Tag Archives: Sermon on the Mount

Zion – An Israel Experience

I testify that Jesus walked, taught, and worked the miracles described in the gospels. And He worked out the perfect and infinite atonement in Jerusalem (this holy and sacred place). In one of the many grand ironies of the Lord, Jerusalem means the city of peace.

Yet, it has been fought over more than almost any other city. But in His grand plan, it will become so. It will be a ZION society of the pure in heart, who are of one mind and one heart with the Lord. My wife and I have been to Israel four times, and here I share some of our ZION experiences.

Now, with all the conflict in Israel, it is hard to imagine a “pure in heart” people being of “one mind and one heart with God.” But we had a taste of it while there, and it surely shall come to pass.

President Spencer Kimball went to Israel during the energy crises. He was greatly impressed and when he wrote an article about his trip in the Church’s ENSIGN magazine, he said if you have a chance to go; do it. I thought this an unusual thing for him to share when travel was discouraged. I never thought I would have the chance. But in 1986, I was invited to give some lectures, and then later to help with Israel’s official atomic clock timekeeping system.

In 1986, I was then serving as Stake President of the Boulder Stake in Colorado. I knew I would be released the next year—after ten years of service, as President. In preparation for the trip the next year, I read the four gospels again and paid attention to where the miracles took place in detail as part of my preparations for what I thought would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Dr. Avinoam Shinhar, the director of the National Physical Laboratory for Israel, asked me to spend our first week at NPLI in Jerusalem working with their chief scientist, Dr. Alex Lepek. My wife and I ended up going to Israel four times to help them over a five-year span. Our collaborative efforts were very successful, as we tied their timing system to Universal Time (UTC) the world time standard.

While I was helping at NPLI, they had a professor who prided himself in knowing all the significant historical places both for Hebrew and Christian. At the close of each day’s work, he kindly would take us to one of these sights.

Seeking Bethany

I asked him if he would take us to Bethany. I had him stumped; he didn’t know where Bethany was. I knew about where it was from the New Testament account. So, on Friday, he said, “Let’s go find Bethany.” We went to a monastery on the south end of the Mt. Olives, and he asked a nun for directions. She directed us on the Road to Jericho to the “Bethany Souvenir Shop,” which is all that remains of Bethany. The reason he did not know where Bethany was because the name had changed.

Lazarus – Come Forth

The Savior’s raising Lazarus from the grave changed the name of the town.  The name of the town went from Bethany to the Town of Lazarus.  In Arabic, it is called al-Azariya–meaning the place where Lazarus lived. I have a blog article about this insightful experience: SACRED BETHEL, BETHANY, & BETHLEHEM.  (itsabouttimebook.com). This reveals direct evidence of the Savior’s ministry to the world. Else, why would they change the name of the town to reflect the significance of the Savior raising Lazarus from the dead?

“Lazarus, Come forth!

BYU Israel Campus

The BYU-Israel campus in Jerusalem is unique. The chapel has glass windows on three sides: looking south to the Mt. of Olives, west to the Dome of the Rock, near where the temple was, and to the northwest to the place of crucifixion and the Garden tomb. After one of our trips to Israel, I was sitting in the chapel in our Stake Center. During the sacrament, I was envisioning in my mind’s eye this setting in Jerusalem. I started weeping in deep gratitude for the infinite atonement. I blew my nose so hard that I damaged the hearing in my left ear. Now I have a constant reminder of that experience for which I am deeply grateful.

BYU-Jerusalem Center is the multiple arched building to the upper left.

The Orson Hyde Memorial Park is directly south of BYU-JC. It has his dedicatory prayer inscribed and is the biggest park in Jerusalem. In the prayer he shared the prophesy that Jerusalem would become the Capitol City of Israel. President Trump helped make that happen during his term of office.

After the week in Jerusalem, I gave my lectures in Tel Aviv the next week. Then I had arranged with Dan Rona to go on his tour during our last week in Israel. Dan was born in Haifa and is a Jewish convert. He knows the Hebrew traditions and history and has the glorious restoration of the fullness of the gospel perspective. His scriptures were well-worn! And he used them extensively as we went to several places in Israel—all of great significance.

Dan took us to the tomb where the Savior’s body laid for three days before His glorious resurrection. We walked into and observed that the tomb was empty. During those three days, His Spirit was in Paradise, opening up missionary work for all those in the spirit world. (1 Peter 3:18-20; 4:6)

Sermon On the Mount

Dan took us to where he believes the Sermon on the Mount was delivered overlooking the Sea of Galilee. After reading from some of those chapters in the Book of Mathew, Dan gave us time to meditate about what he had shared and the feelings associated with this beautiful spot.

There was a boat out on the Sea of Galilee about a mile away, and we could hear them talking. There were some sheep on an adjacent hillside, and it was as if they were next to us. Evidence of an acoustic miracle witness that the Savior shared this paramount sermon so that all the masses gathered could clearly hear.

As I sat pondering and meditating—looking out over the Sea of Galilee, a beautiful Spirit of the Lord washed over my whole body testifying that all those miracles I had studied about in preparation for this trip happened here in Galilee as described in the gospels.

It was this sermon with important additions that brought the Nephites in North America to become a ZION people, as described in Third Nephi 12-19. Their ideal ZION society is described in Fourth Nephi. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “We ought to have the building up of Zion as our greatest object.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 186) Elder Jeffrey Holland profoundly testifies of the same in our last LDS General Conference.

My Favorite Place

Because I have traveled a lot with the atomic clock community, I am often asked, “What is your favorite place in the world?” I always answer, “ISRAEL!” We cannot comprehend the magnitude of the infinite good Christ accomplished there for all of Father’s children—perfecting Heavenly Father’s perfect plan of happiness. I am a witness. Now you know why this was our most favorite trip! My Sweetheart (my wife Edna) shares the same witness and feelings as I do. The wonderful thought now is that we can be part of the coming ideal ZION society, which is coming for sure here in America as well as in Israel. (See Isaiah 2:2-3) The goal is to be pure in heart and to be of one mind and one heart with the Lord (D&C 38:27). The ten heavenly principles shared in Vinney Tolman’s book, THE LIGHT AFTER DEATH, has helped me in my preparations for our coming ZION society. Like the scriptures, it is a life changing book.

David W. Allan (15 August 2024)

Photo: Carl Bloch, 1890 – Free Christ Images

 

LOGOS – A Very Important Name for Christ

There is an unfamiliar name for Christ of great importance. It is LOGOS.  It is the Greek term for Christ. The translation is: “The Word, Message, Teaching, The News. Christ himself is the Reason and the Grand Creator.” Most Christians are not familiar with this name for Christ.  In the Book of the Gospel of John, in the first verse, Christ is described as the “Word,” or LOGOS; then, John goes on to explain.

Understanding the Name LOGOS

Our son, Nathan, gave me the link for Jordan Pederson’s visit to the Bible Museum in Washington D.C. in a podcast format.   In this podcast, the word LOGOS is explained very well. I was so impressed with this 44-minute podcast that I pulled it up on the big screen for my Sweetheart, who is also my wife of 64 years, to watch with me as well. Jordan paints this profound picture of how this most important book has enlightened the world on God’s literacy and ethics far more than any other book and explains LOGOS.

The Greek word, LOGOS, has a much deeper meaning than its English translation, the WORD.  Along with Jordan Pederson’s podcast, we will see why and how the LOGOS has blest the world so enormously. As a major example for us Americans, the LOGOS gave us our inspired Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Bill of Rights. No other book influenced these documents more than God and the Bible. It is the LOGOS that provides the all-encompassing infinite atonement–perfecting Heavenly Father’s Plan of Joy for each of us and the promise of eternal life.

Newton’s Discussion of LOGOS

I share Sir Isaac Newton’s discussion of LOGOS in Chapter 3 of my new book, Time & Eternity; the End-Times & Beyond Revealed. Newton shows why the Gospel of John 1:1-17 is so profound in explaining LOGOS. Satan knows God’s Bible ethics and enlightened literacy is premaramente [Spanish, the first], and helps us to know the LOGOS with the promise of eternal life and a fullness of joy. (Read the Gospel of John, Chapter 17)

That is why Satan is trying so hard to stop the promulgation of God’s Bible ethics and the LOGOS. We see the satanically driven theory of evolution (Darwin’s), theory of social evolution is expressed in Powell’s belief that the American Indians are savages which justified destroying them and taking away their lands, in this the “Promised Land,” of America.  And we see the theory of political evolution (communism and its cousin, socialism) saying that there is no God, no prayer, and no Ten Commandments. The satanically driven LGBTQ+ and Woke movements prevail today.

Importance of Parables in the LOGOS–Deeper Meanings

I had a really interesting conversation with Nate this morning (10 March 2023). He shared a couple of recent insights that he had regarding the scriptures. He believes the parables are much more than being able to help people at all levels of spirituality, but also helping those who have been trapped in delusion in a major way.

A classic example is shared in 2 Samuel Chapter 12: the Prophet Nathan tells King David the parable of the little ewe lamb, which the poor man loved, “and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.” The rich man chose not to take from his own flock to feed a guest, but instead took the poor man’s ewe lamb from “his bosom.” David was angry and said, “the man that hath done this thing shall surely die.” Nathan responded, “Thou art the man.” This response cut David to the very core of his heart because he had taken Bathsheba from Uriah.

I believe the scriptures, which are an important part of the LOGOS and are of infinite depth. Peter tells us that the scriptures are given when “they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:19-21) Since we are all different, we will naturally read each scripture differently, and that is why we need the Holy Ghost to know how to apply the scriptures to our needs and for our enlightenment. Because of God’s infinite love for each of us in our mortal journey, as we truly seek Him, we have the great promise that the Holy Ghost will help us know the “truth of all things.” (Moroni 10:5) It is up to us to humbly ask, and God will guide us to those truths best fulfilling our needs and requests for enlightenment, and how to best apply them and share them in our lives and in the lives of others we may be privileged to serve.

Be Ye Therefore Perfect

Nate also shared his insight on the Sermon on the Mount and Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect…” His epiphany was that the Savior is saying to us, “these teachings I have given you are the recipe for perfection. This is the model to emulate.” Following His teachings will put you on the path to perfection. The commandment to be perfect is impossible for us mortals and is often discouraging to people. But Christ can and will perfect us, as we come unto Him and internalize His teachings (Moroni 10:31-32).

The Sermon on the Mount

The 3rd season of “The Chosen” does a great job of showing the importance of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6, and 7). It is these chapters that the Savior gave to the Nephites here in “This Promised Land” of America that moved them into becoming an ideal Zion society for over 200 years. We have the promise that He will do the same in our day, as the LOGOS brings forth the ideal Zion society in our day and time.

That sermon is a major part of LOGOS–providing POWERFUL WORDS: LOGOS. He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6)—the Grand Creator. It is fascinating that the early Church after the “Passion” called the church “The Way,” and the LOGOS was and is the way. See Drama of Lost Disciples | It’s About Time (itsabouttimebook.com).I find it particularly interesting that as Jesus sums up the Sermon on the Mount, He says, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” (Matt. 7:24) I love the French translation of the phrase from this verse, les met en pratique: put these sayings into practice. If you are a true believer, you will be a doer of His word—living and sharing the LOGOS. Helaman’s counsel to his sons is most apropos.

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a
sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)

Knowing that Jesus is the LOGOS (the WORD), in Jesus’ great High Priest’s prayer, he proclaims to the Father, “Thy word is truth.” The Father made Jesus LOGOS, as the “Son of Righteousness”–deriving His LOGOS from the Father (2 Nephi 26:9; 3 Nephi 25:2; Ether 9:22). These three scripture references interestingly tie to our day, to the Nephites and to the Jaredites—three major civilizations in the history of the world.

The Druid’s motto, who were descendants of the Hebrews, was, “Truth against the world.” Pilot asked Jesus, “What is truth?” To Pilot’s earlier inquiry, Jesus had told Pilot that His kingdom is not of this world. “Thou sayest I am a king To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.” What is the truth? We have an excellent explanation by the Savior of “truth” in John Chapter 8:12, 31, 32, 36:

“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life…

“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…

“If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Ultimate freedom and liberty only come from the LOGOS.

Be Humble Recipients of Truth

In 1930, D&C 33: 5 shares that the church was established and called forth out of the wilderness. Later, In September 1831, in the Doctrine and Covenants in Section 1, which is the preface section, the Lord proclaims, “my church” is “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth… speaking unto the church collectively and not individually (D&C 1:30).” Notice, the Lord qualifies with the adverb, “collectively.”

Less than a year later after this preface of the Doctrine and Covenants was received, the Lord said that “the whole church [is] under condemnation for treating the message of the Book of Mormon too “lightly.” President Benson said that condemnation remains. Until that condemnation is lifted, members of the Church should not say, “the Church is true.” The Book of Mormon is designed to bring us to Christ (the LOGOS). It can only do that if we have internalized its marvelous message of hope and salvation by truly coming to the LOGOS. Clearly, the members have not done what is needed to remove this condemnation. It is critical that the members move out from under that condemnation by fully coming unto Christ (the LOGOS), as the Book of Mormon message so clearly teaches us to do.

Even though President Benson has given us this poignant and extremely important reminder that because we have treated the message of the Book of Mormon “lightly,” the condemnation remains, however, we know the Lord will set things right in due process, as He brings for Zion and we can be part of it. (Isa. 51:3; 3 Nephi 16:18; D&C 85:7; 103:1-19)

Who Are We To Follow?

As individuals, we are to follow the LOGOS. It is not the Church that saves us. The Church is the Lord’s vehicle to bring us to Christ, who is the “WAY”–the LOGOS.  Notice, again that the Lord qualifies with the adverb, “collectively.” As individuals, we are to follow the LOGOS.  We often hear members of the Church stand up and testify that they know the Church is true. Given that the Church is under condemnation, they should not say that, and also considering the logical implications of this declaration that all other churches are to a degree false because they have doctrines and teachings contrary. Truth cannot contradict truth.

As the humble recipients of the truth, we need to realize, “For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; therefore we see that the Lord doth counsel in wisdom, according to that which is just and true (Alma 29:8).” We need to pray for everyone regardless of their religion to grow in light and truth as they come unto Him—“the WAY” and the true LOGOS. God has given them what they need to find the WAY (the LOGOS).

I look at the Church, which has the best choir in the world, which has the biggest and most successful women’s organization in the world, which has a very effective missionary program, and the most effective welfare system, as it readily reaches out across the globe when disasters occur. By their fruits, ye shall know them. We see much good from the nearly 17 million members and the inspired doctrines and teachings that have come forth with the restoration of the fullness of the gospel. Let us embrace the good in it and in all churches and turn from the bad.

As the late, Hugh Nibley has succinctly said, “The Church is not Zion!” One cannot have one toe in Babylon and have Zion, and what do we observe today with Babylon’s massive encroachment on the world, on Christianity, and especially on the Church membership? Satan knows where the truth is and is doing everything he can to subvert it. We know that Babylon the Great will fall (Revelations Chapter 18). Let us not be any part of it.

The Success of the Sermon on the Mount Elsewhere

Outside of the Church, the Sermon on the Mount is having great success as well. Some examples: not only with the Session 3 of “The Chosen,” but some time back, our dear friend, Delta Bement, loaned us a book. It is a must-read: “Blood Brothers” by Elias Chacour. He is Palestinian-Arab and was raised in the little village of Biram in the upper Galilee in Israel. He was blessed with very wise parents, and in his tender years had grown up in peace with his Jewish neighbors. He was raised with a very strong Christian heritage dating back to the first century.

His wonderful Christian upbringing was in stark contrast to the horrible treatment they received under the hands of the Israeli government Zionists as they were driven out of their village. Shortly after this, at the age of 12, he was given the opportunity to study with a Bishop in Haifa, and as his father sent him off, he told him, “If you become a true man of God you will know how to reconcile enemies, how to turn hatred into peace. Only a true servant of God can do that.” And Elias Chacour did that with amazing and miraculous success. Through Him, the Sermon on the Mount touched and changed his whole community where he labored as a Priest.

I hope and pray that we will become humble, Christ-centered people so that the Lord can bring about Zion—a pure in-heart people, who are ONE with Him. We know the Lord will bring a Zion people out of the Church membership, but it will be a subset, who are truly pure in heart. The key is to be Christ-centered and fully embrace the LOGOS, as the “Way, the truth, and the life.” (John 1:1-7, 14:6)

I pray that the LOGOS may become intimate in all our lives, see His smiling face as we hearken to His voice, call upon His holy name, Adonai, keep all His commandments, and fully come unto Him. (D&C 29:1-2; 93:1) His offering is peace, love, and joy in this life, and eternal life and a fullness of joy in the life to come.

David W. Allan