580 REASONS (and counting) WHY YOU SHOULD LEAVE THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

395 – Mother Earth

We Walk by Faith, Improvement Era, 1916, Vol. Xix. May, 1916 No. 7; “But we are not going to die. We are deathless beings. We lived before we came into this world, and we shall live after we go out of it. What we call death is not worthy the name. There is no death for the righteous. Christ died to destroy death. The change called death is but a temporary separation of the spirit from the body; and while the body goes back to mother earth, the spirit returns to God who gave it—”

Exodus 20:3; “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

396 – Mother Earth

2 Nephi 9:7; “Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.”

Jeremiah 7:18-20; “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.  19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?  20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.”

397 – Mother in Heaven

Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith’s Teachings, pg. 436; ““Will I know my mother as my mother when I get over on the Other Side?”…”Certainly you will,” was the instant reply of the Prophet. “More than that, you will meet and become acquainted with your eternal Mother, the wife of your Father in Heaven.”…”And have I then a Mother in Heaven?” exclaimed the astonished girl…”You assuredly have. How could a Father claim His title unless there were also a Mother to share that parenthood?””

Isaiah 47:7, 9; “And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it.  But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments.”

398 – Mother in Heaven

EM, pg. 961; “Latter-day Saints infer from authoritative sources of scripture and modern prophecy that there is a Heavenly Mother as well as a Heavenly Father.”

Jer. 44:16-19; “As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.  17 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.  18 But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.  19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?”

399 – Mulek

3 Nephi 17:23-24; “And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.  24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.”

Lev. 18:21; “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.”

400 – Mulek

Helaman 6:10; “Now the land south was called Lehi and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south.”

1 Kings 11:1-8; “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, ²from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love. ³He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. ⁴For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not ^wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. ⁵For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. ⁶Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done. ⁷Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. ⁸Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.”

401 – Murder is Forgiven

Alma 24:10; “And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.”

Acts 9:10-16; “And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.  13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”

402 – Murder Not Forgiven

D&C 42:79; “And it shall come to pass, that if any persons among you shall kill they shall be delivered up and dealt with according to the laws of the land; for remember that he hath no forgiveness; and it shall be proved according to the laws of the land.”

1 Timothy 1:15; “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

403 – Mysteries of God, Don’t Seek After

Boyd Packer, Our Father’s Plan, pg. 42; “As with our knowledge of the premortal life, there is little to be gained by seeking after the mysteries, for there is hardly time in a lifetime to master the plain and precious things. The facts we know are these…When we die as to mortality, the spirit leaves the body and is taken to a place of rest….”

Ephesians 1:9-12; “Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”

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404 – Necromancy

Come Unto Christ, pg. 17; “Several years after Joseph Smith was martyred, he appeared to President Brigham Young. His message for the Saints at that time constitutes the theme of this chapter:  “Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the still small voice; it will teach you what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it.” (Manuscript History of Brigham Young, February 23, 1847.)”

Deuteronomy 18:9-13; “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.  10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.  12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.  13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.”

405 – Nephites Turn White

2 Nephi 30:10; “And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people.”

Psalm 5:9; “For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.”

406 – Noah is Gabriel

EM pg. 1016; “Noah is one of God’s most notable prophets, Patriarchs, and ministering messengers. He became a second father-with adam-of all mankind following the Flood and later returned to earth as the angel Gabriel to announce the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ (HC 3:386; TPJS, p. 157). LDS revelation has amplified what is known about Noah in the Bible.”

Genesis 6:9; “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”  (See Gen. 5:29-6:9 for full description of Noah’s identity.)

407 – Noah, Multiple Identities of 

Answers to Gospel Questions  3: 138-141; “Elias Is Noah…Summarizing the facts—Joseph Smith revealed that Gabriel was Noah; Luke declared that it was the angel Gabriel who appeared to Zacharias and Mary; and the Lord has declared that Elias appeared to Zacharias and Joseph Smith. Therefore, Elias is Noah.”

Holman Dictionary of the Bible; “The son of Lamech, a descendant of Adam in the line of Seth, and a survivor of the flood. A good and righteous man, Noah was the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth who were born when he was 500 years old.”

Luke 1:17-19; “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 18 And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.  19 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.”

408 – Noah Ordained into Priesthood

D&C 107:42; “Noah was ten years old when he was ordained under the hand of Methuselah.”

Genesis 2:1, 7; “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

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409 – Omnipotent; Definition of

Abraham 4:1; “And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth.”

Unlimited Authority or Power from the website of www.dictionary.com

410 – Omnipotent, Is Christ?

Mosiah 5:15; “…Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life…”

Jude 1:24-25; “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

411 – Omniscience

God & Man in Eternal Union, pgs. 1-2; “In many other ways the Mormon view is separate and distinct from the position of traditional Christianity. As a tangible being, God is considered to be in—not outside—of time and space. He is not an absolute Creator, for reality in its essential elements is said to be self-existent. By first attaining supreme intelligence, God organized self-existent realities for the mutual advantage of all concerned. The highest form of co-eternal life that God organized became man, whom he formed in His own image. By full development of his potential intelligence and by union with God, man may one day become a being of like intelligence as his divine Father.”

Proverbs 15:2-3; “The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.  3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

412 – Ordinances Necessary

TPJS, pg. 331; “The question is frequently asked, “Can we not be saved without going through with all those ordinances?” I would answer, No, not the fulness of salvation. Jesus said, There are many mansions in my Father’s house, and I will go and prepare a place for you. House here named should have been translated kingdom; and any person who is exalted to the highest mansion has to abide a celestial law, and the whole law too.”

Colossians 2:13-14; “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.”

413 – Original Sin

“Self-Reliance,” Ensign, Aug. 1975, 88; Elder Boyd K. Packer said: “It is critically important that you understand that you already know right from wrong, that you’re innately, inherently, and intuitively good. When you say, ‘I can’t! I can’t solve my problems!’ I want to thunder out, ‘Don’t you realize who you are? Haven’t you learned yet that you are a son or a daughter of Almighty God? Do you not know that there are powerful resources inherited from Him that you can call upon to give you steadiness and courage and great power?’ ”

Gen. 3:14-15; “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: ¹⁵And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

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414 –Pearl of Great Price

EM, pg. 1071; “One of the four standard works accepted as scripture by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Pearl of Great Price includes various documents known as “Selections from the Book of Moses,” “The Book of Abraham,” “Joseph Smith-Matthew,” “Joseph Smith-History,” and “The Articles of Faith.””

Isaiah 40:8; “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”

415 – Peculiar People

Orson Hyde, JD 16:230-231; “I will make a few remarks upon the idea of our being a peculiar people. You know that we are regarded as such, and if we look upon ourselves from a proper point of view, we shall readily admit that in this respect outsiders have given us an appropriate name; for we are a peculiar people whom God has chosen to serve and honor him.”

1 Peter 2:9-10; “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

416 – Perfection, God Attained

Distinct Doctrines of the Pearl of Great Price, pg. 69; “Such a Being is our Father and our God, and we are following in His footsteps. He has attained to perfection. He has arisen to kingdoms of power.”

Psalm 90:2; “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.”

417 – Perfection Necessary

EM, pg. 1074; “Mormons believe that Jesus Christ provides the means for all humans to become perfect. He is “the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by [him]” (John 14:6). Through his atoning sacrifice all men and women can repent and become perfected by having their sins and errors and the desire for sin removed. Ultimately, eternal life and godly perfection are gifts of God (D&C 14:7), rooted in the grace of God, redemption, individual righteousness, and being born of God. Human effort falls short; God’s gift of grace compensates for this shortcoming, “for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Ne. 25:23).”

Matthew 5:48; “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

418 – Piercings and Tattoos

Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 2000; “Likewise the piercing of the body for multiple rings in the ears, in the nose, even in the tongue. Can they possibly think that is beautiful? It is a passing fancy, but its effects can be permanent. Some have gone to such extremes that the ring had to be removed by surgery. The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have declared that we discourage tattoos and also ‘the piercing of the body for other than medical purposes.’ We do not, however, take any position ‘on the minimal piercing of the ears by women for one pair of earrings’ – one pair.”

Lev. 19:28; “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.”

419 – Polygamy

Jacob 2:24; “Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 17:17; “Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.”

420 – Polygamy, Denial of

Times & Seasons 4:143; “We are charged with advocating a plurality of wives, and common property. Now this is as false as the many other ridiculous charges which are brought against us. No sect have a greater reverence for the laws of matrimony, or the rights of private property, and we do what others do not, plactice [sic] what we preach.”

1 Samuel 12:24-25; “Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.  25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.”

421 – Polygamy Denied by Joseph Smith

Discourses of Joseph Smith, pg. 270; “Do the Mormons believe in having more wives than one?”  No, not at the same time. But they believe that if their companion dies, they have a right to marry again.”

Zechariah 13:2; “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.”

422 – Polygamy, Eternal

Doctrines of Salvation 2:67; “We believe that the family will go on. I get a great deal of comfort out of the thought that if I am faithful and worthy of an exaltation, my father will be my father, and I will be subject to him as his son through all eternity; that I will recognize and know my mother and she will be my mother in all eternity; and my brothers and sisters will be my brothers and sisters for all eternity; and that my children and my wives will be mine in eternity. I don’t know how some other people feel, but that is a glorious thought to me. That helps to keep me sober.”

John 10:7-11; “Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.  8 All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.  9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”

423 – Polygamy is Godhood

D&C 132:19-21; “And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—…Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.”

Lev. 18:18; “Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.” (Also see Is. 45:5)

424 – Polygamy is Salvation

D&C 131:1-4; “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; And if he does not, he cannot obtain it.  He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.”

Deuteronomy 28:58, 65-66; “If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; 65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life.”

425 – Polygamy is Solution to Adultery

Orson Pratt, The Seer, pgs. 123-124; “To be moral is to be innocent of crime: to be immoral I to be guilty of crime.  It can neither be shown from reason nor the word of God that plurality is criminal, and hence it cannot be immoral, and therefore the morals of society are not in the least endangered by its practice.  On the contrary, plurality is a great and powerful antidote against immorality…Because of the vast numbers of un-virtuous females with which the nations are curded, many young men neglect marriage, and seek to gratify their sexual propensities by unlawful and sinful connections.  If no public female prostitutes existed, or if they rarely could be found, the natural consequences would be, that young men, instead of abandoning themselves to prostitution, would seek to unite themselves in honorable marriages with partners of their choice…if the cause be destroyed the effect ceases.”

1 Cor. 6:16-20; “What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.  17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.  18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.  19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

426 – No Polygamy

D&C 42:22; “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.”

Lev. 18:18; “Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.”

427 – No Polygamy – Broken Promises, False Prophecies

Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1890, EM, pg. 52; “In 1890 after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the seizure of Church property under the Edmunds-Tucker Act in The Late Corporation of the Mormon Church v. United States and the Idaho test oath in Davis v. Beason, it became clear that plural marriage was leading toward the economic and political destruction of the Church. Shortly after these decisions, a revelation was received by President Wilford Woodruff, who then withdrew the requirement for worthy males to take plural wives and announced the manifesto, formally stating his counsel to Latter-day Saints to abide by antibigamy laws (see D&C Official Declaration-1). The Manifesto ended the legal confrontation between the U.S. government and the Church.”

Deuteronomy 13:1-2; “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them.”

428 – Polytheism

D&C 121:32; “According to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence and into his immortal rest.”

Isaiah 45:5; “I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.”

429 – Polytheism

TPJS, pg. 370; “I will preach on the plurality of Gods. I have selected this text for that express purpose. I wish to declare I have always and in all congregations when I have preach on the subject of the Deity, it has been the plurality of Gods. It has been preached by the Elders for fifteen years.”

Amos 2:4-8; “Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: 5 But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.  6 ¶ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: 8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.”

430 – Power of God Unto Salvation

Gospel Doctrine, pg. 97; “I thank God for “Mormonism,” so-called; it is the power of God unto salvation. It is the duty of every Latter-day Saint to know of its truth and to exemplify it. Its destiny is to overwhelm error and supplant it with righteousness and peace.—From a sermon, given in Logan, Feb. 2, 1909.”

Romans 1:16; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

431 – Praise to the Man

LDS Hymn #27;

“Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!  Jesus anointed [sic] that Prophet and Seer.

Blessed to open the last dispensation, Kings shall extol him and nations revere.

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!  Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.

Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren; Death cannot conquer the hero again.

Praise to his mem’ry he died as a martyr; Honored and blest be his ever great name!

Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, Plead unto heav’n while the earth lauds his fame

Great is his glory and endless his priesthood.  Ever and ever the keys he will hold

Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom, Crowned in the midst of the prophets of old.

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven; Earth must atone for the blood of that man.

Wake up the world for the conflict of justice.  Millions shall know “Brother Joseph” again.”

Obadiah 1:4; “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.”

432 – Pray to Jesus

3 Nephi 19:18; “And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God.”

James 1:5-6; “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

433 – Pray; Don’t Pray to Jesus

1982 BYU Speech by Bruce McConkie; “I shall express the view of the Brethren, of the prophets and apostles of old, and of all those who understand the scriptures and are in tune with the Holy Spirit…We do not worship the Son, and we do not worship the Holy Ghost. I know perfectly well what the scriptures say about worshipping Christ and Jehovah, but they are speaking in an entirely different sense…There are those deluded cultists, and others who, unless they repent, are on the road to becoming cultists, who choose to believe we should worship Adam. They have found or should find their way out of the Church…

     Another peril is that those so involved often begin to pray directly to Christ because of some special friendship they feel has been developed…This is plain sectarian nonsense.

Our prayers are addressed to the Father, and to him only. They do not go through Christ, or the Blessed Virgin, or St. Genevieve or along the beads of a rosary. We are entitled to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).”

Proverbs 8:27, 35-36; “When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”

434 – Prayers; Be Careful What You Pray For

Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith’s Teachings, pg. 219; “The Lord once told me that what I asked for I should have. I have been afraid to ask God to kill my enemies, lest some of them should, peradventure, repent.”

Matthew 5:43-46; “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?”

435 – Prayers, Method of

EM, pg. 1118; “…”In all our prayers, it is well to use the pronouns thee, thou, thy, and thine instead of you, your, and yours inasmuch as they have come to indicate respect”…Unnecessary repetition of God’s name is avoided, as are idle clichés. Prayers close by stating that the prayer is offered in the name of Jesus Christ, concluding with amen…When someone prays in behalf of a group, the members customarily repeat the final “amen” aloud…In private, the individual or family members kneel with bowed heads and closed eyes. In public, the one praying usually stands, but also observes behavior appropriate to prayer. A prayer’s length is determined somewhat by the occasion, but generally prayers are reasonably concise…”

Matthew 6:5-6; “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.  6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

436 – Pre-existence

Life Before, pg. 42-43; “Applying this same concept to the eternal nature of man, Elder Penrose went on to sag that “the individual, the organized person may have had a beginning, but that spirit of which and by which they [were] organized never had a beginning….The primal particles never had a beginning. They have been organized in different shapes [as individual entities]; the organism [individual spirit] had a beginning, but the elements or atoms of which it is composed never had….The elementary parts of matter as well as of spirit, using ordinary terms, never had a beginning.””

John 3:13; “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.”

437 – Pre-existence; Before Creation of Mankind

 JD 4:216; “There is not a person here to-day but what is a son or a daughter of that Being. In the spirit world their spirits were first begotten and brought forth, and they lived there with their parents for ages before they came here. This, perhaps, is hard for many to believe, but it is the greatest nonsense in the world not to believe it. If you do not believe it, cease to call Him Father; and when you pray, pray to some other character.”

Genesis 2:7; “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

438 – Pre-existence, Choices in

Melvin Joseph Ballard, Sermons and Missionary Services, page 247; “Now, my brothers and sisters, I would like you to understand that long before we were born into this earth we were tested and tried in our pre-existence, and the fact that of the thousands of children born today, a certain proportion of them went to the Hottentots of South Africa; thousands went to the Chinese mothers; thousands went to Negro mothers; thousands to beautiful white Latter-day Saint mothers: You cannot tell me that the entire group was just designated, marked, to go where they did, that they were men and women of equal opportunities. There are no infant spirits born. They had a being ages before they came into this life.”

1 Cor. 15:44; “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”

439 – Pre-existence, Free Agency in

Life Before, pg. 91; “God gave his children their free agency even in the spirit world, by which the individual spirits had the privilege, just as men have here, of choosing the good and rejecting the evil, or partaking of the evil to suffer the consequences of their sins. Because of this, some even there were more faithful than others in keeping the commandments of the Lord. Some were of greater intelligence than others, as we find it here, and were honored accordingly….The spirits of men were not equal. They may have had an equal start, and we know they were all innocent in the beginning; but the right of free agency which was given to them enabled some to outstrip others…”

John 8:23; “And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.”

440 – Pre-existence, Free Agency to Choose Heavenly Parents in

For Behold Ye are Free, pg. 42; “…as intelligences, we voluntarily agreed to the proposed action of God the Eternal Father and his companion – we consented to our being born as sons and daughters of them, understanding the laws and consequences of obedience and disobedience to those laws that obtained in that kingdom…Now as spirit sons and daughters of God, after we had taken that step to become the literal offspring of celestial Parents, we read in the Doctrine and Covenants, an item pertaining to our freedom of choice as spirit beings.  “…for, behold the devil was before Adam…””

Gal. 3:4-7; “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ⁵To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. ⁶And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. ⁷Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

441 – Pre-existence:  None

Moses 3:7;  “And I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless, all things were before created; but spiritually were they created and made according to my word.”

Gen. 2:7; “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

442 – Pre-existence of Man, Plan of Salvation

Saviors on Mt. Zion, pg. 7; “The Father called all spirits before him at the creation of man, and organized them. . . . At the first organization we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it. We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body…This was the teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith…”

Job 11:7-12; “Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? 8 It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 9 The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. 10 If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him? 11 For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it? 12 For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.”

443 – Pre-existence, Spiritually Begotten in

MD, pg. 590; “Unless God the Father was a personal Being, he could not have begotten spirits in his image, and if there had been no self-existent spirit element, there would have been no substance from which those spirit bodies could have been organized.”

Romans 9:11; “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;).”

444 – Pregnancies in Heaven

Orson Pratt, The Seer, pgs. 38-39; “If we admit that one personage was the Father of all this great family, and that they were all born of the same Mother, the period of time intervening between the birth of the oldest and the youngest spirit must have been immense…But as heavenly things are, in many respects, typical of the earthly, it is altogether probable that the period required for the formation of the length as that required in this world for the organization of the infant tabernacle.”

Galatians 5:16-17; “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.  17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

445 – Priesthood Enlarges the Soul

Aaronic Priesthood, pg. 116-117; “The gospel of Jesus Christ serves to make bad men good and good men better. We are magnified by the word and the power. Priesthood enlarges the soul and ennobles our natures. It “administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.” (D&C 84:19.) And, finally, “all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord.” (D&C 84:35.)”

Matthew 23:12; “And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”