Gospel Cogitations

Last week I finished reading the book of Mosiah again, and it struck me that there was an important lesson to be learned about how we can deal with trials.  There is a very interesting contrast between the people of Limhi and the people of Alma in the way that they were delivered from their enemies.  I believe we can use these two stories as a way to understand trials in our own lives. During the time of king Mosiah (the first) a group of people left Zarahemla to return to their ancestral city in the land of Nephi.  After spending some time there, king Noah, who was a very wicked man, caused a lot of iniquity to take place among his people.  The Lord sent a prophet named Abinadi to warn the people of the consequences of their actions.  Abinadi prophecied that: "And except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the han...

There is a tradition at Christmas time, and a fairly common one I believe, to read the story of the birth of Christ out of the New Testament.  My family has done this over the years, either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so I know how great it can be.  To help those who may wonder in which order to read the New Testament verses of the Christmas story, I will lay them out in chronological order.  I will take my chronology from a book called The Life of the Savior, by Rockshire Publishing.  I am writing this a day earlier than usual to try to accommodate all schedules. In addition to ordering the scriptures in time, I will also quote the scriptures as they appear in the Joseph Smith Translation .  This translation was made in the early 1800s shortly after the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Joseph Smith the prophet was commanded of God to make a new translation of the Bible to restore some doctrines that had been lost si...

Last week I spoke of lighting the world.  Today I would like to get into a little more of the details of how  we are influenced by both the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost.  This time of year this is especially important because so many people are able to feel joy through the Christmas season, and they may wonder why they feel joy. All men can be influenced by what is called the Light of Christ, but sometimes spiritual experiences take place under the power of the Holy Ghost.  This can be confusing for some people to differentiate.  I first learned how to tell the difference between the light of Christ and the Spirit while serving my mission.  The wonderful missionary handbook Preach My Gospel says,  " The light of Christ is just what the words imply: enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, ennobling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ…. The light of Christ fills the “ immensity of space ” and is the mea...

It is an interesting phenomenon that, with few exceptions, people are nicer around Christmas time.  I believe it is because of the abundance of the Light of Christ that is spread by those who are true believers in Him.  Recently, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has begun a Christmas initiative called Light the World .  In addition to the many wonderful ways that they have suggested how we can be a light to others, I would like to make a few remarks on the subject. This phrase "Light the World" comes from a couple of passages in the New Testament.  Jesus, immediately after his encounter with the Pharisees and the adulterous woman, and likely addressing those willing to stay and listen to him, said, " I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life " ( John 8:12 . See also D&C 10:70 and 11:28 ).  Of all the things to say to a captive audience, waiting to see how the Savio...

To conclude the exploration of the plan of salvation, I would like to discuss the state of man after the resurrection and judgment.  This is something not wholly understood by the Christian world in general, but they cannot really be blamed for it.  There are a few scriptures in the New Testament that mention the kingdom of heaven, but not in great detail.  "In my Father’s ​​​house​ are many ​​​mansions" ( John 14:2 ) taught Jesus to his disciples.  And it was in studying John 5:29 that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received great insight in regard to this: "And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." After reading this, the Prophet wrote, "It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body the term ‘Heaven,’ as intended for the Saints’ eternal home, must include more kingdoms than ...