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Old-Timer wrote:
Larry King’s latest ex-wife is LDS. The man just can’t stay married.
🙄 He needs to hook up with Elizabeth Taylor and save the rest of the world the trouble.Seems to be a celebrity disease. Maybe deep down, they’re all polygamists!!! Perhaps he’s really after Zsa Zsa.
I read the Miracle of Forgiveness once all the way through and then a couple of other times part way through. It didn’t make me feel particularly uplifted or spiritually strengthened, as I remember. Sadly, the most salient memory for me about that book was the account of David Patten meeting Cain/Bigfoot.
Yeah, that’s the biggest thing I remember from the Miracle of Forgiveness. I don’t even remember why that little story is in there.
Cnsl1 wrote:Sadly, the most salient memory for me about that book was the account of David Patten meeting Cain/Bigfoot.
Yeah, that’s the biggest thing I remember from the Miracle of Forgiveness. I don’t even remember why that little story is in there.
Something to do with Cain being a murderer.
Still it’s kind of cool. And my avatar likes it. (He’s not Cain, he’s just a lookalike)
I have often pondered the church’s teachings around the Prodigal Son, and not just how the father reacted, but how the faithful older son reacted upon the return of the prodigal. Quote:This superb parable contains many lessons which relate to the material in this book. It teaches the importance of remaining pure and undefiled and retaining virtue and righteousness; and it teaches the heavy penalties of transgression. It emphasizes the principle of repentance as a means of forgiveness and recovery of self. It teaches the ugliness of pride, jealousy, peevishness, lack of understanding, and anger; and it stresses the glorious and ultimate blessings which are available to the worthy, even though they may exhibit some minor weaknesses.
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The older son’s being ever with his father is significant. If this parable is a reminder of life’s journey, we remember that for the faithful who live the commandments there is a great promise of seeing the Lord and being with him always in exaltation. On the other hand, the younger son could hope for no more than salvation as a servant, since he “despised his birthright,” and dissipated “all” of his inheritance, leaving nothing to develop and accumulate towards eternal heirship again. He had sold it for a mess of pottage as did Esau, another prodigal.
He had sold something he could not recover. He had exchanged the priceless inheritance of great lasting value for a temporary satisfaction of physical desire, the future for the present, eternity for time, spiritual blessings for physical meat. Though he was sorry for his rash trade, it was now so late, “everlasting too late.” Apparently neither his efforts not his tears could retrieve his lost blessings. Thus God will forgive the repentant sinner who sins against divine law, but that forgiveness can never restore the losses he sustained during the period of his sinning.
[Miracle of Forgiveness, pp.309-312. 15th printing, 1989.]In many ways, it seems this section, and indeed a lot of the book, is written preaching to the choir…it is written for those who are faithful in the church, and how they should not go into sin for fear of losing what they cannot recover. In fact, I think many times it is handed to or recommended to the sinner from a “faithful” who sees what they think is the “harsh truth” and has chosen to use that fear to not sell the birthright for pottage.
But from the sinner’s perspective, the message is not as uplifting.
What motivates a sinner to go through repentance if the message is “you can be forgiven, and then you will be allowed to be a second class citizen in the kingdom no matter what you do from now on.”?This raises an interesting point…grace favors the sinner, justice favors the staunch obedient. Yet Christ taught justice and mercy must be met, one cannot rob or overshadow the other.
Do you agree this book kind of uses the fear factor for the obedient to stay obedient moreso than the loving call to repentance to the sinner?
How do you view the parable of the prodigal son in relation to the message for both sons? What do you think is the true motivation for a prodigal to return, and humbly confess and foresake sins? How would you feel if you were the older “faithful” brother?
There is unfortunately a smug tone of the righteous being always saved in it. I would like to have heard more about Pres Kimball’s own struggles, which he only touches on briefly. Luke 15.7 –
Quote:I say to you that even so there will be more joy in heaven when one sinner is turned away from his wrongdoing, than for ninety-nine good men, who have no need of a change of heart.
(Bible in Basic English – I chose this version, not because I’m familiar with it, but because it puts it plainly)
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