B of M: God's Indwelling Relationship Podcast by Mike Stroud (Transcribed by Carol Crisp)

Transcription

1 B of M: God's Indwelling Relationship Podcast by Mike Stroud (Transcribed by Carol Crisp) I appreciate your sacrifice to be in class this morning. You could be so many other places instead of here. I'm going to call today's lesson: The Indwelling Principle of the Godhead. That's the best name I can think of to call this. The lesson is a little complicated, but it helps us understand some doctrines. Once we understand the doctrine, then it can happen to us. If we don't understand the doctrine, then it can't happen. This thing called "indwelling", the "in" is the part we want to concentrate on, and then "dwelling" means to live inside, or to be inside. We're talking about the Godhead, which is the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. So, there's something about these scriptures that I want to talk about, that shows us how the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost can be in us. How can they be inside us? That's what we want to talk about today. If I'm able to teach this the way I would like to, you'll read the scriptures differently. You'll understand them differently. Let's look at the true doctrine of the Godhead. It's found in D&C 130: This is the true doctrine of the Godhead. There is false doctrine of the Godhead, but we want to look at what the true doctrine is. 22 The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. That's a great truth there about Heavenly Father. Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bones, and the word tangible means that I can touch his body, I can feel it. So, if Heavenly Father were to walk in here today, and shake my hand, or hug me--give me an embrace, I would feel his body. That's what tangible means. The Son also has a body of flesh and bones, as tangible as man's. But, the third member of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost, is a spirit man, he doesn't have a tangible body of flesh and bones. Notice also, it says the Holy Ghost can be 'in us'. If it were not so, he could not dwell in us. You see that? So, when you have a physical body of flesh and bones, it makes it impossible for you to dwell inside another person. So, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ cannot live inside of each other's bodies. They can't do it. They are 2 separate and distinct persons. And, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ cannot dwell in us, either. That is a law that makes it impossible for them to indwell/dwell inside us. But the Holy Ghost can. Why? Because he's a spirit. A spirit person can go inside of our body--good spirits and evil spirits. Evil spirits can also dwell inside us, because their spirits. The early apostles at Jesus' time, knew this doctrine. This is the same doctrine in the N.T. that we have in the D&C. If you were to ask Peter, James or John--any of the apostles, and say, "What does God look like?", they would say, "He has a body of flesh and bones, as tangible as man's." "What does a resurrected Christ look like?" "He has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's." "What does the H.G. look like?" "He's a spirit." They knew that. But, something happened. Let's go to John 10:30. Let's look at something here. I and my Father are one. See that? You've heard that scripture before, haven't you? So, Jesus says, "I and my Father are one." What does this mean? They are one in purpose. They are one in will--the Father's will is the same as the Son's will. They are one in unity. Is that correct? They are united in everything. They are one in mind. So that's right and true. We have no problem with this. As LDS, do we believe the Father and Son are one? Yes we do. As a matter of fact, Jesus said, "If you are not one, you are not mine." So, we must become one in purpose, in will, in unity and in mind. That's a commandment. Now, let's go over and look at John 10:38: But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. Now we have an interesting thing here. Now it doesn't say they are 'one', now it says, the Father is in me, and I in him. Is that what it says? How are we to understand this? What does this mean? That's a good question, isn't it? That's what my lesson is about today. I want to help us understand what this means. At the time of the apostles, there was true doctrine and false doctrine, about John 10:38. We want to know what the true doctrine is. After the apostles were all killed, after we go into the 'great apostasy', and there is no more apostles, no more mortal men with priesthood keys, there are no men to answer doctrinal questions, people start to stray away from the truth. This is a little history now. When we get to 325 A.D., and that's 200 years after the last apostle is murdered, we have an emperor by the name of Constantine. He was the Roman Emperor. He was a pagan. He did not believe in Christ, but he converts and becomes a Christian. Now he wants the whole Roman Empire to become Christians. So, in 325 A.D., they meet together in what was called the Council at Nicaea. That is in present day France, I believe. They met together and they read this scripture right here in John 10:38, and they say, "What does it mean? How can God be in Christ, and Christ be in God, and how can both of them be in us?" So, what they did was to 'take away God's body'. They formed a false doctrine and called them the "Holy Trinity". This is a false doctrine. This one up here (D&C 130:22) is the true doctrine. This one developed by Constantine in 325 A.D. is the false doctrine, about this scripture in John. What does the doctrine of the trinity say? Every Christian in the world, except LDS, believe this doctrine. If you were Catholic before you became LDS, this was your doctrine on the Godhead. Where did it come from? Right here in John. Two hundred years after the last apostle is killed, men get together, uninspired, and form the doctrine called "The Holy Trinity". Tell me what the Holy Trinity is. Three persons in one! Right? Three persons are now 1. So, you ask the Catholic Father, "How do I understand this? I can't understand 3 people in one." And, you know what the Catholic Father will tell you? Here's the word that he will use: "incomprehensible"! Incomprehensible means that you can't understand it. They say, "It's a mystery. The Holy Trinity is a mystery. It's incomprehensible, and don't try to understand it, because it's impossible to understand." One billion Christians accept this false doctrine, concerning the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The

2 only Christians in the whole world who don't believe the 'Holy Trinity' are the LDS. They all believe this doctrine that came from the Roman Empire through Constantine in 325 A.D at a council in Nicea. That event now becomes the 'Christian' belief of the Trinity. Student: questions... Mike: The last apostle died about 69 A.D. The Doctrine of Christ becomes changed. At that time, the true doctrine regarding Father, Son and Holy Ghost became changed and now is false doctrine. There are no apostles on the earth with Priesthood power at this time, to declare correct doctrine. So, by the time you get down to 325 A.D., which is over 200 years beyond when the last apostle died, the church is deep into apostasy and has lost many of the truths that the original apostles understood and taught. For example, when Joseph Smith goes into that sacred grove in the spring of 1820, and when that 14 year old boy kneels down, he says, 'I saw a pillar of light that descended gradually and rested upon me. In that light I saw 2 personages standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name. He said, "Joseph, this is my Beloved Son"'. That first vision destroyed that 'Holy Trinity' doctrine. So, all of a sudden, in the very first experience, the thing that changes is the knowledge concerning Father, Son & H.G. We're the only ones that believe that. The interesting thing is that, in John 10:38, it says, "that the Father is in me, and I in him." When we teach that, do we believe that? Do we (LDS) believe John 10:38 the way it reads, this doctrine? It's in the Bible. We just read it. Yes, we do believe it. Do we believe it the way this is taught? No. There is a correct way to understand this, and there's an incorrect way to understand it. When there were no apostles on the earth, and the council talked about this scripture, they had no guidance, they had no priesthood, they had no keys, so they came up with their own idea on what Christ and the Father and the H.G. means, and they came up with the Holy Trinity. How did they do that? First of all, they made God, the Father, a spirit. You ask a 'Christian' what the Father is, and he'll say, 'a spirit'. What is the true doctrine? He has a body of flesh and bones. (1) Why did they make God a spirit? The original apostles knew he had a body. Why did they change it in the 'Holy Trinity'? Hold that question. (2) Ask these people what Christ looks like. They will say, "He's a spirit". Let's go to Luke 24: This is Jesus, after his resurrection. He appears to his 11 apostles. They're all in a room together, and Jesus walks through the door, without opening it. Resurrected beings can walk through walls and doors! They don't have to open the door. 36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. (They were frightened) 38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. So, according to Luke, what did Christ look like after his resurrection? He's got a body of flesh and bones. He even told them to come and feel him. So, they came up one by one, and they touched him and they hugged him and he embraced them, and he even had dinner with them. But, today, if you ask a Christian what Christ is like, they will say he's a spirit! So, I show them Luke 24 and say, wait a minute, the Bible says he has a body. The priest will say, "He had a body, but when he went to the Father, he left his body on earth". That's what they say. I ask them WHY he would leave his body on earth? Then they say that "It's incomprehensible, we don't know." Then I take them to another scripture in Acts and I say, "So, you're saying he left his body on the earth when he went to his father?" "Yes". "And, he's a spirit now?" "Yes." "Well, what about this scripture: (Jesus is going up, he's a resurrected body, he's going up and he disappears into a cloud. The apostles are all standing there watching him and, all of a sudden, two angels come down. You can read about this in Acts 1.) The angels say, in vs. 11, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. So, how was he taken up? With a body. So, when he comes back, what's he going to have? A body. So, why would he leave his body on earth? It's false doctrine. So, why did the Nicean council make God and Jesus spirits? Why did they take away their bodies? Here's why. Because a body can't go into a body. So, in order for the Father and the Son to go into each other, like John 10:38 says, they have to make them spirits. So, they took their bodies away! Now that they're spirits, Jesus can be 'in the Father' and 'the Father can be in Jesus'... because they're spirits! Spirits can do that. That's where this all comes from. You see what happened in the apostasy? Can you see, brethren, how much knowledge we have, and what a blessing it is to be LDS? Out of 1 billion Christians, we're the only people on earth that understand the true nature of the Godhead. What a blessing it is, to be a member of this church. Let me take this a step further. That's how the 'Holy Trinity' came to pass. Now let's go to John 17:3. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Let's look at that scripture for a minute, and I'll show you how important it is to have a correct knowledge of the Godhead. Eternal life: D&C 14:7 says, "And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." So, John says, this is eternal life, or in other words, to have eternal life means that you have to know God the Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ. Look how smart Satan is, how cunning and devious he is. Through the doctrine of 'the trinity', and that one scripture 'I am in the Father and the Father is in me', he has robbed the opportunity of eternal life away from 1 billion Christians, just by changing that one doctrine, the 'holy trinity'. What it does, is that it takes away the knowledge of the Father, Son and the H.G. And, if you don't know, then, and have a correct knowledge, you can't have eternal life. So, eternal life is removed from all of God's children because of this false concept of the Godhead. That's why the very first doctrinal principle taught to Joseph Smith was this, that he saw 2 personages, and they spoke to him. That was: 2 people, with physical bodies, separate and distinct, talked to him. The first principle taught

3 was the true nature of the Godhead. It started us on the road to eternal life. This word right here goes in stair steps. To know Christ and to know God are stair steps. You have to have knowledge (from the scriptures, the brethren), and up here (??) you 'stand in His presence'. These 2 are 'to know', and this is to 'know about' Christ (using chalkboard), and this one is 'know Him'. There's a difference between knowing about somebody and knowing them. When I first came here, I learned there was a Branch President called Pres. Lorizano. They told me he has a family, a wife, some children, he runs a little cafe up here, etc... and they told me everything about him. But, until I met him, and shook hands, and looked in his face, and we became friends, I didn't know him, I only knew about him. Now, if someone says, "Do you know Brother Lorizano?", I can say, "yes, he's a good friend". It's the same with Christ. You first learn about him, and then, at some future day, it'll be like the brother of Jared, he'll step through the veil, and say, "My son". You'll see him, and he'll embrace you. You'll feel his body of flesh and bones. He's tangible, he'll bless you, and teach you. That's knowing. Unless you know Christ, you can't have eternal life, which is God and Christ's kind of life. You can have immortal life, but you can't have eternal life. Everyone in the telestial, terrestrial and the lower 2 levels of the Celestial Kingdom will have 'immortal' life, meaning that they'll never die, but only in the top degree of the Celestial World will you have immortal life and 'eternal life'. Student: Why is Jesus Christ called 'the Father'? Mike: That's going to tie right into this. Now we're going to talk about the true doctrine: how Christ is in the Father, and the Father is in Christ. We know what the false doctrine is and now we'll talk about the true doctrine. I've spent all this time laying the foundation. The rest of the time today we're going to talk about the true doctrine, which is called the 'indwelling' principle of the Godhead. How does God dwell in us? We're going to go back to John chapter 17 now. I want you to concentrate on the word 'in', as in indwelling. Remember that to dwell means to be inside, to live inside. This is where Jesus, just before he goes to the garden of Gethsemane, the Last Supper is over, the sacrament has been instituted, and now, Jesus is going to go to Gethsemane. Before he goes, he prays with his 11 apostles. The 17th chapter of John is that prayer. It's called the Great Intercessory Prayer. John 17:20, "Neither pray I for these alone, (meaning the 11 apostles) but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;" (That's us. That's everybody into the future. That's not just the 11, but everybody that believes on Christ and his word.) 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they (meaning the 11 and all of us) also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. Did you see that? Not only is Jesus supposed to be in the Father, and the Father in Jesus, but the 11 are supposed to be in them, and all of us are supposed to be in them, and they are supposed to be in us. We all say, "I don't understand. How can that be? That's what we're going to talk about. Go to vs. 22: And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them. I'd like to tell you that the scriptures are filled with this. They are filled with this 'God being in others', and them 'being in God'. Very few LDS have stopped to look at that and to say, "What does this mean, to be in God, and Him in us?" They don't stop to ask that. They just glance over it. So, guess what? We're no better than the Catholics! And the rest of the Christians, because we just jump over it and say, "Incomprehensible." They can't understand it, it's a mystery. Yes it is, if you don't seek the Spirit and revelation to understand it. Let me show you one that's in the B of M like this. It's everywhere, and once you start to see this, every time you read you will now see it, and after today, I hope it will make sense to you. Go to Mosiah 15:1-4. I believe these are the 4 most difficult verses in the B of M to understand. The reason they're difficult to understand is that they are dealing with this very principle that we're talking about: 'indwelling' and how they are one. And, until we break through that, these beautiful doctrines are not going to make sense. 1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should understand that God himself (Meaning Christ) shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people. 2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, (That's easy to understand. I have no problems up to this point. This is simple to understand. Now watch:) and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, (watch!) being the Father and the Son Now, President Lorazano, that is what you just asked. How is Jesus Christ the Father and the Son? Look at the next verse. 3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of God; (We could spend a 1.5 hour lesson on that one. We won't go there today, because that's not what we're doing.) and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son So, President, he wasn't always the Father and Son. Something happened and he became the Father and the Son. Last verse: 4 And they (The Father and the Son) are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth. I'm telling you what. If you don't understand what we're talking today about those verses, they'll always remain closed and hidden. There's no way to understand what Abinidi is teaching there, unless we understand what we're doing here. No way. We still haven't answered the question yet. I'm building up to it. Let's answer it. It is impossible for God the Father to physically be inside Elder Stroud. Yes? Are we okay with that? It's not possible. There are laws that prevent that. It's the same law that prevents Him from being in me, that prevents you from being in me. You can't do it. A person with a physical body can only occupy one place in time and space, at a time. Christ can't do it either. So, when they tell us they are 'in us', and we are 'in them', they are not talking about their physical bodies. They must be talking about something else.

4 That's what we want to find out. What is this their talking about? Because, it is not physically possible for that to happen. There's something in the scriptures in 2 Peter 1:4. It's very important. It's called the 'Divine Nature'. It's only mentioned once in the scriptures. Something as important as this is to understand, this is the only place in all of our scriptures where this is mentioned. 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. So, Peter tells us that we can be partakers of something called "the divine nature". I want you to think 'where' during the week, do you use this word right here. Every week you use this word: 'partake'. Where do you use that word? In the Sacrament. So, what do you do when you partake of the bread? You take the bread out of the tray and do what with it? You put it inside you and you eat it. So the bread goes from the tray, to 'in you'. So, what we're talking about now is, to partake of the 'divine nature' means 'to go inside of you'. There's that key word: 'in' (inside). So, this is a pattern. So, somehow, we have Christ in us, and the Father in him, through something called their 'divine nature'. Divine nature is partaken of and put inside you. You have to partake of it. Somebody has to give it to you. Somebody has to offer it to you. And, as they offer it to you, you partake, eat, and it goes inside. Are you with me? Do you see the pattern of where I'm going here? So, what is 'the divine nature'? The word divine means God. The word nature is 'who we really are'. I'll come back to that in a minute. There's an opposite to 'the divine nature'. The opposite is 'man's nature', and do you know what we call that? What do the scriptures call it? 'The natural man'. We're told to put this off, and become like Christ. How do you do that? By partaking of the divine nature of the Father and the Son. When you partake of the divine nature, where does it go? In you. So, whatever this is, and we're going to define it further, we have the Father and Son 'in us' when this nature goes inside us. It's a little difficult to understand. But, now you know they're not inside you physically, but they are inside you in a very important and powerful way. Let's define the 'divine nature'. Let's put some words up that will help us understand what this is. What is this? It is God's character. I can put 'characteristics' down. It is God's attributes. It is God's virtue. Let's make a list of what some of these are. Here's one: knowledge. Light. Life. Humility. Meekness. Charity. Faith. Hope. Submissive. Patience. We could put 100 more. All of these things define who and what God is. All of these things He possesses in perfection. He has perfect and complete knowledge, light, life, humility, meekness, charity, faith, hope, patience, etc... There is nothing more you can add to any of these characteristics, and more, than what he has already, in fullness, completeness and perfection. All of these things I put up on the board, I can say 'this is the Father and the Son'. That's who they are. Are they one, in physical bodies? No! They are separate persons. But, they possess this nature fully and completely in a perfected, full form. So, if I start describing these things that I've put up here, God's characteristics, attributes, virtue, and list all of these knowledge, faith, hope, charity, on and on... what I'm really doing is, I'm telling you who God is. I've already told you what he looks like. He has a body of flesh and blood, as tangible as man. Now, we've just found out who he is. Now you know 'about' him. What he wants to do, is, take all of this 'divine nature' and he wants to transfer it from them into you. (Goosebumps!) He wants to transfer that in them, to you. He wants to give you his nature, because when you receive his nature, it changes you and you become like him. It is a 'transformation'. That's a perfect word for what happens. How does this work? Let's look at one scripture. One scripture will have different meaning to you now. Let's look at Mosiah 3:19, and we'll look at it with different eyes now, we'll see it differently. 19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, (watch!) and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. Can you see that transformation? Can you see the natural man and his nature being replaced by God, and his nature? It's happened to you. I will tell you, and, we've been working together as brothers and sisters for a year, and I have watched you become transformed. None of us in this room, who are exposed to these doctrines, are the same people we were a year ago. You're different. You are not the same. You are being transformed. The divine nature of the Father and the Son are being transferred into you. When that happens, they are in you, and you are in them. That's the true doctrine. Isn't that beautiful? Now let's look at Moroni 10: Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. Can you see, brethren, that without apostles, without keys of the Priesthood, without revelation through the Holy Ghost, can you see how easy it would be to go from the true doctrine of God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, to slip into the false doctrine of the Holy Trinity? Can you see that? Can you see how that would happen? Can you see that one scripture, that's true, can be misunderstood, and deceive and capture millions of people in the lie? The scripture is true: I am in the Father and the Father is in me. That is true, we don't change that. But, how you understand that makes all the difference in the world. Student: I'm just wondering about the people who misunderstand that, where are they progressing? Mike: They are progressing, yes, but towards what? The Philipinos, who are Roman Catholic, are closer to the truth than

5 are the Buddhists in Mongolia, that are not Christians. So, yes, the Filipino nation is blessed, because of Roman Catholicism. It's been a blessing. It's also a curse. Because, what it does, is, it also captures you, and holds you prisoner and blinds you, so that you think that you have the truth, and there is no more truth. ie. "I'm a Catholic. My parents were Catholic. My grandparents were Catholic. I will live and die a Catholic. Why? Because my parents were that way." etc... It's not a tradition based on truth. It's a tradition based on 'family'. "If I leave the Catholic Church, my family will hate me." "I know this doctrine of Mormonism is true, but I can't leave Catholicism because my family will disown me." "I won't be able to be buried in a Catholic cemetery. I'll have to be buried with murderers and thieves." You, see? In one way, the Catholic Church blesses people with Christianity, and a knowledge of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Even if it's false knowledge, it is some knowledge. If they will harken and humble themselves, they will be led right to the truth. But, many will not come, because of false traditions. To become a true Latter-day Saint requires sacrifice. If there is no sacrifice, you will not have eternal life. The Catholic Church and all other Christian churches do not require much sacrifice. To become LDS is a change of your very nature. It changes you from the inside, out, and takes you and makes you godly. That requires effort. That requires pain, physical and spiritual, and sacrifice, and a love for the Savior, and many will not do it. That's why, in the highest degree of the Celestial World, there will be far fewer there than any of the other places. As you go down, the population increases. As you go up, the numbers decrease, and when you get to the top, where there are kings and queens and priests and priestesses, the number truly is few, compared to everywhere else. They'll still be millions. They'll be millions in the highest degree. But, millions compared to billions is small. So, we can do this. You're on the path. You must not let anything keep you from this path. It's the path of eternal life. Let's go to Moroni 10: This is our last scripture that we'll talk about. Notice that these are the very last verses in the very last chapter of the very last book of the whole Book of Mormon. These are the very last words that Moroni wrote. Let me ask you this. If you were Moroni, and your father is dead. All of the Nephites are extinct. They are all gone. You are the last living Nephite. You've been alone for 35 years. People are hunting your life, and trying to kill you all the time, and God says, "Write a few more words on the plates, seal them up, and bury them." What would be the last words you would write on those plates? What would you say, knowing that billions of people in the latter day would read your final words? What would you say? What would be your message? After all the B of M: Nephi, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, Morman, what would you add to that huge message of the B of M? What would be your final words? Your final words are in these 2 verses. Now watch! The whole message of the B of M, from 1 Nephi 1 to Moroni 10, is in those 2 verses. The whole message is in those 2 verses. What are the first words? Watch: 32 Yea, come unto Christ, (I can tell you that Moroni spent some time thinking about what words he was going to close this book with, and after he had pondered it, the Holy Ghost inspired him, and these are his final words. To who? Nephites? The Nephites are dead and gone. No Nephites will read this. No Nephites, in life, saw these final words. Moroni was the only one left. So, these words are not to them. These words are to US.) and be perfected in him, Notice the 'in' word. What have we been talking about all morning? See, 'be perfected in him'. That's his message. You don't have to read all this, because the rest of these verses are a formula on 'how to do this'. How to do what? Come unto Christ and be perfected in him. The rest of it is all 'how to'. That's a whole lesson in itself. But, what I wanted you to see, brethren, is that the last words of this great prophet, the custodian of the B of M plates, was: Come to Christ and be perfected in him. By him? Like him? No. Be perfected 'in him'. So, we do this. As President Lorezano said, 'have the divine nature transferred into us, so that we become transformed into Christ'. The rest of these verses teach you how to do it. Deny ungodliness, keep his commandments, love God with all your might, mind and strength, and then in vs. 33 he says that after you are perfected in him, then he will sanctify you by the power of the Holy Ghost. The the last words in vs. 33: "that ye become holy, without spot." If you are going to enter in to the presence of Jesus Christ, you must be holy and without spot. I was talking to my daughter yesterday about some of these things, and she said, "Dad, we're not perfect, we can't be perfect. How can you enjoy a visit of Jesus Christ, how can you stand in his presence, if you're not perfect?" And I said, "He doesn't require perfection like you're thinking about. He requires you to be clean. And, when you're perfected in him, it simply means that his nature has come into you, and you are clean. You're holy, without spot. Are you perfect like Jesus Christ? No. Are you perfect in him? Yes, because his perfect nature is now in you. And, if his perfect nature is in you, you are perfect in him. Perfect like him? No, because he was the only perfect being. But, you can be perfected in him, and be clean and holy, without spot." That's the message of the whole B of M. The whole 530 pgs., a 1000 year history of the book is, "Come unto Christ and be perfected in him." There is no other message. I testify to you of these things, that they are true. I see it happening in you. Do you see it happening in you? Sometimes we can't see it in ourselves, but I see it happening to you, and I feel it happening to me. This, 'being perfected in him, and being sanctified in him, just being in the Philippines has helped Sis. Stroud and I to do this, more than any other time in our lives. This mission has helped us become more perfected in Christ, more sanctified, like our Savior, and, become more holy and without spot. We've learned how to do that, just in a year, and I've seen it happening to you, also. I testify to you that this is the true doctrine of the Father and the Son, and we're the only people on the earth who understand this.