Just the commandments

According to the Moses account of the creation, at the time the commandment was given to "not eat of" the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the woman had not been created.  (Moses 3: 15-17.)  It was after giving Adam this commandment that the woman was created.  (Moses 3: 21-23.)

 

Eve's knowledge of the commandment came from Adam, not from God. 

God's commandment to Adam was: "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."  The restriction placed on Adam was to "NOT EAT" of the fruit of that tree.

 

Adam's explanation to Eve was different.  Eve explained her understanding to the serpent when the serpent tempted her: "God hath said--Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."  (Moses 4: 9.)  Eve's understanding of the commandment varied from what had been given to Adam by the addition of the words: "NEITHER SHALL YE TOUCH OF IT."

 

Adam added to the Lord's commandment.  This additional precaution was the error which set the transgression in motion.  For when Eve saw the serpent touching the fruit and not dying, it lent credibility to the assertion that "ye shall not surely die."  (Moses 4: 10.)  Being innocent, and therefore vulnerable to deception, Eve could not know she was confronting a lie.  Instead she saw with her own eyes that the commandment "not to touch" clearly did not result in death. 

 

One of the great lessons of the Moses account is that adding to the commandments of God, no matter how well intentioned, is going to lead to error if not tragedy.  We do as He asks.  Without adding to, nor subtracting from what He has bid us to do, we should follow what we are asked by Him.

 

We cannot improve on His commandments.  We cannot build a fence around His commandments by adding other precautions, gestures, supplements, or restrictions.  When we do that we produce excess, rigidity, unintended consequences and error.  We teach for doctrines the commandments of men.  Inevitably leading to a form of godliness without any power.  It's an historic path to failure, diminishing power in the priesthood until it is gone altogether.  Detracting from our spiritual as well as physical health.  Removing our strength.  Corrupting our posterity, as they are distracted from what they should receive as they seek for what they cannot attain by "some other way."

 

I rather like Moses' account.

Pollutions

The great latter day "pollutions" referred to by Mormon in Mormon 8: 31 are the behaviors of men; not environmental waste.  Mormon identifies what those "pollutions" are:  "murders, and robbing, and lying,  and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations." 

 

Those are harsh indictments.  But it becomes even more harsh when Mormon identifies US as the culprits.  He calls us "pollutions."  He tells us we have polluted the "holy Church of God."  That can only mean the Restored Church.  Sobering indeed.

 

"O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God?"  (Mormon 8: 38.)  Remember that Mormon saw us.  Jesus Christ showed Mormon US. He was in a unique position to accurately tell us what ails us. (Mormon 8: 35.)

 

So why do we think ourselves in good spiritual condition?  Why are we confident we aren't condemned by the Lord?  Why do we presume that as Latter-day Saints we are safe.  Why do we think Mormon is talking to all those other churches; churches who will never read his book, and therefore cannot be warned by it?  It defies common sense, really.

 

We are in a lot of trouble.  He's trying to help us.  How foolish to think we can line up beside him and point the finger away from ourselves.  He won't let us do that, you know.  He's pointing the finger right at us.

General Conference

April General Conference is upon us.  I'm hoping to be able to see or hear some of it while at an out-of-state baseball tournament set for this weekend.  

 

We have a tradition of attending General Priesthood meeting at the BYU Marriott Center.  I'm worried that I won't be back in time for that session.  I always like to attend with a larger group, and since you don't need tickets to attend at BYU, I like going there.  All my sons grew up with this tradition. 

 

If you're in Utah County or Salt Lake County, I recommend it.  Outside of the Conference Center itself, I think it is the largest single body of priesthood attending that session of conference.

 

The Lamb and the Lion

There is only one place in scripture where the Lord is identified as both the "Lamb" and the "Lion" in successive verses.  You can find it in Revelation 5: 5-6.  In verse 5 He is referred to as "the Lion of the tribe of Juda."  In verse 6 He is called "a Lamb as it had been slain."

The moment when the "Lamb" and the "Lion" lay down together is the time of His great return.  He is both.  A Lamb to those who are prepared at His coming.  A Lion to those who are not prepared, for whom judgment will be poured out.

When you see that painting of the Lamb and Lion lying down together (we have one in our Stake Center), you are seeing the two great symbols of the Lord's Millennial reign.

The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl

When I was in 9th grade the teacher asked me to read a short story aloud to the class while she went to the office.  She asked that I do it because the class would likely listen if I were the reader, but if I were not then they would be out of control.  Mostly because I was not a good listener at that age.

In any event, I read the story aloud. Despite the intervening years I still recall the thing.  It was by Ray Bradbury and was titled The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl.  The character in the story killed someone, and was cleaning up fingerprints from the murder scene.  The cleaning went on as the story was narrated, and at some point it became apparent that the character had gone insane.

The story ended with the police coming and finding the person still there cleaning up fingerprints. The cleaning included the fruit at the bottom of the bowl.  Fruit that had never been touched.  The character was simply mad.

I think of that phrase whenever I see something completely mad.  Particularly when I see behavior which is inexplicable.  I've had a few "fruit at the bottom of the bowl" moments while on the High Council.  I try not to have them while at home.

It just isn't necessary (or possible) to micro-manage your children's lives.  Nor is it wise to try to micro-manage millions of other people's lives.  Whether as a parent, as a government leader, business leader, or as a church leader, Joseph Smith's advice is still timely.  He said the way he managed the church was to "teach them correct principles and let them govern themselves."  I'd like to see a return to that.  In all parts of daily life.

"dried up with thirst"

Isaiah prophesied about the effect of losing knowledge about God.  He wrote: "Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst."  (Isa. 5: 13.)

 

This is an apt description of people when they are not "fed" with truth and light. 

 

In contrast, Nephi wanted the Latter-day followers of Christ to have a "feast" to consume while toiling in this fallen, difficult time.  But Nephi notes the "feast" will come to us from hearing the words of "angels" and not from the "arm of flesh."  Nephi taught us: "Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.  Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."  (2 Ne. 32: 3.)

 

Whether we are to "feast" or be "famished" is up to us.  Seek, ask, knock: it will be opened.  Stay content, do not ask, seek, or knock: you will remain dried up with thirst.

God of Truth

I was asked about the meaning of the statement in scripture that "God cannot lie."  It is an important concept and it has a highly specific application.  I have dealt with it at length in the book Beloved Enos.  I would suggest reading the discussion there. If there are still questions, send me another inquiry.

Cycles

I've been impressed with Isaiah the last few weeks.  His words are timeless.  He describes patterns which recur whenever people seek to follow God.  It is little wonder Nephi chose to adopt many of Isaiah's words to describe what he (Nephi) had seen in vision.

I'm struck by how often one prophet will adopt the words of another prophet as his own.  One of the great moments in scripture is when Jacob has his people come up to the temple, promising to give them a prophecy.  When they arrive, he reads them the words of Zenos, found in Jacob Chapter 5.  Then, after this long recitation of Zenos' words by Jacob, he adds the following:
 
"As I said unto you that I would prophesy, behold, this is my prophecy-- that the things which this prophet Zenos spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he likened them unto an unto a tame olive tree, must surely come to pass."  (Jacob 6: 1.)  That's it.  His great prophecy:  What Zenos said will happen!

I like that.  Succinct.  No messing around.  Just telling these folks that this prophecy he read from another prophet was from God.  

It's a profound message.  We endlessly lose light.  Then assignments come to prophets to bring back a little (or a lot) of it, and they restore again.  We've been in the process of restoring truth since Adam.  This is because we have also been in the process of discarding truth since Adam.  It's a race between the discarding and the restoring.  Mostly discarding seems to win.

Spring baseball

Alta lost to Lone Peak in a snow flurry on Friday.  They have a another game set for Tuesday at Alta. It is supposed to rain.  It will be interesting to see how much different snow and rain make the game.

 

There was one pop-up in the infield by Lone Peak which went "major league" height - nearly out of sight.  In the snow, the Alta shortstop called for the ball, backing off the second-baseman.  As the ball descended, the wind and snow pushed it and the shortstop drifted with the ball.  By the time it came down, the shortstop had moved within twenty feet of first base.  He actually missed the catch.  Between the snow and wind the play was anything but routine.

 

Both teams played in the same conditions.  So there's no excuses for the outcome.  But I have to admit, I was grateful when it ended (despite the loss) because the weather made watching it so unpleasant.

 

I'm hoping the rain-play on Tuesday will be more tolerable to sit through.

 

Thankfully, state playoffs are generally played in warm, dry weather; and when you get far enough along, also on a neutral field.

Believe it is possible

The first step in the path back to God's presence is to believe it is possible.  Without this, the rest of the path does not exist.

 

President Packer's Testimony

I have enormous respect for President Boyd K. Packer.  To me he is one of the great lights in the church.  I know he had a role in the excommunication of seven "intellectuals" years ago, and that controversy remains today.  One of those affected was a fellow who attended law school at the same time as I did.  I feel for both him and President Packer.  I do not feel inclined to criticize him, nor have I.  I do wish the breach between my friend and the church were healed.

President Packer has given many important talks in his career.  Perhaps one of the most significant was given in the October, 1977 General Conference.  In it he made the following explanation of his testimony and of the testimonies of General Authorities.  He is speaking of the time when he was first interviewed to be called as a General Authority by President :

President McKay explained that one of the responsibilities of an Assistant to the Twelve was to stand with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as a special witness and to bear testimony that Jesus is the Christ. What he said next overwhelmed me: “Before we proceed to set you apart, I ask you to bear your testimony to us. We want to know if you have that witness.” 

I did the best I could. I bore my testimony the same as I might have in a fast and testimony meeting in my ward. To my surprise, the Brethren of the Presidency seemed pleased and proceeded to confer the office upon me. 

That puzzled me greatly, for I had supposed that someone called to such an office would have an unusual, different, and greatly enlarged testimony and spiritual power. 

It puzzled me for a long time until finally I could see that I already had what was required: an abiding testimony in my heart of the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that we have a Heavenly Father, and that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer. I may not have known all about it, but I did have a testimony, and I was willing to learn. 

I was perhaps no different from those spoken of in the Book of Mormon: “And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not” (3 Nephi 9:20; emphasis added). 

Over the years, I have come to see how powerfully important that simple testimony is. I have come to understand that our Heavenly Father is the Father of our spirits (see Numbers 16:22; Hebrews 12:9; D&C 93:29). He is a father with all the tender love of a father. Jesus said, “For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God” (John 16:27). 

Some years ago, I was with President Marion G. Romney, meeting with mission presidents and their wives in Geneva, Switzerland. He told them that 50 years before, as a missionary boy in Australia, late one afternoon he had gone to a library to study. When he walked out, it was night. He looked up into the starry sky, and it happened. The Spirit touched him, and a certain witness was born in his soul. 

He told those mission presidents that he did not know any more surely then as a member of the First Presidency that God the Father lives; that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father; and that the fulness of the gospel had been restored than he did as a missionary boy 50 years before in Australia. He said that his testimony had changed in that it was much easier to get an answer from the Lord. The Lord’s presence was nearer, and he knew the Lord much better than he had 50 years before. 

There is the natural tendency to look at those who are sustained to presiding positions, to consider them to be higher and of more value in the Church or to their families than an ordinary member. Somehow we feel they are worth more to the Lord than are we. It just does not work that way!

It would be very disappointing to my wife and to me if we supposed any one of our children would think that we think we are of more worth to the family or to the Church than they are, or to think that one calling in the Church was esteemed over another or that any calling would be thought to be less important. 

Recently, one of our sons was sustained as ward mission leader. His wife told us how thrilled he was with the call. It fits the very heavy demands of his work. He has the missionary spirit and will find good use for his Spanish, which he has kept polished from his missionary days. We also were very, very pleased at his call. 

What my son and his wife are doing with their little children transcends anything they could do in the Church or out. No service could be more important to the Lord than the devotion they give to one another and to their little children. And so it is with all our other children. The ultimate end of all activity in the Church centers in the home and the family. 

As General Authorities of the Church, we are just the same as you are, and you are just the same as we are. You have the same access to the powers of revelation for your families and for your work and for your callings as we do. 

It is also true that there is an order to things in the Church. When you are called to an office, you then receive revelation that belongs to that office that would not be given to others. 

No member of the Church is esteemed by the Lord as more or less than any other. It just does not work that way! Remember, He is a father—our Father. The Lord is “no respecter of persons.”

We are not worth more to the onrolling of the Lord’s work than were Brother and Sister Toutai Paletu‘a in Nuku‘alofa, Tonga; or Brother and Sister Carlos Cifuentes in Santiago, Chile; or Brother and Sister Peter Dalebout in the Netherlands; or Brother and Sister Tatsui Sato of Japan; or hundreds of others I have met while traveling about the world. It just does not work that way.

And so the Church moves on. It is carried upon the shoulders of worthy members living ordinary lives among ordinary families, guided by the Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ, which is in them. 

 

I bear witness that the gospel is true and that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God—every soul—and that we are blessed to be members of the Church. I have the witness that would qualify me for the calling I have. I’ve had it since I met the First Presidency those many years ago. I bear it to you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." 

I believe President Packer means it when he says his testimony was "the same as I might have in a fast and testimony meeting in my ward."  When someone in a position of Church leadership has an audience with Christ, we hear about it.  Joseph Smith told us.  Oliver Cowdrey told us.  Sidney Rigdon told us.  So did President John Taylor, President Joseph F. Smith and David B. Haight.  Their calling is to bear a witness of Him.  When they have an actual audience, I believe they tell us.

The calling of the Twelve is to "bear witness" of Christ.  (D&C 107: 23.)  Because of that calling, they must proclaim they have a "witness" even if it could be more correctly described as a testimony born of the Spirit.  I accept their "witness" of Christ and believe it is authoritative.  However, I do not read into their testimony what they do not put there themselves.  

I accept the "witness" of the living Apostles, although it is a rare exception when one has an audience with Christ.  In recent talks Elder Scott has gone to some length to testify and describe his own spiritual experiences.  I trust in them.  I trust him.  I believe him to be an Apostle.  It is not necessary for an Apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to have a personal audience with Christ.

Years ago Elder Mark Peterson said he did not think it possible for a gentile to receive an audience with Christ.  He thought that was confined to pure-blooded Israelites.  Since he was a gentile apostle to a gentile church, he did not believe it possible for him to receive such an audience.  As I understand it, that is the general view among the brethren.  The charge given by Elder Oliver Cowdrey to the Twelve (telling them they must receive an audience with Christ for their ordination to be complete) was discontinued in 1911 by President Smith.  It was discontinued because so few had received that audience.  But that does not make these men any less apostles.

I trust President Packer.  I accept his testimony.  I believe it is enough to qualify him for the work, just as President McKay told him.  I am impressed with his humility in explaining his testimony in General Conference.  It increases my trust in him as a servant of the Lord. 

Process Not Event

Almost everything about the Gospel plan is a process and not an event.  There are events to be sure, but for most of us and for most of the time we are only working through the process.

A great deal of the scriptures have been written by those who have been through the process, and who are trying to give us instruction to repeat it in our own lives.  "Events" which occur are in the scriptures, as well.  But we will never arrive at the "events" unless we first realize there is a process and we begin to participate actively in that process.

The first chapter of Abraham, second and third verses, describes a lengthy process.  It took decades to unfold.  It was not merely that Abraham determined to do something and then it happened.  He's giving a recitation of the process whereby he became at last a "rightful heir" and a "prince of peace" who had "received instructions" and "held the right belonging to the fathers."  

His quest began in "the land of the Chaldeans."  His ordination would not occur until he was transplanted nearly a thousand miles to the place where Melchizedek would at last ordain and endow him.  (D&C 84: 14.)  Shem was the "great high priest" we know as "Melek" (king) and "Zadok" (priest) or in other words Melchizedek.  (D&C 138: 41.)  

[Bruce R. McConkie and President Joseph Fielding Smith taught that Shem was NOT Melchizedek.  They reasoned that the meaning of words "through the lineage of the fathers, even till Noah" meant that there were generations between Noah and Melchizedek.  And that since Noah was Shem's father, there were no generations.  I do not think the words refer to the "generations" after Noah, but to the generations before Noah.  In other words, Noah received the priesthood through the generations going back to Adam, and then having that priesthood which began in the first generations, he conferred it upon Shem, whose new name was Melchizedek.  It was this "great high priest" who conferred the priesthood on Abraham.  You should be aware that I am differing from what McConkie and Smith have taught on this issue.  I'm confident in my position and not persuaded by their reasoning, but you are free to believe who you choose.]

When we read the quick summary of Abraham in 1: 2-3, we can wrongly presume that this was a quick event, not a long process.  It was lengthy.  It did not unfold without decades of desiring, seeking, receiving promises and then having them fulfilled.

A great deal of what we read in the scriptures is quickly describing the process.  They can be misleading in that respect.  Nephi's early account of his visionary experiences suggests instant clarity and understanding.  However, Nephi took decades to unravel what he had been given.  We are reading his third account.  He first wrote it when it happened. Then he recorded it a second time on his large plates.  It was not until he had received the commandment to prepare the small plates (on which he wrote the account we read in 1& 2 Nephi) that he finally gave us the third, refined, and completed account.  This was decades later.  He had "pondered continually upon the things which [he] had seen and heard" (2 Ne. 4: 16) during the intervening decades.  The account we have reduces the decades of reflection into a single, cogent statement. 

The Lord does no magic.  He aids us in our growth.  We have to grow and overcome.  Nephi's vision was something which, without decades of pondering, he could not state with clarity to a reader of his testimony.  It is always required for us to conform to the Lord's understanding and abandon our own.

The comment by Moses in Moses 1: 27-30 shows how despite the vision he could not understand.  He had to ask, "tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them?"  It would take great effort to be able to catch up with the things he witnessed.

The Lord lives in a timeless state.  (D&C 130: 7; Alma 40: 8.)  We live inside time.  When the Lord shows things to prophets from His perspective, it takes a while for men to comprehend what they have been shown.  It is a process.  Our effort is also required.

Men are not perfected in an instant.  We do not learn, even with a Perfect Teacher, without applying ourselves.  It sometimes takes, as in the cases of Abraham and Nephi, decades of pondering in order for us to understand and finally receive what has been given to us.  In the mean time, the Lord gives us experiences in life which will allow our minds to open to what He has done for us.

Joseph's First Vision was originally his own conversion story.  By the time of the third account (the one we have in the scriptures) it had changed into the opening of a dispensation for all mankind.  It changed from Joseph's conversion into the herald call from heaven to all mankind.  The years from 1820 to 1838 were required for Joseph to understand the difference.  Same vision.  Much different understanding.

So it is with all sons of God.

It is a process which unfolds.  It unfolds, as we will finally come to realize, in perfect order, perfectly.  If you want to read about it I have tried to describe it beginning with The Second Comforter: Conversing with the Lord Through the Veil
. 

Joseph's First Vision

I was asked if Joseph Smith saw more than two personages in his First Vision.  In the account written in 1835 Joseph stated:  "I saw many angels in this vision." 

The account in the Pearl of Great Price (written in 1838) omits any mention of this detail.

Adoptionism

I wrote a post about altering or rewriting scriptures to resolve doctrinal disputes.  The example used was taken from the time before the New Testament settled into its final form.  That example, "adoptionism" was rejected by the majority view,  and ultimately the text of the New Testament was changed to make the doctrine "false" from the text.  That change was made during the Third and Fourth Centuries as a result of what is now called the Christological debates.

Someone asked if I thought Christ was adopted.  That wasn't the point of the blog post.  But as long as the question was asked, here's my view:

No, He was the Son of God.  However, even as the Son of God He still was required to be acknowledged by Him in mortality to be saved.  Once He entered into mortality, took upon Him blood, He was subject to the Fall.  Despite being subject to the Fall, He lived His life in such a way that the Fall could not have a proper claim upon Him.  It was unjust He should die.  When, therefore, death overtook Him, it was unjust.  That injustice was the reason He could resurrect.  The grave could have no just claim upon Him, and therefore death could be reversed in Him.  The Father accepted Him as His Son while He was still in mortality.  This was done because as a mortal, subject to the Fall, inhabiting a body with blood and the elements of corruption, Christ needed to receive the Father's acknowledgment as His Son, even though He was indeed His Son.

Now the adoptionist theory was contrary to this.  They held the view that Christ was just another man and got adopted to become the Son of God.  He was God's Son solely as a result of that adoption and not in any other way.  I reject that idea.  But I accept that He needed, just as everyone else needs, to be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, proceed through the ordinances of the Gospel, and ultimately receive His calling and election made sure.  He said He needed to "fulfill all righteousness" and He did all that was required of any of us.  God acknowledged Him as His Son.  This is required for anyone to be saved.  Christ showed the way and walked the path.  So in that sense He, just as all of us, needed to be "adopted."  Him because He was mortal.  Us because we are conceived in sin. 

The Word of God

We have a whole different mindset than did the ancients.  We view things through the prism of Aristotle. We think that "reality" is what we can observe and touch and measure. However, there was once a mindset where what is "reality" was what God said.  The Word of God alone was enough to make the reality.

When God said or promised something that was enough to make what God said true, real, and eternal.

God says: "You are my son, this day I have begotten you." (Psalms 2:7)  When that occurred, it was enough to make a man a son of God.  I don't know if we even believe that possible now.

Today we assume if it is to happen at all it will be in the afterlife.  To the ancients, the person to whom this promise was made was instantly a son of God, even though he may have to live out a life in mortality before entering into the kingdom promised him.

The "king-making ceremonies" of the Egyptians, for example, made the Pharaoh a son of Horus and a God.  He was a God on earth even though everyone knew that he needed to eat and breathe to survive.  He would eventually die and be buried. He was a mortal - but he was a God.  The promise was everything.  The words of the ceremony, the effect of the anointing, the commitment to the man was enough to make him a God.

This concept of man becoming God hails from a different culture and time.  One untainted by the "head of gold, arms of silver, belly of brass, etc."  It is from a time when the Eastern mind, (words are eternal, everything here is temporary and an illusion) was in place among those who are talking with God.
 

Christ took the Father's words so seriously that Christ became the literal embodiment of God the Father's words.  He, Christ, was known as the "Word of God" because He remained true to every word spoken by the Father.  If you want to know what the Father said, look to Christ.

So believing/accepting the words of God are critical to getting the true reality of what this life is all about.

What a difference an inning makes

I was at the Alta-Jordan baseball game yesterday.  It was almost unwatchable for the first three innings.  There were 6 runs scored without a single hit.  The 3-3 tie was the result of hit batters, walks, errors, and general bad play.  Ugly doesn't even begin to describe the mess that went on in the beginning of the game.

 

Then both teams seemed to get over their hesitation and actually remember how to play again.

 

Jordan had an 11-6 lead going into the last at-bat in the top of the 7th inning.  Alta needed 5 runs to tie the game.  They put together a string of hits which pushed 5 runs over the plate and tied the game.

 

In the bottom of the 7th, Jordan got runners on, and had runners at the corners with only 1 out.  Alta's defense rose to the occasion and kept them scoreless.

 

In the extra inning, at the top of the 8th, Alta pushed two runs over.  Then held Jordan scoreless in the bottom of the inning to take a 13-11 win. 

 

Worst three beginning innings of baseball I think I've seen in High School play.  Best five innings thereafter I've seen.  What a difference!

Have you heard Christ sing?

I had the following article brought to my attention:

 

http://www.templestudy.com/2010/03/22/universal-creation-song/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Templestudycom+%28TempleStudy.com%29

 

It is my view that Christ's Sermon on the Mount was actually a hymn.  It was announced as a form of "new law" or higher path.  Those to whom He addressed it would have readily recognized the propriety of it being sung, as the article above reflects.

 

I was then asked if I had heard Christ sing.  I replied, "We all have, but only a few can now remember it."

An explanation

This came to me through an email and I thought I should address it here.  This is the email I received:   "I got information through the grapevine about a woman who is claiming that Denver ordained her to do something and that he put his hands on her head and set her apart for some type of work.  I don't know all the details, but I was not happy when I heard that.  I know that he wouldn't do that but thought that Denver should know that this woman is going around telling people this."

 

I thought I would put it on the blog and explain.

 

First, I don't have any idea what woman this is referring to; nor for that matter who wrote the information in the email. It was just forwarded to me, and I was given permission by the one who forwarded it to use it on the blog.

 

Second, I've not "ordained" a woman to do anything.  Nor do I intend to "ordain" a woman to do anything. 

 

Third, I have given blessings to my wife, daughters, home teaching assignments who are sisters, and other women who have asked from time to time, just as others do who hold priesthood and are asked to give a blessing.  That has never involved "ordaining" a woman to some assignment or work.

 

Finally, the only women I have "set apart" for an assignment was done while I served in a Bishopric at BYU, or while serving on the High Council.  Apart from that I haven't "set apart" any woman.  I've done numerous "setting apart" assignments in Elder's Quorums, and other assignments, but those were men.

All is well in Zion

According to the Joseph Smith's First Vision, the Restoration occurred because of the apostasy of Historic Christianity.  All churches "were wrong" and their "professors  were all corrupt."  "All their creeds were an abomination."  The people who inhabited these churches "draw near [to God] with their lips, but their hearts are far from" Him.  (JS-H 1: 19.)

 

This is the historic moment which justifies the Restoration.  It forces a choice upon the world. Mormonism is either correct, or it has no reason to exist.

This forces The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into a dilemma.  It must either proclaim that it is the only repository of saving truth, or it must strike a compromise which betrays the reason for its existence.  

 

Jesus Christ did not intend to let those who follow the work He was to commission through Joseph Smith to become popular, successful, or live in peace.  He intended to put them at odds with all the rest of the world.  The very reason for His strange act was to notify anyone who heard about it that they were to repent, change, accept new truths, or remain "corrupt" and with "hearts far from Him."  It is an instant challenge to the world.

 

When we shape the message of the Restoration into a vocabulary which does not offend, we miss the point.  We are REQUIRED to offend.  We are REQUIRED to sound the alarm to "Awake! Arise!"  When the message to those who accept the Historic Christian faiths is that "you're OK" we are contradicting Christ's opening statement to Joseph Smith.

 

All of this is only true if what we are doing is continuing the work begun by Joseph Smith.  If we have abandoned what he restored, then never mind.  We can fit in and get along.  In fact, we can not only fit in and get along, but we can even mimic the other mainstream faiths of the day. We can adopt a positive mental attitude, and proclaim:  "All is well in Zion, Babylon, Athens, Rome and Nineveh.  In fact, all is well everywhere.  Don't get up.  Stay asleep.  We're just here to help make you feel better about yourself."

HBO and Politicians

My wife has become a Republican County Delegate again.  I stayed home.

Given the sorry state of the current political class, I'm just glad when the political scandal of the day doesn't involve sodomy of a parrot.

Sobbing politicians blubbering how sorry they are for the DUI/nude hot-tubbing with underage girls/oral sex or drug use require me to then explain to my kids things I would rather defer until they are older.  What good is it to not buy HBO when the evening news features Republicans and Democrats confessing sins as sordid as anything we get in R-rated movies?

Central America or North America?

I used to view the subject of where the events in Book of Mormon took place as one of those trivial matters (2 on my earlier scale).  However, I've found that FARMS has become quite animated about the subject.  They are quite critical of the North American model.  This has somewhat raised the subject's importance in my view.

There are two views. One is that the events took place in Central America.  The other is that they occurred in North America.  The best explanation of the Central American setting is John Sorenson's book: An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, published by FARMS.  The best defense of the North American setting is Bruce Porter and Rod Meldrum's book Prophecies and Promises - The Book of Mormon and the United States of America.  FARMS gave a very critical review of the Porter/Meldrum book.

I used to think this subject was unimportant enough to allow it to remain undecided.  After reading both sides' arguments, I am inclined to believe it has more significance if you accept Bruce Porter and Rod Meldrum's view.  If you accept their view, then Joseph Smith knew something more about the Book of Mormon's events than Sorenson advances.  Also the fit of Book of Mormon prophecies into a highly focused unfolding of events also follows.  In fact, the D&C comes into sharper focus when you accept the Porter/Meldrum view.

I am inclined to now view this as an important or very important issue (7 or 8 on my earlier scale).  I think everyone ought to read those two books and decide the subject for themselves.  Since the Sorenson book was written first, and the Porter/Meldrum book is somewhat a response to it, I think they should be read in that order.

Abinadi's message

The significance of a prophet's message can never be measured by the extent to which he is accepted or even acknowledged by his peers.  In the case of Abinadi, he was an outcast whose origins and even ethnic affiliation are unknown.  He is the only person in the Book of Mormon with this name.  His lineage cannot be determined from the name, and whether he is Nephite, Lamanite, or some "other" is not disclosed.

His only credential was his message.  He came to announce warnings, was rejected, and ultimately killed.  He had no success with the people, and made only one convert.

Abinadi is a hinge character around whom the entire remainder of the Book of Mormon will center.  His one convert, Alma, will become the spiritual leader of the Nephites, and that convert will become the leading writer of the Book of Mormon. Then his posterity will be the focus of the remaining history of the Book of Mormon.

Abinadi's prophecies were cited from the time he delivered them to the end of the Book of Mormon. But measured by the events of his life, he failed.  His one convert fled persecution and hid in the wilderness.

However, measured by the full sweep of history, he is the pivotal character, the central figure from the time of his appearance until the end of the Book of Mormon.

I think there's a profound lesson in Abinadi's appearance and legacy.  If the Book of Mormon was edited by those who "saw our day," and was edited to foreshadow our own history, then we ought to be cautious about discarding a message from someone like Abinadi.

The only meaningful credential is the content of the message.  Trappings of office, genealogy, name, status, and standing were all irrelevant to Abinadi.

Truth

There is "truth" which exists independent of what we think or believe.  (I use the word in the same sense as D&C 93: 24-25.)  Our collective forgetfulness does not erase truth.  Nor does our vain imagination alter truth. 

 

Whenever a doctrine is changed because of man's planning or arguments, then we are teaching for commandments the doctrines of men; just as Christ complained to Joseph in the First Vision.  (JS-H 1: 19.)

 

During the Third and Fourth Centuries the debates over "adoptionism" were causing doctrinal havoc for the Christian movement.  As they solidified control over the movement, the leaders of the developing Historic Christian faith had a plan to cure the schism involving arguments that Christ was just a man who had been "adopted" at His baptism to become the Son of God.  The original words spoken at His baptism came from Psalms 2: 7.  These words supported the "adoptionist's" arguments.  The answer was simple - change the text of the Gospels.  So they edited the words and changed them from saying, "Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee" to instead, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  (Matt. 3: 17.)  That drove a stake in the heart of the "adoptionist" arguments.

 

Bart D. Ehrman has shown how this, and other controversies, affected the text of the New Testament in his book The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture: The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament.

 

Patterns in history have a way of repeating themselves.  Men almost always find it easier to change doctrine than to conform to the truth; and to edit books to fit their failures than to follow direction.  Our challenge is to learn the right lessons from history. We should not succumb to the easy advantages of changing the principles our religion is founded on, in order to accomplish "good" and repel criticism by adapting to meet the critics' arguments.

 

Truth is immutable and unchanging.  We either conform to it or apostatize from it.  We can't change it.

 

How grateful I am to still have prophets among us.

First principles of the Gospel

Someone asked this question:

In one part of Come, Let Us Adore Him you talk about the Dispensation in the Meridian of Time.  How "Men of good faith and sincere desire doing their best to follow after God, lost the light of the Spirit, then lost sound doctrine, and ultimately lost their covenant status and drifted into darkness." Did you mean this collectively?  Over time as a group?  As an individual of good faith, sincere desire, doing their best to follow after God, losing the light of the spirit, then sound doctrine and later drifting into darkness....   How tragic.  If after all that they still failed, what then is our hope for an individual now, in our dispensation?  Are we doomed to the same outcome?  I see many following the same course as anciently.  

My answer:

It is troubling.  It is the terrible problem of mortality.  We are all prone to drift and fail.  It is only by constant renewal of faith that we can hope to succeed.  No matter how far we have come, what great things we have obtained, we are still subject to failure.  This is why the FIRST principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: "faith, repentance, baptism and laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."  We never outgrow these FIRST principles.

I believe them to be "FIRST" in the sense of primacy, not a singular event which happens and then you can take them off the list of stuff to do.  They are primary. They are foundational.  They are required to be used constantly.  Therefore, they are "FIRST."

So, we always go forward in faith.  No matter how much we already know, we must use faith to go forward.  We live within the limitation of linear time.  We experience things in a flow that happens without our control.  Life unfolds as an unknown to us, and we must cope with all it hands us from day to day.  That requires faith to confront this uncontrolled, unfolding stream of time in which we are presently confined. 

Repentance is required because even if we are doing what we should be doing we are always going to learn more.  It is the nature of the Gospel that our light should increase.  Whenever we learn more, we must change to reflect what we have just gained.  Change is the heart of repentance. 

Baptism is to have sins washed away.  If you are already baptized, then the ordinance does not need to be done again, but the remission of sins and washing them away is required repeatedly.  For those already baptized, this is done through the Sacrament. It is still required for us to have sins remitted.

The Holy Ghost is should be a regular participant in our lives.  Its renewed companionship is also primary.  Its witness to us that we are on the right path is the only way to wage the necessary war against entropy which seeks to take you into darkness.  It is the source of renewed light that always enlightens when it comes. 

These are the only means by which we can avoid the same dismal fate as all others of all prior dispensations.  We must do this individually.  It does not matter if it is done collectively. I've yet to see any reason in the scriptures to expect great collective success by the Gentiles who inherit the Gospel in our dispensation.  There are individual promises to the few Gentiles who will repent, have faith, be baptized, enter into the covenant and remain faithful.  But the collective outcome is not particularly rosy.

White stone and a new name

I was asked whether the white stone and new name in D&C 130 are the same as the Second Comforter.  It was an interesting question and I thought I'd put the answer up here:

There are some equivalents (ie., if A=B and B=C, then A=C) in the Gospel when it comes to this subject. The ministry of the Second Comforter is to bring those to whom He ministers to the Father, and have them accepted by Him.  This means that the Father accepts them as a member of the Heavenly Family, or in other words, promises them exaltation.

Since the end of that ministry is to have the person accepted by the Father as a son or daughter of God, then an equivalency can be drawn between the final outcome and the Second Comforter.  This is what is done in D&C 88: 3-5.  Joseph Smith did something similar in a statement he made in which he put the voice declaring a person's exaltation first, and the visit of Christ and the Father with that person second.  You can read about it in the Words of Joseph Smith, pages 3-6, but the most relevant excerpt is found below:

The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest & perhaps understood by few of this generation, After a person hath faith in Christ, repents of his sins & is Baptized for the remission of his sins & received the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of hands) which is the first Comforter then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering & thirsting after Righteousness. & living by every word of God & the Lord will soon say unto him Son thou shalt be exalted. &c When the Lord has thoroughly proved him & finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazard. then the man will find his calling & Election made sure then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter which the Lord hath promised the saints as is recorded in the testimony of St John in the XIV ch from the 12th to the 27 verses Note the 16.17.18.21.23. verses. (16.vs) & I will pray the father & he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; (17) Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you & shall be in you. (18) I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you (21) He that hath my commandments & keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. & he that loveth me shall be loved of my father. & I will love him & will manifest myself to him (23) If a man Love me he will keep my words. & my Father will love him. & we will come unto him, & make our abode with him.

Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more or less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself & this is the sum & substance of the whole matter, that when any man obtains this last Comforter he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him or appear unto him from time to time. & even he will manifest the Father unto him & they will take up their abode with him, & the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him & the Lord will teach him face to face & he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, & this is the state & place the Ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious vision Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St Paul in the third heavens, & all the Saints who held communion with the general Assembly & Church of the First Born &c.

(This is an excerpt from Willard Richards' Pocket Companion contained in The Words of Joseph Smith.) 

Since the white stone and new name mentioned in D&C 130: 10-11 are referring to the state of exaltation and inheritance, and since the promise which the Second Comforter (Christ) is working to obtain for those to whom He ministers is the promise of exaltation, that equivalency may also be made.  The difference as I see it is that those described in the verses in D&C 130 are in a future state, in which they have actually inherited the condition of exaltation, have entered into the Celestial Kingdom to dwell there and possess the white stone on which their new name is written; whereas the promises Joseph speaks of in the quote above and the promises in D&C 88 are given to a mortal and are to be realized fully in the future.

Now the promise of the Lord is reality itself.  What He says will happen.  His Word becomes the law of the universe.  (See D&C 1: 38.)  Therefore when viewed with the eyes of faith, the Word is the reality, and the inheritance is immediate for those with faith.  This is the reason why Joseph said when a man receives "this last Comforter he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him or appear unto him from time to time. & even he will manifest the Father unto him & they will take up their abode with him, & the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him & the Lord will teach him face to face & he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God[.]"  

Finally, since the mortal who receives these things is already in company with the Lord and the Father, they are already occasional visitors in a Celestial Kingdom although they are still here in mortality, required to endure to the end, suffer death and then await resurrection.  Despite this, they are celestial and their lives are punctuated by contact with celestial beings from time to time, as the Lord determines is appropriate or necessary.

The education of all of us

I've been marveling at the irrelevance of higher education to the process of receiving light and truth.

PhD's are generally so schooled in their discipline that they view the Gospel in the light of their educational training.  A scholar studies economics and then everything looks to him like it can be explained in economic terms.  Or a scholar studies philosophy and then everything looks like it can be fit into a paradigm matching their school of thought.

I suspect the only book Nephi or Lehi had for their migration was the brass plates containing a version of the Old Testament.  Slim library pickings for what great things those two prophets were able to receive through their lives.  It isn't the volume of the books we possess which helps our search into deep truths.  Indeed, our libraries may well interfere with knowing God.  It is the depth of how we live the basic principles contained in the scriptures which let the light of heaven shine into our lives.

Joseph Smith's early education was so limited that our children have a comparable education at the conclusion of fourth grade.  But what he learned from on-high, by revelation, made him a towering pillar of light and truth.

Joseph once commented that if you could gaze into heaven for five minutes you would know more that if you read everything that had ever been written on the subject.  Now imagine the libraries that are filled with material written by the world's scholars and theologians about heaven.  Those who have written include such luminaries as St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, Dante, Rabbi Bacharach and Buddha.  Yet five minutes of "gazing" would supplant all they had to offer.

The wonder of it all is that so few are willing to trust a prophet's advice.  We read endlessly uninspired books written by the uninformed, and bypass the process commended to us by the scriptures.

A bad education (which is most educations) is worse than no education when it comes to the things of heaven.  When men are learned they think they are wise, and therefore have little reason to trust in God or revelation from Him to correct their misunderstanding. I think the Book of Mormon had something to say about that.  (See 2 Ne. 9: 28-29, 42.)  I consider myself a fool.  (That is the one advantage I have over those who also hold doctorates.  I know it does not provide me with any advantages, but does impose considerable disadvantages because of its corrosion to my thinking.) 

Heaven is an endless source of surprises.  There's nothing mundane going on there.

Godliness

I was asked about godliness. 

 

The ordinances are helps, symbols and requirements.  "Helps" in that they establish milestones that memorialize passage from one stage of development to the next.  "Symbols" in that they point to a deeper meaning or spiritual reality almost always grounded in the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  "Requirements" in that they mark the defined route taken by Christ as a mortal to fulfill all righteousness.

 

The power of godliness is tied to opening the heavens and receiving assignments, confirming revelation, or blessings from God.  Promises given to others are not promises to you.  Men are rarely reliable sources from which to attain the Word of God.  It is the unfortunate condition of mankind that, so soon as the are given a little authority they begin to use unrighteous dominion.  Heaven, on the other hand, does not dictate, abuse, misuse authority or entice you to do evil. 

 

All power is tied to heaven.  When the powers of heaven are withdrawn from someone, then their authority comes to an end and they have no power.

 

The ordinances as symbols point to the real thing. The real thing is Jesus Christ and His Gospel.

 

If you want to have the power of godliness in your life, it must be gained through Jesus Christ; access to whom is available to all men on equal terms.

Near Death Experiences

I was asked about Near Death Experiences and their interface with conversion.  Here's my take:

 

The advantage is that they know there is a continuation of life after the death of the body.  However, whether they use that knowledge to advance in light and truth or not is individually determined.

 

Some have used NDE's to become guru's and sell books or give talks.  That may detract from getting more light and truth.  The thing about growing in light and truth is that it is always directly connected with the humility of the person.  Humility or openness to new ideas and greater understanding is required to move from wherever you may be at present to a position of greater truth.  It is that openness to new ideas which is indispensable to gaining knowledge of God.

 

Closed minds, particularly those that may grow out of religious experiences or beliefs, are not benefited by what great things God has to offer in the continuing education of His children.  Joseph Smith once commented that it will be "a great while after we have left this life before we will have learned" enough to be saved.  It is not all to be understood in this life. 

 

Openness to ideas and further instruction is necessary to continue in the path of truth and light.  A NDE may open one's eyes to some truths,  But the fullness of what is to be taught or gained from God is not given in a single experience or in a brief tutelage from missionaries.  It is a lifelong quest.

The problem with too much praise

I think criticism is necessary to the human condition.  When a great public official in Rome was given a victor's parade, there would be a companion in his chariot whose responsibility it was to tell the man being celebrated that all fame is fleeting.  Rome had it right on that score.

 

Sometimes a sincere and devoted man can offer his help best by giving criticism to someone he loves.  When the only response which is tolerated is that the person is "doing great" or is "wonderful" there is stagnation and failure.  

 

I love baseball.  All young men should play baseball.  It is a game of failure.  If you only fail 70% of the time as a batter, you can become a Hall of Fame player.  No amount of praise will compensate for a .110 batting average.  Criticism is unnecessary.

 

One of the Simpson's "Treehouse of Horrors" episodes had Bart being omni-powerful.  Because of his great powers, whenever anything bad happened people would say, "it's good Bart did that."  This was to appease the all-powerful Bart.  It only made him worse.  Funny episode involving a cartoon character, but with a powerfully true underlying message.  Too much praise corrodes.  Worship of demigods inevitably risks making demons of them.

The importance of personal revelation

In Section 19 the Lord explains what the words "endless torment" and "eternal damnation" mean.  They are words of art, and are essentially proper nouns referring to God's punishment.  (See D&C 19: 4-12.)

 

This is an enormous help in understanding the scriptures generally. Words are chosen carefully, and the Lord is deliberate in how He puts a message across.  Things may not mean what we initially think they mean.

 

The scriptures are designed to reveal and conceal.  They are able to reveal even very hidden and mysterious things to the understanding of mankind when we understand what is being discussed.  Until the reader has been prepared for this understanding, reading the messages will not necessarily result in greater insight.

 

It is almost as if you have to know the answer first, or have it revealed to you.  Then, while in possession of the truth, you can see that prophets and seers have been speaking about these matters since the beginning of time.

 

How often do we reflect on Christ's "opening the scriptures" to His followers?  This is something that ought to make us all think about how little understanding we obtain without first receiving light and truth from Him.  Once again it points to the absolute necessity of personal revelation.