The Gospel Doesn't Change



This is what the old one looks like.



New Book.



Alright, I had a neat experience.  A few days ago I happened across an old book entitled Gospel Principles.  This book is what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints used in the 1970s to teach the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in a Sunday School class.  Nowadays, in the same Sunday School class, we use a book called Gospel Principles.  The newest edition went into use at the beginning of the year 2010.  That was last year.  A lot has changed in all those years.  Even with the book, the cover and the pictures have changed almost 100%.  But I got to thumbing through the book.  It turns out that all the chapters of this manual are in the same order they were 40 years ago.  What impressed me more was that the words in it were almost exactly the same as the newer version.  There have been a few updates based on cultural and grammatical changes but really nothing has changed. 

It surprised me at first, but as I thought about it, it makes a lot of sense.  The gospel hasn't really changed at all.  It's still exactly what Jesus Christ taught when He was on the earth.  We could go back even further though.  Christ taught the same teachings to prophets in the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon.  And in our day, that gospel and all of the truths of it have been restored to the earth.

A lot has changed in the world in the past 40 years but some things will never change.  Jesus Christ is our Savior.  The Principles of His gospel are set in stone and will never be altered or adulterated within His restored church.  Jesus Christ is at the head of our church and through His priesthood it is led.

Stain Remover

Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are supposed to maintain a professional, uplifting appearance.  We often wear suits and ties to convey this (and by "often" I mean every day).   I have been wearing a white shirt every day for some time now.  These shirts, no matter how well they are made, are not the best at hiding stains.  Anything you drop, spill, or fall into, will show like an alligator in a room full of business administrators.  One of the biggest culprits is spaghetti.  The splashy, slurpy, long noodles get a lot of torque worked up and catapult that red, drippy sauce onto your neatly tailored clothing.  If not treated, the stain would last forever, never to be removed.  I've tried wearing shirts with stains on them and it's not fun.  I'm always so self-conscious; I try to cover up the stain so others don't know it's there.  It makes it more difficult to maintain that clean, modest appearance with a big spaghetti stain for all to see.

But there is good news!  The geniuses in some factory somewhere made a way for me to get rid of these stains immediately.  It comes in the form of a pen and I can take it anywhere I go!  I can just rub it on the stain and BOOM! the stain is gone.  It works like magic.  Because of this nifty contraption, I can go about my life in comfort, without trying to hide my embarrassing stain.

Because I'm a missionary, this concept reminds me of a scripture.  There's a part in The Book Of Mormon when a bunch of Lamanites (usually the bad guys) become converted to the Lord and join God's church.  The king of this people expresses their feelings about repentance: "it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain" (Alma 24:11).  When we make mistakes, or sin, it effects us tremendously.  We have feelings of guilt and shame.  These feelings put a "stain" on our hearts.  The only way to get rid of this stain is to repent and ask God for forgiveness.  When removed, we don't need to worry about hiding our sins or our past transgressions from others.  All of those bad feelings we have will be gone.  Just like that really neat pen takes the stain from my shirt, through repentance, God will take the stain from our hearts.

While this awesome pen can quickly and easily solve many problems with my white shirts, it can't do everything.  Some stains, because of the size and severity of  the stain, need further treatment.  This treatment usually takes a lot more work than the convenient pen.  Without extensive care, the shirt could be lost forever.  It's not as easy but it's just as important.  It's the same way with sins.  Repentance isn't always the easiest process.  Just like the huge stain on my shirt, a very serious sin can only be removed by much prayer and forgiveness.

Repentance is available to everybody.  The Lamanites I mentioned earlier described themselves as "the most lost of all mankind" and they were able to repent and come to the Lord.  We all make mistakes and these mistakes really can be forgiven by God!

Articles of Faith #7

"We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth"

 After baptism, members of Christ's church receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (see Acts 19: 2-6).  With the gift of the Holy Ghost comes many blessings. In his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul taught of these gifts:

"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues" (1 Corinthians 12: 8-10 study the whole chapter for further understanding)

In the days of the early apostles these gifts were known and commonly accepted.  With the modern restoration of God's priesthood, these gifts are as readily available as they have ever been.  Just like our talents and abilities, not everyone has the same gifts.  God speaks today and He works miracles among His children!  The Book of Mormon prophet Moroni teaches us that "these gifts ... never will be done away".  The only thing that could accomplish that is "the unbelief of the children of men" (Moroni 10: 19).  

I know that God lives and that "he is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Moroni 10: 19).  I know that Jesus Christ is His son.  I know that the spirit can truly perform miracles in our lives and the lives of others.  I pray that we can all follow Christ's example and seek after these spiritual gifts.

"With Real Intent"

I've been thinking a lot about prayer lately.  It's amazing that God wants to hear from us all the time.  He really is our Father and we really are His children.  He loves us as any father loves his children.  When we pray to God, He listens.  One problem that a lot of people (including myself) struggle with is getting too casual in their prayers.  Sometimes, I catch myself using "vain repetitions, as the heathen" (3 Nephi 13:7).  One way we can avoid this is to pray "with real intent" (Moroni 10:4).  When we have "real intent" in our prayers we really mean what we say.  We really want the blessings for which we are asking.  We really need to talk with our Heavenly Father.  And we Really Intend to act on the answers we receive. 

If we come unto God "with real intent" and actually put thought into our prayers He will bless us.  Christ has given us this promise: "And Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, beleiving that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you" (3 Nephi 18:20 emphasis added).  I know that this is true.  God has answered countless prayers of mine and He is willing to bless all of His children.

The Restoration

The central message that missionaries share with people is the message of the Restoration.  This restoration is referring to Christ's church on the earth.

When Christ was on the Earth He set up a church.  This was not the first time His church was on the earth (nor would it be the last).  But, as we know, Christ was rejected and crucified.  He left His twelve apostles to govern the church.  These men held the priesthood of God and through them Jesus Christ continued to run His church.  Over time, these twelve men were rejected and killed.  With them went God's holy priesthood.  Without the priesthood on the earth Christ's church was lost.  People set up their own churches and professed them to be the true church.  Many of these pepole were honest, truth-seeking people attempting to do God's work.  Much good has come and will continue to come from these churches.  But without the priesthood of God, they could not act in the name of our savior Jesus Christ.

After nearly 2,000 years, our Heavenly Father showed His love to us by restoring that original church.  God called a prophet through whom He restored that priesthood authority held by Christ's original apostles.  There is a prophet on the earth today.  He is assisted by twelve modern-day apostles.  God loves us.  He has restored His church.  I know this to be true.

God is Our Loving Heavenly Father

God loves us.  He really is our Father in Heaven.  We truly are His children.  I am grateful for this knowledge.  We lived with Him before we came to this Earth.  We are separated from Him now, and we must walk by faith if we hope to return to live with Him someday.

In the Book of Mormon today, I read an example of somebody who has felt God's love.  The prophet, Alma, attempted to teach the wicked people of Ammonihah but was rejected.  He leaves Ammonihah without intending to ever return.  He is obviously pretty upset about the whole situation.  The scriptures recordthat while Alma was "wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul ... an angel of the Lord appeared unto him".  The angel comforted him and told him that he has "great cause to rejoice; for [he had] been faithful in keeping the commandments of God" (Alma 8: 14-15).  So it is with us.  God is happy with us when we do what is right.  He is unhappy when we disobey his commandments.  However he loves us equally either way.  I so bear witness in the name of my savior Jesus Christ.

Is it for a good reason?

I was reading the Book of Mormon today and I came across an interesting verse.  In this verse the prophet, Alma, is fighting in a war with his people, the Nephites.  At this point Alma is fighting one-on-one with the leader of the opposing army.  As is common in life-threatening situations Alma cries to God to protect him, "O Lord, have mercy and spare my life".  Clearly Alma doesn't want to die right at this moment.  But what caught my attention was Alma's purpose to continue living.  He continues, "spare my life, that I may be an instrument in thy hands to save and preserve this people" (Alma 2:30).  Alma wasn't fearing death, he simply had more to do with his life.  He was the leader of the Nephite Government and the Church at that time.  He knew that his life being preserved would be a great blessing to many others.

The most important part however is how Alma backed up this statement.  He eventually gave up his role as the "Chief Judge" to devote his life to the ministry to which he was called.  He convinced many to come unto Christ and enjoy the blessings of the Gospel. 

So when we really want something; riches, talents, knowledge, etc. ; we need to consider why we want it.  If it is to fulfill God's purposes, God will likely assist us in attaining that when we come to Him in prayer.

I know that as we seek to do God's will, we will see His hand in all we do.

The Spirit World

God has a plan for each of us.  That plan is perfect.  As we follow God's commandments and read the scriptures we can learn more of that plan.  In the scriptures that plan is referred to as the plan of redemption, the plan of happiness, the plan of salvation. 

Part of that plan takes place in what we call the spirit world.  In a conversation with his son, Corianton, the Book of Mormon prophet, Alma taught about the spirit world.  It was revealed to him by an angel of the Lord that "the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, ... whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life" (Alma 40:11).  I know that this is true.  We will reside in the spirit world.  We will live for a time without our bodies to await the eventual time when our spirits and or bodies will be united for the rest of eternity.  But before this resurection we have the incredible opputunity to learn more.  We will be taught of Jesus Christ.  We will learn his gospel.  All men will have the chance to accept the glorious message of the savior. 

We should not, however, delay the process of accepting and acting on the message of Christ's gospel.  As the prophet Amulek taught we should not "procrastinate the day of [our] repentance until the end".  "For that same spirit which doth possess [our] bodies at the time that [we] go out of this life ... will have power to possess your body in that eternal world" (Alma 34:33-34).  We can draw from Amulek's teachings that it will not be an easy thing to accept and live the gospel in the spirit world.  Thus, we should do all we can while in this life to follow Christ's teachings and prepare for eternal life (see Alma 34:32).

I am truly grateful for the mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has provided the way for all men to return to Him.  I am thankful for His atonement.  I thank God every day for his glorious Plan of Salvation and for His son who makes it all possible (see John 3:16). 

The Iron Rod

In the beginning of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi and later his son, Nephi, see a vision of a "Tree of Life".  Leading to this tree is an "iron rod".  This rod provides guidance along the only path to the Tree of Life.  There are many distractions along the way but only by holding fast to the rod of iron can anybody hope to taste of the fruit of the Tree of Life.

In explaining the symbolism of this vision, Nephi says that the "iron rod is the word of God".  "The word of God" as recorded by His prophets is called scripture.  In the light of the restored Gospel we have four books of scripture which we call the Standard Works.  These include The Holy Bible, The Book Of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.  In addition to these books of scripture, Christ's living Prophets and Apostles provide us with "the word of God" for daily guidance and direction for our time.

If we can ever hope to reach the Tree of Life we must hold fast to the iron rod.  We must treasure the word of God.  We must read and learn from the scriptures.  We must follow the counsel of modern-day prophets.  We must resist ALL distractions that can and will come along our ways.  To dwell with Heavenly Father for eternity and truly enjoy the fruit of the Tree of Life we must stay on the strait and narrow path leading to Him.  Luckily, we have an iron rod to help us along the way.

And when temptation's power is nigh
Our pathway clouded o'er
Upon the rod we can rely
And Heaven's aid implore
(Hymns #274)

None can escape the mist of darkness.  But as we proceed, holding fast to the iron rod, we can make it.  I add my testimony that Jesus Christ lives.  He has spoken to His prophets in ancient times and He does so now.  Following the counsel of these prophets is how we return to live with our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.