Sermon: Baptism

Upon looking over the sacred pages of the Bible, searching into the prophets and sayings of the apostles, we find no subject so nearly connected with salvation as that of baptism. In the first place, however, let us understand that the word baptise is derived from the Greek verb baptiso, and means to immerse or overwhelm; and that sprinkle is from the Greek verb rantiso, and means to scatter on by particles. Then we can treat the subject as one inseparably connected with our eternal welfare, and always bear in mind that it is one of the only methods by which we can obtain a remission of sins in this world, and be prepared to enter into the joys of our Lord in the world to come.

As it is well known that various opinions govern a large portion of the sectarian world as to this important ordinance of the gospel, it may not be amiss to introduce the commissions and commands of Jesus Himself on the subject. He said to the twelve, or rather eleven at the time: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” This is recorded by Matthew (28:18–19).

We read in Mark 16:14–15 these important words: - “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned.” And to show how the believers are to be known from the unbelievers, He continues and says: - “And these signs shall follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:16–19).

Now let us examine what was witnessed on the day of Pentecost, when there was a marvellous display of the gifts, according to the promise in Mark, many were pricked in the heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren what shall we do?” Peter said unto them: - “Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). Here one of the witnesses says in so many words, repent and be baptised. And we are of the opinion that Peter, having been taught by the Lord, and commissioned by the Lord, and endowed by the Lord, would be about as correct a counsellor or ambassador as we or they could inquire of to know the right way to enter into the Kingdom of God.

Again, Luke in his record of the Acts of the Apostles, says: “And it came to pass, that, while Apollo’s was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus; and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptised? And they said Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptised with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied” (Acts 19:1–6).

From the above witnesses we are informed that baptism was the essential point on which they could receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It seems from the reasoning above that some sectarian Jews had been baptising like John, but had forgotten to inform them that there was one to follow by the name of Jesus Christ, to baptise with fire and the Holy Ghost—which showed these converts that their first baptism was illegal. When they heard this they were gladly re-baptised, and after hands were laid on them, they received the gifts according to the promise and spake with tongues and prophesied.

Now taking it for granted that the Scriptures say what they mean and mean what they say, we have sufficient grounds to go on and prove from the Bible that the gospel has always been the same; the ordinances to fulfil its requirements the same; and the officers to officiate, the same; and the signs and fruits resulting from the promises, the same. Therefore, as Noah was a preacher of righteousness, he must have been baptised and ordained to the priesthood by the laying on of hands. For “No man taketh this honour upon himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron” (Hebrews 5:4).

According to the words of Jesus to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same “came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles which thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born? 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” (John 3:2–5).

This strong and positive answer of Jesus as to water baptism, settles the question. If God is the “same yesterday and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), it is no wonder He is so positive in the great declaration: - “He that believeth and is baptised, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned” (Mark 16:15). There was no other name given under heaven, nor no other ordinance admitted, whereby men could be saved (Acts 4:12). No wonder the apostle said, being “buried with him by baptism, ye shall rise from the dead” (Romans 6:4) 

No wonder Paul had to arise and be baptised and wash away his sins. No wonder the angel told old Cornelius that he must send for Peter to learn how to be saved (Acts 10:1–6). Peter could baptise and angels could not, so long as there were legal officers in the flesh holding the keys of the Kingdom, or the priesthood. There is one evidence still further on this point, and that is that Jesus Himself when He appeared to Paul on his way to Damascus, did not inform him how he could be saved (Acts 22:10). He had set in the Church apostles and prophets, for the work of the ministry, and for the perfecting of the saints, as the grand rule of heaven was that nothing should ever be done on earth without revealing the secret to His servants the prophets, agreeable to Amos 3:7. So Paul could not learn so much from the Lord relative to his duty in the common salvation of man, as he could from one of Christ’s ambassadors, called with the same heavenly calling of the Lord, and endowed with the same power from on high, so that what they loosed on earth should be loosed in heaven, and what they bound on earth should be bound in heaven (Matthew 18:18). He, the Lord, being a priest forever, after the order of Melchezedick, and the anointed Son of God from “before the foundation of the world” (Genesis 5:43–45), and they the begotten sons of Jesus through the gospel, to “teach all nations and, lo, I am with you always, unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:18–19) That is, by the Other Comforter which the world cannot receive for ye are the witnesses having testimony of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy.

From what has already been introduced as testimony to prove that no man can be saved without baptism, it will be seen and acknowledged that if there was sin among men, repentance was as necessary at one time or age of the world as another and that other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. If then Abel were a righteous man, he had to become so by keeping the commandments. If Enoch were righteous enough to come into the presence of God and walk with Him, he must have become so by keeping His commandments. And so of every righteous person, whether it was Noah, a preacher of righteousness, Abraham, the father of the faithful, Jacob the prevailer with God, Moses the man who wrote of Christ and brought forth the law by commandment, as a schoolmaster to bring men to Christ or whether it was Jesus Christ Himself, who had no need of repentance, having done no sin, according to His solemn declaration to John now let me be baptised for no man can enter the Kingdom without obeying this ordinance. “For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:43). 

Surely then, if it became John and Jesus Christ the Saviour, to fulfil all righteousness to be baptised so surely, then, it will become every other person who seeks the Kingdom of heaven to go and do likewise. For He is the door, and if any person climbs up any “other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).

In the former ages of the world, before the Saviour came in the flesh, the followers of Christ were baptised in the name of Jesus Christ to come, because there never was any other name whereby men could be saved. After He came in the flesh and was crucified, then those that followed Christ were baptised in the name of Jesus Christ, crucified, risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven that they might be buried in baptism like Him, and be raised in glory like Him, that as there was but “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” (Ephesians 4:5–6).

Now we lay down upon the alter of God that which is written in the law, that which is of God, that all men who wish to return to the presence of God the father must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ holding all the power and authority from God to administer baptism in this age proclaim that baptism is the gateway to fellowship in Christ that it is not a tool that is used to enforce membership in a church but rather fellowship in Christ, and that all who wish to be baptised and stand in fellowship with Christ must do so in order to enter in to his Kingdom. We proclaim the words written by Alma in the book of Mormon to be true when he says in the book of Mosiah the all who are baptised will “be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that we may have eternal life” It is the belief and policy of this Christ’s church that through the atoning sacrifice, baptism also brings about a full remission of our sins, it is the birth of a new life, a new life clean and pure in the service of God the father and God the Son. Again let us look at the book of Jeraneck and see that the Lord God in his wisdom did not leave his people without the Law of baptism, for we read in chapter Nine of the Book of Jeraneck that Roadnen of the people of Ridnon was desirest to be baptised and the record says:-  “Now after Hadjaneck had taught the people many things he made an end of speaking to the people and Roadnen was so overcome with the spirit that he was desirous to be baptised and all those that were with him even all his servants. Therefore with the blessing of Zioneck Hadjaneck went down into the water and he did baptise Roadnen and all that were with him, and he did baptise them in the river that flowed by the city that we call afonage and all… were baptised” (BofJ 9: 71-72). So we see that when god rises up a righteous seed he sends the Holy Spirit to testify of truth and also turns their hearts to the Lord and to baptism, and once this is done, then righteousness is established among the people and a church is also formed and established unto God.

And so it is written in all the holy text that when we are baptised we come in to the fellowship of Christ and also in to the light born again in Christ. We should not honour the Sacrament as a renewal of our promise that we make at baptism because there is no need, we have been given the gift of repentance and prayer for that purpose and when we fall short of our promise to follow the Lord we should repent and pray and offer supplication unto the Lord, but this should not be done at the partaking of the sacrament, rather the partaking of the sacrament should serve as a reminder every time we partake of sacrifice that He the Lord God made for us so that we could be baptised and enter in to his fellowship.

And so let us remember all these things and cleave unto God the Father through the Son and remember that there is but one door to the mansions of the Father everlasting, to everlasting and that door is baptism. Amen.

The New Passover: The Resserection Faith of The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ is a Resurrection Church – a church celebrating and honouring with all dignity the atonement, sacrifice and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The time of year set aside for such a remembrance has long been called “Easter.” But “Easter” did not always symbolize Christ's resurrection from the dead and the Christian meaning of the celebration was originally quite different from today’s celebration of eggs and bunnies.

The feast day of Easter was originally a pagan celebration of renewal and rebirth. Celebrated in the early spring, it honoured the pagan Saxon goddess Easter. When the early missionaries converted the Saxons to Christianity, the holiday, since it fell around the same time as the traditional memorial of Christ's resurrection from the dead, was merged with the pagan celebration, and became known as Easter.

This is far from its original meaning. The first Christians honoured the Lord with reverence and dignity, without the admixture of paganism and frivolity.

But the Church fell away, and was lost, only to be restored and resurrected once more in Ancient Britain, amongst the People of the Light, as has been revealed in modern times with the restoration and translation of the Book of Jeraneck.

There, in Chapter sixteen, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Jeraneck, saying, “and I saw that he was in a garden and I saw that he bled from his skin and the Lord said unto me ‘Behold I bleed for you and your people behold I bleed for all that have lived and will ever live. I bleed and take upon my self the sins of the entire world.’ and then I saw that the people spat on him and whipped him and they placed thorns on his head and they nailed him to a tree in the form of a cross and there he died. And my heart sank that the people would do this. Now the Lord commanded me to look and I saw that he had risen from the dead and that he walked upon the earth once again and that he did many great things unto the people.”

Thus, the proper focus of this holy and sacred holiday was restored to His people. And again, the Lord appeared unto His people in the Americas, and in the Book of Mormon, the Lord testifies that there is a resurrection, “therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death, is swallowed up in Christ.” (Mosiah Chapter 8)

In today’s restored Latter Day Church, which has been resurrected in our time just as it has been in ancient times amongst ancient peoples, these pagan additions have been stripped away from the original holiday and the wheat has been separated from the chaff, and the day is once again focused on the Lord’s sacrifice on our behalf.

On the 8th of March 2007, He gave to His church a new revelation and outlined His will concerning the celebration of Easter. The Lord said,

"I, the Lord, am most displeased with the world for they have taken my sacrifice and they have desecrated it and they have set it at naught. Behold I say unto you that it is not pleasing unto me that Easter be celebrated amongst my church in the manner in which it is being done. … Wherefore come unto me at the time you call Easter and lay a feat at your table in my honour and lay upon the alter table well prepared and cooked lamb which is a similitude of me and also bring before me unleavened bread mixed with bitter herbs that you may remember that I suffered in the garden and upon the cross for you. Behold I say that this is not to take away the sacredness of the sacrament but it is to prove unto me that I, the Lord, am remembered amongst you and that my sacrifice is not set at naught.”

Therefore, we choose to obey the Lord, and to stand firmly with the traditional teaching of Easter, the New Passover of the Lord, who has commanded us to keep this celebration special and holy. It is not just another holiday to be spent in frivolity and overindulgence, but a celebration and remembrance of the Lord’s sacrifice for us.

In these last days the Lord has seen fit to call a people forth to set right what has for so long been in error. He has seen fit to enlighten humanity with more revealed scripture and has enabled us to read the words of others who also worshipped at the feet of Christ. And so today he has chosen to do away with the errors of the Easter season.

In these last days the church of God has been commanded to set aside all the unrighteousness of Easter and has been commanded to remember the Passover of Christ from mortality to immortally from corruptible to incorruptible. The Feast of the New Passover is a true celebration of the true meaning of the celebration of a wonderful time of year named by the world as Easter.

To all our members worldwide, we ask that you remember the words spoken in the Book of prophecies and Revelations when the Lord said:

“Hearken, O my servant, my Prophet, for verily I say unto you that I, the Lord, am most displeased with the world for they have taken my sacrifice and they have desecrated it and they have set it at naught. Behold I say unto you that it is not pleasing unto me that Easter be celebrated amongst my church in the manner in which it is being done. For it is a celebration that mocks me and it is done in memory of a pagan God. Now I say unto

you that it is expedient unto me that these things are done away with and that they not be done in my name, for my name is sacred and shall not be cast down amongst the swine for them to feast upon.”

So let us brace ourselves to our duty to do as the Lord commands and leave behind all the trappings of Easter eggs and bunny rabbits and let us instead look to Christ, for He is our Lord and it is to Him that our minds must be turned this time of year.

God bless you, my brothers and sisters, members of the Lord’s Resurrection Church in these Latter days, and may you all have a wonderful and happy and Christ-centred New Passover weekend.

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.