Born Again

1. Born Again www.kevinhinckley.com

2. True Story A man came bursting into Brigham Young's office, crutches flying.  He only had one leg, and he shouted, "Now, Mr. Prophet, I want you to give me another leg this instant.  Otherwise, I will publish it abroad that you are not a prophet at all." President Young told him that would be easy enough, but that consequences would result.  The Prophet explained that if he gave him another leg, it would rise with him in the resurrection - as would the other two legs.  That meant the man would have to deal with three legs for all eternity. The man left shortly later.

3. Dear Bishop letters from kids in the ward. Dear Bishop, My father says I should memorize the ten commandments. But I don't think I want to because we have enough rules already in my house. Kelsie R. Dear Bishop, Please say a prayer for our football team. We need God's help or a new coach. Thank you. Lou G. Dear Bishop, Are there really devils on earth? I think there may be one in my Sunday school class. Sincerely, Carla B. Dear Bishop, I liked your talk on Sunday. Especially when it was finished. Your friend, Matt R. Dear Bishop, How does God know the good people from the bad people? Do you tell Him or does He read about it in the newspapers? I really need to know because we don’t take the paper. Really. Love Kim D.

4. Addiction Recovery Program “We faced the truth that recovery was far more the result of the Lord’s efforts than our own.” “Our ability to withstand temptation is now grounded in our continual submission to the will of the Lord.” Step 3 Decide to turn your will and your life over to the care of God the Eternal Father and His Son, Jesus Christ “Continued submission to God’s will reduces strife and brings more meaning to our lives.” “Each new day we renew our submission to the Lord and His will. “As Elder Maxwell observed, this submission to the Lord is hard doctrine.” Question: How close is this to the doctrine of being “born again”?

5. C.S. Lewis Christ, here and now, in that very room where you are saying your prayers, is doing things to you. It is not a question of a good man who died two thousand years ago. It is a living Man, still as much a man as you, and still as much God as He was when He created the world, really coming and interfering with your old self; killing the old natural self in you and replacing it with the kind of self He has. At first, only for moments. Then for longer periods. Finally, if all goes well, turning you permanently into a different sort of thing; into…a being which, in its own small way, has the same kind of life as God; which shares His power, joy, knowledge and eternity. (Mere Christianity, p. 164)

6. John 3 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not (3Nephi 9:20)

7. Bruce R. McConkie Sins are remitted not in the waters of baptism, as we say in speaking figuratively, but when we receive the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Spirit of God that erases carnality and brings us into a state of righteousness. We become clean when we actually receive the fellowship and companionship of the Holy Ghost.

8. Brother Brent Top We are born again when we die as pertaining to unrighteousness and when we live as pertaining to the things of the Spirit. But that doesn’t happen in an instant, suddenly. That also is a process. Being born again is a gradual thing, except in a few isolated instances… As far as the generality of the members of the Church are concerned, we are born again by degrees, and we are born again to added light and added knowledge and added desires for righteousness as we keep the commandments. (1976 Devotional) Now ask yourself again: Have you been born again?

9. Have you been born again? Indicators from the Book of Mormon 1- Peace of Conscience 2- A feeling of Joy and Gratitude 3- We have no desire to do evil 4- Feeling of charity towards others 5- Increased spiritual understanding 6- Having the image of God “engraven upon our countenances (Brother Brent Box, BYU Devotional)

10. You might have walked where Jesus walked and stayed where he was staying; You might have eaten bread and sop and knelt where he was praying; He might have laid his precious hands upon your head with Fire. You might have eased his weary way and wiped away his bleeding; You might have helped in his defense when he was sorely needing; Most disappointing words are oft expressed by tongue and writing; The saddest words, "It might have been" are always the most biting. (1958 General Conference) Elder Spencer Kimball to Nicodemus

11. Harold B. Lee …I was asked to address a group of young girls a few years ago over at the Lion House where they were being shepherded under the direction of the great Young Women's Mutual Improvement Association. At the close of our meeting this lovely girl took me aside, and from her purse she unfolded a picture of a handsome young soldier. Underneath the picture was something about love, and his name signed. I asked, "Well, what does this mean?" Tears were swimming in her eyes. She replied, "I met that young man here in an army camp. He was not a member of the Church. He was clean and fine, and he had the ideals I had longed for in a companion, all except one thing, he was not a member of the Church. And when he proposed marriage to me, I said, 'Only will I be married when I can be married in the house of the Lord because love means something more than just a thing that pertains to this life. It is an eternal thing, and I want to be married in the temple.'"

12. President Lee Well, he reasoned with her, he pleaded with her, he scolded, and then came angry; and finally after repeated efforts to break down her religious objection to a marriage out of the temple, he finally left her. It was now time to go overseas, and she cried her heart out the night he left thinking that maybe she had made a mistake because her heart had gone out to this fine young man. During a long ocean voyage over to Australia where he was to be stationed and from where he was to go into combat, he began to think about this young woman. He began to think that he had been a little hasty in his judgment about her religious convictions. Perhaps it was her religion that had made her the fine girl that she was. With that on his mind, he began to seek companionship with our Latter-day Saint men. He finally met a Latter-day Saint chaplain there and became associated with the Latter-day Saint boys of the camp and began to study the gospel. On her birthday he had sent her this picture attached, and behind the picture was a slip of paper which proved to be a certificate evidencing the fact that he had been baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the letter which accompanied the picture, he had said, "I am preparing now to live worthy so that when I come home, I can be ordained an elder and together we can be married in the house of the Lord."