The Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
By Porter
Brothers and Sisters,
I am grateful to be with you today. I live in New River, I am blessed to live in a beautiful place. I also express gratitude to be a member of the deer valley ward with great members and leaders. I also thank the stake members and leaders for their kind service. I have been greatly blessed to attend the ward and stake activites here. Brothers and Sisters, I am eager to share a message that I have prepared.
2 Nephi 31:3 says,
3 For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.
Like Nephi, I wish to speak to you according to your language and unto your understanding. I would like to share a simple message. God, our Heavenly Father loves us more than we can comprehend. His love is perfect, infinite, enduring, and universal. Because of that love, He has given us the gospel—a plan that allows us to repent and become like Him and live with Him forever. In every dispensation, Heavenly Father calls prophets to teach His gospel.
Amos 3:7 JST says,
7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, until he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses, all served as prophets to teach Heavenly Father’s gospel. In the meridian of time, Heavenly Father sent his son, Jesus Christ to earth to teach the gospel. Jesus Christ also did many things. He performed miracles, ordained apostles and established his church taught his doctrine. He set the example for us. He lived an entire life with man and then performed the atonement, suffered, and died for our sins.
Ephesians 4:11-12 reminds us that Jesus Christ called apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers as part of proper establishment of his church.
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
2 Nephi 10:3 says,
3 Wherefore, it must needs be expedient that Christ should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him.
After, Jesus Christ was crucified, the apostles continued to preach the gospel for a time, but eventually due to wickedness, the church fell away into apostasy. Isaiah 24:5 teaches,
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
We learn that the inhabitants transgressed and broke the covenenant. Paul also taught that grievous wolves would enter in among the church and draw disciples after them Acts 20:29-30
29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 teaches us that there will be a “falling away” of the true church before the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
For hundreds of years, the fulness of the gospel and the priesthood did not exist on the earth. But how could this be? Heavenly Father promised he would never forget his children, right?
Isaiah 49:15-16 teaches us that the Lord would never forget his children saying,
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
The Lord has graven us upon the palms of his hands, meaning his hands were peirced by nails for us. Therefore he will never forget us, even if our very own mother forgets us.
2 Nephi 29:14 reminds us that the Lord has covenanted with Abraham and would remember his seed forever.
14 And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my people, who are of the house of Israel, that I am God, and that I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever.
So we see that God covenanted with Abraham, and would remember his seed forever.
And so we see that the Lord would remember his child even if his very own mother forgets him. We also read in Malachi 3:6 that the Lord does not change.
6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
7 ¶ Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
This teaches that if we have ever gone away from the ordinances of Christ, we are able to return and Christ will likewise return unto us.
And we also read that God doesn’t change in the slightest degree of variance in the Doctrine and Covenants 3
2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
Fast forward many hundreds of years, in 1820, a young boy named Joseph Smith noticed this, saying,
“At about the age of twelve years, my mind become seriously impressed with regard to the all-important concerns for the welfare of my immortal soul, which led me to searching the scriptures—believing, as I was taught, that they contained the word of God and thus applying myself to them. My intimate acquaintance with those of different denominations led me to marvel exceedingly, for I discovered that they did not adorn their profession by a holy walk and godly conversation agreeable to what I found contained in that sacred depository. I found that mankind did not come unto the Lord but that they had apostatized from the true and living faith, and there was no society or denomination that was built upon the gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament. This was a grief to my soul. I felt to mourn for my own sins and for the sins of the world, for I learned in the scriptures that God was the same yesterday, today, and forever, that he was no respecter of persons, for he was God.”
Joseph recognized that the true Church of Jesus Christ had fallen away. On peaceful Spring morning, he went into a grove of trees to pray. As he prayed, a pillar of light descendent over his head and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared and spoke unto Joseph, saying,
“Joseph, my son, thy sins are forgiven thee. Go thy way, walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments. Behold, I am the Lord of glory. I was crucified for the world, that all those who believe on my name may have eternal life. Behold, the world lieth in sin at this time, and none doeth good, no, not one. They have turned aside from the gospel and keep not my commandments. They draw near to me with their lips while their hearts are far from me. And mine anger is kindling against the inhabitants of the earth, to visit them according to their ungodliness and to bring to pass that which hath been spoken by the mouth of the prophets and apostles. Behold and lo, I come quickly, as it is written of me, in the cloud, clothed in the glory of my Father.”
So we see that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have not forgotten about us and have once again revealed their gospel. One of the things that Heavenly Father told Joseph Smith to do was translate the Book of Mormon from the gold plates that had been put into the earth hundreds of years ago by the Prophet Moroni. Joseph Smith then translated the gold plates, and now we have The Book of Mormon. Here are a few of the verses from it.
In 1 Nephi 13:34, we read,
34 and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, which is the mother of harlots, saith the Lamb—I will be merciful unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb.
So this is a prophecy saying that the great and abominable church held back many plain and precious truths and that the Lord will bring them back unto the Gentiles in our day.
1 Nephi 15:13
13 And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed
So we see that in the latter days, the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah will be manifest.
3 Nephi 11:14-17 teaches,
14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:
17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.
2 Nephi 10:2 also teaches,
2 For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according to the flesh; wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief, nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer.
And so we see that our loving Heavenly Father has not forgotten his children. He has again revealed his gospel to all his children. Through Joseph Smith, the Lord restored His Church, priesthood, and the plain and precious truths of the gospel. I am grateful for the love and mercy of Heavenly Father for restoring the gospel. I know that Jesus Christ performed the infinite and eternal atonement he is the God of the whole earth. I know that President Nelson is a prophet and that, “no matter what questions or problems we have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.