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Well I thought I would post some thoughts that I had on the recent General Conference.

The first thing of note is the new temples that were announced.  I live in Calgary, so a temple in our backyard is pretty exciting.  We did not think that we would get one here considering we are about 2.5 hours from the Cardston temple, and that it is a large temple and in general Calgarians are pretty affluent and able to afford to travel there.  The Greater Kansas City temple is interesting because Independence, Missouri (Jackson County) is within its borders.  Do not think that I am niave enough to think that they will put one on the temple site, but one going in the area is one to keep an eye on anyway.  And the last one of note is the Rome temple.  It is good to see a temple in Italy, a stronghold for the Catholics.  I have an old missionary companion from Italy and he will definitely be exited to have one in his own country. 

Ok now on to my favourite talks.  I tend to watch for discussion on the gathering of Israel as it is one of my favorite gospel topics and typically there is not talk on the issue or surrounding issues, but this time there was 2 talks on zion and by apostles too.  Elder Christofferson talked about zion in his Saturday afternoon address, and Elder Eyering talked about zion and unity in his Sunday morning address.  We have been discussing unity in our ward for the last little while and a lot of the principles that he discussed, we have discussed recently.  Also in recent discussion in our ward has been that of making Sacrament meetings more spiritual places, and Elder Oaks did an excellent job of portraying this in his Saturday morning address.  I came late to priesthood meeting on Saturday, so I was sitting in the foyer listening to the first presidency talk and it was interesting to note a few of the young men goofing off out in the parking lot and from my vantage point the young men and few of the young adults wearing sneakers and texting.  Elder Uchtdorf's message was particularly inspiring to me about that we should lift where we stand. 

I cannot wait untill they are put up online so that I can read them and study them.

Tags: Temple Calgary Zion

So, I have recently watched a couple of movies recently.  We watched The Golden Compass and The Spiderwick Chronicles.  The Golden Compass drummed a lot of hype this year for being anti-christian.  My wife and I could not see the parallels to an anti-christ that people talked about.  The best we could gather was that everyone was linked to a creature that was called a demon, and that there was witches flying around.  For some within the christian community these things are very taboo. 

On the other hand, I thought that the premise to The Spiderwick Chronicles was very good and inspiring.  If we were to stop and take a look at the creation around us we would be able to see some fantastic creatures.  Isn't that true.  Heavenly Father has created so much beauty with which we live around.  How often do we really take time to view that creation. 

Tags: Movie Ratings

This week I have 2 observations from my personal study.

1.)

I was reading in 3 Ne 26 this week and came  upon v9-10 and I have read it before, and this is one of those verses that (if my memory is correct) that people use to say that if we read the Book of Mormon and cherish it that the unsealed portion of the Book of Mormon will be given to us.  I saw it with new eyes this week.  It says that if we have have faith and believe these things, which I take to mean we live by the principles taught within its pages that the Spirit will direct us to greater knowledge and that through the Church we will go to places to receive greater light and knowledge. 

As I have read the Book of Mormon it only teaches the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. Faith, repentance, being baptised by proper authority,  receive the spirit, and endure to the end.  Well from modern revelation we also need to accept Melchizedek priesthood covenants and receive more knowledge that will help us on our quest back to the Celestial Kingdom.  These things are not taught in the pages of the Book of Mormon.  It is my belief though that because we use the BofM as a missionary tool that it might be too overwhelming for nonmembers to grasp everything in the beginning.  So line upon line and precept upon precept they will learn.  So as a new member joins the church lives by the precepts of the BofM then they will be taught about the temple and prepared for it. 

2.)

As I study the scriptures I write down the verses that I find pertinent to my study and those that the Spirit impresses upon me.  I recently had to find a scripture that I had studied not too long ago to help teach a principle in a lesson.  When I found the scripture in my study journal, I turned to the scripture and what I had remembered I had written down, and written down were different to what was written in the verse. 

My thought for the reason why this had happened was that the Spirit was teaching me, which I appreciate, and that going back to the verse I was in a different frame of mind and thus the inspiration and level of the spirit that I was feeling was different and that is why I did not perceive the same kind of insight from the scripture when I went back to it. 

It also made me think about all those times that I had read a footnote to a verse and it did not make sense to me, or if I read a talk and they had scripture reference, and when I read the reference it seemed like they were completely different concepts.  I hope that this experience teaches me that when this happens again when reading someone elses works that I seek for Spirit that it will teach me what I am to learn from author intended to portray.

Tags: Book Mormon

Recently I had an experience in my neighbourhood complex.  I served my mission in the UK and had developed a greater interest in soccer (football) and our complex plays every Friday.  I live in student family housing here at the University of Calgary.  Most of the other residents of the complex are graduate students from around the world.  There was about twenty guys there, and they were all Arabs, which I didn't have a problem with.  I did not know anybody that was there.  Nobody welcomed me, when I got on the pitch and stood there, waiting for instructions.  I grabbed a pinny, 'cause that was what people were doing.  One person introduced himself, and I introduced myself to a few of the other guys.  The game proceeded, but everyone spoke in Arabic.  I do not speak Arabic.  So after an hour of play and getting eaten by mosquitos I packed it in.  I do not know if I will go back. 

I did not anticipate that I had such a great need for comradre until this had happened.  Normally I do not seek out looking for friends, as I am rather content with my family interactions.  What made this hard I think is that I was playing a team sport, and I felt that rather than being on a team, I was on a side filling a position.

A few Sundays ago a Stake leader was sharing with us that after several hundred interviews with new converts the main reason that they join the Church is the feeling of unity and friendship.  Intellectually I understood this concept, as a lot of people are looking for something in their life, and a social void is filled when they engage in activities with the Church.  I think I can now better emphasize with these people as they come to a church that has its own language and people with established friendships, and if they do not feel welcomed in they will have no desire to return. 

I was quite impressed with the life lesson that Heavenly Father taught me out on the soccer field that day.

The study of the gathering of Israel has intrigued me for some time.  It has been interesting to note that over the last 25 to 30 years there has not been a lot said on the topic.  This is interesting, especially when during general conference there is at least 1 to 2 talks on gospel topics that could be linked to the articles of faith, but not the tenth article of faith.  It is a little frustrating that if it is mentioned the basic message is that members of the church are to gather to there stakes and that the gathering is within our own countries.  I believe that at this time that this is true, and that there are many phases to the gathering that are not being addressed at all by anyone. 

One of the major reasons for my interest in the topic is wondering what my role in the gathering will be.  My Patriarch revealed that I am not of the house of Ephraim or Mannesseh, but of the house of Naphtali.  There is a great deal of confusion by people when they find out about this.  A lot of people think that I will be adopted into the house of Ephraim.  Now why would I need to be adopted into the house of Ephraim, when as a member of the tribe of Naphtali I can lay claim to the blessings and covenants of Abraham.  I cannot say that I know now after years of on and off study of the topic, that I know what I am to do with respect to the gathering of Israel. 

So currently I am studying the Book of Mormon to determine what the Lord or his prophets said to the Nephites.  It has been quite an interesting experience, there are two major places that the topic is discussed.  The first is the beginning when Nephi is still alive.  He is from Jerusalem and proud of his heritage, and tries to motivate his posterity with the great promises given to the Patriarchs.  The second is in 3rd Nephi when Christ comes to visit the Nephites.  He extols to them the promises that are made to them and the penalties for disobience. 

One thing that I have noted during my studies is that Christ only directly deals with is the house of Israel.  In his mortal ministry he ministered to the Israelites, and then sent his disciples to teach the Gentiles, and then he talks to the Nephites and then he leaves to go to his other sheep.  It makes me wonder that during the millenium if He will only speak to the house of Israel, and that the rest of the world will have to get instruction from them.

My hope is to review weekly the things I have studied, and then share them here.  As well intermittently share some thoughts on other topics both gospel and secular.

Tags: Gathering Israel Naphtali

On Sunday, our Highcouncilman was speaking in Priesthood about Elder Ballard and his request to share for members of The Church to start using the Internet for good, and to share experiences, knowledge and testimonies.  We were told that blogs were an excellent way to go about providing positive content about The Church, and that more was needed.  I figured that it was something that I could do.  As I resolved to do it, I thought that this was a good thing and a thought come into my head, "Does a request for good have to come directly from President Monson, or can another apostle give counsel?" and to my ignorance several times, before I step forward and do something.

I do not intend for this to be a travelog or a daily description of my life.  My goal is to post weekly on some of the topics of the gospel that I have been studying.  If there are other things that I have learned or experienced I may post those as well.  I would also like this to be a space to discuss my favorite topic of the gospel: The Gathering of Israel and the roles of the individual tribes that will play in that event.