Down time & Brief Departure (Works vs. Fruits)

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Brief Departure:

From time to time I am given the opportunity to lead a discussion on a scriptural/doctrinal topic and what follows is an outline of the content I will use. I cut and pasted the outline from my "Word" software but the Blogspot word processing software does not appear to accommodate the outline format of "Word". Sorry for the inconvenience. I will also add content to fill in the holes an outline may leave.


Works vs. Fruits

Introduction:
1. Sitting in the Stake office talking about the Temple: A brother's comment: “The Lord must be pleased with us because of the number of Temples we are building.”
2. Talking to another brother last Tuesday night a question arose in my mind.
A. "What is the true measure of the Church’s standing before the Lord?"

I. Works vs. Fruits

1. “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” (Revelation 20:12)
A. We are judged for and by our works.
2. “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:20)
A. The servants of God will not be discerned by their works, but by their fruits.

II. What the Lord Expects of Us

1. “And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received- Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say but to do according to that which I have written- That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion. For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, I say unto you, Nay.” (D&C 84:54-59)

A. Our minds have been darkened because of unbelief and because we treat lightly the things we have received from the Lord.
B. Vanity and unbelief have brought the whole Church under condemnation. How so?
1. What might vanity in the Church look like today?
a. Unwilling to acknowledge our condition and repent of the “all is well in Zion” mentality. (2 Nephi 28:21)
b. A sense of being “The Chosen” of the Lord prevails among the body of His Church.
2. What might unbelief look like?
a. Distinction between believing the Book of Mormon is true and living to fulfill its prophecies and promises.
b. We believe the origin of the Book of Mormon while neglecting its intended purpose.
1. Pres. Benson in the late 1980’s and Elder Oaks in 1994 reaffirmed the Church was still under this condemnation.

III. Fruits Meet for the Father’s Kingdom

1. “And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.” (3 Nephi 26:29)
A. The Book of Mormon is deliberately diminished as a test to see if we will seek after the greater things.
B. How diligently we pursue these things is a direct measure of how much we believe what the Lord has given us.

2. “The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh- But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth; That mine everlasting covenant might be established; That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.” (D&C 1:19-23)
A. This is the Lord’s mission statement for the restoration of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ. How well our efforts mirror this statement is a true measure of our standing before the Lord.

IV. Conclusion
1. “Babylon wants us to have “group think,” so we are easier to control. If we all think alike, then it is easier to sell us Toyota’s, Nikes and Budweiser. Zion, in contrast, should never be a people with “group think.” Even if it is easier to sell us Quadruple Combination's and CTR rings, Zion must be the place where individual thought exists. Individual uniqueness is essential for individual revelation, and individual salvation, and individual exaltation. Group think produces Telestial beings, even if they are Latter-day Saints. This is why Brigham Young lamented: “There is too much of a sameness among our people… I do not like stereotyped Mormons- away with stereotyped Mormons!” (JD 8:185; quoted by Vaughn J. Featherstone in “The Incomparable Christ: Our Master and Model, pg.119) One of the great evils of intentional efforts to live as a stereotype is the power this gives to the “wolves.” If all it takes to mislead the Saints is a white shirt, feigned testimony and teetotaling, we invite wolves to mislead us. It is far better for us to be inspired by the Spirit, filled with the power of discernment through the Holy Ghost, to be able to detect false teachers who surely exist among us. If instead we base our views upon mere conformity with a stereotype, we will be deceived. …, The Lord does not care about Zion “prospering” because of good marketing techniques. A broad coalition of semi-converted believers whose commitment to the Church is based upon slick marketing will never endure the heat of the day. These semi-converted believers do not die for causes. Nor do they drag a Spartan collection of meager personal property across a thousand miles or more of wilderness and desert on a handcart, to regroup in peace beyond the reach of murderous mobs…, Converted individuals, who think for themselves, and are rigorous in their fidelity to the cause of truth, will die for a cause, because the cause is more important to them than their lives…, The leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been and are receiving inspiration to guide the Church. However, this is not enough. In many ways the Church is perhaps more sound, better managed, and more successful at present than it has ever been. In contrast to worldly and governmental institutions, the Church is singular in its efficiency and sophistication of operation. The Church organization is the envy of governments, charities, other churches and fraternal organizations. Nephi saw this. He knew Zion would prosper. He is saying, in essence: “So what?” What does it matter if the leaders are able to manage the Church into success after success? If the individual members who constitute the citizens of Zion are not prepared to live in the presence of the Lord then the Lord’s return and Millennial reign will destroy her. Having a handful of elderly Saints survive the Lord’s return will not get the Millennium off to the kind of start needed to fill the earth with righteous mortals. For that, Zion must be composed of numerous, rigorous individuals who confidently approach the Lord through revelation, and feel at home in His presence. We cannot be content. We cannot relax. We cannot presume institutional success means individual worthiness. Nephi is cautioning us directly about this error. (Nephi’s Isaiah, Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., pg. 305-308)