3
Nephi 3:10-11
No Man Can Serve Two Masters
No
Man Can Serve Two Masters. (Matthew 6:24.) Mar. 1983
What
10 And
I write this epistle unto you, Lachoneus, and I hope that ye will
deliver up your lands and your possessions, without the shedding of
blood, that this my people may recover their rights and agovernment,
who have dissented away from you because of your wickedness in
retaining from them their rights of government, and except ye do
this, I will avenge their wrongs. I am Giddianhi.
11 And
now it came to pass when Lachoneus received this epistle he was
exceedingly astonished, because of the boldness of Giddianhi
demanding the possession of the land of the Nephites, and also of
threatening the people and avenging the wrongs of those that had
received no wrong, save it were they had awronged themselves
by dissenting away unto those wicked and abominable robbers.
Why
Lachoneus
was a righteous leader and he was not going to be fooled by the
wicked Giddianhi who had dissented.
Pattern
Governments
Rom.
13:1
1
Let every soul be
subject unto
the higher powers.
For there is no power but
of God:
the powers that
be are ordained of God.
Hel.
14:30
30
And now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth,
perisheth unto himself;
and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye
are free;
ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given
unto you a knowledge and
he hath made you free.
29 And
this to the intent that whosoever will believe might be saved, and
that whosoever will not believe, a arighteous
judgment might
come upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon
themselves their own condemnation.
30 And
now remember, remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth,
perisheth unto ahimself;
and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye
are bfree;
ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given
unto you a cknowledge and
he hath made you free.
31 He
hath given unto you that ye might aknow good
from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might bchoose life
or death; and ye can do good and be crestored unto
that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or
ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you.
Deut.
30:19
19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I
have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:
therefore choose life,
that both thou and thy seed may live:
Christ
The
robbers were in total opposition to Christ. The war that began in
heaven is not over.
Conference
By
Elder Robert D. Hales Of
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
The
blessings we enjoy now are because we made the choice to follow the
Savior before this life. To everyone hearing or reading these words,
whoever you are and whatever your past may be, remember this: it is
not too late to make that same choice again and follow Him.
Through
our faith in Jesus Christ, believing in His Atonement, repenting of
our sins, and being baptized, we may then receive the supernal gift
of the Holy Ghost. This gift provides knowledge and understanding,
guidance and strength to learn and gain a testimony, power, cleansing
to overcome sin, and comfort and encouragement to be faithful in
tribulation. These incomparable blessings of the Spirit increase our
freedom and power to do what is right, for “where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty.”8
As
we walk the path of spiritual liberty in these last days, we must
understand that the faithful use of our agency depends upon our
having religious freedom. We already know that Satan does not want
this freedom to be ours. He attempted to destroy moral agency in
heaven, and now on earth he is fiercely undermining, opposing, and
spreading confusion about religious freedom—what it is and why it
is essential to our spiritual life and our very salvation.
There
are four cornerstones of religious freedom that we as Latter-day
Saints must rely upon and protect.
The
first is freedom to believe. No one should be criticized, persecuted,
or attacked by individuals, or governments either, for what he or she
believes about God. It is very personal and very important. An early
declaration of our beliefs regarding religious liberty states:
“No
government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held
inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of
conscience. …
“… The
civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience
[or] suppress the freedom of the soul.”9
Apply
From
Elder Hales “
Brothers
and sisters, we are responsible to safeguard these sacred freedoms
and rights for ourselves and our posterity. What can you and I do?
First,
we can become informed. Be aware of issues in your community that
could have an impact on religious liberty.
Second,
in your individual capacity, join with others who share our
commitment to religious freedom. Work side by side to protect
religious freedom.
Third,
live your life to be a good example of what you believe—in word and
deed. How we live our religion is far more important than what we may
say about our religion.
Hymns
God
Speed the right
Children
I
Will Follow God's Plan for me
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