The Things I saw…in the Spirit

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Bertha Belch, returning from a mission to Africa, will be speaking tonight at a fireside. Come hear Bertha

Belch all the way from Africa.The cost of the Fasting & Prayer Conference includes

lunch."Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get

rid of  those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.

The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.Sister Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again”. The ward was very

pleasedFor those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery in the

primary room.Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch. Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions

She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Bro. Hinckley’s lessons...

Jedediah M. Grant"The prophet stood in his own house when

he told several of us the night the visions of heaven were opened to him, in which he saw the American continent drenched in blood, and he saw nation rising against nation.... 

The Prophet gazed upon the scene his vision presented, until his heart sickened and he besought the Lord to close it up again."

(Journal of Discourses, 2:146-147)

NephiFor it came to pass after I had desired to know the

things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain....

"And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?

"And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw." (1

Nephi 11:1-3)

1 Nephi 12: 16,17 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain

of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell.

And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which:

blindeth the eyes,hardeneth the hearts of the children of men,leadeth them away into broad roads, that they

perish and are lost.

1 Nephi 13

And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the formation of a great church.

And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which:

slayeth the saints of God,and tortureth thembindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke

of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the

saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.

And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth,

1 Nephi 13And I looked and beheld a man among

the Gentiles, … and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters…

And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.

In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, … do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick…

And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony

unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

What is the difference between covenant and captivity?

And thus ye shall become instructed in the law of my church, and be sanctified by that which ye have received, and ye shall bind yourselves to act in all holiness before me" (D&C 43)

Elder Carlos Asay

When I taught at this institution (BYU, I worked with

students who fitted, floated, or failed. Those who fitted came with purpose, high resolve, and good work habits. Those who floated appeared on the scene for a semester or two and faded away to something less challenging when their grades finally caught up with them.

Those who failed lacked the commitment and discipline required of a person in an institution of higher learning. BYU Devotional, Feb. 7, 1982

Question:As member of the Church, are we Fitting,

Floating or Failing?(and how do you know?)

President PackerOn one occasion I was in the office of a counselor in the First

Presidency when a phone call he had placed earlier in the day came through. After greeting the caller, he said, "I wonder if your business affairs would bring you into Salt Lake City sometime in the near future? I would like to meet with you and your wife, for I have a matter of some importance that I would like to discuss with you."

Though they were many miles away, that man all of a sudden discovered that his business would bring him to Salt Lake City the very next day. I was in the same office the following day when the counselor announced to this man that he had been called to preside over one of the missions of the Church. "Now," he said, "we don't want to rush you into this decision. Would you call me in a day or two, as soon as you are able to make a determination as to your feelings concerning this call?"

The man looked at his wife and she looked at him, and without saying a word there was that silent conversation between husband and wife, and that gentle, almost imperceptible nod. He turned back to the member of the Presidency and said, "Well, President, what is there to say? What could we tell you in a few days that we couldn't tell you now? We have been called. What answer is there? Of course we will respond to the call.“

Then the Presidency member said, rather gently, "Well, if you feel that way about it, actually there is some urgency about this matter. I wonder if you could be prepared to leave by ship from the West Coast on the thirteenth of March."

The man gulped, for that was just eleven days away. He glanced at his wife. There was another silent conversation, and he said, "Yes, President, we can meet that appointment."

What about your business?" he was asked. "What about your grain elevator? What about your livestock? What about your other holdings?"

I don't know," said the man, "but we will make arrangements somehow. All of those things will be all right."Such is the great miracle that we see repeated over and over, day after day, among the faithful who have made

covenants with the Lord. (Holy Temple, 157)

Elder Ross Workman

Spiritual captivity rarely results from a single choice or event. More often, freedom is surrendered one small step at a time until the way to regain that freedom is obscured.

A young man once pleaded with me for help. He had become addicted to pornography, which he accessed via his home computer. It burdened him with such guilt that he could not feel good about attending church or participating in priesthood assignments. It adversely affected his social life. He was powerfully drawn to spend hour upon hour alone in front of the computer viewing that which he acknowledged brought only frustration and despair. It was as if he were chained by a master whose only purpose was to make him miserable.

He did not decide at once to become a slave to the computer screen. Rather, he decided at some earlier time that viewing destructive images “just this once” would not hurt and would satisfy a “curiosity.” Once became twice, and twice became several times, until a powerful addiction had lessened his power of choice. Only after he was enchained by his addiction did he recognize that he had willingly submitted to captivity.

(Breaking the Chains of Sin,” Ensign, Jul 2006, 52–55)