What did Jesus Christ do from age 12 to about age 30?

 

                                 Christ will return in red apparel for his "Second Coming."

  

JESUS Christ didn't begin his preaching of the gospel, at least to large groups, until he was about age 30. (At age 12 he had shown in the Temple that he was already an astounding person.) So, what did Christ do for about 18 years?

   The Scriptures don't contain details on that.

  (In fact, I think some accounts were originally in the New Testament on Christ's missing 18 years, but were taken out by corrupt Christians over the centuries.) 

  Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated in his "Mortal Messiah" book series:

"We cannot doubt that the youthful Jesus . . . was himself now beginning to teach and to testify. HIS FORMAL AND LEGAL MINISTRY cannot begin for another eighteen years. For the time being he is to go back to Nazareth and be subject to Joseph and Mary. He is to mature and grow in the Spirit and find favor with God and man. HE IS TO PARTAKE OF THE NORMAL LIFE OF JEWISH MEN, DOING WHAT THEY DID, ENJOYING THE FAMILIAL ASSOCIATIONS THAT WERE PART OF THEIR CULTURAL, and gaining all the experiences he would need for the arduous hours of his formal ministry." (Volume 1, pages 378-379).

  Now according to Alfred Edersheim's, Sketches of Jewish Social life in the Days of Christ, 1876, Elder McConkie writes the following: "Men married at sixteen or seventeen years of age, almost never later than twenty; and women at a somewhat younger age, often when not older than fourteen. THESE AGES APPLIED TO ALL, Joseph and Mary included" (p. 223). 

  So, Jesus undoubtedly got married in his teens. Perhaps raising his family (yes, with children) was his primary focus for those missing years. 

 Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: "The Lord doesn't reveal all His truth to men . . . We are often asked if Christ was married. If you say yes, you get into a heap of trouble. I've got a habit of saying the scriptures don't tell us and let it go at that . They wouldn't understand it if you tried to tell them . . ." (Joseph Fielding Smith, President of the Twelve, An Address to Seminary and Institute Faculty, August 28, 1954, The Origin of Man, p. 23). 

   The Jews would NOT have listened to Christ at all, if he was not married. That was the Jewish way.

  Also, for one who was baptized to fulfill all righteous, does not the command in Genesis to "multiply and replenish the earth" also apply to him?

  Yes, there are key questions remaining -- who were his wife or wives? Who were his children and what happened to them?

  As difficult as a successful marriage can be, it is comforting to know that Jesus was married and had children too. That way he is certainly the ultimate example to us.

Jobs that may be extinct in the Millennium

 

                                         A farm in southeast Idaho.

AFTER Jesus Christ's "Second Coming," the 1,000-year Millennium premieres and the Earth switches from Telestial to Terrestrial world.

As such, certain parameters change in a Terrestrial world.

For example, there will likely be no meat eating and no alcohol, or weeds, or disease.

As such, here are some jobs/professions/companies that will, in my opinion, no longer exist during the Millennium (and most people on Earth then might be farmers/temple workers):

-Butcher/meat cutter

-Cattle rancher

-Zoo Keeper

-Bar tender/drink mixer

-Football coach/player. 

-Boxer

-Casino employee

-Insurance agent

-Mortician (after all the dead are buried from latter day wars.)

This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

All Dogs go to Heaven -- and to the Spirit World too! The 'Henrie" Miracle

                                                                 Henrie

A sad limitation with dogs is that they don't live long enough.

Eventually, usually 10-16 years or so, they will die, or require a "put to sleep" decision.

I'm a dog lover and have had to endure the loss of about a dozen beloved dogs over the decades.

One was in August of 2023 -- and after 10 losses, it didn't get any easier, but there was a miracle involved with No. 11.

My daughter-in-law, Whitney, had a dog, "Henrie," that seemed to care for me a lot.

Whitney had to go to her veterinarian to put Henrie, about age 14,  to sleep, as he wasn't walking or eating anymore. (I got to say my goodbyes to him that morning.)

                                                           Henrie, a very small Yorkie.

I really struggled with the loss of Henrie. I strongly believe people will be met by their loved ones when they enter the spirit world, but I wondered, "What do dogs, or other pets encounter they die? Are they met by their animal parents, owners, or what? Do they even enter the same spirit world that people enter when they leave mortality?

Whitney actually stayed with the veterinarian, while the two shots were given to humanely end Henrie's life. He was gone a good 30 seconds or so when an outright miracle happened.

                              Henrie, in his prime.

She heard Henrie bark, as in the distance, after he was deceased. Then, she distinctly heard her late mother's voice (Anita) state, "I have him."

Her late mother was also extremely fond of Henrie, and Henrie of her. Whitney has a declared, spiritual gift to at times see through the veil, to the spirit world. (She can also apparently hear through the veil at times too.)

"All dogs go to heaven," well, "all dogs apparently go to the spirit world" too.

  This miracle made the loss of Henrie more tolerable to me and gave specific hope for my past and future dogs, that we will meet again. 

                                     Henrie

Has a family member greeted all, or some, of my deceased dogs in the spirit world? Perhaps. These dogs were loved and important to me and my deceased family members likely know that.

It seems our late pets, at least dogs, are not far from us, in the spirit world... just as our beloved humans are.

                                        The author and Henrie.

UPDATE and MORE DOG MIRACLES?

  A couple of months after Henrie's passing, I was faced with my own dog, Mozzie, almost age 11, having a terminal illness. His stomach was enlarged and cloudy, with likely tumors; plus his lungs were failing.

  As I faced that, another, dog, Oreo, unexpectedly came into my life. Looking at ads for dogs on a whim, there was this free dog being offered some 50 miles away ... and his eyes just called to me, to come take him home -- and I did just that. Little did I know that less than three weeks later, my current dog, Mozzie, would indeed pass away.

                                                                  Mozzie, in his prime.

  I not only prayed for Mozzie (and gave him a priesthood blessing too) to pass quickly and in little pain, but he seemed to do just that. In fact, he passed so quickly, that he could not even be taken to the vet to be put to sleep. (Mozzie hated the vet, also his boarding location and so that was a blessing that he passed away at home.) 

I prayed that my late parents would meet Mozzie in the spirit world too and I believe that they did just that.

 

                                 My new dog, Oreo, a border collie-corgi mix.

Having a new dog, Oreo, too, eased my grief somewhat -- and the Henrie "miracle" helped me even further.

  God definitely looked out for me and gave me and my animals some tender mercies.

  Joseph Smith was reputed to once say that he expected to have his favorite horse in the eternities. He also said that we can speak with animals in the spirit world and thereafter, they understanding us and we them (from "Teachings of The Prophet Joseph Smith," pages 291-292).

NOTE: Yes, these miracles are a rather personal revelation. Still, I decided to share it on this, my LDS-oriented blog, because I strongly feel other dog and pet owners will find comfort and inspiration in my family's miracles and tender mercies.

Note 2: If you like pets, search for my blog entry on "Miracle of the Washington, D.C. Temple Guard Dog: Zacharias."

NOTE 3: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.