Sacrament Service
President Oaks in his talk The Divinely Inspired Constitution list five great fundamentals of the US Constitution.
Separation of powers.
A written Bill of Rights
Division of Powers
Popular sovereignty.
The rule of law and not of men.
Elder Oaks said, “Similarly, James Madison, who is known as the ‘Father of the Constitution,’ stated his assumption that there had to be ‘sufficient virtue among men for self-government.’ He argued in the Federalist Papers that ‘republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form.’”
Sunday School
Doctrine and Covenants 71 - Dealing with criticism
“Symonds Ryder (or Simonds Rider) learned about the restored gospel from Ezra Booth. Symonds became a member of the Church after witnessing what he considered to be a miracle. Shortly after his baptism he was ordained an elder of the Church. Later accounts suggest that when he received an official commission to preach the gospel, he found that his name was misspelled on the certificate. Supposing that a revealed call would have been free from even small errors, Symonds began to question the extent of Joseph Smith’s prophetic inspiration. Symonds was further influenced by the failing faith of his close friend Ezra Booth, who returned disappointed from his mission to Missouri. More than anything else, his concerns over the principle of consecration seem to have led to his disaffection.” (Doctrine and Covenants Institute Manual)
Isaiah 54:17
17 ¶ No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
D&C 71:1
1 Behold, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, that the time has verily come that it is necessary and expedient in me that you should open your mouths in proclaiming my gospel, the things of the kingdom, expounding the mysteries thereof out of the scriptures, according to that portion of Spirit and power which shall be given unto you, even as I will.
Alma 31:5
5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.
D&C 71:7-9
7 Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame shall be made manifest.
8 Wherefore, let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord.
9 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you—there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper;
“We live and teach amid such a wide variety of individual personalities, experiences, cultures, languages, interests, and needs. Only the Spirit can compensate for such differences. The Lord has told us that ‘the sword of the Spirit … is the word of God’ (Ephesians 6:17); it can facilitate communication and penetrate as nothing else. Thus holy scripture and the words of living prophets occupy a privileged position; they are the key to teaching by the Spirit so that we communicate in what the Prophet Joseph Smith called ‘the language of inspiration’ (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], p. 56).” (Neal A Maxwell, Teaching by the Spirit—“The Language of Inspiration”, In Old Testament Symposium Speeches, 1991, 1–6)
No comments:
Post a Comment