Pres Nelson OK/KS Devotional

thank you good job my dear brothers and sisters i'm very grateful for the privilege of meeting with you i'm happy you heard from my wife wendy she is a wonderful woman who blesses my life every day she's a real blessing to the entire church and we are grateful to elder and sister uchtdorf for their inspiring messages and we appreciate the great leadership of elder and sister piper special thank thanks to those who participated in the video showing the history of the church in oklahoma and kansas and thanks to the choir and orchestra for their inspiring music i know the lord is aware of each of you he knows of your struggles sacrifices and faithfulness i have fond memories of previous meetings with the saints of oklahoma and of kansas thanks to technology we've returned now with love in our hearts for you i am pleased to report that elder kyle s mckay and some native american church members presented a gift from the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints to the first americans museum in oklahoma city today our musicians recorded their music in that museum this photo taken this morning shows tribal leaders members elder mckay and mr james pepper henry executive director of this museum it honors the legacy of native american tribes in the region the gift from the church will strengthen native american and other families by creating within the museum a family search center this center will make it possible for visitors to the museum to receive help in preserving personal histories searching for ancestors and building their own family trees this museum should remind each of us of our own ancestors and of our deep gratitude for those who have come here from many different countries and traditions now let us look forward to the future we will have many new challenges and unprecedented opportunities we can face our future with faith faith in god faith in our own personal opportunities to heed the word of the lord he invites all to come unto him and partake of his goodness he wants us to experience joy through our mortal journey he denies no one black and white bond and free male and female all are alike unto god as i have pondered speaking with you dear brothers and sisters i've been reminded of your sheer goodness and your stalwart faithfulness you live in the heartland the very center of the continental usa your geography provides a powerful metaphor about where the lord wants us to live he wants us to keep in the center of the covenant path he wants us to understand the core or center of his doctrine he wants us to purify our hearts our very centers so that we can withstand the attacks of the adversary god pleads with us to live in the center of our temple covenants where we find ultimate spiritual safety let us focus on one of the greatest gifts our heavenly father has given to us to center our lives on him and his beloved son i am referring to the book of mormon it is a gift to us from god it is the keystone of our religion because it contains the very heart the center of his doctrine that book was written for us in preparing it both the prophet mormon and his son moroni foresaw our day moroni declared and wrote i speak unto you as if ye were present and yet ye are not but behold jesus christ has shown you unto me and i know your doing my wife wendy and i study it every day i repeat a promise i have made before that if you will read from the book of mormon every day you will make better decisions every day today i would like to share with you some insights about the book of mormon this book will bring you joy because it will increase your understanding of the gospel of jesus christ and true understanding of the gospel brings peace direction and yes joy i would like to discuss with you its purposes what it is and what it is not i would like to explain what it refutes and what it clarifies as well as the new concepts and precious truths it contains then i will conclude with comments about its translation the purposes of the book of mormon is title page defines two main purposes for the book one is for the convincing of people that jesus is the christ the son of god the other purpose is to help god's children to know of the covenant he made anciently with the house of israel whose tribes have long been scattered but the lord promised long ago that the lost tribes of israel would be gathered in these latter days the book of mormon reveals what great things the lord has done for his covenant people it gives hope to all that they are not cast off forever but can now be gathered safely to him to his fold and to his gospel what is the book of mormon it is another testament of jesus christ it is tangible evidence that the promised gathering of israel has begun it contains a record of the savior's ministry to the people of ancient america it declares that the testimony of two nations is better than just one its four major writers nephi jacob mormon and moroni were all eyewitnesses of the lord jesus christ as was its translator the prophet joseph smith they saw and knew the risen lord the book contains approximately 4 000 references to jesus christ the book of mormon contains the lord's definition of the gospel the gospel embraces the atonement of jesus christ it also embraces the lord's role as our exemplar thus by our studying and living according to the teachings of the book of mormon we have the information needed to become more like the lord what the book of mormon is not it is not a textbook any formal history textbook would give equivalent attention to all its component generations the book of mormon does not do that in its 532 pages it covers a period of a little more than a thousand years but not all years families or tribes are covered equally more than half of that period is covered in only 11 pages in the books of enos through omni plus fourth nephi what does the book of mormon do it clarifies many teachings of the bible and reveals new concepts it refutes many falsehoods may i mention just a few the book of mormon refutes the notion that revelation ended with the bible it explains the true nature of the fall of adam which refutes the concept of original sin it refutes the falsehood that one can be saved by grace alone it refutes the falsehood that baptism began in new testament times baptism was practiced more than 500 years before the birth of jesus the book of mormon clarifies many teachings of the bible the coming forth of the book of mormon was prophesied by old testament prophets that reminds me of a conversation i had decades ago at a prayer breakfast at the white house where i was mingling with two jewish rabbis the younger rabbi asked the more senior rabbi where in the old testament is the teaching about the stick of judah and the stick of ephraim coming together the older rabbi stroked his beard and he said i think it's in the book of ezekiel then i quickly chimed in saying it's in the 37th chapter of ezekiel the senior rabbi said how did you know that i replied that's core doctrine for me the bible and the book of mormon are those prophesied companion scriptures both rabbis seemed surprised with my answer the book of mormon defines sacramental prayers it explains why a perfect lord was baptized it reveals that plain and precious things have been lost from the bible now they have been restored other sheep are mentioned in the biblical book of john chapter 10 where were those other sheep located from the book of mormon though we know that those other sheep included people who lived in ancient america the book of mormon affirms the antiquity of temples temples were built and used in ancient america as well as in asia the reality of the gathering of israel is clarified and enabled by the book of mormon it explains that the promised gathering of israel will be fulfilled only in these latter days perhaps most importantly it teaches the doctrine of the atonement of jesus christ more clearly and expansively than does any other book in doing so it describes the savior's ministry among the people of this hemisphere after his resurrection in some of the most compelling verses in all of scripture the word atone in any of its forms is used only once in the king james version of the new testament it appears 39 times in the book of mormon through the lord's atonement we will be rescued from death and through repentance cleansed from sin and because of his atonement he has power to succour us through our pains and afflictions the book of mormon clarifies the doctrine of resurrection affirming that all who have ever lived will be resurrected the book of mormon reveals that the practice of infant baptism is not authorized why because the little children are alive in christ baptism for the remission of sins is needed only for those who are capable of sinning the book of mormon reveals new information and concepts it defines the interrelationships between the creation the fall and the atonement of jesus christ from its pages we know that nephi foresaw in vision the discovery and colonizing of america the book of mormon reveals that death is a necessary part of life death is the gateway toward eternal life the book of mormon explains the need for opposition in all things as part of our mortal moral agency it reveals the eternal nature of the priesthood and how it is conferred through the book of mormon we gain understanding into the three phases of our eternal existence our premortal mortal and postmortal periods of life from the book we gain a greater understanding of the nature of the spirit world and the paradise and awaits the faithful when they die it reveals that one day we will be judged individually by the lord as sister nelson is taught now i would like to mention some of the facts about the translation of the book of mormon from an unknown language into english joseph smith translated nearly all the book of mormon in 65 to 75 working days from april 7th to the end of june 1829 with oliver cowdery as principal scribe joseph's average rate of translation was 7 to 8 pages per day what the prophet joseph accomplished is something translators cannot duplicate even today with modern technology in language of an oath the authenticity of the translation was certified by the lord himself he declared joseph smith has translated the book even that part which i have commanded him and as your lord and your god liveth it is true close quote the prophet joseph smith declared that the book of mormon was the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone of our religion to summarize the book of mormon is god's instrument to bring about the promised gathering of israel it is the finest tool of conversion we have studying its pages will bring a person closer to god than will a study of any other book your daily study of the book of mormon will transform your life it will help you heal your hearts your relationships and your homes my dear brothers and sisters who live in the great center of this great country truths contained in the book of mormon will center your lives on jesus christ and his gospel daily immersing yourselves in the book of mormon will help you stay in the center of the covenant path true joy will be yours now and forever this is my promise to you dear brothers and sisters i know god lives jesus is the christ his church has been restored we are his people he loves you as do i i so testify in the name of jesus christ amen [Music] is [Music] is [Music] these [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] us [Applause] of the enemies r [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] is [Applause] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] hello [Music] [Music] we're so blessed and thankful to gather together to hear the words of our prophet and our leaders i'm so thankful for the gospel that we have in our lives we ask you to please help us be in be in tune with the spirit to seek out those that we can love and serve we're thankful for everything that we have and we're thankful for the things that the spirit was able to teach us and i ask that we take these things that we've learned from thee to ponder to be brave and to act upon it again we love you very much heavenly father we're so thankful for this blessing that we have and of the gospel and we say these things in the name of jesus christ

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Length: 25min 9sec (1509 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 17 2021