WHO ARE THE HOLY SEED?

I have a great book that goes into this in detail.

Basically, it boils down to this in my mind.  The holy seed are those who have first, the Blood of Abraham in them and secondly, the blood of the Savior coursing through their veins.  I talked about the posterity of Christ in a previous post.  I had a commenter that was a little aghast at the idea.  Yes - if Christ had sons and daughters, they would be one quarter seed of God himself.

Through Abraham, all of the nations were blessed with physical prosperity and intelligence.  Through the lions of Christ, all of the nations were blessed with spiritual prosperity.  Meaning; they readily accepted the Gospel when it was presented to them - AND the spiritual gifts were manifested liberally in those of the Holy Seed.

God has always created portals (doors that must be passed thru in order to have a continuation of the seed) to create an infusion of greatness amongst those of this fallen telestial world.  As things decayed after Adam, God used Enoch to harvest the great among the posterity and then sent the flood to remove the rebellious.  This left only Noah and three faithful sons and their wives to continue.  A portal.  Of those three, Shem (Melchizedek) did well in creating the city of Salem that was once again taken up with the faithful, leaving Abraham and Sarah to create another portal through which all nations have been blessed and infused with his goodness.  This is a re-booting of the system, so to speak.

Through the loins of Judah came Christ, who, infused with the greatness and purity of His mother and the power and majesty of Father, created a portal (by way of three wives), through which came another incredible infusion of greatness into the human family.  A bursting forth of a palette of vibrant colors in an otherwise dreary and dreadfully dull and monochrome world.  This infusion creating such works of art such as the Founding Fathers, Joseph Smith, and most of those who came readily and quickly into Gospel without doubt and reservation.  Embracing it fully and faithfully.  When they sin, they are quick to repentance and seeking to grasp once again, the iron rod - because the call to truth and justice is a strong one in them.  This is the legacy of those who are of the Holy Seed.  When I bump into one, I can pick them out of a crowd.  Their stories are almost all the same.  They have unique gifts and are driven to the truth.  Often, they feel like strangers in a strange land.  Lost in this world - but hopeful for the future one where all will be right, or made right.  Many find themselves on places like this blog.

I have listened to 2 Nephi 16 two mornings in a row now - and the end of it always jumps out at me.  The following verses talk of the rejection of Christ by His own, Judah.  But how a remnant will return prior to the destruction at the end.  This is one tenth - a tithe, so to speak of those who were cast off for having ears too dull to hear and eyes that would not see.  Those who make it through what is coming (the next portal of fire and destruction), will be called holy; or Holy Seed. 

From this stock, God will raise a righteous seed that will live on for the next 1,000 years without molestation or to be made afraid by those that are left on the earth.  It will be a blessed and blissful time.

5 Then said I: Wo is unto me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.

6 Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar;

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me.

9 And he said: Go and tell this people—Hear ye indeed, but they understood not; and see ye indeed, but they perceived not.

10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes—lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed.

11 Then said I: Lord, how long? And he said: Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate;

12 And the Lord have removed men far away, for there shall be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

13 But yet there shall be a tenth, and they shall return, and shall be eaten, as a teil tree, and as an oak whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves; so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

DEFINITION OF THE HOLY SEED - TEMPLE SCRIP FOR THE NGHT

So, as is my custom, I prayed to know what the Lord would have me know and got Mosiah 15 that contains this nice, concise definition:

10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be his seed?
11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto you, that all those who have hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God.
12 For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now, are they not his seed?
13 Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has opened his mouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into transgression, I mean all the holy prophets ever since the world began? I say unto you that they are his seed.
14 And these are they who have published peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/mosiah/15.28

This holy seed will constitute about 10 percent - and they will make it through the tribulations which are about to come on this people.  The rest will be destroyed. per Isaiah.  The Savior said that great are the words of Isaiah.

Here is the quote from 2 Nephi 16:

https://woodyoubelieveit.blogspot.com/search?q=holy+seed

There is a lot of work ahead for me....

A TENTH OF A TENTH

 The holy seed.  One percent.  A tenth of a tenth.  The Lord will allow 10% to remain, but only one tenth of that tenth will be considered the Holy Seed that will inhabit the blessed cities, Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem;

Interesting verses from 2 Esdras 6:66-70

The tender mercies of the Lord, even in the end of times.

Now, this is an obscure scripture!!

For if he shall not mul­ti­ply his mercies, the world would not con­tinue with them that inherit therein.

 And he par­doneth; for if he did not so of his good­ness, that they which have com­mit­ted in­iq­ui­ties might be eased of them, the ten thou­sandth part of men should not remain living.

 And being judge, if he should not forgive them that are cured with his word, and put out the mul­ti­tude of con­tentions,

 There should be very few left per­ad­ven­ture in an in­nu­mer­able mul­ti­tude.

The numbers they posted on the Georgia Guidestones belie their intent. Their desire is to limit earth's population to about 1/20th of what it is now. God will shorten those days and will ultimately save 10% of the population (or double). Isaiah and Esdras both had something to say about this: The holy seed. One percent. A tenth of a tenth. The Lord will allow 10% to remain, but only one tenth of that tenth will be considered the Holy Seed that will inhabit the blessed cities, Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem;

Here is Isaiah 6:13 for a second reference:

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/isaiah/6-13.htm

You sent Today at 3:00 PM

CLIMBING YOUR PERSONAL MOUNT SINAI - A PERSONAL JOURNEY TO COMMUNE WITH THE LORD

Just got this from a blog reader who appears to have figured it out.  I thought this would be great to share:

Climbing Our Spiritual Mount Sinai to the Presence of Jesus in This Life

Chapter One: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ 

Moses, at eighty years of age, climbed Mount Horeb, also known as Sinai, and spoke face to face with Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Jehovah of the Old Testament. We are commanded by the Lord, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Faith is part of the process of fully surrendering ourselves to Jesus with all of our heart, mind, might and strength, for only by doing so we can have the determination to fully, diligently seek Him and find Him personally in this life.

What does it mean to exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

First we must believe that He is as quoted above. In the Book of Mormon, Alma 32:21 we read, “And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.”

The key words are,“... which are not seen, which are true.” Faith, per the Lord’s definition, can only exist in Jesus as he really is, not in a Christ that does not exist. Only the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches truths that have been revealed by God to His prophets and disciples in these last days which teach Jesus Christ as He really is. God continues to pour out gifts of knowledge to those who receive and maintain the sanctity of already-revealed truths.

“And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart.” (Moroni 7:43) 

Meekness begins by acknowledging to God that there are many things that we do not know and that we totally depend upon God in learning what we do not know. This means we must be humble and teachable before God at all times. Lowly in heart denotes humility which requires us to recognize the hand of the Lord in all things and desire to draw nearer to God by obedience to His will. 

The moment we say, “I’ve got this.” Pride has then replaced humility. 

The Light of Christ fills the immensity of space. In the Doctrine and Covenants 84:46-47 we read, “And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.

And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.”

This is what is to referred to as our conscience. By the Light of Christ we understand the difference between right and wrong and that we are accountable to God for our choices, good or bad. The “Spirit” in these verses denotes the Light of Christ.The only way that we can exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is to: 

(1) Understand who Jesus really is (The Christ that the LDS church states that He is) 

(2) Remain humble and teachable 

(3) Hearken to (listen to and obey) the still small voice of Jesus by obeying His inspiring messages. 

The still small voice of our conscience is a rudimentary form of Jesus’ own voice to each of us. By consciously following the Voice of Jesus Christ as He seeks to inspire us to make right choices is exercising faith. The Light of Christ is the same as if Jesus stood beside each of us simultaneously, with His arm around each of us and then speaking to our hearts and minds the five things that make up our existence. These are: desire, thoughts, words, actions and time.

Desire is the motivating force that moves one to action. Feelings or emotions are on the surface of our emotional make-up. These fluctuate quite often every day. 

But in your core, in your heart of hearts, are your desires. What do I really, with all my heart, want to see happen and more importantly, what do I really, with all of my heart, want to become? We receive according to our desires. 

This is because what we truly want to become sets the stage for the rest of our existence. We only think, say, do and spend our time based on our desires. This is what is called self-fulling prophecy. 

Christ is constantly, perfectly, and consistently communicating to each of us simultaneously to have pure and holy desires which will lead us to have pure and holy thoughts, words, actions and then spend every moment of our lives as Jesus would spend it.

To hearken unto the voice of the Lord in the scriptures means only one thing: it is to follow our conscience, which is acknowledging the voice of Jesus Christ as the positive influence of our agency and faithfully listening to and obeying His Voice as He strives to lead each of us personally moment by moment. Lucifer is the negative influence of our agency. He seeks to have each of us to do anything other than hearkening unto the Light of Christ. The Light of Christ leads us to all truth. 

Chapter Two: The gift of the Holy Ghost -The further Light and knowledge the Father promised to send us

When we are baptized by immersion by proper priesthood authority and then receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by proper priesthood authority, we thus become members of the Lord’s true church upon the earth. We have the opportunity to enjoy “the further light and knowledge the Father promised to send us.” The first Comforter, the Holy Ghost, reveals and bears testimony of all truth. “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” (Moroni 10:5)  He is the next step in our upward climb toward the summit of our spiritual Mount Sinai where Christ awaits for each of us with open arms in this life.

When we choose to be baptized and confirmed members of the Lord’s church, we covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. Jesus will ultimately decide who will actually have His name placed upon them. How we qualify to have Our Savior place His holy name upon us personally I will discuss later on in the lesson. When we consistently follow the Light of Christ as a member of the church we qualify to have the promise contained in the sacramental prayer,“... that they might always have His Spirit to be with them.” (This reference to “His Spirit” is the Holy Ghost)

If we make incorrect choices and violate our conscience and fail to repent, then we will not have the Holy Ghost to reveal, testify of truth as well as guide our lives as promised. “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.” (D&C 82:10)

God, ever faithfully perfect with His own words, will only bless us if we do what He says. Doing what God says starts with listening to and obeying the voice of Jesus Christ which is the Light of Christ.

When we consistently, faithfully follow the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, we are then exercising exceeding great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what is meant as taking the Holy Ghost as our guide. Only members of the church who faithfully do these things can return home to God.

The Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith stated, “A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world. …” Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pg. 267

To obtain knowledge that saves us and thus helps us qualify to return home to God and enjoy eternal life, all spiritual knowledge must be revealed from God to us personally through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Many people choose to make correct choices and thus follow their conscience by so doing. Most people do not realize that it is Jesus Christ, their Savior and Redeemer, who is inspiring them to make these right choices. Once a person has been taught the truth concerning who Jesus really is and that He is the one who is inspiring them to make these right choices then that person can move beyond mere believing to real true faith in the Lord. These blessed souls now can choose to continue to make right choices as acts of faith (consciously choosing to trust in their Savior, Jesus Christ in guiding their lives) and thus be blessed by the Lord for their obedience. Once they choose to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost they will have the opportunity of having the guidance, direction, inspiration and confirmation of each and every truth that has been revealed through the prophets of God by the power of the Holy Ghost. 

They will then have the wonderful blessing of coming to know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that each and every doctrine, commandment, principle and ordinance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is absolutely true. Never assume anything about anything is one of my axioms. We must know personally each and every one of these things are absolutely true. Not because any man or group of men have said so, but because God has personally revealed and confirmed to each of us that what is officially taught as truth by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is without a doubt the revealed truths from God for ourselves. 

Chapter Three: The Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost

Even exercising exceeding great faith cannot save us or redeem us. We must be born again. Christ told Nicodemus,“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

The Lord, through Alma, the Younger, stated, “And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;

And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was like to be cast off.” Mosiah 27:25-27

Thus we see that we must go beyond taking the Holy Ghost as our guide and that we must surrender fully, completely to Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Only He can save us. This epiphany of becoming the spiritually begotten son or a daughter of Christ is known as the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. This vitally important and necessary step that we must take to be prepared to reach the summit of our spiritual Mount Sinai and come to personally know Christ in this life, the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost accomplishes five wonderful things.

1. It cleanses us of all sin, for forgiveness is not enough.

2. It makes us, as Alma states in the verses quoted above, spiritually begotten sons or daughters unto Christ. So Christ is not only the Author and the Finisher of our faith, but He becomes the Father of our conversion as well.

“Faith in Christ gives us both the desire to repent and the strength needed to repent. As we exercise faith and repent, the Savior’s atoning power can transform our very hearts, changing our carnal nature to spiritual, our innermost desires to good. When King Benjamin witnessed the spiritual change that had taken place in his people, he commented, ‘And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters’” (Oct 2000 Ensign, Bruce D. Porter) This event in the lives of the people of King Benjamin was their own personal Pentecostal conversion experience. 

3. He, Jesus, claims us as His. He fulfills the covenant that we made at our watery baptism of taking upon ourselves the name of Christ by thus placing His name upon each of us personally by His grace and our willingness to surrender fully to Him with the fiery baptism. The first baptism gives us the blessing and opportunity to make that sacred covenant of taking upon ourselves the name of Christ. The second baptism gives Christ the opportunity of actually placing His sacred and holy name upon us personally.

4. The baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost purifies us to the point of no longer desiring the things of this world. Without this glorious event we would not have the spiritual strength to be willing to truly sacrifice everything for the Lord which covenant we make in the holy temple. 

5. When we are baptized into the Lord’s true church, we become a member of the House of Israel. In name only, we become the seed of Abraham. We are still the Gentiles mentioned in the Book of Mormon until we have received the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. Then we become pure blooded Israelites, the literal seed of Abraham. Then we are no longer the Gentiles mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The Gentiles in the Book of Mormon are the members of the church who are yet to be converted fully to Jesus Christ. 

Here is what the Prophet Joseph Smith had to say about this.

“The Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is more powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge, of a man who is of the literal seed of Abraham, than one that is a Gentile, though it may not have half as much visible effect upon the body; for as the Holy Ghost falls upon one of the literal seed of Abraham, it is calm and serene; and his whole soul and body are only exercised by the pure spirit of intelligence; while the effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile, is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham. That man that has none of the blood of Abraham (naturally) must have a new creation by the Holy Ghost. In such a case, there may be more of a powerful effect upon the body, and visible to the eye, than upon an Israelite, while the Israelite at first might be far before the Gentile in pure intelligence.” Teachings of The Prophet Joseph Smith - page 149-150 (To become the literal seed of Abraham is to become a pure blooded Israelite)

Without this glorious epiphany known as the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost we cannot return home to God but we will be "cast off", at best, we will inherit the Terrestrial kingdom. Most Latter-day saints will inherit the Terrestrial kingdom because they will refuse to surrender fully to Jesus and let Him convert them. The baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost is our own personal private Pentecostal conversion experience. Each of us must have this epiphany in order to return to God.

Chapter Four: The Events of Testimony lead to the Events of Conversion

Alma 12:10,11

10 “And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.

11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.”

The lesser portion of the word and the greater portion of the word combined together constitute the fullness of the gospel Jesus Christ. We are the Gentiles in the Book of Mormon until the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost makes us the Remnant of Jacob. If we accept the lessor portion and then through unbelief we do not believe nor think it necessary for us personally to have the blessings of conversion then we are guilty of rejecting the fullness of the Gospel that the unconverted members of the church known as the Gentiles mentioned in the Book of Mormon. We must cast off our unbelief so that we expect and are committed to having the events of conversion or we will be guilty of rejecting the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Lesser portion of the word - The events of testimony

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Following one’s own conscience. The Voice of Christ to each of us. This is what is meant by hearkening unto the voice of the Lord in the scriptures)

Repentance

Baptism of water by immersion

Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands (The First Comforter. The baptism of water and receiving the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands constitute being born of the water. We covenant to take upon ourselves the name of Christ)

Melchezedek Priesthood (For righteous male adult members)

Washing and Anointing 

Endowment

Temple Marriage

The Greater portion of the word - The events of conversion 

Baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost (This cleanses us of all sin and we no longer desire to sin. Without this epiphany we cannot go home. This is what is meant by being born of the Spirit. This is our personal Pentecostal conversion experience)

Born Again (No longer struggling to overcome the natural man. Spiritually begotten sons and daughters unto Christ. Mosiah 27:25,26) Christ places His name upon us, thus fulfilling the covenant made at the baptism of water and confirmation wherein we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Christ. We become the “Remnant of Jacob”, the chosen of the Lord, and pure blooded Israelites. (literal seed of Abraham). Only the truly converted go home. 

Purification (The Holy Ghost makes us pure by fire, thus He is a purifier)

Personally know Christ face to face (D&C 93:1) Second Comforter. (Finishing our spiritual Mount Sinai climb)

Fulness of the Priesthood power by God’s own voice (Helaman 10 D&C 50:26-30 JST Gen:14:28-31 D&C 84:42)

Sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise (The Father tells you that you are going to be exalted. We then become the Elect of God and thus have our calling and election made sure)

Sanctification (And by the blood of Christ ye are sanctified) Truly becoming a saint.

Church of the Firstborn (LDS members who are prepared for exaltation and those who are already exalted are members of this church. These are whom the Lord refers to as the Redeemed. These are the only alive saints who are caught up into the clouds of glory when Jesus comes again) 

Possible translation before Christ comes in glory

The above events can happen in any order that the Lord chooses them to happen. These could be even years apart from each other. Testimony (burning within one’s own bosom) gets one through the temple where promises of becoming converted are made. The events of conversion take place as the blessings of the promises made in the temple become reality in this life. When we are washed and anointed in the initiatory session of the temple we are promised that we will become clean of the blood of this generation. That covenant becomes fulfilled when the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost cleanses us of all sin which includes the blood of this generation and that is the only way that promise can be fulfilled. 

“And by the Spirit ye are purified.” Thus the Holy Ghost becomes a “purifier.” And thus we are made pure by fire, an interesting play on words. Testimony alone will not save us. Those members of the church who only have a testimony, (the lesser portion of the word) who do not become converted, (i.e. those who harden their hearts) will fall away. These are the future tares and the unwise virgins. Elder Bednar’s comparison of the Ten Virgins wherein he states that the lamps represent testimony and the oil in the lamps represents conversion is wonderfully true. 

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ starts with a desire to believe. This desire to believe must be tested to see if we really want to believe. Once tested, we then believe. But with this new belief we feel that it is not enough just to believe. We desire to have faith. This desire to have faith must be tested to see if we really want true faith. Once we have accepted the true doctrines concerning the Godhead as they really are and consciously choose to follow the Savior’s voice as our conscience, then we can claim hold upon faith. Now faith is the assurance of things unseen, yet true. 

Exercising faith IS following the Light of Christ (Obeying our conscience-the voice of Christ-Choosing the right) and by obeying the promptings, guidance and revelations of the Holy Ghost consistently we are exercising exceeding great faith.

The Light of Christ is unseen, yet it is a true messenger speaking the truth to us. This is what is meant by hearkening unto the voice of the Lord in the scriptures. By consistently exercising faith, including exceeding great faith by following the promptings, guidance and inspiration of the Holy Ghost, we desire to know the truth perfectly. This desire to know must be tested, in many ways we are tested far more than the previous tests on our upward climb toward perfect knowledge because knowing with perfect knowledge is one of the greatest gifts that God can give, for it will lead to the greatest gift God can give - eternal life. (John 17:3) Everyone at this point must gain heavenly help like never before. 

Ironically, we have all had a desire to believe, then believed, we have had a desire to have faith, and through much effort acquired faith and now as we begin to climb our spiritual Mount Sinai we cannot see the peak just yet but the incline is very steep before us, shrouded in dense clouds and we say within ourselves,“I can see from here the beautiful valley below. I wonder what I will be able to see from the summit. But I cannot see how to get there. I will just settle for this view that I have now.” This is what the Lord calls our unbelief. 

We have a testimony, but we are not yet truly converted. We keep telling ourselves, with Satan’s help, that we are not able to know Christ personally in this life. “The prophets were able to climb to the summit and see and know and others such as the people in the 11th chapter of 3rd Nephi were blessed to come to know Christ, but alas, this is as far as I can climb. Maybe when I die, I will meet the Savior after I pass beyond the veil.” We cannot cast off our unbelief and gain the strength to climb through the clouds and reach the summit and thus know Christ in this life without divine help. We must accept fully that we are equally loved as any prophet who has ever come before us. We must accept God as a God who is no respecter of persons. Only God can empower us with that understanding and strength needed to remove from us our unbelief and then and only then we will become truly converted to Christ. We cannot do this alone. Once these tests to desire to know are passed then we come to know perfectly by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus lives. 

What once started out as a desire to believe has become perfect knowledge essential to our eternal happiness. We are on our way to becoming truly converted and not just a person with a testimony.

Repentance of all of our sins is required by all. Gaining forgiveness for our sins brings us peace and joy as we draw nearer to God, our Eternal Father, through His Son, our Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ. But forgiveness of our sins is not enough to qualify us for eternal life. We must be cleansed of all sin. We enter the holy temple to make covenants with God that if obeyed fully will not only convert us completely to Christ but make possible for us to have eternal life. 

If you do not believe or do not desire with all of your heart to see Jesus in this life, I testify that you that will not want to see him when you die, for it will not be pleasant at all.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance of all of our sins, followed by the baptism water and of the Holy Ghost - The laying on of hands to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost - unlock the power of the Atonement of Christ. 

But we are not yet born again nor truly converted until we experience the last baptism, the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost and become spiritually begotten sons or daughters unto Christ. (Mosiah 25:26,27)

Yes, there are instances when people, like Cornelius in the New Testament, and the 300 Lamanties who sought the lives of Nephi and Lehi in the Book of Mormon experienced the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost before they were baptized by water and the gift of the Holy Ghost. But for us latter-day saints the process usually runs in the prescribed order. 

The endowment in the temple is where we make certain eternal covenants. These sacred covenants are two way contracts with God. We promise God that we will obey fully the requirements of these sacred covenants. He promises us that we will become truly converted and come to know Jesus Christ in this life. As we progress in the ceremony, we are drawing nearer to the veil that separates us from the presence of the Lord. 

If we keep these covenants fully, and as mentioned above with God’s divine help in casting off of our unbelief, receive the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, then and only then, can we have Christ step through the veil and be in His presence in this life. For what happens at the veil, I testify, symbolizes Christ stepping through the veil and embracing us personally in this life. The blessing that one receives from fulfilling the covenants made during the endowment is to stand in the very presence of Jesus Christ in this life. The events of testimony are designed to inspire us and lead us to the events of conversion. God does not want us just to have a testimony that could be denied when trials and tribulations come. For the winds will blow and the rains will descend and beat upon our house as the Savior said and if we only have a testimony built upon sand (the lessor portion of the word) we will not stand. But sand can become stone. Through the forces of nature sand must be pressed together with tremendous pressure and become chemically changed in order to solidify into sold rock. So must our testimonies pass through the spiritual processes of trials and obedience and with divine help surmount the summits of doubt and unbelief to produce a soul that is truly converted, truly changed within, truly built upon a foundation of sold rock which is Jesus Christ. 

This foundation of rock is the knowledge that Jesus lives and that we, because of Him, know that we are blessed with the events of conversion in our lives and that when the trials and tribulations descend upon us and all others, that we will not stumble and fall but stand, standing firm in the knowledge that only comes through the process of true conversion to Jesus Christ, the Lord. 

I bear you my solemn testimony, my dear brothers and sisters, that there is no greater joy than to be filled, every particle of one’s soul, with the pure love of Christ, directly from its source, the very bosom of Jesus Christ, Himself. I bear my witness that Jesus Christ lives. He is with perfect knowledge the resurrected, living Son of the living God. He awaits with great anticipation to step through the veil and embrace each of us into His bosom in our life times. May we all become truly converted and so blessed by Him who mighty to save, in Jesus’ Holy name, amen.

Thank you for allowing me to share this with you. The Lord has blessed me to come to know these things for myself.

 And from another e-mail from this contributor:

One side note. Moroni 7:48

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

"All the energy of heart" means that our spiritual energy can only be increased by following our conscience, the voice of Jesus Christ, following the Holy Ghost, forsaking our sins, coming unto Christ, obeying His voice, (again our conscience) and keeping his commandments, (not out of fear, or duty, but out of love, the pure love of Christ) shall see my face and know that I am... "true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ." starts with our conscience... "that ye may become the sons of God" occurs with the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost for it makes one a spiritually begotten son or daughter unto Christ... "that when he shall appear" refers to a personal appearance, not the Second Coming. When the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost cleanses us of all sin we are at the moment able to have Christ appear and stand before the resurrected living Son of the living God pure as he is pure. Both ourselves and the Savior, Jesus Christ, are sinless. Yes, we will sin after that experience for we are not yet perfect, but He who is Pure and Holy has made us temporarily pure and clean as He, Christ is in order to stand in His presence in this life. This adds another dimension to the phrase "stand in Holy places."  Gathering to the tops of the mountains is spiritual not the Rocky Mountains. For each person who has reached the summit of their spiritual Mount Sinai has reached the top of their mountain, spiritually speaking. Those who truly desire to be pure and clean holy, saintly people come to know Christ in this life.

MORE ON THE HOLY SEED OF CHRIST

If you would like more information on this topic, here is a word search from a book I have in my possession that goes into the topic:

https://books.google.ca/books?id=Rss1CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT170&lpg=PT170&dq=holy+seed+lds&source=bl&ots=vzI101GJ45&sig=J4z1CzgjZnfUFEvZovc82OIhL4Y&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwivvdKh2NvZAhXiy1QKHZbuCMcQ6AEIXTAE#v=onepage&q=holy%20seed%20lds&f=false

Great stuff!!  Enjoy reading!

THE HOLY SEED OF CHRIST - ONE MORE BLOW TO THIS DEAD OR DYING EQUINE

I received the following comment on a previous post:

Have you forgotten that Jesus Christ was the only begotten of the Father in the flesh and as the literal son of God, physically, he had the power over life and death. WE ARE ALL MORTALS and sons and daughters of other mortals. Christ was God the Son. None of us were allowed to inherit the physical genes of a DEITY. We can become HOLY SEED as inheritors of the Abrahamic Covenant and thru personal righteousness. You are right...you can detect the spirits of the righteous in a crowd when you are in tune with the Holy Ghost. We ARE spirit children of ELOHIM, however the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve are all from their mortal lineage. Elohim's genes were given ONLY to Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the father in the flesh.

I feel for this commenter.  It is difficult to change your paradigm.  Please read the content of that Amazon link.  Most of the comments come from the heavies in the early part of the Restoration until these facts were once again swept under the carpet, after the light burst upon the scene with Joseph Smith.

You have to remember, every Prophet (including Jesus himself), who have released revolutionary information, have died a martyr's death and then had that information systematically dismantled until it is squashed in the annals of time.  Then it is resurrected once again - and then squashed.  I like to call this phenomenon apostasy.  And PLEASE do not tell me that it is not happening today in our organization.  There are elements within the structure that include the intellectuals (who quite frankly, have probably had FEW if any manifestations of gifts for and of themselves), who suppress this stuff.  Same in Jesus' day.  The intellectuals and doctors of religion and law did a full court press to suppress the truth when Christ revealed it to them.

Why is that?  Because darkness hates light.  Truth is a stumbling block and an offense to error.  Sometimes, in order to "fit in" with the world that we are "courting", we squash inconvenient truths in that effort to try and be "one of the boys".

So, when a book comes out declaring the truth as it was stared when Christ was alive and when Joseph was alive, I am going to run with it.

If you choose to throw these concepts under the bus, you also choose to throw Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Jesus and so many other declared greats under the bus.  That is heavy stuff.

I am not saying to run out and snag another spouse - put an addition on the house - and double or triple the size of the fam over the next few years, while getting yourself ex'd.  What I am saying, is please do not throw this stuff out with the bathwater.  That is an important baby in the scheme of things.  If you do, you will feel sorrowfully after those who taught these beautiful principles - and you likely will spend some time in spiritual prison until you are released on your "own recognizance".....

For those who have swallowed the purple kool-aid of social correctness and get to experience a mighty change of heart while yet in the flesh, you like so many others, will have the great opportunity to purge your haughty way of thinking by sheer force of circumstance.  Isaiah says it best, when the purge will be so bad that seven women will take hold of a single man because that is all there is left in order to carry on their blood line.  I can feel the desperation flowing out in those words.  It will be a difficult time.  Through the furnace of affliction, incorrect thinking and wayward practices will be purged.  Selfishness - including resistance to living the Law of Consecration - will be done away with as all are cast into a situation where mere survival will be dependent on the ability to share.  Those who cannot, or refuse to, will be cast to the side.  This is force of circumstance.

Why do you think that Jesus plainly said to study Isaiah's words?  Because he spoke of the coming difficulties related to people having to be driven as a dumb ass until they come to a solid understanding.  If these earlies were so perverse in their thinking and actions, then why do a lion's share of the recorded miracles reside with them and in their times?  Because they lived the law they had with exactness - and they merited them.  With one leg firmly planted in babylon and the feminazi movement which has effectively killed Western civilization as we once knew it, most today could not muster the faith nor the belief sufficient to conceive of the sun rising tomorrow - let alone the miracles that Jesus said the true believers and followers of Him would do.

Okay - I think I will end this shred now.  Please ponder on what I have said.  Be believing - and doubt not if you are one of the uncircumcised of heart.

ANOTHER INTERESTING STATEMENT ON THE "HOLY SEED" OR TITHE OF THE PEOPLE

Interesting comment from the blog archives:

The best place to learn about the new Jerusalem is reading Isaiah. The best commentary money can buy is by Avraham Gileadi and cost $40 + $5 shipping. it is 30 hours of verse by verse commentary on two CDs in a MP3 format. You can play it on any computer or MP3 player. see
http://www.isaiahinstitute.com/isaiahinstitute/Default.aspx
in short
Isiiah explains that america will have a economic clospe where the stock market will fall just like 1929. Most people on the last days list think this will happen in oct of 2008. Accourding to Joshp smith there will be a civil war starting in chacigo, which will spread across the usa. There will be no law and order, only in the rockys. kind of like how new orlands was when there was no food. missionarys will be sent out to gather people to the rocky mountains for peice and safety. The saints at that time will unhold the consitution. The lord will raise up a servant who will lead the people into the winderness like moses did. At this time amermica will be attached both one the CA side and the East side.
at this time 90% of the world people are killed, by war by the antichrist. only the rightous 9% will be protected indirectly. The 1% which is the holy seed will be gathered by the 144,000 to zion.
Faithfull sons like hemaun army will over come the attacking armys.this will be done by faithful white and laminiate people. The us amry will have given up, and it will take this servant and the faithful sons to cause the power of god to fight back the invading armay.
the coming of the savior among these people will be so natural that only a few people will know the savior will have come. This is not his coming in golry.
The savor will lead a group and also the 144,000 each will lead people back to mousir zion in groups of 300-600 each. With one of the 144,000 in frount and in back. These people will be lead like moses and they will walk thur the fire, the oceans , the armys ect with the cloud of glory protecting them by night and a fire in the day. when they get to the center place zion, the glory that was upon each group will then be added upon the temple. so as more and more people gather, zion will put on its glory and streangth till the whole would will see its glory. The people who come to zion will have their calling and ection sure.
you have got to get Avraham Gileadis commentary on Isiiah. The best that any LDS author has yet to bring forth. over 30 hours. Hugh b Nibley said that Avraham is the most quilified peoson to teach Isiaih he knows of.
It is an amazing great work and wonder….
dewey

My wife found the highlighted thing all on her own and I had another friend, CJ confirm it.  All right around the time I had this for my personal revelation.

THE HOLY SEED

So, what is the Holy Seed of God (Christ)?

I would love to know. Your thoughts?

This is what got me thinking:

CLICK LINK

You know you want to take a stab at it - c'mon, go ahead and comment. I have an idea, but am still forming an opinion.

HOW TO BE RE-BORN, AND COME TO THE LORD

We should all experience a mighty change of heart like this.

I have had something far less dramatic than this at two junctures in my life.  You have to want it with all your being.  God is not a liberal - He does not hand out a prize to the unwilling, but is the rewarder of ALL those who diligently seek His face:

"...For seven years the Lord had prepared my mind and my heart. My time was at hand. My Heavenly Father sent to me a son of God, a member of the church who was and is a true disciple of Christ, to draw me unto His Beloved Son. This blessed man carried within his soul the seed of Christ which he planted within my heart. Like all true endowments of the Spirit, only those who have the gift can confer it to others by the power of the Holy Ghost.
What was this seed of Christ? It was the blessed gift of pure testimony that enlivened within my soul the need and will to live spiritually. This is the endowment that ultimately induced the labor of the second birth.
The Spirit of the Lord bore witness to me that this man knew Christ. As we sat in my home one evening I felt the power of his testimony of the Savior as I had never felt it before. My soul was aflame with the desire to know the Lord as this man did, and I told him so.
The next morning as we were about to depart, my new friend boldly invited me to come to Christ. He urged me to pray more fervently until I received the baptism by fire; he called me to repent until I received a complete remission of my sins. His words were bold but kind and they sunk deeply unto the core of my heart. The seed of Christ had been planted. Little did I know what all of this would mean.
This was a very difficult time in my life. At the time I was serving as the Stake Mission President in my stake. I was immersed in my calling and was enjoying a good measure of success. But I was self-employed at the time and my consulting practice was very slow. In fact, at the time I had no clients and was financially without means to provide for my family.
It was during this time that I was called to come home to Christ. Shortly after my friend departed I found myself in my office alone and without work. The Spirit called me one day as I sat behind my desk and prompted me to pray. I instructed my secretary that I did not want to be interrupted under any circumstances and then locked myself in my office and began to pour out my heart unto God.
I prayed that day and for two succeeding days. I prayed long and hard and for many things. But the primary intent and focus of my prayers was to know the Lord and to understand and appreciate the personal implications of the Atonement in my life.
On the third day, July 21, 1981, I found myself kneeling again by my chair in fervent prayer to know the Lord. Suddenly I saw myself praying and the presence of the Lord was beside me. As I watched, the Lord spoke to my mind and said, "Look." I looked and for the first time in my life I saw myself as I really was, through the eyes of Christ.
What I saw I cannot fully describe in words. My whole soul was illuminated and I saw with complete clarity and understanding the deepest recesses of my subconscious mind. I saw within the hidden nooks and crannies of my soul the effects of all my sins as well as all my sins of commission and omission which had been repressed into the hidden regions of my mind. I was completely transparent. Everything was now so painfully clear, my sinful motives, intentions and desires, all cleverly disguised and rationalized through years of self-talk. Even the good things I had done for the wrong reasons were flashed before my all-seeing eye. No act, word or deed escaped my view. I saw everything.
As I beheld myself thus, my mind was, to use Alma's words, "racked with torment" and "inexpressible horror." Several times I tried to shut out the vision but the Lord would not allow it. Each time I tried to turn away the Lord would say, "Look," and I continued to look into my soul. I wept and pleaded for the Lord to stop the vision. When I had finally seen everything, the vision ended and there was darkness. I tried to find the Lord but He was no longer beside me.
The scene instantly changed and I found myself behind the brush on the outside of a garden clearing. Again a voice came to my mind and instructed me to look. My eyes turned to the garden clearing and there, in the midst, I saw my beloved Redeemer. Suddenly it became clear to me that I was witnessing His act of Atonement. But what transpired I was not prepared to see.
How can one explain with mortal words the agony of a God. Anything I say or write somehow diminishes the impact.
Be that as it may, I saw the love and suffering of the Christ and am a personal witness of it. I don't know how it is possible, but I was in Gethsemane on the day of His Agony and I saw in great and terrible detail with my eyes and heard in awful clarity with my ears that which is too sacred to describe to unprepared ears.
His sobs and His cries pierced my soul and I felt the wrenching of my heart with each audible groan or quivering convulsion of His body. Then came the revelation that broke my heart: "Behold the love of God for you and His suffering for your sins."
It was too much to bear. As I became aware that He was suffering such agony for me because of my sins, because of His love for me for a "soul so rebellious and proud as mine," my heart broke and I thought I would die. Never had I sobbed and wept so violently and with such bitterness of soul. I never knew the body could sob as mine did. I never knew a heart could break as mine did. I never knew a broken heart would hurt as much as I hurt. I was in agony as never before. I thought my heart would stop and my head and chest would explode. I cried out and begged the Father to stop the suffering of my Friend and Elder Brother. "Stop it! Stop it! Please stop His suffering!" I wept, I sobbed and my body convulsed in anguish as I attempted to reach through the brush to hold Him, to somehow comfort Him. But His suffering did not stop and there was nothing I could do to help Him.
Finally, resolving myself to this hopeless state and wishing only to die for what I had done to Him, I cried out through my choking sobs, "Please forgive me! Please, dear God, forgive me for what I have done to my Savior. I am sorry, so very, very sorry for hurting Him so. It is enough," I continued, "please stop His suffering. I will never again do anything to hurt Him. Never! Never!"
I continued to sob and plead for forgiveness until I was totally exhausted and lay slumped on the floor weeping hot tears of anguish and pain. My strength was exhausted and I was prepared to die when the vision stopped and the voice of the Lord said unto me, "My son, thy sins are forgiven thee."
When I heard these words from my Savior I was filled with fire, which I later came to know was the endowment of charity. Never had I felt such love, such peace. I was overcome again unto great sobbing, but this time with joy.
So intense was the outpouring of God's love through the fire of His Spirit that I felt as though my very life would end and my flesh would be consumed. I came to know by the spirit of revelation that my life was acceptable to the Lord; that I had been completely and unconditionally cleansed of all my sins and the effects of my sins; that I had been made holy, without spot -- clean every whit -- by His precious blood. I had been truly born again to enter into the Kingdom of God; I was redeemed from the fall; sanctified by the endowment of His perfect love, even charity. Through this experience I came to understand the meaning of total conversion; of justification and of sanctification; of full repentance.
I now know with a perfect knowledge that all men must be born again, or sanctified of the spirit, in order to receive their salvation and obtain their exaltation. I know now that only those who are truly born again can enjoy the blessings of the sanctified and can develop to the full stature of Christ. I know now that there is a difference between the righteousness of God and the righteousness of man; between full repentance and partial repentance; between a broken heart and a contrite spirit; between receiving forgiveness from one's sins and a complete and unconditional forgiveness from the effects of the fall or the natural man; between an awakening of conscience which cultivates a sense of duty to God and man and a mighty change of heart which bears the fruit of charity toward God and all men.
I know now that the only way to Christ is through the offering of a broken heart and that the only way to offer such a sacrifice acceptably is to experience, in a personal way, the power and reality of the Atonement in our life; to understand and appreciate sufficiently the personal implications of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and fallen nature. Perhaps this may come in different ways to different people, but the substance and results of the experience will, of necessity, always be the same. The greatest manifestation of God's love for us is in the Savior's suffering for our personal sins. It is the power of His suffering for us that draws us to Him in a complete sense and changes our heart totally. When our sacrifice of a broken heart has been accepted (i.e., justified) by the Lord, when we have fully repented of all our sins, then is our life acceptable (i.e., justified) unto the Lord. Sanctification, which is the effect or fruit of justification, totally cleanses and purifies the spirit and endows the person with a faith and hope in Christ, and with charity.
At this point, a few words of explanation might be appropriate. First, no one need suppose that they are exempt from the second birth or that their life and sacrifice is acceptable unto God unless it has been declared thus by the spirit of revelation. Such revelation is essential because we cannot, by definition, be conscious of sins and their effects that reside in the subconscious mind. A person can therefore believe that his/her sins and fallen nature have been repented of and yet have no knowledge that such is, in fact, the case unless it has been unmistakably revealed and confirmed by the Lord. All men and women must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of God. There are those who may "speak with the tongues of men and angels" and "have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and... have all faith" yet, without spiritual rebirth, without the conferral of charity through personal sanctification, they become as "sounding brass, or tinkling cymbal" and are "nothing."
Second, no one who is to be truly born again can avoid the painful anguish of going through the birth canal and, while it is true that the gestation period of sanctification is indeed a process, yet the actual birth is an event in time.
Third, only the Lord defines the price that needs to be paid and the timetable of spiritual rebirth
Fourth, personal sanctification does not just happen. It must be sought for diligently through mighty prayer and obedience.
Fifth, personal sanctification is and can be experienced in mortality and should be sought for in this Life.
Sixth, the only way to offer up a broken heart sufficient for full repentance is to experience a personal encounter with the reality of the Atonement in our lives; to realize by the spirit of revelation the love of Christ for us personally, as manifested in His suffering for our sins. This does not mean that every person must have an identical experience to the one presented here, but an encounter there must be, and what a glorious encounter it is.
Seventh, no one can be truly born again, or sanctified, unless he/she has received the ordinances of baptism and confirmation and has fully repented of all his/her sins and will. Any forgiveness of sins referred to prior to baptism is merely conditional and anticipatory. Complete forgiveness through personal sanctification cannot take place without the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, performed by the legal administrators of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Finally, there is a difference between being righteous, or holy, and being absolutely perfect. True it is that those who are sanctified are perfect in Christ, yet they are not without weaknesses, or personal flaws. Even the sanctified err and make mistakes. But the will, or desire, to sin is not in them and the gift of repentance remains with them continually. Once a person has been born again he/she is a new born babe in Christ and therefore proceeds, through the grace of God, to develop into the full stature of Christ, until that glorious day when that more sure word of prophecy is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise and we receive the Second Comforter as promised. With the blessed revelation of salvation that I received from the Lord I knew that I would be blessed forever and subsequently sought, with all the energy of my soul, to make my calling and election to exaltation sure. I knew that, while I had been saved, I had not yet received that more sure word of prophecy; that while I was an heir, I had not yet perfected the claim on my inheritance. After much tribulation and great struggling in the flesh and in the spirit, I finally obtained this great assurance, together with the literal fulfillment of that great promise spoken of in D&C 93:1, JohnI4:16 and 2 Nephi 32:6. This occurred nearly ten years from the date of my redemption.
As I have searched my life for contrasts before and after my spiritual rebirth, I have found many valuable insights.
What has been the essential difference? Without question it has been the endowment of charity to my soul and the knowledge, through revelation, that my life is totally acceptable unto the Lord. The effects of this difference are far reaching and difficult to describe without sounding commonplace. Basically, for the first time in my life, I had come to know myself through my relationship with Christ. There was no more doubt, no running or hiding from myself; no more questions about who I was, what I was worth and what my status was with God. There were no more nagging questions or repressed doubts or concerns about my life and about the meaning and value of my life; no more pretenses. I was free. The truth had made me free; free from repressed guilt; free from insecurity; free from pretense; free from rationalization; free from doubt; free to love and to give myself totally to Christ and to God's children, for I had finally found myself in Christ. The essential difference is self-truth, and what a difference it is. I was in bondage and didn't know it. I thought I really knew myself before, but I knew nothing; only reflections in the social mirror; only a self-concept based on who I thought I was or wanted to be. The truth was hidden, repressed deeply within my spirit mind. It was hid in Christ. I knew, or rather sensed, that something was missing, but I never dreamed that what was missing was me, the truth about me and my relationship to Christ. How limited, restricted and frustrated I was; how confused. Here I was, totally active in the church and committed to the Gospel, and yet I was not enjoying the real power of God on a consistent basis. My confidence was a show, one that I hoped was real but which I knew was not. I had no power to move the heavens and I knew it. It's one thing to think you know who you are and how you stand with the Lord, and another to know perfectly. Truly Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. When I was born again I found my life, I found myself and I found my Savior. I found the way, the way of love, the pure love of Christ, and the way to such love, which is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. I found peace and love and joy and hope. And now that I had found all this, I was free, released from the chains of hell, the chains of ignorance, and free to see beyond the limits of my man-made self-concept into the broad expanse of eternity. There was no more fear of rejection, exposure or inadequacy. I could now lose myself in service, for I had found myself in Christ.
Suffice it to say, I see now as I have never seen before; I know now as I have never known before; and I feel now as I have never felt before. I enjoy a dimension of closeness with the Lord and priesthood power that I had never known before. Indeed, my relationship with the Father, my Savior and the Holy Ghost is so personal, so deep, so rich in meaning that I am led to sing the song of redeeming love continually to all who have ears to hear.
To those who read my testimony I plead with all of my heart, come unto Christ and find peace to your soul. Come unto Christ and be freed from all your sins and from the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual effects of those sins. Come unto Christ that He might show your weaknesses unto you and help you make weak things strong. Come unto Christ and receive your salvation and the assurance of your exaltation, together with a release from the cares of the world and the burden of your troubles.
I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that these words which I have written are true in fact, in precept and in spirit, notwithstanding the weaknesses of my pen.
I testify with all of my soul that God lives; that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior and Redeemer and that we can arrive at a point in this life where the reality of the Atonement is the greatest reality of our life; where we can know the Savior better than we know anyone else; that He can have a more profound influence on our life than the combined influence of everyone else.
I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church of Christ on the face of the earth. I testify that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and that the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Prophet, Seer and Revelator for the Lord on the earth today. I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that a person can draw closer to God by living its precepts than by living the precepts of any other book. I testify that the Holy Bible is also the word of God as far as it is translated correctly and that the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price are also Holy Scripture. And I testify that the General Authorities of the Church are called of God. I sustain and support them and all priesthood leaders throughout the Church with all my heart.
I testify that those who have been purified and made righteous and holy by the blood of Christ through sanctification, or spiritual rebirth, are the sons and daughters of Christ and of God. These are they who have taken upon themselves the name of Christ and who are then endowed with the keys of power through the ordinances of the holy temple to perform miracles in the name of Christ. These are they who enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, who receive daily revelation from the Lord, who receive visions, dreams and visitations from holy angels. These are they who open the heavens and receive the mysteries of godliness and the visions of eternity, who are taught doctrine from holy angels who read from the books of lost scripture unto their minds. These are they who know how to ask and receive answers to their prayers and who send angels to bless the lives of the needy. These are they who know how to receive the blessings of God and obtain the blessings of heaven and earth through the keys of prayer. These are they who understand doctrine from the mouths of angels and who heal the sick and prophesy in the name of the Lord. These are they who have a lively hope in Christ and the assurance that their lives are hid in Christ, that they shall obtain the fulness of the blessings of the Priesthood. These are they who have the seed of Christ planted in their souls and who have been endowed with charity, even the very gift and power of God unto salvation, the gift that plants the seed of Christ in the souls of men and women. These are they who look forward with perfect assurance to the glorious day when they shall make their calling and election sure, i.e., when they shall obtain the unconditional promise of their inheritance as heirs of the Father; when they shall then receive the Second Comforter with a holy embrace and, through Him, the Name of God, or key word of all power and authority. These are they who have the promise that they shall receive the fulness of the Father. These are they who continually work out their salvation with fear and trembling, repenting daily to retain a remission of their sins.
These are the blessings of the sanctified, of those who have been truly born again or baptized by fire. These are the blessings that every humble man or woman can enjoy, according to the order of their creation, if they will come unto Christ, repent fully of their sins, receive and keep the ordinances of the gospel and exercise mightily the prayer of faith until the day of their redemption is come.
I testify that all these words are true and that, if you have not already received them, all of these rich and glorious blessings can be yours if you truly open your mind and heart to the Lord and come unto Him in meekness, humility and the spirit of total submissiveness to His will.
May I, in conclusion, humbly affirm with all the sincerity of my heart, that my knowledge of these things which I have written comes not only from the testimonies of the prophets and not only from personal revelation and the words of God and His angels to my mind and heart, but also from the reality of personal experience, a reality that I do not impose upon others and claim for myself alone; a reality which is confirmed in my life by the physical and spiritual senses of my soul and by the ratifying seal of the Holy Ghost. Of this I so testify in the name of my Savior and Redeemer, even Jesus Christ, Amen"

A BAPTISM OF FIRE

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"A Personal Testimony of Jesus Christ and the Reality and Power of His Atonement in My Life"

In June, 1974 I was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a glorious experience, and I remember it well.

I never questioned the truthfulness of the gospel or of the Restoration. From the moment I heard the missionaries teach, I knew it was true. There was never even a flicker of doubt. It was like being reunited with an old and dear friend.

The spirit of repentance did not come upon me until the day I was baptized. Before that time I had received a testimony that the Gospel was true and that the Church of Jesus Christ had in fact been restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith. But the question of my sins had not been the object of my serious consideration until the day of my baptism. I was at the time, twenty-four years of age.

For me, the process of repentance began with my baptismal interview prior to my baptism. The interviewer was kind and considerate although his questions pierced my soul. I wept as I confessed my sins and admitted of my deep sorrow for my past life. My spirit was truly contrite as I entered into the waters of baptism. I wept openly throughout my baptism and confirmation as the spirit of the Lord testified to my heart of the tender mercies of a loving God. I had truly been born again to see the Kingdom of Heaven. I felt the burden of my sins lifted and I rejoiced with all my heart at my membership in Christ's true church.

Through it all I did not know that, although I had received the spirit of repentance prior to my baptism, I had not received the gift of full repentance; that, while I had been born again to "see" the Kingdom of heaven through the receipt of my testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost, yet I had not been born again to "enter" into the Kingdom of God and I had not actually received the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. While I had enjoyed a sanctifying experience that lifted the burden of my sins, yet I had not been sanctified unto a complete and unconditional remission of all my sins, including the effects of those sins. My knowledge of these heavenly truths did not come until later, in July of 1981.

For seven years, from 1974 until 1981 I was actively and zealously engaged in Gospel living. In December, 1975 my precious wife and I were married in the Arizona Temple. I was consumed with the desire to live the Gospel fully; to serve, teach, testify, study and pray fervently. And I did so continually. I was actively involved in missionary work, temple work and home teaching. I strived to magnify all my church callings and took my membership in Christ's church very seriously, as I do to this day. I absorbed myself in Gospel and scripture study feeling that I couldn't read enough. I indeed hungered and thirsted after righteousness and truth and this hunger and passion has not subsided for even a moment, for even a heartbeat.

Through it all I enjoyed many spiritual experiences, sanctifying experiences. I have come now to describe such experiences as "contractions" leading to my spiritual birth. I felt the spirit of the Lord with me many times; I felt His love for me and felt a great love for Him and a desire to know Him. I was privileged to be an instrument in the Lord's hands several times in exercising the Priesthood. Miracles were performed and lives were blessed. It was a wonderful seven years; a tune of growth, development and preparation; a time of gestation. Yet through it all I sensed that something was missing.

I could not describe what was missing in my life then, although now it is clear and understandable. Still, describing it to others is very difficult. It's like trying to explain the joy of parenthood to those who have never been parents.

In 1981 my life changed. For seven years the Lord had prepared my mind and my heart. My time was at hand. My Heavenly Father sent to me a son of God, a member of the church who was and is a true disciple of Christ, to draw me unto His Beloved Son. This blessed man carried within his soul the seed of Christ which he planted within my heart. Like all true endowments of the Spirit, only those who have the gift can confer it to others by the power of the Holy Ghost.

What was this seed of Christ? It was the blessed gift of pure testimony that enlivened within my soul the need and will to live spiritually. This is the endowment that ultimately induced the labor of the second birth.

The Spirit of the Lord bore witness to me that this man knew Christ. As we sat in my home one evening I felt the power of his testimony of the Savior as I had never felt it before. My soul was aflame with the desire to know the Lord as this man did, and I told him so.

The next morning as we were about to depart, my new friend boldly invited me to come to Christ. He urged me to pray more fervently until I received the baptism by fire; he called me to repent until I received a complete remission of my sins. His words were bold but kind and they sunk deeply unto the core of my heart. The seed of Christ had been planted. Little did I know what all of this would mean.

This was a very difficult time in my life. At the time I was serving as the Stake Mission President in my stake. I was immersed in my calling and was enjoying a good measure of success. But I was self-employed at the time and my consulting practice was very slow. In fact, at the time I had no clients and was financially without means to provide for my family.

It was during this time that I was called to come home to Christ. Shortly after my friend departed I found myself in my office alone and without work. The Spirit called me one day as I sat behind my desk and prompted me to pray. I instructed my secretary that I did not want to be interrupted under any circumstances and then locked myself in my office and began to pour out my heart unto God.

I prayed that day and for two succeeding days. I prayed long and hard and for many things. But the primary intent and focus of my prayers was to know the Lord and to understand and appreciate the personal implications of the Atonement in my life.

On the third day, July 21, 1981, I found myself kneeling again by my chair in fervent prayer to know the Lord. Suddenly I saw myself praying and the presence of the Lord was beside me. As I watched, the Lord spoke to my mind and said, "Look." I looked and for the first time in my life I saw myself as I really was, through the eyes of Christ.

What I saw I cannot fully describe in words. My whole soul was illuminated and I saw with complete clarity and understanding the deepest recesses of my subconscious mind. I saw within the hidden nooks and crannies of my soul the effects of all my sins as well as all my sins of commission and omission which had been repressed into the hidden regions of my mind. I was completely transparent. Everything was now so painfully clear, my sinful motives, intentions and desires, all cleverly disguised and rationalized through years of self-talk. Even the good things I had done for the wrong reasons were flashed before my all-seeing eye. No act, word or deed escaped my view. I saw everything.

As I beheld myself thus, my mind was, to use Alma's words, "racked with torment" and "inexpressible horror." Several times I tried to shut out the vision but the Lord would not allow it. Each time I tried to turn away the Lord would say, "Look," and I continued to look into my soul. I wept and pleaded for the Lord to stop the vision. When I had finally seen everything, the vision ended and there was darkness. I tried to find the Lord but He was no longer beside me.

The scene instantly changed and I found myself behind the brush on the outside of a garden clearing. Again a voice came to my mind and instructed me to look. My eyes turned to the garden clearing and there, in the midst, I saw my beloved Redeemer. Suddenly it became clear to me that I was witnessing His act of Atonement. But what transpired I was not prepared to see.

How can one explain with mortal words the agony of a God. Anything I say or write somehow diminishes the impact.

Be that as it may, I saw the love and suffering of the Christ and am a personal witness of it. I don't know how it is possible, but I was in Gethsemane on the day of His Agony and I saw in great and terrible detail with my eyes and heard in awful clarity with my ears that which is too sacred to describe to unprepared ears.

His sobs and His cries pierced my soul and I felt the wrenching of my heart with each audible groan or quivering convulsion of His body. Then came the revelation that broke my heart: "Behold the love of God for you and His suffering for your sins."

It was too much to bear. As I became aware that He was suffering such agony for me because of my sins, because of His love for me for a "soul so rebellious and proud as mine," my heart broke and I thought I would die. Never had I sobbed and wept so violently and with such bitterness of soul. I never knew the body could sob as mine did. I never knew a heart could break as mine did. I never knew a broken heart would hurt as much as I hurt. I was in agony as never before. I thought my heart would stop and my head and chest would explode. I cried out and begged the Father to stop the suffering of my Friend and Elder Brother. "Stop it! Stop it! 

Please stop His suffering!" I wept, I sobbed and my body convulsed in anguish as I attempted to reach through the brush to hold Him, to somehow comfort Him. But His suffering did not stop and there was nothing I could do to help Him.

Finally, resolving myself to this hopeless state and wishing only to die for what I had done to Him, I cried out through my choking sobs, "Please forgive me! Please, dear God, forgive me for what I have done to my Savior. I am sorry, so very, very sorry for hurting Him so. It is enough," I continued, "please stop His suffering. I will never again do anything to hurt Him. Never! Never!"

I continued to sob and plead for forgiveness until I was totally exhausted and lay slumped on the floor weeping hot tears of anguish and pain. My strength was exhausted and I was prepared to die when the vision stopped and the voice of the Lord said unto me, "My son, thy sins are forgiven thee."

When I heard these words from my Savior I was filled with fire, which I later came to know was the endowment of charity. Never had I felt such love, such peace. I was overcome again unto great sobbing, but this time with joy.

So intense was the outpouring of God's love through the fire of His Spirit that I felt as though my very life would end and my flesh would be consumed. I came to know by the spirit of revelation that my life was acceptable to the Lord; that I had been completely and unconditionally cleansed of all my sins and the effects of my sins; that I had been made holy, without spot -- clean every whit -- by His precious blood. I had been truly born again to enter into the Kingdom of God; I was redeemed from the fall; sanctified by the endowment of His perfect love, even charity. 

Through this experience I came to understand the meaning of total conversion; of justification and of sanctification; of full repentance.

I now know with a perfect knowledge that all men must be born again, or sanctified of the spirit, in order to receive their salvation and obtain their exaltation. I know now that only those who are truly born again can enjoy the blessings of the sanctified and can develop to the full stature of Christ. I know now that there is a difference between the righteousness of God and the righteousness of man; between full repentance and partial repentance; between a broken heart and a contrite spirit; between receiving forgiveness from one's sins and a complete and unconditional forgiveness from the effects of the fall or the natural man; between an awakening of conscience which cultivates a sense of duty to God and man and a mighty change of heart which bears the fruit of charity toward God and all men.

I know now that the only way to Christ is through the offering of a broken heart and that the only way to offer such a sacrifice acceptably is to experience, in a personal way, the power and reality of the Atonement in our life; to understand and appreciate sufficiently the personal implications of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins and fallen nature. Perhaps this may come in different ways to different people, but the substance and results of the experience will, of necessity, always be the same. The greatest manifestation of God's love for us is in the Savior's suffering for our personal sins. It is the power of His suffering for us that draws us to Him in a complete sense and changes our heart totally. When our sacrifice of a broken heart has been accepted (i.e., justified) by the Lord, when we have fully repented of all our sins, then is our life acceptable (i.e., justified) unto the Lord. Sanctification, which is the effect or fruit of justification, totally cleanses and purifies the spirit and endows the person with a faith and hope in Christ, and with charity.

At this point, a few words of explanation might be appropriate. First, no one need suppose that they are exempt from the second birth or that their life and sacrifice is acceptable unto God unless it has been declared thus by the spirit of revelation. Such revelation is essential because we cannot, by definition, be conscious of sins and their effects that reside in the subconscious mind. A person can therefore believe that his/her sins and fallen nature have been repented of and yet have no knowledge that such is, in fact, the case unless it has been unmistakably revealed and confirmed by the Lord. All men and women must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of God. There are those who may "speak with the tongues of men and angels" and "have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and... have all faith" yet, without spiritual rebirth, without the conferral of charity through personal sanctification, they become as "sounding brass, or tinkling cymbal" and are "nothing."

Second, no one who is to be truly born again can avoid the painful anguish of going through the birth canal and, while it is true that the gestation period of sanctification is indeed a process, yet the actual birth is an event in time.

Third, only the Lord defines the price that needs to be paid and the timetable of spiritual rebirth

Fourth, personal sanctification does not just happen. It must be sought for diligently through mighty prayer and obedience.

Fifth, personal sanctification is and can be experienced in mortality and should be sought for in this Life.

Sixth, the only way to offer up a broken heart sufficient for full repentance is to experience a personal encounter with the reality of the Atonement in our lives; to realize by the spirit of revelation the love of Christ for us personally, as manifested in His suffering for our sins. This does not mean that every person must have an identical experience to the one presented here, but an encounter there must be, and what a glorious encounter it is.

Seventh, no one can be truly born again, or sanctified, unless he/she has received the ordinances of baptism and confirmation and has fully repented of all his/her sins and will. Any forgiveness of sins referred to prior to baptism is merely conditional and anticipatory. Complete forgiveness through personal sanctification cannot take place without the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, performed by the legal administrators of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Finally, there is a difference between being righteous, or holy, and being absolutely perfect. True it is that those who are sanctified are perfect in Christ, yet they are not without weaknesses, or personal flaws. Even the sanctified err and make mistakes. But the will, or desire, to sin is not in them and the gift of repentance remains with them continually. Once a person has been born again he/she is a new born babe in Christ and therefore proceeds, through the grace of God, to develop into the full stature of Christ, until that glorious day when that more sure word of prophecy is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise and we receive the Second Comforter as promised. With the blessed revelation of salvation that I received from the Lord I knew that I would be blessed forever and subsequently sought, with all the energy of my soul, to make my calling and election to exaltation sure. I knew that, while I had been saved, I had not yet received that more sure word of prophecy; that while I was an heir, I had not yet perfected the claim on my inheritance. After much tribulation and great struggling in the flesh and in the spirit, I finally obtained this great assurance, together with the literal fulfillment of that great promise spoken of in D&C 93:1, JohnI4:16 and 2 Nephi 32:6. This occurred nearly ten years from the date of my redemption.

As I have searched my life for contrasts before and after my spiritual rebirth, I have found many valuable insights.

What has been the essential difference? Without question it has been the endowment of charity to my soul and the knowledge, through revelation, that my life is totally acceptable unto the Lord. The effects of this difference are far reaching and difficult to describe without sounding commonplace. Basically, for the first time in my life, I had come to know myself through my relationship with Christ. There was no more doubt, no running or hiding from myself; no more questions about who I was, what I was worth and what my status was with God. There were no more nagging questions or repressed doubts or concerns about my life and about the meaning and value of my life; no more pretenses. I was free. The truth had made me free; free from repressed guilt; free from insecurity; free from pretense; free from rationalization; free from doubt; free to love and to give myself totally to Christ and to God's children, for I had finally found myself in Christ. The essential difference is self-truth, and what a difference it is. I was in bondage and didn't know it. I thought I really knew myself before, but I knew nothing; only reflections in the social mirror; only a self-concept based on who I thought I was or wanted to be. 

The truth was hidden, repressed deeply within my spirit mind. It was hid in Christ. I knew, or rather sensed, that something was missing, but I never dreamed that what was missing was me, the truth about me and my relationship to Christ. How limited, restricted and frustrated I was; how confused. Here I was, totally active in the church and committed to the Gospel, and yet I was not enjoying the real power of God on a consistent basis. My confidence was a show, one that I hoped was real but which I knew was not. I had no power to move the heavens and I knew it. It's one thing to think you know who you are and how you stand with the Lord, and another to know perfectly. 

Truly Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. When I was born again I found my life, I found myself and I found my Savior. I found the way, the way of love, the pure love of Christ, and the way to such love, which is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. I found peace and love and joy and hope. And now that I had found all this, I was free, released from the chains of hell, the chains of ignorance, and free to see beyond the limits of my man-made self-concept into the broad expanse of eternity. There was no more fear of rejection, exposure or inadequacy. 

I could now lose myself in service, for I had found myself in Christ.

Suffice it to say, I see now as I have never seen before; I know now as I have never known before; and I feel now as I have never felt before. I enjoy a dimension of closeness with the Lord and priesthood power that I had never known before. Indeed, my relationship with the Father, my Savior and the Holy Ghost is so personal, so deep, so rich in meaning that I am led to sing the song of redeeming love continually to all who have ears to hear.

To those who read my testimony I plead with all of my heart, come unto Christ and find peace to your soul. Come unto Christ and be freed from all your sins and from the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual effects of those sins. Come unto Christ that He might show your weaknesses unto you and help you make weak things strong. Come unto Christ and receive your salvation and the assurance of your exaltation, together with a release from the cares of the world and the burden of your troubles.

I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that these words which I have written are true in fact, in precept and in spirit, notwithstanding the weaknesses of my pen.

I testify with all of my soul that God lives; that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior and Redeemer and that we can arrive at a point in this life where the reality of the Atonement is the greatest reality of our life; where we can know the Savior better than we know anyone else; that He can have a more profound influence on our life than the combined influence of everyone else.

I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church of Christ on the face of the earth. I testify that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and that the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Prophet, Seer and Revelator for the Lord on the earth today. I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that a person can draw closer to God by living its precepts than by living the precepts of any other book. I testify that the Holy Bible is also the word of God as far as it is translated correctly and that the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price are also Holy Scripture. And I testify that the General Authorities of the Church are called of God. I sustain and support them and all priesthood leaders throughout the Church with all my heart.

I testify that those who have been purified and made righteous and holy by the blood of Christ through sanctification, or spiritual rebirth, are the sons and daughters of Christ and of God. These are they who have taken upon themselves the name of Christ and who are then endowed with the keys of power through the ordinances of the holy temple to perform miracles in the name of Christ. These are they who enjoy the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, who receive daily revelation from the Lord, who receive visions, dreams and visitations from holy angels. 

These are they who open the heavens and receive the mysteries of godliness and the visions of eternity, who are taught doctrine from holy angels who read from the books of lost scripture unto their minds. These are they who know how to ask and receive answers to their prayers and who send angels to bless the lives of the needy. These are they who know how to receive the blessings of God and obtain the blessings of heaven and earth through the keys of prayer. These are they who understand doctrine from the mouths of angels and who heal the sick and prophesy in the name of the Lord. These are they who have a lively hope in Christ and the assurance that their lives are hid in Christ, that they shall obtain the fulness of the blessings of the Priesthood. These are they who have the seed of Christ planted in their souls and who have been endowed with charity, even the very gift and power of God unto salvation, the gift that plants the seed of Christ in the souls of men and women. These are they who look forward with perfect assurance to the glorious day when they shall make their calling and election sure, i.e., when they shall obtain the unconditional promise of their inheritance as heirs of the Father; when they shall then receive the Second Comforter with a holy embrace and, through Him, the Name of God, or key word of all power and authority. These are they who have the promise that they shall receive the fulness of the Father. These are they who continually work out their salvation with fear and trembling, repenting daily to retain a remission of their sins.

These are the blessings of the sanctified, of those who have been truly born again or baptized by fire. These are the blessings that every humble man or woman can enjoy, according to the order of their creation, if they will come unto Christ, repent fully of their sins, receive and keep the ordinances of the gospel and exercise mightily the prayer of faith until the day of their redemption is come.

I testify that all these words are true and that, if you have not already received them, all of these rich and glorious blessings can be yours if you truly open your mind and heart to the Lord and come unto Him in meekness, humility and the spirit of total submissiveness to His will.

May I, in conclusion, humbly affirm with all the sincerity of my heart, that my knowledge of these things which I have written comes not only from the testimonies of the prophets and not only from personal revelation and the words of God and His angels to my mind and heart, but also from the reality of personal experience, a reality that I do not impose upon others and claim for myself alone; a reality which is confirmed in my life by the physical and spiritual senses of my soul and by the ratifying seal of the Holy Ghost. Of this I so testify in the name of my Savior and Redeemer, even Jesus Christ, Amen.