My Happiness?

      Does our heavenly Father want us to always be happy?  Is our happiness his main goal?  There is a church pamphlet on Chasity that is very good.  We would all be better off to live our lives according to God's laws.  The author of this pamphlet begins by saying that our heavenly Father loves us and wants us to be happy today and forever.  Could the author have used the word "holiness" instead of happiness?
      If you study church history from the days of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, you may find that they set aside their own happiness to embrace plural marriage.  The put what they believed to be the laws of God ahead of their own happiness.  Life was very hard for the early Mormons as they traveled west through danger and cold winters.  Many died or lost children to sickness.
      The apostle Paul set aside his own pursuit of happiness to follow God.  In 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 he writes, "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?"
      Jesus made an unpopular statement that is related to "our happiness" in Matthew 16:24-26: "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
      Jesus said those who are persecuted are blessed and should rejoice in Matthew 5:10-12.  "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
      According to James, we should be joyful in trials because they are necessary for our maturity.  James 1:2-4 says,  "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
      After you have lived a number of years, you will probable experience a very sad event that is hard to understand.  Not having the answers to difficult circumstances is a trial in itself.  God is all-powerful and yet He allows things to happen to us.  Job, in the Old Testament, is an incredible story and example of this.  He lost all his children, his riches and his health.  At the end of the book, God blessed him with more children and great riches.  I think it is fair to say that our immediate pursuit of happiness is not God's top priority.  He may put our need for maturity, holiness and future rewards ahead of our pursuit of happiness.  

Disobeying the Commandments

 Prophets  

     Are you obeying the commandments from the right God?  The heading on chapter 13 of Deuteronomy says, "The Lord tests his people to see if they will worship false gods-..."  Verses 1-4 say, "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us sere them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Ye shall walk after the LORD you God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him."
     There are many ideas about what God is.  Moroni 8:18 says, "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."  Have you been praying to a "changeable being"?  Has your god always been god from "all eternity to all eternity" or did he have to ascend into godhood?  Is he a progressing, exalted man?
      These verses do not ask us to pray about a prophet.  We are not instructed to seek a certain feeling about a prophet.  The Deuteronomy passage is not subjective.  It is objective.  It is a thinking decision to decide which prophet to accept.  If you are praying to an exalted man, then you are not praying to the God of Moroni 8:18.  It is impossible to follow God's commands if you are following the wrong god.

Spirits

      In 1 John 4:1-3, we are commanded to try the spirits.  "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that is should come; and even now already is it in the world."

      Again, this verse does not mention prayer or subjective feelings.  A number of religions believe in Jesus, but Matthew 24:23-24 gives us a Christ warning.  "Then is any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it no.  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."  As we try the spirits, do they give witness to the Jesus of the Bible or of another Christ?  John 3:16 says that Jesus is God's "only begotten son."  Are we praying to the son of an unchangeable being or the son of an exalted man?  If the spirit bears witness to a christ that is the son of an exalted man, then that spirit is not from God.  Christ, the son of a "changeable being" is a false christ.  Let us follow God's command to "Try the spirits".

Gospel

      In Galations 1:8&9, the apostle Paul commands us not to follow other gospels.  "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."  There are stories of an angel with a sword confronting and commanding people to receive the teaching of plural marriage or receive damnation.  D&C 132:4 says, "For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory."  Here is a gospel that says receive plural marriage and be saved by faith after all you can do.  Paul was very careful and accurate in describing the gospel message to the church in Galatia.  He preached salvation by grace through faith.  He strongly stood against those commanding circumcision and the law for salvation.  The apostle Paul does not ask anyone to pray about the gospel or have a certain feeling of it's truthfulness.  It was objective, not subjective.  They were only to receive the gospel of salvation by grace through faith.  Polygamy was not a part of his gospel.  Paul preached about having good works, but he did not include it in his salvation message.  Are we following Paul's command to stay away from other gospels?

      May you follow the commands of the God who is an unchangeable being from all eternity to all eternity.  May you only be led by the Holy Spirit that testifies of the true Christ.  May you cling to the Apostle Paul's simple gospel message.  May God be with you always.

Translated correctly???

      Can the Bible be trusted today?  Has it been corrupted through thousands of years of translations, corrupt scribes and wicked churches?
      In Psalm 119:127, the psalmist greatly valued God's word.  "Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold."  Psalm 119:72 says, "The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver."  David also spoke of God's teachings in psalm 19:10, "More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."  But what about today?  Was God able to preserve his word through the centuries?  Is that within his great power?  Mosiah 3:5 calls God Omnipotent.  This is attributing to God infinite power.  If God has unlimited power, then he would be able to preserve His word in spite of the corruption of finite men.  2 Nephi 9:20 and Moroni 7:22 state that God knows "all things".  If God knows all things, then He would know how to preserve his word.  God clearly has the power and know-how to preserve his word, but did He say He would preserve it?  In Matthew 24:25, Jesus gave this promise, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."  The apostle Peter compared people to God's word in 1 Peter 24-25, "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.  The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever...."  These are big promises!!  God word will endure longer than heaven and earth and longer than man and his glory.  That is a long time!
      Because of the fine work of modern archeologists, we have thousands of manuscripts to study.  There are around 2,000 Old Testament, Hebrew and Chaldean manuscripts or manuscript fragments.  These date back to the 7th century BC.  There are between 5,000 and 6,000 New Testament Greek Manuscripts from a variety of countries.  Because of persecution, the early church was spread out over a number of countries.  If there were doctrinal changes, we would be able to track them over the thousand years of writing and from different countries.  There are small writing errors, but the doctrine of the Bible has remained consistent throughout time.  That is an amazing feat.  We have an amazing God!
      (An exception may be the Alexandrian text.  It is said to be weaker on the deity of Christ.)
   

God is Spirit? Alma 18 & 22

      "God is a great spirit" and "God created all things" are two concepts that go well together in the book of Alma.  Alma 18:26-29 says, "And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?  And he said, Yea.  And Ammon said: This is God.  And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?  And he said: Yea, I believe that he created all things which are in the earth;..."  Alma 22:9-11 says, "And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?  And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believest thou this?  And he said: Yea, I believe that the Great Spirit created all things, and I desire that ye should tell me concerning all these things, and I will believe thy words."
      If these Alma passages stated that God was confined to a physical body, it would be a problem.    Creating a physical body requires matter.  The matter in this physical body would need space to exist in.  It would also need time to exist in the space.  These passages state that God has created all things in the earth.  Matter, space and time are things that exist in the earth.  So, according to these passages, matter, space and time were created by God.
      Is it possible that God is subject to his creation?  Did he create himself?  If God was confined to a physical body, he could not have existed before time, space and matter were created.  Moroni 8:18 says, "For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity."  The words from all eternity to all eternity mean from an infinite amount of time in the past to an infinite amount of time into the future.  God has always existed just the way that he is today.  He has never changed.  He existed before time began.  He is greater than matter, greater than space and greater than time.  He is not subject to them.  Matter, time and space are subject to him.  These are things he created.  These two passages say that God is a Spirit (not confined to a physical body).   So, the concepts of creating all things and God being a spirit, go well together.

Should the LDS name be on the Holy Bible?

       Should the name “The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints” be printed on the binder of the King James Bible?  Should the Bible be considered Mormon scripture?  Is it worthy enough? 

The story of the woman at the well, in John 4:4-42, is a very gracious story.  Since Jesus was a Jew, it was strange that he would walk through Samaria.  The Jews did not associate with Samaritans.  Jesus started a conversation with the woman at the well.  She does not sound like she was worthy to be in the presence of Jesus Christ.  Jesus said that she had had 5 husbands and the man she was currently with was not her husband.  I think we can assume that she was not “temple worthy”.  She probably didn’t have a temple recommend.  I doubt that she had been paying her tithing.  She does not sound like a religious person at all.  She probably had plenty of bad works and a bad reputation.  Suddenly she was in the presence of Jesus Christ.  As Jesus was talking to this UNWORTHY woman, he told that her if she had known the “gift of God”, she would have asked him for living water.  In John 4:14 he said, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”  When Jesus mentioned her 5 husbands and current man, she changed the subject by talking about worship.  She said in John 4:20, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”  Jesus answered her question.  In John 4:21, 23, 24 we read, “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father…But the hour cometh,…when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”  If this was not enough, he went on to tell her that he was Christ, the Messiah.  As you continue reading the story, you find that she went on a little mission trip and brought many Samaritans to Jesus.  The Mormon Church seems to have a focus on worthiness.  However, this is a story of an unworthy person and Jesus.  Should this story be considered scripture? 

            There is a temple story in Luke 18:9-14.  “And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee and the other a Publican.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”  This story focuses on two men.  One was not only unworthy but called himself a sinner.

      Luke 5:30-32 is another passage that compares worthy and unworthy people.  “But the scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?  And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  The focus here is on the unworthy also.

      The temple in the Old testament must have drawn a lot of unworthy people.  If you sinned against God, you went to the temple with your goat or other animal and the priest sacrificed the animal for your sin.  They did this at least once a year.  The temple was a place for unworthy sinners to come. 

      Moroni 10:32 has more of a Mormon flavor with attention given to worthiness.  “…if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you,…”  The next verse says, “And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ,…”  You probably know 1 Nephi 3:7, “…the Lord giveth no commandements unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”  According to this verse, it should be possible to keep every commandment.  So we are without excuse.  2 Nephi 25:23 says, “..;for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” 

      So here is the question:  If you were in President Monson’s shoes, would you say that the King James Bible is “worthy” enough to be considered scripture or is it too focused on the “unworthy”?  Should the name, “The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints” be associated with it?