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| The Law and the Testimony |
AND there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
(Old Testament | Isaiah 11:1)
THE IRON ROD
INC
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| Hold Tight and Press Forward with Faith, Hope and Charity |
Praying, Scripture Searching, Obeying, Serving, Caring, Fasting, Testifying
and
Enduring to the End
John's Concern
~May 6th 2012
“Over the last several years I have found myself praying less,
studying the scriptures less, and fasting not at all. In years past I have
considered myself a man of prayer, one who prayed often and fervently. Not so
much lately. I feel like I am in a precarious position, in great danger
actually. I am nearing the end of my life as all of us are, but at sixty-seven
years of age I am nearer than many. Does my dwindling in the matters of prayer,
scripture study and fasting mean that I am failing to “endure to the end?” I
would be mortified if I were to lose my exaltation after a lifetime of devotion
and service. Keeping the commandments has never come easily to me. Walking the
straight line has been difficult all these years. It would be a shame to fail
after so many years of effort.
How can I motivate myself to the levels of prayer, scriptures study
and fasting that were once such an integral part of my life, so many years ago?”
GAZELEM ANSWERS: ~June 6th 2012
Brother,
are you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint or a
lukewarm member of the church in LA ODDYSEY which translated means, the Church of Uncertainty
Either
the fire is out or you have no oil in your lamp Old Man. With all due respect, Elder,
I think you should be mortified and fear and tremble as you think you should fear
for you are n grave danger. And the sooner you begin to fear and to tremble the
better for your soul. Be assured that on this day the LORD that loves you will
choose your fears to kindle that fire again in you. For it is written:
I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them;
because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but
they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that
in which I delighted not.
(Old
Testament | Isaiah 66:4)
Now
before the LORD finds out what to do with you, as a brother and fellow servant,
I need to warn you and forewarn you. And I want to use all the tact and love or
care I can as a fellow servant to persuade you to remember again your duty to
God. I will not give you soft answers
though. I will not adulate you and be condescending in the least with you as I normally
would as a friend or next of kin, for I will not speak as a brother or friend
but as a Priest.
In
order to kindle your fire again you need to speedily repent in dust and ashes
Old Man or you will be trimmed or cut off. You already confessed that you are failing to
do your prayers faithfully and so forth. That is a good start. Now finish up
the process of repentance, for failure to pray with faith is a reprehensible
offense before God that needs to be cleared before the Bishop or the common Judge
in Israel
Therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into
temptation;
(Doctrine
and Covenants | Section 20:33)
And visit the house of each member, and exhort them to pray vocally and in
secret and attend to all family duties.
(Doctrine
and Covenants | Section 20:47)
And a commandment I give unto them—that he that observeth not his prayers
before the Lord in the season thereof, let him be had in remembrance before the
judge of my people.
(Doctrine
and Covenants | Section 68:33)
I
thought before today that there were only two ways latter day saints can fall
away, which are, as noted in D&C 93, Disobedience to the commandments and
adherence to incorrect traditionalism. I think that you need to set your own
house in order as the Lord even counseled his finest in that particular section.
But now that I think about it, there is also a third and also a fourth way to
fall away from grace.
Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed
man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before
God. And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through
disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their
fathers. But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.
(Doctrine
and Covenants | Section 93:38 - 40)
The
third way to fall away is by ceasing to grow up or as you said it, or failure or
ceasing to persevere in good works. And persevering to the end is often the
hardest trial of our faith. And if we are not careful, sooner or later the oil
from our lamp sis going to be spent and the fire thereof will be put out by any
wind. And the fourth and hardest way to fall away is to break and then to
forsake the oath of the priesthood altogether, which forsaking altogether I
very much doubt it is your case. That will not only strip you away from your
exaltation, but will condemn you without forgiveness like the sons of the High
Priest Eli, Ophni and Phineas.
Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the
LORD.
(Old Testament | 1 Samuel 2:12)
And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the
priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath
and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved. But
whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth
therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to
come.
(Doctrine
and Covenants | Section 84:39 - 41)
Nevertheless,
I personally do not judge you or anyone for that matter, but the scriptures do.
By the moment I finished reading your concern, the words of Ezekiel in Chapter 33
came speedily to my mind which testifies of your flavorless and/or lukewarm spiritual state and which say:
Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The
righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his
transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby
in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be
able to live for his righteousness in
the day that he sinneth.
When I shall say to the righteous, that
he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit
iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity
that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from
his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
If the wicked restore the
pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without
committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins
that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful
and right; he shall surely live.
Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but
as for them, their way is not equal.
When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity,
he shall even die thereby. But if the
wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he
shall live thereby. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel
(Old
Testament | Ezekiel 33:12 - 20)
Now,
the LORD only corrects or disciplines those whom he loves. And I have no doubt
in my heart that you need to repent as if you were to be taken away tomorrow.
And I think I can help you kindle that fire if you allow me. The instructions
are in the holy Scriptures. If you have read the scriptures, you may have
skipped the nasty ones or the ones where the LORD calls his people,
transgressors from the womb, treacherous, unfaithful, miserable, naked, poor
and blind and so forth. When I read
them, they are not speaking about you, but about me. And when you read them, if
you do, they are not speaking about me or your neighbor but about you. Now, if
they touch a nerve and move you to deeper repentance, then you are in the right
path, if not, then you are as stone cold as marble under the sea. That means
that you need great help. Please apply all scriptures to you for they exist to
correct us when we backslide such as these:
HEARKEN and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of
Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of
baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of
Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.
Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay
themselves upon the God of Israel
Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye not declare them? And that I have showed thee new things from
this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them. They are created
now, and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them
not they were declared unto thee, lest thou shouldst say—Behold I knew them.
Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine
ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and
wast called a transgressor from the womb.
(Book
of Mormon | 1 Nephi 20:1 - 8)
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things
saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of
God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert
cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I
will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased
with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be
rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine
eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit
with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father
in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches.
(New
Testament | Revelation 3:14 - 22)
I
hope I have not only put a little oil in your spiritual lamp, but that I have
caused enough sparks to cause you kindle a fire in your heart. And if not,
there is more where that came from. I am
prepared by the LORD do this all day long. For:
I
AM is only doing what I AM would like others to do for him. A good gardener
trims his precious trees and/or prepares the terrain for his olives to bring up
the proper fruit. Unfortunately, as the
prophets and the scriptures make manifest, the ax is already laid at the base
of every three. And every tree that does not bring forth fruit meet for
repentance will he hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence no traveler
ever returns.
And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God
is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe
is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose
shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly
purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire.
(New Testament | Matthew 3:9 -
12)
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree
therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the
fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and
saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none;
and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be
baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them,
Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise
demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do?
And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your
wages.
(New Testament | Luke 3:9 - 14)
What
the LORD say unto one he says unto all.
These
things I say humbly for your benefit and for the honor and glory of God. And I
do it as one having authority in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Attentively,
from an unworthy servant it he hands of Christ
THE
IRON ROD
Scribe
Miguel Ángel Tinoco
ROD-TREE-JESSE
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