Visiting Teaching Message August 2017

30 July

Take My Life and Let it Be

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise.

Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Ensign, ‘Living a Consecrated Life,’ August 2017

As you can see in its title, the Visiting Teaching Message this month focused on the meaning of the word consecrate.

The hymn listed above was written by Frances Havergal in 1874. Although frail her whole life, she gave all she had to God. She memorized the Psalms, Isaiah, and most of the New Testament. She also learned Greek and Hebrew. This devout Christian was a model of being sold out to God! May we all be so blessed to start living that life ourselves today!

LDS apostle Christofferson actually defined the word correctly in the beginning of his talk, but his understanding of it was short-lived. His explanation only got worse as he continued to provide references of what other LDS leaders said about this subject.

Before we get into all the wrong info, let’s look at what God says in His word so we have a solid foundation from which we can determine truth!

The word consecrate and its derivatives is in the KJV 39 times. See Artandthebible/info for a great concordance! Strong’s Concordance (also great!) defined it as pronouncing something pure, clean, dedicate, hallow, prepare, appoint, purify, sanctify (ied one, self), and to set apart.

You’ll want to take note despite what the Church has to say, there’s nothing else to add to its definition. It’s pretty basic and to the point!

After Mr. Christofferson’s initial definition of consecrate, the article started giving a confusing, and outright wrong definition of what consecrating yourself really means.

Former 1st Counselor in the Relief Society, Carole Stephens, quoted Robert Hales who said ‘when we make and keep covenants we are coming out of the world and into the kingdom of God’. The problem?

We’re not coming out of, if we’ve dedicated our lives to Jesus. We’re automatically in the kingdom of God. There isn’t any no-man’s-land about it. You’re either in, or you’re not.

The article also made the following false claim –

“‘…We are changed. We look different, and we act different. The things we listen to and read and say are different, and what we wear is different because we become daughters of God bound to Him by covenant.”

You know, these things are actually true – but only to a certain point. Christians are consecrated through God’s Holy Spirit working inside of us after we’re saved. Christians don’t follow a set dietary, or clothing law. There’s no such thing as not drinking caffeinated drinks when you’re a Christian. Neither is there any such thing as only having one set of piercings in each ear.

Christians can wear tank tops, shorts, and even sandals when/if they so desire. Their rule book (Bible) is set by the Lord, not a manmade organization who dictates these things.

Colossians 2:16 “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days”.

The last thing this article said was way off. It came at the end of Mr. Hales’ quote and seemed out of place…

“Consecration is the covenant God makes “with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33). Living a consecrated life is in harmony with God’s plan for us.”

1.There’s no such thing as a ‘consecration covenant’.

2.Jeremiah’s prophecy has already taken place –it’s known as the new and everlasting covenant. This happened with the New Testament era. And it’s also contrary to D&C 132 which claims polygamous marriages are the new and everlasting covenant.

3.Mormons do not believe Jesus is their god. They’ve always rejected Jesus is God, and using the Bible to prove their point is a lure to trick people.

4.While living a consecrated life for God is what He wants, it has to be the right God! Living your life consecrated to anything outside of that parameter is idolatry, my friend.

Pray for the hearts, and eyes to be opened of everyone involved with this month’s message!  And yep, that includes me as I use this to witness to my own mother who’s a visiting teacher.

Thanks, and God bless!

Michelle

1 Cor. 1:18

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