The orders of the priesthood

In the pre-mortal existence the spirit children of God were organized into a perfect pattern and set in order, even into priesthood orders. This was the master pattern or template from which all dispensations took their appointments. Each dispensation used only a portion of the master pattern, which is why different dispensations do not mirror each other, each differing in what parts of the pattern were appointed to them.

The dispensation of the fulness of times is the dispensation that has the privilege of having the whole, heavenly, master pattern revealed, so that men can live on earth as they once lived in heaven. The dispensation of Joseph Smith is not the dispensation of the fulness of times, as many latter-day saints widely believe. His dispensation is a dispensation of the gospel for the last days and for the last time (see D&C 27:13;112:30), in the which is the dispensation of the fulness of times. The dispensation for the last times was intended to usher in the dispensation of the fulness of times, by beginning the process of gathering in one all the priesthood orders that were had in previous dispensations and all those orders found in the heavenly pattern, but which had never before been revealed. When the whole heavenly pattern has finally been gathered together and revealed in one, in Christ (see Ephesians 1:10), that is the when the dispensation of the fulness of times will begin.

Again, it is the priesthood orders that are being gathered together in one, which includes everything that pertains to them.

Now, all these orders were given a law by which they were to be governed, even the law that God ordained in the pre-mortal existence, and it had certain bounds and conditions. Regardless of which order one pertained to, be it a lesser or a greater order, as long as the law that governed the order was abided, the members of the order would be preserved, perfected and sanctified by the same. This principle is expressed by the following scripture:

And again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law is also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same.

That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still.

All kingdoms have a law given;

And there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in the which there is no kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space, either a greater or a lesser kingdom.

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 88:34-39)

Every one of us was foreordained to receive everything we could and would receive should we obey all of God’s commands here on earth. But all things here on earth would be given to us by appointment, according to the heavenly pattern and laws given to the individual orders. Should any one of us seek to become a law unto ourselves, without the Lord’s appointment, taking upon ourselves one of these orders, this would break the law of the orders and the wages of such sin would be our lot. Thus, the Lord would have complete control over which orders were set up by His appointment here on earth, and where and when they would be set up, despite our foreordination to receive everything. Without the confirmatory appointment here on earth, our heavenly foreordination did not convey authority to set up any heavenly priesthood order on earth before its appointed time.

Here is another scripture that also expresses this principle:

Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.

Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name?

Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?

And will I appoint unto you, saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto you, before the world was?

I am the Lord thy God; and I give unto you this commandment—that no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord.

And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God.

For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed. (D&C 132:8-14)

And thus we see that no one can take upon him/herself an order of the priesthood without an authorizing appointment. To Joseph Smith (and the First Presidency) the Lord said:

And now, verily I say unto you, I give unto you a commandment that you continue in the ministry and presidency.

And when you have finished the translation of the prophets, you shall from thenceforth preside over the affairs of the church and the school;

And from time to time, as shall be manifested by the Comforter, receive revelations to unfold the mysteries of the kingdom;

And set in order the churches, and study and learn, and become acquainted with all good books, and with languages, tongues, and people.

And this shall be your business and mission in all your lives, to preside in council, and set in order all the affairs of this church and kingdom. (D&C 90:12-16)

And how was the church to be set in order? By setting them into priesthood orders.

And so we got many priesthood orders, each of which had a law which governed it, which authorized certain duties, as well as gave limiting bounds and conditions. For example, we got

• the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God (D&C 76:57)
• the Aaronic order (Hebrews 7:11)
• the Levitical order (D&C 107:10)
• the order of the seventies (D&C 107:93)
• the evangelical (patriarchal) order (D&C 107:40)
• the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (D&C 131:2)
• the United Order

and many more orders. Every office and calling and ordinance in the church belongs to a priesthood order and likewise every priesthood quorum. Again, this principle is expressed by a scripture:

Every man in his own order, until his hour was finished, even according as his lord had commanded him, that his lord might be glorified in him, and he in his lord, that they all might be glorified. (D&C 88:60)

It matters not what order you are appointed to and commanded to enter into, for as long as you abide by the law of that order, you will inherit everything you were foreordained to inherit, which is all that the Father has. There should be no envy, whatsoever, between orders, for one order does not save any more or less than any other order.

Jealousy and envy between orders is inspired by the evil one, so that we break the laws of the orders we pertain to and lose our salvation, for any one who breaks the law of their order will be cursed, while all those who abide that law will receive a crown of glory:

For I, the Lord, have decreed in my heart, that inasmuch as any man belonging to the order shall be found a transgressor, or, in other words, shall break the covenant with which ye are bound, he shall be cursed in his life, and shall be trodden down by whom I will;

For I, the Lord, am not to be mocked in these things—

And all this that the innocent among you may not be condemned with the unjust; and that the guilty among you may not escape; because I, the Lord, have promised unto you a crown of glory at my right hand. (D&C 104:5-7)

The above scripture was speaking of the United Order, nevertheless, the principle applies equally to each and every order of the priesthood.

Will there be more orders revealed? Absolutely, until the day when the dispensation of the fulness of times bursts upon us and the complete, heavenly, master pattern is found on earth.

Are the orders independent? No. The bounds of one order extend into the bounds of other orders, either above or below, according to their laws, so that there is a connection between the orders, and a hierarchical order, which may work in reverse depending on conditions. For example, under one set of conditions, one order may take precedence to perform a task, while under a different set of circumstances, the other order may take precedence.

Is it wrong to seek an order to which we have not been appointed? That depends. If the order is open to us, then it is righteousness to seek it and obtain it by our faith. For example, if the endowment, which is another priesthood order, is open to us, then we can seek to be endowed. But if the order is not open to us, then it is not righteousness to seek it. A scriptural example is Alma’s desire to be an angel:

O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me. (Alma 29:1-3)

The Lord had appointed to him an order of priesthood and by desiring to go outside of that order and do more, he had sinned, for he had desired something that was not open to mortal men. Nevertheless, Alma was a special case, because his desire was made in faith, believing that the Lord could, and would, grant him what he desired, and so his exceedingly great faith turned a normally sinful desire into righteousness, for the Lord ended up granting his wish by translating him so that he could operate as an angel. Had Alma not desired this in faith, he would have been guilty of envy, but Alma’s faith was absolute and unshaken and whatsoever he asked and desired of the Lord, He believed he would get, nothing doubting. Nevertheless, he still felt uneasy about it for he knew his desire violated the normal, priesthood order laws, for we are to be content with what the Lord grants us.

This same principle can be seen with the Three Nephites who were embarrassed by their desires, for they were desirous to pass the bounds of their order, yet because of their faith, it was accounted unto them for righteousness:

And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when I am gone unto the Father?

And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto him the thing which they desired. (3 Ne. 28:4-5)

So we see that some orders are not open to us, yet still may be obtained by our faith. If it is something unattainable by faith, then asking for the thing will be accounted unto us as unrighteousness.

What is our duty as it pertains to the order which has been appointed to us? To magnify the offices, callings, ordinances, duties and orders that pertain to us by sanctifying ourselves before the Lord through faith on the Son of God unto the repentance of all our sins and the reception of the Holy Ghost.

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

AN ANARCHICAL VIEW OF THE KEYS pt. 1

PRE-STOOD POWER IN ALL ITS FORMS

In An Alternate View of the Keys, LDSA sets the record straight about the difference between priesthood power and priesthood keys. He points out that even though the current common understanding within the LDS Church is that Priesthood = Authority, and that Keys = Power, according to their own definition priesthood is not increased with the reception of keys, so in reality Priesthood = Power, and Keys = Authority to use that power in a particular setting or for a particular function. I wish to say the same thing in other words that will expound upon our expanding view of priesthood.

From this point forward in this text I will use the words pre-stood or pre-stood power to distinguish the eternal and pure power of GOD – without beginning or end – from the various groups which have come and gone throughout world history, organizing themselves and claiming ultimate authority over others. There is only one pre-stood power but it takes many forms, commencing with masculine and feminine and from thence giving rise to infinite form and variety. But if there is one thing we can learn from the accounts of the prophet Joseph’s First Vision it is that having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof is an abomination in the sight of the Lord. These forms of godliness serve specific purposes in performing timespace rituals and it is hoped that they maintain awareness of their connectivity to the pre-stood and therefore with one another. But as any one form falls out of congruence with the pre-stood power it starts to fade. If the form remains incongruent for long it dissolves and eventually disappears from this realm being absorbed back into that which stood prior to the foundations of the world, that which is pre-stood.

The forms can help us understand the pre-stood power but no single form can adequately define it. For example, in Mormonism we conceptualize the pre-stood in terms of keys. But oddly enough we never speak of pre-stood locks. Of course keys are pointless without locks and locks are a hopeless concept without keys. So, while it can be helpful to talk of the pre-stood in different forms, we must remember that its all one thing. The Sanskrit word Kilak illustrates this point perfectly. Representing a key to unlock the power inherent in a particular mantra it resonates all the way through to our modern English with an ancient understanding of the inseparability of Ki (Key) & Lak (Lock). Any and all forms of pre-stood can be valid provided we understand how the lock and key work together to seal or loose. Without this crucial knowledge the Devil and his agents keep us under lock and key.

One form that people everywhere are awakening to is the linguistic form. Many are coming to the realization that pre-stood is a language. We are finding that this is not new knowledge. There is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 1:9) But it is exciting as people in, but more so outside of the LDS Church, are also reviewing the language/priesthood of the ancients in a “new” light. Their hearts are turned to ours and as we the children attune our hearts to theirs, we begin to understand why the fathers associated priesthood so closely with the idea of seed. The fathers ‘handed down’ language. We inherit pre-stood not so much at their hands as through them. We are their seed. For them, we are their only way of realigning and continuing with the pre-stood power. This is why I said that the purpose of the variety of forms is to perform specific functions in timespace rituals. We can think of it like a tool box shared between father and son for teaching, learning and repairing rifts across the fabric of timespace, throughout all gene-rations.

IN HIS HANDS

This post’s primary focus will be on certain forms of godliness like limbs, phalanges, keys and other phallic extensions of pre-stood. In this post I will address these appendages of the pre-stood within a mostly masculine and Mormon context. However it should be understood that these share an overlapping relationship with all other forms of the pre-stood and would be incomplete without those counterparts which are especially feminine and ‘Non LDS’. Men and women of any or no religion alike may find something useful in what I write here. Because LDS males make the bold claim to have a monopoly on God’s power and authority, I would like to direct my comments to them particularly. It is impressively arrogant to say you are the only people who “hold” the priesthood when you are obviously not the only ones with hands.  Latter-day man is inclined to defile and dismiss the god-given physical body as nothing special since everyone’s got one. Still, the Grand Truth stands and was always pre-stood; that where we see a hand it signifies authority. If you have hands you have authority. Whether you use it or not, the power is in your hands.

When Moses spoke with his God He said:

“Behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.” (Moses 1:4)

If we wish to comprehend the language of pre-stood power it will do us no good to remain adrift in the sea of endless words emanating from it. We need to travel upstream like salmon on a pilgrimage to the headspring and witness where the original body splits itself in two tributaries – one of spoken word and the other of silent gestures. The latter demonstrates the need for balance. It is not enough to be running off at the mouth. The river of power must flow out through our arms, hands, fingers and opposable thumbs as well. An example of holy union, where spoken language (mantra) and sign language (mudra) meet, is to be found in the written word. Stan Tenen and the Meru Foundation’s research into ancient Hebrew illustrate this concept with detail and depth. It is as if scripture were the child of this mudra/mantra marriage. So it should be no surprise that the Son bears engravings in his hands.

Our hands are formed by God’s hands; the power can come through them, hence the importance of the laying on of hands. But Mormon men are highly mistaken in their assumption that pre-stood power can only be valid if passed down from the hands of another. Even their religious leaders have acknowledged that titles conferred in this manner do not ensure activation of the power. Of course they only say this as a way to keep bishops and pawns in their places in a craftily constructed priesthood pyramid. Their P®iesthood comes complete with an obstruction manual wherein we are told that:

“There is a difference between being ordained to an office in the priesthood and receiving keys of the priesthood….In their fullness, the keys are held by only one person at a time, the prophet and president of the Church. He may delegate any portion of this power to another, in which case that person holds the keys of that particular labor.”                    – LDS Melchizedek Priesthood Manual

Man-u-als are dangerous collections of the philosophies of this man or that man dictated in a one size fits “u-all” manner that discourages actual activation of power and displeases the Lord greatly. As an adjective, the word ‘manual’ has been used since c.1400 and comes from Latin ‘manualis,’ meaning “of or belonging to the hand; able to be thrown by hand.” Since the early 15^th century they have been “throwing the book” at us with the Latin word ‘manualis’ coming to mean a “service book used by a priest,” through the Old French word, ‘manuel’ – “handbook”. The CHI (Church Handbook of Instruction) is nothing more than instruction on the obstruction of Chi (Life-force/Pre-stood). A defiant hand lifted against God. In this way a manual is the established antithesis to Emmanuel, a Hebrew word meaning “God is with us”.

It is this false and vain idea of handling priesthood that keeps Mormon Helping Hands tied as to operations of the Spirit yet ever at the beckon call of government agencies and agendas across the globe. Moroni tells these “do-gooders” quite plainly that none of them actually do good. (Moroni 10:25) Do we need more men like these Mormons? We do not. By imagining that the powers of Heaven may be handled on anything less than the conditions of Justification, Sanctification and Purification, they manage to allow power to fall into the wrong hands. Do LDS men hold the Holy Pre-stood after the Order of the Son of God? Certainly – The question is why are we holding it back?

GIVE ME FIVE BROTHER!

I would now like to give a Key to all the true brethren out there. Well, that is the way Joseph Smith Jr. would have put it. But perhaps it is more accurate to say that I wish to point out to you a key which is already in your possession so that through awareness of it and its great value you may begin to make more effective use of it.

As you may have already guessed, that Key has something to do with the human hand. It is an amazing tool through which we may bless many and I think that a more in depth review of it is necessary since the precepts of men have caused us to forget just how much a spiritual man can do through his bare hands. I do not mean to trivialize or oversimplify the power nor the authority of pre-stood. I endeavor only to bring up the importance of a physiological connection to the powers of Heaven so as to dispel some of the mists of darkness that have kept man cut off from his maker.

We have been con-vinced to channel our belief mentally and emotionally into this group or that group to the neglect or our own souls. The enemy has succeeded to an unacceptable degree in cleverly divesting us of our great endowment. It is the belief of an individual that opens him up as a channel for the Lord. This is why, despite the imagined Mormon Monopoly on power and authority, Scientologists have managed to pool belief and build up the minds of its adherents till confidence creates a spiritual flow through the members of many of its church members. The tactics are very similar to what has been done in modern Mormonism as far as believing themselves to be special and set apart from everyone else. This is why we hear Tom Cruise saying:

“Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident, it’s not like anyone else, it’s, you drive past, you know you have to do something about it. You know you are the only one who can really help.” – Tom Cruise on Scientology

To be sure, being set apart from the world is a necessary step. The scriptures refer to it as sanctification. But the idea that sanctification hinges upon membership in any type of religious institution does more harm than good in the world. And believing the vicious lie, that your sanctification process somehow places you above your brothers and sisters at a soul level and therefore at the material level, is the root of iniquity and corruption in this world. I’m not saying that LDS men must necessarily remove themselves from the company of the Church, much less get involved with Scientology. But if you are an ordained Elder in the LDS Church and have never experienced even the slightest healing of another person through your humble hands and fingertips like John Travolta when he assisted the healing of Marlon Brando’s leg, then you owe it to yourself to remove some of the mental blocks that unfortunately come with any religion so that you can better magnify your pre-stood. If you have felt and witnessed the power of God working through you to bless others then you should desire that all may receive it.

Sanctification is one of five factors identified by LDSA as being needed for positive and full working of pre-stood keys. Justification and purification are two more which could be seen as pre requisite steps. Plus the more functional requirements of Mantra and Mudra (vocally pronounced affirmations and non verbal signs usually made with the hands). To be sure it is not an easy task to achieve and maintain all of these factors but neither is it impossible. The point is it entails much more than simply a title bestowed by a licensed authority. This worldly idea that priesthood is controlled by man like some sort of Levitical L-I-C-E-N-S-E is what causes the deafening S-I-L-E-N-C-E of Spirit plaguing so many across the face of the earth.

Our heads have been hacked and filled with all sorts of false ideas about ourselves and the result is that our religious leaders now have some of the biggest heads of all. Jack and Jill went up the Hill of the Lord to fetch a pail of Living Water from the well mentioned by Jesus. When Jesus’ head was pierced with a crown of thorns vinegar was then applied. Jack fell down and broke his crown, so the first step is to patch up our heads with some herb-infused vinegar and brown paper. I invite you to come wrap your head around some forgotten, browning papers from the past which have been kept from the eyes and minds of the masses. Then, like Alma has said, “if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words” you can begin to familiarize yourself with the supernatural spirit power that flows through and around the natural, highly conducive forms of things like branches and leaves, arms and spiritually clean hands.

Although we distinguish between parts of the whole we are not likely to forget the connection and deem the hand an entity apart from the arm. Yet, we seem to have forgotten that the physical body is not a separate entity but intimately connected with the spirit and visa versa. What can we do if we wish to experience the two as one again? We need a key. A key is an instrument that can be used to seal together or to loose two things from one another. Ironically it is the same thing that loosens our bodies from our spirits that has the power to lock them into one another again. In this sense, a key is a tool used to cleave, either apart, like a knife, or together, like a nail. This why the Latin word for key is ‘clavis’ and ‘clavus’ is Latin for nail. A key always takes the form of a line and this is true throughout all planes of reality, making it perfect for aligning things for the purpose of connecting or dividing them. The Chinese word ‘Qi’ is pronounced sort of similarly to the English word ‘Key’ and it means “Life Energy”. Qigong means “Life Energy Cultivation” and is the practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and meditation. Much of modern society may not be accustomed to thinking of keys in terms of energy and body parts. And yet, even the Germanic roots of our English word ‘key’ trace back to ‘kaig-jo’ meaning “pin with a twisted end,” which seems strictly material until you realize that it lines up very well with more esoteric and scientific studies of the energetic origins of creation, like the aforementioned research of the Meru Foundation, which have come up with a model that resembles a pin with a twisted end and corresponds directly to the human hand.

In keeping with the dual functions of clavis and clavus (key and nail), we have the ultimate of the Grand Key-Words and Signs of the Pre-Stood as expressed within esoteric Mormonism in the Sure Sign of the Nail. This is an alternate name for the Second Token of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Another name by which it is known is the Patriarchal Grip. So not only is this in keeping with the cleaving symbolism of keys and nails but it also represents the trans-generational timespace rituals which I touched upon in the first section. This two-way covenant between living and dead is all-important for the continued existence of life on this earth according to the word of the Lord in Malachi 4:6.  Unfortunately I am unable to give the matter the amount of attention it warrants in this particular post. But as I said before, we can think of these pre-stood ordinances like a tool box shared between forefathers and their sons for teaching, learning and repairing rifts across the fabric of timespace, throughout all gene-rations. What is it that needs to be bound together? – Heart, mind, time, space, fathers and children. And what is it that must be loosed? – Faulty connections, false traditions that bind us to false gods and negative neurological pathways that lead to depression, oppression, captivity and death.

No believing Mormon should have any reason to doubt that this reciprocal relationship between us and our ancestors, commonly known in LDS circles as the Spirit of Elijah, is the central purpose of the pre-stood. The Church’s founder himself took note of the fact when reflecting upon the exact wording of the message he received from the angel Moroni. Said Joseph:

And again, he quoted the fifth verse [of Malachi 4] thus: “Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

He also quoted the next verse differently: “And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.”

Joseph Smith History 1:38-39

Later, when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the visit of Elijah during a vision in the Kirtland temple, Elijah told them.

“Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.  – D&C 110:16

Ancestral promises can bridge past and present, interdimensional doors can be opened, but only with the corresponding keys. And it all has much more to do with hearts and hands than one might be led to think.

Hold your hands out in front of you palms up. If you if you label the left thumb A and the right thumb Z, then starting with the top joint or knuckle of the left pointer finger and working down you get B C D. Then up to the top of the middle finger on the left hand and down the knuckles you get E F G.  Starting back at the left thumb or A we can alternately assign numbers to these key points so that, from the left thumb to the base of the middle finger you have 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. The middle finger on the left hand then represents ‘G’ which can stand for God, Gnosis, or Grand as in “Grand Architect,” “Grand Master” or “Grand Truth”. The middle finger on the left hand can also said to represent the numerical value of 7, which is a holy number representing God and Spirituality in many traditions around the world.

We have reached the highest point on the left hand, and so we now resume numbering or lettering the knuckles, but this time working backwards (654321) starting at the one towards the top of the ring finger on our left hand and ending up at the base of the pinky finger. At this halfway point we can see that ‘M’ figures right in the middle of the English alphabet. Jumping from the pinky on the left hand to the pinky on the right hand and employing the same system we find that here the middle finger includes the letter ‘T’. The ‘T’ is a sacred symbol in Free Masonry and one of the earliest forms of the cross had in many civilizations. Since this system corresponds specifically to the English alphabet we could also say that ‘T’ stands for “Truth”. Thus the symbolism of the two middle fingers hold a “Grand Truth”.  All 26 letters can be perfectly listed on our left and right hands.

The Key is in Your Hands

On the chart above we see how the letters K-E-Y correspond to numerals 3-5-2 which add up to 10, the total number of fingers. Applying the 3-5-2 code to corresponding points on the right hand may help to explain the similarities as well as the differences between the aforementioned Patriarchal Grip in Mormon ritual and its Masonic equivalent, the Real Grip of a Master Mason. In both instances the hand grips are used in conjunction with what is known as the Five Points of Fellowship. The correlation between the Five Points and ancestral communion was already lost among Masons by Joseph Smith’s time. Some scholars have refuted Smith’s claim that the Mormon temple ritual was closer to antediluvian temple rites than Freemasonry, which he described as degenerate priesthood. But the focus on vicarious work for the dead is the smoking gun. Of course the true implications and applications of these rituals have remained rather obscure and mostly veiled in Mormonism too. Despite incantations invoking trans-generational staying power and abundance of symbolism relating to the body, most folks think they are basically completing paperwork for those who have passed on. The Five Points though not emphasized as much in modern Mormon ritual are nonetheless interesting to note in their association with the veil between worlds and in light of this recurring theme of 5 which we will see more of later on.

KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

Zomarah has attempted to enlighten the average Latter-Day Saint’s understanding of keys. In a post written late last October, approaching that time of year when our predecessors used to honor and commune with their predecessors, Zomarah felt impressed to write about two topics which are often considered taboo in the Church. Those two topics were Joseph Smith’s practice of Magick then Masonry and the LDS Temple Rituals. He makes the connection to influential writings like those of 15^th century German occultist Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa and then points out that, judging from Smith’s understanding, a Key possesses three attributes.

“The first attribute is physical. A key must possess some physical manifestation such as a hand grip, hand gesture, or something written.

The second attribute is something spoken. A key must possess a spoken manifestation. But this is not simply saying a word. It is speaking something with complete conviction, as if your entire being is that word.

The third attribute is the Spiritual power or attribute that is accessed by the previous two elements.”

Zomarah – Understanding Priesthood Keys

Zomarah does a good job of treating these sacred subjects delicately. I, on the other hand may be seen as not so gentle or subtle. Nevertheless, I am driven by the same motivation as my brethren (LDSA and Zomarah) – to clarify the current misunderstanding of pre-stood keys which keeps the world in darkness by holding the latent power of the pre-stood hostage and to seal in the minds of God’s true servants the physiological links between the powers of heaven and the rights/rites of the pre-stood.

I hope that everyone will read Zomarah’s post linked above as it can be the means to unlocking many dormant Kilaks lost to the Latter-Day Saints since the Kirtland era. He identifies three attributes of Pre-stood Keys – first physical, then vocal – the third is the actual power or blessing sought. I would like to point out that the particular order in which Zomarah lists these components may add to our mechanical understanding of Pre-Stood Kilakas. I assume that Zomarah’s ordering here was neither intended as a precise road map nor was it necessarily random. Subconsciously I detect that he is spelling out a very important part in the Lord’s method for communication with us, but which part is being described here – the first or the last of it? I think it is the latter half of the formula since physical action is mentioned first, but of course if that which we sought were already apparent in the physical we would have no need of petitioning God for the keys. All that would be left to do is to thank Him.

The Master says He stands at the door and knocks. It is from our side that we must work with the locks. If these are looked at as steps – physical action, spoken word, and obtainment – to open a D-O-O-R hitherto locked, we should be specific about the O-R-D-O by which we set about unlocking it. There is a Holy Order after the Son of God. If I may offer an observation; this order (Physical toVerbal) is perfect for returning praise to God for things already received in the world of physical form. But the praise process can not end at the verbal world, or else the Lord may rightly say that we draw near unto Him with our lips, but that our hearts remain far from Him as He has said in Matt. 15:8, Isaiah 29:13 and of course in Joseph Smith’s First Vision. It is apparent that we must reach higher than the world of words if we want to truly offer our hearts in gratitude. If our heart reaches God’s heart then the connection triggers a reversal and intensification of our small effort that will in turn elicit a continued flow of blessings. However, there appears to be a missing step in this list, one which is nonetheless strongly implied later in Zomarah’s post. The missing step is thought.

Network Model for Working with God

We of course think a lot – practically incessantly during the course of a typical day. But the vast majority of our thoughts originate from some type of external stimulation – “I gotta get to work” “I’m hungry” “There’s a car over there.” While in this type of mundane mind-state we can be sure that our thoughts are not His thoughts, as it says in the Bible. (Isaiah 55:8-9) We mortals are counseled to take no thought for the morrow (Matt. 6:34, 3 Nephi 13:34), but we do it anyway. At the same time Jesus also reprimands us for taking no thought save it be to ask (D&C 9:7). It seems to me that the crucial thing about thought is its direction and its directive power. Thoughts should be directed at the Lord through the medium of the moment. This is called “turning to the Lord” and only through this type of meditative state can one be in a position to open spiriphysico doors.

Picture in your mind a little toddler who desires to go through a door. Her parents have left it slightly ajar and she is free to pass through if she so desires. Her curiosity propels her forward and scooting straight up to the door she is pleased to discover that, just as expected, her little hand is capable of giving a little push which will cause the door to swing open for a sufficient space of time in which she may get herself to the other side. This is the way mankind behaves. Having faith (expectation) in the work our hands can produce through pushing at the world around us, we take advantage of the openhanded and generous nature of our Heavenly Parents. We are welcome to live this way, but what happens when the door swings shut behind us? The little baby in our example feels she has conquered the door but after her curiosity is satisfied she wants to be able to return again to the security of the room where she left her parents sitting. Dealing with that same door she must now figure out how to swing it inwardly, toward herself. This is a more complicated matter for a toddler as it requires more than the feed-forward thinking that comes so naturally to her developing mind.

To us it seems counter-intuitive to back up even slightly from the goal we see before us. But it is actually right in line with our intuition however counter to our logic. Acting on intuition requires greater faith and it is absolutely necessary if we desire to enter the presence of the Lord. At the present we feel shut out from paradise but won’t we feel silly when we discover we have been pushing on a ‘pull’ door. This is what the mystics are saying when they tell us to “go within”. Take a step back from your self. When it comes to the veil there is no pushing or pulling necessary. Even analogous terms such as locks and keys can be a bit deceptive about the true nature of Heaven and Earth and their accessibility to and from one another. They are eternally connected through no doing of our own. But by adhering to the Pre-Stood Order we may send and receive messages and eventually travel freely between the two. Heaven and Earth are connected by the simultaneous first and final step which is so automatic, so passive yet pervasive that we usually don’t consider it a step at all. We call it feeling or emotion in its mixed states. But in its purest form spiritual sensation and physical feelings are one. This is pre-stood essence. It has been around for eternity and its not going anywhere except wherever you let it. When all is in Order there is an electrifying and undeniable current felt.

“I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it”

– Joseph Smith History 1: 25

THE WAY  TO OBTAIN KEYS

Lao Tzu is the honorific title given to a mystic philosopher of ancient China, who lived in the 6^th century BC. He is credited with having written the Tao Te Ching and is considered the founder of a philosophy called Taoism which is popular among many Libertarians and Anarchists today. Tao means “The Way”. The 6^th century BC is right around the time of Lehi’s Trek to China and North America, and coincidentally Lao Tzu’s birth name was Li Er, which sounds a lot like Lehi.

Even though it is not commonly known or widely accepted among Mormons, the Book of Mormon itself supports the idea that Lehi and company passed through China. As they made their way across China to the seashore they undoubtedly had

The Liahona showed them the ‘Tao’, the way.

interaction with and most likely were joined by many Chinese who, like Lao Tzu himself, saw too much corruption in the society around them. To be influenced by the gentle wisdom and deep spiritual insight of Lau Tzu, who legend says left the kingdom to travel and teac

h “The Way,” and to then hear this traveling group of expatriates from Jerusalem speak of a promised land must have had a great effect on at least a fair number of souls. Whatever connections might have been made, there is no doubt that Taoism found its way into early Nephite culture. Since even a superficial comparison of the Tao Te Ching with the writings of Lehi, Jacob, King Benjamin and others will yield striking similarities. Through “The Way” they were able to receive the visitation of angels, have prophetic dreams and even command the trees and the waves of the sea. (Jacob 4:6)

Lao Tzu taught:

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

The Book of Mormon contains the caution to watch our thoughts and our words and our deeds, in that particular order. (Mosiah 4:30) This is the correct order for manifestation of a blessing but even a petition, though it may originate with physical need, it too must be sent up through the appropriate guided vacuum of thought if it is to reach the right department. We can think of it like sending an urgent message or payment through one of those devices commonly used at your local bank branch drive-thru for which the proper name is Pneumatic Tube Transport or PTT. In the case of proper prayer petitions PTT stands for Physical Talking Thinking. The pre-stood channels are set up for the express purpose of eternal giving and receiving back and forth between Heaven and Earth. This is not a worldly bank. It is the data bank of Heaven, the seed bank of Abraham. Whether depositing or withdrawing, there is no need to feel prideful or ashamed.  The temple patron’s donation, the widow’s mite, and the beggar’s petition are roles we will all fill at various times in our lives. God is no respecter of persons and His true apostles never charge money to let you hold real keys like we are charged to hold a temple recommend. They instead say to those who think they can purchase priesthood, “Thy money perish with thee!” (Acts 8:20) We must remember Christ because the whole thing functions as a memory bank, not a key bank.

The whole secret to keys is unlocking the mind of the Lord first by showing that we have at least become aware of keys in our possession and desire now to learn from Him how to properly use them. Each step in the process of learning keys and opening doors is vitally attached to the others in a loop. But since a loop is essentially a curved line, and because that curve is so long and gradual we feel as though we were just walking a straight line from point A to point B. The cyclical nature of eternity confuses most of us, most of the time. We can sometimes seem lost in the task of trying to find a starting place and indeed God Himself tells us that His “works have no end, neither beginning.” (D&C 29:33) However the Lord helps us out with a point of reference in verse 32. “First spiritual, secondly temporal….and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual,” He says.

Now before we get all excited about having been provided a starting point, we should keep in mind that it is still a circuit the Lord is describing here. That information will be useful to us later on if we truly want to accomplish His purposes. We are to seek first the Kingdom. If Melchizedek Pre-Stood holders were earnestly seeking the Kingdom of God they might finally notice and admit to themselves and God that the Church is not that Kingdom. We could learn much from a simple quote from Theodore Parker about how our own theology blocks the door to the millennium and keeps us parking when we should be moving forward toward Zion.

“I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice.”

Its that type of faith and honesty alone that can bring clarity of conscience. Without obtaining clarity of conscience we will remain stuck in con-science of our own invention. For, while thought is an important step, it is not always those thoughts that we deem rational that come from God.

The Baptism of Fire

The following is my current understanding of the baptism of fire.

One baptism in three parts

The gospel of Jesus Christ has one, tripartite baptism consisting of the baptism of water, the baptism of fire and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The purpose of baptism is to witness that there exists a covenant between God and the man being baptized. Unless all three witnesses have occurred, the covenant between him and God is not binding.

The doctrine of re-baptism applies equally to all three

Anyone who enters into an agreement with another is free to witness or affirm the fact of the agreement by attestation for as many times as desired. There is no law of man or God against this. In fact, under the law of God, we are to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” that we may be in, even until death. So, the principle of witnessing and re-witnessing is a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The manner in which man witnesses of his covenant to serve God is through water baptism. This means that in order to re-witness his covenant, he must be re-baptized. Therefore, he may receive the baptism of water whenever and as many times as he desires and must, per his covenant, be ever ready to be re-baptized at all times and in all places, to re-attest of the validity of his covenant. This is the doctrine or principle of re-baptism and it applies equally to both water, fire and Holy Ghost baptisms.

Order: fire and Spirit, then water, then fire and Spirit, etc.

Re-baptism being a principle of the gospel, the order in which these baptisms are received is not all that important. The only necessary thing is that each one is received, for these are really three parts of one baptism. Nevertheless, the scriptural, ideal order is first the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost (see D&C 20: 37), followed by the baptism of water, followed by another baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and thereafter, any part may be repeated multiple times throughout one’s life.

Another thing that the gospel states is that after a baptism of water, the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost is supposed to follow on its heels, either right after coming out of the water, or right after confirmation by the laying on of hands.

To demonstrate these principles, Joseph Smith received a baptism of fire during the First Vision, then a baptism of fire during each of Moroni’s visits and during the visit of John the Baptist, then a water baptism by the hand of Oliver Cowdery, followed by a baptism of the Holy Ghost after he came out of the water. Later he received other baptisms of fire with the visits of Peter, James, John, Moses, Elijah, etc. He also received another water baptism after the church was legally organized, etc.

Simultaneity

A baptism of fire is always accompanied with a baptism of the Holy Ghost, but a person may be baptized with the Holy Ghost without an accompanying baptism of fire. This is why the baptism of fire is always called the baptism (singular) of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and not the baptisms (plural) of fire and of the Holy Ghost. These two parts of the tripartite baptism occur simultaneously as a single baptismal event whenever there is a baptism of fire.

Jesus alone performs the baptism of fire

Unlike the baptism of water, which can be performed by the hand of a mortal man under priesthood power and authority, the baptism of fire is reserved for Deity alone to accomplish and is based upon the state of a man’s heart and his faith in Him. (See 3 Ne. 12: 1-2; 3 Ne. 9: 20; Matt. 3: 11; Luke 3: 16; JST Mark 1: 6; JST John 1: 28.)

Confirmation is not the baptism of fire

The scriptures say that elders are “to confirm those who are baptized into the church, by the laying of of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost.” This is the ordinance of confirmation. Laying hands on someone’s head for the baptism of fire does not baptize anyone with fire. Only the Lord can do that.

When the scriptures say that this ordinance is “for” the baptism of fire, it is using that word “for” to mean “indicating the end with reference to which anything is, acts, serves or is done.” Specifically, the word “for” in that sentence means “as a preparation for” or “with the object of.” So, elders lay hands as a preparation for the baptism of fire, or they lay hands with the object of the baptism of fire.

The ordinance of confirmation, then, is a preparatory ordinance, which precedes an actual baptism of fire. This ordinance is called confirmation because it is intended to confirm the believers’ faith, both that of the one being confirmed and that of those doing the confirming. This is because true priesthood is “inseparably connected with the powers of heaven,” so when true priesthood is exercised as an ordinance of the gospel, there will be a corresponding manifestation of heavenly power. So, after the ordinance of confirmation, there is supposed to be a baptism of fire that occurs, showing that the covenant of the newly baptized person is accepted of God, as well as the priesthood of the one who is doing the confirming.

Binding and accepted covenants

The baptism of fire serves to witness to the new member, to the priesthood holder(s) confirming, and to the church that is present, that the covenant that the man has entered into with his God, witnessed by his water baptism, is accepted by God and is now in force. In other words, that it is binding, both upon the man and his God.

To put another way, water baptism is man’s way of witnessing to God that he has entered into a covenant to serve Him, whereas fire baptism is God’s way of witnessing to man that He has accepted that covenantal relationship.

(Jesus said, “Whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record (witness) of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.” See 3 Ne. 11: 35.)

Plasma is the medium

To serve as a witness to all these people, the baptism of fire must be a visual sign. The medium used is not the fire of a gas stove or match, but discharging plasma in appearance as fire. Depending upon where one is located in relation to the plasma display, it may look like the flame of fire, like a palpable or living light, like lightning, or just as immense glory or brightness.

Specifically, the baptism of fire consists of twin plasma filaments, rapidly rotating around a central axis, creating a plasma tube or sheath, or plasma column, in other words, a cylindrical shape around the person being baptized. When viewed from the outside, it appears to be “a pillar of fire.” When viewed from within the tube, the fire aspects may or may not be discerned, but its bright light or glory is apparent. Thus we have the various accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, which was a baptism of fire, using the words “fire,” “flame,” “light,” “brightness” and “glory” to describe the discharging plasma he was witnessing.

Sometimes the twin filaments themselves can be discerned, and so we get a description of “cloven tongues of fire,” meaning twin tongues (or filaments) of plasma flame. Other descriptions are of fire “encircling” the persons being baptized, showing that the filaments rotate around the person.

All of these scriptural accounts are describing the same plasma manifestation observed from different spatial perspectives, and so accounts vary. But even with everything before a person, sometimes details can still be missed, as in 1 Ne. 15: 27.

Other aspects

Fire baptism is by complete, or cellular, immersion. Plasma both surrounds and enters the man, so that he becomes “filled with fire.” The fire can be seen and felt. To the one immersed in it, it initially feels like he is burning to death, in an incomprehensibly complete and rapid manner, as every part of the body seems to have caught on fire. Great fear instantly comes upon the man as he fully believes he is about to die. But in the next instant his mind realizes that death has not occurred, that there is no pain and that there is no apparent cellular damage or harm. The fear leaves just as suddenly as it comes, only to be replaced with a feeling of awe and gratitude as the mind realizes that this same destroying fire, which should have instantly atomized the body, is somehow keeping the body protected from its own destructive power.

The divine plasma has the effect of cleansing the heart of man, purifying it of all dross (sinful desires), so that he no longer desires to sin, but instead abhors it. In this swept clean condition, the Holy Ghost then unexpectedly and suddenly enters the man and causes the individual bits of his soul to shout for joy, because of the presence of Deity.

Fire baptism allows other heavenly manifestations to occur

The baptism of fire purifies a person’s heart and Jesus said that all the pure in heart shall see God. So, whenever a person receives a baptism of fire, chances are real good that they will also see either an angel, vision or God Himself. At the very least some revelation or prophecy will occur along with the baptism of fire, or some other manifestation of one of the gifts of the Spirit.

Fire remits sin

Whenever a person receives a baptism of fire, his sins are automatically remitted. In other words, he becomes justified, or guiltless, before the Lord. Nephi said, “For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.”

Fire brings forth a new tongue

Nephi also said that when a man receives the baptism of fire he then can speak with a new tongue, even the tongue of angels, and that “angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.”

There are only two, definitive, scriptural examples

There are plenty of scriptural verses that mention the doctrine of baptism of fire, but there are only two accounts in our current standard works in which it is definitively stated that actual baptisms of fire occurred. Of those two accounts, only one applies to us in the latter days. They are:

Adam’s baptism of fire
After Adam was baptized by the Spirit of the Lord, as recorded in Moses 6: 64-68, he heard a voice saying, “Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost.” Nevertheless, there is no mention of any manifestation of fire in the account. Although quite interesting, this experience was, apparently, Adam specific and is not the template for the baptism of fire among the modern masses.

The Lamanites’ baptism of fire
When the Nephite missionaries Nephi and Lehi preached among the Lamanites and were imprisoned, about 300 souls received a baptism of fire, as recorded in Hel. 5: 20-49. This is the scriptural template of a baptism of fire for all mankind. We know this because the voice of Jesus Christ said so:

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not. (3 Ne. 9: 20)

So, the Lord categorically states in the above scripture that the experience of the 300 souls was a baptism of fire. Additionally, He states that all baptisms of fire that He performs will be “even as the Lamanites… were baptized with fire.” The Lamanites’ baptism of fire, then, is the standard, the rule, and NOT the exception. It is the event that the Lord points to for us to determine whether a baptism of fire has occurred.

(The word “even” in the phrase “even as the Lamanites” means “in or to such (indicated) degree or kind.”)

What the baptism of fire consists of

Based upon the Lamanites’ experience, there are six characteristics of any baptism of fire. They are:

1. Fire encircling an individual, forming a cylindrical shape, such as a column or “pillar of fire” or plasma tube. This would be twin Birkeland currents (plasma cables or filaments) rotating rapidly around a central axis, in appearance like a fire tornado. This is the visual sign to all those witnessing the baptism.

2. The presence and ministration of angels.

3. Justification, meaning a remission of sins.

4. Purification, by fire entering the heart.

5. Sanctification, by becoming filled with (baptized in) the Holy Ghost.

6. Speaking with a new tongue (the tongue of angels, meaning speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost.)

Two more scriptural examples

Using the six characteristics above, we find two more scriptural examples of baptisms of fire which exactly match that of the Lamanites, although the text does not specifically say that they were fire baptisms. They are:

The Nephite little children’s baptism of fire
Jesus baptized little children with fire, as recorded in 3 Ne. 17: 21-25 and as witnessed by 2500 people. These children were encircled by fire, had angels minister to them and spoke in new tongues (see 3 Ne. 26: 14, 16.) Also, we know that they were justified, purified and sanctified, for they were little children and all little children are alive in Christ.

The 12 disciples’ baptism of fire
The fire baptism of these men is recorded in 3 Ne. 19: 11-15. They were encircled about by fire, filled with fire, had angels minister to them and prayed by the power of the Holy Ghost. From the text it is clear that they were justified, purified and sanctified.

Other intimated baptisms of fire

Joseph Smith’s baptisms of fire
As mentioned above, each of Joseph’s angelic ministrations was attended by a baptism of fire (plasma), including the First Vision.

For example, one First Vision account says, “A pillar of fire appeared above my head; which presently rested down upon me, and filled me with un-speakable joy. A personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame, which was spread all around and yet nothing consumed…I saw many angels in this vision.”

Another First Vision account says, “while in [the] attitude of calling upon the Lord [in the 16th* year of my age] a pillar of {fire} lightabove the brightness of the Sun at noon day come down fromabove and rested upon me and I was filld with the Spirit of God”. In this account Joseph couldn’t decide whether what he saw was fire or light. He finally decided on light and crossed out fire. The reason for his confusion was that he was witnessing discharging plasma.

I believe that it is reasonable to conclude that the plasma nature of the angel Moroni’s visit (see The plasma aspects of the First Vision and Moroni’s visit) was typical of all angelic ministrations to Joseph, and thus all such events in his life were likely baptisms of fire.

Moses’ vision of God
In Moses chapter 1 it says that “the glory of God was upon Moses.” That sounds to me like a plasma event and that he received a baptism of fire.

Lehi’s pillar of fire
1 Ne. 1: 6 mentions Lehi seeing a pillar of fire. It is obviously a super-duper abridgment of all that occurred, but it sounds like a baptism of fire.

Nephi’s visit from the Lord
Nephi mentions in 1 Ne. 2: 16 that he was visited by the Lord. He doesn’t elaborate but my guess is that this was Nephi’s first baptism of fire. Jesus states in 3 Ne. 11: 35 that when the Father visits people, He visits them with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

Cloven tongues on day of Pentecost
As recorded in Acts chapter 2, there appeared “cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” They were filled with the Spirit, spoke other tongues and spoke by the power of the Holy Ghost. It’s not an exact match of the Lamanite experience (angels are missing), but pretty darn close.

Gentile cloven tongues
In Acts 11: 15 we read Peter’s words about how the Gentiles also received the Holy Ghost. He said, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” That, to me, seems to be saying that the Holy Ghost fell on the Gentiles in the same way that the Holy Ghost fell on the Jews, namely, with accompanying manifestation of cloven tongues like as of fire. This could explain the astonishment of the Jews who witnessed the manifestation of tongues among the Gentiles. (See Acts 10: 44-47.)

Downgrading the baptism of fire

Now, when you compare the scriptural accounts of the baptism of fire to our modern, LDS definitions, it becomes obvious that we have downgraded the sudden, rapid changes effectuated by the marvelous, visual, power displays of the real deal to something gradual, drawn out, imperceptible and nondescript. For example:

While one definition of this expression (the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost) refers to a cleansing by the Holy Spirit as if by fire, still the scriptures and the writings of the prophets indicate there is something more.

The new convert who has accepted the gift of the Holy Ghost with the right spirit will experience not only a cleansing but a feeling that will give him a new heart and make of him a new person. Sometimes this is immediate, and sometimes it happens over a period of time.

…

The scriptures, and even our church history, record miraculous instances when visible flames encircled the humble followers of Christ—literal manifestations of fire and the Holy Ghost—but more often this fire works quietly and unseen in the hearts of those who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

…

The witness, the change, the cleansing that comes gradually is no less powerful to the person with the right heart, and he or she is impelled to action whether the experience was a sudden, miraculous manifestation or the quiet workings of the Spirit.

(Fire and the Holy Ghost, Loren C. Dunn, Ensign, June 1995)

We have taken away the majesty of the Father’s witness and replaced it with something that goes entirely against nature. Nature is cyclic, cycling between periods of rest and periods of activity. All things work on this principle, including spiritual things. Baptism (all three parts) are designed to be moments of spiritual intensity. You cannot perform a baptism of water over a period of time, or gradually, quietly and unseen. No, you are outside of the water (which can be visually discerned), then you are immersed, and then you come out of the water. There is nothing gradual about it. A single water baptism cannot be performed over days and years. In like manner, the baptism of fire is a punctuated, spiritually intense event.

No one’s spirituality is designed to grow gradually. Gradual spiritual growth is the same as no spiritual growth. There is no such animal as gradual spiritual growth. You either have intense spiritual experiences from time to time or you are spiritually dying. This is why we are commanded to come together often, to intensify the Spirit so as to be capable of growing spiritually.

Joseph Smith’s life was meant to be an example to us. He had multiple, very intense spiritual experiences. It began with a baptism of fire, it continued with more baptisms of fire and it ended in a volley of gun fire. John Taylor said that Joseph lived for glory, died for glory and glory is his eternal reward. Glory = plasma = the baptism of fire. Joseph did, indeed, live for those fire baptism experiences. He had a lot of them, he saw a lot of angels and who knows how many visions, and he wanted to have more of the same. And he tried ceaselessly to get the saints to experience what he was experiencing. So did Moses and all true prophets.

You are either immersed in plasma or you are not. You are either in an intensity phase or in a rest phase of the cycle. There is no such thing as non-cyclic gradualness. If you think you are growing spiritually for the past ten years without any intense spiritual experiences, you are kidding yourself. It means that you have been in a spiritual rest phase of the cycle during this time. No one can remain at spiritual rest for any extended period of time before spirituality begins to decay. It is an impossibility. So, the LDS concept of a gradual, life-long, imperceptible baptism of fire is patently false and leads to spiritual death.

Everyone will receive a baptism of fire

It is not a question of if, but when and how. If a man humbles himself before the Lord and enters into a covenant to serve Him, he’ll receive a baptism of fire in this life, one that will purify and justify him. But there are other baptisms of fire that can be received. For example, one is the baptism of fire that the earth and all those that do wickedly upon her will receive at the Second Coming. Another is the baptism of fire that occurs when the sons of perdition are immersed in the lake of fire and brimstone. One way or another, we are all eventually going to have to go through some type of baptismal fire.

And they knew it not

In closing, let me address one other thing. Jesus said that the Lamanites “were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.” Some have taken that to mean that the Lamanites experienced a change upon their hearts which they did not perceive, because it happened gradually, over time. In other words, that the Lord meant that there was no great manifestation during the Lamanites’ fire and Holy Ghost baptism. And also that the Lord was not referring to the 300 Lamanites who were in prison with Nephi and Lehi, but was referring instead to other Lamanite converts.

This is an incorrect interpretation.

The real meaning of the Lord’s words is that the Lamanites (the 300 souls in that prison) had a magnificent, visual baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, but did not know what it was. That is all that the Lord meant by what He said.

Any time someone experiences a baptism of fire without first being taught about it, they go through the experience without knowing what it is. Joseph’s First Vision fire baptism was performed on him while he was still a boy totally ignorant of such a thing as a baptism of fire. In my own life, I remember that the first time that I had a baptism of fire (prior to my water baptism) I was blown away and didn’t know what it was. The missionaries that had taught me the gospel had not explained this doctrine, so it came as a complete surprise to me and it was only years later, as I studied and learned more of the gospel on my own, that I was able to determine what the hell it was. Prior to that time, it was always an anomaly to me and when talking to others about the various spiritual experiences I had had over the years, I would always set it apart by saying something like, “The second time the Holy Ghost manifested itself to me was quite different than the other times. It was, well, a really big manifestation with a lot of power and I thought I was going to die, or I did die and came back to life. I’m not really sure what happened. All I know is I was consumed in fire but somehow survived unharmed.” Such were my ignorant descriptions. But of course it was a different manifestation than the others. It was a baptism of fire, for crying out loud! But I knew it not.

And in the same manner, neither did the Lamanites.

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

The Priesthood

Background on this post

I wish to thank Jahnihah for his essay on priesthood, which made me realize that I had always just accepted the standard definition of priesthood without actually verifying it with the scriptures.  I was then inspired to search the Standard Works with priesthood as my research topic, which, I’m embarrassed to say, I had never done before.  This post contains the findings of that research.

As a general outline for this topic, I used (loosely) Chapter 13 of the new Melchizedek Priesthood/Relief Society Manual, Gospel Principles.  Click the link to compare versions.

What Is the Priesthood?

The priesthood is a language that only God speaks. It is as eternal as God Himself is.

Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years. (D&C 84: 17)

Priesthood rights “are inseparably connected [to] the powers of heaven” (D&C 121: 36), and thus priesthood is all powerful when spoken.  Priesthood possesses the authority (keys) of God, which is recognized by the entire universe as valid in locking (sealing) and unlocking (loosing) all things.

For the firstborn holds the right of the presidency over this priesthood, and the keys or authority of the same.  (D&C 68: 17)

Through the priesthood, God created and governs the heavens and the earth.

For behold, by the power of his word [priesthood] man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word [priesthood]. Wherefore, if God being able to speak [priesthood] and the world was, and to speak [priesthood] and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?  (Jacob 4: 9)

I am the same which spake [priesthood], and the world was made, and all things came by me.  (D&C 38: 3)

By the power (agency) and authority (keys) of the priesthood, the universe is kept in perfect order.  Through this God-language, God accomplishes His work and glory, which is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words [priesthood].  For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.  (Moses 1: 38-39)

Priesthood is a combination of the spoken (audible) word and a gesture (silent) language.  There are three other components to priesthood (to be explained later), which, when present, make it validly “spoken.”

Although the priesthood is a language that only God speaks, He may, and often does, allow worthy sons of His to obtain the right to speak it.  Because the priesthood is a language specific to God alone, when men who hold this right speak it with all 5 components, it is as if God himself is the speaker and the very powers of heaven attend to the pronouncement.

What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. (D&C 1: 38)

And calling upon the name of God, he beheld his glory again, for it was upon him; and he heard a voice, saying: Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God. (Moses 1: 25)

And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. (Ex. 4: 16)

And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.  (Ex. 7: 1)

All priesthood is centered in, comes from, and points to Christ.  Christ is known as the Word (the Priesthood), even the Priesthood made flesh.

For in the beginning was the Word, even the Son, who is made flesh, and sent unto us by the will of the Father, And as many as believe on his name shall receive of his fulness. And of his fullness have all we received, even immortality and eternal life, through his grace.  (JST John 1: 16)

Christ is the physical embodiment of the priesthood, therefore, as Christ saves all things, the priesthood likewise has as its purpose the salvation of all things.  When God confers the rights of the priesthood upon men, it enables them to act in Christ’s name for the salvation of the human family.  Through it, they can be authorized to preach the gospel, administer the ordinances of salvation, and teach the members of God’s kingdom on earth, so that they govern themselves.

Again, Christ is the Priesthood, therefore, to receive the priesthood is synonymous with receiving Christ.

And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord;  (D&C 84: 35)

Those who receive the priesthood become like Christ, even priesthood made flesh.

For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God—  (D&C 86: 9)

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; and I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father; and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.  (Abr. 2: 9-11; in other words, whoever receives the Priesthood, becoming priesthood made flesh, becomes the seed of Abraham, who was also priesthood made flesh; see also D&C 84: 34)

As Christ is Savior, through the reception of the priesthood, men also become a savior.

Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people Israel. The Lord hath said it. Amen.  (D&C 86: 11)

Why Do We Need the Priesthood on the Earth?

We must have priesthood authority (keys) to act in the name of God when performing the sacred ordinances of the gospel, such as baptism, confirmation, administration of the sacrament, and temple marriage.  If a man does not have the priesthood, even though he may be sincere, the Lord will not recognize ordinances he performs (see Matthew 7: 21-23; Articles of Faith 1: 5).  These important ordinances must be performed on the earth by men who have obtained the rights of the priesthood.

Men need the priesthood to preside in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and to direct the work of the church in all parts of the world.  When Christ lived on the earth, He chose His apostles and ordained them so that they could lead His church.  He gave them the power and authority of the priesthood to act in His name.  (See Mark 3: 13-15; John 15: 16.)

Another reason the priesthood is needed on the earth is to teach the plan of salvation so that we can understand the will of the Lord.

And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people. (Alma 13: 1)

Priesthood is also needed to carry out the purposes of God.  For example, it is the purpose of God that every husband and father in Israel receive the priesthood, thus becoming like Christ.  This benefits the husband/father (as he receives exaltation), as well as his wife and children (as they obtain within their very home a type of Christ, pointing the way to Christ.)

And those priests were ordained after the order of his Son, in a manner that thereby the people might know in what manner to look forward to his Son for redemption. (Alma 13: 2)

It also benefits the world in general, for they, like the wives and children, learn how to be saved.

Now these ordinances were given after this manner, that thereby the people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord. (Alma 13: 16)

Also, with the husbands/fathers of Israel as priesthood made flesh (Christ types), God can show forth His arm of power, His wonders, in the eyes of all the nations, as priesthood is “inseparably connected with the powers of heaven” (D&C 121: 36).

Why Do Only Men Obtain Priesthood?

Although this question is not explicitly answered in the scriptures, one implicit reason is that the priesthood is meant to point mankind to Christ.  By design, then, one who receives the priesthood not only behaves like Christ, but also looks like Christ. All men, when they grow their hair long and allow their beards to grow full and bushy, bear the image of Christ.  The deep voice and manly physique also contribute to the perception that each man is in the similitude of the Son of God.  This similitude, coupled with the reception of the priesthood, works upon the hearts and minds of men, women and children and turns their attention to Christ.

How Do Men Receive the Priesthood?

Obtaining the rights of the priesthood is not the same as receiving the priesthood.  Let’s talk first about how the rights of the priesthood are obtained.

The Lord has prepared an orderly way for the rights of His priesthood to be conferred upon His sons on the earth.  A worthy male obtains the priesthood “by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof” (Articles of Faith 1: 5).  Usually, it is only a worthy male member of the church who can obtain the priesthood, but sometimes the priesthood is conferred upon worthy male non-members.  Only those who have had the rights of the priesthood conferred upon them can ordain others, and they can do so only when authorized by those who hold the keys (authority) for that ordination.

The first part to receiving the priesthood is obtaining the rights to officiate.

High priests after the order of the Melchizedek Priesthood have a right to officiate in their own standing, under the direction of the presidency, in administering spiritual things, and also in the office of an elder, priest (of the Levitical order), teacher, deacon, and member.  An elder has a right to officiate in his stead when the high priest is not present.  The high priest and elder are to administer in spiritual things, agreeable to the covenants and commandments of the church; and they have a right to officiate in all these offices of the church when there are no higher authorities present.  (D&C 107: 10-12)

This happens by the laying on of hands and requires only that the man being ordained is righteous (worthy), meaning that he is justified (guiltless) before the Lord, being right according to the law of God, having received a remission of his sins.

Using the rights of the priesthood requires more than justification (righteousness).

That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. (D&C 121: 36)

It also requires purification and sanctification.

Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God (justification), they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish; therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified (sanctification), and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb (purification).  Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost (sanctification), having their garments made white (purification), being pure and spotless before God (purification), could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence (purification); and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure (purification) and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.  (Alma 13: 10-12)

When the rights of the priesthood are exercised by a justified (righteous), purified and sanctified (holy) man, the powers of heaven manifest themselves.  This is according to the promise of God.

For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; to put at defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world.  And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were translated and taken up into heaven. (JST Gen. 14: 30-32)

A man who has obtained the rights of the priesthood through justification may receive the priesthood itself by purifying and sanctifying himself, through the operation of the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, because of his exceeding faith, hope and charity.  (See Moroni 7.)  In this manner, the man becomes like Christ (see Moroni 7: 48) and qualifies himself for receiving the priesthood and being “ordained by the Lord God” Himself, “by the calling of His own voice, according to His own will.”

And it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name. (JST Gen. 14: 29)

And again, my brethren, I would cite your minds forward to the time when the Lord God gave these commandments unto his children; and I would that ye should remember that the Lord God ordained priests, after his holy order, which was after the order of his Son, to teach these things unto the people.  (Alma 13: 1)

Thus, the last part to receiving the priesthood, the bestowal of priesthood power, is solely performed by the Lord and depends upon whether the priest magnifies his calling through sanctification by the Spirit unto the renewing of his body (priesthood made flesh).

For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.  (D&C 84: 33)

Men who receive the priesthood have it confirmed upon them by the Lord’s own voice out of the heavens.

And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by mine own voice out of the heavens; and even I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you.  (D&C 84: 42)

In this way, the Lord reserves to Himself the final ordination necessary for priesthood reception, just as He alone is the one who baptizes with fire and the Holy Ghost.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto Nephi, and to those who had been called, (now the number of them who had been called, and received power and authority to baptize, was twelve) and behold, he stretched forth his hand unto the multitude, and cried unto them, saying: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.  (3 Ne. 12: 1)

All men, then, are “on the same standing” (Alma 13: 5).  Those who wish to qualify themselves for reception of the priesthood “on account of their exceeding faith and repentance” (Alma 13: 10) will receive it, while those who “would reject the Spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and blindness of their minds” (Alma 13: 4) will not receive it, though they may have the rights of the priesthood conferred upon them.

We have been told that there are many called to the priesthood, who have obtained the rights to the priesthood, but few among them are chosen to receive it.

Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

•  •  •

Hence many are called, but few are chosen.  (D&C 121: 34, 40)

Men cannot buy and sell the power and authority of the priesthood.  Nor can they take this authority upon themselves.  In the New Testament we read of a man named Simon who lived when Christ’s apostles presided over (served) the church.  Simon became converted and was baptized into the church.  Because he was a skillful magician, the people believed he had the power of God.  But Simon did not have the priesthood, and he knew it.

Simon knew that the apostles and the other priesthood leaders of the church had received the priesthood, for the powers of heaven were manifest among them.

Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. (Acts 8: 13)

He saw them use their priesthood to do the Lord’s work, and he wanted this power for himself.  He offered to buy the priesthood.  (See Acts 8: 9-19.)  But Peter, the chief apostle, said, “Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” (Acts 8: 20).

Ecclesiastical Abuse: How the Priesthood Is Misused and What to Do About It

The priesthood is to be used to serve our Heavenly Father’s children here on earth, converting the priest into a servant or minister of all.  Priesthood holders should serve in love and kindness, not rule like Gentile kings.

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.  (Mark 10: 42)

Any attempt to convert the minister-servant role of priest into the pomp and prestige of a Gentile ruler by undertaking “to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness” (D&C 121: 37) results in immediate condemnation by the Lord, even if the ecclesiastical abuse is not known or corrected by the church.  Ecclesiastical abuse in any form or degree brings immediate damnation upon the priesthood officer and, even before the abuser is aware, he is left alone without the Spirit and subject to the spirit of the devil, to persecute the saints within his congregation, who have been placed within his care and ministry.  He then becomes a wolf in sheep’s clothing, fighting against God.  (In the view of the abuser, it is the saints who are the wolves and he is doing “God’s work.”)

Those who engage in ecclesiastical abuse will use the high-sounding title of their priesthood office (bishop, stake president, etc.) to engage in power-plays and submission tests to try to force or compel the members of the congregation to submit to their authority and do what they want them to do.  They will gratify their pride and label all those saints who resist such tyranny as apostates and accuse them of the sin of rebellion.  Ecclesiastical abuse takes many forms, but the following are listed in scripture:

1) undertaking to cover our sins

2) undertaking to gratify our pride

3) undertaking to gratify our vain ambition

4) undertaking to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men

The saints of God within any ward or branch of the church, being sanctified (made holy) by the Spirit of God, naturally resist tyranny in all of its forms.  Like captain Moroni, they “seek not for power, but to pull it down” (Alma 60: 36).  They do not follow the precepts of men except when those precepts are given by the Holy Ghost.  This puts them directly at odds with any ecclesiastical abuser who is a priesthood leader that presides over them.  The rank and file (unsanctified) member is accustomed to following the brethren, not the Spirit, and will blindly follow the precepts of men given by an ecclesiastical abuser regardless of whether it is inspired or not.  These rank and file members will put the priesthood tyrant on a pedestal, gratifying his pride and vain ambition, covering his sins, and will, like the tyrant, look upon the saints resisting compulsion as disobedient apostates and trouble-makers.

These conditions are to be expected among the church for as long as it remains unsanctified and under condemnation, for “it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion” (D&C 121: 39).

Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.  And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—  (D&C 84: 55-57)

This means that almost all men who hold the rights of the priesthood, including those who hold leadership positions and high offices, are by nature predisposed to act like tyrants.  There are but few (see D&C 121: 40) of the vast ensemble that do not engage in ecclesiastical abuse.  It is these few who pattern their lives after Christ, aspiring to be like Him and setting their hearts upon Him.  The rest (“almost all men”), which are the many, set their hearts “upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men” (D&C 121: 35).  So the church, by and large, is led by ecclesiastical abusers, even tyrants, with the occasional man of Christ appearing among them, yet all these men have obtained the rights of the priesthood.

Because of the nature and disposition of men to be tyrants and the condition of the unsanctified and condemned (damned) church, the saints of God are to follow the admonition of Alma, which is to “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) and the warning of Nephi:

Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.  (2 Ne. 28: 31)

The Lord has left two means of dealing with ecclesiastical abuse: the law of common consent and the church courts.  If there are two or three witnesses to abuse, the procedure described in D&C 42: 78-93 may be used.  If there are no witnesses (or no willing witnesses), or if the church court system becomes entirely corrupt because the priesthood leadership will not allow a court to be convened or otherwise impedes the process (undertaking to cover up the sins of their fellow ecclesiastical abuser), the law of common consent can be used to de-fang tyrants.  If, however, the law of common consent fails due to rubber-stamping by the general membership, saints of God must resort solely to Alma and Nephi’s counsel, leaving the matter in the Lord’s hands.

Priesthood Organization: An Inverted Hierarchy

A hierarchy is defined as “a ruling body of clergy organized into orders or ranks, each subordinate to the one above it.”  It is true that the priesthood is organized into orders and ranks, but instead of rulers, it consists of servants.  The Lord’s “rulers” (Abr. 3: 23) are not rulers in the typical sense.  They are ministers and servants.

He that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all. (D&C 50: 26)

In a typical rich household, the servants do not get the chief seats, do not get the first meal, are not the ones put up on a pedestal.

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, saying, The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  All, therefore, whatsoever they bid you observe, they will make you observe and do; for they are ministers of the law, and they make themselves your judges. But do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not.  For they bind heavy burdens and lay on men’s shoulders, and they are grievous to be borne; but they will not move them with one of their fingers.  And all their works they do to be seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi, (which is master.) But be not ye called Rabbi; for one is your master, which is Christ; and all ye are brethren.  (JST Matt. 23: 1-5)

The priesthood is designed to be an inverted pyramd, or inverted hierarchy, with the greatest servants, meaning the meekest, most charitable servants, at the very bottom.  These are the least of all the kingdom of God, being servants of all.  Thus, the First Presidency is really the Last Presidency, or Bottom Presidency, being below all other presidencies, nevertheless, all priesthood offices and callings are placed by the Lord below, not above, the body of the church (the saints).

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (Eph. 2: 20)

Not By Virtue of the Priesthood

By the Lord’s design, “no power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood” (D&C 121: 41), therefore, for instance, when any president or counselor of the First Presidency enters a room full of people or speaks before an audience, he is to be treated as a title-less servant, not as royalty.  His words and actions alone are to be taken into consideration, without considering, at all, his priesthood rank.  If his words and/or actions are persuasive, long-suffering, gentle, meek, kind and given with genuine love and in pure knowledge, we are to allow them to influence us or to have power over us, otherwise, we are to ignore them. This does him a great service, as people who are treated like royalty eventually begin acting as royalty.  This principle applies to every priesthood calling in the church: branch president, bishop, quorum president, high priest group leader, stake president, mission president, area authority, seventy, apostle, First Presidency counselor or prophet.  They are all to be treated as if they had no title or office, whatsoever.

The next priesthood body, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, is not below the First Presidency, but above them, in the inverted hierarchy.  Yet, the Twelve are still just servants of the church body and are to be treated as such, just like the First Presidency.  The difference, though, lies in how the Twelve and First Presidency interact with each other, for the First Presidency is to serve the Twelve and not the other way around.

This pattern of the greater serving those who are lesser is to apply to all quorums of the priesthood, for even as “the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Mark 10: 45), so are holders of the priesthood not to be ministered unto, but to minister, in their respective jurisdictions.

How Do Men Properly Use the Priesthood?

The word “minister” comes from the Latin minister, which means “servant.”  Our word “servant” comes from the Old French servir, which comes from the Latin servire, which means “to be a slave” or “to be a servant,” which comes from the Latin servus, which means “slave” or “servant.”  The only difference between a slave and a servant is that the servant is engaged in voluntary servitude while the slave is engaged in involuntary servitude.  With this in mind, we can think of a servant as a “voluntary slave.”  To properly use the priesthood, then, one must consider himself a servant, or voluntary slave, of all and act accordingly.  Even when called to preside, the use of the word “president” means, in the vernacular of the Lord, servant (or voluntary slave).

Which ordinance is instituted for the purpose of qualifying those who shall be appointed standing presidents or servants over different stakes scattered abroad;  (D&C 124: 134)

This is why the Lord uses the word “yoke.”

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.  (Matt. 11: 28-30)

We are yoked (as servants) with priesthood.  We are voluntarily enslaved.

Entering the priesthood with the proper mindset requires that one consider himself as nothing (see Mosiah 4: 11), even less than “the dust of the earth” (see Mosiah 2: 25-26).  This prepares a man to “enter the priesthood” and not merely “get the priesthood.”  Often we speak of the priesthood as something you get, receive, hold, as if it were a thing you could stick in your pocket.  It is true that the priesthood is “the gift of God” (see Acts 8: 20), but it is also true that it is an order that is entered into by ordination.  “Entering the priesthood” is meant to be a life-changing event, for it is through the priesthood that men can become like Christ, even priesthood made flesh. In that vein, entering the priesthood is synonymous with entering a life of selfless service, in which you use the rights of the priesthood, and the powers of heaven that are inseparably connected to them, to bless and minister to all the living creatures around you, and even to those who have died, through the work for the dead.

Priesthood Is the Antidote to “Natural Man Syndrome”

When priesthood functions as it was intended to function, as a corps of humble servants who are unable to maintain any power or influence by virtue of their priesthood office and calling, because all look upon them as title-less servants and listen to their counsel and follow their examples only to the degree that their counsel and examples square up with the scriptures, priesthood becomes an antidote to the natural disposition that men have to exercise unrighteous dominion upon others.  Only when priesthood offices and callings are lifted up in the eyes of the LDS people to the point where they give their leaders special treatment, like royalty, and they heed and “follow the brethren,” their leaders, because they have such high and holy callings, in other words, when the LDS people begin to give more weight to what a General Authority says because he is a General Authority, or more weight to what a stake president or bishop or branch president or any other president says, because of their titular callings, at that point the priesthood ceases to be the antidote and becomes, instead, the poison.  When the honors of men are found within the priesthood ranks and men begin to list the high priesthood offices they’ve held as merit badges and honorable ribbons, or as a job resume, it ceases to function as the true priesthood of God and becomes, instead, but a form of godliness, and not the real thing.

At that point, the powers of heaven will have withdrawn from these men and the work of miracles would have ceased.  No more angels, no more open visions, no more prophecies and revelations, no more miraculous power manifested.

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”  (JS-H 1: 19)

False Priesthoods: Royal In Nature

The transformation of the minister-servant status of priesthood into royalty status can be seen by examining how the priesthood operated during the time of Christ and how it has morphed over generations into the Catholic priesthood today.  The pope, cardinals and bishops dress, act and are treated as royalty.  Mormon priesthood appears to be following the same evolution.  Although Mormons don’t, yet, kiss their bishop’s rings (like Catholics do), Mormon priesthood leadership has many of the trappings of royalty, including getting the chief seats, partaking of the sacrament first, having people stand when a GA enters a room, etc.

How Keys are Lost (or Taken Away)

Both Mormon and Catholic priests claim a priesthood line of ordination that leads directly to Peter.  In the case of the Catholics, they claim an unbroken line of ordination to mortal Peter, while the Mormons claim an unbroken line of ordination to the angel Peter.  Each asserts that they have the keys (authority) of the priesthood, while the others do not.  The assertion, then, is that the priesthood of the other church is false because they have no keys.  So, by definition, a false priest, even though proper ordination has occurred, is one that asserts to have keys, but in reality has no keys.

A priest’s keys (authority) is immediately lost or taken away when a priest undertakes “to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men” (D&C 121: 37) by virtue of the priesthood.  When authority is asserted because of an office of the priesthood, the Lord says, “Amen to…the authority (keys) of that man” (D&C 121: 37).

A man who has obtained the rights and keys of the priesthood, who acts in this manner, loses his keys (or has his keys taken away), becoming a false priest. For example, although the Catholic priests trace their priesthood back to Peter, they are false priests, for they assert their authority by virtue of their priesthood ordination and thus have no keys. They may have had the keys at one time, but due to wholesale, unrepentant, generational corruption, they have since lost them entirely, for you can not pass on what you no longer have.

Mormon priesthood keys can also be just as easily lost.  It matters not that one was ordained by someone with real priesthood authority who correctly conferred the rights and keys of the priesthood.  Regardless of how correct was the ordination, if priesthood is used contrary to the order of heaven, both the keys and powers of priesthood are instantly lost.  With repentence, they can be obtained again, but while a man persists in influencing others by virtue of the priesthood, that man has no valid authority and is a fraud, even a false priest.  When that happens, priesthood, in the hands of a false priest, instead of being a great blessing, becomes a curse to the people and church of God.

False priests “teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance” (2 Ne. 28: 4), which makes them “false teachers.”  It is “because of false (priest) teachers” that “churches have become corrupted” (2 Ne. 28: 12).  It is important, then, to be able to discern a false from a true priest/teacher.  In this area, Jesus gave us some counsel:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.  (3 Ne. 14: 15-20)

This advice equally applies to false priests.  Notice that Jesus doesn’t say that “ye shall know them by their improper priesthood ordination.”  How they are ordained is not the most important thing in detecting ravening wolves.  How they use the priesthood shows them as being true or false priests.

The Priesthood and Women

It is through priesthood that men become exalted, for when they receive it, they receive Christ and the Father and all that the Father has.  This is according to the oath and covenant of the priesthood.  The doctrine of exaltation requires the union of man and woman in eternal marriage, but men must also receive the priesthood.  Women, however, obtain their exaltation by their union with their priest-husband.  A priest-husband who has received the priesthood, meaning he has become priesthood made flesh, in similitude of the Son of God, when he “cleaves to his wife,” becomes one flesh with her.  In this way, the wife shares in all of the exalting benefits of the priesthood and enters into her exaltation, just as does the husband.  This is according to the principle of charity.

The prize is the same for both of them: all that the Father has is given to her husband and to her, for she is one flesh with her husband and he is priesthood made flesh. As he has received the priesthood, and she has become one flesh with him, she has also received the priesthood.

This does not mean that she must perform the ordinances of the priesthood.  Each office of the priesthood has duties that vary from another office of the priesthood.  A deacon does not do what an elder does.  In like manner, a woman, wife and mother has duties different than any of the offices of the priesthood.  She is not ordained to these duties like a priest, for her calling begins at her birth.  She is given from the start the natural abilities and gifts needed to bear and nurture the souls of men and has no need for priesthood rights to be conferred upon her to magnify her calling.  She only needs the saving ordinances of the gospel, including the temple rites, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, to magnify her calling.  Nevertheless, the promise of exaltation lies with the priesthood, and for this matter she must enter into eternal marriage with a man who has received the priesthood and become one flesh with him to obtain her exaltation.

The Lord is merciful to all His daughters, as well to all His sons, and will not allow a disobedient husband who refuses to receive the priesthood to stop a wife worthy of exaltation from receiving it.  Nor will He allow a rebellious wife to prohibit her worthy-of-exaltation husband from receiving it.  Each man who justifies, purifies and sanctifies himself before God and obeys His commandments, will enter into his exaltation regardless of what his spouse does.  The same applies to women.

What Priests Really Hold

Although we “confer the priesthood,” in reality we are not conferring priesthood, but are conferring the rights to the priesthood.  The rights to the priesthood are the rights to administer the priesthood, or the rights to officiate in an office of the priesthood, meaning the rights to use the priesthood, or to speak this language of God. (See Abr. 1: 2-3, 27, 31; Abr. 2: 11; D&C 121: 36-37; D&C 107: 10-12.)  This pattern also applies to the ordinance of confirmation, in which it is said, “Receive the Holy Ghost!”  Are we really bestowing the Third Member of the Godhead upon the newly baptized member?  Of course, not.  We are merely giving them the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the right to have the constant companionship of the Spirit.

The Key-words of the Priesthood

Facsimile #2 of the Book of Abraham has the following explanations of figures #3 and #7:

3. “representing also the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood”

7. “revealing through the heaven the grand Key-words of the Priesthood”

The Key-words of the priesthood are not some secret, magic words that, once known and spoken, grant the man speaking them unlimited access to the heavens and the powers thereof.  They are not secret words known only to the living prophet or Twelve apostles, or to other secret initiates.  No, the Key-words of the priesthood is the priesthood itself.

The priesthood is a language that is specific to, and spoken only by, God Himself.  It is the original tongue, the mother and father tongue, the words that brought everything into existence, including other languages (the languages of men).  The priesthood is the key-words that lock or unlock all things, or seal and unloose all things.  These are the words of power (agency), the words of authority (keys).  It is through the Key-words (the Priesthood) that every other word of God has come forth.  For example, the scriptures found in our Standard Works contain the Word of God revealed through the Key-words (Priesthood) of God.

Joseph added “of the Holy Priesthood” and “of the Priesthood” to his explanation of Key-words, because Key-words is a common term and could refer to many things.  So, he added that to indicate or clarify that he was talking of the Priesthood Key-words.  The term Key-words itself is used to indicate that the Priesthood is a language which holds authority (keys) in the universe.  Joseph says that “all to whom the Priesthood was revealed” have “the Key-words of the Holy Priesthood” revealed (see Fig. 3).  So, if you have had the Priesthood revealed to you, then you have also had the Key-words of the Priesthood revealed to you, for they are one and the same.

What Blessings Come When We Use the Priesthood Properly?

Answer: Faith, the presence of God, knowledge of God and exaltation.

Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.  The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.  (D&C 121: 45-46)

The decisions of these quorums, or either of them, are to be made in all righteousness, in holiness, and lowliness of heart, meekness and long suffering, and in faith, and virtue, and knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity; because the promise is, if these things abound in them they shall not be unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord. (D&C 107: 30-31)

Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that say unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth! As the dews of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God descend upon them!  (D&C 128: 19)

And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord; for he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; and he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.  (D&C 84: 35-39)

Notice, also, that while the gift of the Holy Ghost gives us the right to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, receiving the priesthood actually causes the Holy Ghost to be one’s constant companion.  The meaning of this is that we become one (united) with God, meaning that we enter into the Godhead.  This is according to the Lord’s intercessory prayer.  (See John 17.)

Mormon Gentile Priesthood: A Temporary Measure

The priesthood given by God to the Gentile Mormons today is temporary in nature.  The first priesthood given, the Priesthood of Aaron, is a modified form of the original Priesthood of Aaron.  It has been tailored to fit the conditions (see D&C 46: 15) among the Gentile Mormons and will only remain with them until the Levites begin again to perform the Levitical Priesthood rites.

Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.  (D&C 13: 1)

The second priesthood given, which is the Melchizedek Priesthood, will remain with the Gentile Mormons only until the restoration of all things, at which point it will be transferred to the tribes of Israel.

Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began.  (D&C 86: 10)

So, at some point in the future, the Melchizedek Priesthood will be restored to the tribes of Israel and the Levitical/Aaronic Priesthood will be restored to the Levites and the priesthoods among the Gentiles will be phased out so that Gentiles will no longer be able to obtain priesthood unless they renounce their Gentile status and become numbered with the house (tribes and Levites) of Israel.

Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel. (3 Ne. 30: 2)

Next Priesthood article: An alternate view of the keys

Previous Priesthood article: Let the Aaronic Priesthood Do Home Teaching and Let the Elders Administer the Sacrament

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

A Gospel Outline—Without Explanations

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.

Page 1

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)

Page 2

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)

Page 3

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)

Page 4

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)

Page 5

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.)

Page 6

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.)

Page 7

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)

Page 8

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)

Page 9

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)

Page 10

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)

Page 11

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)

Page 12

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.)

Page 13

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)

Page 14

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)

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

Called to Be Saints

Paul opened his first letter to the Corinthians by addressing the church and directing his words “to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” It is interesting to note that the word “saint” is found throughout the scriptures, both in the old and new testaments and in most abundance in the Doctrine and Covenants.

 

Paul was speaking to those who belonged to the church in Corinth, noting that they had been sanctified (past tense) and, as such, could be called saints. Throughout the New Testament, Paul addressed his letters to the saints and spoke of them in favorable terms.

 

Today, members wear the title of Latter Day Saints, connoting the difference from those that lived at the meridian of time. As with Paul, those in the church today are considered saints. Can we consider, as in the case of the Corinthians, those who were in the church and called saints have been sanctified as suggested in Paul’s address to the Corinthians?

 

Sanctification, by definition, is to be made holy or purified. In fact, the original Greek term ‘hagios’ was most often translated as holy in the New Testament. While the New Testament contains little in regards to the process of sanctification, the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants adds critical detail to this important process.

 

In defining His gospel, the Lord spoke of the critical nature of this process. In 3rd Nephi Chapter 27: 19-21 one reads:

“And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

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.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel…”

In order to enter the kingdom of God, one must be sanctified or cleansed from sin. This is done through the blood of Christ, which was shed for us. The path here is defined as repentance, coming unto Christ, followed by baptism. Once these conditions are met, we can then be sanctified. Christ tells us in 3rd Nephi 12:1: “after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost…”

 

This baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost is the means to receive a remission of our sins (3rd Nephi 12:3, 2nd Nephi 31:17)

 

Some in the church has suggested that the process of sanctification is the result of a life-long quest to live a Christ-like life. The idea expressed is that we, day by day, become more holy until, imperceptibly, we have achieved this state of purity. Is this what Paul suggested in his address of the Corinthians; identifying those to whom he spoke as sanctified? Perhaps not.

Moroni provides an interesting checklist for those who are to be considered members of the church of God. In Moroni 6:1-4 we find:

“Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.

Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.

And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.

And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith.”

This passage outlines the steps to be numbered with the church of Christ:

• Bring forth fruit
• Broken heart and a contrite spirit
• Witness to the church that they have truly repented
• Take the name of Christ and determine to serve him to the end

These steps are defined as prerequisites to baptism. Following baptism by water, the candidate is then cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost. This cleansing is the same as sanctification and precedes membership in the church.

 

How could sanctification be a life long pursuit if Moroni defines it as a requirement for membership in the church of Christ? This message is consistent with Paul’s comments on the saints of his era. Can we truly call ourselves saints if we have not been sanctified?

 

Sanctification through the remission of our sins, according to 2nd Nephi 31:17-18, is the gate:

“For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life…”

 

Can sanctification be the result of a life long effort when the scriptures define it as the GATE to the strait and narrow path?

 

We are called to be saints, to purify our hearts and minds, to sanctify ourselves in preparation to be numbered with the church of Christ and entry into the kingdom of God.

 

What think ye?

Nephi and the Word of God

 

I have often heard the term ‘word of God’ used to cover everything from scripture to the latest conference talk. Many have the mindset that they must flock to the biannual conferences to hear what the Lord has to say to them. I propose that the ‘word of God’ had a very specific meaning to Nephi and should have a similar meaning to us.

The iron rod in Lehi’s dream symbolized the word of God. So… what is the word of God? I went back through the scriptures to try to better understand the meaning of the word “word.” (Sorry, I had to do that)

 

Let’s start with the triple combination index where you find that the first reference to ‘word of God/word of the Lord’ is to 1 Nephi chapter 2 verse 3:

“And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him.”

The information defined here as the ‘word of the Lord’ is a dream received by Lehi warning him to flee into the desert.  In other words, this personal revelation received through a ‘vision of the night.’

 

Why do I bring this up? Well, later in the same chapter, another similar term is used. Verse 13 states:

“Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets.  And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father.”

Here the reference is to ‘words of the prophets’ regarding the content of what could be considered the inspired writings of Lehi’s day. So we have ‘word of the Lord’ and ‘words of the prophets.’ It seems to me that this is a somewhat subtle suggestion that these two sources should be considered as different classes of the knowledge we receive from God. The ‘word of God’ being direct and personal while the ‘words of the prophets’ being delivered through another person and are written down for others benefit. Further, in verse 16, Nephi tells us of his own desire to gain a testimony of his father’s words:

“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.”

Again, Nephi delineates the source of the ‘word.’ We have defined, now, the word of God and the words of prophets. I found that I could fairly consistently apply this idea to the use of the term in the scriptures, especially in 1st and 2nd Nephi. Clearly, though, the primary meaning of the ‘word of God’ as used by Nephi is personal revelation. That communication with God that comes directly to us, not through a third party or the written word.

Alma taught that there are two means that we can receive truth. In Alma 5:45-47 we find:

“And this is not all.  Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself?  Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true.  And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God.  Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself.  And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God.”

Alma speaks here of the ‘spirit of revelation’ and the ‘spirit of prophecy.’ The former is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as a personal witness of the truth. The latter is a witness that the scriptures are true. In other words, by the spirit of revelation we gain a personal testimony of the truth of the things of God. By the spirit of prophecy, we gain a testimony of the truth of that which was written by others.

 

So what is my definition of ‘scripture?’ The words of inspired men that requires the spirit of prophecy to gain a testimony of the truthfulness therein. If one seeks for the spirit of prophecy, they are promised to receive a validation of the truth found in the words of those that have gone before us. It is a supplement to the word of God delivered directly to us through the spirit of revelation.

 

Why is this important? Am I simply wresting the scriptures? You can draw your own conclusion regarding the words that bring us salvation. I have come to recognize, in my own life, that the iron rod is the word of God and the word of God is personal revelation.

 

Following their miraculous departure from Egypt, the children of Israel were invited to ‘sanctify’ themselves in preparation for meeting the Lord. Instead of adequately preparing themselves, the people feared (Exodus 20:19):

“…And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”

This same fear is prevalent today as we seek to ‘hide’ behind the mantle of the prophet rather than sanctify ourselves to enter the presence of God and hear His words. Gods calls upon all of us to knock. In response, He will open the door. The importance of this sanctification is core to the gospel defined by Christ to the Nephites as we read in 3 Nephi 27: 9-21 that:

“And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

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.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel…”

We all must be ‘sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost’ in order to be prepared to enter this kingdom. This sanctification through the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost is also defined as a path the wisdom and knowledge. In D&C 39:6 we read:

 

“And this is my gospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and teacheth the peaceable things of the kingdom.”

 

The necessity of a personal revelatory relationship with God is the same message as I proposed in my previous post on the mysteries of God. It is not the role of the prophet to stand as an intermediary between us and the Lord, not at the time of Moses and not at the time of Thomas. If we, indeed, strive to receive ‘all things,’ the above scripture should be our roadmap.

 

When Joshua complained about Eldad and Medad prophesying in the camp of Israel, Moses responded (Numbers 11:29):

“…would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!”

All of the Lord’s people are to take His spirit upon them. It was not until after the sanctifying baptism of fire, both at the time of Peter and at the time of Nephi and Lehi, that we read of the marvelous things that were spoken by those who had been baptized by fire. The same gospel calls upon us to come unto Christ, be baptised by water and then fire and the Holy Ghost and receive of His wisdom and knowledge.

 

Two voices crying in the wilderness (on the Internet)

I just finished reading the first 30 posts that “Someone who is watching” has posted on his blog.  I also have now read all that Spektator has written on his website (assuming that Spektator is a he).  These two voices, crying in the wilderness (on the Internet), have refreshingly intriguing and interesting interpretations of LDS scripture and prophecy.  I encourage everyone to review their interpretations.  Here are their links:

Three Watches                        Fulness.com

Three Watches

I recommend that you read the posts in order, from #1 to #30, which is what I did.  Basically, “Someone who is watching” (I’ll call him SWIW from now on) explains that the Restoration did not occur with Joseph Smith.  Joseph Smith, according to his interpretation, established the Foundation.  Later, as in still in the future, comes the Restoration, which is also known as the Great Work or Great and Marvelous Work.  SWIW explains that Joseph will also be involved in the Restoration, in other words, that Joseph has two commissions, not just one.

I appreciate SWIW’s generous use of scriptures in his expositions.  You can follow along with your own scriptures and come to your own conclusions as whether his interpretation is correct or not.  I also appreciate his mentioning of a David Whitmer comment, in Post #26, that adds to my own understanding that anarchy is prophesied to occur in this nation.

Fulness.com

Spektator has gotten a bad rap on other blogs, but none of the comments he has made (that I have read) have triggered a “red flag” in me as they have in others.  In fact, when I came across the first comment of his that I’d read on another blog, I found myself mentally taking note that here seemed to be one whose understanding of the scriptures paralleled my own.  As I usually don’t come across such individuals, I made a point of clicking the link on his name and going into his site.

I have been wanting since I started this blog to expound the doctrine of sanctification (as well as justification and purification) as I understand it, but have been distracted with other topics.  The most I’ve done, so far, is mention sanctification in certain articles.  I will, eventually, get to these subjects, but in the meantime, Spektator’s writings will do as his understanding of sanctification is quite similar to my own and he makes many of the same points that I’ve always intended to make.

The same person?

The names ‘Spektator’ and ‘Someone who is watching’ are synonymous.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Spektator and SWIW is one and the same person.  However, I hope that they are two different people, acting on their own, under inspiration from heaven, and using essentially the same name-meaning.  Until one of them confesses that they are the same person, I will continue to refer to them as two voices crying in the wilderness.

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

Apathy is not a problem, it’s a symptom and a solution

Almost all of my posts are directed to LDS who are not in leadership positions.  But with this one post, I want to talk about, and perhaps even to, the leaders.

Apathy is not a result of bad members,
it’s a result of uninspired leadership

Apathy in the church is a manifestation of a problem with the leadership, not the members.  Inspired leaders do not preside over apathic congregations.  Take Ammon and his brethren:

And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.  (Alma 23: 6)

The converts of Ammon (and his brethren) remained 100% active throughout the rest of their lives.  Apathy never became an issue.  Why?

Wherefore, I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained?  To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.  And then received ye spirits which ye could not understand, and received them to be of God; and in this are ye justified?  Behold ye shall answer this question yourselves; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto you; he that is weak among you hereafter shall be made strong.  Verily I say unto you, he that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?  And if it be by some other way it is not of God.  And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?  If it be some other way it is not of God.  Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth?  Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.  And that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.  (D&C 50: 13-23)

Ammon preached to the Lamanites by the Spirit of truth, which resulted in the edification of both parties.  In other words, he preached by the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost and the (non-member) Lamanites who eventually converted received the word he preached also by the gifts (see D&C 46: 14) and powers of the Holy Ghost. They continued this same process and no one became apathetic.  But no one can receive the word by the Spirit of truth unless it is preached by the same Spirit.  Therefore, uninspired leadership alone is to blame for apathy in the church.

Ah, but surely the receivers carry some of the blame, too, right?

Wrong.  We are talking of members of the church, not non-members, so these are people who have already received the word and who are already willing to receive more of the word.  They believe in the word, they believe the word will be at church and they go to church to receive it.  They expect and believe their leaders will give them the word in the Spirit of truth, meaning that it will be dispersed “according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy,” by the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost, “the power of God working miracles in them”, just as Ammon spread the word.  If, though, after they go and listen to their leaders, they remain apathetic, it is entirely their leaders’ fault.  The leaders are uninspired.  Period.

Without the manifestations of the Spirit, boredom sets in

Anyone who has experienced manifestations of the Spirit knows that any “religious” experience in which the Spirit is not manifesting itself is not really a religious experience.  It is just going through the motions.  When the Spirit is present, a religious gathering can last all day long and one still can’t get enough.  Without the Spirit, boredom quickly sets in and ten minutes becomes an eternity.  Many will say that it is up to the members to bring the Spirit to a meeting, in other words, that you get what you put into it.  This, though, is a cop-out to try to remove the responsibility of the leaders from ministering the gospel as the scriptures direct: in the Spirit of truth.

In other religious denominations, in which pastors are paid, the members do not simply suffer through boredom-filled meetings.  If the pastor does not bring the Spirit, they either fire him or the members go elsewhere, to a pastor that they feel does possess the Spirit. Not so with the LDS.  We do like the Puritans and consider it saintly to suffer through week after week of boredom.  (See The Title of Insufferable, Self-Righteous Prigs.)

Motivation is not the issue

The typical tactic used by uninspired leaders is to try to motivate the members to do their duty, as if motivation were the problem.  For example, not a single Sunday will go by without an elder’s quorum president striving to remind, encourage and motivate his quorum to do home teaching.  Success stories will be drawn from talks of GA’s and such, showing that home teaching is important and effective.  Week after week the elders’ ears will grow more and more weary with hearing the broken “home teaching” record play.  In one ward that I was a part of, one of the elders got so tired of hearing it that when the bishop sent one of his counselors to deliver a special bishopric message to our quorum of elders, and it turned out to be about home teaching, this elder stormed off in anger and didn’t return again to the quorum until he was finally coaxed gently back.

Member missionary work is another area that is treated like a motivation problem.  Members generally are excited about the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and do not need motivation.  They do, however, need inspired leadership.  Bringing a non-member friend to a boring meeting is not something everyone is willing to do.  If the leadership is inspired and the gathering of the saints are occasions in which the Spirit is poured out and manifestations are regular, members naturally spread the word.  This is true of all cultures and religions.  For example, in the Catholic religion and regions of the world, when someone has witnessed a virgin appear somewhere, word spreads like wildfire and everyone goes to see what Spiritual manifestation is occurring.  The miraculous is widely held as a sign of the divine working, or as the Savior puts it, “the works of the Father.”  If you remove the works of the Father from any church, even one that carries the name of Christ, you are left with a church of man.  So, “the power of God working miracles in” leaders is very important.

Uninspired leaders are not sanctified

The Lord has made it plain that all leaders are to be sanctified.  If they are not sanctified, they are not to be leaders, or “teachers” of the word.  (See Scriptural Discussion #5: Teachers—Must Be Sanctified.)  Sanctified leaders possess the spirit of prophecy and revelation, yet, how many leaders have actually prophesied in the church?  How many leaders have actually received a revelation, not just inspiration, but the type that can be written down?  Go and ask your leader if he or she has ever prophesied or ever received a revelation from the Lord and see for yourself.

Unsanctified leaders are more like managers than leaders.  No one wants to be “managed.”  Heck, no one wants to be led, either, unless the Holy Ghost is doing the leading, then everyone wants to be led.  Unless a leader is sanctified and thus possesses the guidance, gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost, those who follow his leadership are being led by just a man.

Apathy is a good thing

If you touch a hot iron, you feel pain.  That pain may seem like a bad thing, but it really is a good thing as it alerts you to the danger of the hot iron so that you can remove your hand and avoid further damage to your body.  All symptoms of illness, then, although they don’t feel good, are but signals to us that there is a problem.

Leadership will often see apathy not as a signal that there is a problem, but as the problem itself. The apathy itself is then addressed, not its cause.  The members will be preached to and made to feel guilty for not doing their duty.  They will be encouraged and motivated and every other trick in the book to get them to do something that they would naturally do anyway, without any external influence, if only they heard the word preached to them in the Spirit of truth.

An argument could be made that uninspired leadership should not be encouraged by acting on it.  Only inspired leadership should be acted upon.  After all, if the membership acted upon uninspired leadership and brought their friends to boring church meetings in droves, what would be the result?  However, such an argument is not necessary because man, by nature, negates uninspired leadership with the solution of apathy.  Apathy, therefore, is not a problem, but a solution to uninspired leadership. It is an apathetic membership which should inspire the leaders to sanctify themselves and obtain the powers, gifts and fruits of the Spirit with which to minister in righteousness among the Lord’s people.  Only the Spirit can cure apathy, or enliven a sleepy body.

How to encourage leadership to repent: inspired, intentional apathy

If your ward or stake leaders are uninspired and you notice that your ward or stake is full of apathetic members, the answer is not to fight them or call them to repentance.  The Lord will take care of His leaders and will chastise them in His own due time.  It is not the duty of the membership to steady the ark.  We members did not call them, although we did sustain them through our vote. And that (sustaining) is the key.

Sustain inspired leaders and withdraw support from uninspired leaders

The proper, scriptural way that the Lord has set up whereby membership can “modify the misbehavior of the leadership” is by withdrawing a sustaining vote.  Most people feel that once a vote is cast, it must remain cast until the end of the term of office.  The election of California Governor Schwarzenegger should have put an end to that line of thinking.  Just as the Lord giveth and taketh away, so the membership has the power to sustain and withdraw support.

I might suggest a couple of important things to keep in mind when withdrawing support from an uninspired leader.  First, this is not a way to punish him, but to encourage him to sanctify himself so that he may again have your support.  And second, keep firmly in mind the difference between what are the commandments of God and the counsels or petitions of an uninspired man.  As long as you continue to keep the commandments of God, you will remain on safe ground.

For example, having entered baptism and made a covenant with God, we are to partake of the sacrament each week.  So, not attending a ward that has an uninspired bishop is not an option.  However, just attending the portion in which the sacrament is passed, partaking and then skipping the rest of the meeting, might be.  On my mission, many baptized members did just that, as they had covenanted to partake of the sacrament each week, not listen to every talk given in that meeting.

During sustaining votes, especial care might be taken as to who you vote for, or even if you vote at all.  (See Is our procedure for sustaining a rubberstamp?)  Just as there are many ways to sustain a leader, there are probably as many ways to withhold support.

Inspired apathy is a solution

Inspired apathy can be a great tool in the hands of those who wield it with a proper understanding of its effect on leadership.  Although apathy is often seen as a thing to be avoided, a bad thing, it can be a means of generating humble leaders who are guided by the Holy Ghost and not just by their egos.

Next Common Consent article: The voice of the people signifies a majority

Previous Common Consent article: Anarchy in action: congregational nullification

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist

The oath and covenant of the priesthood

The Lord said, “Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses—for the sons of Moses and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed—and the sons of Moses and of Aaron shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, upon Mount Zion in the Lord’s house, whose sons are ye; and also many whom I have called and sent forth to build up my church. For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God. And also all they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord; for he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; and he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved. But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come. And wo unto all those who come not unto this priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by mine own voice out of the heavens; and even I have given the heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you. And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life. For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” (D&C 84: 31-44)

There have been a gazillion talks in the church on the oath and covenant of the priesthood. Virtually all of them state the same thing. I have a different take. Here is my understanding of this scripture:

The sons of Moses are the Melchizedek priesthood holders who are sanctified. The sons of Aaron are the holders of the priesthood of Aaron who are sanctified. The Lord explains that “whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods…and…are sanctified by the Spirit…become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and…the elect of God.” (See D&C 84: 33-34.) Also, the elect (chosen) of God is defined as the sanctified.

There has been a day of calling, but the time has come for a day of choosing; and let those be chosen that are worthy. And it shall be manifest unto my servant, by the voice of the Spirit, those that are chosen; and they shall be sanctified; and inasmuch as they follow the counsel which they receive, they shall have power after many days to accomplish all things pertaining to Zion. (D&C 105: 35-37)

So, if we have obtained the two priesthoods but have not been sanctified by the Spirit, we are not the sons of Moses and of Aaron, nor are we the elect.

The Lord said, “For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.” (D&C 84: 33)

Most GAs and other speakers interpret the above scripture to mean that if we magnify our calling, we will become sanctified by the Spirit. Then they talk of ways we can magnify our calling so that we can become sanctified. I, however, do not share this view.

The Lord is explaining in this verse how to discern between a faithful priesthood holder who is magnifying his calling, and a faithless priesthood holder who is not magnifying his calling. The key to that discernment is in the last phrase: the faithful ones are sanctified by the Spirit.

Sanctification by the Spirit is always attendant with the powers and gifts of the Spirit. This is why the Lord said that “the sons of Moses and of Aaron shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” in D&C 84: 32. This is why the Lord said the chosen “shall have power” in D&C 105: 37.  Sanctification by the Spirit with attendant powers and gifts is the key to determine the faith of the saints or the faith of the priesthood holders. This is why there are signs that follow those that believe on the Lord, so that we may determine who has faith and who does not.

Mormon said, “For behold, thus said Jesus Christ, the Son of God, unto his disciples who should tarry, yea, and also to all his disciples, in the hearing of the multitude: Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature; and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned; 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: 22-25)

This is why the very definition of good works, the scriptural definition, is to work by the power and gifts of God, in other words, good works are the work of the sanctified, who are attended with the powers, gifts and fruits of the Spirit and the signs of true believers in Christ. Only the sanctified do good, as they exercise faith as a principle of power, as “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11: 6.) All others are in a state of unbelief, with no attendant powers of heaven to magnify their calling.

Moroni said, “And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth—that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief. 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: 24-25)

So, the magnifying of our calling comes from working by the powers and gifts of God, which comes from being sanctified by the Spirit and not the other way around. We first become “sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost” (3 Nephi 27: 20) and are then enabled to magnify our calling by working by the powers and gifts of the Spirit.

Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5: 16)

Magnifying a calling means making it easier to see. The light we are shining are the good works, which is defined as the powers and gifts of God. So, when we magnify our calling, men can witness the powers and gifts of the Spirit and then turn and glorify God. This is the meaning of the scripture, but before any of this happens, we must be sanctified by the Spirit.

“All they who receive this priesthood receive me, saith the Lord” in D&C 84: 35. The expression “receive this priesthood” is defined in verse 33 as those who obtain the priesthoods and who are sanctified, which santification magnifies their calling. The unsanctified do not “receive the priesthood,” they only have the priesthood conferred upon them. Two vital elements must be present for one to “receive the priesthood”: the priesthood must be conferred and sanctification by the Spirit must have happened.

Only the sanctified priesthood holders receive the oath and covenant of the Father. Only the sanctified priesthood holders receive the promised blessings: receiving Jesus, receiving the Father and finally, receiving the Father’s kingdom, which means receiving all the Father hath. And only the sanctified priesthood holders receive the penalty for breaking the covenant and altogether turning therefrom, the penalty being the second death, meaning that they “shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.”

So, what, then, is the covenant of the priesthood? The Lord said, “All those who receive the priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father.” The covenant is to “receive the priesthood” as defined in verse 33, meaning to obtain the two priesthoods and to become sanctified by the reception of the Spirit unto the renewing of one’s body. If those two parts aren’t completed, you don’t receive the priesthood, nor do you receive (or enter into) the covenant of the priesthood. The covenant is part of the priesthood, it is connected to it, or, as the Lord says, the “covenant…belongeth to the priesthood.” The covenant of the priesthood is received or entered into when you “receive the priesthood.” As a covenant is an agreement between two persons, in this case, between a mortal son of God and God himself, if you keep your end of the agreement, which is to keep receiving the priesthood, or, in plainer words, to continue to possess and use the priesthood in a sanctified state, the Father promises with an oath that you will receive what he says you will receive (all that he hath.)

The final verses that are often quoted (43 and 44 of section 84) are not the covenant of the priesthood, as many will proclaim. The covenant is found in verse 33. The oath is found in verse 38. Verses 43 and 44 are a warning and a commandment, as the Lord has just finished explaining that the sanctified priesthood holders can receive the second death if they break and altogether abandon the covenant and also that those who do not “receive the priesthood” are also in big trouble, as they have no oath or promise of the Father. So, the Lord is giving very helpful instructions to those who haven’t received it, yet, and to those who have received it already, namely, “to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life…[and]…to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.”

Next Priesthood article: Let the Aaronic Priesthood Do Home Teaching and Let the Elders Administer the Sacrament

Previous Priesthood article: Discharging Priesthood Duties

Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist