D&C 17:1-2 The 3 witnesses are chosen

In June 1829 the translation of the Book of Mormon neared completion. Joseph gathered one morning with his family and friends for singing and prayer. Martin Harris was there, having come from Palmyra to see how the translation progressed. While Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon, he learned that three witnesses would be permitted to see the plates (see 2 Nephi 27:12-14 Ether 5:2-4 D&C 5:11-15, 18). David Witmer, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris volunteered, hoping they could be chosen. “They tease me so much”, Joseph said, “almost without intermission for some time”, that he finally asked the Lord for approval and received the exciting answer recorded in D&C 17. Joseph rose from his knees and said to Martin, “…you got to humble yourself before God this day and obtain, if possible, a forgiveness of your sins. If you would do this, it is God’s will that you and Oliver Cowdery and David Witmer should look upon the plates.” 

D&C 1:30. The only true and living church

 Elder Oaks taught:

“Because of this declaration of the Lord, we refer to this, His Church – our Church – as the “only true Church.”  Sometimes we do this in a way that gives great offense to people who belong to other churches or who subscribe to other philosophies.  But God has not taught us anything that should cause us to feel superior to other people.  Certainly all churches and philosophies have elements of truth in them, some more than others.  Certainly God loves all His children.  And certainly His gospel plan is for all His children, all according to His own timetable.

So what does it mean that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true Church?’

“Three features – (1) fulness of doctrine, (2) power of the priesthood, and (3) testimony of Jesus Christ – explain why God has declared and why we as His servants maintain that this is the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth…This Church is “living” because we have prophets who continue to give us the word of the Lord that is needed for our time.”  (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Only True and Living Church,” New Era, Aug. 2011, 3, 5)

D&C 13:1 President Oaks comments on the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood

 Pres. Dallin H. Oaks – “What does it mean that the Aaronic Priesthood holds [the key of] the ‘gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins’? The meaning is found in the ordinance of baptism and in the sacrament. Baptism is for the remission of sins, and the sacrament is a renewal of the covenants and blessings of baptism. Both should be preceded by repentance. …

“Not one of [us] has lived without sin since [our] baptism. Without some provision for further cleansing after our baptism, each of us is lost to things spiritual. …

“We are commanded to repent of our sins and to come to the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and partake of the sacrament in compliance with its covenants. When we renew our baptismal covenants in this way, the Lord renews the cleansing effect of our baptism. …

“We cannot overstate the importance of the Aaronic Priesthood in this. All of these vital steps pertaining to the remission of sins are performed through the saving ordinance of baptism and the renewing ordinance of the sacrament. Both of these ordinances are officiated by holders of the Aaronic Priesthood under the direction of the bishopric, who exercise the keys of the gospel of repentance and of baptism and the remission of sins” (“The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament,”Ensign,Nov. 1998, 37–38).

“As a young holder of the Aaronic Priesthood, I did not think I would see an angel, and I wondered what such appearances had to do with the Aaronic Priesthood.

“But the ministering of angels can also be unseen. Angelic messages can be delivered by a voice or merely by thoughts or feelings communicated to the mind” (“The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament,” 39).

D&C 9:7-9 Ensign Blair receives revelation that saves the entire ship

 

Take the Holy Spirit as Your Guide. By Elder Larry Y. Wilson. General Conference April 2018

During the Korean War, Ensign Frank Blair served on a troop transport ship stationed in Japan.6 The ship wasn’t large enough to have a formal chaplain, so the captain asked Brother Blair to be the ship’s informal chaplain, having observed that the young man was a person of faith and principle, highly respected by the whole crew.

Ensign Blair wrote: “Our ship was caught in a huge typhoon. The waves were about 45 feet [14 m] high. I was on watch … during which time one of our three engines stopped working and a crack in the centerline of the ship was reported. We had two remaining engines, one of which was only functioning at half power. We were in serious trouble.”

Ensign Blair finished his watch and was getting into bed when the captain knocked on his door. He asked, “Would you please pray for this ship?” Of course, Ensign Blair agreed to do so.

At that point, Ensign Blair could have simply prayed, “Heavenly Father, please bless our ship and keep us safe,” and then gone to bed. Instead, he prayed to know if there was something he could do to help ensure the safety of the ship. In response to Brother Blair’s prayer, the Holy Ghost prompted him to go to the bridge, speak with the captain, and learn more. He found that the captain was trying to determine how fast to run the ship’s remaining engines. Ensign Blair returned to his cabin to pray again.

He prayed, “What can I do to help address the problem with the engines?”

In response, the Holy Ghost whispered that he needed to walk around the ship and observe to gather more information. He again returned to the captain and asked for permission to walk around the deck. Then, with a lifeline tied around his waist, he went out into the storm.

Standing on the stern, he observed the giant propellers as they came out of the water when the ship crested a wave. Only one was working fully, and it was spinning very fast. After these observations, Ensign Blair once again prayed. The clear answer he received was that the remaining good engine was under too much strain and needed to be slowed down. So he returned to the captain and made that recommendation. The captain was surprised, telling him that the ship’s engineer had just suggested the opposite—that they increase the speed of the good engine in order to outrun the storm. Nevertheless, the captain chose to follow Ensign Blair’s suggestion and slowed the engine down. By dawn the ship was safely in calm waters.

Only two hours later, the good engine stopped working altogether. With half power in the remaining engine, the ship was able to limp into port.

The captain said to Ensign Blair, “If we had not slowed that engine when we did, we would have lost it in the middle of the storm.”

Without that engine, there would have been no way to steer. The ship would have overturned and been sunk. The captain thanked the young LDS officer and said he believed that following Ensign Blair’s spiritual impressions had saved the ship and its crew.

D&C 2:3 The most important work in the world

 “My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing. This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.” (Pres. Nelson June 2018 Broadcast)

Ether 12:6 Those that keep commandments, receive a testimony of them. Those that don't keep the commandments, do not.

 Ether 12:6  “Sometimes we try to do it backward. For example, we may take this approach: I will be happy to live the law of tithing, but first I need to know that it’s true. Maybe we even pray to gain a testimony of the law of tithing and hope the Lord will bless us with that testimony before we have ever filled out a tithing slip. It just doesn’t work that way. The Lord expects us to exercise faith. We have to consistently pay a full and honest tithe in order to gain a testimony of tithing. This same pattern applies to all the principles of the gospel, whether it is the law of chastity, the principle of modesty, the Word of Wisdom, or the law of the fast” (Bonnie L. Oscarson, “Be Ye Converted,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 77).

Elder Maxwell. Receiving blessings is like opening a vault of heaven. 3rd tumbler falls only when what is sought is right for us.

 

"Petitioning in prayer has taught me that the vault of heaven, with all its blessings, is to be opened only by a combination lock: one tumbler falls when there is faith, a second when there is personal righteousness, and the third, and final tumbler falls only when what is sought is (in God's judgment, not ours) 'right' for us.

"Sometimes we pound on the vault door for something we want very much, in faith, in reasonable righteousness, and wonder why the door does not open. We would be very spoiled children if that vault door opened any more easily than it does now.

"I can tell, looking back, that God truly loves me by the petitions that, in his perfect wisdom and love, he has refused to grant me. Our rejected petitions tell us not only much about ourselves, but also much about our flawless Father."

- Neal A. Maxwell, "Insights from My Life," BYU devotional address October 26, 1976; see also New Era, April 1978