Free Republic

SNIP Teach of faith to keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless His children and bring them joy. 4 Warn them that they will encounter people who pick which commandments they will keep and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the cafeteria approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments. It takes faith to obey them, and keeping His commandments will strengthen that faith. Obedience allows God’s blessings to flow...

Priesthood Ordinances and Blessings An ordinance is a sacred act performed by a man who holds the priesthood. Baptism and the sacrament are examples of priesthood ordinances. Some ordinances may be performed by brethren who hold the Aaronic Priesthood. But most ordinances are performed by Melchizedek Priesthood holders. This section gives directions that a priesthood leader should follow when performing an ordinance. Brethren who perform ordinances should prepare themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit. They also should make sure the ordinance meets the following requirements: All ordinances must be performed in the name of Jesus Christ. All...

SALT LAKE CITY -- University of Utah President Michael K. Young has a strong message for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He says freedom of religion is eroding in America and he urges Mormons to join the American Civil Liberties Union. While speaking at the annual conference of the LDS International Society on Monday at Brigham Young University, Young said religious freedom is about free will and agency. "We should be among the most passionate civil libertarians in the world," Young said. He expanded this during the question and answer period following his presentation by...

The Biblical Jesus vs. the Book of Mormon Jesus (From a post on exmormon.org) Special thanks to who ever posted this originally (sorry I forgot your name) and aknowledgement to Gordon Hinckley who said "we worship a different Christ". LDS members believe that they are singularly blessed with a record of the earthly ministry of Jesus from his life in Palestine, his visit to the Spirit World, and his visit to the Americas. Yet, a chronological reading of the story of Jesus’ last week in Palestine to his ministry in the America, using LDS scripture, leaves one puzzled as...

  Mormon youth, 12-18-year olds, are at least as mobile as any Milennial, and as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they now have access to a new iPhone app, LDS Youth, that allows them to view video messages from peers worldwide, access stories, thoughts, articles, and inspirational messages through their portable devices. With each amenity, is the share-feature, enabling youth to spread encouragement by phone among their peers and families.This app comes in conjunction with a newly updated LDS/Mormon website, Youth.lds.org (“Mormon” is a nickname for members of the Savior’s restored Church named in...

Democratic Sen. John Kerry on Monday urged people of faith to work cooperatively on problems such as poverty, global warming and reducing the number of abortions - "godly tasks" that transcend the nation's culture wars. In a speech laced with anecdotes of his own journey of faith, Kerry, a Roman Catholic, told students in a speech at Pepperdine University that "we can take up God's work as our own. "Shame on us if we use our faith to divide and alienate people from one another, or if we draft God into partisan service," Kerry said. "As God gives us the...