0:00:00 - 0:00:27 This video is to address the, well, to give an introduction to the importance of sincerity when you're teaching or preaching or living. And um it's an enormous topic, but I'm going to focus on one facet of that. And uh I'll put down those cards a little later in the game. Uh meaning this video specifically 0:00:26 - 0:00:52 , but of course, I'll elaborate on these things in general later on in life. Uh because it takes time to write out things that are obfuscated and uh obscured. Ok. So I think I'm gonna start this, I have some scriptures pulled up here. So that's why I'm looking at a screen. Um What start by referring 0:00:51 - 0:01:15 to some aspects of the Lord's ministry. Uh We read in Mark 122 and they were astonished at his doctrine for he taught them as one that had authority and not as the scribes. So teaching with, with power and authority. It's a good thing, right? So what was the source of this astonishment? What does that 0:01:15 - 0:01:41 mean? Um They were surprised they were confounded, they were suddenly exposed to the difference between what they believed and what they realized they should believe. So, how do we achieve that when we're teaching people? Because this is not the typical response, which is just to ignore what's being 0:01:40 - 0:02:05 said. How do you say things in a way that people cannot ignore it, that people can't disbelieve it without lying and knowing that they're lying. That's the objective when you're teaching um teaching the gospel. Well, it says that he taught them as one that had authority and not as the scribes. So who 0:02:05 - 0:02:31 were the scribes, the scribes were those who as the name suggests, they copied the scriptures. There were no printing presses back then or, or copy machines, so they had to do it by hand. And so this job evolved into a responsibility to, to have the scriptures memorized. And they were basically human 0:02:30 - 0:03:00 search engines where if you were talking about some topic or you had some situation, they could recall the scriptures that provided um instructions related to that situation. So that was described. So they, they were regarded as authorities in what the scriptures said. And um when they taught, though 0:02:59 - 0:03:31 they taught their own ideas backed by references to scripture. Now, there's a whole lot of confusion and people like to toss out this, this verse in The New Testament about no scripture being of private interpretation. Um But of course, everything we understand in some sense is an interpretation. Language 0:03:30 - 0:03:58 is not exact. And I guess that's a whole ball of wax that I'm not intending to to address in this video. But, but it comes down to the ability to discreetly express ideas that are infinite truth is infinite. And any finite description of it is going to be lossy in the sense that it's going to be incomplete 0:03:57 - 0:04:28 at a minimum and often at least in facets incorrect. So the scribes when they taught, they were not teaching from their personal experience, not really. I mean, they could say things about maybe how they felt about certain ideas, but their witness was not one of efficacy. Now, hopefully, that doesn't 0:04:28 - 0:04:47 sound like a foreign thing. We don't today, we don't have people that copy out scriptures by hand. But uh we do have people that get to know the scriptures. Well, at least in terms of references and if you start speaking about some topic, they could say, oh that, you know, go to this book and this verse 0:04:47 - 0:05:15 that speaks about that and they can um provide citations to their beliefs as if they were supported by scripture. But the question is, are they because um if you actually speak to these people, they're not living what they say, they believe. So it's very evident that there's a difference between those 0:05:15 - 0:05:41 two things. Why does that matter? Well, in John 717, which is a verse I refer to all the time. We have Jesus saying that if people will live what he teaches, they'll know it's from the father. And so the evidence he provides is um personal evidence. He says, look, I'll give you rational reasons why you 0:05:41 - 0:06:03 should be willing to believe. It's possible that what I'm saying is true. But at the end of the day, you're gonna have to do it to know. But if you do it, you will know how will, you know, uh, a lot of religious folks might say, well, it's because of how you will feel. Yeah. Ok. I think that if you can 0:06:02 - 0:00:00 persist in joy while experience experiencing um a certain magnitude of suffering or um affliction or any kind of malevolence, then that is certainly evidence that supports the value of what you believe. And that's a feeling. However, um that is a piece of a much larger puzzle and that larger puzzle, 0:00:00 - 0:06:57 you could boil it down to the word efficacy. So it's related to power. We could just sort of go on about this, but I don't want to get off the point. Jesus lived what he taught. Never, did he ever teach someone else or invite someone else to live a principle that he did not already live? And so how was 0:06:56 - 0:07:23 his, um how is, how is the power of what he said? How did it differ from the scribes? The scribes weren't living what they believed. So there's a difference in, in between what the scribes were teaching and what they were doing and that created a vacuum of um of the spirit. So when a person preaches 0:07:22 - 0:07:42 by the power of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost will take it into the heart of the hearer. It doesn't mean the hearer is going to change, but it does mean that the hearer will have reasons to believe that the argument will be persuasive. And then as I said earlier, it will be, uh, up to the person if 0:07:42 - 0:08:04 they want to lie and they'll know it's lying by turning away from what's evidently better or whether they want to listen and to put into practice the improvements that are being suggested. Ok? And that just doesn't matter if those improvements are limited to ideas or, uh, or explicitly about their application 0:08:03 - 0:00:00 . So, um, one more reference to this verse in Mark 122 and this is on the topic of authority and let me ask you this, what, what was the source of the authority of Jesus? Well, um, in Matthew 2818, it says, and Jesus came and spake unto them, saying all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 0:00:00 - 0:08:58 Now, what was he talking about? And where did it come from? Well, this is very closely related to when he told Peter, uh thou art Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. He is the rock. Ok? And for us, he's the only rock but his rock is the 0:08:58 - 0:09:24 father. And so what he was saying in this verse is I know what the father is like to the full extent of it mattering here. In other words, no matter what more I learn about him, it won't change what I do here or what I say or what I feel or what I want. If you want authority, you need to learn more about 0:09:24 - 0:09:48 what Jesus is like and then you need to do it. And when you do those two things seek not first to declare my word, but to receive my word, to obtain my word, you don't obtain his word just by hearing it. Hearing is one of these many words in the the scriptures. Uh that don't mean what they mean in English 0:09:48 - 0:10:18 . In this case, hearing is much more limited in English. It means to hear something audibly, right? Is, is to um it's an audible observation, but to hear something scripturally is not just to um be exposed to something, but to actually think about it and receive it to change your own beliefs and feelings 0:10:18 - 0:10:41 and desires and actions, to align with that thing. Speak is another verb that means something much more in scriptural language than it means in English just to give you another example. So speaking a word, this is the the the answer to the question. What did the Lord mean? When he said for every idle 0:10:41 - 0:11:05 word will be judged? Well, speaking is not just saying things, it's what you do, it's the choices you make. It's every choice you make, which includes how you feel about things and what you want. So, what's an idle word? Well, that's a deviation between what you, what you uh pretend to be doing and what 0:11:05 - 0:11:32 you're actually doing. It's another question of efficacy and honesty. So these are extraordinarily important things and yet you're not really gonna hear about them in any church. So let's keep moving on often. Um At least if you believe that the book of Mormon is scripture. Um We'll go to Alma 17 when 0:11:32 - 0:11:54 we're looking for an example of what one needs to do to preach with power. And we talk about the sons of Mosiah who were tremendous missionaries and they went among the Lamanites who wanted to kill them uh to try to serve them and show them the love of God with hopes that these people would become more 0:11:54 - 0:12:17 like God. Well, uh we read that, that what they did was they gave themselves, this is verse three in Alma 17 to much prayer and fasting. Therefore, they had the spirit of prophecy and the spirit of revelation. And when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God. There it is again. OK. OK 0:12:17 - 0:12:36 . So we read this and then people say, well, I better pray more. Yeah, that's a good idea. I better fast more. Yeah, that's a good idea. But what they don't get in, in the verse before it, it says that they were men of a sound understanding and had searched the scriptures diligently. And so people read 0:12:36 - 0:00:00 the scriptures more and that's a very good idea that they might know the word of God. But all of these things you can do all of those things and not preach with power. So where's the disconnect? You actually have to live according to what, you know, it doesn't do you any good to memorize scriptures? 0:00:00 - 0:13:25 If it doesn't change your behavior or your desires or your understanding, right? It doesn't matter how much you pray or fast if it doesn't change you. Now, I say it doesn't change you that the, it isn't the problem, it's you. If you do not make different decisions by implementing what you're learning 0:13:24 - 0:13:58 and by changing based on what you're experiencing, what's the point, right? OK. So I have said, and I'll say many more times, sincerity is the gateway to God. Sincerity is the gateway to God. And uh the Holy Ghost is the key of preaching with power. You can't have the Holy Ghost if you're not sincere 0:13:57 - 0:14:22 or the degree to which you have the Holy Ghost will be impeded, proportional to your lack of sincerity. So we're already impeded enough. Why would you throw up extra barriers between you and God? Here's DNC 100 verses seven and eight. But a commandment I give unto you that ye shall declare whatsoever 0:14:22 - 0:14:44 thing ye declare in my name in solemnity. Of heart, in the spirit of meekness in all things. And I give unto you this promise that inasmuch as ye do this, the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say. So what's the condition of the Holy Ghost bearing record 0:14:43 - 0:15:10 of what you say, sincerity. You have to actually live what you're preaching. Now, there are preachers all over the world that will recite scripture and may even have some really high impact, insightful things to say about it. But if that kind of preaching comes from a person who's not living it, the 0:15:10 - 0:15:37 only hope for the, for the hearer to have more faith is because of the holy ghost in them, not from the preacher. And so it shrinks both the set of people this can help and the degree to which it helps them. You have to live what you preach. And if you don't, you're not going to preach with power, there 0:15:37 - 0:15:57 might be someone that will still be reached because of the, the word of God that you carry. But it will be very limited both in who you can reach and how to what extent you reach them. The, the good that you do will have a lot more to do with the goodness of that person than what you're actually doing 0:15:57 - 0:16:26 because you're not good? Ok. So is it so bad to preach without power? Is it so bad to preach if you're impeding the Holy ghost. Yes, it is in DNC 4214. And the spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith. And if he received not the spirit, you shall not teach. What is the prayer of faith? It's 0:16:26 - 0:00:00 not father in heaven, please bless me with the holy ghost. No, the prayer of faith is to think about and search out how God is and to live that way. That's how you get the holy ghost. God can't dwell in unclean temples. If you're actively disobeying him as far as you understand Him to be, if you're, 0:00:00 - 0:17:21 if you're opposing His purpose, instead of adopting it fully, then you're impeding his spirit. There's no two ways about it. It's, it's that simple. So get out of the way, let him come into you and work through you. No, all of those things are important. Um I guess I have one more, one more to share 0:17:20 - 0:17:42 here. So, so just underlining this idea of the importance of teaching with the spirit and not teaching if you don't have it DNC 50 uh wherefore picking up verse 13, wherefore I the Lord ask you this question unto what were ye ordained to preach my gospel by the spirit, even the comforter, which was sent 0:17:42 - 0:18:01 forth to teach the truth. That's the purpose, right? And so if you don't have that ingredient, you're not gonna be able to make the recipe 15 and then received these spirits which she could not understand and receive then to be of God. And in this, are you justified? Sorry. My in inflection on that was 0:18:01 - 0:18:21 terrible. Uh It's OK. That verse doesn't matter for what I'm trying to say. Um In fact, we have skipped 16. So let me just pick up in 17 verily I say unto you, he that or is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the comforter in the spirit of truth. Doth He preach it by the spirit 0:18:21 - 0:18:43 of truth or some other way. And if it be by some other way, here's the key. It is not of God. And again, he that receives the word of truth. So now we're talking about the person hearing doth He receive it by the spirit of truth or some other way. If it be some other way, it is not of God. So that seems 0:18:43 - 0:19:08 pretty simple, doesn't it? Ok? Um And then it talks about being edified and how that's important is we, we're creating bridges to the throne of God through the spirit of God cascading through people. That's what's going on when you're preaching the gospel. All right. So, so what I said through all of 0:19:08 - 0:19:29 that is important and it's applicable to many things. But here I want to apply it to one thing that you might not be drawing the connection to. Uh I have frequently spoken against going to church if your church is a place where things are taught that, you know, are false or where if your church is a 0:19:29 - 0:19:52 place that does not, that's not established on the authority of Christ as I've explained it here. That's not a meritocracy where those who know him best are put into the positions where they're teaching and preaching. Um So for example, the scripture that says, take no man to be your teacher. Unless 0:19:51 - 0:20:37 what, unless he um oh jeez, this is not a good time to blank. I could look it up. This is where a pause button would be great. Mm. Mm. Mm. Sorry. Oh, no, I can't. Anyway, the point is unless he's more like Jesus than you are and living according to what he knows. And so if you've got a church like that 0:20:37 - 0:20:56 , fantastic. That's, that's what a real church is meant to be. You know, the priests and teachers are only appointed if they're righteous. But if they're just teaching the precepts of men who cares, you're worse off for being there. Ok. And I've made that point a lot of times and more expansively and 0:20:56 - 0:21:20 I don't need to rehash that here, but I bring it up because there's a set, a lengthening list of people I could name names and not going to because they're incognito and they feel like that's what they need to do and I don't want to ruin, uh I don't want rain on their parade. But, um there's a lengthening 0:21:19 - 0:21:48 list of people who are persuaded that they can do good in corrupt churches by preaching all the good things they can without touching the sacred cows. Now, I'm going to make a case of why. That's impossible. So first I'll start with who are those people, not the people who are trying to teach, but the 0:21:48 - 0:22:18 people they're trying to teach to, from whom will they receive greater light. It will be people within that organization who sincerely believe in that organization. So my own story very briefly here, uh I became L DS when I was 18. Um There's a story to that, but I believe that that was what God God 0:22:17 - 0:22:43 was guiding me to do. And um I was an ardent Mormon for a long time. I did all the Mormon things. Paul said he was a pharisee's pharisee. I was a Mormons Mormon. Now, I didn't realize this but the people around me were not, for the most part, they, there's variants of course, but most of the people around 0:22:42 - 0:23:01 me, most of the people in the L DS church don't actually believe L DS doctrines. They pick and choose some and they believe them some of the time. But for the most part, they don't really believe that stuff. They have serious problems with a whole bunch of it. They ignore a whole bunch of it and they 0:23:01 - 0:23:28 hyper focus on some stuff that has nothing to do with it. In fact, a lot of stuff. So it turns out that by living what I sincerely believed fully, I was able to demonstrate to other people what it looked like to live a higher standard than what they lived. And in doing that, I got booted from that church 0:23:27 - 0:23:50 . So uh I ended up writing a book that said, here's a list of things that are considered core doctrines in this church that actually differ substantially from what the founder of it believed and also what's written in scripture. And uh here's where these traditions came along out of history and maybe 0:23:50 - 0:24:15 we should not believe these things. So um that got me excommunicated from that church. Now, having gone through all that, I of course, do not have many channels to reach the people that are still within the L DS church because they are, they are close minded to the idea that someone who's been excommunicated 0:24:14 - 0:24:43 might know more about God than they do or might know Him better than they do. So I occupy a level in the truth hierarchy that is higher than those who are still in the L DS church. My job is to call them into that higher place of understanding and being that place that's closer to God. I cannot do that 0:24:42 - 0:25:17 by disguising myself as someone who's still L DS. Why? Because all the things that they could obtain in that higher kingdom require the understanding that their kingdom is lower. So another way of putting that many truths are, have prerequisites or co requisites. And, um I could find people if I were 0:25:17 - 0:25:40 to put on the disguise, I could find people who would listen to videos I made who would read things that I wrote. If, if I stayed away from all the sacred cows, if I stayed away, let's just be pre precise here. If I never mentioned that things that they hold to be true and valuable, some, some subset 0:25:39 - 0:26:03 of that, if I never mentioned how they were actually not true were actually way less valuable than they thought I could do that, I could have people listen to my stuff and be excited about it and show the color of improvement. But they would be ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth 0:26:03 - 0:26:32 . They would not actually get any better in their life. Why, why would they be precluded from that because they can't receive it by the spirit. It requires the understanding requires the stuff that you're not allowed to say. And I, like I said, I know a growing number of people who are playing this game 0:26:31 - 0:26:57 and they're saying, no, I'm gonna stay in here and I'm gonna hide who I really am and I'm not gonna tell anyone what I really believe. And I'm gonna be a guide to pull these people into the wilderness, but they're not gonna know I'm already there. It doesn't work, it can't work. You are opposing God 0:26:56 - 0:27:21 , by doing this, you're working against the way He works. And what you're actually doing is you're wasting the benefit that you could provide to the people who are prepared to receive you at the level of light that you currently possess. Instead of doing that, you're going to people who absolutely are 0:27:21 - 0:27:53 not prepared to receive you. And you're doing it in a way that conveniently helps you avoid much more trial and affliction in your life that those experiences are necessary to bring you closer to God. You can't play this game. It's not gonna work. It has never ever worked and it won't ever work. So some 0:27:52 - 0:28:15 of you think, well, if I weren't here though, who's gonna help these people, um There's two answers to that question. One already provided. It's the people who are still there who are actually sincere, which there are a dwindling number of those. There are a dwindling number of those. And when that sand 0:28:14 - 0:28:38 runs through the hourglass, that bad things are gonna happen. But to that point, the second answer is they already have a whole lot that they could just pay attention to and change from. So many people have come already. And I, I, I'll refer you to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man because, um 0:28:38 - 0:29:01 , when that guy, he, he, he died and he found himself in hell and he was having a conversation with Abraham and he was saying, hey, um I didn't realize that things were gonna be this way. But if you let me go back, I could preach to my family. So they don't end up here too. And Abraham says they have 0:29:01 - 0:00:00 the law and the prophets and if they won't listen to that, why would they listen to you or an angel who, you know, we could send an angel, it wouldn't do any good. So when people reject a greater messenger, they have to receive a lesser messenger because they close off, they dim their understanding, 0:00:00 - 0:29:45 they close themselves off to a greater truth that was offered to them and they need to receive a lesser messenger. Sometimes that messenger uh is a share of the consequences of their choice. So God mercifully holds back consequences. But when we doofus is sometimes the best thing he could do is start 0:29:45 - 0:30:06 peeling back the corner on those consequences. He's holding back. You say like, oh, you are preferring unmerited prosperity to actually living my law. Well, let me just go ahead and expose you a little bit to what you actually deserve in terms of prosperity because you're a knucklehead and maybe that 0:30:06 - 0:30:29 will help you sort yourself out and see the value of what I offered you before. But you wouldn't take. Sometimes the lesser messenger is another person. Sometimes it's an angel. But the point is you're that that person will be sent something less because they've, they've chosen that they wouldn't receive 0:30:28 - 0:30:50 something more and in doing so they've become incapable of receiving something more. They've, they've, uh, they've cut themselves off from something greater so they have to receive something lesser. And so you're not gonna be that person, you responded to whatever you responded to, they did not respond 0:30:49 - 0:31:17 to that. So, um, yeah, I guess that's my point and that's why, you know, some people have asked me why, why don't you spend more time trying to preach to L DS people? Um I spent four years of my life writing a book to L DS people and I don't, I know there are many more things I could say and do, but 0:31:16 - 0:31:37 it would require me depriving other people who have not had the opportunity to hear the things that, that I've been given in order to try again to give it to people who shouldn't have needed me in the first place because I used the same things they did to get what I've got and they don't have anything 0:31:37 - 0:32:00 that I have so is merciful enough for me to spend years of my life trying to boil that down into more accessible resources. So they don't have to spend time in the library or reading old books or whatever, or thinking about things. Uh and just sort of process that and it's a really uh succinct and uh 0:32:00 - 0:32:26 clear material anyway. Uh to avoid rambling more about this, I think I've made my point. It's really great that you guys are out there making videos, but uh God's got enough scribes. He needs more witnesses and you can't be a partial witness. You have to be who you really are or you will impede the spirit 0:32:26 - 0:32:50 of God. So don't do that because we're not supposed to. Your intent is good, but I promise you the devil is marginalizing you at best. He's taking you out of the game at worst. He's cutting you off from something greater for yourself by tricking you into thinking that you're giving something valuable 0:32:49 - 0:33:08 to someone else. You need to let the dead bury their dead go be who you are and serve the people that will receive you for who you are because that's the way it works. You can't go 10 levels down and help people there by pretending you're something that you're not.