A Defense for Divine Identity

A Defense for Divine Identity

A condensed version of a talk that I will be writing called "A Defense for Divine Identity and a Connection with the Priesthood."

Once again it is a privilege to be with you today my friends. Today we tackle a subject that has become controversial. With that in mind I want to make it clear that today's subject is strictly going to be talked about in the Spiritual sense of things, and truth be told it is the way I see things. I hope that we can be focused and serious as we tackle this subject of great importance. 

There are three things I hope will not happen while we discuss this subject and when we are done discussing it.

1. I do not want anyone to leave here offended, misunderstood, and finding fault in others.

2. I do not want anyone to have contention in their hearts, and contention outside of this conversation.

3. I do not want anyone to think less of anyone in any respect.

However there are also three things I hope will happen while we discuss and after we discuss this subject.

1. That you will leave here with a better understanding of your Divine Identity.

2. That you will find something in these words that will help you in your journey of understanding the doctrine of Divine Identity.

And

3. Most importantly that the Holy Ghost will touch your hearts and teach you what you need to hear, or what you need to share with others. 

Now let us begin.

As it pertains to this subject, today we are not talking about dating or marriage, but there will be some specific elements which pertain to marriage. Turn with me to The Family A Proclamation To The World. A message from The First Presidency and Council Of The Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Follow along as I read to you the second paragraph:

"All Human Beings-male and female-are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." (Emphasis Added.)

Before this world was, when we lived above in the Eternal Realm of the Heavens, gender was an important part of who we are. That is to say, that you young women, were women before you came unto this earth, and eternally will be such. That is to say, that you young men were men before you came unto this earth, and eternally will be such. You made sacred covenants with God the Father, and some of those covenants pertained to gender. 

Re-visit with me the last line, it says, "Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." An essential characteristic of your individual eternal identity and purpose. Take the time to let that echo in your ears. 

You have been given unique, distinct, important characteristics as an individual, that are a part of your gender, and are a part of your mission for the Eternities. You are a son or daughter of God! Think about what that means. Have you ever given time to such a thought? We sing the hymn, I am a Child of God since we were this tall. Before this world was you young women, were women; and you young men, were men. This is the doctrine. This is essential in comprehending your divine duties for eternity, and eternity started way before this world became our home. 

Before we move on since we have this background information, I want to impress upon your mind this thought: the adversary, is trying to destroy the family. 

Do you know why? Some of you are nodding and some of you are shaking your heads. Here is what we know. 

1. The adversary wants you to destroy your body, and I would add that he wants you to be confused about your body (which is a form of destruction), because he will never have one.

2. The adversary wants to destroy marriages because he will never be married.

3. The adversary wants to destroy the family, because he will never have one, he will never have children. 

This is the reality. 

With these things in mind I would like to turn your attention to the seventh paragraph of The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Towards the end it reads, 

"By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children." We will come back to the sentence that follows later. Let's talk about what we have been shown our entire lives in this paragraph.

Mothers are by divine design (keep in mind our subject that we started off with) primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. And by divine design (keep in mind our subject that we started off with) Fathers are to preside, provide, and protect. The three P's as we sometimes call them. By nature we talk about what those responsibilities are, and how to carry them out. I personally feel that there should be a greater emphasis in the why of those responsibilities. Once we understand the why, we can have a clearer picture of what they are, and how they are to be carried out. In your hand out as a visual aid you will see how we generically view this subject, but when you flip the page and see the emphasis on the why, we can discover a different way to view this subject. 

(To be continued.)

With reverence I share with you that these things are of God. We are children of God. We are created in His image. A man and a woman, are uniquely created for their divine purposes. They are unique and different, but they are to work together to bring about the plan presented to us by Heavenly Father.