TODAY
What is meant in
Scripture by the word “today?” Today, is a time for repentance and salvation.
Tomorrow, is a time of judgment and burning. A fear that was expressed by
writers in past Church journals was that today would cease before they had
completed their mission and duty to the world.
“It affords us no small consolation to witness the slow but steady increase of thechurch of Christ
“It affords us no small consolation to witness the slow but steady increase of the
“Today,” is that
brief time between the beginning of the dispensation to the Gentiles in 1830,
to the day of the coming of our Lord. Those who fail in their spiritual duty
while it is still today will have to face the judgment of our Lord who will
come, “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:” (2 Thess.1:8)
“Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.....Hearken, O ye people of my church, and ye elders listen together, and hear my voice while it is called today, and harden not your hearts;” (D&C 45:2-3)
“Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.....Hearken, O ye people of my church, and ye elders listen together, and hear my voice while it is called today, and harden not your hearts;” (D&C 45:2-3)
“Behold, now it is
called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of
sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall
not be burned at his coming. For after today cometh the burning, this is speaking
after the manner of the Lord, for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they
that do wickedly shall be as stubble; and I will burn them up, for I am the
Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon. Wherefore, if
ye believe me, ye will labour while it is called today.” (D&C 64:5)
We live in the last
generation of man between the time the dispensation to the Gentiles was closed
and the time of the second coming of Christ. When the master of the vineyard
comes to prune His vineyard for the last time, what will he do with those
servants who failed to care for His vineyard according to His commands? “And
until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise; and at that hour
cometh an entire separation of the righteous and the wicked; and in that day
will I send mine angels to pluck out the wicked and cast them into unquenchable
fire.” (D&C 63:14)
Those who do not
worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and do not obey the gospel of
Christ can expect the baptism by fire (without repentance) that has been
decreed by God upon the whole earth. There is nothing more certain than every
person that has ever lived upon the earth has their own free moral agency to
choose. We must never allude that another man must believe as us. Every person
must make their own decisions concerning life and religion. Of course, each
person must answer for the works in the flesh. “And if it seem evil unto you to
serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which
your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of
the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve
the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) There is no salvation except through the God of
Israel. Those who know not this living God, that have received no revelations
from Him, can have no faith in Him. “But without faith it is impossible to
please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6) “And God said moreover
unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel
There is also no
salvation except through obeying the gospel of Christ. “He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark
16:15) “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
The gospel must be
understood as the greatest opportunity in life. Obeying the gospel of Christ
carries the only promise of eternal life. Soon, it will no longer be today.
Tomorrow is the day of the Lord. Tomorrow will be a day of tribulation and
destruction for all those that do not obey the gospel. Only the saints of the
Most High are to be preserved. The prophet Isaiah said, “Except the Lord of
hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom , and we should have been like unto Gomorrah
“1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it
upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2 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. 3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and
utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. 4 The earth mourneth and
fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the
earth do languish. 5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof;
because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the
everlasting covenant. 6 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.” (Isa. 24)
Satan has set a trap
for the unwary. He leads men to believe that Christ delayeth His coming that
they do not have to fear the day of the Lord and spiritually prepare for it
while it is still today. He leads man to believe that all is peace. “And others
will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say:
All is well in Zion ; yea, Zion Zion
Do not assume that as
one of the sheep that you will be counted among the Lord’s flock when He comes
to gather His sheep. “25 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 26
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life
for my sake shall find it. 27 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the
whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for
his soul? 28 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his
angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” (Matt. 16)
“And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of
me.” (Matt. 10:33) “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven.” (Matt. 7:30)
“For any person to
suppose that it will be his privilege to sit down in the kingdom of God
It is still today;
but, soon it will be tomorrow, the day of the Lord. There is little time left
to prepare. It is our duty to make every effort, today, to secure our family in
the gospel of Christ before tomorrow overtakes us as the flood. It is always
the darkest before the dawn. There is a quiet before the storm. Even in the
days of our late prophet Joseph it was understood, “ Sanctify yourselves, O ye
servants of the Lord, for much is required at your hands: the blood of souls
will cry against you except you hasten on your mission: yes, let all raise
their warning voice, in meekness and in mildness, for SOON WILL THERE BE A
FAMINE FOR THE WORD OF GOD.” (Messenger & Advocate, Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 204)
Our first duty in the
gospel is to our family. “Those who are favoured with light are bound, more or
less, to communicate, at least a portion of their fellow men; and as we are
required to respect our own flesh, the kindred ties which bind the human heart
are inseparable, in the bosoms of men of God, and have the first claim in all
cases where their salvation is concerned.” (Messenger & Advocate, Vol. 2,
No. 4, p. 252)
Tomorrow may be too
late. “45But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into
the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be. 46 Then shall be fulfilled that which is
written, that, in the last days. 47 Two be in the field; the one shall be
taken, and the other left. 48 Two shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be
taken, and the other left. 49 And what I say unto one, I say unto all men;
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 50 But know
this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would
come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken
up. but would have been ready 51 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an
hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 52 Who then is a faithful and wise
servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in
due season? 53 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find
so doing. 54 And Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all
his goods. 55 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord
delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat
and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when
he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall
cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 24)
It is my hope and my
dream that our family will be together for the Sabbath of Creation. No man should
be an island to himself. It is only through the shared love of all that we can
have hope. There is a great opportunity before us, today, if we control the
future rather than the future controlling us. We know what is going to happen
to the saints and to the wicked (in general terms). We may even know how close
it really is. Consider for a moment
why so many events have happened in the last year. Why have we been afforded
spiritual understanding of these last days that has not been enjoyed since the
days of our late prophet Joseph? Every sermon I teach brings to you a new
understanding of our times and of our scripture. You have learned much since
our restoration. But please my brothers and sisters do not assume that because
you have been baptised that you will be counted among the worthy. The Jews will
not accept their Saviour until He appears to them on Mt. Olives
Ponder for one moment
why you have become privy to understanding such prophecies. You have stood and
witnessed this year of signs. You learned much. What is the next major event to
happen in this generation? Those who believe in the rock of revelation, have
unwavering faith, and ask in prayer are promised to have such questions affecting
their understanding, protection, and faith in eternal things revealed. Some of Mormons
teachings “Wherefore take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that
which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the
devil. For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know
good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain that ye may know with a
perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the
Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that they may know good from evil;
wherefore I shew unto you the way to judge: for every thing which inviteth to
do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and
gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge, it is of God;
but whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and
deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of
the devil, for after this manner doth the devil work: for he persuadeth no man
to do good, no not one; neither doeth his angels; neither do they which subject
themselves unto him.
“And now my brethren,
seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light
of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully: for with that same judgment
which ye judge, ye shall also be judged. Wherefore I beseech of you, brethren,
that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good
from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye
certainly will be a child of Christ. And now, my brethren, how is it possible
that ye can lay hold upon every good thing? And now I come to that faith, of
which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold
on every good thing. For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting
to everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of men, to
make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come
every good thing. And God also declared unto prophets by his own mouth, that
Christ should come. And behold there were divers ways that he did manifest
things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are
good, cometh of Christ, otherwise men were fallen, and there could no good
thing come unto them. Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every
word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith
in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing: and thus
it was until the coming of Christ. And after that he came, men also were saved
by faith in his name; and by faith they become the sons of God. And as suredly
as Christ liveth, he spake these words unto our fathers, saying, Whatsoever
thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing
that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you. Wherefore, my beloved
brethren, hath miracles ceased, because that Christ hath ascended into heaven,
and hath set down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights
of mercy which he hath upon the children of men? for he hath answered the ends
of the law, and he claimeth all those that hath faith in him; and they that
have faith in him, will cleave unto every good thing; wherefore he advocateth the
cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens. And
Because that he hath done this, my beloved brethren, hath miracles ceased?
Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither hath angels ceased to minister unto the
children of men. For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according
to the word of his command, shewing themselves unto them of strong faith and a
firm mind, in every form of godliness. And the office of their ministry is, to
call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of
the Father which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way
among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen
vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him; and by so doing, the
Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ,
that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power
thereof: and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father the covenants which
he hath made unto the children of men. And Christ hath said, if ye will have
faith in me, ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. And
he hath said, Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized
in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.
“And now my beloved
brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken
unto you, and God will shew unto you with power and great glory at the last
day, that they are true; and if they are true, hath the day of miracles ceased?
or hath angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? or hath he withheld
the power of the Holy Ghost from them? or will he, so long as time shall last,
or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be
saved? Behold I say unto you Nay, for it is by faith that miracles are wrought;
and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore if these
things have ceased, wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of
unbelief, and all is vain: for no man can be saved, according to the words of
Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have
ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man: for they are
as though there had been no redemption made. But behold, my beloved brethren, I
judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ, because
of your meekness: for if ye have not faith in him, then ye are not fit to be
numbered among the people of his church. And again my beloved brethren, I would
speak unto you concerning hope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save
ye shall have hope? And what is it that ye shall hope for? Behold I say unto
you, that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of
his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal; and this because of your
faith in him according to the promise; wherefore, if a man have faith, he must
needs have hope: for without faith there cannot be any hope. And again: Behold
I say unto you, that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and
lowly of heart: if so, his faith and hope are vain, for none is acceptable
before God, save the meek and lowly of heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in
heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Christ,
he must needs have charity: for if he have not charity, he is nothing;
wherefore he must needs have charity. And charity suffereth long, and is kind,
and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth,
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things; wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing,
for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the
greatest of all, for all things must fail; but charity is the pure love of
Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last
day, it shall be well with them. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the
Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love which
he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son Jesus Christ, that
ye may become the sons of God, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him:
for we shall see him as he is, that we may have this hope, that we may be
purified even as he is pure: Amen.” (Evening & Morning Star, Vol. 1, No. 8,
p. 60
Above all things we
must remember to love one another. “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye
love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John
13:34; John 15:12) “ For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning,
that we should love one another.” (1 John 3:11) If we do not love one another,
even as we are commanded to love God, the love of God is not in us and we do
not share in the promises of God. How can we love one another when we seldom
either see, or hear from one another? Communication is the life blood of
understanding. Take it away and soon Satan brings strife and contention. Love
without active involvement is love unrealised, no love. How do we know if we
love God. “ 15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14) How do we know
if we love each other? By truly knowing each other, communicating with each
other, and caring for each other as much as we care for ourselves, by having
faith, hope, and charity for one another. We must trust one another, believe
one another, and pray for one another. Let Satan come between us and we have
lost. If enmity ever enters your heart, take it to God in prayer.
Soon, the
dispensation to the House of Israel will be opened and those saints found
worthy will be gathered to the city of God
Prophet Matthew P. Gill
No comments:
Post a Comment