Thursday, June 30, 2011

AOF!!!! 8 of 13

We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

So what this Article is saying is that the Bible is to be the Word of God and the most correct translation is the King James version of the Bible. We also believe that the Book of Mormon is to also the Word of God hence "Another testament of Jesus Christ."

In Ezekiel 37:16-22 it reads:

Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.

So what these scriptures are saying is that the Stick of Judah is the Bible and the Stick of Joseph is the Book of Mormon. Our Heavenly Father said he will make these to sticks (Nations) come together as one and they shall have one King and they shall not be divided as two kingdoms anymore. Thus forth comes the Bible and the Book of Mormon as one book and that book is the Word of God.
I testify that this is true and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

AOF!!!! 7 of 13

We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visionshealing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

I love talking about this Article of Faith because of last Sunday I was talking to President Clark on the phone about this Article and he said "Kenny you probably didn't know this but you have all these gifts." So this may sound confusing to you guys that are non-members so let me break it down for you. We believe in the GIFT OF TONGUES. This is referring to mostly missionaries, when they go on their mission they have the opportunity to learn a language. That's when we say the gift of tongues, we are saying Heavenly Father has given a gift to learn another tongue.The GIFT OF INTERPRETATION OF TONGUES is along the same lines you can not speak the language but you can understand them and translate it into English for yourself and companion.


1 Sam 10:10- And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
The GIFT OF PROPHECY and REVELATION is like an inspirational thing. Men who have a testimony of our savior Jesus Christ has the gift of prophecy. If a man has the gift of Prophecy then this man has the gift of Revelation.  
"Now if any man has the testimony of Jesus, has he not the spirit of prophecy? And if he has the spirit of prophecy, I ask, is he not a prophet? And if a prophet, will he not receive revelation? And any man that does not receive revelation for himself must be damned, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. For Christ says, ask and you shall receive; and if he happens to receive anything, I ask, will it not be a revelation? And if any man has not the testimony of Jesus or the spirit of God, he is none of his, namely Christ’s. And if not his, he must be damned." Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith.
“No man is a minister of Jesus Christ without being a Prophet. No man can be a minister of Jesus Christ except he has the testimony of Jesus; and this is the spirit of prophecy." Revelation 19:10
The gift of Visions can be best described when Lehi has a vision of the tree of life. In 1st Nephi 8:18-33 it reads:
 18And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.
 19And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood.
 20And I also beheld a trait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world.
 21And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood.
 22And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree.
 23And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.
 24And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.
 25And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.
 26And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.
 27And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.
 28And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
 29And now I, Nephi, do not speak all the words of my father.
 30But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.
 31And he also saw other multitudes feeling their way towards that great and spacious building.
 32And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads.
 33And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not.
This is Lehi's vision of what would happen in the future. 
The gift of Healing is pretty much the priesthood. We the brethren that have the Holy Priesthood have the Gift of Healing. We have the opportunity to give blessings to heal the sick and afflicted, to comfort the people that need comfort and etc.

I testify to you that these gifts are true and they are from Heavenly Father and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Thursday, June 16, 2011

AOF!!!! 6 of 13

We believe in the same aorganization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, bprophets, cpastors, dteachers, eevangelists, and so forth. 


So this Article Of Faith is pretty plain Jane. Lets break it down. We believe in the Same organization that existed in the Primitive Church. This is saying that we follow the same structure as when Jesus Christ was on the earth. Now this can get confusing because a lot of you have heard of a Pastor or an evangelist. The second part is Namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. The English language has change since the times of Jesus Christ. In the church today we have the modern day prophet who is Thomas Spencer Monson and his Apostles. So the name hasn't changed for them but pastor and evangelists have. A Bishop in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is like a Pastor in a Baptist church and an evangelist is a patriarch in the LDS church. One way you can find out that this church is the same one that Jesus Christ created on the earth in his time is to pray about it. With a broken heart and a contrite spirit, the Holy Ghost will manifest his power and give you the answer that you truly seek. If we don't follow what Paul wrote in his epistle to the Ephesians and if we just find something that feels good, we will not find something that is right. And I say these things in the Sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.  

Friday, June 10, 2011

AOF!!!! 5 of 13

We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

When Jesus Christ was on the earth he had what is known today as the Priesthood. Now the priesthood has 2 parts to it. The Aaronic Priesthood or the "Lesser" priesthood. The duties of this priesthood are:
1) Deacon: Worthy brethren may receive the Aaronic Priesthood and be ordained deacons when they are at least 12 years old. The deacons duties are to pass the sacrament, assist the bishop in temporal things, watch over the church and warn,expound, exhort and teach, fellowship quorum members and other young men.
2) Teacher: Worthy brethren may be ordained teachers when they are at least 14 years old. A teacher has all the responsibilities of a deacon. He also has the following responsibilities: watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them, see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking, see that the church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty.
3) Priest: Worthy brethren may be ordained priests when they are at least 16 years old. A priest has all the responsibilities of a deacon and teacher. He also has the following responsibilities: preach, teach, expound, exhort, … and visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in secret and attend to all family duties, When authorized by the bishop, he performs baptisms, confers the Aaronic Priesthood, and ordains deacons, teachers, and priest, He may administer the sacrament by officiating at the sacrament table and offering the sacrament prayers when authorized.
4) Bishop: The bishop is the presiding high priest in the ward. He is also the president of the priests quorum
In the leadership of the priests quorum, the bishop serves with two assistants, both of whom are priests. Although the bishop delegates many responsibilities to his assistants, he serves personally and actively as quorum president. He promotes a spirit of love and unity in the quorum. He regularly attends and presides over quorum presidency meetings and Sunday quorum meetings. He participates in quorum service and activities. In his absence, he designates one of his assistants to assume quorum leadership responsibilities. When a bishop is released, his assistants are also released.
The bishop interviews young men who are preparing to be ordained to the office of priest.
The second part of the Priesthood is the Melchezidek priesthood. The duties that come with this priesthood are as followed: 
The offices in the Melchizedek Priesthood are elder, high priest, patriarch, Seventy, and Apostle. Each priesthood office has rights and responsibilities of service, including authority to administer priesthood ordinances.  
1) Elder: Worthy brethren may receive the Melchizedek Priesthood and be ordained elders when they are at least 18 years old. Elders also hold the authority of deacons, teachers, and priests.
2) High Priest: Brethren are ordained high priests when they are called to a stake presidency, high council, or bishopric or when otherwise determined by the stake president. The rights and responsibilities of high priests are to preside and to hold all the authority of elders.

     During Jesus ministry, he gave the holy priesthood to his 12 disciples. After his death the 12 disciples kept teaching the glorious word with the sacred priesthood until all of them were murdered and the holy and sacred priesthood was taken from the earth until a young boy named Joseph Smith restored the gospel. By restoring the fullness of the gospel to the earth again he also restored the priesthood. John the Baptist who baptized Jesus Christ gave the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery ( A scribe for Joseph when he was translating the Book of Mormon) and a month later, Peter, James and John descended from Heaven to earth and bestowed the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood to Joseph Smith. 
    Brother's and sister's and I would like to testify today that the Priesthood is true and it has been brought back to earth in this last dispensation by a prophet called from Heavenly Father himself, Joseph Smith. I can not tell how much the priesthood has blessed my life in just this one short year of being a member. It's brought so much joy and peace into my family and the people around me and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.