Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

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BroJones
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Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by BroJones »

Nephi boldly wrote:
23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.

25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law [of Moses] hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

27 Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away.

28 And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law.

29 And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.
And in 2Nephi 31, we read:
15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God...

Should we not, then, speak of Jesus often
? In Fast and Testimony Meeting every time we stand (and not just "in the name of...")? When talking to our children, grandchildren -- and neighbors? why not, if we are disciples of Jesus Christ.

While visiting evangelical relatives, I notice that some of them speak often of Jesus and what He means to them in their lives. I was a little uneasy at first, but then I realized that this was largely because I WAS NOT DOING IT, at least not very much. Why not? I asked myself. No good reason-- based on the above scriptures. "WE TALK OF CHRIST" Nephi said.

And Jesus himself spoke of Christ, of the Messiah, and of His mission, so we are following HIS example when we speak of Christ.

When I was teaching at BYU, before I was disallowed to do so in fall 2006 (because of 9/11 research and experiments), I often spoke of Jesus and His example. I bore testimony of Him during what turned out to be my last Physics class, teaching at BYU.

When asked about why didn't I "let the Gentiles do it" (discuss 9/11 questions), I pointed out that Jesus challenged the leaders of His day '' Wo unto you, Scribes, Pharisees, HYPOCRITES"!
He also cleared the Temple of evil-schemers. Twice. (The second time, they came after Him...)


I'd like to see more of "speaking of Jesus," even on this forum, and in my daily life... :ymhug:
Last edited by BroJones on July 2nd, 2012, 8:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

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AussieOi
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Re: Do we dare to speak of JESUS often?

Post by AussieOi »

The "Church" will never same us

Jesus will

The less is rely on the arm of flesh, and man for my salvation, the happier I am, and in some ways the sadder I am

Refer exodus thread

Great scriptures, imagine if we_really_dove into using them!

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drjme
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Re: Do we dare to speak of JESUS often?

Post by drjme »

DrJones wrote:Nephi boldly wrote:
23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.

25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law [of Moses] hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.

26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.

27 Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away.

28 And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law.

29 And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.
And in 2Nephi 31, we read:
15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God...

Should we not, then, speak of Jesus often
? In Fast and Testimony Meeting every time we stand (and not just "in the name of...")? When talking to our children, grandchildren -- and neighbors? why not, if we are disciples of Jesus Christ.

While visiting evangelical relatives, I notice that some of them speak often of Jesus and what He means to them in their lives. I was a little uneasy at first, but then I realized that this was largely because I WAS NOT DOING IT, at least not very much. Why not? I asked myself. No good reason-- based on the above scriptures. "WE TALK OF CHRIST" Nephi said.

And Jesus himself spoke of Christ, of the Messiah, and of His mission, so we are following HIS example when we speak of Christ.

When I was teaching at BYU, before I was disallowed to do so in fall 2006 (because of 9/11 research and experiments), I often spoke of Jesus and His example. I bore testimony of Him during what turned out to be my last Physics class, teaching at BYU.

When asked about why didn't I "let the Gentiles do it" (discuss 9/11 questions), I pointed out that Jesus challenged the leaders of His day '' Wo unto you, Scribes, Pharisees, HYPOCRITES"!
He also cleared the Temple of evil-schemers. Twice. (The second time, they came after Him...)


I'd like to see more of "speaking of Jesus," even on this forum, and in my daily life... :ymhug:
+100

Finding Christ and a testimony of Him must be the priority over ALL religious things. My life has changed so much since I took this path. it is great to see so many going through the same thing.

wolfman
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Re: Do we dare to speak of JESUS often?

Post by wolfman »

You're a good man Dr. Jones! Thank you for the tender mercy Lord for letting me read that first thing in the morning before I went to work. Peace be unto you Its gonna be a great day I can feel it.

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Original_Intent
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Re: Do we dare to speak of JESUS often?

Post by Original_Intent »

I agree, and now that you mention it, Christ is not even mentioned in our home that much any more. We talk a lot about what we can do to "strengthen our family" but we don;t speak of Christ or the atonement enough.

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BroJones
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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by BroJones »

OK, I plan to do my part in speaking more of Jesus, as I said also in another thread.

I'll be prayerful about it, but I plan to get up and bear my testimony towards the end if no one bears testimony of Jesus in a particular F&TM; if I don't stand sooner. (I bore my testimony in June; towards the beginning. And I bore testimony of Jesus Christ.)

I'll look for applications/opportunities in everyday conversations also, where an example from the life of Jesus (for example) seems apropos.

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gruden2.0
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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by gruden2.0 »

One interesting LDS blogger I sometimes read mentioned that in the early years of the restored church, those who submitted themselves for baptism explicitly covenanted to take on the name of Christ and follow him. Interestingly, in the Book of Mormon there is precedence for this in Mosiah 18. I think it's one of those things that was lost that should've been kept. It's a strong reminder how we promise to always remember Him. If He's in our thoughts, then He's closer to our lips and physical motions.

In reading excerpts of Wilford Woodruff's journal, members would have themselves re-baptized as a renewal of their commitment to follow Christ. I have been thinking that when my son is of age that I will have him re-baptize me. Why not?

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BroJones
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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by BroJones »

I don't know much about re-baptism, but this I totally agree with:
we promise to always remember Him. If He's in our thoughts, then He's closer to our lips and physical motions.
If we strive to become like Him and if we love Jesus, then Jesus becomes the GOAL and the PRIZE. I think Paul the Apostle said something along those lines.

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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by Juliette »

“To take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments”

You can't remember someone you don't know. We must know the Savior through His life and
teachings. We take upon ourselves the name of Christ through baptism and the sacrament.

If we always remember Him, we are promised to be blessed with His spirit. Sweet!

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A Random Phrase
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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

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gruden2.0 wrote:In reading excerpts of Wilford Woodruff's journal, members would have themselves re-baptized as a renewal of their commitment to follow Christ. I have been thinking that when my son is of age that I will have him re-baptize me. Why not?
Why not, indeed? If I knew someone with authority willing to do it, I would do so as a commitment to follow Christ. I understand it a lot more than I did when I was 8 yrs old.

So, Dr. Jones, you are saying that we squeeze the subject of Jesus in anywhere we can? Then, I suppose as we get used to it, we'll find other ways and places and times to do it. I'm game. I'll do it. I'm trying to figure out how and where. I suppose just keeping open for an opportunity would work.

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A Random Phrase
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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by A Random Phrase »

How about a card where I can see it often every day that says something like, "Think Jesus" and "Speak of Christ". I'd need to be more aware that making Him the center of my thinking and speech, and I think something like this would work.

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BroJones
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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by BroJones »

A Random Phrase wrote:
So, Dr. Jones, you are saying that we squeeze the subject of Jesus in anywhere we can? Then, I suppose as we get used to it, we'll find other ways and places and times to do it. I'm game. I'll do it. I'm trying to figure out how and where. I suppose just keeping open for an opportunity would work.
Right! good for you. Look at the New Testament, for example. Luke and Paul and Peter and John talk about Jesus all the time. Jesus healed the leaper says Luke. Jesus is still healing people, says Paul. And if you think about it, Jesus is still healing people today!

Nephi also, "We talk of Christ" he said, and Alma and so on.

Come to think of it, President Monson speaks of Jesus often too:
I pray that all of us will reflect gratitude for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. His glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where does my spirit go when I die?

He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to serve. He taught us how to live. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved.

The time came when He stood alone. Some Apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet rings from Golgotha’s hill His compassionate words, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” 11

Earlier, perhaps perceiving the culmination of His earthly mission, He spoke the lament, “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.” 12 “No room in the inn” 13 was not a singular expression of rejection—just the first. Yet He invites you and me to receive Him. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” 14

Who was this Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief? Who is the King of glory, this Lord of hosts? He is our Master. He is our Savior. He is the Son of God. He is the Author of our Salvation. He beckons, “Follow me.” 15 He instructs, “Go, and do thou likewise.” 16 He pleads, “Keep my commandments.” 17

Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His word. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude. -- Ensign Oct 2008

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BroJones
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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by BroJones »

Now, if we are to speak often of Jesus in a meaningful way in our homes and workplaces and Church, we will need to know and remember something of the stories of His life and example.

A good way to get started, IMO is to get yourself the publication "New Testament Stories" (Distribution Centers, etc) Here we find brief summaries of major events and parables from Jesus' life -- with pictures. The pictures help my memory a lot.

I have been known to carry this with me to Church, to review it during Sacrament time, to focus my thoughts on Jesus as I partake the sacrament in His honor and remembrance. The grand-kids love to look at the stories of Jesus, too.

"Tell me the stories of Jesus, I love to hear" -- indeed!

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marc
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Re: Do we dare to speak often of JESUS?

Post by marc »

The Law of Christ as taught by Paul: To bear one another's burdens.

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