The link to the video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4EXXX9lbrc
and the text is below.
Do We Really Know Who We Are?
Do we really know who we are?
The Book of Moses, which is located in the Pearl of Great Price (one of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) gives a wonderful explanation. Chapter 2, verses 26 and 27 states, "And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so...And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them."
We are children of God, made in His image, our Heavenly Mother's image, and in the image of Jesus Christ, our elder brother. They all have bodies of flesh and bone and thus, we were given them.
We are also holy temples of God; sanctuaries where the Lord's Spirit may dwell safely within our hearts and broaden our minds if we allow ourselves to be helped and refined. This picture is one of the many wonderful, very sacred temples of God and we can be like it if we so choose; this one is specifically in Cardston, Alberta, but there are temples all over the vast majority of the world
However...
we are also mortal...natural beings.
and...according to the book of Mosiah, chapter three, verse 19, which is found in the Book of Mormon, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."
Fear not, however, as we are not doomed to be damned for our imperfect natures and choices.
Do you think God would really be God if He left us to suffer without a way back Home?
While it is true that we came into a fallen state when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, it was for the better. As it says in the Book of Second Nephi, which is also found in the Book of Mormon, chapter two, verse 25, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."
You see, Adam and Eve understood that it was essential for them to sacrifice their own comfort and sanctuary in the Garden that we might come to pass. However, they were still able to learn of God though they could not see him after the Fall had taken place; He still cared for them and taught them what they needed to know in order to survive and strive both temporally and spiritually; this included the law of sacrifice and it was one they were obedient to, though they did not fully understand it.
However, as it says in the Book of James, which is found in the Bible, chapter one, verse five, "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."
Naturally, Adam and Eve were curious, but were obedient and were eventually given the knowledge behind that which they were obedient to. That knowledge can be found in The Book of Moses, which is located in the Pearl of Great Price (one of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) chapter five, verses seven and eight, "And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore."
The Son of God would eventually come and his sacrifice of merciful love would satisfy the justice needed to redeem our souls from spiritual darkness. That sacrifice is known as the Atonement.
In the book the Doctrine and Covenants, which is another of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, chapter 18, verse 10, "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."
We are of great, eternal, and infinite worth to God and Christ even if nobody else sees it.
As it says in the Book of Psalms, which can be found in the Bible, chapter 90, verse 17, "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." In other words, it is our divine right and honor as beloved children of Heavenly Father to see ourselves and others as eternally beautiful.
Furthermore, Psalms chapter 149, verse four says, "For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation." We are naturally meek and sometimes very nervous and anxious about the unknown because everything can be scary to us; it is part of our mortality. However, but by Christ and by God, we can be helped to see our true beauty and worth for both of our lives.
In conclusion, I quote Psalms 94:22, "But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge," and I say with a firm conviction that we are all loved and beloved by God and Christ.
Who are we really? We are sinners trying to become saints and sinners trying to become better.
Fear not, however, as we are not doomed to be damned for our imperfect natures and choices.
Do you think God would really be God if He left us to suffer without a way back Home?
While it is true that we came into a fallen state when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, it was for the better. As it says in the Book of Second Nephi, which is also found in the Book of Mormon, chapter two, verse 25, "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."
You see, Adam and Eve understood that it was essential for them to sacrifice their own comfort and sanctuary in the Garden that we might come to pass. However, they were still able to learn of God though they could not see him after the Fall had taken place; He still cared for them and taught them what they needed to know in order to survive and strive both temporally and spiritually; this included the law of sacrifice and it was one they were obedient to, though they did not fully understand it.
However, as it says in the Book of James, which is found in the Bible, chapter one, verse five, "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."
Naturally, Adam and Eve were curious, but were obedient and were eventually given the knowledge behind that which they were obedient to. That knowledge can be found in The Book of Moses, which is located in the Pearl of Great Price (one of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) chapter five, verses seven and eight, "And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore."
The Son of God would eventually come and his sacrifice of merciful love would satisfy the justice needed to redeem our souls from spiritual darkness. That sacrifice is known as the Atonement.
Why would all this be done for us?
In the book the Doctrine and Covenants, which is another of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, chapter 18, verse 10, "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God."
We are of great, eternal, and infinite worth to God and Christ even if nobody else sees it.
As it says in the Book of Psalms, which can be found in the Bible, chapter 90, verse 17, "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." In other words, it is our divine right and honor as beloved children of Heavenly Father to see ourselves and others as eternally beautiful.
Furthermore, Psalms chapter 149, verse four says, "For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation." We are naturally meek and sometimes very nervous and anxious about the unknown because everything can be scary to us; it is part of our mortality. However, but by Christ and by God, we can be helped to see our true beauty and worth for both of our lives.
In conclusion, I quote Psalms 94:22, "But the Lord is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge," and I say with a firm conviction that we are all loved and beloved by God and Christ.
Who are we really? We are sinners trying to become saints and sinners trying to become better.
Note: These are my words and my photos. Please DO NOT steal them.
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