1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,560 Hey there everybody, happy new year. 2 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,960 Here we are, a brand new year and a brand new season of podcasts. 3 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:20,040 My name's Scott Durfey. 4 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,160 This is Redeemed Through His Blood. 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:27,920 In this podcast, we focus on the redemption and the healing that comes through the Atonement 6 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:30,520 of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. 7 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:34,720 Just to give you a little background real quickly, and then I'm going to let my partner 8 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,360 in crime here, Dave Durfey, talk about what we're going to be talking about during this 9 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:39,360 season. 10 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:43,000 But my name's Scott Durfey, as I said, I've been a member of the church all my life, but 11 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,920 for a portion of my life, I was wandering. 12 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,360 And currently, I'm a recovering alcoholic. 13 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:55,360 I have 24 years of continuous sobriety, very active in addiction recovery programs, but 14 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,200 very active in the church and in my ward as well. 15 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:04,800 So I'm joined with and partnered up with by my uncle, my uncle David Durfey. 16 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,720 He's just a few years, five or six or seven or eight. 17 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:10,520 I'm not sure I don't remember, but years older than me. 18 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:12,080 I look younger though. 19 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,080 Much younger than you used to. 20 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:15,560 Oh, you mean younger than me? 21 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:16,560 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 22 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:17,560 I see. 23 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,800 So Dave's here. 24 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:25,080 Dave has just recently, when I say recently a couple of years ago, completed about a 40 25 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:32,960 year career in the church education system, where he had every role you can imagine, and 26 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:38,800 finalized his assignment there as the director of the Institute of the University, Utah Valley, 27 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:40,960 rather, university. 28 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:46,200 And while he was there, he developed a curriculum, a class called the Divine Gift of Forgiveness, 29 00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:52,320 or actually it was just forgiveness, repentance and forgiveness and a class that caught the 30 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:58,160 attention of many and many of his students we've had on our last season as interviews 31 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:03,920 and actually caught the attention of Veldor Anderson, Neil L. Anderson as well. 32 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:11,520 And we'll be actually using a lot of what Dave taught and developed and so on for this 33 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,560 coming chapter for this new season. 34 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,680 So I'm going to let Dave talk a little bit about that and tell us where we're going to 35 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:18,680 go from here. 36 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:19,680 Yeah. 37 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:20,680 Thanks, Scott. 38 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:28,600 This is our second season and we're excited about being able to share with you some of 39 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:34,440 our thoughts and feelings that are hopefully even a little more refined than they were 40 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,880 in the first season. 41 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:43,520 This will be based upon a course that was called Repentance and Forgiveness at Utah 42 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:44,520 Valley University. 43 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:52,040 I received a request from priesthood leaders to design a course helping them with young 44 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:56,320 adults who were in the process of repentance. 45 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:04,880 And so I designed the course, I put it together, I sent it to Salt Lake for curriculum to review 46 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:12,520 it and it was approved and I began teaching it several years ago and it became a very 47 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:18,760 successful course, a popular course and we started to teach more units than I could teach 48 00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:27,560 and so we had another teacher to help in the teaching of the course and Elder Anderson 49 00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:29,600 did become aware of it. 50 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:37,800 Anyway, that's another story for another time and just asked me to help him to kind of organize 51 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:46,080 this book on the course which he had felt impressed that he needed to write several 52 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:53,360 years before we met and he already knew the title many years before we started to work 53 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:59,120 on it together called The Divine Gift of Forgiveness and I just helped him to kind of organize 54 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:00,120 it. 55 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:05,400 We followed a similar outline, the book follows a similar outline as the course. 56 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:11,720 The course has now been developed into a worldwide institute class and is now taught throughout 57 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:12,720 the world. 58 00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:17,320 The Elder Anderson's book, The Divine Gift of Forgiveness has been translated in multiple 59 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:23,440 languages and will continue to be translated in other languages and is the student manual 60 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:30,320 really for the course that is taught in institutes throughout the world and it's been really 61 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:37,840 a humbling thing for me, Scott, to kind of be involved in that and then you and Deb taught 62 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:46,640 it one semester at BYU and continue to kind of use it in your teaching institute for BYU 63 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:47,640 students. 64 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:52,440 Yeah, actually we actually did teach it but it was four semesters that we teach it to 65 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:53,440 believe it or not. 66 00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:55,440 It went crazy fast, right? 67 00:04:55,440 --> 00:04:56,800 But yeah. 68 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:03,360 And you know, what we're going to be talking about is kind of that book as our basis or 69 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:07,080 our jumping off spot or our foundation. 70 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:13,880 Just so much hope and so much healing and just a different perspective on Jesus Christ 71 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,720 and his power that comes through the Atonement. 72 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,040 Well and you had a lot of success teaching that course. 73 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:21,440 I mean it got pretty large. 74 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:22,440 Yeah, it did. 75 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:23,440 Yeah, we... 76 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:27,360 We grew from just a handful of students and then they had to...they moved us into the 77 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:32,840 chapel because we had outgrown every other...and it's not because...and that's a testament 78 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:34,920 to the course and that has nothing to do with it. 79 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:35,920 No, right. 80 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:36,920 It doesn't matter who teaches it. 81 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:37,920 Right, that's right. 82 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:38,920 That's right. 83 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:46,240 It's become an important course because of the times that we live in and the need of 84 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:52,560 young adults and old adults and everyone in between who really need to learn about how 85 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:59,120 the Atonement of Jesus Christ works, how we can access the power of Christ through his 86 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:07,800 redeeming blood and Atonement, how repentance works in that process, in the ability to access 87 00:06:07,800 --> 00:06:11,200 that power and grace and mercy in our life. 88 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:17,040 And so it has been a popular course and we recommend to all of our readers to buy Elder 89 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:18,760 Anderson's book. 90 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:25,600 Elder Anderson, who I testify is a prophet, seer, revelator, apostle of the Lord Jesus 91 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:30,400 Christ, did an amazing thing working that book. 92 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:36,320 And as I would review chapters that he was kind enough to send to me, kind of following 93 00:06:36,320 --> 00:06:43,360 outlines of the course and he would write, he's a beautiful writer, it was really impressive 94 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:54,600 and very sweet for me to kind of get a glimpse of how an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ 95 00:06:54,600 --> 00:07:02,480 teaches repentance and teaches the power and the gift of forgiveness that's available 96 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:04,480 to us through Christ. 97 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:11,200 The thing, Dave, that has really been impressive to Deb and myself and when I say Deb, that's 98 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:16,880 my wife, my sweetheart of 20 plus years now and you'll be hearing more about her as we 99 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:21,520 go for those of you who have been with us for a while, no Deb, because we did a interview 100 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:26,520 with her and if you're new, encourage you to go back and look at that in our season 101 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:27,520 one. 102 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:32,240 But you know, the thing about that course that has been just so helpful, you know, as 103 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,480 we've been and you did too, Dave, taking it to college students first, that's a pretty 104 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:41,560 impressionable time of life, that's a time of life when we leave mom and dad and we get 105 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:47,200 into the real world and we try to start figuring things out and we remember the teachings from 106 00:07:47,200 --> 00:07:53,440 our past and all of those things, but that seems to be sort of a time of general confusion 107 00:07:53,440 --> 00:08:02,160 if you will and we've noticed that as we have brought the message of that book or the message 108 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:08,320 behind the Atonement of Jesus Christ, it's interesting how a lot of us have not really 109 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,560 understood the Atonement of Jesus Christ like we thought we did or like we thought we were 110 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:16,360 taught or maybe even in some cases like we actually were taught. 111 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:17,360 Absolutely. 112 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:23,320 But as that changes and it probably will, I can almost promise most listeners that are 113 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:28,160 involved with this that there may be some differences in the way that you actually view 114 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:32,280 the Atonement of Jesus Christ as we go through this course. 115 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:37,240 For me, how it helped me was as I began to see the Atonement of Jesus Christ as a loving 116 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,680 invitation rather than a executioner's indictment. 117 00:08:41,680 --> 00:08:47,600 Yeah, well, it not only changes how we see the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Scott, but 118 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:58,080 I think what's a really critical part of this course is to see our need, our absolute, complete, 119 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:07,000 eternal dependence upon the Atonement of Jesus Christ, not just here mortally, but also premortally 120 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:14,640 and post mortally and what the phrase we use so often in the church because of the Book 121 00:09:14,640 --> 00:09:21,880 of Mormon, it's unique in that Book of Scripture, it's Nephi uses it and then again Amulet uses 122 00:09:21,880 --> 00:09:22,880 it. 123 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:28,240 And then we can raise infinite Atonement, what does that really mean for us? 124 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:36,400 And they're just, I mean, it's right, the Atonement of Jesus Christ is incomprehensible, but it 125 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:42,800 is infinite and to seek to understand it will really be, I think, the goal or the objective 126 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:50,240 of this course and how we can get, again, there's no power in the Atonement. 127 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:57,600 It's really important for all of us as President Nelson has encouraged us to not speak of the 128 00:09:57,600 --> 00:10:03,560 Atonement as if it is an entity by itself. 129 00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:11,960 It should always be associated, the term Atonement, with Jesus Christ and Him crucified with our 130 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,320 Savior and Redeemer. 131 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:22,720 So really the way it works is it is the power of Jesus Christ that we seek in our life through 132 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:33,240 His Atonement and how we can access that Atonement through the instruments of grace that God has 133 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:41,800 given us, such as the Scriptures and prayer and ordinances and covenants and commandments 134 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:48,320 and all of the things that God has given us, divine gifts He's given us. 135 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:53,840 To know how to access the power of Christ through the Atonement, that's really the objective 136 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:54,840 of this course. 137 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,840 And you know, you mentioned the need that college students have for it, but you know what was 138 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:05,040 surprising to me, Scott, in the many years that I taught that course was that most of 139 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,240 those in my course were return missionaries. 140 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:15,040 They weren't freshmen, although I think it is a great missionary prep course. 141 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:19,840 So if you have any young people in your family that are getting ready for mission prep, this 142 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:25,280 is an amazing course because I think it completely changes their approach to how they see missionary 143 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:31,040 work and their own preparation to be a missionary. 144 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:35,800 But return missionaries would come to me all the time and say, man, I wish I would have 145 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,440 known this before my mission. 146 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:44,360 I wish I would have known this on my mission so I could have taught it better. 147 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:48,600 So I think it's a, and we're still learning. 148 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:49,880 I'm still learning. 149 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:57,000 I am so thankful for the blessings and the things that I've learned teaching the course 150 00:11:57,000 --> 00:12:05,720 and I still seek to better comprehend, better understand how the Atonement, Jesus Christ 151 00:12:05,720 --> 00:12:09,040 works in my own life and the life of my family. 152 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:16,280 So with all of that kind of as an introduction, Scott, I think we should jump into lesson 153 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:18,480 number one, so to speak. 154 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:25,120 And that is always that you must begin, I believe, in almost any course as President 155 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:31,880 Boyd K. Packer used to teach to really understand the plan of redemption generally. 156 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:39,000 And that includes how it began, all began in the pre-mortal existence. 157 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:48,040 So I'd like to talk about our pre-earth life today and about who we really are and kind 158 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,320 of work on our identity a little bit. 159 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:54,200 Scott, I think identity determines eternity. 160 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:59,840 I think identity is so critical to really be able to work out our salvation and our 161 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:08,200 redemption, to understand our relationship with our Heavenly Father as our literal Father 162 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:15,960 of our spirits, to understand that we had heavenly parents, to understand our role as 163 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:22,920 their children and our role in the war in heaven, and to understand our relationship and our 164 00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:30,520 dependence upon Jesus Christ not only here in mortality, but also in our pre-mortal existence. 165 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:38,640 So when we begin to talk about who we are, and it begins with that pre-mortal existence, 166 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:41,500 there's a really important reason that we're doing this. 167 00:13:41,500 --> 00:13:49,200 If we understand really who we are and we come to a conclusion of what we hope to come 168 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:53,360 to that conclusion of here today and as we go through this podcast. 169 00:13:53,360 --> 00:13:59,640 But once we come to that conclusion, then it positions us to where all of the things 170 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:04,360 in our life that come against us, and all of the things in our life that come against 171 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:11,480 us are anecdoted or are taken care of by the Atonement or by Jesus Christ power through 172 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,280 His Atonement. 173 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:19,280 And as we begin to learn who we are, that really begins to help us to understand better 174 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:20,520 who He is. 175 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:25,760 In fact, Dave, you want to read that to, can I read the quote from Joseph Smith right 176 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:26,760 now? 177 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:31,360 So, you know, Joseph Smith, when Joseph Smith would give the King Follett discourse, this 178 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:33,880 was one of the little gems that came from that. 179 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:41,280 This was given in Nauvoo a short time before his martyrdom, and it's kind of the apex or 180 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:46,520 the zenith of his teaching and his doctrine. 181 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:52,120 The King Follett discourse, given at the funeral of King Follett, who had, King was actually 182 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:58,240 his first name, this man who had, who was digging a well or something and died, fell 183 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:03,560 in the well and died a kind of a tragic death because of an accident. 184 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:11,880 And Joseph Smith gave this amazing discourse on especially the character of God, the nature 185 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,080 of God, how we can come to know God. 186 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,320 And yeah, I think that's a critical quote. 187 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:18,320 So if you want to read that. 188 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:22,760 Yeah, so this is really step one in getting to know ourselves if you want to take it 189 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:23,760 that way. 190 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:25,040 And this is what Joseph Smith said. 191 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:31,240 He said, if men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves. 192 00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:40,640 Yeah, so Scott, if we say that we are children of heavenly parents, if we say that we are 193 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:46,760 a son or daughter of God, we sing I am a child of God. 194 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:50,000 What does that even mean if we don't know God? 195 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:56,920 What is, I mean, we can't really appreciate that him, and we can't appreciate that truth 196 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:04,200 unless we have some idea, some good idea, understanding in our mind and heart of who 197 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,880 God is. 198 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:14,920 Once you know who God is, and you know your father in heaven, and you know that you are 199 00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:22,680 the offspring of God, as Paul taught, that we are literally the offspring of God. 200 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:30,480 Well, it absolutely changes that we have spiritual DNA of deity. 201 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:32,560 It totally changes how you see yourself. 202 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:37,840 And it is the key to know who he is, is the key to knowing who we are. 203 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:46,040 Yeah, by contrast, for example, if we were to see God as a vindictive, vengeful, you 204 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:51,160 know, what we might associate human characteristics to, you know, if we were to see God that way, 205 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,480 that would have a completely different, we would have a completely different experience 206 00:16:54,480 --> 00:17:01,740 with God, than if we see him how he really is as a loving, gentle, kind father in heaven 207 00:17:01,740 --> 00:17:07,040 who is interested in our well-being, not just eternally, but here too. 208 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:12,000 I mean, often we just kind of get that a little bit confused, you know, but he actually cares 209 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,400 about how our life is going here too. 210 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,840 And you know, once we comprehend that, once we begin to understand that, it really does. 211 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:24,640 Joseph Smith has a lot of wisdom in that comment, because it really does begin to help us comprehend 212 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:26,600 ourselves better. 213 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:31,920 Because if I understand that about myself, that I am really spiritual DNA, and I understand 214 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:38,440 that God's characteristics are not what the world would have me think sometimes, right? 215 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:43,040 And they're also not as gentle sometimes as what the other part of the world might have. 216 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:50,680 But to have a real, a real concise depiction of the character of God, and his, and my relationship 217 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:55,560 with him, or his love towards me, man, that sure changes a lot of things in the way I 218 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:56,560 approach life. 219 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:02,280 Not only it changes our identity, knowing who we are, but it changes our faith in him. 220 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:07,800 I mean, knowing the character of God is one of the three steps of really obtaining the 221 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:12,880 faith of power, which we'll talk about later on, and that's, that'll be another one of 222 00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:16,480 our lessons, another podcast. 223 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:24,640 But it's one of the essential elements of obtaining faith in God, is you must know the character, 224 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:31,360 attributes, and perfections of God, and the characters of God, they're actually listed 225 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:36,880 in the lectures on faith, seven lectures that were given in the School of Prophets in Kirtland, 226 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:44,520 so, then the characters, the characteristics that they focused on in that lecture, which 227 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:49,440 I think we can see and focus on as we read the scriptures, especially this year as we 228 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:55,120 do, you know, the New Testament, we study the life of Jesus Christ, and, and, and Philip 229 00:18:55,120 --> 00:19:00,520 asked Jesus Christ, you know, in the upper room, Philip the apostle, asked Jesus Christ 230 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:09,800 in the upper room, just hours before he went to get 70, show us the Father, and Jesus said, 231 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,120 Philip, how long have I been with you? 232 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:16,160 If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. 233 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:23,280 So the real, the great way we can learn the character of God is to know the character 234 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:31,240 of his son, and if we know the character of Jesus Christ, who is in the, how does Hebrews 235 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:38,640 put it, in the exact image of God, and his statement to Philip, if you've seen me, you've 236 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:44,680 seen the Father, well, if we can learn the character of God, of Christ, then we, we can 237 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,920 say we know the character of God. 238 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:54,080 Jesus Christ said he did nothing except he saw his Father do it, and some of those characteristics 239 00:19:54,080 --> 00:20:03,280 listed in the lectures on faith are love, of course, and mercy, and unchangeable, and 240 00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:08,000 I love, I actually love the characteristic listed just. 241 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:12,480 He's just, he's fair. 242 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:17,440 He, this is not one of the characteristics, but this is, I think, connected to it, is 243 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:25,640 that he will discipline, he disciplines, he's in control, that all things will be made 244 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,280 right and fair. 245 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:36,240 Anyway, if we can understand and learn this year, as we do season two, and as we do come 246 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:42,480 follow me, the character of God and the character of Christ, it, it really does change how we 247 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:46,720 not just see ourselves, Scott, it changes how we see our world. 248 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:47,720 Yeah. 249 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:54,520 So, with that kind of as an introduction, let's talk a little bit about our, our premortal 250 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:58,360 existence. 251 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:02,640 There was one plan there, Scott, there weren't two. 252 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:07,920 There was one plan given, we all knew it, we all accepted it, we all loved it. 253 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:12,200 In the Book of Mormon, it's interesting that the Book of Mormon talks, use the word plan 254 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:17,840 34 times, I don't know how, I don't know the exact number of how many times the word plan 255 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,520 is in the Book of Mormon, but a good number. 256 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:25,360 And 14 times alone, it's called the plan of redemption. 257 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:27,320 Couple of times, it's called the plan of salvation. 258 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,280 A few times, it's called the plan of happiness. 259 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:36,000 A few times, it's called the plan of mercy, the plan of God, the great plan of happiness, 260 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,160 even. 261 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:44,640 And God had a plan and we all knew it, and at one point it was presented to us, there 262 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:52,880 was a grand council in heaven, and over time, and we have no idea what the concept of time 263 00:21:52,880 --> 00:22:01,280 was even like there in the premortal existence, but there was a, there was sin and there was 264 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,320 rebellion that broke out. 265 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:13,320 And Satan proposed his rebellion based upon destroying agency, and I believe that included 266 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,000 destroying accountability. 267 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:23,240 And without agency, without accountability, there would be no need for a savior and redeemer. 268 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:34,840 At the very heart of this counter, what would be the words, got a counter rebellion is the 269 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,160 best word I can think of to describe it. 270 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:45,080 But this rebellion was, in essence, Satan's attempt to destroy the role of Jesus Christ, 271 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:46,600 the mission of Jesus Christ. 272 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:53,040 I think he had been extremely jealous because he had proposed that he would help carry out 273 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:59,600 the plan of the Father, and then the firstborn, Jesus stepped forward and said, Father, here 274 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:05,560 am I, send me, and Jesus said, or the Father said, I will send the first. 275 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:08,960 And that created, I think, a great jealousy. 276 00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:13,200 The Prophet Joseph Smith talks about that a little bit too, the great jealousy of Satan 277 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:21,360 or Lucifer, and that he sought to be excellent or foremost or the most important. 278 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:27,520 And because he wasn't, his pride took over, and this rebellion breaks out, and there's 279 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:28,520 a war. 280 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:29,800 There's a war. 281 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:38,080 And we all fought in that war, and I think it is so interesting how John the Revelator, 282 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:45,120 in the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, chapter 12, verses 9 through 11, 283 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:47,840 describes the war in heaven. 284 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:54,360 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which 285 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:56,720 deceiveth the whole world. 286 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:02,000 He was cast out into the earth, and his angels cast out with him. 287 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:08,400 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now has come salvation and strength in the 288 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:17,560 kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, 289 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:22,320 which accuse them before our God day and night. 290 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:23,320 Interesting title, Husqa. 291 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:24,320 The Accuser. 292 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:28,040 That's the only place that he's called the accuser in scripture. 293 00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:29,040 I think so. 294 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:30,040 Yeah. 295 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,080 And it's a perfect title for Satan. 296 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:39,080 He not only, he's the accuser of our brethren, meaning, meaning, that he not only accused 297 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:45,760 Christ of probably not being able to do what Christ was commissioned to do, or what he, 298 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:57,280 uh, was willing to do, but he also accused us of our inability to be able to be redeemed, 299 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:03,520 our ability to be saved, our ability to return to our heavenly home, if given agency, or 300 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:09,320 accusing Christ that he wouldn't have the power, or that he wouldn't be sinless, or that he 301 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:14,200 wouldn't be able to suffer what he, I mean, I think of all the things Satan could have, 302 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:19,800 the accusations that could have been made in the premoral existence to convince one 303 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:24,720 third of the host of father's children to follow him. 304 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:32,080 There must have been some real terrible accusations, lies, rumors, and by line upon line and precept 305 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:37,080 upon precepts, Satan had this huge following which caused this war. 306 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:42,520 But what really interests me in this passage in Revelation 12 is the last verse, verse 307 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:43,520 11. 308 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:52,600 And this is at a powerful description, Scott, of who we were, those of us who have a body, 309 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:59,440 all of those who came to this earth, uh, how we were able to defeat Satan there, and I 310 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:08,000 think it gives us a great, uh, kind of insight and clue on how we can defeat Satan here, 311 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,720 knowing our identity. 312 00:26:09,720 --> 00:26:18,800 So listen carefully to this, and they, meaning us, and those who have bodies and came to 313 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:28,360 earth, and they overcame him, the accuser or Satan, by the blood of the lamb, and by 314 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:36,200 the word of their testimony, and they loved up their lives unto the death. 315 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,040 Wow. 316 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:42,480 So what does that say about us, Scott? 317 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:51,760 Well, you know, I think that, uh, maybe most of, if not all of our problems as individuals 318 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:59,440 and as as societies and as cultures, etc., are really messed up because of we don't see 319 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:01,400 ourselves as truly who we are. 320 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:06,840 If I think, David, if we all knew really who we are, and if we all really knew that we 321 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:13,240 had been redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ and understand fully what that means, 322 00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:23,000 there would be so much less contention, there would be so much less adversity and so forth 323 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,040 that we face here, but we don't. 324 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:30,680 We do face it, and because, because we don't have that clear picture yet, but as we gain 325 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:34,960 that clear picture, David, and as we, first off, you know, and you just read it in verse 326 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:41,680 11 there, as we begin to understand what the blood of the Savior has done for us through 327 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:48,240 the atonement, through His atonement, then we begin, I think, to feel not just empowered, 328 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:54,120 but to, to understand that this is really who we have been born to be. 329 00:27:54,120 --> 00:28:00,360 You know, we, the fact that we're here shows what side of the, the, the battle that we 330 00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:01,360 were on. 331 00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:08,160 Yeah, and, and not only, not only will it be through the blood of the Lamb, that we overcome 332 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:13,840 Satan here, but it was through the atonement of Jesus Christ, premortally, that we were 333 00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,040 over, that we overcame Satan there. 334 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:23,120 So you know, when we talk about the infinite atonement, we need to understand it covers 335 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:27,640 us, it covered us premortally. 336 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:34,360 We learned of it there, we learned, we must have, I don't know, watched the video or, 337 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:41,560 or somehow had got the vision or know and what Jesus was willing to do for us there. 338 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:50,240 And we were taught the doctrine and the absolute need that we would have on Christ, that there 339 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:55,560 would be nothing we could merit of ourselves in our redemption and salvation as taught 340 00:28:55,560 --> 00:29:02,000 in the Book of Mormon, but that we would have to rely upon him, that he would be the author 341 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:07,760 and the finisher of our faith and our salvation. 342 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:15,640 And it was through that faith and the power of Christ through his blood, even in the premoral 343 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:20,600 existence that we were able to progress to come here. 344 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:27,160 And then it also says, right, that it's through our testimonies in the premoral existence, 345 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:29,840 we had testimonies. 346 00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:36,200 You know, I occasionally giving patriarchal blessings will, will say, you were born with 347 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,360 a testimony. 348 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,960 And I think that's a little bit of a shock to maybe a teenager who's struggling to get 349 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:47,760 a testimony to think, to hear that, that they were born with testimonies. 350 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:52,200 But I believe that's got, I believe most of us were, and then it goes back to our premoral 351 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:57,760 existence that we knew the truth and we get a glimpse of it here. 352 00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:04,720 And we, you know, the, really the goal here in mortality is not to get a testimony, but 353 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:10,480 to try to recall or remember the testimonies that we had there. 354 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:11,480 Yeah. 355 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:16,840 And I think that's important when, um, now's probably a good time to just say this, you 356 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:21,880 know, for much of my life, um, I was raised in the gospel and, but, but when I became 357 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:26,560 a teenager because of a lot of things that were going on and, you know, I'm not going 358 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:27,720 to get into all of that. 359 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:30,360 And ultimately the onus is on me. 360 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:31,360 It's my choices. 361 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:36,360 But I started making decisions that led me further and further away from the spirit. 362 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:40,560 And as that is, I started making those decisions that led me further and further away from 363 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:47,880 the spirit, so did my view of who I was and how all of this related to me become extremely 364 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:51,760 blurry almost to the point where I couldn't even see through the fog. 365 00:30:51,760 --> 00:30:57,240 But, and I remember grandma, you know, your mom telling me this when it came time for me 366 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:01,440 to give my children blessings when they were first born, you know, when we bless, you know, 367 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,080 kind of as a tradition in the church. 368 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:07,800 And she told me, she says, God, you should bless them with a testimony, bless them to 369 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,320 have a testimony. 370 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:13,760 And I think my dad must have done that for me, you know, when grandma was giving my dad 371 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:18,120 probably advice on what he should say when he gave me a blessing. 372 00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:19,120 I don't know. 373 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,720 I can't remember, obviously, and there's no recording. 374 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:24,440 And I don't even think he would remember if I were to ask him. 375 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:30,760 But I think that those things, that, that remembrance is really our quest, that remembrance 376 00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:32,600 of those experiences. 377 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:39,300 And when I say those experiences, those spiritual identity experiences of who we really are, 378 00:31:39,300 --> 00:31:43,880 that is, can actually affect our lives and change it for the better or the worse. 379 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:48,240 If we don't see ourselves as who we really are, then it can have a detrimental effect 380 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:49,240 as well, David. 381 00:31:49,240 --> 00:31:53,160 Well, and think how it does change how not only you see yourself, but how you see your 382 00:31:53,160 --> 00:32:00,560 children and how you see the individual in the car next to you, or how you see the individual 383 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:08,760 wherever, the stranger, the brother or sister in church, we are all children of God. 384 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:15,800 And we all once knew this amazing plan, and we all fought for it in this war. 385 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:22,800 And the third thing given in that verse in Revelation 12, verse 11, is that we were willing 386 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,920 to go to the wall, so to speak, to paraphrase. 387 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:31,040 We were willing to die for that, Scott, in the premortal existence. 388 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:39,680 We went to war for that testimony and to defend that plan of redemption. 389 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:46,920 Made me just recall, I gave a blessing just a few weeks ago to a young woman and in her 390 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:49,800 patriarchal blessing, and I had seen this. 391 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:59,880 I had got a glimpse of this a few hours before I gave her her blessing that she was an organizer. 392 00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:04,600 She organized, I think something, her blessing said something to the effect she organized, 393 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:11,840 helped to organize the forces of Christ in the premortal existence, and that she would 394 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:18,040 help to organize them here to defeat Satan. 395 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:24,840 And we all had a different role over there in this war, but that we were willing to do 396 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,120 whatever it took. 397 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:36,960 We knew that our love and our lives were all centered in Christ and depended on winning 398 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,120 this war in heaven. 399 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,840 And I think it's interesting how the Bible dictionary teaches it, Scott. 400 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:46,960 I just, I know there's been different things that have been said about the war in heaven. 401 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:53,440 I don't think we have enough details to really know, but this is, I think, so great, the 402 00:33:53,440 --> 00:33:59,040 perspective that the Bible dictionary gives us. 403 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:06,880 I want to just read from, it's under the title, War in Heaven in the Bible dictionary. 404 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:13,920 The war was primarily over how and in what manner the plan of salvation would be administered 405 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,720 to the forthcoming human family upon the earth. 406 00:34:17,720 --> 00:34:25,800 The issues involved, the issues in the war, involved such things as agency, how to gain 407 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:30,800 salvation, and who should be the redeemer. 408 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:34,960 The war broke out because one-third of the spirits refused to accept the appointment 409 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:38,600 of Jesus Christ as the Savior. 410 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:44,600 Such a refusal was a rebellion against the Father's plan of redemption. 411 00:34:44,600 --> 00:34:51,600 There was one plan and it was the Father's plan of redemption. 412 00:34:51,600 --> 00:35:00,480 It was evident that if given agency, persons would fall short of complete salvation. 413 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:06,160 Lucifer and his followers, this is really key, I think here, kind of changes how you 414 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:07,480 see it. 415 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:14,680 Lucifer and his followers wanted salvation to come automatically to all who pass through 416 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:22,800 mortality without regard to individual preference, agency, or voluntary dedication. 417 00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:34,680 Now what that says to me, Scott, is that Satan basically said, there doesn't need to be commandments. 418 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:40,200 I don't think Satan was trying to teach us that there were going to be commandments or 419 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:44,720 ordinances or covenants or that there were going to be laws or that there were going 420 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:50,480 to be a covenant path or way that we had to follow to return to God. 421 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:54,640 I think Satan, which would have been really appealing, I think, because I don't think 422 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,960 any of us would have loved to have been forced into this. 423 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:04,800 I just don't think, as sons or daughters of God, that force is or coercion, and I know 424 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:09,120 those words have been used in the past, but I don't think force and coercion is something 425 00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:13,640 that would really appeal to most spirits, and I don't think that Satan probably used 426 00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:16,680 those words in the premortal existence. 427 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:23,440 I think what he said is, hey, I'll save you no matter what you do. 428 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:29,040 You don't have to rely on me or anyone or anything else. 429 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:32,120 Anything you do, it won't matter. 430 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,300 I will save you. 431 00:36:34,300 --> 00:36:35,720 Anything goes. 432 00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:37,160 You can go down and party. 433 00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:38,160 You can do this. 434 00:36:38,160 --> 00:36:39,160 You can do that. 435 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,000 And I'll save you. 436 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:42,200 And then the catch. 437 00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:46,760 And I will get all the glory. 438 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:47,760 That's what Satan wanted. 439 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:54,440 He ultimately wanted all the glory to overthrow God and to overthrow Jesus Christ, and I don't 440 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:58,000 know if he believed he could really do it or not, and I don't think that was his point, 441 00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:59,000 actually. 442 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:05,640 I think his point was to just destroy, and I think that's still his objective, is to 443 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:12,720 destroy and create chaos and make everyone miserable, as the Doctrine and Covenants section 444 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:19,160 3 and section 10 teaches, that he wants misery and chaos and destruction. 445 00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,400 Was even what he was proposing possible? 446 00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:22,520 I don't think it was. 447 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:23,520 I don't either. 448 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:24,520 I just don't. 449 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:25,520 Elton MacConkey said no. 450 00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:26,520 Right. 451 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:29,600 It was not philosophically even possible. 452 00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:30,600 But that's what he proposed. 453 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:32,280 And think how appealing that would be. 454 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:35,840 And Scott, what do we see in the world today? 455 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:36,840 Yeah. 456 00:37:36,840 --> 00:37:40,680 I mean, the war is alive and well. 457 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:41,680 It's being reenacted. 458 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:42,680 Yeah. 459 00:37:42,680 --> 00:37:44,680 And it may have even escalated. 460 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:50,280 I mean, in fact, I know it's escalated because here as the war continues, David, we have 461 00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:55,440 the ability to carry out so much more because of our mortal status, because we actually 462 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:59,240 have a body to carry out all of those things. 463 00:37:59,240 --> 00:38:06,320 And not only that, but the adversary can also use that as a tool against us because it's 464 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:10,400 not easy for us to always remember what took place there. 465 00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,480 In fact, I don't remember anything about what took place there. 466 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:19,680 I get spiritual probably inklings or reminders or tender mercies that come from my Heavenly 467 00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:20,680 Father. 468 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:25,000 If I have a spiritual connection that's in good harmony with Him, I'll get some of those 469 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,000 reminders. 470 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:31,480 But that's why it was so important that I received that blessing if I did to always have that 471 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:37,280 testimony because those things, even though it gets cloudy, even though it gets blurry, 472 00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:43,560 those things help me to still try to remember what took place there and to not believe the 473 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:44,560 lie. 474 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:45,560 I believe me. 475 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,280 Those kinds of lies are really tempting. 476 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:49,560 Those kinds of lies of, hey, it's easy. 477 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:54,160 Hey, you can get this for nothing or that for little. 478 00:38:54,160 --> 00:38:55,280 We hear them here. 479 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:56,280 We hear them. 480 00:38:56,280 --> 00:39:01,400 And I'm not going to get into all of the areas that raises all kinds of controversy when 481 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:02,400 we do. 482 00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:09,240 We hear the areas where we hear this stuff, but it's continuing and it's becoming perfected. 483 00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:12,280 And what's the word? 484 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:16,520 Sophisticated beyond our mortal comprehension. 485 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:18,040 Well, it's so prevalent. 486 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:19,040 Yeah. 487 00:39:19,040 --> 00:39:20,040 It's so prevalent. 488 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:26,760 And the war really basically, Scott, here in mortality that we, I think, are ultimately 489 00:39:26,760 --> 00:39:37,120 engaged in is this false philosophical belief that everything is relative, that do your 490 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:39,800 own thing and you'll be saved. 491 00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:42,200 That truth is relative. 492 00:39:42,200 --> 00:39:51,320 The law of relativity is what's killing so many of our brothers and sisters here on the 493 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:59,320 earth, this great philosophical lie of being, everything's relative. 494 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:02,480 And I know that goes back to the war in heaven. 495 00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:09,160 And that was probably the great lie that was promulgated there was that it doesn't matter. 496 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:11,520 Everything, just go do your thing. 497 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:14,440 Live your own truth. 498 00:40:14,440 --> 00:40:16,320 You don't need ordinances and covenants. 499 00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:18,120 What are we hearing here? 500 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:21,280 We don't need ordinances and covenants. 501 00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:27,760 We both have somebody that we love who believes that even though they've left the church, that 502 00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:32,520 no loving God would not allow my family to be together forever. 503 00:40:32,520 --> 00:40:33,520 Right? 504 00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:38,040 That's just believing the law of relativity that it doesn't matter what I do. 505 00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:39,760 It doesn't matter what I believe. 506 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:46,360 It doesn't matter how I live, that God is love and that God, but see, here we go again. 507 00:40:46,360 --> 00:40:53,040 They don't understand the character of God, that God is not only a God of love, that he 508 00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:59,400 is a God of laws, that he is a God of order. 509 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:06,160 And Satan tried to destroy all of that truth and perspective in the premoral existence. 510 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:12,920 And he's doing a pretty darn good job of teaching it and persuading people to believe it here. 511 00:41:12,920 --> 00:41:14,600 Yeah, that's exactly right. 512 00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:19,120 We see a lot of folks, and you know as many as I do, maybe more because of your exposure 513 00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:23,960 to it, but we see a lot of folks that are just making a decision not to come anymore, 514 00:41:23,960 --> 00:41:27,200 not to participate, not to be a part of. 515 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:34,960 And those little subtle lies that are leading our loved ones and heaven forbid if we ever 516 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:38,880 were to enter into that ourselves in any form. 517 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:46,120 I mean, I'm not worried about the grand scheme, but even the little tiny things where we believe 518 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:47,120 truth is relative. 519 00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:52,840 You know, it's been so important that Elder Uchtdorf gave a talk recently, you know, 520 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:57,680 maybe within the last year about truth and how it's not relative. 521 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:02,960 And then President Nelson gave a talk recently in this last conference on what is truth. 522 00:42:02,960 --> 00:42:05,440 Yeah, yeah, yeah, he touched on that. 523 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:08,120 And Elder Christopher has talked about it as well. 524 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:09,120 Yeah. 525 00:42:09,120 --> 00:42:15,880 The prophets and apostles are all warning us and exposing the great lie of Satan, which 526 00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:19,040 is that everyone's going to be saved. 527 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:20,320 I'm going to save everybody. 528 00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:26,600 There's when you when you really get down to the heart of that philosophy, Scott, of 529 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:31,680 relativity, that all truth is relative and that all of us are going to be saved and the 530 00:42:31,680 --> 00:42:35,240 love of God is anyway. 531 00:42:35,240 --> 00:42:40,840 It all comes down to one thing, which is to destroy our agency, because if you take away 532 00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:45,120 accountability, you destroy agency. 533 00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:51,480 If you take away accountability, then we didn't need an atonement of Jesus Christ and we lose 534 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:52,480 our agency. 535 00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:57,000 So think about these, these three words that begin with a and I know that someone gave 536 00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:04,480 a great talk and I love the title, you know, called agency, accountability and atonement. 537 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:09,640 And all three of those are inextricably related. 538 00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:16,640 And if you take away one of those agents, accountability, then you destroy agency. 539 00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:20,520 If you take away agency, then there's no accountability. 540 00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:25,680 If you take away a tone of Jesus Christ, then there's no hope for any of us as far as our 541 00:43:25,680 --> 00:43:31,040 agency and accountability because of the way the plan of redemption has been laid out for 542 00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:32,040 us. 543 00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:40,200 And I just, I just think it's really important that we understand what the issues were in 544 00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:47,480 the premoral existence and what the war was over and that we are right in the middle of 545 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:51,600 that war still today. 546 00:43:51,600 --> 00:43:53,800 That's not a surprise, Heavenly Father. 547 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:54,800 It's not. 548 00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:56,360 He gave us prophets, seers and revelators. 549 00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:57,360 He gave us scriptures. 550 00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:04,200 He's exposed the law through their teachings, but it is, uh, what's the word? 551 00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:05,520 It's more than comforting. 552 00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:07,600 It's more than easy. 553 00:44:07,600 --> 00:44:15,560 It's, um, it's just so appealing to so many to think that it doesn't matter what I do. 554 00:44:15,560 --> 00:44:23,520 I can do anything I want or anything that I please and I know God will save me. 555 00:44:23,520 --> 00:44:24,520 Yeah. 556 00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:26,640 As long as I'm a good person, as long as I'm trying. 557 00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:27,640 Yeah. 558 00:44:27,640 --> 00:44:31,040 As long as I'm treating everybody nice as long, and I hear that. 559 00:44:31,040 --> 00:44:32,640 Uh, yeah, I've heard that recently. 560 00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:37,360 I had a conversation just recently and, you know, this isn't with somebody. 561 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:41,960 I often talk about a lot of the conversations and stuff that I have with people in recovery, 562 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:48,160 but, you know, I'm having these, these conversations with people and I won't get into the issue 563 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:54,040 because it's not important, but the concept is, and the concept is this, the issue that 564 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:58,320 we were talking about is an important issue and it is, and it is a truth. 565 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:00,200 It either is or it isn't. 566 00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:06,320 And if, and knowing that truth is important and if it's not true, then that's also important. 567 00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:12,520 But this person said, well, to me, and as soon as somebody says to me, you know, in quotation 568 00:45:12,520 --> 00:45:20,520 marks, the words to me, then I'll, I'll automatically just know that we have a misalignment here 569 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:24,200 because when somebody says to me, that's not true. 570 00:45:24,200 --> 00:45:26,520 Well, you don't get to decide. 571 00:45:26,520 --> 00:45:29,200 At least there's a good chance it's not true. 572 00:45:29,200 --> 00:45:30,200 Okay. 573 00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:34,520 Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes they may be lucky and they, they got it right. 574 00:45:34,520 --> 00:45:35,520 Maybe. 575 00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:36,560 But here's the thing about that. 576 00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:38,760 We don't get to decide what's true. 577 00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:43,600 I mean, what that's the thing about the point, the point, the thing with that model, David, 578 00:45:43,600 --> 00:45:50,320 is if I, if I just love God, and that's easy to say, because how do we measure that? 579 00:45:50,320 --> 00:45:55,000 You know, you and I know, I mean, I have a method by which I measure my devotion and 580 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:56,000 my love to God. 581 00:45:56,000 --> 00:45:57,080 You do too. 582 00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:59,880 And so do others, disciples of Jesus Christ. 583 00:45:59,880 --> 00:46:00,880 It's called discipline. 584 00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:03,560 That's where the word disciple comes from, et cetera. 585 00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:06,920 But for those of us who choose not to, those of our brothers and sisters and friends and 586 00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:13,160 relatives, et cetera, who choose not to do that, you know, they, they will say that it's 587 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:14,160 relative. 588 00:46:14,160 --> 00:46:20,280 Well, it can't be, you know, that the truth and relativity, they're, they're, they're 589 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:23,000 they're, it's either one or the other. 590 00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:24,000 Right. 591 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:27,120 It's either true or it's relative. 592 00:46:27,120 --> 00:46:29,120 Well there is absolute truth. 593 00:46:29,120 --> 00:46:30,120 Yeah. 594 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:31,120 And that's what we're talking about. 595 00:46:31,120 --> 00:46:32,120 And that's the character of God. 596 00:46:32,120 --> 00:46:33,120 And that's exactly. 597 00:46:33,120 --> 00:46:34,120 That's why I'm. 598 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:37,800 If there was not absolute truth, there wouldn't be a God. 599 00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:40,360 And we wouldn't need a God. 600 00:46:40,360 --> 00:46:43,320 He is a God of absolutes. 601 00:46:43,320 --> 00:46:46,400 And that's the realm within, I'm speaking right now. 602 00:46:46,400 --> 00:46:54,000 It's just about that relationship and the character of God understanding him is so important 603 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:57,760 and it is not relative to our own experience. 604 00:46:57,760 --> 00:47:04,160 It's relative to his experience and it's our job to learn what that is and to align ourselves 605 00:47:04,160 --> 00:47:05,160 with it. 606 00:47:05,160 --> 00:47:06,160 Yeah, absolutely. 607 00:47:06,160 --> 00:47:07,160 Scott. 608 00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:13,080 Uh, and Jesus, you know, Jesus is the way to God. 609 00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:14,080 That is an absolute. 610 00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:24,480 And if people are not receiving the ordinances and covenants and not entering in to a relationship 611 00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:30,880 with Jesus Christ, they can never return to the presence of God. 612 00:47:30,880 --> 00:47:35,720 I mean, I mean, listen to what I'm going back to what this conversation is. 613 00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:41,720 Sweet little conversation in the upper room between Jesus and Philip and give us a reference. 614 00:47:41,720 --> 00:47:46,600 So this is John chapter 14 and John chapter 14. 615 00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:52,720 Jesus says this verse six, Jesus sayeth unto him, and this is actually saying he's talking 616 00:47:52,720 --> 00:47:59,000 to Thomas who Thomas says, how can we know the way? 617 00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:01,480 Thomas asked Jesus the question in the upper room. 618 00:48:01,480 --> 00:48:03,520 How can we know the way? 619 00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:12,680 And Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. 620 00:48:12,680 --> 00:48:24,600 No man cometh unto me, but by, I'm sorry, no man cometh unto the father, but by me. 621 00:48:24,600 --> 00:48:35,160 So Jesus says, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. 622 00:48:35,160 --> 00:48:39,280 I mean, that's the heart of what this war in heaven was about. 623 00:48:39,280 --> 00:48:44,320 And the war that we fight here is about is who is Jesus? 624 00:48:44,320 --> 00:48:46,280 Who's he? 625 00:48:46,280 --> 00:48:49,080 If we know him, we know the father. 626 00:48:49,080 --> 00:48:55,520 And if we know him and know the father, we should know that they are the way, they are 627 00:48:55,520 --> 00:48:58,720 the truth, and they are the life. 628 00:48:58,720 --> 00:49:06,000 And anything that is outside of them, it's not the way, it's not the truth, and it will 629 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:09,400 be dead. 630 00:49:09,400 --> 00:49:10,720 Even if I'm just a good person? 631 00:49:10,720 --> 00:49:19,320 There's no life in just doing good things without having a relationship with Jesus Christ 632 00:49:19,320 --> 00:49:20,720 and God the Father. 633 00:49:20,720 --> 00:49:25,800 I know, I know that, I know there's lots of great people in this world who aren't Christians 634 00:49:25,800 --> 00:49:28,080 and who haven't even heard about Jesus Christ. 635 00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:35,000 I know that, and I know that because of the equity and justice of God, that they'll have 636 00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:39,800 an opportunity, God is just, he's fair, everyone's going to have the opportunity, Scott. 637 00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:42,960 But this is absolute truth. 638 00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:48,880 When Jesus says, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life, and no man cometh unto the 639 00:49:48,880 --> 00:49:54,080 Father, or returned back to their heavenly home, but by me. 640 00:49:54,080 --> 00:49:59,000 And then this is where he says, if he had known me, he should have known my Father. 641 00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:02,160 And Philip says, show us the Father. 642 00:50:02,160 --> 00:50:08,160 And Jesus says unto him, I have been so long time with you, Philip, and yet thou hast not 643 00:50:08,160 --> 00:50:14,000 known me, he that has seen me has seen the Father. 644 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:19,680 Believe us thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me. 645 00:50:19,680 --> 00:50:27,000 So I, I just, this is the, this is the whole key to the plan of redemption, Scott, redemption 646 00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:32,400 through the blood of Christ, which is what got us through the premortal existence and 647 00:50:32,400 --> 00:50:39,320 the war in heaven, which is the absolute key to getting us through mortality, returning 648 00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:48,680 back to our heavenly home, and progressing throughout our post mortal existence, is our 649 00:50:48,680 --> 00:50:58,480 understanding, our knowledge, and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and knowing him, 650 00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:06,560 knowing the Father, and when we know that, we can then begin to comprehend ourselves. 651 00:51:06,560 --> 00:51:17,440 And when we know who we are, we will have power to become like they are. 652 00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:21,320 This is so important to what we're talking about. 653 00:51:21,320 --> 00:51:28,760 And this is something I believe that is difficult for a lot of people right now, David. 654 00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:38,520 You know, so the question that we may address for just a minute then would be, okay, I believe 655 00:51:38,520 --> 00:51:43,960 you and I've read and studied and learned all these things in my youth and throughout 656 00:51:43,960 --> 00:51:48,400 my life or whatever the case may be for the individuals that are listening to us. 657 00:51:48,400 --> 00:51:54,120 But some of us may be struggling with our eternal identity. 658 00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:55,420 What can we do? 659 00:51:55,420 --> 00:51:59,680 There's got to be some things that we can do that you and I can talk about that we can 660 00:51:59,680 --> 00:52:05,840 do that will help us remember who we are because there really is no other way. 661 00:52:05,840 --> 00:52:07,520 There really is no other way. 662 00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:11,800 If we desire joy, which we all do, it's a human, it's innate. 663 00:52:11,800 --> 00:52:18,200 If we desire joy, if we desire love, if we desire all of the things that are heaven 664 00:52:18,200 --> 00:52:24,160 sent or gifts to us, but we've forgotten, you know, that can create a problem. 665 00:52:24,160 --> 00:52:26,040 Yeah, yeah, for sure. 666 00:52:26,040 --> 00:52:29,200 I was there, you know, right? 667 00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:35,720 It's it can, it can be such a power to not only know the character of God, but to also 668 00:52:35,720 --> 00:52:42,520 know our relationship with God, the relationship we had with him in the premortal existence 669 00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:49,080 before we were born and our purpose in this life and obtaining a relationship with him 670 00:52:49,080 --> 00:52:50,080 here. 671 00:52:50,080 --> 00:53:02,840 So as a patriarch, the amazing blessing and gift words can't really describe it to be 672 00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:17,960 able to see, get a glimpse of the premortal existence of some of Heavenly Father's children 673 00:53:17,960 --> 00:53:29,520 than to see them there and to see him and the love that he has for his children there. 674 00:53:29,520 --> 00:53:36,720 And the great relationship that we enjoyed with him there. 675 00:53:36,720 --> 00:53:41,080 You know, I've been able to, I've never seen myself in the premortal existence, Scott, 676 00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:46,480 my patriarchal blessing, my personal blessing that I got when I was 18 years old and say 677 00:53:46,480 --> 00:53:51,600 or 19 years old, I think I got in April right before I left on my mission in June. 678 00:53:51,600 --> 00:53:53,800 So I just turned 19. 679 00:53:53,800 --> 00:54:02,000 Anyway, I don't, I've never seen that my patriarchal blessing doesn't talk about it, but I have 680 00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:10,000 as a patriarch received a glimpse from time to time of individuals in the premortal existence 681 00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:20,920 and and it's not only affected me, I know, but I know it's really affected those individuals 682 00:54:20,920 --> 00:54:27,240 who have received that blessing and we probably don't have time to share that here. 683 00:54:27,240 --> 00:54:35,240 So I think that maybe next time I'll share that experience a little bit of that about 684 00:54:35,240 --> 00:54:44,440 that and and maybe we can talk about next time about what we can do here in mortality 685 00:54:44,440 --> 00:54:53,560 to get a glimpse, a personal glimpse of what we were like or who we were in the premortal 686 00:54:53,560 --> 00:55:02,360 existence and that we are that we are engaged in the in the war and that we have a purpose 687 00:55:02,360 --> 00:55:10,040 to fulfill and a role to fulfill in carrying out the plan of redemption in this life into 688 00:55:10,040 --> 00:55:11,120 the next. 689 00:55:11,120 --> 00:55:18,080 And I think if we could just really get a glimpse of that, Scott, it it does it not only changes 690 00:55:18,080 --> 00:55:21,120 how we see ourselves, of course, it changes. 691 00:55:21,120 --> 00:55:22,200 It changes who we are. 692 00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:23,360 It changes. 693 00:55:23,360 --> 00:55:27,160 It changes not only how I see myself, but how I see the world. 694 00:55:27,160 --> 00:55:29,080 It changes what I do. 695 00:55:29,080 --> 00:55:32,880 It changes how I think changes how I walk. 696 00:55:32,880 --> 00:55:34,560 It changes how I talk. 697 00:55:34,560 --> 00:55:42,960 I mean, if you can really just get a glimpse of who you are and remember it, wow, changes 698 00:55:42,960 --> 00:55:43,960 everything. 699 00:55:43,960 --> 00:55:44,960 Yeah. 700 00:55:44,960 --> 00:55:50,800 When I first got sober and I had left, you know, kind of a wake behind me of disruption, 701 00:55:50,800 --> 00:55:53,800 disruption, disruption and problems. 702 00:55:53,800 --> 00:56:00,040 I had also left behind with me my devotion, not my testimony, but my devotion to these 703 00:56:00,040 --> 00:56:01,040 things that we're talking about. 704 00:56:01,040 --> 00:56:04,120 And as I did that, I forgot who I was. 705 00:56:04,120 --> 00:56:05,120 I really did. 706 00:56:05,120 --> 00:56:06,120 I forgot who I was. 707 00:56:06,120 --> 00:56:10,320 And, and you know, and spiritual amnesia at big time. 708 00:56:10,320 --> 00:56:15,200 And I think next week too, we talk about that as well, because, you know, I think this isn't 709 00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:19,400 just unique to Scott, but I think this is and it's not just unique to those that are 710 00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:22,640 struggling with sin or alcoholism or drug addiction or whatever. 711 00:56:22,640 --> 00:56:29,160 I think that oftentimes anybody in the mortal existence will struggle with that eternal 712 00:56:29,160 --> 00:56:30,360 identity. 713 00:56:30,360 --> 00:56:36,160 And so we should talk about several things, maybe a handful of things that we can do or 714 00:56:36,160 --> 00:56:42,360 incorporate as, you know, habits or as who we are, who we become. 715 00:56:42,360 --> 00:56:46,600 If we can maybe talk about some of those things next week too, to kind of help our remembering 716 00:56:46,600 --> 00:56:50,480 to help that, because that's going to be super important as we move into the Atonement of 717 00:56:50,480 --> 00:56:55,880 the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ or the Jesus Christ power, power as is manifested 718 00:56:55,880 --> 00:56:57,560 to us through the Atonement. 719 00:56:57,560 --> 00:57:04,560 That's going to be important for us to really have a solid idea and concept and belief of 720 00:57:04,560 --> 00:57:06,560 who we really are. 721 00:57:06,560 --> 00:57:08,200 Identity is everything, Scott. 722 00:57:08,200 --> 00:57:12,000 And if, if we can get a glimpse this year as we do come follow me, I mean, this is a 723 00:57:12,000 --> 00:57:15,000 perfect time of the year to be talking about it, right? 724 00:57:15,000 --> 00:57:17,920 We're, we're starting a new course of study in the church. 725 00:57:17,920 --> 00:57:19,560 Come follow me. 726 00:57:19,560 --> 00:57:23,520 As we study it, we should have, we should have a couple of goals in mind. 727 00:57:23,520 --> 00:57:28,880 And one of them should be to come to know Jesus, to know his character, attributes and 728 00:57:28,880 --> 00:57:36,560 perfections and to make the connection that if we know him, we know the father. 729 00:57:36,560 --> 00:57:42,040 And if we know him and we know the father, we know ourselves. 730 00:57:42,040 --> 00:57:44,640 We know ourselves. 731 00:57:44,640 --> 00:57:46,240 I know me. 732 00:57:46,240 --> 00:57:50,720 I know something about my spiritual DNA. 733 00:57:50,720 --> 00:58:00,400 Something about my eternal identity and destiny and who not only, not only who I was, not 734 00:58:00,400 --> 00:58:04,680 only who I am, but who I want to be. 735 00:58:04,680 --> 00:58:08,720 Identity is everything and it determines our eternity. 736 00:58:08,720 --> 00:58:09,720 So important. 737 00:58:09,720 --> 00:58:16,200 Well, as we begin this new season, you can see that we do have a lot to talk about, but 738 00:58:16,200 --> 00:58:21,480 there's so much of this, this is so important to each of us in our, not just our eternal 739 00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:22,480 life. 740 00:58:22,480 --> 00:58:25,200 So, you know, we mentioned this earlier, but these things that we talked about Heavenly 741 00:58:25,200 --> 00:58:31,240 Father has given, given us these things so that we might have joy. 742 00:58:31,240 --> 00:58:33,280 That's why we were created. 743 00:58:33,280 --> 00:58:38,120 Men are that they might have joy and He's given us these things so that we might. 744 00:58:38,120 --> 00:58:42,960 And in order for us to have that, we have to disengage from the war or at least get back 745 00:58:42,960 --> 00:58:46,680 on the other side because we're all affected by the war. 746 00:58:46,680 --> 00:58:49,080 We call it the war in heaven, but it's just. 747 00:58:49,080 --> 00:58:54,160 Well, unfortunately, unfortunately, Scott, we are not going to be able to get out of 748 00:58:54,160 --> 00:58:55,360 that war. 749 00:58:55,360 --> 00:58:58,320 It's going to go on and on. 750 00:58:58,320 --> 00:59:03,680 And we, you know, what I worry about is that we don't see it. 751 00:59:03,680 --> 00:59:04,680 We don't see it. 752 00:59:04,680 --> 00:59:08,240 We don't see that we are in a war and we become disengaged. 753 00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:09,560 That's what I worry about. 754 00:59:09,560 --> 00:59:12,760 You can't become disengaged in this war. 755 00:59:12,760 --> 00:59:13,880 We're in the middle of it. 756 00:59:13,880 --> 00:59:15,480 It's going to be with us. 757 00:59:15,480 --> 00:59:22,680 And you, you got to stand up and make a stand and you got to fight through the blood of 758 00:59:22,680 --> 00:59:28,360 the lamb, through the word of your testimony and under the death. 759 00:59:28,360 --> 00:59:30,840 I mean, really spiritually speaking, right? 760 00:59:30,840 --> 00:59:31,840 Yeah. 761 00:59:31,840 --> 00:59:38,760 That, that, that we have to give our all and give our whole heart and, and be more mindful, 762 00:59:38,760 --> 00:59:49,040 give more attention and stop believing the lie that Satan continues to broadcast throughout 763 00:59:49,040 --> 01:00:00,040 the world and especially media and other ways that all roads lead to heaven, that it doesn't 764 01:00:00,040 --> 01:00:12,920 really matter that anything goes, do your own thing and God who loves you will save you. 765 01:00:12,920 --> 01:00:20,720 I honestly, Scott, it's, it's that, that philosophy is a little bit sickening to me. 766 01:00:20,720 --> 01:00:26,600 And I think it's, I think it actually mocks God and is total evidence that people don't 767 01:00:26,600 --> 01:00:28,760 know God or know Jesus Christ. 768 01:00:28,760 --> 01:00:31,680 I mean, you're going to learn this this year and come follow me. 769 01:00:31,680 --> 01:00:36,520 Jesus Christ meant what he said and he meant what he taught and, and he, and he was pretty 770 01:00:36,520 --> 01:00:38,840 firm about those things. 771 01:00:38,840 --> 01:00:48,080 And I think that, that we have to know in our hearts and minds, God is a God of love 772 01:00:48,080 --> 01:00:58,080 and he is a God of laws and he loves order and there is an order to his kingdom. 773 01:00:58,080 --> 01:01:03,200 He is not only a God of love, he's a God of laws and order. 774 01:01:03,200 --> 01:01:08,040 And that's what it takes for us to be able to really progress and to become like him. 775 01:01:08,040 --> 01:01:14,040 And so I hope as we go through this, this season and this course together that all of 776 01:01:14,040 --> 01:01:16,440 us can strengthen each other as we do. 777 01:01:16,440 --> 01:01:22,720 So hopefully our listeners, if they have any questions, we'll email those to us at 778 01:01:22,720 --> 01:01:28,240 G-Mail.com, you can email any questions or suggestions too as we begin a new season here. 779 01:01:28,240 --> 01:01:34,560 We're open to your thoughts, but he, he redeems us at gmail.com. 780 01:01:34,560 --> 01:01:37,840 He redeems us at gmail.com. 781 01:01:37,840 --> 01:01:43,480 You know, just in closing, if I might just extend an invitation to really contemplate 782 01:01:43,480 --> 01:01:50,520 and consider in our lives where our identity may be lacking, where our true identity, where 783 01:01:50,520 --> 01:01:56,800 we may be seeing ourselves not completely accurate or not in complete harmony with the 784 01:01:56,800 --> 01:01:57,800 Spirit. 785 01:01:57,800 --> 01:02:01,840 And, and you know, and if we pray for it and if we seek the Spirit, the Spirit of the Holy 786 01:02:01,840 --> 01:02:04,880 Ghost will bear witness to us who we are. 787 01:02:04,880 --> 01:02:07,360 And so I would extend that invitation. 788 01:02:07,360 --> 01:02:08,880 I'm going to accept it myself. 789 01:02:08,880 --> 01:02:14,240 I know that, you know, there may be areas in my own little life here that maybe not as 790 01:02:14,240 --> 01:02:18,840 a whole, but there may be little components in my life that may be lacking in this area. 791 01:02:18,840 --> 01:02:23,320 And I, and I think that if we will each just kind of take that into consideration, we might 792 01:02:23,320 --> 01:02:24,920 be better off for having done so. 793 01:02:24,920 --> 01:02:26,920 Hey, thanks for being with us today. 794 01:02:26,920 --> 01:02:28,080 Happy New Year to everybody. 795 01:02:28,080 --> 01:02:30,760 We look forward to being with you again next week. 796 01:02:30,760 --> 01:02:54,240 And until then, take care and we look forward to seeing you then.