Jared catches the synopsis of one of Terryl Givens’ recent talks (scroll down in the post to “How to Spot a Heretic”).
Terryl’s PR brother let him break free from “the traditional approach” (having to find similarities). It is always a happy occasion when that is allowed.
Why don’t the authoritative apostles lead publicly in this new type of discussion? Or do you think that they already do that?
(Sidenote question – Why does anyone desire to join with the World Council of Churches?)
Questions (I have quickly browsed the bloggernacle for updates):
This is an incredible week. The excitement is mounting in the I-15 Corridor for beholding the omniscient King of Glory. He knew what the Jewish leaders would do. He knew what the Gentiles would do. He knew what his own disciples would do. He even knew all about the donkey and the colt. He knew.
And back then, He knew your name. He knew mine. And He knew all that we would do.
He is Sovereign Lord.
Here is my clothing, Lord. Sit on them. Take it all, Prince of Peace, who brought eternal peace to my sin-ravaged heart.
Questions:
Do all of you know the order of events of what Jesus did during this week of Holy Days? And do the Modern Authorities think that the biblical gospels carry contradictions about the last week of Jesus’ life?
Do you care?
I do care. Sometimes I just miserably fail in showing that I care (or more importantly showing Christ’s care). Forgive me.
Do the General Authorities accept peaceful petitions from the grass roots level?
Do we have some examples of this from the past?
They have got to change on some crucial heart issues.
What do you think as we all await the Spring LDS General Conference 2009?
Tonight, our church family is in Jeremiah 18.
And the Sovereign Yahweh gives us a message via Jeremiah:
At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
God help us in America from giving the response of Jeremiah 18:12.
General Conference is just around the corner.
Though I am no prophet who foretells the future, may I offer a simple prediction on American Mormonism during this chilly spring in Idaho?
For the LDS Institutionalized Church in America, the pull will not be toward an evangelical Mormonism. Some evangelical leaders might have fond hopes, Greg Johnson, Craig Blomberg, others, etc. But it won’t happen.
No, American Mormons will not become more and more Evangelical Mormon. Here is the realistic story: American Mormons will increasingly morph toward an Agnostic Mormonism or for some, even towards a “civil” Atheistic Mormonism.
Let’s see how things progress in future generations for LDS in the United States of America.
There might be coming a day when many LDS will consider Jesus “a Jewish apocalyptic prophet” but obviously not deity, for that clearly contradicts both American biblical scholarship and their human reasoning.
Christopher is talking about Glenn Beck today. So I need to add my two cents on this Monday.
Chad Daybell, born a year before me (1968) and pioneer of Spring Creek Books, is in the midst of an LDS eschatological series entitled Standing in Holy Places. I browsed through his second book in the series, The Celestial City (2008).
From the heartland of the West, Chad reports to you that in the American recession, the government will offer financial rebates to its citizens; but you must accept an imbedded microchip. Unfortunately, the American government collapses. Natural disasters and disease afflict the land. And the soldiers of the Coalition ravage the East and West Coasts, easily detecting and exterminating Americans because of their computer chips. It is a fulfillment of prophecy that Americans are killed. They are wicked. They dress immodestly and drink Budweiser.
The only obstacle that stood in the way of the Coalition was the hidden Saints, those who had refused the microchip when the American government offered it them, tucked away in the stronghold of the Mountain West.
In a pivotal hour, President Johnson, declares at Manti, where an LDS army had assembled:
These men who stand behind me are the next generation of valiant LDS men to defend our land. Many of us are descendants of faithful soldiers who served in World War I and World War II. We even have men among us today who served in the wars that followed. Now we are living through yet another war, known as World War III. Our prophet has asked these faithful men standing behind me to come forth during this devastating, difficult time to preserve the liberties of our land, and they are to be applauded for accepting the call.
Our United States government may no longer exist, but we are still the inhabitants of this great land. We will yet raise up a great nation, built upon the principles that our Founding Fathers established. The principles in the Constitution were divinely inspired, and if necessary, we will defend those ideals with our lives.
According to Brigham Young in the Journal of Discourses, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The time will come when the destiny of the nation will hang upon a single thread. At that critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from threatened destruction.” In that regard, I propose that we call this group of soldiers the Manti Men, in honor of the Minutemen from the Revolutionary War. The last time our land was invaded, the Minutemen played a key role in defeating the British. Let’s make sure the Manti Men make a little history of their own (39-40).
The Elders of Israel were on the move. Twelve foot high electrical fences went up around every LDS temple in America. Enemies were killed or pushed back. And Elder Smith, speaking for the First Presidency, announces from Rexburg, Idaho about the 144,000 who would become the high priests and search for the pure in heart throughout the whole earth.
Then comes the major trek of wagons back to Missouri. To Independence. New Jerusalem is established according to D&C 57:1-3.
But there is still much work to be done before the Second Coming.
Stay tuned for Book Three: The Rise of Zion.
(And could this be a future episode on the Glenn Beck Show?)
In Whisperings of the Spirit (Deseret, 2008), Nancy writes:
. . . “Who is the Holy Ghost? There is much on this subject we do not know. There is, however, much we do know about the Holy Ghost, and we can assume it is sufficient. The critical issue is not that we have every answer and satisfy every curiosity but simply that learn to his voice, seek his influence, and earn the right to his sanctifying presence in our lives. The specific details given us concerning him are limited to those that will help us accomplish this task” (17, my emphasis).
In what I have emphasized in this quote, what does Nancy mean by this? And would LDS accept the Holy Spirit as another Advocate?
On page 19, Nancy teaches,
The Holy Ghost is a personage, not merely an abstract thought or figurative idea. He exists as surely as you and I do. Because he has a spirit body, in contrast to a physical body, we sometimes forget he has a body at all. President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “As a spirit personage the Holy Ghost has size and dimensions. He does not fill the immensity of space, and cannot be everywhere present in the person at the same time” (Doctrines, 1:38).
It is the power of the Holy Ghost–not the personage–that can touch us all simultaneously and inspire many hearts at once. We do not know just how he accomplishes such a task, but therein lies the manifestation of his godhood.
We see evidence in the world today that Satan has distorted the important truth concerning the Spirit’s ability to dwell within us and by so doing has created doubt concerning God himself. He has given credence to the thought that God the Father can dwell in many places and many hearts at once, feeding the mistaken idea that God exists without form and shares no similarity with man. With his usual methods of deception, Satan attempts to depersonalize God and cause confusion about His nature by suggesting that He is an abstract essence of some sort, an incomprehensible being that can be everywhere at once to fill the vast universe and yet dwell in a single heart. Making Him appear as unlike man as possible (no body), Satan has attempted to remove from us any inkling of our spiritual genealogy, hoping to convince us that we never had and never could have a personal relationship with God. Unfortunately, many in the world believe Satan’s lie and, as a result, forfeit the opportunity to know their Father in Heaven. They have forgotten him. Blind to the blessings of their divine parentage and the importance of that heavenly parent-mortal child relationship, many wander through life completely unaware of what they have given up (19-20).
Do most LDS believe that the personage of the Holy Spirit is not omnipresent?
Jesus in Idaho Falls 