Transcript Thou Hast Testified of Me… www.kevinhinckley.com The “Traditional Marriage is under attack!” Wedding Cake Neal Maxwell A good friend, who knows whereof he speaks, has observed of trials, "If.

Thou Hast
Testified of
Me…
www.kevinhinckley.com
The
“Traditional
Marriage is
under attack!”
Wedding Cake
Neal Maxwell
A good friend, who knows whereof he speaks, has
observed of trials, "If it's fair, it is not a true trial!" That
is, without the added presence of some inexplicableness
and some irony and injustice, the experience may not
stretch us or lift us sufficiently.
The crucifixion of Christ was clearly the greatest injustice
in human history, but the Savior bore up under it with
majesty and indescribable valor. (All These Things Shall
Give Thee Experience, p. 31.)
Question:
Why is ‘fairness’ such a hard doctrine?
The Perils of Paul
Challenge #1
And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came
unto Caesarea; and we entered into the house of Philip the
evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.
And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea a
certain prophet, named Agabus.
And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's girdle (sash), and
bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost,
So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this
girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.
And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place,
besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.
Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart?
for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for
the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of
the Lord be done
Question
What are you willing to die for?
What separates it from things you wouldn’t
willingly die for?
Challenge #2
Some of the doctrines of the church are “hard
doctrines”.
Isn’t Paul (and some of the Jewish leaders)
And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were
compromising
here?
present.
And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had
wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou
seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and
they are all zealous of the law;
And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are
among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to
circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together; for they will
hear that thou art come.
Do therefore this that we say to thee; We have four men which have a vow on
them;
Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that
they may shave their heads; … that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and
keepest the law.
Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered
into the temple,
Sidney B. Sperry
This is an amazing statement. As we have earlier pointed out, here in the
year A.D. 58 we find thousands of Jewish Christians still adhering to
the Law of Moses! 'Twenty-five years after the death of our Lord, the
early Church Authorities still have not made it clear to a large portion
of the Church membership that the Law of Moses was done away
with upon the Advent of the Master.
Those of us in the Church today have had little conception of the
difficulties that faced the Authorities of the Early Church with respect
to this problem. It is obvious from what Paul was told that he had
been grievously and even mischievously misrepresented by the
Judaizers in Palestine. …
It is a curious fact that the brethren, knowing Paul's attitude toward the
Law, should ask him to give the appearance that he himself obeyed
the Law. But the Apostle, realizing the gravity of the problem and
knowing that it was important to hold the Jewish and Gentile groups
of the Church together, readily agreed to assume the role of
peacemaker.
Challenge #3
27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the
Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the
temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help; this is the man, that
teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and
the law, and this place; and further brought Greeks also
into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.
30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran
together; and they took, and drew him out of the
temple; and forthwith the doors were shut.
31 And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto
the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in
an uproar;
Guidance
The Lord will
use us to do
His work.
(More trials)
JST Acts 23
grow there arose a
10 AndWewhen
Ourdissension,
faith grows. the chief
great
captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled
in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go
“endure
it by force from among
down, and toWetake
him
well”.him into the castle.
them, and to bring
11 And the night following the Lord stood by him,
and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast
testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear
witness also at Rome.
We are tested
George Q. Cannon
So it is with the Latter-day Saints. There is no power on earth, no matter how
formidable and threatening it may be, that can stand in opposition to this
work, and every plan that is framed for its overthrow will fall to the ground.
Nothing will ever succeed against this Church so long as the Latter-day
Saints are united. We shall triumph.
Our trials will probably be severe, and we will have to pass through ordeals that
will test us to the very centre; but we shall emerge from them victorious in
every instance, if we are faithful to the truth which God has revealed to us.
The Lord will have a tried people. We shall have dark hours; we shall have
times when it will seem as though the Lord had apparently forsaken us;
when the whole heavens will be covered with clouds, and it will seem as
though we cannot escape; but if we are faithful to the Lord He will bring us
through, and after testing our faith He will crown us with success and
triumph.
He has done it in the past; He will do it in the future. But if any Latter-day
Saint thinks he can get through without being tested, then he
makes a sad mistake.
April 5, 1897," in Collected Discourses 1886-1898, vol. 5.
Brother Johnson, 1964
“The St. Paul of Ghana”
As I read the Book of Mormon I became
convinced that it was really the word of God, and
sometimes while reading I would burst into tears.
I felt the Spirit as I read. . . .
One early morning . . . I saw the heavens open
and angels with trumpets singing songs of praise unto God. . . . In the course of
this I heard my name mentioned thrice, "Johnson, Johnson, Johnson. If you will
take up my work as I will command you, I will bless you and bless your land."
Trembling and in tears I replied, "Lord, with thy help I will do whatsoever you
will command me."
From that day onward, I was constrained by that Spirit to go from street to street .
. . to deliver the message which we had read from the Book of Mormon. . . . I
did exactly as the Lord commanded me . . . and immediately our persecutions
started.
Brother Johnson also reported that at a time of great trial early in his ministry, his
deceased brother appeared to him in a dream and said:
"Don't worry. . . you have chosen the only true church on earth . . . and I am now
investigating your church." I was surprised. I never knew that the Church
extended to another world. It was my brother who brought that knowledge to
me.
He said that if I didn't believe him, he would sing a song from my church, and he
sang "Come, Come, Ye Saints." That was the first time I had heard that hymn.
He said, "Don't leave the church, my brother. . . . Please see that I am
baptized."
Brother Johnson
Continues
It was my brother who enlightened me about
baptism for the dead and brought it to my
knowledge. . . . Most of my relatives appeared to me
in dreams [saying,] "Reverend Johnson, do you
know you have a work to do for us? Our great
grandsons and daughters will be in your church
soon. See that we are baptized." . . .
I learned these doctrines before the missionaries arrived. Nothing they taught us seemed
strange. They simply confirmed what we had heard. . . . Each time the Lord addressed us
in dreams, He addressed us as Latter-day Saints, even though we had not yet become
members.
For 14 years Brother Johnson helped organize 10 congregations. To strengthen his people
against trials and persecution, he focused on the early history of the Church. He said:
We felt the spirit of the pioneers. . . . We gained our strength from the pioneers. We were
inspired by their works. . . . I would see tears falling from the eyes of my members,
especially when we sang, "Come, Come, Ye Saints." That hymn is wonderful. It is my
favorite hymn in the Church.
One night at midnight, after many lonely years of struggle, Brother Johnson heard a
shortwave news broadcast from England in which he heard President Kimball's
announcement that all worthy males could receive the priesthood. He burst into tears of
joy, knowing that the Church would now come to Africa.
E. Dale LeBaron, BYU Devotional, November 1998