Eggs, Spring Time, & Eternal Life

He lived. He taught great things. He suffered. He died. All this happened so that He could then overcome death, as a resurrected being, enabling a sacred power that allows all of us (yes everyone) to do the same--to rise from the ground after death, with a resurrected body that will never see death again. 

Eggs and Spring time are symbols of newness. All representative of our resurrected Savior. What does this mean for me? This means that my mistakes that have been corrected through a lot of hard work and faith, only by the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, because He took on my sin, can be wiped clean. Only with this cleanliness--spotless "newness" that requires routine maintenance in this life--can I be in His direct presence in the next life, eternally with my family, who can be given the same opportunity. He lives. He does. This truth justifies all other teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ. If this weren't true, none of His Gospel would be.

Today, I heard great wisdom from my Bishop, as he bore testimony of Jesus Christ's Atonement in the Sacrament Meeting portion of our Sunday service. He reminded me that the Atonement is personal, not just a blanket sacrifice and eternal process extended to all. It is extended to all, and whether a person realizes this in their life or not, it occurs often for everyone, but it has been established for every one of us, individually. Customized to my (and your) needs. Tailored to my (and your) weaknesses. A gift eternal that is specific to my life. I am grateful to know my Heavenly Father knows me personally, and that he has a Son who has taken the time to understand me, and that the Holy Ghost has been given an inspired assignment to help me recognize dynamic opportunities for change, for improvement, and for self-mastery. 

I have learned a great lesson throughout my life. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is as powerful as you allow it to be. It is not like a faucet that has a limit to how much water pressure can be generated. Likewise, a fractured dam cannot leak slowly. We possess some control over the the way His infinite blessing is actualized in our lives. It requires a desire, a listening heart, and a willingness to do what He requires in order to align yourself with His will. I will not--I can not--ever forget the moments in my life that the Atonement became more critical for me than oxygen. Oddly, I am not troubled by the thought of how many times I may not have recognized these opportunities, simply because He never gave up on me, and much of what He bore for me has already been removed from my life. He wants for me to be forgiven of sin as much as I do (most likely more so, due to His understanding). Whether we partake a little, or a whole lot of His Atonement, He already suffered for our sins. It's done. It's power is infinite, but the event is complete. He does not need to suffer, die, and resurrect again for any additional mistakes we commit. I pray that I never suggest to Him that I don't think His sacrifice was quite enough. I take great comfort in the knowledge I have gained (and am still gaining) through my activity in His church of how to utilize my Savior under proper authority, and renew myself weekly. I feel great excitement at the thought of being resurrected, just as he is now, and to live eternally with my family. For that, I am inexpressibly grateful. 

May the Savior touch your life in a customized way for you. May you all be willing to allow Him to be a part of your life. If you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I urge you to visit www.mormon.org/missionaries, and find missionaries in your area to assist you with better understanding the full spectrum of the Atonement. They have nothing to gain but joy felt knowing that someone has been brought closer to our Savior. Do not feel reluctant. Feel encouraged and empowered. Heavenly Father is waiting to share more with you. 

Happy Easter!!!

Written by: Nate Blackhurst

Easter in the Americas

After the Savior was  resurrected, He appeared, not only to Mary Magdalene and His apostles in Jerusalem, but also to some of His "other sheep"(John 10:16) right here in the Americas!

We have all read, and know the story in the New Testament regarding the death and resurrection of  our Savior. We are familiar with all that happened in Jerusalem, but what was happening in other places in the world?  In the Book of Mormon, we are told through ancient prophets about what was happening in the Americas.  3 Nephi 8-11

The world was greatly affected by His death. In the Americas, there were earthquakes, and there were exceedingly sharp lightnings, such as never had been known in all the land. Cities caught fire, others went into depths of the seas. Tornado's and terrible destruction throughout the land. After the destruction, there was darkness, so dark that even a candle could not be seen!

After 3 days, the inhabitants of this land were gathered together marveling over the events of the past few days when:
  

 And it came to pass that while they were thus conversing one with another, they heard a voice as if it came out of heaven; and they cast their eyes round about, for they understood not the voice which they heard; and it was not a harsh voice, neither was it a loud voice; nevertheless, and notwithstanding it being a small voice it did pierce them that did hear to the center, insomuch that there was no part of their frame that it did not cause to quake; yea, it did pierce them to the very soul, and did cause their hearts to burn.
 And it came to pass that again they heard the voice, and they understood it not.
 And again the third time they did hear the voice, and did open their ears to hear it; and their eyes were towards the sound thereof; and they did look steadfastly towards heaven, from whence the sound came.
 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:
 Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.
 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.
 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.  3 Nephi 11:3-10

In today's world, it helps to have a testimony of our Savior! To know of His life, His atoning sacrifice, and His death and resurrection. When we believe and have faith in His teachings, we have a purpose and a feeling of self worth that is not easily obtained without this knowledge. With the Book of Mormon, we get so much more knowledge and understanding of His plan for us!

How grateful I am for all that the Savior has done for me! I know that He lives! I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of His life!

Submitted by:  Lee Tanner

Captain Moroni For President 2016

 

Today many are pondering and deciding on who they should vote for President. There are campaigns with slogans and candidates with promises that are doing all they can for your vote. They promise to give you what you want while the other candidates try to destroy their opponents with attacks on their character, policy, or ability. Then you have the media taking sides and clamoring for your attention and telling you who is best to vote for and who is the worst. You have experts on TV saying so and so said just the right thing in the debate or you have people on the radio yelling at you saying this candidate will transform America while at the same time saying this other candidate will doom us forever. 

 

Who then do we trust among all the loud voices clamoring for your attention? The candidates? The Radio? The media? The TV? What if I told you there was a source you could trust? Would you listen?  
 

That source is the Book of Mormon. WHAT? A book that was written thousands of years ago by ancient prophets will help me chose a candidate for president in 2016. Really? Yep, Really.

Hear me out on this one. Thousands of years ago there were a People who were going through some tough political decisions on the American continent way before Trump or Clinton or Sanders or Rubio or Cruz were fighting for an election. Check this link out  Alma 46:12-13  

 

So here were the major players. One political party had a candidate named Amalickiah. His campaign speech or promise was that if the people that followed him that they would be made rulers over the people so he promised POWER! The other political party had a candidate named Moroni. His campaign speech or promise was very catchy and he fastened his whole speech on to a pole called the title of liberty and he had this put in all the cities. This was his speech “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children”.

Who would you follow? Who would you want to lead you? How does this help you in choosing a candidate today? I invite you to read this section of the BOOK of Mormon and see who WON the election of 73 BC in America. It’s a fascinating read and is full of political intrigue, death, and some great takeaways for our day and age.  

 

Let’s just say Captain Moroni had one great endorsement as a candidate check out these words…  Alma 48:17   “Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men." 

In this day and age I want to VOTE for Captain Moroni for President in 2016! Wouldn’t you? Email me at ragu21@msn.com to let me know if you will vote for him too. 

 

 Lets start a Captain Moroni revolution! Also check out a picture of Captain Moroni here: Captain Moroni's Picture 
 

This message was not endorsed by Captain Moroni nor does he plan to run for office in 2016. This message is also not funded by Captain Moroni nor were any funds used from outside donors to craft or create this message.  

 

 

 Submitted by:  Reagan Jones

 

 

 

 

 

A Personal Lesson Learned From The Book of Mormon

Have you ever felt like the scriptures were speaking directly to you while reading or hearing someone read a passage of scripture?  I have experienced this on a few occasions throughout my life.

One of the first times I can remember having this feeling was when I was serving as a full time missionary in Hammond, Indiana in 1978.  At the time I had been serving as a missionary for less than one week.  My companion was Elder Brian Judy from Salt Lake City.  Elder Judy and I were in the home of a young married couple who had invited the missionaries to teach them more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  On this particular day we were teaching them what happens after death.  Elder Judy quoted two verses out of the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, Chapter 11:43-44:

43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.

 44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. Alma 11:43-44

I know I had read those verses previously.  I know I had heard them read to me as well.  But on that occasion it felt as if I were hearing it for the first time.  And what was I hearing?   All men, everyone of us, will be resurrected and will received a perfected body.  Even the smallest imperfection in our earthly body will be gone.  But beyond that knowledge and understanding came the feeling that I knew this principle to be true.  It became the foundation of my testimony of the resurrection of Christ and that all of us will live beyond the grave.

Over the course of the two years as a full time missionary I taught this lesson many times.  As a way to help explain the passage of scripture I would explain to people that a scar my on my right thumb would be gone when I am resurrected.  That scar came as a result of my thumb being caught in the door way of a car door being shut when I was five years old.  I will live with it throughout my life but in the eternities it will be gone.  As a 19 year old I really thought that was a good object lesson to help teach this principle.  Now in retrospect this example is trivial and insignificant. 

I really don't care if that scar stays with me for the eternities or not.  Instead the resurrection means so much more to me.  Having children who are mentally handicapped due to an imperfection in their chromosomes has caused me to view my scar as irrelevant.  Instead, to me personally, the resurrection has taken on a whole new, and much greater appreciation and anticipation.  I look forward with great anticipation to the day when my children will be resurrected and I will get to know them as they truly are.  To be able to hold a conversation with them that has meaning.  To be able to find out their real opinions and to get a true sense of the depth of their knowledge, understanding, and testimonies that they have already developed is something that I eagerly await.  For them verse 44 of Alma chapter 11 could be rewritten to say "not so much as a single chromosome shall be imperfect, but everything shall be restored to function perfectly."

I am grateful that Christ broke the bands of death by being resurrected and that he prepared the way for each of us to experience that wonderful event.


Submitted by:  James Tanner