Ok, I have to post this: Mormon Parallels, the ONE TRUE religion bullocks.

Man do I wish I could highlight and underline on this board.

I've been spending timeon LDS.org looking up references to their being the "True Religion."

I was surprised at how many thousands of articles contained the words I searched for, I only got through so many before my head started hurting.

These are large snippets or the entire article, I already went through it and highlighted it on Word,,,I'll just have to put*** around the areas I had highlighted.

You could substitute Organization for Church in nearly every instance.

I will be posting these again at some later date with my other parallels I've unearthed, and of course the familiar WT ones.

The last one is great :God's true Church, Jesus Christ the Head of the Church, Prophet, etc.

You should see the stuff I got on "apostates"

This is long, but worth it I think.

Ensign » 1984 » November
The Caravan Moves On

Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

"I propose some simple tests that all of us may take to determine if we are true to the faith. They consist of a few basic questions, all of which must be answered correctly in order to gain the full blessings of the gospel in this life and inherit eternal life in the realms ahead.

*****Test five: Do I believe the gospel as it has been restored in this final dispensation of grace?

Be it known to all men, let it be proclaimed by the very trump of God, let angelic choirs sing of its wonders and glory, let all the hosts of men stand in awe as ****the voice from heaven declares that God has in these last days restored the fulness of his everlasting gospel.****

*****Let every eye see, every ear hear, every heart be penetrated—for the voice of God is heard again. Angels again are coming from the courts of glory to declare eternal truths to mortal men.***** The gift of the Holy Ghost is being poured out upon the faithful, and thousands again shout praises to the Holy One of Israel.

Hear it, all ye ends of the earth. ****God has spoken; the heavens have been opened; we have his gospel;*** keys and powers are again vested in men; and all men are invited to come, without money and without price, and feast upon the good word of God, for salvation is free.

****Test six: Am I a faithful member of the true Church?*****

Am I keeping the commandments of God? Do I love and serve him with all my heart, might, mind, and strength?

***There is no such thing as gaining salvation from a false god, or by conforming to a false plan of salvation, or through membership in a false church.****

***Truth—pure, diamond truth—truth unmixed with error, truth and truth alone can lead a soul to salvation.****

***Test seven: Do I honor Joseph Smith as the great prophet of the Restoration?

In the days of Jesus, wicked and evil men separated themselves from the true Christians by defaming the name of Jesus and cursing him as a false prophet.

In our day the same approach is made by ill-disposed persons to the name of Joseph Smith. The way men feel about him and his prophetic successors divides true believers from those who serve another master.*****

Unto Joseph Smith, seer of latter days, the Lord of heaven spoke these words: “The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee;

“While the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand.” (D&C 122:1–2.)

Why will it ever be thus? Because ****Joseph Smith is the restorer of the knowledge of Christ and of salvation;***** because he translated the Book of Mormon, which contains the fulness of the gospel****; because he received revelations as numerous and glorious as those given to Moses and Isaiah; because angelic ministrants gave him keys and powers and priesthoods, which enabled him and his successors to bind on earth and have their acts sealed everlastingly in the heavens—all these are but a few of the reasons why we honor the name of Joseph Smith.

I, for one, want to seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from the hands of such a man!

Test eight: Am I enduring to the end, growing in grace, and gaining the attributes of godliness?

That is to say: Am I growing in faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity—as Peter exhorted? (See 2 Pet. 1:5–7.)

Am I working out my salvation with fear and trembling before the Lord—as Paul counseled? (See Philip. 2:12.)

Am I walking in the light, as God is in the light, enjoying fellowship with the Saints, so that “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son” will cleanse me from all sin—as John promised? (1 Jn. 1:7.)

Am I pressing forward “with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men, … feasting upon the word of Christ” and enduring to the end—as Nephi taught? (2 Ne. 31:20.)

Do I have a special and holy love for the Saints, thus identifying me as a true disciple—according to the word of the Lord Jesus? (See John 13:35.)

Test nine: Do I put first in my life the things of God’s kingdom? Is it with me and mine the kingdom of God or nothing?

President Brigham Young—of blessed memory who now reigns in heavenly courts—devised this rallying cry: “The Kingdom of God or nothing.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941, p. 444; see also Journal of Discourses, 11:249.)

It was echoed by his associates and might well be revived among us.

A wise cleric of a former day leaves us this counsel: “If you have not chosen the kingdom of God first, it will in the end make no difference what you have chosen instead.”

****The kingdom of God on earth is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,**** which prepares men for an inheritance in the kingdom of God in heaven, which is the celestial kingdom."

On every issue it behooves us to determine what the Lord would have us do and what counsel he has given through the appointed officers of his kingdom on earth.

*****No true Latter-day Saint will ever take a stand that is in opposition to what the Lord has revealed to those who direct the affairs of his earthly kingdom.*****

****No Latter-day Saint who is true and faithful in all things will ever pursue a course, or espouse a cause, or publish an article or book that weakens or destroys faith.****

There is, in fact, no such thing as neutrality where the gospel is concerned.

Jesus said: “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathered not with me scattereth abroad.” (Matt. 12:30.)

And it was Jacob who said: “They who are not for me are against me, saith our God.” (2 Ne. 10:16.)

If we do not sustain and uphold and support the kingdom of God in all things, we are thereby aiding a cause other than the Lord’s.

Only the valiant are saved. Members of the Church who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus, not valiant in the cause of Christ, not valiant in defense of his prophets and in preaching his word are not heirs of the celestial kingdom.

Test ten: Am I so living that I will be saved in the kingdom of God?

This is our goal and aim and purpose in life. Everything we do should please the Lord and further our strivings for salvation.

And, the Lord be praised, there comes a time in the lives of faithful Saints when, having kept the faith and been true and faithful at all hazards, the Lord says to them: Thou shalt be exalted.

These, then, are a few of the many tests of true discipleship.

Now, I have what every true disciple has. It is called the testimony of Jesus. In our day it includes the revealed knowledge that the earthly kingdom—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—will triumph. In this connection may I set before you this illustration:

*****The Church is like a great caravan—organized, prepared, following an appointed course, with its captains of tens and captains of hundreds all in place.

What does it matter if a few barking dogs snap at the heels of the weary travelers? Or that predators claim those few who fall by the way? The caravan moves on.******

________________________________________________

Henry B. Eyring, “Gifts of the Spirit for Hard Times,” Ensign, Jun 2007, 18–24

But the true prophets also saw that in the last days Satan would rage. There would be wars and rumors of wars, which would inspire fear. The courage of many would fail. There would be great wickedness. Satan would deceive many.******

Yet, happily, many would not be overcome. And many would not be deceived. My purpose is to teach you how you can reach that happy and glorious goal.

The key for each of us will be to accept and hold the gift we have been promised by God. *****As a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ,***** you will remember that after you were baptized, authorized servants of God promised you that you could receive the Holy Ghost. Some of you may have felt something happen when that ordinance was performed. Most of you have felt the effects of that promise being fulfilled in your lives. I will tell you how to recognize that gift, how to receive it every day, and how it will bless you in the days ahead.

You have felt the quiet confirmation in your heart and mind that something was true. And you knew that it was inspiration from God. For some of you it may have come as the missionaries taught you before your baptism. It may have come during a talk, lesson, or hymn in church. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Truth. You feel peace, hope, and joy when He speaks to your heart and mind that something is true. Almost always I have also felt a sensation of light. Any feeling I may have had of darkness is dispelled, and my desire to do right grows.

****The Lord also promised that those who have accepted the gift of the Holy Ghost in their lives would not be deceived. He spoke reassuringly to you and to me, who live in the times when the Church is being made ready for when He comes again.**** Here is the promise from the Doctrine and Covenants:

“And at that day, when I shall come in my glory, shall the parable be fulfilled which I spake concerning the ten virgins.

“For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived—verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day” (D&C 45:56–57).

__________________________________

*****As a young boy in 1820, Joseph Smith wanted to know which church was true. As he searched the Bible for help, he read that he should ask of God. Acting on this counsel, Joseph went into the woods near his home and prayed. Suddenly, a light shone above him and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. When Joseph asked which church he should join, the Savior told him to join none of the churches then in existence because they were teaching incorrect doctrines. Through this experience and many others that followed, the Lord chose Joseph to be His prophet and to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church to the earth.****** LDS.org

____________________________________

First Presidency Message
The Power of the Book of Mormon

By President Gordon B. Hinckley
First Counselor in the First Presidency

*****If the Book of Mormon is true, the Church is true, for the same authority under which this sacred record came to light is present and manifest among us today. It is a restoration of the Church set up by the Savior in Palestine. It is a restoration of the Church set up by the Savior when he visited this continent as set forth in this sacred record.*****

____________________________________

This is all good.

Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Cornerstones of Our Faith,” Ensign, Nov 1984, 50

For more than a century and a half, enemies, critics, and some would-be scholars have worn out their lives trying to disprove the validity of that vision. Of course they cannot understand it. The things of God are understood by the Spirit of God. There had been nothing of comparable magnitude since the Son of God walked the earth in mortality. Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and organization, we have nothing. With it, we have everything.

Much has been written, much will be written, in an effort to explain it away. The finite mind cannot comprehend it. But the testimony of the Holy Spirit, experienced by countless numbers of people all through the years since it happened, bears witness that it is true, that it happened as Joseph Smith said it happened, that it was as real as the sunrise over Palmyra, that it is an essential foundation stone, a cornerstone, without which the Church could not be “fitly framed together.”

The evidence for its truth, for its validity in a world that is prone to demand evidence, lies not in archaeology or anthropology, though these may be helpful to some. It lies not in word research or historical analysis, though these may be confirmatory. The evidence for its truth and validity lies within the covers of the book itself. The test of its truth lies in reading it. It is a book of God. Reasonable men may sincerely question its origin; but those who have read it prayerfully have come to know by a power beyond their natural senses that it is true, that it contains the word of God, that it outlines saving truths of the everlasting gospel, that it came forth by the gift and power of God “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ.” (Book of Mormon title page.)

It is here. It must be explained. It can be explained only as the translator himself explained its origin. Hand in hand with the Bible, whose companion volume it is, it stands as another witness to a doubting generation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It is an unassailable cornerstone of our faith.

Cornerstone number four—the restoration to earth of priesthood power and authority. That authority was given to men anciently, the lesser authority to the sons of Aaron to administer in things temporal as well as in some sacred ecclesiastical ordinances. The higher priesthood was given by the Lord himself to his Apostles when he declared, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:19.)

In its full restoration, it involved the coming of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, whose head was taken to satisfy the whims of a wicked woman, and of Peter, James, and John, they who faithfully walked with the Master before his death and proclaimed his resurrection and divinity following his death. It involved Moses, Elias, and Elijah, each bringing priesthood keys to complete the work of restoring all of the acts and ordinances of previous dispensations in this the great, final dispensation of the fulness of times.

The priesthood is here. It has been conferred upon us. We act in that authority. We speak as sons of God in the name of Jesus Christ and as holders of this divinely given endowment. We know, for we have seen, the power of this priesthood. We have seen the sick healed, the lame made to walk, and the coming of light and knowledge and understanding to those who have been in darkness.

Paul wrote concerning the priesthood: “No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” (Heb. 5:4.) We have not acquired it through purchase or bargain. The Lord has given it to men who are considered worthy to receive it, regardless of station in life, the color of their skin, or the nation in which they live. It is the power and the authority to govern in the affairs of the kingdom of God. It is given only by ordination by the laying on of hands by those in authority to do so. The qualification for eligibility is obedience to the commandments of God.

There is no power on the earth like it. Its authority extends beyond life, through the veil of death, to the eternities ahead. It is everlasting in its consequences.

These great God-given gifts are the unshakable cornerstones which anchor The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as the individual testimonies and convictions of its members: (1) the reality and the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God; (2) the sublime vision given the Prophet Joseph Smith of the Father and the Son, ushering in the dispensation of the fulness of times; (3) the Book of Mormon as the word of God speaking in declaration of the divinity of the Savior; and (4) the priesthood of God divinely conferred to be exercised in righteousness for the blessing of our Father’s children.

Each of these cornerstones is related to the other, each connected by a foundation of Apostles and prophets, all tied to the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ. On this has been established his Church, “fitly framed together,” for the blessing of all who will partake of its offering. (Eph. 2:21.)

So undergirded beneath and fitly framed above, it stands as the creation of the Almighty. It is a shelter from the storms of life. It is a refuge of peace for those in distress. It is a house of succor for those in need. It is the conservator of eternal truth and the teacher of the divine will. It is the true and living Church of the Master.

Of these things I give solemn testimony, bearing witness to all within the sound of my voice that God has spoken again to open this final glorious dispensation; that his Church is here, the Church which carries the name of his Beloved Son; that there has come from the earth the record of an ancient people bearing witness to this generation of the work of the Almighty; that the everlasting priesthood is among men for their blessing and the governance of his work; that this is the true and living Church of Jesus Christ, brought forth for the blessing of all who will receive its message; that it is immovably established on a foundation of Apostles and prophets, with cornerstones of unshakable firmness put in place by him for the accomplishment of his eternal purposes, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.

Of such was the faith of our fathers. Of such is our faith. “Faith of our fathers, holy faith. We will be true to thee till death!” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

By Elder Gary J. Coleman, with Elder John M. Madsen
Of the Seventy

Now I debated whether or not to attend the discussion about Mormon doctrine. My willful decision to listen to a presentation about a religion other than my own would be a grievous sin in the eyes of my religious leaders. The night of the program, I paced back and forth in the hall outside the lecture room for several minutes before entering. But once inside I learned about the plan of salvation, our premortal life, mortality, and resurrection to eternal life with God and Jesus and family. I admired the way John taught the principles of his religion.
Is It True?

What I heard seemed sacred and comforting, but I began to struggle with such concepts as true authority, true Church, true doctrine, true ordinances, and true scripture versus the teachings, creeds, and philosophies of men.

I continued to participate in my own church but began to seek more opportunities to learn about the Restoration. Judy and John were friends to me and examples of good Latter-day Saints. This was a new time in my life, a day of awakening from the traditions of my fathers into a world of truth and light. Over the next year I kept being drawn back to the principles of the gospel. I simply could not walk away. I had a great desire to learn more.

In the spring of 1962, when I was at practice as a member of the Washington State Cougars baseball team, John would often stop by to say hello, to wave or smile, and acknowledge me as a friend. My interest in Judy was also increasing, but the topic of religion kept me fearful of developing a relationship. Changing my religion was still not on my agenda.

That summer John gave me a copy of A Marvelous Work and a Wonder by Elder LeGrand Richards (1886–1983) to read while I was working in a United States Forest Service camp. Reading this book helped answer my questions about the purpose of life. The true doctrines of Christ and the Restoration of the gospel were opened further to me. I was impressed with the clarity of the teachings about the Godhead, priesthood authority and revelation, latter-day scripture, and the plan of redemption.

One Sunday that summer I was able to attend church services at John’s ward and was welcomed with open arms. John was the teacher of the investigator class that day, and he taught about the Godhead. After Sunday School, John talked with me in the foyer just before I was to leave. He said, “Well, Gary? How do you feel?” I replied, “I feel I have known these things before!” Then John said, “Gary, you have. You knew these things before you came into this life.”

When I returned to the university in the fall, John invited me to attend an early-morning seminary class he was teaching for local high school students. This helped me gain a greater understanding of the truths of the restored gospel, the role of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the need for a restoration.
Receiving an Answer

On Friday morning, November 2, 1962, in seminary class, John played a tape of a talk titled Profile of a Prophet by President Hugh B. Brown (1883–1975), then Second Counselor in the First Presidency. The previous weeks of seminary had quietly prepared me for this momentous experience in my life. During that sacred hour I gained a testimony of Joseph Smith as the Prophet of God through whom the gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored. Religious traditions I had been taught were overcome that morning by the witness I received concerning the truthfulness of the work of the Prophet. On that day in November, all of the principles and precious truths I had learned with respect to the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon converged in my mind and heart.

I returned to my apartment after that seminary class and sincerely, with real intent, having faith in Christ, poured out my soul to God and pleaded for His guidance and direction at this crucial point in my search for truth. During this act of faith and humility before God, the power of the Holy Ghost enveloped my entire being, burning out every doubt, fear, and concern as to what I must do. Feelings of relief and assurance swept over me, and I knew that my life was about to change dramatically. I returned to the seminary building and said to John, “I would like to join your Church.” He arranged for the missionaries to teach me the discussions, and we set a date for my baptism.

My spiritual rebirth was real but also very painful. My parents and family were crushed as they learned of my decision to join the Church. Judy and John were thrilled, but now I was dealing with acceptance and joy on one side and rejection and disappointment on the other.

Conversion experiences are based upon three pillars: friends in the Church; responsibility through service; and nurturing through study, participation, and prayer. Thirty-five years after my baptism, President Gordon B. Hinckley listed these as necessary elements of conversion while speaking to the Church about missionary work and retention.1 These same pillars were essential in my conversion.
Parallels

After I was baptized and as time has gone on, there have been many parallels between John’s life and mine. I was able to further learn about priesthood service as John’s junior companion in our home teaching assignments. He pursued a career in the Church Educational System, and so did I. In 1963 I married Judy in the Cardston Alberta Temple, and John married Diane Dursteler in the Salt Lake Temple. John and I both received bachelor’s degrees from Washington State University and master’s and doctoral degrees from Brigham Young University. John and I have served as full-time mission presidents accompanied by our eternal companions. Both of us were sustained as General Authorities in the Second Quorum of the Seventy in October 1992, followed by our calls to the First Quorum of the Seventy in April 1997. It has been our sweet and sacred privilege to serve side by side in the Quorums of the Seventy.

I shall be eternally grateful for the wonderful friends who brought me the glorious truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days. How blessed is anyone with friends willing and eager to share with them the gift of the gospel, which makes possible the gift of salvation, “which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God” (D&C 14:7).

_______________________________

Gordon B. Hinckley, “Stand True and Faithful,” Ensign, May 1996, 91

[Many of you are descended from pioneers in this Church. They struggled so hard; they paid such a terrible price for their faith. Be true to them and true always to the Church they loved so much. I wish that each of you would remember that tonight you heard me say that this Church is true. Other churches also do much good, but this is the “true and living church” of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name it bears (see D&C 1:30). Be true to it. Cling to it. If you will do so it will become as an anchor in the midst of a stormy sea. It will be a light to your lives and a foundation upon which to build them. I give you my solemn testimony that this Church will never be led astray. It is in the hands of God, and should any of its leaders ever attempt to lead it astray, His is the power to remove them. He has said that He has restored His work for the last time, “never again to be destroyed nor given to other people” (D&C 138:44; see also Dan. 2:44–45).

I hope all of you who are eligible are attending seminary. This organization provides wonderful opportunities to learn the doctrines that will make you happy. It provides wonderful opportunities for socializing with those of your own kind.

Look to the Church and its leaders for counsel and direction. We have only one desire, and that is that you be happy, that your lives be challenging and satisfying, that you be saved from pitfalls of evil which could destroy you, that you will be the kind of people who will carry high the torch of eternal truth and hand it on to the generation which will succeed you.

The truths of this gospel are everlasting and eternal. Philosophies change. Customs change. Culture changes. But with all of these changes, there are gospel fundamentals that have never changed and never will change.

How lucky can you be to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Here you find choice and wonderful friends. Here you find able and faithful teachers. Here you find opportunities for service. For instance, where else is there any service to compare with being baptized for the dead? You, each of you, may have that opportunity of going to the Lord’s holy house, there to be baptized in behalf of someone who is helpless to go forward in the world beyond without the service you can give. That individual might have been a woman of great power and influence when she was upon the earth. But without the ordinance of baptism she is stopped in her eternal progress. Yours is the opportunity to free her. What an unselfish and wonderful thing this is. You, through a little effort, can become the one to unlock the gate which will permit that individual to move forward on the way of immortality and eternal life. There is not another organization in all the world that offers you this opportunity. It affords the means by which to give the most unselfish kind of service. You will receive no thanks in this life for that which you do in being baptized for the dead. But you will receive a satisfaction in your heart of having done something totally unselfish and much appreciated. Be true to the Church of which you are a part.

_______________________________

“Chapter 9: Heeding the True Messenger of Jesus Christ,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 79

http://www.lds.org/portal/site/LDSOrg/menuitem.b3bc55cbf541229058520974e44916a0/?vgnextoid=88021b08f338c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=c55197a7c1d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1
n what ways is the President of the Church the keeper of the Lord’s kingdom?

*********Keep in mind that the head of this church is not the President of the Church. The head of this church is the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, who reigns and rules. … In all this turmoil we can be sure that He is guiding, lest we forget.********* 4

“************[Jesus] is the head of the body, the Church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1:18.) It is true, however, that in each dispensation when his gospel has been upon the earth and his Church has been established, the Lord has appointed and has vested authority in one man at a time in each such dispensation who has borne the title of president of the Church, or prophet, seer and revelator to the Church. *********Such titles, or the conferring of such authority, does not make of one *****“the Head of the Church,” which title belongs to Jesus Christ.****** It does make of him, however, God’s mouthpiece and the one who acts in God’s stead and through whom he speaks to his people by way of instruction, to give or to withhold principles and ordinances, or to warn of judgments.***********…

… The president of the Church is the keeper of the Lord’s House or Kingdom. Into his hands are committed the keys to every part. At the Lord’s direction he gives keys of authority to other members of the Church to baptize, to preach the gospel, to lay hands on the sick, to preside or to teach in various offices. To a few only he gives the authority to officiate in the ordinances of the temples or to perform marriages therein “to bind on earth and in heaven.” 5

*****A prophet is an inspired and divinely appointed revealer and interpreter of God’s mind and will. He has held the keys to the kingdom of God in our day, such as were given to Peter as the earthly head of the Church in his day.****** 6

May I read to you something that has been written [by President J. Reuben Clark Jr.] for another occasion: “We must have in mind … that only the President of the Church, the Presiding High Priest, … has the right to receive revelations for the Church, either new or amendatory, or to give authoritative interpretations of scriptures that shall be binding on the Church. …************** He is God’s sole mouthpiece on earth for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the only true Church. He alone may declare the mind and will of God to his people.************** No officer of any other Church in the world has this high right and lofty prerogative.” [Church News, 31 July 1954, 10.] 7

The only one authorized to bring forth any new doctrine is the President of the Church, who, when he does, will declare it as a revelation from God, and it will be so accepted by the Council of the Twelve and sustained by the body of the Church. 8

Ok, I have to post this: Mormon Parallels, the ONE TRUE religion bullocks.

smellsgood

SirNose586

Share this