GREG - i was reading my ensign at work the other day and
someone
asked "me what does ensign mean?"i've never thought
about it really. it was just the title to the church
magazine, i looked it up in the dictionary and it said
it was a flag. then i read something like that on a
church site. it said , in the old days , a flag or
standard around which people gather together in a
unity of purpose or identity.in ancient times an
ensign served as a rallying point for soldiers in
battle.the book of mormon and the church are symbolic
ensigns to the nations.i told him i
appreciated the lesson he gave to me. i also told him
what i got out of all this is: the bible, book of
mormon, d&c, and the pearl of great price are our
scriptures. in the church they are known as THE
STANDARD WORKS.i told him the ensign has talks from
the standard works, that keeps us all in unity of the
gospel and to give us our identities( children of God/
christian solders).is there a better reason for the
name! ensign? i hope i didn't get too off coarse!
JOEL - Your reason sounds like a good one to me. The word
"ensign" has a lot of meanings. The King James Bible
translators used it to mean a signal, sign,
identifying symbol, standard, or banner. We read the
biblical prophecy that in the last days the Lord would
"set up an ensign for the nations" (Isa. 11:12), a
standard to which Israel and the righteous of all
nations might gather in preparation for the Millennium
(Isa. 5:26; 18:3; 31:6-9; 49:22; 62:10; Zech. 9:16).
In latter-day scriptures, "ensign" symbolizes such
"standards" as the new and everlasting covenant (D&C
45:9), the gospel of salvation (D&C 49:8-9; 2 Ne.
29:2), the latter-day Zion (D&C 64:41-43), and The LDS
Church(D&C 115:4-6).
So take your pick. The Ensign magazine helps in all
these areas by strengthening the faith of members of
the Church, advancing gospel truths, and keeping
members abreast of Church policies, programs, and
happenings.
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