To be "at one with" someone is to be in a state of agreement and peace. Jesus made it possible for our relationship with God to be healed, and one word for that reconciliation is "atonement," the gift which enables us to be "at one" with God.
Only by His Grace
In his epistle to the Romans, Paul testifies that we are justified only by God's grace. Lehi, Jacob, and Nephi taught the same principle. When we recognize that we need Him, we will seek to align ourselves with Him, so that we can receive His power.
Hunters and Fishers
The gathering of Israel is underway, and each of us can be part of it. Jeremiah said, "The days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north,... Continue Reading →
“I Will Gather Them from Thence”
While serving in the palace of the king of Persia, Nehemiah was devastated to learn of the sorry state of the city of Jerusalem. The people who were left there were "in great affliction and reproach." The walls of the city were broken, and the gate had been burned. As Nehemiah pleaded with God for... Continue Reading →
“With Everlasting Kindness”
Suboptimal circumstances can create glorious opportunities. When the kingdom of Israel was scattered by the Assyrians, it was a direct consequence of their disobedience to the commandments of God: They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and... Continue Reading →
Light
Jesus said, "I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (Doctrine and Covenants 93:2; see also John 1:9.) He also said, "I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words" (2 Nephi 10:14). Elder Timothy J. Dyches said: Just as sunlight daily bathes the earth to renew... Continue Reading →
Promises to Covenant Israel
Nephi told us that God "loveth those who will have him to be their God." As an example, "he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made" (1 Nephi 17:40). In August of 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation in... Continue Reading →
“All That We Could Do” – Alma 24:11, 15
Repentance is hard. Alma was redeemed by God only "after wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death" (Mosiah 27:28). His friends, the sons of King Mosiah, "suffered much anguish of soul because of their iniquities" (Mosiah 28:4). And the Lamanites who were converted by their preaching had to endure "sore repentance" (Alma 27:23). No... Continue Reading →
“According to the Flesh” – 2 Nephi 10:2
On at least two occasions, Nephi's older brothers asked him if the scriptures were talking about spiritual things or about temporal things. Here's how they asked the question after he read two chapters of Isaiah to them: What meaneth these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which... Continue Reading →
What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About the United States of America?
About 600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, a prophet named Nephi experienced a sweeping vision, in which he saw a number of events in the distant future. One of those events was the establishment of the United States of America. Here is how he describes it: I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who... Continue Reading →