The Internal Struggle
“Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof.” -3 Nephi 4:11 RAV, 4:28 OPV
I’ve seen a number of posts on social media basically stating that God murders children. The idea is that when Jesus was crucified, the cities in the New World that were destroyed meant that innocent children were killed as well. At one point another gentleman, a faithful Latter-day Saint, pointed out that the same thing happened with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in defense of the cities destroyed in the Book of Mormon. However, this really misses the point of the scripture.
Air: Rod of Aaron
“The rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.” -Numbers 17:8b KJV
The Book of Avahr
The history of the Latter Day Saints, a collective of restorational Christian denominations, begins with the shared history found within the Book of Avahr.
Temple Altar
“And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.” -1 Nephi 1:34 RAV, 2:7 OPV
As disciples and worshipers of Christ, the first temple in our lives is our bodies. To create a sacred space for home worship, meditation, and other spiritual needs, our second temple is our home temple. For this, members and ministers may have a temple altar in their homes. There they may bless and pass the Sacrament of Communion, receive and share Initiatories and Endowments, and gather with other saints around the altar in the various orders of prayer.
The Temple of God
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” -1 Corinthians 3:16
The “magical world” is an abstract idea used by fantasy and religions alike. Methods may vary, but the main difference comes from the argument over who has the better story or philosophy. This is not to say that what the world calls “magic” is not real. It’s simply to state that one’s path is not the same as another’s, and that’s okay. There’s no reason to fight over paths that work. God’s vineyard is far larger than one denomination. And, those that haven’t heard the Law, yet have it written in their hearts, will still be saved (see Romans 2:11, 14-15, DaC 76).
A Broken Heart
“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” -Psalms 34:18
When teaching the people he had gathered in the Americas, Jesus did away with the sacrificing of animals. He asked for something more personal when he told them, “ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit” (3 Nephi 4:49 RAV, 9:20 OPV). But what does this mean?
What is the Church of Christ?
“Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church.” – Jesus Christ (Avahr 17:39)
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 18: 20)
How do I Pray?
“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” -Psalms 55:17
A prayer is a plea to God. The True Prayer is written in our hearts. When our hearts are pierced, we plea to God and he restores us. From here we may speak to God in the name of Christ. If you are new to prayer, that’s okay. Everyone has to have their first prayer vocal prayer, and Jesus taught us how to do it.
The Godhead
“We believe in God, the Eternal Father and Eternal Mother, and in the Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” -First Article of Faith
Whether one is a trinitarian or polytheistic, God is explained to us through the idea of multiple deity. In the Torah God is “Elohim,” Hebrew for “Gods.” With over 100 different Latter Day Saint/Mormon denominations, there are widely differing views of the nature of God. These range from the monotheism or the Trinitarian views given us by the Catholics, to ideas many find rather bizarre like the Adam-God theory. Here we will attempt a brief explanation of the Mormon Kabbalistic ideas of God by going over the variety and evolution of the Restored Gospel’s views on deity. There have been a number of changes in the nature of God in the original Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1830-1844, and even more due to the wide range of denominations that now exist and have existed in the movement.
Why are We here?
“Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” – 2 Nephi 1:115 RAV, 2: 25 OPV
We were with God as spirit children of our Heavenly Parents before we were born. We were born to help one another to come unto Christ that we may return home to that God who created us.
Revelation on the Priesthood and the Sacraments
The following is a revelation on ordaining disciples to the ministry, and further instructions on the Sacrament of holy Communion, received in Ohio by David on the morning of November 25, 2015. This revelation was voted and accepted as scripture by the Council of Elders of the Fellowship January 5, 2019. We ask members of the Fellowship to read this revelation prayerfully to determine if it should be added to the Fellowship canon in preparation of the vote April 6, 2019.