How Beautiful Upon The Mountains Are Their Feet

Mosiah 15

9 Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon ^ahimself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and ^bsatisfied the demands of justice.

Imagine that you are hearing these words for the first time (perhaps you are).  Jesus Christ, motivated only by love for you, descended below all and redeemed you.  No longer must you be weighed down with sin, for He has already borne them for you.  No more need you fear death, for He has conquered it, and you will live again.  He has offered you peace and joy in this world and in the world to come.

How do you react?  My heart fills with joy, hope, gratitude, and love.  Others -- as we will see later in this section of Mosiah -- react in anger.

Anger?  I do not understand it.  I am glad it is beyond my comprehension, because it means that someone is so deeply entrenched in their sins, that they have chosen evil so many times that they have grown to love it.  I cannot say they are happy in their ways; that is contrary to eternal truth.  But they are addicted to the satisfaction of it, the thrill, the adrenaline rush perhaps.  They choose to remain lost and rebellious.

14 And these are ^athey who have published peace, who have brought good ^btidings of good, who have ^cpublished salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!

15 And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet! 

 

Thank you to the missionaries who first came to my father's house when he was a teenage boy.  And thank you to the missionaries who came to see my mom when she was a very young mother.  Thank you to my parents who taught me the truths that they knew, and helped me learn to love those truths.  Thank you to the prophets who testify of Him still.  Your feet are beautiful upon the mountains to me.

The First Vision

Joseph Smith - History 1:16-17

As a missionary, I taught the story of Joseph Smith's first vision over and over and over again.  Sometimes, to help illustrate the story, we had a film strip that we would show our investigators.   At one point, we see young Joseph Smith walking to a private place, a grove of trees, where he intends to pray.  The song "Oh How Lovely Was the Morning: Joseph Smith's First Prayer" begins to play.  Each time I heard that melody, even the first bars of the song, my heart would swell and my testimony would grow.  I felt the Spirit whisper to me again and again, more forcibly each time, that this story was true, that Joseph Smith was prepared for this great undertaking, that he had been sufficiently humble and seeking.  And when he asked, in all humility and faith, which church he should join, God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, appeared to him.  And in that one moment, the world changed.

Imagine for a moment that this is possible.  Think about what it means.  That God loves us as much as He loved the people in the days of ancient prophets.  That He is indeed our loving Father.  That we no longer need to wander blindly, trying to figure things out relying on the wisdom of men.  That He spoke and continues to speak to a prophet who can then help us, guide us, and remind us if we start to go astray.  If your skeptical mind rejects the idea of modern day prophets, look at your heart.  Don't you yearn for it?  Don't you wish it were true?  Wouldn't that be incredible?

I know that Joseph Smith did indeed see God.  He also saw and spoke with the resurrected Christ.  They instructed him and restored Christ's church on the earth through him.  And through him, Joseph Smith, great blessings began to flow to the earth once again.  I've tasted these great blessings, and I know it is true.

The Great Apostasy

Ephesians 2:19-20   Ephesians 4:11-14   Matthew 24:9   1 Nephi 11:32-34   2 Nephi 27:5   Isaiah 24:5   1 Nephi 13:26-40   3 John 1:9-10   2 Timothy 4:3-4   Doctrine and Covenants 123:12

"The Church of Jesus Christ is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets.  These leaders have divine priesthood authority.  Through revelation they direct the affairs of the church.  They maintain doctrinal purity, authorize the administration of ordinances, and call and confer upon others the priesthood authority.

"People rejected and killed Jesus Christ and the Apostles.  With the death of the Apostles, the presiding priesthood authority was absent from the church.  Consequently, there was no longer authority to confer the Holy Ghost or perform other saving ordinances.  Revelation ceased, and doctrine became corrupted.

"Even before the death of the Apostles, many conflicts concerning doctrine arose.  The Roman Empire, which at first had persecuted the Christians, later adopted Christianity.  Important religious questions were settled by councils.  The simple doctrines and ordinances taught by the Savior were debated and changed to conform to worldly philosophies.  They physically changed the scriptures, removing plain and precious doctrines from them.  They created creeds, or statements of belief, based on false and changed doctrine.  Because of pride, some aspired to positions of influence.  People accepted these false ideas and gave honor to false teachers who taught pleasing doctrines rather than divine truth.

"Throughout history, many people have sincerely believed false creeds and doctrines.  They have worshiped according to the light they possessed and have received answers to their prayers.  Yet they are 'kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.'

"Therefore, a restoration, not a reformation, was required.  Priesthood authority did not continue in an unbroken line of succession from the Apostle Peter.  To reform is to change what already exists; to restore is to bring back something in its original form.  Thus, restoration of priesthood authority through divine messengers was the only possible way to overcome the Great Apostasy."

From Preach My Gospel, p. 36.  Emphasis added.

Prophets

Jaccob 4:4-6   Mosiah :13-18   Acts 10:34-43   Amos 3:7

I love how my scripture study has taken me to the topic of prophets right after I have had the privilege and blessing to feast at the feet of true and living prophets through General Conference.  At the conference, they bore testimony several times of the importance of our prophet.  That testimony echoed in my heart.

How grateful I am to have a prophet to guide me through these difficult days.  How grateful I am that God is not a respecter of persons, that He loves me as much as He loved his children anciently.  How grateful I am that He has not left me to grope blindly in the dark, hoping to stumble upon answers that will help me and help my family return home to Him.

I love the scriptures.  I love the words of the ancient prophets.  God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  The gospel never changes.  In the scriptures, I find the commandments that will bless my life, admonitions that will help me, warnings that are still in force.  Still, I need a living prophet.

The words of Adam could not save the people of Noah from the flood.  The words of Noah could not lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.  The words of Moses did not save the people of Zachariah from destruction and captivity.  And the law of Moses had no power to save anyone who rejected Jesus Christ.

So it is with me.  I look to the living prophets for words that will save me and my family from the flood of wickedness that is washing over the earth, threatening to come into my home, seeping under doors and through windows.  I need to be aware; I need to be warned; I need to know how to protect myself and my loved ones from the destruction Satan wishes so greatly for us.

I bear you my witness that we do have a living, loving prophet on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson.  I invite you to listen to his words and live.

The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

1 Nephi 13:39   2 Nephi 29:8-10   Moroni 10:3-5   Doctrine and Covenants 20:5-16   Doctrine and Covenants 42:12-14  

In my previous post, I mentioned how much I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and what it means to me.  Those feelings go hand in hand with my feelings of gratitude to the prophet Joseph Smith for restoring the gospel.  He was severely persecuted, and yet he never wavered.  He stayed true to the revelations he received until the fullness of the gospel had been completely restored.  And then he sealed his testimony with his own blood.  So much pain, so much sorrow, so much sacrifice, all so that I and the rest of the world may have the opportunity to know God, to know Christ, to know the commandments, to live in such a way as to bring joy beyond measure.

As a missionary, we often showed a short filmstrip about the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  During the scene where Joseph went to the woods to pray, the music from the song "Oh How Lovely Was the Morning" was played.  To this day, I cannot hear that melody without my eyes filling up with tears.  The spirit testified to me then, as it does now, that the story of Joseph Smith and his first vision is true.

I know that God loves me.  I know that He is mindful of me, my happiness, my challenges, my sorrows, my trials.  I know that He loves his children today as much as He loved His children in ancient times.  I know this because He gave us a prophet, Joseph Smith, to restore the gospel, and we continue to have a prophet of God to guide us now.