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Posts Tagged ‘Russell Ballard’

 May 12 – Mormons Praise Adam and Eve for Sinning. Genesis 3:23-24; “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

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May 12 – Truth and Its Consequences. Genesis 3:23-24; “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

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 March 24 – Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

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General Conference, ‘Keeping Life’s Demands in Balance,’ April 1987 “Just do the very best you can each day. Do the basic things and, before you realize it, your life will be full of spiritual understanding that will confirm to you that your Heavenly Father loves you. When a person knows this, then life will be full of purpose and meaning, making balance easier to maintain.” — M. Russell Ballard (more…)

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I Stand in Awe of You ‘Holy God, to Whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of you’.

 I’m certain most people with an interest in Mormonism are well aware of the significance in today’s date in Mormon history. For those unaware, on June 27, 1844, Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed in a shootout at a jail in Carthage, IL. The two brothers were awaiting trial when an angry mob stormed the building, ran up a flight of stairs, and were met with a shower of bullets with Joe Smith at the other end of a gun that had been smuggled in the night prior.

When the dust settled, Joe and Hyrum were both deceased, and another member of the Church (John Taylor), found he had been shot as well. For more info, see History of the Church 6:616-618.

Although we’ve posted on this subject in our witnessing tip today, I’d be remiss not to bring attention to the news feed I received in my e-mails last night.

The Church’s top apostle, M. Russell Ballard, wrote in the Church News that he hopes members will appreciate a few things on this, the 175th anniversary of Smith’s death. (more…)

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May 12 – Living in Truth and Its Consequences. Genesis 3:23-24; “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

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 “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.

My hope is built on nothing less Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

While gathering notes for this article I was listening to praise music, and the song listed above repeated itself. It obviously caught my attention, thus its inclusion here!

The hymn serves as a good reminder of how we’re incapable of fulfilling God’s requirements for salvation! This upcoming holiday is an ever present reminder of how grateful I am for His mercy upon me.

Today we’re looking at three talks, and providing short quotes from each. Sadly, the quotes earned a place in our next installment, ‘Worst of the Worst’ list. Sigh…

Please note the numbering system we’ve used here is purely ours, and doesn’t reflect which order their talks were given.

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Witnessing Tip of the Day March2March 24 – Hebrews 1:1-2; “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

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Today we’re looking at a talk given by LDS apostle, Russell Ballard he gave back in 2007. The reason this matters more than a decade later?

Members of the Church are still using this talk in their daily lives today.

Mr. Ballard’s talk focused on a handful of ‘facts’ about the Church that members could share with nonmembers who are seeking info on Mormonism.

General Conference, ‘Faith, Family Facts and Truth,’ October 2007

“Mormons place particularly strong emphasis on family as the basic unit of the Church and of society. We have a deep commitment to marriage (defined as a union between one man and one woman). Polygamy, a limited practice in the early pioneer days of the Church, was discontinued in 1890, some 117 years ago. (more…)

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John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

If you know anything about Mormonism you’ve most certainly heard the phrase, ‘Of course we’re Christian, Jesus’ name is in the title of our church’.

Many have questioned why anyone would doubt their claim of being a Christian organization because of how ‘nice’ they seem to be outwardly, along with their clean-cut appearance. For sure, they do seem like someone you could write home about.

Aside from all the claims they’ve made about being a Christian organization from Joe Smith onward, Christians can be assured Mormons aren’t speaking truth based on one thing an LDS apostle said.

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1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”.

In the December 2016 issue of Ensign, LDS Apostle Russell Ballard wrote in an article on how times have changed, and so must the teaching methods of the Church. Necessitating the change, he said, is the way people retrieve info nowadays.

The internet has changed everything, for all of  us, that is for sure. No longer are we placing books on hold at the library to Xerox an obscure reference to something we’re studying. Nor are we having to reserve a section of our homes for oversized dictionaries, and outdated sets of Encyclopedias. All one has to do now is boot up a 3×5” phone, and your eyeballs are beholding everything you need to know. Who knew, right?

Well, this is the dilemma the LDS Church has found themselves in today. Try as they might, they can no longer get away with telling members in a class ‘Oh, we’ll find out about that someday’.

‘Someday’ has arrived.

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2 Peter 2:1-2 “But there were false prophets also among the people…2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways…”

LDS Leaders Who Admit Church Doctrine Isn't TrueThe past few years has brought change to Mormonism. The one change receiving the most attention is seen when a leader admits some aspect of the Church isn’t true. The problem with their disingenuous attempt at transparency is the ever present habit of lying.

Time and again, the Church has missed the opportunity to throw open wide the doors of total honesty, and walk the highway of holiness as in Isaiah 35:8. They’ve chosen instead to meander down the same path they’re most familiar with; twisted half truths.

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Romans 8:38-39; “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The following two recent talks given by apostles Russell Ballard, and Jeffrey Holland reveal the deep concern, if not panic, they’re facing when it comes to keeping members in their fold. The first talk was delivered to a group of CES Teachers who were attending a training seminar. (CES = Church Education System)

Wise People Don’t Use the Internet

M. Russell BallardBroadcast, ‘The Opportunities and Responsibilities of CES Teachers in the 21st Century,’ February 26, 2016; “For you to understand the doctrinal and historical content and context of the scriptures and our history, you will need to study from the “best books,” as the Lord directed. The “best books” include the scriptures, the teachings of modern prophets and apostles, and the best LDS scholarship available. …  Teach them [students] about the challenges they face when relying upon the Internet to answer questions of eternal significance. Remind them that James did not say, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him Google!”8

Wise people do not rely on the Internet to diagnose…life-threatening challenges. Instead, they seek out health experts, those trained and licensed…Even then, prudent people seek a second opinion. …When something has the potential to threaten our spiritual life, our most precious family relationships, and our membership in the kingdom, we should find thoughtful and faithful Church leaders to help us.” – M. Russell Ballard

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Witnessing Tip of the Day May01May 12 – Genesis 3:23-24; “Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

(more…)

Read Full Post »

Witnessing Tip of the Day March2March 24 – Hebrews 1:1-2; “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.”

(more…)

Read Full Post »

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