Question: How do we overcome iniquities? How do we know we are forgiven? Answer: We overcome “iniquities”—our inherited or our own dysfunctional patterns—the same way we overcome our “sins,” which are our transgressions of God’s commandments. That is, we keep repenting of them until the perfect day. When we fully repent of transgressions, we receive […]
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The Sinai Covenant—God’s covenant with his people Israel as a nation—although a conditional covenant (whose blessings and privileges depend on whether his people keep the terms of the covenant), was never done away, even when Israel transgressed and ultimately apostatized. Today, the Sinai Covenant still forms the basis on which a nation may become God’s
The Sinai Covenant Operates in the Endtime Read More »
“While ‘just men made perfect’ (Hebrews 12:23) have achieved perfection on a celestial level (Doctrine & Covenants 76:69), they haven’t yet attained the perfection of Jesus Christ. To become ‘partakers of the divine nature’ (2 Peter 1:4), they too must go from grace to grace as Jesus did: ‘I, John, saw that he received not
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When Jesus promised his three Beloved Disciples that “ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father” (3 Nephi 28:10), he signified to them in so many words that they would become Saviors of worlds. While on the one hand he informed his Nephite disciples that “the works which ye
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Isaiah’s prophetic ministry begins in 742 B.C. at Jehovah’s appearance to him in the temple. Jehovah forewarns him, however, that his people’s reception of him won’t be favorable (Isaiah 6:1–13). Isaiah nevertheless faithfully performs his role as Jehovah’s oracle. As was the custom, his early prophecies are likely spoken inside the gates of Jerusalem or
Forty Years of Isaiah’s Ministry as a Prophet Read More »
I remember the head rabbi at the rabbinic school where I studied in Israel many years ago saying that the reason certain persons have power with God so that he answers their requests is that they have “merit” (Hebrew zehut) with God. It acts like a bank account in which the more “merit” you have,
Question: When might we expect the prophecies of Isaiah to be fulfilled? Answer: Isaiah’s prophecies cover the brief period of time that immediately precedes the coming of Jehovah to reign on the earth, also known as the “Day of Jehovah.” It begins with God’s raising up his endtime servant in response to a general apostasy
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For a long time I didn’t make the connection between Monday migraines and Sundays’ partaking of the gluten- and commercial yeast-rich sacrament bread, not to mention inhaling potent levels of fragrances some ward members feel compelled to wear that inevitably subject sensitive other ward members to often lingering allergic reactions. Being averse to taking medications
Many people down the ages have led religious lives that couldn’t necessarily be called spiritual, though they may have mistaken one for the other. When spirituality becomes hypocrisy, God springs a surprise that separates the true from the false: “My Lord says, ‘Because these people approach me with the mouth and pay me homage with
A Difference between Religious and Spiritual Read More »
While the phenomenon of the heavens “opening” to persons who receive visions of God and angels is well known from the scriptures, it is not so commonplace that every believer in Jesus experiences it. And yet, as the scripture says, “The gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on
It seems to me that being ordained a king or a priest has little meaning if the person so ordained merely bears those titles and doesn’t actually function as a king or priest—by God’s definition, that is, not man’s. Isaiah prophesies endtime persons being so ordained; but he also gives criteria for what it means
When President Ezra Taft Benson used to say “Find out what your mission in life is and pay any price to fulfill it,” it made me think that each of us has a calling in life that is unique to us besides the general calling for us to be saved from sin and obtain eternal
