Mormon Musings

In February 1847, Brigham Young had a dream in which he visited with the Prophet Joseph Smith.  Brigham Young told Joseph Smith that he wanted to be with him, but the Prophet told him that he would have to wait awhile.  Brigham young asked if he had any message for the brethren. The following is taken from Brigham Young’s journal: “Joseph stepped toward me, and looking very earnestly, yet pleasantly said, ‘Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the  spirit of the Lord …. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it.  They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits; it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God.  Tell the brethren if they will follow the spirit ...

"I am grateful that early in my life I was blessed with a simple faith that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, in a vision. Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. That testimony has been confirmed to me over and over again." President  Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " Precious Fruits of the First Vision ",   Ensign and Liahona , February 2009

“You can change anything you want to change and you can do it very fast. That’s another Satanic sucker-punch—that it takes years and years and eons of eternity to repent. It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes you to say ‘I’ll change’—and mean it. Of course there will be problems to work out and restitutions to make. You may well spend—indeed you had better spend—the rest of your life proving your repentance by its permanence. But change, growth, renewal, repentance can come for you as instantaneously as it did for Alma and the Sons of Mosiah.” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland -“For Times of Trouble,”  New Era , Oct. 1980, 11–12; quoted in  Ensign , Feb. 2008, 57

At Adam-ondi-Ahman, 20-year-old Benjamin F. Johnson was spared a similar fate at the hands of a Missourian who was determined to shoot him. Benjamin had been arrested and kept under guard for eight days in intensely cold weather before an open campfire. While he was sitting on a log, a “brute” came up to him with a rifle in his hands and said, “You give up Mormonism right now, or I’ll shoot you.” Benjamin decisively refused, upon which the ruffian took deliberate aim at him and pulled the trigger. The gun failed to discharge. Cursing fearfully, the man declared that he had “used the gun 20 years and it had never before missed fire.” Examining the lock, he reprimed the weapon and again aimed and pulled the trigger—without effect. Following the same procedure he tried a third time, but the result was the same. A bystander told him to “fix up his gun a little” and then “you can kill the cuss all right.” So for a fourth and final time the would-be murderer prepared, even putting in...

Elder Holland, General Conference April 2013: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/lord-i-believe

“The first step on the path of discipleship begins, luckily enough, in the exact place where we stand!  We do not have to prequalify to take that first step.  it doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor.  there is no requirement to be educated, eloquent, or intellectual.  We do not have to be perfect or well-spoken or even well-mannered.  You and I can walk in the path of discipleship today…. It is always the right time to walk in His way.  It is never too late.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -”The Way of the Disciple,”  Ensign,  May 2009, 77, 78

HUGH NIBLEY, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ,”  Ensign,  July, Aug., Sept., Oct., 1990:                                                                                                PART 1: http://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/07/the-atonement-of-jesus-christ-part-1 PART 2:  http://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/08/the-atonement-of-jesus-christ-part-2 PART 3:  http://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/09/the-atonement-of-jesus-christ-part-3 PART 4:  http://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/10/the-atonement-of-jesus-christ-part-4