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Thank you for your kind condolences.
Though not an expert, I have some understanding of the Catholic Faith and I must say that I admire faithful Catholics a great deal. I admire their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ and I believe they will be greatly rewarded in the eternities. as a matter of fact, I feel this way toward those of all faiths who are trying to live righteous lives.
Having spent considerable time on tour in the UK lately, I have been interested in the struggles between the Episcopalian (Church of England) and the Roman Catholics through several monarchies. The beginnings of the Church of England which rose out of King Henry VIII has fascinated me, that a man who was willing to behead a couple of his wives and plunder in many other ways broke from Catholocism to sanction his divorce or annulment with his first wife.
I have been interested in the use of the designation, "Saints" as used in the Roman Catholic Church, while a saint in our Church means an active member as was the meaning in the Bible. Consider Paul's letters to the Saints at Ephesis, Corinth and to the Hebrews.
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God ;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (Ephesians 2:19 - 20)
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (Ephesians 4:11 - 12)
I am interested in the organization of the Catholic Church and in fact the organizations of all of the Protestant Churches because none of these churches, to my knowledge has an organization like the one the Lord organized as described above with, for example, apostles and prophets, which were referred to as the foundation of the ancient church. I know that the reason that the Apostles and Prophets were so important is because they received revelation from the Lord to lead his church.
Paul testified:
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11 - 12 )
I am aware that the Churches of today, to not even claim revelation, because, they say that revelation ceased with the end of the New Testament. I agree that it ceased, but it ceased because the Apostles and Prophets were all killed, except John, who was banished to the Isle of Patmos.
With no prophets to receive revelation. Who ran the Lord's Church? Well, it was left to the interpretations and worldly circumstances of man. The result, in our view, was the loss of the Church which Christ established completely from the earth. Without the divine light of revelation, for " Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Old Testament | Amos 3:7) the world slipped into the dark ages. This was actually predicted to happen before Christ's second coming:
1 NOW we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, (2 Thessalonians 2:1 - 3)
As I have mentioned in My Beliefs, many times, my faith is built on the conviction that the church which Christ established, which was lost or changed, has now been restored under the Lord's personal direction and as predicted by Peter to happen prior to the Second Coming:
19 ¶ Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:19 - 21)
We boldly claim that this restoration has taken place and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that restored church with apostles and prophets and all of the other offices that were a part of the primitive church. This restoration was accomplished by revelation through a chosen prophet and under the hands of heavenly messengers who appeared in person to the prophet Joseph Smith and in every case, others who were with him as witnesses. Gospel truths, sacred ordinances and divine priesthood authority was restored including the keys of the kingdom that were given to Peter by Jesus: " And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)
We do not expect anyone to fully understand our doctrine of eternal marriage and forever families, however, may I say that it is one of the facets of my faith that I love most. I can tell you that through revelation, we now know that "whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven" has specific reference to sealing or binding couples together in an eternal marriage with the promise of the family being bound together forever. These sacred ceremonies are conducted in the Holy Temples and only those who have demonstrated a willingness to learn and live the gospel of Jesus Christ as it has been revealed through living prophets, are invited to participate.
I consider it the greatest blessing of my life that I am bound by these divine keys to my parents, to my brothers and sister and to have the promise of an eternal marriage with my wife, Debbie, and with our children bound to us by that same power.
My thought is that the Garden of Eden sounds like a far cry from anything that would exist in the Sahara Desert.
I am sure Marie would love to meet you as would I. Maybe we could delve into these questions more. In leau of that, please feel free to check out the multimedia presentations in My Beliefs and to ask other questions.
Sincerely,
Donny Osmond
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