Te Karaiti Ora Tonu
Te Whakaaturanga a ngā Āpōtoro
I a mātou e whakamaharatia ana i te whānautanga mai a Ihu Karaiti e rua mano tau ki muri, ka whakaatuhia e mātou i te tūturutanga o Tōna oranga kāhore ōna rite me te mana mutunga kore o Tana patunga tapu nui whakahirahira. Kāhore tahi he tangata kua pēnei rawa te whānui o Tana whakaaweawetanga ki te hunga kua noho ora kē mai me te hunga kāore anō kia ora mai ki tēnei ao.
Ko Ia te Ihowā Nui o te Kawenata Tawhito me te Mīhaia o te mea Hou. I raro i ngā tohutohu a Tōna Pāpā, Nāna nei te ao i hanga. “Nāna ngā mea katoa i hanga; kāhore hoki tētahi mea i kore te hanga e Ia o ngā mea i hanga” (Hone 1:3). Ahakoa he hara kore, i rumaki Ia kia whakatutuki pai ai i ngā mea tika katoa. Ko Tāna he “hāereere ana ki te mahi i te pai” (Ngā Mahi 10:38), hēoi ka whakamauāharatia Ia i Āna mahi. Ko tā Tāna rongopai, he karere o te mau ngā rongo me te whakaaro pai. Ko Tāna he kupu akiaki ki ngā iwi katoa kia whai i Tōna tauiratanga. I hīkoia e Ia ngā huarahi o Pirihitia, e whakaora ana i ngā tūroro, e mea ana i ngā matapō kia kite, ā e whakaara ana i ngā tūpāpaku anō hoki. I akongia e Ia ngā kupu pono e pā ana ki te ao mutunga kore, te tikanga o tō tātou oranga i mua, te pūtaketanga o tō tātou oranga i te ao nei, me te pitomata mo ngā tamariki me ngā tamāhine a te Atua i te ao kei te heke mai.
I meinga e Ia te hākarameta hei maumahara atu ki Tana patunga tapu nui. I mauheretia a Ia i ngā hāmene parau, ka whakawākia kia ngata ai te māpu, ā ka whakawhuia kia mate rīpeka ki runga o Korokota. Ka tukuna i a Ia anō kia mate hei whakamārietanga mō ngā hara o ngā tāngata katoa. Ko Tāna he hoatutanga hirahira mā te hunga katoa ka noho mai ki tēnei ao.
E whakaatu mārika ana mātou i Tōna oranga, kōia nei te matū o te hītōria o te ao, kāhore nei i tīmata i Pēterehema, kāhore nei hoki i oti i Korokota. Ko Ia te mātāmua a te Matua, te Tamaiti Kotahi i te kikokiko, te Kai-hoko o te ao.
Ka ara ake Ia i te rua “hei mātāmua mo te hunga kua moe” (1 Koriniti 15:20). Hei Ariki kua Ara, I haere Ia ki ngā mea kua arohaina e Ia i te ora. I minitatia e Ia ki Āna “hipi atu anō” (Hone 10:16) i Amerika onamata. I te ao hou, nā Rāua tahi ko Tōna Pāpa I puta mai ki te tamaiti a Hohepa Mete, e ārahi ana i “ngā mea o te raneatanga o ngā wā” (Epiha 1:10) kua roa e awherotia ana.
Mō te Karaiti Ora Tonu, nā Hohepa Mete Poropiti te kōrero: “Ōna kanohi anō he mura ahi; Ōna huruhuru mā tonu anō he hukarere; Tōna mata whiti tonu kei runga atu i te māramatanga o te rā; Tōna reo anō ko te harurutanga o ngā wai maha, ko te reo o Ihowā e mea ana:
Ko Ahau te tuatahi me te mutunga; Ko Ahau anō e ora nei; i mate anō Ahau; ko Ahau tō kōrua kaiwhakaatu ki te Matua” (D&C 110:3–4).
Mōna, nā te Poropiti anō i whakaatu: “Ko tēnei, ahakoa rā he maha ngā whakaaturanga kua oti noa te whakaatu Mōna, ko tēnei te mutunga o ngā whakaaturanga katoa te hoatu nei e māua Mōna: kei te ora Ia!
Nō te mea i kite māua i a Ia, kei te ringa matau hoki o te Atua; I rongo hoki māua ki te reo e whakaatu mai ana ko Ia anake te Tamaiti a te Matua i roto i te kikokiko—
Nāna hoki, nā roto i a Ia i tū nei ngā ao, Nāna hoki i hanga, ā ko ngā iwi o te ao nei kua oti te karanga he tamariki, he tamāhine ki te Atua” (D&C 76:22–24).
E whakapuaki ana mātou me ēnei kupu mārie kua hoki mai Tōna tohungatanga me Tōna hāhi ki runga ki te ao—“he mea hanga ki runga ki te tūranga o ngā āpōtoro rātou ko ngā poropiti, ko Ihu Karaiti anō hei tino kāmaka mō te kokonga” (Epiha 2:20).
E whakaatu ana mātou hei tōna wā ka hoki mai Ia ki te ao. “Ka whakapuakina anō te korōria o Ihowā, ā, ka kite ngātahi ngā kikokiko katoa” (Ihāia 40:5). Ka tū Ia hei Kīngi o ngā Kīngi, ā, ka whakahaere Ia hei Ariki o ngā Ariki, ā, ka koropiko ngā turi katoa, ā ka whakamoemititia ngā arero katoa i mua i Tōna aroaro. Ka tū katoa tēnā me tēnā ō tātou ki mua i a Ia hei whakawākanga Māna i a tātou mahi me ngā hiahia o ō tātou ngākau.
E whakaatu ana mātou, hei Āpōtoro Nāna i whakamana—ko Ihu te Karaiti Ora Tonu, te Tamaiti mate-kore a te Atua. Ko Ia te Kīngi nui a Emānuera, e tū ana i te rā nei i te ringa matau o Tōna Pāpā. Ko Ia te mārama, te ora me te tūmanako o te ao. Ko Ia te huarahi e aro atu ana ki te harikoa i tēnei ao me te ao mutunga kore meāke nei puta mai. Ngā whakawhetai ki te Atua mō te takoha mārika mai o Tana Tama aroha noa.
Te Tumuakitanga Tuatahi
Hānuere 1, 2000
Te Kōrama o te Tekau mā Rua