WEBVTT

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Welcome to Closer to Christ through General Conference,

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where two friends who love Jesus share our own

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approach to studying the most recent General

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Conference talks. This is Abbey and Amy. Let's

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jump into it. Today we get to discuss Elder David

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A. Bednar's talk called The Times of Restitution

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of All Things. We really appreciate you guys

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for joining us today. In this talk, Elder Bednar

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takes us through a summary of what was needed

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in proper order to bring about the restitution

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of all things or to restore fully the New Testament

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Church of Jesus Christ to this day, which we

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know as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter

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-day Saints. And he outlines the order that these

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events happened in and draws significance to

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the proper order. being a large part of how God

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operated in this. I always think that's amazing.

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They'd be like, if you were just going to fake

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a church, that you would think of this exact

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order of things that would need to be done in

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sequence. Truly. Pretty amazing. Truly. Or it

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could just be true that it's the true church

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and that it came out in the exact right order

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God wanted it to. God is a God of order. I just

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thought that over and over. Yes. On April 6,

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1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day

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Saints was established, marking a significant

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moment in history. A small group of believers

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gathered to celebrate experiencing a profound

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spiritual outpouring during sacrament administration.

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I wonder how long that meeting was. And the conferral

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of the Holy Ghost and priesthood ordinations.

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Joseph Smith, at just 24 years old, was chosen

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by Revelation as the church's leader. recognized

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as a seer, translator, prophet, apostle, and

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elder. The significance of this event and its

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lasting impact is a focal point of reflection.

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As Elder Bednar states, I earnestly pray for

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the help of the Holy Ghost as we consider the

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importance and ongoing impact of this singular

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event in the history of the world. Abby, I love

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that, you know, when you have a talk on your

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mind or on your heart, all of a sudden you start

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hearing it everywhere. You're like, oh, so today

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in sacrament meeting, when a wonderful sister

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of our congregation got up and started talking

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about this, you know, she talked about how just

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the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and was

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stating her. her dying testimony about it, saying

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that a 24 year old was chosen with, with a third

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grade education and what he did in 60 days and

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how many pages, you know, 531 pages, just the

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whole thing. It was just one more time because

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she did it with such, the spirit was so with

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her that again, I just like, you know, kind of

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cried in my heart and was just like, Heavenly

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Father, I am so grateful for all the sacrifices

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of every person that I guess you could say opted

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in to this plan. The heavenly father had to this

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order that he had and all of their efforts. Like

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we get to appreciate that. We get to have that

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in our lives. So. As far as the order goes, the

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first vision. So the first thing that needed

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to happen for the church to be restored on this

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earth is a recognition by man that it needed

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to be restored. This brings us to the first vision.

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And this is what Elder Bednar says. The formal

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organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of

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Latter -day Saints was the culmination of a sequence

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of miraculous experiences. The first of these

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experiences occurred 10 years earlier in upstate

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New York. And I love that he pointed this out.

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Please note that Joseph did not pray merely to

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know what was right. Rather, He prayed to know

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what was right so that he could do what was right.

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Joseph asked in faith and was determined to act

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in accordance with the answers that he received.

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So when we ask with real intent to follow through,

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the Lord answers. I feel like he delights in

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us following through on the knowledge that he

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helps us attain. Otherwise, for what purpose

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are we asking? You know, why are we asking these

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things? We must act on that knowledge that he

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helps us gain. He was always a good question

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asker. That is his MO. That was his gift to man

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that he had this question to ask that he thought

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to go and offer this prayer a lot in the grove.

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And then as we watched the restoration unfold

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and things come about, like today we discussed

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76. And so it was a question based on what happens

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once we die and to get that clarity. you know,

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anybody could have asked that question. And maybe

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a lot of people through history did. It just

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happens that we get these recorded revelations

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because Joseph asked that question. Absolutely.

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I don't think that God only gave that message

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to Joseph. You watch some of his posterity. I

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think the Smiths, I think it was in the Smith

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line to ask good questions. For sure. That's

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why his dad hadn't really participated in any

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particular religion. He wasn't getting the answers

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he was seeking. And even his mom. Yeah. Why was

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she not? Oh, because it was coming later on.

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Remember, she was like ready, but it just wasn't

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there yet. Yeah. In response to his sincere prayer,

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God the Father and his son Jesus Christ appeared

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to Joseph and inaugurated the restitution of

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all things, like it says in Acts 3 .21. as it

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was foretold in the Bible. So there's a pretty

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long list. I really like that he outlines this.

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What did Joseph Smith learn from this first vision?

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We've had this in a lot of, you know, lessons

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at church. We talk about this a lot. These are

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the things that Elder Bednar outlines. He says,

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Following the death of the original apostles,

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Christ's New Testament church was lost from the

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earth, so he learned that. Joseph Smith, he learned

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this, that he would be instrumental in restoring

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once again the doctrine, the authority, and the

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covenants and ordinances of the Savior's ancient

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church. He came to understand that God and Jesus

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Christ knew him as individual, cared about him,

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his eternal salvation, and had a mission for

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him to perform. He also just mentioned that it

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was through this, you know, the first vision,

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as we call it, and also subsequent visits and

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visions that he learned this. Because I mean

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the name First Vision. wasn't what Joseph considered

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it as. I mean, it's years down the road. People

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get like so upset about this, but it's in the

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gospel topics as to, you know, what iteration

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of the vision existed. And he didn't know that

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these parts and pieces, we would just crave this

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knowledge. We wanted to know what was the starting

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point of all of this. It's in looking back that

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he's like, oh, the first. What we call now is

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the first vision is where it all started. Kicking

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off the restitution of all things in this dispensation.

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I totally agree. He learned the vital lessons

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about attributes, character, and perfections

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of the Godhead. And that the Father and the Son

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are separate and distinct beings. Jesus Christ

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is the literal Son of God in spirit and in the

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flesh. And then Elder Bednar testifies that...

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The visitation of the Father and the Son to Joseph

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Smith was the initiating event in the grand restoration

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of all things spoken by the mouth of the holy

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prophets since the world began. That's a big

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deal. It's wonderful. The next point that he

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makes is about the Book of Mormon. The second

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in the sequence of miraculous experiences that

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led to the formal organization of the Savior's

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restored church was the translation and coming

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forth of the Book of Mormon. How did the Book

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of Mormon come to be? Well, Joseph was given

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the gift and power of God to translate an ancient

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record, the Book of Mormon, another testament

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of Jesus Christ. The sacred text includes an

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account of the personal ministry of Jesus Christ

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among people in the Western Hemisphere soon after

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his resurrection. The Book of Mormon teaches

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of life's purpose and explains the doctrine of

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Christ, which is central to that purpose. As

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a companion scripture to the Bible, the Book

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of Mormon testifies that all human beings are

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sons and daughters of a loving Father in heaven

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and that he has a divine plan for our lives.

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and that His Son, Jesus Christ, speaks today

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as well as in days of old. What do we believe

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as far as the correctness of the Book of Mormon?

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Well, that we need to not look further than the

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eighth article of faith. As members of the Savior's

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Restored Church, we believe the Bible to be the

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Word of God as far as it is translated correctly.

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We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the

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Word of God. Which came up in our lesson today.

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I was just going to say, hey, you referenced

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that in our lesson. The Book of Mormon is another

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testament of Jesus Christ, and it confirms the

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truthfulness of the Bible and restores plain

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and precious truths that were lost from the Bible.

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So it's so great. We have them as companions,

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one not trumping the other, but then them working

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well together. And it's amazing how just simple

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words, like that's the reason it came up. We

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were discussing 76 is that as they were translating

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the Bible, you know, questions would come up,

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points of clarity, doctrinal points that we know

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that other churches are fighting about. And so

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that's what I'm saying. Joseph was good at asking

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the questions like, why is that so? Then he gets

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a revelation that. It blows you out of the water

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about those questions of what does life look

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like after. I also wanted to bear my testimony

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here. that it is true. The first vision did begin

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this restitution of all things, but before the

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church could be efficiently organized in that

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small little room with those few saints that

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the Book of Mormon had to be translated. If this

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was just something Joseph cooked up and it's

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Joseph that we worship, why wouldn't he have

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just started the church whenever he felt like

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it? Why? You know? Right. And maybe a book would

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come along later. Maybe. Maybe if, you know,

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a book seemed important, but... For a fact, the

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Book of Mormon is, it does have all of those

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things that I previously mentioned. It does have

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the doctrine of Christ in it and would be pointless

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and very insincere to start his church without

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this book that we know. Right, and having a testimony

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of that to be a member of the church. Not just

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like, oh, well, Joseph, what do you think on

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this? And then he'd be like, well, I think it

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could be such and such. So inauthentic. Yeah.

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I mean, the critics are obviously going to be

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like, well, no, it's definitely made up. I'm

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like that. That's an incredible book to make

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up in 60 days. You are in 60 days. Yeah. You

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should also give him the highest literature prize

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that's available. Maybe they have. Has anybody

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given him prize? I don't know the translation.

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I don't know. Anyway, I just wanted to bear my

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testimony that. If the Book of Mormon hadn't

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rolled forth, I mean, with all of its complications

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and things were stalled and, you know, they were

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being chased by people who apparently didn't

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think that there were gold plates that he was

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translating, but they were sure eager to get

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their hands on them. And, you know, financially,

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it was difficult, but that it was key in rolling

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forth this gospel. So the third is the priesthood

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was restored. This is the third in the sequence

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of miraculous experiences that led to the formal

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organization of the Savior's restored church.

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So as part of the prophesied restoration of all

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things in the latter days, ancient prophets and

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apostles personally conferred priesthood authority

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upon Joseph Smith and then committed priesthood

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keys to him. This was the third, like we said.

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So what is priesthood authority? Priesthood authority

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allows God's servants to represent him and act

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in his name. And then what are priesthood keys?

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Priesthood keys are the authority to direct and

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use, oh, sorry, to direct the use. of the priesthood

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on behalf of God's children? What were the visitations

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from past prophets? And what was the message

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that they brought to Joseph Smith? So under the

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direction of the Father and the Son in 1829,

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the resurrected John the Baptist restored the

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authority to baptize by immersion for the remission

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of sins. Also in 1829, three of the original

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12 apostles, Peter, James, and John, restored

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the apostleship. and additional priesthood authority

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and keys. Abby, can you share what happened six

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years after the organization of the church? This

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is part of it because, yes, it's out of the timeline,

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but it's definitely something that needed to

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happen for the rest of the church to go on. Right.

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Once we had the priesthood restored by the three

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apostles, and then they heeded the Lord's command

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to build a temple, we officially had... the kirtland

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temple and in the kirtland temple moses committed

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the keys of the gathering of israel elias committed

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the dispensation of the gospel of abraham including

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the restoration of the abrahamic covenant and

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elijah committed the keys of the sealing power

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meaning the power to seal on earth what is sealed

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in heaven eternal marriage whereas before marriage

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would be for this life with no promise after

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death imagine what that would feel like to realize

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that like that has changed now Before that, it

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was, I know what it was like, because I, I mean,

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I mean, it's the same thing, like to have a witness,

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like to, to, uh, kneel across the altar from

00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:18.320
your partner and to be sealed from time and all

00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:21.759
eternity. I feel like those emotions are as sincere

00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:24.620
as they would have been. Had I been there, uh,

00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:29.759
29, 33, 1, 2, 3, 3, 35 in 19, 1835. Yeah. Like

00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:31.940
the, there, those keys are as real to me because

00:12:31.940 --> 00:12:34.730
in that moment, it is when I. partake of that

00:12:34.730 --> 00:12:37.889
particular priesthood blessing. Yeah. And I mean,

00:12:37.889 --> 00:12:39.110
there must be something in your heart because

00:12:39.110 --> 00:12:41.570
when I'm thinking of this, I'm thinking this

00:12:41.570 --> 00:12:43.669
is the first time they've heard of that because

00:12:43.669 --> 00:12:46.169
before it was just you, you know, whenever the

00:12:46.169 --> 00:12:48.570
preacher would say it, it would be like for this

00:12:48.570 --> 00:12:51.070
life or for time or to death do you part, whatever

00:12:51.070 --> 00:12:54.190
it is. And just thinking that there was actually

00:12:54.190 --> 00:12:57.570
like a promise of a saving beyond the grave.

00:12:57.710 --> 00:13:00.299
That it was real, right? I love that ceiling.

00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:03.360
Okay, so more order. The Church of Jesus Christ

00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:06.320
is organized. As Joseph Smith translated the

00:13:06.320 --> 00:13:08.299
Book of Mormon, he received revelations indicating

00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:12.000
that the Church of Jesus Christ would be re -established.

00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:14.399
But the Lord instructed Joseph not to organize

00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:16.940
his church immediately. Rather, by the spirit

00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:19.220
of prophecy and revelation, the Lord revealed

00:13:19.220 --> 00:13:22.559
to Joseph the precise day, which we know. April

00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:25.399
6th. That he should proceed to organize his church

00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:27.659
once again upon the earth. But in the meantime,

00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:30.840
you know, like across the seas in England, especially,

00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:34.360
like people are being prepared. All of it. Much

00:13:34.360 --> 00:13:35.940
was happening, right? Like the Lord's hand was

00:13:35.940 --> 00:13:37.820
all, like in all of these little parts. Missionary

00:13:37.820 --> 00:13:39.539
work, like we've been talking about. Absolutely.

00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:42.100
I'm hearing over and over, Abby, that the Lord

00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:45.580
has a plan, an order. and that this process works

00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:48.600
best according to his plan and order. The church

00:13:48.600 --> 00:13:51.539
was organized in proper sequence only after the

00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:53.960
restoration of the priesthood and, like you said

00:13:53.960 --> 00:13:55.779
earlier, the publication of the Book of Mormon.

00:13:55.899 --> 00:13:57.759
Did you know that the first copies of the Book

00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:00.480
of Mormon became available on March 26, 1830,

00:14:00.700 --> 00:14:04.590
which is... just a few days before the church

00:14:04.590 --> 00:14:06.309
just enough time to read it through the night

00:14:06.309 --> 00:14:10.710
right gotta read it yes so again order matters

00:14:10.710 --> 00:14:14.750
and god's process matters um so right here if

00:14:14.750 --> 00:14:17.210
there was a central point to this entire talk

00:14:17.210 --> 00:14:20.889
i think that it would be this the church this

00:14:20.889 --> 00:14:24.250
is the um This is the underlying. Yes, the underlying

00:14:24.250 --> 00:14:26.570
message. And this is a direct quote. The Church

00:14:26.570 --> 00:14:29.409
of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints is Christ's

00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:32.750
New Testament Church restored. This church is

00:14:32.750 --> 00:14:35.750
anchored in the perfect life of its chief cornerstone,

00:14:35.809 --> 00:14:38.490
Jesus Christ, and in his infinite atonement and

00:14:38.490 --> 00:14:41.570
literal resurrection. Jesus Christ has once again

00:14:41.570 --> 00:14:44.090
called apostles and has given them priesthood

00:14:44.090 --> 00:14:46.129
authority. He invites all of us to come unto

00:14:46.129 --> 00:14:48.490
him and to his church, to receive the Holy Ghost,

00:14:48.629 --> 00:14:52.000
the ordinances of salvation, and to gain. enduring

00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:55.659
joy. To sum this up, Jesus Christ is the center

00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:58.159
of the church now, the center of the church in

00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:00.419
his day. His atonement and resurrection came

00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:02.799
at the meridian of time or in the middle of our

00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:06.240
time. His gospel with his ordinances of salvation

00:15:06.240 --> 00:15:09.980
are the source of our joy now and forever. So

00:15:09.980 --> 00:15:12.720
Christ is literally at the center of it all.

00:15:13.210 --> 00:15:15.950
It's the truth. The dispensation of the fullness

00:15:15.950 --> 00:15:18.330
of times, the appearance of the Father and the

00:15:18.330 --> 00:15:20.850
Son to Joseph Smith, the translation and coming

00:15:20.850 --> 00:15:22.610
forth of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration

00:15:22.610 --> 00:15:24.929
of priesthood authority and keys were all necessary

00:15:24.929 --> 00:15:27.409
prerequisites to the organization of the Lord's

00:15:27.409 --> 00:15:31.690
restored church 195 years ago. Wow. So a question

00:15:31.690 --> 00:15:34.269
to ask, of all the gospel dispensations or segments

00:15:34.269 --> 00:15:38.350
of time, why would we call this the last dispensation

00:15:38.350 --> 00:15:42.830
of the fullness of times? And in this greatest

00:15:42.830 --> 00:15:45.730
and last of all gospel dispensations, a whole

00:15:45.730 --> 00:15:48.549
and complete perfect union welding together of

00:15:48.549 --> 00:15:51.350
all other dispensations, all other keys and powers

00:15:51.350 --> 00:15:53.850
and glories should take place and be revealed

00:15:53.850 --> 00:15:55.990
from the days of Adam, even to the present time.

00:15:56.090 --> 00:15:58.629
And not only this, but those things which never

00:15:58.629 --> 00:16:00.529
have been revealed from the foundation of the

00:16:00.529 --> 00:16:03.029
world shall be revealed in this, the dispensation

00:16:03.029 --> 00:16:06.070
of the fullness of times, which the prophet Joseph

00:16:06.070 --> 00:16:09.039
further explained. all the ordinances and duties

00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:11.460
that ever have been required by the priesthood

00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:13.100
under the directions and commandments of the

00:16:13.100 --> 00:16:16.240
almighty in any of the dispensations shall all

00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:18.940
be had in the last dispensation bringing to pass

00:16:18.940 --> 00:16:21.179
the restoration spoken of by the mouth of all

00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:24.340
the holy prophets isn't that amazing Yeah, I

00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:25.500
feel like we're living right in the middle of

00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:28.000
that. Right? Like when I hear the words, you

00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:30.340
know, of the first paragraph that you just shared,

00:16:30.460 --> 00:16:33.340
how it's a welding together of dispensations,

00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:36.820
the keys, powers, glories, all of this. Like

00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:39.200
you look around right now and it's a pretty miserable

00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:43.279
time to live in a lot of ways. And then exactly

00:16:43.279 --> 00:16:46.179
parallel to that is this happening at the exact

00:16:46.179 --> 00:16:49.059
same time, which makes me say, oh my gosh, I'm

00:16:49.059 --> 00:16:51.580
so grateful. The talk that we kept saying again

00:16:51.580 --> 00:16:54.120
and again. There's never been a better time to

00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:55.820
be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of

00:16:55.820 --> 00:16:58.179
Latter -day Saints. For real, right? And we were

00:16:58.179 --> 00:17:01.440
talking before the podcast. Last year was a record

00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:03.259
year. We have never had more baptisms. We've

00:17:03.259 --> 00:17:05.099
never had more people join the Church of Jesus

00:17:05.099 --> 00:17:06.819
Christ of Latter -day Saints than we did last

00:17:06.819 --> 00:17:09.619
year. Which to me, I'm like, I don't think that's

00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:13.160
where it caps. I think 2026, 2025, 2026, they'll

00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:15.500
all strike bigger numbers because people are

00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:17.980
craving in the chaos and the madness. People

00:17:17.980 --> 00:17:21.839
are craving truth. You know, I sure am. Yeah.

00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:24.140
At the same time, you feel like, OK, there's

00:17:24.140 --> 00:17:26.119
good content out there. There's a ton of anti

00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:29.579
content out there. It only seems to be propelling

00:17:29.579 --> 00:17:32.500
God's work because sitting and spending your

00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:34.900
time just bashing somebody else's religion instead

00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:36.680
of standing on your own two feet of your own

00:17:36.680 --> 00:17:39.299
doctrines doesn't seem to be hitting the mark

00:17:39.299 --> 00:17:41.779
for people. We don't sit and say, oh, so -and

00:17:41.779 --> 00:17:44.819
-so is wrong about us. This is really they should

00:17:44.819 --> 00:17:47.789
say this about us. We just we. Put that aside,

00:17:47.970 --> 00:17:49.950
and we just testify of the things that we know

00:17:49.950 --> 00:17:52.369
to be true. Yeah, put the truth out there. Yeah,

00:17:52.410 --> 00:17:55.769
and I need my husband to tell me, who was it

00:17:55.769 --> 00:17:59.390
back in the early days of the church, the Restoration,

00:17:59.549 --> 00:18:01.349
and there was a whole congregation. Was it John

00:18:01.349 --> 00:18:03.630
Taylor? But they were studying, and they were

00:18:03.630 --> 00:18:05.670
like, if Christ's church existed on this earth,

00:18:05.769 --> 00:18:09.849
it would be blah, blah, blah. Who was it? And

00:18:09.849 --> 00:18:13.049
they had this list of prerequisites. If the church

00:18:13.049 --> 00:18:15.069
were to be true, that it would be on this thing.

00:18:15.109 --> 00:18:17.509
And then come to find out, you know, the Church

00:18:17.509 --> 00:18:19.069
of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints has all

00:18:19.069 --> 00:18:20.769
of those points. Like you would say, we would

00:18:20.769 --> 00:18:22.990
need to have baptism by immersion. It would need

00:18:22.990 --> 00:18:25.309
to have apostles and prophets. I know you would

00:18:25.309 --> 00:18:28.670
know this. We've got to find it. It feels like

00:18:28.670 --> 00:18:31.230
either like Wilford Woodruff, like a John Taylor,

00:18:31.369 --> 00:18:32.910
like somebody like that. And it was like this

00:18:32.910 --> 00:18:37.009
entire congregation were ready for it. Probably

00:18:37.009 --> 00:18:39.309
Sidney Rigdon. Let's go with that one, because

00:18:39.309 --> 00:18:40.890
I have been in his church, and he was pretty

00:18:40.890 --> 00:18:43.589
powerful. It could have been Sidney, but I don't

00:18:43.589 --> 00:18:45.309
know. I feel terrible. I should know this better,

00:18:45.369 --> 00:18:48.910
but the story is still true. I can't think of

00:18:48.910 --> 00:18:50.970
the exact person. A missionary, one of the earlies,

00:18:51.049 --> 00:18:53.150
went in, and yes, it was the entire congregation

00:18:53.150 --> 00:18:55.529
that was fully prepared, knew what they were

00:18:55.529 --> 00:18:58.190
looking for, and recognized the truth. Amazing.

00:18:58.630 --> 00:19:01.839
I love it. I've just taken for granted. Like

00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:03.059
I've been born in the church. I'm like, yeah,

00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:05.140
we get baptized today. And this is the prayer

00:19:05.140 --> 00:19:07.039
that we say. Like today, something I was like,

00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:09.799
I was studying my Jesus Christ stuff. And I was

00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:11.640
like, yeah, that's exactly how we baptize. That

00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:13.259
was a New Testament reading. And I was like,

00:19:13.319 --> 00:19:14.680
I love that we say in the name of the Father

00:19:14.680 --> 00:19:16.799
and the Son and the Holy Ghost. I mean, that's

00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:19.200
a simple thing. But what I'm saying is what if

00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:21.640
the church, I didn't know about the church and

00:19:21.640 --> 00:19:23.180
that I was making a list of things that I would

00:19:23.180 --> 00:19:26.309
require in the church that I were to join. I'm

00:19:26.309 --> 00:19:28.130
just glad we have all the things we have. I am

00:19:28.130 --> 00:19:30.109
too, Abby. But I'm also excited. I know that

00:19:30.109 --> 00:19:31.569
there's more to come. We're still restoring.

00:19:31.750 --> 00:19:34.769
It's pretty exciting stuff. Like in my heart,

00:19:34.789 --> 00:19:37.630
I do feel like a joyful anticipation. Do I know

00:19:37.630 --> 00:19:39.730
it's coming? I have no idea, but I have a joyful

00:19:39.730 --> 00:19:41.410
anticipation and I know that's from the Spirit.

00:19:41.609 --> 00:19:45.390
Yeah. Do you have any other things to add? No,

00:19:45.430 --> 00:19:49.230
just my testimony that I think when you're talking

00:19:49.230 --> 00:19:52.259
about the sweet sister that testimony today and

00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:55.099
the little piece about bearing testimony of the

00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:57.019
young boy Joseph and the work that he was able

00:19:57.019 --> 00:19:59.319
to accomplish. I think that was so special for

00:19:59.319 --> 00:20:01.240
all of us because we all sat and reflected on

00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:04.099
the moment that we had a testimony of these things.

00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.900
So these things were restored. These truths,

00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:09.759
they weren't just for the one boy who said that

00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:12.119
first prayer that opened this dispensation. All

00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:14.400
of the things that came forth from him with great

00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:16.400
sacrifice and these early members of the church

00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:21.049
and these. things that have been restored line

00:20:21.049 --> 00:20:24.029
upon line, precept upon precept. They didn't

00:20:24.029 --> 00:20:25.589
come easily. They came with a lot of hard work

00:20:25.589 --> 00:20:29.529
and effort. And it's my privilege to have been

00:20:29.529 --> 00:20:31.910
raised with those truths, to raise my children

00:20:31.910 --> 00:20:34.589
with those truths, and know that I have a part

00:20:34.589 --> 00:20:41.769
in making sure that we appreciate the significance

00:20:41.769 --> 00:20:44.509
of being members of Christ Church on this earth

00:20:44.509 --> 00:20:47.410
at this time. It comes with responsibility. It

00:20:47.410 --> 00:20:50.500
does. That's a great way to put it. Yeah. We

00:20:50.500 --> 00:20:51.940
just need to share this message with everybody

00:20:51.940 --> 00:20:54.880
because it's such a message of peace and joy,

00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:57.400
especially in turbulent times. Absolutely. That

00:20:57.400 --> 00:20:59.720
goes right to your heart. You have to have the

00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:02.960
ears to hear and the eyes to see. Thank you for

00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:05.779
sharing that. I really appreciate it. I am going

00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:09.769
to end. There's an invitation. This is what Elder

00:21:09.769 --> 00:21:13.009
Bednar said. I invite all to learn about and

00:21:13.009 --> 00:21:16.450
prove this message. And then he promises, I promise

00:21:16.450 --> 00:21:18.829
that individuals who prayerfully study the message

00:21:18.829 --> 00:21:22.230
of the restoration and act in faith will be blessed

00:21:22.230 --> 00:21:27.089
through the power of the Holy Ghost to gain their

00:21:27.089 --> 00:21:29.690
own witness of its divinity and of its purpose

00:21:29.690 --> 00:21:31.789
to prepare the world for the promised second

00:21:31.789 --> 00:21:34.029
coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

00:21:34.289 --> 00:21:37.289
And then he promises this. As you pray earnestly

00:21:37.289 --> 00:21:40.150
with the expectation to both receive and act

00:21:40.150 --> 00:21:43.029
upon an answer from God, as did young Joseph

00:21:43.029 --> 00:21:46.490
Smith, your capacity to recognize and to respond

00:21:46.490 --> 00:21:50.230
to that divine witness will be increased. I add

00:21:50.230 --> 00:21:53.329
my witness to that. And again, just a joyful

00:21:53.329 --> 00:21:55.809
anticipation of what these last days are going

00:21:55.809 --> 00:21:59.279
to bring. um i know that the lord will take care

00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:01.839
of us and i know that there are wonderful beautiful

00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:05.420
glor glorious things that are coming and i say

00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:07.619
that in the name of jesus christ amen thanks

00:22:07.619 --> 00:22:08.460
for being with us today