6 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:29,680 Hey, good to be here, Scott. 7 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:31,440 You're a little cloudy today. 8 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:32,760 Yeah, it is. 9 00:00:32,760 --> 00:00:36,160 But nice, nice day today. 10 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:40,360 So ladies and gentlemen, you may not know this, but we're fortunate that it's cloudy today. 11 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,640 That way Dave's here, not on the golf course. 12 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:43,640 Just to... 13 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:45,960 It was beautiful yesterday on the golf course. 14 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:46,960 Okay. 15 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:47,960 So now he's rubbing it in. 16 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,000 Let's get right to it. 17 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,000 Some of us were working yesterday. 18 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,000 Yeah. 19 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:59,640 So, hey everybody, we've spent the last three episodes talking about some extremely 20 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:06,120 important concepts and eternally important things in our lives and in the lives of those 21 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:07,120 around us. 22 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,720 In fact, in the lives of even those of us that don't understand that these things are 23 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,200 important in our lives, they're just that important. 24 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:19,160 But as we've done this and we've started our kind of our journey in understanding the 25 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:24,320 atonement and how redemption works through the atonement, not just redemption, but how 26 00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:26,360 healing works. 27 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:31,360 All things can be changed and made new and made well and made better and made perfect 28 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:33,720 and made whole through the atonement of Jesus Christ. 29 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,360 And as we've been talking about those things over the last few episodes, we've really 30 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:40,720 spent a lot of time in... 31 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:41,880 Last week, we spent a... 32 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,520 And the week before, we spent a lot of time talking about premortal existence. 33 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:47,600 We talked about our role there. 34 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:54,080 We talked about how all of this was planned ahead of time, how the plan of redemption 35 00:01:54,080 --> 00:02:02,000 was laid out in front of us, how we all chose Him there, how it's our responsibility, our 36 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,280 pleasure, our privilege, our gift to know Him here. 37 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:12,120 And as we do this and as we come to know ourselves and as we come to know Him, then finally we 38 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:16,760 begin to put into process and into play the things that we need to in order for us to 39 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:22,240 heal, in order for us to overcome, in order for us to see ourselves as we truly are, which 40 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:24,320 are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. 41 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:25,880 And we're going to talk about that today. 42 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:28,400 We're much more than just sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. 43 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:33,600 I mean, there is nothing more than that, but it extends and it's more complex and it's 44 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:35,360 more involved than that. 45 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:40,680 And I think that what we'll be talking about today will do nothing more than lend to the 46 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,700 ability that we have as we see ourselves more clearly. 47 00:02:44,700 --> 00:02:50,440 It will give us the ability to have more faith in the redemption process. 48 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:57,560 So having said that, let me take care of a couple of real quick housekeeping items too, 49 00:02:57,560 --> 00:02:58,560 first of all. 50 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,920 We want to thank you for listening. 51 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:06,620 We want to thank you for your many responses, whether they be via text or email. 52 00:03:06,620 --> 00:03:12,440 We invite you to email us at, he redeemsusatgmail.com. 53 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:14,600 He redeemsusatgmail.com. 54 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:21,080 He received several emails, one is say a special thanks to Cindy and Roger and many, many others 55 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:27,240 who reached out with some emails to us to encourage us, to give us some ideas, to share 56 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:28,920 experience, strength and hope. 57 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:33,480 And we're very much appreciated, appreciative of that. 58 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:35,680 So with that, let's get things rolling. 59 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,880 Dave, what do you want to talk about today? 60 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:47,360 Well, Scott, it dawned on me after our session last week that, I think we said it, but I 61 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:53,800 don't know that we emphasized it enough or confirmed it enough using Scripture that not 62 00:03:53,800 --> 00:04:00,760 only did we choose Christ in the premortal existence, but that the atonement of Jesus 63 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:06,800 Christ had power in our lives in the premortal existence. 64 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:14,320 And that it was through Christ and His atonement that gave us power even in the premortal existence 65 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:22,000 to overcome Satan there, just as that's the key to overcoming Satan here. 66 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:27,840 And one of my favorite Scriptures on that topic is in the Bible describing the war in 67 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:37,640 heaven in the book of Revelation in chapter 12 verses 9 through 11, it reads, and the 68 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:44,240 great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth 69 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:45,880 the whole world. 70 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:50,800 He was cast out into the earth and His angels were cast out with Him. 71 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:56,880 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now has come salvation and strength, and the 72 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:05,720 kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ for the accuser of our brethren, interesting 73 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:14,120 phrase or title for Satan, accuser of our brethren, which in the premortal existence 74 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:20,720 would have included Satan and those who led in the great noble ones in the premortal 75 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:27,800 council in heaven, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them 76 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,440 before our God day and night. 77 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:40,480 Now the last verse and this is key, and they overcame Him by the blood of the Lamb, even 78 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:46,960 in the premortal existence, Scott, and by the word of their testimony, and they love 79 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:50,480 not their lives under the death. 80 00:05:50,480 --> 00:06:00,160 So this is a three step process of how we can not only overcome Satan here, but how 81 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,040 we overcame Him there in the premortal existence. 82 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:10,760 Number one, through the blood of the Lamb or through repentance, we progressed, we received 83 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:19,760 enabling powers and redemptive powers and compensating powers, healing powers, even 84 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:25,760 in the premortal existence, that allowed us to overcome Satan there. 85 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:28,680 And then we had testimonies there. 86 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:35,640 I believe that we were all born with testimonies of truth, that there's a God, that there's 87 00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:36,640 a Christ. 88 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:41,800 I believe we were born now, even though we've forgotten, I think it's in our spirits, and 89 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:47,080 that's why so many, when they hear the truth, they resonate with it. 90 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:52,520 Most people on this earth believe they lived before they were born, even though I think 91 00:06:52,520 --> 00:07:01,120 we are the only, if not the, one of the few, if not the only church that teaches that. 92 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:05,840 Anyway, people resonate with truth because it's ingrained in our spirits. 93 00:07:05,840 --> 00:07:11,000 We had testimonies there, and we overcame Satan because of our testimonies there, and 94 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:15,240 it's so important that we strengthen our testimonies here to overcome Him here. 95 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,080 And then we were willing to go to the wall, so to speak. 96 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,840 We were willing to do whatever it took. 97 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,160 We were willing to give our all. 98 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:30,520 Yeah, they were willing, they loved not their lives under the death. 99 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:34,320 We were willing to fight, go to war. 100 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:36,560 We were willing to take the risk. 101 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:42,520 We were willing to have those in the great and spacious building there, just like they 102 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:47,040 do here, point fingers and scorn us. 103 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,040 Those are the three keys to overcoming Satan. 104 00:07:51,040 --> 00:08:00,040 And so I just don't know if we emphasized enough how grateful we should be for the infinite, 105 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:06,360 infinite Atonement, which we'll talk more about in another podcast in more detail, but infinite 106 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,280 meaning, it covers all time. 107 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:15,000 It's retroactive back to when we were intelligences before we were spirits, and it will be retroactive 108 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:22,520 as we progress and seek to become like our heavenly parents, that the Atonement had power 109 00:08:22,520 --> 00:08:27,000 and effect in our lives, even in the premortal existence. 110 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:32,160 So there's a couple things that kind of stand out to me as you go through this. 111 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:39,000 There is so much here that we need to know, because knowing this really helps us know 112 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:40,520 ourselves better, right? 113 00:08:40,520 --> 00:08:46,440 So first thing that comes to mind is, so often in the church, and not just in the church, 114 00:08:46,440 --> 00:08:53,600 I want to be careful of that, because I don't want to ever horrible-ize in a way things 115 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:54,840 bigger than they really are. 116 00:08:54,840 --> 00:09:02,160 But sometimes I believe that we as humans who are trying to have a spiritual experience 117 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:09,320 or who are trying to draw nigh unto him, so to speak, that we see ourselves and we see 118 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:16,680 our mistakes and we see our humanness, again, that we're going to address in the future, 119 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:19,240 along with every day actually, as we're talking about this. 120 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:27,200 But those types of things keep us from filling, can keep us from filling his spirit, can cloud 121 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:35,240 my knowledge of who I really am, can accuse me in my own mind of being something that 122 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:43,000 I'm not or being something more than I am, which is that's never an adjective used to 123 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:45,000 describe Jesus Christ. 124 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,040 The accuser's only used. 125 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,720 Advocate. 126 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:51,880 So there's a big difference there. 127 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:52,880 Advocate and accuser. 128 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:53,880 Accuser versus advocate. 129 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:54,880 Huge difference. 130 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:56,640 Jesus is our advocate. 131 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:58,640 Satan is our accuser. 132 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:03,080 And Jesus advocates for us and says, I died for them. 133 00:10:03,080 --> 00:10:04,520 I suffered for them. 134 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:05,520 I love them. 135 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:09,560 I have enough grace for them. 136 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:15,320 Satan on the other hand accuses us and tells us that we're this or we're not that. 137 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,000 He tells us that we're not sinners. 138 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,680 He accuses us of not being children of God. 139 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:30,160 He accuses us of not being good enough or he accuses us of being too good or whatever 140 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:34,920 works, whatever works, whichever way we're leaning. 141 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:38,200 He accuses us. 142 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:42,920 And I think that it's just really important that I remember, and we talked about that 143 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:44,800 word last week too. 144 00:10:44,800 --> 00:10:49,280 We're coming across some, not coming across, we've known these all along, but as we start 145 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:54,000 to put together an orchestrate kind of a string of these gems, you know, for me, I need to 146 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:55,800 remember who I am. 147 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:01,280 And when I'm feeling accused, I need to remember that I'm not remembering who I am. 148 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:02,280 Right? 149 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:06,760 And so, you know, if I'm feeling accused, I need to step back and ask myself, and I've 150 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:09,080 done this recently, as recently as this week. 151 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:15,200 And I actually had a conversation with a very awesome man that I have a relationship with 152 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:21,320 in a recovery world who's working steps and trying to better his life and, you know, these 153 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:22,320 types of things. 154 00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:28,920 And I had to, and as I shared this with him, I'm hearing these words myself that when I'm 155 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:34,680 accusing myself, when I'm feeling less than, when I'm feeling inadequate about or any of 156 00:11:34,680 --> 00:11:39,640 those other things, I need to remember the source from whence they come, which is from 157 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,120 the accuser, not the advocate. 158 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:48,280 And again, as we start to put in our minds and in our hearts, really in our souls, together 159 00:11:48,280 --> 00:11:56,280 what it means to have a relationship, to understand my identity, all of these things really help 160 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:01,800 me with my identity, my spiritual identity crisis, which we all, we all from time to 161 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:06,600 time deal with, but these things start helping me put that back together so that the healing 162 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:12,600 process, the redemption process, cannot just begin but begin to be realized completely. 163 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:22,960 We, we see a lot of news and we talk a lot about identity theft in our world today because 164 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:25,320 of technology. 165 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,640 Satan is the master of identity theft. 166 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:35,440 He is constantly accusing us of who we are or who we're not in the negative. 167 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:42,080 And, and once he steals your identity, he's got you. 168 00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:48,720 Once he can convince you who you are or who you're not, according to his accusations, 169 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:49,720 then he's got you. 170 00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:50,720 Yeah. 171 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:51,720 Yeah. 172 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:53,240 So you hit three things. 173 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,520 Overcoming Satan, the first one was through the blood of Christ. 174 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:57,640 Through the blood. 175 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:02,320 The second one was because of our testimonies and the third one was what? 176 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:10,400 The third one is that they were willing to go to the wall and give their lives for the 177 00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:11,560 plan of redemption. 178 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:12,560 Yeah. 179 00:13:12,560 --> 00:13:18,920 We were willing to give our lives to fight for it, fiercely fight for it, go to war to 180 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,640 protect the plan of redemption. 181 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,640 And so we get back to that, give our lives, right? 182 00:13:24,640 --> 00:13:31,080 Then we talked about last week, second step of most recoveries or came to believe that 183 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:34,240 a spirit greater than me could restore me to sanity. 184 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:38,040 They all come from the 12 steps of alcoholics, non-mess, even the church of Jesus Christ, 185 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:42,540 of Latter-day Saints has adopted as part of the addiction recovery program a variation 186 00:13:42,540 --> 00:13:43,540 of that very thing. 187 00:13:43,540 --> 00:13:48,000 We just use the name, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ instead of higher power. 188 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,440 It's identifying our identifying our identity. 189 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,320 That seems a bit redundant, which it is. 190 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:55,640 But that's really what we're doing. 191 00:13:55,640 --> 00:14:00,240 We're identifying our true identity in this search, in this quest. 192 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:05,200 Well, you and I talked a little bit about this just before we started, but identity 193 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,640 is everything. 194 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:11,000 Identity determines eternity. 195 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:12,520 I believe that, Scott. 196 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:18,440 And so we're probably spending, I don't know, a lot of time on this before we really get 197 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:23,560 into the plan of redemption and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, but it seems to be such a 198 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:28,920 central part in all of that is identifying who we are. 199 00:14:28,920 --> 00:14:35,160 And I think on that point, maybe the second thing that I'd like for us to discuss today 200 00:14:35,160 --> 00:14:44,960 is continuing on who we are or whose we are, is that we also belong to a sacred family, 201 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:49,160 a family of Abraham and Sarah. 202 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:54,280 And sometimes we don't focus on that enough or don't understand the importance of that, 203 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:55,440 Scott. 204 00:14:55,440 --> 00:15:04,000 It's all part of receiving the Abrahamic covenant and seeking to fulfill the Abrahamic 205 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,180 covenant in our personal lives. 206 00:15:07,180 --> 00:15:11,480 So I want to talk a little bit about what all that means. 207 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:20,600 So I think that this is a great place to kind of bring into, as we go through life and as 208 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:26,160 every human that's been on earth has gone through life, there are certain ties back 209 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:32,560 to our origins, right, to our identity, getting back to this that really kind of help us. 210 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,400 And we say this a lot in a lot of things, you know, don't look back, just look forward. 211 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:37,560 Don't look back, just look forward. 212 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:42,680 Because sometimes looking back to identifying to understand who we really are can be extremely 213 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:43,680 important. 214 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:50,360 So as we start to go down and take this little journey with Dave here and understanding our 215 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:56,720 relationship with the divine, our relationship with Heavenly Father, because of our relationship 216 00:15:56,720 --> 00:16:03,720 and our familial, really relationship, our family ties to Abraham and Sarah, this is 217 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:13,240 just going to further expound on how important we are in the grand scheme of things and why 218 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:18,880 we have this so that we can get back to and tie our spirits back to our Heavenly Father 219 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:23,120 and healing and enjoying the redemptive process. 220 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:30,720 And it goes back to our premortal existence, Scott, again, seems like everything does, 221 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:35,560 but we were foreordained, Abraham and Sarah were foreordained to be the father and mother 222 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:41,680 of many nations, and we were foreordained to be descendants of them. 223 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:50,120 And I honestly believe as a patriarch, having given many blessings and in each of those 224 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:58,480 blessings by revelation, telling someone who they're a descendant of or through which maybe 225 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:05,200 a better way to say it is through which tribe of Israel they are to receive the blessings 226 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:18,260 of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, and Jacob, that it's just really, I think, clear to me 227 00:17:18,260 --> 00:17:24,680 that we are literal descendants of Abraham and Sarah. 228 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:31,040 If anyone's not and they join the gospel, then they're adopted into that lineage and 229 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,800 they're adopted into that bloodline. 230 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:41,880 And you and I both have adopted children, and so we'll talk more about that in the future, 231 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:47,880 you know, stories about that experience and things we've learned through our families 232 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,800 and are adopted to my son, your daughter. 233 00:17:51,800 --> 00:18:04,440 We've experienced that, and we know that blood may be thicker than water, but love is thicker 234 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:09,920 than blood, and that we love them like they're our own. 235 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:10,920 Yeah. 236 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:11,920 Right? 237 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:12,920 Yeah, because they are our own. 238 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:13,920 They are our own. 239 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:15,960 There literally is no differentiation. 240 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:17,960 I know you feel the same way. 241 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:24,880 So Dave and I adopted these two 30-plus-year-old children when they were just babies, and about 242 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:25,880 the same time. 243 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,400 I think we were just in a few months of each other. 244 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:31,160 Dave has other children, as you know. 245 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,040 We shared a story last week about Devon. 246 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:40,360 I have other children, six other children, actually, and Casey's my second oldest. 247 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:44,560 And you know, there is absolutely no differentiation, even in her mind. 248 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:45,800 There's no differentiation. 249 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:50,360 And I know that to be a fact, because I had this conversation with Casey just yesterday 250 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:51,480 again. 251 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:56,480 It's really a sweet experience and option. 252 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:01,080 And it's interesting that when you take them to the house of the Lord in the temple to 253 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:06,800 have them sealed to you, it's so interesting the wording there, which I don't know if it's 254 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:14,520 appropriate for me to even repeat it, but in essence, how it is as though they were born 255 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:15,960 to us. 256 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:22,280 It says though they were born into the covenant and that there are forever and ever and ever, 257 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:24,680 just as if they had been born to us. 258 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:26,360 So I don't know. 259 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:32,100 I don't ever worry about whether somebody is a literal descendant or whether they're 260 00:19:32,100 --> 00:19:34,880 adopted into the house of Israel. 261 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:39,640 The important thing is, is Abraham your father and Sarah your mother? 262 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:40,640 Right. 263 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:41,640 Right. 264 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,440 And I think it's important, is if we are adopted and, you know, our DNA, I don't know how to 265 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:51,840 run a DNA test to get the results back from whether or not I am Abrahamic, you know, et 266 00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:53,000 cetera. 267 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,680 But it's really based on the concept of adoption that we just talked about. 268 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:02,080 It really is, I was going to say somewhat, it's totally irrelevant whether we're adopted 269 00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:05,240 or whether we are true descendants. 270 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:10,400 It's still who we are and it still has the same effect and can, if we choose to let it, 271 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:15,680 have the same effect on the way that we approach life, the way that we approach the world and 272 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:16,680 each other. 273 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:21,920 Well, let's talk a little bit about Abraham and Sarah and what it means to be children 274 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:25,880 and descendants of Abraham and Sarah. 275 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:30,240 You know, it's interesting to me, we're doing Come Follow Me, the Old Testament this year 276 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,000 and the church, which is fun. 277 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:39,600 And I'm sure people have, you know, learned this. 278 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:49,960 Moses in writing the book of Genesis spends 10 chapters or 15 pages in our Bible in describing 279 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:56,280 2,000 years of history from Adam to Abraham. 280 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:02,880 And then everything after that, it seems to go back to Abraham. 281 00:21:02,880 --> 00:21:07,880 It's, I mean, there are several chapters in Genesis, pretty much the rest of Genesis is 282 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,200 about Abraham and his descendants. 283 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:15,840 And Abraham goes all the way into the New Testament where he's talked about Father Abraham, 284 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:22,400 Father of the faithful, that if you're of Christ, you belong to Abraham's seed in Galatians 285 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,680 chapter 3. 286 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:28,680 Moses quickly covered in 10 chapters, 2,000 years. 287 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:37,760 And Abraham comes around 2000 BC and the whole rest of the Bible really hinges on that point. 288 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:42,400 Abraham and Sarah and the Abrahamic covenant. 289 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,400 We know the Lord appeared to Abraham several times. 290 00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:49,400 We even know that Abraham and Sarah had the gospel of Jesus Christ. 291 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:54,560 They knew Jehovah, they worshiped him, they knew that he was their Messiah. 292 00:21:54,560 --> 00:21:56,680 They had all the blessings of the gospel. 293 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:02,880 They would have, they definitely had eternal family relationships and they had received 294 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:09,280 these significant gospel covenants that make them eternal families. 295 00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:15,080 All of that was available to them and we've learned that because of the restoration of 296 00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:16,580 the gospel. 297 00:22:16,580 --> 00:22:24,800 And the Abrahamic covenant, which he received, is talked about in Genesis 17, Genesis 22. 298 00:22:24,800 --> 00:22:30,520 But maybe the chapter that we have in the standard works that describe it, I think best, 299 00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:35,560 is in the book of Abraham in the Pearl of Great Price. 300 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:43,480 And I'll just turn there quickly and we can read about the Abrahamic covenant and listen 301 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:46,080 to the description of it here. 302 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:53,160 So Pearl of Great Price, book of Abraham chapter 2, verses 8 through 11. 303 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:58,160 It reads, My name is Jehovah and I know the end from the beginning. 304 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:03,280 For my hand shall be over thee, Abraham and Sarah. 305 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:07,480 I will make of thee a great nation and I will bless thee above measure and make thy name 306 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:10,080 great among all nations. 307 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:16,680 I believe that's true today, Scott, like, you know, never before, all nations. 308 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:22,480 And thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall 309 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:28,440 bear this ministry and priesthood unto all nations. 310 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:35,320 So think about the Abrahamic covenant, the promises, and the responsibility that are 311 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:37,600 described here. 312 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:46,320 I will bless them through thy name, for as many as receive this gospel shall be called 313 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:54,720 after thy name and shall be accounted thy seed and shall rise up and bless thee as their 314 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:59,000 father, literal or adopted, doesn't matter. 315 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,880 And I will bless them that bless thee and curse them that curse thee. 316 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:08,480 And in thee, that is in thy priesthood and in thy seed, that is the priesthood, for I 317 00:24:08,480 --> 00:24:16,920 give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, right, or we could say, 318 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:19,000 and responsibility. 319 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:24,480 And in thy seed after thee, that is to say the literal seed or the seed of the body, 320 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:31,360 shall all of the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the gospel, 321 00:24:31,360 --> 00:24:36,280 which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. 322 00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:43,840 Well, that's in essence the Abrahamic covenant, Scott, and we can talk about that and the 323 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,280 importance of it and what it all means. 324 00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:52,440 Well, so I think then the question becomes, why is this so important? 325 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:54,720 And we've identified a couple of those answers, right? 326 00:24:54,720 --> 00:25:01,800 I mean, one is just to further move along the process of our getting to know ourself 327 00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:06,760 and how that relationship with our Heavenly Father through the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 328 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:07,760 works. 329 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:12,440 So, you know, why Dave then is the rest of this so important for us to know? 330 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:18,160 Well, not only does it tell us who we are, but it tells us what we should be about. 331 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:20,760 It tells us what we should be doing. 332 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:27,760 I think some people misunderstand that being of the seed of Abraham or making the covenants 333 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:35,480 that we make or all of that that we do in the church or in trying to live the gospel 334 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:40,160 and make and keep covenants, it's about a relationship, Scott. 335 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:46,280 It all comes down to having a relationship, all of the gospel, all of the principles, 336 00:25:46,280 --> 00:25:50,720 all of the doctrine, all of the policies, all the procedures, all the covenants, all 337 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,400 the commandments. 338 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:55,480 Everything comes down to one point. 339 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:56,480 Relationships. 340 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:03,120 Having an eternal relationship with deity and with our families. 341 00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:05,080 That is what this is all about. 342 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:12,680 And one other thing that came into my mind is it's not just about the promises we receive, 343 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:17,880 but it's about the responsibilities that we take upon ourselves. 344 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:23,720 And it should give us some direction about how we live our lives, plan our lives, what 345 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:26,040 we do with our lives. 346 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:34,000 You know, being of the seed of Abraham, Scott doesn't make us better than anybody else, 347 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,760 but it does give us responsibility. 348 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:44,560 It gives us the responsibility to take the gospel to all of the world and to get everyone 349 00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,560 connected to this sacred lineage. 350 00:26:48,560 --> 00:26:53,800 So it's not just about who we are, what should inspire us to then go out and help others 351 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:55,200 to belong to this family. 352 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:56,600 Yeah, and I think that's what it is. 353 00:26:56,600 --> 00:27:00,200 I think that once we do know who we are, we can't help it, right? 354 00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:05,120 Once we really understand who we are, our appreciation becomes so deep for the blessings 355 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:10,440 and gifts that we've been given that it's not necessarily even a decision-making process 356 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:15,440 that I have to go through or one would have to go through to be, okay, do I share this 357 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:16,440 now? 358 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:17,720 Do I spread this good news? 359 00:27:17,720 --> 00:27:20,720 You know, all of those responsibilities. 360 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:26,000 You know, for a guy like me, when I hear, here's your responsibilities, I just automatically 361 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,000 get a little bit ruffled. 362 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:29,000 Yeah. 363 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:34,160 Yeah, I don't like necessarily, Deb can't give me lists, she knows that. 364 00:27:34,160 --> 00:27:40,480 You know, I just don't necessarily like to be told what to do by anybody. 365 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,240 But here's the thing that I've come to grips with, that the more I understand who I am 366 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:49,280 and the greater love I feel for my Heavenly Father, I don't have to be told. 367 00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:50,960 It just becomes part of who I am. 368 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:57,600 It becomes the fabric of Scott Durfee's essence of my spiritual, my soul, my spiritual and 369 00:27:57,600 --> 00:27:59,000 physical being. 370 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:08,480 It's a powerful, motivating, motivating force in our life when you really know who you are. 371 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:14,720 I think another part of this, the importance of knowing who we are, specifically that we 372 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:21,440 are sons and daughters of Abraham and Sarah Scott, a story just came into my mind from 373 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:29,360 your life that when you were a little boy in Greenwood Elementary, you were accused 374 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:30,360 of stealing something. 375 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:31,920 Do you know what I'm talking about? 376 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:32,920 I sure do. 377 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:33,920 Yeah. 378 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:36,720 And do you want to tell that story in the importance of a family name? 379 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:37,720 Yeah. 380 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:38,720 So. 381 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:42,000 The importance of having a family or a name. 382 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:47,480 And you can say, Abraham is my father or my grandfather. 383 00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:49,680 Why don't you tell that story? 384 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,480 So I don't necessarily remember all of the details. 385 00:28:53,480 --> 00:29:01,080 It seems to me that I do know that I was not yet even in fifth grade. 386 00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:02,800 So it was younger than fourth grade. 387 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:05,520 And the reason I know that is because I remember the classroom in the hall. 388 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:11,400 I walked down that long hall to that long walk to the principal's office. 389 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,960 You know, I had been accused of something. 390 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:20,560 And it's never been beyond me to fit the accusation, but this time I did not fit the 391 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:22,360 accusation, right? 392 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:27,440 And I remember Mr. Allen was our principal. 393 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:29,440 Marvin Allen was our principal. 394 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:30,440 Good man. 395 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:31,440 Great man. 396 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:36,560 And two of his sons, Jay, and I don't, had been teachers mind, both in high school and 397 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:37,880 junior high too. 398 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:42,560 But anyway, he said to me, Scott, why would I believe you? 399 00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:43,920 He asked me, is this true? 400 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:44,920 Did you do this? 401 00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:45,920 Is this true? 402 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:48,160 Why would I believe you? 403 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:53,240 And I really couldn't think of anything else, except that I had been taught on my life, 404 00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:56,240 you know what, Scott, in our family we don't act like that. 405 00:29:56,240 --> 00:29:58,560 Or in our family we don't say those kinds of things. 406 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:02,600 In our family we don't lie, you know, in those kinds of things. 407 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:07,040 Obviously I wasn't a good student later in life, but at that point in my life, I think 408 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,200 that, you know, I had grasped and held on to a lot of those things. 409 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:12,720 And he said to me, Scott, why would I believe you? 410 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:18,120 And I said, well, Mr. Allen, because I'm a derpy and we don't lie. 411 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:24,200 And I, and he said, okay, and that was good enough for him, you know. 412 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:25,520 My name meant something to me. 413 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:27,720 It meant something to him too. 414 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:33,560 He knew my dad, he knew my parents, he knew grandpa, whose birthday it is today, by the 415 00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:35,120 way, happy birthday grandpa. 416 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:36,120 Right. 417 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:42,120 That would have been a hundred and let's see, eight today. 418 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:43,120 Hundred and eight years old? 419 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:44,120 Yeah. 420 00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:45,120 I'm missing. 421 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:51,000 But anyway, that was really cool because that experience, and I never said anything. 422 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:52,880 I didn't tell my dad and mom what happened. 423 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:58,120 I didn't tell anybody, but apparently he did, you know, because one day my, and I don't 424 00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,160 even remember if I'd come home from school and I don't remember all the circumstances 425 00:31:01,160 --> 00:31:02,160 surrounding it. 426 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,800 I just remember one day my dad said, Scott, I need to talk to you. 427 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:09,560 And that wasn't necessarily always a really good experience when, you know, a conversation 428 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:10,560 began that way. 429 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,000 Scott, I need to talk to you. 430 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:17,280 But this time it was, you know, he was just, I'm happy, Scott, that your name meant something 431 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:21,880 to you and, you know, and that was the result. 432 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:22,880 That's what it happened. 433 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:28,720 And when we say Abraham's our father, Sarah's our mother, that should mean something. 434 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:35,640 If we really understand their lives, and maybe we don't study them enough and attach the 435 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:40,000 importance of their, who they really were. 436 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:45,720 And I, when I think of Abraham and Sarah, there's so many great attributes that we could 437 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:54,560 talk about, their faithfulness, their patience, the unbelievable faith they had to wait to 438 00:31:54,560 --> 00:32:02,520 have a promised son, you know, and I think Sarah was 90 years old and she couldn't believe 439 00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:04,680 it that she could bear a son. 440 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:11,440 I just can't believe their faith and patience waiting for the promised blessings. 441 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:21,040 And I think of the book of Hebrew when I think of Abraham and the promises that they saw 442 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:26,080 as Paul describes it, a far off, and I just want to read this one verse. 443 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:32,800 This is in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 13, describing the faith of Abraham and Sarah. 444 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:41,840 It says, these all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them 445 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:45,400 a far off. 446 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:52,400 Seeing they had the eye of faith, Scott, these patriarchs and major arcs that we belong to, 447 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,880 they have the eye of faith. 448 00:32:54,880 --> 00:33:00,280 They received the promises, but having seen them a far off, and they were persuaded of 449 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:02,080 them or motivated by them. 450 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:03,400 Or had hope because. 451 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:11,040 Yes, and embraced them as if they had already received them, and confessed that they were 452 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:17,200 strangers and pilgrims on the earth, knowing who they were, knowing they were sons and 453 00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:23,560 daughters of God, knowing who they belong to, knowing of their premortal past, knowing 454 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:27,400 of their eternal lives that lay ahead of them. 455 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:32,240 When I think of Abraham and Sarah, I think of that verse and the description that it 456 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:33,760 gives of their faith. 457 00:33:33,760 --> 00:33:43,240 Yeah, so when we read this, having received the promises, but having seen them a far off. 458 00:33:43,240 --> 00:33:44,960 You know what that does to me, David? 459 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:51,120 That brings in my mind how often, and it happens recently, it has happened recently, and it 460 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:57,040 continually happens sometimes, but how often do I have something that I'm working towards, 461 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:03,560 something I'm trying to overcome, something that's really nailing me, making life difficult. 462 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:04,560 Yeah. 463 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:07,360 Whether it's because of my own decisions or because, whatever, you know, and I could 464 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:12,080 be talking about addiction, I could be talking about depression, I could be talking about 465 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:16,240 anxiety, and a myriad, literally a myriad. 466 00:34:16,240 --> 00:34:20,480 Or you could be upset and concerned about a way we're child. 467 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:21,480 That too. 468 00:34:21,480 --> 00:34:26,800 You know, others who you love, who were having those same challenges and problems in their 469 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:27,800 life. 470 00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:32,360 I could be dealing with a situation that was perpetrated against me many years ago. 471 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:34,600 Or against your child. 472 00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:40,160 Or against, and on and on and on and on it goes, your imagination is the only restrictive 473 00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:43,360 part of this potential process, right? 474 00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:46,920 And so, you know, having seen them a far off. 475 00:34:46,920 --> 00:34:47,920 The promises. 476 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:48,920 Having seen those promises. 477 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:50,560 Those promises are far off. 478 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:51,760 So the promises of what? 479 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:55,120 So as we talk about, what are the promises that we're talking about here? 480 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,880 Obviously, all part of the Abrahamic covenant, no question. 481 00:34:57,880 --> 00:34:58,880 Right. 482 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:01,760 That the promises specifically we're talking about here is the promises of redemption 483 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:03,400 and the promises of atonement. 484 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:10,800 The promises of healing and eternal life that can only come through this, through this thing 485 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:13,000 that we know is the atonement through redemption. 486 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:18,760 And so as he sees them a far off and we're persuaded of them, that's the faith. 487 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:20,080 That's the faith I have. 488 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:25,200 When I have something that, oh man, I just can't seem to be get overcoming this. 489 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,440 I just can't seem to be putting it aside or whatever. 490 00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:35,240 I pray, I make, I take it to the sacrament table, I fast about it, whatever the case 491 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:36,240 may be. 492 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:37,840 And I'm struggling. 493 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:44,320 But that faith were that they sawed them and were persuaded of them and embraced them and 494 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:47,360 confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on. 495 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:51,240 I mean, that whole thing right there is broken heart and contrite spirit. 496 00:35:51,240 --> 00:35:55,800 That whole thing right there is steps one, two and three in every recovery program. 497 00:35:55,800 --> 00:35:58,600 See it a far off because I can see it a far off. 498 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:03,240 It creates faith in me because I know who I am and I know who I am. 499 00:36:03,240 --> 00:36:09,320 But because it's far off, I'm persuaded because of my faith and then that relief comes. 500 00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:16,920 So many in the church are married, struggle with, as my wife and I did, with the challenge 501 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:19,520 of infertility. 502 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:27,920 And to be able to have this, to say that I'm of Abraham and Sarah and to be able to know 503 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:34,640 their life and to seek to follow their example and to obtain this eye of faith would help 504 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:41,880 me to know that it's just a matter of time that we have children and that maybe I can 505 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,480 actually see them in my eye of faith. 506 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:53,320 I can see children, sons and daughters because of this faith that Abraham and Sarah had that 507 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:54,480 we should all seek. 508 00:36:54,480 --> 00:37:00,120 Or whether I'm single and I'm not married and I haven't received that promise or I 509 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:05,560 haven't been able to overcome all of my sins and addictions to go to the temple. 510 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:14,960 You know, I have a dear friend who had a wayward son and he couldn't see ever his wayward 511 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:18,640 son being a part of their eternal family. 512 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:22,880 And one day he was in Chicago, this was a friend, dear friend I had in Minnesota and 513 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:28,680 he'd gone down the temple in Chicago and he was in the Chicago temple, Scott, and he 514 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:33,880 was sitting in the celestial room and he was praying and he had this impression to look 515 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:37,000 up at the veil of the temple. 516 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:43,960 And he looked at the veil of the temple and with, I'm sure, an eye of faith. 517 00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:47,000 But in his mind, he really saw this. 518 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,320 He wept as he shared this with me. 519 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:57,200 He saw his son, Sam, walk through the veil of that temple. 520 00:37:57,200 --> 00:38:03,840 And Sam was not in a place at that time where he could have stepped foot in the temple or 521 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,440 wouldn't have. 522 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:13,920 So with an eye of faith, having the faith of Abraham and Sarah trying to again, you 523 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:20,520 know, knowing that their characteristics and trying to receive those same characteristics 524 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:28,000 can be such a blessing to us here on the earth as we struggle with our everyday challenges. 525 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:34,000 You know, something just occurred to me as you were sharing that story. 526 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,240 Not only is it important that we know who we are, it's important that we know who everybody 527 00:38:37,240 --> 00:38:38,640 else is too, right? 528 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:39,640 Right. 529 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:41,640 I mean, if I know, we see them that way. 530 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:46,320 If I'm that father and I have that son and I have the ability to see that son the same 531 00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:51,160 way that I'm attempting to see me right now. 532 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:55,800 You know, Dave, you'll remember, I don't know if you will or not, but I called you and I 533 00:38:55,800 --> 00:39:02,080 was struggling because I had made some choices in my life that had created a separation of 534 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:03,080 my family. 535 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:05,520 You know, my family, it wasn't just that. 536 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:07,520 There's more to it than just that. 537 00:39:07,520 --> 00:39:12,400 But my family had, it was no longer whole the way that it had been whole before. 538 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:16,200 I was divorced now and single and I had these four kids and I was really struggling because 539 00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:23,960 my four kids were not necessarily being blessed with the kind of blessings in direction and 540 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:25,320 example and various things. 541 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:27,600 And I certainly wasn't providing a very good one. 542 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:33,640 And so, you know, imagine the double jeopardy of the despair that maybe I was feeling around 543 00:39:33,640 --> 00:39:34,640 that. 544 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:40,000 And I had to understand that if I just understand who they are, we sat at the Italian place 545 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:47,160 one day and here in Orm Utah and, you know, I don't even, it was a long, long lunch, but 546 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:52,480 we went through that whole thing of understanding not just who I am, but who they are and who 547 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:54,360 my wife is and who my parents are. 548 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:55,600 If you could just see them. 549 00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:56,600 Yeah, my God. 550 00:39:56,600 --> 00:39:58,000 The way God sees them. 551 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:04,400 If you could just see them, who they are and who they are, it totally changes your relationship 552 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:05,400 with them. 553 00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:09,440 And I think that's what he meant when he said, love one another. 554 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:12,320 See them the way I see them. 555 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:13,320 Yeah. 556 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:20,680 Now, further, we should talk about what it means to be of Abraham and Sarah through their 557 00:40:20,680 --> 00:40:24,720 lineage and through a tribe of Israel. 558 00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:27,960 So Abraham had Isaac. 559 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:28,960 Isaac had Jacob. 560 00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:32,280 His name, Jacob's name was changed to Israel. 561 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:40,240 He has these 12 sons and such an important part of our church and the history of our 562 00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:47,240 church and the present state we find ourselves in the church is the gathering of these 12 563 00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:50,000 tribes of Israel, the gathering of Israel. 564 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,800 I love President Nelson's emphasis on this, Scott. 565 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:58,000 The gathering of Israel on both sides of the bell. 566 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:04,760 And that's what we're all about and Israel means let God prevail and President Nelson 567 00:41:04,760 --> 00:41:06,720 really has a vision of this. 568 00:41:06,720 --> 00:41:13,960 And it's never before Scott has Israel been gathered or the descendants of Abraham and 569 00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,720 Sarah like they're being gathered now. 570 00:41:16,720 --> 00:41:19,160 And it was exciting, thrilling for me. 571 00:41:19,160 --> 00:41:23,720 I always thought that maybe the most important part of a patriarchal blessing was an individual's 572 00:41:23,720 --> 00:41:29,480 lineage and even though many of them were the same, I thought if they understood what 573 00:41:29,480 --> 00:41:35,920 that meant and they really understood what that means to be of Ephraim, of Joseph, of 574 00:41:35,920 --> 00:41:42,080 Jacob, of Isaac, of Abraham, how would that change their life and not just as far as how 575 00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:47,040 they see themselves, but how they plan their life and what they do with their life. 576 00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:48,040 I had an experience. 577 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:49,760 Do we have time to share this? 578 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:54,680 I had an experience once that really taught me of the importance of a tribe. 579 00:41:54,680 --> 00:41:58,920 I was giving a patriarchal blessing to a young woman. 580 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:03,000 I think she was about 20 years old. 581 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:08,200 She had come from the middle of the Congo in Africa. 582 00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:10,840 And she had escaped her captors. 583 00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:15,560 Her family had been hurt, some of them killed. 584 00:42:15,560 --> 00:42:22,440 And she had escaped and had immigrated to the United States miraculously. 585 00:42:22,440 --> 00:42:29,320 And she came to the United States and an immigration officer after interviewing her, said to her, 586 00:42:29,320 --> 00:42:31,080 you sound religious. 587 00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:34,800 I'm going to send you to Utah because I understand they're religious. 588 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:38,800 So she came thankfully to Utah. 589 00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:45,520 She was adopted by a family in our, she was taken in and then later adopted by a family 590 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:47,320 in our stake. 591 00:42:47,320 --> 00:42:52,640 She had a two year old child that she had had. 592 00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:57,800 But anyway, this beautiful young woman had finally joined the church after being here 593 00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:00,520 for just over a year. 594 00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:04,600 And shortly after that, wanted to get her patriarchal blessing. 595 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:10,360 And I prayed and fasted to prepare to give her a blessing. 596 00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:13,160 And this would often happen with me. 597 00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:16,200 And I don't know, not all the time, but many times. 598 00:43:16,200 --> 00:43:21,200 I knew what her lineage was before she actually came to my home. 599 00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:24,400 Praying about it, I knew. 600 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:31,640 And when she came and I was giving her patriarchal blessing and I got to that part of lineage, 601 00:43:31,640 --> 00:43:36,880 I told her that she was a descendant of naftali. 602 00:43:36,880 --> 00:43:37,880 Wow. 603 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:38,880 I'd never. 604 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:40,400 First one? 605 00:43:40,400 --> 00:43:45,920 First one, first ever, never again, naftali. 606 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:46,920 She started to weep. 607 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:51,480 I could feel her just kind of, you know, she, I could just feel how important that was to 608 00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:53,200 her. 609 00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:55,160 And sweet blessing. 610 00:43:55,160 --> 00:44:00,720 And after the blessing was over, she turned to me and she said, Brother Durfee, can I 611 00:44:00,720 --> 00:44:01,720 pray? 612 00:44:01,720 --> 00:44:04,940 And I said, you want, you want to pray, Julie? 613 00:44:04,940 --> 00:44:06,840 She said, yeah, can I pray? 614 00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:08,920 I said, sure, let's pray. 615 00:44:08,920 --> 00:44:10,720 And she, she went to kneel down. 616 00:44:10,720 --> 00:44:11,720 Wow. 617 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:12,720 Yeah. 618 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:16,400 And I said, wait, wait just a minute, Julie, let's, let's all of us kneel down. 619 00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:20,120 Her parents were there with her, her adopted parents and we kneeled down. 620 00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:21,320 All four of us. 621 00:44:21,320 --> 00:44:23,160 And she said, can I pray in my language? 622 00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:24,160 Oh, wow. 623 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:25,160 Yes. 624 00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:26,720 And I said, sure, of course. 625 00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:28,840 And she started to pray. 626 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:34,400 I will never forget this sacred experience and the power of her prayer, Scott. 627 00:44:34,400 --> 00:44:36,120 She prayed loud. 628 00:44:36,120 --> 00:44:38,560 She was very loud. 629 00:44:38,560 --> 00:44:44,520 And I didn't understand the language, but I kept hearing this one word over and over 630 00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:54,400 and over again that I recognized naftily, naftily, naftily. 631 00:44:54,400 --> 00:45:04,720 Prayer ended and we got up, tears in our eyes and brother and her mom and dad came over, 632 00:45:04,720 --> 00:45:09,280 shook my hand and said, it might, it might help brother Durfee, if you understand something 633 00:45:09,280 --> 00:45:12,520 about Julie. 634 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:15,560 She lost her tribe. 635 00:45:15,560 --> 00:45:16,960 Oh, wow. 636 00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:20,200 And now she has a tribe. 637 00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:21,200 Yeah. 638 00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:28,440 And in her culture, and I think that's true for most of the Middle East, for her culture, 639 00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:29,640 tribe is everything. 640 00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:30,640 Right. 641 00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:33,400 Belonging to a tribe is everything. 642 00:45:33,400 --> 00:45:35,680 It's family. 643 00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:43,480 And that really was a singular experience that taught me the importance and the sacred 644 00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:52,920 nature and the powers, Scott, of belonging to a tribe, the tribe of Israel, how important 645 00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:58,840 that should be to us, how we should seek to understand more about our tribe, the characteristics 646 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:05,560 of our tribe, the mission and responsibilities that our tribe has received in the patriarchal 647 00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:12,040 blessings given by Israel, Jacob, the great patriarch, and we should seek to understand 648 00:46:12,040 --> 00:46:15,880 our tribe and the responsibilities we need to fulfill. 649 00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:24,800 Anyway, if we could fill that way about belonging to a tribe and belonging to Abraham and Sarah 650 00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:32,680 and Abrahamic covenant, it would really change, again, our mortal mission. 651 00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:33,680 Yeah. 652 00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:34,800 There's no question. 653 00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:35,800 I'm speechless. 654 00:46:35,800 --> 00:46:39,280 That is an awesome story that you just shared about that young lady. 655 00:46:39,280 --> 00:46:45,480 And you know, this is something that I think that at some level, if we take a minute and 656 00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:51,480 reflect in our own lives, this is something that we can all really relate to, I hope. 657 00:46:51,480 --> 00:46:57,120 You know, there's probably very few things that are more despairing than the lack of 658 00:46:57,120 --> 00:46:58,320 belonging to something. 659 00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:04,960 As a matter of fact, addiction is really more about detachment, a lack of having something 660 00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:06,280 to connect to. 661 00:47:06,280 --> 00:47:07,280 That's it. 662 00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:09,080 It's a lack of connection. 663 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:12,800 And so, you know, as we've talked about today, all of these things that we've talked about 664 00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:16,840 when we are at a time, I'm going to let Dave say a few more words before we call it to 665 00:47:16,840 --> 00:47:18,360 a close here in just a minute. 666 00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:25,200 I just want to emphasize the importance again for the third week in a row, the importance 667 00:47:25,200 --> 00:47:30,760 again of who we are, the importance again of how important our identity is. 668 00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:40,760 And a real honest and accurate concept, self-concept, spiritual self-concept of who we are is paramount 669 00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:46,280 in importance to maybe everything else that we know in this life. 670 00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:50,760 Because knowing that, then we can start to build a really solid foundation. 671 00:47:50,760 --> 00:47:56,600 As we live for more peace, as we live for more harmony, and as we learn to let the atonement 672 00:47:56,600 --> 00:48:01,040 of Jesus Christ through His redemption and through His healing and through all of the 673 00:48:01,040 --> 00:48:09,160 other things that have been promised to us through our various connections to Him, I 674 00:48:09,160 --> 00:48:14,760 just know that it's through that that all of our troubles are healed and taken care 675 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:15,760 of. 676 00:48:15,760 --> 00:48:20,280 And so, another great session, Dave, what do you have to impart to us on your way out? 677 00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:27,840 Well, if it's okay, I just want to close by expressing my gratitude, Scott, for the restoration 678 00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:32,840 of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 679 00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:41,240 And to kind of top this discussion of the importance of belonging to Abraham and Sarah, 680 00:48:41,240 --> 00:48:49,160 you know, there's only two gospels in this life that are mentioned in the scriptures. 681 00:48:49,160 --> 00:48:52,640 The gospel of Jesus Christ is one. 682 00:48:52,640 --> 00:49:00,920 He's my Savior, He's my Redeemer, He atoned, He ransomed, all of that for me. 683 00:49:00,920 --> 00:49:09,160 He is the center, His atonement, and He are the center of the whole plan of redemption. 684 00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:16,120 But it's also mentioned in the scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants section 110 that 685 00:49:16,120 --> 00:49:22,760 Elias restored the keys of the gospel of Abraham. 686 00:49:22,760 --> 00:49:29,960 Maybe I know we're out of time, Scott, but I'm just going to read this verse. 687 00:49:29,960 --> 00:49:35,160 It's in Doctrine and Covenants section 110, which was the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. 688 00:49:35,160 --> 00:49:40,080 And there in the Kirtland Temple, in a holy house dedicated to the Lord shortly after 689 00:49:40,080 --> 00:49:46,440 the dedication, Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith go behind the veil up in the pulpits 690 00:49:46,440 --> 00:49:52,720 of the Kirtland Temple, and the Savior appears to them, Moses appears to them and restores 691 00:49:52,720 --> 00:49:55,360 the keys of the gathering of Israel. 692 00:49:55,360 --> 00:50:02,120 And then verse 12 says, after this Elias appeared and committed the dispensation of the gospel 693 00:50:02,120 --> 00:50:04,320 of Abraham. 694 00:50:04,320 --> 00:50:06,920 I just, what's the gospel of Abraham? 695 00:50:06,920 --> 00:50:10,400 Whenever we see the gospel, we of course think of Christ. 696 00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:12,440 That's the fullness. 697 00:50:12,440 --> 00:50:14,480 That's redemption. 698 00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:17,480 But the gospel of Abraham is also important. 699 00:50:17,480 --> 00:50:26,360 And the verse continues, saying that in us and our seed, all generations after us should 700 00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:29,280 be blessed. 701 00:50:29,280 --> 00:50:34,680 That's the Abrahamic covenant or the gospel of Abraham, which is really comes down to 702 00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:36,480 again one point. 703 00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:41,320 Scott, families can be together forever. 704 00:50:41,320 --> 00:50:44,440 We can have eternal families. 705 00:50:44,440 --> 00:50:46,680 That's what it comes down to. 706 00:50:46,680 --> 00:50:50,760 That's the gospel of Abraham is eternal families. 707 00:50:50,760 --> 00:50:56,300 I'm so grateful for the fullness of the gospel that's been restored, the gospel of Jesus 708 00:50:56,300 --> 00:51:03,200 Christ and the gospel of Abraham, which we have because of the restoration. 709 00:51:03,200 --> 00:51:06,080 How wonderful. 710 00:51:06,080 --> 00:51:09,400 And I know I speak for all of our listeners. 711 00:51:09,400 --> 00:51:14,880 We're grateful for you, Dave, and your ability to help us to understand some of these things 712 00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:16,400 a little deeper. 713 00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:21,480 And to be able to maybe apply them in our lives, it's one thing to have a really good 714 00:51:21,480 --> 00:51:22,720 knowledge of this stuff. 715 00:51:22,720 --> 00:51:27,800 It's another thing to be able to know what it means and how do I use it in my life for 716 00:51:27,800 --> 00:51:30,720 my own betterment and the betterment of those around me. 717 00:51:30,720 --> 00:51:34,480 Remember that identity determines eternity. 718 00:51:34,480 --> 00:51:37,120 I'm going to quote Dave on that for the rest of my life. 719 00:51:37,120 --> 00:51:42,080 We'll probably even title this podcast that because it's so important, so true. 720 00:51:42,080 --> 00:51:45,320 Brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, please remember who you are. 721 00:51:45,320 --> 00:51:46,600 Please know who you are. 722 00:51:46,600 --> 00:51:53,760 Please gain a great deep understanding of who you are and who you are because as we do that, 723 00:51:53,760 --> 00:51:59,440 the process of healing, the process of coming unto him, the process of redemption, the process 724 00:51:59,440 --> 00:52:07,520 of ridding ourselves of anything that is not exactly like him becomes much easier to do. 725 00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:10,320 We're grateful to have had the opportunity to be with you again today. 726 00:52:10,320 --> 00:52:12,360 Don't forget to send us your comments. 727 00:52:12,360 --> 00:52:16,880 He redeems us at gmail.com. 728 00:52:16,880 --> 00:52:20,120 Scott Durfee, Dave Durfee, we've enjoyed being with you. 729 00:52:20,120 --> 00:52:22,520 Once again, look forward to our time together next week. 730 00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:42,280 Until then, God bless and take care.