Declaration of Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

To Know the Truth

                We can learn the truth of all things through the power of the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead.  The Godhead also includes our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are personages of tabernacle, meaning that They have bodies of flesh and bones.  The Holy Ghost is a personage of Spirit, meaning that He has a spirit body in the form of a man. 

                When Joseph Smith received his first vision of God and His Son, he instantly knew the truth about God:  “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit.  Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:21-22).

                The mission of the Holy Ghost is to bear witness of the Father and the Son and of all truth.  He reveals the teachings of the Father and the Son to all those who faithfully serve God.  Prophecy comes from the Holy Ghost.

                President Joseph Fielding Smith taught that “The Spirit of God speaking to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even with heavenly beings.  Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten.”  (See Teachings of Presidents of the Church – Joseph Fielding Smith, pp. 183-184; see also Doctrines of Salvation, 1:47-48.)

                I read this quote by President Smith many years ago when I taught the gospel to a group of sisters.  I was amazed to learn that truth taught through the Holy Ghost actually becomes part of the body.  We cannot ever forgot truth taught by the Holy Ghost becomes it is part of us!

                The Holy Ghost is a revelator.  He bears testimony to honest people everywhere.  This is how sincere seekers of the truth learn for themselves that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is actually the Church of Christ on earth today.  Jesus Christ bore testimony that the Church is “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30).  You can know this truth through the power of the Holy IF you sincerely ask God if it is true and have the honest intent to act upon the truth.

                There is much darkness in the world today, but the everlasting light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is available to all who seek it.  Every sincere investigator on earth can receive a personal witness from the Holy Ghost of the truth.  An ancient American prophet by the name of Moroni closed his record in the Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Moroni 10:4-5 with his testimony. 

                “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
                “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”

                The opportunity to receive a manifestation of the Holy Ghost is available to all men, women, and children wherever they may live and whether or not they are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The power of the Holy Ghost is available to all mankind.


                In this dark world where good is called evil and evil is called good, I am grateful to know that I can seek truth through the Holy Ghost.  I often – meaning several times each day – seek the witness of the Holy Ghost in making decisions about right and wrong.  I am immensely grateful for this knowledge and opportunity.  I urge you to seek guidance through the Holy Ghost as you make decisions that affect yourself, your family, your community, and your nation.  We can all be strengthened through the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives.

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