Greetings my Beloved Friends in the Love of the Lord. We are re-introducing the monthly Herald of the Second Invitation with a format of information under the categories:
- Editorials – by General Authorities,
- Testimonials – by Membership,
- Articles – by Functional Organizations,
- Messages – by the Presidency.
The digital format will allow expeditious transfer of information through the social media platforms to improve the missionary reach of the information to touch the hearts of the seekers of truth throughout the world. The tender touch of the words of life and learning to the society as a whole will lift many out of the Babylonian system and into the purity of light destined to transform mankind in alignment with the divine design of the Father for each and every man, women, and child. It is the Holy Spirit that guides us to greater and greater heights of human evolution as the word of God washes us clean of the precepts, traditions, and agendas of men that forges us into an image not of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus.
An earnest question was raised on social media concerning the advisability of encouraging the youth to seek a personal testimony of the truth as prescribed by the passing generation. Finding the way, the truth, and the light is of paramount importance to the children of mankind to reach the potential that the creator placed within this tabernacle of clay. Thinking about what this path might entail for the rising generation caused me to reflect on the path given to me, yet everyone must rise up upon the path placed before their feet when the first breath was independently taken in the exercise of the greatest gift of freedom of choice.
Therefore, I set before you the path I traveled in hopes that there will be something that stirs a sacred memory with in you that demonstrated the hand of God directing you in your life.
First and foremost, I felt I needed to have the divine testimony that Jesus is the Christ and the son of the living God. This testimony is referred to as the spirit of prophecy1 such that I was willing to bear testimony of before the world2. Thus, I was fully qualified to put on Christ3 with the garment of salvation and robes of rightousness4, so that I could be a part of the foundation of the Church of Christ in my infant standing as witness of the revelations of the heavens to my soul5. This indwelling of the spirit of God or earnest of the Spirit would guide me in walking in the light and truth of His word such that I might grow into the fullness and stature exemplified by Christ Jesus6 and that I might be perfected as the Father in heaven is perfect7 through the washing and sanctification in the word of God8. This sanctification comes as an earnest desire to have the full word of God written upon our fleshly Tabernacles9 and grants access to the heavens to know His great and eternal designs design10 for me as I live my probations on this earth. It is with this pure desire that I sought divine revelation that I might know the truth as it was to be inscribed upon my spiritual being as lived through my probationary period in my present fleshly physical temple on earth.
When new words were brought forth for me to consider, I readily accepted them under two or three credible witnesses11 and then as the burning desire to understand the truth, I earnestly would study them in my mind, then broadly ponder them in my heart where they nested until they produced the spark that ignited my heart, and then the hopeful petitioning God, the eternal Father, in the name of Christ to know if the words are true, doing so with an honest and pure heart and with true intentions to know the truth. Having the consolation this faith in Christ inflamed the hope within me, wherein He always did and will manifest the truth of his words by the power of the holy Spirit. It is then by the working of the Holy Spirit that we may know the truth of all things12.
When in my teen years, I heard of all the testimonies of the older generation that various believers had been given concerning the Book of Mormon and I was encouraged to obtain a testimony that I might witness to others of the joy I received from understanding the principles written therein. I fasted and prayed and while praying on the seventh day, the small still voice spoke to my heart and mind saying, “Samuel, you know the words are true from your youth until now, what more could I say?”. The truth of those words resounded within my heart and mind knowing full well that the joy I had experienced in the studying of those words was sufficient. It is my testimony, that God will always testify to the words of truth and righteousness if we have ears to hear his gentle touch in our hearts as it is written concerning the Sealed Book from the Plates of Mormon.
“And I exhort you again, if God deems it prudent for you to read these records, if you have only the desire to understand the truth about them and from your heart meditate on their words, then I exhort you to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if you ask with a sincere heart and with a true intention to know, having faith in Christ, then he will manifest to you the truth of them by the power of the Holy Spirit, for through the Holy Spirit you may know the truth of all things.” (Words of Moroni v15).
1Revelation 19:10; 2Isaiah 61:10; 3Matthew 16:17; 4Galatians 3:27; 5Ephesians 2:20; 6Ephesians 4:13; 7Matthew 5:48 or 50; 8Ephesians 5:26; 92 Corinthians 3:2; 10Acts of the Three Nephites 1:3; 11Acts 17:11; 12Moroni 10:4-5.
