Compiled by Derrick Shadel
Isa 55:6-9
6 ¶ Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 ¶ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts.
3 Ne. 18:15, 18; D&C 20:33; 31:12; 61:39
pray always lest ye enter into temptation 3 Ne. 18:15, 18; D&C 20:33; 31:12;
Pray always that you enter not into temptation D&C 61:39
- One way to look at this is to pray always and your prayer should be that you enter not into temptation.
- Another way to look at this is to pray always and your prayer should be to help you to serve others, to feel
the promptings of the Spirit, to have greater love for God and neighbor. Then because you are always praying and
focusing on good, you will not enter into temptation.
Alma 5:10, 13, 21, 27, 31, 32, 33, 46, 48, 49, 54, 19, 14, 26
I ask of you on what conditions are [we] saved? Yea, what grounds [have we] to hope for salvation? What is the cause of [our] being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?(v10) ... Humble [your]selves and put [your] trust in the true and living God.(v13) ... Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all [people], for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you. Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely; Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness.(v31-33) ... No [one can] be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain(v21) ... and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins.(v27) ... Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.(v46) ... I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every [one] who steadfastly believeth on his name.(v48) ... I say unto you ... repent and be born again.(v49) ... Humble [your]selves and ... [be] sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and ... bring forth works which are meet for repentance.(v54) ... Have the image of God engraven upon your countenances,(v19) ... experience this mighty change in your hearts(v14) ... [and] feel to sing the song of redeeming love.(v26)
Alma 5:6-10, 13-15, 19, 26, 21, 27, 31-33, 46, 48, 49, 54, 57, 60
Have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; ... yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them. ... Were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not. And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved. And now I ask of you on what conditions are they saved? Yea, what grounds had they to hope for salvation? What is the cause of their being loosed from the bands of death, yea, and also the chains of hell?(v6-10) Behold, [my father Alma] preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.(v13)
And now behold, I ask of you, ... have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you?(v14-15) ... I say unto you, can ye look up to God ... with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances? (v19) ... Have [ye] felt to sing the song of redeeming love?(v26) ... I say unto you, ... no [one can] be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain(v21) ... and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins.(v27) ... Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all ... , for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and I will receive you. Yea, he saith: Come unto me and ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life; yea, ye shall eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life freely; Yea, come unto me and bring forth works of righteousness.(v31-33) ... Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.(v46) ... I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every [one] who steadfastly believeth on his name.(v48) ... I say unto you ... repent and be born again.(v49) ... Humble [your]selves and ... [be] sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and ... bring forth works which are meet for repentance.(v54) ... And now I say unto you, ... follow the voice of the good shepherd, come ye out from the wicked, and be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things;(v57) ... And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep.(v60)
And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem ... she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God. And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.(v10-13)
Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; ... therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism. And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same ... shall have eternal life.(v14-16) ...
And now because your faith is strong [that ye believe] the things which I have spoken, great is my joy.(v17) For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; ... ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God;(v19) ... And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God;(v21) ... And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive. And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works. And may the Lord bless you, ... that ye may at last be brought to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the holy prophets who have been ever since the world began, having your garments spotless even as their garments are spotless, in the kingdom of heaven to go no more out.(v23-25) ... My soul doth exceedingly rejoice, because of the exceeding diligence and heed which ye have given unto my word. And now, may the peace of God rest upon you, and upon your houses and lands, and upon your flocks and herds, and all that you possess, your [families], according to your faith and good works, from this time forth and forever.(v26-27)
2 Ne 32:2, 5, 7-8, 13, 15, 17-21
I ... speak concerning the doctrine of Christ;(v2) ... And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!(v5) ... But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be aobedient unto him in keeping his commandments. Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.(v7-8) ... Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, ... with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost;(v13) ... He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.(v15) ...
Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive. And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.(v17-21)
We lived after the manner of happiness2 Ne 5:27, 10, 11, 12, 18, 26
Nephi's people "lived after the manner of happiness."(v27) This does not mean that the people always were happy without difficulty or problems. Alma teaches this principle to Helaman: "I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day."(Alma 36:3) Nephi gives us several clues about how they lived that can help us to also live after the manner of happiness.
President Nelson: "Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of increased purity, exact obedience, earnest seeking, daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon, and regular time committed to temple and family history work."(GC 2018 Apr)
President Nelson Temples: "Our need to be in the temple on a regular basis has never been greater. I plead with you to take a prayerful look at how you spend your time. Invest time in your future and in that of your family. If you have reasonable access to a temple, I urge you to find a way to make an appointment regularly with the Lord—to be in His holy house—then keep that appointment with exactness and joy. I promise you that the Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need as you make sacrifices to serve and worship in His temples."(CG 2018 Oct)
President Nelson: "The prime purpose of this Church is to help men, women, and children follow the Lord Jesus Christ, keep His commandments, and qualify for the greatest of all blessings—that of eternal life. In those two words—“Hear Him”—God gives us the pattern for success, happiness, and joy in this life. We are to hear the words of the Lord, hearken to them, and heed what He has told us! We can hear Him in the scriptures, in the temple, in the whisperings of the Holy Ghost and as we heed the words of prophets, seers, and revelators.(GC 2020 Apr)
President Nelson Obedience: "Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? It takes both faith and courage to let God prevail."(GC 2020 Oct)
President Nelson: "We overcome the world and stay on the covenant path as we cultivate faith in Jesus Christ, repent daily and keep covenants. We are blessed with spiritual strength, personal revelation, increasing faith, and the ministering of angels. Those who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can."(CG 2023 Oct
Scriptures about Lucifer/Satan/Devil's rebellion and role in the Fall of Adam and Eve - in the order they were revealed.
In our pre-mortal life we were in Heaven with our Heavenly Parents.
Old Testament
Isa. 14:12-17 Isaiah speaks of Lucifer: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [The Firstborn spirit child of our Heavenly Parents was Jehovah, Jesus Christ. A son of the morning may refer to a spirit that was born not long after the Firstborn.] ... thou hast said in thine heart: [Note how this differs from what the Savior, Jesus Christ says in His heart.]
Isaiah continues: "thou shalt be brought down to hell [and the children of God] shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?" [This describes the end result of Lucifer's attitude and the things he said in his heart. What do we say in our hearts? What is our attitude?]
New Testament
2 Peter 2:4 "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell" [Peter speaks of those spirits that followed Lucifer.]
Rev. 12:7-9 "There was war in heaven: Michael [Adam, under the direction of Jehovah, Jesus Christ] and his angels fought against the dragon [Lucifer]; and the dragon fought and his angels and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan ... and his angels were cast out with him."
Book of Mormon
2 Ne. 2:17-18 "An angel of God ... had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God. And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind."
2 Ne. 2:27 "Wherefore, men ... are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
2 Ne. 9:8–9 "For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself."
Modern Scripture (D&C and PofGP)
D&C 29:36-38 "Behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency; and they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels; and, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell."
Moses 4:1–4 "Satan ... was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; and he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice."
D&C 76:25–29 "An angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, and was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. and we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning! We beheld Satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ"
Abr. 3:26–28 "And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him."
Words of Modern Prophets, Seers and Revelators
Teaching of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, Chapter 17 "At the first organization in heaven we were all present and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it. ... The contention in heaven was—Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he would save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who put up their heads for him. ... God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits."
Oct 29, 2023
Love Motivates - this short phrase came to me while serving a mission in Germany in the latter part of 1973.
Become - all of the restoration, all of the commandments, all of God's work is to help us BECOME like Him.
Strive - Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ know we cannot be perfect in mortality, however we must be striving to become like them.
Consider:
Love God & Man
Strive to Become like Christ
Jan 1, 2024
Ohio Historic Sites: We share the events and the locations where the unfolding of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ took place in the 1830s.
Jesus Christ was the foundation of their faith.
Jan 2, 2024
It is prophecied that the Lord will remember His covenant with Abraham and Israel will gathered to the promised land. The Lord's covenant with Abraham was that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would go to all nations of the earth through Abraham's decendents and the priesthood. The promised land is often a symbol of being in the presence of God - the same as the Celestial Room in a temple. The Lord is fulfilling His covenant with Abraham as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is taught throughout the world and those of Israel - those who will let God prevail in their lives - enter into covenant of baptism. As they faithfully progress along the covenant path they enter into the temples to receive the covenants associated with the endowment and sealings and are thus prepared to receive exaltation in the celestial kingdom with God.
Jan 12, 2024
Today Peggy and I were asked to give Elder Uchtdorf a tour of the Smith Home in Kirtland. Elder Uchtdorf was very knowledgable about Kirtland and very engaged in our tour making a number of comments. After we had completed our tour, Joe Jackson (a local member who is very knowledgable about Kirtland) gave a short presentation about the temple. Elder Uchtdorf then commented for a few minutes about looking beyond the mark. He mentioned that we can sometimes spend time on the periphery instead of focusing on the core doctrines that will save us. As I prayed last night, the thought came to me to consider our tours and ensure they focus on the core doctrines. Then I realized that the Key Messages for the site are the core items we need to ensure we are focusing our tour on.
Jan 13, 2024
I have been reading and taking notes on each of the talks by the First Presidency and Quorum of Twelve Apostles in Oct 2023 General Converence. I am finishing the last talk today. Continuing to consider avoiding looking beyond the mark, I remember one of the 15 Apostles saying that all the core doctrines are taught in General Conference by the 15 living Apostles. One thought I had is to compile the topics of the talks of the 15 Apostles for the past 8 years (2015 to current). These should include all the core doctrines of the Gospel.
Jan 21, 2024
I have been working on figuring out what to study since I finished my study of the October 2023 General Conference talks by the prophets, seers, and reverlators. I have been looking at what is the first items translated, which seems to vary by language. It appears that at one time Selections from the Book of Mormon was done first (example: Bengali in 1985). It now appears that the sacrament prayers, the baptismal prayer, the Articles of Faith, The Living Christ, The Proclamation of the Family, and the Proclamation on the Restoration are now done first (example: Nivacle). It also appears that Gospel Fundamentals and Selections from the General Handbook are next (example Kinyarwanda). Also video of General Conference is available, but not in written form. Some are available on the phone app and not online via browser, some in PDF and not in the browser. Going to the mobile Library app and selectng language gives the most complete list of resources available in various languages, more than the online websites.
I feel like the place for me to study at this time is the sacrament prayers, the baptismal prayer, the Articles of Faith, The Living Christ, The Proclamation of the Family, and the Proclamation on the Restoration and then chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel and Chapter 1 of the General Handbook paying particular attention to the scripture references and then Gospel Fundamentals with its scripture references and make a survey of the General Conference talks by the apostles identifying those on fundamental gospel topics. I am going to try "slow reading" suggested in an article in the Liahona. (See Liahona Article about translating.)
Jan 26, 2024
I have been trying to study about the covenants made at baptism and through the sacrament. I have been looking at the lessons in Preach My Gospel chapter 4 and at the Gospel Principles and Gospel Fundamentals books. I really like the outline of the 4 lessons in Preach My Gospel. The topics in Gospel Principles line up pretty well with the items in the 4 lessons with the exception of two topics: the Gathering of Israel and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I have been struggling with How do these two items fit into the Restoration, Plan of Salvation, Gospel of Jesus Christ, or Becoming a Disciple of Jesus Christ? They don't seem to fit nicely into any of these topics. I think I have realized why: they are reason for the 4 lessons. The lessons are how we gather Israel, how we prepare people for the second coming of our Savior. Moroni was talking about the Gathering of Israel and the Second Coming of Christ right from the start. Israel is gathered in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ, the Gospel was restored to gather Israel. The NEXT BIG THING is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Ongoing Restoration is to prepare the people of the earth for the NEXT BIG THING. Each dispensation has had as it goal to prepare people for the Second Coming of Christ, for those who are prepared for that are prepared for the final judgement.
Feb 8, 2024
I thought today that it seems like in General Conference recently they have been emphasizing 1) how much our Heavenly Father and our Savior love us and how we should love them and our neighbors and 2) the importance of repenting daily. I did a search on the General Conference Corpus website and found that indeed "love" and "repent" have been mentioned more in the last few years than at any time the past. Mentions of "love" have been steadily increasing over several decades but have reach a current peak in the past 10 years. Mentions of "repent" really increase much faster from typical to highest levels ever in the past 10 years. I find this interesting confirmation of what I was my generally perception.
Mar 3, 2024
During my morning prayer, I came to see that we are each individually and families and perhaps also as groups (wards, stakes, missions) experiencing our own personal "ongoing restoration" so to speak. We are all on a journey along the path of life, here to learn by our own experience. So we progress step by step, line upon line, learning and applying the principles of salvation here a little and there a little. The key is how well we are learning and applying the process of progression, not how far or how fast we are progressing, for we will never progress to our ultimate goal of perfection here in this life. The key is that we are learning how to progress and showing that we are willing to keep progressing even when it becomes hard and that we learn on whom we must rely to progress - even our Savior Jesus Christ. See Allan D. Haynie "Remembering in Whom We Have Trusted" GC Oct 2015