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It has been 400 years since the publication of the King James Bible, a significant contribution from William Tyndale, a great hero in my eyes. The clergy did not want the Bible published in common English. They hounded Tyndale from place to place. He said to them, "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth at the plough to know more of the scriptures than you do." Tyndale was betrayed and confined to a dark, freezing prison in Brussels for over a year. His clothing was in rags. He begged his captors for his cap and coat and a candle, saying, "It is indeed wearisome sitting in the dark alone." These were denied him. Eventually, he was taken from the prison and, before a large crowd, was strangled and burned at the stake. But William Tyndale's work and martyr's death were not in vain. Since Latter-day Saint children are taught from their youth to know the scriptures, they in a measure fulfill the prophecy made four centuries ago by William Tyndale. Our scriptures today consist of the Bible, the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants. Because of the Book of Mormon, we are frequently called the Mormon Church, a title we do not resent, but it is really not accurate. In the Book of Mormon, the Lord revisited the Nephites because they prayed to the Father in His name. "And the Lord said, What will ye that I should give unto you? And they said unto Him, Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call the Church for there are disputations among the people, concerning this matter. And the Lord said, Why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ? For by this name, ye shall be called at the last day. Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake. And how be it my church, save it be called in my name? For it be the church of Moses, then it be called in Moses' name. Or if it be the church of a man, then it be called in the name of the man. But if it be called in my name, then it is my church, if it is so be that they are built upon my gospel." Obedient to the revelation, we called ourselves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rather than the Mormon Church. It is one thing for others to refer to the Church as the Mormon Church, or to us as Mormons. It is quite another for us to do so. The First Presidency stated, "The use of the revealed name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is increasingly important in our responsibility to proclaim the name of the Savior throughout the world. Accordingly, we ask that when we refer to the Church, we use the full name whenever possible. When referring to the Church members, we suggest members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a shortened reference, Latter-day Saints is preferred." Latter-day Saints talk of Christ. We rejoice in Christ. We prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophesies that our children may know to what source they may look for the remission of their sins. The world will refer to us as they will. But in our speech, all remember that we belong to the Church of Jesus Christ. Some claim that we are not Christians. These do not know us at all, or they misunderstand. In the Church, every ordinance is done by the authority of and in the name of Jesus Christ. We have the same organization as did the primitive Church, with apostles and prophets. Anciently, the Lord called and ordained Twelve Apostles. He was betrayed and crucified. After His Resurrection, the Savior taught His disciples for 40 days, and then He ascended to heaven. But something was missing. A few days later, the Twelve gathered in the house, and suddenly, there came the sound from heaven as if the rushing of mighty wind and it filled the house. Cloven tongues of fire rested upon each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost. His Apostles were now empowered. They understood that the authority given by the Savior and the gift of the Holy Ghost were essential for the establishment of His Church. They were commanded to baptize and confer the gift of the Holy Ghost. In time, the Apostles and the priesthood they carried were gone. The authority and power to administer had to be restored. For centuries, men looked toward the return of the authority and the establishment of the Lord's Church. In 1829, the priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by John the Baptist and the Apostles Peter, James, and John. Now were the male members of the Church ordained to the priesthood. This authority and the attendant gift of the Holy Ghost, which is conferred upon all members of the Church after baptism, set us apart from other churches. An early revelation directs that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world. The work of the Church today is performed by ordinary men and women called and sustained to preside and to teach and to minister. It is by the power of revelation and the gift of the Holy Ghost that those called are guided to know the Lord's will. Others may not accept such a thing as prophecy, revelation, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. But if they are to understand us at all, they must understand that we accept it. The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith the code of health, the Word of Wisdom, long before the dangers were known to the world. All were taught to avoid tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco, and of course, the varieties of drug and addictive substances which are ever-present before our young people. Those who obey this revelation are promised that they shall receive health in their navel, and shall run and not weary, and shall not faint, and shall find great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures. In another revelation, the Lord's standard of morality commands that the sacred powers to beget life be protected and employed only between man and woman, husband and wife. To misuse this power is exceeded in seriousness only by the shedding of innocent blood and the denying of the Holy Ghost. If one transgresses the law, the doctrine of repentance teaches how to erase the effect of the transgression. Everyone is tested. One might think it is unfair to be singled out and subject to a particular temptation. But this is the purpose of mortal life, to be tested. And the answer is the same for everyone. We must and we can resist temptations of any kind. The great plan of happiness is centered on family life. The husband is the head of the home, and the wife the heart of the home. And marriage is an equal partnership. A Latter-day Saint man is responsible as a family man, faithful in the gospel. He's a caring, devoted husband and father. He reveres womanhood. The wife sustains her husband. Both parents nurture the spiritual growth of their children. Latter-day Saints are taught to love one another and to frankly forgive offenses. My life was changed by a saintly patriarch. He married his sweetheart. They were deeply in love, and soon she was expecting their first child. The night the baby was born, there were complications. The only doctor was somewhere in the countryside tending the sick. After many hours of labor, the condition of the mother-to-be became desperate. Finally, the doctor was located. In the emergency, he acted quickly, and soon, the baby was born. The crisis, it appeared, was over. But some days later, the young mother died from the very infection that the doctor had been treating at another home that night. The young man's world was shattered. As the weeks wore on, his grief festered. He thought of little else. And in the bitterness, he became threatening. Today, no doubt, he would have been pressed to file a malpractice suit, as though money would solve anything. One night, a knock came at the door. A little girl said simply, "Daddy wants you to come over. He wants to talk to you." Daddy was the stake president. The counsel from the wise leader was simply, "John, leave it alone. Nothing you do about it will bring her back. And anything you do will make it worse. John, leave it alone." This had been my friend's trial. How could he leave it alone? A terrible wrong had been committed. He struggled to get hold of himself and finally determined that he should be obedient and follow the counsel of that wise stake president. He would leave it alone. He said to me, "I was an old man before I understood and could finally see a poor country doctor, overworked, underpaid, run ragged from patient to patient with little medicine, no hospital, few instruments, struggling to save lives and succeeding for the most part. He'd come in a moment of crisis, when two lives hung in the balance, and had acted without delay. I finally understood," he said. "I would have ruined my life and the lives of others." Many times, he'd thank the Lord on his knees for a wise priesthood leader, who counseled simply, "John, leave it alone." Around us, we see members of the Church who have become offended. Some take offense at incidents in the history of the Church or its leaders and suffer their whole lives, unable to get past the mistakes of others. They do not leave it alone. They fall into inactivity. Some are like a man being hit by a club. Offended, he takes a club and beats himself over the head with it all the days of his life. How foolish. How sad. That kind of revenge is self-inflicting. If you have been offended, forget. Forgive it. And leave it alone. The Book of Mormon carries this warning-- "And now, if there are faults, they are the mistakes of men; wherefore condemn not the things of God, for that ye may be found spotless at the judgment seat of Christ." A Latter-day Saint is quite an ordinary individual. We're not everywhere in the world, 14 millions of us. And this is only the beginning. We're taught to be in the world, but not of the world. Therefore, we live ordinary lives in ordinary families, mixed with the general population. We're taught not to lie, or cheat, or steal. We do not use profanity. We are positive and happy and not afraid of life. We are willing to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places. If someone is looking for a church that requires very little, this is not the one. It is not easy to be a Latter-day Saint, but in the long run, it is the only course. Regardless of the wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes in divers places, no power or influence can ever stop this work. No power. Every one of us can be guided by the spirit of revelation and the gift of the Holy Ghost. As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri River in its decreed course, or to turn it upstream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring out knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints. If you are carrying some burden, forget it. Let it alone. Do a lot of forgiving and a little repenting, and you will be visited by the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, and confirmed by the testimony that you did not know existed, and be watched over and blessed, you and yours. It is an invitation to come unto Him. And in this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the only true and living Church upon the whole earth by His own declaration, is where we find the great plan of happiness. Of this I bear witness in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Guided by the Holy Spirit

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Every one of us can be guided by the spirit of revelation and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
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