Elder Ulisses Soares - Aligning Our Will with His

 Elder Soares taught - 

To be worthy of this great reward, we certainly need, among other things, to give our best effort to set aside all self-centered pursuits and abandon any entanglement that holds us back from full commitment to the Lord and His higher and holier ways. The Apostle Paul refers to these sanctifying pursuits as “hav[ing] the mind of Christ.” As exemplified by Jesus Christ, this means “[doing] always those things that please [the Lord]” in our lives, or as some people say nowadays, this is “doing what works for the Lord.”

In a gospel sense, “[doing] always those things that please [the Lord]” relates to submitting our will to His will. The Savior thoughtfully taught the importance of this principle while instructing His disciples:

“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

The Savior achieved a perfect and divine level of submission to the Father by allowing His will to be swallowed up in the Father’s will. He once said, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” In teaching the Prophet Joseph Smith about the anguish and agonies of the Atonement, the Savior said:

“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; …

“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of 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—

“Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.”

During our sojourn in mortality, we often wrestle with what we think we know, what we think is best, and what we assume works for us, as opposed to comprehending what Heavenly Father actually knows, what is eternally best, and what absolutely works for children within His plan. This great wrestle can become very complex, especially considering the prophecies contained in the scriptures for our day: “This know also, that in the last days … men shall be lovers of their own selves, … lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.”

"My dear friends, when we choose to let God be the most powerful influence in our life over our self-serving pursuits, we can make progress in our discipleship and increase our capacity to unite our mind and heart with the Savior. On the other hand, when we don’t allow God’s way to prevail in our life, we are left to ourselves, and without the Lord’s inspiring guidance, we can justify almost anything we do or don’t do. We can also make excuses for ourselves by doing things our own way, saying in effect, “I am just doing things my way.”"

"I have been personally inspired by how such spiritual submissiveness to God has impacted the lives of faithful disciples of Christ as they chose to do those things that work for and are pleasing in the sight of the Lord. I know a young man who was unsettled about going on a mission but felt inspired to go and serve the Lord when he listened to a senior leader of the Church sharing his own personal testimony and sacred experience of serving as a missionary."

"I testify to you that following the Lord’s will in our life will enable us to find the most precious pearl in the world—the kingdom of heaven. I pray that each of us, in our time and turn, will be able to declare, with covenant confidence, to our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ that “what works for Thee works for me.”"

D&C 2

Moroni shared the prophecy of Malachi with some important variances saying - 

"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

2 And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.

3 If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."  (Doctrine and Covenants 2:1–3)

Understand true doctrine, this version makes more sense to me.

D&C 1

 The Lord makes it perfectly clear - 

"...I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;

32 Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;

33 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts."  (Doctrine and Covenants 1:31–33)

In my mind then if we do not repent, we will be punished for our own sins.  And we will lose the light or influence we have received and the Holy Ghost.

Elder Patrick Kearon - Welcome to the Church of Joy

 Elder Kearon taught - 

"We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ. We are members of the church of joy! And nowhere should our joy as a people be more apparent than when we gather together each Sabbath in our sacrament meetings to worship the source of all joy! Here we assemble with our ward and branch families to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, our deliverance from sin and death, and the Saviour’s powerful grace! Here we come to experience the joy, refuge, forgiveness, thanksgiving, and belonging found through Jesus Christ!

Is this spirit of collective rejoicing in Christ what you find? Is this what you bring? Maybe you think this doesn’t have much to do with you, or perhaps you are simply used to how things have always been done. But we can all contribute, no matter our age or our calling, to making our sacrament meetings the joy-filled, Christ-focused, welcoming hour they can be, alive with a spirit of joyful reverence."

"We do not gather on the Sabbath simply to attend sacrament meeting and check it off the list. We come together to worship. There is a significant difference between the two. To attend means to be present at. But to worship is to intentionally praise and adore our God in a way that transforms us!"

"As we sing, are we joining together to praise our God and King no matter the quality of our voices, or are we just mumbling or not singing at all? Scripture records that “the song of the righteous is a prayer unto [God]” in which His soul delights. So let’s sing! And praise Him!"

"We center our talks and testimonies on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the fruits of humbly living Their gospel, fruits that are “sweet above all that is sweet.” Then we truly “feast … even until [we] are filled, that [we] hunger not, neither … thirst,” and our burdens become lighter through the joy of the Son."

"In some seasons of life, we may approach the sacrament with heavy hearts and overwhelming loads. At other times, we come free and unburdened from cares and troubles. As we listen intently to the blessing of the bread and water and partake of those sacred tokens, we may feel to reflect on the sacrifice of the Saviour, His agonies in Gethsemane, His anguish on the cross, and the sorrows and pains He endured on our behalf. That will be what relieves our souls as we connect our suffering to His. At other times, we will feel to wonder with grateful awe at the “exquisite and sweet” joy of what Jesus’s magnificent gift has made possible in our lives and in our eternities! We will rejoice for what is yet to come—our cherished reunion with our beloved Father and risen Saviour.

We may have been conditioned to suppose that the purpose of the sacrament is to sit in the pew thinking only about all the ways we messed up during the week before. But let’s turn that practice on its head. In the stillness, we can ponder the many ways we have seen the Lord relentlessly pursue us with His wonderful love that week! We can reflect on what it means to “discover the joy of daily repentance.” We can give thanks for the times the Saviour entered into our struggles and our triumphs and the occasions when we felt His grace, forgiveness, and power giving us strength to overcome our hardships and bear our burdens with patience and even good cheer.

Yes, we ponder the sufferings and injustices inflicted upon our Redeemer for our sin, and that does cause sober reflection. But we sometimes get stuck there—in the garden, at the cross, inside the tomb. We fail to move upward to the joy of the tomb bursting open, the defeat of death, and Christ’s victory over all that might prevent us from gaining peace and returning to our heavenly home. Whether we shed tears of sorrow or tears of gratitude during the sacrament, let it be in awesome wonder at the good news of the Father’s gift of His Son!"

D&C 1

 The Savior declared - 

"For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated."  (Doctrine and Covenants 1:2)

It is clear, that everyone will hear, understand, and heart penetrated before the judgement day, whether in this life after in the world of spirits.

I can testify that I will be accountable for I have had my heart penetrated.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson - Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion

 Of all the talks given in general conference, the most soul-searching for me was Elder Christofferson's teaching - 

"We might ask ourselves what we could do to follow this pattern, to “lay down the weapons of [our] rebellion,” whatever they may be, and become so “converted [to] the Lord” that the stain of sin and the desire for sin are taken from our hearts and we never will fall away.  Rebellion can be active or passive..."

"Perhaps the more insidious form of rebellion against God, however, is the passive version—ignoring His will in our lives. Many who would never consider active rebellion may still oppose the will and word of God by pursuing their own path without regard to divine direction. I am reminded of the song made famous years ago by singer Frank Sinatra with the climactic line “I did it my way.” Certainly in life there is plenty of room for personal preference and individual choice, but when it comes to matters of salvation and eternal life, our theme song ought to be “I did it God’s way,” because truly there is no other way."

"There is no “my way” if we are to follow Christ’s example. Trying to find a different course to heaven is like the futility of working on the Tower of Babel rather than looking to Christ and His salvation."

"In the end, burying our weapons of rebellion against God simply means yielding to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, putting off the natural man, and becoming “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.” It means putting the first commandment first in our lives. It means letting God prevail. If our love of God and our determination to serve Him with all our might, mind, and strength become the touchstone by which we judge all things and make all our decisions, we will have buried our weapons of rebellion. By the grace of Christ, God will forgive our sins and rebellions of the past and will take away the stain of those sins and rebellions from our hearts. In time, He will even take away any desire for evil, as He did with those Lamanite converts of the past. Thereafter, we too “never [will] fall away.”

Burying our weapons of rebellion leads to a unique joy. With all who have ever become converted to the Lord, we are “brought to sing [the song of] redeeming love.” Our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Redeemer, have confirmed Their unending commitment to our ultimate happiness through the most profound love and sacrifice. We experience Their love daily. Surely we can reciprocate with our own love and loyalty. May we bury—very, very deep—any element of rebellion against God in our lives and replace it with a willing heart and a willing mind."

Moroni 8

 Mormon taught, first of all - 

"Little children cannot repent..."  (Moroni 8:19)

And - 

"...they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me..."  (Doctrine and Covenants 29:47)

and with that - 

"...also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing—"  (Moroni 8:22)

Moroni 6

 Moroni explained - 

"...they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.

2 Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.

3 And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.

4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost..."  (Moroni 6:1–4)

These principles and ordinances teach - 

Justification - "for the remission of sins"  (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1)

"To be pardoned from punishment for sin and declared guiltless. A person is justified by the Savior’s grace through faith in Him. This faith is shown by repentance and obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Jesus Christ’s Atonement enables mankind to repent and be justified or pardoned from punishment they otherwise would receive."

Sanctification - "wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost..."

"The process of becoming free from sin, pure, clean, and holy through the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

And I would add, free from stain and effect of sin.

Moroni 3

 Moroni explained that before any ordinances, which I assume would include any setting apart or blessings were given that - 

"After they had prayed unto the Father in the name of Christ, they laid their hands upon them..."  (Moroni 3:2)

He did not suggest the timing of the prayer, only that it was done through prayer and in the name of Jesus Christ.

President Dallin H. Oaks - Following Christ

 President Oaks taught - 

"The first step in following Christ is to obey what He defined as “the great commandment in the law”:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

“This is the first and great commandment.

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

"Another of our Savior’s teachings seems to require reemphasis in the circumstances of our day.

This is a time of many harsh and hurtful words in public communications and sometimes even in our families. Sharp differences on issues of public policy often result in actions of hostility—even hatred—in public and personal relationships. This atmosphere of enmity sometimes even paralyzes capacities for lawmaking on matters of importance where most citizens see an urgent need for some action in the public interest.

What should followers of Christ teach and do in this time of toxic communications?"

"It is significant that among the first principles Jesus taught when He appeared to the Nephites was to avoid contention. While He taught this in the context of disputes over religious doctrine, the reasons He gave clearly apply to communications and relationships in politics, public policy, and family relationships. Jesus taught:

“He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another."

"Here is another fundamental teaching by Him who is our role model: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Peacemakers! How it would change personal relationships if followers of Christ would forgo harsh and hurtful words in all their communications.

In general conference last year, President Russell M. Nelson gave us these challenges:

“One of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people. …

“… True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers.

“… One of the best ways we can honor the Savior is to become a peacemaker.”

Concluding his teachings: “Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice. You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation. I urge you to choose to be a peacemaker, now and always.”"

Ether 13

 As Moroni abridges the record of the Jaredites, he writes that Ether saw - 

"...the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.

4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land."  (Ether 13:3–4)

He also saw - 

"...a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel—"  (Ether 13:5)

And also mentions he saw - 

"...the inhabitants thereof..."  (Ether 13:11)

And then Moroni concludes - 

"...I was about to write more, but I am forbidden..."   (Ether 13:13)

In my mind, I believe that these two cities are more centers.  I believe that Zion will be scattered throughout these lands for many temples are built and will be built to accomplish all the word that is needed.

Ether 11

Without quoting any scriptures, it is interesting how many times the Lord sent prophets to the Jaredites warning them of pending destruction for hundreds of years, and how many times they were persecuted or ignored.  The Lord is so patience and willing to forgive His people.

The Church has been restored less than 200 years and prophets continue to warn us. 

Ether 9

 We read in Nephi of the great and abominable church that they - 

"...shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves..."  (1 Nephi 22:13)

This seems to be the case of all those that fall into secret combinations for power and glory.  Moroni abridged of this among the Jaredites as -

"...Akish began to be jealous of his son, therefore he shut him up in prison, and kept him upon little or no food until he had suffered death.

8 And now the brother of him that suffered death...And it came to pass that Akish begat other sons, and they won the hearts of the people, notwithstanding they had sworn unto him to do all manner of iniquity according to that which he desired.

11 Now the people of Akish were desirous for gain, even as Akish was desirous for power; wherefore, the sons of Akish did offer them money, by which means they drew away the more part of the people after them.

12 And there began to be a war between the sons of Akish and Akish, which lasted for the space of many years, yea, unto the destruction of nearly all the people of the kingdom," (Ether 9:7–12)

Elder Dale G. Renlund - "This Is My Gospel" - "This Is My Church

 Elder Renlund gave a great distinction between the gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ, teaching - 

"...the combination of the gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides powerful and transformative benefits for us. The gospel is perfect, but a divinely commissioned church is required to preach it, maintain its purity, and administer its sacred ordinances with the Savior’s power and authority.

Consider the combination of the Savior’s gospel and His Church as established by the Book of Mormon prophet Alma. The Church was responsible for preaching “nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who [would redeem] his people.” Using God’s authority, the Church was responsible for administering the ordinance of baptism “in the name of the Lord, as a witness [of entering] into a covenant with him [to] serve him and keep his commandments.” The people who were baptized took on themselves the name of Jesus Christ, joined His Church, and were promised great power through an outpouring of the Spirit."

"The Church is simply ordinary people, disciples of Jesus Christ, gathered and organized into a divinely appointed structure that helps the Lord accomplish His purposes. The Church is the instrument through which we learn the central role of Jesus Christ in Heavenly Father’s plan. The Church offers the authoritative way for individuals to participate in ordinances and make lasting covenants with God. Keeping those covenants draws us closer to God, gives us access to His power, and transforms us into who He intends us to become."

'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enables access to God’s power because it is authorized by Him both to teach the doctrine of Christ and to offer the gospel’s saving and exalting ordinances. The Savior yearns to forgive our sins, help us access His power, and transform us. He suffered for our sins and longs to pardon us from the punishment that we otherwise would deserve. He wants us to become holy and be perfected in Him.

Jesus Christ has the power to do this. He didn’t simply sympathize with our imperfections and lament our eternal condemnation in consequence of sin. No, He went beyond that, infinitely beyond that, and restored His Church to enable access to His power."