Christian Soldier

This is Part III of a series on the Old Testament.

The Restored Church’s website has a treasure trove of books and talks about the Old Testament. Today, I just wanted to go over the first chapter of Genesis.

Before diving into the scriptures though, I want to add this disclaimer.

“Not all scripture is created equal.”

By that, I mean that some things included in scriptures are pure history. They will not have an impact on your life.

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Let’s do an exercise…. Read 2 Kings 11. Then, read Matthew 5. Which of these chapters teaches you more truth? Which chapter has a greater affect on you? See what I mean?

When you read the scriptures, ask yourself: “What can I get our of this? How does this affect me?” Read the scriptures with scrutiny. Be an active participant in your learning from the scriptures. Write questions down.

That being said, today, I’m going to go over Genesis Chapter 1. I’m going over this chapter because there is a lot of important truths taught in this chapter about the Plan of Salvation.

These scriptures are taken from the King James version of the Bible (as posed on the website of the Church of Jesus Christ.

Verse	Scripture	Comment
1	In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.	How important is that statement! It’s the first verse in the Bible. How many billions of people don’t recognize that simple truth. Contrary to what science (or the Devil for that matter) would have you believe, the universe was NOT created by a BIG BANG. Our collective existence was not chance–not a roll of the dice. The probability of everything being created the way that it was is too astronomically high to calculate. Please, don’t fall for the nonsense taught in some schools. Contrary to what is typically taught, the earth was created for a purpose: For the Children of God to inhabit it, so we could receive bodies of flesh and bone and be tested–to see whether we’d prove ourselves worthy to return and live with Him. Your life has a purpose. You will not cease to exist when you die. Death is not the end.
2	And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.	God, The Great Jehovah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God (our elder brother) had a Spirit. Before He became God in the flesh, Jesus Christ was only a Spirit (like us).
3	And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.	God has a body. God can speak. He has a mouth. He has a face, a nose, eyes, and ears. He looks like us. He has a body. How many people think of God as something without form? This is a misconception that is not true. He has a body. He is a person. God has power. He can command the elements.
4	And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.	God caused the earth to rotate.
5	And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6	And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7	And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.	God made the atmosphere.
8	And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9	And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10	And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11	And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12	And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13	And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14	And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:	God created the planets He caused the earth to tilt ~23.5 degrees, so we’d have seasons. As a measure of time, he made the earth rotate around the sun, so we
15	And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16	And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.	God made the sun and the moon. God made the stars too.
17	And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18	And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19	And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20	And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.	God caused evolution to occur.
21	And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.	God set limits on evolution. “God created”…”after their kind”….
22	And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23	And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24	And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25	And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26	And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.	“Let us”…. Who was the “us”? It was Heavenly Father and Jesus talking. Heavenly Father is a man. Jesus Christ is a man. “God” is a name. “God” is also a title. Heavenly Father is a God. Jesus Christ is a God. There are only a few references in the scriptures in which Heavenly Father speaks (which will be pointed-out later). When the scriptures speak of God or when God is talking, the person speaking in the Old Testament is Jesus Christ (or Jehovah) as he was called before he was born.
27	So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.	When God created the first man and women, they were formed in his image. This is something we can all relate to: children look like their parents. Children are “in the image of” their parents. We are all children of our Heavenly Father. He is the Father of our Spirits. We are in his image. Contrary to what the Devil would have you believe, we did not evolve from apes.
28	And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.	This is the first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve: “[T]o Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth”…. This is part of the Plan of Salvation. God, our Heavenly Father, is giving us the opportunity to be like Him to have a family/children. Children are an inheritance from the Lord. They are precious. They are his Spirit children. We will be held accountable to Him for how we treat them (and eachother, because we are all a child a God. EVERYONE IS A CHILD OF GOD.
29	And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30	And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31	And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

In conclusion, it’s a shame that so many people don’t bother to read or understand the first chapter of the Bible. There are so many important truths taught:

• God created the earth, the sun, moon, planets, and stars.
• God gave us day-and-night and seasons.
• God created the atmosphere, plants, and animals.
• Heavenly Father is a person. Jesus Christ is a person. They have bodies. They are people. “God” is not a void “thing” without form.
• God created the first man and women. We were created in the image of God. We have His likeness. The notion that man evolved is false.
• God gave the first man and woman a commandment: To procreate.
• Procreation, having families, having children, is part of God’s Plan for us. Following His Plan will bring us the most happiness in this life.

This is the second post of a series about the Old Testament.

The Book of Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament, begins with the Creation.

For some, the Creation poses some tough questions:

• Radiometric dating proves the earth is ~4.53 billion years old. How can that be explained?
• How could God create the earth in 6 days?

The first thing to understand is that “Scientists don’t know everything.” Scientists are always in a state of discovery. What they say is “the truth” today is often refuted weeks, months, years, or decades later.

Scientists can’t clearly answer even the simplest of questions today.

For instance, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?”

If you were to lock the best and brightest scientists in the world into a room and were to ask them to answer that single question, they would debate this without ever reaching a definitive answer.

God has all wisdom, all knowledge, and all power. Scientists (or anyone else for that matter) only know what God has enlightened their minds to know.

In the larger sense of things, there is no such thing as “original thought”, “original invention”, or “original discovery”.

Long before this world was created, God already knew everything that man would ever “discover” in this world.

That being said, because God has all wisdom, all knowledge, and all power. You should know that “God is the greatest scientist, mathematician, physicist, engineer, teacher, etc.”

To understand the creation of the earth, you need to understand…

• God used His power to create the earth. He used his knowledge of scientific principles to create it.
• God did not create the earth from nothing. God gathered unorganized matter and formed the earth from existing elements that are billions of years old.
• God does not measure time the same way we do.
  • We measure our time based upon the earth’s rotation in relation to the sun. A day for us is 24 hours. Have you ever considered that God does not live on this earth–that he lives near a sun with a much longer day then ours? Have you ever considered that a “Day of creation” may have been a much, much longer time period then a 24-hour day of ours?

God created the earth as described by Moses in the Bible. When he did it, he did it in a way that was consistent with the principles of science.

This will be the first post of a series on the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is a sacred volume of books that contain the words of many prophets.

The Bible begins with the book of Genesis. The word “Genesis” means “The beginning”.

The Plan of Salvation begins with the formation of the earth. God created the earth so his Spirit Children could obtain physical bodies and be tested.

Our Heavenly Father knew that we would live imperfect lives. He knew that we would also die. Our Heavenly Father’s Plan required a Savior: Someone who could come to earth and atone for our sins and conquer death (be resurrected) so that we could to return and live with our Heavenly Father if we follow His plan.

The key to understanding the Old Testament (and all scripture for that matter) is to realize that the Jesus Christ is the Savior. He is the main focal point. Our salvation rests with following Him.

The Old Testament foretells the coming of the Messiah–the Savior. All symbolism, all prophecies, all ordinances point toward Jesus Christ as that Savior.

Jesus Christ was Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. It was Jesus Christ who formed the earth. It was Jesus Christ who visited Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was Jesus Christ who made a covenant with Abraham and gave him the promised land. It was Jesus Christ who spoke to Moses from the burning bush, gave Moses the 10 Commandments, led the Israelites out of Egypt, and was later seen by Moses (and others) face to face (Exodus 33:11). Etc, etc, etc….

The Mosaic Law of Sacrifice, in which an animal was killed and its blood was spilled upon an alter, was instituted by Jesus Christ. It was symbolic of the blood of Jesus Christ that would be shed to atone for the sins of mankind. So, you must remember that as you read the Old Testament.

Today, we celebrate the life, Atonement, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

He stands alone as the author and finisher of our faith and salvation. Honor to God the Father, for the gift of His devine Son!!!

Here are some videos created by the restored church of Jesus Christ: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I encourage you to watch them and consider what the Savior means to you:

https://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos?lang=eng

There would be no need for commandments or repentance, if there were no judgement.

Someday, everyone will have a day of reckoning. We will be held responsible (accountable) for the works we have done in this life.

This life is a test. One day, this test will come to a close. We will all die. We will then be judged based upon how well we have handled our test.
We will all have to answer to God for the things we have done.

We will be judged based up our works (our actions, what we have done) and based upon our intentions (the desires of our hearts).

“We will also be judged for the things we chose not to do.”

If we chose not to follow the example of Jesus, keeping the commandments, helping those in need of help, etc., we will be judge for that too. If we chose to spend our lives in selfish pursuits, we will be judged for that.

We will be judged based upon our degree of knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and how well we sought to follow it.

Since Adam and Eve, billions of people have walked this earth never knowing about the Plan of Salvation. If they never had the opportunity to during their lifetime to learn about the Plan of Salvation (and Jesus Christ’s central role), they will have that opportunity before judgement.

Children that have died without knowing the gospel will be redeemed. Those with mental disabilities, who do not know the difference between “right” and “wrong”, will also be redeemed.

Everyone who did not have the opportunity to hear the gospel in this life will have an equal opportunity to hear the gospel before judgement.

If we have done all within our means to keep the commandments of God. His grace will be sufficient for us. His grace will make-up the difference.

If we repent and keep the commandments, the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ will qualify us to return and live with him, and our Heavenly Father, in eternal glory.

You can’t really discuss commandments without also discussing repentance. What is repentance? Why do we need to do it? What does it accomplish? Why is it important to your salvation?

First, let’s describe what sin is.

Sin is “knowing the will of God and choosing not to follow it.” Some people sin in ignorance–meaning they sin without ever knowing that they were breaking a commandment.

We cannot be saved in ignorance though. You cannot be saved in ignorance. God wants us to know his commandments–and follow them. When we follow them, we become more like Him.

When you sin, you can repent. When you repent, you are forgiven. When we are forgiven, you qualify to have the Light of Christ with you (or the Holy Ghost if you have been baptized) which will help guide you.

Repentance is a 4 step process:

• Recognition
• Remorse
• Restitution
• Don’t repeat (the sin).
• Ask God for forgiveness.

Recognition is the first step. If you don’t realize that you’ve done something wrong, you won’t recognize a need to repent. If you sin in ignorance of God’s commandments (meaning: You broke a commandment because you didn’t know it was a commandment), God will be merciful unto you. However, God cannot save us in ignorance. If you want to be saved, if you want to return an live with God, then you need to learn his commandments and seek to follow them.

The next step is “To be remorseful”. If you don’t feel bad that you did something wrong, you’ll likely to continue doing it. You should feel sorrow about what you have done. You should also feel sorrow that the Savior suffered for your misdeed. You should feel enough sorrow to want to change and be better.

Restitution is next. You need to try to fix what you did wrong. Ex. If you stole something, return it.

You can’t always “fix” what you’ve done wrong though. In those moments, you just need to pray and ask the Lord what you can do (if anything).

If you are truly sorrow about what you have done, you won’t repeat it. That’s step #4.

Lastly, you need to ask God for forgiveness. Commandments are God’s laws. If you want to live in heaven, you need to learn how to obey the laws of heaven.

Are we saved by grace alone?

If we are saved by grace alone, why would God call prophets? What would be the point of having scriptures? Why would God give us commandments if there was no need for us to follow them?

Well, the answer is…. Works do matter.

Please don’t take that the wrong way though…. Please don’t presume that any amount of “being good” on our part will ever “cancel-out” or “erase” the mistakes (sins) we’ve made in our lives.

Only Jesus can forgive sin–because he paid for our sins.

Why does God give us commandments? God gives us commandments to help us become like Him.

God gives us commandments with the full expectation that ALL his children can keep them. He does not ask of us the impossible.

If we choose of follow the commandments, we are blessed. If we choose not to follow the commandments, we miss-out on those blessings.

Just because you follow the commandments doesn’t mean that you won’t have trials in your life. Life is a test. However, you will be better suited to deal with your trials because you’ll qualify the the Lord’s help by striving to keep his commandments.

The Lord doesn’t expect us to reach perfection in this life. However, the Lord does expect us to pick ourselves up when we fall down, brush off the dust (repent), and do our best continue on the right path.

Commandments matter. Living them matters. Learning them matters. You can’t live the commandments if you don’t know them.

God decrees commandments. Commandments may change over time–according to how receptive his children are to listening to his prophets. When changes occur, we should be willing to accept them.

Pray about God’s commandments. Ask Him about them. Get confirmation from Him that they are true.

Some commandments are collective–they apply to everyone. The 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17, KJV) are an example. The 10 Commandments didn’t only apply to Moses and the people of Israel. These commandments apply to everyone. Everyone can be blessed by following them.

Other types of commandments, however, are of a more personal (1 on 1) nature. To return and live with God though, we need to individually make covenants (or promises) with God–and keep the covenants that we make.

Covenants involve ordinances. Ordinances are symbolic, outward acts that represent an internal commitment to keep promises made with God. Ordinances performed by those who hold the priesthood of God so they are enforceable after this life. Covenants are binding promises made with God.

The ordinances of salvation include….

1. Baptism.
2. Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.
3. Receiving the priesthood (if you are male).
4. Receiving your endowment.
5. Being sealed to your wife (if you are male) or your husband (if you are female).

Baptism is the first ordinance of the gospel. When someone is baptized, they covenant (or promise) to take the name of Jesus Christ upon themselves and choose to follow him.

The act of baptism involves….

1. Entering a body of water.
2. An authorized bearer of God’s priesthood saying the baptismal prayer.
3. Being baptized (submersed) completely under the water by the priesthood bearer.

Ordinances involve symbolism. Being completely submersed under the water is symbolic of complete commitment to the covenant.

Being completely submersed under the water is also symbolic of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The water represents the tomb. Buried in the water represents being buried in the tomb. Being raised out of the water is symbolic of being raised out of the tomb–when we will all be resurrected. In a sense, we are then “born again”. We “live again” after we have died. The “man” (or “woman”) of sin dies and we are “re-born” a new person–a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I will not go into further detail about ordinances at this time. Suffice it to say, our first goal should to keep the commandments. The first commandment is to “Repent and be baptized”–by someone who is authorized to do so our baptism will be valid after this life.

Lastly, we may not always understand the reasoning for why God gives us a commandment. He gives us commandments, because he loves us and wants to bless us. I know that God will bless you for following them.

I’ll return to talk about prophets-particularly prophets living our time-later on. For now, I’d like to turn to the topic of scriptures.

Scriptures are sacred books that contain the words of many prophets. The purpose of reading scriptures is to gain WISDOM–NOT KNOWLEDGE.

What??? I know that may seem backwards…. But, I’ll explain why.

The world teaches: “Study books to gain knowledge.” The Lord teaches: “Study scriptures to gain wisdom”. The reason for that is…

Knowledge alone can’t save you. Knowing facts can’t save you.

The gospel of Jesus Christ challenges those who accept Him as the Savior to BECOME SOMETHING. It’s not just about praying, reading scriptures, and going to church. You’re supposed to DO THE THINGS JESUS WOULD DO: Walk-the-walk–not just talk-the-talk or merely read about it or think about it.

It’s about doing it–living the gospel.

“If you’re living the gospel, it will change you: You’ll think differently. You’ll act differently. You’ll see the world differently. Your perspective changes, you’ll see the world how God sees it. You draw nearer to God–and He draws nearer to you.”

Those of us who have made a decision to follow the Savior should do our best to live like Him.

When we fall short, we repent: We pick ourselves back-up and strive to do better going forward. The Lord is the only perfect person who ever walked this earth.

The scriptures teach us to be wise:

• To act wisely.
• To make good decisions.
• To learn from the mistakes of others in the past–so we don’t repeat them ourselves.

In addition to that, the scriptures teach us about…

• Our relation to God and his relation to us.
• The Plan of Salvation (how we can return to live with God after this life).
• The fore-ordination of Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the World.
• The life and works of Jesus Christ while he lived on earth–providing a perfect example for all of us.
• The commandments.
• The necessary ordinances to return and live with God (I’ll talk about this subject in a later post).
• The organization of Christ’s church.
• The priesthood.

In time, I will show you that the scriptures explain all these things. To understand the scriptures though, there is no getting around it, you just really have to invest the time in reading them.

This is Part II on a series about prophets.

God is not dead. He lives. He is unchanging. Some people incorrectly suppose that God cared about the affairs of men anciently, but he does not today. That is an incorrect assumption.

God does care. Our Heavenly Father EQUALLY loves ALL his children. Just because some of us were chosen to experience this earth-life later than others does not mean that He is any less interest in our personal happiness and salvation.

When He calls a prophet, it is someone that He trusts to represent Him: It is not someone who will seek for money or popularity with the world.

To the contrary, the ways of the Lord are not the ways of the world. A true prophet will never be popular with the world.

Prophets can be young. Prophets can be old. Age does not matter. Race does not matter. We are all His children. God looks upon the heart.

A true prophet does not seek “followers”. A true prophet’s only objective is to do the will of him who called him–the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just because God called prophet’s anciently, please don’t make the wrongful assumption that He could not do so today. He has all power to do all things according to His will.

We live in a marvelous time in the history of the world. The church that Jesus Christ formed when he was on the earth has been restored. Yes, that same church, lead by a prophet and apostles. Jesus Christ restored it. It is HIS church. HE leads it. Don’t believe me? Pray about it. Ask Heavenly Father if the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored.

This is first post in a series on prophets.

Once you know how to pray and recognize answers to your prayers, you can know for yourself what is true.

Since Adam and Eve, God has called righteous men to lead those who seek to do his will. These men are prophets.

Prophets speak for God. They are his mouthpiece. They are given His power and His authority. They act in His name. They do His will–always.

God knows their hearts. God trusts the prophet to lead us. God knows that the prophet will not lead us astray.

True prophets teach that Jesus is the Christ. They teach that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. They teach us to follow the commandments of God. They teach us to repent, be baptized, and receive the saving ordinances only available in the Houses of the Lord.

Like the Savior, a prophet does not seek to be popular with the world. They do not seek wealth or popularity. They do no grandstanding.

God never intended us to be born into this world, have no understanding of why were here, and then die. He has called prophets to lead us, guide us, and show us the way back to our heavenly home.

They are shepherds to us. They teach us what the Lord would have us do.

Having said all that, there are many bad and evil influences in this world. God doesn’t want us to be blind followers. We can’t be saved in ignorance.

“Just because someone claims they know the will of God, doesn’t mean that you should blindly follow them. Don’t be fooled.”

It is your responsibility to pray to God and get confirmation that what a prophet tells you is true. Your salvation is up to you. Not anyone else.

God’s ways are not confusion. God chooses only one spokesperson on the earth at a time to be his prophet.

Anciently, God called prophets. The scriptures are sacred books that contain the writings of some prophets.

“As in all things, you can know that the scriptures are true by asking God if they are true.”

No amount of studying or schooling will ever prove they are true.

Just because you have the scriptures, you needn’t make the wrongful assumption that the scriptures contain all of God’s word. God is endless. His works are endless. If all the works of God could be documented, this world could not possibly contain the number of books that would have to be written.

God has created more worlds than number the sands on the seashore. It is, in fact, wrongful thinking to imagine that all His words can be summarized in a few hundred pages.

If you don’t believe me, ask Him.