September 1, 2009
From: Grandpa, Richard Pratt
Re: Article of Faith #9
We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. (Article of Faith #9)
By faith we accept the principal, “That God knows all things.” Therefore, there is nothing that he doesn’t know. That then would suggest that there is no true inventor. An inventor supposedly creates something because it hadn’t existed before.
True it hadn’t existed here before, but all the elements needed for its development, all the ideas all the thoughts had always existed. The inventor by his diligence had it revealed to him. Therefore so called inventors are really prophets who by applying themselves had revealed to them the thoughts, ideas etc. that would bring into being that which he or she was trying to discover.
To understand spiritual things, a person must have spiritual discernment, that is, guidance by the Holy Ghost.
President Smith said; “we must, in the eternities, reach the time, when we will know all things. We must know, mathematics, science and all things else we can never receive a fulfillment of the promise given; as man is now God once was and as God is now man may become. We must learn all things by learning, by study and by faith.”
The Prophet Joseph Smith said that in the Paradisaical glory we will be able by faith to learn more in five minutes than we learned here in a life time. So that will help considerably. And the more obedient a person is the more faith they will develop and the faster they will learn.
In D & C 132:37 we read, Abraham, and Isaac and also Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded. They have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones and are not angels but are Gods.
We know Abraham was born 2000 BC followed of course by his son and grandson. We know that they would have been resurrected 2000 years later following the resurrection of the Savior and 1800 years later the Prophet made the above declaration. So sometime in that 3800 years these three great prophets had mastered all knowledge. How? By faith (revelation) work and study. By constant obedience in all things. Seems like a remarkably short time but it must be so.
On the other hand, looking back 96 years, I read not long ago that an estimated 90% of all inventions have been invented (I say discovered) in my life time.
Yes, railroads had been invented but you had to live by a railroad track. Our own fastest vehicle transportation was what we called a light buggy powered by a fast trotting team of small mules. Capacity 2-4 people. Naturally the less people the faster and longer the team could travel. It took them five hours to travel from our ranch to the big city (about 5000 people). That’s four miles per hour.
My Grandpa Peterson was a hunter for the first railroad to cross the South Western states. Because of no refrigeration he would kill only what the crew could eat in one day. All he had to do was shoot the animal, bleed it out, plant a small flag beside it and hope that the butchering crew and wagon would find it. One day he shot eleven elk. That would surely feed several hundred men. Gives one some idea of how many men it took to inch the tracks ever Westward. He also killed many antelope and I can remember the Head of one in Grandpa’s living room which he said was the largest one he had ever seen. It surely had long horns. Grandpa was born about 1877 March 19th .
Thomas A. Edison is rated as one of the greatest technical geniuses who ever lived. Yet he had no formal education and at age 12 was working on the rail road. By the end of his 84 years he had taken out 1200 patents. Born 1847, died 1931. He employed hundreds of people and his inventions have been rated in the billions of dollars.
He worked on the principle I earlier discussed, the invention he was working on was already “out there” he just had to discover it.
On the light bulb, he tried over 700 times before succeeding. His men wanted him to quit saying that it was not possible and his 700th+ experiment proved it was.
He answered, “No,” they just prove 700 ways that won’t work. And continued, soon making the break thru that we now take for granted in lighting our homes.
It’s hard to believe that after the civil war in 1865 and sometime before the end of the century the government was considering closing the patent office, the argument being that all the inventions had been made. And now they are coming faster and faster if you can think of it, you can do it.
For thus sayeth the Lord ~ “I, the Lord am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto he end.
Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.
And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining unto my kingdom.
Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations. And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught. For by my spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will ~ yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.” D&C 76:5-10
I would like to go back to the beginning of the above quotation and clarify or attempt to clarify the meaning of the word, “FEAR” as used in the phrase. “I, the Lord am merciful and gracious unto those who “FEAR” me.
Like so many words, a word can have two or even more meanings even two opposite meanings. This is the case with the word, “FEAR”
Care should be taken to distinguish between two different uses of this word. The “Fear of the Lord” is frequently spoken of as part of man’s duty. To me it is a yearning desire to do everything I can, to keep every commandment and to obey every law that issues forth from his throne and to tremble and fear that I might do something to displease him. In short using “the Fear of the Lord” this way is to love him and everything that emanates from him with such a fervency that to do anything else would fill me with fear or as the Bible Dictionary states, “in such passages fear is equivalent to reverence, awe, worship and is therefore an essential part of the attitude of mind in which we ought to stand toward the All holy God. On the other hand fear is spoken of as something unworthy of a child of God, something that , “perfect love casteth out.” (1 John 4:18)
Or to remember my small boyhood stage, I loved my earthly Father with such a fervor that to gain his disfavor and correcting love was a fearful thing even tho he was kind and loving in his corrections and mild in punishment. I feared to displease him because I loved him so. This kind of fear, then could be labeled, “Godly or goodly fear.” and is almost diametrically opposed to that awful fear felt by the wicked as expressed by Mormon, “My people with their wives and their children, did now behold the armies of the Lamanites marching towards them; and with that awful fear of death which fills the breasts of all the wicked, did they wait to receive them. Mormon 6:7
Sin destroys that feeling of confidence God’s child should feel in a loving Father and produces instead, a feeling of shame and guilt. Ever since the Fall, God has been teaching men NOT TO FEAR, but with penitenance to ask forgiveness in full confidence of receiving it.
These God delights to honor and great shall be their reward and eternal their glory. Even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations. And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven. For by my spirit will I enlighten them and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will. ~ yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man. D& C 76:5-10 (YES, I have quoted this twice purposefully to emphasize it! Let the heart be full of reverential fear to God and all that pertains to His greatness and your joy will be full and eternal!)
Every person who is sufficiently faithful has the categorical promise that God himself will appear to him. “Verily, thus saith the Lord: it shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am. (D&C 93:1) this has reference to the personnel appearance of God to mortal beings. (D&C 67:10-14) Many righteous persons have complied with the law of faith involved and received this promised revelation (Ether 3:19) Mormon Doctrine pages 644-645
Two thousand years B.C. a prophet designated as the Brother of Jared had a remarkable face to face confrontation with Jesus who at that time was a spirit for he still had 2000 years to wait to receive his mortal body. I love this account.
The prophet had molten from rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord saying.... “therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness;...that we may have light while we shall cross the sea”....behold the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear...and the Lord said unto him: “arise, why hast thou fallen?”
And he saith unto the Lord; “I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.
And the Lord said unto him: “because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest more than this?”
And he answered: “Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me”....behold the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: “Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.
Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people, behold I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters.
And never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, (since the flood, for he had shown himself to many men prior to the flood, but this is not more than 100 years since that deluge.) For never (since the flood) has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after my own image? Yea, even all men were created after my own image.
Behold this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my Spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.
And now, as I, Moroni, said I could not make a full account of these things which are written, therefore it sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the likeness of the same body even as he showed himself unto the Nephites..(read about Jared’s brother in Ether in the Book of Mormon Ch. 1-12 great reading!)
And of course all the appearances to the prophets in the Old Testaments would have been his spirit body. Let me mention two.
1. “And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, (portable temple) the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.
And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the Tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshiped, every man in his tent door.
And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.”
2. “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.
And they saw the God of Israel:(Jesus) and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. Exodus 24:9-11
(Moses was about 400 years after the brother of Jared and still 1500 years before Christ’s mortal birth.
But Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob also saw God and or Jesus Christ and they were between the Brother of Jared and Moses.
And there are many more. Read the Old Testament you’ll love it IF you persist!
Remember. “What ever principal of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life thru his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.”
My Love always,
Dad, Grandpa, Richard Pratt
(Written February 12, 2009)
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