#552: "Impossible For them Who Trust in Riches"

27 And he said unto them, It is The things which are impossible with men are for them who trust in riches, to enter into the kingdom of God; but he who forsaketh the things which are of this world, it is possible with God, that he should enter in.

-------------------------------------------------------------------/
Joseph Smith Translation: New Testament | Luke 18:27
Bold = JST correction; Cross out by JST

#551: Human Law - Never to Bind the Consciences of Men

4 We believe that religion is instituted of God; and that men are amenable to him, and to him only, for the exercise of it, unless their religious opinions prompt them to infringe upon the rights and liberties of others; but we do not believe that human law has a right to interfere in prescribing rules of worship to bind the consciences of men, nor dictate forms for public or private devotion; that the civil magistrate should restrain crime, but never control conscience; should punish guilt, but never suppress the freedom of the soul.

----------------------------------------------------------------/
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 134:4)

#550: "And Held Inviolate"

2 We believe that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life.

------------------------------------------/
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 134:2)

#549: "A Man Cannot Find Out"

(Neither Seeking nor Science can discover the work of God)

16 ¶ When I applied mine heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done upon the earth: (for also there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes:)
17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.*

-----------------------------------------------------------------------/
*(Old Testament | Ecclesiastes 8:16 - 17; bea)

#548: "Proclaimed Upon the Housetops"

(Warning Voice)

2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
(New Testament | Luke 12:2 - 3)

#547: "But with the People Themselves"

(Another warning voice)

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free, and every man able [and willing] to read, all is safe* [until the wicked rule].

-------------------------------/
*Letter to Colonel Charles Yancey (6 January 1816) ME 14:384
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (April 13 [O.S. April 2], 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809.[6] He was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was the nation's first U.S. secretary of state under George Washington and then the nation's second vice president under John Adams. Jefferson was a leading proponent of democracy, republicanism, and natural rights, and he produced formative documents and decisions at the state, national, and international levels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson

#546: "Whose Foot to be the Measure?"

(Jefferson's response to news that a bookseller had been prosecuted for selling a book "offensive" to religion. )

I am really mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, a fact like this can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too, as an offence against religion; that a question about the sale of a book can be carried before the civil magistrate. Is this then our freedom of religion? and are we to have a censor whose imprimatur shall say what books may be sold, and what we may buy? And who is thus to dogmatize religious opinions for our citizens? Whose foot is to be the measure to which ours are all to be cut or stretched? Is a priest to be our inquisitor, or shall a layman, simple as ourselves, set up his reason as the rule for what we are to read, and what we must believe? It is an insult to our citizens to question whether they are rational beings or not, and blasphemy against religion to suppose it cannot stand the test of truth and reason.*

---------------------------------------
*Letter to Nicolas Gouin Dufief, Philadelphia bookseller (1814) who had been prosecuted for selling the book Sur la Création du Monde, un Systême d'Organisation Primitive by M. de Becourt, which Jefferson himself had purchased.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson (April 13 [O.S. April 2], 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809.[6] He was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was the nation's first U.S. secretary of state under George Washington and then the nation's second vice president under John Adams. Jefferson was a leading proponent of democracy, republicanism, and natural rights, and he produced formative documents and decisions at the state, national, and international levels.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson

#545: Malcolm X: "I'm For Truth"

"I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole."*

-----------------------------
Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary and human rights activist who founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. (MMI) and the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). He was also a prominent figure during the civil rights movement until his assassination by members of the Nation of Islam (NOI) in 1965 [?]. A spokesman and minister for the Nation of Islam from 1952 until 1964, after which he left, he was a vocal advocate for Black empowerment and the promotion of Islam within the African American community. A controversial figure accused of preaching violence, Malcolm X is also a celebrated figure with Black people and Muslims worldwide for his pursuit of racial justice.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X

#544: "Insatiable Desire to Play God"

"Far from mentally creating reality, mankind has been struggling to discover the incredible secrets of a universe which is at once so awesome in size and yet so intricate in minutest detail that it reflects the genius of a Designer whose mind is infinitely beyond human capabilities. The theory that we can create our own reality would seem to represent the envy and rebellion of little minds with delusions of grandeur who have an insatiable desire to play God."*

_____________________________/
*Dave Hunt; T.A. McMahon, America: The Sorcerer's New Apprentice

David Charles Haddon Hunt (September 30, 1926 – April 5, 2013) was an American Christian apologist, speaker, radio commentator and author. He was in full-time ministry from 1973 until his death. The Berean Call, which highlights Hunt's material, was started in 1992.[1] From 1999 to 2010, he also hosted Search the Scriptures Daily radio ministry alongside T.A. McMahon.[2] Hunt traveled to the Near East, lived in Egypt, and wrote numerous books on theology, prophecy, cults, and other religions, including critiques of Catholicism, Islam, Mormonism, and Calvinism, among others. Hunt's Christian theology was evangelical dispensational and he was associated with the Plymouth Brethren movement.[3]

#543: You Get Back What You Give

12 And now behold, is the meaning of the word restoration to take a thing of a natural state and place it in an unnatural state, or to place it in a state opposite to its nature?
13 O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful.
14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.
15 For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all  (Book of Mormon | Alma 41:12-15).

#542: The Font of Peace

"It is not in the opinion of others that a man finds his peace, but in doing what he knows to be right."*

-------------------------------------------/
Marcus Aurelius (Meditations, Book 6.16, translated by Long)

"Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (/ɔːˈriːliəs/ or-EE-lee-əs,[2] Latin: [ˈmaːrkʊs au̯ˈreːli.us antoːˈniːnʊs]; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius

#541: "No Other Way or Means"

9 O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world. ...

12 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.*

------------------------------------------------------------/
*Book of Mormon | Helaman 5:9, 13

#540: Be Not Weary in Well-doing

33 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
(Doctrine and Covenants 64:33)

#539: How to Know If One Has Repented

42 Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.
43 By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them.
(Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43)

#538: "Not Willing That Any Should Perish"

9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise and coming, as some men count slackness; but longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ...

17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know  before the things which are coming, beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own  steadfastness.*

------------------------------------------------------------------------/
*New Testament | JST 2 Peter 3:9, 17 (bea)

Saint Peter ... (born Shimon bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68),[1] also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repeatedly and prominently in all four New Testament gospels, as well as the Acts of the Apostles. Catholic and Orthodox tradition treats Peter as the first bishop of Rome – or pope – and also as the first bishop of Antioch. According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter

#537: Proverbial Advice to Princes & Kings

7 Excellent speech becometh not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.

4 The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.

----------------------------------/
* Old Testament | Proverbs 17:7
** Old Testament | Proverbs 29:4

#536: "According to His Desires"

5 Yea, and I know that good and evil have come before all men; he that knoweth not good from evil is blameless; but he that knoweth good and evil, to him it is given according to his desires, whether he desireth good or evil, life or death, joy or remorse of conscience.*

---------------------------------------------------
*Book of Mormon | Alma 29:5 (bea)

#535: "More Powerful ... Than the Sword"

5 And now, as the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword, or anything else, which had happened unto them—therefore Alma thought it was expedient that they should try the virtue of the word of God.*

---------------------------------------------------------/
*Book of Mormon | Alma 31:5 (bea)

#534: "The Voice of the People"

26 Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people.
27 And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.*

-----------------------------------/
*Book of Mormon | Mosiah 29: 26-27 (bea)

#533: "There is None to Escape"

2 For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated.
3 And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.*

----------------------------------------------------------/
*Doctrine and Covenants 1:2-3 (bea)

#532: "Not Rendering Evil for Evil"

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.*

-------------------------------------------------------------/
*New Testament | 1 Peter 3:8-11 (bea)

#531 : "Unless They Do This"

25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.*

________________________________________/
*Book of Mormon | Mosiah 27:25 (bea)

#530: Better Than Gold and Silver

16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!*

_____________________________________/
*Old Testament | Proverbs 16:16

#529: "Of Their Own Free Will"

27 And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given.
28 And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God, and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked soul.
29 And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both temporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants.*

-----------------------------------/
*Book of Mormon | Mosiah 18:27-29