bjshideler

The debate of whether there is a right way. So, I take that either there is ONE right way or there is no specific right way at all. If there is no right way at all, then everyone that does good will go onto and see their god or gods that they believe in. That would mean that the Hindus are right, the Buddhists are right, the Muslims are right, all the sects of Christianity are right, and even the athiests are right. Now this does not seem logical to me. If there is no right there is no wrong. That seems a lot like the plan of Satan to me. He wanted to make that there was no wrong that could be done so that all of the children of God would return. Then whatever the current opinions of the leaders and the people that gain popularity govern the direction of those people Paul talked of this in Ephesians 4:10-14. He showed that God's way has an organization to protect his children from false teaching, and that this means of teaching his children would be in place until all came unto the Son in unity in faith. While we believe that all who do good will be rewarded (D&C 76) shows that while good people will receive glory, only those that are true and faithful to the testimony and covenants to God the Father and Jesus Christ will dwell with them.

There were several things that were fullfilled in this chapter at the time of Christ and his apostles. However to me there are major items in this chapter that are not yet fulfilled. 1.) False Christs - There are many false teachers and prophets out there. I believe that there is a difference between a false Christ and a false teacher. Maybe it is not as huge as I think. 2.) Nations rise up against nations - It has been over 50 years since the end of World War II. There has always been skirmishes amongst nations throughout the history of the world, especially in the Middle Eastern part of the world. Most of the Christian nations of the world are at peace too. Another point is that there has not been a fundamental shift of national borders in over two decades. 3.) Heavenly signs - Unless my eyes are not opened to the signs in the heavens, I have not seen to many wonders in the heavens. 4.) Men full of fear - I think that most people are not fearful. They may be blissfully ignorant to what is going on around them. But I do not think that we are at the point where people are fearful. Now these are just some thoughts that I had when I read the passage that you presented, and I have not studied deeply into the topic. I hope that my thoughts might be a somewhat useful.

You have to look at the purpose of the blessing, and the parts of the blessing that are required for it to be complete. In a Melchizedek Priesthood blessing for health where a person has been annointed with oil, the person is called by name, the authority is stated, the annointing is sealed, blessing as the spirit directs, and close in the name of Jesus Christ. Now if the Spirit directs you to say nothing then it is still a complete blessing. With PB there is no oil, but the main purpose is that you receive your spiritual lineage. So if all you received was which tribe you belonged to, then that would be sufficient. One of my thoughts is that we are similiar to our families. If that is true, then a member of the tribe of Reuben will receive the blessings of the tribe of Reuben, and can have the same warnings given to them. So it is not unreasonable that you have a similiar blessing to a sibling, because you will be raised similiarly, and probably from the same tribe and therefore can have similiar spiritual traits. Now the converse arguement may be that family can be totally different. The sons of Jacob were all different and received different blessings. Nephi and his brothers were different, and they were from the same tribe. These differences are because of our agency and personalities. If anyone has any thoughts with regards to my comments, both supportive and contrary to my reasons, I would love to hear from them, as I am constantly expanding my understanding on this topic. Ben