Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics
Providing thoughtful and faithful responses to criticisms and questions of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
What appears to be a revolutionary way of embracing the teachings of Christ, living according to those principles and truths, the example of how Christ ministered among his contemporaries of the first century seems to embrace a more social justice worldview and perspective. Yet are people engaged in this revolutionary movement seducing people from the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? reinterpreting what Christ taught to fit their own perspectives, worldviews, and ideas?
My own spiritual journey and recovery has shown what true masculinity is all about. The character and integrity. Finding joy, since happiness requires right circumstances, means to come to a place of experiencing life - regardless of the good, bad, and those ugly moments.
The invitation for us to place our faith in Christ, repent and seek forgiveness for our sins and trespasses, and willingly to deny ourselves and lose our lives for the sake of Christ is an invitation to enter into sacred covenants through those true ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
When we weep, our Heavenly Father weeps with us. When we mourn, He mourns with us. Yet, because of our moral agency, we fall short. This is expressed by the Apostle Paul to the Christians in Ephesus when he wrote and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:30). This grieving is a deep sorrow and mourning. Such as what Enoch observed.
Individually, we are obligated to seek after God and His Kingdom. Collectively - as faithful believers in Jesus Christ - we are to follow Paul’s counsel to exhort one another (Hebrews 3:13).
The essential truth of Christ’s infinite atonement - and the baptism for the remission of sins - means we are justified before God through Christ, sanctified through the Holy Spirit and our willingness to walk in humility and obedience, and are glorified through Christ’s resurrection and infinite atonement unto immortality and eternal life. Once we are baptized, we walk a path and journey where we are perfected unto Christ (Moroni 10:32) by the process of repentance and forgiveness.
Yes, we are clothed with mortality. Yet, as we come to faith in Jesus Christ and commit our lives over to living the principal truths of the Gospel of
So, the question stands do we truly know what happened prior to Genesis? From my point of view, studies, discussions, research, and personal revelation - yes, we do know exactly what happened prior to the creation of our world, the purpose behind the fall, and the plan of Salvation and purpose of the infinite atonement.
As we seek after the Kingdom of Heaven - seek after the righteousness of God, we do so through love of our Heavenly Father and love toward others. The Savior expresses that these two teachings are the main commandments: Love God and love others (Mark 12:28-31). It is the call to allow our Heavenly Father to rule in our hearts, in our homes, in our workplaces, and in our communities.
Through our discipleship we come to know the nature and truth of who our Heavenly Father is and what he expects of us. To which, the Savior declared, be ye therefore perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48, Philippians 3:15-16; 3 Nephi 12:48). It means we are to be complete and full as it relates to Our Heavenly Father.
The Sabbath is a time where we connect intimately with our Heavenly Father and fellowship with others. A time of opportunity to serve others. It is a time to reflect on the covenants we have made as disciples of Jesus Christ. Where we fall short, it is a time of seeking forgiveness, walking the path of repentance, and seeking wise counsel from those whom our Heavenly Father has chosen.
Through Adam, we have the priestly authority and fatherhood of God. Through Eve, we have the divine attributes of Motherhood. Together, Adam and Eve became the representatives of Heavenly Parents. And this is evident in the unifying of man and woman in their specific gender roles as Husband and Wife.
Meaningful and mindful worship begins when we are authentic and accurate in our attitude toward Heavenly Father. He is pleased by our thoughtfulness toward Him. Reflecting on his nature, desiring to become more like Christ, sanctified and holy. We are called to be holy as he is holy, perfect as he is perfect, and through Christ, we are perfected unto God.
We are fashioned with eternal spiritual bodies. It is then that our Heavenly Father breathes into our mortal bodies the breath of life so that we become a living soul. Scripture also declares unto us the promise that those who come to faith in Jesus Christ - by the miracle and gift of the infinite atonement - will have a new heart and spirit (Ezekiel 36:26)
The call for us to go forward in faith and purpose is a call for us to enter into a deep and intimate relationship with Christ. To come to know him and our Heavenly Father (John 17:3).
In our relationship with a sovereign God, we come to know the absolute reality of our own divine nature and heritage. We are created in the image and likeness of a Holy and Sovereign God. When we come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit steps in and sanctifies us as we become more like Christ.
When we turn our thoughts and minds over to Exodus 14:13-15 - there is a reason God wanted to bring Israel out of bondage. To bring them out of a foreign land. To no longer experience the burden and labors of Pharoah. It runs much deeper than God preforming miracles as great signs and wonders unto Pharaoh. Goes even deeper into the blessed hope of bringing the Children of Israel into the land of promise. The simple truth is that the salvation of the Lord we shall see unfold is about reconciling us to Him.
After all that our Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ, have accomplished - they saw that it was good. This is something we are incapable of imagining. The sweet harmony, beauty, unity, and the way all things worked together in peace. Such beautiful perfection was very good. We also have a difficult time understanding the Holy Goodness of our Heavenly Father. The goodness in His creating each one of us after His own image and likeness. The goodness in His plan of happiness for each one of us through our Savior Jesus Christ. The goodness of revealing Himself through all
The very heart of worship is our complete willingness to not only surrender our life and will over to God; but that we are willing and able to submit to seek His will and good pleasure for our lives. This is what is meant when the savior taught that if we lose our lives for His sake - we shall find it and there will a life of abundance
Today, we may feel empty, without form and void - meaningless, unassuming, empty, and desolate. However, the power of creation reveals unto us the magnificent power our Heavenly Father has in taking something that is unorganized, unassuming, and creating something magnificent and beautiful. Through the plan of salvation, we are to become creators in building
The enticing of the spirit of God or the spirit of the adversary is constant and consistent. Over time, we learn how to choose one over the other. If we choose the right, we are putting on the righteousness of Christ and patterning our lives after his.
This is the great plan of Salvation whereby our Heavenly Father brings to pass the immortality and eternal life of each one of us. Attached to this is our liberty and freedom of choice. Whether we choose to walk in humility, submission, and obedience to the laws and principal doctrines of God’s revealed truth - we shall inherit eternal life. Christ himself said that those who endure as He has endured shall be granted permission to sit on the throne with Him as he sits on the Throne with the Father
From scripture and modern day revelation we learn that Jesus Christ was chosen and foreordained to be the mediator and redeemer of humanity. He is key to the plan of salvation.
It is through our humility and submission to our Heavenly Father where he will bless and use us for his holy purposes
Today, our religious worship requires something more. It requires our sincere reverence and gratitude. It is a sacrifice of our own self and will. Such sacrifice comes when we call upon God, through Jesus Christ on a daily basis
Much like the Israelites, we are wandering in the wilderness and desert of life. Seeking freedom from those things that have us bound. Sin enslaves us, pressing upon us, and the more we resist, the weaker we seemed to become. Our Heavenly Father sent His Only Begotten Son to free us from the snares of sin and death. The Apostle Paul writes to the Romans wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin so also does life come from the infinite atonement of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:12-19).
Faith is the driving factor to us going forward into this new year with purpose and meaning. The Apostle Paul taught that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). And in Alma 32:21 we read that ...faith is not to have perfect knowledge of things;
Our purpose in this life is to grow, gain experience, knowledge, understanding, and to face those trials that help mold and shape us. Scripture teaches that when we come unto Christ and follow Him, we will become like Christ. It is through the plan of salvation that we experience a "fullness of Joy" and not the joy the world gives unto us (see, John 15:11). It is the joy of peace in our lives when we endure and overcome as Christ has endured and overcame (see Hebrews 12:2). And our purpose is to cultivate a rich, deep, and meaningful fellowship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. For Christ said that the purpose of eternal life is to know God and Jesus whom the Father had sent (see, John 17:3)
Trust begins with understanding who we are in relationship to others. In our relationship with our Heavenly Father, we come to know the absolute reality of our own divine nature and heritage. We are created in the image and likeness of our Heavenly Father (see Genesis 1:26-27). As we come to understand our divine heritage, the Holy Spirit works in and through us to become more like Christ. Our trust in God also includes understanding that we are in the similitude and likeness of His only Begotten Son - Jesus Christ (See Moses 1:6). And there is a real, deep, personal connection with God when we come to understand our divine heritage.
Today, we have faced the challenge of a pandemic that impacted our world. A pandemic that seems to have changed the course and fabric of the way we live our lives. This came on the heels of the end of chaos, violence, and protests that had occupied our society and culture the previous year. To say the least, we are ever living in times of increasing uneasiness,
Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics 
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