Today is Yom Kippur...The Jewish "Day of Atonement". It is the holiest of holidays for people of the Jewish faith. It is a time of fasting and confession of sins. I found this simple explanation online:
Yom Kippur : Day of Atonement | ||||||
"Yom Kippur is celebrated, according to Scripture, on the tenth day of the Hebrew month, Tishri - ten days after Rosh Hashanah. It is holiest of Jewish holidays, as it is the Day of Atonement, or the Day of Covering. |  | |||||
There was a special place in the temple, called the Holy of Holies. It was separated from the rest of the temple by a veil. On this day, and this day only, could the High Priest enter into the Holy of Holies and offer the sacrifices commanded by God as an atonement for the sins of the people. He also cast a lot to select a scapegoat that would bear the sins of the people and be sent into the wilderness. God's instruction of the sacrifice and the scapegoat can be found in Leviticus 16. Animal sacrifices are no longer practiced. The non-Messianic Jews no longer practice since the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. The Messianic Jews no longer practice, because they accept the final and complete sacrifice of Christ Jesus. | ||||||
| It is a Jewish practice to fast for the 25 hours of Yom Kippur. Most of the day is spent in services at the synagogue. After the final service, the shofar is blown, ending the holiday. Families and friends will then meet for a meal, breaking the fast." Thanks to my Grandmother's deep love for and respect for the Bible and the people of ancient Israel, we often celebrated Hanukkah growing up and "tipped our spiritual hats" to the people who preserved the beautiful records that have become The Bible for us to learn from and be enriched by. She truly understood and taught us to understand that God has dealt with, spoken to, and made covenants with his people throughout the entire history of the earth. And I am so thankful for that knowledge. It makes me feel one with my brothers and sisters of other religions, because I know that we are spirit sons and daughters of the same God. While I was out and about yesterday, I had two conversations with two different men about The Book of Mormon. The first man wanted nothing to do with it. In essence he said, | ||||||
The Book of Mormon answers his familiar refrain with the following words:
"Thou fool, that shall say: A aBible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?"
4 ...And what cthank they the dJews for the Bible which they receive from them?...Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?
5 ...have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have acursed them, and have bhatedthem, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.
The Book of Mormon continues:
7 Know ye not that there are more anations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the bisles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the cearth beneath; and I bring forth my dword unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the atestimony of btwo nations is acwitness unto you that I am God, that I remember one dnation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two enations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the asame yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my bwords according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one cword ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my dwork is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my awords; neither bneed ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.
11 For I command aall men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall bwrite the words which I speak unto them; for out of thecbooks which shall be written I will djudge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.
12 For behold, I shall speak unto the aJews and they shall bwrite it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall cwrite it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto dall nations of the earth and they shall write it.
13 And it shall come to pass that the aJews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the blost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.
14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the ahouse of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the blands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in cone. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against mydpeople, who are of the ehouse of Israel, that I am God, and that Ifcovenanted with gAbraham that I would remember his hseediforever.
The second man was happy to talk about The Book of Mormon with me. He told me that in his church they try to live strictly according to The Bible... as he put it "right or wrong, that's what we do!" He wondered, if the Bible contains the word of God, then why would we need more? This good man, and I tell you, he was good, and an honest seeker of truth, seeks to do the will of God, but he, like MANY people, can only do their very best, based on their interpretation of Bible teachings. And as we know, the Christian religions of the world vary widely on their interpretation of the doctrines presented in the Bible. So where are we to turn for answers? Lucky for us, the Lord foresaw that in our day, we would need clarification. In harmony with the law of witnesses mentioned in the Bible he has established the truth of the Bible through the testimony of The Book of Mormon...and vice versa. In General Conference this weekend, Elder Tad R. Callister delivered a masterful talk about the Bible and Book of Mormon in which he said: |
"Together with the Bible, the Book of Mormon is an indispensable witness of the doctrines of Christ and His divinity. Together with the Bible, it “teach[es] all men that they should do good” (2 Nephi 33:10). And together with the Bible, it brings us to “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” That is why the Book of Mormon is so crucial in our lives."
If you are one of the many who throw their hands up in the air when it comes to deciphering the many religions of the world...have faith! The piece of the puzzle that will make the entire picture of the history of the world and God's dealings with man clear is available to you. It is The Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon is the key that unlocks the truths of the Bible and makes them as clear
as day. It is the record that justifies the Jewish people and reminds us that they are covenant people of the Lord, who he loves, and who he remembers. It is PROOF that Jesus Christ is the God of the entire world, regardless of where or when you have lived upon it.
It reminds us that the promises and prophecies of the Bible are coming true and will continue to come to pass until the Lord returns again to the earth.
It is proof that God loves ALL of his children and that His Atonement is available to ALL, and that God has a plan in place for every nation of the world and each individual. It is proof that he continues to SPEAK to man on earth through his prophets and that the sun truly never sets on the work of the Lord. It is proof that he will continue to speak and never stop, whether we listen or not.
Please listen.
The Book of Mormon is the key that unlocks the truths of the Bible and makes them as clear
as day. It is the record that justifies the Jewish people and reminds us that they are covenant people of the Lord, who he loves, and who he remembers. It is PROOF that Jesus Christ is the God of the entire world, regardless of where or when you have lived upon it.
It reminds us that the promises and prophecies of the Bible are coming true and will continue to come to pass until the Lord returns again to the earth.
It is proof that God loves ALL of his children and that His Atonement is available to ALL, and that God has a plan in place for every nation of the world and each individual. It is proof that he continues to SPEAK to man on earth through his prophets and that the sun truly never sets on the work of the Lord. It is proof that he will continue to speak and never stop, whether we listen or not.
Please listen.
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powerful post about the need for the book of mormon...
ReplyDeleteI loved Elder Callister's talk. I enjoyed your post, as always :)
ReplyDeleteHis talk was among my favorites. And this post is among my favorites of yours.
ReplyDelete=)
I listened to that talk when you sent me the link...I loved it!
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome. I think you are my new ideal for blogging. :) Thank you for the inspiration you share.
ReplyDeleteJocelyn. You are inspiring. Mostly because of your faith in action. True action. You are not hiding your candle under a bushel. I know you do not do this for the praise of men (or me). But thank you for showing your faith that God will work miracles and bring miracles into your life, your family's life, and the lives of whom you have a discussions with about the Book of Mormon.
ReplyDeleteThis morning as I was reading, I came across 2 Nephi 25:5-6 where Nephi is talking about Isaiah, and how easy he is to understand if you understand they prophesying of the Jews, and it made me think of this post, and how important and helpful it is for us to understand Old Testament and Jewish history. Other than reading the Old Testament, do you know how your Grandmother went about learning more about this. I'm really intrigued now! Thank you for sharing your insight, and your experience.
ReplyDeleteSo, I didn't read this post until AFTER I wrote mine about almost the same thing... I even quoted the same scripture.
ReplyDeleteI loved Elder Callister's talk, as well.
I guess I'll be the second witness :)