April 21 — Abiding in Christ. John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
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Word study time! The transliteration for abide is menō which means to be present, to stay, or tarry. The vine is a spreading plant, reaching out across the lands. Meanwhile, those who abide in Him are the branches which means they are the church. They go as directed by Jesus, and are ever present wherever He goes.
Always remember beloved, Jesus is the lifeblood of Christians, and without Him we obviously can’t survive. Somehow Mr. Hinckley believed Jesus was merely the harbinger of Joe Smith’s arrival, and his appalling story of a different Jesus arriving on the scene. Share with a Mormon how comforting it is knowing we are ever connected to Jesus. Also ask where Jesus’ teaching fits in with Hinckley’s devotion to a false prophet.
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Ensign, ‘Four Cornerstones of Faith’, February 2004, 5 “…he [Joseph Smith] beheld the Father and the Son, the great God of the universe and the risen Lord…For more than a century and a half, enemies, critics, and some would-be scholars have worn out their lives trying to disprove the validity of that vision. Of course they cannot understand it. The things of God are understood by the Spirit of God. There had been nothing of comparable magnitude since the Son of God walked the earth in mortality. Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and organization, we have nothing. With it, we have everything..” — Gordon B. Hinckley
What Hinkley is saying that countless people, scholars included, have tried to disprove the facts of the first vision. He does anyone acknowledge the the truth of that first vision? How does anyone acknowledge the truth of something that happened so long ago and without witnesses? There are no scholars trying to prove the vision.. If they are, they must be unemployed hacks that had nothing better to do.
. The Bible says the Church (Body of Christ) Would Not Exist without the Resurrection.. Without the Resurrection, the Christian faith would be futile (1 Corinthians 15:13,14)
By using the First Vision as a standard of validity of ny church is wrong. The only standard is the “life of, death of and Resurrection of, Jesus Chriist,
First Visons Don’t matter!!
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Thank You for doing this & God Bless!
In Him,
Michelle
You are most welcome Michelle. God bless you and this Christian blog ministry.