Did President Benson see and touch the resurrected Savior? Read his carefully worded witness of Christ

 (by Dennis B. Horne ldsliving.com 7-21-21)

Editor’s note: The following excerpt comes from a book about special witnesses of Jesus Christ. You can read this chapter in its entirety at truthwillprevail.xyz as well as other chapters as they are posted. This excerpt is republished here with permission.

In 1979 President Ezra Taft Benson gave (at least) two addresses to gatherings of Latter-day Saints in which he used similar and carefully phrased wording to indicate that he had beheld the Lord Jesus Christ, and probably also handled His resurrected body.1 The first was given on December 9 to students attending the institute near the University of Utah. On this occasion he shared this sublime witness: “I say, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest historical event in the world to date. In this dispensation, commencing with the Prophet Joseph Smith, the witnesses are legion. As one of those called as a special witness, I add my testimony to those of my fellow Apostles: He lives! He lives with a resurrected body. There is no truth or fact of which I am more assured, or know better by personal experience, than the truth of the literal Resurrection of our Lord.”2 

This declaration was followed by another one like it (but perhaps even more clear) shortly thereafter, given to a gathering of saints in California: “Because He was God—even the Son of God—he alone had the power of resurrection. And so on the third day following His burial, He came forth from the tomb alive and showed Himself to many. There were witnesses then who saw Him. There have been many in this dispensation who have seen Him. As one of those special witnesses so called in this day, I testify to you that He lives. He lives with a resurrected body. There is no truth or fact of which I am more assured or more confident than the truth of the literal resurrection of our Lord.”3 

Other declarations of testimony uttered by Brother Benson during these years before he became the President of the Church: “Jesus lives today. He is risen. This I know. . . . Yes, Jesus Christ is divine. He lives today. He was resurrected. He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.”4  Again:

Now there remains but one thing more for me to do today, and that is to bear my personal testimony.

I know that God lives, that he is a personal being, the Father of our spirits, and that he loves his children and hears and answers their righteous prayers. I know that it is his will that his children be happy. It is his desire to bless us all. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, our Elder Brother, the very Creator and Redeemer of the world. I know that God has again established his kingdom on the earth in fulfillment of prophecy and that it will never be overcome, but it shall ultimately hold universal dominion in the earth and Jesus Christ shall reign as its King forever.

I know that God in his goodness has again revealed himself from the heavens and that Joseph Smith was called of God to reestablish that kingdom—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I testify that he accomplished this work, that he laid the foundations and that he committed to the Church the keys and powers to continue the great Latter-day work, which he began under the direction of Almighty God.

I know that Joseph Smith, although slain as a martyr to the truth, still lives and that as head of this dispensation—the greatest of all gospel dispensations—he will continue so to stand throughout the eternities to come. He is a prophet of God, a seer, and a revelator, as are his successors. I know that the inspiration of the Lord is directing the Church today because I have felt of its power. I know that the First Presidency and other General Authorities of the Church have as their object and purpose the glory of God and the exaltation of his children. And finally, I know that no person who does not receive this work can be saved in the celestial kingdom of God and escape the condemnation of the Judge of us all.

Humbly and prayerfully I leave this testimony, knowing full well I must eventually meet my Maker and stand with all men before the judgment bar of God. More than anything else in all the world, I am grateful for this testimony of the divinity of this great latter-day work and exhort all men everywhere to give heed thereto, . . .5 

And again: “I bear witness to you, my beloved brethren and sisters, that God lives. He is not dead. I bear testimony that God our Father and His Beloved Son, our Savior and Redeemer, did in very deed appear to Joseph Smith. I know this as I know that I live. I testify there is a God in heaven who hears and answers prayer. I know this to be true.”6 

The following declaration of testimony, given to an audience at Brigham Young University, also contained a strong warning to scholars and academics who question and doubt or seek to deny the reality of the First Vision: 

He lives today; of that I bear solemn witness. This same Jesus has already come to earth in our day. The resurrected Christ—glorified, exalted, the God of this world under the Father—appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in 1820. This same Jesus—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses, the Creator of this earth—has come in our day. He was introduced by the Father to Joseph Smith with these words: “This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Joseph Smith 2:17 [JS—H 1:17]). There are some in our midst who sponsor the sophistry that this appearance of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, was not literal, that it was probably a product of the Prophet’s imaginings. That is an absolute falsehood. It is not only an attempt to discredit the testimony of Joseph Smith; it would discredit the testimony of Jesus himself who literally appeared to the Prophet as a witness of His own resurrection.7 

In the 1980s, President Benson gave some conference addresses that were specifically chosen as opportunities to bear witness of Jesus and hint at sacred spiritual experiences he had received that granted him sure knowledge; brief but powerful excerpts follow:

“To possess a testimony of Jesus is to know that He voluntarily took upon Himself the sins of all mankind in the Garden of Gethsemane, which caused Him to suffer in both body and spirit and to bleed from every pore. All this He did so that we would not have to suffer if we would repent. (See Doctrine & Covenants 19:16, 18.)

“To possess a testimony of Jesus is to know that He came forth triumphantly from the grave with a physical, resurrected body. And because He lives, so shall all mankind.

“To possess a testimony of Jesus is to know that God the Father and Jesus Christ did indeed appear to the Prophet Joseph Smith to establish a new dispensation of His gospel so that salvation may be preached to all nations before He comes.”8 

“I bear testimony that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. He presides over it and is close to His servants.”9 

“I humbly testify that He is the same loving, compassionate Lord today as when He walked the dusty roads of Palestine. He is close to His servants on this earth.”10

“I testify to you that God lives and that today He communicates to His servants His will.”11 

“I know that the inspiration of the Lord is directing the Church today because I have felt of its power.”12 

“The spirit world is not far away. Our work is all one great program on both sides of the veil. Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin. This I know! Our loved ones who have passed on are not far from us.”13 

Read this chapter in its entirety at truthwillprevail.xyz. 

Notes

1. For instance, to his Apostles, the resurrected Jesus said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have” (Luke 24:39). 

2. Ezra Taft Benson, “Five Marks of the Divinity of Jesus Christ,” New Era, December 1980; Given as an LDSSA fireside address in the University of Utah Special Events Center on Sunday, December 9, 1979.

3. “First Presidency Message: Jesus Christ: Our Savior, Our God, . . .” in Ensign, April 1991; From an address by President Ezra Taft Benson delivered at San Diego, California, on 21 December 1979. 

4. Conference Report, April 1966, 133. 

5. “A Message to the World,” Ensign, November 1975. 

6. “Prayer,” Ensign, May 1977. 

7. “Because I Live, Ye Shall Live Also,” BYU Speeches, March 26, 1978.

8. “Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus,” Ensign, May 1982. 

9. Ibid. 

10. “Jesus Christ Our Savior and Redeemer,” Ensign, November 1983. 

11. “Counsel to the Saints,” Ensign, May 1984. 

12. “A Message to the World,” Ensign, November 1975.

13. Ezra Taft Benson, “Because I Live You Shall Live Also,” BYU Speeches, March 26, 1978.

https://www.ldsliving.com/Did-President-Benson-see-and-touch-the-resurrected-Savior-Read-his-carefully-worded-witness-of-Christ/s/94553

Translating the New Testament for Latter‑day Saints

 Abstract: A new translation of the New Testament by Thomas A. Wayment, a professor of Classics at Brigham Young University, offers Latter-day Saints a fresh look at this volume of scripture. Accompanying the translation are study notes that touch on historical, textual, and other items of importance in any critical reading of the New Testament. Wayment’s new edition should prove a helpful aid to Latter day Saint readers wishing to get more out of their study of the New Testament.

 

Review of Thomas A. Wayment, trans., The New Testament: A Translation for Latter-day Saints: A Study Bible (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University / Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2018). 491 pp. $29.99 (paperback).

In a sermon delivered in Salt Lake City, Brigham Young issued this charge:

If there is a scholar on the earth who professes to be a Christian, and he can translate [the Bible] any better than King James’s translators did it, he is under obligation to do so, or the curse is upon him. If I understood Greek and Hebrew as some may profess to do, and I knew the Bible was not correctly translated, I should feel myself bound by the law of justice to the inhabitants of the earth to translate that which is incorrect and give it just as it was spoken anciently.

https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/translating-the-new-testament-for-latter%E2%80%91day-saints/ 

Religious Liberty Put to the Test

 https://lawliberty.org/book-review/religious-liberty-put-to-the-test/

Daniel Peterson: the Power of a Witness

 (from ldsliving.com)

David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery. Those are the well-known names of three men whose witnesses of the Book of Mormon stood the test of time, even if their loyalty to the Church sometimes wavered. But who were they? What about these men enabled God to use them in Restoration? Why did they all, at various points, step away from the Church? And why did two of them come back? On this week’s episode, Daniel Peterson, an executive producer of the new movie “Witnesses,” discusses the significance of these men’s roles in Church history and why we should hold gratitude in our hearts for their lives.

“The Lord gave us the witnesses—the three and the eight—and I think He expects us to use them and to tell their story.”

https://www.ldsliving.com/pages/allin-e134-daniel-peterson-the-power-of-a-witness

Why the Left never talk about personal choices

Sports legend Gary Player golfs with Elder Uchtdorf, praises the Church

 (by Haley Lundberg ldsliving.com 6-30-21)

What happens when you put a sports legend on the golf course with a German pilot? Apparently jokes, gospel discussion, and mutual respect. And that’s exactly what happened last weekend when retired professional golfer Gary Player played a round of golf with Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the Red Ledges Golf Course in Heber, Utah.

When asked about the experience, Player, who is not a member of the Church, said it “was one of the most wonderful days on the golf course I’ve ever had.”

That’s high praise coming from the man they call “The Black Knight,” and who is widely considered one of the greatest golfers of all time. Player has won all four major golf championships in his career—one of only five golfers to do so in history. He also has a total of nine major championship victories, has won over 150 professional tournaments on six continents over seven decades, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.

“You can just see how [Elder Uchtdorf’s] whole life revolves around Jesus Christ, and what a wonderful family man he is. We had such fun together, we covered a lot of topics. At one point I pointed up at the sky and said, ‘The sky is blue. Where is heaven?’ And he responded, ‘I wish we had more time to sit down and talk about it, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do: [When I] get there . . . I’ll send you an SMS!’”

Elder Uchtdorf and Player are contemporaries in age, with Player being just five years older than the Apostle. Player’s glowing reviews of his golf game and conversation with Elder Uchtdorf were accompanied by even more admiration for the Church over the years. His daughter Amanda and his wife Vivienne both joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1990s, and Player himself has strong religious convictions.

 “I’ve always been a great admirer of the Church. The main reason, obviously, is because your church is so emphatic about Jesus Christ. I don’t know how people live without that. It’s the reason I’ve been so successful, it’s the reason I have so much love in my life, it’s the reason for everything I do . . . . If I was a young man, I would definitely become a member of your church.”

Player was also very complimentary of the young men and women who serve missions for the Church and said their family has been blessed as his daughter Amanda and three of his grandchildren have served full-time missions.

“When I watch the young missionaries, I’m always so impressed. They’re wonderfully dressed, they have manners, and they have respect . . . . I admire your church so much for the effort these young people are making, sacrificing, putting in two years of hard work. It molds your character and teaches discipline.”

Player posted about his experience with Elder Uchtdorf on Instagram, stating:

I had the pleasure of playing a round of golf with Elder @dieterfuchtdorf. One of the finest gentlemen I have ever met. He is a principled man that we can all learn from and it’s safe to say that I am a big admirer of his. I have been touched and inspired by his words of faith and wisdom. In today’s world we need more people like him.

A friend of the Player family has said that Gary has long admired Elder Uchtdorf. In the past, when his wife has been watching general conference in their home, he has said, “Tell me when the pilot is on.”

“When you meet a man like Elder Uchtdorf,” Player said, “You can just tell why he’s such a great leader in your church. All your leaders, they’re humble, they’ve got respect, and they’ve got love in their hearts. And that’s so important . . . . I’ve always admired him so much, and he lived up to all my expectations and hopes. It was an absolutely memorable day.”

When asked about Elder Uchtdorf’s golf game, Player laughed and said, “Well, he had a hurt shoulder, so he rode around in the cart with me, and he putted, and he hit a few little chip shots here and there, but he was a delight.”

https://www.ldsliving.com/Sports-legend-Gary-Player-plays-golf-with-Elder-Uchtdorf-praises-the-Church/s/94471

New civil marriage guidelines announced for Church leaders performing ceremonies

 The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has revised the conditions in which Church officers may perform civil marriages between a man and a woman.

Effective immediately, mission presidents, stake presidents, district presidents, bishops, and branch presidents may officiate civil marriage only in the following circumstances: 

• • At least one of the couple—either the bride or groom—is a member of the Church.
• • Either the bride’s or the groom’s membership record is assigned to the unit over which the Church officer presides.
• • The Church officer is legally authorized to perform a civil marriage in the jurisdiction where the marriage will take place. Not all jurisdictions recognize civil marriages performed by local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The letter, sent Wednesday, June 30, 2021, was signed by President Russell M. Nelson, President Dallin H. Oaks and President Henry B. Eyring.

Read about how these changes differ from previous guidelines and catch up on other marriage-related announcements at Church News.

https://www.ldsliving.com/New-civil-marriage-guidelines-announced-for-Church-leaders-performing-ceremonies/s/94476

How a run honoring Parley P. Pratt's 1839 jailbreak became a Missouri community's First Amendment celebration

 (by Emily Abel ldsliving.com 7-2-21)

On July 4, 1839, Parley P. Pratt broke out of the Columbia, Missouri, jail and ran for freedom. Pratt, who was then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, had been arrested because of his participation in a battle against Missourians when Latter-day Saints were expelled from the state in 1838–39. After spending months in jail, he had a dream in which his late first wife promised he would eventually be free. Fittingly, July 4 would be the day Pratt made his escape. He successfully returned to the main body of Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois, and would later lead a large wagon company across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley. 

Over 180 years later, members of the local community are joining Latter-day Saints for the first time in the Columbia Missouri Stake's annual Parley P. Pratt Freedom Run. On the four-mile journey, the community plans to honor their First Amendment freedoms as they run pass historic markers in their city.

(follow link for the rest of the article)

https://www.ldsliving.com/How-a-run-honoring-Parley-P-Pratt-s-1839-jailbreak-became-a-Missouri-community-s-First-Amendment-celebration/s/93081/?utm_source=ldsliving&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=related