A Powerful Combination
The Club. What kind of club? Are we going out partying?
Nope.
I mean the kind of club you'd smack somebody with.
Yup. The kind that a troll carries.
Because a club is going to be a lot more effective than a couple of sticks if you're caught in a fight.
A fight against Satan.
That's right. You get a club. To fight the Devil.
So, the crazy Mormon is telling you that you can beat all the forces of darkness with the club Jesus gave you...What?
That's exactly what I'm telling you. BUT, it's in the Bible.
Ezekiel 37:15-20 states:
15 ¶The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Two sticks make a club, right?
Stick #1 is the stick of Judah. Which refers to the Bible, as the Bible is an account of the people of Judah (one of the sons of Jacob) and from whose line would come Christ.
Stick #2 is the stick of Ephraim, or in other words, the Book of Mormon. The first prophets of the Book of Mormon came from ancient Israel and were descendants of Joseph (and his technicolor coat of many colors), another son of Jacob. Joseph was the father of Ephraim, and from his line come the prophets who wrote the Book of Mormon.
Here's a fun diagram to help visualize that:
http://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/manual/32506/32506_000_057_06-Stick.pdf
We then take these two sticks, and join them into "one stick". Take the record of Judah and join it with that of Ephraim. In other words, take the Bible and join it with the Book of Mormon. Put them side by side. *(If by making them "one" you think we're making them the same object...have fun with that. That's pretty hard to do with sticks.)* Have you ever seen those enormous scriptures Mormons carry around? We call it our "quad". And in it, the Book of Mormon and Bible are side by side. So you can flip back and forth to your heart's content. That's the club we're talking about.
The Bible and Book of Mormon, as one in our hands, teach together of Christ. They teach the words and ordinances of Christ, they testify of him and build our faith in him as we use them together. They support each other, and expound on each other. The Book of Mormon isn't our "gold Bible" or the only book we use. Instead, we use it to help us understand the the Bible.
Sometimes, I feel like the Ethiopian who was reading Isaiah when Philip asked him "Understandest thou what thou readest?". The Ethiopian replied "How can I, except some man should guide me?". Amen to that man. If a guy who was raised in the time of the apostles had no clue what Isaiah was trying to say, I pretty much feel like I got no chance. BUT that's why I love the Book of Mormon. Because then I have the words of ancient prophets who were contemporaries with Isaiah to explain it in a much simpler way.
So, with my club, my Bible and Book of Mormon used in harmony with each other, and with plenty of prayer and, sometimes help from those who understand scripture better than myself, I'm armed to beat Satan. I spend A LOT of time reading the Bible and comparing it to scriptures in the Book of Mormon. Some connections are more confusing or unclear than others, but the more you know, the more you study, and the more you ponder for yourself, the more you will understand. I've read both books. Both are true. Both teach of Christ. Both give hope, and by living what they teach, I have most definitely become happier. You can't go off what I have to say about it though: Time to take out your Bible and a Book of Mormon and find out for yourself by searching them. Happy reading!
Nope.
I mean the kind of club you'd smack somebody with.
Yup. The kind that a troll carries.
Because a club is going to be a lot more effective than a couple of sticks if you're caught in a fight.
A fight against Satan.
That's right. You get a club. To fight the Devil.
So, the crazy Mormon is telling you that you can beat all the forces of darkness with the club Jesus gave you...What?
That's exactly what I'm telling you. BUT, it's in the Bible.
Ezekiel 37:15-20 states:
15 ¶The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
Two sticks make a club, right?
Stick #1 is the stick of Judah. Which refers to the Bible, as the Bible is an account of the people of Judah (one of the sons of Jacob) and from whose line would come Christ.
Stick #2 is the stick of Ephraim, or in other words, the Book of Mormon. The first prophets of the Book of Mormon came from ancient Israel and were descendants of Joseph (and his technicolor coat of many colors), another son of Jacob. Joseph was the father of Ephraim, and from his line come the prophets who wrote the Book of Mormon.
Here's a fun diagram to help visualize that:
http://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/manual/32506/32506_000_057_06-Stick.pdf
We then take these two sticks, and join them into "one stick". Take the record of Judah and join it with that of Ephraim. In other words, take the Bible and join it with the Book of Mormon. Put them side by side. *(If by making them "one" you think we're making them the same object...have fun with that. That's pretty hard to do with sticks.)* Have you ever seen those enormous scriptures Mormons carry around? We call it our "quad". And in it, the Book of Mormon and Bible are side by side. So you can flip back and forth to your heart's content. That's the club we're talking about.
The Bible and Book of Mormon, as one in our hands, teach together of Christ. They teach the words and ordinances of Christ, they testify of him and build our faith in him as we use them together. They support each other, and expound on each other. The Book of Mormon isn't our "gold Bible" or the only book we use. Instead, we use it to help us understand the the Bible.
Sometimes, I feel like the Ethiopian who was reading Isaiah when Philip asked him "Understandest thou what thou readest?". The Ethiopian replied "How can I, except some man should guide me?". Amen to that man. If a guy who was raised in the time of the apostles had no clue what Isaiah was trying to say, I pretty much feel like I got no chance. BUT that's why I love the Book of Mormon. Because then I have the words of ancient prophets who were contemporaries with Isaiah to explain it in a much simpler way.
So, with my club, my Bible and Book of Mormon used in harmony with each other, and with plenty of prayer and, sometimes help from those who understand scripture better than myself, I'm armed to beat Satan. I spend A LOT of time reading the Bible and comparing it to scriptures in the Book of Mormon. Some connections are more confusing or unclear than others, but the more you know, the more you study, and the more you ponder for yourself, the more you will understand. I've read both books. Both are true. Both teach of Christ. Both give hope, and by living what they teach, I have most definitely become happier. You can't go off what I have to say about it though: Time to take out your Bible and a Book of Mormon and find out for yourself by searching them. Happy reading!