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the Lord protected the members of Zion's Camp

Let us take a course that will be pleasing to our Father, and lay aside our follies and our sins, and obtain favor with our God, that his angels may come and associate with us. They would do so now, if you would believe and practice that which is laid before you day by day. And if you will strictly follow the leaders of this people, you never would want for clothing, nor for any of the comforts of life; for if it must needs be that we be protected and delivered from our enemies, God would cause a famine to scourge them, and would rain manna down from heaven to sustain us, as he did to the children of Israel. But he never will do that, until it is necessary to our salvation and deliverance. Now, there is no necessity for such a display of his power, neither will there be, until we are brought into the midst of certain trials, as Joseph Smith and his brethren were, about twenty-two years ago. I refer to the time when he and some of his brethren went up to Missouri; and those who went up

God's protection of the faithful

Read in the nineteenth chapter of II Kings how Sennacherib the Assyrian king sought to overthrow Jerusalem (2 Kings 18:28-37, 19:1-37). Hezekiah, the king who represented Israel pleaded with the Lord for deliverance while Sennacherib mocked him, saying, "Don't think that your prayers to your God can help you. Every place that I have been and taken already, they have been praying. You are helpless," and the next morning a large part of the Assyrian army was found dead upon the ground, and Jerusalem had been preserved by the Lord. He is our strength, brethren, your Father and mine, the Father of all; if we will only be worthy He will preserve us as He did Helaman's sons (Alma 58:39), and as He preserved Daniel from the lions (Daniel 6:20-27), and the three Hebrew children from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:20-30), and six hundred thousand of the descendants of Abraham when he brought them out from Egypt under the leadership of Moses and drowned Pharaoh's army in the R

the importance of obedience

Being a member of the Church and holding the Priesthood will not get us anywhere unless we are worthy. The Lord has said that every blessing that we desire is predicated upon obedience to His commandments (D&C 130:20-21). We may deceive our neighbors, and we may deceive ourselves with the idea that we are going through all right, but unless we keep the commandments of our Heavenly Father, unless we bear worthily this holy Priesthood that is so precious, we will not find our place in the celestial kingdom... George Albert Smith, General Conference, April 1943

Testimony of the Book of Mormon--Parley P. Pratt

I have testified and do still testify of the truth of the Book of Mormon—that it is an inspired record, the history of a branch of the house of Israel that lived in America; that it does contain the fullness of the Gospel as revealed to them by a crucified and risen Redeemer; and that wherever it goes and its light is permitted to shine, the Spirit of the Lord will bear testimony of its truth to every honest heart in all the world. Wherever that book is candidly perused, the Spirit will bear record of its truth... Parley P. Pratt, Journal of Discourses 5:195

the character of God

It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another... Joseph Smith, King Follett Discourse, Journal of Discourses 6:4

Know This, That Every Soul Is Free

Know this, that every soul is free To choose his life and what he’ll be; For this eternal truth is given: That God will force no man to heaven. He’ll call, persuade, direct aright, And bless with wisdom, love, and light, In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind. Freedom and reason make us men; Take these away, what are we then? Mere animals, and just as well The beasts may think of heaven or hell. May we no more our powers abuse, But ways of truth and goodness choose; Our God is pleased when we improve His grace and seek his perfect love. LDS Hymn #240 Text:  Anon., ca. 1805, Boston. Included in the first LDS hymnbook, 1835. Music:  Roger L. Miller, b. 1937. © 1985 IRI Helaman 14:30–31 2 Nephi 10:23–24