The First Epistle of Elder Savage

                              (Jesus Christ statue, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

        God is our loving Heavenly Father! He is all powerful, all knowing and perfect in every way! He created Me, You, your dog, cat, the space time continuum, and all the galaxies in the entire universe. He is the father of everything. God the Father is the Supreme Being in whom we believe and whom we worship. He is the ultimate Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of all things. He is perfect, has a body of flesh and bones, and has all power, and knows all things. We are his children and he cares for us, even that it is His work and His glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
      
     Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the Son of God. He is our Redeemer and mediator with the father. He is the Lamb of God, the very Messiah as prophesied of by Isiah.  Each of these titles points to the truth that Jesus Christ is the only way by which we can return to live with our Heavenly Father.
Jesus suffered and was crucified for the sins of the world, giving each of God’s children the gift of repentance and forgiveness. Only by His mercy and grace can anyone be saved. His subsequent resurrection prepared the way for every person to overcome physical death forever. These events compile what we refer to as the Atonement. In short, Jesus Christ saves us from sin and death. For that, He is very literally our Savior and Redeemer. In the future Jesus Christ will return to reign on earth in peace for a thousand years. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He will be our Lord forever. It should never be mistaken or mis-conceived concerning the Christianity of the Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For the title which they bear they have taken upon them, not only their unshaken faith in Jesus Christ as their savior, but more importantly by the devotion and determination of these Saints, to live every principle of their life as closely to that one perfect life that Christ lived.

      The Holy Ghost is the third member of the "God Head". The God Head is what we describe as Our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, and will be described in my own words later in this essay. The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter. The Holy Ghost works in perfect unity with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, fulfilling several roles to help us live righteously and receive the blessings of the gospel. He witnesses of the Father and the Son and reveals and teaches the truth of all things. We can receive a sure testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ only by the power of the Holy Ghost. His communication to our spirit carries far more certainty than any communication we can receive through our natural senses.

      Jesus Christ was created by our Father in Heaven as was You and Me, and Satan too. So, yes Satan is our brother as is Christ. Now unless you believe Satan is more powerful than God and had the ability to create himself, without being existent and also grant himself limited power to another supreme being's laws, ... ok ill stop now because it is ludicrous to even conceive such a fact that Satan is anything other than our brother. Hard to accept? Well if we have a Father, then we are his children. There is only one God who could have possible created us, so we are his children and brothers and sisters with every one else. Now I'm not building Satan up in anyway, but I'm tearing him down in every way I can, by teaching the true doctrine of Jesus Christ. Satan will NEVER have children, he will never have a body, he will never ever taste even a fraction or particle of joy or happiness, and he will never progress any higher. Yes even he is ultimately stripped of anything he has ever had or ever will have that could be credited to or described in any way as "good". He will endure the most ultimate of any punishment, and it will never cease for him, ever. Yes eternal and endless damnation.
     
       Well then... I have just explained to you in the clearest and most direct wording I could describing the relationships of the Major forces of power in whom we might ever associate with. Alrighty then, we talked about God a lot. Now if I did not make it clear before, let me make it absolutely clear right now. Our Heavenly Father, and the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are not one person, or being in anyway at all. Now do not overcrowd me with apathetic philosophy's declaring words without knowledge. I know the scriptures, and I know that they are true. So you may at times come across verses of scripture that may say in effect, "The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost which is one god..." This does not scarcely indicate in any way nor means that God is a Three headed mysterious omnipresent mist of confusion, nor would it indicate to any learned theologian that God is a three dimensional supernal manifestation of his humble self in a ultimate throne of power. Nope no way. Any time one wants to learn about, and then explain any conception of a Trinitarian God he must first endure a agnostic study of the writings of supposedly learned men, and be educated upon such matters from worldly sources, rather that it be an appeal to scripture or a supplication of prayer. No where in Gods holy inspired words does he teach anything resembling a Trinitarian God.

      However the divine connections between The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost are of such absolute importance that they must be one in their mission, one in their power and authority, and one in purpose, or God as we know him must cease to be God. He cannot continue in anything, except he be within perfect, and absolute divine harmony, and exactness to his role, purpose and identity. He cannot and he will not. Anything that is done by Heavenly Fathers power, must be perfect. Here we find the role of Jesus Christ and his ministry on this world, in simplistic harmony with the ordinations placed upon him by God The Father. He came into this world not to condemn the world, but the world through him might be saved, by a vicarious work for everyone who has ever lived or will yet live upon this earth. We sacredly refer to this work as the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the most important event as far as the bands of time prevail us to comprehend. If it where not for this Atonement we could never be made clean in the eyes of God. Without Christ's atonement there is no hope anywhere for salvation. His Atonement was in accordance perfectly with the will of God to such the extent when Christ cried out to his Father "If thou be willing let this cup pass from me, not as I wilt, but thy will be done." Jesus Christ used his agency that day, he loved us with such a Godly love he gave everything and endured everything so that our souls may not be lost. Now it may be a little easier to also see the role of the Holy Ghost. His special mission to bear divine Godly witness to the children of men, of purposes of Father, and of the atonement of Jesus Christ, so that we might receive this guidance of the Spirit to help us follow them, that we also might inherit everlasting life. The atonement of Jesus Christ is available to all, but only accessible through the ordinances of salvation when administered by the proper priesthood authority. If you have not partaken of the Love of Jesus Christ, I invite you to do so now. Find the missionaries wherever you may be, listen to their message, and follow Jesus Christ by being Baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God. It will change your life, and you will receive a remission of your sins, and I promise the blessings of God will be upon you and your family.

     I love my Heavenly Father, and I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and I am forever thankful for the guidance and direction of the Holy Ghost. I bear my testimony to whoever may hear of these words, or stumble across this epistle, that I know that God has again called a prophet among the nations. We have authority and power from God to Baptize for the remission of sins, confer the Holy Ghost, and many other sacred ordinances. But above all we have the opportunity to come together as families, in the sacred temples of God and be sealed together for time and all eternity! The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and it was translated by his power through the prophet Joseph Smith. I know these things are true, or I would not testify, or declare these words. I have put it all to the test, I've studied and I have prayed to Heavenly Father numerous times to receive and reassure the testimony I have gained. Now if you have not gained such a testimony by asking in sincere prayer, if this church is true, I invite you to do so now. I boldly declare that God loves his children and that the windows of heaven are open. God answers prayers, and he will answer yours.

Know that I love you, and that God loves you.
In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Elder Savage

P.S Sorry about grammar and punctuation errors if there be any.

Press Forward Like a Cat

     If ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
     What does it mean to "Press Forward"? How do we do this, and how can we gain this "Eternal Life"?
     Well have I gotten an analogy for you. When I think of pressing forward and enduring to The End I think of it as pushing our way through. The best pusher I can think of is a Cat. Ha ha not a cat, cat. I mean a Caterpillar, and no not the worm things that magically turn into butterflies. I mean a Caterpillar Bulldozer.

    Oh yea! Yup well this is a pretty good example of a Cat Dozer. Well lookin at a machine like this you can only imagine how much pushing power it really has. Anything that gets in its way is gone! Don't park your car in this things way or you probably wont have a car anymore, same goes for a school bus or any large buildings, bridges or ... well pretty much anything. This machine can knock over any tree, rock, or anything that gets in its way.

   Brothers and Sisters we need to be like a Bulldozer! We have the Lords promise that if we stayed anchored in our faith, that nothing can come before us that we cannot handle. We need to keep our hearts steadied and solid with the teachings of the Lord, meaning the words of the Prophets and the scriptures. We need to have that huge solid shield in front of us to protect us from any "rocks" or trials and tribulations and temptations. This shield is the Holy Ghost. We need to always remain worthy to have its companionship and protection. And most of all we need to be in control of our lives. That huge dozer is all in control and check by a few levers and pedals and we also much make sure we have complete and total control in our lives.

   And most important of all we mush press forward at all times with Faith in Jesus Christ! We must never give up hope or let trial in our lives shake us. We need to stand up and arise at any situation that we Believe in Christ! We know that God lives and that He loves Us!

      Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:20)

   We have the Lords promise! We must always endure to the end! We must press on and push through!

Christmas and Snow

    Ahhh Winter time. My most favorite time of the year! Some of you would argue that Its cold or windy or snowy or cold and windy and snowy. But I beg to stand up and stand out. You might call me crazy and you might even find me complaining but I love the winter season more than anything in the world.
   Oh yes I have my reasons. Well the first one would be Hunting. I love hunting, a lot. And guess what time of year it comes around, late fall to early winter. Usually ill start off with some pheasant hunting in early fall, followed by the dove hunt, then the deer hunt followed by elk and ducks and geese and wrapping up in the spring with some Turkey hunting. Yup I hunt all of this and sometimes even more, so this would be my reasoning behind my love for the hunting season. Oh yea Ice Fishing too.
   Reason number two would be for the Christmas presents. Oh come on whats better than the over commercialization of Jesus Christ's birth by getting tonnes of free stuff. Hey the wise men did give gifts to Jesus himself. Yea gold frankincense and myrrh. Yes I'm kidding. Of course i don't believe in the sick disportrayal, mockery and idolship that is made during Christmas time by all those who loose the true spirit of Christmas. Yea I'm kidding again, I'm not that mad about it but really, what if Christ himself where here seeing this all going on what would he say? I love getting presents and I love giving presents too. Makes me happy, and I love free stuff ha ha. But we should never loose the true meaning of this season. To celebrate the Son of the Living God coming down to this earth to preform his mission. The start of his life in bringing every soul unto his Father. I love Christmas time and i love the songs, the decorations and the gifts but let us never loose the true meaning of this day.
    And to put the polish on this baby I would speak about the snow. I love Snow! Yea i said it, not only like it, I love it! I like coming in on a cold day and drinking come nice hot co-co. I love getting stuck in the mountains and cuddling to get warm. I love shoveling sidewalks to show others you care. I love when it blows in my face, when I fall down and am walking through the house in socks and step on some melted snow (water bomb).  I love it all. And the beauty that comes from the snow is unparalleled but anything. Nothing compares to a majestic mountain peak covered in snow or a herd of elk running in the high mountain powder. And to me it also stands as a witness. About how much weight and volume of snow we really get. In my valley in central Utah about 95% of the moisture and water used for growing crops and watering livestock come from the huge amount of snow high up in the mountains. How amazing is the power of God to make all of this happen! Millions and millions of pounds of snow is carried up by the wind and delivered in the mountains and valleys and stored well into the summer for a better use at later time. Wow God is Awesome!
    I love this time of year and all the many countless things that can come from it. It is my favorite part of year and I hope it is yours too, well I at least hope you see why I love it. Well remember Christ, dress warm and drive safe! Happy Holidays!

Love Yall
Elder Savage

Its My Philosophy

      

       Well as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I often find my words being cut short and my mind left un-spoken. Which most of you who know me probably think that's a good thing. ha ha. Well lets let the matter be clear to everyone that can read these words or hear my voice, I am going to tell you straight up, and straight down who I am and what I believe.

      First and foremost of all I know that there is a God. I know that He is our loving Heavenly Father, and stating such I also know that He created You and I. And He also created everyone and everything we know, and everything we cannot comprehend. He is the master painter of the universe, the ultimate engineer in all living things and the supreme Governor of this world, Galaxy and universe. I know that He is loving and caring beyond our wildest imaginations and because He is, He knows us, even down to the number of hairs on our heads. He wants our eternal salvation and our everlasting happiness and joy, and to bring this to pass, is His work and His glory.

    Secondly I bear my testimony on the truthfulness of the everlasting gospel. I know that the Prophet of the world today is Tohmas S. Monson. He is the only one on this earth today with the right privilege, and commission to exercise every priesthood key and every necessary ordinance pertaining to the salvation of man. I know that he, and others before him such as Gordon B. Hinkley and all those through Joseph Smith where directly called of God to be his servants. Speaking of said Joseph Smith, I know that our Heavenly Father, and His Son Jesus Christ appeared to him on a early spring morning in 1820. At that time he was commissioned to to be a prophet of God and to restore the True Church of Jesus Christ. In this vast and bewildering calling he was also told to retrieve and ancient record and to translate the words by the power of God and to compile a book. We know of this book as The Book of Mormon. It is real, physical evidence that we can read with our eyes and hold in our hands. But the real evidence or should I say the ultimate convincing power behind the is that the Book of Mormon testifies of its own truthfulness, and this comes directly from God. As we read these words the Spirit of God will testify to our hearts as well as to our minds to the truthfulness of the message it contains. I have receives this answer, and I know that it is true.

       Thirdly I bear my testimony about my beliefs pertaining to the family.  I know that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. It is through our families that we can obtain happiness in this life. In our families we can learn and grow strong in the teachings of Jesus Christ. In our families we can always have peace and comfort in times of trial and tribulation. In our families we can grow strong and defend the firery darts of the adversary. A husband and wife have a very sacred calling as having the opportunity to be a mother and a father. To have children is the greatest blessing that anyone could ever have and it is all that I look forward to in my life is someday to be a worthy husband and father. I know that there is no greater calling and there is no greater joy.  My greatest hope and ambition in all my life is someday to have an eternal family. To be married and sealed in the temple of God and to have my children sealed up unto me so that through out all time and all eternities I will have my wife, and I will have my children. I guarantee it and I Know that it is true.

       In closing I would also bear my testimony of the divine calling of Jesus Christ. I know that he is the Son of God and that He, by exercising His agency and his power, had the love and compassion for the welfare of our souls to suffer all sin and all sorrows and hardships and ultimately to give his life in place for ours. I know that Jesus Christ did really did do this, and thus making Him the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind. I testify that it is through, and only through Jesus Christ the we can be with our Father in Heaven forever. I love my savior, I love my family and I love this church. This is what I believe in. This is what makes me, me. If you ever want to know what else I believe in or if you have any questions about the church or about life, ill be your Huckleberry. I am Jacob Savage, and I know all these things are true. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love Yall

Elder Savage