Ezekiel 33-48

Is this how the Final Judgment will look?

“The Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become” (“The Challenge to Become,” Ensign,Nov. 2000, 32). Why is it important to understand that Jesus Christ will judge us by what we have become?

Read Ezekiel 33:10-11 looking for a definition of repentance. SHUBE (Hebrew): To turn from MATANEOEO (Greek): Change of mind POENITORE (Latin): To punish, strip, cut, mutilate, disfigure, starve or torture

Read Ezekiel 33:12–13 looking for what Jehovah taught about our righteousness.Ezekiel 33:12–13 Read Ezekiel 33:14–16 looking for what happens to the wicked who turn from their sins.Ezekiel 33:14–16

Thrust into the starting role in place of the suspended star quarterback in the 2016 Alamo bowl, TCU‘s fifth year senior Bram Kohlhausen made the absolute most of his final chance. He had never started a college game until this one and dug his team into a 31-0 hole by halftime. Kohlhausen talked stadium security into letting his mother join the field. The person not there was his father, Bill, who died Nov. 7 of cancer. "I just gave her a hug and started crying with her. I knew my dad was watching upstairs," Kohlhausen said. Kohlhausen passed went on to pass for 351 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, running in to score the game willing touchdown during the third overtime and, in the process, tied the record for the comeback in a bowl game.

“However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines. “… There is no problem which you cannot overcome. There is no dream that in the unfolding of time and eternity cannot yet be realized. … “The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Ensign, M ay 2012, 33).

“To those of you who may still be hanging back, to each of you, one and all, I testify of the renewing power of God’s love and the miracle of His grace. His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there. “So if you have made covenants, keep them. If you have made them and broken them, repent and repair them” “The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Ensign, M ay 2012, 33).

Read Ezekiel 34:11–16 looking for what Jesus Christ will do as a shepherd for His people. Ezekiel 34:11–16 When has the Savior been like a good shepherd to you? Read Ezekiel 36:24–28 looking for what the Good Shepherd will do for those who choose to follow Him (Cross-reference read Mosiah 5:2)Ezekiel 36:24–28Mosiah 5:2 1. In what ways do you need a change of heart? 2. What will you do in the coming week to invite the Holy Ghost to help you change your heart?

At birth, the heart changes form and function. Why? What’s the symbolism?

“To have our hearts changed by the Holy Spirit is not simply the result of working harder or developing greater discipline. Rather, it is the consequence of a change in our desires, our motives, and our natures, all made possible through the Atonement of Christ the Lord. Our purpose is to overcome both sin and the desire to sin.” (Elder Bednar, “Clean Hands and a PureHeart,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2007, 82).

Ezekiel 37:1-7 What is significant about these bones being dry? What could the bones represent? What applications are here for us? (Hint: Ezekiel 37:13-14, 26)

Ezekiel 37:15-17 Read: Ezekiel 37: Discuss: What is the purpose of bringing together the Bible and Book of Mormon? Discuss: Why is it important to have more than one book of scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ? Find: A verse in the Book of Mormon that testifies of Jesus Christ. Look: In the footnotes of the Book of Mormon verse you found, identify a cross reference verse in the Bible that also testifies of Jesus Christ. Read: President Boyd K. Packer: “Into hands now are placed the sticks of Joseph and of Judah. They will develop a gospel scholarship beyond that which their forebears could achieve. They will have the testimony that Jesus is the Christ and be competent to proclaim Him and to defend Him” (“Scriptures,” Ensign, Nov. 1982, 53). Discuss: How has studying both the Bible and the Book of Mormon helped you to feel prepared to proclaim and defend your testimony of Jesus Christ?

1.Read Ezekiel 37: Cross-reference over to 2 nd Nephi 3:12 and identify the five (5) blessings that come to God’s people by joining these two books together. 3.How do joining the Bible and the Book of Mormon accomplish those things? 4.What are some doctrines in the Bible that the Book of Mormon helps to clarify? Understand

Memorize 16. Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17. And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

Memorize 16. M_______, t___ s__ o_ m__, t___ t___ o__ s____, a__ w____ u___ i_, F__ J____, a__ f__ t__ c_______ o_ I_____ h__ c________: t___ t___ a______ s____, a__ w____ u___ i_, F__ J_____, t__ s____ o_ E______, a__ f__ a__ t__ h____ o_ I_____ h__ c_________: 17. A__ j___ t___ o__ t_ a______ i___ o__ s____; a__ t___ s____ b_____ o__ i_ t____ h___. 17. A__ j___ t___ o__ t_ a______ i___ o__ s____; a__ t___ s____ b_____ o__ i_ t____ h___.

The Book of Mormon challenge Write a history of ancient Tibet covering a period from 600 B.C. to 450 A.D. (Why ancient Tibet? Because you know no more about Tibet than Joseph Smith knew about ancient America). Your history must be written on the basis of what you now know (there was no library that held information for Joseph Smith). Your history must be 531 pages Your history must be over 300,000 words.

The Book of Mormon challenge Other than a few grammatical corrections, you must have no changes in the text. You must describe the history of two cultures, including their religious, economic, political, and social cultures and institutions – even the names of their coins. Change your style of writing many times (Many ancient authors contributed to the Book of Mormon, each with his own writing voice).

The Book of Mormon challenge You must write fifty-four chapters dealing with wars, twenty-one chapters about history, fifty-five chapters on visions and prophecies, twenty-one chapters on the ministry of Christ. Your record must agree meticulously with the Bible.

The Book of Mormon challenge Include authentic modes of travel; description of clothing, crops, mourning customs, and types of government. You must invent 280 new names that will stand up under scrutiny. You will have to properly use similes, metaphors, narrations, exposition, descriptions, oratories and parables. You must invite the ablest scholars and experts to examine the text and try to expose every flaw in it – and fail.

The Book of Mormon challenge The book must not contain any absurd or contradictory statements. Many theories and ideas as to its origin must arise and they must all fail. You must claim that your knowledge came from divine origin, and this claim must increase to the point where it becomes the only logical explanation.

The Book of Mormon challenge For the next 20 years you must watch those that follow you be persecuted, driven, beaten, tortured, starved, frozen and killed. Tens of thousands must undergo the most extreme hardships just because they believe your claims concerning ancient Tibet. You must gain no wealth from your work, but many times lose all that you have. After 20 years of this, give your own life in a very savage and brutal manner, for your testimony concerning your history book.

The Book of Mormon challenge Over the next 200 years, over 1 mission competent salesman must be so sold on your book that they gladly give up two or more years of their lives and use their own money to take it to all parts of the world.

The Book of Mormon challenge Start right now and produce this record which covers 1,000 years of history, doing it, not in the peaceful atmosphere of your community, but under the most trying of circumstances. Please have your book completed (and talk a friend into mortgaging $60,000 on his home and farm to raise money to have it printed) You have 80 days to finish your work.

The Book of Mormon Maybe it’s not true – maybe Joseph Just wrote it???

Joseph Smith’s Education

His mother recalled that, even into his late teens, “he seemed much less inclined to the perusal of books than any of the rest of our children.” His wife Emma reports that Joseph “could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well worded letter, let alone dictate a book like the Book of Mormon. … During no part of it did Joseph Smith have any [manuscripts] or book of any kind from which to read or dictate except the metallic plates which I knew he had.”

“I am satisfied that no man could have dictated the writing of the manuscripts unless he was inspired; for, when acting as his scribe, he would dictate to me hour after hour; and when returning after meals, or after interruptions, he would at once begin where he had left off, without either seeing the manuscript or having any portion of it read back to him. For one so ignorant and unlearned as he was, it was simply impossible.”

Word Print Analysis

Researcher John Hilton and non-LDS colleagues at Berkeley first used a variety of control tests with non- disputed authors (e.g. works by Mark Twain) in an effort to demonstrate the persistence of wordprints and to demonstrate that wordprints were not obliterated by translation. Hilton concluded that, if wordprinting is a valid technique, then this analysis suggests that it is "statistically indefensible" to claim that Joseph, Oliver, or Solomon Spaulding wrote the 30,000 words in the Book of Mormon attributed to Nephi and Alma. There is a roughly 1 in 15 trillion chance of Nephi and Alma having the same author.

“The Book of Mormon will change your life. It will fortify you against the evils of our day. It will bring a spirituality into your life that no other book will. It will be the most important book you will read in preparation for a mission and for life. A young (person) who knows and loves the Book of Mormon, who has read it several times, who has a abiding testimony of its truthfulness, and who applies its teachings will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and will be a mighty tool in the hands of the Lord” (Pres. Benson, C.R., April 1986, 56). Doctrine and Covenants 20:8-36

Ezekiel – The Temple Read Ezekiel 44:5,9 looking for what the Lord told Ezekiel about the temple. How do priesthood leaders fulfill a similar responsibility today? Why does the Lord have standards to meet before entering his house? What changes can you make to be better prepared to enter the Lord’s house?

Ezekiel – The Temple Ezekiel 47:1-5 1 st time – ankles 2 nd time - knees 3 rd time - loins 4 th time – swim in What can you do to more fully immerse yourself in the blessings of the gospel? Read Ezekiel 47:8-9: What can Ezekiel’s vision teach us about the blessings we can experience through temple worship?Ezekiel 47:8-9

Elder Richard G. Scott “Our son, Richard, was born with a heart defect. We were told that unless that could be cured, there was little probability that he would live more than two or three years. This was so long ago that techniques now used to repair such defects were unknown. We had the blessing of having a place where doctors agreed to attempt to perform the needed surgery. The surgery had to be done while his little heart was beating. “The surgery was performed just six weeks after the birth and death of our baby daughter. When the operation finished, the principal surgeon came in and said it was a success. And we thought, ‘How wonderful! Our son will have a strong body, be able to run and walk and grow!’ We expressed deep gratitude to the Lord. Then about 10 minutes later, the same doctor came in with an ashen face and told us, ‘Your son has died.’ Apparently the shock of the operation was more than his little body could endure.

Elder Richard G. Scott “Later, during the night, I embraced my wife and said to her, ‘We do not need to worry, because our children were born in the covenant. We have the assurance that we will have them with us in the future. Now we have a reason to live extremely well. We have a son and a daughter who have qualified to go to the celestial kingdom because they died before the age of eight.’ That knowledge has given us great comfort. We rejoice in the knowledge that all seven of our children are sealed to us for time and all eternity. “That trial has not been a problem for either of us because, when we live righteously and have received the ordinances of the temple, everything else is in the hands of the Lord. We can do the best we can, but the final outcome is up to Him. We should never complain, when we are living worthily, about what happens in our lives.”

Elder Richard G. Scott “Fourteen years ago the Lord decided it was not necessary for my wife to live any longer on the earth, and He took her to the other side of the veil. I confess that there are times when it is difficult not to be able to turn and talk to her, but I do not complain. The Lord has allowed me, at important moments in my life, to feel her influence through the veil. “What I am trying to teach is that when we keep the temple covenants we have made and when we live righteously in order to maintain the blessings promised by those ordinances, then come what may, we have no reason to worry or to feel despondent” (“Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 45).

Mormon Messages “The Blessings of the Temple” (3:37)“The Blessings of the Temple”

Mormon Messages “The Blessings of the Temple” (3:37)“The Blessings of the Temple”

Ezekiel 33-48