Alaris

I may be echoing what's already been said here (and said more eloquently) ... A. Beware of false prophets means there will be true prophets; otherwise the Lord would have said, "Beware of all who claim to be a prophet." B. As with many answers, the question helps give context: Matthew 24:3 ¶ And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? C. And, yes, contextually Jesus is clearly referring to His second coming to the world at large at the end of the world. Did the world end in the 1800s? Given A. above, he will obviously be speaking to and maybe even appearing to his prophets. Fortunately the Lord also taught us to not lean upon our own understanding and that if we lack wisdom we can but ask God. The context here is the second coming at the end of the world: 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

D&C 7:4 And for this cause the Lord said unto Peter: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he might bring souls unto me, but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily come unto me in my kingdom. 5 I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater work yet among men than what he has before done. 6 Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore I will make him as flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth. 7 And I will make thee to minister for him and for thy brother James; and unto you three I will give this power and the keys of this ministry until I come. 8 Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired. Hrm ... I don't think so. Verse 5 shows that the "Greater work" is in comparison only to what John has done before. I don't think Peter and John are being compared much at all except for Jesus saying, "Hey what's it to you?" To me verse 7 is the hidden pearl. Peter is to minister to both John and James - I believe this is a clue as to why James and John are tagging along in the temple endowment.

Sensation may be a better word than feeling. Those Christians who try to bash the lds process of Receiving a witness by the spirit will conflate typical feelings with what we describe as feeling the spirit. Of course this is a crafty lie, because there is no feeling that can be confused with the true sensation of the Holy Spirit witnessing to our spirit. And, of course that's by design. Faith comes first then the witness and only those who recognize that witness can truly see eye to eye.

I believe you can tune in, pray at the speed of thought, and commune with the Spirit all or nearly all of the time. I try to follow this model and pray before everything I write & post as I am accountable for every little word.

I believe the parable of the Prodigal son may be more personal to Jesus than we realize. I felt this strongly as I watched this incredible enactment of the parable:

Moses may have raised his rod, but it was the Angel of the Lord (who is The Holy Ghost) who parted the red sea. Isaiah 51:9 ¶ Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? 10 Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? The above is part of the servant songs of Isaiah where the Lord awakens his servant to his identity in the end times. D&C 8:2 Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. 3 Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation; behold, this is the spirit by which Moses brought the children of Israel through the Red Sea on dry ground. Isaiah 63:11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? 12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? 13 That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? 14 As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.

D&C 7:7 And I will make thee (Peter) to minister for him (John) and for thy brother James; and unto you three I will give this power and the keys of this ministry until I come. I think it's extremely interesting that one of the original twelve was called perdition by Jesus: John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. ... and one of the 12 tribes disappears Dan is missing from Revelation 7 and is replaced by Manasseh. Joseph, rather than Ephraim, is named in Revelation 7, but I think Ephraim is a safe assumption. I believe the symbol here ties to how one becomes a son of perdition by sinning against greater light and knowledge. In fact, Judas may represent Lucifer's fall, as he was an angel in authority who fell and I believe he was from this same spiritual class or order. Circling back to the OP, there's absolutely a heavenly hierarchy among the apostles / disciples and Peter, James, and John are at the head of that hierarchy. There is likely a chief apostle over each tribe. Perhaps the apostles of the Lamb judge the people born during their day as bytebear suggested - in fact I remember reading that somewhere. But there will be a clear hierarchy imho.

Good point. Here's a good scripture from The Book of Mormon on the fallacy of complacency: 2 Nephi 28:21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell. 22 And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance

What do you all think the huts mean that are built for the feast of tabernacles? I get the links back to the Exodus - but what is the underlying meaning?

Oops - I didn't mean to post this. I'll just say that Just_A_Guy has encapsulated how the Baptist beliefs appear to a Latter-day Saint. Though we believe we can secure promises in the world to come, we never believe we are absolved of sin completely in this life where future sins are acceptable.

Once we "high five" in the Kingdom of Heaven, I'll acknowledge your having overcome sin through your faith in Jesus Christ. A full reading of the scriptures (Bible to the protestant) will lead you to conclude you can be saved while in this corrupted flesh. 1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. I'm not trying to dig at you or attack your beliefs but help you understand the answer to the question you posed in the OP. The mere fact you said, "So yes I celebrate Christ's death" - Again, culturally you'll never (nor next to never) hear a member of our church say something like that. Are we eternally grateful for his sacrifice? Yes. Culturally, we have learned that reverence is the appropriate tone when speaking of the greatest sacrifice rather than celebration as the word celebration can denote wine (martinelli) glasses clinking. OK, semantics on your last sentence, but again these are big cultural differences that come from differences in the underlying doctrine. You've already mentioned in a separate post that once you're in heaven you won't be sinning any more so "always" doesn't apply. Again, this is a difference in perspective across different cultures of religion. If you're continuing to pray for mercy, then that seems like you haven't been saved yet - or have overcome sin as you have claimed. If you're here to understand the differences I am happy to help. If you are here to bash, well I can do that do but that usually doesn't produce any decent fruit.

So you are a Baptist. Lucky guess Joking aside, we agree on Law requiring a need for a Savior and that the purpose of law is not to condemn us to hell - totally agreed 2 Nephi 2 is a fantastic read here. Here are a couple of excerpts: 2 Nephi 2:5 And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or, by the law men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable forever. 6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth. 7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered. 8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. 27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. 28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit; You are also right about conviction of sin - we tend to call that "Godly sorrow" which is different than the one who is sorry only because they were caught. Sorrow unto salvation. We label ourselves children of God and believe in a divine destiny. I am aware of Baptist's beliefs as far as heavenly destiny. This difference in perspective is also why we don't go around calling ourselves sinners as our destiny is to overcome sin entirely through Jesus Christ - and to perfect ourselves through Him (which won't happen in this life. This life is but a step on that path.) I think another good example here is many protestants celebrate the death of Jesus Christ where members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focus on his life - and the fact he is alive today. We equate the consequence of sin as spiritual death, or separation from God, just as physical death is the death of the body and is separation from this world. We believe we can overcome both through Jesus Christ - liberated from both spiritual and physical death. We believe this liberation from sin can happen daily and weekly as we partake of the sacred sacrament. I don't think you meant "I always want to be convicted of my sin" - An eternal convict?

I served my mission in Texas, so I immediately recognized this as a "non LDS" question. I can't tell you how many times I've heard this question with the rhetorical answer, "All have sinned and have fallen short..." yada yada. This is more of a cultural thing. If you ask a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if they're a sinner they're most likely to interpret the question as asking them, "Do you embrace sin?" or "would one conclude you are a sinner by watching your actions?" Other posts here have already addressed the "I am a repenter" rather than "I am a sinner." You have to admit though that, "I am a sinner" is a bit defeatist, like, "Oh well.... we all sin so we can't really help ourselves." In fact, if we're coming from a Baptist point of view, then this is exactly the point. You will sin no matter what so you better get saved. This line of thinking does not apply to LDS as we believe salvation requires effort - continual repentance - and though we don't expect to be perfect (aka not a sinner) in this life, we do believe we must never give up and must never become complacent but remain vigilant to the end. Of course, we struggle with this perfection complex as is evident in populations with high concentrations of LDS.

May I ask - Why are you asking? Are you curious as to whether this is a valid revelation?

Thank you! The Gathering comes first before the second coming, I believe. Sequence isn't my specialty, but I'm starting to delve into this more: Moses 7:62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem. 63 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;

I believe this is to what President Nelson is referring when he says time is running out: 3 Nephi 16:10 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 fulness 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 deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them. 11 And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them. 12 And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my gospel. President & Sister Nelson spoke on the gathering of Israel last year (iirc) and said there is no more important mission for the youth to consider at this time. The endowment change occurred after that which, to me, is a signal of the changing time and seasons. Rather than referring to the second coming, I believe President Nelson is referring to the Gathering of Israel - and a careful read of verse 10 above indicates there may be some changes in how the church interfaces with the gentiles.

Could this be about the recent endowment changes? There is an announcement tomorrow (4/19/2019) regarding the SLC temple and renovations iirc. Might there could be something revelatory here as well.

Panama... Pana Maa haaa David Lee Roth ftw

Hey there mirkwood - I recall you saying something along these lines on LDSFF

Hello there! *Obi-Wan voice* I am a Gospel blogger and a forum frequenter, though I've only been participating on ldsfreedomforum.com and mormondialogue.org so far. Recently, this site came up in a discussion on ldsfreedomforum.com, so I thought I'd stick a toe in the water over here. Some of you apparently post in both places and will recognize my username no doubt as it is the same on the other sites. I enjoy writing and discussing the Gospel. My blog centers on the seven levels of spiritual classes or orders of mankind as well as the Davidic Servant. I'd be honored to post about and discuss these topics over here as well. I have a testimony of President Russell M. Nelson as the Lord's prophet as well as of Joseph Smith Jr. being the patriarch of this final dispensation. I don't know if I can add a link in my first post, but I'll try - here is a link to my blog: https://lordoftheseraphim.blogspot.com/