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Saturday, March 14, 2020

"Greater Works"


Your Potential

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (John 14:12)
Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ?

The Savior’s miracles were real. His promise to those who believe in Him are just as real: YOU can do the same and even greater works as He performed.

Your Obstacle


In an address given at a Regional Representatives Seminar, March 30 1990, Elder Boyd K Packer said,
“In recent years I have felt, and I think I am not alone, that we were losing the ability to correct the course of the Church. You can not appreciate how deeply I feel about the importance of this present opportunity unless you know the regard, the reverence, I have for the Book of Mormon and how seriously I have taken the warnings of the prophets, particularly Alma and Helaman. Both Alma and Helaman told of the church in their day. They warned about fast growth, the desire to be accepted by the world, to be popular, and particularly they warned about prosperity. Each time those conditions existed in combination, the Church drifted off course. All of those conditions are present in the Church today. Helaman repeatedly warned, I think four times he used these words, that the fatal drift of the church could occur ‘in the space of not many years.’ In one instance it took only six years." (See Helaman 6:32, 7:6, 11:26.)”
Twenty years later, In the April 2010 General Conference, he also said,
"We have done very well at distributing the authority of the priesthood. We have priesthood authority planted nearly everywhere. We have quorums of elders and high priests worldwide. But distributing the authority of the priesthood has raced, I think, ahead of distributing the power of the priesthood. The priesthood does not have the strength that it should have and will not have until the power of the priesthood is firmly fixed in the families as it should be." 
Then, in the April 2016 General Conference, President Nelson said,
"Recently, Wendy and I were in a meeting where the organist was poised and ready to play the opening hymn. His eyes were on the music, and his fingers were on the keys. He began pressing the keys, but there was no sound. I whispered to Wendy, “He has no power.” I reasoned that something had stopped the flow of electrical power to that organ.
Well, brethren, in like manner, I fear that there are too many men who have been given the authority of the priesthood but who lack priesthood power because the flow of power has been blocked by sins such as laziness, dishonesty, pride, immorality, or preoccupation with things of the world.
I fear that there are too many priesthood bearers who have done little or nothing to develop their ability to access the powers of heaven. I worry about all who are impure in their thoughts, feelings, or actions or who demean their wives or children, thereby cutting off priesthood power.
I fear that too many have sadly surrendered their agency to the adversary and are saying by their conduct, “I care more about satisfying my own desires than I do about bearing the Savior’s power to bless others.”
I fear, brethren, that some among us may one day wake up and realize what power in the priesthood really is and face the deep regret that they spent far more time seeking power over others or power at work than learning to exercise fully the power of God. President George Albert Smith taught that “we are not here to while away the hours of this life and then pass to a sphere of exaltation; but we are here to qualify ourselves day by day for the positions that our Father expects us to fill hereafter." 
From 1990 to 2016 -- and I would presume until today -- priesthood authorities have given us a steady drumbeat of warnings that we lack the power, even the willpower, the sheer desire, to access the powers of heaven. Since 2012, I've spoken frequently on this blog about the idols which both male and female church members have placed at the forefront of their lives. Additionally, many of us suffer from spiritual AIDS -- Apathy, Ignorance, Denial and Stupidity. We can no longer afford the luxury of saying "the devil MADE ME do it," because WE have chosen to distance ourselves from God.

All of these circumstances were foretold by Isaiah and several Book of Mormon prophets. These men foretold tremendous temporal and eternal consequences for those who were warned of their mediocre belief in Jesus. The warnings have been so numerous, and so pronounced, that the condemned will have zero chance to defend their apathy.

Your Invitation


As you may be aware, this blog and podcast has an accompanying Facebook group. There, we are focused on one topic and one topic only: Yeshua Hamasiach, or Jesus, the Messiah.

I'll be honest -- it's not easy to get into this group. That's because we ask subscribers to participate -- anything from giving a post a thumbs up to posting their own insights and testimonies. Because of our singular focus and level of activity, it's a truly unique, spirit-filled place.

This month (March, 2020), our Facebook group is discussing the "greater works" of (John 14:12. There, away from the microphones of fast and testimony meetings, away from the blogs and podcasts we've all become accustomed to, we are discussing how Christ is proving true to His word among many good, humble, unassuming, notoriety-shy Saints who are beyond mere believers. They seek nothing -- NOTHING -- but to know His will and do His work...anytime, anywhere, with anyone.

This month, you'll learn about those walking among us who have laid their hands on another and commanded cancer to leave the person's body. And it did.

They have raised the dead.

They have exercised discernment and seership.

They have stood amidst angels and been touched by them.

They have stood before Satan himself, and cast him from their midst.

Like our Savior who walked on water, they have even defied the laws of physics in the service of He who created the heavens and the earth.

It seems to me that church leaders are continuing, if not intensifying, their condemnation of those who take the things of Christ lightly, who would rather spend time looking down upon the things of a telestial earth than looking up to the greater miracles we can perform in the name of Yeshua.

I invite you to turn your heart away from the telestial to the celestial, the temporary to the eternal, from Babylon towards Yeshua...while you still can.

More specifically, I invite you to click the button below, subscribe to our Facebook group and dialogue with us about these greater things. The posts avoid the weirdness you see among many self-proclaimed teachers and doctrinal extremists, and are rooted in the holy scriptures as well as the sacred experiences of those who lived them.
"...He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do..." ((John 14:12)




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