Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Great and Spacious Building

24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.

  25 And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.

  26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.

  27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.

  28 And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.

  29 And now I, Nephi, do not speak all the words of my father.

  30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.

  31 And he also saw other multitudes feeling their way towards that great and spacious building.

  32 And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads.

  33 And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not. (1 Nephi 8:24-33; emphasis added)

I have been meaning to post this for a while now but today’s article on World Net Daily prompted me to take action.  I believe that we should “liken the scriptures”<1> to our day and this section has stuck out to me since Proposition 8, which defined marriage in the state of California as being between one man and one woman.

Ever since Prop 8 passed, there has been considerable “mocking and pointing their fingers”<2> at those people who are willing to stand up for right and truth.  We also might notice that the loudest voices against us are coming from celebrities and so called famous people who’s “manner of dress [is] exceedingly fine.”<3>  I have also heard of people who “were ashamed”<4> at having supported Prop 8 or decided that it wasn’t in their own best interest to not support the leaders the Church because of fear or wanting to look tolerant of others. 

The great and spacious building is the pride of the world, according to 1 Nephi 11:36. This is something to always remember.  We should beware of pride.  Pride caused the downfall of the Nephite nation.   We should watch the people in their expensive clothes and large houses as they “point the finger of scorn”<5> at us as we stand for the truth according to the laws of God and “heed them not.”<6>

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what anyone on this earth says or does to us.  There is only One who’s judgment we should be worried about and that is God.

What do you think?

<1> 1 Nephi 19:23
<2>, <3> 1 Nephi 8:27
<4> 1 Nephi 8:28
<5>, <6> 1 Nephi 8:33

For more information, check our the articles listed below:

Same-Sex Marriage and Proposition 8
Protests Over Gay-Marriage Ban Escalate in California
Utah faces boycott after Mormon work for Prop 8
Tom Hanks Says Mormon Supporters of Proposition 8 'Un-American'
Tom Hanks Apologizes
Samuel L. Jackson Says Mormon Supporters of Prop 8 'Misinformed'
Mormon Temples in Utah, L.A. Targeted With White Powder
New Yorkers Protest Gay Marriage Ban Outside Mormon Church

Sources: LDS Scriptures, Fox News, World Net Daily

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Monday, April 20, 2009

Taking a Stand… Way to Go!

I don’t believe we should have a Miss USA pageant but I just had to post this.  I don’t believe that women need to be paraded for everyone to see.  Women are daughters of our Heavenly Father and our physical bodies should be kept sacred.

If you have read much of this blog, you know my stand against same-sex marriage.  If you haven’t been reading my blog, check out these posts:

Anyways, back to the reason for this post.  I didn’t watch the Miss USA pageant but on Fox News today, there was an article discussing a response by the contestant from California.  The question was whether or not she believed in gay marriage.  This was her response:

“We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised.”

If I would have been watching that I would’ve stood up and clapped.  What a statement!  She stood up for what she believed and did it regardless of the consequences.  As a result, she didn’t win the competition.  I don’t think she should worry about that, she should be proud of herself for taking a stand.  Kudos to her.  I think we could all learn a little bit from what she did. 

Miss California Sparks Furor With Gay Marriage Comments on Miss USA Telecast

Source: Fox News

UPDATE: After the competition, the Fox News Channel’s Courtney Friel interviewed Miss California.  The one statement that stuck out to me is this: “…[U]ltimately, the greatest judge of…character was not the one who asked…the question, but the one who doesn't need a TV camera to watch her answer.”

Miss California: God was testing me

Source: World Net Daily

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Friday, April 17, 2009

Talents

We all have talents.  We should all use those talents that God has given us.  Let me share a video of someone that has an amazing talent.  Her name is Susan Boyle.  I don’t know her.  I have never met her.  She has been given a talent that most of us only dream of.  She is such a humble example of being grateful to have this opportunity to share this talent with others.  That has always been her goal and that should always be our goal.  We should only use our talents for good and use them to help in service to others.

Let us all be grateful for our talents and make sure that we use them otherwise we might lose them.

Enjoy!

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Town Hall for Hope

I know this is not necessarily LDS or gospel related but it is very important due to the current state of things in the country. We should not participate in this recession. We need to have our hope not in the government but in Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We need to pray to God and ask for guidance then get off our knees and go to work. Enjoy the video!



Source: Town Hall for Hope Stumble Upon Toolbar

Monday, April 13, 2009

New Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Easter Video



This is a VERY powerful video about Christ, His death and glorious resurrection. Please share this with others! Excerpts were taken from Elder Jeffery R. Holland's talk given during the April 2009 General Conference. Stumble Upon Toolbar