Kelley Barrow Miles shared a link.
Day 16: Something on campus today brought this bible story to mind and it got me thinking about the personal message that it has for me, and all of us, in it. It is the story of the adulteress who is dragged before Christ by an angry mob asking him how he would recommend punishing her, by the traditional stoning or by some other method, to which Christ responds:
"He who has no sin among you, let him first cast the stone at her."
Then, after they all leave comes my favorite part of the dialogue.
"Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?"
"No man Lord."
"Then neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more."
How often do I worry about falling short? and how much more often do I worry about someone noticing and judging me for it?
In case you don't know, I worry about the second one a lot more than I should. The sin the woman committed was awful, but I can see myself just as clearly being dragged before Christ by an angry mob saying:
"Lord, this woman doesn't read her scriptures and we caught her in the very act of walking out the door without saying her morning prayers... what sayest thou?"
or
"Lord, this woman wasn't very patient or kind the other day... what sayest thou?"
or
"Lord, this woman didn't feel like going out of her way to help that person who needed her, so she didn't... what sayest thou?"
To which the Lord would reply and always will reply to me as I cry in shame before Him:
"Woman, where are those thine accusers? Do they matter? If they even were judging you for being imperfect, do they have the right to do so? What man here has the right to condemn thee?"
" No man Lord."
"Then remember that I, who is the only one in a position to condemn thee, doesn't either. I haven't given up on you. I know who you can be, who you are becoming, and what is in your heart. Go and sin no more."
While Christ wants us to continue working and perfecting ourselves everyday he knows that it is hard, that it is going to be a lifetime and more of work, that it is going to be impossible.
He also knows that we are still worth it, we are worth it enough that he suffered and died for us so that we can continue to improve ourselves with the hope of returning one day. #40daysoftruth #LentChallenge2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w5GXnM_TxSQ
"He who has no sin among you, let him first cast the stone at her."
Then, after they all leave comes my favorite part of the dialogue.
"Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?"
"No man Lord."
"Then neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more."
How often do I worry about falling short? and how much more often do I worry about someone noticing and judging me for it?
In case you don't know, I worry about the second one a lot more than I should. The sin the woman committed was awful, but I can see myself just as clearly being dragged before Christ by an angry mob saying:
"Lord, this woman doesn't read her scriptures and we caught her in the very act of walking out the door without saying her morning prayers... what sayest thou?"
or
"Lord, this woman wasn't very patient or kind the other day... what sayest thou?"
or
"Lord, this woman didn't feel like going out of her way to help that person who needed her, so she didn't... what sayest thou?"
To which the Lord would reply and always will reply to me as I cry in shame before Him:
"Woman, where are those thine accusers? Do they matter? If they even were judging you for being imperfect, do they have the right to do so? What man here has the right to condemn thee?"
" No man Lord."
"Then remember that I, who is the only one in a position to condemn thee, doesn't either. I haven't given up on you. I know who you can be, who you are becoming, and what is in your heart. Go and sin no more."
While Christ wants us to continue working and perfecting ourselves everyday he knows that it is hard, that it is going to be a lifetime and more of work, that it is going to be impossible.
He also knows that we are still worth it, we are worth it enough that he suffered and died for us so that we can continue to improve ourselves with the hope of returning one day. #40daysoftruth #LentChallenge2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w5GXnM_TxSQ
Ann Barrow Bradley shared a link.
Day 16: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." Articles of Faith 1:8
This post is going to be about both the Bible and the Book of Mormon (BoM). They go hand in hand. One does not work without the other.
However, not all copies of the Bible are true to the words originally written down by the apostles. In fact, you could argue that there is not one copy of the Bible that 100% correct because of the way the accounts were passed on. However, if you know the history of the King James Version of the Bible, you would know that it is the most correct copy. I will post a link below to a very interesting documentary I stumbled upon a while ago about the history of the KJV of the Bible. It's a three part documentary and not something you can skim through, so sit down sometime and watch it.
The BoM, on the other hand, had been preserved for our time. It went straight from the hands of those who wrote it to the man (read: Joseph Smith) who translated it into the book that we have today. Smith said, "...the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." Introduction to the BoM
Just as with the vision that Joseph had, there are many skeptics about the origins of the BoM. Once again, all I ask is that you study for yourself (read: don't rely on what others say) and ask in faith if it is a true book.
I will again leave with my testimony that the scriptures were written for our time. A time when the world seems to be failing us. When man is confused. The scriptures are a source of truth and light. The BoM is a scripture that bears no faults. The prophets who wrote in it knew our time. They knew the confusion and darkness that Satan would place on the earth. They testified of Christ. They testified of righteousness. They wrote of hope. They wrote for us. Isn't that just a little enticing? An ancient book, written in ancient times, to be so applicable today? I know it to be true. I learned it a little here and a little there as I have read and studied through the years. Ann#40daysoftruth #Lentchallenge2014
http://www.byutv.org/watch/e0d8c9f3-b3b8-49f7-b139-2ff0c2a52a83
This post is going to be about both the Bible and the Book of Mormon (BoM). They go hand in hand. One does not work without the other.
However, not all copies of the Bible are true to the words originally written down by the apostles. In fact, you could argue that there is not one copy of the Bible that 100% correct because of the way the accounts were passed on. However, if you know the history of the King James Version of the Bible, you would know that it is the most correct copy. I will post a link below to a very interesting documentary I stumbled upon a while ago about the history of the KJV of the Bible. It's a three part documentary and not something you can skim through, so sit down sometime and watch it.
The BoM, on the other hand, had been preserved for our time. It went straight from the hands of those who wrote it to the man (read: Joseph Smith) who translated it into the book that we have today. Smith said, "...the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." Introduction to the BoM
Just as with the vision that Joseph had, there are many skeptics about the origins of the BoM. Once again, all I ask is that you study for yourself (read: don't rely on what others say) and ask in faith if it is a true book.
I will again leave with my testimony that the scriptures were written for our time. A time when the world seems to be failing us. When man is confused. The scriptures are a source of truth and light. The BoM is a scripture that bears no faults. The prophets who wrote in it knew our time. They knew the confusion and darkness that Satan would place on the earth. They testified of Christ. They testified of righteousness. They wrote of hope. They wrote for us. Isn't that just a little enticing? An ancient book, written in ancient times, to be so applicable today? I know it to be true. I learned it a little here and a little there as I have read and studied through the years. Ann#40daysoftruth #Lentchallenge2014
http://www.byutv.org/watch/e0d8c9f3-b3b8-49f7-b139-2ff0c2a52a83
Jenny Barrow shared a link.
Day 16: God has a body of flesh and bone, and no unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God.
I am a bit off schedule here because of my Day 13 post, so I have to do two truths.
The first one God has a perfect, incorruptible body of flesh and bone. I know this one is different from what most of the world believes, and I am not going to spend a lot of time on it, just because of space issues. But Christ testified of this, and there are several prophetic testimonies of this. God has a body. If you want to read more, follow this linkhttps://www.lds.org/topics/god-the-father?lang=eng
God is perfect, complete, holy, immortal, and completely without sin. There is no corruption with God, nothing unclean. If you desire to live with God, to live as he lives, you cannot be unclean.
We live in a fallen world. There is death, there is corruption, there is sin, there is uncleanliness. When God created the world it was perfect, clean, and uncorrupted. But mankind through the use of personal agency, introduced uncleanliness.
Because of our agency we are all unclean. We all will die. We will all fail to be perfectly obedient to all law, or in other words sin.
We are separate from God. We are mortal. We will die. God is immortal, His spirit will never be separated from his body. Because of death, we are not like God, we do not have an incorruptible body.
We are separate from God. We are unclean. No matter our best efforts we will fail in perfectly obeying all eternal law. At some point we will transgress or sin. God cannot have anything unclean in His presence.
We cannot return back to our Heavenly Father, the father of our spirits, our eternal home. We can not return back to our friend. No matter how much God loves us, or wants us to come back, He can not disobey law. He is perfectly obedient. He can not allow uncleanliness or corruptible bodies live and dwell with him.
We need someone to bridge the separation for us. We need an advocate so we can return back to God the Father. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our advocate.
I know we are currently separated from God. I also know He prepared a way so we can return back to His presence.
#40daysoftruth #LentChallenge2014
I am a bit off schedule here because of my Day 13 post, so I have to do two truths.
The first one God has a perfect, incorruptible body of flesh and bone. I know this one is different from what most of the world believes, and I am not going to spend a lot of time on it, just because of space issues. But Christ testified of this, and there are several prophetic testimonies of this. God has a body. If you want to read more, follow this linkhttps://www.lds.org/topics/god-the-father?lang=eng
God is perfect, complete, holy, immortal, and completely without sin. There is no corruption with God, nothing unclean. If you desire to live with God, to live as he lives, you cannot be unclean.
We live in a fallen world. There is death, there is corruption, there is sin, there is uncleanliness. When God created the world it was perfect, clean, and uncorrupted. But mankind through the use of personal agency, introduced uncleanliness.
Because of our agency we are all unclean. We all will die. We will all fail to be perfectly obedient to all law, or in other words sin.
We are separate from God. We are mortal. We will die. God is immortal, His spirit will never be separated from his body. Because of death, we are not like God, we do not have an incorruptible body.
We are separate from God. We are unclean. No matter our best efforts we will fail in perfectly obeying all eternal law. At some point we will transgress or sin. God cannot have anything unclean in His presence.
We cannot return back to our Heavenly Father, the father of our spirits, our eternal home. We can not return back to our friend. No matter how much God loves us, or wants us to come back, He can not disobey law. He is perfectly obedient. He can not allow uncleanliness or corruptible bodies live and dwell with him.
We need someone to bridge the separation for us. We need an advocate so we can return back to God the Father. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our advocate.
I know we are currently separated from God. I also know He prepared a way so we can return back to His presence.
#40daysoftruth #LentChallenge2014
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