"Thy Kingdom Come"

"Many have asked, 'How is it that the Prophet Joseph Smith, age 14, could go into a grove, never having prayed before vocally, according to his own account, and in that first prayer receive such great and marvelous blessings?' Does that mean that he simply had far greater faith and worthiness than the rest of us?
"One response is that the visitations received by the Prophet Joseph Smith weren't just an answer to his own prayer, but to the prayers of literally millions, maybe even those beyond the veil, who had been seeking and reaching for generations for the restoration of the gospel and the reestablishment of the kingdom of God on the earth; fulfillment, in fact, of a phrase offered by billions, 'Thy kingdom come.' (Matthew 6:10.)
"That is an important insight. You and I pray not alone. We pray as part of a great modern movement and, in effect, we can be empowered in that very process. And if we care - or even care enough to try to care - to be instruments, unique privileges descend upon us, among them the authorities and gifts and blessings of the Holy Ghost and the crowning blessings of the priesthood." - Truman Madsen

Monday, November 26, 2012

Links and Questions Relating to CHFT 17-18

This Thursday we will be discussing chapters 17-18 in Church History in the Fulness of Times: "Refuge in Illinois" and "The Mission of the Twelve." Many thanks to Shelley Stapley, who put together a worksheet for those who would like questions to go with their study this week. Please see her questions below. Here are a few related articles for those who want to study further on the topics for discussion this Thursday (click on titles to link): 1. "A Wall to Defend Zion: The Nauvoo Charter" (pdf) 2. "Sickness and Faith, Nauvoo Letters" (pdf) 3. "The Mission of the Twelve to England, 1840-41: Mormon Apostles and the Working Classes" (pdf) 4. "Among Family and Friends: John Taylor - Mission to the British Isles" (Ensign, Mar 1987) Worksheet Questions: After the Saints were expelled from Missouri (as a result of the extermination order), where were the following members of Church leadership to be found? Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, David W. Patten, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, Thomas Marsh, William Smith, Orson Hyde, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball. What was the Committee on Removal? What led the saints to Quincy, Illinois? What did Lyman Wight do that threatened the peaceful reception saints were experiencing in Quincy? What did Wandle Mace do? Who was Drusilla Hendricks? What caused Joseph’s release from Liberty Jail? How did the saints end up with land in Iowa and Illinois? How far was Quincy from Nauvoo? From Far West? Who renamed Commerce/Commerce City “Nauvoo”? What does Nauvoo mean? Who was Ellijah Fodham? To which US Presidents did church appeal for help? What was Congress’s answer and why? Who drafted the Nauvoo Charter? What did the Nauvoo Charter grant?
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