is Jeremiah calling the rebellious ancient Israelites to repentance? Because they were not only worshipping idols, especially fertility goddesses, but they were even offering up their children as sacrifices to them by burning them in the fire.

"How grotesque!" I could not help exclaiming. Then I thought of the millions of unborn babies in our own land killed every year in a manner hardly less grotesque than in ancient Judah. As the baby is in the process of birth, they punch a hole in his head and his brains are sucked out with a vacuum cleaner. And we call ourselves civilized?

So what do we have to do to correct all this so we can rejoice instead of mourning? We need to repent and return to the God who created us, and the heavens, and the earth, and all things therein. That is the God of The Holy Bible, all current mocking to the contrary notwithstanding.

When we become a moral and righteous citizenry, we will elect moral and righteous leaders, and "When the righteous are in authority, the people will rejoice!"

### We Believe The Bible!

### "When the wicked rule, the people mourn."
Chapter Twenty-five – Enough And To Spare

The Bible says that when God created Adam and Eve he commanded them to "be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." (Genesis 1:28)

The footnote says the Hebrew word says to multiply and fill the earth. I notice that is the way it is translated in Spanish. I don't see anyplace in the Bible where that ever got rescinded, and actually it's the only way any of our Heavenly Father's children can ever get down here!

In our day that is no longer "politically correct." The philosophy of the world today is to have only one or two children or none at all, and abortions by the millions have been made legal to help "save the planet from the human race."

When we first came back from Mexico a number of years ago, I noticed an automobile license plate holder, which read, "The population bomb is everybody's baby." In other words the owner of the vehicle was proposing that the government should pass laws to limit the number of children people could have, like they do in China. Some of these people get in a real frenzy agonizing over the present disaster of "over-population" of the earth. That is understandable, of course, if you don't believe in God, as they obviously don't.

If you believe this earth, and everything in it and on it, were created by a God who is an intelligent, wise, compassionate, loving, caring, and capable personal being and Father of us all, then:

1. Would He not have had the wisdom and foresight to provide enough of everything we need? Or,

2. Would He not now be capable enough, and compassionate enough, and wise enough to now create anything additional we may need?

Some people, even of those who claim to believe the Bible, don't really believe what the Bible says about Him. By their own rationalization they have reduced Him to little more than an impersonal "force," like gravity, which would be incapable of love, or compassion or caring, but that's not really what the Bible says, is it?

When people learn that my wife and I (same wife I first married 65 years ago!) have 61 grandchildren and over 120 great grandchildren, it just about blows their mind.

When I explain they are all God-fearing, law abiding, patriotic citizens, who have never been arrested or meddled with drugs, they feel a little better. I then continue that they are all producers, and workers, none of them is sitting in the back of the wagon dragging his feet and content to let somebody else do the pushing and the pulling.

With all that as background, it is interesting to note that in the latter-day revelation we have quoted, the Lord declares:

"I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork, and all things therein are mine. (Doctrine & Covenants 107:14) To which he adds, "For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare" (v. 17).

I think I should add that a few years ago I was taking a Physical Geography class in a local college. One chapter in the book spoke of the critical shortage of water. The book added that a single cow could drink up to 56 gallons of water in one day! The professor almost went into orbit on that one. Finally I raised my hand and said, "Professor, have you ever been on a farm? Do you have any idea what that cow does with all that water? Why, Professor, she recycles it, all of it. So far as I know not one bucket of water has ever left the planet earth. It all stays right here, just like the Good Lord intended."

"I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens and built the earth...and all things therein are mine.

"And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.

"But it must be done in mine own way; and this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.

"For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves.

"Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment".

(Doctrine & Covenants 104:14-18)

"God loveth a cheerful giver!" (2 Corinthians 9:7)

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Twenty-six – Desire And Agency

In the Bible we read: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." (Matt. 5:6)

What a wonderful principle! And verily how true!

It is said that on one occasion a man came to see Socrates, the honored philosopher of ancient Greece, and said to him, "Master, what must I do to obtain great wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, like you have done?"

Socrates answered, "Follow me." Socrates began his long walk, and the inquiring man followed him, right at his side. Through the whole city they walked, and then right on down to the seashore. Reaching the water's edge, without hesitation, Socrates walked right on out into the water, with the other man at his side.

When they were about waist deep in the water, Socrates suddenly stopped, and without saying a word he seized the other man by the hair of his head and plunged his head beneath the water. Of course, the other man resisted, but the harder he struggled the more firmly Socrates held his head under the water.

Finally, with one mighty exertion the man managed to free himself and came up out of the water gasping for air, and struggling hard to get it.

With total calmness, Socrates then said to the man, "When your desire for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding becomes as great as was your desire for air just as you managed to break free, you will certainly find them, and you won't have to ask me or anyone else where to go to look for them!"

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled!" (Matthew 5:6)

The story is told of a very refined and cultured lady who attended a concert presented by Fritz Kreisler, the famed violinist. She was so enthralled by the beauty of his music that she stayed to tell him of her great appreciation for it.

"How wonderful you play," she praised him, "I'd give half my life to be able to play the violin like that."

"Yes," said the musician, 'that is about what it takes, about half your life."

The lady of refinement was inspired and motivated, but not nearly as motivated as Fritz Kreisler was. His motivation was so great that he gave half his life to be able to play like that!

During his early years in the automobile industry, Henry Ford had an interesting form of applicant interviews. When anyone came looking for work, he would take them out in the back yard where there were nuts and bolts and wheels and axles and about everything else scattered all around. He would give them a box of tools and tell them to see what they could put together and he would be back in two or three hours to see what they had put together. That gave him a pretty good idea of their mechanical aptitudes!

But isn't that just about the way our Father in Heaven has put us down here, surrounded by piles of nuts and bolts and everything else on all sides, to see what we will put together, and what we will do with it when we get it finished?

On a beautiful day like yesterday, the honeybee is out busily gathering nectar from all those beautiful flowers and converting them into delicious honey. In roughly the same area the black widow spider is gathering whatever she will need to manufacture a deadly venom with which to kill her adversaries.

And isn't that just about the way our Father in Heaven has placed us down here, to see what we will gather from this magnificent environment that surrounds us, and what we will do with it when we get through?

Isn't that about the way it is with us?

"We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth where on these may dwell;

"And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord our God shall command them." (Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:24-25)

When the main body of Latter-day Saints moved from Kirtland, Ohio to Missouri, in 1831, there were some of the leaders who had gathered to Missouri whose families were still back in Ohio, and they were asking how urgent it was for them to move to Missouri. They asked Brother Joseph, and he asked the Lord.

The Lord said, "Let them bring their families to this land, as they shall counsel between themselves and with me." (Doctrine & Covenants 58:25) This scripture is the basis of the "family Council Meetings" each of us should be having with our families regularly, to counsel among ourselves and with the Lord concerning all matters that are of concern to us.

Then the Lord counseled "For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things, for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

"Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

"For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

"But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with a doubtful heart, and

keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned...

"Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

"By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins--- behold, he will confess them and forsake them." (Doctrine & Covenants 58:26-29, 42-43)

To the Latter-day Saint, that is the word and will of the Lord, and to everyone else it is proposed as a good idea quite capable of standing on its own merits. We are to be self-starters and not stand around waiting to be commanded before we move.

Whatever we are responsible for is our stewardship. And whatever is our stewardship we should counsel with the Lord about. If the matter involves others we should counsel with them and with the Lord in a council meeting. Whatever we are responsible for, our stewardship, we have a right to receive direction for from the Lord, and he wi1l inspire us and give us direction when we ask him for it in the prayer of faith.

Whatever the Lord inspires us to do, he will also enable us to accomplish, as he did Nephi when he and his brothers went back to Jerusalem to get the "plates of brass," the Holy Scriptures as they then had them. (The Book of Mormon, I Nephi 3:7)

One man who owned a small business was having business problems, so he started going to work an hour earlier, and there, alone, early in the morning he would pray and meditate. As he received inspiration, he wrote it down in a notebook, and soon his business began to prosper: If we are living righteously, we will receive direction from our Father in Heaven, as we ask in faith.

All of this is part of our opportunity for learning and for growth, and our Father will delight to bless us, for we are his children, his own sons and daughters, and it is his delight to bless us.

Section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants is a revelation concerning keeping the Sabbath Day holy, which is the Lord's day unto us. Here are some of his loving counsels to us, and the blessings he promises us as we obey them:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength, and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.

"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unt o i t .

"Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things.

"Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day.

"For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;

"Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;

"But remember that on this, the Lord's Day, thou shalt offer up thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

"And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words that thy joy may be full.

"Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer." (Doctrine & Covenants 59:5-14)

Then note the blessings promised for our obedience:

"And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenance not with much laughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and cheerful countenance--Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fullness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth the trees and walketh upon the earth;

"Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;

"Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;

"Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul."

Now note this:

And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

"And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

"But learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come." (Doctrine & Covenants 59:15-21, 23)

What a delight! When as a nation we start keeping the Lord's Day holy what a beautiful and prosperous land we shall have!

Isn't that the same covenant the Lord made with Israel in ancient times? Didn't he say that if they keep the Sabbath Day holy he would send the early rains and the later rains.

And will he not do the same for us?

"Blessed is the nation who's God is the Lord!" (Psalm 33: 12)

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Twenty-seven – I Will Be Thy God

In the 26th Chapter of the book of Leviticus in the Bible we read of blessings we will receive when we obey fully the commandments of the Lord, honoring his sanctuary, and keeping the Sabbath day holy.

One of the blessings promised is "And I will be thy God."

What does that mean? In my opinion he is saying:

1. He will provide for all our needs - food, clothing, and all else.

2. He will protect us from all harm.

3. He will comfort us, love us, and sustain us as our Father.

How can you find a better national defense program than that?

Ponder again on the promises of the Lord to preserve and protect the righteous Gentiles He would gather to this land and the nation they would here establish. Has He not promised similar protection to those who love and serve Him in all lands?

As you ponder the protection promised the righteous, read again Chapter 26 of the Book of Leviticus in the Holy Bible and think of that for a month or two. Is not that the best National Defense program you ever heard of?

If we love and serve our Father in Heaven, have faith in Him, and keep His commandments we will:

1. Obey all His commandments, including the Basic Ten

2. Keep the Sabbath Day holy

3. Reverence His sanctuary (houses of worship)

In return, He promises to give us:

1. Rain in the season of rain

2. The land shall yield her increase

3. Trees of the field shall yield their fruit

4. We shall have abundant bread

5. We shall enjoy peace in our land

6. We shall dwell in our land safely

7. None shall make us afraid

8. There shall be no evil beasts in our land

9. The sword shall not go through our land (protected from invasion)

10. Our enemies will flee before us

11. The Lord and His angels shall visit our land

12. We shall be free from bondage (Leviticus 26:1-13)

HOWEVER, if we will not obey the Lord's law and keep His commandments

1. He will appoint over us terror. (Verse 16) Isn't it interesting that He should use that particular word?

2. We will have sickness, poor eyesight, and sorrow, and we shall sow our seed in vain, for our enemies shall eat it. (Verse 16)

3. We shall be slain by our enemies, we shall flee before them, and they that hate us shall rule over us. (Verse 17)

4. We shall be punished for our sins, our pride shall be broken, our heaven shall be as iron and our earth as brass. (Verses 18-19)

5. Our strength shall be spent in vain, our land shall not yield her increase, nor shall our trees yield their fruits. (Verse 20)

6. If we continue to rebel against the Lord, He will bring seven times more plagues among us. He will send wild beasts among us, our children and our cattle shall be destroyed, and our highways shall be desolate. (Verses 21-22)

7. If we continue to rebel against the Lord He will send a sword among us (invasion), bread shall become scarce, and we will suffer great hunger. (Verses 23-30)

8. He will make our cities waste, destroy our sanctuaries, and make our land desolate. (Verses 31-32)

9. He will scatter us among the heathen and draw a sword after us. Our land shall be desolate and our cities laid waste. (Verse 33)

Well, that would be quite a National Defense program, wouldn't it?

Of course, it may be hard to get our people to keep the Sabbath Day holy, but the President could ask Congress to impose a 20% sales tax on all goods and services purchased on the Sabbath Day.

When our people finally get completely convinced that there really is a God in Heaven and that He will truly bless and protect us when we fulfill our half of the above covenant, won't we all want to become the Covenant People of the Lord?

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Twenty-eight – Values

Not long ago I served four years on a local school board, and when I left, my colleagues expressed appreciation for working with me. My views, they said were stimulating and refreshing.

Actually, I served on that school board at the recommendation of an attorney who had delivered an outstanding lecture on the Constitution, several years before and who insisted that the best thing citizens could do to restore and preserve our Constitution is to become involved in government at a local level. He was convinced that when we clean up our own communities at a local level it will not then be difficult to do the same to our state governments, and then to our great central federal government, to prevent the listing ship from sinking altogether.

In the September 1996 issue of the magazine "Ensign," is an article entitled "Four Simple Things to Help Our Families and Our Nations," by President Gordon B. Hinckley, President and Prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he begins by calling attention to the great advancements that have been made in the world during his lifetime:

"I have a profound feeling of gratitude for life in this remarkable age," he observes, "What great technical progress has been made in communications, in travel, in medicine, in conveniences for home and work. I stand in respect, almost reverence, for the men and women of science who have made life better for each of us.

"When I was born," he continues, "the life expectancy in the United States was 50 years. Today, it is 75 years. Is it not a thing of wonder that 25 years have been added to the average life span during this time? The same thing is happening in other areas of the world. I was 30 years of age when penicillin was discovered, followed by a variety of other miracle drugs. You are familiar with these things. I simply remind us of them as an expression of gratitude."

Then he adds, with concern,

"We have achieved technical miracles, but tragically we are experiencing a moral and ethical disaster. May I take you who are older back in memory to the homes of your childhood? I think that in many cases there was prayer in those homes; families knelt together in the morning and invoked the watchful care of God. At night, they joined again in prayer. Something wonderful came of this. It is difficult to describe, but it did something for children. The very act of expressing gratitude to God, our Eternal Father, brought with it a feeling of respect, reverence, and appreciation. The sick were remembered in those prayers, as were the poor and the needy. The leaders in government were remembered in those prayers. This cultivated a spirit of respect for those in public office. Where is that respect today?

"There was no uncouth or profane language heard in those homes. Civility and altruism were also taught in those days...." I would also like to say that it was unthinkable for us to go to school in sloppy attire....

"We attended the public schools. My elementary school was named after the American statesman Alexander Hamilton. My junior high school was named for United States president Theodore Roosevelt. We learned about these men. On February 12 we had a holiday for President Abraham Lincoln's birthday. On February 22 we had another holiday to honor President George Washington. Just before these holidays we had school programs in which we learned about "Honest Abe" and the boy George who admitted to chopping down his father's cherry tree. Maybe there was little historical substance to some of those stories, but there was something of substance that came into our lives. We developed an appreciation for the principle of honesty...

"We were taught respect for girls... Even as we grew older and went on dates, there was a certain wholesomeness about it and respect for the girls with whom we associated. Yes, society has made a lot of technical progress since those days, but we have also lost a tremendous reservoir of values.

"Today there are fancier cars, yet we worry about car jacking and drive-by shootings. We have television and cable and all their related paraphernalia, where entertainment, coarse in its nature, profane and obscene in its language, is poured into our living rooms. We dare not walk the streets of many cities at night. Crime has been listed as the most serious problem of our day. Using the United States only as an example, it is estimated that there are six million crimes a year committed in the land. Per capita crime increased 371 percent between 1960 and 1992. That is only 32 years.

There were 23,760 murders in 1992, almost half the number of Americans killed during the entire Vietnam War.

"Children killing children has become one of the tragic elements of society. Murder is the second-highest cause of death among youth. Some money is constantly sought to hire more policemen and to build more prisons. I do not doubt that they are necessary. But I am rather confident they would not substantially alter the picture, because that is not getting at the roots of the problem...

"I am more concerned about the moral deficit in our nations than I am about their budget deficits, though that, too, is a most serious matter. Do societies need more policemen? I do not dispute it. Do societies need more prisons? I suppose so. However, what they need, above all else, is a strengthening of the homes of the people. Every child is the product of a home. Societies are having terrible youth problems, but I am convinced that they have a greater parent problem. I am grateful that we of the Church have for a long time taught and are teaching and spending a substantial part of our resources to fortify the homes of our people.

"I am glad for the convenience of the modern home, but I am distressed by what is going on in our homes. It was recently reported that there are 800,000 or more violent incidents within families each year in the United States alone. The terrible divorce rate says something about the stability of a society's homes. A troubled home inevitably leads to a generation of troubled children.

"What can be done? We cannot affect a turnaround in a day or a month or a year. But I am satisfied that with enough effort we can begin a turnaround within a generation and accomplish wonders within two generations...There is nothing any of us can do that will have greater longtime benefit than to rekindle wherever possible the spirit of the kind of homes in which goodness can flourish... "

There is much in this article that you all might find both interesting and profitable. You may want to get the magazine and read the article in its entirety. And what are the "Four Simple Things" President Hinckley recommends to help our families and our nations?

"1. Teach your children goodness. Teach them civility toward others.... There is no need in any land for conflict between diverse groups of any kind. Let there be taught in the homes of our people that we are all children of God, our Eternal Father, and that as surely as there is fatherhood, there can and must be brotherhood. Let there be taught respect for womanhood and manhood. Let every husband speak with respect, kindness, and appreciation for his wife. Let every wife look for and speak of the virtues of her husband. President David O. McKay was wont to say that a man could do no greater thing for his children than to let them see that he loves their mother.

"Is this old-fashioned? Of course it is. It is as old as truth itself. Quarreling families are only an expression of the sophistry of the devil.

"Let parents teach their children the

sanctity of sex, that the gift of creating life is sacred, that the impulses that burn within us can be and must be disciplined and restrained if there is to be happiness, peace, and goodness. Let there be instilled in the mind of every young man the great salient fact that every young woman is a daughter of our Eternal Father and that in offending her he not only demonstrates his own weakness but also offends his God. Let him understand that to sire a child brings a responsibility that will last as long as he lives.

"Let the truth be taught by example and precept---that to steal is evil, that to cheat is wrong, that to lie is a reproach to anyone who indulges in it. If we are to put civility back into civilization, the process must begin in the home with parents, while children are very young. It will not happen otherwise.

"2. Work Together. I do not know how many generations or centuries ago someone first said, 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' Children need to work with their parents, to wash dishes with them, to mop floors with them, to mow lawns, to prune trees and shrubbery, to paint and fix up, to clean up, and to do a hundred other things in which they will learn that labor is the price of cleanliness, progress, and prosperity.

"3. Read Good books together. I feel sorry for parents who do not read to their young children. I feel sorry for children who do not learn the wonders to be found in good books or how stimulating an experience it is to get into the mind of a great thinker as that person expresses himself or herself, with language cultivated and polished, concerning great and important issues.

"4. Pray Together. Is prayer such a difficult thing? Would it be so hard to encourage fathers and mothers to get on their knees with their little children and address the throne of Deity to express gratitude for blessings, to pray for those in distress as well as for themselves, and then to ask it in the name of the Savior and Redeemer of the world? How mighty a thing is prayer. Of that I can testify and of that you can testify. How tragic is the loss for any family that fails to take advantage of this precious and simple practice...

"Let us teach and learn goodness together, work together, read good books together, and pray together. These things can be done notwithstanding the frenetic pressures of our lives. They can be done with children and particularly when children are small. Sometimes it may seem too late when they are in their teens. Yet, remember my thornless locust tree. Surgery and suffering brought about something beautiful, whose later life has provided welcome shadow from the heat of the day..."

Are those simple solutions President Hinckley recommends? Yes, they are as almost as simple as the counsel of the Prophet Elisha to the Leper Naaman to bathe himself in the River Jordan seven times to be cured of his leprosy. This high and mighty Syrian noble and military officer was so insulted at being told to do something so simple, that he almost refused to do it until one of his servants pointed out that if he had been told to do something difficult he would have done it at once, without question. So he obeyed and was healed. And we may someday get around to comprehending that we also will be "healed" of our problems and adversities, individually and collectively, when we learn to obey the laws on which those blessings are predicated.

And, incidentally, who is this President Hinckley? Well, he is the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an organization of nearly thirteen million members that happens to be the fastest growing organization on earth at the present time.

To Latter-day Saints he is a "prophet, seer, and revelator," but others may do well to note that this man is no dummy. He didn't get to be president of the fastest growing organization on earth by being stupid, or for that matter by being an adulterer or a liar, or thief.

You may want to make note of this in your personal journal; you could call it "Values" or even "Inspired Counsel," and check back from time to time to see your progress!

These are virtues and values taught in the Holy Bible, and reconfirmed to us in our day as part of the great latter-day Restoration promised by the Apostle Peter, who was himself the very prophet, seer and revelator of The Church of Jesus Christ in his day.

Also, the apostle John, who obviously was the presiding authority after Peter, for it was through him that the Lord gave the great book of Revelation to the whole Church after Peter had been put to death.

Do we believe all that? Indeed we do, for...

### We Believe The Bible!

"There is nothing any of us can do that will have greater longtime benefit than to rekindle wherever possible the spirit of the kind of homes in which goodness can flourish..." ~ President Gordon B. Hinckley
Chapter Twenty-nine – Providence

In the Book of Mormon, given as an introduction to the promised Restoration, the Prophet Lehi declares, "Behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." (The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 2:24-25)

To Latter-day Saints that is scripture, the mind and will of the Lord, and to anyone else it is still a pretty good idea, quite capable of standing on its own merits, and I believe it implicitly.

At a "fireside chat" I once said, "I'm going to ask you two questions. The first question you will answer to yourself and write it down, without telling anybody. The second question I will answer for you without you telling me a thing. The first question is: What one thing do you desire above all else? Think about it and write down your answer."

When they had all written their answers, I continued, "The second question is, 'Why?" Before you write down anything, I will answer that one for you. The answer is, "You think it will make you happy."

That is true, is it not? Whether we wish for an ice- cream cone or to rob a bank, or to have a more comfortable home for our family, or to have money to send our children to college, is not the reason we want it because we believe it will give us joy? Even when we desire something in order to make someone else happy, do we not really desire that because we think it will bring us joy?

Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course. The very purpose of our existence is to learn how to find true joy, both now and eternally. This, of course, places the gospel of Jesus Christ and all the commandments of God in a little different category. The whole thing is one big cookbook. God will give us the recipe, and he will even help us bake the cake, but not without some interest and effort on our part.

Several years ago I received a telephone call from a woman calling from South Carolina. I did not immediately recognize her name, so she explained; I had given her a Patriarchal Blessing a year or two before that. Before she said another word, I already knew what she was going to say: I had blessed her with a happy marriage, a happy family, and a happy home. And when she had told me that, I knew for sure what she was going to say next. Sure enough, her marriage was not happy, and her family was not happy, and her home was not happy. After she had blown off a little more steam, I finally said to her, "Now sister, you're going to have to excuse me for interrupting you, but I need to explain to you that all I did was give you the recipe. You have to bake the cake!"

That, of course, is a true principle. Because of the authority, which the Patriarch holds, whatever blessing he gives we will be able to obtain, but only when we obey the law on which the blessing is predicated, for we are told:

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-- "And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."

(Doctrine & Covenants 130:20-21)

One of the laws that must be obeyed in order to find joy is the law of appreciation, for surely it is not the abundance of our possessions that brings us joy, but only how much we appreciate whatever we have, whether great or little.

Are we not to be thankful in all things? Are we not happier when we feel and express gratitude to all about us who bless our lives? And is not that especially true of our Creator, our Father in Heaven who has provided for us this wonderful world in which we live? Is it not by his love and providence that we are even able to breathe, or for that matter that there is even air here to be breathed?

When we fail to express our appreciation to our Father in Heaven for his blessings, are we not then like the hog under the oak tree, eating the acorns without ever looking up to see where the acorns are coming from?

If we would be happy, one of the best things we can do is to greet each day with a song, a song of gladness, and a song also of love and appreciation to our Father in Heaven, and to close each day with a prayer of thanksgiving for the blessings and beauties of that day:

Morning Thanksgiving

Let us join in a song in the morning,

Praising the Lord for the light of day,

For the sunshine the earth now adorning,

Chasing the darkness of night away;

Let us join with all living nature,

Sing the happiness of our hearts;

Grateful prove to our Father in Heaven,

For all the blessings he doth impart

Praise him for the beloved companions

That now surround us with faces bright;

Praise him, too, for the health that he gives us,

Filling our beings with glad delight;

For the teachers who kindly teach us

Useful things for our constant good;

Thank him, too, that he never neglects us,

Giving us comforts and daily food.

(Deseret Sunday School Songs, Number 238)

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

### We Believe The Bible!

"For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." ~Isaiah 51:3
Chapter Thirty – Wealth

As part of the Restoration we learn a lot about people--as individuals, as families, as communities, and as nations. And we learn a lot about correct principles, obedience to which produces prosperity and happiness and disobedience to which inundates us with social problems, in our homes, in our communities, and as nations.

The prophet Joseph Smith declared, "Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith," pp. 255-256)

About 600 B.C. the Lord told Lehi that inasmuch as his posterity kept the commandments of the Lord they would prosper in this Land of Promise, but inasmuch as they kept not his commandments they would be cut off from the presence of the Lord, and the whole Book of Mormon is a five hundred page account of the fulfillment of that admonition.

By Latter day revelation the Lord has both promised and warned that the same thing will happen to us today in this great nation in which we live and as we look about us we observe that it is indeed what is happening. That is simply a matter of Cause and Effect, isn't it? That's the Law of the Harvest, isn't it? If we plant watermelons, that's what we will harvest isn't it, and not a squash or cucumbers even if they do all grow on a vine?

The Lord has said concerning Enoch and his city:

"And the Lord called his city Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 7: 18)

In the year of 1776 two extremely important documents were published for the liberty, prosperity, and happiness of all mankind - the Declaration of Independence and the book "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith. Through the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution which followed it was set up a nation and government under which the correct principles of economics enunciated by Adam Smith enabled the United States to become the most vigorous and prosperous Nation on the face of the whole earth.

Let's discuss briefly some of those correct principles.

Today, with the economy still booming, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the so-called Federal Reserve Bank, was threatening to raise interest rates again to cool the economy.

This, he explained, was to prevent inflation, which he declared is caused by "too much money chasing too few goods."

Therefore, says he, to prevent inflation we must raise interest rates on loans so that people will have less money with which to buy.

What would happen if we reversed the equation?

What would happen if we prevented inflation by producing more goods?

I am not convinced that to make our people happier we must make them poor. Adam Smith doesn't say that either and neither do the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution.

The revelation says of the happy people of Enoch that there were no poor among them, not that there were no rich among them. They were all rich and they were all prosperous and they were all happy. Wherever the Latter-day Saints have gone, as they have been faithful to the Lord, they have begun to prosper. When we finally succeed in establishing the Lord's Zion in our day, we will be as prosperous, and as happy, as the people of Enoch.

It is all a matter of cause and effect. It is all a matter of seed time and harvest. As the Bible declares, surely we shall reap as we have sown!

### We Believe The Bible!

The revelation says of the happy people of Enoch that there were no poor among them, not that there were no rich among them. They were all rich, they were all prosperous, and they were all happy.
Chapter Thirty-one – Sharing And Caring

It is interesting to note how many of the Ten Commandments given by the Lord in ancient times deal, in part at least, with material possessions, how we obtain them, and what we do with them after we get them.

"Thou shalt not steal... thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, or his wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor's. (Exodus 20:15, 17)

That was the letter of the law. But Jesus refined things even more. His was a gospel of the heart, and spirit, of attitudes and values:

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

"But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca [a word suggesting contempt or derision], shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." (Matthew 5:21-22)

"Moreover, ye have heard by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:27- 28)

"And again, if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away..." (Matthew 5:40-42)

Jesus' gospel was a gospel of freedom and joy, not of compelled and resented obligation. In his day the Jews were in bondage to Rome, and by law a Roman soldier could compel a Jew to carry his burden one-mile. That made a man a servant, and often a resentful one at that. But, if he did it gladly, the second mile set him free and gave him joy, and that's what Jesus' gospel was all about.

So that's the way He did it, and that's the way he would have us do it as well.

John the Baptist was not only a great baptizer, but a convincing preacher as well. So many flocked to his baptisms that he found it necessary to confirm the sincerity of faith of baptismal candidates before he would baptize them:

"O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worth of repentance, and begin not to say, we have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

"And now the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the tire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

"He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

"Then came also publicans [tax collectors] to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, What shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.

"And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:7-14)

That is all good practical counsel for integrity in our business relations and in everything we do. I do not hear John the Baptist saying, like some politicians do today, "Leave morality in the churches. In politics and business you can do anything you want."

Isn't it interesting that in his message to mankind to prepare for the first coming of the Messiah, the very first call his prophet should make, was to repent of greed?

And today as we await the Second Coming of the Messiah, is not that about where we stand again? How much should we tax our people? All we can get them to pay! How high should we make our prices? All the market will bear! Where is all that love Jesus talked about two thousand years ago? You mean we are supposed to still be thinking about that now?

Well, if you are talking about preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, that is about the first thing we'd better start thinking about! In fact, that is what the 25th Chapter of Matthew is all about, you know--- caring and sharing. The whole chapter is about the Second Coming of Christ and what we need to do to be prepared to meet him when he comes.

First is the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise and prepared and five of whom had carelessly and foolishly let their lamps run out of oil. Next is the parable of the talents entrusted by the Lord to his servants, and what they did, or failed to do, with the same. For at the coming of the Savior each of us will be asked to render an accounting to the Lord for what we have done with everything he has entrusted to our care.

Finally we read that, "When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

"And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:31-34)

Moreover, what is to be the basis for that division?

1. I was an hungered and ye gave me meat;

2. I was thirsty and ye gave me drink;

3. I was a stranger and ye took me in;

4. I was naked and ye clothed me;

5. I was sick and ye visited me;

6. I was in prison and ye came unto me;

To the astonished recipients of the reward bestowed for these Christ like ministrations of compassionate acts of charity who could not remember ever bestowing them on the Savior himself: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

To the others: "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of these, ye did it not to me."

They not only did not get the reward, it was even worse: "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal". (Matthew 25:31-46)

It sounds like the Savior takes this law of sharing and caring rather seriously, doesn't it?

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Thirty-two – "It Is My Purpose To Provide"

We have spoken of the Lord's law of sharing. Even to the extent we are now obeying this law, what a blessing it is to mankind, and especially to the needy among us.

We see all around us "thrift stores" managed by Churches and other charitable institutions. To them we may contribute articles of clothing or anything else we no longer need. To these thrift stores the needy and others, as well, may go to buy clothing and other necessities at a price they can afford. In these institutions the aged, the infirm, and the handicapped have an opportunity to work to whatever degree they are able, in order to maintain their honor and dignity and self-reliance. What a blessing indeed.

Goods produced and assembled for the relief of the needy are often used also for the relief of victims of floods, fire, earthquakes, or other disaster, and what a blessing they are there also! At times well-meaning people have suggested having the government take over this whole business of relief of the needy. They can pass laws and collect taxes and seize properties whether anyone wants to contribute or not! That, of course, is precisely the problem. That procedure violates the Lord's law of "free agency", and therefore debases rather than blesses. We are only blessed by and for what we voluntarily and cheerfully give.

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

As we noted earlier, that is the way the Bible gives it. And, as we also noted earlier, "We Believe the Bible!"

By latter-day revelation, as part of the promised Restoration, the Lord has had some rather interesting things to say about all this:

"I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.

"But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low.

"For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves." (Doctrine & Covenants 104:14-17)

How is all this to be done?

"The poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low."

And how is that done? By the tax collector, perhaps, or the government seizing properties?

No, indeed, that is not the Lord's way. Where the rich are taught the true principles of the Lord's gospel and are inspired to obey them, the poor will be exalted by having a bed to sleep in and a roof over their head, and food to eat, and work to do in order to earn them.

Yes, the rich will be "made low," but only in the sense that they have cheerfully and voluntarily given of their goods to bless the lives of others. But while they may be "made low" in that sense, in a broader sense they too will be "exalted" by the Lord.

The revelation concerning Enoch and his city says:

"The Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." (Moses 7: 13-18)

"And so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; and the roar of the lions was heard out of the wilderness; and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch, and so great was the power of the language which God had given him."

"The Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." (Moses 7:13-18)

That is what happened then and that is what has to happen again in our day, and that is why the Lord gave the revelation previously referred to which sets forth this solemn warning:

"Therefore, if any man shall take of the abundance which I have made, and impart not his portion, according to the law of my gospel, unto the poor and the needy, he shall, with the wicked, lift up his eyes in hell, being in torment." (Doctrine & Covenants 104:18)

It sounds like the Lord takes that rather seriously, doesn't it? He obviously expects us to do likewise! "God loveth a cheerful giver!" (2 Corinthians 9:7)

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Thirty-three – Service Oriented

Service Oriented gives a broad sweeping view of what The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is all about.

When I first wrote this, our oldest son was Senior Vice President of American Airlines in charge of schedules and routes. Shortly before that, he happened to be in Puebla, Mexico, for the inauguration of nonstop flights between Dallas, Texas, and Puebla, fourth largest city in the Republic of Mexico.

Our son speaks perfect Spanish, having served a two- year mission for the Church in Argentina. As he was talking with the Governor of the State of Puebla he mentioned to him that he happened to have a son, Phillip, who was serving at that time as a missionary in Puebla.

Naturally, the Governor wanted to meet his son, and contacted the Mission President to arrange it. He invited him to attend a dinner that night with top government officials of the state, and there the Governor called on Phillip to talk and asked him to tell them what the missionaries were doing in Puebla.

Phillip told them that their primary work was to teach the people the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how to live a healthier and happier life. But, then he added, another thing we do, that you may not be aware of, is to render community service for four hours one day a week. There are 200 of us, he said, so that is 800 hours of community service each week, so let us know what you would like to get done, and we'll be glad to help out.

I think that's one of the best things I have heard of. There are over 50,000 missionaries all over the earth doing that same thing. Not only does that get a lot of parks cleaned up, and fire hydrants painted, but it also makes for cleaner and happier communities, and sets a good example for other citizens to do likewise.

It is also a good example of the spontaneous service that all of us are supposed to be rendering for the advancement of happiness and righteousness and beauty in the earth and for the blessing of the lives of our fellowmen.

It also serves to teach the missionaries themselves a great lesson in the principle of service, an absolute essential in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

You, who are reading this, may or may not already know it, but the emblem of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the beehive, with the bees all working and all doing their part in the gathering of the honey and storing it in the hive.

That is to serve as a model for our people. That is what our Father in Heaven wants us to be doing. When we do it, we are all a healthier, happier, and more prosperous society.

Now, getting back to the Church itself, there we also see the same principle at work throughout the whole Church in everything that is done. That applies to religious services and it also applies to fish canneries and Church Welfare Farms. Wherever we are called to serve, we are to serve gladly, cooperatively, and enthusiastically for the advancement of the work of the Lord in the earth and the blessing of our Heavenly Father's children everywhere.

As we learn to serve cheerfully and with love, we become more and more a healthier, happier, and more prosperous society.

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Thirty-four – To Read, To Learn, And To Obey

When they were living on a farm in South Carolina, when he was a boy, Gordon Hackney cut his foot badly on a broken bottle. They lived quite a distance from the city, there was no doctor available, and there was no car available to them at that time. So his mother dressed the wound, put a bread and milk poultice on it, and then asked the boy if he believed our Father in Heaven could heal him if she prayed for him.

Gordon said yes, so while he was lying in bed quietly with his eyes closed his mother knelt down and began to pray. While his mother was still praying, Gordon fell asleep, and slept so calmly that the sun was already high in the heaven when he awoke the next morning.

The first thing he thought of was his wounded foot and his mother's prayer asking our Father in Heaven to heal it. He quickly removed the dressing from his wound, tossing the poultice off to one side. To his utter amazement, there was no cut there. His foot had been healed so completely it looked just like the other one. You could not even tell where the cut had been. The faith and prayers of his marvelous, wonderful, God- fearing, angel mother healed him. Where did she get all that faith? She got it from reading The Holy Bible and prayer, and from the inspired teachings and testimony of her own God- fearing, Bible-reading, and Bible-believing parents.

You will remember that Joseph Smith was not yet a Latter-day Saint when he received his first vision, or when he received The Book of Mormon gold plates from the Angel Moroni for the obvious reason that it did not yet exist. It had not been restored yet.

He did read The Bible, and he did believe it. Even in his childhood, he was taught faith in the Bible, and faith in God, our Heavenly Father, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, by Bible-reading, Bible-believing, God-fearing parents. In those days, religion was the most important thing taught in our schools by orders of Congress, in the famous Northwest Ordinance of 1787. They were to teach Religion, Morality, and Knowledge, in that order. (Skousen, W. Cleon: The Five Thousand Year Leap, pp. 75-76)

Not everyone in those days was in complete agreement on points of doctrine, any more than they are now, but at least they believed the basic "Five Fundamentals of All Sound Religion", which Benjamin Franklin listed as:

1. There exists a Creator who made all things, and mankind should recognize and worship Him.

2. The Creator has revealed a moral code of behavior for happy living, which distinguishes right from wrong.

3. The Creator holds mankind responsible for the way they treat each other.

4. All mankind live beyond this life.

5. In the next life, mankind is judged for their conduct in this one. (Ibid, p. 78)

In the 1960's, the Earl Warren Supreme Court took the liberty to expel God, the Bible, the Ten Commandments and prayer from all public schools and forbade them to return. Today, our students may still not be taught religion of the Bible and of the Lord Jesus Christ. "They took prayer out of our schools; they took God out of our schools, they took the Ten Commandments out of our schools; they took The Bible out of our schools, and now our prisons are full."

Now with more and more shootings in our public schools, many citizens are not happy with the continuing deterioration of our morals. Free condoms are passed out at our public schools, but never free doctrinal discourses. It is even said that in many areas students would be permitted to bring pornography to school, if they desired, but never The Bible! If they broke that rule they might be expelled from school, or perhaps the whole school might find their funds suddenly cut off by the Supreme Court.

A neighbor in Idaho said he had read The Bible a great deal, but added, "The more I read it the less I believe it." Jesus taught his disciples to avoid altercations, just before his crucifixion, he told them they would need a sword, and if any of them didn't have one they had better go buy one. To him that was an insoluble contradiction.

Well, that bothered him, but it did not bother me. In that case, as in many others about us every day, sometimes we need to delve deeper than the mere words people are saying to hear what they are really trying to tell us.

What Jesus was really telling his apostles was that up to that point they had suffered only minor inconveniences because of his gospel and their loyalty to it and to him. However, all that was about to change. He was about to be crucified, as he had unsuccessfully tried to tell them before, and when that happened, the apostles themselves would be thrown into a pit of persecution so severe it would cost them their very lives. Therefore, they had better be getting prepared for it or they would not be able to survive. In fact, Judas Iscariot, did not survive, but ended up committing suicide.

In fact, is not Jesus giving us a similar warning today in that parable about the ten virgins? Five of whom had extra oil for their lamps, but five of them were without oil when problems arose?

At midnight, it may not be easy to get oil all of a sudden! "When the hour of need arrives, the day of preparation is past. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark."

The Lord has said, "And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men's hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people." (Doctrine & Covenants 88:91) He has also said, "But if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." (Doctrine & Covenants 38:30) He has been trying to prepare us ever since. "Have on hand a year's supply of food," we were told in April of 1937, and enough fuel to cook it and to keep warm in cold weather. Some heeded that warning, but some did not.

"Get out of debt," we were told. Get out of debt and stay out of debt. Avoid debt as you would avoid a plague. Live within your means and save a little. Work toward owning your own home without a mortgage on it. Your home or farm is not apt to be foreclosed on if you own it free and clear, without a mortgage on it. In addition, you will not be in a quandary about how to meet those monthly house payments, if there are not any payments to be made.

If you have available to you a spot of land with sunshine on it, plant a family garden. When you begin eating stew from vegetables grown in your own garden, and home- made whole wheat bread from wheat ground in your own mill, you will be amazed at the improvement in your family's health. How do I know? We have done it! We always try to obey all counsel we receive from the apostles and prophets and have never failed to benefit from that obedience.

Many years ago, a cousin's wife, Beatrice Merrell, told of a prosperous farmer near Blackfoot, Idaho. Although he was not a Latter-day Saint himself, he always attended the stake conferences, then held every three months. At that time, one of the General Authorities of the Church always was the authority in charge. This man always arrived early and sat on one of the front rows.

One day one of his neighbors asked him why he always attended stake conference, since he was not even a member of the Church. He responded, "I don't know whether these men are actually 'prophets, seers, and revelators' like you people claim them to be, but I am sure of two things. First, I am sure that they are the most intelligent and best-qualified men in your Church, or they would not have been called to be your leaders.

Second, I feel totally confident of their sincerity. They are not giving out counsel for any profit they will receive from it. So any time they give out any counsel, I am the first to run right out and do it and I have never failed to prosper from doing it."

That is also true of anything the Lord tells us to do, through the Scriptures, or through the direction of the Holy Ghost. As Jesus said, "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:16-17)

One of the early Reformers rather contemptuously referred to the Book of James in the Bible as the "Book of Straw." That is only because he did not then understand it. Hopefully, he does now. When he understands it, it will be one of the most beautiful books in the whole Bible. Do you want to know whether the paying of tithing is a correct principle? Pay your tithing and you will know it. Do you want to know if the teachings of Jesus Christ are correct? Obey them, and you will know. "Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works". (James 2:18) What is wrong with that? Actually, is not that whole debate about faith and works a lot of nonsense? If no works were produced, you do not even HAVE faith. You only have belief. Belief is passive. Faith is active. Faith is dynamic. "Faith is the moving power of all action."

To the carpenter, which is more important, the brace or the bit? That is ridiculous. Neither one is of much good without the other. Which is more important, the violin or the bow? That is ridiculous. You need them both or you would not have any music! To the archery hunter, which is more important, the bow or the arrow? Neither is any good without the other!

Which is more important, faith or works? You need them both or you do not even have the gospel of Jesus Christ! "And why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46) "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21) By latter-day revelation we are told, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (Doctrine & Covenants 130:20-21)

During the Dark Ages, the monks used to stand around for hours arguing and debating about how many angels can stand on the point of a needle. What nonsense! That is strictly a Dark Ages mentality. In our day, men conceived of the idea of being able to travel to the moon. Moreover, when they had studied, explored, and learned the laws that had to be obeyed to obtain that particular "blessing," then, when they had obeyed the laws, bye and bye we flew to the moon and came back with a bag full of rocks! Was that by grace or works? Obviously, it was by both. Except for the intelligence and understanding our Father in Heaven had given them, they never would have made it. They likewise never would have made it without putting works with their faith. It is a joint venture.

The farmer works long and hard. He plows the land and cultivates it. He plants the fields, keeps them weeded and watered, and eventually reaps a crop. Was that by faith or by works, or by grace or by effort, or, perhaps, by all combined? The violin really does play better music with the bow, does it not? Even better, when someone who knows how to use, it uses the bow. I have never known a farmer in Idaho, the only place I ever farmed, who took the glory unto himself. Only by the grace of God does the soil produce and only by his grace are there water and sunshine to make the plants grow!

In fact, is it not by the grace of God that the farmer even has the health and strength to be able to work, the food to give him strength, and a loving wife to prepare the food, and to constantly love and comfort and encourage him?

What a privilege to be guided by the Lord today through a living prophet and current revelation. We also need to know what the Lord revealed in the days of Peter and Paul, and what the Savior taught when he was here among men. We need to read, we need to learn, and above all, we need to obey!

Do we believe all that? Of course we do, for that is what the Bible teaches and

### We Believe The Bible!

"My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." ~ John 7:16-17
Chapter Thirty-five – My Cup Runneth O'er

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a way before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23)

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." He took care of David anciently, and he will take care of us today. What reassurance for these days of stressful living! That is the same David who had slain the giant Goliath with a stone slung from a shepherd's slingshot. The Lord had preserved him in a fight with a bear. The Lord had preserved him in a fight with a lion. And he knew the Lord would preserve him in this contest with a heavily armed warrior ten feet tall. And he did. The Lord blessed his children in those days according to their faith. And he still does.

"My Cup Runneth Over." That is an interesting thought. And, how would that principle still apply?

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

"However large or small may be our cup, the Lord will always fill it up." He will fill it to over-flowing, according to our faith, our desires, and our request. Those who have taken care to prepare for themselves a bigger cup will get more than those who did not. Those who go around with their cup turned upside down shouldn't be surprised if they get nothing at all. The Lord does not normally go around giving bread to those who are not hungry, or filling cups that are turned upside down.

As he neared the end of his first appearance to the Nephites, after his resurrection, Christ said to them, "I perceive that ye are weak and cannot understand all that I am commanded to speak unto you at this time.

"Therefore, go ye into your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I will come unto you again." (The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 17:2-3)

Would you like to read The Book of Mormon and the Bible and understand and enjoy what you are reading? You have just heard the key: Ponder and pray and prepare your minds and hearts and then come back to receive more. You might have to start by praying for a bigger cup. That is where I had to start.

There were some other sacred things I thought to relate, but I had better just let you go to the scriptures and read about them for yourselves.

The prophet Alma declared, "It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God, nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto hi m .

"And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full." (The Book of Mormon, Alma 12:9-10)

Jesus was a little more blunt: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." (Matthew 7:6)

Jesus also taught: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:12-13)

He was speaking, obviously, to members of the Church, for he had previously said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him." (John 14:15-17, emphasis added)

So, what have we learned from all this?

1. Every person born into this world is given the "Spirit of Christ" to know good from evil, the conscience" with which all normal persons are endowed. (The Book of Mormon, Moroni 7:16-17)

2. The Lord then raises up "teachers" to give them as much of his gospel as they are prepared to receive; all are judged for what they did with what they had; those who rebel receive less and less until they are in total darkness. (Ibid. Alma 29:8; Alma 12:9-16)

3. To avoid casting his pearls before swine, the Savior taught in parables; those who heard them understood only as much as they had prepared themselves to receive. Those who heard had to pray for the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to be able to understand.

4. Like Jesus' parables, the scriptures also are closed to the understanding of the wicked; they will be understood only by those who pray for the Holy Ghost to give them understanding

5. Although the "Gift of the Holy Ghost" is limited to confirmed members of the Church, (John 14: 17) Moroni tells us that any sincere person who will ask for it by praying to our Father in Heaven in the name of Jesus Christ may receive from the Holy Ghost two things

A. An understanding of what he is reading, and

B. A testimony or witness of its truthfulness. (The Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:3-54)

6. At that point he is under obligation to the Lord to receive what the Holy Ghost has said is true, by baptism and confirmation into the restored church of Jesus Christ, whereupon he will have conferred upon him the gift of the Holy Ghost and be instructed to "receive" him.

7. The Holy Ghost will then fill him with hope and with perfect love, "which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God." (Ibid. Moroni 8:25-26)

8. He may retain the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost by obeying the law on which that blessing is predicated:

A. Personal and family prayer. (Ibid Moroni 8:26)

B. Reading and Pondering the Holy Scriptures in prayerful meditation. (Doctrine & Covenants ll:21; John 5:39; The Book of Mormon: 1 Nephi 8:24; 1 Nephi 11:25; Alma 17:2-3)

C. Keeping the Sabbath Day holy and partaking worthily of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. (Doctrine & Covenants 20:75-79; ibid. 59:9-23)

D. Virtue & Chastity, being pure in heart. (Doctrine & Covenants 121:45-46)

E. Word of Wisdom, maintaining our body as a sacred temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

At the time of the Open House and Dedication of the Santiago, Chile Temple, and some other temples as well, there were anti-Mormon demonstrations in which there were those who sought to ridicule and mock things sacred to others. Some even held up to ridicule and desecrate items of clothing represented as being parts of the temple robes used in sacred temple ordinances.

Actually, the demonstration itself is an excellent illustration of what the temple and its ordinances are all about.

In the temple we are taught fundamental basic truths. One of those truths is that much we are taught is by symbolic representation. An example of this, for instance, is the ordinance of baptism. In this ordinance, water is used, because universally water is used for cleansing or cleaning. Moreover, water is the essential ingredient for all life as we know it and Baptism is always by immersion because the ordinance represents, as the Apostle Paul pointed out a burial and resurrection, in which the "old man of sin" is buried and we arise a "new creature in Christ."

Another example of teaching by symbolic representation is in the robes specified by the Lord to be worn in temple ordinances and ceremonies in ancient Israel. The different configurations thereon have meaning, but only to those sufficiently spiritually minded to be able to discern that meaning. Even as the teaching of Jesus by parables was not only to permit spiritually-minded persons to more readily comprehend his teachings, but also to insure that the meaning would remain beyond the grasp of those not sufficiently consecrated and dedicated to permit themselves to receive them.

But the most fundamental of all basic truths taught in the temple is that just named, as demonstrated in the teaching of Jesus by parables, and that is that even the Lord cannot give us more than we are willing, able, and prepared to receive. The Lord will give unto us until "our cup runneth o'er," but no matter how large is the pitcher of the giver, the receiver can obtain only that amount his particular cup is capable of holding.

Hence Alma taught, "It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word, which he doth grant unto the children of men according to the heed and diligence which they give unto hi m .

"And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

"And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning the mysteries; and then they are taken captive of the devil, and led by his will down to destruction." (The Book of Mormon, Alma 12:9-11)

That is a basic law. Jesus taught the same thing, a little more bluntly, when he said:

"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." (Matthew 7:6)

Is that not exactly what we see in those who mock and ridicule sacred things of which they have only the most superficial knowledge, if any at all?

Jesus continued, "Ask, and it shall be given you, Seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." (Matthew 7:7, emphasis added)

After his preliminary instruction to the Nephites when he visited them after his resurrection, Jesus said, "I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words, which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.

"Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your mind for the morrow, and I come unto you again." (The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 17:2-3)

That is a basic law. Even the Lord does not usually fill closed minds with new ideas, nor mend old garments with new cloth, nor fill our cup with more of the waters of life than we have prepared to receive.

"Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:5) "God resisteth the proud he giveth grace unto the humble." (James 4:6) That is what the temple is all about.

Today as in the days of David, the Lord is still our shepherd. He makes us to lie down in green pastures, He leads us beside the still waters, He restores our soul, He leads us in righteousness. And, though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we need fear no evil, for He is with us, and preserves and sustains us with His rod and His staff, even as He did David anciently.

He prepares a way before us in the presence of our enemies. He anoints our head with oil. Goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life and we could hardly aspire to anything greater than to be privileged to serve in the House of the Lord.

The Lord Is My Shepherd, a Latter-Day Saint Hymn (Number 108) expresses these blessings extremely well. "No want shall I know, No harm can befall with My Comforter near. With blessings unmeasured My cup runneth o'er:"

"However large or small may be our cup the Lord will always fill it up." Let us therefore, prepare ourselves to receive all that our Father in Heaven truly desires to give us. For true indeed "My Cup Runneth Over!"

### We Believe The Bible!

Even the Lord does not usually fill closed minds with new ideas, nor mend old garments with new cloth, nor fill our cup with more of the waters of life than we have prepared to receive.
Chapter Thirty-six – Families

From time to time through the decades and the centuries, scandals have arisen stemming from alleged acts of homosexual and child-molestation relations involving some of the members of the Catholic priesthood. In earlier years, in quieter times, that was a little easier to ignore than it seems to be now.

As this problem now resurfaces, many are now asking if it would not be less of a problem if the Catholic Church simply changed their policy and permitted their priests to marry and have a family, like members of the clergy in other churches.

Many are increasingly interested to see what action the present Pope will take in this matter, as he seems to be a conscientious and God-fearing man bold and fearless enough to make changes where he sees changes are needed.

I recall how, in one of my college classes years ago, it was pointed out how the policy of forbidding priests to marry had been defended in earlier generations by comparing the very limited accomplishments of the married priests in the Greek Orthodox Church with the far greater accomplishments of the unmarried priests in the Roman Catholic Church, particularly in the evangelization of Latin America in recent centuries. This was possible, it was pointed out, because priests with a family would necessarily need to spend much of their time and attention to meeting the needs of their wife and children. Whereas, unmarried priests could give their full and total attention to the needs of the church.

Since this book is about the Bible - the New Testament as well as the Old - let us take a look at this matter in earlier days.

Perhaps we should start with Father Adam himself. When our Father in Heaven created Mother Eve and gave her to Father Adam as his eternal companion, this being prior to the advent of death in this world, she was given to him as a help-meet for him. That means a companion suitable to meet all his needs, and the principle reason he was given such a suitable companion was to have a family, not to find a reason for doing otherwise.

And through all the centuries that followed, all of the Lord's prophets and patriarchs were married and had a family.

And, in the Church of Jesus Christ in the meridian of times, although Peter himself, the chief and presiding apostle, was a busy man with great responsibilities, still he was a married man, obviously, and therefore had a family:

"And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother (Peter's wife's mother, that is) laid, and sick of a fever.

"And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them." (Matthew 7:14-15)

Well, if he had a wife, he most likely had a family as well.

And what about the other apostles? One of them, Paul, observed, "Am I not an apostle? Am I not free?...Have we not power to eat and to drink?...Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas [Peter]?" (I Corinthians 9:1-5, emphasis added)

So the doctrine of the Church in those days was to have a family, not to glorify refusing to even get married!

When I began working as a translator for the F.B.I. in Washington, D. C., in May of 1941, I rented a room from a Brother Bell, whose first name I do not now recall.

One morning while I was still at home, two Catholic priests came to see Brother Bell. He told me later that in an earlier visit he had told the first priest that if anyone in the whole Catholic Church should get married, it should be their priests and leaders, as they should be the best qualified of anyone in the whole church or they wouldn't be the leaders!

This first priest was so favorably impressed that he had returned with the second priest for more counseling in the matter. Brother Bell told me much later that he had thereafter received a letter from the first priest, from Denver, Colorado, thanking him for his fatherly counsel, telling him he was now joyously married, and sending him a photograph of their first baby!

Maybe the Pope and Cardinals will now make a decision to let other priests have the same joy instead of continuing the rigid anti-family position they now glorify and defend.

"Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

"Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.

"Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

"Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel. (Psalm 128:1-6)

"Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well.

"Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets...

"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

"Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times: and be thou ravished always with her love." (Proverbs 5:15-19)

That ought to eliminate the problem of homosexuality and child abuse!

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of thy youth.

"Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." (Psalm 127:3-5)

That's the way our Father in Heaven ordained it. When the philosophers of the world start writing the program, soon they are not only glorifying not having children, but often they are also forbidding marriage while they are at it!

No wonder there had to be a "time of refreshing from the presence of the Lord" that would be nothing short of the "restitution of all things." (Acts 3:19-21)

### We Believe The Bible!

"We, The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children." ~ The Family A Proclamation to the World
Chapter Thirty-seven – In My Father's House

Many people believe, and many churches taught, at the time of the Restoration, and still do, that there is one heaven for the righteous, or those attaining God's favor, and one hell for the wicked, or those falling short of the favor of God.

Under those circumstances the dividing line between the two could become very thin if a person just barely qualified for the glory of heaven, he would be just as well off as the most saintly person who ever walked the earth. But the person who just barely failed to attain that glory, by even the slightest margin, would be just as bad off as the foulest rogue that ever disgraced humanity.

That concept, however, has no basis in the Bible. In the Bible, we are told that men are to be judged according to their works:

"And I saw the dead, small, and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works

"And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them and they were judged every man according to their works." (Revelation 20:12-13)

Now that isn't what the churches of the world teach, and it isn't what they preach, but that's what The Bible teaches, and We Believe the Bible! And that would certainly require more than two ultimate consequences.

Jesus also did not teach anything like that one- heaven/one-hell doctrine the churches of the world teach. He declared, "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go and prepare a place for you."

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto my-self; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John 14:2-3, emphasis added)

And the Apostle Paul, speaking of the resurrection of the dead, in his epistle to the Corinthians, had this to say: "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead." (I Corinthians 15:41-42)

The knowledge that Christ and Paul had concerning this matter, was lost with the death of the early apostles, when there was no longer revelation from God, as the world plunged into the black night of the Dark Ages, there to await the coming of the dawn.

But in the Restoration in our day, the Lord has revealed anew that there is indeed one glory of the sun, known as the Celestial Kingdom. There is another glory of the moon, known as the Terrestrial Kingdom, and another glory of the stars, the Telestial Kingdom, and even there in the glory of the stars, one star differs from another star in glory, just like Paul said. Jesus said, "In my Father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so I would have told you."

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Thirty-eight – Ask, And It Shall Be Given You

While I was president of the Santiago, Chile Temple, several years ago, we had a temple ordinance worker there who had been a Baptist minister prior to his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, and one night he was telling me of his conversion.

On one occasion he had agreed to let the missionaries come to his home and teach him the First Discussion of their missionary lessons. When they left, they inadvertently left behind their notebook containing sample dialogues, as an aid to the missionaries in doing their teaching.

As this brother read through their discussion book he felt quite annoyed. He felt they were trying to manipulate him and it really upset him. After he had simmered down a bit, the Spirit began talking with him. About the first thing the Spirit said to him was, "Isn't that a rather strange form of manipulation, to try to get someone to pray to find out if something is true?"

Well, he could not argue with that very well. In fact, he found it difficult to argue with anything the Spirit was saying to him, and after he had really listened for a while, he felt somewhat humbled.

In fact, he felt so humbled that he went to his bookcase and got out his copy of the Book of Mormon, which he had never before really taken the time to read, but now he felt impressed to really read it. Moreover, as he read it, he did so with open ears, and open eyes, and an open mind and heart.

To his amazement, he found himself learning great treasures of truth he had not even known existed. As he read it, of course, he did so with a prayer to our Heavenly Father, a prayer of gratitude for the experience he was enjoying and a petition for further inspiration and understanding, which he received.

When he had finished reading the Book of Mormon, he prayed to our Father in Heaven, as Moroni had admonished, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, asking for the confirmation of the Spirit concerning its divinity. That confirmation he received.

So, he called the missionaries and asked to receive the remaining missionary discussions. Then he asked for baptism, and when I knew him he was working in a printing shop in Santiago to earn his livelihood, inasmuch as there is no professional and paid clergy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

While my wife and I were in Denmark in May of 1966, the Mission President at Copenhagen was telling us of the conversion of a family he had known in Salt Lake City before coming to Denmark as Mission President.

The father of the family was a Protestant minister in Rochester, New York, and on one occasion, while he was away for a week or ten days, his wife had permitted the missionaries to come into their home and teach their First Discussion.

However, while they were at it, they left them a copy of the Book of Mormon, and the seventeen-year-old son started reading it, and had read it through before his father returned. In fact, when he read it, he, too, prayed to our Father in Heaven as admonished by Moroni, and he, too, obtained the witness of the Spirit as to the truth and divinity of the Book and of the work.

The father, understandably, was a little upset when he found out about all this, and he promptly undertook to "deprogram" his misguided son.

The son found himself totally unable to answer his father's arguments and scriptural reasoning, and he finally said to his father:

"Father, you are a minister of religion and a graduate of a School of Divinity, and there is no way at all that I can counter the points you offer. However, may I make a suggestion? It is not far from where we live to the forest or grove where Joseph Smith says he had his First Vision in which he saw the Father and the Son in response to his prayer of faith and his petition for enlightenment.

"Would you be willing to go with me to that same grove and there kneel down and pray and ask our Father in Heaven, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, whether in fact that vision did actually occur?"

His father agreed and they both went there together. And there, in that forest or grove, they knelt down together and his father prayed to our Father in Heaven and asked whether in fact Joseph Smith's First Vision in that location did actually occur.

He finished praying, stood up, and said to his son, "Now I know, by the Spirit to me, that in this grove, Joseph Smith did see the Father and the Son in a glorious vision just as he said."

They returned home and he related that experience to his wife and family, and they quickly held a Family Council Meeting to decide what they must do next.

They decided to get baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, and they decided to take their savings money out of the bank, so the father could go back to school long enough to get teaching credentials and then he would get employment teaching school.

That is what they did. When we were in Denmark, the father was not only teaching school, but also he was the Principal of a Seminary (Church School for Youth) in Salt Lake City, and the son, then 19, was serving as a missionary in Germany.

When I was a boy, in Mesa, Arizona, we attended the missionary farewell service for a young man leaving for a mission in Germany. On that occasion, an uncle of the boy related the story of the conversion of the boy's grandfather in Denmark many years before, when the grandfather was a youth of eighteen years of age.

A few years earlier, the missionaries were taking room and board at the home of this family. But, the father finally said to them, "We have enjoyed having you with us, and we like and admire you, but there is so much opposition to your Church in Denmark that my business is suffering, and so I am going to have to ask you to find some other place to live."

As they were leaving, one of the elders put his hands on the head of one of the children, an eight-year-old boy, and gave him a short blessing, which the family did not understand, because he gave it in English.

Ten years elapsed, and one Sunday morning this boy, now 18 years old, told his parents he didn't feel like going to church that day and would prefer to stay home. And so he did. But after a bit, for some reason he got up in the attic and was going through the contents of an old trunk up there when he ran across a book "Mormons Bog" (The Book of Mormon).

He opened the book, and out of curiosity began to read. As he read it, it captured his attention, and the more he read the more it fascinated him. He came down from the attic, went to his room, and continued reading the book.

The family came home and his mother knocked on his door to call him to dinner. But, he said he wasn't hungry, and continued reading.

He did not eat supper either. He just kept reading, right on into the night. In fact, he kept right on reading all through the night, and when he finished the book, just before daybreak, he knelt down and prayed about it. He prayed to our Father in Heaven, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. He asked for the witness of the Holy Ghost of the truth and divinity of what he had read.

And that witness he did receive, to the consternation and dismay of his parents.

They argued with him, and they discussed with him, but they just could not shake him loose.

Finally, his father said to the mother, "Why don't we send him to live with his Uncle Peter in Copenhagen for a while? He should be able to straighten him out if anyone can."

And so, they did. But when Uncle Peter met the boy upon his arrival in Copenhagen, he said to him, "Well, son, it isn't all that bad. I've been a member of The Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints myself for over six months!"

The grandfather was called on a mission to Germany, and later one of his sons. And now, the grandson was going there, making three generations of missionaries out of that one

Book of Mormon conversion!

A few years ago, a young man in India was reading a book.

The name of the book was "Are the Mormons Christians?" and, of course, the book said they were not.

However, as the boy pondered the matter, it puzzled him.

"But why would they not be Christians," he found himself asking, "if their very name is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?"

The more he thought of it, the more puzzled he became. Finally, the thought came to him: "All of these other churches believe differently. They are not united on anything. The only thing on which they seem to be united is on their opposition to this one church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

With that thought, he found himself wondering, "Could this church by any chance be the one true church and could that be why all the other churches are so united in opposing it?"

He continued to ponder the matter, and finally knelt down and prayed about it, and asked, "By any chance is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the one true church?"

When he arose he said, "I now know, by the Spirit, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the one true church."

Then he asked, "So now what do I do?"

He got out the book again, to find out where that church was located, and sat down and wrote a letter to:

The man in charge

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Salt Lake City, North America

A reply was received, together with appropriate literature, including, finally, the Book of Mormon, and when the young man had read it and obtained a testimony of its truth, he wrote again and said he wanted to be baptized.

At that time, there were no missionaries in India, and there had not been for a hundred years or more, but Elder Spencer W. Kimball, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, traveling in the Orient, made a special trip to India to see this young man.

Elder Kimball pointed out that there were no missionaries or other Church members in India, and suggested the young man may want to postpone his baptism until a later time. Nevertheless, the young man said, "Well, if it's all right with you, I would prefer to be baptized right now," and so he was, the first such baptism in India in over a century.

The young man later made his way to Canada, and then to Salt Lake City. He continued to Provo, Utah, where he was attending Brigham Young University. A barber in Salt Lake City was so impressed with his conversion; he put up a student bond with the U. S. Immigration Service so the young man could attend the University.

But, whether you are a minister of religion in Santiago, Chile or in Rochester, New York, or a young man in Denmark or in India, the process of conversion is always the same. It usually involves reading the Book of Mormon and praying over it and getting a testimony or witness of the Spirit as to its truth. In the kingdoms of this world, we get citizenship by birth, but in the kingdom of God, we get citizenship only by re- birth.

And that, incidentally, is how I got my testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Church, stemming from reading the Book of Mormon and the New Testament together at the age of fourteen and a half and praying over them. All the good things that have ever come to me in life have come as a result, direct or indirect, of that experience and that testimony.

When I first tried to read the Book of Mormon it may as well have been written in Greek or Hebrew, for I didn't understand a thing. As I thought about it, I began to comprehend that if I hoped to understand the book I would have to pray over it as I read it. That is what I did. Then I began to understand it, and the second time I read it I understood much more. The tenth time I read it I understood a lot more than I did the ninth time.

The Book of Mormon is not only a record of revelations already given, to the prophets of old. It is also an instrument through which inspiration and revelation can be received, much as the Urim and Thummim was to Joseph Smith in translating the Book of Mormon from the gold plates. (Although the Urim and Thummim is mentioned in the Old Testament, not a great deal is said about it. In the Book of Mormon we are told that the Urim and Thummim is an instrument prepared by the Lord for the use of the Lord's prophet in translating ancient records.)

The Book of Mormon is also a record of the dealings of a people with each other and with the Lord. From it we can learn valuable lessons for our own "here and now."

Someone once said the reason history repeats itself is because we were not listening the first time. Now we can listen, and now we can learn.

You will note that Mormon and Moroni in their "abridgement" or summary of the history of their people, frequently insert "editorial comments," pointing out what we should be able to learn from the experience they have just related.

Try it. You will find it an exciting and profitable venture: "And thus we see..."

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Matt. 7:7-8)

We believe the Bible and know it is true, and you can know it also by the witness of the Holy Ghost.

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Thirty-nine – Conversion By The Spirit

Earlier you read of the conversion of a Baptist minister in Santiago, Chile who was serving as a temple worker in the Santiago Chile Temple while I was temple president there. He thought the missionaries were trying to "manipulate" him, until the Spirit said, "Don't you think that's a rather peculiar form of manipulation, to try to get someone to pray to find out if it's true?"

Bye and bye the Spirit had softened his heart enough that he actually took the Book of Mormon out of his bookcase and sat down and read it - the whole book, with lots of prayer. Before he finished he called the missionaries to teach him the remaining missionary discussions and baptize him.

And do you know what? He was afraid! What was he afraid of? Well, he had a family to feed, just like you do, and he was afraid of the sudden termination of his paycheck. Actually, he wasn't getting paid a huge amount even as a preacher, but it was a lot less scary than suddenly getting nothing at all.

The Holy Ghost is a Comforter as well as a Revelator, and he had a whole heart full of faith in the Lord that he had been busy building all his life. So when he felt sure of what he was doing, he went ahead and did it, just like Peter and Paul and Matthew and Luke and all the rest of them. And do you know what? The Lord took care of him just like he always takes care of us when we put our faith in him. When I knew him he was working in a printing shop. He was not wealthy, but he was feeding his family and paying his rent, just like he'll do for you!

But whether you are in the Church or out of it, the only way you can know of its truth is by praying about it. In fact, that is one of the principle functions of the Holy Ghost, to bear witness of the Father and the Son to those who ask and sincerely desire to know. That is the only way anyone can obtain a "testimony," or personal knowledge, of the truth and divinity of the work of the Lord.

Half a century ago, as a young F.B.I. agent, I was intrigued by Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, from a standpoint of evidence, and thought I would like to write a book about them someday, and in fact did write several chapters. But the trouble with that is the old truism, "Convince a man against his will, and he is of the same opinion still."

After knowing the Baptist preacher temple worker in Santiago, Chile, my approach is totally different. The presentation may not be as breathtakingly brilliant as once envisioned, but I sincerely hope it will be written with love and kindness. I also sincerely hope that the Holy Ghost will bear witness of the truth of what I have written. If I could even get one sincere God-fearing preacher to just back off and take a second look, and pray about it, and get a testimony, and come into the Church, and bring his whole congregation with him, that would be more than enough reward for the whole book! But the only way that can occur is by the Spirit! That is the way it was anciently. That is the way it is today. That is the way it is in the Bible, and---

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Forty – Saved

Many years ago while I was out mowing my lawn, a man came up to me and asked me if I had been saved.

I said to him, "Before I answer your question, will you please explain to me what do you mean by saved?

When he had finished with his explanation, I replied, "By your definition of Saved my answer would be yes. However, we would not call that saved. We would call it converted. We use the word saved for a man to be placed beyond the reach of all his enemies. If a man is about to drown in the water and someone rescues him he has been saved from drowning. If someone is trapped in a burning building and someone rescues him, he has been saved from the fire, etc. But we will not have been saved from all our enemies until we are resurrected, for not until then will be have been placed beyond the reach of the enemy death."

So actually to be saved is a process, and it can begin whenever we are ready to get it started and the first step, naturally is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. He is our Savior and our Redeemer.

Like Thomas of old, when I am someday worthy to see Him, I'll fall at His feet and reverently exclaim: "My Lord and my God"! (John 20:28)

### We Believe The Bible!

"But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." ~ Acts 15:11

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." ~ The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25: 23
Chapter Forty-one – The Holy Ghost

To confirmed members of the Church is given the gift of the Holy Ghost to serve as an abiding witness, revelator, comforter, guide, and prompter. The Holy Ghost is also known as the Spirit of Truth. Unlike the Father and the Son he has no physical or tangible body, but is only a personage of spirit, for which reason he can dwell within us.

To those who are not yet confirmed members of the Church, if they ask for it in sincere prayer to our Father in Heaven (God the Eternal Father) in the name of Jesus Christ (our Redeemer), the Holy Ghost will give two things.

1. Enlightenment and inspiration to understand the Book of Mormon and other scriptures

2. A witness of their truth, which witness to us is called a "personal testimony" of their truth and divinity

Those to whom is given this testimony or witness need to confirm it in baptism. When we are baptized by one holding at least the lesser (Aaronic) Priesthood as a Priest, we are then confirmed members of the church through the laying on of hands of those holding the higher priesthood (Elders in the Melchizedek Priesthood), who at that time confer upon us the "gift of the Holy Ghost". This requires the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood just as valid baptism requires the authority of a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. It is the authority that makes the ordinance valid.

After receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands of those holding the Melchizedek (higher) Priesthood, to retain the companionship of the Holy Ghost we need to pray sincerely to our Father in Heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ, and remain worthy.

To do that our Father in Heaven has asked us to attend Sacrament Meeting on the Lord's Day each week (the Sabbath Day) and obey our sacramental covenants. To understand our sacramental covenants we need to listen carefully to the sacramental prayers.

The blessing on the bread (representing the body of our Savior):

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee,

O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them, Amen." (Doctrine & Covenants 20:77)

The blessing on the water (representing the blood of our Savior):

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this (water) to the souls of all those who drink of it that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them, that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them, Amen. (Doctrine & Covenants 20: 79)

Sometime ago Elder Oscar W. McConkie related experiences he had had wherein he had received blessings from the Holy Ghost.

For example, when he was serving as a judge many years before, he came home one evening exhausted from the pressures of his work. He picked up the newspaper and sat down in the rocking chair to read it. However, before he could even start to read, the Spirit said to him, "Put down the newspaper." So he put down the newspaper, then the Spirit said, "Run out the back door." So he ran out the back door and the Spirit said to him, "Run up through the orchard." As he ran up through the orchard, the Spirit said, "Run faster."

So he ran as fast as he could, and just as he reached the dirt road that cut across at the far end of the orchard, a horse came galloping down the road, dragging a boy with his foot caught in the stirrup.

He stopped the horse and found the boy was his son, Bruce R. McConkie who later served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

While pondering this, I thought Brother McConkie, the father, was fortunate to have had enough promptings by the Spirit that he knew the voice of the Spirit when he heard it. Some people would still be sitting in that rocking chair trying to decide if that was the voice of the Spirit or just their own imagination playing tricks on them.

Many years ago, while building a house, I used to get bumps on my head now and then. But one day I noticed that just a split second before the bump I was being warned to duck, and I started ducking really fast and watching more closely.

Go to the 59th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants and read the blessings promised those who partake worthily of the sacrament on the Sabbath Day and obey their sacramental covenants. Then stop to give thanks for the restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist, on May 15, 1829, to restore to the earth valid baptisms; and the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood, by Peter, James, and John in June of 1829, so we may enjoy again the gift of the Holy Ghost and all spiritual gifts resulting there from.

### We Believe The Bible!

"And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day." ~ Doctrine & Covenants 59:9
Chapter Forty-two – Teaching By The Spirit

As mentioned in a previous chapter, several years ago I received a telephone call one Sunday morning from a woman calling from South Carolina. I did not recognize her name at once, so she reminded me that I had given her a Patriarchal Blessing a year or two earlier.

At that point, before she had said another word, I already knew what she was going to say. And sure enough, I had blessed her with a happy marriage, and a happy home, and a happy family. And her marriage was not happy! And her home was not happy! And her family was not happy!

Finally I had to interrupt and say, "Begging your pardon for interrupting you, I need to explain to you that all I did was to give you the recipe. You have to bake the cake!"

That, of course, is a correct principle. By latter-day revelation we are told:

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated--and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (Doctrine & Covenants130:20-21, emphasis added)

It has been said, and it is true, that we have no problems, collectively speaking, that would not be solved by simply obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That is also true of all problems we have individually, as persons, as employees, as employers, as families, as sons and daughters, and as husbands and wives. In Jesus Christ is the fullness of light, and the fullness of life, and the fullness of truth, and the fullness of goodness.

Now, if you really believe that, and if you really believe He is the Only Begotten Son of God the Eternal Father, as the Scriptures declare. If you really believe He is our "Lord and God," as the Apostle Thomas declared as he fell at his feet in adoration after he had with his own hands and fingers felt the wounds in the Savior's hands and feet and the still gaping wound in His side. If you really believe all that, and if you really believe He was raised from the dead literally, as His Apostles declared, and that He is our Savior and our Redeemer by appointment of our Father in Heaven, then whatever He declares is true, and whatever He commands is possible to do, bar none.

Now, you will note that I said by obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. Why did I say that? Simply because there are a thousand "gospels" out there being taught by a thousand different churches, each teaching what their founders, or present constituents, want to have preached. And since they are the ones paying the bill, it is their gospel and not necessarily Jesus Christ's.

For example, in Ireland, there are two major "gospels" preaching as the bill-payers direct, and they have been killing each other off for at least the last hundred years or more. Not to mention all the wars in Europe where for hundreds of years Catholics and Protestants have been killing each other off like it was some kind of a "holy war." Not only are Catholics killing Protestants, and Protestants killing Catholics, but many times Protestants are killing Protestants and Catholics are killing Catholics.

That's not what Jesus Christ taught at all. He declared, "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:16-17)

He also said, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35) All of which makes the whole concept of a latter-day Restoration, not only perfectly logical but absolutely indispensable! When I was a youth I read an article by Elder Orson F. Whitney of the Council of the Twelve Apostles concerning an experience he had the first day of his mission.

He arrived at the Mission Home in the late afternoon, as I recall. It being his first day in the mission, he felt completely at ease and was sure he would not be called to speak, or to do anything else for that matter. However, to his surprise, he was asked to go with several other missionaries to hold a meeting in a rented hall. He was even more surprised when, at that meeting, they called on him to speak, for he was a brand new missionary and there were plenty of others to do the speaking!

Attempting to conceal his surprise, he promptly stepped to the podium to begin his talk. He began by saying, "In our Church we do not prepare our talks like they do in other churches, but instead we speak by the Spirit." When he had waited another minute or two, and nothing more came to his mind, he said, "Amen," and sat down.

A newspaper reporter happened to be present at the meeting and in the local newspaper the next morning was an article quoting Elder Whitney's talk, very correctly and very completely. After quoting what Elder Whitney had said about speakers in this Church speaking "by the Spirit," the article added, "If what Elder Whitney said is true, Elder Whitney's case was a notable exception!"

Elder Whitney added that from that embarrassing experience he learned the most valuable lesson of his life: Even the Lord does not usually draw water from an empty well.

"Treasure up in your minds (and hearts!) continually the words of life", the Savior has counseled in our day, "and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man." (Doctrine & Covenants 84:85)

For, as he told his disciples nearly two thousand years earlier, "When they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak; for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." (Matthew 10:19-20)

It is the mission of the Holy Ghost not only to testify of the things of God, and to lead us into all truth, but also to bring things to our remembrance, as we need them. However, it is just as impossible to have brought to our remembrance something we have never learned in the first place, as it is to return to someplace we have never been!"

We are to treasure up continually in our hearts treasures of truth, and then, as we need it, the Holy Ghost will bring them to our remembrance. And thus we may always teach and speak by the Spirit, and not from an empty heart! And head!

Someone once said that if having an empty head caused us the same discomfort we feel from having an empty stomach, we would feel more inclined to do something to remedy the situation.

### We Believe The Bible!

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated--and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."

~ Doctrine & Covenants130:20-21
Chapter Forty-three – The Articles Of Faith

In 1890 James E. Talmage wrote a book entitled The Articles of Faith, which anyone reading the Holy Bible should really get and read. It is a masterful presentation of the thirteen Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He quotes each Article of Faith and explains it. Finally, he discusses the various scriptural references concerning it, especially those in the Holy Bible. He shows that this knowledge had been lost to the world and had to be restored by latter-day revelation from the Lord. A deeper search of the Holy Bible discloses that this same knowledge was had in the primitive Church of Jesus Christ, but had been lost and therefore, had to be restored.

That, of course, is the best evidence in the world that there really has been a restoration of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ in our day, which necessarily demonstrates that there had to have been a loss, or the restoration would not have been necessary.

For example, in the Restoration the Lord revealed anew the whole program of salvation for the dead, and gave instructions for the building of temples to assist in that program. It had been totally lost to the whole world.

Christ himself inaugurated the preaching of the gospel to the spirits in prison, as we have seen from the writings of Peter, president of the Church in that day:

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

"By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

"Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.

"The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

"Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him." (I Peter 3:18-22)

Do you believe all that? Peter did, from personal knowledge. He was an eyewitness. He saw the resurrected Christ, and felt his hands and his feet and side, not once, but many times, and therefore knew with certainty that the infamous Nicene Creed is the vilest lie concocted by the devil and those who serve him.

Corrected it has been by the glorious light of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We know all this is true by the witness of the Holy Ghost as we have prayed for it.

You can know it too, if you will pray to our Father in Heaven in faith, in the name of Jesus Christ, and ask for it.

Peter was one of the apostles who stood there watching as Christ thereafter ascended into heaven:

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

"Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:10-11)

The Nicene Creed says he does not even have a body, but that's not what the apostles saw!

He had a body when they saw him, every time. He still had his body as they watched him ascend into heaven, and the two angels said he will still have it when he comes again, "in like manner."

Where is the body now, if he doesn't even have a body? What did he do with it?

The Nicene Creed is the vilest falsehood the devil ever inspired anyone to produce. It is a categorical contradiction of the testimony of the apostles, sealed with their own blood.

Their testimony was lost, forgotten, or overlooked as were many other truths of the original Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So they had to be restored, just as Peter himself had foretold, and to make it all clear and understandable we were given those thirteen articles of faith:

1. We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.

2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, viz., apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.

7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.

8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon the American Continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed, and receive its paradisiacal glory.

11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul. We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. \- Joseph Smith.

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Forty-four – The Flame Of Devouring Fire

While thinking about writing one chapter entitled, "What Lies Ahead", Sunday morning at 8 a.m. on October 26, 2004 we received a phone call from our son, Donald, who lives near San Diego, California, that made a major part of "What Lies Ahead" a very terrible present reality.

Shortly after midnight Saturday night, the heavy smell of smoke woke up their daughter Karen and she woke up everyone else. They assumed the smoke was from a brush fire a few miles to the east, and failing to perceive any immediate danger, they all went back to bed.

Donald is a "ham" radio operator and about 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, he received a call from another operator. He told him, that a fast and hot "Santa Ana" (eastern) wind had driven the fire across the highway and it was now heading toward Donald's house at a very fast speed. He urged them to leave quickly to get to a safer area before the fire reached their house.

They obeyed quickly, but by then, the power was already out and they had trouble finding things in the dark. They drove away quickly, but in their haste they failed to find the 72 hour Emergency Kit they had set up much earlier to be prepared for just such an emergency as was now upon them. Donald drove his pickup truck, his wife drove the family van, and their daughter, Karen, an adult, drove her own car. She incidentally, had her 72-hour emergency kit, for she always kept it in the trunk of her car. Daniel, 17, and Kelli Krista 15, went with their parents and sister.

As they drove out of the area, they honked their horns all the way and even knocked on a few doors trying to wake everyone up. They also used their cell phones to wake up some close neighbors. Donald did not dare take one road down a canyon as it was a "blind alley" and he feared he might not get out, as the fire was almost upon him and some houses he passed were burning already.

The family had already driven to their church building in Lakeside, about 8 or 10 miles south of their home and called us from there. Later in the day, the blockade was lifted and they drove back to their house, or where their home had been before it burned. When another son of ours called Donald to offer to help sift through the rubble for anything of value, Donald told him there was not any rubble. Everything burned, even the kitchen appliances. All that remains is the concrete slab floor and the fireplace chimney.

Years ago, we were being taught to place important documents in the deep freeze for safety, and after the rest of the house burned down you could come back and retrieve your documents from the deep freeze.

Do not believe it! Donald said there was no deep freeze left. It did not even exist. This fire had devoured it, and everything else. This makes one understand a little better the scripture that talks of the "flame of devouring fire!"

"Therefore, verily, thus saith the Lord, let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion - The Pure in Heart; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn.

"For behold, and lo, vengeance cometh speedily upon the ungodly as the whirlwind; and who shall escape it?

"The Lord's scourge shall pass over by night and by day, and the report thereof shall vex all people; yea, it shall not be stayed until the Lord come;

"For the indignation of the Lord is kindled against their abominations and all their wicked works.

"Nevertheless, Zion shall escape if she observe to do all things whatsoever I have commanded her.

"But if she observe not to do whatsoever I have commanded her, I will visit her according to all her works, with sore affliction, with pestilence, with plague, with sword, with vengeance, (and) with devouring fire." (Doctrine & Covenants 97:21-26)

That is not just a little old fire, slowly burning down someone's house. It is talking of a whole wall of fire that devours everything before it, like the one sweeping through California as this is being written, devouring everything in its path, destroying nearly a thousand expensive homes so far and killing about twenty people!

So now, we see some of what lies ahead. We do indeed! In addition, there is still more awaiting us!

Moreover, what is all this for? It is called the cleansing of the earth that is to precede the coming of the Savior and prepare for his millennial reign!

The Lord has said he will cleanse and purify!

1. His Church;

2. The United States

3. North and South America

4. All the earth.

The scriptures say Christ is to rule and reign over all the earth. He was the Creator of all the earth and all of us.

The restoration of his Church and gospel nearly two centuries ago brought forth The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the spiritual kingdom of God. When he reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords that will be his political kingdom. He is obviously preparing for it, and may be we should be following his example.

### We Believe The Bible!

"For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."

~ Malachi 4:1-2
Chapter Forty-five – The Holy Bible

There are parts of the Old Testament that are informative to let us know where the Moabites came from and how they got here, but that really isn't what you would be reading for great inspiration or even for peace and tranquility just before you go to bed at night.

One man said when he decided to start reading the Bible he just plunged in, into the middle of the Old Testament, without any guidance, and he soon found himself reading things that both startled and amazed him. He soon began to comprehend that if his mother had ever heard him talking like that she would have made him wash his mouth out with soap.

Another man said he had not read The Bible much before he comprehended that it contains the words of good men and it contains the word of evil men. Some of it quotes our

Father in Heaven himself and some of it quotes the devil, and other parts quote nearly everybody else in between.

Some of it was written by holy prophets and men of God declaring to us the words of eternal life. Some of it was written by ordinary clerks and secretaries who were finding it as hard to find something really fascinating to write about as some secretaries and clerks do today.

When they brought that woman caught in adultery unto Jesus to ask him whether they should stone her to death, he replied, "Let him among you who is without sin cast the first stone."

Then Jesus stooped down and started writing in the dirt. What do you think he was writing? Maybe some of the sins they had committed? But in any case, soon there were no accusers left! That is interesting, isn't it? In any case, many find the Bible to be bold and interesting reading just because it is so downright frank. Some of those clerks did not even spare the king!

However, if you want relief from the pressures that occasionally afflict us all, go and read what Jesus had to say about it, and then ponder that for a while and see what you can get out of it:

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Burdened with labor, cares, and the plain stress we all feel just to be alive?

I thought everybody was living the stress-free life of a fisherman or a shepherd in those days!

Well, that was before the writing of the Mexican poet Amado Nervo and even in those days life could be quite a grind if you would let it~! If you read Spanish, read some of the writings of Amado Nervo. I especially like what he said in the poem entitled, "Serenidad" (Serenity)

Read that before you go to bed, and practice it.

Rememora en la serenidad tus

Dias de dolor; pero nunca pienses

en las horas de ira, de encono,

de turbulencia que hayan sacudido

tu espiritu, pues lo sacudiran de Nuevo con su solo recuerdo.

Haz, en cambio, noche a noche,

El inventario de los minutos bellos,

Buenas, agrandables; de los ratos placidos,

que la vida tu haya otorgada

en las dias y seis horas de vigilia,

y formate con ellos un remkillete de flores para perfumar tu suelo.

Esta actitud te dara alegria, paz,

Tu ultimo pensamiento antes de dormir Sea de gratitude.

However, let's get back to The Bible and what Jesus Christ had to say about all this:

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find Rest unto your souls.

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 121:28-30, emphasis added)

Ponder that one for a few nights, or a few weeks, or months or the rest of your life!

And who was this Jesus Christ? By latter day revelation we know his name is also given as Jehovah. The name of our Father in Heaven is Elohim. Jesus Christ is the one who created our earth and all of us, always under the presidency and direction of our Father in Heaven.

When men get our Constitution so messed up and our economy so disrupted that many are finding themselves hard- pressed to put food on the table and a roof over their head, remember that Jesus Christ is just as alive today as he was when he appeared to his apostles after his resurrection.

He is our Savior and Redeemer and it is He who has said, in modern revelation: "I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine. Moreover, it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine. For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare....

"But it must needs be done in mine own way; and behold this is the way that I, the Lord, have decreed to provide for my saints, that the poor shall be exalted, in that the rich are made low." (Doctrine & Covenants 104:14-17, emphasis added)

Who are the Lord's saints? All who are willing to accept his invitation to be baptized and become members of His Church. He invites us all. To prepare for baptism we are to exercise faith, and repent of all our sins. When we do that, we receive a remission of our sins when we are baptized. That remission of our sins stems from the sincerity of our faith and repentance, and from the authority by which our baptism was performed.

That authority was restored by John the Baptist, now a resurrected being, who appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on May 15, 1829 and conferred on them the Aaronic Priesthood, saying: "Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. (Doctrine & Covenants 13)

That is what John the Baptist, now an angel of God, had to say about it. He then instructed Joseph and Oliver to baptize each other and told them what to say, and how to do it, and they obeyed.

John the Baptist said he was acting under the direction of Peter, James, and John, presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ in the meridian of times. These three apostles would be visiting them soon to confer upon their heads the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, by which they would have the power to confirm newly baptized converts as members of The Church of Jesus Christ and confer upon them the "gift of the Holy Ghost" as an abiding director and comforter. This did in fact occur in the following month.

The Holy Ghost has the assignment to bear witness of the Father and of Jesus Christ His Son. (The Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:1-5) It is also the assignment of the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of Truth, to teach us all things and even show us things to come.

We read that the Holy Ghost guided Columbus and led him to cross the ocean and come to America, known to the Nephites as the Land of Promise. The missionaries are constantly admonishing investigators and everyone else, to pray to our Father and ask Him to have the Holy Ghost testify to them of the truth of the Book of Mormon and the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. That witness then gives us a "testimony" or personal knowledge by revelation of the divinity of this work.

However, in these instances the Holy Ghost is serving as a witness to bring us to baptism. Moreover, when we are confirmed we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and he becomes our abiding Companion, to lead, guide, teach, and warn and direct us in all things. What a truly marvelous gift! How thankful we should be for it.

As we read the Holy Scriptures, and pray for it, the Holy Ghost will give us understanding of what we read. Also, it is through the Holy Ghost that we are given the gift of faith, and all other spiritual gifts as well. I would like to suggest that we begin by reading the gospels in the New Testament, which tell us of the life and Mission of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, Savior, and Lord.

We read of the great tempest on the Sea of Galilee, which threatened to sink their ship and drown the Savior and his Apostles, but the Savior rebuked the tempest and stilled the storm. He did it then, and he can do it now, and he can and will still the tempests that threaten to destroy us today, for he is our Savior, our Redeemer, and our Lord.

How can you read anything better than that before you go to bed at night?

In spite of what confused or well-meaning men may say to the contrary, Jesus, as Jehovah, was our Creator, and the Creator of our whole earth and everything in it. He is the one who says today, "The earth is full and there is enough and to spare." (Doctrine & Covenants 104:17)

He is the one also who in our day has said that he raised up the men who brought forth our Constitution, and inspired them to write it. When we restore our Constitution and live it, there will be no need for anyone to lack for food, clothing, or a comfortable home. That is what the Lord has said and it was His idea.

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Forty-six – Latter-Day Kingdom

More than anything else, this book is about the promised Restoration of the Gospel.

Peter, then president of The Church, spoke of the "times of refreshing" that would have to come "from the presence of God" before the second coming of Christ. It would be the "restitution of all things" spoken of by all of God's holy prophets.

The Apostle Paul spoke of a "falling away" some time future from his day that would have to occur before the Savior's return. To that he added that in our day, the dispensation of the fullness of times, God would gather together all things, both in heaven and on earth.

John, too, foresaw that at a time future from his own, the Lord would send an angel flying through the midst of heaven to bring again to earth "the everlasting gospel" to be preached to "every nation, kindred, tongue, and people," before the final judgments of the Lord.

Especially clear and forceful is the prophecy of the Prophet Daniel concerning the "kingdom" that the God of Heaven would set up "in the latter days." This would not be in the days of the Babylonian Empire (head of gold), nor of the Medes and Persians (breast and arms of silver), who followed them. It would not be in the days of the Greek or Macedonian Empire under Alexander the Great (belly and thighs of brass.) Nor would it be in the days of the Great Roman Empire (legs of iron) that bore such brutal and ruthless dominion in the days of Christ.

We have often heard the expression, "Forty million Frenchmen can not be wrong!" That, of course, is a lot of nonsense. Forty million Frenchmen can be wrong, and often have been. In the days of Noah, it was not the man in the boat who was wrong, but the millions who mocked him and refused to listen!

Then why even bring it up? Because in the Bible we read in the prophecies of the Prophet Daniel that the latter-day Kingdom of God would be a kingdom of great vitality and of great numbers:

It would be established in the days of ten kingdoms (the toes) that would spring into existence through the disintegration of a worldwide empire, so harsh and brutal that he calls it the "kingdom of iron." This would come into existence through the collapse of the preceding worldwide empire. This would have been the Greek and Macedonian Empire. This came into existence through the collapse of the previous worldwide empire, (the Medes and Persians), who overthrew the Babylonian Empire (kingdom of Gold).

At least that is how it looks from my World History book:

1. Head of Gold = Babylonian Empire.

2. Neck and shoulders of Silver = the Medes and Persians

3. Chest and Belly of Brass = Greeks and Macedonians

4. Legs of Iron = Roman Empire

5. Feet and Toes of Iron mixed with miry clay:

Kingdoms to result from disintegration of the Roman Empire (iron)

The Church of Jesus Christ established in the days of the Savior would not have been the latter-day kingdom foretold by Daniel, for the earlier Church of Jesus Christ was founded when the Kingdom of Iron (Roman Empire) was in power of worldwide dominance. The latter-day kingdom spoken of by Daniel would have to have been a restoration of the earlier kingdom and would come forth after the collapse and disintegration of the Kingdom of Iron (Roman Empire.)

The latter-day kingdom foretold by Daniel was to be represented by the stone cut out of the mountain without human hands, and as it rolled forth, it would grow with such vitality that it would become a great mountain in the midst of the earth, and it would continue to grow until it filled the whole earth.

Therefore, are numbers significant? They are significant only as a matter of evidence. If any movement claiming to be the latter-day kingdom spoken of by Daniel did not have great vitality, it would not qualify. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown from 6 members in 1830, to over twelve million today. As it continues to grow with the same vitality it now has, it will indeed one day fill the whole world, as Daniel saw in his vision!

Therefore, as a matter of evidence, it is right on target!

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Forty-seven – If The Gentiles Will Return

We have noted that through the mouth of Isaiah, the Prophet, the Lord spoke of a book that would come forth at sometime future from Isaiah's time, through which the people who had written it before their sudden destruction would speak to later generations "from the dust."

The deaf would hear its words (hearing aids?), the blind would read it (Braille?), and through it those receiving it would learn knowledge and wisdom.

The coming forth of the book would be part of a "marvelous work and a wonder" to be wrought by the Lord because religious teachers at the time of its coming forth would be "teaching for doctrine the commandments of men" and denying revelation from the Lord.

The Book of Mormon fulfills the specifications of the book spoken of by the Lord. What can we learn from it that would benefit mankind today?

The book tells of two former civilizations that lived on the American continent, but were swept off the land when they had fully "ripened" in their iniquity: the Jaredites, destroyed shortly after 600 B.C., and the Nephites, destroyed in 385 A.D.

The book declares that the Americas are the "Land of Promise," or Promised Land. Which, the Lord said was "choice above all other lands, and adds a decree of the Lord that whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them when they are ripened in iniquity. (The Book of Mormon, Ether 2: 9)

Then just to make sure we understand it, it is repeated again in verses 7-8 and 10.

The book points out that the Nephites, destroyed in 385 A.D., were of the House of Israel, being of the lineage of Joseph through the loins of Manasseh.

The book tells of Columbus, who would be brought to this land later, and then it tells of the multitudes of other "Gentiles" (principally Europeans) who would be brought here by the Lord.

They would be a religious, righteous and God-fearing people when brought here by the Lord. It would be through them that the Lord would restore the original gospel and Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days, as foretold by the

Apostle Peter. (Acts 3:19-21)

This restoration being that very "marvelous work and a wonder" promised by the Lord through Isaiah the Prophet, as mentioned earlier.

The "Gentiles" brought here by the Lord would set up a nation on this land which would become the greatest and most powerful nation on earth. Because those Gentiles were initially such a faithful and God-fearing people, they should be free from all other nations under heaven, IF they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ." (The Book of Mormon, Ether 2:12)

However, note carefully the warning we are given, if we do not serve the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ:

"And this cometh to you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fullness come, that ye may not bring down the fullness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done. (Ibid. Ether 2:11, emphasis added)

In spite of their original righteousness, as the great Gentile nation on this land became the most powerful nation on earth, because of their pride they would bring down great judgments upon themselves. To the Nephites Christ spoke of the Gentiles in America in our day in this manner:

"And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day, when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms (live-in girl friends or boy friends perhaps?) and secret abominations. If they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fullness of my gospel from among them." (Ibid. 3 Nephi 16:10, emphasis added)

One of the judgments awaiting us if we do all that and refuse to repent, is that a foe will come among us who will be like a lion in a flock of sheep (it almost sounds like the terrorists afflicting us now!)

Then we hear a more hopeful note: "But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel," and we shall be spared the calamities that otherwise most surely await us! (Ibid. 3 Nephi 16:13-14, emphasis added)

If we will not repent, the Lord will "execute vengeance and fury" upon us.

Nevertheless, if we will repent and hearken to his words, and harden not our hearts, we will assist the converted seed of Lehi, and others of the house of Israel, to build a beautiful city, which shall yet be built, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.

That shall be the latter-day Zion of the Lord and those who dwell there shall live in peace and be prospered and blessed and preserved and protected in all they do.

After all the ills that have befallen us since the Earl Warren Supreme Court expelled God, the Bible, and the Ten Commandments, and prayer from our schools in 1962, it was heartening indeed to hear President Bush ask all our people to pray and then closed his talk by praying himself, "God bless America!"

Are we beginning to return? Oh may our Father in Heaven bless our President with wisdom, knowledge, good judgment and inspiration, and may we sustain him in righteousness!

### We Believe The Bible!
Chapter Forty-eight – God Lives!

Not having completed my university studies prior to that time, I went back to school after my retirement and after a four-year church assignment abroad, to finish them. At one point, in the Modesto Junior College, in Modesto, California, my wife and I were in a human physiology class.

On a particular day, we were studying the physiology of the human eye. The instructor had on the bulletin board a huge diagram of the eye and was explaining all of its intricate functions. "For example," she explained, "We have a double set of cones for every shade of color we are able to detect.

Finally, I could not resist making the observation that the human eye is certainly an ingenious and marvelous device. That was all it took to send the instructor into absolute ecstasy in further extolling the marvels of the eye.

After a few more minutes of contemplating the wonders of the eye, I raised my hand and asked, "Do the proponents of the theory of organic evolution actually believe that anything that marvelous could have resulted by pure accident, without intelligent designing?"

The teacher then replied, "The vast majority of scientists today believe there is a God and that the whole creation was the result of great intelligent planning."

Several years ago, I read of another man who in his earlier years had been a loud champion of atheism, agnosticism, and several other things that often run in the same vein. However, in later years he mellowed greatly and softened his whole approach to the matter. In fact, after more mature deliberation, he came to the conclusion that there must, in fact, be a God, or there could be no plan or purpose to life.

In fact, he concluded, although this world is full of problems and apparent injustices, if you rule out the existence of God then nothing at all make any sense.

Someone asked him, in his later years, what he would do when he got on the other side and met Jesus and the Apostles.

He replied, "I will just bow my head and say, Gentlemen, I was wrong."

In my youth, I read a book entitled Sunday Night Talks by Dr. James E. Talmage. One chapter in the book was entitled, "Is there a God?" Relating an experience from his college days, Dr. Talmage told of an outstanding student who was a vociferous agnostic and atheist, who often derided Dr. Talmage for his belief in God.

Finally, one day, Dr. Talmage asked the other student, in a moment of quiet consideration, "If you and I were both to die tonight, and it turned out there is no God and no life after death, which of us, in your frank opinion, do you feel has been the happier of the two in this life?"

The other student, without hesitation, responded, "Actually, I'm sure that you have."

"And if by chance it turned out there is life after death, and there is a God, what then?"

"God grant that may not be so!" exclaimed the other student, horrified at the thought of what his predicament would be in that case.

What if there really is a God? I testify that there is!

### We Believe The Bible!
About the Author

Eugene Foss Olsen retired from the FBI after 25 ½ years of service as a Special Agent. He and his wife, Rae are the parents of 6 children, 61 grandchildren and 116 great-grandchildren.

Eugene has been a Patriarch in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for over 43 years, serving in both English and Spanish. In his youth he was a missionary in the Spanish-American Mission. He served as President of the Mexico West Mission from 1967 to 1971. He also served as interim Mission President of the Bolivia Santa Cruz Mission and the Bolivia La Paz Mission, and has held many other Church callings through the years.

Eugene was called to serve as a full-time Regional Representative of The Council of the Twelve Apostles in the Andes Area from 1979 through 1983 serving in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Colombia. He was then called as the first Temple President of the Santiago Chile Temple in 1982 by President Gordon B. Hinckley.

Other books by this author

Please visit your favorite ebook retailer to discover other books by Eugene Foss Olsen:

God Bless America

Truth and Consequences
