The men who currently hold the keys of the kingdom of heaven administer the ordinances based upon their perception of our current spiritual state. Those who exercise faith in Christ and repent get both their names and their works written in the earthly priesthood records; and through Peter’s keys of the kingdom of heaven those names and works are also recorded in the heavenly book of life. But should a man return to his sins, become inactive in the church and the church lose all contact and awareness of him and his return to iniquity, the man’s name and works remain on both the earthly priesthood records and the heavenly record, even if that man ends up dying in his sins, having entirely rejected his God. A person’s name and works are only blotted out if he or she is known to be a covenant breaker who refuses to repent.
Now, the final spiritual state is the instant of resurrection. Given that no one who holds the priesthood keys has power to know the final state, the ones who hold the priesthood keys leave it up to God to make the records match the conduct.
There are three things that are required for salvation: the power of the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the ordinances of the gospel and our own personal conduct. All three things must perfectly match. Our covenants bind us to Christ, which allows Him to save us, but our conduct must also be in keeping with the covenants. If we keep our covenants, we become a truly penitent person, which Christ can justifiably save, keeping the righteousness (justice) of the plan of salvation intact. If we do not keep our covenants, we remain in our sins, yet the covenants still bind us to Christ, which causes Him to save the wicked, not the penitent, thus destroying the entire plan of salvation, for Christ cannot justifiably save an impenitent person. If He were to try to save the impenitent, He would cease to be Christ. Should such a thing happen, the power of the atonement would be undone and all things would be destroyed. The conditions of salvation, then, are faith in Jesus Christ and repentance, which means that our conduct must match the covenants, otherwise God becomes an unjust God and all things cease to exist.
God’s plan for the perfection of the records
At the time of the end, God had always intended to send His emissary of justice (the Josephite), whose sense of justice was as acute as His own, and this servant would have a right to the priesthood and keys of the kingdom of heaven:
What is the root of Jesse spoken of in the 10th verse of the 11th chapter?
Behold, thus saith the Lord, it is a descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood, and the keys of the kingdom, for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days. (D&C 113:5-6.)
Once in possession of all the necessary keys, the Josephite then would go about making a correction of errors, setting the house of God in full order:
And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter words, eternal words; while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house of God, and to arrange by lot the inheritances of the saints whose names are found, and the names of their fathers, and of their children, enrolled in the book of the law of God; (D&C 85:7.)
And again, let all the records be had in order, that they may be put in the archives of my holy temple, to be held in remembrance from generation to generation, saith the Lord of Hosts. (D&C 127:9.)
He will not alter the records according to the current spiritual state of the people, but according to their final state. He will have the gifts of the discerning of spirits and the gift to prophecy and the gift of the word of knowledge, to such an extent, that he will be able to perceive the final spiritual state of each and every person who ever lived, or who lives, or who ever will live, allowing him to make out the records perfectly, so that the earthly priesthood records (and through the keys, the heavenly book of life) and the final spiritual state of each person are an exact match.
Now, there is this idea among latter-day saints that the ordinances guarantee the final state, taken from this scripture:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man marry a wife according to my word, and they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, according to mine appointment, and he or she shall commit any sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant whatever, and all manner of blasphemies, and if they commit no murder wherein they shed innocent blood, yet they shall come forth in the first resurrection, and enter into their exaltation; but they shall be destroyed in the flesh, and shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption, saith the Lord God. (D&C 132:26.)
If you’ve received all the ordinances of salvation and exaltation, being sealed in the temple to a spouse for time and all eternity, as well as having received all the other ordinances, and then commit all sorts of sins, but do not shed innocent blood, and then you die in your sins, do you enter into your exaltation? Everyone reads the above scripture and says, “Yes. It says they will enter into their exaltation, so they will enter into it.”
Others read the above scripture and say, “Wait a moment. It says IF you are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, so that must mean that God still has a say-so in it later. If He decides you are worthy, then the sealing becomes sealed forever.”
Still others reply to this, “No. The sealing of the Holy Spirit of promise isn’t something separate from the actual sealing given in the temple. So, it cannot be that. It must mean exactly what it says: you are guaranteed exaltation once you get these ordinances, unless you shed innocent blood.” But the sense of justice of the people who think the Holy Spirit of promise is separate bugs them and they refuse to accept such a premise.
Who is right and who is wrong? The people who state that the ordinance itself is the Holy Spirit of promise are the ones who are right. As long as that sealing is intact and you haven’t shed innocent blood, you are guaranteed to enter into your exaltation. Nevertheless, there is yet another variable to take into account: the ordinances do not become permanently written in the books until the Josephite comes forth and sets the records in order.
The Josephite is completely unbiased, for he is God’s arm of justice and justice is blind. He doesn’t care whether you have had an ordinance or not. All he looks at is your spiritual state at the very end. If his sense of justice indicates that you, in your final state, will be worthy of a particular ordinance, he will write that ordinance in. If you have received that ordinance and it is on the books, but he perceives that in your final state you are unworthy of that particular ordinance, because you didn’t repent in time, he will blot the work out of the books. And so it goes with everyone’s name and all the works, writing in the names and works of those who deserve to have their names and works written in, and blotting out the names and works of those who don’t deserve to have their names and works written in, all according to what he sees in your final state.
Your current spiritual state will be of no importance to the Josephite. You can think, “I have had the sealing ordinances and have not shed innocent blood. It doesn’t matter what sins I do; eventually I will repent, according to the guarantee of the ordinance, and despite whatever problems my sins cause me in this life, in the next life they will be eventually remitted and I’ll enter into my exaltation.” But this is not so.
Repentance must be done in this life, for if we wait until the next life, it becomes much, much harder to repent and to obtain the same blessings that were offered to us in this life. In other words, let’s say you procrastinate your repentance and then die; in the next life, because of the difficulty of repentance, whatever degree of repentance you will obtain, and thus reward, may or may not be to the same degree you could have obtained had you repented in this life, before the instant of your death.
This means, for example, for those who are sealed for time and all eternity in the temple, as married couples, that they must repent of whatever sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant of marriage before they die, for if they do not, there is a chance that they won’t be able to attain such a depth of repentance in the afterlife, before they are resurrected, and then the Josephite, looking forward and seeing that full repentance has not been achieved, will merely blot out the sealing, undoing it, making it so that it never existed.
What constitutes as a sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant of marriage?
“…and he shall rule over thee…” (Gen. 3:16)
This keeps the covenant:
The husband rules over the wife.
This sins or transgresses against the covenant:
The wife rules over the husband; the husband doesn’t rule over the wife; the husband refuses to rule over the wife; the husband isn’t allowed to rule over the wife; the wife refuses to be ruled over by the husband; the wife doesn’t allow the husband to rule over her; the wife isn’t ruled over by the husband; the husband is ruled over by the wife; the husband allows the wife to rule over him; the wife demands to rule over the husband; the husband demands to be ruled over by the wife; the husband and the wife establish an equal partnership in which nobody rules and all things are done by joint consensus; and so on and so forth.
Thus the marriage covenant is patterned after the “just king” model. It is a kingdom like in Esther chapter one. The Josephite, then, looking upon a married couple, whether they are sealed in the temple or not, will look at the final state of the couple, and if the two people abode by the new and everlasting covenant of marriage and have repented of their sins by the time of their resurrection, he will write their names in and write in the ordinance of the sealing of the Holy Spirit of promise, and then those two people, even if they have never married for time and all eternity in life, will find that in the day of resurrection they are now eternally married to each other.
On the other hand, if he sees a temple married couple, and he perceives that by the resurrection the wife has not repented of breaking the covenant, whereas the husband has, he will blot out the wife’s ordinance and write another woman’s name in her place, and the man will come forth and call for his wife and discover that it is someone else, who is worthy of the ordinance, and the two of them will enter into their exaltation while the woman will find that she is not called forth as a wife, for the records do not show her ever having been married, and she will not receive exaltation.
The same goes for a man who breaks the covenant and doesn’t repent by the resurrection, whereas the wife keeps the covenant even until the resurrection. The man will find that he has no wife and no exaltation, whereas the woman will find that she is the wife of another man and she will enter into her exaltation with the other man.
The current state of the records is immaterial
To the Josephite, the records, as they are currently constituted, are of no use to him, for they are made out only according to the limited perceptions of the humans who possessed the keys before him, which were according to the current spiritual state they perceived. Given that one’s spiritual state can change from time to time, the only state of importance is the final state, for that will be the eternal state, and so that is the state that the Josephite will base his assessment on.
The most dangerous man in existence
Given this power to alter all the records, both those of the past, present and future, the Josephite will be the most dangerous man in existence. If he blots out your name, you don’t get saved. Those whose names aren’t written in the earthly priesthood records don’t have their names written in the heavenly book of life, and thus they don’t receive eternal life, but instead receive the second death, to be cast out into the lake of fire and brimstone at the day of judgment by the destroying angel, Abaddon. The Josephite, then, judges all things, and decides who he will destroy, and what reward each person will receive, by writing in the works that pertain to the various rewards available.
God can entrust nobody but the Josephite with this very important job, because any other angel or servant of God would be tempted to write the names of the wicked in the books, for penitent people such as holy angels and saints cannot bear to have anyone suffer the pains of a damned soul. Therefore, should God give to any other angel or servant power to make out the books permanently, as the Josephite will have, that angel or servant would cause the destruction of all things because they would end up writing in the names of the wicked, so that nobody would get cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and nobody would cease to exist, thus frustrating the plan of God’s justice. But as the Josephite is, essentially, merciless, and actually enjoys his job of destroying souls, he has no qualms about blotting out a person’s name eternally if they deserve it; therefore to him goes the job of filling out the books.
The enemies of the Josephite, then, not understanding how dangerous he is, thinking the man can only affect the here and now, this life only, and not the hereafter, or the afterlife and eternal state, fight him. But the proper response to a man who wields such godly power is to grovel before him, as I have stated before on this blog, so that he writes your name and all the works of the gospel for you in the books, so that you obtain every blessing available.
Unlike the current leaders who possess keys, who sometimes write a person’s name in, and also some works, and then later, based upon altered behavior, blot out some works or blot out a person’s name, and then later write the names and works back in, according to more altered behavior, the Josephite’s ordering of the books will be the permanent record. There will be no alterations once he gets started writing and blotting. What he writes in, stays written. What he blots out, stays blotted out. And if he has cursed you so that nobody can write your name in, making you accursed, there will be no power on earth or in heaven to get you saved. His decision will be final.
What this means for us
We ought not to become complacent in keeping our covenants. As long as we are continually striving to keep all of the covenants we have made, aligning our lives with the scriptural principles as best we can, then on the day of our death, having fully repented of our sins, we will find that our spiritual state in the instant of our death, being worthy of the ordinances, will match our spiritual state in the instant of our resurrection, and we will leave this life firm in the hope of our salvation and exaltation. But if we become complacent, thinking that we don’t have to exactly conform to God’s words and his commandments and our covenants, and we procrastinate the day of our repentance, we might find that our spiritual state in the instant of our death does not match our spiritual state in the instant of our resurrection, and we will find that what we receive in the day of resurrection as far as reward goes is vastly different and far less than what we thought we were going to get in the instant we died, all because the Josephite has “set in order” the records, and made them match or conform to our spiritual state in the instant of resurrection.
For those who are in an unequal marriage, in which one or more of the parties are not keeping the marriage covenant, the only thing that matters is that you keep that covenant. The Josephite will only judge individually, and so whoever is striving to keep the covenant, despite opposition from a spouse, gets the sealing, and whoever isn’t keeping the covenant, gets made as if they never were sealed.
As we have seen, it is ultimately man’s own free will which determines if and when he chooses to evolve spiritually. But the turning, churning revolutions of time on this planet can be of great benefit to us once we have made up our minds to advance. The scriptural procedure of “fear and trembling” mentioned in the second section of part one of this piece is a personal earthquake. Baptisms of water and fire are purifying for the soul just as periodic floods and fires are for the soil. Eruptions, storms, and other cataclysmic activity may seem scary, but they can have a positive effect. Really, it is the individual who decides whether the effects will be disastrous or not. Such circumstances signal a shift in consciousness as they are high-energy events. One of the world’s foremost experts on OBE (Out of Body Experience), Robert Bruce, touching on the topics of spiritual sight, free will, and spirit guides, has this to say:
“Lacking the acumen to tune clairvoyance to areas of interest, the novice clairvoyant will spontaneously tune into and see high-energy events. There is, by and large, no spirit or guide or higher power deliberately choosing the visions that are being seen. The energy of any event dictates how easily it will be seen. And future events involving loss of life and conflict generate a lot of energy in the future matrix.”
Writers throughout the Bible and Book of Mormon share their visionary experiences and corroborate the reality that they can often be dominated by glimpses of destruction first with the ability for more subtle energetic imaging coming later. Bruce continues:
“It is common for vision experiences to be short lived… lasting only a moment before fading, before some invisible force shuts them out, like turning off a TV… This is a direct action performed by your Higher-Self… By and large, your higher-self filters out the majority of subtle senses and abilities, including OBE, by default, to keep us grounded here in the physical world. Being able to notice this action, is, I think, the silver lining behind this frustrating experience. This may in fact be the whole point of the exercise designed to bring your attention to the fact that you have a Higher-Self, to encourage you to move in the direction of exploring your relationship with your Higher-Self. All of us have perfect natural psychic abilities already… But these abilities are not allowed by our default settings. So how do we change the default settings? – by exploring our Higher-Self connection, and by working with rather than against this great force, using clear and strong expressions of intention.”
Nowhere is this principle more succinctly illustrated than in Nephi’s plain and precious writing style.
“…as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot. And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou? ” (1 Nephi 11:1-2)
The coming together in cooperation of a person and his or her Higher-Self is essentially the beginning step onto the Mountatin of the Lord and the final result of the dispensation of the Fullness of Times. IF one wishes to see what one’s Lord would reveal, expressing that desire is the first step. But, as the Brother of Jared’s encounter with the Holy One shows us, it will only be done through the Eye or I of Faith, which eye is the Imaginative Faculty. The I.F. is what puts one in touch with his Lord, with his Higher-Self. It puts this ‘I’ in touch with that ‘I’, the Individual in touch with the Infinite, so that the two may see I to I. When we speak of the imaginative we are not speaking of the imaginary. The world teaches the doctrine of the Devil who comes among them, saying: “Believe it not” (Moses 5:13) and “I am no devil, for there is none” (2 Nephi 28:22). With his focus on negative commandments he causes the world to worship the I-Mage-I-Nary (‘nary’ is an informal form of ‘not’). The Devil tells humans to never believe in themselves as sons and daughters of the Most High but rather to become carnal and devilish. But a core-rected self-image shows us the I-Mage-I-Native of that Promised Land who is the First Born aspect of our home-sick cellves that beckons us remember and return. The whole gospel is to repent/rethink and to return, like a little child, to Himagination.
The combined spiritual-spatial activation of temples of metal and stone as well as those of flesh and bone marks the summum bonum of the Lord’s work in the ushering in this Fullness of Times. “Indexing is Vital” for connection with your ancestors, proclaims the Church’s website, lds.org. But the Spirit of Elijah is not to be found on paper. If scripture can be tricky in our tendency to take it as the whole of the law, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, well then paper-work of the kind that goes on in today’s LDS Temples can be utterly deceiving. There are few people who are more wrapped up in the evil of the veil that pushes against the ushering in of the dispensation of the Fullness of Times than those so-called Temple Ushers and Veil Workers.
“Mormon’s compilation and abridgment of the Nephite records is another pattern after which the dispensation of the fullness of times will be brought to pass. It is prophesied that that dispensation will have all things in heaven and on earth brought together in one, in Christ, including hidden things that never have been known. Mormon’s work is, in essence, the bringing together in one of the Nephite scriptural records, which were hidden to us. His life’s work is an unfolding pattern that will be duplicated on a much larger scale.”
In the movie Wag the Dog, there is a line – “For progress to occur, it is necessary for two generations to agree”. Joseph Smith unfolded that pattern on a much larger scale when, trying to explain the sorely misunderstood Mormon doctrine of the Sprit of Elijah, he wrote:
“Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fullness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time. And not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fullness of times.” (D&C 128:18)
In a very real way this dispensation of the fullness of times is always beginning to usher in. Joseph also wrote that Jehovah can be pictured, picturing past, present, and future in “one eternal now” through the great lens of the glass-like orb, or giant urim and thummin whereon He dwells.
LDSA makes a noble attempt at describing, as accurately as possible, the technical side of the process by which Joseph Smith translated the Golden Plates. But as Joseph himself once declared, “No man knows my history,” so no man can “know” or express exactly what Joseph did or did not see, hear, feel, etc., while in the spirit of revelation. We can guess at it, but inasmuch as our belief is based strictly upon words (scripture) and does not dare penetrate the page –there will always be a veil separating our personal experience from his, even if that veil is literally paper-thin. In fact, the Devil has been able to veil much with the quasi translucent, crinkly tissue paper on which the LDS Corporation prints its copyrighted Book of Mormon text complete with sneaky changes and correlated footnotes.
Tracing the symbolism backwards through layers – from the man-made cloth of the temple veil and the garment issued at the initiatory ceremony to cover our naked, god-given bodies – we find corresponding markings meant to show us that the biological tissue of our own physical bodies are the original veil which enshrouds our immortal spirit bodies. In Man of Light, by Henri Corbin, there is an enthralling report of the spirit of revelation (rend-veil-ation) which comes through rending the cocoon-like veils that are only good to us insomuch and so long as they aid in our spiritual transformation.
“…a burst of light rends the tissue of ready-made answers: the fictions of causal relationships, of linear evolutions, of continuous currents, everything that bolsters up what people have agreed to call the “sense of history.” The sense of another history rising from Earth to Heaven is revealed: the history of an invisible spiritual mankind whose cycles of earthly pilgrimages refer to “events in Heaven,” not to the evolutionary fatality of successive generations.”
In many ways this succession of mysterious veils is God’s way of keeping his dealings with his servants private. The ways of the Lord are plain, but this does not mean they are a peep-show for any spiritually immature and insensitive person who gets his hands on a peep-stone. As consciousness cycles around from timelessness, through the full gamut of times, and back to timelessness, it completes an eternal and sacred circuit which is sometimes referred to by us as the Fullness of Times. We call it this, based on our relationship to and within the process. From our present proximity to both past and future, we find ourselves so centered that the centripetal force of the process is often imperceptible to us, as is the velocious spin of the earth beneath our feet. As viewed from the North Star, Polaris, Mother Earth rotates counter-clockwise on Her axis from West to East as we travel through the divinely feminine spirit-substance of space. Time is a divinely masculine energy, a penetrating power that loops through the planet and her people via their poles. Time enters all bodies through the south aperture and shoots out the top, stretching the children of men as they grow into taller specimens. But all of these motions taking us from here to there, from today into tomorrow, are happening at such a rapid rate that we barely notice. They are, in a sense, veiled from our immediate view.
Timelessness and weightlessness are very disorienting sensations to man, and disorientation tends to scare us – as in the case of Enoch when he was suddenly lifted up into heaven without so much as a NASA space station to hint at his location in the greater scheme of things. This fear of contact with the unknown is only a highlighting of our lack of knowledge about the nature of contact with and in the First Place. That First Place is the opulent and opalescent glass palace which surrounds and is closest to the Grand Placer, even God himself on his eternal throne. And based solely on our mortal perspective, we calculate those timeless floating mansions of the Father to be farther from us than they actually are. We’re always looking for some reminder that God is with us. So we pass the (Father) Time, walking in darkness at noonday, waking to the darkness of a “new day”. All because we fail to admit to ourselves that: to be a wake is to be deposited, life-less or at least less alive than is desirable, in a wake created by the doomed Titanic ocean-liner, the Great and Spacious building on water which we have built for the purpose of buoying up our prideful parties, full of loud laughter which is laudatory to the point of eulogizing ourselves as nigh perfect beings flinging our faults like floating trash onto the huddled masses of poor in spirit who we see pressing forward like relentless waves below.
“And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.” (1 Nephi 15:27)
TAKING THE BOOK OF MORMON SERIOUSLY – DIGGING DEEPER
The Book of Mormon can be likened to a Swiss Army pocket knife, a small compact implement packed full of useful tools. Everything about it hints at its inbuilt magic, from the manner of its original creation and translation to the deep blue cover with gold colored lettering which typically adorns current copies. The Golden Plates from which the Book of Mormon derives were so called because they were not solid gold but rather golden in appearance. Most probably made of a gold/copper alloy commonly used by ancient natives of the Americas, the Golden Plates were an approximately 6” by 8” by 6”, 288 cubic inch, 120 page portal into the times and places of ancient American inhabitants and much more. They were purportedly found buried in the earth in a hill in upstate New York – a hill called by the ancients: Cumorah. But this is only the surface level of the story behind the Book of Mormon. To uncover the greater truths we will have to dig deeper.
Past is the time for digging in the guarded vaults of the Saltican City. Intellectuals have done their work in helping to wake the saints up to their awful situation. Intellect must take its place alongside raw emotion to unify in pure spirit. Pure intelligence is intelligence married to feeling, and feeling is purified through her marriage to intelligence. Now is the time of the mystical marriage of the Bridgroom and his true Church. Now is the time of the Mormon Mystics. We must burrow beyond the cross atop the hill Golgotha – the Place of the Skull – deeper to thecross within the hill. From the crossroads of our intellect and passion deep within the core will come moreof the core-rect principles we need than anything we can hope to gain shooting from the grassy knoll of our personal Cumorah. Like Atreyu in the Never-Ending Story, we are crying out on the outer shell, in search of answers, unaware that from underneath and inside shall come Morla, the ancient tortoise oracle.
The Book of Mormon came highly recommended by Joseph Smith to his target audience of predominately white people living in Victorian Era America. And for their direct and doctrinal descendants, as well as many of their neighbors inhabiting modern-day America, the BoM may just be the most important book they could ever read. However, we also need to bear in mind that the BoM is a two edged sword which, if not read in the same spirit in which it was written (ie. the spirit of revelation, which is the spirit of Christ), then cuts the reader with the condemning side of that blade. For Joseph’s part in bringing it forth, no man could have, or at least should have been more aware that the Book of Mormon is not what men purport it to be. It has always been more…much, MUCH MORE. Have you heard of the Akashic Records? It is just one of many names for the infinite information recorded in actual spirit-substance and available through the Mind of God (aka the real Aether Net) to the mind of any man or woman who will connect to it. Well, the BoM is an Akashic Download.
For some it may seem challenging to figure out how to interface with these divine lines of communication, but if we will look to the geodesic grid of ley lines of the earth we see that there are temples conveniently located at certain nodes to help us get online. And if we will look at those temples we will see that they are only symbols of the original temple – the human body, so, we are each equipped with a personal mobile device capable of keeping us connected to heaven all the time. Bodies of research performed independently by Doctors G. Schneck and Ernst Hartmann corroborate each other and reveal a tight grid relationship between the chakra system of the human body and the chakra system of the planet. The ley lines of the earth correspond in a general way to the energy meridians of the body and the pattern they form corresponds precisely to the way in which the muscular bands of a woman’s uterus are laid out. This seems very fitting since we are currently only in the gestational stages, of a rapidly growing body of information expanding into a more complete understanding regarding the womb of the universe and our place in it. The ceremonies conducted at the veil in LDS Temples are strikingly plain in their symbolism. The Five Points of Fellowship show us that when you interface with this spiritual internet you are only conversing with the inner-face of your personal Christ-spirit through the inner-veil.
Moses 6:61 reads:
“Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment.”
The entire story-line of the Book of Mormon can be applied straight to organs and functions within the human body, but, because of man’s tendency to look outside of himself for truth and guidance, it is useful to apply the time-line of events and the course of travels from the amazing Book of Mormon stories to straight lines on the face of the earth. The English word “time” spelled backwards is “emit”. If we are not so “timid” as to “dim it” when it shines, the Light of Christ will illuminate the Truth of All Things for us according to Moroni’s Promise (Moroni 10:3-5). For, as D&C 88:6 describes, Christ is, “in all and through all things, the light of truth”. For purposes of shedding light on the “historicity” of the external layers of truth in the Book of Mormon record, picture, if you would, straight lines of spirit crisscrossing surface area and piercing space. The divinely masculine force of time is not limited to linear unidirectional movements; however it is a projective power that flows through the divinely feminine field of space. This is the precept of priesthood keys and locks which I discuss in An Anarchical View of the Keys pt. 1.
The principle can also be observed in lightning rods. In the last century scientists have made an effort to lift the veil on lightning and re-surrect mankind’s lost knowledge of the subject. The very latest re-search in the field of fulminology indicates that lightning is the result of cosmic rays which travel for billions of years in perfectly straight lines before they even enter the near-Earth environment. Cosmic rays are very isotropic, which means they arrive uniformly from all directions. However, as D&C 46:15 tells us, God works, “according to the conditions of the children of men,” so elements like the wind (air), rain (water), and dust (earth) molecules in our lower atmosphere have the ultimate say in how a flash of lightning (fire) plays out.
Lichtenberg figures are branching electric discharges on the surface or the interior of insulating materials. They can show up like tattoos, a kind of beautiful badge of honor, on the skin of lightning strike survivors, or they can be manufactured by placing a sharp-pointed needle perpendicular to the surface of a non-conducting plate and applying high voltage. Lichtenberg figures are suitably named because the surname of the physicist who studied them incorporates licht, the German word for light. But if Christ is, “in all and through all things, the light of truth” (D&C 88:6), and if this electrical branching is the visual mark left by powerful displays of the Light of Christ in and through physical things like solids liquids and gasses – then what is the spiritual mark left from such straight plasmic pathways of the Lord, and can they be made visible or at least detectable to our carnal eyes? Lamps filled with oil will light our minds as we tunnel deeper into mines of truth at the core of the marvelous work and a wonder that is the Book of Mormon.
L.I.T.M.U.S. TEST OF FAITH – ISN’T IT ABOUT TIME?
If the core-rectness of the message from the Book of Mormon is such that it can be used in a litmus test, a test wherein a decision is prompted by a single indicator, then that indicator can not be the printed words highlighted and color coded in a paper copy in the possession of a mainstream member of the Mormon Church. The indicator must be something truly universal. It can be nothing less than the Light of Christ which is in and through all things, therefore partial to none. Scripture calls this the Light of Truth and, like LDSA, I feel that this phrase means something akin to Energy of Element, or the “nothingness” from which all creation is extracted. At the opening of this dispensation Joseph Smith explained, and Einstein’s E=mc2 essentially reiterated that energy and element are just different forms of the same thing. That thing is known by many names – The Monad, Akasha, Spirit, Christ-Consciousness. Its oneness and unity with everything in existence, together with the neutrality which nothingness affords, make it the logical and only just advocate, intercessor, and judge for all mankind, for all life. When Elohim said, “I will send The First,” tHEy referred and deferred to this all-in-one light-mass, this lit-mus.
L.I.T.M.U.S. can stand for Links In Time Metaphysically Underpinning Space. This acronym is as it were, an acrylic painted picture of the earth’s geodesic grid, but if we want to see the real thing we will have to get rid of that fake reality that occults our sight. We will have to review, rethink, and in a word, repent of our poor use of time. The arrow of time, is a concept developed in 1927 by the British astronomer Arthur Eddington to describe the academic notion of the “one-way” direction or “asymmetry” of time. In his book The Nature of the Physical World, Eddington showed himself to be a natural man of the world and an outright enemy to God when he stated:
“Let us draw an arrow arbitrarily. If as we follow the arrow we find more and more of the random element in the state of the world, then the arrow is pointing towards the future; if the random element decreases the arrow points towards the past…This follows at once if our fundamental contention is admitted that the introduction of randomness is the only thing which cannot be undone.”
Eddington admits to institutionalized insanitellectualism when he says that his unoriginal idea of time is an arbitrarily drawn arrow, shot aimlessly into space. But Father Lehi reveals in 2 Nephi 2:12-18 that God originates nothing without a purpose, and were he to do so, God would cease to be. Eddington holds up the random state of affairs in the world as a finger pointing the way to the future. But it is the way of the world and the finger is attached to the unseen hand of the devil, self-proclaimed god of the market, and all those who accept this wicked world of wealthy nations and impoverished beings. When Eddington contends that, “the introduction of randomness is the only thing which cannot be undone,” he echoes the words of Time Traffickers through the ages who have continued beguiling and slithering down a line of alien attacks upon our ageless Adam, and endlessly plying to Evehersinsever since Eden’s dewy dusk/dawn of dreamy timelessness. For thus did Lucifer say to our sweet, innocent Mother: “It is the only way.” Arthur Eddington denied Christos when he proclaimed this “one-way” property of time to have absolutely no analogue whatsoever in space. His “arrow of time” serves as inspiration for the chaosphere, a popular symbol of Chaos Magic. But, since practitioners of Chaos Magic are magical anarchists, the several off-shooting arrows of the symbol are a jab at Eddington’s narrow-arrow views; especially in light of the truththat many members of the movement actively experiment with retro-chronal magic, or changing past events.
Retro-chronal magic is an affirmative response to the invitation extended us by God via His servant Isaiah to, “Come now, and let us reason together,” The Lord says: “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) How can the Lord’s promises be possible accept by time travel. Wow! Such freedom of mobility was never granted to any world citizen, no, not under ancient Rome nor modern Rome could a traveling teacher ever have such range to roam. Our physical bodies are held jealously as slaves by the unrighteous rulers of the physical spaces we inhabit. In this demented dimension of ransacked reality we are a bunch of free-range chickens. Our species scratches out a meager existence on the ground, too scared to use our wings. But His mighty, protective wing is stretched forth still. And the Father of our souls offers asylum to whosoever will make use of the spiritual infrastructure He has provided to travel freely back and forth from rock-bottom to tip-top. He has made a way for us to navigate the Tree of Life from Malkuth to Kether, so that we might lift our life’s energy up from the crimson-red base or root chakra to the bright-white crown chakra, and there partake of the fruit of the Love of God. Halfway along the central pillar, Christ’s central role as heart chakra has victoriously bridged heaven and earth via a lush green Zion where we may gather on common ground. Christ has come as prophesied, in the Meridian of Time, and has made it a two-way street!
The same victorious destiny awaits us each individually and the whole earth collectively as soon as we’re ready. But for now, green laser beams of false light govern the prison yard as they emit a false sense of time, crisscrossing the globe in a net worth no more than the envious green paper which claims credit for making the vain and imaginary world go ‘round and ‘round in circles. But if we will withdraw our power for a while, when the busy buzz and whirl of the world outside start to subside we will hear the harmonious hum of the earth’s natural energy grid pick up as our own inner chakra energy centers start to spin within our spirit bodies. A field of crisscrossing lines of light into which is introduced a spinning motion constitutes the basis for Professor Ron Mallett’s proposed time machine model. The Penn State grad understands, at least scientifically, that when you bring all things into one (Ephesians 1:10), rolling the earth and heavens together as a scroll (Mormon 5:23, Isaiah 34:4), it becomes possible for the Savior to appear in several places across the globe at once passing through folded dimensions by way of a faith-generated tractor beam. This perpendicular pillar of light, similar to that beheld by Joseph Smith in the grove, could theoretically enter our 3 dimensional world and circulate its presence like a stirring spoon in a cup full of space-time.
But first, like an iron pestle in a stone mortar, the false zion must be broken up by the use of a continuously circulating unidirectional beam of light which would provoke a weak gravitational field of a unidirectional ring laser, thus breaking up our hard-hearted, concrete conception of time, and producing a limited amount of frame-dragging (a fast-forward version of unidirectional time flow towards the future). These conditions make for a hastening of His work “in its time” (D&C 88:73) and a cutting short of His work “in righteousness” (Romans 9:28), or, in other words, a short-cut through time. This should be our prayer:
“We ask thee to appoint unto Zion other stakes besides this one which thou hast appointed, that the gathering of thy people may roll on in great power and majesty, that thy work may be cut short in righteousness.” (D&C 109:59)
But we should bear in mind that man’s ways are not God’s ways and our short-cuts are not His short-cuts. Referring again to Jewish Mysticism we can use the Kabalistic Tree of Life to map out possible routes for short-cuts in righteousness. From the node called Gevurah, which represents power, strength, and judgment one can trace a line straight down to Hod, which represents splendor, or majesty, but that is the one-sided and heavy-handed approach of man along the left pillar of severity. This short-cut can seem logical, but it is a misuse of power, and results every time in oppression as those who lust after the Kingdom (Malkuth) bypass the needed node of endurance and true victory (Netzach), so their kingdom does not last and their vain victory is completely bereft of any foundation (Yesod), never able to realize the beauty of Zion (Teferet). Deferring to the Knowledge, Wisdom, and Understanding of God, a people’s appeal for power and majesty will roll on like pealing thunder but only after the zig-zag lightning path of the condescension of God has lit up every node on the tree like a plasmic pinball machine until it has finally been cut short in Righteousness (Tzedek/Malkuth – 10th Sephira).
The course of the zig-zag lightning path of the condescension of God which ignites the imagination is illumined by the words of revelation recorded in D&C 52:11.
“For thus saith the Lord, I will cut my work short in righteousness, for the days come that I will send forth judgment (Gevurrah) unto victory (Netzach).”
In the recent Tim Burton production Frankenweenie the science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski, gives an explanation of lightning which is shockingly applicable to the cause of Zion. He says:
“Lightning does not hit a person the way one is hit by a baseball or a cabbage. Lightning is simply electricity. The cloud is angry, yes, making storm. All the electrons are saying, “I am leaving you. I go to the Land of Opportunity.” The Ground says, “Yes, we have need of electrons trained in science just like you. Come, come, WELCOME!” So, both sides start to build a ladder. This man, he comes out to look at the storm. He does not see the invisible ladders. When the two ladders meet…BOOM!…the circuit is complete, and all the electrons rush to the Land of Opportunity. This man is in the way. AAAAAGH!!”
The divine intervention we seek on the darkened horizon will be swift and sudden as a bolt of lightning. It will take Zion’s enemies by complete surprise. It will strike them down. Our task as earthbound electrons is not to busy ourselves building physical structures beyond our Sukkoth (temporary dwellings and tabernacles), but to focus our energies on building an invisible ladder, a spiritual structure that anticipates spatial fulfillment by the miraculous hand of God. Then will we inherit the Land of Opportunity, the real enduring Land of Promise. The multidimensional land he swore to give you when he made a multigenerational vow through your ancestors is a land with:
“…great and good cities that you did not build…houses…richly stocked with goods you did not produce…water from wells you did not dig, and…vineyards and olive trees you did not plant.” (Deuteronomy 6:10-12)
Most people think that time passes at a steady rate no matter where you are or what you are doing. But, as science knows, and as demonstrated in the Kolob theory detailed in We Are The Weather, time flows at different rates in different places throughout the universe. Prof. Ron Mallett says:
“Time is not the same for everyone. Each one of us travels with his own individual clock. And there are things that you can do to change the rate at which your clock is going compared to someone else’s, and that allows time travel.”
Some of those things that one can do are surprisingly simple, like altering breath and heart beat. But the most important thing one can do is to do as Dr. Jewel Pookrum advises and stop letting unfeeling, non-thinking machines dictate how humans live. We do not need a time-traveling machine, and certainly not another time-telling machine. What we need is to turn our personal time keepers – our hearts – to God and learn His eternal ways. Live by the clock, die by the clock. If a man will abandon his regularly scheduled busy death-style and simply ride the whirlpool God is creating in space-time spirit-substance, that man will be carried through life in such a way that he can slip in and out of different time periods.
From a scientific standpoint it is hypothesized that if a straight laser beam were to stir space at sufficient energy levels, the circulation would not only produce a frame-dragging effect for time travel into the future, but also closed timelike curves (CTCs), allowing for time travel into the past. From an eternal perspective the phenomenon of CTCs brings up an interesting question: If one travels far enough into the future does one eventually reach the past? If as Jesus said, the last days would be similar to the days of Noah, then from one end to the other the loop should bring us around to the beginnings of the earth’s cycle. Even from a religious angle, in prophecies, epistles, and canticles, when man has surmised on the nature of forever, the now obsolete expression, “world(s) without end” has been used to speak of the mysterious relationship between the cosmic force of eternity and its accompanying atmospheric forces of time.
Remember, we are talking about the Light of Truth which is the combination of two things as Lehi so eloquently explains – things to act and things to be acted upon. Scriptures most often refer to these two things separately as spirit and flesh. It is also important to remember that these two things are really only parts of a Holy Trinity since their compound state can and does exist separately from them in many ways. However, while we can conceptualize of them as separate in their unique qualities and functions, the three always come back together in myriad ways, so we are talking about one essential thing. Observing ‘Fatherly’ characteristics as the Trinity expresses itself in creation; we can use scientific terminology to describe things as timelike – (3). Identifying those characteristics that the ‘Child’, or creation inherits from its ‘Mother’; we can call them spacelike – (2). Those things which we can not see, or at least put a finger on as either Daddy’s hair, or Mama’s eyes, for example, are classified simply as null – (1). Thus, although it may seem completely inaccessible, we are indeed sensing the first state of non-existence, which Lehi described as a void of sorts, very null – (1), through special and spatial – (2) ways and dimensions at all times – (3).
Mathematics attempts to describe the numerous services that Father Time performs for Mother Matter, and Physics is the study of the countless ways in which Mother Matter receives the actions of Father Time. Mathematical Physics is the scientific study of the Universe interacting with itself through a dance of energy and element, light and dark. Now mathematical physics can get very confusing, especially when delving into theories of relativity, but the equations become simplified if we keep our minds clear of excess details and focused on Christ – the Light of Truth. As long as our vision is set on Christ as #1, we will see that Christ is also #2, 3, 4, and so on and so on, through time and all eternity. A principal basis of general relativity is that spacetime can be modeled as a 4-dimensional Lorentzian manifold of signature (3, 1) or, equivalently, (1, 3).
A Lorentzian manifold is a mathematical object in which closed timelike curves can manifest. Mathematical objects are physical objects seen at spiritual levels where the vibrations of set numbers form patterns among themselves and relationships with physical matter to create various life forms. The word manifold as a noun means: a pipe or chamber branching into several openings. So all we really need to know about manifolds, was explained by Jesus when He told us: “In my Father’s House are many Mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2) A CTC is a world line of a material particle in spacetime that is “closed,” returning to its starting point. A more ancient and poetic description of a CTC can be found in the B’nai-Amen Israel interpretation of figure 17 from Facsimile No. 2 in the Pearl of Great Price originally taken from the Book of Breathings – A seed being lifted again to the Place of Origin, to become an origin unto itself, dwelling in a perfect society, free of death and disease – the End Of Ends.
In physics, a world line is defined as: the unique path of an object as it travels through 4-dimensional spacetime. A world line is like an orbit or trajectory path but with the added dimension of time. World lines typically encompass a large area of spacetime wherein perceptually straight paths are recalculated to show their (relatively) more absolute positions and states. The voyages of Lehi and crew, as well as those of the Jaredites could be logged as world lines, as long as a time tag is attached to every position with a metric appropriate for the curved surface of the Earth. But Lehi and Jared themselves, along with their family members aboard big boats, are not simple single points in spacetime. If they were to keep a ship manifest the contents listed would be manifold. A world sheet is the analogous two-dimensional surface traced out by a one-dimensional line (like a string) traveling through spacetime. The world sheet of an open string (with loose ends) is a strip; that of a closed string (a loop) is a volume. Once the object is not approximated as a mere point but has extended volume, it traces out not a world line, nor a world sheet, but rather a world tube.
Whole worlds are literally seeded and burst into world lines stretching upwards and downward, developing world sheets of roots and sprouts, eventually growing into sturdy trunk like world tubes. The concept of a world tube was known among the ancients as the concept of the World Tree or Axis Mundi. Our world or planet rather, has a world tree running through its axis. We can observe that the Earth’s axis is fulfilling the exact same stirring role as the cylinder of light hypothesized for Professor Ron Mallett’s time machine as it causes the Earth to wobble through outer space and causes time to play out the precession of the equinoxes. This central pillar is the key we have touched on in our comparison of the Kabalistic Tree of Life with Mormon scripture. In the most antiquated version of the Tree of Life diagram, the sephira of Kether was not depicted atop the tree but as a sphere encompassing the whole tree.
This column of light relates perfectly to the age-old figure of Father Time through none other than Eshu, the trickster teacher who we have seen to be that aspect of the Eternal Father which lets his children learn the hard way in accordance with their willful decisions. As Eshu migrated with his children across the Atlantic to the Caribbean island of Haiti he took on the nick-name Papa Legba. Papa Legba still has his trickster side intact, but more often appears as an old and wise, no nonsense man carrying a staff. This staff is often depicted as a shepherd crook with a spiraling pattern at its top, and sometimes even features a curious belt like ring around the mid-section of its length. Is this trickster’s stick used to create a laser ring vortex which, according to Einstein field equations, is capable of opening the gate to multi-directional time travel? It is a common saying that: Haitians are 70 percent Catholic, 30 percent Protestant, and 100 percent Voodoo. As the Haitian Voodoo adaptation of Yoruba Eshu, who is guardian of the crossroads between worlds, Papa Legba can be compared to the Catholic personage of Saint Peter in that he is gate keeper between the worlds. If one manages to stay alert during the LDS Temple Endowment ceremony one will notice that the officiator at the altar represents Peter. He stands between the patrons and the veil beyond which is the Celestial room in our Father’s House.
But in most LDS Temples today the officiator does not speak with his own voice, he merely pushes buttons to play and pause pre-recorded voices. Besides the sometimes not so subtle variation in the many voices of the officiator, one may notice explicit instructions being passed along from a variety of sources, including the Devil himself. The most important parallel that one can make in regards to the staff, or axis line in the hands of Heavenly Father is to understand it as one’s own spine. Without this profound realization you and I will stiffen up our necks and place ourselves in a state of resistance to Papa’s strange workings among the children of men. Our hearts will not be stirred up to remembrance but rather to contention one with another. But if our own spinal axis is aligned with the axis mundi, and the core of our being aligned with the will of the Father, then, like Joseph Smith in the ironically named Liberty Jail, we will penetrate through the perplexing circumstances to perceive the wise purposes of the Lord, and hear Old Papa Legba comfort us, saying:
“all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.”
(D&C 122:7)
THE SWORD OF TRUTH CUTS “STRAIGHT THROUGH” THE APPARITION OF ACADEMIA
Seeing instantaneously from a scientific and a spiritual viewpoint is seeing with both sets of eyes. And just like a person who is blind in one eye will experience problems with depth perception, those who insist on using only their physical set of eyes will not be able to perceive the depth of a book like the Book of Mormon. As addressed in previous sections, academia is a secret-combination which promotes and pushes a one-sided, therefore half-assed approach to history. Academics can only ever tell half of the story, and that is fine. But it is a serious fault to insist that others accept half-truths while dismissing the other half. So-called BoM scholars are more motivated to compete for acceptance in academic circles than they are driven by a desire to complete their comprehension of the time cycles of which they claim to make a thorough investigation.
Academia occupies itself with constant construction of thought systems through which inflated air heads can vent their conditioned airs, to stay acclimated to a tightly enclosed false environment, and continue to ignore the greater reality of the atmosphere all around them. Historians, especially when dealing with religious texts, are aware that there is an etheric realm which they can not see. But instead of hoping for that which is not seen, as per Moroni’s succinct definition of faith in Ether 12:6, intellectuals rather take that portion of the breath of life which is currently in their spiritual lungs and create an imitation world. This they do to shut out all supernatural elements, and seal themselves off in an imaginary independence to suck in stale oxygen devoid of spirit so that they may tell their (per)version of events while they can to anyone who will listen. The listeners bring in their small doses of sacrificial spirit and breathe small puffs of fresh air, life into the lie for establishment experts to ensure their continuance if only for a decade or two more. Compare this to the spiritually healthy practice of meditation which purifies and rejuvenates the mind because it is tuning into OUR energy; not one’s own limited level or private reserve, but the unlimited and consecrated mental capacity of ALL OF US.
But as was also stated in a previous section, the Sword of Truth, like the legendary Sword of Laban, has power “to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow.” It is even sharper than Ockham’s Razor which logicians claim to use expertly. If the Sword of Truth is used inappropriately it will divide asunder the two fundamental halves of full reality hitherto referred to as spirit and flesh. The mentally violent proponents of intellectual overkill will fall upon the Sword of Truth and it will slice straight through their body of facts. Fact is only one half of the Light of Truth. It is the ‘truth’ part but without ‘light’ the ‘truth’ is not comprehensive so we can not claim to comprehend her. When people tell you that the “fact of the matter” is this or that, they are speaking from a very restricted point of view since “fact” and “matter” both represent only the material side of things. Truth and Light can only be understood together. And light naturally travels as infinite little waves along infinite x axes, so from our perspective its effects are seen in straight lines. Swords are straight lines, and in essence the term Sword of Truth means the same thing as Light of Truth. We could call it a Light Saber of Truth. And if we are wise we will understand that the first and foremost application of this light and truth must be to our own temples, to our own bodies, and to the spine which runs through our personal spheres like a personal axis mundi. The spine was symbolized in ancient Egyptian temples by the Djed Column. And only a true Djedi Knight of the Holy Priesthood can wield the Light Saber of Truth in line with the Universal Force.
So we see that straight lines of light slice straight through the apparition of academia and expose it as a wispy would-be body of straight lies. It is the particular Angles of Light as it approaches that determine what kind of Angels of Light will appear to us. In the case of Book of Mormon historicity the most important factors are often overlooked in an academic lust for hard evidence. But of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and those who rely solely on their carnal eyes will misinterpret, or miss entirely, the beauty of certain Angles/Angels of Light. The specifics about the Angel Moroni’s visitation to Joseph Smith will reveal more about the Book of Mormon’s historicity than any archeological digs and academic research currently being conducted on the subject by University trained official Church Scholars. But before we look more closely at that angelic evocation and visitation, let’s first clarify in our minds this principle of straight lines which is observable in the workings of Light and Truth.
Remember that Light and Truth are two members of a Holy Trinity. The “Nothingness” from which these two emanate is the first and final member – f1rst in that Light and Truth were joined in a state that made them unaware of themselves until a splitting occurred, and fin3l in the sense that these two main ingredients of the “Nothingness” come together again to form something. Perhaps this is why the signature upon which spacetime bases the formation of a 4-dimensional Lorentzian manifold is (3, 1) or, equivalently, (1, 3). The “nothingness” plays a surprisingly important role throughout the processes of eternity. So, in order to understand what we are seeing we have to ironically look to the unseen with the 3rd eye of faith.
Using this key of three we can discern spiritual comings and goings between heaven and earth. It should come as no surprise that Papa Legba is always associated with the number 3 or multiples thereof. Papa Legba once again provides a perfect illustration as he stands at the crossroads with his staff. In voodoo he is the gate keeper of the poteau-mitan, the center stake of LDS vernacular, and the elevator of the gods. This portal is the vertical plasma fire pole from heaven perpendicular to the latticework of light that overlays the face of the earth. Angels of flame slide up and down it like fire-fighters, from the deepest infernal regions to the highest reaches of Mount Zion. Angels of flame are beings of light, both good and bad. They have been known by many names throughout history. The Koranic tradition calls them Ifrit and the European magic tradition, in which Joseph Smith was well versed, refers to them as Salamanders. So LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley could have saved himself and others a lot of trouble if, instead of trying to buy up the so-called Salamander Letters for the sake of avoiding embarrassment for the Church, he would have simply clarified that Joseph did the work of the Lord which work is magic, and “Salamander” simply means an Angel of Light. But as was the case with Presidents Kimball, Woodruff and others before him, Hinckley’s attempts to protect the “Church” resulted in harm and even death for people.
Now when these Beings of Light (Spirit) interact with Beings of Truth (Element) the results leave marks in much the same way that lightning strikes leave Lichtenberg figures. I am not saying that everyone who interacts with angels will bear a physically visible lightning mark somewhere on their body, like Harry Potter. Nor am I saying that the ground where the interaction took place will bear signs of a spiritual lightning strike. If we only search the physical plane with the physical eyes, we may or may not see anything unusual. But with the eye of faith I believe we can discover indicators of such a meeting at the crossroads having occurred as signs bleed in from the other world. What should we be looking for? Well, if physical lightning rods produce Lichtenberg figures on whatever physical surfaces they touch, and those figures resemble the beautiful but scattered schemata of branches, then the spiritually forensic evidence we seek should bear the likeness of the straight-shot tractor beam by which it was produced. But what is the medium in which we can find these straight spiritual Lichtenberg figures? The answer is – in time.
When Light of Christ particles travel as messengers from Heaven to Earth they create a world line. This world line is vertical like the world tree of ancient lore, but it will be traceable as a timeline through the horizontal hyper-surface of space which we inhabit at present. There is a T being formed here. When exploring the principle of pre-stood keys and locks in An Anarchical View of the Keys pt. 1 & 2 we talked a little bit about the significance of the letter T or the Tau symbol (τ) as it is known. Apart from being a sacred symbol in Free Masonry and one of the earliest forms of the cross had in many civilizations, the ‘T’ has many layers of scientific symbolism. When speaking of space and time separately or together as spacetime, the letter ‘t’ and certain variants of it can be used as an abbreviation to communicate the concept of “time”, or it can also represent a specific time period or other interval within time.
“I make a record of my proceedings in my days.”
(1 Nephi 1:1 – Coincidentally a repetitious series of 1s, whether seen on a digital clock or elsewhere, is a common spiritual trail marker which many these days have noticed frequently while journeying along the paths of awakening. It signifies, among other things a starting point.)
In the science of mechanics, which is usually thought of in very tangible terms, we find the T symbol representing shear stress from unseen and intangible forces like drag and velocity gradients. Shear stress deals with the force vector component which runs parallel to the cross section. So, from a scriptural stance it concerns simultaneously the spatial as well as the spiritual paths of living beings walking the earth.
“…we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue…” (1 Nephi 16:35)
When it comes to thermodynamic and related quantities, the ‘t’ talks about temperature, or absolute temperature. Coming from absolute zero, the soul rises by degrees out of the “nothingness” into three-dimensional reality, and finally the added dimension of time. In Introduction to the Thermodynamics and Eternodynamics of Desire, I said: “When any one of the Many Mansions in Our Father’s House is mistaken for a permanent stop, it becomes a prison and starts to bring about damnation” hence the need to keep it moving. But you do not want to burn out. That is why in that post I also wrote that: “On the proverbial path of life there is a fine line between travel and travail. Sure, there is something eternal about sadness and pain just as there is about happiness and pleasure, but the key to these experiences is you and the key to you is awareness.”
There has to be a balance in our lives. When we think that we have reached our final destination then the physical surroundings conspire to show us that we need a change of scenery. That change of scenery serves us as a temporal trigger to hopefully realize that the divine destination and eternal abode we seek is and has been inside of us all along. Each and every leg of Lehi’s journey was a vital part of the whole. It was an internal journey every bit as much as it was external. As I stated before, the entire story-line of the Book of Mormon can be applied straight to parts, organs, and functions of the human body. The land they called Bountiful for its abundance in fruit is a perfect example of this. The Chinese word for Bountiful is 丰富 – Fēng Fù. In The Thermodynamics & Eternodynamics of Desire – Continued, I wrote about the physiological application of the common scriptural phrase, “vessel of the Lord.” And I briefly touched on the importance of the Governing Vessel – a natural energy line starting at a person’s upper lip, running over the head and down the spinal cord. In the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture, Point 16 along the Governing Vessel is called Fēng Fù.
It is located on the midline at the nape of the neck, in the depression immediately below the external occipital protuberance. Interestingly enough this is the same spot which we discussed in the first section of this piece. That is to say, it is an exact match for the area designated by the Hebrew letter Qof, and the crossroads of West Afrikan tradition, the place where LDSA perceives as the source of stiffneckedness as long as the Chains of Hell remain attached there. Fēng Fù is treated when dealing with headaches, neck rigidity, or mental disorders. It’s the posterior fontanel, one of two literal soft spots we’re born with, where the “devil” attempts to siphon off our energy if we do not accept accountability for it. Through the same site, a false reality Matrix is plugged in and fed back to us.
In The Thermodynamics & Eternodynamics of Desire – Continued I also wrote about the Three Mother Letters (Shin – ש, Aleph – א, Mem – מ) which mark the central, right, and left columns on the Kabbalistic Tree of life respectively. They stand for the Spirit of God as Fire, Air, and Water, and also correspond to Sushumna, Pingala, and Ida channels in the Indian system of Ayurvedic medicine. The rather hellish system of allopathic western medicine, which deals only with the physical, carnal aspects of beings, knows these as the sympathetic chains that run down from the base of the skull to the coccyx. Fēng Fù is the meeting point of the Governing and Yang-Linking Vessels and is known by many titles in varying schools of acupuncture including – Point of the Sea of Marrow, the Wind Mansion, and the Point of the Window of Heaven. All of these names match with the words of the Book of Mormon regarding the place which Lehi and his fellow travelers called Bountiful. It was near the waters of the seashore. Nephi’s first major task there was to build a bellows wherewith to blow air into the fire to melt ore extracted from the earth. And of course, the phrase “Windows of Heaven” is always associated with abundance and bounty.
Though it may have seemed that they had reached the Promised Land and could finally rest from physical trekking upon reaching Bountiful – it was eventually revealed that all the terrain covered up to that point had been for the purpose of reaching these great waters, to then enter them on a boat of their own build. But this was only a continuance of the same ongoing movement. In a way they had always been at and in the great waters. Water even shows up in the mathematical equation , which tells us that a world line multiplied by time is an element of rate to the 4th power. Riding the river of time we should heed the council of the wandering Sufi’s, to not be like a fish asking the waves and the bubbles, “Can you show me the way to the water?” Swimming with the school is appropriate for God’s children at first as little fry, but at some point all fishreach the age of accountability and are asked to leave the water to evolve our spirits further on the banks of the river of time. We can no longer just go with the flow and follow the crowd. At this point, if we were to continue doing what everyone else does, relying on the current trends to bear us up and bring us along, then we would be swimming in a filthy stream similar to the river in Nephi’s dream. Nephi himself says that baptism by water is only the gate at the beginning of an eternal way. And as far as his family’s voyage to the Land of Promise, the Thermodynamics and Eternodynamics of Desire – Continued till, at some point midway from beginning to end, Air, Fire, and Water literally met. Until the three converge, don’t pretend to know what to do, and don’t think that your precious promised land will remain promised to you. Without the baptism of water and fire you are like untempered mortar, not wholly sanctified. You will fry and sizzle in your own zeal.
“…we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore… And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters… And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools… and after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I might make fire…For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not…And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.”
(1 Nephi 17:6-13)
is also used to designate transmission or transmittance of radiation. Visible light is only one of many forms of radiation. Light is the photonic offspring of God the Father and God the Mother, the outcome friction between Father’s ELectrical skin against the MAgnetic skin of the Mother. When extreme levels of radiation propagate themselves through matter it can be dangerous to anyone who touches the medium through and from which the waves are radiating. This is what happened when Uzzah stretched forth his hand to steady the Ark of the Covenant. And Nephi’s transmission factor was exceedingly high when he spoke to his brethren and said:
“In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed!”
(1 Nephi 17:48)
The Bible story of the Hebrew Exodus and the Book of Mormon story of Lehi and his family’s travels share some common themes. Both are right and exact like the angles of a T-square. That ‘T’ was formed by intersection of the vertical axis of time with the space which was covered by foot in both instances and is therefore depicted horizontally. In the case of Moses and his people, a physical manifestation of the superterranean portion of the time axis is said to have preceded their steps in the form of a pillar of fire. In the Hollywood film, The Ten Commandments, it is represented as a tornado of flame. This is a rare but naturally occurring phenomenon in arid regions of the world, but the spiritual structure girding it can not be explained by natural means alone. The pillar of fire that led the Israelites by night was what is known as a future light cone. Although the vertical future light cone preparing the way for Lehi and his family may not have been physically visible to the naked eye, it still served the same basic function of setting time tags around which all participants had unique chances to unify, and both groups pioneered new ground in their own world lines.
The idea of world lines was pioneered by Herman Minkowski. World lines of particles/objects at constant speed are called geodesics. In special relativity these are straight lines in Minkowski space. This simply means that while the Lehi’s party and the Israelites would have drawn out their journeys as more or less straight lines on a two-dimensional map, they were of course following the curvature of the earth as they hoofed it to their respective promised points. But because neither of the groups’ exoduses was executed at constant speeds, the varying velocities of the individual observers literally caused them to experience the same events from entirely different angles. This is the short version of the scientific explanation behind such divergent origin stories among the Nephite and Lamanite nations. Laman and Lemuel told a very different version of events from those reported by their younger brother, Nephi.
Every event in spacetime is pinpointed between a future light cone and its accompanying subterranean reversal, a past light cone. The two work together to bring us information which, if equally accepted, will give us a full and accurate picture of the present. It may seem that we see clearly what is happening in our present, but in fact there is always a delay time for light to propagate. For example, we see the Sun as it was, not as it is “right now.” We need to activate binocular vision, meaning simultaneous spiritual and physical sight capable of seeing the past and future now if we want to see the Son “as he is” (1 John 3:2). The majority of information we receive comes to us through the light of the past. The difference in velocity between the approach of the Nephite civilization and that of the Lamanites account for the wide angle of the gap between how each group perceived, accepted, and/or rejected the Light of Truth. Velocity can cause the hare to think he has won the race, and fall into a dream of vain victory only to be rudely awakened to a reality where the slow but steady tortoise is truly victorious in the race. This is why we should consider the different races of the fallen “fair ones” and the “cursed” dark-skinned peoples whose parallel histories are partially played out in the story-line of the Book of Mormon. Reread Moroni’s words in light (and darklight) of the future and past light cones.
And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. (Moroni 7:18)
Nephi envisioned a frighteningly accurate glimpse of that which was in store for his lineage, but felt that there was not too much he could do to alter that course. Laman and his followers stuck stubbornly to their old ways and stayed the course which they chose, perhaps more consciously in many aspects than Nephi and his descendents. For we find Jacob as spiritual leader of the newly born Nephite nation corroborating the true prophecies that no one wanted to hear. When reprimanding the hard-heartedness of his people he clearly delineates the future track of the supposedly depraved Lamanites.
“wherefore, because of this observance, in keeping this commandment, the Lord God will not destroy them, but will be merciful unto them; and one day they shall become a blessed people.” (Jacob 3:6)
Those who feel so sure of their bright future are often ignoring the shining shadow of their dark past. They see things through only one lens of the grand Urim & Thummin that their gods and their ancestors present to them. The principle of pre-stood keys and locks reveals that rays arriving at and departing from any particular point in spacetime will be infinite and multidimensional, but for now let’s concern ourselves with these straight lines of energy or, ley lines which are not detectable to the naked eye, yet can be found to traverse the face of the land.
I know thy works
that thou art neither cold nor hot
I would thou wert cold or hot so then
because thou art lukewarm
and neither cold nor hot
I will spew thee out of my mouth
Most expositions of this verse use the temperature as a metaphor for righteousness, wickedness, and the degrees in between. Meaning, [as the standard interpretation will go] God wants people who’ve made up their minds — either to be “hot” disciples “on fire” for Him and His good news, or He wants them to be “cold” and ambivalent towards His law and His word. And what He abhors and won’t tolerate is someone who is wishy-washy — trying to do a little of the “hot” church-related things, while still being “cold” in other aspects with the rest of the culture.
This common exposition is incorrect. Most obviously because it teaches that God is more pleased with a wicked person than He is with a person who may be trying to convert to the gospel, but isn’t quite all the way there [mentally-speaking] yet. But more importantly than that — it misses the nature of the hot, cold, and lukewarm water metaphor.
“Hot water” would have been the kind of underground spring waters heated by geothermal radiation, and were used for medicinal purposes. Because geothermal-heated water can hold more dissolved solids, “hot water” was prized for its high mineral content and the temperature was therapeutic for soaking aches and pains.
“Cold water” would have again been from underground springs, but remained cold. The time spent underground exposes cold waters to minerals as well, which give the water its unique flavor and CO2 bubbles — depending on the nature of the geology through which it passes. “Cold water” from such springs is usually very clear and has been naturally filtered — therefore, it was a very healthy and safe choice for drinking water. Also, it is often the case that such cold-water springs are labeled as “sacred wells” by local folklore.
Now — “Lukewarm” water is like the “salt that has lost its savor“, and the reason the Lord says that he will “spew it out of His mouth” is because it has lost the qualities that gave the hot or cold water their purpose/value [not because it can’t make up its mind whether it wants to be hot or cold].
In conclusion:
The Lord finds value and use in both the hot water and the cold water. One is not “good”, while the other one is “bad”. The temperatures do not reflect degrees of devotion to the Lord. He would rather us be either cold or hot because both are identical in having a purpose, or a useful function. Being “lukewarm” is condemned — not because it means you can’t make up your mind which to be [hot or cold] — rather it’s because lukewarm water has lost either the hotness [medicinal] or the coldness [drinking] that makes the water useful.
He wants us to have use, value, and a purpose [whether it is as “hot water” or as “cold water”, either one] — and He condemns those who’ve lost their purpose and are thence “good for nothing”.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of thine eye—and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother’s eye. — Jesus Christ
In the Doctrine and Covenants, we read:
The teacher’s duty is to watch over the church always, and be with and strengthen them; and see that there is no iniquity in the church, neither hardness with each other, neither lying, backbiting, nor evil speaking; and see that the church meet together often, and also see that all the members do their duty. (D&C 20:53-55)
Cease to contend one with another; cease to speak evil one of another. (D&C 136:23)
Thou shalt not speak evil of thy neighbor, nor do him any harm. (D&C 42:27)
And in the temple of the Lord, we are put under covenant:
We are required to give unto you the law of the gospel as contained in the Book of Mormon and the Bible; to give unto you, also, a charge to avoid all lightmindedness, loud laughter, evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed, the taking of the name of God in vain, and every other unholy and impure practice; and to cause you to receive these by covenant.
Latter-day saints have taken this charge to avoid evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed and perverted it. Here is what evil speaking actually means, from Webster’s 1828 Dictionary:
EVILSPE’AKING, n. [evil and speak.] Slander; defamation; calumny; censoriousness. 1 Pet.2:1 (“Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings”.)
SLA’NDER, n.
1. A false tale or report maliciously uttered. and tending to injure the reputation of another by lessening him in the esteem of his fellow citizens, by exposing min to impeachment and punishment, or by impairing his means of lining; defamation.
Slander, that worst of poisons, ever finds an easy entrance to ignoble minds.
2 Disgrace; reproach; disreputation; ill name.
DEFAMATION, n. The uttering of slanderous words with a view to injure another’s reputation; the malicious uttering of falsehood respecting another which tends to destroy or impair his good name, character or occupation; slander; calumny. To constitute defamation in law, the words must be false and spoken maliciously. Defamatory words written and published are called a libel.
CALUMNY, n. Slander; false accusation of a crime or offense, knowingly or maliciously made or reported, to the injury of another; false representation of facts reproachful to another, made by design, and with knowledge of its falsehood; sometimes followed by on.
Neglected calumny soon expires.
CENSORIOUSNESS, n.
1. Disposition to blame and condemn; the habit of censuring or reproaching.
2. The quality of being censorious.
Evil speaking, then, in the scriptures, is the malicious use of a lie (in the form of a false report, false tale, false accusation or other falsehood) in order to harm the reputation, work or livelihood of another. Not only are such deeds against the law of God, but they are also against the laws of men.
How the LDS pervert this principle
The LDS have twisted the commandment and covenant against “evil speaking of the Lord’s anointed” into any spoken saying or written word published that brings the leadership of the church into disrepute, regardless of the truthfulness of the saying or writing. (Since I’m quoting definitions, disrepute is a “lack or decline of good reputation : a state of being held in low esteem.”) Thus the LDS have changed the meaning of both “evil speaking” as well as “the Lord’s anointed.”
To speak the truth about someone is not evil speaking. If such must be labeled, it can only be called good speaking. The saints of God are commanded to always tell the truth and never tell a lie, therefore, they must call a sinner a sinner, even if that sinner is a hypocritical leader, garbed in the priesthood and presiding over them. To understand why saints must do this, we first must review who is authorized to call people to repentance.
Who can make the call to repent
There are two groups of people who need repentance: those who belong to the church of Christ, but aren’t yet sanctified, and those who do not belong to the church of Christ.
External Preaching
In the case of those who do not belong, it appears that all saints are under commandment “to persuade all men to repentance” (2 Ne. 26:27.) Also, all saints who possess the priesthood (except teachers and deacons) are under commandment to preach the gospel to those who do not have it, which includes telling them to repent of their sins.
Internal Regulation
In the case of those who belong to the church, who have not yet been sanctified, it belongs to the high priests of the church to regulate the church, calling them to repentance. But high priests can only do this if they themselves are sanctified, as they are supposed to be. (See Alma 13:12.)
It takes a saint
Only saints, meaning sanctified people, are authorized to call people to repentance. The reason is that sanctified people cannot look upon sin except with abhorrence. In other words, when they see sin, any sin, they shrink with horror, disgust or dislike of it. This means, first, that saints can recognize what is and what is not sin, by this recoiling, shuddering, excessively repugnant reaction they have to it, and secondly, that they will not shut their mouths at the sight of it, but will naturally seek to eradicate it. Saints are like the Lord: they cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.
A non-sanctified person is unable to recognize every sin. Some “very great” (as they suppose) sins may cause non-sanctified people to shiver and bristle at their appearance, but not so with all the so-called smaller sins. They may witness such sins and not experience any extreme detestation to it or they may not even know that what they are witnessing is sin. Or, if they do observe a sin and are able to recognize it as sin, they are capable of just saying, “That is just a minor thing. I will let it slide and leave them to themselves without opening my mouth.” Another thing these people will do is charge someone with transgression when they have not transgressed. This comes from not being able to recognize sin from righteousness, so that the two become confused, righteousness being called sin, and vice versa.
For these reasons, non-sanctified people are useless to the Lord when it comes to calling people to repentance. Only sanctified, purified, justified people (saints) will do for this particular labor.
The general authorities and leaders of the church
Many people are afraid of speaking out against any hypocrisy they see among the general authorities and leaders of the church because of the following scripture:
Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed, saith the Lord, and cry they have sinned when they have not sinned before me, saith the Lord, but have done that which was meet in mine eyes, and which I commanded them. But those who cry transgression do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves.
And those who swear falsely against my servants, that they might bring them into bondage and death—wo unto them; because they have offended my little ones they shall be severed from the ordinances of mine house. Their basket shall not be full, their houses and their barns shall perish, and they themselves shall be despised by those that flattered them. They shall not have right to the priesthood, nor their posterity after them from generation to generation. It had been better for them that a millstone had been hanged about their necks, and they drowned in the depth of the sea.
Wo unto all those that discomfort my people, and drive, and murder, and testify against them, saith the Lord of Hosts; a generation of vipers shall not escape the damnation of hell.
Behold, mine eyes see and know all their works, and I have in reserve a swift judgment in the season thereof, for them all; for there is a time appointed for every man, according as his works shall be. (D&C 121:16-25)
We are taught by our leaders that speaking evil against the Lord’s anointed is a very grievous sin and that members that do this are in apostasy. Thus, because of this false interpretation of “evil speaking,” even if hypocrisy is perceived in the leadership, the LDS will shut their mouths and leave the matter in the Lord’s hands.
And so the leadership of the church, and more specifically, the general authorities, are given free sway to pretty much do what they want and say what they will, all of it being ascribed as speaking and working by the power of the Holy Ghost, all by virtue of their office and calling as general authorities and the second anointing which they receive in the temple.
Of course, such an interpretation wrests these scriptures, for the Lord was not speaking of any earthly anointing. When the Lord says, “Cursed are all those that shall lift up the heel against mine anointed,” and also, “Wo unto them; because they have offended my little ones”, and also, “Wo unto all those that discomfort my people, and drive, and murder, and testify against them,” His anointed and His little ones and His people are all the same group of people, even those who are sanctified, justified and purified, known to us as saints and little children.
In this scripture, the Lord uses the same wording that he used in His warning against offending little children: “It had been better for them that a millstone had been hanged about their necks, and they drowned in the depth of the sea.” The reason the warning is the same is because a saint (a fallen man who has become sanctified) and a little child (who is alive in Christ and thus already sanctified) are both innocent before God. As long as they endure in their sinless, sanctified, and purified state, they will inherit eternal life.
Little children are not anointed in any earthly ordinance, yet these scriptures equally apply to them as much as they apply to adult saints. So, when the Lord says, “mine anointed,” He is not talking about an earthly ordinance, but of a heavenly ordinance, such as the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, which Jesus alone performs. All earthly ordinances must be approved and confirmed by a heavenly manifestation (ordinance) performed by the Father, the Son or the Holy Ghost. So, when we have priesthood conferred upon us, all we get are the rights to the priesthood. The actual priesthood is only bestowed by God Himself, and the same goes with every other ordinance of the gospel, all things requiring a ratification or confirmatory heavenly ordinance to make it eternally binding.
So, mine anointed and my little ones and my people and little children and saints are terms that speak of people who are sinless (guiltless), purified and sanctified, whether from the beginning of their lives or after having received a remission of their sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. In no way, shape or form did the Lord ever mean to say that no one had a right to call hypocrisy when they saw it in someone ordained to His priesthood.
The gospel rule is to assume hypocrisyunlessdemonstrated otherwise, for all adult men have received the fallen nature:
Trust no one to be your teacher nor your minister, except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments. (Mosiah 23:14)
Again, the rule is to trust no one. The exception to that general rule is not “except he be ordained to the priesthood,” as many believe. Instead, the exception is, “except he be a man of God, walking in his ways and keeping his commandments.” Priesthood ordination and calling have nothing to do with it.
Discerning teachers and ministers of God
The assumption that everyone makes about the general authorities is that they are holy men of God, already sanctified, justified and purified. This is assumed because they hold these high and holy callings. The logic goes something like this: “God would not allow men who were not sanctified to hold such callings and offices, therefore, they must be holy men.” But such thinking denies the history of the people of God upon the earth, and all the many times that corruption entered into the very priesthood God had organized on earth. God obviously allowed this corruption to occur, so then it must follow that in our day, corrupt or un-sanctified priests and teachers would also be allowed to rule over us.
The Lord has set up His kingdom with signs whereby one saint can know another. These signs are heavenly manifestations given by God alone. They allow saints and sinners to see where the Lord’s people are, so that they can listen to them, heed the word of God preached by them and gather with them. A preacher or teacher who does not manifest any of the various signs is simply not approved by God.
The prophet Mormon answered the questions, “How do we know if a man is of God, walking in His ways and keeping His commandments? How do we know that he speaks the truth to us and is sent by God?” when he wrote:
And now it came to pass that according to our record, and we know our record to be true, for behold, it was a just man who did keep the record—for he truly did many miracles in the name of Jesus; and there was not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity— (3 Ne. 8:1)
So this is how we know. If the members of the first presidency, the quorum of 12 apostles and the quorums of seventy (as well as the members of any other leadership quorum), are going around doing all manner of miracles in the name of Jesus among the people, then we know that they are just men of God, even saints. But if they aren’t performing a work of miracles in the name of Jesus among the people, then they are still un-sanctified hypocrites (actors) and are not to be trusted.
Sanctified people point people to Christ
“Priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world,” wrote Nephi. Priestcraft is the Pharisaical way, the doctrine of privilege and prestige and taking offense. It says, “Do as I say, not as I do, for you are not authorized to do what I do.” Or, “Look unto us as the Lord’s righteous servants. Follow us. We are obedient and holy. We know better than you. We have the office, calling, power and authority. We enter first, we partake first, we get the best seats. All must rise when we enter. We are the Lord’s anointed, occupying Moses’ seat. No one gets to God except through us.” This is all, of course, hogwash. (I’d use a stronger word but the blog is rated PG.) It doesn’t matter what earthly anointing you have received, if it hasn’t been confirmed by the Lord or His angel, there is no witness (evidence) that you have exercised any faith, whatsoever, and thus that your anointing has been accepted by the Lord and that you are authorized to call anyone to repentance.
The saintly way is different. Although saints are bold, they care not for prestige, honor or privileges. They spurn such things. They do not say, “Follow us,” but, “Follow Christ.” They are completely Christ-centered in both thought, word and deed, pointing all to Jesus. They care not what you call them, whether you use a title or not, nor whether you acknowledge their calling and office. They abase themselves at every opportunity, for they know and believe the word of Jesus that those who abase themselves will be exalted. They are wise and fun and cheerful and knowledgeable, yet they mourn when they see sin. There is nothing stuffy about a saint. They take no offense at people who reject them, their message or their priesthood, and consider it a privilege to suffer persecution for Jesus’ sake like the prophets of old.
If it walks and talks like a hypocrite, but has the priesthood, it’s…not a hypocrite?
The gospel of Christ is a gospel of truth, for Jesus is full of grace and truth. When the Lord put all those who went to the temple under covenant to not speak evil of His anointed, He was not saying that we had to turn a blind eye to hypocrisy in the leadership and obey them regardless of their hypocrisy. That is not what it means to refrain from “speaking evil of the Lord’s anointed.” The phrase only means that we are not to falsely call someone who is sanctified (a saint) a sinner.
All saints have a duty to God to do right, to heed truth, to expose and to forsake and to fight evil and falsehood and hypocrisy, and to speak the truth at all times. The saints are the bulwarks against Pharisaical tyranny, for saints don’t shut their mouths at sin. They call a duck a duck and a hypocrite a hypocrite, when they see one. They are like the Lorax, who speaks for the trees, except that they speak for the Lord. You simply can’t shut them up when they see sin and error.
No one breaks their covenant of not speaking evil of the Lord’s anointed by pointing out the hypocrisy manifested among the LDS church general and local leadership. If the Lord has not shown His approval of any of these men by His divine miracles and manifestations, no one, not a single person, is bound to follow their sayings, counsels or commandments. In fact, it becomes our duty to God to both speak out against hypocrisy and to ignore its directives. It is through the miracles of God alone that we may know whether a man is approved of God. Ordination is not the appointed sign, nor are the words or actions of that man, for hypocrites are, by nature, actors, acting the part of a righteous person. As we cannot know what truly resides in the heart of any person, the Lord in His mercy has provided the signs for His believers, the saints, that we might recognize who really is one of His people. This is because no one can act the part of a miracle worker, being out of the scope of man-made power.
The saints will judge who is, and who is not, an apostle, prophet or bishop
Behold, I, the Lord, have made my church in these last days like unto a judge sitting on a hill, or in a high place, to judge the nations. For it shall come to pass that the inhabitants of Zion shall judge all things pertaining to Zion. And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known. And even the bishop, who is a judge, and his counselors, if they are not faithful in their stewardships shall be condemned, and others shall be planted in their stead. (D&C 64:37-40)
The inhabitants of Zion are the saints of God, for no one will inhabit Zion who is not sanctified. This church that the Lord mentions in these verses is the mystical church of God made flesh, who have repented of their sins and come to Christ, receiving the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. Judgment is committed into their hands because they are the only ones qualified to judge between sin and righteousness. Those hypocrites who make claim to priesthood titles alone will be judged by these title-less saints and be uprooted and their names blotted out. The truth of the matter is that all leaders must pass through the judgment of the saints, the Lord’s little ones, before they can get to God, not the other way around. Not even those whose listed priesthood duty is to judge, such as the bishop, will be exempt from the examination made by these alive-in-Christ children and adult saints.
For these reasons, no one has any authority to silence a saint. The authority of a saint supersedes the authority of any priesthood office. And if a saint speaks out against your hypocrisy, Amen to your priesthood. And if anyone speaks out (evilly) against a saint (the Lord’s anointed), they’d be better off drowning themselves in the depth of the sea. Nothing pisses off the Lord more than people who bother His saints.
Now, before I end this post, let me address one more point.
Test them, says Lucifer
In the temple, we hear the following conversation:
PREACHER: Shall we ever have any apostles or prophets?
LUCIFER: No. However, there may be some who will profess revelation or apostleship. If so, just test them by asking that they perform a great miracle, such as cutting off an arm or some other member of the body and restoring it, so that the people may know that they have come with power.
Later on, the conversation goes:
PREACHER: [To Peter.] Do you profess to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ?
PETER: We do.
PREACHER: This man told me that we should never have any revelation or apostles, but if any should come professing to be apostles, I was to ask them to cut off an arm or some other member of the body and then restore it, so that the people might know that they came with power.
PETER: We do not satisfy men’s curiosity in that manner. It is a wicked and an adulterous generation that seeks for a sign.
There are two extremes of thought, both of them false. On the one hand, claimed credentials (“we profess to be apostles, bearing the priesthood, with valid ordination”) are rejected and a demonstration of power is demanded, otherwise no one will believe. On the other hand, demonstrations of power (“we perform all manner of miracles”) are rejected and a proper priesthood ordination is demanded, otherwise no one will believe.
The first scenario is represented by the temple conversation, which temple patrons are taught to avoid. Unfortunately, they then leave the temple and adopt the second, also extreme way of thinking.
The saints who judge do not require that a professed apostle or servant sent from the Lord perform a miracle in their presence. Nor do they require that all their priesthood papers are in order. They only require that the apostle carries the appointed witness that comes after the trial of one’s faith. All saints have received this witness and so when presented with another saint, bearing the same witness, they can recognize a brother or sister. The witness itself is a miracle, but one that is born record of verbally, for the word is to be first heard, not seen, in order that faith is engendered. These witnesses are like the tokens or signs spoken of in the temple, by which one knows a true messenger from God.
In conclusion
The commandment to refrain from speaking evil of the Lord’s anointed is a true principle, but only encompasses spreading lies about the saints of God. (Although we are also commanded to not speak evil of anyone else, which encompasses the whole human race.) However, this commandment does not muzzle the saints, who are not prohibited from saying the truth about someone who is acting hypocritically, even if they are leaders of the Lord’s church. Thus, the Lord’s admonition to first take the beam out of our eyes before we go around telling people that they have a mote in their own eyes does not apply to saints, because they have neither beams nor motes in their eyes.
The following represents a follow-up on my “The Garment” post, which was originally written as essentially an open-ended question on the subject. In that post, I wrote the kinds of things was I told about priesthood garments prior to attending the temple, things like:
Garments should be kept completely white in color. No stains, etc.
Garments should not be left on the floor before or after doing laundry.
Garments should be laundered separate from other clothing.
Garments should not show under the other clothing you wear.
Garments should only be removed for absolutely necessary reasons, e.g. showering and having sexual relations with spouse, and should be put back on as soon as reasonably possible.
Garments must be touching your skin, i.e. no panties or bras under the Garments for women [my wife was told by a temple matron that during menstruation, the pad should be applied directly to the Garments instead of using panties].
Garments offer physical protection from injuries such as burns.
And then, I wrote out what I was told in the post-2005 ceremony, which was:
The officiator was under proper authority
The garment was now authorized
The garment is to be worn throughout life.
The garment represents what was given to Adam/Eve when found naked in the garden.
The garment is called the garment of the holy priesthood.
Inasmuch as the garment is not defiled — meaning the wearer is true and faithful to the covenants — it will be a shield and a protection against the power of the destroyer until the earthly probation is finished.
I then wrote about some of the things I saw as divergent between what members are told about their priesthood garment and what we are actually instructed as the standard with respect to our priesthood garments — leaving the matter at that.
LDS will typically divide their closets and drawers into two categories: garments and clothing.
A “modest” human being is expected to wear clothing at all conceivable times — whether they have been to the temple or not. And then, once, as an LDS, you go to the temple, you will then begin wearing garments in addition to your clothing.
Garments are considered [in the typical view] to be nothing but a newer and more sacred form of underwear. Your outside appearance as an LDS who has just started wearing your garments will not change — unless you were in the habit of wearing non-modest clothing before-hand — then, that would need to change so that the garments you are going to start wearing under your clothing won’t be seen.
Actual View: Garments = clothing and clothing = garments:
There is a dividing line [of sorts] between clothing in your closet, but it is not a division between clothing and garments. All garments are in fact clothing and all clothing are in fact nothing but garments. What there is in actuality is two types of clothing [or two types of garments]. There are:
Normal, everyday clothing — as worn by all non-LDS
Priesthood clothing — as all temple-attending LDS have been authorized to wear
The words “clothing” and “garment” are synonymous. They both signify that which is used to cover your nakedness.
clothing |ˈklōði ng | noun 1. items worn to cover the body
and
garment |ˈgärmənt| noun 1. an item of clothing.
So, that which are called “garments” [in the typical view] are actually [in the actual view] a special type of garments [or clothing] that endowed LDS have the authorization to wear and that are marked to show that they are in fact priesthood clothing [rather than normal, everyday clothing]. Your outside appearance as an LDS who has just started wearing your priesthood clothing would, of necessity, be different than before-hand — unless you get in the habit of wearing non-priesthood clothing on top of them — so as to appear just like everybody else on the outside.
Covering the coverings:
Insofar as the priesthood garment is given to represent the coats of skins given to Adam and Eve when they were found naked in the garden of Eden — it should be a practical piece of clothing. However, I’ve found that most find it to be quite the opposite: an irritation and a generally unpractical thing to have to wear under your everyday clothing.
This is all such a problem because LDS are taught through oral tradition to worry about covering their coverings? And since the subject of the priesthood garment is linked closely to the subject of body modesty, women are uniquely impacted in this regard. Among my family members, in my congregation, and online, I have found that most women must fret constantly about whether or not their clothing covers their garments or whether they ought to wear panties/bras under or over the garment, etc. Shopping is difficult for them. They experience poor fit, have difficulty finding working sizes, and complain about how garments get in the way of everything — especially when its hot. If it is the intention of the priesthood garment to be our covering — then why care so much about covering the covering?
The intention of the priesthood garment is to cover the nakedness of men and women while they work out their mortal probation. Given that purpose, it is obviously the intention that the priesthood garment [being the covering] be seen rather than what is below the covering [the nakedness].
Let all thy garments be plain […] of the work of thine own hands:
And again, thou shalt not be proud in thy heart; let all thy garments be plain, and their beauty the beauty of the work of thine own hands; And let all things be done in cleanliness before me.
The issue with this verse is that most who read it have been raised according to the typical view of garments vs. clothing [rather than priesthood clothing vs. normal, everyday clothing] — as such, they will come to the text with the assumption that since this usage of “garment” came before the endowment proper was formulated and the garment of the holy priesthood administered to members — that the word obviously just means our normal, everyday clothing [which, funny enough, we don’t comply with anyway. We all shop at stores don’t we?]
Prior to initiation, our garments [or clothing] are identical to those worn by other non-LDS. In the temple endowment, LDS are authorized, put under covenant, and instructed in wearing priesthood garments [or clothing]. At the veil, we are taught what converts a normal garment into a priesthood garment — i.e. the marks.
What they misunderstand is that what the Lord is saying here is that any-and-all garments [or clothing] ought to be made by our own hand. Meaning — the verse applies equally to normal, everyday garments and to priesthood garments. Whether you wear one or the other — they are to be plain and their work and beauty should be done by your own hand.
Now people will typically comply with the temple’s instruction to wear the priesthood garment both night and day by wearing two sets of clothing — normal, everyday garments on top of priesthood garments.
However, one is equally free to wear only the priesthood garment that is the work of their own hands, in accordance with D&C 42:40-41, by either making clothing from scratch or by converting their normal, everyday clothing into priesthood clothing by cutting and sewing in the marks — as they have been authorized and instructed in doing.
After reading that scripture and doing some more research — I also found that this practice is more in line with what was done by early LDS. The minutes from an October 1870 meeting in Salt Lake reveal that:
Some enquiry was made as to how many have their shirts marked — A few rose with them marked — President Young said he took scissors & soon made the marks. Even if the shirt is colored, mark it — If there is flannel or buckskin between the shirt & garment, that also should be marked. An overshirt worn as a vest should not be marked.
Thus, in accordance with the scriptural instruction and a historical precedent, any normal, everyday clothing that one would typically wear as a single layer may be made into priesthood clothing [garments] by cutting the marks of the holy priesthood into them and then stitching them up so they don’t fray. Jackets and other second layer-type clothing need not receive any marks.
Keep your covenants:
The 2011 General Church Handbook of Instruction [CHI] states that:
Church members who have been clothed with the garment in a temple have taken upon themselves a covenant obligation to wear it according to the instructions given in the endowment.
This point of general instruction is based on the temple recommend interview question, which asks:
Do you wear the garment both night and day as instructed in the endowment and in accordance with the covenant you made in the temple?
Though ecclesiastical leaders will read extra material to you after the temple recommend interview and though the CHI goes on to expound on a paragraph’s worth of extra instructions — neither of these are contained in the temple endowment — and therefore can be ignored when any LDS is addressing their personal compliance with temple covenants.
What is important to remember is that an initiated LDS has covenanted to wear priesthood clothing for the remainder of their mortal life. And, in the gospel, we must honor and keep all agency-based vows we have freely entered. However, no one has covenanted to wear the priesthood clothing that is sold by Distribution Services — nor has any one covenanted to hide the priesthood garment from the eyes of others by wearing normal, everyday clothing on top of them.
This is not to say that if making two sets of clothing [normal on top of priesthood] works for you and the ones sold by the Distribution Centers fit you comfortably — that you are not free to continue to wear your priesthood garments in that manner or free utilize that resource to buy them because that still technically fulfills the vow to wear priesthood clothing throughout your life [albeit a strange way to do it].
However, for many, the sizes and fabrics do not fit well and do not conform to the local environment or culture. If the latter is the case, then please do not go on subjecting yourself to poor fitting clothing and the uncomfortableness of trying to wear two sets of clothing at once. And certainly do not cease from wearing priesthood clothing altogether.
Rather, you should strip away all the cultural conditioning and social pressures away from the covenant you have made with the Lord — and perhaps see if wearing priesthood clothing in accordance with D&C 42:40-41.
I started writing this as a comment, but as I continued to write — I decided it would be best to make this into a post of its own.
Affecting Change:
I was once optimistic that my discussions with people in person and online could affect some greater change in the world at large. When LDSA wrote that this posts should be considered open copyright — I agreed that perhaps distributing these ideas could play a part in the ushering in of the conditions for the great and marvelous work.
I despise echo-chambers — and while I think preaching to the choir has its place [hence my participation here], I’ve always felt that ideas also need to be floated among more hostile company too [iron sharpens iron, and all that]. I’ve done letter campaigns, anonymously e-mailed copies of the 2010 CHI to anonymous askers [read the end of this comment], and participated in many different discussions online.
However, two comments were written to me today that have caused me to change my mind. One from the conversation here:
“Justin, this may make sense to you, but many people aren’t interested in putting themselves in a situation where they need to hide what they are doing from their ward/family and explain to church leaders that they are reinterpreting garment-wearing. Whether or not the church culture as a whole pays attention to the wording in the initiatory, we all know what rules you must follow regarding garments if you want to stay well-integrated into your ward.”
In discussing the hierarchy and how some of these ideas exist in the LDS Church, it is taught, directly or indirectly.
“Always keep your eye on the President of the church, and if he ever tells you to do anything, even if it is wrong, and you do it, the lord will bless you for it but you don’t need to worry. The lord will never let his mouthpiece lead the people astray.” – Marion G Romney
“When the Prophet speaks the debate is over”. – N. Eldon Tanner
“Follow your leaders who have been duly ordained and have been publicly sustained, and you will not be led astray.” – Boyd K Packer
The “12 points” recently discussed
These types of quotes are where it comes from. Whether this is what God intended or not is obviously up for debate, but within this organization, this is how it is.
Since there are no females in this hierarchy there is essentially no mechanism to change this, unless the hierarchy itself decides to change.”
There are three topics about which people will never change their views on as a result of a single conversation they have with another person: religion, diet, and politics [This site is especially bold for trying to tackle two of them at the same time — however the same thing I’ve noticed among LDS sites is also happening within my diet community too]. For these three, change will only come after a singly large, devastating life experience or after a long course of personally-driven study and reflection. This is not the means by which we can affect change.
Tribal Connections:
This was said before, but it bears repeating here — for the people who don’t follow the comments:
I have a feeling that people, (in particular, LDS), have a hard time grasping the concepts put forth in this post (and others like it) because we don’t have a clear idea of what the future should look like. We see agriculture and money being passed around and know that these things have existed for thousands of years and we hear of prophets and righteous men and women tilling the ground, using money, etc., and we think that the gospel is designed for an agricultural, money-based lifestyle.
The gospel is flexible, adaptable to the conditions that exist among men, but it is not designed to leave men in those conditions, but to allow men to use the truths, principles and powers found in the gosepl to change them so that they match those found in the heavens.
Unless we look forward and use our imagination to envision what the future is supposed to look like, how in the world can we ever work to remove ourselves from our present, fallen condition into a more exalted, heavenly one? It seems to me that mankind is largely spinning their wheels and letting the future bring what it may, without actually striving to shape it themselves…
…That’s okay for the rest of the Gentiles, but the Mormon Gentiles have been given the restored gospel and should be more enlightened than that. We’ve got everything we need to establish the future God has designed for the Earth. We just need to organize ourselves into cohesive, gospel-based tribes and make it happen.
We only have our tribes. Even non-religous observes have noted that the collapse of this system of -isms and -archies is imminent, and that survival will be tribal.
As I noted in Connecting with Pixels, the Lord is about connecting humans to other humans. That is what activating tribal worship services, tribal family units, and a strong tribal priesthood is all about. Our online discussions are only valuable insofar as they aid each of the readers in making these connections. This is not the connection.
If we aren’t walking away from our computers and working to establish and spread our own tribes, then we have missed the mark. [The reader may already know this — I’m just acknowledging it out loud for myself.]
I’d be interested in hearing reports on how others are doing at establishing the tribal connections among their own families.
“…we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people…” 1 Nephi 17:22
After nearly a decade of wandering in the desert, Lehi and his family arrived on the seashore and pitched their tents in the land they called Bountiful. Nephi, according to the word of the Lord, began to fashion tools for the construction of a ship. Laman and Lemuel began, once again, to complain citing the above reference regarding the people of Jerusalem. From their view, their friends back home were on the right path. They bemoaned the fact that they could not enjoy their possessions and be happy.
As we stand here centuries later, we can see the big picture. The house of Israel has fallen into disrepair. The people of God had replaced their love and service of God with the pomp and circumstance derived from wealth and pleasure. Apostasy had set in. But to Laman and Lemuel, their easy lifestyle enjoyed in Jerusalem was the standard by which they measured the ‘rightness’ of their living. No admonition from either Lehi or Nephi could sway their sons and brothers from this viewpoint.
Given the difficulty that Laman had in seeing the real picture, how hard would it be for us in this day to see the threads of apostasy in our normal lives? Have we supplanted what the Lord defined for righteousness with our own comfortable standard?
I believe that this movement away from the truth is apostasy and can occur at two levels, organization and personal. The former dealing with the migration of the goals and objectives promoted by the leadership and the latter expressed in our individual thoughts and actions. Let’s take a look at these two themes.
Corporate Apostasy
Today, we can easily see that the church established by the apostles in the meridian of time moved away from the true principles established by Christ. Let’s look a little more closely at what outward characteristics emerged from this change.
As we look at the Holy Roman Church, we find an entity that expressed itself in the form of magnificent edifices. St. Peter’s Basilica, first commissioned by Constantine, was rebuilt in the 15th century with no equal. While churches dominated the landscape of most cities of the time, none compared to the structure finally completed in the early 1600’s. A considerable amount of wealth was spent in the construction of beautiful buildings, meant to send a message of the power and prestige of the Catholic church.
The need of the church to express itself in terms of its physical environment extended to the surrounding areas of its headquarters in Vatican City. Speaking of the popes of the 14th and 15th century, here is a quote from The Restoration by Wil Durant (page 14):
“They labored to redeem Rome from the ugliness and squalor into which it had fallen while the popes were in Avignon. They drained marshes (by comfortable proxy), paved streets, restored bridges and roads, improved the water supply, established the Vatican Library and the Capitoline Museum, enlarged the hospitals, distributed charity, built or repaired churches, embellished the city with palaces and gardens, reorganized the University of Rome, supported the humanists in resurrecting pagan literature, philosophy, and art, and gave employment to painters, sculptors, and architects whose works are now a treasured heritage of all mankind…perhaps they thought of it as transforming scattered crumbs of evanescent wealth into a lasting splendor for the people and their God.”
The true reverence of God is not expressed in magnificent buildings, gardens, and lavish art. Could this extravagant effort to honor God with the works of man be an outward sign to the apostasy within?
At its height, the Holy Roman Church exerted political influence well beyond the confines of the Vatican. Princes and kings sought out the elite of the church hierarchy to solidify alliances and to position themselves. Leaders of the church traveled not only to Germany and France but to China and India to gain favor with the rulers of these foreign lands. At home and abroad, politics played an integral role in the lives of the popes. Does the ability to influence politics domestically and worldwide serve as a marker of the wayward path?
The practice of indulgences, the idea of reducing the time of a loved one in Purgatory through the purchase of the excess grace of the saints, represented one of the primary methods for creating ongoing cash flow. The donations to the church, then as now, were viewed as ‘fire insurance.’ To spin off an old refrain, money corrupts, and a lot of money corrupts greatly. Such was the Catholic Church in the middle ages. Property bequeathed to the church held the giver higher in the eyes of God, or does it generate a false hope?
Four years before Martin Luther tacked his 95 Theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg, Machiavelli penned the following in his Discourses, iii:
“ Had the religion of Christianity been preserved according to the ordinances of the Founder, the state and the commonwealth of Christendom would have been far more united and happy than they are. … And whoever examines the principles which that religion is founded, and sees how widely different from those principles its present practice and application are, will judge that her ruin or chastisement is near at hand.”
This statement foreshadowed the reformation; an effort to return to the basic principles that were contained in the founding words of apostles. Have we of the LDS church diverged from the original principles upon which the religion was founded? Has the money and power afforded the LDS church over these last decades succeeded in moving us away from the principles contained in the fulness of the gospel? I have found nothing in the scriptures that suggests this generation is immune from apostasy. Are we so blind, as Laman and Lemuel were, to not see what is happening to the corporate church?
In Third Nephi, chapter 27, Christ outlines the criteria for the church to be His. In addition to being called by His Name and tuned to His gospel, He requires that the church ‘show forth the works of the Father’.’ He also warns us that ( verse 11):
If the church “is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return.”
Assuming what I described above, are we taking joy in the works of men? Is the season coming to a close?
Individual Apostasy
Just as there could be markers of apostasy for the corporate entity, there are also similar markers for us as individuals. Apostasy comes from the Greek meaning ‘to stand away,’ and means today that one departs from one’s religion or principles. Subtle apostasy would have us focus our time, talents, and energy on items at ‘appear’ to be important but are really only invalid substitutes for the real thing.
In Matthew 23, we read:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?and in thy name have cast out devils?and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Is it possible that we, today, can do many wonderful works, yet be rejected by Christ?I submit that this substitution of works instead of seeking to be known by Christ represents the type of apostasy that threatens us today. Can we assume that attending the temple, doing our home teaching, fulfilling our callings and all the other various and sundry activities we are called upon to do in the church today can substitute for having a relationship with Christ sufficient to be ‘known’ by Him?
In the times of the Middle Ages, the tradition of visiting relics and defined sacred sites became very important. Martin Luther, himself, tells of his effort to climb the 200+ steps of a holy site on his knees, reciting a prayer on each step in hopes of currying favor with God. Do we exert such an outward effort in hopes that God will recognize our sacrifice? At the same time, do we ignore the fundamental gospel steps of repentance, faith, baptism by water followed by baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost?
As I sat in fast and testimony meeting last week, I was struck by the ‘testimony’ of an older gentleman who talked of his challenges in keeping his business solvent. He described a discussion with his brother where he was told: “I pay my tithing; I have no reason to worry.” Has tithing become simply a modern day equivalent of the Holy Roman Church’s indulgences? Is there an implied promise that if we pay our money to the church we will receive some level of protection? I am not proposing that anyone who pays tithing is in apostasy. My intent is to raise the concern that substituting tithing for the true meaning of the gospel, to bring us to Christ, will not bring us to our intended goal – His kingdom.
Can the LDS Church fail? Yes, if it allows money, politics and power to supplant the ministry of the gospel. Can we as individuals fail? Yes, if we allow the works of men to replace a relationship with Christ.
These are the questions we must answer for ourselves:
Have I received a remission of my sins? See 2 Nephi 31:17-18,
Have I been sanctified? See 3 Nephi 27:20-21
Have I been cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost that I may be numbered among the people of the Church of Christ? See Moroni 6:1-4
Once we have prepared our hearts then we turn our effort toward our neighbors. Have we accomplished our personal preparation such that we can assist our brothers and sisters with a pure heart? See Mosiah 4:11-30
Are we, as Laman, defining our own criteria for righteousness?
In my previous posts, I discussed the definition of the gospel according to the scriptures; a definition that stands at odds with the prevailing opinion expressed from the pulpit. Another area that bears consideration is the ‘doctrine of Christ.’ As with the gospel, there are three specific scriptural references that are of interest in understanding the doctrine expressed by our Lord and Savior in the scriptures.
The title of this post comes from the first of these three found in the Book of Mormon, the second book of Nephi, chapter 31. In verse 2, we read:
“Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words which I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying.”
Beginning with this verse, and continuing through chapter 32, verse 4, Nephi expounds on the doctrine of Christ. Given that the complete reference is fairly brief, I would strongly encourage you to read it for yourself. I will attempt to summarize the key points of the doctrine as follows:
Christ showed us how we are to be obedient to the Father
Demonstrate unshaken faith relying on the merits of Christ
Follow Christ by keeping the commandments of the Father
Repent
Be baptized with water
Be baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins
Endure to the end
The above items represent the commandments given to us to obey
Repentance, baptism by water and baptism by fire and by the Holy Ghost represent the gate to the strait and narrow path to eternal life.
There are few places in the scriptures which contain as much beauty, wisdom and knowledge as is found in this chapter. The promise is given to us that if we follow the commandments given us here by the Father and then ‘press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men… feasting upon the words of Christ (personal revelation) and endure to the end, we shall have eternal life.’ There is, in my opinion, no better place in the scriptures that provide a guide to how to conduct ourselves into His kingdom.
“And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God.And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.Amen.” (2 Nephi 31:21)
This last verse of chapter 31 carries the message, clearly and distinctly, that there is no other way to be saved in the kingdom of God; these are the commandments which we are to follow; we are, as Christ demonstrated, to be baptized by water, fire and the Holy Ghost. It also defines the previous words as the ‘only and true doctrine’ of God. From this verse I took my title for this post. How important is it that we understand and apply the only doctrine of God? What are the implications of allowing many other items to crowd in on our doctrine? God has given us here clear direction on what should be our focus and objective in our lives. This is the only and true doctrine of God.
“Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh.And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.” (2 Nephi 32:6)
As Nephi concludes his pronouncement on the doctrine of Christ, he alerts us to the future word of doctrine that will be made available. We find the second treatment of the doctrine of Christ in his first appearance among the Nephites documented in 3 Nephi, chapter 11.
Following His selection of the twelve disciples, Christ instructs them on the baptism of water and warns them that there is to be ‘no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been (3 Nephi 11:28). To end the disputation, Christ then states:
“32And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
33And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
34And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.
35Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.
36And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.”
In this passage, Christ again refers to the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The doctrine of Christ, as portrayed here, is simple; repent and be baptized. Christ then calls on us to repent and ‘become as a little child’ (verse 38). What does it mean to become as a little child? I believe it refers to the innocence and faith that children exhibit.
The Savior again presents the importance of holding to His doctrine:
” 39Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.
40And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates” (3 Nephi 11:39-40)
We are not to add or take away from the doctrine of Christ. I will have more to say on this.
Let’s move on to the third treatment of the doctrine of Christ. This is found in section 10 of the Doctrine and Covenants:
“67Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church.
68Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.
69And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.”
The message here, again, is that the doctrine of Christ connotes: His church is made up of those who repent and come unto Him. No more, no less. I would suggest that we come unto Christ through baptism, ‘…first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us…’ (Mormon 7:10)
Here again, Christ warns us not to put more or less into His doctrine. How easy is it for us to lose focus on the only and true doctrine by supplanting it with our own ‘pet’ doctrines? For some, it may be doctrine of plural marriage, for others, the doctrine of genealogy. Do you have a pet doctrine?
Adding more to the doctrine of Christ is, in my opinion, indicative of the many doctrinal books that we have on our shelves; an example of which is the 800+ page Mormon Doctrine. While this is a masterful work treating the topics of the kingdom of God, should it be touted as the doctrine of the church of Christ? Taking away from the doctrine of Christ is, again in my opinion, the rhetoric that suggests the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost can be accomplished through a Christ-like life, an imperceptible change over time.
The ‘doctrine of Christ’ is, as scripture, clearly defined and concise:
Repent, be baptized with water followed by the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. Seek revelation, humble yourselves as a little child. Endure to the end.
We may build a structure around it, we may even stipulate who may teach and preach. This does not change the core of the message contained in the doctrine of Christ.
The baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost is not consummate victory. It is the gate after which we must continue to seek personal revelation and endure to the end. We are warned that this is the ‘only and true doctrine’ of Christ. We are not to add or take away from it. Doing so results in building on an unstable and shifting foundation and puts us at odds with his church as defined in scripture.
Note: The following is a flip-chart outline that I prepared some years ago as a visual aid to teach my children certain principles of the gospel. I do not know if it is self-explanatory to adults. I hope to expound certain parts of it in greater detail in follow-up posts.
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The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of miraculous power whereby a man or a woman may become a “possessor of all things” (D&C 50: 27-35; 46: 28-33) and have his or her calling and election made sure by overcoming the world
“Wherefore, he is possessor of all things; for all things are subject unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light, the Spirit and the power, sent forth by the will of the Father through Jesus Christ, his Son. But no man is possessor of all things except he be purified and cleansed from all sin. And if ye are purified and cleansed from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done. But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask; and as ye are appointed to the head, the spirits shall be subject unto you. Wherefore, it shall come to pass, that if you behold a spirit manifested that you cannot understand, and you receive not that spirit, ye shall ask of the Father in the name of Jesus; and if he give not unto you that spirit, then you may know that it is not of God. And it shall be given unto you, power over that spirit; and you shall proclaim against that spirit with a loud voice that it is not of God—not with railing accusation, that ye be not overcome, neither with boasting nor rejoicing, lest you be seized therewith. He that receiveth of God, let him account it of God; and let him rejoice that he is accounted of God worthy to receive. And by giving heed and doing these things which ye have received, and which ye shall hereafter receive—and the kingdom is given you of the Father, and power to overcome all things which are not ordained of him—” (D&C 50: 27-35)
“And it shall come to pass that he that asketh in Spirit shall receive in Spirit; that unto some it may be given to have all those gifts, that there may be a head, in order that every member may be profited thereby. He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh. And again, I say unto you, all things must be done in the name of Christ, whatsoever you do in the Spirit; and ye must give thanks unto God in the Spirit for whatsoever blessing ye are blessed with. And ye must practise virtue and holiness before me continually. Even so. Amen.” (D&C 46: 28-33)
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Upon Condition of Repentance
Faith in Jesus leads to repentance and repentance activates justification (D&C 88: 38-39; 138: 19.)
Justification activates everything else.
Steps of repentance: recognition of sin, godly sorrow, confession, ask forgiveness, restitution, forsake sin, receive forgiveness.
“And unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions. All beings who abide not in those conditions are not justified.” (D&C 88: 38-39)
“And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance.” (D&C 138: 19)
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Powers of the Holy Ghost
1) Justification – guiltless state, forgiveness of sin
a) Justification without the covenant of baptism – will fall from grace (D&C 20: 37; 130: 23)
b) Justification with the covenant of baptism – possible to fall from grace (D&C 20: 32-34)
c) Permanent Justification – cannot fall from grace (3 Nephi 28: 39; 2 Peter 1: 10)
2) Purification – abhorrence of sin, no more attraction to sin, no more desire to sin
a) Purification without the covenant of baptism – will fall from grace (D&C 20: 37; 130: 23)
b) Purification with the covenant of baptism – possible to fall from grace (D&C 20: 32-34)
c) Permanent Purification – cannot fall from grace (3 Nephi 28: 39; 2 Peter 1: 10)
3. Sanctification – desire to do good continually (Mosiah 5: 2), meaning to do the works of Christ, meaning to work by the power of the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10: 25)
a) Sanctification without the covenant of baptism – will fall from grace (D&C 20: 37; 130: 23)
b) Sanctification with the covenant of baptism – possible to fall from grace (D&C 20: 32-34)
c) Permanent Sanctification – cannot fall from grace (3 Nephi 28: 39; 2 Peter 1: 10)
“And again, by way of commandment to the church concerning the manner of baptism—All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church.” (D&C 20: 37)
“A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.” (D&C 130: 23)
“But there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God; therefore let the church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation; yea, and even let those who are sanctified take heed also.” (D&C 20: 32-34)
“Now this change was not equal to that which shall take place at the last day; but there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch that Satan could have no power over them, that he could not tempt them; and they were sanctified in the flesh, that they were holy, and that the powers of the earth could not hold them.” (3 Nephi 28: 39)
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:” (2 Peter 1: 10)
“And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5: 2)
“And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.” (Moroni 10: 25)
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Gifts of the Spirit
1) The gift to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.
2) The gift to believe on the words of those who know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful.
3) The gift to know the differences of administration, as it will be pleasing unto the same Lord, according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men.
4) The gift to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal.
5) The gift of the word of wisdom, that all may be taught to be wise.
6) The gift of the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to have knowledge.
7) The gift to have faith to be healed.
8 ) The gift to have faith to heal.
9) The gift of the working of miracles.
10) The gift to prophesy.
11) The gift of the discerning of spirits.
12) The gift to speak with tongues.
13) The gift of the interpretation of tongues.
14) The gift to discern all the gifts given to the church lest there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God. (D&C 46: 13-27. See also Moroni 10: 8-16; 1 Corinthians 12: 4-10.)
“To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world. To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful. And again, to some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know the differences of administration, as it will be pleasing unto the same Lord, according as the Lord will, suiting his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men. And again, it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations, whether they be of God, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal. And again, verily I say unto you, to some is given, by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom. To another is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge. And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed; and to others it is given to have faith to heal. And again, to some is given the working of miracles; and to others it is given to prophesy; and to others the discerning of spirits. And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues; and to another is given the interpretation of tongues. And all these gifts come from God, for the benefit of the children of God. And unto the bishop of the church, and unto such as God shall appoint and ordain to watch over the church and to be elders unto the church, are to have it given unto them to discern all those gifts lest there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God.” (D&C 46: 13-27)
“And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God. And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God who worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them. For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom; and to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; and to another, exceedingly great faith; and to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; and again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles; and again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things; and again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits; and again, to another, all kinds of tongues; and again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues.” (Moro. 10: 8-16)
“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:” (1 Cor. 12: 4-10)
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Signs of the Spirit
1) And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name they shall do many wonderful works; in my name they shall cast out devils; in my name they shall heal the sick; in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf; and the tongue of the dumb shall speak; and if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not hurt them; and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them. (D&C 84: 65-72.)
2) And whoso shall ask it in my name in faith, they shall cast out devils; they shall heal the sick; they shall cause the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak, and the lame to walk. (D&C 35: 9.)
3) And these signs shall follow them that believe—in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover; and whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth. (Mormon 9: 24-25.)
4) And these signs shall follow him—he shall heal the sick, he shall cast out devils, and shall be delivered from those who would administer unto him deadly poison; and he shall be led in paths where the poisonous serpent cannot lay hold upon his heel, and he shall mount up in the imagination of his thoughts as upon eagles’ wings. And what if I will that he should raise the dead, let him not withhold his voice. (D&C 124: 98-100.)
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Fruit of the Spirit
1) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5: 22-23.)
2) And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy; and then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive. (D&C 11: 12-14.)
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First Principles
Faith in Jesus Christ
Repentance
Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins
The laying of of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost
Receiving the Holy Ghost (baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost)
Enduring (in sanctified state) to the end (of the probation)
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Working Principles
Be of good cheer (cheerful heart and countenance)
Give thanks to God for all blessings (D&C 59: 15)
Acknowledge (or confess) the hand of God in all things (D&C 59: 21)
Acknowledge (or confess) your unworthiness before God at all times (Alma 38: 14)
“And inasmuch as ye do these things with thanksgiving, with cheerful hearts and countenances, not with much laughter, for this is sin, but with a glad heart and a cheerful countenance—” (D&C 59: 15)
“And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.” (D&C 59: 21)
“Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.” (Alma 38: 14)
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Prayer
Three times a day: morning, mid-day and evening (Alma 34: 21)
Continual prayer in heart (3 Nephi 20: 1)
Before performing anything unto the Lord (2 Nephi 32: 9)
In families (3 Nephi 18: 21)
Thanksgiving for blessings
Praise of greatness of God
Confession of sins and unworthiness
Acknowledgment of hand of God in all things
Petitions
In Spirit (D&C 46: 28, 30)
Of faith, believing that you will receive, doubting nothing (3 Nephi 18: 20; Mormon 9: 21)
“Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.” (Alma 34: 21)
“And it came to pass that he commanded the multitude that they should cease to pray, and also his disciples. And he commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.” (3 Nephi 20: 1)
“But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.” (2 Nephi 32: 9)
“Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.” (3 Nephi 18: 21)
“And it shall come to pass that he that asketh in Spirit shall receive in Spirit; • • • He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh.” (D&C 46: 28, 30)
“And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.” (3 Nephi 18: 20)
“Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.” (Mormon 9: 21)
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Scriptures
1) daily: day and night (Joshua 1: 8 )
2) purpose: to gain more faith (Romans 10: 17)
3) personal goal: __ pages a day
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua 1: 8)
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10: 17)
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Faith
1) exercised as a principle of natural action – 1st, believe it is possible and that it will happen, 2nd, make the attempt
2) exercised as a principle of supernatural action (miraculous power) – 1st, obtain justification, 2nd, obtain faith through scripture study, through asking God in prayer, or through hearing the word of God preached in power, 3rd, ask for gift needed, believing you will receive, 4th, pray in faith that action will be for the welfare of your soul, 5th, open your mouth and command in the name of Jesus. If process fails, it will be because of lack of sufficient faith. (Ether 12: 29-31.) Repeat steps until sufficient faith is gained for miracle to be performed.
“And I, Moroni, having heard these words, was comforted, and said: O Lord, thy righteous will be done, for I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith; for the brother of Jared said unto the mountain Zerin, Remove—and it was removed. And if he had not had faith it would not have moved; wherefore thou workest after men have faith. For thus didst thou manifest thyself unto thy disciples; for after they had faith, and did speak in thy name, thou didst show thyself unto them in great power.” (Ether 12: 29-31)
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How to Always Retain Remission of Sins (Justification)
And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingsness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel. And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true. (Mosiah 4: 11-12.)
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Definitions
Testimony is knowing the truth of something by the power of the Holy Ghost (divine revelation.)
Conversion is divine revelation that one’s sins have been forgiven and one’s nature has been changed (in other words, that justification, purification and sanctification has occurred.)
The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood. (D&C 131: 5.)
Calling and election made sure is permanent justification, purification and sanctification.
Holy Spirit of promise is the Holy Ghost.
Sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise means that the Holy Ghost sanctifies the thing, so that the pronounced promises come to pass as long as the conditions are met.
Baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost refers to the reception of the Spirit whereby a person becomes justified and purified as by fire and sanctified by the Spirit.
Receiving the Holy Ghost comes by the prayer of faith and is what sanctifies a person (3 Nephi 27: 20.)
The gift of the Holy Ghost is the ordinance that allows the Spirit to tarry continually with a person so that the individual can eventually become permanently sanctified (D&C 130: 23.)
“Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.” (3 Nephi 27: 20)
“A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.” (D&C 130: 23)
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Principles of Petitions
We must call upon the Lord, that from Him we may receive according to our desires. (Ether 3: 2.)
And it shall come to pass that he that asketh in Spirit shall receive in Spirit. He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh. (D&C 46: 28, 30.)
And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith. (D&C 42: 14.)
You must only ask for things in which it is possible to have faith to obtain. The scriptures call this asking for things which are right. (Mosiah 4: 21; 3 Nephi 18: 20.)
You must ask, believing that you will receive, doubting nothing. (Enos 1: 15.)
Now, what do you desire to receive? Make a list of your righteous desires.
“O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.” (Ether 3: 2)
“And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.” (D&C 42: 14)
“And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.” (Mosiah 4: 21)
“Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord God was able to preserve our records, I cried unto him continually, for he had said unto me: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.” (Enos 1: 15)
LDS Anarchy 
Lukewarm = Good for nothing
Most expositions of this verse use the temperature as a metaphor for righteousness, wickedness, and the degrees in between. Meaning, [as the standard interpretation will go] God wants people who’ve made up their minds — either to be “hot” disciples “on fire” for Him and His good news, or He wants them to be “cold” and ambivalent towards His law and His word. And what He abhors and won’t tolerate is someone who is wishy-washy — trying to do a little of the “hot” church-related things, while still being “cold” in other aspects with the rest of the culture.
This common exposition is incorrect. Most obviously because it teaches that God is more pleased with a wicked person than He is with a person who may be trying to convert to the gospel, but isn’t quite all the way there [mentally-speaking] yet. But more importantly than that — it misses the nature of the hot, cold, and lukewarm water metaphor.
“Hot water” would have been the kind of underground spring waters heated by geothermal radiation, and were used for medicinal purposes. Because geothermal-heated water can hold more dissolved solids, “hot water” was prized for its high mineral content and the temperature was therapeutic for soaking aches and pains.
“Cold water” would have again been from underground springs, but remained cold. The time spent underground exposes cold waters to minerals as well, which give the water its unique flavor and CO2 bubbles — depending on the nature of the geology through which it passes. “Cold water” from such springs is usually very clear and has been naturally filtered — therefore, it was a very healthy and safe choice for drinking water. Also, it is often the case that such cold-water springs are labeled as “sacred wells” by local folklore.
Now — “Lukewarm” water is like the “salt that has lost its savor“, and the reason the Lord says that he will “spew it out of His mouth” is because it has lost the qualities that gave the hot or cold water their purpose/value [not because it can’t make up its mind whether it wants to be hot or cold].
In conclusion:
The Lord finds value and use in both the hot water and the cold water. One is not “good”, while the other one is “bad”. The temperatures do not reflect degrees of devotion to the Lord. He would rather us be either cold or hot because both are identical in having a purpose, or a useful function. Being “lukewarm” is condemned — not because it means you can’t make up your mind which to be [hot or cold] — rather it’s because lukewarm water has lost either the hotness [medicinal] or the coldness [drinking] that makes the water useful.
He wants us to have use, value, and a purpose [whether it is as “hot water” or as “cold water”, either one] — and He condemns those who’ve lost their purpose and are thence “good for nothing”.
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February 19, 2013
Categories: Articles by Justin, Enduring to the End, Scriptural Discussions, Scriptural Expositions, Symbolism . Tags: Book of Revelations, cold, good for nothing, hot, hot springs, lukewarm, metaphor, Prophetic Symbolism, Purpose, Revelations, Scriptural Commentary, Scriptural Discussion, spring water, Symbolism, thing of naught, use, value . Author: Justin . Comments: 3 Comments