LDS Freedom Forum

The Keystone of Our Religion

Reading assignment: Lesson 1, page 1-2: http://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/co ... f?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

First, check out this very cool link that explains the function of a keystone. You can mouse over the arch to see what happens:

http://askabiologist.asu.edu/what-keystone" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now that you've checked it out, here's another sketch of an arch with a keystone:



The keystone holds the arch in place and without it, the arch fails. It crumbles. They Book of Mormon is the keystone to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. When I was on my mission, we taught specific lessons about our church, but it was always the Book of Mormon that we gave to people to read and pray about.

President Ezra Taft Benson explained, “Just as the arch crumbles if the keystone is removed, so does all the Church stand or fall with the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 5; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 6).

He also said, “There are three ways in which the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion. It is the keystone in our witness of Christ. It is the keystone of our doctrine. It is the keystone of testimony” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 4; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 5).

Moroni wrote the title page to show the remnant of the house of Israel the great things the Lord has done for their fathers; to teach the covenants required by the Lord; and to convince all people that Jesus is the Christ, manifesting Himself to all nations.

Why is it important to declare to the world that the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ?

1 Nephi 13

38 And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren.

39 And after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the prophets and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are true.

40 And the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records, which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved.

41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.

Christ testifies to Joseph Smith the purpose of the Book of Mormon:

D&C 20:9 Which contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also

“The Lord Himself has stated that the Book of Mormon contains the ‘fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ’. That does not mean it contains every teaching, every doctrine ever revealed. Rather, it means that in the Book of Mormon we will find the fulness of those doctrines required for our salvation. And they are taught plainly and simply so that even children can learn the ways of salvation and exaltation” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 4; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 6).

It is utterly important and imperative to receive a testimony and a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon because your testimony of it and of Jesus Christ will carry you through all the storms in your life. And how do we receive a testimony? Moroni tells us how:

Moroni 10

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

A week ago or two, as I finished the Book of Mormon again, I wondered to myself, exactly what are "these things?" There is sooo much taught to us in the book. The meaning of the Law of Moses, Isaiah's writings and Nephi's explanations of Isaiah's writings. As a matter of fact, if you want to understand Isaiah, read the Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants. Isaiah talks about Jesus Birth, His Atonement, The Restoration, and much more pertaining to the latter days. The better you understand the Book of Mormon and Doctrine & Covenants, the easier it will be to read and understand Isaiah. Other things in the Book of Mormon to glean: The spirit of revelation, the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His purpose. These and much more are what Moroni is talking about.

The Book of Mormon was specifically written for us in the last days.

2 Nephi 25

21 Wherefore, for this cause hath the Lord God promised unto me that these things which I write shall be kept and preserved, and handed down unto my seed, from generation to generation, that the promise may be fulfilled unto Joseph, that his seed should never perish as long as the earth should stand.

22 Wherefore, these things shall go from generation to generation as long as the earth shall stand; and they shall go according to the will and pleasure of God; and the nations who shall possess them shall be judged of them according to the words which are written.

2 Nephi 27

22 Wherefore, when thou hast read the words which I have commanded thee, and obtained the witnesses which I have promised unto thee, then shalt thou seal up the book again, and hide it up unto me, that I may preserve the words which thou hast not read, until I shall see fit in mine own wisdom to reveal all things unto the children of men.

Mormon 8

34 Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things shall come forth among you.

35 Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.

And for the modern day Lamanites:

Moroni 1:4

4 Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.

In Moroni 8:26-41 We learn the following:

a. “The power of God shall be denied” (verse 28).
b. “There shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth” (verse 31).
c. People will “lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts” (verse 36).
d. People will “love money … more than [they] love the poor and the needy” (verse 37).
e. People will be “ashamed to take upon [themselves] the name of Christ” (verse 38).

Do we see this in the world today?

President Benson taught: “The Book of Mormon … was written for our day. The Nephites never had the book; neither did the Lamanites of ancient times. It was meant for us. … Each of the major writers of the Book of Mormon testified that he wrote for future generations. … If they saw our day and chose those things which would be of greatest worth to us, is not that how we should study the Book of Mormon? We should constantly ask ourselves, ‘Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include that in his record? What lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?’” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 5; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 6).

We learn that no other book will bring us nearer to Jesus Christ than the Book of Mormon. But if we do not study it and apply its teachings, if we deny this gift from God, there are consequences:

D&C 84

54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—

55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.

56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.

57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

58 That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.

I remember President Ezra Taft Benson and his message to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon. I was on my mission then. It was really cool to see so many books pass our hands to those who wanted to read it. They were gifts; testimonies from those who had bought them to hand out around the world. President Benson was a huge proponent of the importance of reading and studying this sacred text.

He said, and I have experienced this in my life: “The moment you begin a serious study of [the Book of Mormon, you] will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. … When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 6; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 7).

“A … powerful testimony to the importance of the Book of Mormon is to note where the Lord placed its coming forth in the timetable of the unfolding Restoration. The only thing that preceded it was the First Vision. …

“Think of that in terms of what it implies. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon preceded the restoration of the priesthood. It was published just a few days before the Church was organized. The Saints were given the Book of Mormon to read before they were given the revelations outlining such great doctrines as the three degrees of glory, celestial marriage, or work for the dead. It came before priesthood quorums and Church organization. Doesn’t this tell us something about how the Lord views this sacred work?” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 3; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 4).

One of the greatest things about the Book of Mormon is sharing it with others and sharing our testimonies. I have shared it with people from all over the world, whether on my mission overseas, or with people that I have worked with over the years. This book changes lives. And those who are true and humble followers of Christ do not deny this gift. I've read, studied, listened and pondered this book and so many of its teachings. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this book is true and was written by prophets of God.

Feel free to share your testimony, your thoughts and/or ask questions about this topic. I'll post lesson two sometime later this week.

“The Lord Himself has stated that the Book of Mormon contains the ‘fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ’. That does not mean it contains every teaching, every doctrine ever revealed. Rather, it means that in the Book of Mormon we will find the fulness of those doctrines required for our salvation. And they are taught plainly and simply so that even children can learn the ways of salvation and exaltation” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 4; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 6).

Great lesson/discussion outline CM. I am especially interested in talking about what the "fullness" of the gospel of Jesus Christ means or is according to the BOM. What are the specific elements or components of the "fullness"? I hope that is an appropriate question for this discussion, in this lesson.

Hey, that interactive link is cool. I'll have to show my kids

I can't say enough about the BoM. It is truly a merciful, precious gift from Heavenly Father. I often think about the prophets who recorded these things for us, and what they did to preserve them, the sacrifices that may have entailed. I used to get bogged down in the Isaiah chapters, but then realized with this last reading that Nephi explains each one after he records them. So helpful! Same with Jesus in 3 Nephi...always expounding the scriptures/prophets he recites. For the same reason I appreciate Mormon's commentary/explanations throughout. (I was once read a commentary on the uniqueness of the BoM, one being that is the only scripture that has one person narrating and weaving all the books/messages together).I used to get tired (sorry) of hearing about the 'experiment upon the word' all the time until I heard Amulek pointing out to the people that they'd already heard/believed in Jesus Christ before, and then I realized that this message was directed at those who had lost their testimony! (although the experiment can be applied to anyone in any situation).

So many other things have popped out at me this time, as it seems to happen...everytime, something new. There IS so much application for us. Mormon and Moroni did see us and our day, and did abridge according to our need, according to the Spirit. I know this book is true. It is my conduit to heaven, part of my liahona. I do feel closer to Heavenly Father when I read it, and even more so when I immerse myself in it. It lifts my perspective. All those things that I thought were such a big deal melt away (I'm sure/hope my kids appreciate that effect!) and I have more inner peace.

tmac, to me "fullness" means complete. When Christ visited the Nephites, He explained to them in detail what His "gospel" is. The dictionary defines gospel as something that is true, or the teaching/revelation of Christ. Some define it as "good news." Look up 3 Nephi 27 and study it. I'll highlight the meat of it:

9 Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;

10 And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it.

11 But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return.

12 For their works do follow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down; therefore remember the things that I have told you.

13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.

18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.

19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

23 Write the things which ye have seen and heard, save it be those which are forbidden.

24 Write the works of this people, which shall be, even as hath been written, of that which hath been.

25 For behold, out of the books which have been written, and which shall be written, shall this people be judged, for by them shall their works be known unto men.

Essentially, that's the fullness, that Christ died for us so that we can repent of our sins, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and do "good works." We read throughout the Book of Mormon what good works are: praying, fasting, giving to the needy, paying tithes (Alma expounded on this, saying that Melchizedek payed tithes. Also Christ quoted Malachi, if I remember correctly, about paying tithes and not robbing God). But these are all laws and points of doctrine, not necessarily the definition of what the gospel is. Anyway, this is just my opinion and understanding. But note in v. 25 that we will be judged by the books, which have and will be written. Right here the Lord is telling us that there is more to come. And we definitely have received greater revelations today (D&C and other modern day revelations).

This seems like a real important part of it. In your opinion, what exactly does it mean?

19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

coachmarc wrote:The Keystone of Our Religion


It is utterly important and imperative to receive a testimony and a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon because your testimony of it and of Jesus Christ will carry you through all the storms in your life.

My witness of Jesus Christ came when I read the Book of Mormon the first time. Because of that, I have come to know what Elder McConkie meant when he said:

"...in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer..."
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1 ... e?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This testimony of Christ, and of the Book of Mormon, has sustained me through every storm in my life for nearly 37 years.

Real good Lesson !

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, linj2fly, Gideon and saldom!

tmac wrote:This seems like a real important part of it. In your opinion, what exactly does it mean?

19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

20 Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

It doesn't matter how great or small our sins are. A spot is a spot. Great spots typically require greater repentance. Alma, who fought the church with the four sons of Mosiah had serious repenting to do. But no matter how crimson our garments are stained, Christ's blood can wash them all away, except for unpardonable sins such as murder and denying the Holy Ghost as exemplified by Cain.

To be sanctified by the Holy Ghost means to be purified. After we are baptized unto repentance, we are confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the baptism by fire. This what is meant by the reception of the Holy Ghost.

And every Sunday when you partake of the sacrament worthily, in humility, with sincere sorrow for your sins, iniquities, transgressions etc (we're human, we make mistakes, this the whole reason for the Atonement and taking the sacrament every week), you are partaking of blessed and sanctified bread and water as a testimony that you are still enduring to the end, that you are still making a fully conscious effort to keep your baptismal covenants, "that [you] may have His Spirit to be with [you]." And every Sunday, if you do this and live with a full purpose of heart, you have the companionship of the Holy Ghost as promised in the blessing of the sacrament. It's is being sanctified all over again each week. This is why the Savior emphasized that nobody partake of the Sacrament unworthily. Because then they partake to their condemnation. And so you will have claim on the Savior's mercy when you stand to be judged. Otherwise justice must be satisfied. We can be saved from our sins, but not in our sins.

After we are baptized unto repentance, we are confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the baptism by fire. This what is meant by the reception of the Holy Ghost.

CM, thanks again for your response. You're getting to a point that I'm really interested in. Is confirmation in fact the same as baptism by fire and the spirit? I have recently come to the conclusion that confirmation is the physical ordinance that cannot necessarily be equated with the spiritual culmination. And from my perspective, aside from the testament of Jesus Christ, which we have already talked about, this specific point is one of the most important core messages of the BOM and a fundamental element of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, I think that is one of the biggest things we can learn from the BOM -- that there is a fundamental difference between the physical and spiritual aspects of the ordinance. Just my opinion. I'm interested in your thoughts.

tmac, when hands are placed on a person's head and is confirmed a member of the church, he does not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until the words, "I say unto you, receive the Holy Ghost" are uttered. Baptism by fire is baptism by the Spirit.

tmac, when hands are placed on a person's head and is confirmed a member of the church, he does not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until the words, "I say unto you, receive the Holy Ghost" are uttered. Baptism by fire is baptism by the Spirit.

With all due respect CM, I have come to conclude otherwise. At this point, I don't believe actual receipt of the Holy Ghost necessary coincides with utterance of any words. I agree that baptism by fire is baptism by the spirit, but I have come to the conclusion, mostly from my own study of the BOM (that I do believe contains the actual meat of the gospel), and a lot of pondering and prayer, etc., that the physical ordinance and the spiritual ordinance are not necessarily one and the same. I have come to the conclusion that the spiritual aspect of baptism by fire and the spirit is something that will be very unmistakable -- as documented over and over and over again in the BOM. I don't think most eight year-olds who have hands laid on their heads after they are baptized experience that. I know I didn't. Along with Christ's appearance in 3 Nephi, I think the experience of the people associated with King Benjamin's sermon provides some important clues.

I respect your thoughts. Thank you for sharing them. One interesting point of fact: When Christ visited the Nephites, he explained that the Lamanites received the Holy Ghost and they knew it not. I vaguely remember my baptism, but I never doubted that I had the gift of the Holy Ghost. I know that we are entitled to its companionship, but that depends on our worthiness as our bodies are the temples in which It resides. Perhaps that is part of the individual journey.

When Christ visited the Nephites, he explained that the Lamanites received the Holy Ghost and they knew it not.

I have always wondered about that, but have never heard anyone explain it very well. And it seems to contrast with so many other instances in the BOM when there was no question that the recipients knew it -- and have described in fairly significant detail their experiences.

tmac, here you go. I think this little blog entry that I found will enlighten you. I just stumbled upon it and the author has impressed me so far. I won't say take his word for it, and I am sure he would agree. Study it out for yourself.

“Who Were the Lamanites that Were Baptized with Fire and the Holy Ghost that Jesus Christ Refers to in 3 Nephi 9:20?”

Let me know if you find it.

....still, if this passage is what the verse is referring to, how can they 'know it not' (unless they don't know what to call it)? Surely they *know* something marvelous/miraculous has/is happening...the earth is shaking, the Lord is piercing their souls, they see Nephi and Lehi encircled by fire, they are overshadowed, they cry with faith and then they, themselves are encircled in a pillar of fire, they are filled with joy unspeakable, and subsequently the HG enters their heart with fire and they speak marvelous words. This is a big deal event. If this is the group the Lord is referring to, how can they not know they Lord is gifting them with fire and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost brings joy, truth, cleansing, knowledge and understanding to our hearts.

'knew it not' is still confusing to me.

One question that could be asked regarding whether one has received baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost is "What are the fruits? Are the fruits manifested in my life?"

I remember when I was in the MTC getting ready to go to Germany on a full time mission. I prayed fervently many times at great lengths for an answer to my prayer about the Book of Mormon. Moroni promises us that by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know of its truth. After much frustration and lots and lots of pondering and praying, it finally dawned on me that I had already known it was true. I remembered that there was a day the year before when I was sharing the Book of Mormon with a college friend on my way to work...

I remembered that as I was sharing my knowledge of it, I was overpowered by that wonderful feeling that is the embrace of the Holy Ghost (it was the first time that I had felt the Spirit so strongly and tangibly). It didn't occur to me in the MTC that it was back then that I had received a confirmation and a witness by the Holy Ghost, as Moroni promised, that the Book of Mormon is true. I entered the mission field with a full purpose of heart. Hopefully this helps to answer your question a bit more, linj2fly.

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