President Nelson is Telling Us: Part II
President Nelson is Telling Us: Part II
What did President Nelson mean by the following?
We live in the day that “our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation.” We have front-row seats to witness live what the prophet Nephi saw only in vision, that “the power of the Lamb of God” would descend “upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”
You, my brothers and sisters, are among those men, women, and children whom Nephi saw. Think of that!
Like I said in my last post, I think we’ve heard so often that we’re unique in coming to Earth at this time, that we start to tune it out, or at least it starts to lose its impact.
My thoughts go to the time when Christ stood and read a Messianic prophecy from Isaiah and said it was fulfilled (see Luke 4:17-29). The people listening understood that He was claiming to be the Messiah and they were going to stone Him because they were angry and weren’t willing to accept the truth. What does this have to do with 1 Nephi 14?
1 Nephi 14 is pretty apocalyptic and Millenial. In the verses right after the one President Nelson quoted (1 Nephi 14:14) it says that the wrath of God begins to be poured out upon the great and abominable church. And then Nephi is then shown a vision of John the Revelator dressed in white robes and Nephi testifies that the things John wrote are true and will be fulfilled.
So in a way, I feel like President Nelson is declaring that scripture is being fulfilled and demonstrating our place in the timeline, but we are too unfamiliar with the scriptures or too accustomed to hearing we live in the latter days that we don’t realize what he’s teaching us. We just think it is a poetic pep talk.
President Nelson talks a lot about power. I think this power is more literal than we realize. Maybe because we only can imagine the level of power that our minds are accustomed to. That’s why I feel compelled to write this. I have felt God forewarning me and preparing me through things He’s guided me to study and I thus feel a desire to warn my neighbor (D&C 88:81). I want you to know that God can work greater miracles in your life as you forge a more perfect union with Him.
Here’s are a BYU professor’s thoughts on the endowment and the power associated therefrom. He stresses the meaning that Joseph Smith taught and makes clear that Joseph taught it is more than we often accept.
Watch this and then come back: https://youtu.be/3N0qqkWMVZI (13 minutes long)
Think of that when you re-read President Nelson’s “urgent plea”:
I urgently plead with each one of us to live up to our privileges as bearers of the priesthood. In a coming day, only those men who have taken their priesthood seriously, by diligently seeking to be taught by the Lord Himself, will be able to bless, guide, protect, strengthen, and heal others. Only a man who has paid the price for priesthood power will be able to bring miracles to those he loves and keep his marriage and family safe, now and throughout eternity.
It really can be hard to accept that such blessings can be ours. God is no respecter of persons. The temple endowment is promising such blessings. We need to change our unbelief that makes us think that these things are only for prophets. The scriptures plainly testify of these blessings.
Again President Nelson foretells:
But, my dear brothers and sisters, so many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.
He gives us a lot of clues on how to become changed through Christ:
As we strive to live the higher laws of Jesus Christ, our hearts and our very natures begin to change. The Savior lifts us above the pull of this fallen world by blessing us with greater charity, humility, generosity, kindness, self-discipline, peace, and rest.
It really is a beautiful and simple process. He tells us it isn’t easy and requires our whole heart. In the same talk as quoted above he says, “Overcoming the world means growing to love God and His Beloved Son more than you love anyone or anything else.” As we give our heart to God we will start to feel changes in our nature that will lead us to be kind and loving. If we do so with real intent and without hypocrisy then Christ will start to bless us in greater degree. Our hearts will swell and we will feel to sing the song of redeeming love (Alma 5 and Alma 32). That is truly the greatest miracle of all. As our desires are fully turned to God and we trust Him in life or death then we will be given all things that we need in the moment we need them. Even if the miracle we need is just the strength to endure or if it is as grand as turning rivers out of their course (JST Genesis 14:30-31)
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