Teachings of Thomas S. Monson
As a companion volume to President Monson’s biography, this book’s purpose is to highlight his doctrinal teachings on a variety of subjects, focusing on the core of the topic and featuring what he has taught rather than how he has taught it. (Source) Published September 23rd 2011 by Deseret Book Company
Description
A lifetime of teachings from President Thomas S. Monson. Teachings of Thomas S. Monson is the ideal companion volume to the prophet’s bestselling biography, To the Rescue.
This comprehensive collection:
•Gives quick, easy access to key teachings on scores of gospel topics representing nearly half a century of teaching •Provides President Monson’s teachings topically in alphabetical order
•Includes a scripture index so readers can find what President Monson taught about specific scriptural passages. (Source)
President Monson confirms that the United States is The Choice Land spoken of in the Book of Mormon (Ether) and the Nation on This Choice Land is the United States of America. [Mystery Solved?]
As you read Ether 2:12 it says, “Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.” (Bold Added)
Ask yourself, in Ether 2:12 of the Book of Mormon it tells us, this choice land?? will be possessed by a nation?? who will be protected from all other nations if they serve the God of THIS LAND?? What choice land is he speaking of and what nation is he referring to and what does he define as this sland?
Summary of Chapters, “America” & “Joseph Smith” by Monson Below
“The Lord gave a divine promise to the ancient inhabitants of this favored country (the United States): ‘Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). “Our Heavenly Father inspired the leaders of…the United States of America, that they might together, under His direction, having been raised up by God for the purpose, establish the Constitution of this country and…Bill of Rights, that by the year of our Lord 1805 [there would be] a climate where our Heavenly Father could send into this period of mortality a choice spirit who would be known as Joseph Smith, Jr.” Monson, Thomas S., Teachings of Thomas S. Monson, 2011, pp. 14-15, 157-158
America
(The United States)
The Lord gave a divine promise to the ancient inhabitants of this favored country (the United States): “Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12).
Are we today serving the God of the land, even the Lord Jesus Christ? Do our lives conform with His teachings? Are we entitled to His divine blessings?
Too many Americans have been screaming ever louder for more and more of the things we cannot take with us and paying less and less attention to the real sources of the very happiness we seek. We have been measuring our fellow man more by balance sheets and less by moral standards. We have developed frightening physical power and fallen into pathetic spiritual weakness. We have become so concerned over the growth of our earning capacity that we have neglected the growth of our character.
As we view the disillusionment that engulfs countless thousands today, we are learning the hard way what an ancient prophet wrote out for us over three thousand years ago: “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
The revered American president Abraham Lincoln accurately described our plight: “We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown; but we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us. We have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken succession, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of preserving and redeeming grace, to proud to pray to God that made us” (“Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day,” Washington, D.C., March 30, 1864).
Can we extricate ourselves from this frightful condition? Is there a way out? If so, what is the way?
We can solve this perplexing dilemma by adopting the counsel given by Jesus to the inquiring lawyer who asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:36–39). (“America Needs You,” Church of the Air, October 4, 1964)
For many years the code 911 has been the telephone number dialed to report any emergency. Children have memorized the number, and it has been well known by one and all that when 911 was dialed, help would soon be on its way.
Then came September 11th, 2001, and nine-eleven took on another meaning and has a universal and everlasting place in the annals of history and in the hearts of millions. As with December 7, 1941, it too has become a day of infamy.
Early on the morning of September 11, 2001, men and women left their homes for work, mothers prepared their children for school, commuters filled the freeways. Then everything changed. The unthinkable occurred. An insidious attack, planned and executed by evil minds, wreaked havoc in America. Indiscriminately, men, women, and children were slaughtered, including those who responded to the call to rescue. No dastardly deed has been so rapidly and graphically reported.
Amidst the fear, the sorrow, the pain and the suffering, a mighty miracle occurred. Experienced was a fusion of faith—even a pattern of prayer—as Americans turned not to dial 911, but rather dropped to their knees and looked heavenward to God for help. (“Nine-One-One,” September 11 Memorial Observance, September 11, 2002)
I never entered the classrooms of learning there where students are taught concerning the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution and other monumental foundation principles but what I had the feeling that I was walking on sacred ground. (“God Bless America,” Freedoms Foundation Utah Chapter Constitution Day, September 17, 2002)
One of the most famous enlistment posters of World War II was one depicting Uncle Sam pointing his long finger and directing his piercing eyes at the viewer. The words read, “America Needs You.” America truly does need you and me to lead out in a mighty crusade of righteousness. We can help when we love God and with our families serve Him; and when we love our neighbor as ourselves. (“Duty—Honor—Country,” National Boy Scouts of America Duty to God Breakfast, May 29, 2003)
Joseph Smith
To get to the true meaning of the birth of the Prophet [Joseph Smith], we need to go back beyond the year of our Lord 1805. We need to go back a long way into history and read what another great prophet said—that prophet, Joseph, who was sold into Egypt and who literally saved his brothers. . . . Said Joseph: “A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins” (2 Nephi 3:6).
“And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation” (2 Nephi 3:15).
Joseph Smith, Jr., was called after the name of Joseph who was sold into Egypt. He was also called Joseph after his own father, Joseph Smith, Sr., literally fulfilling that prophecy which had been spoken many hundreds of years before his birth. (Twenty-First Annual Joseph Smith Memorial Sermon, December 11, 1963)
Our Heavenly Father inspired Christopher Columbus in his discovery of America. Our Heavenly Father inspired the leaders of the renaissance period. Our Heavenly Father inspired men and caused that they would dream dreams and see visions and discover marvelous instruments and inventions which would enable them to set forth upon the oceans and to be led to the place where our Father in Heaven would have them led. Our Heavenly Father inspired the man who invented movable type, that His holy word, as found in the Bible, could be printed and disseminated widely to the people. Our Heavenly Father inspired the leaders of . . . the United States of America, that they might together, under His direction, having been raised up by God for the purpose, establish the Constitution of this country and . . . Bill of Rights, that . . . by the year of our Lord 1805 [there would be] a climate where our Heavenly Father could send into this period of mortality a choice spirit who would be known as Joseph Smith, Jr. His life’s mission would alter the course of all future events. Thus came Joseph into the world. (Twenty-First Annual Joseph Smith Memorial Sermon, December 11, 1963)
Following the visits of the angel Moroni to young Joseph and his acquisition of the plates, Joseph commenced the difficult assignment of translation. One can but imagine the dedication, the devotion, and the labor required to translate in fewer than 90 days this record of over 500 pages covering a period of 2,600 years. I love the words Oliver Cowdery used to describe the time he spent assisting Joseph with the translation of the Book of Mormon: “These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of this bosom!” (Joseph Smith—History 1:71, footnote). (“The Prophet Joseph Smith: Teacher by Example,” Ensign, November 2005, 68)
I think one of the sweetest lessons taught by the Prophet Joseph, and yet one of the saddest, occurred close to the time of his death. He had seen in vision the Saints leaving Nauvoo and going to the Rocky Mountains. He was anxious that his people be led away from their tormentors and into this promised land which the Lord had shown him. He no doubt longed to be with them. However, he had been issued an arrest warrant on trumped up charges. Despite many appeals to Governor Ford, the charges were not dismissed. Joseph left his home, his wife, his family, and his people and gave himself up to the civil authorities, knowing he would probably never return. . . .
In Carthage Jail he was incarcerated with his brother Hyrum and others. On June 27, 1844, Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor, and Willard Richards were together there when an angry mob stormed the jail, ran up the stairway, and began firing through the door of the room they occupied. Hyrum was killed, and John Taylor was wounded. Joseph Smith’s last great act here upon the earth was one of selflessness. He crossed the room, most likely “thinking that it would save the lives of his brethren in the room if he could get out, . . . and sprang into the window where two balls pierced him from the door, and one entered his right breast from without” (History of the Church [1932–1952], 6:618). He gave his life; Willard Richards and John Taylor were spared. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught us love—by example. (“The Prophet Joseph Smith: Teacher by Example,” Ensign, November 2005, 68–69)
I love the words of President Brigham Young, who said, “I feel like shouting Hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet whom the Lord raised up and ordained, and to whom He gave keys and power to build up the kingdom of God on earth” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 343).
To this fitting tribute to our beloved Joseph, I add my own testimony that I know he was God’s prophet, chosen to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter days. (“The Prophet Joseph Smith: Teacher by Example,” Ensign, November 2005, 69–70)
Through Joseph Smith, the gospel—which had been lost during centuries of apostasy—was restored, the priesthood and its keys were received, the doctrines of salvation were revealed, the gospel and temple ordinances—along with the sealing power—were returned and, in 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ was re-established on the earth.
Though reviled and persecuted, the Prophet Joseph never wavered in his testimony of Jesus Christ. His peers watched him lead with dignity and grace, endure hardships, and time and again rise to new challenges until his divine mission was completed. Today that heritage he established still shines for all the world to see. The teachings he translated and his legacy of love for his fellow man continue in the millions of hearts touched by the message he declared so long ago.
Few in this dispensation have paid so dearly for an irrevocable testimony of Jesus Christ as did the Prophet Joseph Smith. On June 18, 1844, he gave what was to be his last sermon. He very likely knew that he would not again address his people. His concluding remarks were these: “God has tried you. You are a good people; . . . I love you with all my heart. Greater love hath no man than that he should lay down his life for his friends. You have stood by me in the hour of trouble, and I am willing to sacrifice my life for your preservation. May the Lord God of Israel bless you forever and ever.” His words sank deep into the hearts of the people. It was the last time, in the flesh, that they were to listen to . . . his voice, or to feel . . . his inspiration (from Historical Record, edited and published by Andrew Jenson [1889], 555).
Ultimately, the Prophet Joseph was slain by evil men who assumed the church would collapse after his death. George Q. Cannon, who served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and as a counselor to several Church presidents, wrote: “The enemies of truth were sure that they had now destroyed the work. And yet it lives, greater and stronger after the lapse of years. It is indestructible, for it is the work of God. And knowing that it is the eternal work of God, we know that Joseph Smith who established it was a prophet holy and pure” (Life of Joseph Smith the Prophet [1999], 527). . . .
We do not worship the Prophet Joseph; however he left behind a legacy that enables [his] followers today on every continent to proclaim him as a prophet of God. May we, each of us, strive to continue the Prophet Joseph’s vision for this work and to magnify his legacy through our works and testimonies to others, that they may know him as we do and that they may experience the peace and joy of the gospel he restored.
When the Savior returns to the earth in glory, the Prophet Joseph will come forth with the righteous as a resurrected being and will continue to minister under the Savior’s direction. As our beloved hymn affirms, “Millions shall know ‘Brother Joseph’ again.” Of this truth I testify. (“The Prophet Joseph Smith,” 200th Birthday Commemoration, December 23, 2005)
No description of models for us to follow would be complete without including Joseph Smith, the first prophet of this dispensation. When but fourteen years of age, this courageous young man entered a grove of trees, which later would be called sacred, and received an answer to his sincere prayer.
There followed for Joseph unrelenting persecution as he related to others the account of the glorious vision he received in that grove. Yet, although he was ridiculed and scorned, he stood firm. Said he, “I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it” (Joseph Smith—History 1:25).
Step by step, facing opposition at nearly every turn and yet always guided by the hand of the Lord, Joseph organized The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He proved courageous in all that he did.
Toward the end of his life, as he was led away with his brother Hyrum to Carthage Jail, he bravely faced what he undoubtedly knew lay ahead for him, and he sealed his testimony with his blood.
As we face life’s tests, may we ever emulate that undaunted courage epitomized by the Prophet Joseph Smith. (“Models to Follow,” Ensign, November 2002, 62)
“I was born in the year of our Lord 1805 on the 23rd day of December in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, state of Vermont.” Thus spoke the first prophet of this great dispensation, the dispensation of the fulness of times. His testimony has been translated into Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, German, French, Polish, and almost every language of the civilized world. When it has been read by honest men and honest women, it has changed thinking and they have changed lives. This is the value of the simple testimony of the boy prophet, Joseph Smith. (“The Prophet Joseph Smith—Teacher by Example,” General Authority Family Home Evening, June 28, 1993)
Volumes have been written concerning the life and accomplishments of Joseph Smith, but for our purposes . . . perhaps a highlight or two will suffice: He was visited by the angel Moroni. He translated, from the precious plates to which he was directed, the Book of Mormon, with its new witness of Christ to all the world. He was the instrument in the hands of the Lord through whom came mighty revelations pertaining to the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the course of his ministry he was visited by John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah, Peter, James, and John, that the Restoration of all things might be accomplished. He endured persecution; he suffered grievously, as did his followers. He trusted in God. He was true to his prophetic calling. He commenced a marvelous missionary effort to the entire world, which today brings light and truth to the souls of mankind. At length, Joseph Smith died the martyr’s death, as did his brother Hyrum.
Joseph Smith was a pioneer indeed. (“They Showed the Way,” Ensign, May 1997, 51–52)
Thomas S. Monson also said: “In harmony with our belief that the U.S. Constitution is an inspired document and that America has a special mission,” President Monson said, “the Deseret News will defend and promote the principles of the Constitution and the great freedoms for which the nation stands; indeed, it will promote the free agency of all mankind. We view ourselves as being not just in the newspaper business but in the communication business. As technology or public preferences change, our methods of communication may change, but at all times ours shall be a voice for the principles of our owner, for the canons of responsible journalism and for all other righteous and compatible interests and causes.” (Source: “New Home for Pioneer Newspaper”, LDS Church News, 31 May 1997 )
Several other quotes of Prophets validate the “One Great Cumorah” in New York as the hill the plates were buried in and is also the hill where the finals battled happened. [MYSTERY SOLVED?]
“The United States is the promised land foretold in the Book of Mormon—a place where divine guidance directed inspired men to create the conditions necessary for the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Elder L. Tom Perry Ensign Dec. 2012
“I do not believe that there were two Hill Cumorahs, one in Central America and the other one up in New York, for the convenience of the Prophet Joseph Smith, so that the poor boy would not have to walk clear to Central America to get the gold plates.” Elder Mark E. Petersen, General Conference Address, April 1953
“The whole of our journey, in the midst of so large a company of social honest and sincere men, wandering over the plains of the Nephites, recounting occasionaly the history of the Book of Mormon, roving over the mounds of that once beloved people of the Lord, picking up their skulls & their bones, as a proof of its divine authenticity” JS, Letter, Pike County, IL, to Emma Smith, Kirtland, OH, 4 June 1834; in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 56–59 To read Online this letter in the Joseph Smith Papers, CLICK HERE
“…At about one mile west rises another ridge of less height, running parallel with the former, leaving a beautiful vale between. The soil is of the first quality for the country, and under a state of cultivation, which gives a prospect at once imposing, when one reflects on the fact, that here, between these hills, the entire power and national strength of both the Jaredites and Nephites were destroyed.
By turning to the 529th and 530th pages of the Book of Mormon, you will read Mormon’s account of the last great struggle of his people, as they were encamped round this hill Cumorah. (It is printed Camorah, which is an error.) In this valley fell the remaining strength and pride of a once powerful people, the Nephites….” Read Online the complete LETTER VII HERE
“Let them build up a city unto my name upon the land opposite the city of Nauvoo, and let the name of Zarahemla be named upon it.” D&C 125:3
“Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word. Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and he proveth all his words”. 2 Nephi 11:3
