jesus christ

Levi Rightmyer on “Kings and Priests of the order of Melchisedec”

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I was doing some research this morning when I stumbled upon a very interesting passage from a book published in 1916 by Levi Rightmyer entitled, The Light of Truth as Revealed in the Holy Scriptures.  The entire text of the book is available for perusal on Google Books here.  The author is not LDS, although he appears to have known something of the Church (see page 482 for his reference to “Joseph Smith and the Mormons of Utah”).

What I found was a passage which discusses Christ, a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and that “all who are called to God’s kingdom and glory are called to fill the positions of Melchisedec kings and priests in the ages to come under the Lord Jesus Christ…” and if this truth is not so today it is because of apostasy:

…mankind have been deceived by false and ignorant teachers who in the early days of the church corrupted the way of the Lord as the antediluvian sons of God did before the flood, who walked after the vain imaginations of their own evil hearts even as it is now.  The world is full of religion, but nearly empty of the true knowledge of God. There are many great revivals in which are developed a high degree of religious feeling, but unfortunately they are attended with a very low degree of scriptural knowledge and true religious intelligence. (p. 740)

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Third Nephi Conference at BYU September 26-27

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The Laura F. Willes Center for Book of Mormon Studies at BYU has announced that they are sponsoring a conference next month devoted to Third Nephi.  The conference is entitled “Third Nephi: New Perspectives on an Incomparable Scripture.”  It will be held in the Wilkinson Center at BYU on September 26th and 27th, and will be open to the public.  There will be presentations on the following topics:

  • New Insights Into the Temple Setting of the Sermon on the Mount in Reference to the Sermon at the Temple – John Welch
  • Preparing the Way of the Lord’s Coming
  • Experiencing the Lord
  • The Lord’s Prayers
  • The Lord’s Prophecies
  • Theological Implications
  • The Written Record
  • What we have learned about Third Nephi and the Savior’s post-resurrection ministry in the new world – Panel Discussion

Some of the scholars that will be participating are John Welch, S. Kent Brown, Grant Hardy, Robert L. Millet, Richard Dilworth Rust, Daniel Belnap, Dana Pike, Kristine Fredrickson, Patrick R. Steffen, Daniel McKinlay, and Jane Allis-Pike.  This looks like it will be really good.  I’m planning on going on Friday, September 26th, and I’ll see if I can liveblog it here, like I did for the FAIR Conference.  Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend on Saturday.

See more information on the conference here.

The “Mark” of Anointing

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The Annointing of David by Samuel

The Annointing of David by Samuel, Breviary of Martin d'Aragon, 14th Century.

A few days ago I read a post by James over at his superb blog, Lehi’s Library, entitled, “Looking Beyond the Mark: Insights from Margaret Barker.”  In it, James refers to an excellent article by Kevin Christensen who talks about the Deuteronomist de-Christianizing of the Old Testament and Josiah’s reforms ((Kevin Christensen, “The Deuteronomist De-Christianizing of the Old Testament,” FARMS Review, 16.2, http://farms.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=16&num=2&id=547)).  I thought he made some great points that I want to reiterate and further discuss.  [Read more…]

The Grossest Form of Church Criticism

President Ezra Taft Benson (1899-1994)

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.  [Read more…]

The One True Church

It seems to me that there is an undercurrent among the more liberal “new order” Mormon bloggers in the Bloggernacle lately that try to refute or dilute the concept that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the “one true church.” While I do believe that there is much truth that is found in all religions of the world and that there are a great many people who do not belong to the Church who are doing many good things, I also am firm in the belief that this church is God’s only true church upon the Earth today, with a fulness of God’s blessings, revelation, truth, power, priesthood, direction, inspiration, doctrine, authority, and saving ordinances, to the extent which He has deemed us worthy to receive them.

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:  [Read more…]