Ability to Change

Linda K Burton: Wanted: Hands & Hearts to Hasten the Work

God is Anxiously Waiting to Answer Your Prayers

Those With Us Are More than Those Against Us

Which is Your View on Life?

Easter Message from First Presidency

Jesus Christ by Carl Bloch

       Jesus Christ was the promised Redeemer of the world, the Savior of mankind, the Son of the living God. He was with His Father before He came to earth in mortality, the Creator of the earth upon which we stand.
       In His mortal ministry He walked the dusty roads of Palestine, healed the sick, raised the dead, taught His gospel, gave His life on Calvary’s hill, and rose on the third day, a perfected, resurrected being, breaking the bands of death for us all, thus becoming “the firstfruits of them that slept.”
       The Savior paid the price for all of our sins. The prophet Isaiah saw the gift beyond the price of the Atonement of Jesus Christ:
       “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
       “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5).
       We testify that Jesus Christ was resurrected and that He lives today as our Savior and Redeemer.
The First Presidency
President Thomas S. Monson
President Henry B. Eyring
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Inspiring short Video - what is that you desire most?

Where We Learn to Love Him

The Church is not a place

where perfect people gather
to say perfect things, or
have perfect thoughts, or
have perfect feelings.

The Church is a place

where imperfect people gather
to provide
encouragement,
support, and
service
to each other…

We are here with the same purpose:

to learn to love Him
with all our
heart,
soul,
mind, and
strength, and
to love our neighbor as ourselves.   

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Failing Conference

This is from Middle-Aged Mormon Man blog 13 April 2014. He makes some realistic points on how we judge ourselves after our leaders teach us.

     General Conference is a wonderful time of learning, joy and re-charging our spiritual batteries.

     Or not.
     Not everyone has such glowing reviews of their Conference experience – some come away with a very different feel. I was reminded of this last week in a Facebook discussion about Conference. One friend wrote:

“FAIL. As much as I love Conference and look forward to it, it reminds me of my report cards in school.

1. Gratitude for all things even in bad times (FAIL)

2. Prayers are answered.(sometimes FAIL…) Seems like I have plenty of “smallish” prayers answered, but the BIG ONES I got nadda.

3. It is the load that makes us strong (FAIL)  I just get all pissy if things get too hard.

4. LOVE….yay pass pass pass. I PASSED at something.”

            Instead of feeling uplifted, feelings of discouragement and failure rush in.

            And it isn’t just General Conference. Many of us emerge from our regular Church meetings feeling like failures. A talk in Sacrament might point out our shortcomings, a lesson in Relief Society might focus on things we are not doing right. A quorum lesson might spend the entire time shining a spotlight on that one weakness we struggle with most.

            It happens. We then turn off the TV, or leave the meeting with our heads held. Instead of feeling hopeful and enlightened, we leave with heavy hearts and frustration. Failures.

            Here is the problem with that response: General Conference is not an exam. Meetings are not tests. There are no grades attached.

            The people speaking to us are not our judges or proctors. In reality, they are more like tutors instructing us to be prepared for the exam, or even a friend passing a cheat sheet under the desk to help us pass the test. They are there to help.

            While there is an opportunity for self-evaluation, to which we might come up a bit short, there is no permanent mark on our eternal “Report Card.”

            There are occasional “mid-terms” we take in our Church experience. They come in the form of private interviews, usually for Temple Recommends. Those “tests” are administered by those who have been given the task of standing as “Judges in Israel.”  Those mid-terms are very real, and the results do count, but they are only temporary results. They are not Final Exams, and we can still improve or decline. That is why we have to repeat the process every two years.

            There is no final grade until it is Final. And it is not Final until we are safely dead.

            So why do we occasionally feel like failures after being tutored? Is it self-inflicted? Or Spirit- inflicted? And yes, there is a difference.

            When our feelings of failure are self-inflicted, we are focusing on what we are doing wrong and feeling embarrassed, guilty or inadequate – usually followed by discouragement or a desire to throw in the towel.  (Satan LOVES to rub our noses in this.)

            “Lucifer will do all in his power to keep you captive. You are familiar with his strategy. He whispers: ”           …You can’t change; you have tried before and failed.” “It’s too late; you’ve gone too far.” Don’t let him discourage you.” (Richard G. Scott)

            When our feelings of failure are Spirit-inflicted, they usually come in the form of promptings, guilt or enlightenment. It propels us foreword with purpose and joy. “I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.” (D&C 11:13)

            That does not preclude the chance that we might first get a little smack upside the head – spiritually speaking- but that’s OK, when it leads to repentance: “Guilt is to our spirit what pain is to our body—a warning of danger and a protection from additional damage.” (David A. Bednar)

            The failure is not in our repeated failings. The failure is when we stop trying, and stop repenting.

            Even then, as long as we aren’t dead, we can try and turn it around before the Final Exam. (aka, the Final Judgment.)

            The Final Judgment will be less of a checklist of grades for each of our subjects in life, but more of an evaluation of what we have become here on earth.

            One of the best expressions of this idea comes from Elder Dallin Oaks when he said,

            “From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.” (Link)

            It isn’t a checklist.

            If we viewed General Conference last week with a “checklist mentality,” a “Spiritual Scorecard” of sorts, and walked away feeling discouraged, then we are simply looking at it wrong.

            When the Lord’s servants teach us, they are giving us training, and ideas, as the Spirit offers insights and inspiration that will help us succeed on or Final Exam.         Why? They all do it out of love and hope for our success.

            President Monson closed out Conference last week with this simple request:

            “As we ponder the messages we have heard, may we resolve to do a little better than we have done in the past.” (Link)

            That’s really not a very high bar, is it? It doesn’t sound to me like he is calling any of us failures. As long as we are on walking around on this earth, the day we fail is the day we label ourselves “Failures” and stop trying.

Because of Him

The Mission / How Great Thou Art - ThePianoGuys (Wonder of The World 2 o...

Be Ready!

Why Mormonism's Claim is So Crazy to People

 

           Mormonism is either one of the biggest frauds in human history or it is the second most important thing to ever happen on this planet. Let me be clear and immediately state that I believe the most important event to ever take place on this earth was the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know the first statement is a bold one, but let me try to explain why its true…

            Mormonism makes a bold claim, which is why they also take a lot of heat from other Christian religions.   They believe that Jesus Christ established His Church when he was on the earth. That Paul wasn’t kidding when he said that there was “One Lord, One Faith, and One Baptism” (Eph 4:5). They believe that before Christ was killed, he bestowed the priesthood upon Peter and the apostles. (Matt 16:19) They were ordained and set apart by Christ himself. (John 15:16) That the apostles held a power that could not be purchased with money, (Acts 8) or acquired at a university. They believe that men should not be paid for their ministry in the gospel which is why they spend countless hours on missions and in various church callings without receiving any monetary gain. (1 Cor 9:18)

            As time went on in the first century, the apostles and the Christians were hunted and scattered by almost every group in the region. Peter was crucified upside down in Rome and Paul was beheaded after his 5th missionary journey. The other apostles met a similar fate with the exception of John the Beloved. Before the apostles died, all they did was travel and write to the various churches (who were all actually one church with different locations) in order to keep them in line. The New Testament is primarily a collection of those letters in which the apostles are trying to govern the church. With them gone and no one to lead the church, men began interpreting the scriptures for themselves and twisting the doctrine. Over time, the churches began to fall away from the truth because the apostles were not there to lead them. By 325 AD, the nature of God and the doctrine of the Christian faith was being voted on by pagans in Rome as a political maneuver rather than a religious one. Formal creeds, and a Catholic, or “Universal” church was formed as the state religion for the most powerful country in the world.

            If you doubt any of it, I have a 45 volume set of Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene writings sitting on my shelf as a reference. (They are not written or edited by Mormon scholars.) The early Christian fathers witnessed the church fall into deep apostasy and they wrote about it. This is the primary reason for all of the great reformers who came on to the scene to “protest” (protestant) what the Catholic church was doing at the time.  No one believed that Christ’s church was found upon the earth, and therefore many sought to reform what they already knew. These were righteous dudes who deserve our respect, but as sincere as they were, they did not have the power to restore the church. They tried their best according to the knowledge they possessed. Many longed for the day when Christ would restore His church and call apostles to lead that Church once again. Roger Williams, the founder of the Baptist church in America, said that “there is no regularly constituted church on earth, nor any person qualified to administer any church ordinances; nor can there be until new apostles are sent by the Great Head of the Church for whose coming I am seeking.” (Picturesque America (1872) by William Cullen Bryant (1794-1878)

            This is where Mormons start getting crazy to people. Mormons believe that a prophet as notable as Moses or Elijah was called in 1820 to “restore” Christ’s church in its fullness on this earth. They claim that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith in North America. They claim that an ancient record called the Book of Mormon was buried in the earth and that it contains a history of some of the ancient inhabitants of North, South, and Central America. They believe that this nation was established and the revolutionary war was fought so that religious freedom could prevail. They believe that this was and is the only nation on the globe that this restoration could have taken place in because of this new found religious freedom that had never occurred in the history of the world. They believe that the priesthood was restored, and that families can be sealed together after death. They believe that there is a prophet and 12 apostles that walk the earth today. I won’t go on but there is plenty more…

            But think about it for a second. If all of this is false, it would rank as one of the greatest deceptions in human history. It would give new meaning to the word hoax. BUT if this restoration did actually happen and it is true, it is the greatest message that could ever be shared second only to the message of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. IF it is true there could be nothing more exciting for the people on this planet to know at this time. It seems like an outrageous claim, but I guarantee that when Noah starting building an ark, his generation thought that was pretty outrageous as well. When a Prophet is on the earth…few ever accept him. Christ made that very clear when He said, “ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would have accepted the prophets” (Matt 23:29-30)

            I am a Mormon for reasons other than logic, but if I was to rely on logic alone… here is my logic on the topic. 

            Catholicism claims that they are the true church and that they perpetuated the priesthood through the generations. Therefore Catholicism claims that all other protestant and Evangelical churches are nothing but apostate off shoots of the Catholic church. So…you must think to yourself, if the Catholic church is right…and they do have the truth and the priesthood authority to lead and administer Christ’s church, then they are technically right about protestant Christianity. Any church that broke off from them or received the Bible through them cannot have the fullness of the gospel. However, if the Catholic church never had the authority and it was lost in the early centuries shortly after the apostles were killed, then none of the reformers could have the complete truth or the authority because…well…where could they have gotten it from?

            The only Church on the planet that could have a solid argument would be one that claims a complete restoration through a prophet that has had direct communication with God. Anything short of that would place someone in the pool of thousands of reformers that are dividing to form new Churches on a daily basis.

            Mormon’s make a claim equal to the almost unfathomable stories you might hear in the Bible.      Prophets, apostles, miracles, additional scripture, temples, and a massive missionary force makes the Mormon church stick out like a sore thumb…and seldom do people like sore thumbs.

            Though it sounds a little crazy… is not a message like this worth a few minutes of consideration? I thought it was. -21 March 2014 posted on Greg Trimble blog

Valentines: God Loves You!

Elder Enzo Writes!

Got a GREAT missionary letter from Elder Enzo yesterday! He's sharing his testimony and meeting amazing (his words) people! God bless you, Elder!

Was that an Answer to My Prayer?

Engagement News

Congratulations to CJ Llera and Morgan Gillespie who became engaged yesterday! So happy you found each other!

Ha?

Who Wrote the Book of Mormon?

Book of Mormon/Wordprint Studies

Question: What are wordprints? What do they have to do with the Book of Mormon?

Answer: As John Hilton put the matter, if wordprinting is a valid technique, then this analysis suggests that it is "statistically indefensible" to claim that Joseph, Oliver, or Solomon Spaulding wrote the 30,000 words in the Book of Mormon attributed to Nephi and Alma.^[1] The Book of Mormon also contains work written by more than one author. Critics who wish to reject Joseph's account of the Book of Mormon's production must therefore identify multiple authors for the text, and then explain how Joseph acquired it and managed to pass it off as his own.

Neal A Maxwell Institute

            Wayne A Larsen and Alvin C Rencher, “Who Wrote the Book of Mormon? An Analysis of Wordprint, Book of Mormon Authorship, (1982): “Our approach is sometimes referred to as the science of stylometry, which can be defined loosely as statistical analysis of style. It is also called computational stylistics. We do not use the word style in the literary sense of subjective impressions characterizing an author's mode of expression. We must deal with countable items which are amenable to statistical analysis. We look then for what is frequent but largely unnoticed, the quick little choices that confront an author in nearly every sentence. Such choices become habits, so the small details flow virtually without conscious effort.”

Detailed Questions and Answers

What is a wordprint?

            Wordprinting, or "stylometry" as it is more commonly known, is the science of measuring literary style. The main assumption underlying stylometry is that an author has aspects of literary style that may be unconsciously used, and can be used to identify their work. Stylometrists analyze literature using statistics, math formulas and artificial intelligence to determine the "style" of an author's writing.

            Because authors may write on a variety of topics, the vocabulary they use may vary considerably. Researchers often attempt to use "non-contextual words" in their analyses to avoid this problem: patterns in the use of these words (e.g. such as: and, if, the, etc.) will be less influenced by a change in subject matter.

            Debate about the value of wordprints persists, though it has been used in some academic settings to identify previously-unknown authors. Readers are cautioned that the results of wordprint analysis of the Book of Mormon are only as reliable as they would be for other written works, and that "the jury is still out" as to whether wordprints can actually do what their advocates hope. The statistical analyses are not generally disputed; the points of contention revolve around the assumptions which undergird the statistics.^[2]

Initial efforts

            The initial Book of Mormon wordprint studies were carried out by Larsen, Rencher, and Layton.^[3] They compared twenty-four Book of Mormon authors (each having at least 1,000 words) to each other, and concluded on the basis of three separate statistical tests that these authors were distinct from each other and Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, Jr., and Solomon Spaulding.

            These efforts were critiqued in Ernest H. Taves, Trouble Enough: Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1984), 225–60. John Hilton characterized Taves' review as "fundamentally flawed," and noted that his effort "therefore did nothing to add to or detract from their work." ^[4]

            An LDS author considered some of Larsen, Rencher, and Layton's work in D. James Croft, "Book of Mormon 'Wordprints' Reexamined," Sunstone no. (Issue #6) (March-April 1981), 15–21. off-site Croft pointed out some flaws in their assumptions, and was cautious about whether wordprint evidence should be accepted or rejected as it then stood.

John Hilton and the Berkeley Group

Methods

            A more sophisticated approach was taken by John Hilton and non-LDS colleagues at Berkeley.^[5] The "Berkeley Group's" method relied on non-contextual word patterns, rather than just individual words. This more conservative method was designed from the ground up, and required works of at least 5,000 words.

            The Berkeley Group first used a variety of control tests with non-disputed authors (e.g. works by Mark Twain, and translated works from German) in an effort to:

·         demonstrate the persistence of wordprints despite an author's effort to write as a different 'character'

·         demonstrate that wordprints were not obliterated by translation (e.g. two different authors rendered by the same translator would still have different wordprints).

            The Berkeley Group's methods have since passed peer review, and were used to identify previously unknown writings written by Thomas Hobbes.^[6]

            The Berkeley Group compared Book of Mormon texts written by Nephi and Alma with themselves, with each other, and with work by Joseph, Oliver, and Solomon Spaulding. Each comparison is assessed based upon the number of "rejections" provided by the model. The greater the number of rejections, the greater the chance that the two texts were not written by the same author. Tests with non-disputed texts showed that two texts by the same author never scored more than 6 rejections; thus, one cannot be certain if scores between 1–6 were written by the same or different authors. Scores of 0 rejections makes it statistically likely the two texts were written by the same author.

            However, seven or more rejections indicates that the texts were written by a different author with a high degree of probability:^[7]

# of Rejections       Certainty of being different authors

       7                                       99.5%

       8                                       99.9%

       9                                       99.99%

     10                                       99.997%

Results

            The results are striking:^[8]

            Recall that any test over 6 indicates different authorship; 1–6 or less is indeterminate; 0 is same author. Each x represents one test.

            Go to this link for charts and endnotes. http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Mormon_wordprint_studies   

Old Testament Trivia Quiz: Heroines

How much do you know about faithful women of Old Testament? Dust off your Bible and test your knowledge by taking this quick trivia quiz.

Questions

 

1. Who ensured Moses’s safety after he’d been put in the river?
a. Moses’s sister, Miriam
b. Daughter of Pharaoh
c. One of Pharaoh’s handmaids
d. Moses’s mother, Jochebed

2. What was Esther’s Hebrew name?
a. Vashti
b. Hadassah
c. Mikhal
d. Hagar

3. What gift did Hannah give her son, Samuel, every year when she saw him at the temple?
a. A blanket
b. A bullock
c. A dove
d. A coat

4. Which woman slew wicked general Sisera, thereby delivering Israel from Canaanite bondage?
a. Jael
b. Dinah
c. Rahab
d. She is not named

5. Who was only known female judge in Israel?
a. Miriam
b. Jezebel
c. Deborah
d. She is not named

6. How did Rahab save her family from destruction at Jericho?
a. She heeded words of scriptures and knew to flee city beforehand
b. She prayed to Lord to be spared and was granted her petition
c. She hid Joshua’s spies from king of Jericho and secured from them a promise of safety
d. She took her family to Israelite temple which was spared from destruction

7. How old was Sarai, Abraham’s wife, when she bore Isaac?
a. 74
b. 86
c. 91
d. 103

8. What did Rebekah do that showed Abraham’s servant she was to be Isaac’s wife?
a. She was only woman at desert well when Abraham’s servant came
b. She offered to draw water for Abraham’s servant’s camels.
c. She took off her sandals before approaching the well
d. She spoke a heartfelt prayer before drawing water

9. Whom does Solomon’s “song of songs” praise?
a. One of Solomon’s wives
b. All covenant women
c. Daughters of Jerusalem
d. A Shulamite woman

10. Who said: “whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God”?
a. Ruth
b. Esther
c. Leah
d. Rachel

Answers

1.A: Before Pharaoh’s daughter drew Moses from river, Miriam looked after his ark of bulrushes, “to wit what would be done to him” (Exodus 2:4). Miriam also ensured that Moses’s mother, Jochebed, would be his wet nurse. 

2.B: To better assimilate into Persian culture, Jewish orphan Hadassah changed her name to Esther when she left her caretaker and uncle, Mordecai, to be presented to king. Later, at some risk, she reveals her true identity as a Jew to save her people from wicked Haman.

3.D: Samuel was Hannah’s only child; after giving him up to temple in exchange for blessing of motherhood, Hannah could visit him only once a year, and each time brought him “a little coat” (1 Samuel 2:19).

4.A: Because Jael slayed Canaanite general Sisera with a tent spike while he slept in her home, Israelite army was able to prevail against evil king Jabin. As Israelites celebrated their victory, Jael is praised as being “blessed above women” (Judges 5:24).

5.C: Apart from her position as a judge in Israel, Deborah is also named righteous prophetess in scriptures (Judges 4:4). Under her guidance, and with help of Jael (see question 4), Israel is victorious against Canaanite armies of Sisera.

6.C: When two spies from Joshua came to Rahab, she recognized that they were sent of the Lord. After hiding them from searchers, she was told to hang scarlet thread in her window so that she and all her house would be spared. 

7.C: Isaac’s miraculous conception, when Sarai was 91 and Abraham 100, fulfilled Lord’s promise to her: “she shall be mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her” (Genesis 17:16).

8.B: As Abraham’s servant approached desert well, he prayed for specific sign: whoever was to marry Isaac should offer to draw water for his camels. This faithful Rebekah did, and after meeting with her family, servant took Rebekah to be Isaac’s wife (Genesis 24). 

9.D: While woman praised in Solomon’s song is never named, in one verse we learn of her origin: she is Shulamite, or one hailing from Shulem (Song of Solomon 6:13). Another famous Shulamite (or Shunammite) in Old Testament in faithful woman who housed Elisha and was promised son for her righteousness (2 Kings 4).

10.A: Despite being Moabitess and stranger in Bethlehem, Ruth remained loyal to her marriage vows and mother-in-law, Naomi. She spoke this phrase, evidencing her virtue and devotion, when she was offered opportunity to leave Naomi and return to her mother and native people (Ruth 1:16). 

--by Kelsey Berteaux LDSLiving.com

2014 Sunday School Course: Old Testament

1. Seeing Eve’s new potential for giving life, Adam names her Eve. In Hebrew, Eve means “to live.”

2. From Abraham 3 and facsimile 3 we learn that while Abram was in Egypt he taught the Egyptians astronomy and the gospel.

3. In Genesis 48:20, Jacob prophesies that all Israel will say blessings, asking to make people like Ephraim and Manasseh. Because of this verse, Jewish fathers still pronounce a blessing upon their sons ever Sabbath saying “may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.”

4. The name manna comes from the Hebrew mah hu, which literally means “what is it?”

5. Many have correctly identified that the Ten Commandments can be divided in a way similar to the two great commandments. The first several are about our relationship with God and loving Him. Beginning with the command to honor our parents, the focus shifts to our relationship with our neighbor, or loving our fellow man.

6. The account of Moses’s face shining has led to an interesting artistic practice. Because the Hebrew word for shining is close to the word for horns, there has historically been both confusion and intentional playing on words when painters and sculptors have made images of Moses. Thus Moses is often depicted with horns—sometimes out of confusion but sometimes in a playful way as a kind of symbolic code for informing viewers that the person depicted is Moses.

7. Naomi’s closest relative who refuses to redeem them is looked upon with such ill favor that the authors will not even mention his name. Instead, they have Boaz use the ancient Hebrew equivalent of “what’s his name” when he says “such a one” (Ruth 4:1).

8. The baptismal fonts in our temples today, placed on the backs of twelve oxen, are modeled on the one that Solomon built when he made his temple.

9. Esther is the only book of the Bible that does not mention the name of God. This is probably intentional as it helps convey one of the main themes of Esther. It is just one device the author uses in order to highlight that while we may not always see the hand of God, nor understand His plans or timing, He is present and directing affairs to work of the good of His people.

10. The almond tree is the first to flower in Israel, so it becomes a symbol of doing things quickly. This is why the Lord uses it as a symbol of how quickly He will make His prophecies come to pass.

Congrats!

Jenny is engaged! We're so HAPPY for both of you!

Elder Enzo & Santa in Dallas!

NJ YSA alumnus Jeff & Malorie sealed in SG Temple!

Mike is engaged! Wishing you 2 happiness forever!

This Christmas: Let HOW You Celebrate Reflect WHAT You Celebrate

Trivia Quiz: Angels in the Standard Works

Questions:

1. How many angels did Daniel say he saw at the judgment seat?
a.    Just two: Michael and Gabriel
b.    12 legions
c.    10,000 angels
d.    100,000,000 angels

 

2. John the Revelator saw seven angels who would do what?
a.   Bring last plagues of wrath of God to the earth
b.   Act as “destroying angels” in the second coming
c.    Fill the four corners of the earth with light and truth
d.   Trumpet the arrival of Jehovah to the earth

 

3. How many times has the word angel been said in general conference since 1851?
a.   1187
b.   5362
c.    7304
d.   11980

           

4. Which of the following is not an angel named in the Bible:
a.      Michael
b.      Gabriel
c.      Abaddon
d.      Raphael
e.      Lucifer

 

5. Which book of scripture contains most occurrences of the word angel?
a.       The Old Testament
b.      The New Testament
c.       The Book of Mormon
d.      Doctrine & Covenants
e.      The Pearl of Great Price

 

6. How many LDS temples do not have an angel Moroni statue?
a.      Three
b.      Five
c.      Eight
d.      All temples have angel Moroni statues

 

7.  What percentage of Americans believes in angels?
a.      12%
b.      33%
c.      52%
d.      77%

 

Answers:

1.       D: 100,000,000 angels. Both Daniel (Daniel 7:10) and John the Revelator (Revelation 5:11) state they saw ten thousand times ten thousand angels, a reference to a countless number.

2.       A: Bring last plagues of wrath of God to the earth. The seven angels mentioned in Revelation 15 are likely a symbolic representation of the end of days more than seven physical beings.

 

3.       C: 7304 times. In the most recent conference (October 2013), the term angel was mentioned by 8 different speakers a total of 10 times.

4.       D: Raphael. Only four angels are named in the Bible: Michael, Gabriel, Abaddon, and Lucifer.

5.       B: The New Testament. With 175 mentions, the New Testament mentions the word angel the most. The Book of Mormon is second with 135 mentions, the Old Testament is third with 108 mentions, Doctrine & Covenants is fourth with 71 mentions, and the Pearl of Great Price is last with 17 mentions.

6.       C: Eight. Only eight of the Church’s 141 temples do not have an angel Moroni statue. They are the Laie Hawaii, Mesa Arizona, Cardston Alberta, Logan Utah, St. George Utah, Manti Utah, Hamilton New Zealand, and Oakland California temples.

7.       D: 77%. This number is up from 54% who believed in angels in 1978. In fact, 55% of Americans today even believe they have been protected by a guardian angel.