How does my understanding of Grace change my old Mormon ways of Thinking?

Grace is the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ in the life of a Christian.  Jesus died for each us.  He paid for our sins, past, present, and future.  Christ's grace lays the foundation for our faith in Him and our repentance.  It is as if Jesus is telling each one of us to have joy and be happy since His mercy has satisfied the demands of justice for everyone who has come unto Christ through faith in His name and repenting of our sins.  At the point in which we decide to rely wholly on His merits and trust in Him alone, he causes a change in our hearts. We are filled with joy, receive a remission of our sins and have peace of conscience.  We have entered by the gate.  From this point on we walk the strait and narrow path back to the presence of God.  We are no longer in rebellion. He is now the author of our faith and later on will become the finisher of our faith. We are now perfect in Christ.  We still have our weaknesses.  As we let God order and maintain our lives we advance from grace to grace, overcoming our weaknesses.  We deny ourselves all ungodliness.  We believe in Jesus' ways and strive to act accordingly.  And, all this is on the foundation of grace.  And, this personal knowledge gives us joy.  All our sins are paid for!  Our love for our Savior, or Rescuer makes the process of recreating ourselves in the image of Christ, a joyful process.  Jesus is with us every step of the way, as if we are walking hand in hand with him.

In the past I believed that I earn my way to heaven by keeping the commandments.  There was no joy in keeping the commandments because my foundation was wrong.  Sure, I believe in Christ and His atonement.  But, I don't know how to apply it.  I believe that I must do all the commandments before grace kicks in.  Inadvertently, I don't realize that I am giving lip service to Jesus but really don't believe Him.   Somehow if I just keep the commandments as I perceive them I will eventually get there.  The sins that I am still doing are not covered by Christ.  Christ goes into pain every time I repeat the sin.  I start getting frustrated.  I can't seem to overcome certain sins. My paradigm isn't working.  Without first building on the Rock, establishing the foundation of Grace, I delude myself into thinking that my works will save me.  I become self-righteous, judging others that don't keep the commandments I keep.  Trusting in and relying on Jesus sounds absurd.  Too easy.  Too gentle. And, foolish.  How can do that and still be self-sufficient?  And, self-made?

My heart starts breaking. I become contrite. My current way of thinking isn't bring my joy and happiness.  I am stressed and judge myself and everyone else as bad.  I am always comparing.  I finally turn to God and look to Jesus.  I want His mercy.  I want His love.  I begin to realize that I need Jesus in my life.  I turn to Him with full purpose of heart.  Something starts changing inside of me.  I start feeling joy. I like it.  It tastes delicious.  Upon thinking and feeling this way, immediately doth the great plan of redemption come to me.  I have finally started to build my life on the Rock of Christ, the foundation of Christ's grace.

I have realized that Christ's atonement not only made it possible for everyone to resurrect to a kingdom of glory but His sacrifice made if possible for me to progress and continuously recreate myself in the image of Christ.  The Way becomes easy.  I am in a state of daily gratitude for my Jesus.  This was His plan all along! For me to walk with Him, relying on Him, my weakness being changed one by one and my light becomes brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

And, if I die along the path of change, no matter.  The point of this life was to find the path and get as far as I could before I die.  We just continue on the same path after we die. We are saved.

What is Jesus's Gospel and How to be Built upon the Rock

I found this scripture today.  I found it fascinating.

DC 19:31 And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost.

We are told by the Lord not to teach tenets.  What are tenets?  The Lord clarifies by telling us what to teach this generation.  Questions:  Are Mormons needing to hear repentance and faith in the Savior?

What does it mean to receive a remission of sins by baptism?  Does it happen automatically?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

What does it mean to be baptized by fire?  Has this happened to you?  Has it happened to me?  What does it feel like?  Is the baptism of fire, the remission of sins? 2 Nephi 31:17 seems to indicate this.  Other verse seem to indicate that it is a separate event connected to baptism of water.

These are the three or four first milestones in a Latter-day saints life.  The first is baptism, the second is a remission of your sins, the third is being baptized by fire and the fourth is being baptized by the Holy Ghost.  God could combine them into one or two.

This is Jesus’ gospel.  DC 33:11-12.  11 Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. 12 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;

Why?  Because when a person receives the cleansing, the joy, the rejoicing, the gratitude associated with these four distinct events he has truly (finally) received Christ into his heart and Christ has reciprocated with the above blessings (remission, fire, Holy Ghost).

DC 33:13 then tells us that we are [finally] built upon His Rock.  “And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.”

Some of us have received the joyous occasion of receiving the Spirit-filled, joyful experience of having the sins remitted.  I suppose others in the Church have been baptized with fire and others with the Holy Ghost. These are milestones in our progression back to the Father.  They are the first steps.  And, yes, holding a temple recommend helps us (me) be able to retrace my steps and receive these blessings.  In fact, the three or four steps are symbolically shown us in the temple.

I have been retracing my steps of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for the last ten years.  And, what wonderful results!  The joy and rejoicing I feel! 

So, build yourself on the ROCK.  And not Dwayne Johnson!

Scott

P.S. – Oliver Cowdery describes the joy he felt when he was baptized and received the Aaronic priesthood.  Look for the feelings he expresses.  Ask yourself, have I had these feelings?  If so, when?  Can I feel so now?  (Alma 5:26).  I have underlined some of my favorite lines.  I love feeling this way!

Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of Mormon.’

“To notice, in even few words, the interesting account given by Mormon and his faithful son, Moroni, of a people once beloved and favored of heaven, would supersede my present design; I shall therefore defer this to a future period, and, as I said in the introduction, pass more directly to some few incidents immediately connected with the rise of this Church, which may be entertaining to some thousands who have stepped forward, amid the frowns of bigots and the calumny of hypocrites, and embraced the Gospel of Christ.

“No men, in their sober senses, could translate and write the directions given to the Nephites from the mouth of the Savior, of the precise manner in which men should build up His Church, and especially when corruption had spread an uncertainty over all forms and systems practiced among men, without desiring a privilege of showing the willingness of the heart by being buried in the liquid grave, to answer a ‘good conscience by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.’

“After writing the account given of the Savior’s ministry to the remnant of the seed of Jacob, upon this continent, it was easy to be seen, as the prophet said it would be, that darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. On reflecting further it was as easy to be seen that amid the great strife and noise concerning religion, none had authority from God to administer the ordinances of the Gospel. For the question might be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of Christ, who deny revelations, when His testimony is no less than the spirit of prophecy, and His religion based, built, and sustained by immediate revelations, in all ages of the world when He has had a people on earth? If these facts were buried, and carefully concealed by men whose craft would have been in danger if once permitted to shine in the faces of men, they were no longer to us; and we only waited for the commandment to be given ‘Arise and be baptized.’

“This was not long desired before it was realized. The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon Him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest to us His will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the keys of the Gospel of repentance. What joy! what wonder! what amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard, as in the ‘blaze of day’; yes, more—above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ’twas a message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled, doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!

“But, dear brother, think, further think for a moment, what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, ‘Upon you my fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’

“I shall not attempt to paint to you the feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which surrounded us on this occasion; but you will believe me when I say, that earth, nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to clothe language in as interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage. No; nor has this earth power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the Holy Spirit! Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught, till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love, yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance, and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I hope to adore in that day which shall never cease.”—Messenger and Advocate, vol. 1 (October 1834), pp. 14–16.

Temple Symbolism in Hebrews 10

I was looking at these verses today.  Hebrews 10:19-20

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

Do you see the allusions to the temple in these verses?  Paul seems to be writing to the Melchezidek priesthood.  Men who have taken covenants in the temple.   Why then is it an epistle to the Hebrews?  Maybe a man who has taken upon himself covenants and the priesthood is termed a “Hebrew” .  Melchezidek was the first Hebrew.  He real name was Eber which mean Hebrew.

Anyways,  Paul seems to be saying that we enter into the Holiest (the Celestial Room) by the blood of Jesus (cleansed and sanctified).  The new and living way is to pass through the veil which is Jesus’ flesh.  Wow.  So, the veil represents Christ’s body.

These verses have all sorts of implications.

God's Plan for Children

God’s Plan for Children

It is God’s plan to transfer to Jesus Christ

 All the evil that others through their agency

Impose upon us. 

That is what Jesus is for.

He, in addition to our own sins, paid for evil inflicted on us by others.

He paid for the suffering, unhappiness, anxiety, pain, neglect and loneliness

That happens to us as children. 

The adult doesn’t repent for what happened in his childhood.

  The child didn’t do anything wrong.

  Evil was imposed on him by others.

  It only requires me to believe and look to Christ.

Believe that Christ wants me to use Him.

He suffered for all the evil that happens to children -

Through the ages because of the actions of others.

What happens when we look to the Savior for healing?

The pain of what happened is removed from us.

A cleansing occurs that we couldn’t do ourselves.

Pain and suffering are replaced with joy and peace.

Why does this work?

  Because Christ is really there.

  He is waiting for me to knock.

Christ can love you back.

Since He is real and is waiting for me to come unto Him with my burdens,

All I need to do is believe Him.

His conditions for healing me are gentle.

All He requires is for me to continue in His peace.

Once my heart and mind are cleansed by Him, the way is easy.

He knows me and my capacity.

  His commandments are gentle.

His precepts are kind.

That is who Jesus is: full of loving kindness.

As I believe in the true nature of my God,

 I come to Him without any fear or trepidation.

  He is love.

He loves me deeply.

Moroni 6 - A Higher Standard

Moroni 6 - A Higher Standard

1 And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.

2 Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.

3 And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.

4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.

I have contemplated these verses for 40 years.  It seems like our Church doesn't require adherence to the same set of criteria when a person is baptized.  Maybe some do have broken heart and contrite spirits.  For me, this process delineated in Moroni 6 is happening to me over the course of many years.

Being cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost sounds like the baptism of fire.  If it is, I haven't knowingly received this.  I have received a witness from God that my sins have been remitted.  I can look back on this experience and know how it felt for a sincere investigator to be baptized.  I believe God had witnessed to me that I am on the path and I believe I have begun to partake of the fruit of the tree of life.  But, I believe there to be much, much more than this initial cleansing.   In fact, I have felt God's love and acceptance of my sacrifice many times while partaking of the sacrament.  I believe the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost is the culmination of a process that I have begun.

My guess is that our Church is running on a lower standard than the Book of Mormon Church.  Why? Because the adults can't teach something that hasn't happened to them.  Why? Because we seem to enter into a lower order when we are baptized.  There are allusions in the Book of Mormon of communities of believers understanding full well that they were entering a community that was united and equal both temporally and spiritually.  The community they were entering into had all things in common.  Their hearts were knit together.

There seems to be three ordinances in the Church surrounding baptism.  First we are baptized and feel God's love in our hearts.  We are then commanded to receive the Holy Ghost.  Later, as we progress individually, we are baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost.  I believe this to be merciful and right for our time.  The Book of Mormon shows us the ideal, what our Church should be striving for.  I believe the world is so wicked that the initial standard has to be lower.  Until we members live more by faith and desire to be united both temporally and spiritually, we won't be taught, nor understand the more pure approach to baptism and membership.  Anyone reading Moroni 6 that is free of blinders and blocks should be able to see that we don't follow some of the idealistic teachings set forth by Moroni in this chapter.  

I desire and hope for the day where I can, through repenting and partaking of the ordinance of the sacrament, bring forth fruit meet of being worthy of the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost.  I am grateful that God has granted me (and all of us) the needed time to deny myself all ungodliness.  I am grateful that I can rely wholly upon the merits, mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of my faith as I progress from grace to grace.

2 Nephi 31:16 Example of Jesus

I found an interesting verse in my scripture study today: 2 Nephi 31:16

“ And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.”

So, I have to ask myself, what it the example of the Savior?  This reminds me of another scripture in 1 Nephi 19:9 which says,

“And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.”

So, all I can do is strive to be more like the Savior.  It make life easy.  Did you know that?  Life becomes easy.  I am reminded of another scripture, Alma 37:46,

“O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way”.

Why is living the gospel and following the Son easy?  Well, I suppose it isn’t easy for the natural man that is full of wicked traditions.  But, why is the way easy?  This reminds me of the words of Hymn, page 125, last verse,

“I’ll drop my burden at his feet And bear a song away.”

And,

“Come, cast your burdens on the Lord And trust his constant care” (first verse)

The whole hymn speaks for life being easy in the Lord.

As I learn to do this, I my faith becomes strong.

Scott

2 Nephi 26:20 Striking the Rock

I found 2 Nephi 26:20 interesting today.  It says: 

And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err. And as the Lord God liveth that brought Israel up out of the land of Egypt, and gave unto Moses power that he should heal the nations after they had been bitten by the poisonous serpents, if they would cast their eyes unto the serpent which he did raise up before them, and also gave him power that he should smite the rock and the water should come forth; yea, behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved.

I was surprised that Nephi uses two metaphors that don't seem to relate to each other: raising up the serpent on the stick and smiting the rock.  I then realized that they both involve healing. One involves looking to Christ and other. the waters of life flowing from Christ, The Rock.  Nephi then says, that there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ...whereby man can be saved.
I then looked around on the internet and found this:

Christ is the main subject in the Old Testament "concealed". God speaks of Him in types and shadows. At Rephidim (Exodus 17:4) God told Moses to strike the Rock.The Rock is Christ (1st Corinthians 10:4), Moses represents the Law. Jesus was struck by Israel for presuming to violate the Law, for claiming to be God, which He is! When He was struck "crucified", living water (John 4:10) for all humanity who would "believe" was poured out. Moses was told to speak to the Rock at Meribah (Numbers 20:8). As a prerequisite for Jesus to return, to save Israel during the Great Tribulation they must ask Him, (Luke 13:35). So by striking the Rock, Moses messed up God's model or type which would have modeled the 1st and 2nd comings of Christ.
So to counter this mistake by Moses, He was not allowed to take Israel into the Promised Land which is a type of Heaven, Moses represents the Law, only God's Grace gets you in Heaven "the Promised land, so Joshua took them in! Joshua is Hebrew for Jesus! The Law is the 1st five books of the Old Testament, called the Torah by the Jews, The very next book is "Joshua" Found in. 

https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/6998/why-was-god-so-upset-with-moses-for-striking-the-rock-the-second-time-in-the-des

The Lord was trying to teach Israel that Moses, or the Law will not save them!  Only Christ and his merits, mercy and grace can save mankind!

I like this response as well:

The section you quote contains the answer: because Moses did not believe. He was told to "tell the rock... to yield its water" but instead he struck the rock twice, apparently believing God's command to be insufficient. He expected God to act in exactly the same way as He had before*, but God apparently wanted to reveal His power to Moses in a new way.
As the leader, Moses was being watched. When Moses did not believe, this could easily lead to lack of belief amongst the Israelites, which had been a problem before.
Finally, God had previously to deal with men not trusting His promise but taking matters into their own hands.

 Believing Christ is the answer.  It always has been the answer. Relying wholly upon His merits who is mighty to save isn't as hard or scary as it sounds.  Surrender to His will and trust that he loves you. You don't have to do it all yourself.  You don't have to take matters into your own hands.  Life becomes peaceful and full of purpose.