Prophets, they know

Take a look at this verse below and tell me what you think it mean.

Jacob 1

5For because of faith and great anxiety, it truly had been made manifest unto us concerning our people, what things should ^ahappen unto them.

Ok so lets think about this.  There is a lot summed up here that Jacob explains to us.  If you read 1 Nephi 11-14 you would understand that Nephi was shown a lot concerning what the future held for his people.  But he doesn't tell us all he knows.  That's why this verse is so important, because Jacob tells us here that the prophet isn't joking around when he tells us of future events, because he really knows what will happen, but he can't tell us everything, he's not a fortune teller.  And often times in the scriptures and in recent years the prophet hasn't recorded much if not any of what he's been shown.  So when you hear things like, "Get out of debt," "be sure you have a year supply of food storage," and other examples, take it for a fact that there is a reason he's saying those things.

One of lifes many questions

One of the hardest and most challenging questions we all ask ourselves and others is, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"  When searching the gospel archives we find multiple explanations and reasons for this; down below is one reason or explanation given by Spencer W. Kimball.   
 "I am grateful that even through the Priesthood I cannot heal all the sick. I might heal people who should die. I might relieve people of suffering who should suffer. I fear I would frustrate the purposes of God.

    "Had I limitless power, and yet limited vision and understanding, I might have saved Abinadi from the flames of the fires when he was burned at the stake, and in doing so I might have irreparably damaged him and limited him to a lower kingdom. He died a martyr and went into a martyr’s reward, exaltation. He would have lived on the earth and could have lost his faith, his courage, even his virtue, and his exaltation.

    "I would have likely have protected Paul against his woes if my power were boundless. I would surely have healed his 'thorn in the flesh' and in doing so I might have foiled the program and relegated him to lower glories. Thrice he offered prayers, asking the Lord to remove the 'thorn' from him, but the Lord did not so answer his prayers. Paul many times could have lost himself if he had been so eloquent, well, handsome and free from the things which made him humble. Such a healing of Paul might have ruined him...

    "I fear that had I been in Carthage jail on June 27, 1844. I might have deflected the bullets which pierced the body of the Prophet and the Patriarch. I might have saved then from the sufferings and agony. And stopped the martyrs death and reward. I am glad I did not have that decision."
(Spencer W. Kimball, Tragedy or Destiny, BYU 1955).

 Here is a link to a recording of this epic speech, http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=702 .

Is it True?

I found this in my studies, and it intrigued me how this all happened.  I'll narrate my thoughts with the verses.  The setting is in front of the council of the High Priests in Jerusalem, after the Apostles had already been thrown in prison the day before and were broken out by and angel (who commanded them to preach in the temple).  The council is really upset and want to find some reason to have them all executed.

Acts 5

34Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named aGamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;

 35And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.

 36For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as aobeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

 37After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

Right here it becomes obvious that the Jews did have dealings with folks who pretended to be prophets among other things.  This is nothing new, and it still happens today.

 38And now I say unto you, aRefrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of bmen, it will come to nought:

 39But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; alest haply ye be found even to bfight against God.

I love his final statement, that if it is of men don't worry about it, it will crumble eventually.  But if God leads the work you best not stand in the way.  All this was said by a man not of the Christian faith, whom was on the opposite side of the line, but understood, nonetheless, that God's work cannot be frustrated.

Gravity: A Parallel, Part 3

     Finally the last part of this parallel. 
    One must also be aware that when traveling downward on a slope the sooner you slow you course the safer you will evidently be when headed downward.  It is much harder to stop as you descend.  For this analogy we will use a cruising car (one some of us may have heard before). 
    This old car has clunky engine, old rusted brakes, and some steering.  As you move down the hill, in this bucket of bolts, you can swerve along without difficulty.  As you pickup speed you start to notice that the steering becomes more difficult and the brakes do not work with the same power as they did when you first started.  Pretty soon the steering and the body of the vehicle start to vibrate rapidly, which late becomes a violent shaking motion.  You try to stop the old rust bucket but the brakes simple haven't enough strength anymore and give way.  Your steering it as best you can to stay on the road but even that gives way in the end.  The only way to survive: bail out.  You open the passenger side door and leap as far away from the car as you can into the grassy hillside.  You survive but are badly battered and weak.
     It would seem obvious is this case, that avoiding using the car for a cruise would have proved to ensure the safety of the individual.  Truly one who avoids sin and resists temptation are better off than those who must repent and clean themselves of it.  But lets look at the recovery process.  As stated earlier it requires less energy to travel a decline than an incline, the same with repentance.  It requires more effort to repent and rectify our wrongs than it is to do wrong.  And it is continually difficult to climb the hill and progress toward our eternal goal of Endless Joy and Happiness as well, but without the pains of sin and regret.
    I pray that this parallel may prove useful and assist with our understanding of eternal principles.

Gravity: A Parallel, Part 2

    As I said before we must strive to move forward rather than upward.
    Anyone knows the difficulty in riding a bike up a hill and the ease in riding down one; the same is true in living our lives.  When one decides he'd rather not put forth the effort to strive following the commandments he also chooses to follow the flow and travel with little care on where he is headed.  One does not need to contemplate long on where this action will lead, because it will only lead to pain and suffering. 
    As we move down the hill we pick up speed as we go down, and we move steadily faster and faster towards our undoing.  Same with sin and temptation; the longer you to continue break the commandments and the deeper and deeper you dig yourself, the greater magnitude of sin you commit.  One must train himself with self discipline to know when one is heading downward and not upward.

Gravity: A Parallel, Part 1

     I would like to explain a parallel of which I've recently theorized.
     Imagine your on a bike riding up a hill, some parts are steeper than others but you keep on moving.  During this journey up the hill you experience the tug and pull of gravity, and the steeper the incline the harder it is to continue moving up the hill.  Sometimes you may feel the urge to stop and rest or maybe that this isn't worth it and you should just turn back, but you manage to keep on moving upward.

     This experience represents lifes journey.  The hill represents life, with its trials bumps and bruises and constant struggles; and Gravity represents the Worlds influence and temptations from the adversary.  The further we move up the hill and harder we pursue our goal the stronger and stronger the attacks of the enemy become.  Which is why we must always be on guard to keep trucking up the hill and not down it.

Profile of a Prophet

One of my all around favorite talks, by Elder Hugh B. Brown, given as a BYU devotional on Oct. 4, 1955. He gives eleven points in his talk that describe what a prophet is and does:

"We agreed between us that the following characteristics should distinguish a man who claims to be a prophet:

1. He will boldly claim that God had spoken to him.

2. Any man so claiming would be a dignified man with a dignified message—no table jumping, no whisperings from the dead, no clairvoyance, but an intelligent statement of truth.

3. Any man claiming to be a prophet of God would declare his message without any fear and without making any weak concessions to public opinion.

4. If he were speaking for God he could not make concessions, although what he taught would be new and contrary to the accepted teachings of the day. A prophet bears witness to what he has seen and heard and seldom tries to make a case by argument. His message and not himself is important.

5. Such a man would speak in the name of the Lord, saying, “Thus said the Lord,” as did Moses, Joshua, and others.

6. Such a man would predict future events in the name of the Lord, and they would come to pass, as did those predicted by Isaiah and Ezekiel.

7. He would have not only an important message for his time but often a message for all future time, such as Daniel, Jeremiah, and others had.

8. He would have courage and faith enough to endure persecution and to give his life, if need be, for the cause he espoused, such as Peter, James, Paul, and others did.

9. Such a man would denounce wickedness fearlessly. He would generally be rejected or persecuted by the people of his time, but later generations and descendants of his persecutors would build monuments in his honor.

10. He would be able to do superhuman things—things that no man could do without God’s help. The consequence or result of his message and work would be convincing evidence of his prophetic calling: “By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20).

11. His teachings would be in strict conformity with scripture, and his words and his writings would become scripture. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21).
Now I have given but an outline that you can fill in and amplify and then measure and judge the Prophet Joseph Smith by the work and stature of other prophets." (Profile of a Prophet, Hugh B. Brown.)

Do you think that this is a fitting description of a prophet of God?

So I took this picture earlier last week as we were driving to a member's house (yes thats the car in the lowere right corner, and no I am not leaving out the window).  Take a good look at it and tell me what it means, the road the sunset, the hills.  What portrait does this photograph paint?