You know he is just going to buy alcohol with it anyway

Should We Share the Gifts We have Received from God to Others?

Luke Chapter 16: 19-31 The Parable of the Rich Man in Purple

                Why did the rich man have no name? Why was Lazarus given a name?

When God calls you by name it is an indication that you have a personal relationship with Him.

 

What happened to another man named Lazarus? (John 11:1) Because Christ raised Lazarus from the dead and told this story, do you think he selected the name for a reason?  What is the reason?

Lazarus was raised up to life by the Savior. 

Which Lazarus?  Both.

 

                Who does Abraham represent in the story?  Who does Lazarus represent in the story? Why?

 

God the Father and The Savior Jesus Christ.

                If Lazarus represents Christ, then what does this mean about the people we meet every day in our lives?

                D&C 42:38, Mathew 25:40 “Least of these thy brethren…”

                Read the whole of Matthew 25:31-46

Who are the least of these thy brethren?

 

Every soul that we meet is the Savior in disguise.  Our acts upon them are inflicted upon Him.  Though we are blind to it now, the time will come when we will see Him for who He is.  We will come to realize our actions directly afflicted Him.

What about the beggar on the street?  Is he one of the least of these?  Read  Mosiah 4:16-26

Who is the beggar on the street?  The beggar on the street is an angel in disguise.  This is scriptural is it not?

Hebrews 13:2 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers…”

3 Nephi 28:25-28 “among the Gentiles and the Gentiles shall know them not”

If you were an angel, how would you best prove or test a person in mortality.  Would you come down in Glory with a heavenly choir, drawing attention to yourself and delivering orders with a voice of thunder?  Or would you wrap yourself up in rags and humbly wait on the corner with a cardboard sign and see what good soul might take the bait?  Which method is more humble and more expectant from what we know of the teachings of the Savior on the Sermon on the Mount?

D&C 104:131-15 How can we make sacrifices for others and not have fear that we are losing what “belongs” to us?

                                Answer: The Lord made all things, has power over all things and all good things come from him.  When we seek to follow his example and sacrifice for others, he blesses us and provides for us all things that we need.  Therefore, it is a matter of faith to give to others selflessly.

D&C 104:16-19 What is the Lord’s way of providing for all?  It is to test us to see if we will give to others or if we will be selfish and teach self-reliance.  We should be reliant upon the Lord by doing things in his way.

Mosiah 4:19-20 It is impossible to be “self-“ reliant because we are all dependent upon God and ever will be.

Let us therefore pass the test of mortality and strive to be charitable at all times and to all persons See Moroni 7:45 “charity suffereth long”

It matters very little if the beggar on the street uses some of his earnings to buy alcohol.  Let us assume he is as he appears to be...someone who made a string of poor choices in life and has lost his capacity to function in normal society, now wandering the streets, sleeping on benches and eating food out of dumpsters.  His sign says "Work for Food" but he no longer has the capacity either mentally or physically to do so.  Does giving him a few dollars in any way fuel his addiction to alcohol?  It does not because it was not the cause of the alcoholism.  The alcoholism took hold of his life long before he found himself on the streets.  Withholding a few dollars from him will not cure him by forcing him to wake up and go straight.  He is already on the streets!  There is no rock bottom for him to hit anymore, he is well beyond that.  If I were in his shoes, those ill fitting, mismatched, duct taped shoes, I would be drinking my self into a stupor every night to forget my sorrows too.  He is certainly not spending all of it on the alcohol or else he would be dead in 72 hours.   So the handout is after all, directly saving his life because after the alcohol is purchased, he is using the rest of it to find the life giving nutrition that he needs.   Enough of that funding is going to nutrition to sustain his life.  If he misuses a portion of his gifts that is between him and God alone.  Just as God has freely given to me and yet I have often failed in my capacity to wisely use what God gave me.    

Perhaps you have seen the video clip of the guy that pretends to be homeless and works the street as window washer and drives his Ferrari back to his 3000 square foot home...forget about what that says about the integrity of that man.  What does that say about the integrity of society?  What a generous and giving society!  What a testimony to the strength of character and compassion of a population who care so deeply that they have collectively supported someone so abundantly.  Wouldn't that be a society worth saving?  If you were God, would you consider saving a nation who so willing provided for the lowest members among it's population that even the homeless were driving luxury cars and living in fine homes?  I wish all beggars were so well funded.  That is a society worth saving!

After all, we are all beggars before God.   

 

Flattery

Ether 8:2 Notice in the scripture of Ether Chapter 8 that an evil king gains the people with flattering words.  What are flattering words? Are the following considered flattering words?

 "God loves you no matter what you do"
"There is no other people on earth as good as you"
"It is enough as long as you are on the path"
"You have the whole truth"
"You are a chosen people"
"Your efforts will always be blessed"
"You are a light unto the world"
"You are the salt of the world"
"God is pleased with you"
"You need to forgive yourself"
"You need to not be so hard on yourself"
"You need to always look up"
"You are a Royal Generation"
 
Are those flattering words?

Would the following be considered speaking negatively?
"Repent"
"Change your ways"
"Sell all that you have and follow Christ"
"You have a lot to learn"
"You have been rejected by the Lord...who the Lord chasteneth the Lord loveth, therefore repent"
"You have been cursed, wake up"
"You do not have the power to forgive sins, even your own...turn to God for forgiveness"
"You are less than the dust of the earth, be humble"
"Select the lowest seat in the house, lest the host move you to a lower seat and you are shamed among all the guests"
"Whoso shall exalt themselves, shall be abased.  Whoso abase themselves, shall be exalted."

Once upon a time two friends went kayaking.  One friend went ahead and hit rocky whitewaters and nearly died.  Someone saved him in the very last minute.  The friend after being rescued, remembered the other friend who was traveling down the same river.  He rushed up the trail by the river and finding the other, called to his friend.  "It is a mistake.  Don't go this way, it will hurt you."  The other, calling from the kayak in the river said, "Your so negative!  Don't speak evil of my anointed adventure!  I don't feel the spirit of adventure when you talk like that!"  And he paddled on.

 

Temples and Masons

Temples and Masons

Is the Lord pleased with the parallels between Masonry and Temple Work?

Matthew 5:33-37 "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne:  Nor by the earth for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.  Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."

• If taken literally, God could not be pleased with oaths of this nature.  Should we take this literally?  Should we take God at His word?

Leviticus 19:12 "And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord."

• From which it is demonstrated that we should consider extremely carefully if what we are doing in the His name is truly approved by him.

Moses 5:28-32 "And it came to pass that Cain took one of his brothers' daughters to wife, and they loved Satan more than God.  And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother into thine hands.  And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands.  And all these things were done in secret."

• Who asks for an oath to be made by thy throat? Lucifer
• Who asks for an oath by thy head? Lucifer
• The secret is established to hide the sin from The Father
• Because they loved Satan more
• Is it written anywhere that God would ask of you such an oath?

Moses 5:49 "For Lamech having entered into a covenant with Satan, after the manner of Cain, wherein he became Master Mahan, master of that great secret which was administered unto Cain by Satan; and Irad, the son of Enoch, having known their secret, began to reveal it unto the sons of Adam;"

• The secret is administered by Satan
• It has a purpose, to murder
• It is displeasing to God

Moses 6:15 "And the children of men were numerous upon all the face of the land.  And in those days Satan had great dominion among men, and raged in their hearts; and from thenceforth came wars and bloodshed; and a man's hand was against his own brother, in administering death, because of secret works, seeking for power."

• It gives Satan great power when things are done in secret

And here is a reference from the Book of Mormon...

2 Nephi 26:14 "But behold, I prophecy unto you concerning the last days..."

• Therefore, what follows in this chapter applies to modern times, which means it directly relates to us!

2 Nephi 26:22-24 "And there are also secret combinations even as in times of old..." "he leadeth them by a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever."

• Mason rituals literally led a blind folded man into the ceremony by a flaxen cord.  Could this symbolism included in this verse directly implicate a connection to what was occuring in Nauvoo and what has been inherited from Nauvoo?

2 Nephi 26:23 "the Lord God worketh not in darkness"
Verse 24          "he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation"
Verse 26          "hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship?  Behold, I say into you, Nay.

• Is it right to withhold a person from the synagogue if they don't pay tithing? What if they drink coffee or smoke? Is it right?  What does this scripture mean by None?  Does keeping something secret make it sacred?  Does sacred need to be secret? 

As pointed out in 2 Nephi 26:14, this is a prophecy about the last days, or our day.

In 2 Nephi 26, the sins of Modern Israel (the Church among the Gentiles, not the country Israel), are declared:

Pride above all others (verse 19)
Deny power of God and teach own wisdom (Verse 20)
Joining with secret combinations (verse 22)
Casting others out of the synagogues (verse 26)
Rejection of the Law of Consecration (verse 30-31)
Idol worship in the form of prophet worship (verse 29)
Murder in the form of oaths and acts (verse 32)
Whoredoms in the form of polygamy and adultry (verse 32)
Excluding groups from partaking based on race (verse 33)
Take the name of God in vain with false covenenants or not keeping covenants (verse 32)

All the commandments are violated and it is outlined clearly in 2 Nephi 26 that this applies to a modern people from the Gentiles, and from among those Gentiles, those who claim to be of God in the last days.

Ether 8:13-26...It doesnt get any more clear than this chapter!  The whole chapter is an explicit condemnation of secret combinations.

Ether 8:2 Notice a king gains the people with flattering words. 

Ether 8:13-14 "...Will ye swear unto me that ye will be faithful unto me in the thing which I shall desire of you? And it came to pass that they all sware unto him, by the God of heaven, and also by the heavens, and also by the earth, and by their heads, that whoso should vary from the assistance which Akish desired should lose his head; and whoso should divulge whatsoever thing Akish made known unto them, the same should lose his life."

Verse 19 "For the Lord worketh not in secret combinations, neither doth he will that man should shed blood, but in all things hath forbidden it, from the beginning of man."

• Forbidden it...this is written in strong language.

Verse 20 "they are had among all people"

• Does "all" mean in this sentence?  Does it mean only among the people of a certain nation, or a certain religion or a certain geographic area?  If it is among all people, then in what manner is it among my people or the people I personally identify with.  Is it worth my time to determine in what manner, my people might be in error by accepting these things into our practices.  Are "my people" excluded from the category of "all people"?

Verse 24 "Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you, or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up."

• "when ye shall see" and "shall be among you"...in otherwords, these things are among our people, and this would mean our situation is awful.
• Many more things are written about this in Ether Chap 8, these are merely abbreviated notes.

From these readings alone, it does not appear that such things are of God.  We are warned that these things will be among us.  If we do not see these things, it is because we are willingly turning a blind eye to the truth which is laid out before us in the Book of Mormon.