Our Mission of Righteousness

[_nomi]

The Lord has constituted us as a people for a special mission. As he
told Enoch in ancient times, the day in which we live would be one of
darkness, but it would also be a time when righteousness would come
down
from heaven, and truth would be sent forth out of the earth to bear,
once
more, testimony of Christ and His atoning mission. As with a flood,
that
message would sweep the world, and the Lord's elect would be gathered
out from the four quarters of the earth (see Moses 7:62). Wherever we
live
in the world, we have been molded as a people to be the instruments of
the
Lord's peace. In the words of Peter, we have been claimed by God for
His own, to proclaim the triumph of Him 'who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a
people,
but are now the people of God' (1 Peter 2:9-10). We cannot afford
to be caught up in a world prone to give and to take offense. Rather,
as
the Lord revealed to both Paul and Mormon, we must neither envy nor be
puffed up in pride. We are not easily provoked, nor do we behave
unseemly.
We rejoice not in iniquity but in the truth. Surely this is the pure
love
of Christ which we represent (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-6; Moroni
7:45-47)."
Topics: gospel of Jesus Christ, chosen generation,
missionary work, charity

(Robert S. Wood, "Instruments of the Lord's Peace," Ensign, May 2006,
95)

[_gramps]

It's got to be Gaz's sock puppet?

[_Yoda]

It's got to be Gaz's sock puppet?

Nope! The IP addresses are completely different. LOL

Besides...although Gaz has a reputation of quoting large amounts of Church material, he always has his own commentary.

Nomi---Would you elaborate on this topic with your own views?

It appears to be all quoted material.

Am I simply reading this wrong?

[_Runtu]

It's got to be Gaz's sock puppet?

Nope! The IP addresses are completely different. LOL

Besides...although Gaz has a reputation of quoting large amounts of Church material, he always has his own commentary.

Nomi---Would you elaborate on this topic with your own views?

It appears to be all quoted material.

Am I simply reading this wrong?

I kind of like that quote. We could all use more peace around here.

[_Blixa]

I was so hoping the person was referening Klaus Nomi in their screen name, but alas. Seems no hope of it.

[_Runtu]

I was so hoping the person was referening Klaus Nomi in their screen name, but alas. Seems no hope of it.

Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.

[_harmony]

The Lord has constituted us as a people for a special mission.

Wrong. This makes God a respector of persons.

As he told Enoch in ancient times,

Which Enoch may or may not have received correctly, may or may not have recorded correctly, or Enoch may or may not have existed at all.

... the day in which we live would be one of darkness, but it would also be a time when righteousness would come
down from heaven, and truth would be sent forth out of the earth to bear, once more, testimony of Christ and His atoning mission.

If the future is not in motion, always at the whim of the choices of individuals, then we have no agency. Therefore, seeing the future is not possible. The testimony of Christ is eternal, and not predicated on anyone or any event.

As with a flood, that message would sweep the world, and the Lord's elect would be gathered out from the four quarters of the earth (see Moses 7:62).

There is no such thing as "the Lord's elect". If there was, God would not be God, for that would mean God favored some of his children over others.

Wherever we live in the world, we have been molded as a people to be the instruments of the Lord's peace.

Balderdash. We are ordinary people, not instuments of the Lord. The Lord's peace is available to anyone who seeks it, and we don't seek it any more than any other people seek it.

In the words of Peter, we have been claimed by God for His own,

Well, Peter wasn't claimed by God as his own, either. Peter wanted to believe he was special, but all he was was one of God's sons.

to proclaim the triumph of Him 'who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God' (1 Peter 2:9-10).

We are all people of God... or none of us are. God doesn't pick and choose. It's all or nothing with him.

We cannot afford to be caught up in a world prone to give and to take offense.

Somebody better tell the apologists then. They do both really well.

Rather, as the Lord revealed to both Paul and Mormon, we must neither envy nor be puffed up in pride.

Has this guy been on Recommend Ridge lately?

We are not easily provoked, nor do we behave unseemly.

This one just leaves me slackjawed. Mormons are not easily provoked? Mormons do not indulge in unseemly behavior? Has this guy ever observed how Mormons treat gay people? How we treat former members? How we treat those whom we judge to be of lesser orthodoxy?

We rejoice not in iniquity but in the truth.

The two (iniquity and truth) are not the same. He's comparing apples and green beans.

Surely this is the pure love of Christ which we represent (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-6; Moroni 7:45-47)."

No, we don't represent the pure love of Christ, or if we do, it's a very poor representation. We represent a conservative, hard-line church more interested in building shopping malls than in exhibiting the true love of Christ.

Topics: gospel of Jesus Christ, chosen generation, missionary work, charity
(Robert S. Wood, "Instruments of the Lord's Peace," Ensign, May 2006,
95)

"Chosen generation"? I thought that was passe now, no longer referred to. I see it's raising it's ugly head again. *sigh*. The foolishness of men.

[_Gazelam]

I work on my feet 10 hours a day, you don't want my socks.

Also I don't have a copy of the May issue of the Ensign yet. I did download the "Parable of the pickle" talk for a priesthood lesson I gave last week. It went well. The church website is alot better to navigate than it used to be. Great for preparing talks.

Nomi will eventually get the jist of the board and offer commentary, give her time. Shes begun speaking her mind in the Celestial forum here and will blossom if we give her space, and appropriate promptings.

Remember, there is a difference between constructive and destructive criticism. Liz gives us a fine example of the building kind:

Nomi---Would you elaborate on this topic with your own views?

It appears to be all quoted material.

Am I simply reading this wrong?

[_Blixa]

Hey Gaz...I'm entirely out of the believing/attending loop, but I have read about the pickle talk. I have what may seem like a trivial question, but one that I'm curious about nonetheless.

Did Bednar make any explicit reference to the Great Salt Lake or the specifically Utahn relevance of salt? If not, have you, or others, made sense of it that way?

Or is this pickle more like Freud's cigar? (Sometimes a cigar is just a smoke...)