What Jesus taught part 2

Jesus identifies who He is and allows the people to see and feel; "and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets that should come." Then He calls on Nephi and gives him priesthood authority to baptize.

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The second point I pulled out was this: "Once we have a knowledge of who Jesus is, we've seen and felt in a spiritual manner, we then take on His name by being baptized by authority"  In 3 Nephi 11:18-21 in reads:

 18 And it came to pass that he spake unto Nephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth.
19 And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet.
20 And the Lord commanded him that he should arise. And he arose and stood before him.
21 And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.

Proper authority is important.  Without the priesthood, we lack the power to act in God's name.  Jesus went on to give others there besides Nephi the power and authority to baptize.  Then He taught the proper way to baptize.

23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.

 24 And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying:

 25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Notice in the baptismal prayer it starts out as "Having authority given me of Jesus Christ."  In the LDS faith when we baptize we start out with "Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ."  How do we get this authority?  It is passed down by the laying of hands by those in authority.  The Aaronic Priesthood that has the authority to baptize was restored in the latter-days by John the Baptist to Joseph Smith. We learn of this in the 13th section in the Doctrine and Covenants.

An extract from Joseph Smith’s history recounting the ordination of the Prophet and Oliver Cowdery to the Aaronic Priesthood near Harmony, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1829. The ordination was done by the hands of an angel who announced himself as John, the same that is called John the Baptist in the New Testament. The angel explained that he was acting under the direction of Peter, James, and John, the ancient Apostles, who held the keys of the higher priesthood, which was called the Priesthood of Melchizedek. The promise was given to Joseph and Oliver that in due time this higher priesthood would be conferred upon them. (See section 27:7–8, 12.)
The keys and powers of the Aaronic Priesthood are set forth.

 1 Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.

Now with the proper authority restored on the earth, it has been passed down by the laying on of hands.  For example I can trace back the priesthood authority that I've been blessed to hold this way:

I was ordained with the Melchizedek Priesthood in 1993 by my father David William Austad who was a high priest.  He was ordained by June Duffy Palmer who was ordained by George Quayle Morris who was ordained by Rudger Clawson who was ordained by Lorenzo Snow who was ordained by Heber Chase Kimball who was ordained by Oliver Cowdery David Whitmer, and Martin Harris, who was ordained by Joseph Smith Jr. who was ordained by Peter, James and John, who was ordained by Jesus Christ.

So having authority to act in Jesus name is a big deal and I do not take it lightly.  There is a difference between power of the priesthood and authority of the priesthood.  One who holds the authority needs to be worthy to use the priesthood.  We learn in Doctrine and Covenants 121:

36 That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

 37 That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

What Jesus taught.....

I'm going to start a multipart post on somethings that Jesus taught.  Back some years ago, while serving a LDS mission in Portugal I was taught to study the chapters in 3rd Nephi in the Book of Mormon to learn of what Jesus taught.  This past couple of weeks I started to jump into this section of the Book of Mormon again.  I started in chapter 3rd Nephi chapter 11.  This is the account of when Jesus Christ the Savior appears to the American people.  Just from this chapter alone I pulled out 6 different teachings.  I know there is even more than the 6 that I pulled out.  I'd like to talk about these 6 points.

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The first point I pulled out was this: "He is Jesus Christ, the one who took on the sins of the world."  In 3 Nephi 11:11 in reads:

11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

Who is the world?  Is it not everyone who has lived, currently lives, and is yet to live on this earth?  Yes, indeed.  He took on all of it.  Because of what He did, it qualifies Him to be able to be the light and life of the world.  Are you experiencing dark times?  Do you need to get a life?  Look to Him, He is there and has the capacity to take on your burdens and trials and to understand you wholly and fully. He lifts and will take us all to a better place if we will allow Him to do so.  Don't lose hope and faith in this.

What do you most desire?

What do you most desire?  If there was one thing that you could pray for and receive what would it be?  These people desired to be given the Holy Ghost.   Of all things, why this?

3 Nephi 19:9

"And they did pray for that which they most desired; And they desired that the Holy Ghost be given unto them."

Through the Holy Ghost we gain many things, here are just a few:  Strength, Self-Confidence, Comfort, Hope, Faith, Empathy, Love, Compassion, Forgiveness, Knowledge and Wisdom.  Are any of these things desirable to you?  What are you going to pray for today?

A tribute to Alan

I’ve known Alan Blood for some time.  I’ve always known him to be a good man.  For over the past two and half years I’ve gotten a chance to get know Alan better.  I’ve been his manager at FamilySearch for this time.  We live close by and we carpool to work.  Some days we sit on a train for over an hour and half each way.  I can honestly say that Alan Blood is more than a good man, but one of the finest men I know.  I’ve gotten to know his family, Michelle, Jenny, Lindsey, Alison, and Evan.  I know that family means everything to Alan.  Alan Blood also has a wonderful perspective on life.  Just before I started at FamilySearch, Alan had finished battling breast cancer.  One evening on the ride home on one of our long commutes on the train; we had in a discussion about life.  We talked about fighting for every moment and breath of life.  I asked him if he knew where he was going anyhow and had an eternal perspective, knowing life after death; when do you give up and turn the page and go one to the next step in your eternal progression?  I’ll never forget what he told me.  He said, “You never give up!”  I then replied, “Why?”  He then said something that will be burnt in my soul forever, “Life is a precious gift.”

Life is a precious gift.  Alan understands this and lives his life to the fullest.  There is something we always tease Alan with and it is the acronym, “YOLO” which means: “You only live once.”  We’d be on some business trips and by saying this acronym to Alan you could get him to do anything.  Well that is anything that does not compromise his high level of integrity and doing something that would shame his family name.

Alan is also one of the most creative and brilliant people I know.  Alan works as a User Experience Manager.  He leads one of the most creative teams I’ve ever worked with.  Alan played a big part in building this team to where it is now.  Alan has an eye for design, and has a way of designing to bless the lives of others.  Alan is someone that any of our UX designers can trust to bring designs to be reviewed.  Alan gives honest feedback and does it in a way that is very receptive.  Alan’s true love is in writing though.  He is in my mind, an accomplished science fiction author.   Last year Alan self published his first science fiction novel called “Rocket Handbook.”  I was amazed at the amount of research that went in writing this book.  Alan is one of those people who have this abundant amount of knowledge in his head.  I can ask him any random question about any random thing and over half of the time he has information about the subject.  Alan is famous for his iPhone playlist.  He loves music of all varieties.  He likes listening to movie soundtracks and marvels at the creativity and talent that goes into composing some of the masterpieces. 

I can always count on Alan.  Whenever I give him a task to accomplished, he does it and then goes the extra mile to make sure it is done well and done better than what I imagine it to be done.   I’d recommend Alan for his character, his work ethic, his ability to work with others, and his love for life.  I consider Alan a true friend.

There is a difference between rebellion and weakness...

I was reading a bunch of quotes from Elder Richard G. Scott this morning.  They are all good and cause me to ponder more deeply, but this one was my favorite this morning.

"The joyful news for anyone who desires to be rid of the consequences of past poor choices is that the Lord sees weaknesses differently than He does rebellion. Whereas the Lord warns that unrepented rebellion will bring punishment, when the Lord speaks of weaknesses, it is always with mercy." 

Elder Richard G. Scott

Here is the link to the deseret news article on the quotes:

http://www.deseretnews.com/top/3191/8/Elder-Richard-G-Scott-23-encouraging-quotes-from-Elder-Richard-G-Scott.html

We will miss Elder Scott.

I came across this picture over the weekend as I ascended the stairs at the Maddox Lodge.   I was touched deeply.  I'm so grateful to live in a country where we have the freedom of religion.   I hope God can forgive us of our transgressions, and I hope that He will shed is mercy upon us.  I know God is a part of us in all that we do.  Let us not forget Him.

There has been a lot of confusion and conflict in our nation, and I hope that we never forget to ask what the will of God is, and what He would have us do.   Let us not push Him out of our lives, but make Him a part of everything we do.  Let us be a faithful, God fearing, God believing people.


Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation   Washington, DC—October 3, 1863

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.
In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.
It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Be Grateful

Wonderful article.