LeGrand L. Baker

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  • Ether 2 & 3 — veil of light, of fire, of cloud, shechinah – LeGrand Baker

    Today I wish to discuss the real veils that separate man from God, and the veils in Solomon’s Temple that represented those real ones.

    The story of the brother of Jared that appears in the first three chapters of Ether is not autobiographical. Rather it is Moroni telling the story, and consistent with the pattern his father used, the story is encoded— told with a specific and well executed objective. Briefly, the story Moroni tells is that three times God spoke with the brother of Jared through a cloud, then on the fourth time, God put his finger through the veil and turned the stones into a source of light. The verses that tell that story are these:

    4 And it came to pass that when they had come down into the valley of Nimrod the Lord came down and talked with the brother of Jared; and he was in a cloud, and the brother of Jared saw him not. (Ether 2:4).

    5 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been. And it came to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel (Ether 2:5).

    14 And it came to pass at the end of four years that the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord (Ether 2:14).

    6 And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these words, behold, the Lord stretched forth his hand and touched the stones one by one with his finger. And the veil was taken from off the eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord; and it was as the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and the brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with fear (Ether 3:6).

    The cloud is the veil through which one sees the finger of the Lord. Moses had a similar experience:

    15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
    16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
    17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
    18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights…..(Exodus.)

    18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God (Exodus 24:15-18, 31:18, see Deuteronomy 9:9-10).

    In the scriptures the veil is often described as a brilliant light. Sometimes it is represented as a “pillar of light” or a “pillar of fire.” This veil of light is called the shechinah (pronounced with a soft a = sha KE na). There is a short definition in the LDS Bible dictionary. It reads: {1}

    Shechinah. The Presence. A word used by the later Jews (and borrowed from them by the Christians) to denote the cloud of brightness and glory that marked the presence of the Lord, as spoken of in Ex. 3: 1-6; 24: 16; 1 Kgs. 8: 10; lsa. 6: 1-3; Matt. 17: 5; Acts 7: 55. The Prophet Joseph Smith described this phenomenon in connection with his first vision, as a .. light.. .above the brightness of the sun,” and said that he saw two Personages whose .. bright- ness and glory defy all description,” standing “in the light” (JS-H 1:16-18). {2}

    In reality, there are two veils that separate us from God. The first is the one we see all the time. It is the walls of a room or the mountains and the sky — it is the place beyond which our eyes cannot see.

    That veil, the one we always see all around us, was represented in Moses’s Tabernacle and in Solomon’s Temple by the magnificent, beautifully embroidered veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.

    God’s instructions to Moses to make the veil for the Tabernacle is found in Exodus 26.31; 36.35. The one veil in Solomon’s Temple was similar, except it was much larger. Both were woven of fine white linen with cherubim embroidered in threads of blue, purple, and crimson (2 Chronicles 3:14).

    The Old Testament describes only one veil in the Temple, but Paul mentions a second one. Paul wrote:

    1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
    2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
    3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
    4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant (Hebrews 9:1-4).

    If Paul is correct that there was a “second veil” that led into the Holy of Holies, then that presupposes there must also have been a first veil that stood in front of it.

    The second veil in Solomon’s temple would have represented the shechinah, the veil of light that separates man from God, or the Holy Place in the Temple from the Holy of Holies. Beyond that second veil, against the back wall of the Holy of Holies, stood the Ark of the Covenant and a representation of God’s celestial throne. They were overshadowed by the wings of two great, golden cherubim who guarded the throne. {3}

    Solomon’s Temple was said to represent God’s temple in Heaven. For that reason, the Holy of Holies of the earthly temple contained a throne that represented the throne of God. Thus, to enter the Holy of Holies was to symbolically enter the presence of God.

    The designs of the Great Veil suggests both the reality and importance of the second veil. Significantly, there were cherubim embroidered on the first veil. Cherubim were representative of the gods who were the members of the Council in Heaven (as in Isaiah 6). Since the Law of Moses prohibited Israelites from creating artistic representations of either gods, men, or animals, Jewish artwork never showed either God or the gods. But they could show mythological representations of the perfection of the members of the Council in the form of cherubim. Cherubim have the hind quarters of an ox (the strongest of all domestic animals), the forequarters of a lion (the greatest hunter of the wild animals), the wings of an eagle (the greatest of all birds), and the head of a man (the smartest of God’s creations). Thus, the symbolism of the cherubim represented perfection — therefore they could represent the noble and great ones who were the gods. {4}

    In ancient tradition, the cherubim guard the throne of God. We see that same idea represented in the story of the Garden of Eden. There, cherubim and a flaming sword (shechinah) are stationed to prevent man from approaching the Tree of Life, and therefore from returning to the Garden, and therefore from entering the presence of God (Genesis 3:24, Alma 12:21, Alma 42:2-3, Moses 4:31).

    The symbolism of the cherubim on the Great Veil in Solomon’s Temple is that they guard the approach to the second veil and to the presence of God. If one is to come to the throne in the Holy of Holies he must first pass by the cherubim who guard the second veil.

    That is the symbolism. The reality is that when Prophets tell us about their seeing God, the shechinah is often the first thing they describe, and sometimes it is the only thing they mention (as in 1 Nephi 1:6, “as he [Lehi] prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much”). The shechinah is described many ways, but always as a bright light—sometimes a fire, sometimes a cloud. Moses’s burning bush (Exodus 3:2); and the Prophet Joseph reporting, “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me” (Joseph Smith-History:16). Joseph’s making a point of describing the shechinah in connection with his account of the First Vision is another evidence that he was telling the truth.

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    THE SHECHINAH AS A GARMENT OF LIGHT

    An ancient Jewish tradition holds that originally Adam and Eve had been clothed in garments of light, but they lost those garments when they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge. The fig leaves Satan suggested they wear was a counterfeit replacement for that garment, but then God made Adam and Eve coats of skin that replaced their garments of light. {5} A representation of that garment was a part of the royal Israelite clothing. When the royal clothing is named, there are almost always two parts. The outer one denoting his kingship is often called “majesty”, the undergarment denoting his priesthood and is often called “honor,” or “glory,” or something similar. (Psalm 8:5, Psalm 45:3-4, Job 40:10).{6}

    Peter describes the Savior’s experience on the Mount of Transfiguration as a coronation ceremony during which Jesus was dressed that same way:

    16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
    17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
    18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount (2 Peter 1:16-18).

    The psalms suggest that the royal and priesthood robes of the king are patterned after those worn by God. Psalm 93:1 says the Lord “is clothed with majesty … and strength.” Psalm 104 adds that he also has a garment of light:

    1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
    2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain (Psalm 104:1-2).

    Both Paul and a revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants suggest that resurrected persons are clothed similarly. Paul wrote:

    7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
    8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom (Hebrews 1:7-8).

    The Doctrine and Covenants says:

    12 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness [zedek], with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else (D&C 29:12).

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    THE SHECHINAH IN CONNECTION WITH SEEING GOD and/or SODE EXPERIENCE

    The shechinah is also mentioned in conjunction with seeing God or prophet’s sode experience as in the following:

    Moses and the burning bush == Exodus 3:1-6
    Joseph’s First Vision == JS-History:16
    Joseph’s vision of the celestial throne == D&C 137:1-10
    Lehi’s sode experience == (1 Nephi 1:6-9).
    Isaiah’s sode experience == Isaiah 6:4
    Ezekiel’s sode experience == Ezekiel 1:4
    Stephen “being full of the Holy Ghost … saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,” == Acts 7:55

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    THE SHECHINAH IN CONNECTION WITH THE HOLY GHOST

    There seems to be a relationship between the shechinah and being baptized with “fire and the Holy Ghost.” For example, Nephi and Lehi’s experience in Helaman 5:23-25 as Mormon tells the story is not identified as their being baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost. However, both the Savior and Moroni describe it that way: 3 Nephi 9:20, Ether 12:13-17. That, along with some of the following scriptures suggest that the phrase means to be inundated by the shechinah.

    The baptism of Jesus’s twelve disciples is an interesting example:

    11 And it came to pass that Nephi went down into the water and was baptized.
    12 And he came up out of the water and began to ba ptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen.
    13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
    14 And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them.
    15 And it came to pass that while the angels were ministering unto the disciples, behold, Jesus came and stood in the midst and ministered unto them (3 Nephi 19:11-15).

    Day of Pentecost

    1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
    2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
    3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
    4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
    5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven (Acts 2:1-5).

    Explanation in the Book of Moses:

    64 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.
    65 And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.
    66 And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;
    67 And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.
    68 Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen (Moses 6:64-68).

    Other examples are:

    John the Baptist’s testimony == Matthew 3:11
    Nephi’s testimony (following the example of Jesus) == 2 Nephi 31:13-19
    The Savior’s promise == 3 Nephi 11:35-36, 3 Nephi 12:1-2
    Mormon’s testimony (following the example of Jesus) == Mormon 7:7-10
    Promises in the Doctrine and Covenants == D&C 19:31, D&C 20:41, D&C 33:11, D&C 39:5-9.

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    EXAMPLES OF THE SHECHINAH IN NEW TESTAMENT

    The shechinah is never mentioned in the New Testament in conjunction with Herod’s temple. When the New Testament gospels speak of the veil of the temple it is only to report that it “was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” at the time of the Savior’s death (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45).

    However the shechinah is mentioned in the following places:

    Mount of Transfiguration == Matthew 17:4-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 21:25-28.
    Ascension of Resurrected Christ == Acts 1:9-11.
    “Angels” in John’s Revelation == Revelation 10:1-6; Revelation 14:12.
    Resurrection of “two witnesses” == Revelation 11:12.
    Stephen says “there appeared to him [Moses] in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush” == Acts 7:30

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    EXAMPLES OF THE SHECHINAH IN BOOK OF MORMON

    Lehi mentions the veil (the shechinah) but does not tell us what he sees behind the veil:

    6 And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly (1 Nephi 1:6).

    When Nephi explains his father’s vision of the tree of life, he points out two things that we do not find in Lehi’s account. He tells us about the filthiness of the waters and also about “the justice of God” which he describes as a veil of fire:

    30 And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end (1 Nephi 15:27-32).

    The children whom the Savior blessed were “ were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.”

    23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.
    24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them (3 Nephi 17:23-24).

    Other examples in the Book of Mormon

    Zion to have cloud and fire on housetops == Isaiah & 2 Nephi 14:1-6.
    Angel who spoke to Alma == Mosiah 27:1.
    Nephi and Lehi in the midst of a flaming fire == Helaman 5:44.

    Baptism of the Twelve (quoted above) == 3 Nephi 19:11-15.)
    Ascension of Resurrected Christ == 3 Nephi 18:37-39.
    Brother of Jared == Ether 2 & 3.

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    EXAMPLES OF THE SHECHINAH IN THE DOCTRINE AND COVENANTS

    The Savior’s second coming == D&C 34:4-12; D&C 45:43-46; D&C 109:75;
    Promises of fire and the Holy Ghost == D&C 19:31, D&C 20:41, D&C 33:11, D&C 39:5-9.

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    EXAMPLES OF THE SHECHINAH IN THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

    Adam’s baptism (quoted above) == Mses 6:64-68

    2 And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence (Moses 1:2).

    First Vision == JS-History 1:16.)
    Moroni in Joseph’s bedroom == JS-History 1:68-70.
    Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood == JS-History 1:68-70.

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    EXAMPLES OF THE SHECHINAH IN OLD TESTAMENT

    There are two Old Testament references in the LDS Bible dictionary definition of shechinah:

    “The glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai” == Exodus 24:16
    The glory of the Lord in Solomon’s Temple == 1 Kings 8:9-12

    M.G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, gives us an interesting discussion of the shechinah, including a good list of its appearance in the Old Testament.

    shechinah A Chaldee word meaning resting-place, not found in Scripture, but used by the later Jews to designate the visible symbol of God’s presence in the tabernacle, and afterwards in Solomon’s temple. When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, he went before them “in a pillar of a cloud.” This was the symbol of his presence with his people. For references made to it during the wilderness wanderings, see Ex. 14:20; 40:34-38; Lev. 9:23, 24; Num. 14:10; 16:19, 42.

    It is probable that after the entrance into Canaan this glory-cloud settled in the tabernacle upon the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. We have, however, no special reference to it till the consecration of the temple by Solomon, when it filled the whole house with its glory, so that the priests could not stand to minister (1 Kings 8:10-13; 2 Chr. 5:13, 14; 7:1-3). Probably it remained in the first temple in the holy of holies as the symbol of Jehovah’s presence so long as that temple stood. It afterwards disappeared. (See CLOUD.)”(Illustrated Bible Dictionary, M.G. Easton)

    “Cloud” in Easton’s Bible Dictionary

    Cloud The Hebrew so rendered means “a covering,” because clouds cover the sky. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine presence, as indicating the splendour of that glory which it conceals (Ex. 16:10; 33:9; Num. 11:25; 12:5; Job 22:14; Ps. 18:11). A “cloud without rain” is a proverbial saying, denoting a man who does not keep his promise (Prov. 16:15; Isa. 18:4; 25:5; Jude 1:12). A cloud is the figure of that which is transitory (Job 30:15; Hos. 6:4). A bright cloud is the symbolical seat of the Divine presence (Ex.29:42, 43; 1 Kings 8:10; 2 Chr. 5:14; Ezek. 43:4), and was called the shechinah (q.v.). Jehovah came down upon Sinai in a cloud (Ex. 19:9); and the cloud filled the court around the tabernacle in the wilderness so that Moses could not enter it (Ex. 40:34, 35). At the dedication of the temple also the cloud “filled the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 8:10). Thus in like manner when Christ comes the second time he is described as coming “in the clouds” (Matt. 17:5; 24:30; Acts 1:9, 11).

    Cloud, the pillar of, was the glory-cloud which indicated God’s presence leading the ransomed people through the wilderness (Ex. 13:22; 33:9, 10). This pillar preceded the people as they marched, resting on the ark (Ex. 13:21; 40:36). By night it became a pillar of fire (Num. 9:17-23).” (Illustrated Bible Dictionary, M.G. Easton)

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    FOOTNOTES

    {1} For further discussions, see both “shechinah” and “veil” in the subject index of Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.

    {2}For discussions of the veil, see Hamblin, “Temple Motifs,” 455-56; Nibley, “Return to the Temple,” 80-81; Tvedtnes, “Temple Prayer in Ancient Times,” The Temple in Time and Eternity, ed. Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks (Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1999), 88-90.

    {3} We have discussed these features of the Temple and the ceremonies that took place in those rooms in the chapters called “Act 2,” Scenes 9 through 13 in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.

    {4} In Abraham 3 the members of the Council in heaven are called the “noble and great ones.” To them Jehovah said, “We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell(Abraham 3:24).” When the creation actually began, the story reads:

    1 And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth (Abraham 4:1).

    {5} For discussion of the garments of light see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, 327-28; paperback edition, 235-6.

    {6} For a discussion of the royal clothing see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition p. 483-94; paperback edition p. 349-57. Even in the Hymn of the Pearl there is a “thy bright robe and thy toga, which is laid over it.”

  • Ether 1 – 15 — Ether as part of the ancient temple-code outline of the Book of Mormon — LeGrand Baker

    The story of the Jaredites, as told by Moroni, takes on a new significance when it is seen, not as an addendum to the Book of Mormon, but as an integral part of the story Mormon left to his son Moroni to complete.

    As we have noted before, the prophet Mormon followed the pattern of the ancient Israelite temple drama in his subtextual outline of the entire Book of Mormon. The fact that Moroni meticulously concluded that pattern is another evidence of the book’s carefully designed structure. If one does a hopscotch across the pages of the book and only lands on the major sermons and on an occasional outstanding priesthood event, the pattern clearly materializes. The following is what one finds:

    1) Nephi begins by saying that his father was at the Council in Heaven were he saw God sitting on his throne and where he received an assignment from Jehovah.
    2) Lehi and his family make the necessary preparations to fulfill their assignment.
    3) They cross the chaotic waters (the ancient symbol of creation as well as of birth) and they go to a new world.
    4) Lehi teaches his sons about Adam and Eve and the Fall.
    5) Nephi’s psalm asks why we have come here when it is so very difficult.
    6) Jacob answers that question by teaching about the Atonement.
    7) Nephi quotes much of the first part of Isaiah whose underlying message is that God is the God of this world and Satan is not.
    8) Nephi explains faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
    9) Jacob teaches about the importance of keeping covenants
    10) Enos teaches that one must pray.
    11) King Benjamin teaches his people about the importance of obedience. They make a covenant that they will obey, and they receive a new name.
    12) Abinadi teaches Alma the gospel in terms of the Savior’s sacrifice; then we see Abinadi’s sacrifice.
    13) At the Waters of Mormon the people are baptized. But neither Alma’s sermon nor his prayer mentions the remission of sins. This baptism is the token of a covenant that the people will support each other, the church, and the kingdom.
    14) When Alma and his followers are in the wilderness, they briefly live the law of consecration.
    15) Alma 5 and 7 the prophet sums up many of the principles of the ancient temple drama and admonishes the people to keep their covenants.
    16) In Alma chapters 12 and 13, he teaches Zeezrom about the legitimacy of priesthood and kingship.
    17) Alma 26 and 29 are psalms about responsibilities of missionary work.
    18) Alma 32 teaches how to partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and eventually how to become as a tree of life. (The tree of life is always an important part of the drama. If Alma 32 were not there the whole structure of the pattern would collapse.)
    19) When Alma talks to his three sons,
    19a) he teaches his oldest son he must keep sacred things sacred.
    19b) he teaches the second that he must be true to the eternal law of his own being.
    19c) he tells the third about justice and mercy and the importance of the laws of chastity.
    20) The war remind us of the aloneness of this dreary world. Mormon introduces it with a whole series of covenants and covenant names (There are always new names associated with new covenants).
    20a) Captain Moroni tears off a piece of his coat (after that it is called “garment” so it is the outer of the two—there are always two).
    20b) He writes a chiastic poem on it. The poem the is covenant title of “Liberty.”
    20c) Mormon interrupts his narrative to tell us that those who believe in Christ “took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ,” and are called Christians.
    20d) Captain Moroni identifies the land in terms of its geographical boundaries (measuring it and defining it as sacred space) and gives it the same covenant name as the poem—“the land of liberty.”
    20e) The people come and make a covenant that they will keep the Lord’s commandments if he will preserve them in their Liberty.
    20f) The focus of the story is about the sons of Helaman who “entered into a covenant,” and “they called themselves Nephites” (Alma 53:16-17).
    20g) Helaman tells us that all the boys who made and kept their covenants were protected—some were badly hurt, but they all survived because they kept their covenants.
    21) After the war, Nephi and Lehi are baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost.
    22) Nephi is given the sealing power (Helaman 10:5).
    23) Samuel the Lamanite tells the people that the Savior is coming, and urges them to get ready to see him.
    24) In three days of darkness, the world is cleansed of its unrighteousness (this maps
    to Jehovah’s restoring Israel and the king after he has been in the Underworld for three days).
    25) The Savior comes to his temple just as the king does in the drama.
    26) The Savior organizes his church and kingdom, and teaches the people how to
    keep their covenants (these map to the seventh day of the drama).
    27) Then in Fourth Nephi the people do keep their covenants and live the law of consecration (this maps to the eighth day of the drama). In the symbolism, they had returned to the Garden to enjoy the blessings of the eating freely of the fruit of the tree of life (3 Nephi 20:5-9), and the promised millennial reign.
    28) The book of Ether is the counterbalance of that story. It shows the destructive consequences when people do not keep their covenants with God.
    29) The Book of Mormon’s crescendo is repeated three times near the end of the book. There the reader is taught one must have faith, hope, and charity in order to enter the presence of God (Ether 12:28,39; Moroni 7; and Moroni 10:20-21).
    30) Then Moroni reviews the entire drama and in the last verse he says, “I soon go to rest in the paradise of God, … before the pleasing bar of the great Jehovah.”

    Moroni did a superb job in finishing the Book of Mormon. Without the Book of Ether, the sub-textual pattern of the Book of Mormon would not be complete. And without the crescendo of faith (pistis), hope and charity, and the promise in each of the three repetitions that there is a way to come back to God, the conclusion of the drama would not even be there (Ether 12:39, Moroni 7:48, Moroni 10:28-34).

    The Book of Ether is also structured in a very interesting way:

    A.  Chapters 1-3 = story of the brother of Jared and his              relationship with the Savior
    B.  Chapters 4-5 = Moroni’s testimony
    C.  Chapters 6-7 = wars and chaos
    D.  At the center of the book Moroni ties the two stories together: “Now the land of Moron, where the king dwelt, was near the land which is called Desolation by the Nephites Ether 7:6).”
    c.  Chapters 7-11 = more wars and chaos
    b.  Chapters 12 = Moroni’s testimony
    a.   Chapters 13-15 = concluding story of the prophet Ether and his relationship with the Savior

    The Book of Ether is a testimony. It is both a counterbalance to the story in the larger Book of Mormon, and it is also a solemn warning to the people of our time that there are irrevokable consequences to those who reject the God of Israel.

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  • Fourth Nephi & Mormon – Evolution of Hopelessness — LeGrand Baker

    Evolution of Hopelessness

    There is a pattern in human affairs that historians first observed long ago. It is that a enthusiastic economic and cultural changes usually only last for three generations. By the fourth generation almost all vestiges of that enthusiasm have been lost. Jefferson described this phenomenon when he said, “A rich man’s son is rarely a rich man’s father.”

    We see the pattern repeated many times in history. Here are just two examples: The first is the Puritans who came to the new world with much religious zeal. Their children enjoyed the fruits of their parents labors. The third generation were much more concerned with culture and wealth than with religion. Then came Rev. Jonathan Edward’s fiery but unsuccessful attempt to frighten the people into heaven. The second example is Russian Communism. It suffered the same fate. The first generation were ideologues. The second sought to consolidate their power. The third wanted their wealth to be inherited by their children rather than into the communal pot. So they “privatized” and wrote a new constitution. Now what we see in Russia is the fourth generation trying to define themselves.

    It happens in Mormonism, but with individual families rather than with the whole Church. The reason is that in the Church there is always a dominant “first generation.” They may be new converts, or they may be 4th or 5th generation Latter-day Saints whose testimony and enthusiasm make them virtually first generation converts.

    The Savior prophesied that would happen with the Nephites. He said:

    32 But behold, it sorroweth me because of the fourth generation from this generation, for they are led away captive by him even as was the son of perdition; for they will sell me for silver and for gold, and for that which moth doth corrupt and which thieves can break through and steal. And in that day will I visit them, even in turning their works upon their own heads (3 Nephi 27:32).

    In Fourth Nephi we watch it happen. The first symptom was their failure to keep the law of consecration. Both the causes and the consequences of that was a division between “us” and “others.” Then there surfaced another facet of human vanity: people will pay a lot of money to a charismatic preacher who will teach them that they can go to heaven without repenting. So the Nephites “began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the true church of Christ.” To be successful, a false religion must use a language that sounds like truth, and must perform performances that resemble correct ordinances and covenants. So a characteristic of the Nephite apostasy was that they “did administer that which was sacred unto him to whom it had been forbidden because of unworthiness.” Mormon’s brief description of this apostasy reads:

    25 And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them.
    26 And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain, and began to deny the true church of Christ.
    27 And it came to pass that when two hundred and ten years had passed away there were many churches in the land; yea, there were many churches which professed to know the Christ, and yet they did deny the more parts of his gospel, insomuch that they did receive all manner of wickedness, and did administer that which was sacred unto him to whom it had been forbidden because of unworthiness.
    28 And this church did multiply exceedingly because of iniquity, and because of the power of Satan who did get hold upon their hearts.
    29 And again, there was another church which denied the Christ; and they did persecute the true church of Christ, because of their humility and their belief in Christ; and they did despise them because of the many miracles which were wrought among them (4 Nephi 1:25-29).

    The tragedy of their apostasy is shown by Mormon’s using a phrase that had been defined by Alma many years before. Mormon wrote:

    34 Nevertheless, the people did harden their hearts, for they were led by many priests and false prophets to build up many churches, and to do all manner of iniquity. And they did smite upon the people of Jesus; but the people of Jesus did not smite again. And thus they did dwindle in unbelief and wickedness, from year to year, even until two hundred and thirty years had passed away (4 Nephi 1:34).

    The phrase is “harden their hearts.” Alma’s definition is essentially “to choose to not know the temple covenants and ordinances.” For “temple” he uses the word “mystery.” (“Mystery” in the New Testament is the Greek, mysterion. I secrets imposed by initiation into religious rites. Testament. {1} A genius of the Book of Mormon is that it was translated into the words of the King James Bible, so the same words in one also mean the same thing in the other. That is a tremendous help is reading and understand the scriptures.) The account reads:

    9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
    10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
    11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this [not knowing the mysteries] is what is meant by the chains of hell (Alma 12:9-11).

    In Fourth Nephi, that “the people did harden their hearts” denotes their deliberate rejection of sacred ordinances and covenants, and their replacing them with secret oaths and combinations. That sealed the fate of this fallen people. Mormon laments:

    42 And it came to pass that the wicked part of the people began again to build up the secret oaths and combinations of Gadianton (4 Nephi 1:42).

    As we read Mormon’s report of what happened, we hear in the background Alma’s lament that “wickedness never was happiness (Alma 41:10).” We see their wickedness mature into its full horror as Mormon describes the consequence of that apostasy. Falsehood, whether it is presented as religion, political principle, or cultural freedom, can never deliver the happiness it pretends to offer.

    The desire for wealth and power turns from avarice, to contempt, to the desire to destroy. We see that evolution reach its full bloom as Mormon leads us, chapter by chapter, through his narrative, until it concludes with Moroni’s aloneness:

    17 But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake (Mormon 1:17) .

    13 But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.
    14 And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives (Mormon 2:13-14).

    3 And I did cry unto this people, but it was in vain; and they did not realize that it was the Lord that had spared them, and granted unto them a chance for repentance. And behold they did harden their hearts against the Lord their God. ……
    9 And now, because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies.
    10 And they did swear by the heavens, and also by the throne of God, that they would go up to battle against their enemies, and would cut them off from the face of the land (Mormon 3:3-9, 10).

    5 But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed……
    11 And it is impossible for the tongue to describe, or for man to write a perfect description of the horrible scene of the blood and carnage which was among the people, both of the Nephites and of the Lamanites; and every heart was hardened, so that they delighted in the shedding of blood continually (Mormon 4:5, 11).

    2 But behold, I was without hope, for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them; for they repented not of their iniquities, but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them (Mormon 5:2).

    1 Behold I, Moroni, do finish the record of my father, Mormon. Behold, I have but few things to write, which things I have been commanded by my father.
    2 And now it came to pass that after the great and tremendous battle at Cumorah, behold, the Nephites who had escaped into the country southward were hunted by the Lamanites, until they were all destroyed.
    3 And my father also was killed by them, and I even remain alone to write the sad tale of the destruction of my people. But behold, they are gone, and I fulfil the commandment of my father. And whether they will slay me, I know not.
    4 Therefore I will write and hide up the records in the earth; and whither I go it mattereth not (Mormon 8:1-4).

    ———————–

    FOOTNOTE

    {1} A discussion of the meaning of mysterion is found in Raymond E. Brown, The Semitic Background of the Term “Mystery” in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968), 2-6.

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  • Mormon 3:14-20, Mormon 4:5 – LeGrand Baker — Vengeance is the Lord’s

    Mormon 3:14-20, Mormon 4:5

    14 And when they had sworn by all that had been forbidden them by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that they would go up unto their enemies to battle, and avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren, behold the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying:
    15 Vengeance is mine, and I will repay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth.
    ……………………….
    20 And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;

    Mormon 4:5

    5 But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished;

    These scriptures expresses an underlying principle that surfaces frequently in the scriptures. The principle is difficult to understand because it seems to be completely contrary to human nature. For example, a few years ago a candidate for the Vice Presidency of the United States thought she was showing her fearlessness, but was actually unveiling the essence of her personality when she said, “I don’t get mad, I get even.” A similar idea whose source I do not remember is, “Revenge tastes best when it is served cold.”

    Both of those ideas expose a lingering canker that corrodes the finer qualities of the human soul. The danger of seeking revenge is that it is fed by a festering anger that either sits and molders in one’s consciousness, or else actively dominates all or part of one’s Self. It cripples one’s ability to get on with the business of discovering and perfecting one’s Eternal Self.

    While Mormon applied this principle of not seeking revenge to a culture-wide situation, the Savior and the prophets have made it very personal.

    Paul tried to teach this principle by urging his audience to just let things go and not become vindictive. But even that teaching has a barb. He wrote:

    30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
    31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:30-31).

    The barb is that people can “leave judgement to God” but still be spiteful and wish God would just get on with exacting his revenge. Besides the assertion that the rights of vengeance belong only to the Lord, the other thing those passages have in common is the notion that God will exercise that prerogative and do dreadful things to the wicked. If read that way, our desire to get even is transferred to God because he has more power to do damage than we people have.

    Some people relish the satisfaction of watching that “fearful thing” and of seeing the bad guy wither under its oppression. There is self-destruction in that relish. Our desire for vendetta only increases when God does not administer his vengeance quickly enough to satisfy our pleasure.

    There are a number of Old Testament scriptures that support Paul’s statement “for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

    35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste (Deuteronomy 32:35).

    1 O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
    2 Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
    3 Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? (Psalms 94:1-3).

    3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
    4 Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence (Isaiah 35:3-4).

    6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
    7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad (Jeremiah 51:6-7).

    The prophecies of Isaiah and Jeremiah were true enough. Nineveh and Babylon eventually became wasted deserts, but the prophecies were not fulfilled right away, and certainly not as quickly as their enemies hoped.

    It is important to note that not all the scriptures that speak of God’s judgment revel in the desire for vengeance. In another letter Paul wrote:

    19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
    20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
    21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:19-21).

    Alma taught the same principle:

    14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again (Alma 41:14).

    In Alma’s words, it is very easy to see “merciful” and “mercy” as hesed or a version of it. As in Psalm 18:

    25 With the merciful [hesed – adj.] thou wilt shew thyself merciful [hesed – verb]; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright (Psalms 18:25). {1}

    The Savior was apparently paraphrasing that psalm when he said:

    7 Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy (3 Nephi 12:7).

    A key to understanding how self-destructive the desire to do vengeance is, is the fact that only God has the right to do it, but even he does not exercise vengeance. Alma explained:

    22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.
    23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
    24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved (Alma 42:22-24).

    In the final analysis, the eternal principle is this: God does not, never has, and never will punish any of his children. He taught that the reason the prophets speak in harsh terms is so “that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men (D&C 19:7)” and encourage them to repent.

    Mormon explained that there are real this-world consequences to wickedness, but those consequences are not imposed by God. He wrote:

    5 But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished ( Mormon 4:5).

    In my trying to sort out what all this means, this is what I have concluded: All people are placed on this earth to exercise their agency and thereby expose their true nature. God does not inflict punishment, and we must not seek revenge. An ancient truth is:

    17 The merciful [hesed] man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh (Proverbs 11:17).

    In the Savior’s teachings, peace and being a peacemaker are the grand prizes for righteousness. Peace is the power to transcend both sorrow and hurt. Peace and the need for revenge are mutually exclusive. Vendetta precludes peace. Therefore, we are advised to leave the judgements to God and get on with doing what we have covenanted to do. God has promised us that he will enable us to keep our eternal covenants so we need not interfere with his ability to do that.

    ————————————

    FOOTNOTE

    {1}     25 With the merciful [hesed – adj, Strong # 2623 ] thou wilt shew thyself merciful [hesed – verb, Strong # 2616]; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright (Psalms 18:25).

    As observed elsewhere, Psalm 25 is set in the context of our premortal covenants. In it, words translated “lovingkindnesses” and “mercy” are from the Hebrew word hesed. {A} The psalm uses the Hebrew word hesed four times, and by so doing, it brings those covenants into a deeply personal friendship/relationship. The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament shows the power of that friendship/relationship:

    We may venture the conjecture that even in cases where the context does not suggest such mutuality it is nevertheless implicit, because we are dealing with the closest of human bonds. {B}

    An explanation and clarification of their phrase, “dealing with the closest of human bonds,” is found in a new edition of Strong’s Concordance:

    hesed, unfailing love, loyal love, devotion. kindness, often based on a prior relationship, especially a covenant relationship. {C}

    ————————————
    Footnotes within the footnote

    {A} Katherine Doob Sakenfeld of Princeton University Seminary wrote a dissertation on “hesed” in which she argued that it meant “to do what is expected of one.” With regard to the covenant, God does what is expected (keep his covenant promises); man should also maintain “hesed” (keep his covenant promises). Katherine Doob Sakenfeld, The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible: A New Inquiry (Missoula, Montana; Scholars Press for the Harvard Semitic Museum, 1978).

    {B} G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, eds., trans. Davod E. Green, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, 15 vols. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1986), article about hesed, 5:45-48). The Greek equivalent is Philadelphia, fraternal love, as explained in fn 905, p. 680.

    {C} John R. Kohlenberger III and James A. Swanson, The Strongest Strong’s, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), Hebrew dictionary # 2617.

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  • Mormon 8:12-22 & Title page — LeGrand Baker — ‘the mistakes of men’

    Mormon 8:12-22

    17 And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault; nevertheless God knoweth all things; therefore, he that condemneth, let him be aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire (Mormon 8:17).

    The title page of the Book of Mormon contains that same warning to those who would read the book with a prejudice or jaundice eye.

    And now, if there be faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.

    The question we might ask is “The mistakes of which men – the writers or the readers?” Moroni’s answer is “the readers!” But most of us read it as Moroni humbly admitting that there may be mistakes in his book. I readily admit it can be read that way. But if we do way we essentially say that we choose to make your own learning and wisdom the criteria for judging the “mistakes” made by the ancient prophets. Doing that is very convenient because if we find something we don’t understand or don’t agree with, we can just pass it off as the author’s mistake.

    I think it is important to try to discover how Moroni intended those passages to be understood.

    The warning on the title page was originally on the last page of the gold plates, so it may have been the very last thing Moroni wrote before placing the plates in the stone box where Joseph found them. Joseph explained:

    I wish to mention here, that the of the Book of is a literal translation, taken from the very last leaf, on the left hand side of the collection or book of plates, which contained the record which has been translated, the language of the whole running the same as all Hebrew writing in general; and that said is not by any means a modern composition, either of mine or of any other man who has lived or does live in this generation. Therefore, in order to correct an error which generally exists concerning it, I give belowfn that part of the of the English version of the Book of , which is a genuine and literal translation of the of the original Book of , as recorded on the plates. {1}

    Moroni writes, “…if there be faults” — he does not say “mistakes,” he says “faults” — then defines those faults as “the mistakes of men.” He then warns: “wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.”

    There is no place where Moroni suggests there are mistakes in the doctrines taught in the Book of Mormon. Earlier he had expressed his concern about “imperfections” in the written words. That is not the same thing as “faults.” It is unfortunate – unfortunate but very true – that the meaning of written words are the private property of the reader. When the words are written and released, the author loses all control over what the reader may find there. Moroni recognized that limitation when he wrote:

    12 And whoso receiveth this record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of greater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you.
    …………………..
    17 And if there be faults they be the faults of a man. But behold, we know no fault; nevertheless God knoweth all things; therefore, he that condemneth, let him be aware lest he shall be in danger of hell fire.
    18 And he that saith: Show unto me, or ye shall be smitten—let him beware lest he commandeth that which is forbidden of the Lord.
    19 For behold, the same that judgeth rashly shall be judged rashly again; for according to his works shall his wages be; therefore, he that smiteth shall be smitten again, of the Lord.
    20 Behold what the scripture says—man shall not smite, neither shall he judge; for judgment is mine, saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine also, and I will repay.
    21 And he that shall breathe out wrath and strifes against the work of the Lord, and against the covenant people of the Lord who are the house of Israel, and shall say: We will destroy the work of the Lord, and the Lord will not remember his covenant which he hath made unto the house of Israel—the same is in danger to be hewn down and cast into the fire;
    22 For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled.

    Moroni’s fears have been justified many times over. In the years since the Book of Mormon was published the “mistakes of men” have found many supposed faults in the Book of Mormon. From its onset, people have criticized the book because scholars did not have enough information to validate what it said. For example, everyone knew that cement was invented by the Romans, so the Book of Mormon’s claim that the Nephites had cement was an obvious fault. Then archaeologists discovered that the pre-Columbian Americans made a higher quality cement than the Romans ever did. There have been many such “mistakes” made in the ignorance of “learned” men, until scientists, archaeologists, and linguists have dispelled the ignorance.

    Nibley wrote a book, Sounding Brass and Tinkling Symbols, in which he showed that there are relatively few arguments against Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He says that when ill-informed anti-Mormon pamphleteers can’t find new ones, they just dig up and re-word some of the old worn-out arguments that others have been using for many years.

    I suppose the greatest danger is not from those outside of the church who speak from ignorance. Rather, that Moroni’s intended audience is those within the church who choose to pit their education, or lack thereof, against the contents of the Book of Mormon. My best personal example is the BYU student who announced to me one day that he knew the Book of Mormon was not trustworthy because Mormon was not a credible historian. I asked how he thought he knew that. He told me that he was taking a historiography class in which he learned that good history presents both sides of a story in a balanced manner. The student said that Mormon does not present the Lamanite point of view, therefore he is not a credible historian. Having made his point, the boy walked off down the hall gloating as if he had scored a sound point.

    Had he stayed to listen, my response would have been “Hogwash.” Great historians are those who are intelligent enough, and are self secured enough, to not try to hide their intentions, but to take a stand and defend what they believe. Dishonest historians pretend to present a balanced argument, but do it in such a way that they try to lead the minds of gullible readers to come to the same conclusion that the historian pretends not have reached. (We see this kind of approach all the time when we watch “unbiased” TV news broadcasts.)

    Because of the twisted idea about historical honesty the boy learned in a history class, he thought his education had led him to expose a great “fault” in the Book of Mormon. The tragedy for the boy is that the “fault” was his own mistake. Had he been as wise as he thought he was intelligent he would have seen that his argument was in fact Mormon’s vindication.

    When we pit our own learning against the scriptures we are at a self-imposed disadvantage because in our own minds our reasoning or learning will win every time. They will not win because the scriptures are inferior to our intellect, but because our attitude presupposes the superiority of our own reasoning. With that presupposition, scriptural truths don’t have a chance, and our education cripples our ability to learn. Jacob lamented that situation in his own day:

    28 O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
    29 But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God (2 Nephi 9:28-29).

    One of the surest ways to “discover” the faults in the scriptures is to read the text without reading the words. That is, to read the scriptures like we would read a novel, getting the gist of the stories without paying close attention to such mundane things as the precise meaning of words (especially the code words), verb tense, and the way conjunctions create relationships between ideas, what the words actually say.

    In contrast, the surest way to discover what the authors are trying to teach is to actually read the words. That takes thought, and can be difficult because often the first step in learning a new idea is the willingness to unlearn an old one. But even doing that, does not guarantee that we will hear what the author has to say.

    No matter how precisely an author writes, the reader will almost always understand the words according to the prior understanding and attitude the reader brings to the text. Because written words can be understood differently by different readers, the author simply has no power to control what the reader thinks the author wrote. This is even more true with inspired writings where the author is dependent on the reader’s ability to be taught by the Holy Ghost. Moroni was keenly aware of this problem when he wrote:

    23 And I said unto him: Lord, the Gentiles will mock at these things, because of our weakness in writing; for Lord thou hast made us mighty in word by faith, but thou hast not made us mighty in writing; for thou hast made all this people that they could speak much, because of the Holy Ghost which thou hast given them;
    24 And thou hast made us that we could write but little, because of the awkwardness of our hands. Behold, thou hast not made us mighty in writing like unto the brother of Jared, for thou madest him that the things which he wrote were mighty even as thou art, unto the overpowering of man to read them.
    25 Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.
    26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;
    27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
    28 Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness (Ether 12:23-28).

    The Lord lifted from Moroni the burden of the responsibility of what his readers would understand, because that burden remains squarely on the shoulders of the readers.

    Notwithstanding what I have just written, I am aware that there have been many editorial changes in the book since it was first published. The most numerous are punctuation changes to make it easier for us to read. But neither Mormon nor Moroni had anything to do with the need to make those changes. There was no punctuation in the manuscript Oliver Cowdery took to the printer. The printer added them. Punctuation marks are editorial comments, just as are the chapter breaks and headings and the breaks between verses —sometimes in mid-sentence. Another frequent change was the shortening of very long sentences whose ideas were tied together into a continuum by the conjunction “that.” Modern editors have shortened some sentences by replacing “that” with a semicolon, a comma, or a period. My favorite way to read the Book of Mormon is to download the text of the first edition, use a search and replace to take out all the punctuation, and read it with the long sentences. It is remarkable how smoothly the ideas flow together.

    I am quite sure that Moroni’s concern was not grammatical changes. Moroni’s warning expresses concern for the reader who innocently does not understand, just as it does for the reader who chooses to not understand. The difference is that the former faithfully waits for understanding, while the latter goes away thinking how very clever he is.
    ————————-
    FOOTNOTE

    {1} Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976), 7.

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  • Mormon 1:1-4 — Who was Mormon? — LeGrand Baker

    Mormon 1:1-4 —  Who was Mormon?

    2 And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe; [and then he placed the Nephite royal archives in the custody this little boy.] (Mormon 1:1-4).

    The question is: Who was this ten year old boy, and by what right could he claim possession of this priceless collection of the political and religious archives, and of the most sacred royal and priesthood regalia of the entire Nephite civilization?

    The first time Mormon identifies himself to us he writes, “I am Mormon, and a pure descendant of Lehi (3 Nephi 5:20).” Later, he tells us, “And I, Mormon, being a descendant of Nephi, (Mormon 1:5).”

    Nephi was the first king and founder of the royal Nephite dynasty.

    When Mormon’s son Moroni first identifies himself to us, he also defines himself by his relationship to the origin of the Nephite royal family. He writes: “Behold, I am Moroni; … I am the son of Mormon , and my father was a descendant of Nephi (Mormon 8:12-13).

    Mormon also tells us he is the heir to the royal line when he briefly gives us the history of the records he abridged.

    10 Wherefore, it came to pass that after Amaleki [the head of the house of Jacob] had delivered up these plates [small plates of Nephi] into the hands of king Benjamin, he took them and put them with the other plates, which contained records which had been handed down by the kings, from generation to generation until the days of king Benjamin.
    11 And they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to generation until they have fallen into my hands (Words of Mormon:10-11).

    It seems quite clear that both Mormon and Moroni are telling us that they are the hereditary Nephite kings, even though that title had not been used for many generations.

    If that is the way they choose to identify themselves, then we have the right to ask, “Does the Book of Mormon trace its kingship and priesthood authority in one family from Lehi to Moroni?” The answer is “Yes.” However, there seems to be three breaks in the family line with Mosiah I, Alma I, and even Mormon himself. Each of those has to be understood in its own context to see family continuity.

    The Lord promised Nephi that he would be a ruler and teacher (king and priest) over his people, and in writing his sacred memories on the small plates, Nephi carefully documents the origin of the new dynasty he founded. (I have discussed that in “1 Nephi 2:19-22 – Origin of Nephi’s Dynasty” in the “scriptures” section of this website.)

    Even though we have no record of the kings between the time of Nephi and Mosiah I, we can know that Mosiah I was a legitimate heir to the throne—probably a younger brother of the reigning monarch—because he had access to, and apparently absconded with, the royal genealogies on the brass plates and large plates of Nephi; and the royal regalia including the sword of Laban and the Liahona (Omni 1:11, Mosiah 1:16, Alma 37:38). These were the official symbols of kingship and priesthood, and would be passed down through the ruling family for the full thousand years of Nephite history.

    When Mosiah I left the land of Nephi, he was accompanied by the head of the House of Jacob who carried with him the family genealogy contained on the small plates of Nephi, and perhaps also other regalia and temple implements of the legitimate Nephite priesthood authority. The official Jacob line ended in Zarahemla when “Amaleki, the son of Abinadom” inherited the family records, but had no children, and his brother had gone with Zeniff to reclaim the land of Nephi. Because there was no legal heir of Jacob who could inherit the that family’s sacred genealogy and historical record, Amaleki gave the small plates to King Benjamin (Omni 1:25;Mosiah 7:9, 9:1).

    So now the archives of the king, who was both the political and spiritual leader of his people, contained not only the large plates of Nephi, and the brass plates, but the sacred writings of Nephi as well.

    The first apparent break in the Nephite royal family genealogy was the ascension of Mosiah I, but that one is easily dealt with because he has the royal records and is acknowledge as king, so that was really no break at all.

    The next apparent break in the royal succession is between Mosiah II and Alma I. King Mosiah gave Alma all of the royal histories, genealogies, and regalia of the Nephite kings. As is apparent from what we know of the Nephite culture, the king’s surrendering the implements of kingship and priesthood to one who was not a legal heir would have been absolutely out of the question. So now our challenge is to bridge the royal gap between Mosiah II and Alma I.

    To establish Alma’s lineage we must first address the question of Zeniff’s right to lead the Nephite colony back to reclaim the land Nephi.

    There is evidence that Zeniff was a younger son of Mosiah I and King Benjamin’s younger brother. The evidence is first circumstantial, then circular, but it is probably valid, nonetheless.

    The circumstantial evidence is, first of all, that Mosiah would never send a commoner to reclaim and then to reign in the land of Nephi. When they got to the land of Nephi, Zeniff was acknowledged as king. He was accompanied by a younger heir to the house of Jacob, and they rebuilt and used the temple. Either Zeniff was a usurper of the first order or he was a legitimate heir to the kingship. And Mormon never suggests a problem with his legitimacy.

    There is a roughly contemporary and similar situation in the Old Testament. When Cyrus sent Jews back to reclaim the land of Jerusalem he sent a prince named Zerubbabel to lead the colony and rebuild the temple (1 Chronicles 3:15-19, Ezra 5:1-2). That is the way it was done. If Zeniff were not a legitimate heir to the throne, he could not go to the land of Nephi and claim to be its rightful king.

    The other evidence that Zeniff was a prince is that he had a royal education. The quality of one’s education has always (except to a lesser degree in our own time) been sure evidence of political, economic and religious rank. The Nephite culture was no different from that.

    When Mormon introduces us to King Benjamin, he tells us that the king had three sons, “And he caused that they should be taught in all the language of his fathers, that thereby they might become men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord (Mosiah 1:1-2).” The “language of his fathers” would have included at least Hebrew and Egyptian, otherwise his sons could not have read the brass plates or the small plates of Nephi. Princes must know how, not just to read but also to understand, the secrets of the state and the mysteries that only kings had a right to know. Therefore, the princely education was always the dominion and the evidence of royalty.

    When Zeniff begins his short autobiography, the very first thing he says is that he has a royal education. “I, Zeniff, having been taught in all the language of the Nephites, and having had a knowledge of the land of Nephi, or of the land of our fathers’ first inheritance…. (Mosiah 9:1)” So the second circumstantial evidence is that Alma’s grandfather had a royal education (OK, so that bit about their relationship was a leap of logic that needs to be dealt with. Just hang on and we’ll get there.)

    The circular evidence that Zeniff was a prince is based on that logical leap, but it is still the strongest evidence of all: Mosiah II could not have given the rule of the Nephite nation to just anyone. Mosiah could never have acknowledged Alma as a legitimate claimant to the Nephite throne if Alma’s grandfather had not also been a legitimate heir to the kingdom.

    Now our next problem is to establish that Alma was, in fact, a young Nephite prince. The first evidence is that Mormon tells us so. When Mormon introduces us to Alma, he describes Alma’s heritage with the same words as he describes his own. He writes, “But there was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken (Mosiah 17:2).”

    In a footnote in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, Stephen and I examined the evidence that Alma was a prince — a younger brother of King Noah.

    There are several indications that Alma was a young prince. Evidence of his age is found when his son Alma II spoke to the people of Zarahemla, saying:

    5 And behold, after that, they were brought into bondage by the hands of the Lamanites in the wilderness; yea, I say unto you, they were in captivity, and again the Lord did deliver them out of bondage by the power of his word; and we were brought into this land, and here we began to establish the church of God throughout this land also (Alma 5:5).

    So “they” were brought into bondage, and “we” came out. When Luke wrote “we” and “they” in Acts, it is taken as a key to knowing when he was and was not with Paul’s party. If that same principle can be applied here, it says that when they were brought into bondage Alma II was not with them, but he was when they came out—indicating that he had been born while they were there.

    It was customary that a boy be married by the age of 18 to 20, but if one were not a “young man,” he could not sit in the councils of the Israelites, until he was 32, married, and had a child. If Alma II were his father’s oldest child, or at least his oldest son, and born when his father was in his early twenties, then Alma I may have been only in his late teens when he heard Abinadi. That was too young to sit in the king’s Council unless one was a prince.

    Another indication of Alma’s high rank (and probably of his popularity among the people) is that Noah did not arrest him, as he would have done a commoner, but rather sent someone to assassinate him.

    Probably the strongest evidence is that after he got to Zarahemla and the king’s sons refused to accept the throne, Alma was next in line for the throne. That could only be true if Zeniff, the king of the Nephites in the land of Nephi, were also a Nephite prince, and if Alma were his son and Noah’s younger brother, and, therefore, a legal heir to both Nephite thrones. {1}

    After Alma and his people came to Zarahemla and he was made Chief Judge he did not have the title of king, but he did have all of the authority of the royal office, including his status as High Priest of the Church.

    In pre-exilic Israel the king was both head of government and the head of the state religion. That is evident by the facts that Solomon dedicated the Temple and offered sacrifices. Later the temple appears to have been the “royal chapel” during the reign of Isaiah’s friend King Hezekiah. We see the same relationship of church and state in the reign of King Benjamin who presided at the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.

    Alma’s innovation was that he organized the religion into a more structured “church.” We know they worshiped the Savior, but we know almost nothing about how the church organization worked except that it served to keep Alma and his friends together even when they were under bondage in the wilderness. The church had priests and teachers to whom Alma had given authority. They performed baptisms, and held meetings. We also know they lived the Law of Moses. (However, we do not know what they meant by “the Law of Moses.” The version of the Law that we have in our Bible was severely edited by post-exilic Jews who changed the Law to fit their new circumstances as part of the Persian empire.)

    King Mosiah acknowledged the value of Alma’s church organization and gave him royal authority to continue it after he came to Zarahemla. So latter, when Alma was Chief Judge, he, like the kings before him, had all the powers of both the kingship and the High Priesthood.

    Alma II again divided the royal authority between the political and ecclesiastical. Alma retained his High Priest responsibilities in the Church, and those powers were passed down through the heirs of his family until Nephi III. When the Savior came to the Nephites he established a new Church that no longer adhered to the Law of Moses, and he also established a political theocracy. He made Nephi III head of both church and state. That authority remained intact and with the family for four generations until the time of Ammaron who gave all of the archives and regalia to the boy Mormon. Now we are confronted with our original question: How did Mormon fit into the ruling family and by what right did Ammaron turn the entire royal archives over to the keeping of a ten year old boy?

    Again, the evidence that Mormon was legitimate heir to the kingship and priesthood of the royal family is very firm even though the evidence we are given might be considered as only circumstantial.

    The history of the sacred records and regalia is the key to understanding who Mormon was. He tells us they had remained in the custody of Nephi’s heirs, from father to son for the full thousand years of Nephite history. Mormon tells us he is heir of the Nephite kings when he gives us the history of the royal archives and says, “they were handed down from king Benjamin, from generation to generation until they have fallen into my hands (Words of Mormon:10-11).”

    The details of their more recent history was that from Nephi III they were passed to his son Nephi, then to his son Amos. Amos died and put them in the custody of his brother Ammaron. By that time, the Nephite apostasy had become so widespread that the records were no longer safe where they had been kept. Then, as Mormon tells us,

    48 And it came to pass that when three hundred and twenty years had passed away, Ammaron, being constrained by the Holy Ghost, did hide up the records which were sacred—yea, even all the sacred records which had been handed down from generation to generation, which were sacred—even until the three hundred and twentieth year from the coming of Christ.
    49 And he did hide them up unto the Lord, that they might come again unto the remnant of the house of Jacob, according to the prophecies and the promises of the Lord. And thus is the end of the record of Ammaron (4 Nephi 1:48-49).

    The sacred records which Ammaron hid were the dynastic archives of Nephi’s royal family. But, if we can judge by the stories and quotes from original documents which are found in our Book of Mormon (like 1 Nephi, Alma’s journal, and the official history kept by Nephi III), we can know that Ammaron’s archives also included official state and church records as well. These records were preserved in a massive collection of metal plates that were eventually re-hidden by Mormon and preserved in secret cave.

    We know that because two months before his death in 1877, Brigham Young described the contents of that cave. He explained that he wanted Latter-day Saints to know and remember what had happened to the plates of the Book of Mormon. The following paragraph is the account of Joseph’s returning the plates to Moroni as Brigham Young reported that Oliver Cowdery told it to him:

    This is an incident in the life of Oliver Cowdery, but he did not take the liberty of telling such things in meeting as I take. I tell these things to you, and I have a motive for doing so. I want to carry them to the ears of my brethren and sisters, and to the children also, that they may grow to an understanding of some things that seem to be entirely hidden from the human family. Oliver Cowdery went with the Prophet Joseph when he deposited these plates. Joseph did not translate all of the plates; there was a portion of them sealed, which you can learn from the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. When Joseph got the plates, the angel instructed him to carry them back to the hill Cumorah, which he did. Oliver says that when Joseph and Oliver went there, the hill opened, and they walked into a cave, in which there was a large and spacious room. He says he did not think, at the time, whether they had the light of the sun or artificial light; but that it was just as light as day. They laid the plates on a table; it was a large table that stood in the room. Under this table there was a pile of plates as much as two feet high, and there were altogether in this room more plates than probably many wagon loads; they were piled up in the corners and along the walls. The first time they went there the sword of Laban hung upon the wall; but when they went again it had been taken down and laid upon the table across the gold plates; it was unsheathed, and on it was written these words: “This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.” I tell you this as coming not only from Oliver Cowdery, but others who were familiar with it, and who understood it…. {2}

    Now we return to Mormon’s story. We have learned that he has custody of that entire royal archives, but we still have not addressed the original question is: Who was this boy and by what right did Ammaron entrust the safety and preservation this priceless collection of the most sacred royal and religious archives and regalia of the entire Nephite civilization into the hands of a mere child? The answer is obvious—he was a prince— but now we need the evidence to substantiate that.

    At the beginning of his own autobiography he tells us:

    1 And now I, Mormon, make a record of the things which I have both seen and heard, and call it the Book of Mormon.
    2 And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe;
    3 Therefore, when ye are about twenty and four years old I would that ye should remember the things that ye have observed concerning this people; and when ye are of that age go to the land Antum, unto a hill which shall be called Shim; and there have I deposited unto the Lord all the sacred engravings concerning this people.
    4 And behold, ye shall take the plates of Nephi unto yourself, and the remainder shall ye leave in the place where they are; and ye shall engrave on the plates of Nephi all the things that ye have observed concerning this people (Mormon 1:1-4).

    The hill Shim was the strategic location chosen by the Jaredites to fight their final battle. {3} It is likely that the Nephites recognized its military value and also had a fortification there and that Ammaron thought that would a safe place to keep the royal archives. Later on, Mormon moved the archives to a the cave in the hill Comorah where they still are. Mormon explained,

    22 And it came to pass that the Nephites did again flee from before them, taking all the inhabitants with them, both in towns and villages.
    23 And now I, Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were about to overthrow the land, therefore I did go to the hill Shim, and did take up all the records which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord (Mormon 4:22-23).

    Later, he tells us,

    6 And it came to pass that when we had gathered in all our people in one to the land of Cumorah, behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni (Mormon 6:6).

    Even though Mormon does not use the word, we know from what he does tell us that he was a prince who, in his maturity, had all of the powers of the ancient kings.

    We know that he had a royal education and could read the Egyptian on small plates as well as the full range of the dialects of the evolution of the Nephite language from its original Hebrew to the Reformed Egyptian of his own time. Even in translation, we can detect that linguistic evolution by the changes in literary styles from Nephi to Alma, to 3 Nephi, and to Mormon in Moroni 7. In considering the extent of those changes, it is a useful comparison to see the thousand-year evolution in the English language from Chaucer to Shakespeare and the King James Bible, to Victorian literature, to modern television-standard American English. There is no reason to believe that the Nephite language did not change in just as dramatic a way, especially when one recognizes the infusion of not just Egyptian, but also Mulekite, Jaredite, and even Greek names interwoven into the Book of Mormon history. If there were non-Hebrew names then there must have also been non-Hebrew words in the language, perhaps much like modern English that is a conglomerate of Anglo-Saxon, Latin, French and German, and even African.

    So we know without being told that Mormon could read Hebrew and Egyptian as well as the variations and dialects that evolved in the language during the thousand years of Nephite history. He must have had a brilliant mind as well as an amazing education.

    The apparent break in the Book of Mormon’s genealogical record between Amos, Ammaron, and Mormon is probably accounted for in one of two ways: Either because Amos’s son, Mormon (young Mormon’s father) was away in the back country when Amos died so Amos placed the archives in his brother’s custody until Mormon could return. Or (and this may be the more likely), Amos had no sons so his brother inherited the royal prerogatives, and young Mormon was Ammaron’s grandson.

    We know almost nothing about Mormon’s father, or why Ammaron gave the royal archives into the boy’s custody, rather than into his father’s. Mormon tells us only this:

    5 And I, Mormon, being a descendant of Nephi, (and my father’s name was Mormon) I remembered the things which Ammaron commanded me.
    6 And it came to pass that I, being eleven years old, was carried by my father into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla (Mormon 1:5-6).

    After that, we are left to assume that his father either died of natural causes or was assassinated, because when war broke out five years later, Mormon’s father (who by his brithright should have commanded the Nephite armies) is not even mentioned.

    Young Mormon was about the same age as Joseph Smith when Joseph received the First Vision, when Mormon also received a similar calling from the Savior himself. However, he does not give us the details Joseph does; Mormon reports only:

    15 And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus (Mormon 1:15).

    I think Mormon has just described his own sode experience. Even though we have no way of knowing how similar those two experience were, I am quite content in believing that those same words might also serve as an accurate, albeit very abbreviated, remembrance of Joseph’s First Vision.

    Mormon continues his narrative:

    1 And it came to pass in that same year there began to be a war again between the Nephites and the Lamanites. And notwithstanding I being young, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies.
    2 Therefore it came to pass that in my sixteenth year I did go forth at the head of an army of the Nephites, against the Lamanites; therefore three hundred and twenty and six years had passed away (Mormon 2:1-2).

    His language is very explicit. He does not say that at age sixteen he was given actual command of the armies. What he says is that he was appointed “their leader” and that he went “at the head of an army.” This sounds very much like the situations in medieval Europe when armies fought hand to hand. The young king or the heir-apparent went before the armies as the token commander (kind of like a mascot to encourage the army, but that’s probably not a very good word to describe his official capacity.)

    I read Mormon’s words to say that same thing, because, in contrast to that language, when he had grown older he reported he “had led them many times to battle (Mormon 3:12).” And then, for second time, he actually command of all of the Nephite armies. He wrote:

    1 And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did repent of the oath which I had made that I would no more assist them; and they gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions (Mormon 5:1).

    Mormon was also the prophet and head of the Christian Church. We know that by the introduction to his address recorded by his son in Moroni 7. He began by saying:

    2 And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; and it is by the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will, because of the gift of his calling unto me, that I am permitted to speak unto you at this time.
    3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven (Moroni 7:2-3).

    Who was Mormon? He was by right of heritage the king and religious leader of the Nephite nation. And by right of his faithfulness to that heritage, he was prophet and president of the Church that the Savior established when he came to America.

    Mormon was a magnificent historian who wrote with dedication, clarity, and purpose, and who instilled both that purpose and dedication into his son Moroni.

    And he and his son are my heroes !

    ——————–

    FOOTNOTES

    {1} Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, p. 692 footnote 741; second edition, p. 489-90 footnote 752.

    {2} Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 19:38-39.

    {3} Shim was the Jaredite name for the hill where their last battle was held as is shown in this passage from the book of Ether:

    3 And the Lord warned Omer in a dream that he should depart out of the land; wherefore Omer departed out of the land with his family, and traveled many days, and came over and passed by the hill of Shim, and came over by the place where the Nephites were destroyed, and from thence eastward, and came to a place which was called Ablom, by the seashore, and there he pitched his tent, and also his sons and his daughters, and all his household, save it were Jared and his family (Ether 9:3).

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  • Metaphysics, Communication, Agency and Salvation

    Metaphysics, Communication, Agency and Salvation

    Version Metcom10, 8 March 2011, edited 29 Apr 2014

    C. C. Riddle

    The purpose of this paper is to present a framework of metaphysics for better understanding of the process of human communication. The application will be the impact those ideas have on the understanding of human agency and of salvation. This will be done in an LDS context of understanding. The attempt will be made to be as plain and as simple as possible.

    1. Metaphysics

    The definition of the word “metaphysics” varies from person to person, among philosophers especially. The following definition will be used in this discussion: Metaphysics is the unprovable assumptions about the universe which we use to think about the things which are provable. If what we are thinking about at a given moment is or has been seen, or is provable, then it belongs to the realm of physics, or nature. If what we think about is the unseen, unprovable aspects of the universe which make sense of what we do see, we are in the realm of metaphysics. Everyone has a metaphysics if they think, but few people are conscious of the metaphysics which they use and believe. For instance, no one can prove there will be a tomorrow. But most people believe there will be a tomorrow, and live their lives accordingly.

    There are no human experts about metaphysics, and therefore there is no point in quoting anyone except to make explicit their opinions. Every thinking person either believes in an after-life, or does not, but no person is an expert on the matter who should be believed. If there were such an expert and if that person were expert because of physical evidence, then that subject would be part of nature and physics, no longer in the realm of metaphysics.

    In saying that there are no human experts about metaphysics, we must take note of the role of prophets, seers and revelators. Prophets of God are people appointed by God to speak to the rest of us about the things which God wants us to know, which includes a lot of metaphysics. Seers from God are people to whom God shows things which are metaphysical to us, that they might tell us about the truth of metaphysics. Revelators from God are persons authorized by God to give us his messages. In an LDS frame, prophets, seers and revelators are sent to the rest of us by God so that each person may eventually become himself or herself a prophet, seer and revelator. Should all of us become such, the realm of metaphysics would largely become physics. If we believe the metaphysics taught to us by prophets, seers and revelators, it will be because we either have faith in them or faith in the ministrations of the Holy Spirit which testifies to us of the truth of what they say.

    Meanwhile we all live by faith in someone or something. Every human being lives by faith because each of us must believe things about metaphysics to make sense of our physical world. There is no shortage of faith or of metaphysical belief in this world. The question is, how much of that faith and metaphysics is grounded in truth? It is the testimony of Latter-day Saints that the unique access to truth in metaphysics is the light of Christ, and to receive a fulness of correct metaphysics requires full faith in Jesus Christ.

    We might suppose that our metaphysics should be internally consistent, but we cannot prove that that is necessary. Some people function very nicely with self-contradictory assumptions about metaphysics. For instance, many people are taught and believe in the Three-in-One God of the Nicene Creed and do not mind the inconsistencies associated with that belief.

    We suppose that our metaphysics should be useful, helping us to make better sense of the seen world. But some people enjoy metaphysics which are not very useful in explaining the seen world. For instance, to suppose that our visible world is supported on the back of a great unseen turtle makes it possible to explain some things, like earthquakes, but little else.

    Metaphysical assumptions are very powerful in controlling what we think about the seen world and what to do about it. For instance, if we think disease is caused by unseen metaphysical forces, we may treat disease by appealing to unseen metaphysical agents, such as appeasing unseen spirits. But if we think disease is caused by seen and known physical factors, we will try to deal with those physical factors to cure disease. It is interesting that the germ theory of disease accounts well for positive cases of given diseases but cannot account for negative cases, where the person is exposed but does not acquire the disease. The negative cases are disposed of by metaphysics: The person who does not acquire the disease is accused of having an “immunity” to the disease, which immunity is actually a metaphysical construct.

    The line between physics and metaphysics is not the same for every person. A strict interpretation would make everything metaphysical which is not being sensed by me now. A loose interpretation would make everything in which I believe physics, metaphysics being the assumptions I make about existence when I think. This difference between persons as to what is metaphysical and what is not is the source of great confusion and the basis of much disagreement.

    Metaphysics is powerful. Cultural control of populations is often undertaken by carefully controlling the metaphysics people are taught. For example, there is a concerted effort in the public schools of the United States to counter the concept of a God who controls the universe, and one of the chief instruments in that effort is the careful teaching of organic evolution. Usually in this teaching no distinction is being made between the scientific law of evolution, which is in the realm of physics and is very sure, and the theory of organic evolution, which is the metaphysics of evolution and is unprovable. The problem is that those who teach evolution often surreptitiously attach the surety of the law to the theory for all who do not understand what is going on, thereby convincing many that science is correct and that thus there is no God.

    Metaphysical considerations are of controlling importance in all thinking. This because the frame of reference in which a person thinks sets the limits and possibilities for that thinking. To have a false metaphysics is to guarantee the creation of a false picture in the presentations of that person, which may, in turn, lead to acts which are not productive of good. If we do not promote good, we promote evil. Good and evil are, of course, metaphysical assumptions which some persons deny exist.

    The main point about metaphysics: If you think, you have to have a metaphysics. Whatever metaphysical framework you use is a matter of faith, not knowledge, and that faith both empowers and restricts all of your thinking, choosing and acting.

    2. Communication

    The metaphysics of communication in one LDS frame of reference is to view the human being as an intelligence housed in a spirit body, and that spirit body housed in a temporary tabernacle of flesh and bone. The real person is the intelligence housed in the spirit body, not the body of flesh and bone. This human person of three parts exists in this world for a testing, a probation, to show the true nature of the intelligence by allowing the spirit to control the body.

    The intelligence and spirit of each person receive information about the world around it’s physical body through the nerve mechanisms of that human body. These nerve mechanisms transmit nerve impulses to the brain which are differentiated only by the source in the sensory organs of the surface of the human body. Thus the nerve impulse from the retina of the eyes is exactly the kind of impulse as the impulses from the tympani in the ears. If the two nerve systems were crossed, we would “see” with our ears and “hear” with our eyes. This information is the physics of the functioning of the human physical body.

    This picture of the human nervous system leads to the idea of epistemological solipsism. Metaphysical solipsism is the idea that I alone exist and that the universe and all of its inhabitants are but figments of my imagination. We are not here espousing or commending metaphysical solipsism. But I am propounding and endorsing epistemological solipsism. Epistemological solipsism is the idea that my consciousness exists in my brain and I know nothing directly about the outside physical universe. I invent ideas about the physical universe in response to the physical stimuli which my nervous systems send to my brain, but my universe is all a construct, an invention of my mind.

    In my particular LDS frame of reference as added to that scientific account of human sensing, we also need to posit that the human spirit is also subject to two kinds of spiritual influence to which it may and must respond: First, the influence of God for good, either the light of Christ or the Holy Ghost, or both, which inform the spirit as to how to interpret physical and spiritual experiences for truth and for good. Second, the influence of Satan for error and for evil, interpreting physical and spiritual experience of the person in ways that encourage each person to do evil, to break the commandments of God. There is some scriptural evidence that the spiritual influence of Satan comes to the human being only through the flesh, the mortal tabernacle.1

    The sum of this metaphysical picture of the human being is that the human spirit is trapped with the human physical body and knows or is affected by only three things: 1)physical stimuli which come through the sensory mechanisms of the physical human body, 2)spiritual stimuli which come to it from God, and 3) spiritual stimuli which come from Satan.2

    When one human being communicates with another human being, the communication consists of both physical and spiritual elements. For the instance of voice communication, the speaker creates noises which travel through the air as sound waves and which disturb the hearing mechanisms of the physical body of the recipient person. The recipient hears the noises in his or her own brain and invents a meaning for the noises. This meaning is constructed on the basis of the recipient’s prior experience with the language being used, and on the basis of the construct of the universe which the recipient has, which will include prior experience with the speaker, with other speakers of that language, previous thoughts of the recipient about the topic being discussed, etc. The point of this is that meaning is never transmitted directly from one person to another. It has no place in the stream of nervous impulses which arrive in the human brain. Meaning is always invented by the recipient. No sign, signal or symbol has any inherent meaning. Again, meaning is always invented by the recipient and is never transmitted physically when humans communicate.

    But the recipient is never alone in constructing meanings in a communication situation. Always there is the additional influence of Satan in every communication. Satan supplies to the recipient possible interpretations for the noises heard, and may or may not indicate the true meaning intended by the speaker. The purpose of Satan’s communication to the human spirit is in all cases to lead the recipient to do evil. Satan will thus indicate to the human spirit whatever interpretation of the communication he desires to the end that the person break the commandments of God.

    The third element of most human communication is the influence of God. When a person is spoken to by another person, God may also supply to the recipient an interpretation of the physical message of the sender. This influence of God will come either through the light of Christ, which all mankind receives at most times during mortality, or through the ministrations of the Holy Ghost. The influence of God in the communication situation is to give the recipient part or all of the true intention and message of the speaker. Having access to the true intention and message of the speaker arms the recipient to deal with reality, the way things really are. Should the speaker be describing some truth of the universe, the influence of God may give a correct interpretation of the intent of the speaker, and may also give the real truth of the matter under consideration, depending on the worthiness of the recipient. Along with the correct interpretation of the communication, instruction may be given as to how to respond to the sender in a way that is good, within the framework of the commandments of God, which good will be some form of blessing others by one’s actions.

    The influence of God is not always present. It is always present for little children, and sometimes little children understand human communication better than their elders. But for those over eight years of age, if the person consistently chooses and uses only the interpretations given by Satan, the spirit of the Lord is grieved and leaves the person to be led solely by Satan.3 My metaphysics tells me that when any person rejects the influence of God, he or she is left with only his or her personal inventions as to the meaning of communications as influenced by Satan. For a covenant servant of Christ I see no middle ground: Either we accept the help of God in communication or reject it. But when we reject the influence of God we back ourselves into the arms of Satan and whatever interpretation we give to the communication in question will be tainted or controlled by the influence of Satan.

    To say that human words and symbols have no inherent meaning must not be taken to say that they have no importance. Some human words and symbols have great importance in and of themselves, and the appropriate use of them gives the speaker great power. The prime example of this importance of a word or symbol is the name “Jesus Christ.” When a true and faithful covenant servant of Jesus Christ uses that name in prayer or in blessing or cursing someone or something, the use of the name has the power to change things in the natural world, such as healing the sick or causing the blind to see.4 When a person who knows who Jesus Christ is uses that name in vain by swearing or by attempting to give unauthorized blessings or cursings, damage comes to the speaker instead of to the person or thing he or she is trying to bless or curse.5 The use of magical words and incantations is the evil reverse practice of using the name of Christ to bless. Satan also has special words which his followers are taught and use to wield his Satanic power in the realm of natural things, and such formulae are much sought after by purveyors of evil.6 The power, of course, does not reside in the words themselves, but in the persons of Christ and Satan. The person who uses the words correctly, using the instructions given by the respective master, thus has power through using words. But  the power is not in the words themselves. Meaning must be intended by the user as well as being invented by the hearer.

    The meaning of any communication is thus supplied by three sources: The imagination of the hearer, the influence of Satan, and the influence of God. It may also come from any mixture of those three sources.

    The main point about communication: Human beings as spirit persons have only indirect communication with each other through the physical sensory mechanisms of the human body, but have direct communication with both God and Satan.

    3. Agency

    Agency is the freedom of an individual to choose between alternatives and then to carry out the chosen action. Choosing provides a partial agency which is sufficient to show the nature of the person choosing, whether they themselves are good or evil. Action provides the fulness of agency. Where there is no power to act, there is no power to do actual good or evil, even if chosen.

    The purpose of mortal probation is fulfilled simply by choosing.

    Human beings exist in this world to give each an opportunity to choose between good and evil, thus to display the nature of their eternal intelligence. God provided this human experience for each person so that when he rewards each with eternal blessings, each human will know that God is just and is rewarding each person appropriately.

    The agency of each human being thus consists in having the God-given opportunity to react to both the influence of Satan for evil and the influence of God for good. How a given person reacts to their experience with those two spiritual influences determines how much weight of glory that given person can stand in the eternal worlds. Those who learn to take interpretation and direction only from God, and who then do what God directs, are candidates for exaltation, to become as God is. Those who mix their interpretations and instruction to act, using some from Satan and some from God, are candidates for glory because of the degree to which they follow God, but are damned or stopped to the degree to which they hearkened to Satan.

    No human being can determine the eternal salvation of any other human being. Because no human being can communicate directly with any other human being, no person can control the mind or choices of any other human being. It is true that human communication may engender good or evil, but each person will be given a full opportunity to choose between good and evil for himself or herself. A missionary may present a message about the Gospel of Jesus Christ to another person, but it is not receiving the missionary’s message that saves anyone, it is rather because the person listens to the Holy Spirit which may be present when the missionary teaches or bears testimony.7 The task of a missionary is to be so humble that he or she is accompanied by the Holy Spirit. Then the salvation of souls is made possible. Likewise, no human being can damn any other human being, no matter how they treat the other person or what communication they attempt to give them.

    Part of the agency of each human being is the ability God has given each to interpret and use the communications of other human beings. Another part is the influence of Satan. A third part is God’s own influence. Thus each human being lives in a mental universe of his or her own choosing, and chooses actions to attempt to remodel or change that universe according to his or her own desires.

    God has set up a flawless system to give each human being agency to affect others temporally, but never to control the eternal destiny of anyone but themselves. Every person will say at the day of judgment that they have been given the correct reward. No one will accuse God of being either harsh or indulgent towards any of his children, for each will see and know that each has chosen his or her own eternal destiny and rewards by the actions he or she chose in the mortal probation.

    The main point about agency: The agency of human beings is the opportunity to choose either good by hearkening to God, or to choose evil by hearkening to Satan at a given moment. There is no third possibility.

    4. Salvation

    Salvation is to be saved from something. In the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, salvation is to be saved from ourselves and from the consequences of the evil things we have done.

    To be saved from ourselves means to be helped to get rid of the evil within our own nature, our character, which causes and enables us to sin. To sin is to break the commandments of God, and all sinning involves injury to others in the process of breaking the commandments of God. To be saved from the things we have done is to be saved from the consequences of a just reward for each of the acts of disobedience to the commandments of God wherein we have caused injury to others.

    Our Savior helps us to be saved from ourselves through the process of repentance. In repenting, we change our actions so that all of our acts become acts of faith in Jesus Christ. We can do this only by treasuring the influence of God in our lives and at the same time rejecting the influence of Satan in our lives. By such choosing we learn to keep all of the commandments of God. This change, or repentance, is a change of character, which change of character involves changing how we view the world and how we react to the world. This salvation is a reformation of our habits of thinking, feeling, speaking and acting. These changes do not come simply by desiring to change, but come only as our character is reformulated by our persistent actions in  choosing to do good for our neighbors under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit, and then doing that good. The change has to be so complete and so firm that eventually we come to the point where forever after we never will give in to the temptations of Satan to break the commandments of God, thus to sin. The goal of faith in Jesus Christ and repentance is to come unto the stature of a perfect human being, our character being remade in the image of Christ himself through our own choices and by the enabling power of God.

    Our Savior helps us to be saved from the consequences of our actions, from the just reward for the injury we have caused others through breaking the commandments of God, through his suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross. In that suffering he took upon himself the pain for each human sin, the just recompense for our having caused pain. He will forgive us the necessity of making that same suffering on the condition that we truly repent, that is, that we change our nature and habits so that we no longer sin. Then it is worthwhile for him to forgive us, since we no longer are preying upon our fellow beings.

    The key to salvation is to receive instruction from God and follow it, specifically to serve under the tutelage of the Holy Ghost. One cannot receive the gift of the Holy Ghost unto this salvation until he or she makes the covenant of baptism. One of the promises of that covenant is that we will keep the commandments Christ gives us, in other words, we will seek and gain full faith in Jesus Christ.

    One cannot receive the covenant of baptism meaningfully if one has not received the witness of the Holy Ghost. It profits a person to receive the witness of the Holy Ghost only when one can tell the good from the evil in this world, so that one knows which is the good or holy spirit, and which is the evil or satanic spirit. Every human being of normal intelligence becomes well acquainted with both the light of Christ, which witnesses of that which is good, and the influence of Satan, which witnesses of that which is evil. Then, knowing good from evil, each can discern the difference between the Holy Spirit and the evil spirit. It is then meaningful to the individual to receive the Holy Ghost.

    The salvation of a given human soul is thus a joint enterprise between that soul and Christ. The individual puts his or her whole faith in Christ unto taking upon himself or herself the New and Everlasting Covenant and then living up to all of the promises made. As the individual person does the works of righteousness by loving God with all of his or her heart, might, mind and strength, Christ enables the person to have greater and greater will power, priesthood power, discernment, understanding, and knowledge of the truth of all things, but especially and most importantly the power to love others with a pure love, the pure love of Christ.

    The main point about salvation: Our Savior saves each individual by teaching and enabling each to have full faith in him unto repentance from every transgression of the laws of God until the person arrives at the stature of the fulness of the character of Christ himself and does the full works of righteousness which the pure love of Christ makes possible.

    Conclusion:

    The agency of mankind is thus found in the simple paradigm of our communication situation as given by the correct metaphysical understanding of the human condition. This paradigm is that the human being is an intelligence tabernacled in a spirit body, that spirit body being tabernacled in a mortal, physical body. The spirit body has direct spiritual communication with both the good spirit and the evil spirit, but no direct connection or communication with any other human being. The agency of the person is simply to choose which of the two spirits to follow. Salvation depends upon deliberately following the Holy Spirit, upon deliberately rejecting the influence of the evil spirit, and not upon the intervention of any other human being except to receive all parts of the New and Everlasting Covenant as administered by some authorized representative of God.

    1. 2 Nephi 2:29

    2. 2 Nephi 2:28-29

    3. D&C 121:37

    4. D&C46:16-26

    5. Exodus 20:7, D&C 63:61-62

    6. Moroni: 10:30

    7. D&C 50: 17-25

  • 3 Nephi 27:28-31 & 3 Nephi 28:10-11 – LeGrand Baker – ‘The Fulness of Joy’

    3 Nephi 27:28-31 & 3 Nephi 28:10-11 

    28 And now I go unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you.
    29 Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened.
    30 And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are lost.
    31 Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are now alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I have fulness of joy (3 Nephi 27:28-31).

    ——————–

    10 And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one;
    11 And the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me (3 Nephi 28:10-11).

    ——————–

    18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.
    19 And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.
    20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.
    21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them (3 Nephi 17:18-21).

    ——————–

    The term “fulness of joy” expresses several facets of the same condition. The condition is a truth/light/love/joy continuum, just as our existence is a progression, beginning in our premortal world and continuing in this life until we finding fulfillment in the presence of God.

    In every stage the relationship expressed by the Hebrew word hesed (unfailing love based on a prior covenant) is an essential part of that joy. The continuum leads through fraternal love (Philadelphia, translated as “brotherly kindness”) and charity (in 2 Peter 1:7); to redemption (which in the Book of Mormon usually means to come into the presence of the Savior), to celestial glory which is being with both the Father and the Son, and also with all the other people we love.

    From these scriptures it is reasonable to conclude that the “fulness of joy” is a product of eternal, loving relationship with the Savior. However, the scriptural uses of that and similar phrases teaches us that there is more to it than that. And the “more” has to do with qualifying to be a participant in such a relationship. The Savior explained that qualification (singular) while teaching his Apostles:

    9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
    10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
    11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
    12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:9-12).

    That, of course, is the major theme that runs through all of the scriptures, just as every commandment is a subset of that great commandment. Both the love and the joy spoken of here are gifts of the Holy Ghost (Moroni 8:25-26, Acts 13:52), and, like any other gift, must be cultivated until perfected. James calls it the “royal law,” but warns that even a selective prejudice erodes our ability to love. He wrote:

    8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
    9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors (James 2:8-9).

    As God is no respecter of persons, so we have no right to be. There is no legitimate place in the human soul that can house prejudice or intolerance. They, like a cancer, grow to discolor and distort one’s sense of Self because they cripple our ability to see the worth of the people around us. They cause us to divide God’s children into the categories of “us” and “others.” Thereby, they inhibit our ability to love and diminish our capacity to experience joy.

    While love and joy may be different at first, they grow in a near-parallel continuum until they meet and become only different expressions of the same thing.

    40 For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice continueth its course and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things (D&C 88:40).

    This principle is made graphic in the Savior’s intercessory prayer in John 17. The initial focus of the prayer is his desire to perpetuate the relationships he has with the Apostles, that thereby “they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” (V. 13). The relationship is emphised by the words “my joy fulfilled in themselves.”Then he expands that prayer and concludes with:

    20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
    21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
    22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
    23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
    24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
    25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
    26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:20-26).

    The Savior’s prayer among the Nephites echoes the same promise:

    29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them. (3 Nephi 19:29).

    As do these words to Moses:

    39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39).

    The ancient psalms also testify that for man, the “fulness of joy” is being where God is.

    11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Psalms 16:11).

    As love and joy are the final product of eternal salvation, so also are they the products of the intermediate steps that bring us to exaltation. The scriptures frequently speak of the fulness of joy in the same contexts as they speak of brotherly love and charity. Once again, a proper analysis of these principles would require a book length discussion, so the best I can do here is to suggest some scriptures that provide the keys. I have broken the subject of the “fulness of joy” into the following parts and quoted some relevant scriptures under each heading. They are:

    1. Premortal love and joy
    2. Remission of sins
    3. Knowledge of Truth
    4. Family and Friends
    5. Redeem (to come into the presence of God)
    6. Endure to the end
    7. Resurrection
    8. The destiny of celestial persons
    9. Conclusion

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    PREMORTAL LOVE AND JOY

    5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
    6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it (2 John 1:5-6).

    ——————–

    4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
    5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
    6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
    7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:1-7)

    ——————–

    1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
    2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
    3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
    4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full (1 John 1:1-7).

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    REMISSION OF SINS

    3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them (Mosiah 4:3).

    ——————–

    11 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 nothingness, 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 (Mosiah 4:11).

    ——————–

    20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy (Mosiah 4:20).

    ——————–

    13 Now this was a great cause for lamentations among the people, while others were abasing themselves, succoring those who stood in need of their succor, such as imparting their substance to the poor and the needy, feeding the hungry, and suffering all manner of afflictions, for Christ’s sake, who should come according to the spirit of prophecy;
    14 Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death (Alma 4:13-14).

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    KNOWLEDGE of TRUTH

    There are three components of joy. The first is love—relationships with the Gods, as well as with family and friends. The second is light—the pure light of Christ that fills the immensity of space and gives life to all things (D&C 88 & 93). The third is truth which is the source of both the light and the love. “It appears that love, light, and truth are equivalents—they come from God and are expressions of his glory…. Joy is the product of truth/light/love.” (Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, p. 565; second edition, p. 802-3. The second edition is on this website.)

    26 The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
    27 And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
    28 He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things (D&C 93:26-28).

    ——————–

    12 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.
    13 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;
    14 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).

    ——————–

    61 If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal (D&C 42:61).

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    FAMILY and FRIENDS

    34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
    35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:34-35).

    ——————–

    30 And even if they do unto you even as they have done unto me, blessed are ye, for you shall dwell with me in glory.
    31 But if they reject not my words, which shall be established by the testimony which shall be given, blessed are they, and then shall ye have joy in the fruit of your labors.
    32 Verily, verily, I say unto you, as I said unto my disciples, where two or three are gathered together in my name, as touching one thing, behold, there will I be in the midst of them—even so am I in the midst of you (D&C 6:30-32).

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    REDEEM (to come into the presence of God)

    See “A Meaning of ‘Redeem’— to ‘Come Unto Christ’,” in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, p. 510-20; second edition, p. 725-39.

    51 Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field, and he sent forth his servants into the field to dig in the field.
    52 And he said unto the first: Go ye and labor in the field, and in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance.
    53 And he said unto the second: Go ye also into the field, and in the second hour I will visit you with the joy of my countenance.
    54 And also unto the third, saying: I will visit you;
    55 And unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
    56 And the lord of the field went unto the first in the first hour, and tarried with him all that hour, and he was made glad with the light of the countenance of his lord (D&C 88:51-56).

    ——————–

    10 And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
    11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.
    12 And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters (Moses 5:10-12).

    ——————–

    67 And the Lord showed Enoch all things, even unto the end of the world; and he saw the day of the righteous, the hour of their redemption, and received a fulness of joy;
    68 And all the days of Zion, in the days of Enoch, were three hundred and sixty-five years.
    69 And Enoch and all his people walked with God, and he dwelt in the midst of Zion; and it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into his own bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, ZION IS FLED (Moses 7:67-69).

    ——————–

    6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—
    7 Therefore, what the queen desired of him was his only desire. Therefore, he went in to see the king according as the queen had desired him; and he saw the king, and he knew that he was not dead (Alma 19:6-7).

    ——————–

    51 Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field, and he sent forth his servants into the field to dig in the field.
    52 And he said unto the first: Go ye and labor in the field, and in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance.
    53 And he said unto the second: Go ye also into the field, and in the second hour I will visit you with the joy of my countenance.
    54 And also unto the third, saying: I will visit you;
    55 And unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth.
    56 And the lord of the field went unto the first in the first hour, and tarried with him all that hour, and he was made glad with the light of the countenance of his lord (D&C 88:51-56).

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ENDURE TO THE END

    2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end (Alma 38:2).

    ——————–

    36 Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.
    37 Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life of the soul.
    38 And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life (D&C 101:36-38).

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    RESURRECTION
    The condition of the Celestial glory is truth/light/love/joy, and only those who are physically capable of enduring that glory will be able to be there. The Prophet Joseph explained:

    1 The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell.
    2 I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire;
    3 Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son (D&C 137:1-3).

    Therefore, a necessary prerequisite to the fulness of joy is to have a body that can be in the presence of that throne that is like “circling flames of fire.” If our resurrected bodies are not made of that same pure light, then in the presence of God we would sizzle.

    ——————–

    26 Wherefore, it [the earth] shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it.
    27 For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, a spiritual body.
    28 They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
    29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness (D&C 88:26-29).

    ——————–

    33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
    34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy (D&C 93:33-34).

    ——————–

    14 All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
    15 I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand.
    16 They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death.
    17 Their sleeping dust was to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy.
    18 While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful;
    19 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 138:14-19).

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    DESTINY OF CELESTIAL PERSONS

    1 When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.
    2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy (D&C 130:1-2).

    ——————–

    6 The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth;
    7 But they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord.
    8 The place where God resides is a great Urim and Thummim.
    9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s.
    10 Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known;
    11 And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word (D&C 130:6-11).

    If the white stone mentioned here teaches persons in the Celestial world about “a higher order of kingdoms” then it must follow that such kingdoms are not only within the understanding but also within the reach of persons with celestial bodies. That presupposes that if one has a resurrected body that is capable of withstanding unlimited glory, then the eternities promise an amazing adventure !

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    CONCLUSION

    If there is a conclusion that sums up the relationship of love and joy, then Lehi’s words to his sons are probably as comprehensive as we will find:

    24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
    25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
    26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given (2 Nephi 2:24-26).

    ——————–

    14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth.
    15 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love (2 Nephi 1:14-15).

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  • 3 Nephi 27:13-22 – ‘because my Father sent me’ – LeGrand Baker

    3 Nephi 27:13-22  

    These verses seem to explain five different principles, but they must be discussed as a single unit.

    I have placed them in sections numbered 1 through 5 to make it easier to see their relationships.

    (1) 13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

    (2) 14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
    15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.
    16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.
    17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father.

    (3) 18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.
    19 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.

    (4) 20 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.

    (5) 21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;
    22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

    We have just read what is probably the most succinct and comprehensive definitions of the gospel in the scriptures. The consummate gospel is simply this: “I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.” However, there are many subsets, and each one describe or define a facet of the whole. In the next verses the Savior explains those subsets and teaches us that they are absolutely necessary to our salvation.

    If we discussed just verse 13 even superficially, it would require a book length examination of what we know about the Savior’s premortal history from before the beginning, intelligence, Council in Heaven, war in heaven, creation, spirit world, as well as the powers and implications of his infinite and eternal Atonement.

    I think I am  supposed to be writing a commentary on what the Savior said, but I cannot be so presumptuous as to even suggest I could undertake such a task. It is like trying to polish a silver goblet that already shines to perfection. Anything I might do would only scratch it. Yet, the Savior’s statement insists we try to approach an understanding of what he is saying. After some consideration I have decided to approach it this way: Rather than muddle the explanation with my commentary, I wish to just quote scriptures in an order that will that will tell the story. I offer them as a celebration rather than as a commentary.

    ————————–

    (1) 13 Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me (3 Nephi 27:13).

    ————————– – –

    26 The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth (D&C 93:26)

    ————————– – –

    1 In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son. And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God.
    2 The same was in the beginning with God.
    3 All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made which was made.
    4 In him was the gospel, and the gospel was the life, and the life was the light of men (JST John 1:1-4)

    ————————– – –

    12 By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God——
    13 Even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning (D&C 76:2-13).

    ————————– – –

    8 Wherefore, I will that all men shall repent, for all are under sin, except those which I have reserved unto myself, holy men that ye know not of.
    9 Wherefore, I say unto you that I have sent unto you mine everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning (D&C 49:8-9).

    ————————– – –

    47 And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me (Moses 7:47).

    ————————– – –

    21 And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn (D&C 93:76:21).

    ————————– – –

    9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
    10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
    11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning (3 Nephi 11:9-11).

    ————————– – –

    24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
    25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
    26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever (Abraham 3:24-26).

    1 And then the Lord said: Let us go down. And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed the heavens and the earth (Abraham 4:1).

    ————————– – –

    16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

    ————————– – –

    (2) 14 And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—
    15 And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.
    16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.
    17 And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father (3 Nephi 27:14-17).

    ————————– –

    3 Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him——
    4 Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified (D&C 45:3-4).

    ————————– – –

    15 Therefore I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.
    16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
    17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
    18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
    19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men (D&C 19:15-19).

    ————————– – –

    13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.
    14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters (Ether 3:13-14).

    ————————– – –

    19 And there he preached to them [the dead in the spirit world] 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).

    ————————– – –

    And now after all of the proofs made of him,
    By witnesses truly, by whom he was known,
    This is mine, last of all, that he lives; yea, he lives!
    And sits at the right hand of God on his throne.

    And I heard a great voice bearing record from heav’n,
    He’s the Saviour and only begotten of God;
    By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
    Even all that careen in the heavens so broad.

    Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
    Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours;
    And, of course, are begotten God’s daughters and sons
    By the very same truths and the very same powers.

    [“The Vision” by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843. Compare D&C 76:22-41.]

    ————————– – –

    (3) 18 And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words.

    19 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.

    ————————-

    1 Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am (D&C 93:1).

    ————————– – –

    37 And I say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins (Alma 11:37).

    ————————– – –

    33 Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.
    34 But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.
    35 And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.
    36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen (1 Nephi 15:33-36).

    ————————– – –

    27 For notwithstanding they [“the righteous”] die, they also shall rise again, a spiritual body.
    28 They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
    29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
    30 And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
    31 And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
    32 And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received (D&C 88:26-32).

    ————————– – –

    (4) 20 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).

    ————————– – –

    40 And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us—
    41 That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness;
    42 That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him
    43 Who glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands, except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him (D&C 76:40-43).

    ————————– – –

    2 And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins (3 Nephi 12:2).

    6 And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost (3 Nephi 12:6).

    ————————– – –

    50 But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent.
    51 And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh.
    52 And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.
    53 And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden.
    54 Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world.
    55 And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.
    56 And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment.
    57 Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.
    58 Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children, saying:
    59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;
    60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;
    61 Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment.
    62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.
    63 And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me (Moses 6:50-63).

    ————————– – –

    18 Therefore, it [the earth] must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;
    19 For after it [the earth] hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;
    20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.
    21 And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.
    22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.
    23 And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.
    24 And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.
    25 And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law—
    26 Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it (D&C 88:18-26).

    ————————– – –

    What we have read so far looks simple but is both profound and very complete:

    (1) this is the gospel: that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.

    (2) my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me

    (3) this is the word: no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom

    (4) this is the commandment: Repent, be baptized, be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless

    Now we are given a new definition of the gospel: “for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do. … Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”
    As the first definition of the gospel is about the Savior’s mission: “I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me,” so the second definition is about our mission, it must also read: “I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.”

    (5) 21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;
    22 Therefore, if ye do these things blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day (3 Nephi 27:21-22).

    27 And know ye that ye shall be judges of this people, according to the judgment which I shall give unto you, which shall be just. Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.
    28 And now I go unto the Father. And verily I say unto you, whatsoever things ye shall ask the Father in my name shall be given unto you.
    29 Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened (3 Nephi 27:27-29).

    ————————– – –

    Even though these words were spoken directly to the Twelve, they still apply (at least to some degree) to all of us. If that is so, then the next question is: What other scriptures that describe premortal covenants might apply to each of us? There are many. The following is just a sampling.

    ————————– – –

    57 And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fulness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant, reasoning in plainness and simplicity (D&C 133:57).

    ————————– – –

    28 I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was (D&C 132:28).

    ————————– – –

    7 This high priesthood being after the order of his Son, which order was from the foundation of the world; or in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to his foreknowledge of all things——
    8 Now they were ordained after this manner——being called with a holy calling, and ordained with a holy ordinance, and taking upon them the high priesthood of the holy order, which calling, and ordinance, and high priesthood, is without beginning or end——
    9 Thus they become high priests forever, after the order of the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, who is without beginning of days or end of years, who is full of grace, equity, and truth. And thus it is. Amen (Alma 13:7-9).

    ————————– – –

    9 Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name?
    10 Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?
    11 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? (D&C 132:9-11)

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    7 Whereof I [Paul] was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
    8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
    9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
    10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
    11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
    12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him (Ephesians 3:7-12).

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    10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full (Alma 12:10).

    26 The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
    27 And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
    28 He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things (D&C 93:26-28).

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    1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
    2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
    3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
    4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
    5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
    6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
    7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
    8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
    9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
    10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
    11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
    12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
    13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
    14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
    15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
    16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
    17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
    18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
    19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
    20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
    21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
    22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
    23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
    24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
    25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
    26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:1-26).

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    28 Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me.
    29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them.
    30 And when Jesus had spoken these words he came again unto his disciples; and behold they did pray steadfastly, without ceasing, unto him; and he did smile upon them again; and behold they were white, even as Jesus (3 Nephi 19:28-30).

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    34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
    35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another (John 13:34-35).

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    5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
    6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it (2 John 1:5-6).

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    1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
    2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
    3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
    4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
    5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
    6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
    7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
    8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
    9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
    10 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 1:1-10).

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    50 And again we bear record——for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just——
    51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given——
    52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;
    53 And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
    54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
    55 They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things——
    56 They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
    57 And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.
    58 Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God——
    59 Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
    60 And they shall overcome all things.
    61 Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.
    62 These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever.
    63 These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people.
    64 These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection.
    65 These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just.
    66 These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all.
    67 These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn.
    68 These are they whose names are written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all.
    69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.
    70 These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical (D&C 76:50-70).

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    36 Thus was it made known that our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh;
    37 That they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead, unto whom he could not go personally, because of their rebellion and transgression, that they through the ministration of his servants might also hear his words.
    38 Among the great and mighty ones who were assembled in this vast congregation of the righteous were Father Adam, the Ancient of Days and father of all,
    39 And our glorious Mother Eve, with many of her faithful daughters who had lived through the ages and worshiped the true and living God.
    [He lists several more by name and then adds]
    55 I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God.
    56 Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.
    57 I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead. (D&C 138:36-39, 55-57).

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  • 3 Nephi 27:1-10 – LeGrand Baker – Covenant New Names must be validated by Ordinances

    3 Nephi 27:5-6
    5…ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day.
    6 And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.

    The context is the Savior’s explaining that the name of his church must be “the Church of Christ.” He asks:

    8 And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses’ name then it be Moses’ church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel.

    I think we sometimes read this passage with a shrug of the shoulders and a “Well, we aren’t called Lutherans or Baptists or some other name, so we are alright!” If that is our response, then we have missed the point entirely. The Savior is not just talking about a church’s corporate name, he is talking about a covenant name that is necessary to salvation. There is always a new name with each new covenant. So much so, that the words “name” and “covenant” can often be interchangeable in the scriptures without changing the meaning.

    A new name is a new covenantal identity. In our verses, it denotes one’s relationship with the Savior. King Benjamin, Alma, and the Savior all affirm the necessity of this covenant relationship.

    King Benjamin taught:

    7 And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters (Mosiah 5:7).

    Alma told his father:

    24 … I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.
    25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
    26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God (Mosiah 27:24-26).

    And, when the Savior showed himself to the Brother of Jared he said:

    14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters (Ether 3:14).

    In Psalm 2, which was sung at the time of the king’s anointing during his coronation ceremony, he is given the new covenant name of “son,” and he quotes Jehovah as saying “this day have I begotten thee.” Thus the anointing of the king serves two purposes, one is the legal covenant of adoption, the other is giving him a new name as a part of his enthronement ceremony. He is now a “son” and therefore a legitimate heir of Jehovah.

    The relevant principle to us is that we are promised that if we are righteous we will inherit “all things.” The systems of heaven are perfectly just and therefore must be perfectly consistent — “legal” in every respect. (D&C 132:7-14) Nothing is “acceptable” except it is done by a covenant that is ratified by an appropriate ordinance.

    If we are to inherit “all things” we must be legally qualified to inherit — that is, we must be adopted sons and daughters of Christ just as the scriptures teach. That adoption can only be made acceptable by covenant and ordinance.

    All valid new covenants must also include a new name. We must take upon ourselves the name of Christ, just as, in our society, an adopted child takes the name of his adoptive parents. That new name is a new identity. A simple example of new identities that come with covenant names is when a man becomes a “bishop.” He now has a new name/title and a new identity. But that new name and identity is only valid at church. He is still “Richard” among his friends and his associates at work. Similarly, all sacred new names are only valid in relation to the covenant they represent. Some covenants are formal, some informal, but they are all necessary. “President” is the name/title of a Relief Society president, just as “Sister” and “Elder” are name/titles of missionaries.

    In those examples, accepting the call is the covenant, but that is meaningless without the appropriate ordination or setting apart blessing. In the New Testament, James said that very succinctly, “faith without works is dead.” In that passage “faith” is pistis, the Greek word for covenant or contract. “works” is a reference to the ordinances. That is, the covenants without the ordinances are dead.” Alma used James’s words the same way when he explained that the plan of redemption was “made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works (Alma 12:30).”

    Therefore the name, “Church of Jesus Christ,” is more than just a corporate identity. It is an acknowledgment that its members are adopted children and heirs of the Savior. In our case, that covenant of adoption is renewed each Sunday when we take the Sacrament. But there is more, as the Prophet Joseph testified:

    23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
    24 That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

    (The importance of new covenant names is discussed at length in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, 495-517; second edition, 358-72.)

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