The following is based on a portion of a transcript from a sermon from November 21, 2015. In the Torah, in Leviticus 19:18, the Lord says, “Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord” (Holy Bible, KJV). This is an interesting concept, love thy neighbor as thyself. Sure, it’s not unfamiliar to Jews, Christians, or really any religion. This statement reflects the…
“Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof.” -3 Nephi 4:11 RAV, 4:28 OPV I’ve seen a number of posts on social media basically stating that God murders children. The idea is that when Jesus was crucified, the cities in the New World that were destroyed meant that innocent children were killed as well. At one point another gentleman, a faithful Latter-day Saint, pointed out that the same thing happened with the destruction of…
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:21-23 Paul told the Thessalonians to “abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). This is a very hard task indeed. Even Jesus Christ couldn’t avoid the appearance of evil. Sure, his accusers could find no fault with him, but they still saw him as evil (See John 5:8-12, 6:41-42, 7:12, & 9:16).
“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” -Psalms 34:18 When teaching the people he had gathered in the Americas, Jesus did away with the sacrificing of animals. He asked for something more personal when he told them, “ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 4:49 RAV, 9:20 OPV). But what does this mean?