Jodi Stoddard - Two Different Testaments, Two Ways to Receive, One People
Jesus unites, Satan divides.
The judgement and condemnation from Saints to other Saints in this mixed-reality world of covid-19 and more, must stop.
Is it possible for the Prophet to be wrong? Is it possible to have more than one "correct" way to follow the Prophet? Why does the Lord sometimes have us choose between different "good" options? How can we know and choose the "better" option?
A HUGE thank-you from us all to you, Sister Stoddard!
Enjoy!
Please note: All of Sis. Stoddard's video permissions are now private. To watch video, press the play button, then click on "Watch this video on YouTube" which will be at the top under "Video unavailable."
Two Testaments, Two Ways to Receive, One
.
Download • 104.86MB
TWO Different Testaments – TWO ways to receive – ONE People
Compiled and presented by: Jodi Stoddard
…. from the perspective of a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
While the primary content of this presentation consist of scriptures and quotes from the Prophets and Apostles, my additional commentary is my own and in no way represents an official position of the Church.
I admonish everyone to pray for the power of discernment in ALL things, including this presentation, and seek to be taught by the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, and/or the Lord.
SLIDE:
“The Bible is divided into two testaments—testament meaning, in this case, a solemn covenant between God and man. In the Bible we have a fairly clear record of two different covenants or testaments between God and man—the Law of Moses found in the Old Testament, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the new testament.”
Why did God have to give TWO different sets of laws to His Children? The Law of Moses encompasses most of the Old Testament, and the Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ encompasses the New Testament. Yet those of the OT times KNEW about the future coming of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon covers this belief extensively prior to the Savior’s birth. Why couldn’t God have just given them the higher law first?
Some of this will be a little bit of a review if you have watched my other productions… HOWEVER, stick with it because I hope to shed light of a slightly different understanding on the following scriptures, which will help you see more clearly where this presentation is heading.
SLIDE:
D&C 84 (which Pres. Nelson admonished the Brethren and Sisters to study on two separate occasions) 19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God.
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God;
24 But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence; therefore, the Lord in his wrath, for his danger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory.
25 Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also;
SLIDE:
Realize that this didn’t happen in one day…. We don’t know how long there were in the desert PRIOR to being invited up Mt. Sinai.. but because of their lack of desire to get their instruction directly from God, He made them wander in the desert for FORTY years – until they were all dead – rather than allow them to ‘enter into His rest’ and enter into the Promised Land.
These two are synonymous. If they would have sanctified themselves and gone up to speak to the Lord directly, this accomplishment would have been their Calling & Election and Second Comforter experiences and they would have created a Zion society like Enoch’s people did.
Moses spends a good deal of time discussing Enoch and the City that eventually became a translated Zion society. (see the book of Moses)
SLIDE: And how do we know that: JST Genesis 14: 28 It being after the order of the Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; BUT OF GOD;
29 And it was DELIVERED UNTO MEN BY THE CALLING OF HIS OWN VOICE, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name.
30 For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course;
31 To put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world.
32 And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven.
SLIDE:
D&C 76: 114 But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion;
115 Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter;
116 Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him;
117 To whom he grants this privilege of SEEING AND KNOWING FOR THEMSELVES;
118 That through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in the flesh, they may be able to bear his presence in the world of glory.
SLIDE:
We may say that we have been to the Temple, and therefore we have the ‘higher law’… but receiving an ordinance and learning what that covenant encompasses, verses actually realizing the blessings of those covenants are not necessarily synonymous.
For example – what is the ultimate blessing we are shown in the Temple? How to part the veil and speak with the Lord and the Father. That is what Moses told the Children of Israel to do.. become sanctified and to talk to God face-to-face…. The temple is an exact recipe of how to do that in this life, and yet we get to that point and we stop. We don’t go further. And we are still in essence asking the prophet to tell us what the Lord wants us to know. By doing that, are we rejecting the gift that has been offered to us?
SLIDE: … and what has President Nelson has told us we need to do???
“SEEK TO BE TAUGHT BY THE LORD HIMSELF," and to “HEAR HIM”.
SLIDE:
Are we are watching this same scenario unfold again before our eyes? President Nelson said “The time is coming when those who do not obey the Lord will be separated from those who do.”
We know we are to become Zion. We know a separation is coming.
(see Doctrine and Covenants 86:1–7) https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2020/04/the-future-of-the-church-preparing-the-world-for-the-saviors-second-coming?lang=eng
By the way, Pres. Nelson also expressly told the sisters and the brethren in recent conference addresses that we needed to study D&C 84 and 107. There is much information that relates to this presentation in those sections.
SLIDE:
Here is where we are going to move into the crux of this presentation. Consider this question…
Will there be a prophet in the Millennial Terrestrial World?
NO! There will not be a prophet. We will get our direction from the Lord through personal revelation.
How do we know this?
SLIDE:
The appearance of Christ at Adam-ondi-Ahman. Before the great and dreadful day when Christ will come both to claim his own and to bring judgment upon the wicked, before he descends openly and publicly, he will appear privately and quietly to some of the faithful Saints of all ages in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. Here those who have held keys and powers from the time of Adam to the present will account for their stewardships. They will return their keys to Adam, who in turn will RETURN ALL KEYS TO CHRIST. All will thus be readied for Christ to commence his millennial reign.
(D&C 116; Dan. 7:9–14, 21–22). (end quote) (quote from https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/1986/06/questions-and-answers/questions-and-answers?lang=eng)
Those keys are returned PRIOR to the great and dreadful day.
SLIDE:
D&C 49:
25 Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed.
26 Behold, I say unto you, go forth as I have commanded you; repent of all your sins; ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you.
27 Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded.
28 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, and I come quickly. Even so. Amen.
SLIDE:
3 Nephi 20: 22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.
D&C 45: 58 And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance; and they shall multiply and wax strong, and their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation.
59 For the Lord shall be in their amidst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver.
SLIDE:
Is that perhaps part of what Pres. Nelson has been trying to tell us – especially when he said this “In a coming day, only those men who have taken their priesthood seriously, by diligently seeking to be taught by the Lord Himself, will be able to bless, guide, protect, strengthen, and heal others. Only a man who has paid the price for priesthood power will be able to bring miracles to those he loves and keep his marriage and family safe, now and throughout eternity.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/04/the-price-of-priesthood-power?lang=eng)
If we don’t have a prophet to rely upon (because of war, downed communications, etc), then the ONLY way we will know what to do is if we are able to get direction from the Lord Himself…. And again – will there even be a ‘Prophet’ at that point if the Prophet has turned his Keys into Adam, and Adam has given them back to the Savior???
Does this add more urgency for us to apply the Temple path in a LITERAL way so that we can speak to the Lord face-to-face as we have been shown and admonished repeatedly?
SLIDE:
So, we have a couple of things going on here…
In the example of the Children of Israel, they had the option to get their direction from the Lord, or have Moses tell them what He said.
If they had gone to the Lord, would the message would have been different ? YES– it WAS different. We know this because Moses took the Higher Law down to them so they could see what they could have had. That was a Celestial Law. But they had reverted to a telestial behavior, so Moses went back up and got the Terrestrial Law from God because it was all they were capable or willing to live.
SLIDE:
I don’t want to turn this into a discussion about the current issues – but only to make a generalized point using this example - Joseph said (quote)
“I preached to a large congregation at the stand, on the science and practice of medicine, desiring to persuade the Saints to trust in God when sick, and not in an arm of flesh, and live by faith and not by medicine, or poison; and when they were sick, and had called for the Elders to pray for them, and they were not healed, to use herbs and mild food.” Joseph Smith Documentary History of the Church, Volume 4, p. 414.
And yet today we have been encouraged to pray and fast for a medical fix for Covid. Could BOTH be correct? YES!
If we as a people are not strong enough in our faith to be healed from or excluded from getting a disease (for which a Celestial amount of faith is required), then God will help us by assuaging our fears with a man-made remedy which will allow us to continue developing our faith (which shows we have obtained a Terrestrial faith).
BOTH are OKAY! It all depends upon where an individual is in that one portion of their spiritual journey. It isn’t right or wrong. It isn’t good or bad. It just is where we are, each on our own individual path.
Was it okay for Adam and Eve to remain in the garden? YES!
Was it okay for them to leave the garden? YES!
SLIDE: When are a Prophet’s Words ‘Doctrine’?
D Todd Christopherson April 2012 talk The Doctrine of Christ
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2012/04/the-doctrine-of-christ?lang=eng
“….it should be remembered that not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. It is commonly understood in the Church that a statement made by one leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, not meant to be official or binding for the whole Church. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that “a prophet [is] a prophet only when he [is] acting as such.”Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 5:265.
SLIDE: President J. Reuben Clark observed:
“To this point runs a simple story my father told me as a boy, I do not know on what authority, but it illustrates the point. His story was that during the excitement incident to the coming of [Johnston’s] Army, Brother Brigham preached to the people in a morning meeting a sermon vibrant with defiance to the approaching army, and declaring an intention to oppose and drive them back. In the afternoon meeting he arose and said that Brigham Young had been talking in the morning, but the Lord was going to talk now. He then delivered an address, the tempo of which was the opposite from the morning talk. …
“… The Church will know by the testimony of the Holy Ghost in the body of the members, whether the brethren in voicing their views are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost’; and in due time that knowledge will be made manifest.”
SLIDE:
The next natural question, and one I see being asked frequently of late is “Will the Lord tell you to do something different than the Prophet?” The answer, as shown in the previous examples is sometimes YES!... and there are plenty more examples where those came from….
What causes there to be a difference between what the Lord would tell an individual verses what the Prophet would tell the Church as a whole?.... The answer is in the question… the difference is where we are spiritually and individually verses where the general membership of the Church is collectively.
For Example: While everyone has been invited to build Zion and the New Jerusalem, we know that not everyone will go… any why not? … Is it perhaps that some won’t be prepared?
SLIDE:
The Prophet is telling the Ten Virgins, which represents the Church, to be prepared – but as the prophet said, there will come a day when we will be separated – the five unwise virgins will not be prepared despite being members of the Church, and the door to the wedding feast will be closed.. and this happens PRIOR to His official Second Coming… and we can know this because according to D&C 45:43-47 and D&C 88:95-98 shows that the Lord appears to the saints prior to his arm falling on the nations… but that takes us off on another direction which has been and will be covered in other videos…
Meanwhile, I don’t think that means the five unwise virgins are going to hell… the scriptures say they were foolish, not the vilest of sinners. The consequences they will traverse will be to continue on through the tribulations which is a learning process perfectly designed by the Lord. As they learn what they need to learn, they will then be blessed in their personal journey.
We see through the five wise virgins that there will come a time when those who qualify will have direct communication with the Lord…. We know He will be in the New Jerusalem as well as the Old and will appear to various groups of people at least seven times prior to His official Return. I have put a refence to some of those appearances in the references #7 http://ldslastdays.com/category/appearances-of-the-savior/
The five unwise virgin will be cut off, locked out of the feast…
SLIDE:
Sometimes the Lord even changes His instructions. Does that mean He changed His mind? No…. it means that out of mercy, He is lowering His expectations to a level we are capable of… Other times he gives us what we ask for – even if it isn’t good for us. Martin Harris and Joseph pestering God over the 116 page manuscript comes to mind….
Often times we are given a good, better and best choice…. ALL of which are fine – but some have more rewarding consequences than others… and those also require more desire, more effort, and more sacrifice…