Peter the Rock

Who were the first missionaries on the earth? Moses 5:58 – angels who were unborn beings. Peter, James & John may have played a role in preaching to Adam and Eve.

Peter’s name was Simon Barjona. Simon was a very common name. Bar means son of; so his name was Simon, son of Jonah

Peter’s father, Jonah, was a fisherman. In the Holy Land you can still go in restaurants and order St’ Peter’s fish, which is tilapia.

We know Peter’s father was a good man because 2 of his sons were among the 12 apostles – Peter, and Andrew. Andrew was a devout follower of John the Baptist. He followed him and followed his teachings, so when Jesus came to him to be baptized, and John the Baptist declared him the Lamb of God, Andrew was quick to follow Jesus. He asked Jesus “Where do you live”; Jesus told him to come and see, so Andrew went and spent the day with Him. Then he told Simon, who told him, Andrew, to take him to see Jesus.

Jesus gave Simon the nickname of Simon Peter – Peter meaning “The rock” (Cefas). This was a great compliment. Peter was known as one of the pillars of the Church.

Sidenote: 1000 years after Jesus, people began to have surnames, but during Jesus’ time, people used nicknames like John the Baptist, John the beloved, Jesus of Nazareth, Virgin Mary, and Mary Magdalene (which is where she was from), etc., to distinguish one from another.

Also 2 of Peter’s cousins began to follow Jesus and became apostles, James and John who Jesus nicknamed the “Sons of thunder” because they wanted to call down lightening to punish people who rejected Jesus.

The first 4 apostles called were Peter and Andrew, and James and John who were Peter’s cousins.

Sidenote: Constantine started having the symbol of the cross for Christians. The apostles would never have used such a symbol as remembrance of Jesus. They used ichthus, which means fish. The IXOYE inside the shape of a fish means Jesus Christ Son of God Savior.

Those apostles lived in Caupernum on the Sea of Galilee.

Peter was probably prosperous because we know he had hired servants, a big beautiful home wher Jesus could teach. We also know that Peter was married – Matt 8:14.

Peter was bold, loyal, and outspoken. President Kimball in BYU 1971 wrote a discourse callee Peter, my brother. He called him one of the greatest men that ever lived.

In Jerusalem, a Galilean like Peter was always in danger. 

Sidenote: Prophets are prime targets on earth. For this reason, they are the only people mentioned specifically by name in the prayers in the temple.

After Christ’s death, Peter went home to fish and 6 apostles followed him. As once before, there were no fish and they heard a voice from the shore to cast their nets on the other side. The first time that happened, the nets broke. This time the nets held and overflowed. This is symbolic of the new converts and the strength of missionary work.

While the apostles taught before Christ’s death, the people didn’t stay strong; they didn’t have the Holy Ghost. After Jesus died and the apostles had the Holy Ghost the missionaries were more effective. The converts had the Holy Ghost and stayed stronger. John 20:20-22

Peter is named as the chief apostle in the scriptures

Matt 16:10 – Peter was given the keys of the kingdom – the right to the presidency.

Matt 1:15 Peter presided

The day of Pentecost, Peter taught.

Peter was involved in the 1^st miracle after Jesus died – healed a lame in front of the temple

Peter received revelation for the whole church in Acts 10 to take the gospel to the Gentiles.

Acts 5 has stories that show Peter’s character – he had the gift of discernment, gift of healing – people believed that if they could be where Peter’s shadow fell, they would be healed. 

Angels let Peter out of prison – he had the ministering of angels. He had courage. He was beaten and after went on his way rejoicing; he had the gift of patience.

After Christ’s death, Andrew went to Russia; Peter went to Rome and the British Isles. He was in prison 9 months, and while chained to a post he converted his jailers. He taught all over the world and converted gentiles, but in Jerusalem the Jews persecuted him.

The new emperor, Nero, upped the persecution. Peter’s wife was killed in front of him and as they killed her, he encouraged her to stay strong in the faith. 5 of the apostles were crucified; 3 of them, including Peter, demanded being crucified upside down.

Peter is the one who taught the sanctification ladder – 2^nd Peter. He taught that 1000 of our years is a day to the Lord – 2 Peter 3:8.

The book of Mark might have been written under the direction of Peter – Mark was the scribe for Peter.

Joseph Smith called 1^st and 2^nd Peter the most sublime of all gospels. Joseph Smith knew he would die soon, and so did Peter when he wrote them. They were both concerned with preparing the members. Peter told them to always be ready to give an answer. The Jews hated that the Christians would be killed with a smile on their faces, singing hymns. Peter taught people to obey the laws of the land. He taught that husbands and wives should love each other “so that your prayers are not hindered”.

Peter will help judge the righteous – bring the faithful to the veil to stand before the Lord.

Sacrifice and the Sacrament

Sacrifice and the Sacrament

We all know we take the Sacrament to renew our Baptismal covenants. In ancient times, people gave burnt offerings instead of taking the Sacrament, so they were actually renewing their baptismal covenants when they gave burnt offerings. From Adam's time, people were baptized as a covenant. Baptism didn't begin with John the Baptist as many churches believe.

The word baptism is Hebrew (the New Testament was written in Hebrew); in the Old Testament, which was written in Greek, it is sometimes referred to as "washing".

D&C 84 says that John the Baptist was baptized when he was a child. Bruce R McConkie says that Jews were baptized as children but had to be re-baptized when John the Baptist came (and Jesus) because it was the ushering in of a new dispensation. John the Baptist had authority to baptize because he was the son of Zacharias. Men had to be direct descendants of Aaron to have the authority to baptize. (Aaronic priesthood) Jesus walked about 60 miles to be baptized by authority.

So people from Adam's time were baptized but did not take the sacrament - that started with the last supper. After they were baptized, they renewed their baptismal covenants by giving sacrifices, in ANTICIPATION of Jesus' sacrifice. Now we take the sacrament in REMEMBRANCE of Jesus' sacrifice, or atonement.

When Adam was cast out of the Garden of Eden, he was told to sacrifice the first born male of every single female animal. It took some record keeping to be sure the get the firstborn male of each clean animal.

The Devil’s counterfeit of righteous sacrifice is human sacrifice. As a child Abraham almost got sacrificed by his father. Abraham always offered sacrifices, so Isaac was very familiar with the practice.

The book of Leviticus is a handbook for the Aaronic Priesthood. Leviticus 11 explains what animals were to be sacrificed. They understood that the animals represented the Savior who was to come. The first thing Noah did after the arc landed was to do sacrifice of 7 of the clean animals. Poor people didn’t have all the animals, and would sacrifice turtle doves or some other clean animal that was cheaper or easier to get. The male had to be without blemish and was carefully selected.

Cain and Abel were the first sons to have the Priesthood. Everyone knew the importance of making sacrifices and that they drew them closer to God. They would make a sacrifice before going to battle. People also understood the importance of it being a blood sacrifice and the significance of it. That’s why it was such a sacrilege for Cain to offer fruits instead of an animal. It was mockery of Jesus’ great sacrifice – it cheapened it and took away the symbolism of the blood. So he lost the Priesthood and his birthright and became the first son of perdition.

When Saul was about to go to battle, he was waiting for Samuel (the prophet) to come and perform the sacrifice but got impatient, so he took it on himself to do the sacrifice. He didn’t have the Priesthood or authority to do it, thus making a mockery of it and for that he lost his whole kingdom. God is very particular about how His ordinances are done. The Great Apostasy was brought about because they changed some of the parts of the Sacrament. One of the things they taught was that the bread and wine actually turned into the flesh and blood of Jesus when they partook of them.

The daily sacrifices under Mosaic Law were a lot of work. It took the Priests all day to prepare the animals, not allowing them time to do much else, like support their family, so they were allowed to keep the breast portion of the animal to feed their families, and people who brought animals for sacrifice also brought them foods to help them out. They were loved and appreciated for their work.

Lehi lived during Moses’ dispensation and lived the Law of Moses, so they also performed sacrifices. Lehi had the Melchizedek Priesthood, as did all prophets of the Old Testament. Giving burnt sacrifices in those times was equal in importance to our taking the Sacrament weekly. Looking forward to Christ was how people could access the Spirit in their lives.

Joseph Smith saw in vision (D&C 138) when Christ died and went to Paradise. He saw worthy people who were ready – Celestial beings – who were gathered in one place. They were the faithful of the earth. They were the ones who regularly made sacrifices and died firm in the faith – prophets and many faithful women, and the Nephites who died before Jesus.  Now that group would include all the good saints who took the Sacrament faithfully during their lifetime.

After Christ died, the Nephites were gathered at the temple, probably because it was a wonderful place to gather, but also because it was probably where they would offer sacrifices, but Christ’s atonement did away with burnt sacrifices. That’s why the first thing Christ told them was that there was to be no more burnt sacrifices – now they were to offer a  broken heart and contrite spirit. Then He introduced the Sacrament. He told them if they did the Sacrament, they would be built upon the Rock. This was a HUGE change for them.

He had them gather bread and wine for the sacrament, which was probably difficult because of all the earthquakes and destruction. So to have the sacrament again on the 2^nd day, He performed a miracle to provide the bread and wine. He only comes into our lives with miracles after we’ve done all we can do without the miracles. He will never do what we can do for ourselves.

This is why the Sacrament is of such great importance for our lives now and why we should make every effort to participate in it every week and focus to get the most out of it.

Blood sacrifice will again be performed at the second coming by the Levites.

Christ’s wine was “fruit of the vine” – unfermented. The early saints used grape juice – or “new wine”, D&C 27. It was changed to water in 1912. Until the 20^th century, the whole congregation knelt with the Priests for the sacrament prayer. And in the early days everyone drank from the same cup – the same as in Jesus’ time. In 1918 when the influenza was making so many sick or killing them, Heber J Grant changed it so each person had their own cup. They used to be little glasses that had to be washed each week after the meeting.

There is much symbolism in the sacrament. Even the sacrament table, with the cloth over the trays, is to look like a corpse with its shroud cover. In Christ’s time they used unleavened bread. Now we use leavened bread, which is symbolic of the RISEN Christ. The bread is also symbolic of Jesus; He called himself the Bread of Life and the Living Water.

We need to take advantage of the 15 minutes of the Sacrament service to repent, forgive others, rid ourselves of bad feelings and set things straight. We need to bring our gift to the alter of a broken heart.

To take of the sacrament worthily, we need to set things straight so there are no hard feelings. Laurel told of a time when one of her daughters had had a very hard morning and she had yelled at her mom. When they were passing the sacrament, the girl wrote a note to Laurel, asking for forgiveness. It got passed all down the row past all the other kids. The note said, “Can you ever forgive me? Check one: Yes, No, Maybe eventually after a long time.” Laurel quickly checked the yes box and wrote how much she loved her, then passed the note back. The daughter was greatly relieved. It showed that the young girl understood the importance of partaking worthily. 1 Corinthian 15:30 says we can be sick from taking the sacrament unworthily. (I think she said Brigham Young) said this is why so many members are sick.

President Kimball said it is important for children to partake of the Sacrament as practice for after they are baptized; to learn the importance of it. We need to remember that God knows our thoughts and intentions. It is obvious that He can hear our thoughts during the Sacrament, so we need to focus and take advantage of that time for self-reflection and improvement. We can think about making a better start for the new week; count our blessings, think on the life of Jesus, His sacrifice, we can read the sacrament hymns, etc.

When Laurel and Larry were visiting a stake president, he told of when he was a child, he saw his mother crying during the hymn, I Stand All Amazed. It impressed so much on him the importance of singing the sacrament hymn and he always loved that hymn for that memory of his mother. They said you can evaluate the spirituality of a ward by how many people are singing the sacrament hymn.

The General Authorities who are always visiting stake conferences every week are always scheduled at least one Sunday a month to go to their own Sacrament Meeting so they don’t go too long without taking the sacrament.

Laurel said in Russia the sacrament meetings were very reverent. Before the sacrament service they would always announce to the members to prepare their hearts for the most important event of their week, to put away their thoughts of worldly things and prepare their minds and hearts for what they were about to do.

Partaking of the Sacrament we have a promise that we will always have His spirit with us. The Aaronic Priesthood has the keys to the ministering of angels and if we take the sacrament, prepared by Aaronic Priesthood holders, we are worthy of having the ministering of angels. Jesus can be in our midst – the scripture says where 2 or more are gathered, He will be there. Partaking of the Sacrament is a protection for us.

Scripture Study

January 11

Not all members of the Church will go to the Celestial Kingdom - only the valiant. The other honorable people who weren't so valiant will go to the Terrestrial kingdom. One sister did lots of good works and community service but was a stranger to the scriptures and to the temple. She would not qualify for the Celestial Kingdom. "Don't be surprised that the Celestial Kingdom has high standards." "Few there be that find it." "Press forward feasting on the scriptures."

Most members don't take the time to feast.

All spirits, even from our birth, are in young adult form. They grow but not in height - but in light. Our goal is to grow brighter and brighter until we are like God.

To gain light we must take the Sacrament weekly, serve others, go through difficult experiences, attend the temple*, study scriptures DAILY.

If your spirits are hungry from lack of temple and scriptures, you get angry, irritable, etc. A few verses a day won't feed and strengthen our spirits. We need to feast and search the scriptures daily.

Nephi said the words of Christ will tell us all things that we should do.

When one man was called as a General Authority, his wife felt very inadequate for herself. She took the opportunity to be with David B Haight's wife to go to a meeting and asked her how she could prepare herself for her part of her husband's calling. Sister Haight said, "Study the scriptures." The sister thought that was a little too obvious and wondered what else, so she asked, "Can you suggest anything else?" Sister Haight said, "No, just study the scriptures." After a few moments more, she asked sister Haight again, "Can you give me anything else I might do?" Sister Haight said, "No, just study the scriptures."

After some more time, before they reached their destination the sister said, "So now that you've had some more time to think about it, can you give me any other suggestions?" Sister Haight said, "No, just study the scriptures."

The other word used in the scriptures is that we should feast on the scriptures. We'll compare it to Thanksgiving dinner.

The first step is my own; Laurel didn't mention this one, and that's preparation. We spend more time preparing Thanksgiving dinner than we do eating it. I think preparation to study scriptures is important. We need to have paper and pencil handy, other references available, prepare a place of quiet and comfort, and be in a mind ready to learn and act.

The second step is prayer. We begin our thanksgiving dinner with a prayer of gratitude. In our prayer for scripture study, we can give thanks for having scriptures. As we say at dinner time, thanks for the hands that prepared it, we can be grateful for the hands that prepared the scriptures, from the prophets who took the time to write, from the scribes who copied them whenever they were beginning to break down, to the translators, printers,  and all who have made modern access so great. We can pray that the scriptures will nourish and strengthen our spirits and that we will REMEMBER what we read and that we will be able to apply it.

When Larry was a Seventy, one time they were invited to the General Authorities' weekly meeting in the temple and allowed to ask any question. He said Elder Oaks emphasized the importance of praying constantly while we study scriptures.

The third thing we need are utensils. We need a pen and paper to write down what we learn. We should write int he margins as we are impressed. She said she and her husband were constantly telling the missionaries, when Larry was mission president in Russia, not to have 'markaphobia' - the fear of marking up their scriptures.

Joseph SMith said for neglecting to write what is revealed as we study, you will forget and the Spirit may withdraw and God may be angry.

The fourth step is to have a balanced meal as we feast. We need the four food groups.
1. The Book of Mormon is the grains because it is the staff of life.
2. The Bible is dairy. just as a baby has milk before meat, the Bible gives us a foundation to help us understand the Book of Mormon better. It teaches of Christ, of the House of Isreal, and gives a great background.
3. The D&C is the meaty doctrine. It has doctrines that aren't as clear anywhere else like the Word of Wisdom, the 3 degrees of Glory, Eternal Marriage, the destiny of the earth, the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, and (138) the Spirit World.
4. The Pearl of Great Price is the fruits and vegetables. It gives variety and color and nutrition to our study.

  

We need a sample from every food group for stronger spirits. We should never focus so much on one that we ignore the others.

How can we study other works while studying the Book of Mormon every day?
1. Listen as we travel, get dressed, do housework
2. Study by topic - that way we are studying all books of scripture. Elder Bednar said as we write what we learn we will see connections and patterns and our testimony will grow.
3. Don't feed your body until you've fed your spirit.
4. No TV until you've studied

Use a dictionary to look up words int he scriptures.

Modern day words from the Prophets supersede all scriptures. they are like the after dinner mints.

She did a study of seminary students to see how long the average person takes to read a chapter of the Book of Mormon and it took between 2 and 5 minutes. We can't say we don't have time!  Covey-Don't prioritize your schedule, schedule your priorities.

As with Thanksgiving, when one dish is especially delicious, we go back for seconds. When you find a scripture you love, look up references to it; spend more time on it. Cross references and mark them.

Our spirits grow brighter as we study. If we study for 365 days, over a year's time there will be much growth.

Brigham Young said "share what you have and you will never go hungry." Same with scriptures. To remember what you learn, you need to share it. "Share what you learn and you will never forget."

She mentioned that while mission president, they asked missionaries what they most want to hear from their families when they write them. The missionaries said they most love hearing new insights from the scriptures. they love knowing that their families are studying scriptures and learning and growing.

As with food, we believe in food storage for emergencies. With scriptures, we need to have a storage too. We do that by memorizing scriptures - have them written on your heart. Richard G Scott said memorized scriptures are like packets of light stored.

Larry was a convert and soon after baptism he decided to memorize the Sermon on the Mount.

During the war, the LDS and other Christian Prisoners of War used scriptures to help them stay strong. Many had scriptures they had memorized, and they would share them and memorize each others'.

We always find a way to feed our bodies. We need to find a way to always feed our Spirits. Richard G Scott, in his last talk before he died said that feasting on the scriptures is  more important than sleep, work, etc.

Joseph Smith said truth tastes good. Jacob (in BofM) said Feast on that which perish not - soul be light
Jesus referred to himself as the bread and water of life.

If we are faithful in studying the scriptures, we can receive more like the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon, the scriptures of the lost tribes, the lost portion of the Book of Mormon, the record of John the Baptist, etc.

*A couple of sisters shared that they've seen people have a glow about them after being in the temple. One sister said whenever she saw another certain sister after temple attendance, she had fewer wrinkles.


Tip for family scripture study - everybody reads one chapter or designated amount of verses. when everyone is done, you ask everyone to share what the Holy Ghost taught them.
One sister uses a workbook from the internet that goes with the scriptures where you analyze and write down what you feel/learn.
Daily Scripture study will remove the spirit of contention.

One sister said her son wanted to go to a midnight sale to buy a game he loved. It was a special sale but she said "No way" was she going to let him go to a store at midnight on a school night. He thought about it for a while and then came to her and said, "What if I read the whole Book of Mormon before the sale?" It was in 2 weeks. She was flabbergasted and said of course then he could go.

I did read the whole thing in 2 weeks and managed to read the whole Book of Mormon 12 times before he left on his mission.

One sister said she always read to her babies so that they had heard the whole Book of Mormon before they turned 1 year old.

A habit of scripture study will help us through trials.

She quoted a lot from a talk by Richard G Scott:  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/make-the-exercise-of-faith-your-first-priority?lang=eng&cid=email-shared

Jesus Christ

December 14
When Larry Lawrence was a seventy, Laurel was asked to write a script for a Christmas luncheon of teh General Authorities' wives on the Life of the Savior. This is taken from the script she wrote.

What we know about Christ's earthly family
The Old Testament prophets spoke of Him:

Side note: The Old testament was written in Hebrew; the New Testament was written in Greek because it was written for the whole Roman Empire and Greek was the most common language there.

So names of Prophets are different in the Old Testament than New Testament.
Esaias, is the same as Isaiah
Jonah is Jonas
Elijah is Elias
Joses is Joseph
Jacob is James
Miriam was Mary - her parents spoke Aramaic and Hebrew, so her real name was Miriam. It was written Mary in the New Testament  for the people.

Mary (or Miriam) was a very common name because it was in the scriptures that the Savior would come from Mary, so when people had a baby girl, they hoped she would be the one, or hoped if they named her after the chosen one, she would grow up like her. John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 

There were 3 Marys right there.

Mary would have been a royal princess if they hand't been under Roman rule. They were good, humble people who didn't act like royalty.

Usually women were betrothed by 14 and married by 15. Mary was betrothed to her first cousin. (In the New Testament "cousin" can also mean  "related") He was sensitive, kind, and had a spiritual gift of dreams. He was probably 18; men usually married before they were 20. The bridegroom was to prepare a house for the bride before the marriage.

Tradition always says Joseph was a carpenter, but wood was very scarce there, so it is better translated that he was a skilled craftsman - probably a stone mason.

Per Nephi's vision, Mary was beautiful. She was chosen way before. IN the time before their marriage, she was probably occupied sewing for her trousseau.

When the angel appeared, she was surprised, then terrified. She was the same age as Joseph Smith when the angel appeared to him. The angel was Gabriel (Noah as a resurrected being)
Mary and Joseph weren't ready to be married. He had to prepare a house and she had to ready her trousseau.

It says Mary was "carried away" by the Spirit. there are no details, but as soon as it happened,she wanted to talk to another woman who would understand - her 'elderly' cousin, Elizabeth.

Mary saw that Elizabeth believed and was relieved. Mary began to praise God and her language shows that she was intelligent, studied, and a scholar.

When Mary returned to Joseph, he could see that she was pregnant and was distraught. He had heard the gossip. Even when Christ was grown and teaching, people questioned his inception - John 8 41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

Joseph wondered how she could have been unfaithful and knew he could have her stoned. Finally an angel appeared to him and said to him, "Thou son of Abraham" which shows that he was royal lineage also and legal heir to the throne. Jesus inherited royalty from both earthly parents. When the people greet him in the New Testament, they call Him the Son of David. Nobody doubted his earthly lineage (except the Romans and Scribes and Pharisees.)

But Joseph was kind and didn't want to press charges.

Where id Luke get all the information for chapter 2? He wasn't there with them at the time. Some believe he went to Ephesus (where Mary was living with John) to preach and sought out Mary and asked her many questions. The quotes sound like they came from Mary herself, like that she 'treasured all these things in her heart'. There are details that only Mary would have known or felt.

The manger was an animal trough. The manger was probably a cave where animals were kept. It would have been dark and cold with a low ceiling. The swaddling clothes were like diapers. There may have been lots of sheep and shepherds around the area. 

Wise men weren't at the manger but saw Him later when he was a toddler. It says in the scriptures the they came to the "house".

When Jesus was a child, he also had a veil of forgetfulness. Mary and Joseph probably taught Him to pray and taught Him the scriptures. By age of 12 He knew who His Father was and what His mission was. He could explain the scriptures to adults. Mary and Joseph probably weren't so knowledgeable in the scriptures to explain them to the learned men, so I think Jesus was taught by angels through His life, like Joseph Smith was.

He grew up with His family and worked with Joseph. He learned his trade. In those days if a man taught a boy his trade, it became an adoption. Boys were sent to other men's places to learn their trade, and it was as if that man had adopted the child. So if Joseph taught Jesus his trade, that also made Joseph the "adopted" father of Jesus. So He was also in this way made legal heir to the throne.

The definition of spirituality is to learn truth and act on it. Jesus learned quickly and had to have been taught from above to know more than adults.

Jesus' brothers were James, Joses (Matt 13:55), Simon, Judas. We know he had more than one sister (Matt 6:3), so there were a minimum of 8 children.

It may have been a heartbreak to Mary that all her sons did't believe that Jesus was the Christ. (John 7:5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.)

Mary was possibly a widow by the time Jesus was 12; it doesn't mention Joseph at the wedding and o mention of Joseph after the temple incident. In those days there was no life insurance. Young women with 8 children had to have a hard time.

The reason the oldest child always got a double portion of the inheritance was that he was responsible for the support of the entire family when the father died. That's why Jesus gave the responsibility of Mary's support to John, who was his 1st cousin.

1st Cor 15, one of the first appearances after His death was to his brother James. AFter that, all of his brothers were converted and faithful. - Acts 1, Epistle of James (brother of Jesus) and Epistle of Jude (brother of Jesus). James (brother of Jesus) was a Bishop in Jerusalem. James of the 1st Presidency of the Church was the first beheaded by Herod. He was replaced by James who was Jesus' brother. James and John (sons of thunder) were Jesus' cousins.

Mary was happy that all of her children were faithful and lived a long life. We don't worship her but we respect her. She is not yet resurrected and is still in the Spirit World.

America-land of promise

As members of the Church, we appreciate America more because we know it is a land of promise and that Columbus was lead here by the Lord. We know we are here by design.

D&C says that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson county and that when Adam and Eve were cast out, they went to Davies county. The City of Enoch was where the Gulf of Mexico is - the whole city was taken up, leaving just the Gulf of water. The Arc was built in North Carolina because of the fine wood that grows there. The Arc landed in the mountains of Ararat. 100 years after the flood ws Peleg when the earth was divided.

Why did God want to separate the continents? To reserve America for a special people. Scriptures say that none are brought here save by the hand of the Lord. The 1st to come were the Jaredites then the Mulekites, then Lehi. Those are the ones we know of. There may have been others whose records we don't have.

Isaiah saw America and called it the "mountain of the Lord's house" which is code for the temple.

Scriptures say "All nations shall flow unto it (America). The word Utah means "top of mountains".

That America is a "choice land" means it was chosen. It was chosen in the premortal life to be the headquarters:
*where the gospel would be restored
*Where missionaries (and the Gospel) go out from
*The cradle of civilization
*Where Adam and Eve started
*The cradle of the Gospel

In the Book of Mormon, it is stated "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land" 50 times. 1828 Webster dictionary says prosper is "to grow, to increase, to thrive".

And it says, "If ye keep not my commandments, ye shall be cut off.

America is a covenant land - it's like the Lord's rental: as long as we keep the covenants, we stay, if not, we're evicted. Jesus is the landlord - Ether 2:12 - Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

How bad do we have to be to be swept off? We have to be in the fulness of iniquity, like the people of Ether. The only one left (except for Ether) was Coriantumr. Ether might have been translated.

when the Nephites broke their covenants/commandments, they were all gone except Moroniand a few Lamanites to preserve the race. 

That contract is till in effect with us.

The first brought here were the Pilgrims - Puritans to Massachusetts. 2nd were the Quakers to Pennsylvania. 3rd were the Catholics to Maryland.

Catholics came because they didn't agree that they shouldn't be able to read the Bible. When people came over on the Mayflower, it was way too crowded. Most people were below deck. Each person had a space the size of a coffin. It was a 2 month journey - cold and damp. The waves were choppy, many people were seasick. Food was moldy biscuits and cheese. the water was rationed, but the worse was the swearing of the crew. After one month a sailor died and was thrown overboard.

They landed in Plymouth in December. They left the women and children on the ship while they cut down timber and built houses. On Sundays they kept the day holy and did not work. They were a very thankful people. the feast they had to celebrate began the most inspired holiday - the only day of the year where family members strive to gather and most give thanks before eating. Lincoln was the one who made Thanksgiving a tradition.

Other people wanted to be free but the King of England didn't want them to  leave - that caused the Revolutionary war. The colonists were humbled. General Washington called for a day of fasting when needed - about every 3 weeks! He also didn't allow any gambling or profanity in the troops. He said "We need God - not drunkenness." Sundays were prayer services. The Continental Congress made sure 20,000 Bibles were distributed to soldiers to inspire them to fight for freedom. (From The Bulletproof George Washington)

God fought on the side of Washington's troops. there were unseasonable thick fogs, great winds, hurricanes, icy roads, and even sent angels to help.

George Washing was foreordained. He was the closest thing that we had as a prophet. He was 6'3" - taller than everyone and had huge, strong hands. He could crack a walnut with one hand. His mother, Lucy,  taught him to pray and to be completely honest. He never had children; Martha had 2 from a previous marriage.

The Indians said he was protected by the Great Spirit. They called him Bullet Proof. He had a vision of an angel during the war, who called him "Son of the Republic" and showed the future of America - all of it. he saw angels fighting on the side of America. In the Washington Hypothesis, Washington talked of heavenly help in the war.

George W was offered to be king of the Colonies and was hurt by the suggestion. King George III asked George Washing what he would do after the war. He said he would go back to his farm. The king said, "If he does, he is the greatest man on earth. 

The Book of Mormon says there should be no kings on this land. The description of Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon applies to George Washington.

Why did America need to be a free country? So that God could restore the Gospel here. 18 years after the Constitution was ratified, Joseph Smith was born. He grew up with a love of country.

D&C 101:80 says the Constitution is inspired and that who wrote it were inspired:
And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood."

The Role of Prayer: Benjamin Franklin gave a speech that God governs and made a motion that they should open each session with prayer. After that the constitution flowed. All writers were devout Christians and all were well read. They knew history and wanted a new order. All temple work has been done for the signers of the Declaration of Independence. They wanted their work done - George Washington was their spokesman of 150 in all, including John Wesley, Christopher Columbus and others source: Eminent men and women by Vicky Johanson) there were scientists, writers, statesmen, Benito Juarez, wives of the founding fathers, mothers of the founding fathers, signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

When they signed the Declaration of Independence, they knew that what they were doing was treason. 15 were captured and killed. 12 were tortured, 9 were injured in the war.

the name Columbus means Christ bearer. He left a book called "Book of Prophesies". His favorite writer was Isaiah. He felt he would play a part in finding the Isles of the sea that he wrote of. He felt he had a gift of navigation and that ti was a spiritual gift. He said, "Who can deny it; God led me." He is spoken of in the Book of Mormon.

Patriotism is waning; there is less religion. Roosevelt gave all servicemen a Bible and encouraged them to read it.

The alphabet used to be taught using the Bible. there used to be prayer in schools. Every school used to have the 10 commandments posted, and Old Testament used to be a class in school.

When they stopped prayers in schools and took down the 10 commandments
*the number of unwed mothers skyrocketed
*theft increased
*alcohol consumption increased
*there has been more violent crime
*there has been more divorce
*SAT scores went down

President Hinckley gave a book of Mormon to President Reagan. Later he gave a speech and used quotes from it.

In the Lincoln  Hypothesis by Ballard, it says Lincoln checked the Book of Mormon out of the library and kept it 8 months. Later he gave the Emancipation proclamation.  

We need to be good missionaries.
There are 7.6 billion people in the world and 75,000 missionaries. So to reach everyone, each missionary has to contact almost 87,000  people during their mission. That's 115 people every single day to reach. But if each of the 15 million members contacted just 6 people every day, we could accomplish the same thing. If we did that, we could increase missionary work by 2,000%.

the average person needs 11 separate positive impressions of the church before becoming interested in the Church. 

The missionary success rate is .13%

The steps of conversion for the average person are:
1. Awareness of teh church. Some people don't even know there are members around them.
2. Curiosity in what we believe.
3. Interest in what we believe
4. Conversion to what we believe.

There is a website #Share the Goodness. Bednar talks on how to share pictures and comments that might help the missionary effort.

In our prayers, we need to ask for success in our own personal missionary efforts.