Journal of Discourses 14:11; “He came down and stood in their midst, and showed them the scars in his hands and feet, and in his side; and after visiting them for several days successively, he told them that he was going to the ten tribes of Israel. He also chose twelve disciples to administer his Gospel on this land and for the ministration of the Holy Ghost. The twelve disciples went forth and preached the Gospel, commencing in South America, and then went into North America, until all the people both in North and South America were converted, receiving the principles of the Gospel-namely, baptism, and the laying on of hands, and all the other principles as preached in our day.” – Orson Pratt, Salt Lake City, February 19, 1871
John 14:23; “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
FYI – the word ‘abode’ means to tarry. It means that He’s there to hang out, no rush, no worries, no other place He has to be…
Just think upon that for a moment today. He came to you to tarry…do you have the time to allow Him to tarry or are you in a rush?
Smith and friends (specifically Rigdon) were obviously ignorant as to how the HS operates and ignorant of God’s word.
Jesus was pretty emphatic and clear in His teachings that when the HS came to indwell the believer, He was there to stay. He didn’t come and go with the wind and He didn’t just hang around to impart inspiration or wisdom to people at whim.
The Holy Spirit’s presence inside of man is a manifestation to others that God is with them.
When I was Mormon one of the things I liked to do was to hang out with my friends who were believers. At the time I wouldn’t be able to articulate why I liked being around them, but being in their presence was different. Without lending too much credibility to the reliability of feelings, understand there’s something to be said about knowing His power.
As a Mormon I didn’t understand it was the presence of the HS that I was experiencing. My Christian friends exuded His presence inside of them and they couldn’t help nor stop it from occurring. A sense of calm always filled the room and enveloped the time they spent with me. Their demeanor was like this because they had become new creatures in Christ, not because they had picked up some spirit to tag along with them. 2 Cor 5:17
What I was witnessing was the fruits of the Spirit! Gal 5:22-23
So if the HS resides inside the believer and the HS will never leave as Jesus promised in John 14:23-27, what happened to all those Christians that covered North and South America? If the HS could or would leave us then why did Jesus lie?
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