From: Francis Harper
wbfrmsup@iowatelecom.net
Francis Harper Message for 1/24/2020
“Pray With All The Energy Of Heart”
(Moroni 7:53)
I was awakened recently with these words, “Pray with all the energy of heart” being repeated in my mind. The full text is: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son Jesus Christ, that ye may become the sons of God, that when he shall appear we shall be like him . . .” (Moroni 7:53). See also 1 John 3:2.
This scripture is a call to prayer. Asking the Father to fill us with his celestial love should not be a half-hearted plea. Of all our prayer requests this should be given highest priority.
Moroni’s counsel should be heeded: “Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail; but charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth for ever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with them” (Moroni 7:52). Jesus said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).
I was led to find this stone at the Sacred Grove of Palmyra in 1997. It had two slices that fit together like two pieces of sliced bread. I held in my hand replicas of the tables of stone given to Moses on Mount Sinai!” And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of testimony were in his hand; the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written” (Exodus 32:15).
The first four of the Ten Commandments speak of our relationship with God. (Love the Lord is engraved on the back of the stone on the left). The last six deal with our relationship with our neighbor. (Love thy neighbor is engraved on the back of the stone on the right).
Jesus was asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:35-40).
This stone is confirmation and tangible evidence of truth. Here in this sacred place, God spoke to Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1820 A.D. as he spoke to Moses in 1500 B.C. And his commandments are just as valid today as they were so long ago. “For I am the Lord, I change not . . .” (Malachi 3:6). “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Jesus also said: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him (John 14:21).
Love is the supreme virtue and the precursor of all virtues. “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not . . . is not puffed up [is humble] . . . seeketh not her own [is unselfish], is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil . . .” (1 Corinthians 13).
Love is the key to an inheritance in celestial glory. “We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). It would be profitable for us to pray that our love be increased and that we read the words of 1 John and 1 Corinthians 13, daily!
A scribe said to Jesus: “There is one God, and there is none other but him. And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength; and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And Jesus said to him, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:33-39).
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Dear Ones,
A story is told of a chaplain who found a severely wounded soldier dying on a battlefield. The chaplain asked if he could read some comforting verses of scripture for him? The young soldier said “I am so thirsty!!” The chaplain quickly reached for his own canteen and gave him a drink. Then the wounded man said, “I am very cold.” Without hesitation, the chaplain removed his overcoat and covered him. Then the soldier said “I am also very hungry.” Once again, the chaplain fed him from his own scanty ration. At this point the wounded man said, “Sir, if there is something in the Bible that caused you to do all you have done for me, I want to hear it!”
Perhaps the chaplain read: “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he shall sit upon the throne of his glory; And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth sheep from the goats; the sheep on his right hand, . . . [with] the goats on his left. And he shall sit upon his throne, and the twelve apostles with him. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee; or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in; or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25: 32-41).
Love qualifies us as servants of God. And we serve God by serving our neighbors. “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are . . . in the service of your God” (Mosiah 1:49).
During the month of June, 1993, I attended a two week “School of the Prophets,” at Ben Israel, in Northern Minnesota. Arthur Katz was the camp pastor or leader. Art, a Jew, was converted to Christianity as he was hitchhiking across Europe, at age 34. This was in 1963. He was a self-proclaimed atheist, looking for answers when he was picked up at the side of a road, in a bone-chilling rain, by a man who bought him dinner and then asked, “Art, do you know what this world needs?” Art had been asking himself this question. He responded, “No, what does this world need?” The answer was given: “This world needs people who are willing to wash one another’s feet.” These words penetrated Art’s hardened heart, like no other words would have. Later Art searched for the man who had spoken the words he needed to hear, but he could not be found. He wondered: “Was he a man, or an angel?”
How will our hearts be filled with the pure love of Christ? I often think of the words recorded in 3 Nephi 9:10-14: “. . . behold, they [the Lord’s disciples] knelt again, and prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus, and they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them . . . and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and fire.” Let us “pray with all the energy of heart” that we, like them, will be filled with the Holy Ghost, for “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance . . .” (Galatians 5:22-23).
“And no one can assist in this work, except he shall be humble and full of love” (Doctrine and Covenants 11:4-b).
My Love to All,
High Priest Francis Harper
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