Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics
Providing thoughtful and faithful responses to criticisms and questions of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
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.
Through Noah - there will come a brief period of rest from all that which bore wickedness. Through Christ, we come to find everlasting peace and rest from the carnal mind and vain imaginations of our own hearts.
Noah and his family were saved of (or through) water from the spiritual decay and immorality surrounding them. The flood destroying the old life in order to bring about a newness of life. It is the very nature and covenant of our baptism.
Christ will come and dwell on earth in righteousness. Today, we are asked to prepare our hearts and our minds to be ready when that day shall come. And it will come as a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10). For us - we look toward the peace and the glory of His return.
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).
Today, more than ever, our children need to be raised up with a strong and bold faith in understanding and knowing who Jesus Christ is. Develop a strong testimony in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Possess a true and authentic intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Scripture is very clear on this. The savior made it a point to teach that it is far better for an individual to tie a millstone around their neck and be tossed into the sea (Matthew 18:6 and Luke 17:2) when it comes to teaching children to stumble and offend God. Our duty and obligation are to teach them to live right and true to the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today, many possess the spirit of Cain and say with grave arrogance am I my brother’s keeper? Unfortunately, many who possess such an attitude and spirit of haughtiness are those who claim to be followers of Christ. How are we able to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength when we turn ourselves from the suffering of others? To love God also means we are to love others as we love ourselves.
The purpose of a refiner's fire is to take ore and purge out all impurities through a process of refining. This is done with both fire and water. The ore is heated up and shaped into a metal object. It is thrust into the water. And it is a process repeated until the metal that is cleansed and purged. Here, the Prophet Malachi uses such imagery and symbolism that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we shall be purged and cleansed of all impurities and natural undesirable elements.
Our Testimony is the armor of God the Apostle Paul references in Ephesians 6:11-17 (See also, D&C 27:15-18). And it is vital to our faith, our progress toward maturing in our faith, and going forward with meaning and purpose.
Let us take a moment to reflect on the past few days of our journey to see where we are at and how far we may have come.
The call for us to go forward with faith and purpose is also a call for us to gather in small groups. This is the reason for Sunday school classes, weeknight youth activities, scripture study groups like those for single adults studying the Old Testament. Men gathering together in fellowship. Women gathering together in fellowship. Doing so, we experience the presence of Christ because when we are gathered in His name - he is there in the midst with us (Matthew 18:20).
If my life is in chaos, I want to look into myself for the cause and the cure and use a fellowship of others where I am able to safely expose my shortcomings through vulnerability and courage. I seek out a fellowship with a group of others where it is a living and functioning unit where each one of us come and sharpen ourselves in order to find the cure for our sufferings. Not only the fellowship of a weekly group of others engaged in finding solutions to their own sufferings but a connection with another to continue to learn and grow in faith, spirituality, and journey. I seek to be sharpened just as I hopefully am able to sharpen another.
Charity is the heart and soul of service and ministry. Without compassion and mercy, no other spiritual gifts have any purpose or meaning - not even our own faith in God. The Apostle concludes that there are three important things in our lives: Faith, Hope, and Charity. His conclusion is that Charity is the greatest of the three.
The scriptures constantly teach us that we are to do two things. They also teach us two fundamental truths. First, we are to seek him continually. Despite what is going on, no matter the situation, the fears, the worries, the doubts, and the anxieties, we are to seek him. Second, we are to wait patiently. Listen attentively, tune in, and continue to walk in those truths and commandments we are to keep. And the first truth is that our answers come in the Lord's due time and not ours. The second fundamental truth is that this is where our faith in God rests.
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
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.
When we seek first God's Kingdom, we shall be blessed with those things we stand in need of temporally. As our faith increases, so does our ability to seek God and conform to his will and desire for our lives. In doing so, we will be blessed through our obedience to the teachings and commandments that he has given us.
Our call to go forward with faith and purpose in the new year is meant for us to examine ourselves and determine whether or not we truly place full confidence in who Christ is, in the teachings of the pure doctrines of Christ, and trust in those personal revelations he has given us. Trust in Christ means we go forward with faith, despite any doubts we may have. Despite our perceived inadequacies. For if we go forward in faith, with purpose, we are blessed to accomplish those things we are called to accomplish. For if we go forward in faith, with purpose, we are able to do the things our Heavenly Father has commanded us to do.
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
Our purpose in this life is to repent and to come unto Christ. To humble ourselves and walk faithfully in seeking after the will of God. We are to be perfected in Christ. To deny ourselves and put off the natural man. And to make the most of our life meaningful and live with purpose toward our promised land of glory and hope.
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.
Mindful Latter-day Saint Apologetics 
You must be logged in to post a comment.