Joseph Smith: An Apostle of Jesus Christ

LDS.org ^ | Dennis B. Neuenschwander

[Paragon Defender]

Joseph Smith: An Apostle of Jesus Christ

By Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander Of the Seventy

 

 

 

Dennis B. Neuenschwander, “Joseph Smith: An Apostle of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, Jan 2009, 16–22

Adapted from a presentation to the Seventy.

 

 

 

In the Doctrine and Covenants we read that Joseph Smith was “called of God, and ordained an apostle of Jesus Christ” (D&C 20:2). The call of an Apostle is first to witness or testify of Jesus Christ. Old Testament prophets testified of His coming. The New Testament Apostles bore personal witness of Christ’s being and of the absolute reality of His Resurrection. This apostolic witness was the basis of their teaching. “Ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8) was Jesus’s instruction to the original Twelve. Peter testified on the day of Pentecost to the Jews who had gathered “out of every nation” (Acts 2:5) that “this Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses” (Acts 2:32). Similarly, Paul wrote to the Corinthians that Jesus “was seen of me also” (1 Corinthians 15:8). The sure witness of Christ’s being and the reality of His Resurrection is the first pillar of apostolic testimony.

The second pillar is centered on the Savior’s redemptive and saving power. Peter teaches that to the Lord “give all the Prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43).

Without these twin pillars of testimony concerning Christ, there could be no Apostle. Such testimonies are born of experience, divine command, and instruction. For example, Luke writes that Christ showed Himself to the Apostles “alive after his passion … being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).

How does the Prophet Joseph Smith fit into these apostolic requirements? The answer is “Perfectly.”

The First Vision

Joseph Smith’s apostolic instruction began in 1820. Pondering the questions of religion, he soon found that there was no way to reason or argue one’s opinion to an authoritative conclusion concerning the correctness of the various churches or their doctrines. Short of a divine manifestation, young Joseph could add only one more opinion to the already existing “war of words and tumult of opinions” (Joseph Smith—History 1:10). But Joseph’s questions on religion were answered by the personal and physical manifestation of God the Father and His divine and living Son, Jesus Christ—an experience referred to as the First Vision.

Like that of the original Apostles, Joseph’s experience with Deity was direct and personal. There was no need for the opinion of others or the deliberations of a council to define what he saw or what it came to mean to him. Joseph’s vision was at first an intensely personal experience—an answer to a specific question. Over time, however, illuminated by additional experience and instruction, it became the founding revelation of the Restoration.

As apostolic as this manifestation of Christ’s being, existence, and Resurrection was to Joseph Smith, it was not the only thing Jesus wanted to teach him. The boy Joseph’s first lesson arose from the manifestation of Christ’s absolute, omnipotent, and divine power. Joseph learned firsthand at least one meaning of the redeeming and saving power of Christ when he prayed in the grove. As he began to pray, “Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction” (Joseph Smith—History 1:15). With every bit of energy Joseph had, he began to call upon God to deliver him from the grasp of this enemy.

“At the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction … , I saw a pillar of light. …

“It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound” (Joseph Smith—History 1:16–17).

Joseph Smith’s confrontation with the adversary is reminiscent of an experience Moses had, about which the Prophet would learn some few years later. Unlike the boy Joseph, however, Moses saw God’s greatness first and then was confronted with the power of the adversary before being delivered from his influence. (See Moses 1.)

The difference in the order of events is significant. Moses was already far into maturity and had much knowledge and influence prior to this event. By displaying His magnificent power to Moses before he faced the adversary, the Lord helped Moses put his life into perspective. After experiencing God’s glory, Moses said, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed” (Moses 1:10). This incident enabled Moses to withstand the temptations of the adversary that followed.

Joseph Smith, on the other hand, was an inexperienced young man, who in his lifetime would repeatedly face adversarial power and the overwhelming problems it brings. By facing the adversary first, then being saved from his assault by the appearance of the Father and the Son, Joseph learned this indelible lesson: as great as the power of evil might be, it must always withdraw with the appearance of righteousness.

This lesson was critical in Joseph’s apostolic education. He needed this knowledge not only because of the personal trials that lay ahead of him but also because of the overwhelming opposition he would face in founding and directing the Church.

The boy Joseph went into the grove seeking wisdom, and wisdom he received. His apostolic instruction had begun. Among the great apostolic lessons of this First Vision were both the physical nature of the Savior and Heavenly Father and the initial and fundamental lessons relating to Their power—each a pillar of apostolic testimony.

The Book of Mormon

Joseph Smith’s early apostolic instruction continued with his translation of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon gave Joseph access to “the fulness of the everlasting Gospel” (Joseph Smith—History 1:34), principles that were necessary to understand even prior to the organization of the Church. The Prophet was introduced to numerous “plain and most precious” (1 Nephi 13:26) prophetic and apostolic testimonies regarding the Savior, all of which served as models for him.

Indeed, the Book of Mormon prophets employ over 100 titles in their teachings of Christ, each of which helped Joseph understand the Savior’s divine role.1 By virtue of these teachings, Joseph Smith became intimately acquainted with ancient prophets, giving him insight into the divine purpose of his responsibilities.

The Book of Mormon illuminates the universality of Christ’s Atonement. The Savior’s holy sacrifice is not confined to the borders of the Holy Land of His day or even restricted to the apostolic world of the original Twelve. The Atonement encompasses all of God’s creations—past, present, and future. What an impression Jacob’s teaching of the “infinite atonement” (2 Nephi 9:7) must have made on the mind of young Joseph, especially in contrast to Christian teachings at the time.

The Book of Mormon also introduces the universality of the Resurrection and other doctrines relating to it. Discourses on this doctrine by Lehi, Jacob, King Benjamin, Abinadi, Alma, Amulek, Samuel the Lamanite, and Moroni are all rich sources of instruction.

During the translation of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet received additional valuable personal instruction concerning the redemptive and saving power of Christ. In 1828 Martin Harris persuaded Joseph to lend him the first 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript. When Martin Harris lost those pages, the Prophet felt an enormous despair.2 His mother, Lucy Mack Smith, recorded that Joseph exclaimed: “Oh, my God! … All is lost! all is lost! What shall I do? I have sinned—it is I who tempted the wrath of God. … How shall I appear before the Lord? Of what rebuke am I not worthy from the angel of the Most High?”3

For well over a month the Lord left Joseph in this terrible condition of remorse.4 Then came relief and the apostolic lesson. The Lord told Joseph:

“The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught. …

“For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him” (D&C 3:1, 4).

These words carefully describe what Joseph Smith had been experiencing. He had learned the exacting nature of the apostolic call and to whom the Apostle, at all cost, owes his loyalty. “Although men set at naught the counsels of God, and despise his words,” Joseph was told, “yet you should have been faithful” (D&C 3:7–8). Joseph Smith had lost access to the plates for a season and had been taught an invaluable lesson. Subsequently, the plates were returned, and his position as translator restored.

How critical were the lessons provided by the translation of the Book of Mormon as Joseph Smith grew in his apostolic calling! The Book of Mormon is the “keystone of our religion”5 because it contains so many prophetic testimonies of Christ and stands as a tangible witness of the Restoration.

Continuing Revelation and Scripture

After finishing the translation of the Book of Mormon in 1829 and organizing the Church in 1830, Joseph Smith had the opportunity to receive continuing apostolic education through the process of translating other scripture. This included three years of translating the Bible and, beginning in 1835, translating the book of Abraham. Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible expanded his understanding of the role of Old Testament prophets and New Testament Apostles. It also resulted in additional revelation, namely the book of Moses.

The book of Moses provided the Prophet with important knowledge about the Savior’s ministry, including His role in the Creation. “The Lord spake unto Moses, saying: … I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things” (Moses 2:1). Further, He said, “And worlds without number have I created; … and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten” (Moses 1:33).

The book of Moses clarified Christ’s relationship to the Father in the premortal existence and reinforced the Prophet’s understanding of the ascendant power of righteousness. One of the most beautiful of all the apostolic lessons that came to Joseph Smith in this revelation was the confirmation of God’s love. It was so different from the harsh, unforgiving, and judgmental personage so many believed God to be; the book of Moses reveals a God of infinite compassion. Enoch saw that the “God of heaven … wept” (Moses 7:28) over those who would not receive Him. Wishing to know how it was possible, Enoch was given an answer that has a familiar biblical feel to it: “I [have] given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father. … Wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” (Moses 7:33, 37; see also Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37–39).

Through the translation of the book of Moses, the Prophet also became more acquainted with the redeeming and saving power of the Savior. As the Lord said, this earth was created “by the word of my power” (Moses 1:32) for the purpose of bringing “to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Many long years before the Savior taught Thomas and the Twelve that “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6), He revealed to Moses that “this is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time” (Moses 6:62).

The First Vision in the grove, the translation of the Book of Mormon, the revision of the Bible, the revelation of the book of Moses, and the translation of the book of Abraham laid the basic foundation of the Church, largely through the rapidly expanding knowledge and testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith relating to Jesus Christ.

Revelations given to him and compiled in the Doctrine and Covenants contain a wealth of knowledge concerning the Savior. One could research the numerous topics and cross-references of the Topical Guide and Guide to the Scriptures referring to Jesus Christ and still not understand the breadth of information on the Savior that the Prophet Joseph Smith brought to the world. I am grateful to know that Jesus was “in the beginning with the Father” (D&C 93:21). I am grateful to know that He “suffered these things for [me], that [I] might not suffer if [I] would repent” (D&C 19:16).

My Testimony of What the Prophet Revealed

I am grateful for yet one other thing about the Savior’s ministry that stirs my soul deeply. From studying the promises of Malachi, Moroni’s initial visit with Joseph, the Savior’s words to the Nephites, and the visit of Elijah in the Kirtland Temple, I learn that God loves His children and has provided a way for each to return to Him. I know of no doctrine more just, no teaching that gives more hope than that of redemption of the dead. I am so grateful for the revelations that teach me that the Savior’s Atonement reaches to those who have lived, loved, served, and hoped for a better day yet never heard of Jesus or had the opportunity to embrace His gospel. This knowledge alone would be sufficient to convert me to the gospel if I knew nothing else at all. Here, at least for me, is the ultimate testimony of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice.

What, then, can be said of the incomparable saving power of Christ? That which Joseph Smith learned in the Sacred Grove about the power of righteousness overcoming evil foreshadows the final scene. So reveals the Lord:

“I, having accomplished and finished the will of him whose I am, even the Father, concerning me—having done this that I might subdue all things unto myself—

“Retaining all power, even to the destroying of Satan and his works at the end of the world, and the last great day of judgment” (D&C 19:2–3).

Our own testimonies of the Savior are framed by the testimony and teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Is it any wonder then that the Prophet taught that “the fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”6

Joseph Smith’s apostolic testimony of the divine reality and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as his knowledge of the redemptive and saving power of the Savior, can best be seen by the Prophet’s own beautiful, powerful, and succinct witness:

“And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!

“For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—

“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:22–24).

How grateful I am for the apostolic call of Joseph Smith.

 

 

 

Notes

1. See Book of Mormon Reference Companion, ed. Dennis L. Largey (2003), 457–58.

2. See Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ed. Preston Nibley (1958), 128–29.

3. History of Joseph Smith, 128, 129.

4. The 116 pages were lost in June 1828. In July Joseph Smith received what is now section 3 of the Doctrine and Covenants. In September the plates were returned to the Prophet. See the historical introductions to D&C 3; 10.

5. History of the Church, 4:461.

6. History of the Church, 3:30.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[T Minus Four]

What did Jesus say of himself-John 8:23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I AM from above.

OK, let's say you are LDS who comes to a true knowledge of Jesus and you are saved.

You want to be nice and polite and respect your family, so you go to LDS services

During those services, it is taught that we too are from above, just like Jesus.

What do you do? Sit quietly and fiddle with your thumbs?

What about when you are asked to lead the boy scouts and teach them things you know are not true?

Or asked to speak in a sacrament meeting? Attend your nephews priesthood ceremony? Give them 10% of your gross income?

Tara, what do you do? These are very nice, kind people and you love them dearly.

[TaraP]

ROMANS 10:9

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Your answer on who is *Saved*

[T Minus Four]

IMHO- It just appears to me, that there is alot of *Judging* by other’s here on who is a Christian

We are given a rock solid measuring stick - the Bible. It is necessary to measure everything against it. What do you use? Just how nice people are?

[Anti-Bubba182]

If you think Paragon Defender was abusing the Caucus Threads, sanction him, but do not forbid all Mormon Caucus Threads. Punish the offender not the whole group.

[TaraP]

What did the Apostles do when Jesus was going to the Cross?

Matthew 26:34

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

John 13:38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

Many of us have denied Christ in what we say, and what we do and what we have failed to do.....

Following Christ is an on-going exsistence, when we get it wrong, we pick ourselves up and try again or forgive again just like Jesus did....

Our faith should be *Unshakeable*

[Jim Robinson]

Well, I don’t follow the comings and goings of the New Apostolic Church either. In fact, I don’t follow any organized church. I’m simply a Christian. It says “protestant” on my dog tags. But it did appear to me that they were claiming some highly divine authority for Smith that I cannot believe is true. Sorry, but I don’t believe a word of it. I’ll continue standing by the bible and the Twelve Apostles and pray, even though undeserving, I make it to the Promised Land, thankyouverymuch.

[1000 silverlings]

ask the JW to read John 1:1 to you from their bible, listen carefully

[greyfoxx39]

Many moons ago, when I first transgressed in a religion forum, a kindly Religion Mod explained the rules to me.

My post was an illustration that these so-called "rules" you keep referring to, such as there being a step procedure to banning, is NOT referenced on the site in a place that is accessible to everyone, and certainly doesn't apply to JR.

I wouldn't wish for you to be banned, nor attempt to influence it...you do quite well at that yourself, and we Inmans would miss the entertainment value you provide.

I do not run a forum on-line, that does not keep me from knowing when someone else hit a sour note on their violin in the midst of a symphony.

These little back-handed slaps that you mormons have made in the past couple of days at JR are quite juvenile. Are you and Restornu implying that JR is so dim that he doesn't recognize the references, such as Restornu's WWII/holocaust reference and your "sour note" comment? The arrogance will catch up to you, bank on it.

I do note that you are pinging everyone you can in the hopes of getting me banned. If it happens, It happens. I like a good conservative will not be coerced, corrupted, or cajoled into changing my support for what I know to be true.

I pinged the moderators because my post referred to their home pages, but that subtlety evidently escaped you.

Like good conservatives, AND the owner of this site, we will not be coerced, corrupted, or cajoled into changing our practice of illuminating what we know to be not only untrue, but blasphemy against our Christian God and His Son.

Let me be clear, Mormons cannot do anything to hurt Free republic...very true, and whining, complaining and gnashing of teeth by mormons only shows their inability to accept the real Truth that there never has been a need for any fictional "restoration" of Christ's Gospel, and HE certainly would not trust the charlatan Joseph Smith to do it.

The posters here obviously ARE hurting your cause or you wouldn't be wailing about it over and over and trying to hide the facts the way your cult has done with the history of mormonism since its inception.

Recognizing Jim Robinson as Honorary Flying Inman.

[colorcountry]

and pray, even though undeserving, I make it to the Promised Land, thankyouverymuch.

You're as good as there since....I’m simply a Christian....I’ll continue standing by the bible and the Twelve Apostles

Praises!!!

[TaraP]

Not once did I say that false religions and cults do not have a *False Jesus*......

I am saying the *People* in those cults can find Jesus on the Holy Bible with the assistance of the Holy Spirit without being flogged by Christians, who say they are going to Hell by attending a temple or Mosqu’e because that has been part of there culture....

Do you think the Christians in the Middle East that are being Martyred, found Jesus Christ by a missionary who came to them as they were coming out of a Mosqu’e and said *Better get out of there*! your going to Hell! That Strong Arm/Westboro Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible either F15.

It is just my opinion that people are not going to reach Mormons by bashing there religious doctrine with Strong Arm going to Hell methods....

[Elsie]

Sounds like yer good to go!

[Godzilla]

Furthermore, I broke no rule in removing the caucus designation from the thread in question. Again, the thread’s title and content were highly inflammatory to me as a Christian, and RM can correct me if I’m wrong, but IMHO, it did not deserve to be posted to this forum as a protected caucus thread. If you’re going to make false claims or comparisons about Christianity on this forum, do not expect NOT to be called on it.

You have my full support JR. The caucus label has its uses, but as you pointed out, to make the claim the article makes - then exclude all but mormons on the subject via the caucus designation was wrong.

[Syncro]

When I was a Child going to te Kingdom Hall with the witnesses I never ever heard them deny the deity of Christ..I have friends now who are Jehovah Witnesses and they have never told me they deny the deity of Christ...

No, they won't tell you that, but see how they mistranslate John1:1

This is from the JW bible:

In John 1:1, the New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses inserts the word "a" in an attempt to deny Christ’s deity: "In (the) beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god." (New World Translation [NWT])

To them, Jesus is merely "a god."

[1000 silverlings]

Will any Mormon tell us who Jesus is?

[Elsie]

Darf: hat you get hen you type on an old, used, Clinton hite House keyboard.

[DelphiUser]

I never said not to pray at all. We are not to pray if something is true or not. Prayer is a conversation not a measurement of truth. I don’t need to pray to know the BoM is false. That can be discovered intellectually.

So... you'll decide when you need God. OK, you have your agency, God is not to busy for me to ask him "stuff" all the time.

And don’t give me that, you know as well as I do that the ‘burning the the bosom’ or feelings is how the LDS gain their testimony.

It is one way to receive a testimony. the burning in the bosom is not the only way to gain a testimony. I did not gain my testimony that way. Either call me a liar and get it over with or stop denying my testimony.

Let me make it really clear to you, God Told me that the Book of Mormon was true, and that the Bible was true and that Jesus Christ was my Lord and savior, who came to earth and died for me and broke the bonds of death for me. There is no room for error, God's message to me was very clear. I am not talking about a feeling. I am not talking about a burning in the bosom, God told me period, end of story.

I know Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and some Aramaic and have done work on the DSS. I know Jesus lived and died for me because I have studied the Bible, the MSS, and the external sources and have weighed the evidence of the Historical Jesus and the reliability of the Bible. Therefore, if the Bible is reliable and it tells me that Jesus lived and died on the cross for my sins then I believe it. Objective truth.

Don't take this the wrong way, but IMHO, you don't know. You have an intellectual testimony that could be impeached by a sufficiently well armed purveyor of lies. I will pray that you come to an unimpeachable knowledge of Jesus' life, death and resurrection for you. I testify that you can receive a testimony from God of the Bible which will be delicious to your soul and become one of your treasured possessions. Bag the Book of Mormon for a moment, get a testimony of the Bible first!

Your radio analogy makes no sense. Moroni’s promise is designed to elicit a certain response and if you don’t get that response it implies it is YOUR fault.

So, if the radio isn't broken, and the batteries have a charge, and God is broadcasting on the specified frequency, isn't a lack of hearing his voice your fault? You are looking at it as if God's not there, the radio doesn't work, or the batteries are dead and there can be no answer. Prayer Works! God will testify to the truth of all his words. The bible contains the same formula the Book of Mormon does. Have a problem with the Book of Mormon? No problem, Go get an answer about the Bible, then once you understand how the answer works, test the Book of Mormon. If it fails Great! When it passes, WOW!

No a charlatan will convince people to pray about something that doesn’t need to be prayed about and tell them that if they don’t get a certain response then they aren’t doing it right.

God tells people to pray, I submit to you that Satan will not teach people to pray to God in faith about anything because when God answers people will have more faith in God. There are only a few things you can count on Satan not to do: He'll tell you a 1000 truths to slip in a lie but he will never testify that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, was crucified and he will never teach men to ask God in faith!

Again, NOWHERE in the Bible are we told to pray about doctrine or if something is true or not. NOWHERE EVER. That is your first mistake. I prayed to know the truth no matter what it cost me and it cost me my Mormonism.

I prayed to know the truth and was told the truth by God. No, I was not on medication, no I am not lying. I have, to my knowledge, never told anyone on FR that my answer was verbal before. I tell people the radio analogy because for me, the radio always works when ever I put the batteries in and tune it to God's channel. I do not pretend to understand your situation, I do not know what you did, or did not do and I am not calling you a liar, insincere, or a faker, I just don't know. I do know that God answers prayers, and I know he answered mine in a clear, concise, and simple, undeniable way. As for the Bible and prayer:

there is James 1:5-6

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Prayer for knowledge, in the Bible, I don't care how many languages you speak, this is pretty clear.

Now once you get an answer, how do you know it was from God... The Bible comes to the rescue again:
First John 4:1-3

1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

It's in there, we are commanded to pray, we are taught how to know the difference between God's answers and Satan's answers, why teach this if God is not going to answer?

The Bible tells you to pray for knowledge, the Bible says to pray in faith, The Bible says that if you don't pray in faith you will not receive an answer.

What is different than Moroni 10:4-8?

Moroni 10:4-8 goes one step further, it says " by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." Wow, what an opportunity! We can pray about anything we lack knowledge of and God will answer! (In my experience, sometimes his answer is "you don't need to know that" and sometimes he laughs and says "you're not ready for that answer first, go work on this...", but he answers!

So, yes I would tell people investigating the LDS NOT to pray, because it is a way that SATAN deceives them and it is not biblical at all.

I have just quoted to you from the Bible. Prayer for knowledge is Biblical. The Bible teaches men to pray and to pray for knowledge. Your example here of your secular belief in the Bible, while it shows tenaciousness, is not spiritual. IMHO, you know of Jesus, but you don't know Jesus. My soul weeps for you. The poverty of spirit is unbearable to contemplate. please tell me if there is anything I can do to help you to obtain a spiritual awakening that you too may receive answers to your prayers.

Delph

[T Minus Four]

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved

Yes, but you're leaving out a few important steps.

Think - Satan knows damn well who Jesus is, that He is Lord God, that God the Father raised Him from the dead and He is now seated at God's right hand.

Lets' stick with Romans. Have you ever heard of the "Roman Road"? We have to realize what a filthy sinner we are, how much God despises sin, the consequences of even ONE sin, and our certain fate. We have to admit it! Then realize there's not one damn thing we can do about it - we are dead.

Unless.....

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