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Found 23 results

  1. So my husband and I got married about 2 years ago, but since September of last year, we have been separated. My husband has been dealing with some difficult mental health issues and always felt he couldn’t bring it up with me because I struggle with my own mental health and he felt the need to protect me. It just kind of came to a head one day and he moved back home with his parents. It took me by complete shock and it was really hard. However, I’ve seen a lot of good out of this. A lot of personal growth for both of us, and even financial situations we wouldn’t have been able to handle had we not been separated. But still, we have not yet been able to work things out. We have both prayed and worked so hard on trying to fix our communication issues and help get us both into a better place mentally. I’m 10x better mentally than I was almost a year ago. And while we were still in therapy our communication did really improve. But my husband’s mental state has not changed much, although it is somewhat better. He is afraid to get on medication, so that’s not really helping. But even with all this it had seemed to be going really well and looking up until May, when he told me he was mentally and emotionally exhausted and couldn’t do it anymore. The thing is, he doesn’t want to get divorced. Neither do I. We both love each other very much. But he doesn’t see how we can fix things, and sometimes I fall into that frame of thinking too. But the thing that is most unsettling and stressful about this whole situation is that we get completely opposite revelation. What he has been feeling is that marriage is hard, but not meant to be this hard, and he needs to take a step back. Yet I am constantly told that I need to keep fighting and trying. Every time I get discouraged, an old friend says something so perfectly applicable to how I’m feeling, something they couldn’t possibly know, that encourages me to keep trying, or I read a scripture or article that humbled me and helps me to trust in God’s revelation that He has given to me. But it is terrifying to know how different our revelation is. It doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t help us progress, and it just hurts both of us because we have no idea what to do. How do we navigate this trial together when he feels he needs to stop trying and I feel that I need to keep going? Why would God send us such different revelations? Am I just crazy? If anyone has had a similar experience or has some advice, please let me know. I miss him, and I’m scared not knowing what’s going to happen. Also I always feel weird about asking things on here, so bear with me if I’m edging around things. If you need me to clarify just let me know.
  2. Several Sundays ago, we were asked to review the Conference talks from last April to help us prepare for the upcoming Conference. I was in the middle of reading a talk from President Nelson when this jumped out and bit me...... President Nelson said "We live in a world that is complex and increasingly contentious. The constant availability of social media and a 24-hour news cycle bombard us with relentless messages. If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation." I know I have heard these things over and over before, but these words just seemed to jump off the page......"increasingly contentious", "bombard us with relentless messages", "philosophies of men that attack truth," it just hits home a big more this time. And to jump into another paragraph...... "But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost." We have been told for years that things are going to become worse and worse before the Second Coming, and we need to build and sustain our faith.... and here is our prophet giving us a dire warning that it will not be possible to survive spiritually unless we are really tight with the Holy Ghost and learn to listen and obey. With all the lies, contention, discontent, and venomous hatred we are subject to in our nation alone...... those words from our Prophet Nelson" we must learn to receive revelation." Are there more important words to prepare us?
  3. I'm teaching a lesson based on President Nelson's conference talk from April 2018 titled " Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives". My question is, Is it possible for personal revelation to contradict general Church or local leadership revelation? For instance, can a Bishop get a revelation that you should have a particular calling, you pray about it and come up with a different answer (revelation??). Am I even defining revelation correctly? Just looking for some thoughts......
  4. so there is this girl that got back from her mission and joined my ysa ward in December. I met her and thought she was really cute, but i didnt want to get to close to her because she told me she was leaving the ward for school in September. I know thats a long ways away but i didn't want to end up in a long term relationship. Anyways during church activities and FHE activities she would go out of her way to talk with me. She is funny and has one of the strongest testimonies I have heard. So I thought, what the heck ill ask her out. She said yes and I took her out to dinner. We had a lot of fun so I asked her out again. She said yes, but i wasn't sure what to do. One thing i look for in a girl is if they will be a good teacher to her future children. so i prayed for a way to find that out about her. I got a prompting to take her to Temple square and the Church history Museum. I did and I had never seen someone so excited to be there. She knew so much about the temple and church history. I'm pretty sure the Lord was telling me that she would be an excellent teacher. So i asked her out again and we went out a few more times. I've been to the temple multiple times, prayed about it there and felt really good about everything. Anyway yesterday I finally told her how I feel. She just said she didn't want anything serious. i told her that I knew she just got home and I didn't want to try to rush her into making a decision. She said she really appreciated that and enjoyed spending time with me though. So I don't know what to think. One other thing to add to this is when I got set apart for my current calling in the ysa ward. I was told in the blessing that If I fulfilled my calling I would have the opportunity to meet my eternal companion. For the record I am not desperate to get married. I just feel a pull to working towards it and I feel like the Lord is pushing me towards it as well. I am about to get released from this calling and I believe I have given it my all. Sometimes I have this lingering thought in the back of my mind saying that I didn't fulfill my calling fully and thats why I'm still single. Some background on her. She has never been in a relationship before. Could that be a factor? Idk I just feel like I prayed and gave this everything I had and got nothing in return even though I felt really good about it. She reminds me of how I felt on my mission, which was the happiest I had ever been. COuld that just be because she just came home? Maybe I just need to have patience idk do you guys have any advice? Was I really receiving revelation about all this or was it my our thoughts that made me feel good about this? How did you guys rely on the Lord when it came to finding your eternal companion?
  5. I'm new to these forums, so forgive me if I don't folow the regular social cues. So a bit of background, I'm 20 years old and just married 2 months ago to the most wonderful man (21). We've know each other for a long time, and I've loved him for every second of it. We're having no relationship issues, we've got through every trial we've had together. But lately I've been getting some strong feelings in my day to day life and when I pray that we should be having children. Don't get me wrong, we both want kids, but we want to wait for the right time, which we thought would be in at least 2-3 years. Right now, we're just not in a good position for it. We're really low on money, both looking for new jobs (he is working, I am not), struggling to figure out how we're both going to go back to college, and still getting used to being married. I know I should bring it up with him, but I don't know how. I've always been able to tell him everything, but I think that having kids right now scares me, and the fact that it almost seems like the right thing to do scares me even more. So I guess I'm just looking for advice. Has anyone been in a situation like this before? What did you do? Did it work out? I want to trust in God, and it seems like these feelings are from God, but logically it seems so wrong.
  6. Dear Bros & Sis's, You are working late at the office. You hear a still small voice say, "you should go home". Is this voice? -the HG,- your lazy self,- Satan, trying to disrupt your creative flow. I have read the book above and it does not offer any useful tools, that at my admittedly novice experience of the gospel, are useful for working out the answer. I am not allowed to fast. I pray but who knows if the answers that I receive are from HF, myself or Satan. How can one know? I have read articles about revelation but although the articles have titles that address the question, the content of the articles do not tell you what to do.
  7. Cause to Pause Today has been a day of revelation. I’m inactive as far as the Church is concerned. I have shunned religion, shunned faith, shunned Heavenly Father for about a year. I’ve had my testimony rocked to it’s core. I became convinced that the church was a cult. You have no idea how hard that is to admit to myself right now, let alone anyone else. I have struggled, I have railed, I have wept and I have ignored. I’m a convert, no faith background except perhaps loosely Christian but no church attendance as a child at all. I’ve been dealt some blows in life, blows that others will never have to experience. I would write about them here but I fear they would make me too easily identifiable to anyone who knows me well. I’m not sure I’m ready to “announce” my intentions right now. I’ve been looking for another church to attend. I’ve been reading voraciously, trying to find something to grab hold of and extricate myself from the restored gospel. I’ve asked for help of anti-mormon folks. I have sat down and tried to analyse without any help from the Holy Ghost, what exactly it is that I believe in. Not just based on what I’ve been taught, but also based on my own experience. I even took a questionnaire online in an attempt to find another faith. 100% LDS. Despite that when I took it, as I answered, I considered that I was removed from LDS teachings, I thought my outlook had changed. In all this pondering I, not for the first time in my life, had a most curious dream. It woke me a good 4 hours before the alarm was due to go off. In that space of time, in the dawn of the day, I was able to hear the still small voice one more time. There is no other church that I can join. The contents of the dream are unimportant right now, but suffice it to say that it affected me enough to sit in quiet contemplation and to pray. Later, I was looking around for some music with a message downloads (I’ve always found music to be a spiritual medium that can set me in the right frame of mind). I inadvertently, thanks to the search engine with a y, ended up clicking on and off lds.org. But something caught my eye. President Uchtdorf’s General Conference Talk “Christ Will Find and Rescue You” from the April 2016 conference. It’s this week’s “Talk of the Week” on lds.org. Towards the end of this talk, the line: “Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, knows and loves us. He knows and loves you.” Never has something hit me with so much clarity of thought in my life. The talk goes on to say this: “His invitation is simple: “Turn … to me.”5 “Come unto me.”6 “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you.”7 This is how we show Him that we want to be rescued. It requires a little faith. But do not despair. If you cannot muster faith right now, begin with hope. If you cannot say you know God is there, you can hope that He is. You can desire to believe.8 That is enough to start.” Today is my start. I can’t deny what I know anymore. I am telling no-one I know at this stage, I’m not planning on attending church in the near future. I am going to take each day as it comes, and draw a little closer to Heavenly Father. Truly humbled. Axxx
  8. Guest

    How Am I Different?

    I was left really off-balance when a relative left the church some time ago. The reason why this one made such a big impact on me is that in many ways I was just like her. There were some questions about the faith. There were questions about what the Spirit felt like. We had many of the same weaknesses. There were aspects, traits, and histories that were similar in both our backgrounds. And our personalities were very similar. She spent the last six months of "enduring" going to the temple almost every day it was open. Praying. Sometimes she'd do multiple sessions in a day. She said she had gained a testimony long ago. But then she had lost it in recent years. Maybe she found it was too hard. Maybe she lost sight. I don't know. But she's pretty much gone. I've spent the last few months now wondering what changed. I wondered why it didn't happen to me. I wondered why I'm still strong and she went off the deep end. (I really mean she purposefully took a flying leap off the deep end.) We were so similar in many ways. Why did I not make the same leap? Some differences that give me hope are: #1: I love my wife with a tenderness and a depth that I can never express to her in words. She (the relative) didn't ever feel that passion for her husband. My love for my wife has kept me from doing many things that would take me down the wrong path. But the interesting thing was that she said she decided to marry him because she was sure he could take her to the Celestial Kingdom. And on his side, she was right. He's about -- actually strike that. He IS the most stalwart man I've ever met. And this recent trial almost broke him. They are now divorced. #2: I generally went to the right people for advice and counsel and a shoulder to cry on. She went to the wrong kind of people. #3: I have learned an awful lot more in doctrine, reasoning, and understanding of the Lord and His ways. She was pretty much a newbie. I wonder if this is enough. In a sense it is good for me to ponder this. It makes me more vigilant. But it is disconcerting at the same time.
  9. I've been working on an article generally intended for non-LDS but subtly intended for LDS. The title is currently, How God Speaks to Mormons. I would like your take on experiences, stories and the like that describe the revelatory experience. Please let me know. If you would like to see a draft copy of what I have so far, I will post it.
  10. Hi all. My girlfriend of 2 years recently attended a church activity in which one of her leaders told her she had the gift of communicating past the veil and talking to spirits. Apparently, during this conversation she spoke to my girlfriends husband. My gf is now cry upset because we were planning marriage and now she's convinced I'm not her husband. Also in the same instance she supposedly contacting my girlfriends sister who has passed away and sent messages back to her. Clearly, my initial reaction to this is that she's crazy. But I wanted to ask here what the church's stand on this is? Is revelation like this possible or is that leader just crazy? I appreciate anyone who can post their opinion and also any doctrine or official opinions of the church on this issue. Thanks
  11. Good day friends, I had a question regarding revelation. For a while I studied the Baha'i Faith and they believe that Baha'u'llah had revelations from God. He has written many "inspired" works. The result of these revelations was the Baha'i Faith. They believe that most religions are right and as time progresses more will be revealed by God. So according to Baha'u'llah, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam are correct and their founders are true prophets. And Baha'u'llah will not be the last prophet, there will be more, but not for many years. So I guess the idea that the LDS church has living prophets is interesting to me. Would the LDS church ever recognized someone like Baha'u'llah as a prophet?
  12. First Book of Nephi, Chapter 1 1 I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. Revelation begins with those things we are taught as a child by out parents. 2 Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. I might paraphrase this as follows: “the learning of the gospel and the reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic of the world.” 3 And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge. 4 For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed. 5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people. Why do we need to pray with all our heart? So our whole heart may be filled with the spirit of the lord. (see vs. 12 &15) This in turn allows us to see things from the lord’s perspective. 6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly. First spiritual manifestation is the ministering of angels, as it says in Palms 104:4, “Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.” The Lord has revealed that “there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:5). The Aaronic Priesthood holds “the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:26) but worthy women and children may have angels minister unto themselves. 7 And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen. 8 And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God. Angels are precursors to introduction to Heavenly Father, where visions of eternity are manifest. 9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day. 10 And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. 11 And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read. Joseph Smith taught: “After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter.” To receive the other Comforter is to have Christ appear to him and to see the visions of eternity. (Teachings, pp. 149–151.) 12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord. 13 And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon. 14 And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish! 15 And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him. 16 And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account. Our personal revelation should be shared with our families in family histories and testimonies unless constrained by the spirit so that like Nephi they might be taught somewhat in all the learning of their father 17 But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life. 18 Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard. Personal revelation is often a direction to go and do, go then and do so. Don’t fall under the admonition, “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Indeed, those of the Terresterial Kingdom include: "...they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God. (D&C 76:79). 19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world. 20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.
  13. I'm asking for my own curiosity. What are recent revelations from prophets since Joseph Smith? If there aren't any, through speculation, what subjects might be addressed by new revelation? If you are a member, do you accept new revelation without question, or do you seek confirmation from God through fasting and prayer?
  14. So my wife felt really compelled to try homeschooling our 10 year old daughter this year for various reasons. While we are happy overall with the school district she felt like our 10 year old (who probably has undiagnosed social anxiety) would benefit from more 1:1 interaction, teaching and love. Our daughter was very set on doing homeschooling and my wife was fully prepared with the curriculum and all. We even notified the superintendent to tell him we were homeschooling. Anyway, so our daughter gets a card in the mail from her new teacher telling her how excited she is for her to come to school (the teacher didn't yet know we opted for homeschool) and all of the fun things she has planned this year. A day later our daughter comes to us and says she's prayed about homeschooling and "feels really strongly" that she should attend public school this year instead. My wife and I were both really impressed that she felt like God was directing her in this matter. She said "My heart was really pounding." My question is if this is truly a revelation from God then why did my wife feel strongly to move towards homeschooling our daughter? Is this conflicting revelation or a new development in God's plan? Could either one be wrong? From my side when we first considered homeschooling back earlier this year I was against it because I felt like my daughter was sort of escaping her anxiety/fear by avoiding school. I thought it would be good to "face" those fears and keep attending school..continue with therapy (she gets therapy once a month, no medications though). However, with passing of time I thought homeschooling could be good and started to feel good about it. Any advice on how to proceed? Thanks! JJ
  15. Hi, So I joined mainly because I have been dealing with a problem. I was dating this guy for about a year and one day, he told me he had prayed about if we were suppose to be together and he said that he got an answer that told him we were suppose to always be together (after his mission of course). I prayed and got the same answer. However, time passed and we got into some things that we shouldn't have and eventually we split up. I still talk to him and see him a lot and we've been apart for a few months. He tells me I should move on but every time I try or think I should, I get a feeling we are suppose to still be together later in life. Is this just me trying to hold onto something I can't have or is this god telling me to wait for him? I don't know what to do about this situation anymore. Can any of you help me? KnowitLiveitLoveit
  16. I'm not a Mormon. I am a religious person who does not go to a church. My cousin is a member of your church. I had often talked with him about your church but he did not know any answer to two questions. These questions are: 1. In the past, why colored persons were not allowed to have the mormon priesthood, and why today in the LDS. It was his answer to it that God would have sent a revelation. I can believe this hardly. So what were the real reasons? 2. What does the LDS have against homosexuals? My cousin thought that already the Bible saw homosexuality as an abomination ( Lev. Chapter 18 ). I have looked at these verses more closely and do not share his opinion. So what are the real reasons? I would be very pleased about an answer.
  17. Before I start I want to state that I am an active, temple holding, member with a "strong" testimony of the gospel. With that said, one principle that has been hard for me in life is prayer. SO EASY!...in principle. But what I can't get are answers. So here's the problem. We're taught that if we need guidance we should work it out in our minds and then ask God if it (what we reasoned out for ourselves) is correct. If it is, we'll feel good about it and if not, a stupor of thought. Well the problem is that it just seems like that's basic human psychology. Of course we feel good or peaceful about a problem after we've worked through it and made a decision! because the confustion is gone! So whenever I try this excersice, I already feel good BEFORE I pray (Because I've reached a decision) and so recieve a "yes" answer. And anytime I simply can't decide, I have a stupor of thought (Because I'm still confused and haven't made a decion). Problem is, I don't believe that I'm just that smart. I can't possibly always work things out and arrive at the right or best choice. And if I simply don't know? well, I've never had an experience where pray in and of itself has shed light on the matter (not to discount the possibility of receiving blessing because of prayer. I've definitely been blessed with things I've asked for). So the question for those of you who do receive revelation through prayer, how does it work for you? How does your experience differ from mine? Thanks, Eman
  18. Hi all, I have a question about the role that Sunday School plays in our learning/spiritual progression. Just to clarify, I have a strong testimony of the truth of the Church and the Savior, and the Book of Mormon, (I served a mission as well, have had many callings, etc). Over the past 2-3 years I seem to be getting less out of Sunday School (gospel doctrine, elder's quorum) meetings. This is primarily due to having been a member of the church my entire life, and it seems the lessons are continually repetitions of the same material, year after year. I understand the need of the church to keep the material doctrinally basic (the milk) because the church is growing and there are so many new members. For example, as a missionary we teach very basic principles of necessity, this is completely appropriate for where the young members and investigators are at. However, it seems to me, at a certain point in our personal spiritual progression, lessons learned through church sunday school classes become less pivotal in our development. Indeed, for myself, the temple and personal study/revelation have been much more instructional. So, my question is, does there come a point in one's spiritual journey, where one's development will come more from personal revelation and study, and thus the very basic lessons presented currently in Sunday School will be less helpful? I enjoy attending sacrament meeting and feeling the Spirit there, but often I feel time spent in sunday school is very unproductive because the lessons don't seem to be helping me to progress. Often an argument is that we aren't preparing ourselves before attending the meetings, yet I read scriptures and pray daily, attend the temple regularly, fulfill callings (2 at this time), etc. It has dawned on me that perhaps the time comes in one's progression when the role of the church meetings and basic level of gospel instruction there plays less of a role in one's development (like in school, when one learns what is taught in grade school, they move on to new instruction, etc). I don't say this out of any pride, rather, I am completely honest in acknowledging this. Am I correct in thinking that there comes a time when the majority of one's instruction won't come from church lessons, but rather from personal revelation and experiences? Thanks =)
  19. In Sunday School classes, 2012 will be focus on The Book of Mormon. I, being the Sunday School teacher in my branch, am quite excited to be delving into the pages of this great book of scripture. Once, on my mission, I ran into someone of another faith and he asked me a good question, "Why is the Book of Mormon necessary?" "Why do we need it if we have the Bible?" I gave him the best answers I had at the time (clearness of doctrine, 2nd witness of Christ, etc.). I wanted to hear some of your input on why we need The Book of Mormon. What does it offer to you? Any input is welcome. Thanks.
  20. Note: Please don't read more into this question than what it is! :) My question: Is it out of the realm of possibility that the average Christian can have visionary and/or revelatory experiences outside of the scope of strictly personal revelation?
  21. Dear Reader, I am not here to challenge your beliefs, just to offer a text, which I personally consider the most important. I think believers of all religions can find value in this. The text I am posting is the Original Revelation of John the Divine. To give you a little background, the Bible was written about three centuries, as was Christianity declared the Roman State Religion. after the death of Jesus. The Roman Church established orthodox "Christianity" as the roman state religion only in the 4th century. The Original Revelation of John the Divine was in circulation in 117 A.D., which was long before the roman catholic church and the bible were established. The thesis of this post is, that the roman church council inserted a corrupted version of the Revelation of John the Divine in the bible (council of Nicea 325 A.D.) When I say this in a christian forum, they shout me down and some even delete my threads. So I beg you, please don't delete my posting about the Revelation, I don't want to challenge your religion, just share this Revelation of John the Divine. What could be very interesting to you, is to compare this Original Revelation to the Bible Revelation. I hope you people from the Mormon faith have more openness to "new" ideas, as you have proven by splitting with the roman catholic church, and even with the protestant church. And if anything, this posting will get you to think about John the Divine's Revelation, which is positive in any case. _________________________________________________________________________ Amitakh Stanford Presents The New Revelation – John the Divine Versus the Anunnaki God (The Uncorrupted Revelation as Experienced by John the Divine) The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: John, grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. I, John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, what thou seest, write in a book. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter. These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith: To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of the living God, and the seven stars. Be watchful. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast. If therefore thou shalt not watch, thou shalt not know what hour I will come. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith. These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith. After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit; and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. The book was shining white with a life-sized image of the Lamb on the front. The book was taller than it was wide. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb having the seven Spirits of the living God. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels of Light round about the throne saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder. And I saw, and behold Jesus, majestically radiant, and clothed in white raiment and he had a sword; and a warrior’s protective helmet was given unto him. And he opened the second seal. And there went out a rider in brown raiment on a horse that was light chestnut brown: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he opened the third seal I beheld, and lo another rider in black raiment on a black horse; and he that sat on him held in his hand a black lantern that shineth not. And he opened the fourth seal. And I looked, and behold a rider in silvery-grey raiment upon a grey horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. And three of the riders had with them huge armies. The army led by the rider on the brown horse was exceedingly strong and fresh. The rider on the black horse fell to the ground, as if dead. Then cometh the rider in the silvery-grey raiment to lift up the black rider. The black rider and his army mingled with the silvery-grey army led by the rider in silvery-grey raiment. Together, they fought against the rider in brown raiment and its army. The army of the silvery-grey rider and the army led by the rider in black raiment were determined yet tired. As the brown, black and silvery-grey armies engaged in battle, Jesus calmly watched on. And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of the living God, and for the testimony which they held: And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season until their fellowservants also and their brethren join them. And I beheld when he opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the Lamb: For the great day is come; and who shall be able to stand? And after these things I saw four angels of Darkness standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw an angel of Light ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels of Darkness, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our living God in their foreheads. After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation from our living God which sitteth upon the throne, and from the Lamb. And the Lamb showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And when he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven. And I saw the seven angels of Light which stood before the living God; and to them were given seven trumpets. And there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels of Light which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. The first angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: And the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. And the second angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. And the third angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter. And the fourth angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise. And I beheld, and heard an angel of Light flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels of Light, which are yet to sound their warnings! And the fifth angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to an angel of Darkness was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the sixth angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness, and I heard a voice saying to the sixth angel of Light which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels of Light who were imprisoned by Darkness which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels of Light were loosed. And the seventh angel of Light sounded its warning of peril from Darkness. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And thus I saw the three horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And I saw a mighty angel of Light come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write down those things which the seven thunders uttered, which were: The Lamb will defeat the dragon and its beast at the end of time in the battle of Armageddon. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against the living God, to blaspheme his name, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And the angel of Light which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel of Light, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of the Anunnaki God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
  22. I was released from one calling on Sunday and asked to take on two to replace it. When I got the early Sunday morning phone call to come in for a meeting with the Bishop, I told myself I would not decide until I had time to submit the decision to prayer. That's where I'm at, and I'd like some input from other members. Would you take on two callings if it potentially conflicted with your family's economic livelihood and your personal callings in life? I was released Sunday from the Young Men's presidency after about one year as Scoutmaster and 2nd Counselor. This has been a challenging calling with only 5 - 8 Aaronic Priesthood youth who attend YM during the week, but I've done the best I could, though I grew up a non-member in traditional Scouting and think it's much better. So I was asked first in a meeting with the Bishop to become the Weblos leader. He said I can do it pretty much any night of the week I want. He told me they had another calling in mind for me as well, and that a brother from the Stake would be issuing that call. I told the Bishop I had concerns about being able to fulfill two callings: I've been largely unemployed for the past year. (If my father had not given us a significant gift, we would likely have lost our house. The Bishop knows my tithing total, so he's not completely ignorant of my situation.) I told the Bishop that taking care of my family's needs has got to come first. (We have four sons 8-14.) He said let's wait on the Weblos calling and you talk to the brother from the Stake. The Brother from the Stake asks me if I am willing to "accept a calling to serve the Lord" or something like that. Talk about putting you in a box. Of course I said yes. Then he asked if I would serve as Ward Membership Clerk. "What's it involve?" I ask. "Two to three hours a week updating records, people moving in, people moving out, entering new callings..." he said. "Well, I could do that..." I ventured. (Keeping records is a no-brainer, I thought to myself. I already know most of the software.) "Great, let's get your wife in here..." and I stopped him. "Please understand, I promised myself I would study any calling offered me and submit it to prayer before I accepted." He was definitely shocked. He listened to my reasoning and then brought my wife in. He explained the calling, and I deferred my decision as I said I would. During Sacrament meeting the Weblos leader was called to replace me as 2nd Counselor, and they called a new fellow to fill the empty 1st Counselor position. My wife is Pioneer stock; I'm a convert of 16+ years. She's a bit taken aback that I would even consider saying "no" to a calling. I told her what she already knows: I have received personal revelation from God that He has two great callings for me that have nothing do do with church: the first is a business He has called me to build, and the second is an organization He has called me to lead. Each requires, depending on the week, from 5-10 hours of time per week. My business requires 2-3 evenings a week and at least one Saturday a month. My responsibilities to the organization take me out of town for a weekend once a month, and I will spend two full weeks next summer with that organization. Both of these are demanding and my Bishop knows nothing of them. Before I converted, my first bishop taught me to always study out my decisions and submit them to the Lord for confirmation. Brigham Young taught "the greatest fear I have is that the people of this Church will accept what we say as the will of the Lord without first praying about it and getting the witness within their own hearts that what we say is the word of the Lord." (Harold B. Lee, Stand Ye In Holy Places, pp. 162-3, "The Prophet, Seer, and Revelator," Address delivered to seminary and institute teachers, BYU, July 8, 1964) So I am studying and gathering information about the two callings before I make a decision and submit it to prayer. We have a smaller ward and there are not enough warm, active bodies to go around. I believe I could manage the Weblos calling. I called a former membership clerk and asked him how much time he put in each week. “12-15 hours,” he said. “Visiting new move-ins to verify their address, to get a phone number, track down families who have moved with no forwarding address…” and just simple record-keeping, printing reports, updating records. That time requirement was a bit of a shock. I’m anxious to let the Bishop and the Brother from the Stake know what Heavenly Father has answered. I know He will give me direction. Has anyone else ever said "no" to a calling with a clean conscience? Let me know what you think!
  23. I have been assigned by my Stake to moderate a panel discussion on 22 February 2009. The discussion will be based on the 1978 Revelation that allowed all worthy males regardless of race to hold the Priesthood and the effect that it has had on Church growth worldwide. This is indeed an answer to prayer as I have had a desire to do a panel discussion/fireside on this subject or about Black Mormon Pioneers for some time. This is my question: If you were moderating a panel discussion of this type what would be some of the things that you would include as part of the discussion, or even as a participant, what would be some of the questions that you would like to addressed during the discussion? The thing to keep in mind is that this will be a discussion panel. I am under strict guidance by the Stake that they do not want any speeches. Therefore, any help and suggestions that you want to offer are welcomed. I am also interested in knowing if there are any returned missionaries or Mission Presidents that have served in Africa that can give some insight as to how the Church is progressing in that area. Thank you one and all in advance for your input. I will take all input under advisement.