2 Corinthians 10:5; “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
Right after I became a Christian a woman old enough to be my mother threw herself into my life. At the time I was somewhat taken aback, but as I began watching her in action I realized God had placed her there to be the mother I needed, the grandmother for my kids they needed and the mentor I so desperately needed in my new life of Christianity.
Fran spent hours and hours with me on the phone answering the most mundane of questions about God, the Bible and how to raise kids. She orchestrated teams of people to come in and clean my house, garden, cook meals, take the kids on field trips, etc when I almost died from my MS. This went on for over three years.
Every time I spoke with her on the phone she’d say “Michelle, 2 Corinthians 10:5 is all you need to know”.
Today when I mentor those coming out of Mormonism one of the first verses I tell them to memorize is 2 Cor. 10:5. And this brings me to the question of the day – do your afflictions overshadow the glory of God?
Are you the person people witness about when they talk about the body of Christ or are you the one that makes people stay away?
The BoM witnesses left the Church and although a couple of them returned, their lives and testimonies were no longer credible. Furthermore, those in the leadership such as Brigham and Joseph Smith publicly denounced them on numerous occasions.
History of the Church, vol. 3:232; “Such characters as McLellin, John Whitmer, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris, are too mean to mention; and we had liked to have forgotten them.”
I tell people all the time if you’re a Christian you’re a walking testament to Jesus’ promises kept and a walking miracle of God. You exemplify God’s glory and what He’s able to do through His creation.
If these witnesses really did hold those plates and really had no doubt in their minds as to what happened none of them would’ve recanted their stories – and Smith wouldn’t have said what he did either.
Oh one more thing about Fran…she was in a car wreck that broke her back, she survived breast cancer and its treatments while recuperating from that and she too suffers from MS but you’d never know it because of her desire to bring glory to God before attention to herself.
May we all hold our thoughts to the obedience of Christ! The gospel God gave to us is complete – there are no hidden plates or trinkets to go searching for in hopes of a better deal elsewhere.