Sunday, February 28, 2010

Gospel Introduction's Historical Setting #1

Ezekiel 37:15-17

During the kingdom of Judah's captivity in Babylon, Ezekiel prophesied of latter-day events.

Source: Scripture Mastery card

For Your Information that I will eventually insert 'their explanations' to each introduction from time to time.

See you tomorrow for issue 'G.I.H.S.' #2 (Reading of, see above Title)

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Someone Sent Me - Share 7

ratna kulkarni shared a message

Hope is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson.

'Hope is the thing with feathers.'

That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm.

That could abash the little bird.

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Someone Sent Me - Share 6

Raman Wadhwa shared a message

People are much like stained glass windows.

When the sun is shinning through them, they glow brightly and sparkle.

But when the sun goes down and it is dark and gloomy outside;

Their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within.

GOOD MORNING

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Someone Sent Me - Share 5

Raman Wadhwa shared a message

The world is your mirror.

The good you find in others, is in you too.

The faults you find in others, are your faults as well.

After all, to recognize something you must know it.

The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well.

The beauty you see around you, is your beauty.

The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.

To change your world, you must change yourself.

See the best in others, and you will be your best.

Give to others, and you will give to yourself.

Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful.

Admire creativity, and you will be creative.

Love, and you will be loved.

Seek to understand, and you will be understood.

Listen, and your voice will be heard.

Teach, and you will learn.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Chapter 6 - "The Fall Of Adam and Eve"

Adam and Eve Were the First to Come to Earth

* What evidence helps us know that Adam and Eve were valiant spirits?

God prepared this earth as a home for His children. Adam and Eve were chosen to be the first people to live on the earth (see Moses 1:34; 4:26). Their part in our Father's plan was to bring mortality into the world. They were to be the first parents. (See D&C 107:54-56.)

Adam and Eve were among our Father's noblest children. In the spirit world Adam was called Micael the archangel (See D&C 27:11; Jude 1:9). He was chosen by our Heavenly Father to lead the righteous in the battle against Satan (see Revelation 12:7-9). Adam and Eve were foreordained to become our first parents. The Lord promised Adam great blessings: "I have set thee to be at the head; a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever" (D&C 107:55).

Eve was "the mother of all living" (Moses 4:26). God brought Adam and Eve together in marriage because "it was not good that the man should be alone" (Moses 3:18; see also 1 Corinthians 11:11). She shared Adam's responsibility and will also share his eternal blessings.

* What can we learn from the examples of Adam and Eve?

The Garden of Eden

* Under what conditions did Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden?

When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were not yet mortal. In this state, "they would have had no children" (2 Nephi 2:23). There was no death. They had physical life because heir spirits were housed in physical bodies made from the dust of the earth (see Moses 6:59; Abraham 5:7). They had spiritual life because they were in the presence of God. They had not yet made a choice between good and evil.

God commanded them to have children. He said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over . . . every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Moses 2:28). God told them they could freely eat of every tree in the garden except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Of that tree God said, "In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Moses 3:17).

Satan, not knowing the mind of God but seeking to destroy God's plan, came to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He tempted her to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He assured her that she and Adam would not die, but that they would "be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Moses 4:11). Eve yielded to the temptation and ate the fruit. When Adam learned what had happened, he chose to partake also. The changes that came pon Adam and Eve because they ate the fruit are called the Fall.

Adam and Eve's Separation from God

* What physical and spiritual changes occurred in Adam and Eve as a result of their transgression?

Because Adam and Eve had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the Lord sent them out of the Garden of Eden into the world. Their physical condition changed as a result of their eating the forbidden fruit. As God had promised, they became mortal. They and their children would experience sickness, pain, and physical death.

Because of their transgression, Adam and Eve also suffered spiritual death. This meant they and their children could not walk and talk face to face with God. Adam and Eve and their children were separated from God both physically and spiritually.

Great Blessings Resulted from the Transgression

* How does the Fall provide opportunities for us to be come like our Heavenly Father?

Some people believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, latter-day scriptures help us understand that their Fall was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us. Because of the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden.

After the Fall, Eve said, "Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed (children), and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient" (Moses 5:11).

The prophet Lehi explained:

"And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen (been cut off from the presence of God), but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created...."

"And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin."

"But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things."

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy" (2 Nephi 2:22-25).

* Why do you think it is important to know about the Fall and how it influences us?

Additional Scriptures

* 1 Nephi 5:11; 2 Nephi 2:20 (Adam and Eve first parents, family)

* 2 Nephi 2:14-21 (opposition and the Fall; life a probation)

* 2 Nephi 2:22-26 (Fall part of the plan of salvation)