Seventy-Six and Counting

Crescent Valley, Nevada: one square mile, one elementary school, one gas station, two hundred people, seventy-six stop signs. It was the densest concentration of nothing within fifty miles in the middle of the waste which is northern Nevada. Fortunately for these people, God loves all his children and sent to them two willing, young men on a mission.

Speeding down the I-80 in a 2006 Mazda 3, my cruise control was set to 83 miles an hour, just 8 miles over the limit that way if the cops were to catch me with their radar guns they would not pull me over since I was not even going 10 miles over the limit. It was 10:15 in the morning and there was not a cloud in the morning sky. I squinted down the road as the sun glared back at me off of the blacktop. There was no denying it; even with the air conditioning maxed out it was a hot summer morning which only promise was a hotter afternoon. Gently droning from the car speakers was the enthused voice of a man lecturing. I glanced over to my passenger, he wore a white shirt and tie with a stark black name tag over his right chest pocket His seat was reclined, sunglasses askew with his mouth draping open. His hair, shaggy, brown, and unruly, hid his forehead from view while his eyes remained shut and motionless. His hair was way too long for missionary regulations. He just did not realize how important it is to be obedient. I turned back from my sleeping companion to survey the road ahead of me. There was one thing that was for sure: being the senior companion had its drawbacks. Most notably in my mind at this moment was the responsibility of driving.

On this particular trip our destination was the aforementioned Crescent Valley. We were currently exiting of the town in which we were stationed, Carlin Nevada. The town was really only good for one thing: gold. What else would lure 3,000 people to a little town with no natural resources or beauty in the middle of a desert? Everyone in the town was working for the gold, whether directly or indirectly, their efforts were to support the extraction of this shiny substance.

            We, as the missionaries in the area, covered a huge geographical area a little over 8,000 square miles. That is about the size of New Jersey. However, unlike New Jersey, which has thousands of cities and a population of around nine million, this desolate portion of Nevada consisted of only three small towns: Carlin, Crescent Valley, and Eureka, each of which were significantly distant from each other and which collectively was home to fewer than five thousand people.

I looked out my window to the left; there was nothing but a cluster of rolling hills and a vast panoramic horizon. I thought I could see a point of reflected light shining in the sea of brown, it must be a shed or possibly a small trailer home.  Being stationed in Carlin defiantly afforded me a lot of opportunity to dive. I would have dreaded driving if I didn’t enjoy it so much.

As missionaries we do everything together. We eat together, read together, travel together, shop together; we even sleep in the same room. As a rule we were to never be apart from our companions. This can become very stressful at times. You do not get to pick your companions, and sometimes you just need to be alone for a while. These regular trips afforded me the opportunity to have some solidarity. As we would prepare to go on one of these trips I would slip in the Mazda, crank up the air conditioning and pop in one of my favorite lecture CDs. This served a dual purpose: firstly I really did enjoy listening to Truman Madsen speak of the Life of Jesus Christ, and Hugh Nibley speak of the ancient prophets but also because it quickly and effectively placed my companion in a comatose state, allowing my mind to wander and be freed from the constant confinement of companionship.

 As I turned off the main road onto the car rumbled and swayed as we started down a narrow gravel street. My companion jerked awake. He quickly readjusted his seat and then fixed his glasses. He looked around; there wasn’t much to see. The rolling hills were behind us now, the view now was nothing but flat, treeless desert, which was littered with mobile trailers and a few small houses. A few dozen meters ahead was a fire-red stop sign caked in dirt, an utterly useless precautionary measure as you could see a car coming down the road from ten miles away. As I approache I scanned the horizon: not a sign of life in sight. I continued on through the stop sign. It was illegal but I blame my audacity and dissonance on the fact that I am a second child. Second children are notoriously free willed and natural rule breakers. It was not a big deal.

We took a right onto a smaller, less-well maintained gravel road. A sign proudly proclaimed the roads name: Hillbilly Lane. A short while later I threw the car into park, unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door. I was greeted by a scorching vindictive cloud of trailing dust, two dogs and a half-dozen young boys. This was our first stop.

            An hour later we returned to our car, which in our absence had been turned into an oven. After it had cooled we continued on our journey. Five minutes later we were passing the crown and jewel of the community: the Elementary school. It is a huge school for the number of people who attend it. The grounds were pristine and held a monopoly in the city on grass. You see, because of the gold mines and the low populations of the area, the cities receive huge sums of money from the mines which goes into the public facilities of the area. As I approached the school I glanced at a sign at the side of the road: School Zone: 15 miles an hour. It was an hour since school let out. There was no one in sight. I continued at 45 miles an hour beside the school. Ahead was another stop sign; I slowed to 30, looking around. I saw in the distance a bus traveling very slowly. I continued on through the stop sign. We just had one more stop, and then we would start on our way home. We approached the trailer, walked up the constructed stairs and knocked on the door. There was no reaction. After about fifteen seconds longer and a repeated attempt to notify the occupants, we returned to our vehicle.

As I slammed my car door behind me I fell back into my seat, my head tilted towards the roof, my eyes shut. As I sat up and turned the key in the ignition I surveyed my surroundings. The horizon was a tapestry of purple and red. How stunning it was to see the darkness creep into the sky. The sinking sun bred long shadows from behind the far blue mountains, texturing the otherwise barren landscape. Maybe Nevada did have some redeeming beauty after all.
My companion turned to me; “Hey, we need to go to the Holts and pick up some milk before we go home.”

“Right.” I replied.

I turned from the view and we drove off towards the Holts’. The Holts were an extremely nice family who were members of our church. They supported us by feeding us when we came to Crescent Valley, telling us who needed to be visited, and giving helpful suggestions and information. They also owned a couple of milk cows and offered free milk to the missionaries.

As we pulled up next to their high fence and walked in through their driveway we saw Brother Holt was outside doing some chores. Brother Holt was a middle aged man in his late 40’s. He was about 5’10” with salt-and-pepper hair, slightly overweight with thick large rimmed glasses. He was wearing jeans and a tight striped collared shirt. I smiled and waved to him, offering a salutation.

“Brother Holt! How are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, how are the Mission Mormonaries doing?”

After a few moments of talk he looked deep into my eyes. I could tell that something was coming. Brother Holt was known for several things, one of those was for being forthright and opinionated. There was something in those eyes that told me that I was now the focus of his opinionated displeasure.

“I have a bone to pick with you two!”

“What is that?” I asked

“Who is the driver?”

“I am.”

“Well then I have a bone to pick with you! Do you believe in obeying an honoring the law, Elder?”

I didn’t like the way he used my title, nor did I like his aggressive tone of voice. This was a rebuke, I knew it, and the use of my title was merely an attempt to manipulate me. He was also citing an Article of Faith, a pillar of the Latter-day Saints doctrine.

“I do.” I replied

“I don’t l know if you know, but I am a school bus driver. This afternoon as I was returning to the school with the bus I saw you blow past a stop sign in a school zone going forty-five miles an hour! We are trying to show the people in this town what kind of people we are by the kind of lives we live, and it’s tough when you go and blatantly disregard the laws. I have it all on camera on my bus.  The footage now belongs to the school, they can do with it what they want, whether it involves you getting a ticket or not.”

Walking away from that conversation I felt a spectrum of emotions. We grabbed our milk and started the long trip back home. There was no CD playing, I was very concerned about getting a ticket.  Missionaries do not make money, all I had was the money I had earned from work back home as a cabinet installer, which was already in use to support me on my mission. On the way home my companion attempted to console me. He told me of how Brother Holt was being unfair and how he doubted I would get a ticket. Shortly after, he fell asleep, leaving me in the solitude of my own thoughts driving towards the failing rays of light emitting above the mountains. It was ridiculous the way he reacted, who is he to lecture me? He is just a grumpy old man. He has nothing better to do then to harass the people that were trying to do some good in this deplorable town. There was no logical reason for the laws, no one even lived there! There were more four wheelers on the road then cars, what is the point? It was unreasonable! I felt a passionate wave of anger towards the man. I had a strong desire to speed past that same intersection going 80 miles an hour with Brother Holt standing on the corner. That would be satisfying, that would be justice. I would show him what I thought of his tirade. I smiled at this, as the final rays of sun disappeared. I felt closure, I felt a simmering pleasure laced with vindictive fury. As I sped down the highway I looked over to my right at my passenger; his seat was reclined, glasses askew, mouth draped open. His shaggy hair hid his forehead from view while his eyes remained shut and motionless. I looked out my window to the left; I stared at the silhouette of the mountains eclipsing the bright shining stars for a long moment.

 I closed my eyes and whispered to myself; 

“He was right.”

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P.S. Pictures taken by Lynden.  The families name has been changed, though it seems pointless as if anyone in that area were to read this they would know who it was.  If anyone in that area or family does read this know that I have great respect for that man/family.

My Homecoming Talk - Discipleship

Hello guys,

This is a personal/religious article that I am posting so be warned! I am not an official spokesmen or representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or affiliated with the church, what I say in this article does not represent my churches official position, nor does it necessarily represent the general beliefs of the members therein.

This article was designed for a LDS audience. In it, I assume that the Old Testament, New Testament , Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants are inspired by God, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsofficial doctrine is legitimated and its claims true.

This is the talk or sermon I gave in my church on January 10th, 2009. My church is a Lay Ministry church, and although we have a hierarchy, generally on the weekend services in the first portion of the meeting (called Sacrament Meeting) members are asked to give a talk or a sermon to the congregation on a specific topic. This is my first talk that I gave to the Maple Ridge Ward(Congregation) since returning from a full time two year mission for the LDS Nevada, Las Vegas Mission. Enjoy.

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Good morning brothers and sisters, for those who do not know me I’m Lynden Jensen, I just recently came back from a two year mission from the Las Vegas Nevada mission which covers the eastern side of Nevada.

As a missionary there are a couple things that I had the opportunity to do more then the large majority of people, that is study the Scriptures (2 hours a day plus religious discussion or lessons(average 3 times a day(1hour a piece)) missionary meetings, and church), Pray (Minimum of 14 set times + lessons (average of 7))(Overall Average 20+), engage in Religious Conversations with people of a variate of beliefs, some pleasant and accepting and other not so much. When I left I imagined my friends, many of them atheists or agnostic, thinking that I was going to my fantasy land, immersing myself in myth and an unreality. On my mission I was closer to reality then I had ever been, it made everything so clear, I saw people of all walks of life, to the multimillionaire to the drug addicted pan handler on the street. From world renown publishing scholars to the illiterate farmer. I talked about religion to every major religious devision. I could see the hand of god so clearly, many physical evidences but overwhelming spiritual evidences. I feel closer to the savior, I feel that I walked in his shoes, if only for a few steps. I was never crucified but I was reviled. Today I want to speak about discipleship. The first question is obviously:

What and who is a Disciple?

The word disciple has roots in several languages and is tied with the idea of learning, being a student and practicing discipline; the concept that there are sacrifices that are to be made to achieve a higher level of understanding. A Disciple is a student.

We are to be students or disciples of Christ, we are to learn of him and apply what he has taught. We are all on the path of discipleship. And what is our study? Christ and his teachings. This knowledge is our key to become disciples.s a child I was fascinated and confused by miracles, I read about all theses amazing larger than life people doing things that don’t seem to happen anymore; parting the red sea, pillars of fire, walls falling down at the command of God, mountains moving, healings, raising the dead, walking on water. I wondered if this was possible, I wondered why I couldn’t do it if they did. I read about accounts of God talking to people like Nephi (Helaman 10:4-10) when he said:

“(4) Blessed art thou, Nephi... all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt notask that which is contrary to my will.”

I wondered how people had this power and honestly why crazy things didn’t seem to happen much at all, because I know that if I could do ANYTHING at my whim I would defiantly use it. There is a simple reason why I don’t have that power, and I just demonstrated why. On the next line it reads

“(4)...for thou shalt notask that which is contrary to my will.”

This is our purpose of our discipline, of our practice, to receive this power, to apply the atonement. The only way we can access the power of God is through emulating his Son Jesus Christ, by being a disciple of him. This is the destination of discipleship; to fully apply the atonement of Christ.

This scripture demonstrates the fulfillment of the atonement in Nephi’s’ life, the word Atonement is an interesting word. It is used only once in New Testament in the book of revelation but you can’t go into a Mormon church for any period of time without hearing this word, though many other churches do not use this word frequently. What does it mean? It is not as many people think Greek or Hebrew word, it is an English word, a compound word “At-One-Ment”, it is the act which Christ preformed to save us, to bring us back from out estrangement to be “At One” with God. Christ teaches us of his role and of the atonement in his great intercessory prayer (John 17:20-21) saying:

“(20) Neither pray I for these alone(speaking of the twelve apostles), but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;(21) That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

Here Christ prays that we are all to be at one with Christ and God, no physically but as Nephi was, at one in mind, in heart, in purpose, to come to point where we would do nothing but the Lords will. The true power of a disciple comes when we know what Christ wants us personally to do and to follow that at all costs, to fulfill our callings here on earth, whatever they may be, to be able to say as Bruce R McConkie said:

“I am called of God. My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my Master and he has chosen me to represent him. To stand in his place, to say and do what he himself would say and do if he personally were ministering to the very people to whom he has sent me. My voice is his voice, and my acts are his acts; my words are his words and my doctrine is his doctrine. My commission is to do what he wants done. To say what he wants said. To be a living modern witness in word and deed of the divinity of his great and marvelous latter-day work, how great is my calling!”(See Source)

We have been called to represent Christ, to “stand in his place”, the disciple is an extension of the master.

When a student enrols or begins apprenticeship he takes on the name of the tutor or school, the Greeks, the fathers of philosophy, were very fond of this noting with pride their masters name, and creating great schools for the great philosophers of the day, today the most prestigious institutes are named after people, people who the school tries to represent, and people who live on in the education of their institutes pupils. When tour master takes on us and we covenant with him we also bring upon ourselves his name.

As we just heard in the Sacrament prayers (Moroni 4- 5) we ourselves are in the process of taking on the name of Christ. The way that we accept Christ is through Ordinances and Covenants; these will allow us to return to God’s presence. Most of us have already started the process of taking on the name of Christ through the initiatory ordinance of Baptism. Each week we recommit ourselves by coming to this chapel and take the sacrament (Moroni 4) where we:

“(3)...Witness unto God, the Eternal Father, that [we] are willing to take upon [us] the name of his Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments...”

As we continue to progress in the gospel we also continue to promise and covenant to the lord to further take on ourselves his name, until all we are is his, until our voices are his, our acts are his and our words are his.

To do this we need to know the will of God;(John 17:3)

“ (3)this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

This is the purpose of life, to know God and to do his will, or in other words to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ at all times, all things, and all places, all else is secondary. Thomas S. Monson said

“The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find out it was the fulfillment of someone's prayer or someone's need. And I always want the Lord to know that if he needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for him.”

I have a testimony of this principle, on my mission I covered an area that had in it one of the largest hospitals in Las Vegas, usually once ever week or so we would get a phone call from the mission office or maybe an individual asking us to go by the hospital and give a blessing to someone in need. One night around 9:30-9:45we had just gotten home from along hot 120F (50C) degree day and finished out nightly plans for tomorrow when we got a phone call that there was a woman who urgently needed a blessing in the hospital. We grabbed the other Elders in our apartment who had a car and drove to the hospital, we went in the emergency entrance, two met us there and we quickly made our way upstairs, one man was the woman’s husband, a non member, the other his member friend who had suggested that he call us. They were visiting Vegas from Hawaii, his wife had just had a heart attack and was in trouble, as we walked into the small room I, even with no knowledge of medicine knew she was in trouble, the small room was crammed, there were doctors and nurses bending over her doing things which I had no clue about. The woman had a bunch of tubes and needles, and was unconscious with her eyes lying open, the machine showed that he vitals where down, the doctors and nurses gave us room, four 20 year olds, we anointed her and blessed her with a blessing of full healing with about 15 onlookers, as we finished a nurse said to me “that was very interesting”, as we left her vitals where much closer to normal then they had previously been. The man thanked us so much for what we had done and seemed to be more at ease. As we left I had faith that the blessing we gave would be in effect, but inside of me I wondered how. A week from that point we were sitter in a sushi restaurant with this couple who had paid for all out meals, they were well and joking, they thanked us for what we had done.

We did not do it, the Lord did through us, through the faith of the receiver and the administrators. We all have periods of test in our life, times where we question. Times when we are unsure, the key to leading a successful life and to get through the moments is to have a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ and his voice, and have the courage to act on it. My goal is to know and trust the Lord so well that I will follow without hesitation; he is my source, not the Bible, not the Book of Mormon, not Thomas S. Monson. My first and final source is God himself and what he tells me, not what he has told others. Nephi was asked to kill Laban when the law clearly states thou shalt not kill but he knew God and what God wanted for him, and trusted that over what God had given the people through Moses.

The path of discipleship is the path to Christ, taking upon ourselves his image and his name until his we become even as he is, as John said: (1 John 3:2)

“(2) ...now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

We need to be loyal to the truths that God gives to us, we need to be fearless in our following of those prompting. Elder Hamula of the 70 said this”

”There is only one rule in this church, that is the rule of the spirit; you do what you feel it right.”

I know that to have the spirit in our lives we must first find out who God is, what he wants us personally to do, then do it! Christ Taught that "If any man will do [My] will he will know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of Myself"(John 7:17) I can testify that this is true, "God is not dead nor doth he sleep"(I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day), he is working in this world around us, but we must have eyes to see and ears to hear. For "no ear can hear his coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in".(O Little Town of Bethlehem)

I know Christ is there, it is not an argument for me, for it is first hand experience, a true lunatic and a fool is one who denies what he has seen. He has helped me so much, and for that, and so much more, I will be eternally in his debt and his service. A Disciple of Christ. I say these things in solemnity, through his Holy Name, Jesus Christ Amen.

My Farewell Talk : Knowledge

Hello guys,

This is a personal/religious article that I am posting so be warned! I am not an official spokesmen or representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or affiliated with the church, what I say in this article does not represent my churches official position, nor does it necessarily represent the general beliefs of the members therein.


This article was designed for a LDS audience. In it, I assume that the Old Testament, New Testament , Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants are inspired by God, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints official doctrine is legitimated and its claims true.



This is the talk or sermon I gave in my church on October 21, 2007. My church is a Lay Ministry church, and although we have a hierarchy, generally on the weekend services in the first portion of the meeting (called Sacrament Meeting) members are asked to give a talk or a sermon to the congregation on a specific topic. As it says in the introduction, this talk is the last sermon that I will be able to give to this congregation, as I am soon to depart to be a Missionary. In my experience these kind of talks (often referred to as farewell talks) are usually very tender, and often the speaker will break down crying(along with immediate family members, friends, and half the congregation), so I tried to avoid that and take a more informative approach to my talk. I hope you enjoy it! Here it is!

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Good morning brothers and sisters, as you undoubtedly know I’m destined to go to the Las Vegas, Nevada area to be a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints, which I will be leaving for the Missionary Training Center(MTC) on November 14, 2007, and this can be considered my “farewell talk”, or the last talk I give in this chapel before I leave. I would suggest get rid of any preconceived notions of what a farewell talk is, because I’m terrible at that “crying at the podium” business, so don’t expect too much. As I looked at you this morning, I was making a list in my mind of people I really wanted to thank, but I realize now, that that list would be far too long for me to express it today. Each and every one of you has been a support to me, and I thank each of you who have touched my life in the last three years of my life, you have been friends, teachers, leaders, guiders, employers, friends, and family to me, and I’m blessed to be in such a ward.

So onto my talk; I was given the liberty of choosing my topic from the fantastic missionary handbook “Preach My Gospel” which if you have read you realize what a huge and really all encompassing resource it is, so basically I got to choose my topic today!

Today I want to talk about something that I see many people, LDS and non-LDS, struggling and wondering about. It’s a topic which many misunderstand; this topic is “Knowledge”. Knowledge is defined as the “acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles”. In my mind there are two kinds of Knowledge; Secular Knowledge and Spiritual knowledge.

Secular Knowledge being truths learned through man and mans reasoning, usually pertaining to worldly things; this can include scientific knowledge and theories, health care, geology, history, astrology, and can even include theology.

Spiritual Knowledge being, in my definition, knowledge received from the source, our Father in Heaven. These are truths that He gives us personally through spiritual confirmations; they are received by his power through the Holy Ghost.

When we teach and preach we do not so in the name of secular knowledge, we are instructed to invite all unto Christ through Spiritual Knowledge. The goal is to sustain all and to edify all in light, each with their own personal revelatory witness and relationship with Christ, to know his love, and his continuing work with man.

When teaching those about the gospels we do not expound on how the Word of Wisdom taught healthy guidelines years before science provided secular justification for it. How ancient Hebraic documents talk of the Council of the Gods, and a Mother Goddess(see 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7) . How the ancient Middle Eastern literary poetical forms of Chiasmus are found in the Book of Mormon. How Joseph Smith (see also) remarkably accurately interpreted the Egyptian Facsimiles(1 , 2 , 3), and the Book of Abraham while modern Egyptology was in its infancy (see (Articles/Links/Books ) 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 89 ,(podcasts) 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ,15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 2930 ,(Video Presentations) 31, 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45, 46). How the Book of Mormon had not just a few witnesses but 11 witnesses to have seen the Plates of Moroni that never denied this testimony though some rebelled against the church, or any other evidences of man. Rather we desire for them to learn for themselves, not through secular or physical evidences, not through the testimonies of others, but a spiritual confirmation coming from their loving Heavenly Father.

If your testimony is rooted in secular or physical knowledge, you can be dissuaded through secular or physical means. If your testimony rooted in the archaeological evidences of the bible, or the historical accuracy of Jesus and his life, studies may came around which apparently refutes this, and as such refutes your testimony. A secular testimony is in essence science, which changes on a daily basis, and at this moment apparently points to a rather atheistic view on life.

A spiritual testimony on the other hand, a testimony which is centered on personal knowledge from God, cannot be refuted! No matter what scientific study comes along, no matter what issues that come up there is nothing that can separate you from this testimony. Like Joseph Smith when he received that dynamic spiritual witness, we will be able to stand boldly for what others ridicule, to truly know God. We will be able to find a foot hole and stand fast in an ever changing world.

Many in the world today do not understand this, in face I believe that many people and churches are teaching with the wisdom of man rather than the spirit of God, being more interested in being intellectually justified Christians then having a personal relationship with Christ. They rely on the arm of flesh for the answers rather than the ultimate source of truth which is God in heaven.

A couple months ago I had a conversation with two disaffected of the LDS church, both which claim that because of the overwhelming physical evidences against the church, the church was false. In response I told them two things, the first was I explained how I understood the particular issues that had brought up about the church, and the second I explained that in the big picture, the gospel, and religion in general, isn’t about physical evidences, that’s science, if the gospel is to be tried, it should be tried spiritually as it is not as much a physical message from God, as it is a spiritual message from God.

Now these where both members since birth, and for them to grow up in the church and not understand this, now central principle of our church, amazed me. This is a point where I feel that first generation saints have an advantage; they realize that they were not converted through elegant words, but the spirit, whereas one who grows up in the church, one surrounded by these wonderful people, and this spirit, often do not recognize the God in their life. And do not recognize his spirit because they have known nothing else.

I would like to share a few verses from the bible with you that show the necessity of spiritual knowledge and a spiritual witness over the secular or physical evidences.

In 1 Corinthians 1:25,27 it reads (KJV)

25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

This is such a great verse, have we seen this? Have we seen the “weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty? We can look at Moses, who said of his own that he was “Slow of speech and of a slow tongue” who was not one of the elect of the world, he ran from Egypt as a criminal (see Exodus 2:11-15) and was a Sheppard for 40 years(see Exodus 2:16-21), only then did God form him from his weakness to become a powerful man of god and to lead Israel out of Egypt. God saw fit that his only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, was born son of a carpenter, yet Jesus was destined to come from the common folk to save the world from death and sin, not through the knowledge and understanding of man, but through Gods divine word. Likewise Joseph smith, an uneducated boy at 14 was visited by God and told that if he was faithful he would be used as a great tool, and indeed he has. None of these men were scientists, none of these men were marveled for the worldly truths they utter, but all these men taught spiritually, and confounded the wisdom of man.

Paul says in his first letter to the Saints in Corinth. (In 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, 10-14 (KJV)

4… my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

These verses lay clear that we are to use the spirit to discern truth of the gospel and not the wisdom of man. It says that the man knows not the things of God, except he knows it by the spirit of God which is in him (11), for the Spirit of God searches all the deep things of God(10). And the man who does not have the spirit, or does not use the spirit cannot receive the things of God, for they cannot understand except through the spirit of God (14). Furthermore it says by this logic, it would be folly to teach the Gospel by the wisdom of man(13), for mans wisdom cannot discern the Gospel(14), so we are to compare secular things with secular things, and spiritual things with spiritual things(13).

In the Gospel according to John it says : (John 16:13-15)(KJV)

13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

In these verses, it is formatted in a somewhat abstract manner to us now, but if we look into the text it becomes unmistakably clear as to what it means. The Holy Ghost, or the spirit of truth, is meant as a mediator between heaven and earth, and will guide us into truth as we search (13), but He doesn’t have this truth of himself, he receives it from Jesus, who in turn has received it, and everything, from His father, our God known in Hebrew as Elohim(15).

Of course there is the wonderful, famous James 1:5-6(KJV)

5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

This scripture is outstandingly clear. If you lack knowledge, or wisdom, ask god(5), and if you are worthy (see conditions about) and sincere, asking with faith that you will receive(6), it will be given you(5). Once again we see an appeal to God. We see that he not mans wisdom, is the final word.

Likewise various other biblical verses

John 16:23 (KJV)

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Matthew 7:7-8 (see also Luke 11:9-10) (KJV)

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

I personally have a huge spiritual testimony of this principle, I know it to be true, I have received more knowledge by prayer, and the spirit, than I could ever reading secular material. As I reflect upon my most sincere prayers, I have found that they have all been answered, sometimes in ways that I wanted, sometimes ways I wanted but later regretted, and sometimes in ways I neither wanted nor expected, yet it was more than often necessary or for my betterment. I am amazed at God’s mercy, and it astounds me that he cares enough about me to have a personal relationship with me.

I have always been going to this church, but in grade 9 I started wondering why this religion junk was taking up one of my days, I was not Christian, I didn't believe Joseph Smith. One day though, I was in a particular sober mood, I was thinking on religion, and I made a choice that I am even now impressed at. I decided to ask! I had been told several hundred times how to gain a testimony, but I dismissed it as something that people did and deluded themselves into thinking that they felt something, that really the church was holding itself up, no one admitted that they really didn't feel anything. With this mindset two things impress me, I'm surprised that I firstly would have even considered asking this in my mindset, and secondly, that I would have been humble enough, or submissive enough to receive and answer.

I am left to conclude that it was an inspired thought. When I knelt down and sincerely asked Heavenly father if He was really there, if Christ really did live, and if Joseph Smith really did see Him in that grove of trees. Instantly I was filled with a swelling emotion, a warm comforting feeling, a feeling which cannot in literal terms be defined, It made me cry. It was the strongest emotion I have ever felt in my life. I prayed to my father then and there, I said some things that I look back and say at times "how sappy was that", but I meant what I said, and I wish to always be in that state were the veil between heaven and earth is so thin. I love my Lord, I love Jesus and Heavenly Father. That experience has shaped my life. It changed my friends, my Language, my attitude, my habits, my motivation, my clothes, my music, my outlook on life! I'm so grateful for all this, and I can never get enough of this gospel.

I encourage each of you, who does not, or has a small testimony to get on your knees and do as Moroni instructs, that is to “ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Moroni 10 3-5) If you do feel you have faith in Christ I would extol you pursue further spiritual knowledge and enlightenment, as the journey never ends.

In conclusion I want to clarify that although according to scripture, a spiritual witness does seem to be what is really important, this is not an excuse to be ignorant of the world around us, we are to be “in the world"but not “of the world”. The church encourages everyone to broaden their man, and learn mans wisdom, we should all be anxiously investigating secularly work to better understand the workings and mysteries of God, as well as to help our fellow man. Secular study is an immense joy, and one with great rewards, and applying secular knowledge to religion is very exciting, it is only when we place more faith in the knowledge of man then the witness of God, that you cease to be religious.

I would like to leave you with this last scripture found in Ephesians 4:14 (KJV)

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness…

Let us not be tossed to and fro, but let us take a stand, with the answers that don’t change, those holy words which God has, and does speak to us. I pray this in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen