THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST

1 Peter 1:18-20

18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Apostle Neil A. Maxwell

Neil A. Maxwell delivered a tremendous discourse about "Applying the Atoning Blood of Christ." See it here in detail.

Jesus Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world to be our Savior, Redeemer and Mediator. He is the Firstborn of the Father in the pre-mortal life and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. Redemption comes through the shedding of Christ’s precious blood, and not by worldly things like silver and gold. Jesus overcame the world.

In the pre-mortal life, Jesus volunteered to be our Savior, and the Father selected Him; whereupon, satan rebelled. Here is where the war in heaven occurred between Michael (Adam) joined by other righteous spirits and the dragon, known as the Devil and Satan, along with other evil spirits. Because of satan’s rebellion, satan and one third of the hosts of heaven were cast out of heaven down to the earth as evil spirits (See Revelation 12:7-11 for the War in Heaven).

Jesus lives, and He loves. He stands at the door of our souls and knocks. It is up to up to open and let Him enter into our lives.

JESUS CHRIST: LOOK FOR HIM

Hebrews 9:28

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Learn about the "Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ", here, by Elder LeGrand Richards, Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jesus, our Brother, suffered excruciating pain and agony in Gethsemane and on the cross for us, for our sins. All we need to do to make Christ’s atonement impact our lives the most is obey his commandments and laws, to acknowledge His hand in all things, and express gratitude. After all is said and done, this is the only way of life for true success now and in the hereafter throughout eternity. All other paths lead to lower levels of achievement and even misery like satan.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Following Christ is the only way to exaltation and eternal life. Look for Christ, prepare for His Second Coming, joyfully anticipate His return to rule and reign for 1000 years, when the ‘government will be upon His shoulders’ (See Isaiah 9:6). No one knows the day or the hour of His return, but it will occur when we least expect it, as a thief in the night. Jesus is chief governor and king of kings. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world.

Go here to see and listen to Elder LeGrand Richards, Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, teach about Christ's Second Coming.

THE PATH OF THE PEACEMAKER

The Path of the Peacemaker
by Elder Kim B. Clark
President of BYU-Idaho

This incredible address by elder Kim B. Clark shows how we can all follow our Savior and be Peacemakers like Jesus was. We can even be Princes or Princesses of Peace, like Christ.

A prince of peace (or a princess of peace) is a peacemaker. When you hear the word "peacemaker," it is natural, and very important, to think of a mediator, someone who calms troubled waters and helps people resolve conflicts and disputes. In your lives you will have many opportunities to help people in conflict communicate their feelings, find common ground, and resolve their differences. Those opportunities may come as roommates, as parents, as home and visiting teachers, as bishops or Relief Society presidents. They may come in your neighborhoods, in your communities, at work.

You can read the complete address here. The Path of the Peacemaker.

COME UNTO CHRIST: THE PRINCE OF PEACE

Hebrews 9:11-14

11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:

14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Jesus’ shedded blood brought eternal redemption for us, redemption from physical death. Redemption over spiritual death is predicated upon our obedience and righteousness to true gospel principles and ordinances. We must follow God’s laws with exactness. Jesus was without spot for He sinned not. He has power to purge our conscience. Our conscience is an instrument that guides us in doing right or wrong. If we do right, our conscience will tell us that we are in the right because we will feel right, good, peaceful, and assured. When we do wrong or are thinking about doing wrong, our conscience will tells that it is wrong, that we should not do or say it because we will feel bad and empty, will have a stupor of thought. When we seek Jesus and His teachings, we will always feel good.

Abraham Lincoln said, “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad.” Our conscience, the Light of Christ,  is a gift from the Almighty God to show us the right way and to help us make correct decisions.

“All people are born with the capacity to distinguish between right and wrong. This ability, called conscience, is a manifestation of the Light of Christ (see Moroni 7:15–19). A person's conscience is a defense against situations that are spiritually harmful. Righteous decisions and obedience to the commandments bring peace of conscience.

When we sin, we feel remorse or guilt, just as we feel physical pain when we are wounded. This is the natural response of our conscience to sin, and it can lead us to repent.

Repentance and forgiveness renew our peace of conscience. On the other hand, if we ignore our conscience and do not repent, our conscience will be impaired as if it has been “seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2).

We are to learn to follow our conscience. This is an important part of exercising our agency. The more we follow our conscience, the stronger it will become. A sensitive conscience is a sign of a healthy spirit.

Click for a complete documentary. (See LDS Topics-Conscience)

"WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?"

Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

By the grace, divine assistance, of God, we can gain salvation and hopefully exaltation. We earn and qualify for exaltation through righteous living, by denying ourselves all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and by living soberly, righteously and godly during our mortal life time. Our strength and wisdom come from our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave. He gave His time, talent, effort, attention, knowledge, and ultimately His life  to redeem us from sin and iniquity. Jesus is our precious Savior and Mediator. He is the Anointed One.

Christ lived a perfect life. He did the Father’s will 100%, and showed us by example how we should live in order to be saved in the Celestial Kingdom. He overcame the world, and so must we. We must put away worldly lusts, worldliness of all sorts. We should seek honestly to succeed in this world, sure, but not make greed and pride our motives, our top priorities. We need to take care of temporal things because we have a stewardship over our temporal lives, but these temporal things are just that-temporary. We need to seek for things of a better, for the more weightier matters of life. To God, all things are spiritual.

Ask,

1. “What would Jesus do?” or  
2. “What would Jesus have me do?” or “
3. What wouldst thou have me to do?”

Then listen and feel for the answers. Let Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost be our guides.

What Would Jesus Do?: by Marion G. Romney

The most satisfying solutions to problems and the best answers to questions that I have been able to make in my own life, I have arrived at as follows:

1. From my youth I have searched the scriptures.

2. I have tried to honestly face the challenge or question presented with a sincere desire to solve it as Jesus would solve it.

3. I have, through diligent study and prayer, sought to weigh alternatives in light of what I knew about gospel principles.

4. I have made a decision in my own mind.

5. I have then taken the matter to the Lord, told him the problem, told him that I wanted to do what was right in his view, and asked him to give me peace of mind if I have made the right decision.

This, I think, is in harmony with the pattern Jesus set by precept and example during his ministry on the earth.

Read the entire article

JESUS CHRIST: SOURCE OF ULTIMATE HAPPINESS

January 2, 2014

Alma 5:27

About 83 B.C, Alma the prophet asked these questions, “Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?”

Being blameless before God is to be clean, pure, spotless from the stains of sins of worldliness, upright, and righteous. To be humble is to be teachable, meek, modest, ‘having a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.’ Garments are lives of people. Are our lives clean and white through obedience to God’s laws and commandments and covenants? We can become clean from the blood and sin of this generation through the sacrificed blood of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. His blood removes worldly spots from our lives and makes us clean every whit. Seeking to follow Christ is our number one concern, for when we follow Him we are in the path of righteousness leading to happiness now and eternal happiness and joy throughout eternity.

Our main objective in life is to experience happiness. “Happiness is the object and design of our existence and will be the end thereof if we pursue the path that leads to it, and that path is: Virtue, Uprightness, Faithfulness, Holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God” (Joseph Smith,  History of the Church, 5:134–35).

Benjamin De Hoyos said, “No one needs to feel alone on the road of life, for we are all invited to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him. Happiness is the purpose of the gospel and the purpose of the redeeming Atonement for all men” (See “True Happiness: A Conscious Decision,” October 2005, General Conference). The atonement of Jesus Christ brings happiness as we apply the atoning blood of Christ in our lives and access the power of His Atonement.

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JESUS CHRIST: OUR TOP PRIORITY

Jesus Christ

The Great Atoner

Colossians 1:12-14

12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

We need to thank the Father for all things, and acknowledge His hand in all things. He has delivered us from darkness and doubt and made His Only Begotten Son the Great Atoner. His Son, even Jesus the Christ, is forever our Savior and Redeemer. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” is the commandment. Christ is first and foremost our top priority.

Redemption comes through Christ’s atoning blood that was shed for all.  He suffered, bled and died so that we might receive forgiving or pardoning of our sins and then granting us the blessing of life, even the abundant life.  He overcame death when He resurrected himself and won the victory over death and the grave. He alone is our Redeemer and Atoner to make reconciliation possible  to the Father.

“Jesus Christ possessed merits that no other child of Heavenly Father could possibly have. He was a God, Jehovah, before His birth in Bethlehem. His Father not only gave Him His spirit body, but Jesus was His Only Begotten Son in the flesh” (Richard G. Scott, April 1997 General Conference)

Richard G. Scott

Apostle of Jesus Christ