Thou Hast Testified of Me www kevinhinckley com

Thou Hast Testified of Me… www. kevinhinckley. com

The “Traditional Marriage is under attack!” Wedding Cake

Neal Maxwell A good friend, who knows whereof he speaks, has observed of trials, "If it's fair, it is not a true trial!" That is, without the added presence of some inexplicableness and some irony and injustice, the experience may not stretch us or lift us sufficiently. The crucifixion of Christ was clearly the greatest injustice in human history, but the Savior bore up under it with majesty and indescribable valor. (All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, p. 31. ) Question: Why is ‘fairness’ such a hard doctrine?

The Perils of Paul Challenge #1 And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea; and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle (sash), and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done

Question What are you willing to die for? What separates it from things you wouldn’t willingly die for?

Challenge #2 Some of the doctrines of the church are “hard doctrines”. Isn’t Paul (and some of the Jewish leaders) And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were compromising here? present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law; And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together; for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee; We have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads; … that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple,

Sidney B. Sperry This is an amazing statement. As we have earlier pointed out, here in the year A. D. 58 we find thousands of Jewish Christians still adhering to the Law of Moses! 'Twenty-five years after the death of our Lord, the early Church Authorities still have not made it clear to a large portion of the Church membership that the Law of Moses was done away with upon the Advent of the Master. Those of us in the Church today have had little conception of the difficulties that faced the Authorities of the Early Church with respect to this problem. It is obvious from what Paul was told that he had been grievously and even mischievously misrepresented by the Judaizers in Palestine. … It is a curious fact that the brethren, knowing Paul's attitude toward the Law, should ask him to give the appearance that he himself obeyed the Law. But the Apostle, realizing the gravity of the problem and knowing that it was important to hold the Jewish and Gentile groups of the Church together, readily agreed to assume the role of peacemaker.

Challenge #3 27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, 28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help; this is the man, that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. 30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran together; and they took, and drew him out of the temple; and forthwith the doors were shut. 31 And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar;

Guidance The Lord will use us to do His work. (More trials) JST Acts 23 grow there arose a 10 And. Wewhen Ourdissension, faith grows. the chief great captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go “endure it by force from among them, down, and to. Wetake him and to bring himwell”. into the castle. 11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. We are tested

George Q. Cannon So it is with the Latter-day Saints. There is no power on earth, no matter how formidable and threatening it may be, that can stand in opposition to this work, and every plan that is framed for its overthrow will fall to the ground. Nothing will ever succeed against this Church so long as the Latter-day Saints are united. We shall triumph. Our trials will probably be severe, and we will have to pass through ordeals that will test us to the very centre; but we shall emerge from them victorious in every instance, if we are faithful to the truth which God has revealed to us. The Lord will have a tried people. We shall have dark hours; we shall have times when it will seem as though the Lord had apparently forsaken us; when the whole heavens will be covered with clouds, and it will seem as though we cannot escape; but if we are faithful to the Lord He will bring us through, and after testing our faith He will crown us with success and triumph. He has done it in the past; He will do it in the future. But if any Latter-day Saint thinks he can get through without being tested, then he makes a sad mistake. April 5, 1897, " in Collected Discourses 1886 -1898, vol. 5.

Brother Johnson, 1964 “The St. Paul of Ghana” As I read the Book of Mormon I became convinced that it was really the word of God, and sometimes while reading I would burst into tears. I felt the Spirit as I read. . One early morning. . . I saw the heavens open and angels with trumpets singing songs of praise unto God. . In the course of this I heard my name mentioned thrice, "Johnson, Johnson. If you will take up my work as I will command you, I will bless you and bless your land. " Trembling and in tears I replied, "Lord, with thy help I will do whatsoever you will command me. " From that day onward, I was constrained by that Spirit to go from street to street. . . to deliver the message which we had read from the Book of Mormon. . I did exactly as the Lord commanded me. . . and immediately our persecutions started. Brother Johnson also reported that at a time of great trial early in his ministry, his deceased brother appeared to him in a dream and said: "Don't worry. . . you have chosen the only true church on earth. . . and I am now investigating your church. " I was surprised. I never knew that the Church extended to another world. It was my brother who brought that knowledge to me. He said that if I didn't believe him, he would sing a song from my church, and he sang "Come, Ye Saints. " That was the first time I had heard that hymn. He said, "Don't leave the church, my brother. . Please see that I am baptized. "

Brother Johnson Continues It was my brother who enlightened me about baptism for the dead and brought it to my knowledge. . Most of my relatives appeared to me in dreams [saying, ] "Reverend Johnson, do you know you have a work to do for us? Our great grandsons and daughters will be in your church soon. See that we are baptized. ". . . I learned these doctrines before the missionaries arrived. Nothing they taught us seemed strange. They simply confirmed what we had heard. . Each time the Lord addressed us in dreams, He addressed us as Latter-day Saints, even though we had not yet become members. For 14 years Brother Johnson helped organize 10 congregations. To strengthen his people against trials and persecution, he focused on the early history of the Church. He said: We felt the spirit of the pioneers. . We gained our strength from the pioneers. We were inspired by their works. . I would see tears falling from the eyes of my members, especially when we sang, "Come, Ye Saints. " That hymn is wonderful. It is my favorite hymn in the Church. One night at midnight, after many lonely years of struggle, Brother Johnson heard a shortwave news broadcast from England in which he heard President Kimball's announcement that all worthy males could receive the priesthood. He burst into tears of joy, knowing that the Church would now come to Africa. E. Dale Le. Baron, BYU Devotional, November 1998