READ Mosiah 25:1-4
Who were the people of Zarahemla?
They were descendants of Mulek, prince of Israel and son of King
Zedekiah and his party, who the Lord had also led out of the Holy Land to the
Americas (see Ezekiel 17:22-23), north of Lehi’s colony (see Helaman 6:10).
They had been discovered by King Mosiah I (father of King Benjamin
and grandfather of King Mosiah II) when he was warned by God to take the
Nephites and flee from their land (the Land of Nephi) because the Lamanites
were coming to destroy or enslave them (see Omni 1:12-19).
They had been living in the Americas for over 300 years without
the Nephites knowing about them. But
they had lost their language and the gospel, having not brought scriptures with
them.
The Nephites and Mulekites had decided to combine their peoples
into one under the leadership of King Mosiah I (although 100+ years later they
were still separated into two groups – “people of Zarahemla” and “people of
Nephi”); one could speculate that the Nephites were much more advanced a
civilization than that of Zarahemla – albeit a smaller population because 1)
the Mulekites only had an oral tradition and didn’t seem to write and 2) Mosiah
I became their king without a conquering war – suggesting that it was obvious
who the more advanced civilization was; it was a “win-win” though, because of
the size of the population of Zarahemla’s people helped the Nephites protect
themselves better against the Lamanites.
Why might the Lamanites have been
over twice the population of the Nephites and Mulekites together?
Perhaps because they had intermarried with and/or conquered and
integrated other “indigenous” groups that they had found in the Americas – most
likely those who of Asian descent who had traveled across the land bridge from
Russia to Alaska.
The Lamanites would not have cared about intermarriage with
indigenous people like the Nephites would have – not for racist reasons but
because the Nephites would not have wanted to marry outside the Gospel Covenant
while the Lamanites had their own religion with evidently did not have the same
constraints.
It is interesting that the reason was likely not polygamy, as the
Lamanites did not practice it (see Jacob 3:5).
The Ministry of Alma the Elder in Zarahemla
READ Mosiah 26:1-4
What is implied by the fact that
the rising generation rejected King Benjamin’s message because they were too
young to hear or understand it when it was given by him – because we know it
was recorded and could have been studied by them later as we do?
There was such spiritual power (“tongues of angels) accompanying
Benjamin’s words when he spoke them that large numbers felt a massive
outpouring of the Spirit and were humbled to the depths of humility by it –
enough to offer the required sacrifice of their whole souls on the Lord’s
altar, and culminating in a mass birth of the Spirit – similar to the Day of
Pentecost or the Kirtland Temple dedication.
Benjamin must have held the High Priesthood After the Order of the
Son of God to speak with such power and have permission to basically seal the
birth of the Spirit upon so many people. This speaks to the spiritual power of
those who have rent the veil and speak a message given them by the Lord – like
Abinadi, depending upon the state of the heart of the individual they either
embrace it (King Benjamin’s people) or reject it (King Noah and his priests)
but they cannot deny the message or the power with which it has been delivered
to them.
However, while a great many of King Benjamin’s people received the
birth of the Spirit and “entered the Gate” leading to eternal life, it seems
like not enough actually went on to stand in the presence of God to be sealed
up to eternal life (instead, they lapsed into static “traditions” or policies
or stories [see verse 1] instead of continuing on the path back to the Lord’s
presence following a living, saving faith) – and when Benjamin was gone, no one
was left to testify to the truth in power (until Alma in Mosiah 26:20) – shades
of Joseph Smith…
Perhaps this is why Mosiah asked Alma to lead the Church (v8)?
Why did the rising generation not
understand and believe his written words?
They had been too young to be born of God and missed the powerful
oratory and outpouring of the spirit which accompanied King Benjamin’s speech.
They would not call upon God to soften their hearts or to
understand the truth through the Spirit when they read it (1 Nephi 2:16) or
they failed to read it at all.
As a result, they could not understand the truth – it was
foolishness to them (see 1 Corinthians 2:14).
And so they believed in things that were untrue – i.e. unbelief – and
did not believe the truth, and would not be baptized in faith unto repentance,
never to experience the birth of the Spirit for themselves, and likely not even
realizing what they were missing.
READ Mosiah 26:5-6
How did the unbelievers grow in
number?
They capitalized on the dissensions among the “brethren” –
probably priests or leaders of the Church or possibly political divides (like
those which led to Zeniff leaving for the Land of Nephi).
They used flattery to deceive Church members and get them to sin.
READ Mosiah 26:14-24
Why were Alma and his people
blessed?
Alma was blessed because he alone recognized the voice of the Lord
in Abinadi’s message and had the courage and faith to repent and risk death to
follow Abinadi’s words.
Alma because he chose to risk further public humiliation and death
going back and teaching others what he now knew to be true – and a “church” or
gathering of believers resulted or was “established” (see Mosiah 25:21-23);
note that Alma was not intending to “start a church” but to baptize those who
wished to follow Christ so that they could have an authorized covenant with Him
– and as a group of people chose to do that, a “body of believers” or church
was the result (see Mosiah 18:8-17).
Alma because he is so hesitant about judging someone or compelling
them – knowing that unrighteous dominion is a sure way to lose your priesthood
(power and authority – see D&C 121:34-40) - that he goes to the Lord in
great humility and meekness, asking what to do in the case where someone must
make a judgment call and Mosiah has kicked the decision back to him (see Mosiah
26:13).
His people were blessed because they did the same thing with
Alma’s words that Alma had done with Abinadi’s (“Alma’s words” were really
Abinadi’s however the others didn’t recognize God in Abinadi when he first
spoke them) to recognize God’s voice and word coming from an outcast without
status; but repentance is a wonderful thing and they also risked their lives to
follow their faith once they had received their own confirmations by the
Spirit.
His people are blessed because they are willing to take upon
themselves the name of Christ – or in other words, to covenant with Christ that
they might become His sons and daughters, if they will abide in the covenant; they
are blessed to the degree that they themselves follow the path back to Christ –
they are not “blessed” just because they are in a church, regardless of the
truths taught therein…
What happens to Alma in verse 20?
He receives his calling and election through covenant direct from
the mouth of the Lord; “Thou shalt (future tense) have eternal life”…
He must now exercise faith in the hope or promise that the Lord
has just given him by doing the things the Lord will command him to do next
(see 2 Nephi 32:6).
What is “Christ’s church” and is
it different from Alma’s church?
Alma’s church is a fellowship of believers who have been repented,
been baptized and, by so doing, covenanted to sacrifice their whole souls to
Christ and to love and serve their fellowman, as a way to show their love for
Christ; if they have entered this covenant in good faith, Christ will freely
forgive them and accept their covenant by baptizing them with fire and the Holy
Ghost.
Christ’s church is the Church of the Firstborn – which Alma has
just been given membership into with his calling and election. Those who are part of Christ’s church make
and keep the covenants they entered into via ordinances – or in other words,
they understand the ordinances are invitations to go and receive the “real
thing” and they do just that – following the symbols and allowing those symbols
to bolster their faith that they are on the correct path back to God - to the
end that they follow the teachings or commandments back into God’s presence; they
“know the Lord” or have received the Second Comforter and have entered into His
rest or glory and have sat at His right hand (see John 17:3; Alma 13:12;
D&C 84:23-24) and are called by His name (see Mosiah 5:9-10) or have been
adopted into His family as sons and daughters of Christ - to be an “anointed
one” or “Christ” themselves.
READ Mosiah 26:25-32
Are those who “never knew Christ”
still part of Alma’s church?
He is not told to excommunicate those who are “not Christ’s sheep”
or do not know Him; he only excommunicates those who will not repent of their
sins… he is judging them on what they say and do, not who they are inside.
He is not told to withhold baptism from them (that would require
Alma to discern their hearts and not just for the present moment but for their
whole mortal probation); the Lord offers baptism to all who will “come and
see”; he honors our agency in the moment.
Even if we turn away later, we may choose to repent and come back to the
Lord before the end and His arms of mercy are stretched out wide to enable that
“all the day long.”
The Lord says “the same shall ye not receive into MY church, for
Him I will not receive at the last day” meaning the Church of the First Born; the question this posees is why the Lord says
“shall YE not receive” because it is not for us to receive people into the
Church of the Firstborn – Christ alone is the gatekeeper for that Church. However, to the degree that saved mortals
must be sealed to the “fathers in heaven” to avoid being utterly wasted, it is
possible that the Lord is talking to Alma about the Law of Adoption here –
sealing mortals to other mortals (the “fathers”) who have been sealed up to
eternal life by being sealed to Christ and will become “father’s in heaven”
unto whom “promises” of eternal life have been given, so that an unbroken
“welding link” can be created between all those who are members of the Church
of the First Born – also known as Sons and Daughters of God or the Family or
House of God…
So yes, there are many in Alma’s church who “never knew Christ” –
that is one of the reasons why the Lord is speaking with Alma right now – this
is not a “missionary conversation” but a “current church member” conversation,
with the goal of enabling as many as will come to become members of Christ’s
Church of the Firstborn through their association with each other in Alma’s
fellowship Church.
Why are these good Church members
not redeemed?
Because they “would not be redeemed” – it was completely their
choice but they “self-selected” out – they would not “hear His voice when He
called but chose not to come unto Christ (see D&C 121:34-40), even though
they had the same opportunities as those who did choose to come (see Alma 13:5).
They never managed the faith (gained through sacrifice – see LoF
6:2-7, 10, 12) to rend the veil and know Christ for themselves or they couldn’t
be bothered to try and are damned by their careless indifference (2 Nephi 32:4,
7).
And as a result, He “never knew them” or was never intimate with
them as a father is with his children; or in other words, He never ministered
to them - He never embraced them in a holy ceremony through which they could
know Him with surety (see 3 Nephi 11:14-15), and as a result, He never knew
them as His seed or family because they never came unto Him to become such (see
Isaiah 53:10; 3 Nephi 14:21-23; Matthew 25:31-40; Matthew 25:1-12; Moroni 7:48;
John 14:15-21).
Why are we to take the word of
the sinner who says they have repented (v31)?
Because we are told that we will be judged by the same judgment
with which we judge others.
Because we are told to only “judge righteously” or in other words,
to only judge others precisely the same way that God would judge them.
Because as mortals, the repentance of another is really none of
our business, as we cannot forgive sins – it is between them and their Lord;
the only forgiveness we can grant is when someone has hurt us, and we are
commanded to forgive all of those people anyway.
When does the Lord stop forgiving
people for continued, repeated sinning?
He doesn’t stop forgiving them!
He is patient and pleading with them to come unto Him “all the day
long”, until it is too late and their probation is over.
In fact, as soon as they come to Him with a broken heart and
contrite spirit, confessing and forsaking their sins, He immediately forgives
them (see Alma 34:31)!
Alma the Younger’s Conversion
READ Mosiah 27:8-10
How did Alma the Younger lead so
many people away from the Church of God?
Through flattery and the influence that people gave him as a
result of it.
Through his articulate arguments he sowed seeds of dissension and
doubt.
Through his relationship building – he stole their “hearts”.
Through leading people to follow him in his wickedness – making it
“cool”; clearly he was an “opinion leader” or “influencer” if even the princes
of the king followed him.
Why did Alma try to destroy the
Church instead of just enjoy his wickedness in the privacy of his own circle of
friends?
The presence of a church with influence that teaches publically
that what you are doing is wrong and sinful will cause individuals who live
contrary to the church’s teachings to feel guilt and anger.
People want churches that tell them that they are righteous (see 2
Nephi 28:2-6, 11-14, 21; Mosiah 11:4-7; 4 Nephi 1:23-26).
His father led the church, which seems to have caused the son to
rebel with more vitriol – perhaps he had issues with his father – but he still
feared him or the law, as he did it secretly.
READ Mosiah 27:11-17
What does “rebelling” against God
imply?
To some degree at least, they knew what they were doing.
They were sinning not just for enjoyment or even pride and control
but out of spite against the Church and its leaders.
Why would an angel appear to a
group of apostates like Alma and the princes?
Because of the prayers and faith of Alma and the members of the
Church.
Because the Lord loves sinners; He gives us all opportunities to
repent and come unto Him.
Note: The Lord’s appearing to Paul on the Road to Damascus seems
to be a different situation – while both were seeking to destroy the Church,
Paul was not an evil man like Alma, but rather was seriously misguided in his
zealous faith.
What does it mean that the angel
“descended as it were in a cloud”?
“As it were in a cloud” does not mean he descended in an actual
cloud
“As it were” means “like” – he is coming through a conduit from
heaven which opened up and appeared as a cloud or veil – similar to how the
Lord spoke with Ancient Israel, except in this case the angel parts the veil
and appears to them (see Exodus 19:9, 16).
Did the earth actually shake with
the angel’s voice?
Yes, the power of his voice and frequency of the light in his
person caused a vibration in the earth on which they stood.
What is the only thing that will
overthrow the Church of God once it is established on the earth?
The transgressions of the Church members – it is destroyed by the
agency of those within it.
Outside influences can never destroy God’s church if those in the
Church are true to the Lord.
READ Mosiah 27:18-22
Why were Alma and the princes so
astonished at the angel?
They genuinely did not believe in angels – they were unbelievers
that did not believe in a God.
This experience completely destroyed their view of how the world
worked, what was true, and the meaning of life.
Why did Alma the Elder rejoice
when his son was brought unconscious before him?
He knew that his prayers had been answered.
He trusted in the Lord to save his son, if anyone could.
If Alma the Younger were to die, his father was at peace with that
but also realized that if his prayers could bring an angel to confront his son,
that his fasting could bring him back from the edge of death.
He realized what a powerful testimony of God his son’s experience
could be to the people that were leaving the Church, as well as those who had
stayed – to know the goodness and glory of God and how He intercedes into our
individual lives, even or especially those of vile sinners.
Alma II’s Testimony of Christ
READ Mosiah 27:30-31
Why will Christ make Himself
manifest unto all?
That we may see for ourselves that He has (and/or will, depending
upon when in time He manifested Himself) come and remembers/knows every creature
He has created – having suffered an atonement to redeem them all; He
“remembers” us, each individually (see 1 Nephi 21:14-16; Mosiah 14:10; Mosiah
15:10-17).
When will those who lived without
God in the world be visited by the Lord and confess that He is the Christ?
At the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of Him.
When will those who lived with
God in the world be visited by the Lord?
During their lives – they “lived with God” and He “took up His
abode with them” (see John 14:16-23; TPJS 172:5; D&C 132:21-25).
Confessing Christ while mortal is one of the things which causes
Christ to visit them.
READ Mosiah 27:32-37 and Alma 36:24-26
How were they able to bring many
to the knowledge of the truth?
They taught truth gained from heaven and spoken with the tongues
of angels – God’s words spoken with the power of His Spirit.
They opened the scriptures and prophecies to those who would hear.
They planted in the hearts of the people a witness with the Spirit
that they (Alma II and the princes) had in fact been born of God and redeemed
AND that the same thing could happen to any of them (the people), if they would
repent and offer their whole souls as a sacrifice.
But all they could do was testify of their experience and invite
others to go and receive the same experience – to be born of God themselves –
but that testimony was accompanied by the Spirit in great power and many who
heard it did just that.
What is the greatest desire of
the hearts of Alma and the princes?
To get others to experience exactly what they had experienced – to
be born of God.
To see “eye to eye” with as many others as would care to repent
and find the Lord themselves – they did not desire to lead or rule over anyone,
in fact, the four sons of Mosiah are about to renounce their claim to the
throne so that they can go on 14 year missions to their enemies, the Lamanites.
They felt a need to repair the damage to the faith of those who
had listened to them previously.
Why does it require the testimony
of one who has been born of God to plant with power the truth of and desire for
it in the heart of someone else?
Scholarship, even inspired learning and analysis is not enough –
God’s ways are not our ways and entering the Gate through the baptism of fire
has to be experienced personally to be taught with power – a conceptual
understanding is not enough (see LoF 2:54-56).
The truth of having experienced it cannot be duplicated through
study – Joseph Smith said that if you looked into heaven 5 minutes you’d know
more than anyone ever knew who wrote about it – the same principle applies here
(see TPJS 365:1).
Born of God
READ Mosiah 27:23-29
How did Alma learn about the need
to be born again?
Directly from God – he is quoting God.
So it’s vitally important information…
What does “marvel” mean and why
would God say not to marvel at His statement?
Marvel = a wonder; that which arrests the attention; something
surprising.
God is saying, “don’t be surprised or wonder at what I’m about to
tell you”.
Who must be born of God?
Everyone! There are
absolutely no exceptions.
Gender, nationality, race – this applies to all.
What does it mean to be “born of
God” or “born of the Spirit”?
It is to be
spiritually begotten by Christ - becoming His son or daughter; it is to become
the offspring of God.
It is to be
"born again to enter" the Kingdom - to enter the "Gate" of the
path that leads back to Him, to redemption.
What are we changed from
and to?
From: all of us are born into a fallen, Telestial world in a
carnal state, separated from God, with sinful natures and subject to death.
To: a state where our natures are pronounced righteous by God.
It is to be forgiven
of all sin - "snatched, and my soul is pained no more" (v29).
It is the mighty
change of heart from the natural man to a "new creature".
It is to have no more
disposition to do evil but to do good continually.
Who does the changing?
God – not us.
We must be changed (a
passive word); we cannot change ourselves - it happens to us, not of our own
merit but through the grace and merits of our Lord.
We must be rescued from our current state, as we have been
born into a sinful state of separation from God which will end in death and
permanent separation if not addressed (see D&C 76:112; 2 Nephi 9:9).
But we must invite Him in to change us – we still retain our
agency and we must offer the sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit as
the offering.
What does it mean to be
redeemed of God?
To be returned to the literal presence of God while in the
flesh (see Either 3:13; D&C 132:21-25).
Christ, as the redeemer, is the one qualified to define
redemption, as He does to Alma and Mahonri (see Ether 3).
Christ pronounces us clean or righteous and formally accepts
us as His son or daughter and heir (see D&C 88:75).
When are you truly a
"child of God"?
Only after you have been born of God; being born of God makes
you literally His child and part of His family
This is a new identity to those who have been born of God, as
they were not His "children" before.
This begs the question: what are we before the birth of the
spirit in relation to God if we are not his children? There are many ways to start to think about
this: is there a difference between a creator/created relationship vs a
father/child relationship? When we are
born of God, which God are we born unto?
If a child is adopted, who is their father?
How is a child of God
different from all others?
They have been made a new creation through this birth of the
Spirit.
They have a new nature, a new family, a new relationship with
God.
They are animated by the Holy Spirit (mind of God) and their
spirit/ghost (which animates them) has been made holy – they now have a holy
ghost inside of them.
What does it mean that
unless you are born of God in this life you will not inherit the Kingdom of
God?
There is no other way to be saved.
You cannot receive the inheritance given by God to His
children because you are not one.
Is being born of God a
process or an event?
A birth is a definite
event – after which a separate existence begins; born of a mother's womb or in
this case, of God.
It is an event in
that one has either entered the Gate and is in the Way or they are not; one is
either born or they are not – they have a birthday.
There is no example
in the scriptures of the birth of the Spirit being a process alone; there is
always a culminating event – the actual “birth”.
Some people may have
several big or even many small events in the process leading up the birth of
the spirit – it is like filling a bucket; but at some point you can say the
bucket (offering) is filled or complete and there was a last drop or event
which filled the bucket, after which the bucket began to overflow.
But it is not a case
of coming "closer" to God - the bucket is either full or it isn't -
you've either offered your WHOLE SOUL or you haven't - filling the bucket
(coming closer to God) is good if the process is eventually completed - there
is no salvation in "being good" or even "Christ-like" on
your own terms, you must come unto Christ in this probation and that begins by
entering into the gate by receiving the birth of the spirit.
If you understand what it takes to obtain the baptism by fire/birth
of the spirit---a total, unconditional submission to God---you would realize
that such cannot be accomplished partially. It is a binary condition: you
either meet the requirements or you do not.
What is the relationship between
the Gospel of Jesus Christ and being born again?
The Gospel is the "good news" that a way of escape
has been prepared.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, then, is the path to redemption
or the road map back to God's presence while in the flesh (see D&C
132:21-25).
Being born again happens when you follow the gospel road map,
enabled by the Savior’s atonement, and actually enact the gospel in your own
life.
How is one Born of God?
By being baptized by
Fire and the Holy Ghost.
Not of any worthiness
of oneself (Alma 36:5).
By following the
roadmap laid out in the Fullness of the Gospel of Christ.
Which tells us that
we must accept a covenant extended to us by Christ by fulfilling its terms:
offering one's whole soul as an eternal sacrifice, which requires complete
repentance - a broken heart and contrite spirit.
When we have met the
required terms by offering the sacrifice, we are baptized by fire and the Holy
Ghost by God as a token that the sacrifice has been accepted and the covenant
is in effect and we are born of God.
We must then follow
the promptings of the Spirit in all things until the Lord makes Himself known
unto us (see 2 Nephi 32:1-7).
What would cause an individual to
want to offer such a sacrifice?
They are filled with godly sorrow.
Seeing things as they truly are: they understand their absolute
and complete need for rescue from the state in which they find themselves (now
realizing the impossible situation they are in) and finally willing to do
anything to be rescued from it.
READ Alma 36:12-16
What is godly sorrow and how does
it differ from remorse and despair?
It is the
"travail" or labor pains of your spiritual rebirth.
It is a spiritual
gift from God - it cannot be manufactured by man.
It is the realization
of what you have done from God's perspective - a full realization of your
filthiness before him (see v14).
It is the realization
of the effect of your sins on Christ - the pain it caused Him to suffer during
the infinite atonement required to save you (13).
It is being
"born to see" - that you are outside of the Kingdom and can NEVER
come home again as the gulf between you is completely impassable (14).
Godly sorrow is not
remorse; remorse comes from fear for one's life or livelihood, for one's
reputation, for the ill effect of one’s behavior on another person; it comes
from within the individual and is self-centered.
Godly sorrow is not
despair; despair comes from Satan and is the false realization that nothing can
be done to save you - you are beyond hope.
What does godly sorrow cause to
happen?
A broken heart and
contrite spirit - it is to be harrowed up like hard ground frozen in the winter
that must be broken up before planting can begin in the spring.
Descriptors include
(v12) racked with eternal torment, harrowed up to the greatest degree, (13)
remember all my sins, I had rebelled against my God, (14) thought of coming
into the presence of God caused "inexpressible horror", (15) become
extinct, (16) pains of a damned soul.
Is godly sorrow only experienced
by the “wicked”?
Yes, in that all are “wicked” or have sinned.
No, in that all of the truly “righteous” have experienced godly
sorrow or they could not come unto Christ, as they would not be willing to live
the terms and sacrifice their whole souls.
In this way you could say that it’s only experience by the truly
righteous.
Why would a loving God “torment”
His child with the pains of hell and “rack” his soul with “inexpressible
horror” to the point that He wishes He was extinct?
God is not imposing this punishment on Alma to either 1) “scare
him straight” or 2) “give him what’s coming to him”.
In fact, God is not imposing this punishment at all.
All that is happening is that Alma is perfectly describing the
pain and emotions that anyone who is unprepared to enter the presence of a just
and holy being will feel in their presence – God is just being God and we
recoil and react this way if we are unlike Him.
READ Alma 36:17-22
Why does Alma’s cry after 3 days
of torment lead to his salvation?
We must seek, knock and ask – the Lord honors our agency, despite
His arms remaining wide open to receive us – He will wait for us to cry out to
Him.
He is “crying” unto the Lord – with real intent, with faith in Christ,
desperate in his need, willing to do or offer or be whatever it takes to be
saved.
Similar to the number of days the Lord remained in the grave, Alma
had to walk through the valley of the shadow of death for three days. When we say “had”, it’s not because God made
him wait for three days to punish him, but that Alma’s situation (lack of
light) required it of himself.
He was saved because he asked and offered his whole soul to the
Lord – he sacrificed all he had to offer that was really his own to give (the
rest being given or loaned to him by God): his will or whole soul – but it took
three days of suffering for Alma to get to that point of faith that (even) he
could be saved by this Jesus Christ, a Son of God.
What is the relationship between
the level of despair and the level of joy Alma experienced during his birth of
the Spirit?
Similar to Christ’s experience but on a lesser scale, to be led to
salvation Alma must descend below so that he can ascend above (see D&C
88:6; TPJS 156:3).
We are here to become as the Gods, knowing good from evil, which
means we need firsthand experience with both – the depth of Alma’s pain informs
the sweetness of his joy; he comprehends the extent of the joy only because he
was racked with the pains of a damned soul and saw no escape. Suffering and joy are experienced in relation
to each other, like points on a pendulum.
Who does Alma see in his vision
and what is its significance?
He sees God the Father on His throne in the Heavenly Temple during
a ceremony of praise.
Even in vision, people don’t see the Father without receiving
priesthood and blessings to enable him to abide the glory – Alma has received
some kind of endowment of priesthood power.
The Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost
What is the difference between
the Light of Christ, the power of the Holy Ghost, the Gift of the Holy Ghost,
and the Holy Spirit of Promise – and how are they connected?
Light of Christ = given to all things and is the power by which we
live, move, breathe and exist; not just a moral conscience but something much
greater; Christ had to ascend above and descend below all things to comprehend
them, that He might be in and through them all so that He can be the light and
life of them all (see D&C 88:6-13; 3 Nephi 11:11); this includes all of us
(see D&C 88:11); Christ’s descent and ascension brings the light or
intelligence that flows from the Father, who is the source of that light, to
all things to create and sustain life.
Power of the Holy Ghost = if you allow the Spirit of God to enter
your thoughts from time to time, you have felt the power of the Holy Ghost but
it is an external experience still – you feel the separateness between you and
it.
The Gift of the Holy Ghost = If you allow the Spirit of God to
continually guide and influence you, then you have received the “gift” of the
Holy Ghost as your companion – your “ghost” has been sanctified by the Holy
Spirit to the point that it has been fundamentally changed – it is now Holy and
you are one with the Spirit.
Holy Spirit of Promise = If you open yourself to receive the
visions of heaven and behold the Father and the Son and have become their child
of promise or have received a promise from God that you are to be an inheritor
of all the Father has as His family member and heir, then you have received the
Holy Spirit of Promise – a promise or hope that you will become a Son of God or
a Daughter of God as you continue to ascend from grace to grace.
Is the Holy Spirit “out there” or
“within you”?
It proceeds forth from the presence of God the Father because it
IS God’s own glory, light or intelligence (see D&C 88:12-13).
But it is already within you because you are completely sustained
by it as you are reading this sentence – it is in and through all things and
the means by which all things exist (see D&C 88:6-13; Mosiah 2:20-21).
In fact, it IS you because you are created of intelligence or
light which is co-equal with the Father because it flows from Him in His
exalted state (see D&C 93:29; TPJS 396:2-397:4);
And since it is already within you – if you allow
it to influence you, you can be one with it or in other words, one with God
(see John 17:20-23; Deuteronomy 30:9-14) – as God dwells within you in the form
of His Holy Spirit, which is also called the mind of God – it is His
intelligence, glory, light and spirit.
Then how do you “receive”
something that is already within you?
You open your heart and mind to its influence.
As God honors your agency, you have to open yourself up – He will
not compel you.
What is the “baptism of fire and
the Holy Ghost”?
It is the same thing as being born of God or receiving the birth
of the Spirit.
It is the result of living the terms of the Gospel Covenant:
repenting, covenanting through baptism and offering one’s whole soul or broken
heart and contrite spirit on the altar in sacrifice.
It is a witness to the one who received it that the gospel covenant
is “alive” for them – because the sacrifice required of us in the covenant has
been made and accepted.
It is how we “enter into the Gate” of the Gospel Covenant – the
end of which is to receive the Son, through whose blood you are sanctified (see
Moses 6:59-60); once sanctified you are prepared to for the presence of the
Father and receive the fullness (see D&C 93:19-20).
What does the baptism of fire and
the Holy Ghost do to the one receiving it?
Purges you and removes all sin - it elevates you by fire, it
quickens your frequency, and purifies or sanctifies you.
You receive holiness through the sanctifying power of the Holy
Spirit.
It works on the body and the spirit to preserve them as a living
being or soul; it is to render indestructible the organism upon which it
descends, as all other things in this telestial sphere will live, decay and
die; it does this not by preventing earthly death but by allowing eternal life
through the fire or glory or light or holy spirit bestowed upon the soul (see
John 11:25-26 and Moses 6:61); and this “eternal life” begins now, in the flesh
– living here as members of another assembly with whom you interact (the Church
of the Firstborn) to pass from here to join them again there (see D&C
76:67); though they are men in the flesh, they are “gods, even the sons of God”
(see D&C 76:58-60).
This in turn makes your own spirit “holy.” Your spirit or the “ghost” within you is
connected to heaven to such a degree through this process that you are in
possession of a “holy spirit” or the “mind of God” within you (see LoF 5:2) – a
Holy Ghost.
You become that “third member of the Godhead” who is “still in a
probationary state”, and if you will “perform in righteousness, you may pass
through the same or similar course of things that the Son has” (see “Words of
Joseph Smith” by Andy Ehat, p 245)
What accompanies the baptism of
fire and the Holy Ghost?
Signs of the Spirit and fruits of the Spirit.
It always includes being enveloped in the glory, light, spirit or
“fire” of God – and sometimes that fire is made visible to the one receiving it
(see Helaman 5:36-37; 3 Nephi 17:23-25).
It allows you to speak with the tongues of angels (2 Nephi 31:13)
– your knowledge reckons from heaven itself.
It opens the scriptures to your mind, that you read them with the
same Spirit that inspired the writer when recording them (JSH 1:73-74).
It shows you all things, as the Holy Ghost is a revelator.
It usually includes the ministry of angels.
Gifts of the Spirit (see D&C 46:11; 1 Corinthians 7:7)
What do the signs of purifying
fire, prophesy, angels and revelation witness to the one who receives it?
That they have received the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost.
These signs form a continuum – they need not all be present at the
initial time of the reception of the gift, but some must be or the gift has not
been given.
