Difference between revisions of "User:GregSmith"

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* [[Template:To learn more box:Jesus' teachings on marriage]]
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* [[User:GregSmith/Further Reading]]
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== Links to check ==
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'''<font size = 4 style="color:{{Settings:Default H1 subtopic color}}">Jump to level 2 subtopic:</font>'''
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|image=Russell_nelson_official_portrait_2018.jpeg
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|I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly tonight, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God. ...
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Labels ''can'' be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. Many labels will change for you with the passage of time. And not all labels are of equal value. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating. ...
  
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''Who are you?'' First and foremost, you are a child of God.
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|L=Multiple accounts of the First Vision
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|H=Multiple accounts of the First Vision
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Second, as a member of the Church, you are a child of the covenant. And third, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ.
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|L1=Question: What are the criticisms related to Joseph Smith's accounts of the First Vision?
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Tonight, I plead with you not to ''replace'' these three paramount and unchanging identifiers with any others, because doing so could stymie your progress or pigeonhole you in a stereotype that could potentially thwart your eternal progression.
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|L2=Richard J. Maynes: "Joseph wrote or dictated four known accounts of his First Vision"
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|L3=Gospel Topics: "The various accounts of the First Vision tell a consistent story, though naturally they differ in emphasis and detail"
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For example, if you are identified mainly as an American, those who are not Americans may think, “I know everything there is to know about you” and attribute erroneous beliefs to you.
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|L4=Church History Seminary Teacher Manual:2013:Joseph Smith emphasized different aspects of his vision in his multiple accounts
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|L5=Backman (1985): "On at least four different occasions, Joseph Smith either wrote or dictated to scribes accounts of his sacred experience of 1820"
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If you identify yourself by your political affiliation, you will instantly be categorized as having certain beliefs—though I don’t know anyone who believes everything that their preferred political party presently embraces.
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|L6=Allen:Improvement Era:April 1970:he continued to do so in varying detail until the year of his death
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|L7=Neuenschwander:Ensign:January 2009:Joseph's vision was at first an intensely personal experience...it became the founding revelation of the Restoration
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We could go on and on, rehearsing the constraints of various labels that we put on ourselves or that other people place upon us. ...
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|L8=Hinckley:Ensign:October 1984:I am not worried that the Prophet Joseph Smith gave a number of versions of the first vision
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|L9=Prothero:American Jesus:2003:in the 1832 version, Jesus appears to Smith alone, and does all the talking himself. Such complaints, however, are much ado about relatively nothing
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How tragic it is when someone believes the label another person has given them. ...
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|L10=Question: Did the details of Joseph’s First Vision experience appear to have changed when communicating to his followers such that the elders of the Church did not know that Joseph saw two personages?
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|L11=Question: Does Doctrine and Covenants 84 say that one cannot see God without holding the priesthood?
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[Satan] rejoices in labels because they divide us and restrict the way we think about ourselves and each other. How sad it is when we honor labels more than we honor each other.
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|L12=Question: Did Moroni tell Joseph Smith that all of the churches of the day were an "abomination"?
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|L13=Question: Did Joseph Smith change his stated motivation for praying in later years after he received the First Vision?
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Labels can lead to judging and animosity. Any ''abuse'' or ''prejudice'' toward another because of nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, educational degrees, culture, or other significant identifiers is offensive to our Maker! Such mistreatment causes us to live beneath our stature as His covenant sons and daughters!
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|L14=First Vision accounts in Church publications
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|L15=Specific criticisms of the 1832 account of the First Vision
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There are various labels that may be very important to you, of course. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that other designations and identifiers are not significant. I am simply saying that no identifier should ''displace'', ''replace'', or ''take priority over'' these three enduring designations: “child of God,” “child of the covenant,” and “disciple of Jesus Christ.”
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|L16=Specific criticisms of the 1835 accounts of the First Vision
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Any identifier that is not compatible with these three basic designations will ultimately let you down. Other labels will disappoint you in time because they do not have the power to lead you toward eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God.
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Worldly identifiers will never give you a vision of who you can ultimately become. They will never affirm your divine DNA or your unlimited, divine potential.<ref>Russell M. Nelson, "Choices for Eternity," Worldwide Devotional for Young Single Adults, 15 May 2022 {[link|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2022/05/12nelson?lang=eng}}</ref>}}

Latest revision as of 00:18, 5 June 2024

Links to check

Russell nelson official portrait 2018.jpeg
I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly tonight, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God. ...

Labels can be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. Many labels will change for you with the passage of time. And not all labels are of equal value. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating. ...

Who are you? First and foremost, you are a child of God.

Second, as a member of the Church, you are a child of the covenant. And third, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Tonight, I plead with you not to replace these three paramount and unchanging identifiers with any others, because doing so could stymie your progress or pigeonhole you in a stereotype that could potentially thwart your eternal progression.

For example, if you are identified mainly as an American, those who are not Americans may think, “I know everything there is to know about you” and attribute erroneous beliefs to you.

If you identify yourself by your political affiliation, you will instantly be categorized as having certain beliefs—though I don’t know anyone who believes everything that their preferred political party presently embraces.

We could go on and on, rehearsing the constraints of various labels that we put on ourselves or that other people place upon us. ...

How tragic it is when someone believes the label another person has given them. ...

[Satan] rejoices in labels because they divide us and restrict the way we think about ourselves and each other. How sad it is when we honor labels more than we honor each other.

Labels can lead to judging and animosity. Any abuse or prejudice toward another because of nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, educational degrees, culture, or other significant identifiers is offensive to our Maker! Such mistreatment causes us to live beneath our stature as His covenant sons and daughters!

There are various labels that may be very important to you, of course. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that other designations and identifiers are not significant. I am simply saying that no identifier should displace, replace, or take priority over these three enduring designations: “child of God,” “child of the covenant,” and “disciple of Jesus Christ.”

Any identifier that is not compatible with these three basic designations will ultimately let you down. Other labels will disappoint you in time because they do not have the power to lead you toward eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God.

Worldly identifiers will never give you a vision of who you can ultimately become. They will never affirm your divine DNA or your unlimited, divine potential.[1]
  1. ↑ Russell M. Nelson, "Choices for Eternity," Worldwide Devotional for Young Single Adults, 15 May 2022 {[link|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/broadcasts/worldwide-devotional-for-young-adults/2022/05/12nelson?lang=eng}}
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