Sermon: The Plan of Salvation

“For behold, this is my work and my glory

to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”

Revelation to Moses 1:23

It has long been asked if The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ believe in what has been termed ‘The Plan of Salvation’. In answer to that we can categorically state that we do believe in a plan of salvation given to us by God as the sacred scriptures tell us. When recalling the words of the great poet Wordsworth it is impossible to believe otherwise.

 

“Our birth is but a sleep and or forgetting.

The Soul that rises with us, our life’s star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar.

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home...”

 

William Wordsworth

It must be remembered by Latter Day Mormons that it is the gift of modern revelation that has given us an understanding of Gods eternal truths, and the great poet William Wordsworth only implied in these short poetic phrases those eternal truths that we have come to know as fact undisputable. For we know that it is God that has spoken to us again from his heavenly realm and answered forever the question that has plagued man for centauries, from generation to generation, “who are we, where did we come from and where are we going”. The sacred scriptures of the restoration tell us that “Man was also in the beginning with God” D&C 93:29. Let us examine what we know from revelation and from the scriptures, we know that our psychical bodies are the creation of our mortal parents, but that the soul consists of both a body and a spirit “And the spirit and the body is the soul of man” D&C 88:15, and it is because of this that we came forth in that pre-mortal life as spirit children of our Father in Heaven. We must as Latter Day Mormons not be afraid to stand for what we believe in and never be afraid to state that we are children in spirit begat by the Father, that he begat all the spirits that ever were, or ever will be, upon this earth, that they were born as spirits in the eternal world while we lived with the Father. It was while we lived with him as spirits that we prepared to come to earth and receive a body and be tested to see if we are worthy to return to be with him, it was while we lived with him as spirits that we participated in the council in heaven and learned of this plan, that we call the plan of salvation. We learned in this council that the plan would require us to leave our Heavenly Fathers presence, with no memory of our former home or existence, to undergo a time of testing which we now know as mortality and that if we were worthy we would inherit honour and glory and attain peace with the Father.  By coming to earth and partaking in the plan of salvation and obtaining physical bodies we have already started down the path to becoming more like our Father, we have advanced along the path that our Father has set for us. We can advance further along this plan by being obedient to the gospel and to the Fathers son, even Jesus Christ.

For us in the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ the plan of salvation is set out and designed for our very happiness and progression. The Lord revealed to Moses that our happiness and progression have always been his highest concern, remember the words that were spoken to Moses in the Revelation received by Joseph Smith in the Bible when its says:- “For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”  Revelation to Moses 1:23 and we also read in D&C when is t says in verse 10 to 13 “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God, for behold the Lord your redeemer suffered death in the flesh, wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him on conditions of repentance. And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth”.

So it is that Immortality is the condition in which there can be no physical death. This condition is made possible through Christ’s atonement and resurrection. It is a free gift to all who have entered this life, all no matter who they may be. Every mortal will someday be resurrected, never to die again. However as Latter Day Mormons we know that Eternal life is more than immortality, it is the kind of life that our Father in Heaven lives and that this life is only made available to us through the Saviours atoning sacrifice and only available to those who accept it through faith in Christ the Lord, repentance and obedience (Hebrews 5:9). Latter Day Mormons, indeed all those that have come to a sure knowledge of Christ and the plan of the Father know that eternal life is to be exalted in the celestial kingdom, the place where both God the father and his son will dwell, indeed where all those who do as he has commanded will dwell, for it must be understood by all that the glory and wonders of the celestial kingdom  are so beyond what we know and what we can imagine and indeed see that they have not as yet found a place in the hearts of men, this is why the very idea of such a place in so alien to many that they simply do not believe and in doing so condemn and persecute those that do believe. This is why as Latter Day Mormons we should continue to hold fast to what we know to be true and step by step we will fulfil the plan of salvation and dwell with the Father In his Celestial glory.

It must be remembered by all of us that the plan of salvation has been given to us that we must and can only come unto the Father in the name of the Saviour and in due time revive of his fullness. Let us remember the words “For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fullness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father” (D&C 93:19-20). It is important that we live the principles and teachings of the gospel so that the ordinances and covenants of the gospel can be sealed by the power of the Holy Ghost. The eternal birthright of all Latter Day Mormons is to progress in the things of God until they can inherit the kingdom of God, let us therefore remember that God loves us, that he is watching over us, he wants us to succeed, and we’ll know someday that he has not left one thing undone for the eternal welfare of each of us. I proclaim that if only we knew it, if only we knew that there are indeed heavenly hosts pulling for us, they are yearning for our victory, they are pulling for us to tread the path of the gospel with sure footedness, they are there for us just beyond the vail waiting to instruct us in the name of the Father, if only we would show unto the Father what we can do and indeed show him that we are willing to do his work and do what it takes to return unto him. This is the plan of salvation to tread the path of God and in doing so fulfil our potential and so we attest to the world the following principles of the plan of Salvation:-

 

·        The Plan of Salvation enables us to return to Almighty God, the Heavenly Father, after our lives end, and lets us live according to His will while we are here on earth.

·        Before our birth into physical bodies here on earth, each of us existed in the Pre-Mortal world as purely spiritual beings.

·        We were sent to earth to receive a physical body and to be tested to determine our eternal destiny.

·        Here, we are tempted by Satan, a fallen angel who disobeyed Heavenly Father and was cast out of heaven. Satan wishes us to fail and to be eternally separated from Heavenly Father, as he is.

·        All people have fallen short of God’s will for our lives.

·        But God wishes us to repent, be Born Again, and stop sinning. (D&C 49:13)

·        Jesus Christ, the Son of Heavenly Father, revealed teachings and commandments of God that allow us be Born Again, stop sinning and attain salvation.

·        God has revealed scriptures to us to guide us and keep us from sinning.

·        When we recognise these Truths, we are baptised and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

·        Upon baptism, we are reborn and begin living according to the will of God.

·        At baptism, we make a covenant with Jesus Christ and with Heavenly Father that we will not live sinfully anymore.

·        By continuing to live in fellowship with Jesus Christ, by following his teachings, principles and the precepts God has revealed through Christ and God’s Prophets, we will attain salvation.

·        We have the ability to freely choose to obey Satan or the will of our Heavenly Father, as revealed by Jesus Christ and His Prophets. (2 Nephi 2)

·        We will be judged by God after our physical deaths according to our works in this life. (Alma 41; Moroni 7)

Sermon: Seek the Light

“That which is of God is light, and he that receiveth light, and coninueth in God, receiveth more light, and that light growth brighter until the perfect day”

D&C 50:24

Light is good, proclaimed the Lord at the creation of the earth. Darkness and evil flee before it, and beauty and goodness are made visible by light. What a marvellous thing is light! We find joy in the light that allows us to see the green grass, the smile of a baby, and the glory of the sunrise and the world around us. We can also rejoice in the light, as did our first parents, Adam and Eve when they received of the spiritual light as gospel truths are made known un to us. This kind of light can help us appreciate goodness, truth, love, happiness and health. As we continue to seek the light it will bring us closer to the Lord Jesus, for when we strengthen  our characters when we consciously choose good, rejecting that which leads to darkness or an absence of the Lord Gods Light.

The contrast between light and darkness, often portrayed as a contrast between good and evil, has been frequently illustrated by artists throughout the history of the world. One of the most effective artistic media for using the beauty of light is the stained glass window. These artistic creations rose to great popularity and artistic quality, in religious subject matter, throughout Europe an England in the eleventh century. Between A.D 1150 and A.D 1500 almost a thousand great Gothic cathedrals and churches were built in Europe and Great Britain, many of these contained exquisitely beautifully designed stained glass windows.

As you might imagine stepping in to one of these magnificent Gothic cathedrals was like going from one world in to the other which was exactly the feeling the builders wanted to portray. Once inside, a person found himself in an atmosphere of majestic height and glorious light caused by the effects of the coloured light from the stained glass windows. This effect was carefully planed by the artist and glazers of that area. Although we see the colours of a painting or tapestry by the light reflected on the surface, we see stained glass only when light comes through it. During the day, the window comes alive, at night it dies away. As the sun moves through the sky, the light intensity in the cathedral varies, passing clouds and tree shadows cause the windows to pulsate with moving light. The glass itself with its bubbles, impurities, and uneven thickness, catches the light and changes it like facets of a diamond. These windows emphasise the brightness of Christ’s countenance to help us understand that he is the source of goodness, safety and light for his flock, no matter the size. We see look upon the light that shines forth from the windows as the light of Christ shinning down upon us and filling us with the sure knowledge that he is our master and we are his sheep and that he is the shepherd carefully leading his sheep, reminding us that he is the only true shepherd and that he loves us tenderly and completely. Let us remember what the Master says in John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”.

In our minds we can contrast the picture of the stained glass window and its light flooding in with the alarming experience of the young fourteen year old Joseph Smith when he entered the grove to offer up his supplications unto the Lord. The power of the evil one sought to destroy him as the thick darkness gathered around the young boy. Nevertheless, after calling upon God with his might and mind to be delivered from the enemy which held him bound, the young Joseph was indeed delivered by the greater power of the Lord. As the glorious light of the presence of the Lord God appeared, the prince of darkness returned to his benighted realms, for he cannot endure the presence of beings of light for long. John reminds us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5)

Let us be clear and be assured that the light of our father God and his Son will triumph over the darkness of the devil. The Lord Saviour, he who is the light of our world, will return to the earth and a millennial era of peace and light will arrive with him. However for us the crucial question pertains to our individual lives now. Are we now choosing light over darkness? Are we choosing the light of God by our daily choices of good? Let us remember the words of Alma who taught that “whatsoever is light is good, because it is discernable, therefore ye must know that it is good” (Alma). If we trust in the Lord God and follow the gospel light, he will lead us to do good. Our lives as Latter Day Mormons can be windows though which others can see the light of God. Let us remember that the Lord has counselled us today to be a light unto the entire world and to let our light be a standard to all nations.

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ is that standard and we are its light bearers, let us not shrink in the face of adversity, but rather let us go forward with the light of Christ as our banner and let us bring light unto the darkness wherever it me be found.

Offical Statement: Same Sex Marriage

Today is the day that Britain gave same sex marriage equal footing with biblical marriage and the day that Britain slipped in to darkness and fell under condemnation from God. Let us be clear when we say that The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ continues to condemn the move taken by the government of the United Kingdom because it is at odds with the law of God and because of the actions of those who stand in government office and whom have made this decision the country will feel Gods condemnation at a point and time of the Lords choosing.  It must be understood that just because the public feel that it is a good move and one that should have been made means nothing in the sight of the church and also in the sight of God and his Law. The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ will never allow marriage between same sex couples as it is a violation of Gods law and will remain that way regardless of what the law of the land says. We must be allowed to be able to say that we do not condone this violation and condemn it, just as those who agree with it are given endless time in the press to promote it. I t is our God given right to object to this law and we will defend our right to argue against it fiercely as God would want us to.

The Coming of Christ

As the leadership of The Latter Day Church we have been asked many times ‘When will the Lord Come?’ It is the belief of The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ and also my personal belief that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God is not for away, quite how far away we don’t know but I do know that the pieces of the Jigsaw that need to be in place for the events preceding thee coming of the Lord to be put in play are there and the stage is set.

We must be watchful and mindful of our place in this wicked world, for it is rapidly coming to an end, that is to say that the days of the wicked are truly coming to an end, and only when the world is fully ripe in iniquity will the Lord draw back the veil and reveal himself unto all the world. I would caution all those that are in the belief that the Lord has and continues to delay his coming, for he will come at his appointed time, not the time that we want him to come but in his own due time. This thinking is not the doctrine of the scriptures or of the church and is incorrect and dangerous thinking. Let me state again that the Lord will come during a time of great wickedness when the earth is full of iniquity and when it is ripe for a cleansing the like of which mankind has never witnessed before. Many of the signs of his coming have been given and have shown themselves, so the Latter Day Church make it very clear that the coming of the Lord is very close, he is no longer at the door, but rather his is through the door and awaiting to speak.

My brothers and Sisters do not be lulled in to a false sense of security in thinking that the Lord will come and show himself when all the world has become righteous enough to receive him, this is false doctrine and is not scriptural but rather an insidious doctrine spread by churches who wish to maintain a missionary force throughout the world in order to advance membership rather than to spread the truth that we are in the last throws of a dying sinful world. The Lord will not wait for us all to become righteous, when he is ready he will come, and this will be when the cup of the world runs over with wickedness and evil. So we need to be faithful and righteous and if we are not then it will be to our downfall and no ones fault but our own.

Again it is the policy of the church and the doctrine of our faith that the Lord will not come until the world has been given an opportunity to hear the warnings, given by those in authority, messengers sent to prepare the way before him. We do not expect the Lord to come and judge the world without first giving it a warning and preparing the way to escape the judgments and allow a time for those who are wicked to repent. This has been the pattern of our Father God since the foundation of the world and just as he endowed the Saviour to commission Noah to warn the world before the flood and to warn the people that if they repented they would be saved. Now today the same is to be said of us, we have been commissioned by God the Father through his son Jesus Christ too warn the world that it today is the time to start to repent and start to live your lives righteously.

It is our solemn belief that the coming of the Lord will happen in this generation, that the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ are here to warn expound and exhort all to repent. The day is very close at hand and I declare that all Latter Day Mormons should set there houses in order now! If you have work to do then do it! If there are things that are amiss in your preparation then get them sorted and do not put it off. Keep the commandments of God, do as you are directed, do not turn your face from him or his church or his commandments and if you serve with humility and faith and with prayer your house shall be set in order and you shall be prepared for whatever these days of tribulation have in store for you. I bless that you will heed the words of the Lord and his servants for the day soon cometh when all shall be darkened and the light shall not be lifted until the Lord of hosts the son of God shall stand amongst you and proclaim with the host of heaven that I am He whom the father has sent and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that he is the Christ.

 

Recognising a Living Prophet

Throughout the history of the world the majority of people have never been able to recognise a living Prophet no matter where he is raised or on what continent he springs from. Only a few were and are able to believe that God could speak to a man who wears the common clay of ones own generation. The rest of the people would idolize the prophets of the past, while they stoned and killed or even persecuted the living Prophets of the present. It is a fascinating study of human nature to see how these people would usually honour the Prophets of the past rather than acknowledge that they have a living Prophet in front of them. Once the Prophets were dead, they would place them on imaginary pedestals, turning them into perfect individuals who had never made a single mistake or who had never said anything controversial. Then they would make a selection from their teachings which suited their own particular tastes, and smugly go about living their, lives of wickedness while mouthing a few popular phrases which identifies them with these servants of God. In other words they bend the reality of the Prophets life to suit their own lives and the state in which they find themselves so that they feel better about living a lie or a sin.


As Latter Day Mormons and members of The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ we know without a doubt that men cannot live without living prophets amongst them for it is the living prophets that stand amongst the people who will denounce these hypocrites who say they are followers God but instead obey their won licentious desires. Living prophets will not allow men to pick their teachings to pieces and construct a crazy quilt pattern of personal interpretations which matches popular opinion of the day. This is why Prophets are seldom popular with their own generation because they tell it as it is and stand to correct all those that do not stand in righteousness. It is the task of the people of each generation to discover weather or not God has risen up a living Prophet for them in their day. The Bible teaches us that whenever Prophets are raised up, certain things will begin to happen. Doctrines will be clarified, new truths will be revealed, prophecies will be given, the kingdom of God will be revitalised and every honest seeker after the truth will be able to observe the power with witch a true prophet carries out his mission.

It is a fact that in all of holy writ there is not one single instance where God ever selected a professional holy man to be one of His prophets. In every case the call came like a bolt out of the blue, totally unexpected and very often to men who considered themselves weak and incapable and these people were amazed that God should honour them with revelation or consider them worthy of a prophetic calling at all. In many cases the work progressed very slowly and in the face of massive rejection and persecution. Many people said God would not speak to a mere normal person, they held aloft their scriptures containing the writings of prophets from the past, that in most circumstances had been clipped and spliced to suit their world view and with these held aloft would say that this was all the revelation they needed. They proclaimed that the new young prophet was making up his revelations that they weren’t from God, and how dare he stand and say such blasphemous things. However this was to be expected, these people could not recognise a living prophet any more than the people could at the time of Christ they were blinded and stuck in their ways and numb to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

In the case of the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ much of what is written above is the case for us. The Prophet is a normal man with a normal life and family, but God has called him to be a Prophet and today the gospel doctrines are being clarified, new revelation is being brought forth and people are being awakened to seek the truth that has for so long been lost or corrupted. We are indeed living in a time of clarification and a time when the Lord God has indeed spoken to men again and is leading a people in his way. This is what the Latter Day Church has to offer, a prophet of God who stands again upon the earth proclaiming truth, repentance and baptism. To all Latter Day Mormons we say, stay close to the prophet, stay close to God and proclaim the truth of this to the entire world and the Lord will indeed bless his children and his chosen prophet.

No Peace Until Christ Comes

At times the world in which we live can look like a very scary place that’s because right now it is, make no mistake about it Satan has complete control over his domain. It seems that the world has been abandoned by God and that he has forgotten about us and that we are alone without guidance and without his love. For Latter Day Mormons when we look at the world it serves as a constant reminder to us that the Lord’s promises are indeed coming to pass, we do not worry at the state of the world for ourselves but rather for the wicked for we remember that the Lord has promised to send forth his angles to gather in all the righteous unto his kingdom and to call in all those that are righteous and at peace. The Lord has proclaimed that all his people should remove themselves from the wicked world for it is no place for the righteous, and so we Latter Day Mormons know that one day we to will be asked to do the same, for peace is lacking and God is peace. What we have to understand today when we look at the world is to be realistic and understand that peace has departed from the world, that the devil does have power over the hearts of men and therefore over his dominion. This is seen in the continued actions of men, the distress among the nations of the earth, in the continued troubles that we all see in lands all around the world including our own nation and nations not to far from us in Europe such as today in the Ukraine were violent protests are going on in the name of peace, peace no such actions represent peace but instead represent violence and hatred by organisations who revel in such actions in the disguise of peace.

As Latter Day Mormons we must remember not sugar coat the situation we find ourselves standing in today we must be honest and say that there is no peace, that men’s hearts have indeed failed them. Therefore greed and dishonesty have a bigger place in their hearts than the righteous intentions of peace. Let us be clear, evil is to be found all over the earth and is making its self manifest in the selfish interests of nations and peoples. Let us make no mistake that the times in which we are living are dark and evil and are as the Prophet Jeraneck for saw when he said ‘But I fear for your time more than I fear for mine, for your time will be seven times worse than mine, for your time will see great tribulation for I have seen these things and an Angel of the Almighty has shown me many things even the great darkness that will engulf your land.’ (BOJ 15:73).

With this in mind I believe that these days should be a time of warning not only unto us as Latter Day Mormons but also unto all the world, and we who know the truth, we who are blessed by God with revelation of the last days, it is up to us to raise the voice of warning unto all men across all nations, that this time is a time that the Lord has told us will usher in his second coming and it is a time of wickedness and a time were no real peace will be found. Now, we see today that the nations of the world have gathered together in order to try and gain a peace in Syria, but it must be understood that although they may indeed gain a peace Syria or in whatever land they discuss there will never be world peace because of the wickedness of men. Syria is the battle ground of corrupt religion and the wants of men and the evil of secret combinations and governments, not about human rights but about who controls the Middle East. When we look to the Ukraine we see that the wickedness of the people id made manifest in large numbers, are the protesters or rioters really going to achieve their armies this way? The answer is No! All they are doing now is bringing the government in to a civil unrest which could if not checked slide in to a wider conflict including neighbouring countries. Have we forgotten that the Ukraine lies at the boarder of Russia, do we think for one minute that Russia will tolerate a civil war on its boards. There is much going on in Ukraine that is evil and uneasy and none of it is about peace or human rights or the rule of law, rather it is about the wickedness of men’s hearts.

Now we say that we Latter Day Mormons should be less concerned about watching the times and season for the coming of Christ, but rather we should be praying and preparing to be ready for when he comes again. Today more than ever we live in a time when the leaders of the world are crying peace and security and this is a false promise as outlined by Paul when he talks about the last days and he make it know unto us that the leaders of the world will cry ‘Peace and safety’ and their eyes will be closed to the evil that surrounds them and they will try and not see the destruction that is upon them. How right is Paul, how right was he when he said these words for today we let evil go unchecked in order to keep a wider so called peace, when in reality there is no peace and that so called peace is false and instead of crying repentance unto all nations we have decided to cry abstinence and self preservation in order to keep war from our own lands. We might ask the ultimate question, what’s the matter with the nations of today? Today many nations are at war contending against each other many entering in to agreements to gain arms, trying to curtail other nations and trying to build themselves up and take away peoples freedom, all the while at the same time asking for peace conferences and talks and establishing so called peace agreements all this is being done to try and establish peace throughout the world, but they cannot do this because they will not get down to the real fundamental principles upon which real pace is based and as long as selfishness and greed and the desire for power and wealth remains in their hearts there will be no peace no matter the steaks. Now because of this when one does stand and proclaim to the world ‘I can bring peace, I will stop all war’ men will stand and listen and follow regardless of the price they are going to have to pay, this man will stand in a time of great upheaval and say these very things and people will follow him and he will be the great ant-Christ and men will not see it, because they are blind and do not understand real peace. Let us be very clear! We could have peace, peace throughout all the world if only those that are at strife and war would repent and in doing so obtain a contrite spirit and broken heart and in doing this they will find love in their hearts and love for their neighbours and love for God, this is real peace.

As Latter Day Mormons we need to understand that the call for peace today is not because the nations of the earth have found the love of God, but it is because of fear and unrighteous, fear and greed and their own self interests. With this in mind we know that all these searches for so called peace are destined to ultimately fail because the fear that is in their hearts is also in the hearts of their neighbours and if that is true then how can they have real peace. What we say now will seem very controversial but is true never the less. We say it is controversial because this continued asking for prayers of peace is a futile act that we are called upon by members of other faiths. Every new year we are asked to pray for peace throughout the world but this proclamation is not a sincere request because we can not pray to the Lord asking for him to listen to our cry for peace or victory over evil, what we should be asking is not what we want but rather what does the he the Lord want, what is his wish for us. When we stop asking the Lord to do what we want and instead start asking him what he wants then he will listen but until then our prayers will fall upon deaf ears, for are the nations of the earth really asking for peace or are they asking for there own evil desires. I don’t know of any just war or any just call for peace that is being proclaimed today. Even the conference of so called peace taking place over Syria and the Ukraine are all in vain and will fail because there is not one party sitting around the table of peace that really desires peace but rather they are all together to control and to exhort control over their fellow man and to obtain that which has not been given them but rather they are their to destroy the hearts of their fellow men and to lay blame.

As a church of God we may be accused of not proclaiming all is well and proclaiming a story of peace, but the scriptures tell us that things will get worse before they get better, so why sugar coat the truth. No! We say prepare, pray and stay close to God for the storms are here and they will continue, trouble in the earth will increase there will be distress and calamity among the nations of the earth until the Master comes. We are saying unto the church not to look for peace in the near future because it will not come, but rather look forward with rejoicing to the day of the Lord, and do it with faith and hope and in the fear of the Lord. It is true that we should look to the future with joy and humility with a righteous desire in our hearts to serve the Lord and keep his commandments, for the world is telling us with all its wickedness that the day is drawing ever nearer to his coming. For if peace reigned upon the earth now we would have no need for him to come, for he is to deliver us from evil and usher in a time of peace and he will do this because the nations of the earth can not find peace without him.

Let all Latter Day Mormons start now if you haven’t already to prepare, prepare for the end of days and also for the coming of God. Lets us prepare in spirit and in body, let us still do as Jeraneck did and proclaim peace, yes, but let us not be fooled in to thinking that we will bring about a real full peace, let us proclaim peace in God, in the Saviour and in doing so bring those that are lost home to his living care. Let us remember not to cast our pearls before swine, for this should not be done and that the lord himself will one day withdraw his people from the world in preparation for his coming. Let us stand as the example of God on the earth today and do only as he commands and not what people command. Let us look to him for our guidance and not to what the world tells us is right or wrong, so be strong and be valiant for we are his people and only he can bring peace to the earth and so let us be ready to help in that work when he reigns again.

Official Statement: New Years Message

The New Year’s message of the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ for 2014 is family unity and family commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is the most important thing that we the church wish to advocate this year. The adversary has turned his attention to the destruction of the principle of the family in our society today and he will stop at nothing to bring it down or reduce its significance in the world we live. We find that on every side there continues to be a sustained attack on the basic integrity of the family as the foundation of what is good and noble in the world. It has become apparent that many efforts are being made by governments across the globe to limit the size or even the effectiveness of families, sometimes under the guise of saving the world from overpopulation or discrimination against those who choose not to have families. Many of these government proposals include placing some sort of legal penalties on those who may choose to have more than two children, such as stopping or decreasing child benefit or stopping married couple’s tax breaks or stopping tax breaks for family’s altogether. Their ultimate aim? To destroy the family unit and its effectiveness in the world. Even many more governments are now adopting ever more liberal views on abortion which would suggest to the church the ever more blatant disregard for the sacredness of human life and the family.

In a world which in the grip of the adversary and governments blind to his power we find that families are more and more being torn apart by increasing use of illegal drugs and the abuse of legal drugs without the governments of the world doing much to stem the problem and instead allowing many drugs to be legalised, this action is putting more and more strain and demand on the families already under great strain. Because of this great strain families are becoming fractured and the ever more present contempt for authority in our society by more and more young people is beginning in the home with disrespect and disobedience towards parents whom the governments of the world are bemoaning every minute of everyday.

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ and I as Prophet know that today more than ever the forces of evil attack the individual by tearing away at the roots of the family and it is becoming critical for Latter Day Mormon parents to maintain and strengthen the family every day. There very well may possibly be a few very strong individuals in the world who can survive without the support of a family unit around them, but more and more of us find ourselves in need of the love, teaching, and support that come from those who care very deeply for us. The primary function of a Latter Day Mormon home is to insure that every member of the family works to create the climate and conditions in which all can grow toward perfection. For all parents, this requires dedication of time and energy and this means providing for more than just their children’s physical needs but also for their spiritual needs as well. We need to make sure that in this new year of 2014 that we spend more time making our families and our homes successful in devoting our best creative energy to the most important unit in society, our families. We need to ask ourselves some very important questions. What is our relationship towards our family? Is it merely a routine, unrewarding part of your life? No, it is not! Both parent and child must be willing to put family responsibilities first in order to achieve family unity and peace and salvation.

My brothers and sisters we must remember that although we live in wondrous times, full of many marvellous things there are also great challenges and temptations all around us. I pray that our Heavenly Father will give all of us the strength in this coming year to reach our one true potential. I pray that his Spirit rests upon the homes of the Church, and indeed the all the home sin all the world, that there may be love and harmony found within them. May our Father in heaven preserve and protect our families this year, God bless you all in 2014 and remember who we are and what we have been placed here to do, God Bless you all and have a Happy New Year.

Official Statment: Blacks and the Priesthood

This week the LDS Mormon church based out of Utah in the United States made a statement concerning blacks and the Priesthood and tried in vain it would seem to re-write their past history of hatred and bigotry. With this in mind we thought that it would be important to let the world know that not all Mormons are like this and that the Mormon faith established by the Prophet Joseph Smith did not take the decision to exclude blacks but rather it was a decision based on the actions of one Brigham Young and the church led by him.

Many people have asked the question ‘Why did the Mormon church not ordain black men to the Priesthood’ to answer that question we have to look at the original church under the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is an established fact the Prophet Joseph Smith never denied membership in to the church based on race or colour and indeed several black men were made members and also ordained to the Priesthood during Joseph Smiths lifetime.

The first known black member of the early church was ‘Black Pete’, who joined the church in Kirtland Ohio. At least two African Americas, Elijah Abel in 1836 and Walker Lewis in 1844 were ordained to the priesthood during Joseph Smiths lifetime. Two decedents of Elijah Abel were also ordained Elders, and two other black men, Samuel Chambers and Edward Leggroan were ordained Deacons. Early black members in the church were also allowed admittance in to the temple at Kirtland Ohio. It is here at Kirtland that Elijah Abel received the ordinance and ritual of washing and anointing.

By 1839 there were about a dozen black members in the church. Later at Nauvoo it was reported that at least twenty two black members were registered including free slaves. Indeed we see that from their very own LDS archives that in 1836 the rules established by the church for governing assemblies in the Kirtland temple include attendees who were ‘bond or free, black or white’ (History of the church, Vol.2, Ch.26, p.368.

So it is an established fact that there have been black members of the Mormon faith and holders of the Priesthood since 1832. Elijah Abel was a personal friend of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and helped rescue him from mobs in Missouri bent on taking the life of the Prophet. Elijah Abel however died in the Salt Lake Valley out of favour with the church due to his being black. So what do we know? Joseph did ordain black men, but not black slaves.

Brigham young however was no Joseph Smith and in 1852 widened that ban to all black men free or bond and he did so using a much disputed set of scriptures known as the pearl of great price used and printed for the first time in 1852, and used Abraham 1:26 to justify his ban. Brigham young then initiated the Priesthood ban excluding all people of Hamitic lineage from the Priesthood and higher ordinances of the temple all this was done in 1852. The reason he gave was that ‘Negroes’ were the descendants of Cain, and Cain killed Abel, it would be against the justice of God to extend the Priesthood to the descendants of Cain. This seems very strange that God would allow one Prophet to ordain black men and then tell another not too, is God not the same yesterday today and forever? Surely if God knew it was wrong he would have instructed Joseph to stop it. The fact is it had nothing to do with God and more to do with hatred and bigotry on the part of Brigham Young.

The LDS priesthood ban was rescinded but never repudiated on June 8th 1978 by President Spencer W Kimble, just in time for a temple to be built and dedicated in Brazil a country with a very dense black population.  It would seem to some that the 1978 proclamations has never been answered until now, it certainly has never been discussed by the LDS Church in a manner that would invite discussion. Now we see that they claim that Brigham was acting as a man and he made an error based upon the thinking of the day, but it did not stop the Lord working through him as a Prophet. We find this very interesting. What are they saying? That the Lord works through evil men and men who make constant mistakes? This also is against the scriptures and also against Gods actions when a Prophet rejects God he is removed from his Position. Would it not be better to say that since Joseph Smith we the LDS church have not had a Prophet chosen by God but rather chosen by the will of the people a point that Brigham was keen to proclaim many times in his life “I do not profess to be a Prophet. I never called myself so; but I actually believe I am, because people are all the time telling me that I am.” Journal of Discourses, 5:177

 In conclusion The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ would never allow a man's colour or race to be a marker as to his worthiness. This is self evident in the early church under the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Lord is no respecter of persons; as long as a man is worthy morally then the joys of service are open to him even if he is black. For us to assume otherwise is a sin. Brother Joseph understood this and so do we, all are welcome in the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ no matter their skin colour or race.

Our Right to Educate Our Children Our Way

In The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ and as the Prophet of the church I have always encouraged the church and its members to seek prayerfully to support parents no matter the type of education they choose for their children, including state education, independent secular education, independent Christian schools, and homeschooling.

          It will be of concern to many to read of the report on “Elective Home Education,” compiled on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) by Graham Badman here in the United Kingdom. The areas of specific concern to Christians and indeed Latter Day Mormons (and many non-Christians) will be the proposed compulsory annual registration of their children and inspection visits by representatives of the Local Education Authority (LEA).

          In many cases, it is precisely because of the poor standard of LEA provision that parents have chosen to educate their children at home. There will also be concern that these proposed inspection visits should involve conversations between LEA representatives and the child alone—without the parents present. This latter point is an abuse of parental responsibility and rights and as we know the Lord puts great store in the rights of parents in the scriptures both old and new.

Elective home education: the deliverance (in elective home education) or delegation (to schools) by parents of any and all compulsory educational provision is a legal duty, not a legal right. It is our legal duty to ensure our children’s education is suitable and efficient. The education acts confers this duty on parents, because parents know their children best and are therefore in a position to ensure the provision is suitable for them. Mr Badman seems not to have grasped this idea at all; indeed he seems to think that they, the parents have no clue.

          The famous quote from successive education bills—repeated in the Education Act 1996, Section 7—does indeed refer to duty:

Duty of Parents to Secure Education of Children of Compulsory School Age

The parent of every child of compulsory school age shall cause him to receive efficient full-time education suitable—

(a) To his age, ability and aptitude, and

(b) To any special educational needs he may have,

Either by regular attendance at school or otherwise.

           This is in line with the biblical position:

You shall teach them [God’s laws] diligently to your children. (Deuteronomy 6:7) Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.(Ephesians 6:4)

          Whichever form of education we choose for our children, the parents and specifically as indicated in Scripture, the fathers are responsible, and we will answer to God for the choices we make.

          Please let us be firm when we say that as far as the church is concerned the educational needs of children are first and foremost the duty of the parent rather than the state. Parents may delegate this educational responsibility to those whom they trust, but this delegation in no wise removes their responsibility for the education of their children. Latter Day Mormon and indeed Christian parents should think long and hard about whether the teachers at their children’s school are bringing them up according to the values that the parents want, and if not, then it should be considered a mistake to send our children into such an environment.

Many Christians and indeed many believers, whatever their denomination in the UK, have chosen to home school their children for precisely this reason. In the past, there has been no reason for parents to need to justify this decision to the state. The Bible makes no requirement to justify this position and supports those who take it. In an atmosphere where increasing numbers of Christians feel that they suffer discrimination for their faith, this report could open up one more avenue for such discrimination.

As the prophet of the church it is my wish to see many of the children involved now with the church or those that will latter be involved with the church to be either educated by the church in its very own school or to be home schooled, so that we can indeed educate our children in a way pleasing unto the Lord and so that we may stand blameless before God when asked what we did for those placed in our care by the Father.

(Source for Sermon taken from Answers in Genesis)

A Sure Knowledge of God

Its is a great blessing that we have in the Latter Day Church to know that God does indeed live, that he is alive and that Christ is his only begotten Son not only in spirit but also in flesh and that he is the Saviour of the world. However we must all of us remember that we have not learned all that there is to know about him or the Father, neither is it possible for all of us to learn all we need to in this mortal life, it is impossible for us all to know everything about them or to fully comprehend their being. For many of us it is enough to know that Jesus is the Christ and that he took upon himself all the sins of this world and that the Father is our Father in spirit and that he rules in his place. For many of us when we enter in to the presence of God the Father and his Son many of us will be crowned with exhalation and the glory and promise and the sure knowledge that comes with it. However until we do enter into their most perfect presence and receive this most wonderful of blessings for many of we will not fully know the only true God and Jesus Christ in their entirety.

For Latter Day Mormons the scriptures give us a guiding light however in to some aspects of the God head and the nature of the beings that make up this most glories leadership. The scriptures show us the personality of God, for example the Saviour said in John ‘My Father is greater than I’ (John 14:28) and in Luke he invited the disciples to touch him after the resurrection and to handle him and se what had transpired ‘A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have’ (Luke 24:39). It is understood by us all that Man was created in the image of God and that this was to be taken in the literal sense not just as a mystical utterance but as a real and indeed personal statement by the creator and as Latter Day Mormons we know that we are created in the image of God and that as we are create din his image much of his personality is indeed in us.

Much of the personality of God is questioned today, it is questioned that he even lives at all and to us as followers of God the Father and his Son it can seem very absurd that such as thing is questioned, however it must be remembered that man does not have all wisdom and knowledge and that many men believe that they have and try to explain away things that they do not understand, however we know that God has all wisdom and knowledge and that he stands supreme above all. To all who are doubting let me ask you this do we believe that God has all wisdom? If so then he is absolute. If there is something he does not know then he is not absolute in wisdom and to think such a thing is absurd and lacks faith.  The nest question we need to ask is doe she have all power? If so then there is nothing in which he lacks. If he is lacking in wisdom and power then he is not supreme and there must be something greater than he, and this is again absurd and lacing in faith. Our scriptures give us the answer to this question without question. In the book of Mormon for example Nephi the Prophet says ‘O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is nothing save he knows it’ and the same again in the D&C when the Lord himself speaks and says ‘The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying he received a fullness of truth, yea, even of all truth’ (D&C 93:21-26) and finally the Prophet Alma said of God ‘Great is our Lord, and of great power his understanding in infinite’

For us it is a Joy to know who the Father is and who our Christ is and he is everlasting and they together form an everlasting truth that will never be extinguished. No matter if we keep the truth and guard it or it is passed to other to guard the sacred flame it will go on forever and ever. However we have been given the task of guarding that flame and it is up to us to learn as much as we can in this life so that we may stand before them at the judgment in full knowledge of who they are and why they are so that we may be able to stand as them at same future time and place.

Marriage Ordained of God

The house of God is a house of order and not a house of confusion; this has been the way from the beginning of creation. In the beginning God instituted marriage, he made man in his own image and likeness, male and female, and in their creation it was designed that they should be united together in the sacred bonds of marriage, and one is not made perfect without the other. This means that man is not without the women in the Lord, neither is the women without the man in the Lord. This means that no man can be exalted in the kingdom of God without the women, and no women can reach the perfection and exaltation in the Kingdom of God alone, Marriage between Man and Women and none else, this is what marriage means to God and this is what it means to Latter Day Mormons and members of The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ.

Marriage is the crowing glory of the gospel of the Gods. Marriage is a principle which, when entered in to presents more serious problems than any other. It should be received in the spirit of patience and love, even that greater love which comes though the power of the Holy Spirit, Nothing will prepare mankind for the glory in the Kingdom of God as readily as faithfulness to ones marriage and the convents that are made at marriage.

Let us be very clear on this subject. We believe that without marriage the purposes if God would be frustrated, so far as this world is concerned, for there would be none, to obey his other commands. There appears today in this world a flood of iniquity that is overwhelming the world in sin. One great reason therefore is the neglect of the marriage covenant, it has lost its sanctity in the eyes of the majority and indeed in the eyes of those who stand and rule over us. To the world it is at best a civil contract and nothing more, it is also something that is far too often an accident or a whim, or a means of self gratification. And when the sacredness of the covenant is ignored or lost sight of, then a disregard of the marriage vows, under the present moral thinking of the masses, is mere indiscretion. However what we want to impress upon the world is the legitimate union of the sexes under the law of God.

Marriage under Gods covenant is the greatest, most glorious, and most exalting principle connected with the gospel. However let is be stated that we believe and hold true to the fact that all those married by the authority of men are only doing so until death. The Lord God will not accept at the hand of man, an offering, vow, or contract, which is not entered into in accordance with the laws which govern in his kingdom and which he, God the Father, has established. Man made obligations and agreements, in which the Lord does not enter, and which were not made by him, or by his word, which is law, shall come to and end when men are dead and gone from this earth. However for the marriage contract to be made valid and binding for eternity as well as for time, the two parties involved must enter in to the marriage relationship in full obedience and accordance with the laws upon which such blessings are predicated. The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ declare today unto all the world that marriage between a man and a women is ordained of God and that it is the preserver of the human race, just a Jeraneck tell us in the second section of the Book of Jeraneck when he says:-That all who come within the walls of the holy temple or tabernacle may know that it is through man and women that our seed and our children go forward (BofJ Sec2 v49). Without it, the purposes of God would be frustrated, virtue would be destroyed to give place to vice and corruption and the earth would be void and empty.

As Latter Day Mormons we know that God has instituted marriage and that he has ordained it to be between a man and a women and that it is the most important thing that both young men and young women should be preparing themselves for in their youth. Let us be clear that we expect all our men and women to be married by one holding the authority given to them by God and that authority can only be found in the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ. There needs to be a sentiment laid down among our young people indeed among us all that favour of honourable marriage should only be carried out by one holding the authority of God. No man holding the priesthood of God and who is worthy and of age should remain unmarried. We should be teaching our young men and women that the law of chastity is one of the most vital importance's, both to children, and to men and to women. God the Father has told of the penalties of transgressing this law of chastity, of virtue and purity. The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ expects its young men and women to be pure, spotless without blemish and so it is necessary that the Gospel of Jesus Christ be taught among them from the cradle.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of the Father and it is the gospel of love, it is the law of love, and love of God with whole heart and mind is the greatest of all commandments. This should be remembered in the marriage relationship, for while it is said that the desires of the women shall be to her husband, and he shall rule over her, it is intended that rule shall be done in love and not in tyranny.

The Father through his son has commanded us that marriage among members of The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ should be performed in his holy House not just for time but for all eternity just as they were done in the days of the ancients here upon this land in the days of Jeraneck. :- It is expedient that a man come before God in righteousness  and a women comes before God clean and in righteousness and that they be joined together for eternity and that they pledge themselves to God and they must do this upon the holy Urim and Thummim for the Urim and Thummim are representations of  revelation and prophesy. With these two powers within the temple man my gain revelation and women my gain prophesy and they may work in unity one with another to bring about the greater glory of God and that is that a women may have children and that a man may have authority over her. (BofJ Sec2 v58-59).

Members of The Latter Day Church know that marriage is ordained of God that it is not just for now but for eternity and that we take upon ourselves the very nature of God himself in agreeing to enter in to the marriage covenant. We also know that those who have taken upon themselves the responsibility of the marriage convent should see fit they do not abuse the course of nature, that they do not destroy the principle of life within them, nor violate any of the commandments of God. The commandment that was given in the very beginning to our first parents to multiply and replenish the earth still stands and is still in force upon the children of men. There is no greater sin that could be committed by people who have embraced the gospel than to prevent or destroy life in the manner indicated. We are all born in to this world that we may have life, and we live that we may have fullness of joy and if we will obtain a fullness of joy we must obey the law of our creation and the law by which we may obtain our righteous hopes and desires.

In closing let it be said to our people and indeed all people, get married, and marry right. Marry in the faith, and let it be performed in the Lords house with one in authority. Live so that you may be worthy of this blessing. And let us remember as Latter Day Mormons the gift promised to those who receive the covenant of marriage and fulfil the measure of their creation and remain faithful till the end for they shall have no end those and only those shall truly know the one and only wise and true God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent.

 

 

All Children Are Alive in Christ

Latter Day Mormons and members of The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ know that through the atonement Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice and paid the debt for Adams transgression. We know that the second Article of faith tells us this when it says ‘We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression’.

Much of Christianity is tainted with the false doctrine of original sin which tells them that all men are born under condemnation and tainted with the sin of Adam. There are millions of people professing to believe in Christ the Lord who believe that all children are born under this condemnation. The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ state that this is dangerous and indeed a very false doctrine and we do not adhere to it or any of its principles. The Latter Day Church maintains that this is the most damnable doctrine ever taught by the false religions of men.

Latter Day Mormons and all those that belong to The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ now that no child ever born to man is subject to sin until they reach the age of accountability, until they begin to know and to understand right from wrong and become accountable before God almighty according to the age which he himself has appointed unto man, which is eight years of age. We therefore state that baptism means nothing in the case of infants because they can not repent, they have nothing to repent of in the first place, let us not forget that not only is baptism and outward symbol that you choose to follow God but also used for the remission of sins.

Let is be made clear today that we believe that God has not placed any taint upon any little child no matter how or where they come into this world, it is through the atoning blood of Christ that they are redeemed from all of Adams sin, Christ took it upon himself that is the great work of the atonement, let us remember that the scriptures tell us that ‘The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. Light and truth forsake that evil one. Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God’.(D&C 93: 36-38). This revealed truth given to us by God tells us that all children are innocent in the beginning, which means before the foundation of the world, before Satan rebelled, all men are created innocent. Make no mistake when a child is born it is born clean and innocent from the sin of the world and from past generations.

It is with this in mind that we know that all children who are born are innocent and that if they should be called home to the presence of God in their infancy they will be called home to the full Celestial Glory of God. It matter not to God whether that infant or baby is a Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, or any faith you can imagine they are all the same in the sight of God. What a Joyful blessing this is that we proclaim to the world, is it not right that all those that grieve or have grieved for the loss of a little one should know that their little one is not lost but is safe and at peace in the arms of the Lord.

The Lord has made it very clear to us that the age of accountability is that of eight years. After we reach our eighth birthday, we are supposed to have understanding sufficient enough to choose to be baptised, it is the Lord who takes care of those under this age, and little children under the age of accountability are not subject to the law of repentance. This is something that God has declared himself, it is not something that the church has decided to implement but rather it is the eternal law of God.

The crowning glory of all Latter Day Mormons is to be married in the sight of God man with women, when they are joined together they are not only fulfilling the commandment of God but the commandment of eternity. It is with the great union that Man and Women become as the Gods and are endowed from on high to create life and do as the Gods before them and bring in to being life from the eternal world unto this mortal world. As parents we are given the blessings of creating the temples that will house the father’s spirits and in turn it is our duty to make sure that those temples and spirits are looked after and that they fulfil the measure of their creation. Let us not forget that we, each and everyone of us were all mature spirits before we were born, and the bodies of the little children that we have been endowed to create will grow just as our sprit has done little by little. Latter Day Mormons know that the Father loves all his children just as we love our children and he would not allow any of his small and innocent children to be denied access to him if they should die before the age of accountability.

It is therefore the duty of every Latter Day parent to teach their children the truth, to bring them up in the way of the Lord, to teach them the first principles of the Gospel, to teach them the necessity of baptism for the remission of sins and for membership in the church of Christ. It is your duty to teach them the things that pertain to the kingdom of God that they may comprehend the truth and walk in the light of Christ that they may have the fellowship of him with them all the days of their lives. Latter day parents knowing the truth and knowing that they are the custodians of the spirits of the eternal father should always strive to bring their children up in the way they should go, keep them close to your heart, show them that you love them, that you are their parents that they are your children, and keep them near to you so that they will not go far from you in this world or the next.

Free from Limitations

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ (Proverbs 29:18)

As Latter Day Mormons it is important that we express to the world what we believe and why we believe it. With Latter Day Mormon doctrine we will be able to do just that and it will not be open for debate and it will be recorded for all to see.

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ is free from limitations for it is the church of God and is led by the Law of Revelation. We believe that it is the will of our Father in Heaven to converse with us today and that he is ready to do so just as he was in ancient days. The Latter Day Church does not consider it strange that the Lord should speak to man in this day as he did in ancient of days. Are our Father and his son less interested in man today? Have we advanced so much that we have passed beyond the need of divine help? It was said by one ancient Prophet ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’ (Proverbs 29:18) and another great prophet said ‘Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secrets unto his servants the prophets’ (Joel 2:28-29).  We proclaim to the world that the Latter Day Church stands alone in the belief that the Father and the Son still reveal themselves and their truth to man as was proclaimed by the ancient prophets.

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ believe that the Bible does not contain all the revelations given by the Gods and that it contains only fragmentary accounts of the dealings of the Lord with his servants the ancients prophets. The Latter Day Church proclaims that the only Bible that is near to completion is that which was revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith and although his work was cut short on the work in perfecting the Bible we should hold true to what was revealed to him even through it was not completed. We stand and proclaim to the world that the Inspired version of the Bible is the most correct Bible that mankind has in its hands. We believe that through modern day revelation that the Bible will be perfected in these last days and that it will be done under the direction of the Lord through his chosen servant. As we proclaim this there are those that will say that this is further evidence of our fall from the presence of God. However if men will permit reason to guide them in the path of common sense he will have to conclude that there is no reason or justification for the belief that everything that God wished to say to his children is to be found in the pages of the Bible today. Such thinking and false doctrine closes the moth of the almighty denying him the power to speak. These people then populate the myth that there is no need for further revelation in saying that the Bible is complete and in need of no further work. In saying this about the Bible they then hold true to the fact that if this is true of the Bible then it is true for all other forms of scripture. Do we honestly think that the Lord did not have any interest in other peoples outside of the holy land, to speak to them and to guide them by his word? That thought yet again try’s to limit God by mans standards and limitations something that The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ does not do for we know that God has revealed many things unto his children no matter where they may live upon the earth and why shouldn’t their account of the gospel be heard just as the bibles is.

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ believe that all the essential ordinances of the gospel were changed, modified and corrupted by mans will and not by Gods divine instruction, that the church that was established by God had changed and that as Isaiah proclaimed, men were drawing near to the Lord with their lips but their hearts were far from him (Isaiah 29:13).  We hold true to the belief that the church in ancient days had become so corrupt that the heavens were opened and a restoration was indeed needed to correct what was incorrect and again restore the faith of God. The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ also believe that this is not just a one of occurrence and that when the church of God falls in to apostasy God withdraws his spirit form it and awaits a time to restore it again, this we hold true to today just as in the time of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ stands as the restoration of the gospel of Christ and the Mormon faith. The church of God will be led by revelation and the opening of the heavens and the coming forth of heavenly messengers and with this the restoration of the faith of God. The church of God must be led and blessed with revelation it is by this fruit that we shall know that it is the church of God. The church of God is built upon revelation it lives for revelation and thrives upon it.

Latter Day Mormons know that all the answers to the many mysteries that today surround us can be found in the revealed works of God, which stand as a testament to him and to the Saviour. We do not grope around in the dark searching for answers, we do not go following every tom dick or harry that comes forth proclaiming to have received revelation or indeed follow after imaginary beings or ghosts, no we know the truth and we abide in the truth. Latter Day Mormons are therefore free from error and from those that wish to deceive and draw those away in to error. God is our guide and we follow him and him alone and in doing so we walk in righteousness and in the light and follow is doctrine.

The Atonement

The Atonement

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.  And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly; and he sweat as at were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

(Luke 22: 43--44)

 The Atonement of Christ was and is a voluntary act. The Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ voluntarily took upon him the sins of all mankind and laid down his life and took it back up again to satisfy the eternal demands of Justice, which required his infinite atonement. The Saviour himself said ‘I lat down my life for the sheep…Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it up again. No man take it from me, but I lay it down of myself’ (John 10:10-18)

As Latter Day Mormons we understand that Christ could choose to live or die. He was always the master of life and death. Jesus had the power to die, he received that from his mother, and she was mortal therefore endowing Christ with the ability to die. Due to his mother being mortal Jesus had blood within his body just as you and I have blood within our bodies, blood is the life of our mortal body. As our hearts pumps the blood it circulates around our bodies giving us life. We must bare in mind that Christ, Jesus father was not a mortal man but rather an omnipotent being, a God. We do not have power to pay down our lives and take them up again. But Jesus had power to lay down his life, and he had power to take it up again, and when he was he was put to death on the cross, he gave up his life on his own accord. When he was nailed to the cross he meekly submitted, but he had the power within that he could have resisted, but he chose not to and therefore submitted himself to the atonement. Christ came in to the world to die that we might live, and his atonement for sin and death is the force by which we are raised to immortality and eternal life. We may not fully understand how is was that this was done or why he was required to perform the work for us by the shedding of his blood, but this is the case, and we are owe all to him for he bought us through the shedding of his blood.

As Latter Day Mormons we must understand that the atonement only works when we are prepared to accept it in our lives and that acceptance is found in repentance. Christ does not and will not redeem any man for his individual sins who will not repent and who will not accept him. All of those that refuse to accept him as their personal Saviour and refuse to turn from their sins will have to pay the price for their continued sinning and shunning of the atonement remember is was Christ who said ‘For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent’ (D&C 19:16-19)

It must be made clear that Christ took upon himself the burden and weight of sins of the whole world past, present and future. It can sometimes feel hard enough for us to carry the weight of our own sins let alone those of the whole world form the beginning of time to the end of time. It is something that we can just not comprehend. The suffering of Jesus Christ, the mental and spiritual condition is something that we can not and indeed should not for us as mortal beings it is unfathomable to understand the passion of the Christ and the effort that went in to doing what he did for us.

There are many people in Christendom that believe that when he was hosted upon the cross and the nails driven in to his hands and feet that this was the greatness  of his suffering that that all was accomplished upon the cross. However as Latter Day Mormons we believe that his great suffering took place before he was placed upon the cross and that it took place in the garden of Gethsemane. It was in the garden that of Gethsemane that the blood shed from every pore that an angel was sent from the courts of the Father to aid him and give him comfort because the pain and suffering was so intense. Christ revealed to us in these Latter Days just what he went through in the garden when he says ‘Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of the pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink’ (D&C 19: 18) Christ tells us here that this wasn’t upon the cross but in the garden of Gethsemane. Now it must be understood that we do not take away from the cross and place all of the atonement in the garden, for the cross was where he spoke unto the father and where the Father cried from heaven for his loss and where Christ fulfilled scripture and became like unto us and took upon himself death and therefore gained the resurrection. But it must be remembered that the pain and agony of Gethsemane was so intense so powerful that Christ the Cod of this world called unto his father and asked ‘If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt’ (Matthew 26:39).

 Christ paid an infinite price for us and it is therefore impossible for us mere mortals to understand or comprehend fully the extent of the suffering of the Son of God. We cannot realise the price he had to pay, however it is within our grasp to understand and know that the excruciating pain and agony of his sacrifice has brought us great blessings which are beyond the power of mortal men to give to accomplish and to endure. So let us always remember that there has never been a sin committed that has not been atoned for. Christ paid the debt of my sins and your sins on the condition that we believe in him and keep his commandments. Christ did that for you and all mankind, but he never paid for any of those debts upon the cross or before the cross for the sins of any one of us if we remain rebellious and do not submit ourselves to him. This is the key to having this great blessing work in our lives; we have to be willing to give our lives fully to him who gave so much for us.

Here By Design Not By Accident

For Latter Day Mormons and members of the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ the theory of evolution which prevails today regarding the origin of man, animal life and also that of vegetation, that they all sprung from the same original germ which formed itself out of the sea or some volcanic explosion millions of years ago in the very distant past is to us absurd. This theory assumes that life began spontaneously; this is the foundation of the theory of evolution. The question that we need to ask ourselves as mankind is if spontaneous generation could be possible in the past then is it possible now? If not, then why not? This question like so many others has not and continues to not be answered today and leads people down a dark and inescapable tunnel of lies and mistruth and subjection, one that has no basis of truth but rather one of is and maybe’s.

As Latter Day Mormons we have an obligation to teach our children truth and not fiction. The truth for us is that the Lord has given us the information regarding life and how is came in to being. The Lord has given us the information about how this earth along with the life upon it and that of other earths has been created. As Latter Day Mormons we must be clear on this subject. Life did not commence upon this earth spontaneously, not at all. We must remember that there is no beginning and there is no end to Gods creation, there never was a time when mankind did not exist somewhere in the universe and when the time was right for our world to be created God followed the same pattern as he had done many times before in creating life upon our world. We were with the Father in spirit before this world was created, for us that was our beginning, but for creation itself there is not beginning and there is no end (D&C 93: 21-26)

We know that man was created in the image of God, that we are in essence like him not only in spirit but also in body, that we resemble him. If  we had the honour and  privilege to travel the stars to other worlds that populate the heavens that our Father has created and behold the life upon it we would see that they would be peopled with beings that look like us, they too are the creations of God and so therefore are the same race as we are for we are all the children of God and therefore created in his image. We must remember that it by no means places upon them the same restrictions that are placed upon us. For example they maybe more exalted then we are they may have advanced further than we have in ideas and behaviour and in doing so may have become closer to the creator than we have done.

 

However it must be stressed that they would be created in his image juts as we are in his. For us Adam was no cave man, but he was in a very real sense the most nearly perfect man in the form and feature of our father in heaven. Adam was for us our beginning, here upon this earth. "And the Lord God said unto Moses, For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom, and it remaineth in me. And by the word of my power have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth. And worlds without number have I created, and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many. But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you; for behold there are many worlds which have passed away by the word of my power; and there are many also which now stand, and numberless are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me; for they are mine, and I know them….The heavens, they are many and they can not be numbered unto man, but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine; and as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words; for this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality, and eternal life of man". (JST Moses Revelation v 21-25)

For us it is a false and foolish idea to believe that life, everything in it commenced from a small beginning, no matter what the evolutionist say or how they try and explain life coming in to being whether it be from the microbes in the sea or by some volcanic accident or from the rocks from a distant world falling on to this one by accident it matter not it is all false. There is no truth in it, for God has given us his word by which we can know and all who are led by the spirit of God can understand through the Holy Ghost the truth of these things. Its is perhaps a sign of the times we live in today to see that religion in its corrupt forms has led men to believe in this twisted theory of evolution. When the churches built up by man give such twisted views of God and his kingdom no wonder men stand and proclaim that there is no God and that they and they alone have the answers to the origin of man. It must however be remembered by us that this is the vain foolishness and narrow mindedness of man. These men of so called great intelligence and scientific knowledge and wisdom stand and declare that life on this earth is but a spontaneous act, and that they no nothing of life upon any other world and that even if it did exist it would be confined to the same laws that are in place here, that of Darwinism, what a foolish and arrogant statement to make. For not only are we now forced to believe that life here begin in this way but that life across the entire universe would have to begin in the same manner.

Latter Day Mormons in some cases do agree in some sense with the scientific inquisition in as much as we do think that life does come from the same single source, but we hold true to the belief that that single source is not a tiny microbe either from the sea or space but from God, our father, he is the creator of life and he placed life on this earth in varied forms, and also on other worlds as well. He is the single source and the only source that life came from. He will continue his work on this earth and upon other planets, or worlds, which will take the place of this earth when it has come into its exalted glory. He will continue to bring to pass his purposes of peopling worlds and bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children long after we have passed in to eternal salvation and exhalation. This is something that should enlighten the minds of men. It should strengthen their faith and give encouragement to those living life, that we are not here by accident but by design and that we have a purpose to being here and that we are sons and daughter of God. However this false theory of evolution continues to permeate every facet of life, form school right down to centres of religion and it prevails through the world so much that is debasing our world and it is not allowing us to ennoble or uplift those around us.

 It is our duty as Latter Day Mormons and as believers on Christ to show the world that Adam was a real man that he did nit evolve from a lower form of life that he was made by God in his image, that he had not developed gradually from the animal kingdom but that God breathed life in to him and gave him a mind and enlighten spirit. We must learn now before it is to late that we can not believe in both the gospel of creation and evolution, we can not at the same time accept the plan of salvation laid down by God in the holy text and then embrace the origin of man given by the corrupt men of the world, they are direct conflict with one another there is such a wide gap, even to such an extent that it is more a gulf than a gap. If you hold true to the doctrine of evolution then you must accept the view that man has evolved from a lower form of life, that we were cave men no better or advanced than the lowest form of animal life and that we have become what we are today by accident and mishap, in doing this you deny Christ and all that he was and is, you deny the atoning sacrifice of Gethsemane and the cross and that we are Gods children.

 As Latter Day Mormons we reject that life, we reject evolution and all its flaws, and we embrace the restoration of all things and that God is our father and that through him all was created. This is what we stand for in our homes in our place of work, in our places of worship and in our hearts. So the message of this sermon is stand true to Christ and to our Father in heaven and to the beauty of the creation, because when we examine the creation it is far more complex and beautiful than any theory of evolution will ever be.