And as I look at it, I tend to
find that there are two sets of real questions. Primary questions and Secondary
questions. The Primary questions include: Does God exist? Does he answer my
prayers? Did Jesus Christ die for me? Was Joseph Smith a prophet? Where do I go
after this world? Etc. Etc. Secondary questions can be as basic as the priesthood
restrictions, the first vision, the translation of the Book of Mormon.
Now a lot of secondary answers
I take to the extreme end of comparison. Its like asking what type of nail, how
thick, how long, what type of metal they used; to hang Jesus on the cross.
While coming to the knowledge of these questions may build upon your testimony,
knowing them by themselves won't give you a testimony of Jesus the Christ as
our Savior. What matters most obviously aren't the nails, but him sacrificing
himself for us on the cross. This is important to know so that we may overcome physical death, repent of our sins, and so that we can all make it back to our Heavenly Father.
We need to know and understand the principles. The points of the doctrine most
basic. We need to have our own personal testimony about them. Porque as it is
said in 3 Nephi 26:
"9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.
"9 And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.
10 And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the
greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation."
Gaining our foundational testimony will make all other secondary questions become
obsolete. You can tie back any secondary question, back to a primary question.
While some may question the importance of the word of wisdom. The real question
can be turned back to 'Was Joseph Smith a prophet?' If he really was then, that
means he received the revelation, as prophets do, to guide us and give us this
commandment in these modern days. Remember, knowledge is not a bad thing. But
you can't do Algebra before you can even do addition. I encourage all of you to
make sure your foundation is firm.
Also just a
reminder to listen to the impressions of the spirit. You won't have regrets if
you do so.
This week was
tiring from having a slight cold, but I've been working through it. How often do
you get to be a missionary you know? We had a few prayers
answered as we were able to work out a fiasco with the phones as we lost connection here. To contact people we tried using internet or Wi-Fi, but that was not working either. We were finally were able to make contact. We also had a baptism planned but he did not come to church on Sunday. So, we were praying throughout all the sacrament meeting that he
would make it. Then at last, in the last fifteen minutes he showed up and we
baptized him.
A lot of the kids love to collect and play with bottle caps here on the island.
Who knew they were so much fun!
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