"God's Love For All Mankind" : First Presidency Statement

STATEMENT OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY OF

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

REGARDING 

GOD'S LOVE FOR ALL MANKIND

February 15,1978

Based upon ancient and modern revelation. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gladly teaches and declares the Christian doctrine that all men and women are brothers and sisters, not only by blood relationship from common mortal progenitors but as literal spirit children of an Eternal Father.

The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God's light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.

The Hebrew prophets prepared the way for the coming of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, who should provide salvation for all mankind who believe in the gospel.

Consistent with these truths, we believe that God has given and will give to all peoples sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation, either in this life or in the life to come.

We also declare that the gospel of Jesus Christ, restored to His Church in our day, provides the only way to a mortal life of happiness and a fulness of joy forever. For those who have not received this gospel, the opportunity will come to them in the life hereafter if not in this life.

Our message therefore is one of special love and concern for the eternal welfare of all men and women, regardless of religious belief, race, or nationality, knowing that we are truly brothers and sisters because we are sons and daughters of the same Eternal Father.

[RHS note: on the FAIR site it is clear that the following 3 sentences were part of an article by the editors of FAIR and were NOT a part of the statement of the First Presidency. 


The Book of Mormon also makes this clear:

For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it (2 Nephi 29:12).

The Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have (Alma 29:8).]

RHS note: I downloaded this text here.  

I have a written copy in my possession (thanks to Jim Dosdall) which quotes all of the above, except for the final three lines about the Book of Mormon teaching.

Elder James E Faust Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles quoted this portion of the statement in a General Conference talk in April, 1980: 

'However, we claim that God’s inspiration is not limited to the members of this church. The First Presidency has stated:

“The great religious leaders of the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God’s light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals. …

“We believe that God has given and will give to all peoples sufficient knowledge to help them on their way to eternal salvation” (Statement of the First Presidency regarding God’s Love for All Mankind, 15 Feb. 1978).'

 [Ensign,  MAY 1980 "COMMUNION WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT"; also From the April 1980 General Conference] 

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf,  then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, quoted this portion of the statement in an address entitled "Truth Restored" given at the BYU Campus Education Week on August 22, 2006.

'The First Presidency has clearly stated: “The great religious leaders of

the world such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as

philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of

God’s light. Moral truths were given to them by God to enlighten whole

nations and to bring a higher level of understanding to individuals.” '

Muslim Beliefs about Jesus

As requested.  Image is from this website:
http://www.understandmymuslimpeople.com/read.html.  
I cannot vouch for anything else on the site.

Islamic "Beauty and Belief" at BYU

A reminder to go and see the marvelous exhibit of Islamic art the BYU Art Museum.

Go to this link for an introduction to the exhibit by the designer, Dr Sabiha Al Khemir.

The exhibit, which opened in February and will close in September, is free and open to the general public.

Old Testament Temple interpreted

Links to Floorplan of the Temple Posts

Students in the Ensign Stake class who want HANDOUTS of the illustrations of the floorplan of the temple should go to my post of March 15, 2011.

The illustrations of the linear representation of the Plan of Salvation chiasm are found in the March 18, 2011 post.

Ezekiel 16 : Birth of a Nation

Eze 16:4-5  And [as for] thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple [thee]; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

                None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

In class we talked about the tragic fact that throughout history thousands and thousands (if not millions) of unwanted babies, especially girls, have been deliberately left to die in "an open field."  I gave the example of Oedipus, from Greek theater.

This is an interview with one of these baby girls: one who survived.

"10 Questions"; page 68.  Time Magazine, February 20, 2012

(This is a photograph of Fawzia Koofi, a member of the Afghan Parliment (taken by Mikhail Galustov / Michel Lafon Publishing).

As a newborn, you were left outside to die. When you survived, your mother took you in. Did you talk to her about that?

I always had sympathy for her, because as a woman in Afghanistan, she didn't want to deliver a girl. She knew girls did not receive enough care and love from the father and the family. She told me she thought the way to give me another life was for me to die. But I think after that day she understood that I have the determination to face the problems of this world.

In your new book, The Favored Daughter, you say your father spoke to you only once — to tell you to go away. Why did you admire him?

I admire my father for being a hardworking, passionate, very tough parliamentarian fighting for his people's rights. As a husband, as a father, he didn't accomplish his responsibilities very well. Would I accept him if he hadn't been killed when I was 4? I'm not sure.

How many attempts have been made on your life?

Two major attempts. One was a fight between my soldiers and Taliban. The second was an attempt to assassinate me in my campaign office. But almost every two months I get a letter from our security department warning me of death threats.

You also get marriage proposals. Which do you get more of?

There's a balance between the two, but I think people lose hope after trying to convince me to marry and then become my opponents. So I need to be careful about rejecting them.

Are you going to run for President?

If I'm alive in three years. In Afghanistan, you never know.  

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2106494,00.html#ixzz1pFTWyuo3

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

What Commandments were on the Tablets?

Painting by Rembrandt

The King James Bible (KJV), translated from the Hebrew of the Masoretic text (MT), says that the writing on the second set of stone tablets was the SAME as God had written on the first set of tablets, which Moses broke.  


 Exodus 34: 1, "And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon [these] tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.


Joseph Smith added new information when he did the Inspired Translation (JST) of the Bible, both in Exodus and in Deuteronomy.  The JST changes are in italics.
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JST Exodus 34:1–2

 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them.

 2 But I will give unto them the law as at the first, but it shall be after the law of a carnal commandment; for I have sworn in my wrath, that they shall not enter into my presence, into my rest, in the days of their pilgrimage. Therefore do as I have commanded thee, and be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me, in the top of the mount. 

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JST Deuteronomy 10:1-4 At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. 

2.  And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, save the words of the everlasting covenant of the holy priesthood, and thou shalt put them in the ark. 

3. And I made an ark [of] shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. 

4. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto 

John A. Tvedtnes has written an excellent article about this called "The Higher and Lesser Laws"; it is available at the Neal A Maxwell Institute Website (aka FARMS).