Posted on 03/02/2011 3:56:13 PM PST by Paragon Defender
Elder Russell M. Nelson
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Russell M. Nelson, "Sweet Power of Prayer", Ensign, May 2003, 7–9
We should pray in accord with the will of our Heavenly Father. He wants to test us, to strengthen us, and to help us achieve our full potential.
In this day of computers, phones, and pagers, people communicate with one another better than ever before. Even so, good communication is often lacking. Recently while visiting a nursing care facility, I spoke with a woman about her family. She told me that she had three sons, two of whom visit her regularly.
“What about your third son?” I asked.
“I don’t know where he is,” she replied tearfully. “I haven’t heard from him for years. I don’t even know how many grandchildren I have.”
If such a mother yearns to hear from her sons, it is easy to see why a loving Father in Heaven wants to hear from His children. 1 Through prayer, we can show our love for God. And He has made it so easy. We may pray to Him any time. No special equipment is needed. We don’t even need to charge batteries or pay a monthly service fee.
Some people pray only when confronted with personal problems. Others don’t pray at all. A scripture makes this observation: “Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank the Lord … for them.” 2
Prophets have long told us to pray humbly and frequently. 3
Jesus taught us how. 4 We pray to our Heavenly Father, 5 in the name of Jesus Christ, 6 by the power of the Holy Ghost. 7 This is the “true order of prayer,” 8 in contrast to “vain repetitions” 9 or recitations given to “be seen of men.” 10
Jesus revealed that we pray to a wise Father who knows what things we have need of, before we ask Him. 11
Mormon taught his son, Moroni, that we should pray “with all the energy of heart.” 12 Nephi exclaimed, “I pray continually for [my people] by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, … and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.” 13
The sweet power of prayer can be intensified by fasting, on occasion, when appropriate to a particular need. 14
Prayers can be offered even in silence. One can think a prayer, especially when words would interfere. 15 We often kneel to pray; we may stand or be seated. 16 Physical position is less important than is spiritual submission to God.
We close our prayer “in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.” 17 When we hear another’s prayer, we audibly add our “amen,” meaning, “That is my prayer, too.” 18
When should we pray? The Lord said, “Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good.” 19
Alma said, “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God.” 20
We pray privately, with our families regularly, at mealtime, and in daily activities. Simply summarized, we are a praying people.
Many of us have had experiences with the sweet power of prayer. One of mine was shared with a stake patriarch from southern Utah. I first met him in my medical office more than 40 years ago, during the early pioneering days of surgery of the heart. This saintly soul suffered much because of a failing heart. He pleaded for help, thinking that his condition resulted from a damaged but repairable valve in his heart.
Extensive evaluation revealed that he had two faulty valves. While one could be helped surgically, the other could not. Thus, an operation was not advised. He received this news with deep disappointment.
Subsequent visits ended with the same advice. Finally, in desperation, he spoke to me with considerable emotion: “Dr. Nelson, I have prayed for help and have been directed to you. The Lord will not reveal to me how to repair that second valve, but He can reveal it to you. Your mind is so prepared. If you will operate upon me, the Lord will make it known to you what to do. Please perform the operation that I need, and pray for the help that you need.” 21
His great faith had a profound effect upon me. How could I turn him away again? Following a fervent prayer together, I agreed to try. In preparing for that fateful day, I prayed over and over again, but still did not know what to do for his leaking tricuspid valve. Even as the operation commenced, 22 my assistant asked, “What are you going to do for that?”
I said, “I do not know.”
We began the operation. After relieving the obstruction of the first valve, 23 we exposed the second valve. We found it to be intact but so badly dilated that it could no longer function as it should. While examining this valve, a message was distinctly impressed upon my mind: Reduce the circumference of the ring. I announced that message to my assistant. “The valve tissue will be sufficient if we can effectively reduce the ring toward its normal size.”
But how? We could not apply a belt as one would use to tighten the waist of oversized trousers. We could not squeeze with a strap as one would cinch a saddle on a horse. Then a picture came vividly to my mind, showing how stitches could be placed—to make a pleat here and a tuck there—to accomplish the desired objective. I still remember that mental image—complete with dotted lines where sutures should be placed. The repair was completed as diagrammed in my mind. We tested the valve and found the leak to be reduced remarkably. My assistant said, “It’s a miracle.”
I responded, “It’s an answer to prayer.”
The patient’s recovery was rapid and his relief gratifying. Not only was he helped in a marvelous way, but surgical help for other people with similar problems had become a possibility. I take no credit. Praise goes to this faithful patriarch and to God, who answered our prayers. This faithful man lived for many more years and has since gone to his eternal glory.
When we pray, we should not presume to give counsel but should inquire of the Lord 24 and hearken to His counsel. 25 Joseph Smith’s first prayer ushered in the Restoration of the gospel. 26 In 1833, he received the Word of Wisdom after asking the Lord for counsel. 27 The revelation on the priesthood received in 1978 by President Spencer W. Kimball came after intense inquiry. 28 Inspiration regarding the construction of smaller temples came after the pondering of President Gordon B. Hinckley. 29
Not all of our prayers will be answered as we might wish. Occasionally the answer will be no. We should not be surprised. Loving mortal parents do not say yes to every request of their children. 30
At a recent extended family home evening, our grandchildren were having a wonderful time. A six-year-old grandson became very upset when his father said it was time to go home. So what did this dear boy do? He came to me and said, “Grandfather, may I have your permission to disobey my father?”
I said, “No, sweetheart. One of life’s great lessons is to learn that happiness comes through obedience. 31 Go home with your family, and you will be happy.” Though disappointed, he dutifully obeyed.
We should pray in accord with the will of our Heavenly Father. 32 He wants to test us, to strengthen us, and to help us achieve our full potential. When the Prophet Joseph Smith was held in Liberty Jail, he pled for relief. His prayers were answered with an explanation: “All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.” 33
I have felt impressed to conclude this message on prayer with a prayer—presented as a hymn. The Lord has said that “the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me.” 34 The music comes from our book of Hymns, 35 for which I have written new words. With thanks to Craig Jessop, Mack Wilberg, and other dear friends in the Tabernacle Choir, we may hear that song of prayer. Brother Jessop, please:
Our Prayer to Thee
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Dear Lord Jesus, We are praying for our Mormon friends and for all Mormons. Please Lord, open their eyes enough to see that the Mormon gospel is lacking of your free forgiveness and your never-ending love. Help them to see they need to search for more, they need to find the truth. Please, if it is your will, have the Holy Spirit come into their hearts as they might be reading the Bible. They can only come to faith through reading or hearing your Word. Please give all Christians the motivation and zeal to witness the true Jesus and His eternal salvation to Mormons around them. And finally, we pray that many Mormons and non-Christians come to faith in you so we can share with them the eternal bliss and peace of heaven! Lord, in your name we pray. Amen.
LDS leaders have made it clear that the God of Catholics and Protestants is not the God of Mormonism.
“It is true that many of the Christian churches worship a different Jesus Christ than is worshipped by the Mormons or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” (Seventy Bernard P. Brockbank, Ensign, May 1977, page 26)
“In bearing testimony of Jesus Christ, President Hinckley spoke of those outside the [LDS] Church who say Latter-day Saints ‘do not believe in the traditional Christ. No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak.’” (Gordon B. Hinckley quoted in Church News, 20 June 1998, page 7)
“As a Church we have critics, many of them. They say we do not believe in the traditional Christ of Christianity. There is some substance to what they say.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, April 2002 General Conference, quoted in Ensign, May 2002, page 90)
“To say that Satan sits in the place of God in Christianity after the time of the Apostles is not to say that all that is in it is satanic.” (Kent P. Jackson, Ensign, December 1994, page 9)
“And virtually all the millions of apostate Christendom have abased themselves before the mythical throne of a mythical Christ…” (Mormon Doctrine, page 269)
Christianity - accept no substitutes - particularly those posed by a convicted peep stone treasure seeker and adulterer.
Should Mormons Pray to Jesus Christ?
Yes - “...Jesus came and stood in the midst...he spake unto the multitude, and commanded them that they should kneel down again upon the earth, and also that his disciples should kneel down upon the earth. And it came to pass that when they had all knelt down upon the earth, he commanded his disciples that they should pray. And behold, they began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus, calling him their Lord and their God.”—3 Nephi 19:15-18
NO - “Elder Bruce R. McConkie clearly explained what our relationship with each member of the Godhead should be, pointing out that some misguided members of the Church may ‘begin to pray directly to Christ because of some special friendship they feel has been developed’ with him. This is wrong, said Elder McConkie. We should pray directly to the Father...”—The Ensign, June 1998, p. 59
Harry Reid: Republicans ‘Fixated on Destroying Our Government, Our Economy’
Reid's statement: "“Why can’t they work on things that help the economy?” Reid asked. “Why do they have to work on things that hurt the economy? Why would they want to eliminate a program like that? Just because it came from the White House? This is hard for me to understand why they’re so fixated on destroying our government, our economy.”
I have to ask why the mormon membership is not flooding the leaders of the mormon church with questions about how Reid's actions over the past few years have enabled him to continue to hold a valid temple recommend, and it sure seems to me that every ward in the US should pray for Harry to change his ways and begin to follow the example set by Jesus Christ since he is a figurehead for the LDS organization.
Harry Reid is personally responsible for joining with Nancy Pelosi and Barack Hussein Obama in bringing this country almost to its knees. I wonder if Harry is on the various temple prayer lists and whether his actions are being prayed over?
“there brother=their brother”
Your quotes only show that we believe that it is you that has it wrong about the true nature of Jesus Christ and God the Father. We’re still all Christians though. Thanks for the quotes!
Guess what? Your pretend issue (like all the others) is found and addressed at the links I have provided numerous times.
Anyone curious about any of the “issues” brought up by the anti-Mormon activists on FR can easily look any of the issues up.
Here’s this one for example:
http://en.fairmormon.org/Jesus_Christ/Praying_to
I have found that the vast majority of the “issues” brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here’s more:
http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.shields-research.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/
Selah ... and amen.
They (lds) are never going to dishonor their big wigs, above all lds.
If as you state in your post that Christians and mormons believe in a different God, a different Christ and a different Holy Spirit then we can not by your definition all still be Christians.
If as you state in your post that Christians and mormons believe in a different God, a different Christ and a different Holy Spirit then we can not by your definition all still be Christians.
You better read a little slower because I didn’t say that. Not the way you seem to mean it anyway. Have a good night!
If you worship a false god then you are NOT a Christian.
Well then it’s a good thing you don’t worship a false God then in my opinion. Wrong about his true nature yes but not false. You are Christian too! Congrats and good night!
You need to look here. You are being misled as is obvious by your worn out propaganda.
Here’s a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the “issues” brought up in the anti-Mormon propaganda can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here’s more:
http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/
nope just show the world the distain mormons have towards REAL Christians
For the seeker of truth - FAIRmormon is not an authorized source of doctrine for the mormon church. I cited mormon doctrine and an apostle - both carry more weight than FAIR..
Sorry PD it can’t be both: we believe in a different God, Christ and Holy Spirit and both be Christians.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.