Come Unto Christ

1
Come Unto Christ
Taking the
Ground
Higher
Elder Robert Giertz, July 2008
He receiveth of all people who Come unto Him ?
John 327 I.V.
2
Come Ye after me, and I will make you
to become fishers of
men Mark 115A CASE STUDY FOR APPLYING the
PRINCIPLES of Come Unto Me
COME UNTO ME
COMETH UNTO ME
COME UNTO HIM
COME UNTO CHRIST
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RelevantWord Searches

• Come Unto Me 69 occurrences
• 37 BOM 16 of the 37 in 3 Nephi, 29 Bible, 3
  DC
• Come Unto Him 20 occurrences
• 13 Bible, 7 BOM, 1 DC
• Come Unto Christ 5 occurrences
• 4 BOM, 1 DC
• Cometh Unto Me 5 occurrences
• 2 BOM, 2 DC, 1 Bible

4
Isaiah 553 Matthew 1129 The Promises the
Blessings

• Incline your ear, and Come Unto Me hear, and
  your soul shall live
• And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
  even the sure mercies of David.
• Then spake Jesus, saying, Come Unto Me, and all
  ye that labor and are heavy laden,
• And I will give you rest.

5
1 Nephi 113 328 Omni 147The Promise of
Salvation

• Thou art merciful, Thou wilt not suffer those who
  Come unto Thee, that they should perish.
• And the way is prepared for all men from the
  foundation of the world, if it so be that they
  repent and Come unto Him.
• Yea, Come Unto Him, and offer your whole souls as
  an offering unto Him, and continue in fasting and
  praying, and endure to the end and as the Lord
  liveth, ye will be saved.

6
Alma 358Promise of the fruit of the Tree of Life

• Yea, he saith, Come Unto Me and ye shall partake
  of the fruit of the tree of Life yea, ye shall
  eat and drink of the bread and the waters of life
  freely

7

• Taking a Closer Look at
• COMING UNTO CHRIST

Helaman 231
Your Hearts
Your Hearts
8
First be Reconciled1 to thy brother 3 Nephi
571-72

• Therefore, if ye shall come unto Me, or shall
  desire to come unto Me, and rememberest that thy
  brother hath aught against thee,
• Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be
  reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto Me
  with full purpose of heart, and I will receive
  thee. See DC 4223 Matthew 1815-17
• Pahorons response to Moroni Alma 28 Make
  certain that you know your brothers heart before
  you censure him for iniquities you believe he has
  committed.

9

Gift2 of the Holy Ghost

• Genesis 653 And he also said unto him, If thou
  wilt, turn unto me and hearken unto my voice, and
  believe, and repent of all thy transgressions,
  and be baptized, even in water, in the name of
  mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and
  truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which
  shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation
  shall come unto the children of men and ye shall
  receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all
  things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask
  it shall be given you.

10
May Stand Spotless3 before Me!

• 3 Nephi 1233 Now this is the commandment,
  Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto
  me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be
  sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost,
  that ye may stand spotless before me at the last
  day.

11
Numbered4 Among My People!

• 3 Nephi 143 And come unto me, and be baptized
  in my name, that ye may receive a remission of
  your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost,
  that ye may be numbered with my people, who are
  of the house of Israel.

12
Characteristics of Being Numbered

• (Moroni 744) But behold, my beloved brethren,
  I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye
  have faith in Christ because of your meekness
  for if ye have not faith in him, then ye are not
  fit to be numbered among the people of his
  church.
• (Mosiah 11141) Now I say unto you, Go and
  whosoever will not repent of his sins, the same
  shall not be numbered among my people and this
  shall be observed from this time forward.

13
Characteristics of Being Numbered

• (Mosiah 11145) And those that would not confess
  their sins and repent of their iniquity, the same
  were not numbered among the people of the church,
  and their names were blotted out.
• (Moroni 68) And if they repented not, and
  confessed not, their names were blotted out, and
  they were not numbered among the people of
  Christ but as oft as they repented, and sought
  forgiveness, with real intent, they were
  forgiven.

14
Characteristics of Being Numbered
4th slide of 4

• (Alma 399) And behold, their names shall be
  blotted out, that the names of the wicked shall
  not be numbered among the names of the righteous,
  that the word of God may be fulfilled, which
  saith, The names of the wicked shall not be
  mingled with the names of my people.
• (Alma 44) I mean those who were lifted up in
  the pride of their hearts the same were
  rejected, and their names were blotted out, that
  their names were not numbered among those of the
  righteous and thus they began to establish the
  order of the church in the city of Zarahemla.

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Build up5 again My Church!

• Mormon 165 And it came to pass that the Lord
  did say unto me, Cry unto this people, Repent ye,
  and come unto me and be ye baptized, and build up
  again my church, and ye shall be spared.
• 3 Nephi 12 22 And if it so be that the church
  is built upon My gospel, then will the Father
  show forth His own works in it.

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And Be Saved6!

• Alma 359 Yea, come unto me and bring forth
  works of righteousness, and ye shall not be hewn
  down and cast into the fire
• 3 Nephi 452 Behold, for such I have laid down
  my life, and have taken it up again therefore
  repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth,
  and be saved.

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Net Benefits of Come Unto Me

• Be reconciled with thy brother
• Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost
• May stand spotless before Me
• Numbered among My people
• Continue to repent and confess sins
• Build up again My Church
• Be saved

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NET LIABILITIES

• Who so Cometh not unto Me is under the bondage
  of sin.

DC 837g
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(No Transcript)
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I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD
He rejoiceth more over that which was lost, than
over the ninety an nine which went not astray
Matthew 1813
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We Must Be Like Christ!

• Christs example shows us the straitness of the
  path
• And the narrowness of the Gate
• He having set the example before them
• He saith unto the children of men Follow thy Me
• Wherefore can we follow Jesus save we shall be
  willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
  2 Nephi 1311-13

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Jesus Christ is the Door

• He that entereth not by the door into the
  sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way,
  the same is a thief and a robber.
• But he that entereth in by the door is the
  shepherd of the sheep.
• He goeth before them.
• The sheep follow him for they know his voice
• I am the door by me if any man enter in, he
  shall be saved, and shall go and out, and find
  pasture. John 101-2,4,9
• Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open
  unto all . . . . Helaman 225

23
The Natural Man is an
Enemy to God
Old Man

• Mosiah 1119 For the natural man is an enemy to
  God, and has been, from the fall of Adam, and
  will be, for ever and ever
• Mosiah 1120 But if he yields to the enticings of
  the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man,
  and becometh a saint, through the atonement of
  Christ, the Lord, and becometh as a child,
  submissive1, meek2, humble3, patient4, full of
  love5, willing to submit6 to all things which the
  Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a
  child doth submit to his father.

Hidden Traits of a child of God
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Natural man Kingdom of the devilSpiritual
man Kingdom of God

• The natural man receiveth not the things of the
  Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him
  neither can he know them, because they are
  spiritually discerned 1 Corinthians 214
• Neither can any natural man abide the presence of
  God neither after the carnal mind ye are not
  able to abide the presence of God now, neither
  the ministering of angels wherefore continue in
  patience until ye are perfected DC 673c

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Come Unto Christ The process of Being Born Again
New Man

• Yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and
  fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being
  redeemed of God,
• Becoming His sons and daughters,
• And thus they become new creatures
• And unless they do this, they can in no wise
  inherit the kingdom of God Mosiah 11188

Spiritual Definition
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Coming Unto Christ is a part of our Covenant
relationship!

• Mosiah 36 And we are willing to enter into a
  covenant with our God?
• To do His will and to be obedient to His
  commandments?
• In all things that He shall command us?
• All the remainder of our days?

4 Questions
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Mosiah 939-41 Terms of our
Covenant
Answers

• Desirous to come unto the fold of God and to be
  called His people.
• Willing to bear one anothers burdens, that they
  may be light.
• Mourn with those that mourn,
• Comfort those that stand in need of comfort.
• Stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all
  things and in all places that ye may be in,
• Even unto death, Endure to the End
• That you may be redeemed of God and be numbered
  with those of the first resurrection, that ye may
  have eternal life.

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I HAVE SET THE EXAMPLEBEFORE YOU!
Now this is the commandment Repent, all ye ends
of the earth! Come Unto Me! And be baptized in
My name! That ye may be sanctified by the
reception of the Holy Ghost . . . . 3 Nephi 1233
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Mosiah 944Our Covenant - Authoritative
Testimony

• I baptize thee, having authority from the
  Almighty God,
• As a testimony that ye have entered into a
  covenant to serve Him unto you are dead!

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Mosiah 9175-177,179The Pattern of making a
covenant

• King Limhi had also entered into a covenant with
  God, and many of his people, to serve Him and
  keep His commandments.
• King Limhi and many of his people were desirous
  to be baptized, but there was one in the land
  that had authority from God
• They were desirous to be baptized as a witness
  and a testimony that they were willing to serve
  God with all their hearts
• Nevertheless, they did prolong the time,

For an account of their baptism see Mosiah
1194-96
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DC 177 Commandment given to the church for
those received unto baptism

• Humble1 themselves before God
• Desire2to be baptized
• Come forth with broken hearts and contrite
  spirits3
• Witness before the church that they have truly
  repented of all their sins4
• Willing to take upon them the name of Jesus
  Christ5
• Having a determination to serve Him to the end6
• Truly manifest by their works that they have
  received of the Spirit of Christ unto the
  remission of their sins7 Those so baptized
  receive H.G. by LOOH

32
Compare with Moroni 61-4Concerning Baptism

• Were not baptized, save they brought forth fruit
  meet that they were worthy of it1 humility,
  desire in DC 177
• Did not receive any unto baptism, save they came
  forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit2
• Witnessed unto the church that they truly
  repented of all their sins3
• Took upon them the name of Christ4
• Having a determination to serve Him to the end5
• After that they had been received unto baptism
  and were wrought upon and cleansed6 by the power
  of the Holy Ghost,
• They were numbered7 among the people of the
  church of Christ. Not specifically mentioned in
  DC

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Coming Unto Christ is Amending our
Ways Jeremiah 73,5-6 Let the Wicked forsake
his way, his thoughts Isaiah 557- 9

• Amend your ways and doings . . . .
• For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your
  doings if ye thoroughly execute judgment between
  a man and his neighbor. Covenant Relationships
• If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless,
  and the widow, and shed not innocent blood,
  neither walk after other gods . . . . .

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(No Transcript)
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The key to the Plan of Redemption Repentance

• Therefore, according to justice, the plan of
  redemption could not be brought about, only on
  conditions of repentance of men in this
  probationary state Alma 1994
• This being the intent of this last sacrifice
  Christs death to bring about the bowels of
  mercy, which overpowereth justice,
• And bringeth about means unto men that they may
  have faith unto repentance Alma 16216

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The Definition of Repentance1

• Dealing with the Erring, No. 3, Repentance by
  Charles Fry
• Repentance is the renouncement of a belief,
  practice, or act, from a conviction that it is
  wrong and an acceptance of, and a determination
  to do, what is found to be right.  
• True repentance is dependent upon a proper
  concept of the sinful nature of the thing to be
  repented of.  
• So long as one thinks a given practice to be
  right there can be no repentance, but as soon as
  he is convinced that it is wrong, and that some
  other way is right, he has reason for repentance,
  and if he also has desire it will be
  accomplished.
• From this it is apparent that there can be no
  repentance except men are instructed in the
  right, and hence the necessity of the gospel, in
  which is revealed the righteousness of God, being
  preached to every creature, that they may have
  opportunity to repent and enter the kingdom of
  God.

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REPENTANCE2

• L. Wayne Updike.  In his classic book Whosoever
  Repenteth, page 15,
• He defined repentance as
• a conscious positive response to an
  ever-increasing Revelation of God." 

38
Repentance3 according to the Apostle Paul
Romans 7 I.V.

• Now that I am spiritual . . . That which I am
  commanded to do, I do
• And that which I am commanded not to allow, I
  allow not Verse 15
• For what I know is not right, I would not do for
  that which is sin, I hate Verse 16
• Now then, it is no more I that do sin but I seek
  to subdue that sin which dwelleth in me. Verse
  18 Note KJV reads differently

39
Repentance4 by Apostle John

• Whoever is born of God doth not continue in sin
  1 John 39
• We know that whosoever is born of God continueth
  not in sin but he that is begotten of God
  keepeth himself, that the wicked one overcometh
  him not 1 John 518

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Bringing our Mind unto Christ

• 2 Corinthians 105 Casting down imaginations,
  and every high thing that exalteth itself against
  the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity
  every thought to the obedience of Christ
• 1 Corinthians 216 For who hath known the mind
  of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we
  have the mind of Christ.

HOW ?
41
The Message of King BenjaminMosiah 1 3 The
angel message

• The Stewardship of our Coming Unto Christ!

42
Highlights King Benjamin

• Mosiah 139 You should hearken unto me and open
  your ears, that ye may hear,
• And your hearts, that ye may understand,
• And you minds, that the mysteries of God may be
  unfolded to your view.
• Mosiah 149 That we may learn that when ye are
  in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only
  in the service of your God.

43
Blessings, Conditions, Promises

• Mosiah 155 And behold, all that He requires of
  you is to keep His commandments.
• Mosiah 158 And secondly, He doth require that
  ye should do as He hath commanded you, for which,
  if ye do, He doth immediately bless you.
• Mosiah 188 Consider on the blessed and happy
  state of those keep the commandments of God.

44
Always Retain a remission of your sins Mosiah
219-22

• Or if ye have known of his goodness, and have
  tasted of his love, and have received a remission
  of your sins, which causeth such exceeding great
  joy in your souls,
• Even so I would that ye should remember, and
  always retain in remembrance, the greatness of
  God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness
  and long suffering towards you unworthy
  creatures,
• And humble yourselves even in the depths of
  humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily,
  and standing steadfastly in the faith of that
  which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth
  of the angel
• And behold, I say unto you, that if ye do this,
  ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the
  love of God, and always retain a remission of
  your sins

45
Mosiah 225, 28-31Stewardship Grace unto
Generosity

• And ye will not have a mind to injure one
  another, but to live peaceably, and to render to
  every man according to that which is his due.
• And also, ye yourselves will succor those that
  stand in need of your succor ye will administer
  of your substance unto him that standeth in need
• And ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up
  his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to
  perish.
• Perhaps thou shalt say, The man has brought upon
  himself his misery therefore I will stay my
  hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor
  impart unto him of my substance, that he may not
  suffer, for his punishments are just.
• But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this,
  the same hath great cause to repent and except
  he repenteth of that which he hath done, he
  perisheth for ever, and hath no interest in the
  kingdom of God.

46
Mosiah 240-44Stewardship Key to Retaining a
Remission of Your Sins

• And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not
  and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day
  to day I mean all you who deny the beggar,
  because ye have not I would that ye say in your
  hearts, that I give not because I have not but
  if I had, I would give.
• And now, if ye say this in your hearts, ye remain
  guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned, and your
  condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye
  have not received.
• And now, for the sake of these things which I
  have spoken unto you that is, for the sake of
  retaining a remission of your sins from day to
  day, that ye may walk guiltless before God,
• I would that ye should impart of your substance
  to the poor, every man according to that which he
  hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the
  naked, visiting the sick, and administering to
  their relief, both spiritually and temporally,
  according to their wants,
• And see that all these things are done in wisdom
  and order for it is not requisite that a man
  should run faster than he has strength.

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Stewardship is a part ofComing Unto Christ

• Stewardship is voluntary It is conditional on
  choice. It has never been, nor will it be
  compulsory.
• Stewardship is using the things of this earth in
  the manner designed by God.
• Stewardship is the recognition that we are
  stewards and not owners.
• Stewardship is acknowledgement that stewards make
  an inventory (keep track) of all that God has
  given to them to be accountable for.
• Stewardship is the paying of the tithe of our
  increase after our basic needs have been met and
  the recognition that any surplus is not just for
  us.

48
Stewardship is the Beginning of Zion

• Stewardship is not the mathematical calculation
  of how much you owe, but the demonstration, by
  your lives, that all things belong to God.
• Stewardship is the discovery, accumulation,
  management, and distribution of all the gifts God
  has given us.
• Stewardship is learning to be efficient
  creating increase as well as surplus.
• Stewardship is not what we give It is what we
  keep!
• Stewardship is a condition of our hearts it
  measures our willingness to be obedient to the
  will of God today!

49
There is a working relationship between our
stewardship our covenant

• Remember the Lord thy God for it is He that
  giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may
  establish His covenant Deuteronomy 818
• My covenant with Israel is not forgotten, nor is
  My will slow to perform but to whom shall I
  speak, and by whom shall My counsel be observed?
  Behold I am wedded to My covenant and am jealous
  of My agreement with those who are there under.
  
  Apostle Joseph Luff, March 31, 1906.

50
Summarizing our Stewardship

• Stewardship is learning that enough is sufficient
  and more than enough is surplus.
• Stewardship is living simply, that others may
  simply live.
• Stewardship is recognizing that our surplus
  should be returned so that those without
  sufficient will have enough.
• Stewardship is the knowledge that having enough
  has little to do with the amount of money a
  person has and everything to do with a sense of
  the boundless provision that God provides.
• Stewardship is being in the service of your
  fellow beings.
• Stewardship benefits both the individual and the
  collective body.

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COME UNTO CHRISTPreparatory/Preventative Ministry
R E A C H O U T
A N D T O U C H S O M E O N E
52
Preparing ? Planting ? Sustaining
The Ten P's

• Prepare the Soil
• Plant the seed
• Nourish
• Water
• Maintain
• God gives the increase
• Harvest

Field of Souls
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
Promises Peak Power to Peculiar People
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MAINTAINING THE COVENANTRELATIONSHIP

• For they did prick their hearts with the word,
  continually stirring them up unto repentance
  Jarom 128
• And also had appointed priests to teach the
  people, that thereby they might hear and know the
  commandments of God and stir them up in
  remembrance of the oath which they had made
  Mosiah 44
• . . . . . They had addicted themselves to the
  ministry of the Saints ? 1 Corinthians 1615

54
MAINTAINING THE COVENANTRELATIONSHIP2

• Be ye mindful always of His covenant 1
  Chronicles 1615
• And they (priests) shall teach my people the
  difference between the holy and the profane
  Ezekiel 4423
• And visit the house of each member, and exhort
  them to pray vocally and in secret, and attend to
  all family duties DC 1710b
• The teachers duty is watch over the church
  always, and be with, and strengthen them, and see
  that there is no iniquity in the church, neither
  hardness with each other neither lying,
  backbiting, nor evil speaking DC 1711a

55
Parents have responsibilityfor the fruit of
their union!

• Sec 684a And again, inasmuch as parents have
  children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which
  are organized, that teach them not to understand
  the doctrine of repentance faith in Christ the
  Son of the living God and of baptism and the
  gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the
  hands when eight years old, the sin be upon the
  head of the parents
• Sec 684b for this shall be a law unto the
  inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes
  which are organized and their children shall be
  baptized for the remission of their sins when
  eight years old, and receive the laying on of the
  hands
• Sec 684c and they shall also teach their
  children to pray, and to walk uprightly before
  the Lord.

56
COME UNTO CHRISTPRIORITIES for a firm Foundation

• Much prayer and fasting
• Focused Scripture Study
• Focused worship and spiritual growth in our
  homes, the church, the workplace.
• Application of taking upon us the name of Jesus
  Christ being His witnesses at all times and in
  all places.
• Calling upon the mercy of God to lead us

57
Moroni 1029-30Moronis Summary

• Yea, Come Unto Christ, and be perfected in Him,
  and deny yourselves all ungodliness,
• And if ye shall deny yourselves of all
  ungodliness, and love God with all your might,
  mind and strength,
• Then is His grace sufficient for you, that by the
  grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in
  no wise deny the power the of God.
• And again, if ye, by the power of God, are
  perfect in Christ, and deny not His power, then
  ye are sanctified in Christ by the grace of God,
  through the shedding of the blood of Christ,
  which is in the covenant of the Father,
• Unto the remission of your sins, that ye may
  become holy without spot.

58
Freely have ye ReceivedFreely shall ye Give

• Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
  baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
  the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ?Matthew 2818

59
Much Remains to be DoneOur Work is not Finished

• Gathering and Restoration of the House of Israel
• Gathering of the Saints to the land of the New
  Jerusalem
• The Endowment of the Priesthood
• The New Jerusalem
• The Gospel sweeps the earth then the end will
  come

60
Are we Witnessing for Him?
Consider the Lamanites and the House of Israel!
61
The Lamanite MissionA Missed Opportunity to
Come Unto Me
DC 31 (Oct. 1831) Parley P. Pratt, Oliver
Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, Jr. and Ziba Peterson
were commanded to go west . . .
Because the missionaries delayed at Kirtland for
an unscheduled stop, they arrived too late to
meet with 4 tribal Chiefs from the West who had
journeyed to hear about what is now known to be
The Book of Mormon. When the missionaries
finally arrived, 2 of the 4 chiefs had already
died and the remaining two had departed for their
homes. Only one chief made it back. The door of
opportunity must be entered while it is yet open.
62
The Great Spirit sent us!

• In early 1831, three Nez Perce and one Flathead
  Indian traveled upriver to St. Louis from
  Independence to see General William Clark. They
  made the long journey east to learn about the
  white man, his religion and to seek the "white
  man's Book of Heaven". They had been sent by the
  Great Spirit to receive it. Although two of the
  Indians died in St. Louis, a third died on the
  way home and the surviving Indian was killed
  shortly after reaching his tribe in a raid by the
  Blackfoot, their journey showed that the Spirit
  of God was active in working to bring about the
  enlightenment and restoration of the Lamanite
  peoples.

63
Tell us about this Jesus Christ

• The Nez Perce were already familiar with the
  Bible, having made contact with Lewis and Clark
  in the 1820's and had developed an excellent
  relationship with them, especially after finding
  that they worshipped the same God, Jesus. Their
  good relations with Lewis and Clark caused them
  to be very well treated and entertained in
  Missouri, even by the governor. However, on their
  last visit with the governor in St. Louis, they
  expressed the intent of their mission and the
  disappointment they had in not accomplishing that
  mission in the following speech given by one of
  the Nez Perce to the governor

64
In Search of Truth

• "I come over the trail of many moons from the
  setting sun. You were the friend of my fathers
  who have all gone the long way. I come with one
  eye partly open, for more light for my people who
  sit in darkness. I go back with both eyes closed.
  How can I go back blind to my blind people? I
  made my way to you with strong arms through many
  enemies and strange lands that I might carry back
  much to them. I go back with both arms broken and
  empty. Two fathers came with us. They were the
  braves of many winters and wars. We leave them to
  sleep by your great water and wigwams. They were
  tired of many moons and their moccasins wore out.

65
The Book of Heaven

• "My people sent me to get the white man's Book
  of Heaven. You took me to where you allow your
  woman to dance, as we do ours, and the Book was
  not there. You took me to where they worship the
  Great Spirit with candles and the Book was not
  there. You showed me the images of the good
  spirits and the pictures of the good lands beyond
  heaven, but the Book was not among them to tell
  us the way. I am going back to the long sad trail
  to my people in the dark land. You make my feet
  heavy with gifts and my moccasins will grow old
  carrying them, yet the Book is not among them.

66
We Desired to COME
UNTO CHRIST

• When I tell my poor blind people, after one
  more snow, in the Big Council, that I did not
  bring the Book, no word will be spoken by our old
  men or young braves. One by one they will rise up
  and go out in silence. My people will die in
  darkness, and they will go on the long path to
  the hunting grounds. No white man will go with
  them and no white man's Book will make the way
  plain."

67
A direct connection between Zion, Lamanites, End
Times

• But before the great day of the Lord shall come,
  Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness and the
  Lamanites shall blossom as the rose.
• Zion shall flourish upon the hills DC 495a,b
• Have treated lightly the things you have
  received,
• Brought the whole church under condemnation.
• Shall remain under this condemnation until . . .
  .
• Repent and remember the new covenant, even the
  Book of Mormon and the former commandments . . .
• Not only to say, but to do DC 838a,b

68
Joseph Smith, Jr. Liberty Jail, December 16,
1838

• Zion shall yet live, though she seemeth to be
  dead!

69
Zion could have been already redeemed in this
dispensation

• Were it not for the transgressions of My people
  (DC 102)
• Not learned to be obedient to the things I
  require at their hands
• Full of all manner of evil
• Do not impart of their substance to the poor
• Not united according to the union required by the
  law of the celestial kingdom

70
Our charge for Zion today

• The process of establishing Zion is assisted by
  those who possess the godly plan of salvation and
  bring it to Gods designated place for its
  conception that they may live it with others of
  like-mind and like-heart.
• By doing so in daily association, they are
  molding spiritually productive lives as Christ is
  permitted to abide both in and with them.
• This temporal expression of their collective
  faith will become a living testimony to the world
  that watches for an active ensign of Zion.

71
What Holds Back Zion?

• We have received His law, but we have refused to
  live the message which is in harmony with His
  will.
• The Lord Jesus Christ lies imprisoned in the
  midst of this people. He is weak and feeble,
  because we have bound him within our souls by our
  preference of secondary things, by our
  indifference, and by the things of this world.
  We are not different enough for the world to take
  notice of us. Apostle Arthur Oakman
• Zion requires us to become His people first,
  before we can become the city of Zion. The
  spiritual conditions of the Zion must exist prior
  to the bricks and mortar.

72
It is time to take up our cross and follow Him

• The time to favor Zion, yea, the set time has
  come, but My army is not yet very great, and the
  weapons of your warfare - many of them - are yet
  carnal and with these ye cannot prevail. When,
  Oh when, will My people learn that it is not by
  might nor power, but by My Holy Spirit their work
  shall be made to succeed. Joseph Luff, October
  8, 1905.
• Does the task of establishing Zion still PRESS
  HEAVILY UPON US? Doctrine Covenants 1383a

73
OPEN REBELLION Not an Option
Mosiah 179-80

• And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after
  ye have known and have been taught all these
  things, If ye should transgress, and go contrary
  to that which has been spoken, that ye withdraw
  yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord . . . The
  man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open
  rebellion against God.

74
The Path lies before us!
NOT BEHIND US!