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	<title>LDS Blogs &#187; The Bible</title>
	<link>http://ldsblogs.com</link>
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		<title>Parable of the Talents</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It isn't how many talents we have or how great they are; it's that they are gifts from God.]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/2052/parable-of-the-talents</link>
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		<title>Proverbs 31:9</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Proverbs 31:9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
The Bible devotes a great deal of time to teaching us our responsibility toward the poor. There are those who read the scripture that says the poor will always be with us, and feel that means God wants us to have poor people and therefore they have no responsibility toward them. Such an attitude, however, requires us to ignore large portions of the Bible.
The scripture above tells us to judge the poor righteously. It’s not our place to decide if their poverty is their own fault. This is God’s job. Ours is to reach out and help in whatever way we’re able. Let’s look at the Bible to see what else it tells us about poverty.
The book of Proverbs seems especially fond of talking about poverty. 
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. (Proverbs 21:13)
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. (Proverbs 22:16)
This would seem to be a warning to business owners and government on the responsibility of those in power. If a business owner is keeping his employees poor not because he can’t afford to pay more, but because he wants a mansion and a limo, it would seem that God will even things out in the end.
The Savior, in the New Testament, often spoke of the need to care for the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/48/proverbs-31-9</link>
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		<title>The Bible Dictionary</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) use the King James Bible as the official version of the Bible in English. However, they do have their own version of it. While the text is the same, there are a few special additions in the form of footnotes, summaries, a Bible Dictionary and other tools that help Mormons study the Bible. These tools are also valuable to non-Mormons who want to understand how Mormons view the Bible.
One such tool is the Bible Dictionary. The LDS Bible Dictionary, which is found in the LDS version of the Bible includes the usual definitions of Biblical terms, but it also refers to related scriptures and teachings from additional LDS scriptures, and from Joseph Smith. While it’s not considered official in any way, it is a helpful tool for getting a basic understanding of how Mormons see the writings of the Bible.
The dictionary includes a chronology of the Old Testament, which can help you to understand when things happened and who was or was not alive at any given time. Was Noah around to see the Tower of Babel? The chronology can help you figure it out.
There is also a harmony of the Gospels, giving students the location of each event and where it’s recorded in each of the four gospels. Additionally, it offers a link to any additional insights given in LDS modern revelation. If you’re trying to track down what Mormons say about the birth of the Savior and compare it to the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/361/the-bible-dictionary</link>
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		<title>Why The King James Version?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[C. S. Lewis, in a letter to T. S. Eliot, made this observation:
“Odd, the way the less the Bible is read the more it is translated!  (The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis 3:1346)

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon Church) cherish the Bible. They hold it sacred and revere its words. In fact, it was a Bible passage that started the Church.
Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church, said his spiritual odyssey began this way:
“I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
“Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine.  It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart.  I reflected on it again and again.” (JS-History 1:11-12)

The Bible overpowered his mind. It was these words that drove him into a grove of trees and to pray to God. Such is the power of the Bible.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ use the King James Version (KJV). This is the version I grew up using. The cadence of the language is sublime, capturing the essence of Shakespeare and the Renaissance. That era was one of the most crucial for civilization and humanity. Our world, it seems, is as prosperous as [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/58/why_the_king_james_version</link>
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		<title>The Bible: A Personal Hall Of Fame</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Thomas S. Monson, the sixteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often referred to as the Mormon Church, counseled members to read good books.
He said:
May our homes be a library of learning.
An essential part of our learning library will be good books. Reading is one of the true pleasures of life. In our age of mass culture, when so much that we encounter is abridged, adapted, adulterated, shredded, and boiled down, it is mind-easing and mind-inspiring to sit down privately with a congenial book.
James A. Michener, prominent author, suggests: “A nation becomes what its young people read in their youth. Its ideals are fashioned then, its goals strongly determined.”
The Lord counseled, “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&#38;C 88:118).
Of course, the standard works offer the ultimate library of learning of which I speak. Let us read from them often, both privately and with our families, that we may be enlightened and edified and draw closer to the Lord. (President Thomas S. Monson, &#8220;A Sanctuary from the World.&#8221; Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting: &#8220;Building Up a Righteous Posterity&#8221; February 9, 2008.)

I appreciate President Monson’s call to return to the scriptures. Go into any bookstore. Inside are thousands of books. Each book is a promise of an exciting adventure, a study of a great life, or a source of new information. I sometimes weep because I do not have time to read all of what I wish.
But that is the real [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/57/the_bible_a_personal_hall_of_fame</link>
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		<title>Postmortal Existence of Jesus Christ</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In my previous blog, &#8220;Antemortal Appearances of Jesus Christ,&#8221; I shared some exciting Biblical accounts of those who saw the risen Lord after His crucifixion. In this blog, I desire to share additional witnesses, both immediately after the Lord&#8217;s resurrection and in modern-day. For the exciting news is that Jesus Christ lives and leads His church today!
One of my favorite stories from the New Testament is the following. Mary had just seen the risen Lord. I can only imagine the joy that flooded her heart as she looked upon His face and presence. In fact, she apparently went to embrace Him in that same joy, for He had to caution her not to &#8211; he had not yet gone to meet the Father (see John 20:16-17).
Instead, Mary did as Jesus bid. She ran to tell the disciples. And in the evening of that same day, when they were assembled in private &#8220;for fear of the Jews&#8221;, the following occurred (just imagine the emotions that flooded their souls!):
&#8220;Then the same day ate evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
&#8220;And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord&#8221; (John 20:19-20).

Later on Thomas, who had been absent earlier, was given the opportunity for an amazing experience:
&#8220;And after eight days again his [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/56/antemortal_existence_of_jesus_christ</link>
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		<title>Antemortal Appearances of Jesus Christ</title>
		<description><![CDATA[As Mormons (or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) we believe in Jesus Christ. We worship Him and are grateful for His grace toward us. We know that through no other means can we return to the Father save by Jesus Christ.
In the Book of Mormon, a companion volume to the Bible of scripture, we read of Jesus Christ:
&#8220;Yes, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God;&#8230;&#8221; (Mosiah 27:31)

Certain people at the time of Christ&#8217;s crucifixion may have thought they&#8217;d ridded the world of the Lamb of God. But they didn&#8217;t. On the third day after the crucifixion, Christ rose! He rose from the tomb, a resurrected being! Oh, what glorious thought. 
Here is an easy to understand definition of resurrection, as stated at the LDS.org site:

&#8220;Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve, we are subject to physical death, which is the separation of the spirit from the body. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all people will be resurrected and saved from physical death (see 1 Corinthians 15:22). Resurrection is the reuniting of the spirit with the body in an immortal state, no longer subject to disease or death&#8221; (&#8221;Resurrection,&#8221; LDS.org).

There were many after Jesus Christ&#8217;s resurrection who testified they had seen the risen Lord. One of Jesus Christ&#8217;s antemortal appearances was recorded in Matthew 28:1-9. For sake of brevity, I will just [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/55/antemortal_appearances_of_jesus_christ</link>
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		<title>Witnesses of Jesus Christ</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Apostles serve as very special witnesses for Jesus Christ. As such, they have responsibility to carry the gospel of Christ to every nation. They also, just like the ancient Apostles, are responsible for clarifying gospel truths whenever misunderstandings arise.
Elder Russell M. Nelson is an Apostle for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes nicknamed the Mormon church). Elder Nelson gave a talk to the church November 2007 in a special setting called General Conference. His message was titled, &#8220;Scriptural Witnesses.&#8221; 
The theme from Elder Nelson&#8217;s talk was essentially that &#8220;the scriptures of the Restoration do not compete with the Bible; they complement the Bible.&#8221; The talk serves as an aid to help people, whether inside the church or out, to understand why the Lord has given more scripture than that just contained in the Bible.
Why would it be necessary to clarify this? Perhaps people have misunderstood the difference between the Bible&#8217;s purpose and the purpose of the &#8220;scriptures of the Restoration.&#8221;
The Bible as a Witness
Essentially, we as Mormons believe the Bible to be the word of God, as it is translated correctly, of course. There are countless translations of the Bible and some are closer to the original text than others. As Mormons, we love the Bible. We revere its teachings. We testify of its importance. Its message is urgent, as it contains witnesses from many different prophets to God&#8217;s children on the earth in the ancient area of Israel.
The Book of Mormon as a Witness
But we as Mormons believe that God loves [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/54/witnesses_of_jesus_christ</link>
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		<title>Suffering of Jesus Christ</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I love the Old Testament. It now is one of my most favorite books. But it wasn&#8217;t early on in my life. Back then I thought it was nothing but boring accounts of the dusty travails of Moses&#8217; people. Page after page of Leviticus and Numbers used to bore me till I couldn&#8217;t stand reading the Old Testament any more! I quit my effort.
That was, until I took a Mormon Institute class near my college. (Institute is a religion class offered for college kids.) One semester I decided to take an  Old Testament class. To this day I&#8217;m not sure why. 
I remember the first evening well. The Institute teacher stood before us and declared with absolute certainty that by the end of the semester he felt we&#8217;d love the Old Testament as much as he did. 
I wanted to laugh. Not so, I thought. The Old Testament is a book of dusty stories and boring lists. Was I wrong! 
Throughout that semester I learned that the Old Testament exists basically to testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, His sufferings, and His hope that we will accept of His offering for us.
Just imagine my astonishment as I read verses such as these below (from a volume of scripture I&#8217;d thought was dusty). My heart ached for Christ and His sufferings as I read them; the scripture was so powerful. The Old Testament apparently was a more important book than I&#8217;d thought:
&#8220;He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/47/suffering_of_jesus_christ</link>
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		<title>The Brazen Serpent</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you ever felt completely fatigued? Not physically, but emotionally? Where you feel that life cannot get any worse? Or perhaps you wonder why you were even born?
One of the most powerful scripture stories I&#8217;ve ever read can be found in the Old Testament and for me, it speaks directly to these feelings. It&#8217;s all about a brazen serpent.
Moses had his hands full. He had been called of the Lord to bring the children of Israel out of Pharaoh&#8217;s clutches and into freedom. But even after escape, the Israelites would do nothing but complain. As a result, Moses&#8217; burdens were great.
Moses was told by the Lord before delivering the Israelites:

&#8220;Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land&#8230;.
&#8220;Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments;
&#8220;And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians&#8221; (Exo. 6:1, 6-7).

So Moses knows clearly what lays ahead of him. But he has yet to meet the true nature of those he&#8217;s been called to lead. Again, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://bible.ldsblogs.com/46/the_brazen_serpent</link>
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