The Spirit commended to me the beginnings of this blog and the reasons therefore, and it now invites me to end.
We should each be trying to learn how to accomplish what the Lord requires of us. I intend to teach the gospel of Christ to those who seek it. I intend to teach the gospel to others in an effort to fulfil church obligations and callings. I am willing to share my testimony with any man and all men, and intend to. I intend to teach my family and to seek revelations for our guidance.
Remember what Joseph Smith taught:
“The things of God are of deep import, and time, and
experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them
out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as
high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the darkest abyss,
and the broad expanse of eternity—thou must commune with God."
Last, I want to say this. To be an apostle in the truest sense of the word, is to be sent forth by Christ to teach others. There are those who have been sent by the Master who you do not sustain in your conferences and meetings. They possess the words of Eternal life because they know Christ and have received his word. They are possessors of Eternal life, though they dwell on earth as mortals. We should pay attention to what these have to say.
This is why the scriptures are so valuable to us. They contain the words of Eternal life spoken by those who possess it. Seek these. All else is as chaff. We don't have time to not be digging into the scriptures. Our effort in seeking Christ must become paramount in our lives.
My foremost duty now is to seek this Jesus, of whom the prophets have and do testify. He is gathering his people.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Saturday, March 2, 2013
New Digital-Edition Of The Scriptures
The Church has just announced a new 2013 digital-edition of the scriptures. Eight years of work have gone into the project. I was eager to see just what had been done. A side by side comparison of the 1981 and 2013 versions, demonstrating each change in the Doctrine and Covenants, and Official Declarations 1 and 2, is available here. A summary of changes to the standard works can be found here.
I read these documents last night and was happy to see some of the additions and deletions. The majority of the changes to the D&C were to the section headings. Where dates were incorrect, they were adjusted in the new addition. Where further information has been made available through research done with the Joseph Smith Papers Project, additional context has been added for clarity.
Though most of the changes are minor, some are helpful in understanding the text of the revelation that follows. Reading both section headings for D&C 57 side by side made me laugh. The additions to the D&C 85 section heading were insightful. The deletion of the last sentence of the D&C 89 section heading was curious to me.
Contextual introductions were provided for each of the Official Declarations. A lot could be said about each of them. The introduction of OD-2 was of interest to me. The Church has included the fact that multiple black men were ordained to the priesthood during the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Additionally, one blatantly false statement was removed from the end of OD-1.
The internet is a blessing to us when it is used to these ends. The Church has gone to great lengths to present the changes in a clear manner. I wonder how many members of the Church will become aware of what changes were made, and how many would be interested.
Why Things Change
I just read a Dialogue article written in 1981 by Thomas Alexander about the development of the Word of Wisdom from being a "principle with promise" to a commandment. Though not comprehensive it's a worthwhile read. It's not lengthy and provides context for some of the decisions regarding Church policy that were being made at the time.
Diaries, journals, minutes of meetings, and contemporary news articles are great ways to trace the development of individual and group sentiment about matters pertaining to doctrine and policy in our history. Much of the best information can be found in these sources, and yet it is unfortunately these sources that are underutilized in publications that most members of the Church would be familiar with. Publications that have done a good job exhausting these resources are viewed by some as antagonistic to the Church. These same publications, however, are usually the most accurate and thorough.
Early leaders of the Church held varied personal opinions about the application of the Word of Wisdom. It's fun to learn about them.
Lorenzo Snow, for example, believed and taught that members of the Church ought to avoid eating meat, and that this prohibition was a more serious matter than other requirements of the Word of Wisdom.
George Albert Smith took brandy for medicinal purposes later in his life, while years earlier he advised Stake Presidencies and Bishoprics to no "longer tolerate men in presiding positions who would not keep the Word of Wisdom."
Wilford Woodruff and George Teasdale believed and taught that eating pork was a more serious offense than drinking coffee or tea. Brigham Young often taught the same thing.
Other prominent Latter-day Saints held other views and opinions about this revelation. Some members even paid their tithing in homemade wine into the latter part of the 19th century, and these tithes were accepted and stored by the Church.
Growing support of the prohibition of alcohol among Evangelicals and certain political groups influenced the feelings of LDS Church leaders after the turn of the century. During this time of growing interest in the Prophet's revelation, leaders of the Church began to prevent members from being ordained to the priesthood, from serving in callings, and attending the temple based upon breaches of conduct pertaining to the Word of Wisdom in an effort to encourage compliance.
Changes in the Church's policies were influenced by what was going on in the political and social world around them. This was not the first time in our history that changes in policy were implemented because of shifting social opinions. The Church's consideration of public opinion has only grown since that time.
This is not to say that many of the decisions on policy aren't made with good intentions and by good men. It is only to say that many decisions are made without regard for or reference to revelation.
One thing in particular that caught my attention in his article was the following:
"Late in the 1920s Church leaders urged alternative anti-tobacco legislation, and in 1927, Elders Richard R. Lyman and Melvin J. Ballard asked church attorney Franklin S. Richards for information on the possibility of legislation preventing the advertising of cigarettes on billboards. Even though Richards believed that the Supreme Court would declare such a law unconstitutional, the 1929 legislature passed one anyway. The Relief Society Magazine in May, 1929, said it hoped that the courts would uphold the law and regretted that the Idaho legislature had not passed a similar law. In November, 1929, however, Judge David W. Moffatt of Utah's Third District Court ruled the
billboard law unconstitutional."
I don't live in Utah, but have seen pictures spread around online of the many billboards advertising City Creek Center. Some of those billboards portray the consumption of alcohol. It's ironic to me that in 21st century Mormonism, at a time when the Word of Wisdom has evolved to be among the most defining practices and attributes of Latter-day Saints, we see billboards with alcohol advertising a mall to attract business - for the sake of popularity and gain. Yet, a hundred years ago when Word of Wisdom adherence was barely in the stages of becoming a requirement to enter the temple under Heber J. Grant's presidency, there were laws being passed attacking the advertisement of the principles the Church claimed it was striving to uphold.
Money is a powerful taskmaster.
Political and Social influence have always been an enticement to men. They influence more of our decisions than they should (1 Ne. 22:23).
Diaries, journals, minutes of meetings, and contemporary news articles are great ways to trace the development of individual and group sentiment about matters pertaining to doctrine and policy in our history. Much of the best information can be found in these sources, and yet it is unfortunately these sources that are underutilized in publications that most members of the Church would be familiar with. Publications that have done a good job exhausting these resources are viewed by some as antagonistic to the Church. These same publications, however, are usually the most accurate and thorough.
Early leaders of the Church held varied personal opinions about the application of the Word of Wisdom. It's fun to learn about them.
Lorenzo Snow, for example, believed and taught that members of the Church ought to avoid eating meat, and that this prohibition was a more serious matter than other requirements of the Word of Wisdom.
George Albert Smith took brandy for medicinal purposes later in his life, while years earlier he advised Stake Presidencies and Bishoprics to no "longer tolerate men in presiding positions who would not keep the Word of Wisdom."
Wilford Woodruff and George Teasdale believed and taught that eating pork was a more serious offense than drinking coffee or tea. Brigham Young often taught the same thing.
Other prominent Latter-day Saints held other views and opinions about this revelation. Some members even paid their tithing in homemade wine into the latter part of the 19th century, and these tithes were accepted and stored by the Church.
Growing support of the prohibition of alcohol among Evangelicals and certain political groups influenced the feelings of LDS Church leaders after the turn of the century. During this time of growing interest in the Prophet's revelation, leaders of the Church began to prevent members from being ordained to the priesthood, from serving in callings, and attending the temple based upon breaches of conduct pertaining to the Word of Wisdom in an effort to encourage compliance.
Changes in the Church's policies were influenced by what was going on in the political and social world around them. This was not the first time in our history that changes in policy were implemented because of shifting social opinions. The Church's consideration of public opinion has only grown since that time.
This is not to say that many of the decisions on policy aren't made with good intentions and by good men. It is only to say that many decisions are made without regard for or reference to revelation.
One thing in particular that caught my attention in his article was the following:
"Late in the 1920s Church leaders urged alternative anti-tobacco legislation, and in 1927, Elders Richard R. Lyman and Melvin J. Ballard asked church attorney Franklin S. Richards for information on the possibility of legislation preventing the advertising of cigarettes on billboards. Even though Richards believed that the Supreme Court would declare such a law unconstitutional, the 1929 legislature passed one anyway. The Relief Society Magazine in May, 1929, said it hoped that the courts would uphold the law and regretted that the Idaho legislature had not passed a similar law. In November, 1929, however, Judge David W. Moffatt of Utah's Third District Court ruled the
billboard law unconstitutional."
I don't live in Utah, but have seen pictures spread around online of the many billboards advertising City Creek Center. Some of those billboards portray the consumption of alcohol. It's ironic to me that in 21st century Mormonism, at a time when the Word of Wisdom has evolved to be among the most defining practices and attributes of Latter-day Saints, we see billboards with alcohol advertising a mall to attract business - for the sake of popularity and gain. Yet, a hundred years ago when Word of Wisdom adherence was barely in the stages of becoming a requirement to enter the temple under Heber J. Grant's presidency, there were laws being passed attacking the advertisement of the principles the Church claimed it was striving to uphold.
Money is a powerful taskmaster.
Political and Social influence have always been an enticement to men. They influence more of our decisions than they should (1 Ne. 22:23).
Monday, February 18, 2013
The Sons Of God, Conclusion
The whole reason I began writing about the sons of God and the Priesthood was to get to the Book of Moses. I considered doing multiple posts on Moses 5 through 8 but have run out of steam. You can go read it if you care to. If you can understand the concept of the sons of God you will better understand the report given in Moses.
Cain was a son of God who fell. Cain was wroth, and in jealousy rebelled against God and became perdition (Moses 5:38). As a result of his rebellion, Cain was driven from the face of the Lord, and shut out from His presence (Moses 5:39, 41).
Abel, too, was a son of God. He was a keeper of sheep and was the first real type of the sacrificial Savior we see in scripture (Moses 5:17). Though he was not the first son born to Adam and Eve, yet it is clear he received the blessings of the Firstborn (Moses 5:33, 38; 6:2).
Though Adam and Eve had children before Cain and Abel, there is very little mention of them (Moses 5:2-3). It is important to consider what happened to Adam and Eve between the time they first began having children, and when Cain was born (Moses 5:3-16, 58-59). Something important happened that changed their status before the Lord God. It is somewhat buried in the text, and we tend to overlook the details. It is not until those events occur that Eve bares Cain, and then Abel.
On the other hand, when wickedness began to spread among the children of Adam and Eve, notice the appellation given them by God (Moses 5:52-56). These are they who chose not to keep the commandments of God (ibid.). God "ministered not unto them" (ibid.). This is a juxtaposition with the sons of God, unto whom God ministered.
Some time after the murder of Abel, Adam and Eve begat Seth. Seth became the Patriarchal head, after Adam. In this son, Adam rejoiced and glorified the name of God, saying, "God hath appointed me another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain slew" (Moses 6:2). Then we read this:
"And God revealed himself unto Seth, and he rebelled not, but offered an acceptable sacrifice, like unto his brother Abel" (Moses 6:3).
Now, Adam, being moved upon by the Holy Ghost, prophesied the following:
"Now this same Priesthood, which was in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also" (Moses 6:7).
"This same Priesthood" has reference to that which enabled Seth to receive the revelation of God; that which enabled him to become a son of God. This same Priesthood enabled a group of the generations of Adam to be chosen as High Priests to whom the Lord came prior to the death of Adam. This shall be in the end of the world also.
The genealogy that was kept and preserved in scripture was of the children of God, and not the sons of men (Moses 6:8). Notice the next man mentioned in the Patriarchal line, after Seth, was Enos (Moses 6:13). Though there were many sons and daughters born to Adam and Eve, it was Seth and then Enos that were recorded (Moses 6:11). Enos was born to a father who was a son of God. And he, Seth, had been born to Adam, who was a son of God. This is the chain.
Study Moses 5 through 8 considering the deliberate mention of both the sons of God and the sons of men. Look for differentiation between the daughters of men, and the daughters of the sons of God. It will open up the meaning for you.
Cain was a son of God who fell. Cain was wroth, and in jealousy rebelled against God and became perdition (Moses 5:38). As a result of his rebellion, Cain was driven from the face of the Lord, and shut out from His presence (Moses 5:39, 41).
Abel, too, was a son of God. He was a keeper of sheep and was the first real type of the sacrificial Savior we see in scripture (Moses 5:17). Though he was not the first son born to Adam and Eve, yet it is clear he received the blessings of the Firstborn (Moses 5:33, 38; 6:2).
Though Adam and Eve had children before Cain and Abel, there is very little mention of them (Moses 5:2-3). It is important to consider what happened to Adam and Eve between the time they first began having children, and when Cain was born (Moses 5:3-16, 58-59). Something important happened that changed their status before the Lord God. It is somewhat buried in the text, and we tend to overlook the details. It is not until those events occur that Eve bares Cain, and then Abel.
On the other hand, when wickedness began to spread among the children of Adam and Eve, notice the appellation given them by God (Moses 5:52-56). These are they who chose not to keep the commandments of God (ibid.). God "ministered not unto them" (ibid.). This is a juxtaposition with the sons of God, unto whom God ministered.
Some time after the murder of Abel, Adam and Eve begat Seth. Seth became the Patriarchal head, after Adam. In this son, Adam rejoiced and glorified the name of God, saying, "God hath appointed me another seed, instead of Abel, whom Cain slew" (Moses 6:2). Then we read this:
"And God revealed himself unto Seth, and he rebelled not, but offered an acceptable sacrifice, like unto his brother Abel" (Moses 6:3).
Now, Adam, being moved upon by the Holy Ghost, prophesied the following:
"Now this same Priesthood, which was in the beginning, shall be in the end of the world also" (Moses 6:7).
"This same Priesthood" has reference to that which enabled Seth to receive the revelation of God; that which enabled him to become a son of God. This same Priesthood enabled a group of the generations of Adam to be chosen as High Priests to whom the Lord came prior to the death of Adam. This shall be in the end of the world also.
The genealogy that was kept and preserved in scripture was of the children of God, and not the sons of men (Moses 6:8). Notice the next man mentioned in the Patriarchal line, after Seth, was Enos (Moses 6:13). Though there were many sons and daughters born to Adam and Eve, it was Seth and then Enos that were recorded (Moses 6:11). Enos was born to a father who was a son of God. And he, Seth, had been born to Adam, who was a son of God. This is the chain.
Study Moses 5 through 8 considering the deliberate mention of both the sons of God and the sons of men. Look for differentiation between the daughters of men, and the daughters of the sons of God. It will open up the meaning for you.
Monday, February 11, 2013
They Are One God
The unity of the Father and the Son cannot be overstated. The scriptures fully capture the idea, but it is an idea that men cannot understand except it be by revelation from Heaven. You can say the words and never understand what is meant by them.
On the one hand, the Christian world is confused about the Godhead in that they believe the Father and the Son are the same being. They cannot grasp the reality of the nature of the Father and the Son. On the other hand, Mormonisms teachings on the Godhead have a tendency to lead its adherents to misapprehend the greatness of the unity of the Father and the Son. They are too separate in our minds and hearts. We cannot grasp the reality of the unity of the Father and the Son.
Overall, our emphasis in teaching that Christ is our spirit brother has diminished Him. He is the Lord God Almighty (2 Ne. 9:46). He is the Mighty God, the Lord God, and the Holy One of Israel (2 Ne. 9). We do not understand Him and our hearts are far removed from Him.
The unity we experience here on this earth is not like theirs, and cannot be compared unto it. The unity of those in Heaven is not to be learned from our experience here, though once it is learned from Heaven it may be sought after in our relationships on the earth.
The Book of Mormon is the place to begin seeking for understanding. The doctrine is clearly taught there, though it seems contradictory without divine teaching. If the unity of the Gods is manifest unto you, you will use the words of scripture to describe it; indeed, they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of Heaven and of earth (Mosiah 15:4).
On the one hand, the Christian world is confused about the Godhead in that they believe the Father and the Son are the same being. They cannot grasp the reality of the nature of the Father and the Son. On the other hand, Mormonisms teachings on the Godhead have a tendency to lead its adherents to misapprehend the greatness of the unity of the Father and the Son. They are too separate in our minds and hearts. We cannot grasp the reality of the unity of the Father and the Son.
Overall, our emphasis in teaching that Christ is our spirit brother has diminished Him. He is the Lord God Almighty (2 Ne. 9:46). He is the Mighty God, the Lord God, and the Holy One of Israel (2 Ne. 9). We do not understand Him and our hearts are far removed from Him.
The unity we experience here on this earth is not like theirs, and cannot be compared unto it. The unity of those in Heaven is not to be learned from our experience here, though once it is learned from Heaven it may be sought after in our relationships on the earth.
The Book of Mormon is the place to begin seeking for understanding. The doctrine is clearly taught there, though it seems contradictory without divine teaching. If the unity of the Gods is manifest unto you, you will use the words of scripture to describe it; indeed, they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of Heaven and of earth (Mosiah 15:4).
Saturday, February 2, 2013
More On The Sons Of God
Joseph Smith related the following:
“And we saw a vision of the sufferings of those with whom [Satan] made war and overcame, for thus came the voice of the Lord unto us:
“Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power –
“They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born;
“For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity;
“Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come –
“Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame.
“These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels –
“And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power;” (D&C 76:30-37).
The language used here was used later that year in the revelation on priesthood that became D&C 84; "no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come." These key phrases and the patterns found in these scriptures tell you they are all talking about the same thing. Those who run the risk of losing the opportunity for salvation in this world and in the next are those who have obtained the Holy Priesthood, which is to "know [God's] power" and to be made a "partaker thereof." Those who altogether turn therefrom are the "only ones on whom the second death shall have any power."
The keys of this priesthood consist in obtaining the voice of God. He will talk with those who obtain this priesthood in a familiar and friendly manner. They will receive the keys, covenants, power, and glory which God gave to Adam in the beginning (TPJS, p. 175). They are the sons of God.
Notice, the Lord purposefully showed Joseph and Sidney the "sufferings of the ungodly" immediately preceding the vision of those "who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just" (D&C 76:50). The description given beginning in v. 51 and continuing through v. 70 is of those who become "the sons of God" (D&C 76:58). The sons of God and the sons of perdition are contrasted as opposites. The sons of perdition are "ordained unto" their condemnation, while the sons of God are ordained "kings and priests" (D&C 76:48, 56).
To behold the one, was to behold the other. To have power to obtain the one, is to have it within your capacity to succumb to the other.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
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