The scriptures are replete with scripture where the Lord freely forgives. My search online at (lds.org/scriptures) showed 90 specific references in the Standard Works, 25 from our Doctrine and Covenants, the scripture written most closely to our day. For example: (110:5) to Joseph/Oliver “Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice.”; (25:3) to Emma “Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called.”; (112:3) and to other church leaders (Thomas B Marsh – senior apostle of the twelve at the time) “Nevertheless, inasmuch as thou hast abased thyself thou shalt be exalted; therefore, all thy sins are forgiven thee.” ; to us all (58:42) “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”; (29:3) “Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that at this time your sins are forgiven you, therefore ye receive these things; but remember to sin no more, lest perils shall come upon you.”; (61:2) “Behold, verily thus saith the Lord unto you, O ye elders of my church, who are assembled upon this spot, whose sins are now forgiven you, for I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts;”; (64:3) “There are those among you who have sinned; but verily I say, for this once, for mine own glory, and for the salvation of souls, I have forgiven you your sins.”; (50:36) “And behold, verily I say unto you, blessed are you who are now hearing these words of mine from the mouth of my servant, for your sins are forgiven you.”
“We have been taught, and we understand, that we must do as the Lord commands ... “ (Primary Song 172 ‘We’ll Bring the World His Truth’). We are taught from scripture, from our leaders, and from out pulpits and, I trust, from above.
The scriptures are replete with scripture where the Lord freely forgives. My search online at (lds.org/scriptures) showed 90 specific references in the Standard Works, 25 from our Doctrine and Covenants, the scripture written most closely to our day. For example: (110:5) to Joseph/Oliver “Behold, your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice.”; (25:3) to Emma “Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called.”; (112:3) and to other church leaders (Thomas B Marsh – senior apostle of the twelve at the time) “Nevertheless, inasmuch as thou hast abased thyself thou shalt be exalted; therefore, all thy sins are forgiven thee.” ; to us all (58:42) “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”; (29:3) “Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that at this time your sins are forgiven you, therefore ye receive these things; but remember to sin no more, lest perils shall come upon you.”; (61:2) “Behold, verily thus saith the Lord unto you, O ye elders of my church, who are assembled upon this spot, whose sins are now forgiven you, for I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts;”; (64:3) “There are those among you who have sinned; but verily I say, for this once, for mine own glory, and for the salvation of souls, I have forgiven you your sins.”; (50:36) “And behold, verily I say unto you, blessed are you who are now hearing these words of mine from the mouth of my servant, for your sins are forgiven you.”
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Three Sacred Places: Our Homes – Our Chapels – Our Temples .. "we perfect ourselves starting in our own homes growing by serving each other and our families, by faithful service in callings within our home wards and branches serving each other and other families, by becoming worthy to obtain a temple recommend and attending therein for ourselves to be endowed and sealed as families eternally and not just ‘till death do we part’. Thus the home and church lead to the temple and the temple leads us as a church back to our eternal home in one great circle, one ‘eternal round’."
Sitting in our testimony meeting last week I was thinking on just what it meant to bear and to have a testimony. While I would have liked to be one of those standing to bear a testimony, I didn't really have anything very extraordinary to say, time was short with many others already speaking, and many other perfectly appropriate excuses came to my mind. I have a testimony. I know that God exists, that this is His church. He directs the leaders of this Church to our benefit, that living and following His teachings will bring us closer to Him. We are blessed when we follow him.
Christ taught by parable, by precept, through scripture, directly to those prepared, and by perfect example, always loving and inviting us to 'Come unto Him' and to repent and be healed. He reinforced these teachings with symbols; of bread and water, of lambs, rocks, salt, lamps, and seeds. He taught us to pray, to read and obey the scriptures, attend our meetings and fulfill our callings, to make and keep covenants, and to feel and follow the Spirit. We need to do the same in our homes with our families.
The power of the devil is in 'flattery, and much power of speech', trying to convince us that good things are bad and that bad things are better, or at least 'ok'. His methods are many and varied, are pleasing to hear, but in the end they each attempt to convince us to choose a path away from the prophet, from the church, and from the 'iron rod' and from God. For some, he preaches 'all is well – no need to worry or rush, you can do it later', to others he whispers 'you are imperfect, you will never make it – it is best not even try', to some 'that sin is good or there is no sin and no devil', and to even others 'that the church or it's leaders have gone astray – you need to follow more modern ideas and a new path'. The intended effect of each of these many varied assaults is simply to halt us in our progress – to keep us from completing our part in His work. One reason I felt to share this story with you was that it was Valentines yesterday. The other reason was that we were reminded of the story as we shared it with our youngest daughter this past week. My wife, Shauna, was telling her our story, how we met and got engaged, and that the anniversary of our first date was the 9th of February .. and then stopped, suddenly realizing that we both had forgotten to observe it the day before! And so, another reason for this story, is that my talk today is on remembering and repenting .. This month we attended the Magrath 1st Ward ward conference. I was assigned to provide some training for the EQ/HP in their Priesthood meeting. Our assigned high council topic for Jan 2015 was on developing faith in Jesus Christ 'in our homes'. President Dudley also asked me to discuss Priesthood Keys. Many of the thoughts below were used in the lesson given.
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Roger DaviesMy mom (and my grandkids) couldn't be at all my public speaking assignments, so I post them here for them/her and you to read .. Archives
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