Vision of Zacharias, James Tissot (1894)

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I haven’t contributed much to Temple Study in recent months.  I’ve received emails from readers wondering if I’m OK.  I’m still here, but have had other priorities to attend to.  Until life stabilizes a bit, I won’t be able to get back to blogging.  Toby Palmer has offered to help keep the blog alive, and I’m interested in his insights about Hugh Nibley and the temple.
-Bryce

Guest Blogger: Toby' s self-identifying moment came when he read a Hugh Nibley article describing the characteristics of an eschatologist--someone who loves and seeks the infinite possibilities of God beyond the veil. With this self-proclaimed title, Toby voraciously reads and writes searching the mysteries of God while building his own testimony of Jesus Christ. He proudly contributes to TempleStudy.com in hope of strengthening others. Toby lives with his wife and four children in Orem, Utah.

Many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seek spiritual guidance for important individual and family decisions as they attend and worship at the temple. Many times divine messages that come to the heart and mind while in these holy spaces is hardly what is expected--and sometimes even a bit surprising.

According to Hugh Nibley in Three Shrines: Mantic, Sophic, and Sophistic, being surprised by revelation is exactly what should be expected. Nibley explains the mantic individual seeks revelation and the sophic person goes no further than his own learning for knowledge. To the sophic the thought of finding answers from a spiritual source is "uncontrollable, incalculable, and full of imponderables" and completely unacceptable to the cool and rational mind. Conversely, the mantic believes revelation comes in the same unexpected way. The difference between the two is the mantic has learned to trust the divine message as he bends his will to the creator.

Consider scriptural accounts of those being surprised by unexpected revelation. Gabriel's visit to Zacharias in the temple took the wise man by surprise, the shepherds on the eve of Christ's birth were "sore afraid" at the site of the angel--a feeling the apostles also experienced on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Even people chosen of God for great things had to do a double take during these personal spiritual experiences.

Nibley cites C.S. Lewis in reference to revelation, “That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up..."

Next time you attend the temple seeking spiritual council, keep in mind the answer you receive may be unexpected and challenge the will to obey. Take heart with this paradox. Our faith can be strengthened by expecting the unexpected answers from Heavenly Father.

Expect the Unexpected at the Temple

You can watch Elder Holland’s talk in the video embedded below.

Elder Holland Testifies Boldly of the Truth of The Book of Mormon!

What does the temple mean to you?  Why do you go to the temple?  Do you have a short experience you’d like to share?  Do you have a testimony of the temple you think others could benefit hearing?  Does the temple have an important place in your life?  What have you learned about the temple that you’d like to teach others about?  Is the temple a blessing to you?  How has the temple changed your life?  What is it that makes the temple different from the rest of ordinary life?  Have you been privileged to do temple work for your ancestors?  What was it like?  Are you grateful for the temple?  Why?  Has the temple brought you closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ?

Here is an excellent example from a convert who has been a member of the Church for 11 years, and who has a genuinely powerful testimony of the temple.  Press the play button below:

Thank you, brother, for sharing with us your witness and testimony of the temple and the Holy Ghost.  You’ve blessed my life today.

What could you share with us about the temple?

The method is the same.  Just click the “Call Me” button below, enter in your name (or “anonymous”), your phone number, select “keep number private,” and then click “Connect.”  You will receive a phone call and be connected straight to the TempleStudy.com voicemail where you can share with us your message (3 minute limit). In a few days I’ll select some to share with everyone.

Feel free to be a missionary today and share what the temple means to you.  It’s easy and you could make a positive difference in someone’s life by something you share.

Mormon Thoughts on the Temple – Round #2

The way we’re going to do this is using a brand-new service called Google Voice.  I love new technology, and especially when I can find new ways to use new technology to further the work of the kingdom of God.  In this case, I’ve found a way that I can use Google Voice to collect voicemail from you, sort through them, and then embed those messages into a future post on TempleStudy.com for all to hear.  Here is how it’ll work:

1. Click on the “Call Me” button below.
2. Enter your name (or just type “anonymous”), your phone number, and please select the checkbox to “keep number private.”
3. Click the “Connect” button.
4. Google Voice will call your phone and connect you directly with my TempleStudy.com voicemail.  (It might take a couple minutes for the call to come through after clicking “Connect”)
5. You’ll hear a short recorded message from me, and then you’ll have the opportunity to share your message.  (You can share your name if you want, or keep it completely anonymous).
6. You have a limit of 3 minutes, so you might want to keep your eye on the time.
7. Once you are done, you just hang up.
8. I will receive your voicemail, and a transcription of your message.
9. I will sort through all the messages, and in a couple days I will post some of them on TempleStudy.com for all our readers to hear.

It’s as simple as that.  Easy!  This should be a fun experiment, and will give you an opportunity to share your insights and feelings about the temple, and how the temple has made a difference in your life.

You don’t have to be a member of the LDS Church to share your thoughts about the temple either.  If you attended an open house of a temple in your area, or have other experiences with Mormons and LDS temples, please share them.  Of course, please keep comments positive; I will not publish derogatory messages.

So this is a great way to literally make your voice be heard using “New Media,” just as Elder M. Russell Ballard has encouraged:

This is your world, the world of the future, with inventions undreamed of that will come in your lifetime as they have in mine. How will you use these marvelous inventions? More to the point, how will you use them to further the work of the Lord?…

Words create conversations, and conversations create understanding… In many cases, it is with words that you will accomplish the great things that you will now set out to do.  And it's principally about ways to share those words that I want to talk to you today…

The Lord over the centuries has had a hand in inspiring people to invent tools that facilitate the spreading of the gospel. The Church has adopted and embraced those tools, including print, broadcast media, and now the Internet…

Today we have a modern equivalent of the printing press in the Internet and all that it means. The Internet allows everyone to be a publisher, to have their voice heard, and it is revolutionizing society.  Before the Internet, there were great barriers to printing. It took money, power, or influence and a great amount of time to publish. But today, because of the emergence of what some call New Media, made possible by the Internet, many of those barriers have been removed. New Media consists of tools on the Internet that make it possible for nearly anyone to publish or broadcast to either a large or a niche audience… The emergence of New Media is facilitating a world-wide conversation on almost every subject including religion, and nearly everyone can participate. This modern equivalent of the printing press is not reserved only for the elite…

Again, readers or viewers are free to add their comments and join in what becomes an ongoing, worldwide conversation…

That word conversation is important. There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller.  But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time…

Now all of you know that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are constantly reminded and encouraged to share the gospel with others. The Church is always looking for the most effective ways to declare our message…

Now, … may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple, clear terms the message of the Restoration [including the temple].  Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can … begin sharing what you know to be true…

We are living in a world saturated with all kinds of voices. Perhaps now, more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves, instead of letting others define us…

Others have recorded and posted their testimonies of the Restoration, the teachings of the Book of Mormon, and other gospel subjects [like the temple] on popular video-sharing sites.  You, too, can tell your story to nonmembers in this way.  Use stories and words that they will understand. Talk honestly and sincerely about the impact the gospel [and temple] has had in your life, how has it helped you overcome weaknesses or challenges, and helped define your values. The audiences for these and other New Media tools may often be small, but the cumulative effect of thousands of such stories can be great.  The combined effort is certainly worth the outcome if but a few are influenced by your words of faith and love of God and His son Jesus Christ…

Do not be afraid to share with others your story, your experiences as a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We all have interesting stories that have influenced our identity.  Sharing those stories is a non-threatening way to talk to others. Telling those stories can help demystify the Church. We've recently been made aware that the reason many people believe we are secretive is because they think our worship services held in 18,000 plus chapels that we have around the world are closed on Sunday's to nonmembers. Most think they can only attend if someone invites them. They've gained some of that perception from stories in the media about the requirements for entering one of our 126 dedicated temples.  They confuse our temple worship with our Sunday worship. You could help overcome this and other misconceptions through your own sphere of influence, which ought to include the Internet…

Let us all stand firmly and speak with faith in sharing our message with the world.  Many of you are returned missionaries and can carry on meaningful conversation in the language you learned on your mission.  Your outreach can be international…

Our position is solid; the Church is true. We simply need to have a conversation, as friends in the same room would have, always guided by the promptings of the Spirit and constantly remembering the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ which reminds us of how precious are the children of our Father in Heaven…

Let your voice be heard in this great cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is taking Elder Ballard’s admonition and counsel one step further and allowing you to literally let your voice be heard about the temple.  And you can even keep it completely anonymous if you like.  But most of all, as Elder Ballard said, don’t be afraid to share with others your story, your experience, and your testimony.  It could change lives.

Mormon Thoughts About the Temple Using Google Voice

See my post at Millennial Star:
http://www.millennialstar.org/2008/08/20/should-i-know-the-church-is-true/

Should “I Know” the Church is True?

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)

In recent weeks I have encountered what I consider to be one of the most damaging forms of criticism of the Church.  You might think that it is from all the anti-Mormon literature or propaganda.  Or perhaps it is those who are so vocal as to picket the curbs at our General Conferences with signs, profanity, and filth.  You might think it is those who have become disaffected, have left the Church, and are now eager to tear it down or “expose” it for what they see as serious problems.  You might think it is the work of scholars who have been excommunicated, and now find intellectual haven in promoting arguments against the learned.  You might even think that it is those tribulations that come from the adversary himself.  But this is not the case.

There is a much more gross and pernicious form of criticism of the restored gospel and of the Lord’s restored Church.  It is that criticism which comes from within the Church.

I know that this runs in the same current as several of my latest posts, but I strongly believe that “it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor” (D&C 88:81).  And it also has a direct relationship to the covenants we make to God in the temple. 

Our beloved Prophet and President Ezra Taft Benson once strongly warned:

Sometimes we hear someone refer to a division in the Church. In reality, the Church is not divided. It simply means that there are some who, for the time being at least, are members of the Church but not in harmony with it. These people have a temporary membership and influence in the Church; but unless they repent, they will be missing when the final membership records are recorded.

It is well that our people understand this principle, so they will not be misled by those apostates within the Church who have not yet repented or been cut off. But there is a cleansing coming. The Lord says that his vengeance shall be poured out “upon the inhabitants of the earth. . . . And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord; First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me. . . .” (D&C 112:24-26.). I look forward to that cleansing; its need within the Church is becoming increasingly apparent.

The Lord strengthened the faith of the early apostles by pointing out Judas as a traitor, even before this apostle had completed his iniquitous work. So also in our day the Lord has told us of the tares within the wheat that will eventually be hewn down when they are fully ripe. But until they are hewn down, they will be with us, amongst us…

Yes, within the Church today there are tares among the wheat and wolves within the flock. As President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., stated: “The ravening wolves are amongst us, from our own membership, and they, more than any others, are clothed in sheep’s clothing because they wear the habiliments of the priesthood. . . . We should be careful of them. . . .” (Conference Report, April 1949, p. 163.)

The wolves amongst our flock are more numerous and devious today than when President Clark made this statement.  [And it is even worse yet in 2008.]

President David O. McKay said that “the Church is little, if at all, injured by persecution, and calumnies from ignorant, misinformed, or malicious enemies. A greater hindrance to its progress comes from faultfinders, shirkers, commandment-breakers, and apostate cliques within its own ecclesiastical and quorum groups.” (Conference Report, October 1967, p. 9.)

Not only are there apostates within our midst, but there are also apostate doctrines that are sometimes taught in our classes and from our pulpits and that appear in our publications. And these apostate precepts of men cause our people to stumble. As the Book of Mormon, speaking of our day, states: “. . . they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.” (2 Ne. 28:14.)

Let me give you some examples of what I see as the hallmarks of these types of apostates within the Church:

• They claim to be active, temple-attending, members of the Church
• They claim to have served faithful missions and currently have callings in their wards or stakes.
• Somehow they have become disaffected from what the prophets and apostles teach, whether it is through anti-Mormon literature, peer pressure, other apostates, being offended by someone in the Church, losing their testimony, becoming too infatuated with Babylon/world, or other ways, but they remain in the Church for social/familial/political/monetary or other reasons.
• They believe that we can’t trust that the leadership of the Church are the Lord’s anointed servants.
• They believe that we can’t trust what the leadership teaches is truth.
• They believe that we shouldn’t believe that the Church is the “one true Church.”
• They believe that we can’t trust that what the prophets and apostles teach us is the mind and will of the Lord for our day.
• They don’t believe in continual revelation through the authorities of the Church.
• They believe that the prophet and apostles have taught and continue to perpetuate false precepts and doctrines, and they focus all there efforts and attention on these controversial subjects.
• They believe that the Church is engaged in intentionally covering-up or hiding its history from its members.
• They believe it is more important to question, doubt, be skeptical, have suspicion, uncertainty, mistrust, waver, fear, and hesitate about the teachings of the Church and its authorities rather than have faith, seek answers, believe, trust in the Lord, have confidence, seek increased learning by study and faith, pray for confirmation, look to ecclesiastical leaders and the authorities of the Church for answers, trust that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is guiding this work by and through his chosen and anointed servants, and that they will never lead the Church astray.
• If they think that the prophets and apostles are teaching incorrect or false principles, they believe they have a moral obligation to teach and tell others within the Church about it, and thereby lead them into the same mode of belief in opposition to Church leadership.

Now, they are expertly subtle about the way they go about much of this.  Their use of words is impeccable, and they sound as if they are full supporters and sustainers of the Church and its leadership.  But you’ll notice that many of the above points are precisely the same arguments as our most vocal critics on the outside of the Church.  The only difference is the first three points.  These are still members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in many cases they hold high callings and serve in positions of leadership, professorship, or influence among our brethren and sisters.  This is what makes their criticism ever more powerful, deceitful, and destructive among members of the Church.  They are wolves in sheep’s clothing (the priesthood), who are much more easy to believe than those who voice their opinions outside the Church.  Their seduction is unsurpassed in its nefariousness and effectiveness.  Members accept them as their brethren or sisters, trust they are teaching correct principles, fall into the trap of believing their false ideologies, are pacified by their worldview and with their relaxed take on the restored gospel, and are lulled away into the carnal security of believing in their own selves and not on Christ and His restored Church, and thus they are in a most deadly way cheated by the adversary, and if they do not come to a realization of the truth and the deception they have fallen into and repent, they will be led by the adversary down to hell (2 Nephi 28:21).  It is the tares among the wheat within the Church that have done and will continue to do the Church the most harm, particularly as Babylon spirals uncontrollably downward in wickedness, lies, and corruption which has been foretold will precede the Second Coming of the Savior.

This is none other than pure apostasy which the prophets and apostles have warned us about time and time again since the beginning.  Those are precisely the things that we have been told are the hallmarks of apostasy.  If we believe in these philosophies of man which are mingled with Church concepts, and associate ourselves with such persons and corruption, we have built our house on a sandy foundation, and when the horrendous storms come, we will most certainly fall:

24 ¶ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. (Matt. 7:24-29; see also 3 Ne. 11:39-40, 3 Ne. 14:24-27, and 3 Ne. 18:13)

Such apostasy took place among the membership of the early Christian church too.  The Apostle Paul warned the Romans:

16 Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. (Rom. 16:17-19)

Paul also warned Timothy:

3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
6 From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
7 Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; (1 Tim. 1:3-4; see especially D&C 52:9, 36)

It is precisely these kinds of divisions, false doctrines, and a break between those who were teaching and those who were the authorities of the Church that caused the early church to fall into the Great Apostasy.  The Lord even warned Joshua in the Old Testament:

Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. (Josh. 1:7)

What is the rock that we should built upon in our day?  Jesus Christ taught us clearly in the New Testament:

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matt. 16:18)

The rock is the authority of the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the revelation which He gives through that priesthood to those who profess His name.

There is a reason why Christ has established disciplinary councils within the Church.  Elder Ballard has taught why we have them:

[Their] purpose is threefold: to save the soul of the transgressor, to protect the innocent, and to safeguard the Church's purity, integrity, and good name.

By promoting the false ideologies that I have listed above, apostates within the Church are circumventing these very three purposes that God has established in His Church for members to repent of wrongdoing, increase their faith in Christ, and become perfected in Him.  It is not OK to just be a “Sunday” member of the Church.  It is not OK to be on the rolls solely for social interaction.  It is not OK to believe that the Church is only “mostly true” or only “good.”  It is not OK to disregard the counsel of the prophets and apostles and to be swayed by every wind of doctrine.  It is not OK to believe more in the philosophies of man or your own arm of flesh than in the word of God as He delivers it through his anointed servants.  It is not OK to not have a testimony of the truth of this work.  It is not OK to half-heartedly obey the commandments.  It is not OK to publicly and openly discredit the prophets and apostles that the Lord has set at the head of this Church, or to otherwise criticize the Lord’s anointed.  These are damnable offenses, contrary to the word and will of God, and are violations of the sacred covenants that we make with God in the holy temple.  When the Bridegroom comes, those who have so lived will not find a place at the wedding supper.  It would be much better for these to receive ecclesiastical guidance and, if necessary, disciplinary counsel from the Lord’s representatives to help them on their journey of progression and faith in Christ, than for them to hide in the pews behind this façade of false faith, complacency and carnal security which gets them nowhere, and which leads others down the same path of darkness.

Having said that, do not think that I am being “anti-intellectual.”  A prophet has declared that “to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God” (2 Nephi 9:29).  But, if we do not hearken to the “counsels of God,” their “wisdom is foolishness,” for they suppose they know the truth “of themselves,” and it “profiteth them not” (2 Nephi 9:28).  We’ve been criticized, inside the Church and out, that we follow the General Authorities by blind obedience.  As has been taught many times by Christ and His servants, we don’t obey because we are blind.  We obey because we can see.  Faith is the oil which lights our lamps (Heb. 11).  We have received a testimony and witness from the Holy Ghost that this Church is true.  It is the Church of Christ.  We know that it is led by prophets and apostles of God.  We know that they converse with the Lord, face-to-face.  We know the countless blessings we have received by following their counsel.  We know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, for we have tested it.  We know that this is the kingdom of God on the Earth today.  We know that by following the teachings of the living prophets that we will find safety and security in the turmoils of our day and time.  We know that there are miracles upon miracles that occur daily throughout the Church because we have the faith to participate in them and witness them.  We know that Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, is leading this Church, and none other.

Do not be deceived.  We have been warned about these times.  The Apostle Paul again cautioned the Church:

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
8 Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
9 But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Tim. 3)

Members of the Church should be doubly aware that the most damaging deceit that we will have in the last days will be that which comes from within the shadows of the membership of our very Church.  In the Book of Mormon we are told that “priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the Welfare of Zion… But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion…” (2 Nephi 26:29, 31).  Many of these same points of apostate criticism were also used by the anti-Christ Korihor in Alma 30, and Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah when they sought to destroy the church of God.

Trust in God.  Trust that God has called those who preside over His Church, and that He will not let them lead it astray.  Pray to Him to know with a surety of these things.  If you will do this, you will in nowise lose your reward.

27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.
30 Who am I that made man, saith the Lord, that will hold him guiltless that obeys not my commandments?
31 Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled?
32 I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing.
33 Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above. (D&C 58:27-33)

I bear my testimony once again, that this is the one true Church of Jesus Christ on the Earth today.  I know that.  I know many who know that.  God has called those who have led the Church, from Joseph Smith to President Thomas S. Monson, and the apostles.  Christ leads it today.  Christ suffered in Gethsemane and on the cross so that we could be forgiven for all our shortcomings, weaknesses, faults, and sins.  If we come unto Him with full purpose of heart, thirsting and hungering after the word of God, He will bless us immeasurably, and we will eventually be crowned with immortality and eternal life in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father.

And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall. (2 Nephi 28:28; cf. 1 Nephi 16:2)

The Grossest Form of Church Criticism

President Harold B. Lee - 1973

[Update/Disclaimer (8/1/08 8:10pm MDT):  Because of the different use of the term "liberal" that President Lee uses in this talk, in contrast to the common modern political usage, care should be taken when reading it.  President Lee's use of "liberal" was strictly used in the sense of a standard of living the gospel, and is therefore applicable to all members regardless of political affiliations.  I personally found much good counsel for myself in the prophet's words.]

A couple days ago, Tim Malone from the excellent blog Latter-day Commentary pointed me in the direction of a talk in 1971 by President Harold B. Lee on the subject of religious liberalism.  Last night, by random coincidence, as I made a passing remark to my father about some members in the Church who claim it improper to use the terms “the only true Church,” he immediately referred to a quote in the same talk.  Something is telling me to pay close attention to the words of President Lee.  My hope is that all the Saints would too.  This man was a living prophet of the living God:

I sincerely pray for the spirit of this great conference during the few moments that I shall stand here.

Sometime ago there appeared in the Wall Street Journal a thought-provoking article, written by an eminent theologian at the Columbia University, under the subject heading "An Antidote for Aimlessness," which you recognize as a condition that is prevalent in the world today. I quote from this article by Rabbi Arthur Herlzterg:

"What people come to religion for, is an ultimate metaphysical hunger, and when that hunger is not satisfied, religion declines ... the moment that clerics become more worldly, the world goes to hades the faster. 

"... Religion represents the accumulation of man's insight over thousands of years into such questions as the nature of man, the meaning of life, the individual's place in the universe. That is, precisely, the question at the root of man's restlessness.

"Man seeks something to end his state of confusion and emptiness ... in the latest parlance, an antidote for aimlessness. We do not know if the truths of religious tradition can be interpreted to satisfy this need, but we are sure that here, not in political activism, is religion's path to relevance."

As an answer to those who may be wandering aimlessly, searching for something to satisfy their need and to end their state of confusion and emptiness, I would like to introduce a few thoughts by relating a remarkable vision which came to an ancient prophet by the name of Lehi--600 years before Christ. To the faithful members of the Church this will be an oft-related incident recorded in the Book of Mormon. To those not of our faith this may, if they will ponder seriously, be very significant in the light of many trends in our modern society.

In this dream, or better called a vision, the prophet Lehi was led by a heavenly messenger through a dark and dreary waste to a tree laden with delicious fruit which proved to be very satisfying to his soul. He beheld a river of water nearby along which was a straight and narrow path leading to the tree laden with delicious fruit. Between the river bank and the path was a rod of iron, presumably to safeguard the travelers from falling off the narrow path into the river.

As he looked, he saw large groups of people crowding forward to gain access to the spacious field where the tree with fruit was located. As they pressed forward along the path, a great mist of darkness arose, so dense that many who started lost their way and wandered off and were drowned in the murky water or were lost from view as they wandered into strange paths. There were others, however, likewise in danger of being lost because of the blinding mist, who caught hold of the iron rod and, by so doing, held their course so that they too could partake of the delicacies which had beckoned them to come, despite the hazardous journey. Across, on the opposite side of the river, were multitudes of people pointing fingers of scorn at those who made the journey safely.

As with many other ancient prophets in biblical history, dreams or visions of this nature were effective means by which the Lord communicated with his people through prophet-leaders. Just so, this dream had great significance, as the Lord revealed to the prophet Lehi. The tree laden with fruit was a representation of the love of God which he sheds forth among all the children of men. The Master himself, later in his earthly ministry, explained to Nicodemus how that great love was manifested. Said he: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"; and then the Master added: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:16-17.)

The rod of iron as seen in the vision interpreted was the word of God, or the gospel of Jesus Christ, which led to the tree of life that the Master explained to the woman at the well in Samaria was as "a well of [living] water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14.)

Those, as seen in the vision, who were across the river pointing fingers of scorn represented the multitudes of the earth which are gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb of God. The scorners, so the Lord revealed, represented the so-called wisdom of the world, and the building itself in which they were gathered was the "pride of the world." (See 1 Ne. 11-12.)

If there is any one thing most needed in this time of tumult and frustration, when men and women and youth and young adults are desperately seeking for answers to the problems which afflict mankind, it is an "iron rod" as a safe guide along the straight path on the way to eternal life, amidst the strange and devious roadways that would eventually lead to destruction and to the ruin of all that is "virtuous, lovely, or of good report."

These conditions as they would be found in the earth when these scriptures, now called the Book of Mormon, were to be brought forth were foreseen by the prophets. As I read some of these predictions, I would have you think of conditions with which we are surrounded today:

"And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts; unto ... envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities ... because of the pride of your hearts.

"... behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted." (Morm. 8:36-37.)

The apostle Paul also spoke of a time of peril when "men [would] be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

"Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those things that are good,

"Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. ..." (2 Tim. 3:2-5.)

There are many who profess to be religious and speak of themselves as Christians, and, according to one such, "as accepting the scriptures only as sources of inspiration and moral truth," and then ask in their smugness: "Do the revelations of God give us a handrail to the kingdom of God, as the Lord's messenger told Lehi, or merely a compass?"

Unfortunately, some are among us who claim to be Church members but are somewhat like the scoffers in Lehi's vision--standing aloof and seemingly inclined to hold in derision the faithful who choose to accept Church authorities as God's special witnesses of the gospel and his agents in directing the affairs of the Church.

There are those in the Church who speak of themselves as liberals who, as one of our former presidents has said, "read by the lamp of their own conceit." (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine [Deseret Book Co., 1939], p. 373.) One time I asked one of our Church educational leaders how he would define a liberal in the Church. He answered in one sentence: "A liberal in the Church is merely one who does not have a testimony."

Dr. John A. Widtsoe, former member of the Quorum of the Twelve and an eminent educator, made a statement relative to this word liberal as it applied to those in the Church. This is what he said:

"The self-called liberal [in the Church] [Bryce: note this is the same as the latest self-proclaimed and reclassified "new order" Mormon] is usually one who has broken with the fundamental principles or guiding philosophy of the group to which he belongs. ... He claims membership in an organization but does not believe in its basic concepts; and sets out to reform it by changing its foundations. ...

"It is folly to speak of a liberal religion, if that religion claims that it rests upon unchanging truth."

And then Dr. Widtsoe concludes his statement with this: "It is well to beware of people who go about proclaiming that they are or their churches are liberal. The probabilities are that the structure of their faith is built on sand and will not withstand the storms of truth." ("Evidences and Reconciliations," Improvement Era, vol. 44 [1941], p. 609.)

Here again, to use the figure of speech in Lehi's vision, they are those who are blinded by the mists of darkness and as yet have not a firm grasp on the "iron rod."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if, when there are questions which are unanswered because the Lord hasn't seen fit to reveal the answers as yet, all such could say, as Abraham Lincoln is alleged to have said, "I accept all I read in the Bible that I can understand, and accept the rest on faith."

How comforting it would be to those who are the restless in the intellectual world, when such questions arise as to how the earth was formed and how man came to be, if they could answer as did an eminent scientist and devoted Church member. A sister had asked: "Why didn't the Lord tell us plainly about these things?" The scientist answered: "It is likely we would not understand if he did. It might be like trying to explain the theory of atomic energy to an eight-year-old child."

Wouldn't it be a great thing if all who are well schooled in secular learning could hold fast to the "iron rod," or the word of God, which could lead them, through faith, to an understanding, rather than to have them stray away into strange paths of man-made theories and be plunged into the murky waters of disbelief and apostasy?

I heard one of our own eminent scientists say something to the effect that he believed more professors have taken themselves out of the Church by their trying to philosophize or intellectualize the fall of Adam and the subsequent atonement of the Savior. This was because they would rather accept the philosophies of men than what the Lord has revealed until they, and we, are able to understand the "mysteries of godliness" as explained to the prophets of the Lord and more fully revealed in sacred places.

There were evidently similar questions and controversies in the Master's time. In one terse answer, he gave the essential ingredients to safety amidst the maze of uncertainty:

To settle an apparent controversy among his disciples as to who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God, he said: "... except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of [God]." (Matt. 18:3.)

To become converted, according to the scriptures, meant having a change of heart and the moral character of a person turned from the controlled power of sin into a righteous life. It meant to "wait patiently on the Lord" until one's prayers can be answered and until his heart, as Cyprian, a defender of the faith in the Apostolic Period, testified, and I quote, "Into my heart, purified of all sin, there entered a light which came from on high, and then suddenly and in a marvelous manner, I saw certainty succeed doubt."

Conversion must mean more than just being a "card carrying" member of the Church with a tithing receipt, a membership card, a temple recommend, etc. It means to overcome the tendencies to criticize and to strive continually to improve inward weaknesses and not merely the outward appearances.

The Lord issued a warning to those who would seek to destroy the faith of an individual or lead him away from the word of God or cause him to lose his grasp on the "iron rod," wherein was safety by faith in a Divine Redeemer and his purposes concerning this earth and its peoples.

The Master warned: "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better ... that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matt. 18:6.)

The Master was impressing the fact that rather than ruin the soul of a true believer, it were better for a person to suffer an earthly death than to incur the penalty of jeopardizing his own eternal destiny.

The apostle Paul impressed also the danger of false teachings by bad example. Said he: "But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. ...

"And through thy knowledge shall the weak ... perish, for whom Christ died?

"But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ." (1 Cor. 8:9, 11-12.)

Speaking to the learned and highly sophisticated generation in his time, the prophet Jacob said something which seems to be so often needed to be repeated today: "... When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. ...

"But to be learned is good if they hearken to the counsels of God." (2 Ne. 9:28-29.)

We fervently thank the Lord for the faithfulness and devotion of many in and out of the Church who are in high places in business, in governmental circles, in the legal profession, doctors, trained social workers, nurses, and those in the fields of the sciences and the arts. Particularly are we grateful for those who accept positions of leadership in the Church, who serve as home teachers or class leaders in the priesthood or in the auxiliaries, who make themselves available for volunteer service in helping to care for the unfortunate in all lands and among minorities within and without the Church, and in giving particular attention to the needs of the widows and the orphans.

I say to all such, as did Jesus to Zacchaeus: "This day is salvation come to [their] house." (Luke 19:9.) These are they who are holding fast to the "iron rod" which can lead us all, in safety, to the tree of life.

I read recently from a column in the Washington Post, by George Moore, who styled himself as the "hermit of Mount Vernon." (Mount Vernon, of course, was the ancestral home of George Washington.) In this article he said, "I have spent the last twenty years of my life at Mount Vernon reducing my ignorance." He claimed that a person never learns anything until he realizes how little he knows. In this article he makes this most illuminating observation about George Washington:

"Washington never went to school. That's why he was an educated man, he never quit learning."

What George Moore said of himself I suppose could be said of many of you and of myself: "I have spent more than three score years of my life reducing my ignorance."

Therein, it is my conviction, is the challenge to all who achieve distinction in any field. Some quit learning when they graduate from a school; some quit learning about the gospel when they have completed a mission for the Church; some quit learning when they become an executive or have a prominent position in or out of the Church.

Remember, as George Moore said of Washington, "We can become educated persons, regardless of our stations in life, if we never quit learning."

The late President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote this: "Any man who does his work well, who is justifiably self-confident and not unduly disturbed by the jeers of the cynics and the shirkers, any man who stays true to decent motives and is considerate of others is, in essence, a leader. Whether or not he is ever singled out for prominence, he is bound to achieve great inner satisfaction in turning out superior work.

"And that, by the way, is what the good Lord put us on this earth for." ("What Is Leadership?" Reader's Digest, June 1965, p. 54.)

With the restoration of the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Church in the dispensation of the fulness of times, we were given instructions by revelation, the magnitude of which, as the late President Brigham H. Roberts explained, was "not merely as to whether baptism should be by immersion or for the forgiveness of sins, but the rubbish of accumulated ages was swept aside, the rocks made bare, and the foundations of the Kingdom of God were relaid."

It may seem preposterous to many to declare that within the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be found a bulwark to safeguard against the pitfalls, the frustrations, and the wickedness in the world. The plan of salvation formed in the heavens points clearly to the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life, even though there are many who refuse to follow that way.

In a great revelation, the Lord gave instruction by commandment to the leaders of the Church of that early day that they should be seekers after truth in many fields.

First, of course, he commanded that they should "teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom ... in all things that pertain [to] the kingdom of God. ..." (D&C 88:77-78.)

Then he counsels as to the wide sweep of learning about which we should seek. His church was not to be an ignorant ministry in various fields of secular learning.

And then the Lord addressed his revelation to all others who may not have faith: "... seek learning, even by study and also by faith." (D&C 88:118.)

One might well ask: How does one get "learning by faith"? One prophet explains the process: First, one must arouse his faculties and experiment on the words of the Lord and desire to believe. Let this desire work in you until ye believe in a manner that you can give place even to a portion of the word of the Lord; then, like a planted seed, it must be cultivated and not resist the Spirit of the Lord, which is that which lighteneth everyone born into the world; you can then begin to feel within yourselves that it must be good, for it enlarges your soul and enlightens your understanding and, like the fruit of the tree in Lehi's vision, it becomes delicious to the taste. (See Alma 32.)

It was an English novelist who was quoted as saying: "He who seeks God has already found him."

Let no one think that "learning by faith" contemplates an easy or lazy way to gain knowledge and ripen it into wisdom.

From heavenly instructions and added to which are the experiences of almost anyone who has sought diligently for heavenly guidance, one may readily understand that learning by faith requires the bending of the whole soul through worthy living to become attuned to the Holy Spirit of the Lord, the calling up from the depths of one's own mental searching, and the linking of our own efforts to receive the true witness of the Spirit.

The mission of this church is to bear witness of the truths of the gospel and put to flight the false teachings on every side that are causing the restlessness and the aimlessness that threaten all who have not found the straight path and that which could be an anchor to their souls.

My fervent prayer is that I may hold up that true Light of Christ to all the world. I would that all may know with assurance, as I, from study, prayer, and faith, know for a certainty, as the Master declared to Martha, who was mourning the death of Lazarus, that the Lord and Master is indeed "the resurrection, and the life; [and] he that believeth in [him], though he were dead, yet shall he live:

"And whosoever liveth and believeth in [him] shall never die. ..." (John 11:25-26.)

I thank the Lord that I can answer, as did Martha and as did Peter of old: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matt. 16:16.)

"Yea, Lord: I believe ... thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." (John 11:27.)

To this I do bear my solemn witness, in the sacred name of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, even so. Amen. (Harold B. Lee, The Iron Rod, General Conference, April 4, 1971.)

The Iron Rod: A Warning to Religious Liberals

The living prophets and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is Truth? I hope this will help shed some light.  The living prophets of this dispensation have spoken the word of the Lord.

From the “Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson” (pgs. 115-121):

Truth is a glorious thing. We sing about it. “Oh say, what is truth?/’Tis the fairest gem/That the riches of worlds can produce.” (Hymns, 1985, no. 272.) The Church and kingdom of God has no fear of the truth.

We are engaged in the greatest work in all the world-yes, the greatest in the whole universe: the saving and exaltation of our Father’s children, our brothers and sisters. We are the custodians of the truth, the saving principles which, where applied, will build, save, and exalt men.…

Our lives, to be successful, must constitute a constant pursuit of truth-all truth. The gospel encompasses all truth; it is consistent, without conflict, eternal. I have had the privilege of traveling to most parts of this world. I have known presidents and prime ministers-dictators and kings. Nothing I have seen or experienced has changed my resolve to stand with truth.…

Blessed are you if you have a testimony that God has spoken from the heavens; that His priesthood is again among men; that the gospel in its purity and fulness is here to bless mankind; and that we will be judged by its principles. These truths will, if you are wise, take precedence in your lives “over all contrary theories, dogmas, hypotheses or relative-truths from whatever source or by whomsoever” advocated.

As you resolve in your hearts to live the standards of the Church-and you cannot afford to do otherwise from a material standpoint, from a spiritual standpoint, from the standpoint of getting ahead in the world-I hope you will remember that your prescribed standards are a part of a great body of truth-the gospel of Jesus Christ-revealed truth from heaven. Please remember that no discovery of the future will ever be in conflict with the teachings of the gospel. The gospel encompasses all truth. When doubts come to your mind because of instructions you may receive in the classroom, I urge you to remember that time is always on the side of truth, and Mormonism is truth.

From President Joseph F. Smith:

The religion which we have espoused is not a Sunday religion; it is not a mere profession; it is a most--I was going to say--a most terrible reality--and I believe I would be justified in using that expression, because it savors of life unto life or of death unto death. If it is, and pardon me for using that expression, if it is what we profess it to be, what we have embraced it for, what we believe it to be as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is the most important thing in the world to us, and the results to us in this world and in the world to come will depend upon our integrity to the truth and our consistency in observing its precepts, in abiding by its principles, and its requirements.

I esteem it a great privilege to be permitted to live and be associated with my brethren and sisters in the great cause in which we are engaged. Personally, I have nothing but this cause to live for, for the rest of my life. It has been very much, almost entirely, the object of life with me, ever since my childhood; and I am very thankful that I have had the privilege of being connected with the missionary work of the Church, and I hope and trust that I may be able to continue in this ministry the remainder of my days. I feel in my heart that there is nothing greater for me, or for any other man living than to be identified with the cause of truth, and I verily believe that we are engaged in the cause of truth, and not error.

It is so with the Church. From time to time there are characters who become a law unto themselves and they follow the bent of their own “sweet will” until they get themselves into a condition mentally and spiritually that they become a menace to the body ecclesiastic. In other words, they become like a boil, tumor, or carbuncle on the body, you have to call in the surgeon to apply the knife to cut them out that the body may be cleansed from them; and this has been the case from the beginning.

From President Stephen L. Richards:

Through humility and faith the adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have accepted the truth about life; and while there is much individual dereliction within the Church and consequent restriction of the truth to individuals, the Church as a body is the chief instrumentality of the Lord in establishing the truth among mankind.…

The truth about man is that he is a son of God. As a son of God he cannot reach his destiny without bearing the power of God. The power of God is the priesthood. It is essential and indispensable for the performance of the vital things in the life of man here and hereafter. No people, no church could successfully defend and establish the truth without that power…

It is a high privilege and a tremendous responsibility to be the custodians of special truths, vital to the welfare of humanity. The Church of Christ is such a custodian. “If the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted?” We cannot be true to our commission and permit the truth to be compromised or diluted. Technically speaking, of course, we cannot impair or dilute the truth, but unfortunately, we may greatly impair the concept and appraisal of truth by the inconsistency of our lives and living, and every man can advance or retard the work of God and the spread of truth to the extent to which he personally adopts its standards….

At this point I wish to submit a caution to teachers, particularly those within our Church. I deem it to be regrettable that academic practice not infrequently seems to dictate terminology and types of expression and explanation which often confuse more than they clarify and expound. There are those who apparently regard it as a mark of scholarly attainment to be able to mystify others. I don’t. I look upon clear explanations as the expressions of clear thinking and a high order of intelligence. In religious teaching I believe in calling principles, concepts, and practices by the name by which they are generally known. God and the devil, holiness and sin, faith and apostasy are better understood and have more significance when designated by their right names than when disguised and camouflaged in terminology that not even all the professors can understand.…

I feel sure that we spend a larger proportion of our resources for propaganda than does any other religious organization in the world. We make more sacrifices, more widows scrub and wash, more parents scrimp and save, more loving hearts weep and pray within our Church for the propagation of truth throughout the world than among any other people ten times our number who have lived in the world since the days of the early Christians and disciples of the Master.

Is this defense of truth--this unmatched missionary effort, this propaganda of which I speak? It is. Has it been effective in the past? It has. And thousands upon thousands of happy, God-fearing homes, communities, cities, and societies that have won the esteem and the acclaim of the world are the product of this propaganda for truth.

Does the world need this propaganda today? It does. More, perhaps, than in all its history before, because never has there been more widespread evidence of the need of truth and the reign of error than we now behold. For the moment Satan seems in command. His forces are marching roughshod and tramping under their feet the most precious things in life--liberty, mercy, love, human hearts, and little children. Nothing but the power of truth will stay the cruel hand of these sinister forces. Will that beneficent power be exercised in time to save the earth from complete devastation and ruin? It will. How do I know it? I know it by the fact that the truth has been set in the earth, never again to be destroyed. I know it by the fact that truth is mightier than evil, that God is more potent than Satan, and I know it by the inspiration that attends the holy, authentic, restored priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

From Joseph Smith:

If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things-that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal. . . .

Behold, thou shalt observe all these things, and great shall be thy reward; for unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but unto the world it is not given to know them. . . .

From President J. Reuben Clark, Jr.:

These are some of the ultimate truths, which God has revealed to us. These truths endure; they are the same in all lands, and among all people, and at all times. They are changeless. They are the truths which must take precedence over all contrary theories, dogmas, hypotheses, or relative truths from whatever source or by whomsoever brought. These ultimate truths may not be questioned. All secular truths will, must, finally conform to these ultimate truths.

He wounds, maims, and cripples a soul who raises doubts about or destroys faith in the ultimate truths. God will hold such a one strictly accountable; and who can measure the depths to which one shall fail who willfully shatters in another the opportunity for celestial glory. These ultimate truths are royal truths to which all human wisdom and knowledge are subject. These truths point the way to celestial glory..

Lastly, from hymn 272, “Oh Say, What is Truth?”

(Piano by Marvin Goldstein.  Vocals by Wade and Wanda Lindstrom.  Available on “Favorite Hymns of the Prophets, Volume 2.”)

Oh say, what is truth? ‘Tis the fairest gem
That the riches of worlds can produce,
And priceless the value of truth will be when
The proud monarch’s costliest diadem
Is counted but dross and refuse.

Yes, say, what is truth? ‘Tis the brightest prize
To which mortals or Gods can aspire.
Go search in the depths where it glittering lies,
Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies:
‘Tis an aim for the noblest desire.

The sceptre may fall from the despot’s grasp
When with winds of stern justice he copes.
But the pillar of truth will endure to the last,
And its firm-rooted bulwarks out-stand the rude blast
And the wreck of the fell tyrant’s hopes.

Then say, what is truth? ‘Tis the last and the first,
For the limits of time it steps o’er.
Tho the heavens depart and the earth’s fountains burst,
Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,
Eternal, unchanged, evermore.

You know who wrote that hymn? Br. John Jacques:

In the great intercessory prayer that Jesus offered for His apostles, He asked the Father to “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Truth and righteousness are intimately linked. How we live flows from and contributes to what we know to be true. As a matter of urgency, the prophets and apostles have always invited the people to come to a knowledge and testimony of the most fundamental truths of existence. The overarching task of withstanding the evils of the world and standing unwavering in the winds of change is to know and be sanctified by the truth.

Born in Leicestershire, England, in 1827, John Jacques joined the Church in 1845 and commenced himself doing missionary work in his native land. In 1856, he migrated to the United States where he joined the ill-fated Martin handcart company. Before the rescue of the Martin and Willie companies on the snow-swept plains of Wyoming, he lost his eldest daughter. From 1869 to 1871, he served again as a missionary in England and later became assistant Church historian.

Why did this noble man abandon his home, undertake with his family the rigors of a handcart journey to the Great Basin, and raise his voice throughout his life to proclaim the gospel? In a word, because he had discovered the Truth. There are many things that are true, but John Jacques not only posed the question that Pilate put to Christ, “What is truth?” but pursued the query to include: What is the nature of the universe? Does life have a purpose beyond the multiple and diverse goals that each of us pursues? Is there a god? If so, what is the nature of that god? What is man’s relationship to Deity, and what is man’s destiny? The answers to such inquiries transcend time and space. They are not limited to a particular culture or historical period. Above all things, having discovered the truth, one’s life is dramatically changed, as was John Jacques’s, who found that truth in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That discovery and his commitment to it, above all things, explain the choices and the actions of his life.

Exhilarated by this discovery, John Jacques wrote the eloquent words of what became one of the great hymns of the Restoration, “Oh Say, What Is Truth?”…

Many times over the years, I have met people who, like John Jacques, have been brought up short by the realization that there is something that endures beyond the passing mores, philosophies, and practices of the time and defines what is true and right. Often, this understanding transforms not only their thinking but also their lives.

In the mid-1980s I participated in a series of discussions between officials from the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The subject of the talks was the possibility of naval cooperation between America, Britain, and Russia. This happened at a time when the USSR was undergoing massive social transformations, indeed, far beyond what we then understood. The negotiations took place in all three countries.

On one occasion we were meeting in the United States. All three delegations were housed together in a conference center, where our discussions also took place. One evening I went out for a walk. Upon returning to the hotel, I discovered the head of the Soviet delegation, looking very pensive, sitting alone in a lobby area lighted only by a single table lamp. I didn’t know whether or not I should disturb him, but he invited me to join him. Then began a conversation that I shall never forget.

He said to me, “The great difficulties we are now facing in the Soviet Union are really not economic or political in character. They are in fact spiritual. All the `gods’ whom we have worshiped have failed us and we know not where to turn. Dr. Wood, have you ever heard of an American prophet by the name of Joseph Smith?”

As you can imagine, I was taken aback by the question! I answered that yes, indeed I had, told him of my membership in the Church, and inquired why he asked. He said that his mother, who lived in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), had met some representatives of the Church from Finland. They had given her a book, written in English, to read, and she had passed it on to him. He had read it while in the airplane coming over to the United States from Moscow. The book was by Elder LeGrand Richards and was entitled A Marvelous Work and a Wonder. He then said, “Now that I know you are a Latter­-day Saint, let me see if I have grasped the key concept of this book.” He then gave a remarkable exposition of Elder Richards’s ­thesis. He began, “As I understand it, Joseph Smith brought together two ideas that are generally in conflict with each other and combined them in a remarkable synthesis. On the one hand, the Latter­-day Saints believe that mortality is but a moment in eternity and that men and women do not spring into existence at birth and are annihilated at death. We existed before birth and shall persist after death. Moreover, there is a link between those who are yet to be born, those who now live, and those who have passed beyond the grave; there is, in fact, communication across those seeming barriers. Some who have lived have returned and communicated with the living, and there is a great cooperative enterprise that links the unborn, the living, and the dead, aimed at their mutual salvation and perfection. You’re mystics.”

I answered that, while I was uncomfortable with the word mystic, his summary was quite ­accurate.

He then continued. “At the same time, the Latter­-day Saints seem very concerned with improving the lot of mankind in mortality. They do not believe that happiness is simply for another world but needs to be established here through common temporal as well as spiritual efforts. You seem to be community builders. You’re very pragmatic as well.”

I replied that he had correctly concluded. He then exclaimed, using words that clearly resonated with me, “Praise be to the man who brought forth such concepts! Such ideas are the salvation of my people.”

I told him that I had another book that he needed to read. In the trunk of my automobile I had a small box filled with a Russian edition of the Book of Mormon. Knowing I was going to be with a gathering of communists, one of my daughters had given the books to me and said, “Maybe you can find the occasion to distribute some of these!” Well, clearly, if ever there was such a moment, it had come. I retrieved a copy from my car and presented it to this man who was posing once again the age­-old question, “Oh say, what is truth?”

The Apostle Paul counseled the Romans to be transformed by the renewal of their minds; that is, changed according to true understanding. The transformation associated with the discovery of the truth has been variously described as a liberation and a mighty change of heart. Ultimately, the inquiry after truth compels us to transcend the ephemeral values of the particular society and culture of which we are a part. It invites us to participate in the life of the divine.

In the mid­-eighties, little did I think that in a few years the question that had changed John Jacques’s life would so affect the life of this Russian official as well as countless numbers of his countrymen. The two chapters that follow are intended to explain how we come to know the truth and demonstrate how that knowledge transforms lives. (Robert S. Wood, The Complete Christian. Link.)

I testify, to all those who ever come to read this, in clarity of words that cannot be misunderstood, that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s true church on the earth today, the one and only church which has a fullness of God’s truth that He is willing to bestow on anyone who comes to embrace it. I know this. I have experienced it personally and in the lives of others. I testify that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, and that this is His Church and His gospel and His truth (Rom. 14:11; Mosiah 27:31; D&C 76:110; D&C 88:104). There is no single other church on the face of this Earth that has the countless truths that stand in the LDS Church today. Every other church combined still does not equal it.  There is no other church that has the authority of God’s priesthood to save mankind and bring them back into the presence of God our Father. There is no other man upon the Earth today who has the keys of the kingdom to receive truth and revelation which can exalt mankind, but Prophet and President Thomas S. Monson. This is the truth. And I solemnly witness and testify of it, and will stand by my word for all of eternity.

The Prophet Joseph Smith has proclaimed to an ungrateful and fallen world:

Our missionaries are going forth to different nations . . . the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.

Oh Say, What Is Truth?

My belief in this comes first because the Lord Jesus Christ has spoken it:

And also those to whom these commandments were given, might have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually… (D&C 1:30)

But also consider the words of God’s prophets.  President Joseph Fielding Smith once said: 

This priesthood and these keys were conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by Peter, James, and John, and by Moses and Elijah and others of the ancient prophets. They have been given to each man who has been set apart as a member of the Council of the Twelve. But since they are the right of presidency, they can only be exercised in full by the senior apostle of God on earth, who is the president of the Church.

May I now say--very plainly and very emphatically--that we have the holy priesthood and that the keys of the kingdom of God are here. They are found only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

By revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord said that these keys “belong always unto the Presidency of the High Priesthood” (D&C 81:2), and also, “Whosoever receiveth my word receiveth me, and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth those, the First Presidency, whom I have sent” (D&C 112:20).

In this same connection the Prophet Joseph Smith said: “You must make yourselves acquainted with those men who like Daniel pray three times a day toward the House of the Lord. Look to the Presidency and receive instruction.”

Now, brethren, I think there is one thing which we should have exceedingly clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor the First Presidency, nor the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord.  (President Joseph Fielding Smith, “Eternal Keys and the Right to Preside,” Ensign, July 1972, 87-88.)

In the most recent April 2008 General Conference President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency gave a talk on the subject entitled “The True and Living Church.”  I have selected portions of his talk here:

This is the true Church, the only true Church, because in it are the keys of the priesthood. Only in this Church has the Lord lodged the power to seal on earth and to seal in heaven as He did in the time of the Apostle Peter. Those keys were restored to Joseph Smith, who then was authorized to confer them upon the members of the Quorum of the Twelve.

When the Prophet Joseph was murdered, the enemies of the Church thought that the Church would die. They thought it was the creation of a mortal man and therefore would perish with him. But their hopes were dashed. It was the true Church, and it also had the power to live on, even when those chosen for a time to lead it died.

We have seen today a demonstration that this is the true and living Church. The keys of the priesthood are held by mortals, but the way has been prepared by the Lord for the keys to remain functioning on the earth so long as the people exercise faith both that the keys are on the earth and that they have been passed on by the will of God to His chosen servants…

For us to sustain those who have been called today, we must examine our lives, repent as necessary, pledge to keep the Lord's commandments, and follow His servants. The Lord warns us that if we do not do those things, the Holy Ghost will be withdrawn, we will lose the light which we have received, and we will not be able to keep the pledge we have made today to sustain the Lord's servants in His true Church…

…we need to measure the depth of our gratitude for membership in the true Church of Jesus Christ…

We know from prophecy that not only will the true and living Church not be taken from the earth again, but it will become better. Our lives will be transformed for the better as we exercise faith unto repentance, always remember the Savior, and try ever harder to keep His commandments. The scriptures contain promises that when the Lord comes again to His Church, He will find it spiritually prepared for Him…

Additionally, it is through the Church and the ordinances which are in it that the blessings of the sealing power reach into the spirit world. This is a true and living Church, reaching even to those who are no longer living. As you have the faith to find the names of your ancestors, as you go to the house of the Lord to offer them vicarious ordinances, you sustain this great work, whose purpose is to offer salvation to all of Heavenly Father's children who come into this world.

I would like to speak of some of the reasons I see for gratitude for a true and living Church… I will bear my testimony of how I have come to know that this is the true and living Church…

My testimony that this is the true and living Church began in my childhood. One of my earliest memories is of a conference meeting held not in some place like this but in a rented room of a hotel. A man was speaking whom I did not know, nor do I know his name today. I knew only that he was someone sent to our little district in the mission field by someone who held the priesthood. I do not know what he said. But I received a powerful, certain witness before I was eight, even before I was baptized, that I was hearing a servant of God in the true Church of Jesus Christ. It was not the rental room nor the size of the congregation, which was small, but it was a witness that I had been blessed at that moment to be in a meeting of the true Church…

I have seen the same miracle in the service of President Monson as he received the call to preside as the prophet and President of the Church and to exercise all the keys of the priesthood in the earth. Revelation and inspiration have come to him in my presence, which confirms to me that God is honoring those keys. I am an eyewitness. They are keys of a priesthood which is, in the Lord's words, "without beginning or end."

I bear you my solemn witness that this is the true and living Church of Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father will answer your fervent prayers to know that for yourself. You can have a witness that the calls which you sustained today were from God. Even more, you can know that within this Church, ordinances are performed which can cleanse souls and bind on earth and in heaven, as they were in the days of Peter, James, and John. Those keys and ordinances are now restored in their fulness through the Prophet Joseph Smith and have been passed on through his successors. Jesus is the Christ. He lives. I know that. I testify that Thomas S. Monson is His living prophet. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and it lives on. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

It is also my testimony that this is the one true church of Jesus Christ, the only church upon the face of the earth which has the authority of the priesthood of God to perform the redeeming and saving ordinances for all of mankind in the House of the Lord, and the only church which has living prophets and apostles called of God to lead a covenant people today, by modern revelation, in preparation for the Second Coming of the Savior.  I know this by my witness of the Spirit.  Jesus Christ is at the head of this church, and no other.  We must not lose sight of this supernal truth in our cooperative efforts of ecumenism.

The One True Church

Live in strict obedience to the commandments of God, and walk humbly before Him, and He will exalt thee in His own due time. -Joseph Smith 

Last week was the Joseph Smith manual chapter 13 lesson for Priesthood and Relief Society entitled, “Obedience: ‘When the Lord Commands, Do It.’”  This was an excellent lesson, and I particularly liked the the last section.  Unfortunately, if most wards’ lessons are like my own, you may not have got to that point in the manual by the end of class.  In my own Elder’s quorum we only made it through the first 3-4 pages of the lesson.  But I believe there are some powerful messages from Joseph in the last 5 pages that could easily be missed. I’m glad that my wife and I read the whole lesson before attending church, or we too would have missed this. 

The section that I want to call our attention to is called “Those who are faithful to the end will receive a crown of righteousness.”  Most of this section is taken from a letter that was dictated from the Prophet Joseph in Kirtland, Ohio, on January 22, 1834 that is entitled, “The Elders of the Church in Kirtland, to Their Brethren Abroad” or who were scattered from their homes in Missouri.  It was originally published in the Evening and Morning Star in Mar. 1834.  B.H. Roberts thought that this document was “of such doctrinal importance” that he included it in the History of the Church, vol. 2, p. 4-24.

The thing that caught my attention was the way in which Joseph taught about promises or assurances, promises of eternal reward, that could be gained by the faithful while still in this life.  Between pages 166-167 Joseph mentions these promises 10 times:

• Have you a promise of receiving a crown of righteousness from the hand of the Lord, with the Church of the First Born?
• …and from His hand he had a promise of receiving a crown of righteousness…
• …The ancients, though persecuted and afflicted by men, obtained from God promises of such weight and glory…
• …be free from every affliction, and reign with Christ on the earth, where, according to the ancient promise, they will partake of the fruit of the vine new…
• …at least we find that such promises were made to the ancient Saints.
• And though we cannot claim these promises which were made to the ancients…yet if we are the children of the Most High, and are called with the same calling…
• …and for ourselves obtain the same promises.
• These promises, when obtained, if ever by us, will not be because Peter, John, and the other Apostles ... walked in the fear of God and had power and faith to prevail and obtain them; but it will be because we, ourselves, have faith and approach God in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, even as they did; ...
• …and when these promises are obtained, they will be promises directly to us…communicated for our benefit… (through the gift of God)…

Most of Joseph’s expansion on this idea started by first quoting a scripture by Paul in 2 Timothy:

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Joseph added this commentary:

No one who believes the account, will doubt for a moment this assertion of Paul which was made, as he knew, just before he was to take his leave of this world.

Joseph believed that if the ancient Saints could obtain such exquisite promises of exaltation from the Lord, from His hand, even while still in mortal life, then why couldn’t the Latter-day Saints.  This is the meaning of making one’s calling and election sure.  It is to receive the promise from the Lord that you will receive a crown in His kingdom, to inherit a seat at the marriage supper, and this is available even while still in our mortal probation.

Joseph alludes to several prerequisites in order to obtain these promises:

• Strict obedience to the commandments
• Humility
• Faithfulness
• Walk in the Lord’s statutes
• Endure to the end
• Unceasing missionary work
• Hard work
• Patience
• Seek no personal honor or gain of earthly goods
• Hope in Christ
• Fear God
• Work righteousness
• Faithful to the testimony of the Lord
• Approach the Father in the name of Jesus Christ
• Walking uprightly
• Sacrifice present honors and pleasures of the world
• Be like Him in purity
• Wise, holy, chaste, perfect, like Him
• Improve upon all things committed to your charge

If we do these things, such a promise will come by a sealing ordinance in the House of the Lord, whether in this life or in the life to come.

Promises of Calling & Election in JS Lesson 13