Although not generally known, Florida received its name from the fact that Ponce de Leon landed there on Easter Sunday—the Spanish name for which is Pascua Florida—in 1512. The popular story that Ponce de León was searching for the Fountain of Youth when he discovered Florida is disputed, though he found a spring that perportedly brought youth and new vigor to those who bathed in it. He was also seeking a spiritual rebirth with new glory, honor, and personal enrichment.

He thought he could find it while at the same time bringing glory to himself by conquering and bringing into slavery the indigenous peoples which he used to work the mines or caged. In 1521, once again in the name of colonization, he returned to Florida and died as a result of combat....a poison arrow. But He did bring greater power and influence to the Catholic Church.

And in particular, we have the following to reflect upon in a lesson learned:

Doctine and Covenants Section 63

Revelation through Joseph Smith, Kirtland, Ohio, August 1831. History of the Church 1:206-11.

1 Hearken, O ye people, and open your hearts and give ear from afar; and listen, you that call yourselves the people of the Lord, and hear the word of the Lord and his will concerning you.

2 Yea, verily, I say, hear the word of him whose anger is kindled against the wicked and rebellious;

3 Who willeth to take even them whom he will take, and preserveth in life them whom he will preserve;

4 Who buildeth up at his own will and pleasure; and destroyeth when he pleases, and is able to cast the soul down to hell.

5 Behold, I, the Lord, utter my voice, and it shall be obeyed.

6 Wherefore, verily I say, let the wicked take heed, and let the rebellious fear and tremble; and let the unbelieving hold their lips, for the day of wrath shall come upon them as a whirlwind, and all flesh shall know that I am God.

7 And he that seeketh signs shall see signs, but not unto salvation.

On August 25, 2002 I was ordained a High Priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood (The Priesthood after the Order of Jesus Christ)by Scott Henry Valentine, who was ordained a High Priest by his father-in-law Richard William Jack in 1966.

Richard William Jack was ordained a High Priest by E. Decker Haynie in 1959.

E. Decker Haynie was ordained a High Priest by the Apostle Mark E. Peterson in 1959, who in turn was ordained an Apostle by Heber J. Grant on 1944, who was ordained an Apostle by George Q. Cannon in 1882, who was ordained an apostle on 1860 by Brigham Young.

Brigham Young was ordained an Apostle in 1835 under the hands of the three witnesses, Oliver Cowdrey, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris who were blessed by the laying on of hands of the Presidency (Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G.Williams) to choose and ordain the twelve Apostles as described in D&C 18:37

Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey recieved the Melchizedek Priesthood in 1829 from Peter, James, and John.

Peter, James, and John were Apostles and angelic ministers of the Lord Jesus Chris, chosen and ordained by Him (John 15:16)

Upon receiving the Priesthood of Aaron, then a year later the Melchizedek Priesthood - first as an Elder then as a High Priest through this line of authority, I could not have imagined the result as I look back upon it. I only begin to imagine the future in worlds to come with my wife at my side and my joy being full.

This Church is the True Church of Jesus Christ now restored to all of us. Each person should heed the invitation to carefully read the Book of Mormon. This is because IF it is true and you do not accept that invitation you will not recieve exaltation. If you accept it as truth and it is false then you will not be saved.

Thus, To ignore the invitation to carefully study the Book of Mormon and the doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is folly.

Happy Easter: Discussion of covenants, etc. is best understood with the following paragraph which offers the greatest economy of words.

“All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity . . . are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.” (Revelation relating to the new and everlasting covenant, July 12, 1843, [1831] Doctrine & Covenants 132:7) Ordinances are covenants, writes Joseph Fielding Smith:

Each ordinance and requirement given to man for the purpose of bringing to pass his salvation and exaltation is a covenant.

1. Baptism for the remission of sins is a covenant. Taking sacrament weekly in our regular service renews that covenant.

2. The Holy Priesthood is accepted by an oath and covenant and is binding upon those who receive it. They obligate themselves to keep faithfully all the commandments of God and to magnify their callings by honoring and exercising the priesthood in righteousness for the benefit and blessing of mankind.

3. "Keeping the Sabbath day holy is a covenant. . . .

4. All of the Ten Commandments are everlasting covenants.

5. The law of tithing is a form of an everlasting covenant . . . although some day we shall be given a higher form of this law known as consecration.

6. "Marriage is an everlasting covenant." (Church News, May 6, 1939; Doctrines of Salvation, 1:152-53)

7. The Sealing of a family within the Eternities is a covenant.

8. The new and everlasting covenant is the sum total of all gospel covenants and obligations. This pertains to the fullness of the gospel as pertaining to the Dispensation of Fullness of Times. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. (Isaiah prophesies, 740-659 B.C.) Isa.24:5

9. The Temple ordinances of the endowment embody certain obligations on the part of the individual, such as covenant and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity, to be charitable, benevolent, tolerant and pure; to devote both talent and material means to the spread of truth and the uplifting of the race; to maintain devotion to the cause of truth; and to seek in every way to contribute to the great preparation that the earth may be made ready to receive her King,-the Lord Jesus Christ. With the taking of each covenant and the assuming of each obligation a promised blessing is pronounced, contingent upon the faithful observance of the conditions.

I have also been impressed by Alma’s explanation of the baptismal covenant:

“Behold,” said he to the assembled believers, “here are the waters of Mormon … and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

“Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

“Now I say unto you,” continued Alma, “if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

“And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.

“And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart.

“The fate of the covenant breaker was most severe. "And the soul that sins against this covenant, and hardeneth his heart against it, shall be dealt with according to the laws of my church, and shall be delivered over to the buffetings of Satan until the day of redemption." The breaking of any covenant that our Father in heaven makes with us, is a dreadful thing. We make a covenant in the waters of baptism. Many have broken it, and hence lose the promised blessings. All through our lives we are called to enter into covenants and many members of the Church seemingly fail to realize the seriousness of a violation or to understand that punishment must inevitably follow. Solemn covenants are taken by members of the Church in the Temples. These covenants are to prepare us for an exaltation. Yet there are many who receive them who utterly fail to heed them, but presumably, they think the Lord has a short memory, or that he is so extremely merciful that he will break his promises and the punishment mentioned for the violation will not be inflicted. In this manner many deceive themselves.” Joseph Fielding Smith

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

5. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. (Reflections of a son of David the king) Eccl.5:4-5

In Civil War days a performer named Blondin astonished the country by crossing Niagara River on a tightrope. On one occasion President Abraham Lincoln faced a delegation of critics and said:

Gentlemen, suppose all the property you possessed were in gold, and you had placed it in the hands of a Blondin to carry across the Niagara River on a rope. With slow, cautious steps he walks to the rope, bearing your all. Would you shake the cable and keep shouting at him, "Blondin, stand up a little straighter; Blondin, stoop a little more; go a little faster; lean more to the south; now lean a little more to the north?" Would that be your behaviour in such an emergency?

No, you would hold your breath, every one of you, as well as your tongues. You would keep your hands off until he was safe on the other side.

This government, gentlemen, is carrying an immense weight. Untold treasures are in its hands. The persons managing the ship of state in this storm are doing the best they can. Don't worry them with needless warnings and complaints. Keep silence; be patient, and we will get you safe across. (John Wesley Hill, Abraham Lincoln: Man of God [New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons], page 402.)

Don't the "secret ceremonies" that go on in LDS temples make their faith more of a cult than a Christian church?

The derisive label of cult frightens people and basically turns them off. It conjures up images of the bizarre, the unnatural, and even the demonic. The fact is, the first three definitions of cult in Webster's Third International Dictionary make no distinction between religion and cult. The fourth definition is the one, I suppose, most anti-Mormons have in mind: an unorthodox or spurious sect. One Evangelical scholar described cults as follows: (1) they are started by strong and dynamic leaders; (2) they believe in additional scripture; (3) they have rigid standards for membership; (4) they proselyte new converts; (5) the leaders or officials of the cult are not professional clergymen; (6) they believe in ongoing and continual communication from God; and (7) they claim some truth not available to other individuals or groups. By these standards of measure, the Latter-day Saints would certainly qualify as a cult. The problem, of course, is that the New Testament Christian Church would qualify also!

The ordinances of the temple are sacred, not secret. There are prerequisites to receiving them: faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, and good standing in the Church. Any person who desires to go into the temple may prepare himself or herself to do so. The temple is open to all who are willing to comply with the prerequisites. A perusal of the New Testament is all that is necessary to see that Jesus believed in the system of gospel prerequisites, that some things were to precede others. Many of his parables were delivered in order to veil meaning, to present messages of truth only to those who were prepared to receive them. (Matt. 13:10-13.) He taught that some sacred things are not to be casually distributed to the masses. (Matt. 7:6.) Of some matters the apostles were strictly warned, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." (Matt. 17:9.) The Latter-day Saints do not speak openly of the things taught in temples, but not to make the experience more mysterious or to heighten people's curiosity. Nor are temple ceremonies something the Latter-day Saints try to limit to a certain number of people; they urge every soul to qualify and prepare for the temple experience.