By Alan on Mar 09 in Blog tagged aclu, age, Anti-religion, dismantle, Get NoiZ, Jesus, Lucifer, noisy, self-gratification, Supreme Court, turn the world around | Comments Off

We Are Now In The Age Of Anti-Religion

By: Bill O’Riley

With the shorthand “OMG” (oh, my God) becoming a huge cliche, it might be worth taking a look at how Americans are seeing the Almighty these days — that is if they are looking at all.

A recent Gallup poll indicates that just 31 percent of Americans worship publicly on a weekly basis, while 43 percent rarely go to a church, synagogue or mosque.

Growing up under the heavy hand of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, it was drummed into me that attending weekly Mass was not an option. It was a must to avoid eternal damnation, which was not a prospect filled with many positives. Hellfire was perpetual, and no parole would be offered.

And so I went to Mass and was even an altar boy, memorizing a variety of Latin prayers that basically said Jesus was a good guy and everybody should avoid offending him. Not a bad message, so I really had no beef — unless I was assigned to the 6:30 a.m. service. Was Jesus even up at that hour?

Today, only 24 percent of American Catholics attend weekly Mass, and so Lucifer must be very busy expanding accommodations. There are many reasons for this, but two stand out.

First, Mass is often deadly dull. Sometimes the priest is from Botswana, and you can’t understand him. Other times, you can understand the padre, but 20 minutes on the Corinthians can be challenging, if you know what I mean. It would be great if priests, ministers, rabbis and imams would spice it up a little.

The second reason that churchgoing is in decline is that we are living in a narcissistic time when self-gratification has largely replaced the golden rule of treating others as you want to be treated.

Far be it for the public schools to teach this, but the USA was founded on basic Judeo-Christian principles. Don’t take my word for it. Take a trip to Washington, D.C., and tour the Supreme Court building. There you will see a sculpted copy of the Ten Commandments on the wall.

But why? Moses wasn’t an American. He didn’t cross the Red Sea into Delaware. The reason the commandments are on display is that the Founding Fathers based the American legal system on honesty and on the avoidance of doing harm to others — the basic tenets of the commandments.

But many secular Americans, including the ACLU, would dismantle the Supreme Court display if they could. We are now in the age of anti-religion, where pious folks are looked upon as odd. Religion is a bad thing to the secular-progressive. It’s too judgmental and stands in the way of unfettered abortion, gay marriage and other sacred causes of the S-P movement.

LET’S TURN THE WORLD AROUND!!!

“But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them.”  D&C 6:2

Get NoiZ!!!
For The Family

 

By Alan on Mar 27 in Blog tagged agency of man, before we were born, between the fathers and the children, continue to progress, eternal life, Family History, firstborn, Heavenly Father's Plan, Jesus Christ, Kingdoms of Glory, life after death, Lucifer, mortal life, mortality, Newsletter, of the children, osmond.org, pass that legacy on to our children, plan of happiness, premortal, Premortal life, Son of the Father, The Family, The Plan of Life, The Plan of Salvation, to the fathers, turn the heart, welding link, Where did we come from, wherre do we go after this life, why are we here | Comments Off

…Turn The Heart Of The Children To The Fathers

Where did we come from?

Why are we here?

Where do we go after this life?

Through family history work, we can learn about our ancestors and increase our love for them. We can be inspired by their stories of courage and faith. We can pass that legacy on to our children.  All of the family history endeavors are directed to the need to form a “welding link—between the fathers and the children” (D&C 128: 18).

We are participants in Heavenly Father’s plan, and our eternal experience can be divided into three main parts:

1. Premortal life,

2. Mortal life,

3. Life after death.

   

As we come to understand the plan, we find answers to questions asked by so many: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after this life?

Premortal Life

Before we were born on the earth, we lived in the presence of our Heavenly Father as one of His spirit children. In this premortal existence, we attended a council with Heavenly Father’s other spirit children. At that council, Heavenly Father presented His great plan of happiness (see Abraham 3: 22-26).

In harmony with the plan of happiness, the premortal Jesus Christ, the Firstborn Son of the Father in the spirit, covenanted to be the Savior (see Moses 4: 2; Abr. 3: 27). Those who followed Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were permitted to come to the earth to experience mortality and progress toward eternal life. Lucifer, another spirit son of God, rebelled against the plan and “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4: 3). He became Satan, and he and his followers were cast out of heaven and denied the privileges of receiving a physical body and experiencing mortality (see Moses 4: 4; Abraham 3: 27-28).

Mortal Life

We are now experiencing mortal life. Our spirits are united with our bodies, giving us opportunities to grow and develop in ways that were not possible in premortal life. This part of our existence is a time of learning in which we can prove ourselves, choose to come unto Christ, and prepare to be worthy of eternal life. It is also a time when we can help others find the truth and gain a testimony of the plan of salvation.

Life after Death

When we die, our spirits will enter the spirit world and await the resurrection. At the time of the resurrection, our spirit and body will reunite, and we will be judged and received into a kingdom of glory. The glory we inherit will depend on the depth of our conversion and our obedience to the Lord’s commandments (see Kingdoms of Glory). It will depend on the manner in which we have “received the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76: 51; see also D&C 76: 74, 79, 101).

Blessings through Knowledge of the Plan

A testimony of the plan of salvation can give us hope and purpose as we wrestle with the challenges of life. We can find reassurance in the knowledge that we are children of God and that we lived in His presence before being born on the earth. We can find meaning in our present life, knowing that our actions during mortality influence our eternal destiny. With this knowledge, we can base important decisions on eternal truths rather than on the changing circumstances of life. We can continually improve our relationships with family members, rejoicing in the promise that our families can be eternal. We can find joy in our testimonies of the Atonement and the Lord’s commandments, ordinances, covenants, and doctrines, knowing that “he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59: 23).

For The Family

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By Alan on Aug 14 in Blog tagged Come follow me, darkness, day and night, destruction, forefathers, God bless America, good and evil, Jesu Christ, light and darkkness, Lucifer, new world order, Satan, secret combinations, secret works, the devil, we must become a light shining in darkness, weeping, wickedness | Comments Off

We Need To Be Taking Light To Those In Darkness

If truth is Light, then the absence of light is darkness.

Light is more powerful than darkness.

You cannot take darkness into a lighted room and make it dark.  But, you can take a darkened room and fill it with light.

When God created this world, He created the day and the night; Light and darkness.

“And God ^said, Let there be ^light: and there was light.

And God said, Let there be ^lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for ^signs, and for ^seasons, and for days, and years:

15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.” Gen. 1: 3, 14-15

“For as the light of the morning cometh out of the ^east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” JS-M 1: 26

And God allowed there be no light, or darkness.

“Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it.

Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day.” Gen. 1: 3, 14-15

The darkness is the glory of Satan or Lucifer, the devil.  (No image available because Satan has no body.)

And was called ^Perdition, for the heavens ^wept over him—he was ^Lucifer, a son of the morning.

27 And we beheld, and lo, he is ^fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning!” D&C 76: 26-27

Why must there be day and night; light and darkness;
good and evil?

“For it must needs be, that there is an ^opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

And to bring about his eternal ^purposes in the end of man, after he had ^created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the ^fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the ^{forbidden fruit} in ^opposition to the ^tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. “2 Ne. 2: 11, 15

God also governs by laws.

“The ^glory of God is ^intelligence, or, in other words, ^light and truth.

Light and truth forsake that ^evil one.” D&C 93: 36-37

The Lord speaks through His Prophets.

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“The prophet which ^prophesieth of ^peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the ^prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him.” Jer. 28: 9

“For behold, this is my ^work and my ^glory—to bring to pass the ^immortality and ^{eternal life} of man.” Moses 1: 39

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from ^darkness to ^light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26: 18

“For the ^word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is ^light, and whatsoever is light is  ^Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” D&C 84: 45

“And the ^mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which ^blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into ^broad roads, that they perish and are lost.” 1 Ne. 12: 17

“Which dark and blackening deeds are enough to make hell itself ^shudder, and to stand aghast and pale, and the hands of the very devil to tremble and palsy.” D&C 123: 10

Jesus himself came to the earth.

“Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the ^light with you. Walk while ye have the ^light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in ^darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

36 While ye have light, ^believe in the light, that ye may be the ^children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.” John 12: 35-36

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the ^light of the world: he that followeth me shall not ^walk in ^darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8: 12

“And he beheld Satan; and he had a great ^chain in his hand, and it veiled the whole face of the earth with ^darkness; and he looked up and ^laughed, and his ^angels rejoiced.”

“For God, who ^commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath ^shined in our hearts, to give the ^light of the knowledge of the ^glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor. 4: 6

“And the children of ^men were numerous upon all the face of the land. And in those days ^Satan had great ^dominion among men, and raged in their hearts; and from thenceforth came ^wars and bloodshed; and a man’s hand was against his own brother, in administering death, because of ^{secret works}, seeking for ^power.” Moses 6: 15

“But if we ^walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the ^blood of Jesus Christ his Son ^cleanseth us from all sin.” Jn. 1: 7

“And our spirits must have become ^like unto him, and we become devils, ^angels to a ^devil, to be ^shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of ^lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who ^beguiled our first parents, who ^transformeth himself nigh unto an ^angel of light, and ^stirreth up the children of men unto ^secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.” 2 Ne. 9: 9

“And they were kept up by the ^power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.” Ether 8: 16

“And then shall it come to pass, that the ^spirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good; therefore the spirit of the ^devil did enter into them, and take possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer ^darkness; there shall be ^weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.” Alma 40: 13

Satan, known as Lucifer or the devil, tries to tempt us and is the father of all lies, secret oaths and secret combinations.

“And it came to pass that the wicked part of the people began again to build up the secret oaths and ^combinations of Gadianton.

“And when these things have passed away a speedy ^destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their ^foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and^choose works of ^darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to ^hell.

And there are also secret ^combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the

^devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and ^works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever.” 2 Ne. 26: 10, 22

Our world today is filled with wickedness and darkness.

These secret oaths and secret combinations are among those that lead the various nations of the world today and it is all about money, riches and power.  This was Satan’s problem!

Have we not seen and wondered why certain things have taken place that didn’t seem likely?  Why leaders of nations have secret meetings and go against policies and laws for which they stand?  Why we support nations that want to destroy us and give secret trade secrets to our enemies?

It is most likely that these secret oaths, which have been here since the days of Cain, with under the table negotiations and secret combinations or promises with one another to fulfill secret goals and ambitions like a New World Order.  Satan’ Dream!

May we all realize these things.  May we pray as in times of old for our God above to reveal these lies and wickeness and restore us to peace on earth.  Just as our forefathers prayed, 

“O Lord God ^Almighty, maker of ^heaven, earth, and seas, and of all things that in them are, and who controllest and subjectest the devil, and the dark and benighted dominion of Sheol—stretch forth thy hand; let thine eye pierce; let thy ^pavilion be taken up; let thy ^hiding place no longer be covered; let thine ear be inclined; let thine ^heart be softened, and thy bowels moved with compassion toward us. 
”  D&C 121: 4

We are living in the Last Days upon this earth.  May we pray for light and be found and not be found in darkness, but to come forth seeking those truths of righteousness that light bringeth to all.

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May we listen to these recorded words from our Prophets and  let go  of sins of evil and repent of those works of darkness.  For this purpose, our Lord Jesus Christ came to this world and died for our sins and if we would come unto Him and repent, He will help pay the price for our sins if we but follow Him.

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“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
Luke 9: 23

Alan Osmond
For The Family

By Alan on Mar 15 in Blog tagged attack, deception, destroyer, devious, do evil, evil, fallen from heaven, Father of all lies, glasehood, great deceiver, Lord's enemy, Lucifer, no body, no good, rebelled, rebellious, role, Satan, satan is real, Son of the Morning, temptation | Comments Off

The Lord’s Enemy – Satan, The Great Deceiver!

Latter-day Saints know that there is a God. With like certainty, they know that Satan lives, that he is a powerful personage of spirit, the archenemy of God, of man, and of righteousness.

Abraham’s account of the great pre-earth heavenly council identifies both God and Satan as participators in that council (see Abr. 3).

Marvelous and important is the knowledge revealed in that account—knowledge of things as they were in the distant past, concerning God the Father and His spirit children, and concerning His plans for the creation of this earth. It refers to the gospel plan and identifies Christ and Satan.

Amplifying the truths revealed to Abraham, the Lord said to Moses: “That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor” (Moses 4:1).

Satan’s Role in the Council

Old Testament prophets knew about Satan and his role in the great council. As though speaking directly to him, Isaiah said:

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: …

“… I will be like the most High.

“Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isa. 14:12–15).

In this last dispensation, the Lord has confirmed what He revealed in former dispensations concerning Satan’s role in the great council. In September 1830 He said to the Prophet Joseph: “The devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency” (D&C 29:36).

Rebellion against God

In February 1832 Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon testified that they saw in vision “that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son … was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son,

“And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning” (D&C 76:25–26).

Joseph Smith succinctly summed up the great pre-earth controversy when he said:

“The contention in heaven was—Jesus said there would be certain souls that would not be saved; and the devil said he could save them all, and laid his plans before the grand council, who gave their vote in favor of Jesus Christ. So the devil rose up in rebellion against God, and was cast down, with all who put up their heads for him.” ¹

Satan Thrust Down

When Satan and those who followed him were “thrust down,” they came to the earth.

During the vision given to Moses, the Lord said:

“Because … Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;

“And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice” (Moses 4:3–4).

Satan’s Temptation

Satan was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve before the Fall. Not only so, but he continued to tempt them and their children after they had been driven from the garden. When Adam and Eve received the gospel, they rejoiced in it, “blessed the name of God, and … made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.

“And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish” (Moses 5:12–13).

From then until now Satan has been in the earth. We read in the Book of Job:

“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.

“And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it” (Job 1:6–7).

In his diary for August 11, 1831, the Prophet wrote: “After we had encamped upon the bank of the river, at McIlwaine’s Bend, Brother [W. W.] Phelps, in open vision by daylight, saw the destroyer in his most horrible power, ride upon the face of the waters; others heard the noise, but saw not the vision.” ²

Satan Is Totally Evil

Satan is evil: totally and always. He ever seeks to defeat the gospel plan and “destroy the souls of men” (D&C 10:27).

“He persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him” (Moro. 7:17).

At the Last Supper just prior to His ordeal in Gethsemane, Jesus warned Peter: “Simon, Simon, … Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31).

Satan is irrevocably committed to countering and overcoming the influence of the Spirit of Christ upon men. He is the representative, promoter, and advocate of that “opposition in all things” referred to by Lehi in his instructions to his son Jacob (see 2 Ne. 2:11, 14–18).

Devious Methods

Satan’s methods are various, devious, and countless.

“By every possible means he seeks to darken the minds of men and then offers them falsehood and deception in the guise of truth. Satan is a skillful imitator, and as genuine gospel truth is given the world in ever-increasing abundance, so he spreads the counterfeit coin of false doctrine. … [As] the ‘father of lies’ he has … become, through the ages of practice in his nefarious work,” such an adept “that were it possible he would deceive the very elect.” ³

Frontal Attacks against Truth

At the opening of every dispensation he has made a frontal attack against the advent of truth. As already noted, he deceived the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve in the first gospel dispensation.

At the beginning of the Mosaic dispensation, “Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me” (Moses 1:12).

In the days of Jesus, Satan attacked the Master himself (see Luke 4:1–13).

That Satan was present and contested the opening of this last dispensation we learn from the Prophet’s statement: “I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction” (JS—H 1:15).

Satan’s attack against the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is detailed in the 10th section of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Another evidence of the devil’s effort to thwart the spread of the gospel is Heber C. Kimball’s account of Satan’s attack upon the brethren who took the gospel to England in 1837. ⁴

Reality of Satan

The general acceptance of Satan’s declaration, “I am no devil, for there is none” (2 Ne. 28:22), accounts in large measure for the decadence in our deteriorating society.

We Latter-day Saints need not be, and we must not be, deceived by the sophistries of men concerning the reality of Satan. There is a personal devil, and we had better believe it. He and a countless host of followers, seen and unseen, are exercising a controlling influence upon men and their affairs in our world today.

Nephi’s Warning

An ancient American prophet, envisioning our day and observing what is going on, prophesied that if Satan is not checked, he will bring this generation to destruction. Addressing himself to our present situation, Nephi said:

“The kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;

“For behold, at that day [that’s today] shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

“And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

“And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance” (2 Ne. 28:19–22).

Tempo of Campaign Accelerated

Now I am not calling attention to these things to frighten, stampede, or discourage anyone. I refer to them because I know they are true, and I am persuaded that if we are to “conquer Satan, and … escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work” (D&C 10:5), we must understand and recognize the situation as it is. This is no time for Latter-day Saints to equivocate.

Nor is it a time for us to panic. The difficulties of our times have not come upon us unawares. A hundred and forty years ago the Lord clearly revealed the tenor of our times. We know that as the Second Coming of the Savior approaches, the tempo of Satan’s campaign for the souls of men is being and will continue to be accelerated. We know that the experiences of the intervening years will try men’s souls.

God’s Purposes Roll On

We also know that God lives, that His “eternal purposes … shall roll on” (Morm. 8:22). We know that to qualify us to prevail against Satan and his wicked hosts, we have been given the gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that the Spirit of Christ and the power of His priesthood are ample shields to the power of Satan. We know that there is available to each of us the gift of the Holy Ghost—the power of revelation which embraces the gift of discernment by which we may unerringly detect the devil and the counterfeits he is so successfully foisting upon this gullible generation. Our course is clear and certain. It is to strictly obey the commandments of the Lord as they are recorded in the scriptures and as they are being given by the living prophets.

In conclusion, I bear you my witness to the truth of the things I have been calling to your attention in these remarks.

I know that God lives. Through my own experiences I have come to know of His Spirit and His power. I know also that Satan lives. I have detected his spirit and felt of his power—not to the extent as did the Prophet Joseph, but in like experience.

Satan Shall Be Bound

I know that at the second advent of Christ, the signs of which are now mounting, “Satan shall be bound … [and] have no place in the hearts of the children of men” (D&C 45:55).

I bear further witness to the truth of the Savior’s prediction that at the time of His coming “they that are wise and have received the truth [that is, who have accepted the gospel], and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived [by Satan and his powers]— … shall … abide the day [of His coming].

“And [that] the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; …

“For the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver” (D&C 45:57–59).

That we may take the Holy Spirit for our guide, recognize Satan, his representatives and their works, and not be deceived by them, to the end that we may be partakers of the promised blessings, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

By President Marion G. Romney  (1897-1988)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
For The Family