Tag Archives: god

After All We Can Do??

28 Friday Nov 2025

Posted by in Heritage

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Ah, the old argument between grace vs. works.

2 Nephi 25:23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

Over the years, I have watched people attack this passage and argue about faith versus works, thinking that Nephi meant we are saved by grace only after and upon the condition that we have tried everything else. What they don’t realize – and I should have written this years ago – is that this statement, “after all we can do,” is a literary and rhetorical device that means “despite all we can do” or “in spite of all we can do” or even “regardless of all we can do.” Let’s rephrase that passage:

After all we can do, it is by grace that we are saved.

Let me put it another way by using a modern world example: After all I have done to fix my car, it was fixed by my mechanic. OR, my car was fixed by my mechanic after all I could do. This begins to make more sense in our modern English vernacular. You see, it doesn’t matter what you do or try to do or how many times you try to do it to be saved. It is only by God’s grace that you are saved. In other words, you can’t save yourself. That’s God’s job. That’s why He sent His son Jesus Christ. I have written two blogs about grace:

What Is Grace?

Grace to Grace

Having established that “after all we can do” is another way of saying “despite all we can do,” I want to talk a little about what we are supposed to do, and that is to keep God’s commandments. We are supposed to love God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength. Likewise, we should love our fellow man equally. This is what it means to be godly – to be like Jesus Christ. We cannot be saved by grace without actually doing what God said to do.

1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Also:

Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

You see, their “works” are worthless. They do not honor God with their works because they don’t love God, and so their works have no true value or worth. Jesus explicitly declared that such people will be cast out in Matthew chapter 25. Contrast the following two scenarios:

Matthew 25:31 ¶ When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal

I encourage you to read all three parables in Matthew chapter 25. These three parables are interconnected and should be read in one. This chapter is your cheat sheet in life’s open book test! The first is about receiving the Holy Ghost and staying filled with the Holy Ghost. The second, is about increasing God’s kingdom with the talents that He has given you. The third, which I just quoted, is about being received into His kingdom for loving Him and our fellow man – becoming like Him by our love and obedience and our self sacrificing, or being cast out because you never really wanted to love Him or your fellow man as He loved you and everyone else. You are like a lofty branch that took the strength and nourishment from the roots and never produced any good fruit. Your only value was to be pruned away and discarded/burned.

The EVERLASTING Covenant (not that everlasting covenant).

25 Thursday Sep 2025

Posted by in Heritage

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Over the last decade or so, I have written numerous times about the “unbelief” of my fellow Latter-day Saints (Mormons to the rest of the world). Over the last two decades, I have written and spoken about the subject of Jesus Christ’s return and the conditions that must be met before He returns in glory. But I missed one scripture – one detail – about the day that He returns with Enoch, that great city which is the heavenly New Jerusalem to meet the New Jerusalem here on Earth.

JST Genesis 9:15 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I will establish my covenant with you, which I made unto your father Enoch, concerning your seed after you.
21 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself.
22 And this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy;
23 And the general assembly of the church of the firstborn shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch.

Only Noah and his family survived the flood, for which they prepared. If you are reading this, YOU are Noah’s posterity. How many of us today are:

1. Keeping ALL of God’s commandments?
2. Embracing the truth?
3. Looking upward?

1 Nephi 13:37 And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day, and shall be saved in the everlasting kingdom of the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, tidings of great joy, how beautiful upon the mountains shall they be.

Who is actively seeking to bring forth Zion? I have talked with people over the years who don’t feel ready or don’t want the Lord to return any time soon. But we must be ready now.

Moses 7:18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

The three characteristics of Zion are:

1. One heart, one mind
2. Dwell in righteousness
3. No poor among them

I have unpacked these at length in other blogs and YouTube videos. Over the years to the displeasure of fellow Mormons, I have repeatedly said over the pulpit, as a gospel doctrine teacher, and as a class member that we can be perfect in this life. We have been commanded to be perfect both in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. And God does not give us a commandment unless He prepares a way for us to keep it (1 Nephi 3:7). I have listened to fellow LDS quote general authorities who say that we don’t have to be perfect now, but one day in eternity, we will become perfect. I have also written about this subject:

Be Ye Therefore Perfect – Today

In the Bible, God called Job and others perfect. God did not wait for them to become perfect in the next life!

Eight years ago, I wrote another blog here, wherein I quoted Jesus Christ:

Ether 4:13 Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and I will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief.
14 Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.
15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

Jesus has more to say in this chapter and by addressing the Gentiles and the house of Israel, He excludes no one. We are without excuse. Until one parts the veil as Enoch, Moses, the brother of Jared, and others, one is kept from “remembering” or “knowing” the covenant because of unbelief. It is this unbelief, which keeps one:

1. In an awful state of wickedness
2. Hardness of heart
3. blindness of mind

Or in other words, under condemnation. And Jesus said so again in D&C 84. Every member of the church should by now be intimately familiar with this section. We are being compared to Moses and the ancient Israelites and their failure.

The Lord commanded Moroni to write the words, and so he did:

Ether 4:4 Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.
5 Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.
6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.
7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

We don’t have the sealed portion of the plates because of our unbelief and because of our awful state of wickedness and because of our hardness of hearts and because of the blindness of our minds. Our unbelief is why we largely refuse to believe in becoming perfect today. So, why worry about these things until it’s too late where there is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth? Why are we not keeping ALL of God’s commandments? Why are we not looking up in anticipation of Christ’s return? Why are we not actively seeking to bring forth Zion?

Before Charlie Kirk was assassinated, he addressed a group of Mormons in Utah and said, “I think it’s time for you Mormons. You gotta get your mojo back. We need the strong Mormon church back in this country.”

I’ve written a book about this and the anticipation of Zion and what is needed:

By A Thread

Charlie Kirk showed us all up. He went to battle as the armies of Helaman. He gave his life for it. What are we doing? If you do not believe these words, Jesus Christ personally said this continuing in Ether chapter 4:

Ether 4:8 And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh.
9 And at my command the heavens are opened and are shut; and at my word the earth shall shake; and at my command the inhabitants thereof shall pass away, even so as by fire.
10 And he that believeth not my words believeth not my disciples; and if it so be that I do not speak, judge ye; for ye shall know that it is I that speaketh, at the last day.


The Man Dressed In A White Robe Reconsidered

15 Monday Apr 2024

Posted by in Heritage

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

I had not planned to share this for a long time, but the subject was broached today by an acquaintance, so I will explain why I have reconsidered what I wrote in a previous entry over a year ago.

I’ve been outspoken about that for a while in some circles, but I have also reconsidered who the man dressed in a white robe in Lehi’s dream was, based on personal experience and also with a conversation I had with a true messenger. Lehi and those like him such as Isaiah who have “ascended” to a new level of ministration are “exalted” to their new level by the Lord after experiencing a “descent” phase or a period of “abasement.” Consider a few things: Lehi had already experienced a theophany which is beyond the iron rod imagery or in other words at the “end” to which people should endure. He had already partaken of the fruit and found “rest.” I have made many videos about this “rest” and “partaking of God’s goodness” if anyone is interested in watching my Book of Mormon Spotlight videos on YouTube. We see this powerfully, but very briefly in 1 Nephi chapter 1 with Lehi’s theophany. Later, the opening scene of Lehi’s dream of the tree of life in 1 Nephi chapter 8 placed him in a lone and dreary wilderness where the white robed man asked Lehi to follow him. Lehi followed him until he found himself no longer in a dark wilderness but rather in a dark waste. Lehi essentially experienced a descent phase, or in other words, a condescension. It happened upon his consent to be guided there. Once his “abasement” period was completed, his ministration as one who then “ascended” like Isaiah to guide others to partake of the same “rest” began. And it began with Lehi guiding his family along the same path. This is why Lehi did not start out at the beginning of the iron rod in his dream, but the others did. Very few people press forward during their mortal lives with their minds and hearts set on partaking of the fruit of the tree of life, or “rest” while yet in mortality. Those that do may consent to a period of abasement or a “descent” phase where they demonstrate their willingness to serve God at all hazards (6th lecture on faith), not even withholding their lives as Lehi demonstrated when he preached repentance at Jerusalem.

Lecture on Faith 6:5 For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also, counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, requires more than mere belief, or supposition that he is doing the will of God, but actual knowledge: realizing, that when these sufferings are ended he will enter into eternal rest; and be a partaker of the glory of God…

Or as the Lord asked:

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

A Lion And A Young Lion

19 Monday Feb 2024

Posted by in Heritage

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

The following are quotes from our Savior Jesus Christ and also from the prophet Mormon. I hope the reader spends time parsing and pondering them:

3 Nephi 20:14 And the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you this land, for your inheritance.
15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people—
16 Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.
17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.

And

Mormon 5:19 And behold, the Lord hath reserved their blessings, which they might have received in the land, for the Gentiles who shall possess the land.
20 But behold, it shall come to pass that they shall be driven and scattered by the Gentiles; and after they have been driven and scattered by the Gentiles, behold, then will the Lord remember the covenant which he made unto Abraham and unto all the house of Israel.
21 And also the Lord will remember the prayers of the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them.
22 And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways?
23 Know ye not that ye are in the hands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll?
24 Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against you—lest a remnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among you as a lion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver.

The Lord brought a great many Gentiles from their mother lands to inherit the promised land (America) and they swept away all those who were occupying it. Now the Lord is bringing a great many more and they shall sweep away all those who are now occupying it. A righteous remnant from both groups will remain to build up the New Jerusalem.

3 Nephi 20:20 And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles.
21 And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel.
22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.

And

3 Nephi 21:22 But if they will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;
23 And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.
24 And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.
25 And then shall the power of heaven come down among them; and I also will be in the midst.
26 And then shall the work of the Father commence at that day, even when this gospel shall be preached among the remnant of this people. Verily I say unto you, at that day shall the work of the Father commence among all the dispersed of my people, yea, even the tribes which have been lost, which the Father hath led away out of Jerusalem.

The board is set, the pieces are moving. Who will be around to assist the remnant of Joseph who was brought out of Jerusalem to participate in building New Jerusalem?

Ether 13:5 And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel—
6 And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type…
10 And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.

And

JST Genesis 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die, and go unto my fathers; and I go down to my grave with joy. The God of my father Jacob be with you, to deliver you out of affliction in the days of your bondage; for the Lord hath visited me, and I have obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of my loins, the Lord God will raise up a righteous branch out of my loins; and unto thee, whom my father Jacob hath named Israel, a prophet; (not the Messiah who is called Shilo;) and this prophet shall deliver my people out of Egypt in the days of thy bondage.
25 And it shall come to pass that they shall be scattered again; and a branch shall be broken off, and shall be carried into a far country; nevertheless they shall be remembered in the covenants of the Lord, when the Messiah cometh; for he shall be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the Spirit of power; and shall bring them out of darkness into light; out of hidden darkness, and out of captivity unto freedom.

These numbers shown in the video are probably underestimated.