From: robarr@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Robert O'Barr)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: Coming Attractions on Mormonism
Date: 9 Oct 92 03:17:09 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego

>Can you get the First Presidency to endorse your work? The endorsement
>would serve to reduce the speculative and the resulting fallout of
>endless bandwidth wrt Is, Is Not what LDS believe. Back to square one:-)
>
>barry--

Here is another work fully "endorsed" by the First Presidency to
reduce speculation. 


Come Unto Christ

President Ezra Taft Benson

4 October 1987

     My beloved brethren and sisters, this has been another
glorious conference, for which I thank the Lord and commend my
brethren for their inspired counsel and the choirs for their
uplifting music.

     The major mission of the Book of Mormon, as recorded on its
title page, is "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus
is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself unto all
nations."

     The honest seeker after truth can gain the testimony that
Jesus is the Christ as he prayerfully ponders the inspired words of
the Book of Mormon.

     Over one-half of all the verses in the Book of Mormon refer to
our Lord.  Some form of Christ's name is mentioned more frequently
per verse in the Book of Mormon than even in the New Testament.

     He is given over one hundred different names in the Book of
Mormon.  Those names have a particular significance in describing
His divine nature.

     Let us consider some of the attributes of our Lord, as found
in the Book of Mormon, that show that Jesus is the Christ.  Then
let us confirm each of those attributes about Him with a brief
quote from the Book of Mormon.

     He is Alive: "The life of the world...a life which is endless"
(Mosiah 16:9).

     He is Constant: "The same yesterday, today, and forever" (2
Nephi 27:23).

     He is the Creator: "He created all things, both in heaven and
in earth" (Mosiah 4:9).

     He is the Exemplar: He "set the example....  He said unto the
children of men:  Follow thou me" (2 Nephi 31:9,10).

     He is Generous: "He commandeth none that they shall not
partake of his salvation" (2 Nephi 26:24).

     He is Godly: "He is God" (see 2 Nephi 27:23).

     He is Good: "All things which are good cometh of God" (Moroni
7:12).

     He is Gracious: "He is full of grace" (2 Nephi 2:6).

     He is the Healer: The "sick, and...afflicted with all manner
of diseases...devils and unclean spirits...were healed by the power
of the Lamb of God" (1 Nephi 11:31).

     He is Holy: "O how great the holiness of our God!" (2 Nephi
9:20).

     He is Humble: "He humbleth himself before the Father" (2 Nephi
31:7).

     He is Joyful: "The Father hath given" Him a "fullness of joy"
(3 Nephi 28:10).

     He is our Judge: "We shall be brought to stand before the bar
of God, to be judged of him" (Mosiah 16:10)

     He is Just: "The judgments of God are always just" (Mosiah
29:12).

     He is Kind: He has "loving" kindness...towards the children of
men" (1 Nephi 19:9).
 
     He is the Lawgiver: He "gave the law" (3 Nephi 15:5).

     He is the Liberator: "There is no other head whereby ye can be
made free" (Mosiah 5:8).

     He is the Light: "The light...of the world; yea, a light that
is end less, that can never be darkened" (Mosiah 16:9).

     He is Loving: "He loveth the world, even that he layeth down
his own life" (2 Nephi 26:24).

     He is the Mediator: "The great Mediator of all men" (2 Nephi
2:27).

     He is Merciful: There is a "multitude of his tender mercies"
(1 Nephi 8:8).

     He is Mighty: "Mightier than all the earth" (1 Nephi 4:1).

     He is Miraculous: A "God of miracles" (2 Nephi 27:23). 

     He is Obedient: Obedient unto the Father "in keeping his
commandments" (2 Nephi 31:7).

     He is Omnipotent: He has "all power, both in heaven and in
earth" (Mosiah 4:9).

     He is Omniscient: "The Lord knoweth all things from the
beginning" (1 Nephi 9:6).

     He is our Redeemer: "All mankind were in a lost and in a
fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this
Redeemer" (1 Nephi 10:6).

     He is the Resurrection: He brought to pass "the resurrection
of the dead, being the first that should rise" (2 Nephi 2:8).

     He is Righteous: "His ways are righteousness forever" (2 Nephi
1:19).

     He is the Ruler: He rules "in the heavens above and in the
earth beneath" (2 Nephi 29:7).

     He is our Savior: "There is none other name given under heaven
save it be this Jesus Christ...whereby man can be saved" (2 Nephi
25:20).

     He is Sinless: He "suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to
the temptation" (Mosiah 15:5).

     He is Truthful: "A God of truth, and canst not lie" (Ether
3:12).

     He is Wise: "He has all wisdom" (Mosiah 4:9).

     As I reflect on these and many other marks of our Lord's
divinity, as found in the Book of Mormon, my heart cries out with
the hymnist:

         Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder
         Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,
         I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
         Thy pow'r thruout the universe displayed;
         Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, 
         How great thou art!  How great thou art!
         Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, 
         How great thou art!  How great thou art!
         ("How Great Thou Art," Hymns, 1985, no. 86).

     Once one is convinced, through the Book of Mormon, that Jesus
is the Christ, then he must take the next step; he must come unto
Christ. Learning the precepts found in what the Prophet Joseph
Smith called the most correct book on earth, the Book of Mormon, is
but the first step. Abiding by those precepts found in the
"keystone" of our religion gets a man nearer to God than through
any other book (see History of the Church, 4:461).  Can we not see
why we should be reading this book daily and practicing its
precepts at all times?

     We have an increasing number who have been convinced, through
the Book of Mormon, that Jesus is the Christ.  Now we need an
increasing number who will use the Book of Mormon to become
committed to Christ. We need to be convinced and committed.

     Let us turn again to the Book of Mormon, this time to learn
some principles about coming unto Christ, being committed to Him,
centered in Him, and consumed in Him.  We will quote but a few of
the numerous passages on the matter.

     First we need to know that Christ invites us to come unto Him.
"Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of
mercy are extended towards them,...Yea, he saith: Come unto me and
ye shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life" (Alma 5:33-34).

     Come, for he stands "with open arms to receive you" (Mormon
6:17). 

     Come, for "he will console you in your afflictions, and he
will plead your cause" (Jacob 3:1).

     "Come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto
him" (Omni 1:26).
 
     As Moroni closed the record of the Jaredite civilization, he
wrote, "I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets
and apostles have written" (Ether 12:41).

     In Moroni's closing words written toward the end of the
Nephite civilization, he said, "Yea, come unto Christ, and be
perfected in him,...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" (Moroni 10:32).

     Those who are committed to Christ "stand as witnesses of God
at all times and in all things, and in all places" that they may be
in "even until death" (Mosiah 18:9).  They "retain the name" of
Christ! "written always" in their hearts (Mosiah 5:12).  They take
upon themselves "the name of Christ, having a determination to
serve him to the end" (Moroni 6:3).

     When we live a Christ-centered life, "we talk of Christ, we
rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ" (2 Nephi 25:26).  We
"receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love" (Jacob
3:2).  Even when Nephi's soul was grieved because of his
iniquities, he said, "I know in whom I have trusted.  My God hath
been my support" (2 Nephi 4:19-20).

     We remember Alma's counsel: "Let all thy doings be unto the
Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let
all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections
of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.  Counsel with the
Lord in all thy doings" (Alma, 37:36-37). 

     "Remember, remember," said Helaman, "that it is upon the rock
of our Redeemer, who is Christ,...that ye must build your
foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty
winds,...[they] shall have no power over you to drag you down to
the gulf of misery" (Helaman 5:12).

     Nephi said, the Lord "hath filled me with his love, even unto
the consuming of my flesh" (2 Nephi 4:21).  Those who are consumed
in Christ "are made alive in Christ" (2 Nephi 25:25).  They "suffer
no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of
Christ" (Alma 31:38).  They are "clasped in the arms of Jesus"
(Mormon 5:11).  Nephi said, "I glory in my Jesus for he hath
redeemed my soul"  (2 Nephi 33:6).  Lehi said, "I am encircled
about eternally in the arms of his love" (2 Nephi 1:15).

     Now, my beloved brethren and sisters, let us read the Book of
Mormon and be convinced that Jesus is the Christ.  Let us
continually re-read the Book of Mormon so that we might more fully
come to Christ, be committed to Him, centered in Him, and consumed
in Him.

     We are meeting the adversary every day.  The challenges of
this era will rival any of the past, and these challenges will
increase both spiritually and temporally.  We must be close to
Christ, we must daily take his name upon us, always remember Him,
and keep His commandments.

     In the final letter recorded in the Book of Mormon from Mormon
to his son Moroni, he gave counsel that applies to our day.  Both
father and son were seeing a whole Christian civilization fall
because its people would not serve the God of the land, even Jesus
Christ.  Mormon wrote, "And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding
their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to
labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor
to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer
the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom
of God" (Moroni 9:6).  You and I have a similar labor to perform
now--to conquer the enemy and rest our souls in the kingdom.

     Then that great soul Mormon closes his letter to his beloved
son, Moroni, with these words.

     "My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which
I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may
Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the
showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-
suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in
your mind forever.

     "And may the grace of God the Father, whose throne is high in
the heavens, and our Lord Jesus Christ, who sitteth on the right
hand of his power, until all things shall become subject unto him,
be, and abide with you forever" (Moroni 9:25-26).

     My prayer for each of us is that we too will follow that
inspired counsel: "Be faithful in Christ."  Then He will lift us up
and His grace will be and abide with us forever.  That this may be
so, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.