Sunday, May 16, 2004

General Thoughts

First off, I should state that the intent of my posts on my religion blog is to pass along my own insights on gospel subjects; things I've noticed while studying the scriptures, things that have crossed my mind while pondering religious subjects, etc. Kind of like my own mini one-man FARMS or something.

These are just thoughts of mine, and do not necessarily reflect the teachings or opinions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To learn about the Church and its doctrines from the Church itself, you should start by reading everything available at www.mormon.org, and you may wish to request a visit from the missionaries. They can more thoroughly explain gospel subjects, and they have a lot more time to do so than I do. Missionaries of the Church study the gospel for about 3 hours daily, have devoted 2 years of their lives to full-time missionary service in another part of the world from where they live, and most of them are very knowledgeable about gospel subjects.

That said, here are a couple of the first thoughts I'd like to post.
  • If even the prophet and apostles continue to study the scriptures and continue to learn from them, then you and I certainly have a lot to learn.
  • Many people feel the Spirit of God strongly as they read and ponder the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Some have had the experience of not being able to put it down until they finish reading it. There is a certain power in that book. As I was in a missionary meeting one day a thought occurred to me: The Book of Mormon is concentrated gospel. Concentrated in a similar sense as concentrated orange juice. When the prophet-historian Mormon (after whom the book is named) abridged the ancient record of the Nephites, Mormon recorded the most important things in his abridgment. Once you gain a testimony of the truthfulness of the book by the power of the Holy Ghost (see Moroni 10:3-5), it is so important to continue to study the record on a regular basis -- daily when possible -- to continue to receive light and truth from the Christ-centered messages it contains.

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