From: Francis Harper
Their Greatest Desire
“. . . they 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 angels did come down out of heaven, and did minister unto them And . . . behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and ministered unto them” (3 Nephi 9:10, 14-16).
His disciples prayed three times. And it came to pass that Jesus beheld them, as they did pray, and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance, and also the garments of Jesus”
(3 Nephi 9:25).
The words I recorded in my journal on July 6, 2019, are quoted here: “In a spiritual dream I saw a young man whose face was radiant. I also saw water standing in a “heap” at two levels. How will the “few,” who Jesus will call his own, be distinguished? According to my spiritual dream they may be identified by a noticeable radiance, as Stephen whose face appeared “as it had been the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). They may also be participants in miracles such as the water of Jordan standing in a heap. “. . . the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap” (Joshua 3:16).
Surely being filled with the Holy Ghost should be our greatest desire. Only those who are filled with the Holy Spirit will be caught up to meet the Lord when he comes “in the clouds with ten thousands of his saints in the kingdom, clothed with the glory of his Father. And every eye shall see him; and they who pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him” (Revelation 1:17).
How sad it will be for those who will not be worthy to be at the greatest of all reunions described in the Inspired Version: “And the Lord said unto Enoch, “Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there [these are they who are filled with the Spirit; as the wise virgins whose lamps were trimmed, filled, and burning when the Bridegroom came – Matthew 25]; and we will receive them into our bosom; and they shall see us, and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other” (Genesis 7:71 IV).
The words of Paul to the Romans have never been more appropriate: “. . . knowing the time, that it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent the day [of the Lord’s coming] is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light . . . put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to gratify the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:11-14).
Those who desire to be prepared for the Lord’s imminent return should make being filled with the Holy Ghost their most urgent desire. The early saints “continued with one accord in prayer and supplication . . . and when the day of Pentecost was fully come . . . they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 1:14-15, 2:1, 4).
I say again, being filled with the Holy Ghost should be our greatest desire. The Lord is anxious to bless us with this greatest of all gifts. Being filled with the Holy Ghost is the indispensable key to Zionic conditions. “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul . . .” (Acts 4:31-32).
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Dear Ones,
The Holy Ghost testifies of Jesus; “and by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5).
The question has been asked: Is Jesus Christ dead or alive? I ask you, Do you believe Jesus is alive? Can you say I know Jesus is alive without seeing Him? The answer is most assuredly yes! Paul stated in his letter to the Hebrews “. . . no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost” (Hebrews 12:3).
One of the most beautiful testimonies of Jesus ever put into words are recorded in the book of Job. Job said: “Oh that my words were now written! Oh, that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; And though after my skin worms destroy this body; yet in the flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold . . .” (Job 19:23-27). It is unlikely that Job was an eye-witness of Jesus, yet he could say: I know that my Redeemer liveth.
We can trust the testimony of the apostles who were eye witnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Paul wrote: “He was seen of Cephas [Peter], then of the twelve; After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren; of whom the greater part remain . . . and last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Peter testified of being an “eye witness of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16).
I can name only a few who have been eye-witnesses of Jesus since his post-resurrection appearances during the first century. Among these is Joseph Smith, Jr., in 1820. Another is Sundar Singh of India, in the early 1900’s. Sundar Singh tells the story of his conversion in his own words as follows: “I was sent for my secular education to a small primary school that had been opened by the American Presbyterian Mission in our village in Rampur [India]. At that time I had so many prejudices about Christianity that I refused to read the Bible in the daily Bible lessons. My teacher insisted that I should attend; but I was so opposed to this that the next year I left that school and went to a Government school at Sanewal three miles away, and there I studied for some months. To some extent I felt that the teaching of the Gospel on the love of God attracted me, but I still thought it was false and opposed it. So firmly was I set in my opinions, and so great was my unrest, that one day, in the presence of my father and others, I tore up a Gospel and burned it.
“Though, according to my ideas at that time, I thought I had done a good deed in burning the Gospel, yet my unrest of heart increased, and for two days after that I was miserable. On the third day, when I felt I could bear it no longer I got up at three in the morning, and after bathing, I prayed that if there was a God at all He would reveal Himself to me, and show me the way of salvation, and end this unrest of my soul. I firmly made up my mind that, if this prayer was not answered, I would before daylight go down to the railway, and place my head on the line before the incoming train.
“I remained till about half past four praying and waiting and expecting to see Krishna or Buddha, or some other Avatar of the Hindu religion; they appeared not, but a light was shining in the room. I opened the door to where it came from, but all was dark outside. I returned inside, and the light increased in intensity and took the form of a globe of light above the ground, and in this light there appeared, not the form I expected, but the Living Christ whom I had counted as dead. To all eternity I shall never forget His glorious and loving face, nor the few words which he spoke: ‘Why do you persecute me? See, I have died on the cross for you and for the whole world.’ These words were burned into my heart as by lightning, and I fell on the ground before Him. My heart was filled with inexpressible joy and peace, and my whole life was entirely changed. Then the old Sundar Singh died and a new Sundar Singh, to serve the Living Christ, was born.” See A.P. Appasamy, Sundar Singh, page 20-21.
My Love to All,
High Priest Francis Harper
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