Why is this commandment blacked out in the Church?
Posted: April 2nd, 2019, 9:05 am
Jesus actually gave this little-known, completely neglected commandment found in the Book of Mormon:
Whoso does not keep this commandment (and certainly those who OPPOSE it), "suffers themselves to be led into temptation" of the evil one.
I didn't say it, Jesus Christ did.
This year, I taught this verse/ the commandment to literally come unto Christ to feel and see Him, to a full chapel of LDS in the second period. Nobody had even heard or could recognize this commandment. I know because I asked. "By a show of hands, who's heard of this commandment?" Not a hand was raised!
This commandment of Jesus Christ is TOTALLY ignored in the Church. It is omitted from the leadership's preaching and quite literally blacked out in the Church's publications (save the BoM). Yes, it still exists in the BoM.
We should ask ourselves WHY. Why would the leaders ignore this commandment? Is it not important?
On a scale of 1-10, where would you rank the importance of this commandment, with a 1 being not so important and 10 being REAL important?
I'd say it's a "10". And yet, virtually nobody knows about it. Could it be that the manual writers and leadership aren't aware of it? That they've innocently skipped over it? And if they have read it, why no stage time given to it? It must be unimportant, right?
But the verse is written to eliminate that as a possible conclusion.
The chilling point, the thing that should give us pause, that should cause us to "fear and tremble", if you will, is that the ignoring of this commandment, and certainly any opposition to this commandment, results in the person not trying to keep that commandment being subject to the power of the devil. That of course would include deception. And if we are deceived, but believe we are not deceived, then what an awful state we are in!
We might be benefited by remembering that vanity and unbelief got the Church condemned way back in 1832 (DC 84) because they didn't take seriously the BoM, specifically by failing to DO what the book taught.
Please ponder this commandment of Jesus Christ and His warning. If what He is saying is true, then there is a very serious consequence for not at least trying to keep the commandment. How do we refer to this commandment clearly expressed in 3 Nephi 18:25? It's nothing less than the Second Comforter!
What a shame it is to have this doctrine be controversial in the Church today, and borderline heretical! How dare leaders or ANY faithful Mormon oppose, ridicule, or diminish the doctrine of the Second Comforter! Christ said this is a commandment, and to discourage those who would mock this commandment, He declared such a person would be under the power of the devil!
In the lesson I taught recently, I read the last few verses of 3 Nephi 15 and first few verses of chapter 16 which clearly define Christ's numbered sheep as people who hear His voice and see Him. There's no lack of clarity. 2500 people had just heard Him, seen Him, and FELT Him, as commanded. There can be no misunderstanding what the verses verdict is on the definition of His "sheep." And yet, four people in a row raised their hands to state, "WE are His sheep. All of us are His sheep." Despite reading the exact opposite of what they said seconds earlier, these good Mormons couldn't separate themselves from their unbelief.
I challenged them all, as tactfully and lovingly as I could, to go back and read how the verses defined His "sheep". I asked them to put their personal interpretation on the shelf, and let the Scriptures speak for themselves.
This was awkward.
So we went back and read the verses, and I declared there was and is no doubt what the verses actually say. Christ says His sheep are those who hear His voice and see Him. I challenged them to set their hearts on that destination. Yes, it's a process, it's a journey. There is a path, and that path is the Gospel, but there is a destination and reaching that destination (of hearing Him and seeing Him) qualifies us to become His sheep. So said Jesus. Not me.
And yet, will there be some people here who choose to rail against Christ's teachings? Probably. And why would believers oppose the truth? Because they can. They are free to do so. That's the great thing about our time here. We can choose the vanity and unbelief of "I hear His voice and "see" Him. I am His sheep," which causes us to not even have the goal He's set for us, with the consequence of being led into temptation.
Gosh, I tell ya, the BoM sure has some interesting doctrine in its pages!
Christ commands those who have "felt" Him and "seen" Him, to go testify to the world that this is a COMMANDMENT!! Not a simple suggestion, but something we should actively be pursuing. We are to "come unto Him", to the intimate point where we thrust our hands into his side to feel the wound in his side, and to feel the prints of the nails in His hands and in His feet, "that ye may know that I am the God of Israel," as He said.3 Nephi 18:25
25 And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation.
Whoso does not keep this commandment (and certainly those who OPPOSE it), "suffers themselves to be led into temptation" of the evil one.
I didn't say it, Jesus Christ did.
This year, I taught this verse/ the commandment to literally come unto Christ to feel and see Him, to a full chapel of LDS in the second period. Nobody had even heard or could recognize this commandment. I know because I asked. "By a show of hands, who's heard of this commandment?" Not a hand was raised!
This commandment of Jesus Christ is TOTALLY ignored in the Church. It is omitted from the leadership's preaching and quite literally blacked out in the Church's publications (save the BoM). Yes, it still exists in the BoM.
We should ask ourselves WHY. Why would the leaders ignore this commandment? Is it not important?
On a scale of 1-10, where would you rank the importance of this commandment, with a 1 being not so important and 10 being REAL important?
I'd say it's a "10". And yet, virtually nobody knows about it. Could it be that the manual writers and leadership aren't aware of it? That they've innocently skipped over it? And if they have read it, why no stage time given to it? It must be unimportant, right?
But the verse is written to eliminate that as a possible conclusion.
The chilling point, the thing that should give us pause, that should cause us to "fear and tremble", if you will, is that the ignoring of this commandment, and certainly any opposition to this commandment, results in the person not trying to keep that commandment being subject to the power of the devil. That of course would include deception. And if we are deceived, but believe we are not deceived, then what an awful state we are in!
We might be benefited by remembering that vanity and unbelief got the Church condemned way back in 1832 (DC 84) because they didn't take seriously the BoM, specifically by failing to DO what the book taught.
Please ponder this commandment of Jesus Christ and His warning. If what He is saying is true, then there is a very serious consequence for not at least trying to keep the commandment. How do we refer to this commandment clearly expressed in 3 Nephi 18:25? It's nothing less than the Second Comforter!
What a shame it is to have this doctrine be controversial in the Church today, and borderline heretical! How dare leaders or ANY faithful Mormon oppose, ridicule, or diminish the doctrine of the Second Comforter! Christ said this is a commandment, and to discourage those who would mock this commandment, He declared such a person would be under the power of the devil!
In the lesson I taught recently, I read the last few verses of 3 Nephi 15 and first few verses of chapter 16 which clearly define Christ's numbered sheep as people who hear His voice and see Him. There's no lack of clarity. 2500 people had just heard Him, seen Him, and FELT Him, as commanded. There can be no misunderstanding what the verses verdict is on the definition of His "sheep." And yet, four people in a row raised their hands to state, "WE are His sheep. All of us are His sheep." Despite reading the exact opposite of what they said seconds earlier, these good Mormons couldn't separate themselves from their unbelief.
I challenged them all, as tactfully and lovingly as I could, to go back and read how the verses defined His "sheep". I asked them to put their personal interpretation on the shelf, and let the Scriptures speak for themselves.
This was awkward.
So we went back and read the verses, and I declared there was and is no doubt what the verses actually say. Christ says His sheep are those who hear His voice and see Him. I challenged them to set their hearts on that destination. Yes, it's a process, it's a journey. There is a path, and that path is the Gospel, but there is a destination and reaching that destination (of hearing Him and seeing Him) qualifies us to become His sheep. So said Jesus. Not me.
And yet, will there be some people here who choose to rail against Christ's teachings? Probably. And why would believers oppose the truth? Because they can. They are free to do so. That's the great thing about our time here. We can choose the vanity and unbelief of "I hear His voice and "see" Him. I am His sheep," which causes us to not even have the goal He's set for us, with the consequence of being led into temptation.
Gosh, I tell ya, the BoM sure has some interesting doctrine in its pages!