The #1 Money Maker on the Web Ruins Families and Marriages

What industry makes more money than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple, Netflix, and EarthLink combined? It’s the number 1 searched topic on all Internet sites and there are 1.3 million such sites available. The answer is pornography.

Pornography is the drug of the century and more addictive than crack cocaine. Addictive behavior produces the same feel-good chemicals (internal drugs) as shooting up with drugs or getting buzzed with alcohol. Neural research confirms that the brain cannot differentiate between an external source and an internal source of stimulation.

The Temple: the only door to exaltation!

The Temple: the door to exaltation

There are many wonderful answers surrounding the question of obtaining exaltation. Joseph Smith provided an abridgement to the aged old question of how when he explained that the fulness of the priesthood is received only in the temple.

How? Through washings, anointings, solemn assemblies, oracles in holy places, conversations, ordinances, endowments, and sealings. (D&C 124:40) It is in the temple that we enter into the patriarchal order or the order of the priesthood that bears the name “the new and everlasting covenant of marriage.” (McConkie, A New Witness, pg. 315.)

What is the difference between the OATH and the COVENANT?

Section 84 is commonly known as the Oath and Covenant of the priesthood.

“And…all they who receive this priesthood receive me…and he that receiveth me receiveth my Father…and this according to the OATH and COVENANT of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved.” (D&C 84:33-44)

So what is the difference between the oath and the covenant?

It takes two parties to make a covenant, but any person can swear an oath. Man and deity enter into the covenant of the priesthood, but only the Lord, meaning the Father, swears an oath. (Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, pg. 313)

Why is Laban losing his head such a big deal?

The story of cutting off the head of Laban is gory and unnecessary to an American.

Here are a couple of perspectives on this story.

1)           Laban’s mortal experience was over according to God. God gave Laban his life. Nephi was commanded by God to take the life of Laban.

  • The boys tried to get the plates three times.
  • Laban had three opportunities to give Lehi’s boys the plates.
  • The Spirit constrained Nephi to kill Laban three times.
  • Laban mortal probation was over which is a shadow of Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecy just prior to the birth of the Savior in Helaman 13:38 where he says…

The Book of Mormon through the eyes of an American

Understanding the Book of Mormon from the perspective of an American is impossible. It is a Hebrew book, written by prophets from a Jewish culture. The words, insights, analogies, stories, and experiences need to be understood through the eyes of a Jew.

For example, remember the story when Lehi and his family took off into the wilderness and dwelt in a tent? Trying to comprehend this from an American standpoint is not possible. None of us make a living travelling with camels and tents in the wilderness. Lehi probably did and his boys did too.

At what point do we have our sins remitted?

Question: When do we receive the actual remission of sins?

Answer: Sins are remitted when we receive the Holy Ghost, not in the waters of baptism (McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 290.) It is the Holy Spirit of God that erases carnality and we become clean when we receive the fellowship and companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Water, Blood, and the Spirit

At birth there are three entities present: water, blood, and the Spirit.

At baptism there are three entities present: water, blood, and the Holy Ghost.

At the crucifixion there was water and blood spilling from the side of the Savior to indicate death. His Father had left Him, the Holy Spirit was 50 days away and the Last Supper typed of our new birth and covenant.

Baptism is a death, a burial, and a resurrection.

The Prophecies are Fulfilled (5 BC – birth of Jesus Christ)

And so things continued in the land about as they were. The wicked hardened their hearts and the righteous looked for the sign. The wicked rationalized the signs and the verity of a Savior saying, “…it is not reasonable that such a being as Christ shall come…[1]”

If He were to really come, why in Jerusalem? What are we, the “B” team? If He’s going to come, He should come here as well and prove to us that He is God. The more they thought about it, the angrier they became. Since there were more wicked people than righteous they made very wicked laws, and the most startling law of all time came as the five years were about to expired.

Samuel the Lamanite (5 BC)

The scene is now set for Samuel the Lamanite who comes into the land of Zarahemla and delivers his message of repentance along with a specific timeline of events. He indicates that Zarahemla would already be destroyed by fire if it were not for the righteous within the city.

Now if you’re among the wicked, at whom do you turn your wrath? A wicked mind accepts no blame, therefore, the righteous are going to get the consequences. To those who repent he gives them an out, but to those not willing to change Samuel says that their days of probation are over. Imagine a prophet of God telling you that your mortal probation is over while you are still alive.

The Nephite Disease (41 BC – 7 BC)

Around 41 BC we read: “And so great was the prosperity of the church, and so many the blessings which were poured out upon the people, that even the high priests and the teachers were themselves astonished beyond measure[1].”

Seven years later (34 BC) Nephite dissenters join forces with the Lamanites and take the land of Zarahemla. In other words, they overthrow the capital in a military coup[2]. In 30 BC we read the following: “For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted.”[3]

The Nephite Roller Coaster Ride (559 BC – 53 BC)

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

In the Book of Mormon, this prophecy is recorded between 559 and 545 BC. About 20 years earlier the anger of Laman and Lemuel had come to a boil and

The Psychology of Christmas

From an economic standpoint, people who hang Christmas lights make no sense? My sister-in-law starts decorating her Christmas tree and house on Black Friday. You can’t go to the bathroom in her without a motion-detecting Santa Claus accompanying your tinkling with music. What is the return on investment?

How many times have you heard the concept that we should have Christmas all year round? The feelings that are generated through the holiday season are like sunshine in the Northwest. It doesn’t happen much, you feel good all over when it happens, and you want to celebrate because you feel so good.

Virtue Values #2

The Guidance and Influence of the Holy Ghost

In September 1981, I was attending Brigham Young University and was starting my senior year. During spring term I discontinued a serious relationship and was questioning many things about life and myself. I went to the Lord in fasting, prayer, and supplication to learn from Him how to proceed. I poured my heart out expressing my desires and asked, if He approved, for certain blessings.

I was desirous to meet a young woman, virtuous, lovely, and with a good report card to befriend, experience emotional intimacy with, and pursue a lasting relationship that would ultimately lead to a Ketubah (marriage contract) in the Temple of God of my choosing.

Isaiah’s shock and awe

Perhaps the most well known Isaiah passage concerning messianic prophecy is found in 2 Nephi 19:6 which is the equivalent of Isaiah 9:6. Let’s set up the passage first. Isaiah is dealing with King Ahaz and in his prophetic utterings Isaiah wants to shock the king with his futuristic insights. “Therefore,” quoting Isaiah, “the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

How Nephi understood Isaiah

The third reason the writings of Isaiah provide such difficulty is his education. Isaiah was among the educated elite of his day. He was raised in the big city of Jerusalem and spent his entire life preparing to serve the Lord. He was aggressive in dealing with the skeptics of his day for he was a prophet in his own city and did not use diplomacy with his tongue:

“The Lord…hath made my mouth like a sharp sword…and made me a polished shaft[1]. The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary[2]. “