As I'm writing elsewhere, the Lord told me to pause and write this here.
Recently, someone replied to one of my YouTube videos by saying "An angel has taught. Again, we have been blessed."[dont_know] The Lord showed me the hearts of some who would be offended by my not telling her not to call me that, and believe it or not, I do think about and try to avoid offending people when it is not necessary or helpful. The said, "leave it stand." I always do what he tells me to do, as most reading this promised to do, and as all of us should do.
The Lord shows me a lot of internal reactions of people, and all I can say is that I know what the last verse of John 2 means, and it is heartbreaking.[heartbreak]
Do you marvel [dont_marvel] that a mortal person can correctly be called angel? If so, you do not understand Jesus, nor do you understand what it means to minister.
Jesus said: "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)
He said we are meant to serve others:
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: (Matthew 20)
Angels don't have to be religious, but they do have to be holy.[holy] An angel is just someone who has something to offer another person, which has value, which the person has not paid the price for, but the giver has. This covers a vastly wide breadth and depth of actions and capabilities. Ministry can be raising a family, giving a true kind word, sharing a sincere kind greeting, giving a cuttingly true correction, revealing a truth hidden since the foundation of the world, opening of the eyes of the blind, leaving the glory of the Father's presence to live and give a perfect life to redeem all mankind, and many other things.
Of course I am an angel. To deny this is to deny all of the value in the many things I have done in the name of the Lord. Even if all I have done is quote to you pre-existing scripture [angels_quote_scripture] this would be enough to make the statement true. And you are an angel, too. Or at least, you can and ought to be. Have you never helped anyone according to your knowledge of the goodness and good will of God?
And why should we not say as much? Can you witness of God at all times and in all places and in all things by omitting certain times and places and things? Do you not realize that this pretentious piety does not please God, but the devil, who seeks to diminish and restrain the echoing broadcast of God's light from his throne down to every corner of the world,[every_person] through those who are ridiculed by scoffers as "thinking they are better" when, in fact, the only being whose glory they are proclaiming is God--whose remarkable desire is to give it to ALL WHO WILL COME TO HIM. And how can they come without an example? How can you preach the gospel without proclaiming more of the goodness of God? [Romans10]
Can you testify of good while doing evil? Can you hold up your candle while hiding it? Can you light your candle without touching a flame? Can you live according to truth in only some ways? Or, if you love truth, do you only love it when socially acceptable ways? Can your desire by single to the glory of God, while your desire is on anything else?
As he brought this person's comment back into my mind this morning to teach me more about it, he led me through everything that follows.
When the Lord came to Jerusalem for the last time:
36 ...they spread their clothes in the way.
37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. (Luke 19)
There's a lot to this passage, all of which is more relevant to our generation than any other, but I will leave it here as an example of when Jesus understood that those who did what they did in truthful recognition of what they saw were justified in doing so, even when there were many others who did not see how this was appropriate or true response.
I want to briefly highlight a variety of responses to the Lord's ministry. The theme here is "different responses to the same demonstrations." It's a theme I will expand upon in my books to come.
Since I don't have time to cover any but the briefest set of examples, I'll constrain the query to a few examples of how women responded to Jesus.[female_response_to_jesus]
The certain woman (the paps lady)
One lady responded to the Lord's ministry by praising the womb and breasts of Mary:
27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. (Luke 11)
The Lord's rebuke of this woman was to help her (and those present, whose error in heeding her would have been excused had he said nothing) understand that what makes one worthy of praise is not them, but what is of God within them.
He did not give instructions he did not himself keep. He repeatedly focused on the altar that sanctified the gift. Even though he was the ultimate gift the Father could give to the world, he consummately realized and proclaimed that all goodness in him was not him, but the Father, and did not respond politely to those who did otherwise, even when they demonstrated extreme dedication to him:
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. (Mark 10)
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. (Mark 10)
He was not trying to be mean. He simply knew that anyone who did not know that all goodness comes from the Father would never know the Father, and that if he left them with an excuse for that limitation, he would cause them greater harm than good, no matter how much of the Father's goodness he obtained or showed:
40 And this is the will of my Father: that all who recognize the Son and follow Him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up in the last day.
44 No one can truly see what I am do, or truly understand what I teach, or become more like I truly am, unless they correctly perceive and truly recognize and value the character of the Father who sent me. It is only these that I will raise up at the last day.
45 As the prophets wrote, God will reach out in demonstration of himself to all people. No matter where they begin, how small their initial steps, or how long the journey may be, every man therefore that heeds him will come unto me.
46 Only those who live in accordance with what they already know about the Father can perceive or recognize more about the Father. (John 6, Author's Reflection)
Contrast what he said to the paps lady with the similar topic but very different words Elizabeth said to Mary when Mary the mother of Jesus came to Elizabeth:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. (Luke 1)
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. (Luke 1)
One of the key differences in the praise in these two situations is the applicability. It is not clear what--if anything--the first woman could do, or anyone else could do, to become more like Mary in the sense of being mother to the Son of God. However, all people can make changes in their lives to become more like Jesus. After all, as Jesus asked later, "whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?" (Matthew 23:19) Even if Elizabeth had limited her comment to "Blessed art thou among women," (a true statement, given Mary's high holiness), it would have been a recognition of things that others can do, too, not something that a person has done, that no one else here can do again, and which is stated in a way totally dissociated from our own lives.
Not incidentally, not all people who "talk of Christ" are actually "calling people in the name of the Lord." In fact, most people who "talk of Christ" are not actually telling you anything about him nor helping you become any more like him. It's unfortunately the norm, and one you ought to expect and be on guard for:
Your prophets had nothing to tell you but lies; Their preaching deceived you by never exposing your sin. They made you think you did not need to repent. (Lamentations 2:14, Good News Bible)
Calling people in the name of the Lord will always involve one or both of the following:
1) Revealing more of the character of Christ than was previously understood by the audience, and inviting them to make the changes require to align with it.
2) Persuading them to make changes to align with the character of Christ, as far as they already understand it.
This is what it means to "preach nothing but repentance": To teach only things that have direct application in changes which yield a person who has become more like Jesus than they were before.
The paps lady's comment did not do that, and that's why Jesus rebuked her.
Woman in the crowd
24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. (Mark 5)
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. (Mark 5)
This woman realized that Jesus had power to heal. She honestly responded to the clear examples of this by seeking to be healed by Jesus. But, interestingly, she did not confront him directly, but snuck up on him secretly. Have you ever wondered why Jesus made such a fuss of this? When a person's afflictions were due to sin, Jesus mentioned it, because more important than the alleviation of affliction was the eternal alleviation of the guilt of sin. Here, there is no mention of that. Why did he stop his entourage and search the crowd?
The woman did not need to be helped in repenting of a sin, in the traditional sense of the word. She needed to increase her boldness in approaching the Lord. Timidity in the presence of God is not an element of eternal life. This is an idea easily misunderstood, because most people who are celebrating in hearing me say that are far from what I am describing. There is a reason why the New Testament has so many mentions of the apostles keeping people away from Jesus. You see, many of the people who came to Jesus were turned away. I would say the majority, because it would be true, but I don't want to offend people too badly. But why we he turn so many away? Because though they sought him with their bodies, they were not after what he had to give them spiritually. He will pay any price for any and all of us, but he will only what benefits:
He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation. (2 Nephi 26:24)
Most of the people who reached out to Jesus were bolder than they should have been, and many of those who should have were not bold enough.
This is something that all shepherds of God must face, and all lambs of God (which set includes all his shepherds, just as Jesus is both the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God) must overcome. The shepherds have to separate the sheep from the goats, and call the sheep while keeping out the goats and beating down the wolves. The sheep need to hear the voice of their Master, through his servants, and boldly come closer. I am omitting a flurry of references from this paragraph, because I am out of time.
We would do well to learn of our father Abraham: (How can anyone read any story from Abraham's life without seeing the beauty of God in this man?)
Abraham answered, “I am nothing more than the dust of the earth. Please forgive me, Lord, for daring to speak to you like this. (Genesis 18:27, CEV)
And yet, he did speak! And I echo the words of Paul: "It is written: 'I believed; therefore I have spoken.' Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak." (2 Corinthians 4:13, NIV)
Consider that, though Abraham knew full well what his relation was to God, he did not hesitate to approach him in appropriately meek boldness. Consider that his willingness to in the cited situation saved the life of Lot, and would have saved the life of any in Sodom and Gomorrah who was at least a decent human being.
Do not foolishly depreciate the mighty works God is willing to do in response to what we mistake as small, simple acts of faith. "...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) This entire blogpost came because one person was willing to say, "An angel has taught," in the face of the multitudes who would mock, revile, and scorn at such a comment, the even greater numbers who would never say such a thing out of fear of embarrassment, and the sizable numbers of those with "zeal but not knowledge"[zeal] who should not say such a thing without intending the glory to be to God and without the necessary prerequisite and continued obedience to him.
You have no idea of the flood of God's goodness that lies waiting for you to give the smallest opening for him to pour it through. You have no idea of God's goodness, no matter how much of it you may have already seen! Trust in him today, and whatever the particulars in your particular life, stop impeding him from proving to you that he is everything those who know him have ever written about him, and much more.
One filament of how God has taught me this thing was the following vision:
I was in an airport and I was with Jesus, but I also was Jesus, and I was myself. I found a man who was very excited about the gospel, as he supposed. The man was deaf, but could speak. He aggressively spoke to me about it, not having any idea who I was. He went on and on about the gospel as we walked hurriedly through the airport. Somehow, we had picked up another man into our group as we walked. This man was just like the first, but was blind instead of deaf. Then I saw a woman who was very poor and simple, who had taken to caring for this little girl and little boy. The little girl was deaf, and the little boy was blind. In the moment the two men stopped talking, I communicated to the one asking would you not like to be healed? And he excitedly started talking about how he would. And when I said, "then be healed," he just kept saying "yes, yes I would like to be healed" and kept talking about how great it would be. And then I did the same with the blind person. They were so excited about it, they started walking away while still talking about it. I quietly knelt down to the caretaking woman, who was sitting on the floor, and said "don't be afraid" as she was scared because I was reaching for the girl. I held her hand and said "open your ears, and hear." She immediately looked at me, because she heard what I said, and she stood up and came to me as I turned to the boy and said, "open your eyes, and see," and he did. Then I heard God say, "My sheep hear my voice, and follow me." Then we started walking away as the two men somehow noticed something had changed, and their countenance immediately changed to violent frenzy, and we fled from them, and they could not find us.
This vision correctly illustrates many true principles of the gospel, as well as an accurate characterization to how the Christian world does and will react to the Lord's actual ministry.
Canaanite woman
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15)
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. (Matthew 15)
What an example of righteous boldness. I have spoken of this example before. To briefly recap, this woman secured the blessing of Jesus by allowing him to subject her to the non-negotiable conditions of the blessing she sought. In this case, because she was not among those Jesus had been sent to, he had to extend her the opportunity to receive her requested blessing through another law. That law was one of the facets of justice. He offended her intentionally so that she would have the opportunity to demonstrate her faith. If she truly believed this man had the power to heal her daughter, why would she care if he insulted her along the way? What is an insult, even the most contemporarily degrading one used here, compared to the freedom of her daughter? That is the rational comparison. He tested how deeply she was able to prefer reason to the natural man (or woman in this case) by jabbing her with the stiffest insult he could muster. She passed, and he rejoiced in the ability to do what he wanted to do all along.
In contrast, most people are offended by Jesus before they even approach the table, and almost all who come to the table go away offended, just as most of Jesus' throngs of followers left him as he insisted that following him with their feet was not enough, and that being excited about the idea of him was not enough. They actually needed to do what he was showing them. (Please go read or reread John 6).
Mary of Bethany
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10)
It is interesting that popular shows and movies have shown Mary as one who accompanied Jesus in his street ministry. I'm not sure that's mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Mary was the first to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection and, in my view, is the person who received more of who and what he was than anyone else in his mortal ministry.
She valued who and what he was so highly that she could not be bothered with anything but being by him while he was around. Perhaps if someone else wasn't feeding him, she might have seen that as the best thing she could do, but it was being covered by someone who did not see in him or receive from him what Mary did.
How much did she value him? She broke open and completely used a box of ointment that probably cost about a year's wages, applying it to his feet (culturally and factually a nasty place to be in those days without plumbing), and with her hair--which had extreme cultural ramifications. This was basically the greatest witness of adoration and value a woman could publicly demonstrate for a man. And, depending on which of the various viewpoints you take, she may have done this in a public dinner at someone else's house, attended by the chief people and religious leaders of the town, but that controversy is for another day.
I believe this woman knew better than anyone on earth who and how Jesus was, and lived faithful to this knowledge by providing the greatest witness of who and how Jesus was while he was still living.
Wisdom, miracles, calamities
"But Rob, you've given examples of three women who received miracles. How does this apply to a random person who called you an angel on YouTube?"
Faith means to believe and do what you have sufficient reason to believe will yield the greatest good. Every good thing happens through faith. Everything from God comes from faith. Immortality and eternal life come through the faith Jesus exercised, and eternal life comes to the extent faith is exercised in the individual who receives it.
As mentally-evident reasons yield to physically-evident reasons, the quantity of faith that is exercised reduces, and it does so at an increasing rate relative to the change. To find the Lord "early" means to seek, perceive, recognize, and obey reasons when they are still mentally-evident, and not physically-evident. The earlier to you yield to the Lord's reasons, the more he will bless you. Like everything else about him, this is not arbitrary. The very reason we are here and the earth is as it is is because everything here is designed to be as physically nonobvious as possible,[all_things] to give opportunity for us to exercise far greater faith than we can out of this earth, where things are exceedingly more obvious. By choosing to follow God against opposition, we prove to ourselves how much we truly love God for who he is and not just what he gives (God already knows), which is what enables us to stand in comfort in his presence in eternity, in spite of his overwhelming goodness and glory. The more you push towards him in spite of everything that can come out of the gates of hell, the more confident you will be in his presence when he appears. And he will appear. Put in other terms, the more you follow God through reason, the more comfortable you will be with him in knowledge.
God will become physically evident to all. This is why every knee bows in the last day. Every knee cannot help but bow. He does not force this to happen. It is a willing response to information undeniable in content and meaning: the revelation of the love of God through the demonstration of how he is, what he did for you to give you every possible opportunity to become more like him, and what you could have done for others to extend the same--but you would not.
If you study the ministry of God's servants through scripture, you will find a distinct pattern. Whether in the ministry of Jesus Christ himself, or that of his servants (depending on how much they had to give, how long they ministered for, and how much of the account we are given), you will see that their ministry always came first in the form of information given through words. Then it came through overt miracles. Then it came through the man-made and natural calamities that always follow the rejection of a dispensation of the gospel.[the_rocks_did_cry_out]
I tell you, in full solemnity and confidence, this generation will see the fulfillment of what Jesus promised:
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)
The time where Christians need profess belief in a faith that exceeds the deeds they do has concluded. But the pattern still holds. First comes wisdom that exceeds what has ever come before, and only then miracles which exceed anything that came before, and then comes calamities that have never come before. And all because there are people here who do or will believe on him (know more about him and obey all they know) more than anyone else ever has. I tell you here a tremendously important truth which you may never have before realized.
As for those always looking for something to be offended about
I know that no one thinks they are going about looking for something to be offended about. But search your hearts, for there are many of you using a shocking amount of subliminal energy on this. You don't realize what spirit actuates you. The devil is doing a great job keeping you far from any idea that might help you wake from your spiritual slumber, and all he has to do is evoke emotive responses by persuading you that things that make you feel bad must certainly be bad themselves.
Stop and realize that bad feelings just indicate contrast between light and dark. They do not tell you which side of the equation is light, and which side is dark. You can bet that every person who ever rejected Jesus did so because they felt bad in response to what he said and did. And yet, he was and is the only good one.
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? (John 6)
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? (John 6)
If you are looking for things at which to be offended, you need not search very hard; you need only wait a little.
For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. (John 5)
God has set his hand to fulfill what he has promised. He is revealing himself in unprecedented clarity and content. And, as he does, there are some who are listening. And, as they enact in their own lives what God demonstrates of himself, you will have innumerable things which will terminally offend all who do not perceive, recognize, or value him. This is the great division: greater light, and greater darkness from turning away from it.
To these diligent in seeking offense, I say: If you tried half as hard to find and live more information about God as you do to find reasons to disbelieve those who have the experience to provide it to you, you would be immeasurably closer to him than you now are. While you allow the present spirit to dominate you, you will never draw nearer to the Lord.
--
[dont_know] - I have no idea who this person is, except through the replies she has made to some of my videos. From what she says there, it is clear to me that she is seeing at least some of the light that the Lord is demonstrating through this slow and simple servant of his.
[heartbreak] - You don't know what is in the hearts of men fully except through knowing more about what is in the heart of Jesus. As you learn that, you will strive for the same heart in how you love others, and then you will see what lies within their hearts by how they react to you, inside and out. The spirit will reveal the former as their persecution, betrayal, or indifference (if you are lucky) reveals the latter.
[dont_marvel] - "Marvel" and "wonder" are used often in scripture. There, it typically means a reaction people are not supposed to have (angry disbelief or shock beyond obedience) not the more familiar positive reaction of joyous surprise. Ex: "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you." (Acts 13:41) "Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, yea, a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise and learned shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid." (2 Nephi 27:26) The marvelous work and wonder of the last days consists of: information that differs from what people expected in what it contains, how it is revealed, and how it is responded to on earth and in heaven. "And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people; For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant; They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall." (D&C 1:14-16)
[holy] - Holy means different and better. Better is relative to the person helped, and specific to the thing in which they are helping. For example, a homeless man can't help put a roof over your head, but he might have great treasures of wisdom. Jesus was rejected by the Pharisees because they ignored the ways in which they could see he was obviously better by exclusively focusing on what they saw as ways he was (incorrectly, but unavoidably) worse. That is a sin none of us has any excuse to reproduce.
[every_person] Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth. (D&C 1:11-13) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20) Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. (Alma 29:2)
[angels_quote_scripture] - Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost (see 2 Nephi 32:3). Some of what they say has already been recorded by others in scripture. Some of what they say has not. The mortal and resurrected visitations of Jesus Christ are a great example of this.
[all_things] - And yet, God is so unavoidable evident that all things still testify of him! Any obfuscation in this life is due to the ability of humans to choose foolishness and delusion. As one approaches God through faith, these burn up like the dew in the rising sun.
[zeal] - "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge." (Romans 10:2) I would rephrase this: "I bear witness that they have the requisite fervor for God, but lack the required depth of application." (Romans 10:2, Author's Reflection) God wants you to invest that fervor on what he is telling you, not your random side quests, which the adversary uses to keep you from actually repenting. Face the improvements the Lord has commanded you to make. He wants obedience, not sacrifice. Offer him the offering he has asked for, and not "strange incense." To do this in ancient Israel carried the death penalty, and even in figurative form, guarantees eternal death, because it will permanently keep you from advancing toward him, which can only be done by taking the steps he has ordained.
[romans10] - The KJV reads:
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10)
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10)
I would rephrase this as follows:
11 The scripture says that all who believe on him will overcome all things.
12 And this promise—like all of the Lord’s promises—is unto all based on their emulation of his demonstrated example, and not based on one’s nationality, for God is no respecter of persons.
13 Anyone who follows the example of the Lord will be saved, and only those who follow the example of the Lord will be saved.
14 And how can any of them follow an example except through faith? And how can any follow an example that they have not first seen? And how can they see an example except through others who have followed that example first?
15 And how can anyone provide an example if they have not first become like who they are demonstrating? As it has been written: Behold the fullness of life in those who overcome the world through unity with God, who demonstrate the outcomes and means of conformance to God.
16 But all people differ in how well they notice, accept, value, and emulate the example given. As Isaiah said, Lord, who has believed our report? [footnote_to_a_footnote]
17 Faith consists of witnessing the demonstration of Christ in another and reproducing it within yourself. (Romans 10, Author's Reflection)
[footnote_to_a_footnote] This "report" is the invitation which, when heeded, yields the "report" of achievement described in Hebrews 11 (see verse 2). The first "report" can't be given in the same way by one who has not already become the second. It is one thing to demonstrate Christ by describing how you hope and believe he is, because someone who knew told you (or someone who knew someone who knew someone...). It is quite another to demonstrate Christ by describing what you know, because you have received and become it yourself. One gains this power of demonstration in the resurrection of Christ by touching the body of the resurrected Christ. One gains this power of demonstration in the character of Christ by becoming like him, which is a process consisting of living according to everything he shows you about himself as soon as he does. "We declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you can have and know with us what he have from the Son Jesus Christ, which he has and knows from the Father." (1 John 1:3, Author's Reflection) This is precisely what Jesus himself did in the flesh, in relation to the Father: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (John 3:11-13)
[female_response_to_jesus] - I find it interesting that I have heard so many people over the years complain about the relative scarcity of women whose stories are told in the scriptures, for several reasons. One of those reasons is that I personally find some of the most valuable lessons in scripture in the stories of the women who are there, and while the quantity is less, I might say the quality is higher. But maybe that's just me.
[the_rocks_did_cry_out] - Do you know why the earth quaked so violently at the death of Jesus? Because the stones did cry out. And why did they wait? Because the servants of God do not come to condemn, though their ministry always does. They come to save. And when they die, they can no longer save those who are still living, except through other servants who are still alive. And I have here given you several very important keys to understanding very important things, if you have ears to hear early. To answer my own question: A servant's power and work is not all publicly displayed. This is why, when they do show it, it seems to be all of the sudden. For example, while Samson shared his honey with his parents, he did not tell them about his miraculously killing the lion or turning off the road to check on the carcass in which the honey was found. Do not presume you know the full story just because you tasted some honey. Truth always leaves clues. You know that Jesus had power to command the elements while in his mortal life, as he commanded the sea and storm and the fig tree. The more part of Jesus' ministry is not described in plainness in the gospels, and a piece of that portion is that Jesus kept the earth from violently convulsing while he was here, as it was wont to do in reaction to the glory he had, and nature recognized, but man did not. While Jesus' spirit was veiled by mortal flesh--as ours is--it was insufficient to totally veil that glory for those with eyes to see, just as Moses' face was insufficient to veil his after it was hypercharged from being in the presence of God. Lower order creations (animals, plants, rocks, etc) both see and obey God's glory differently than we do. "The elements are the tabernacle of God" (D&C 93:35). All elements. Because the stones are of lower order, they do not have as much capacity as we do, since we are in the image, or after the form or type, of God. Our form has the full potential of the maximal capacity of the glory of God. As a man experiences more of the glory of God, he can do something with it. A rock cannot. At very high levels, such as when Jesus was here, they shake violently in great earthquakes. At full levels, such as when he comes again in unveiled glory, they will melt, like unlimited current passing through wires far below its capacity. "The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth." (Psalm 97:5, see also Isaiah 19:1, Isaiah 64:1-3, Nahum 1:5, 2 Peter 3:12, and D&C 133:41).