As we celebrate the accomplishments today of those who have graduated it is appropriate that we also celebrate the greatness of ideas, for it is ideas that make a university a meaningful institution. For a moment I would like to draw our attention to a famous and momentous pair of ideas and dwell upon their significance. These ideas are fact and value.
First, the nature of facts. Facts relate to truth. They are concerned with states of affairs in the universe. States of affairs are things that exist and how they are related: as they were, as they are and as they are to come.
Some facts are easily obtained. We are not in doubt at this moment that we are in the Marriot Center, that the present season of the year is summer, that gasoline explodes, and that not all of our politicians can be telling the truth. The facts that are easily obtained are mostly items we can observe, here and now, and each man for himself.
But the large majority of facts are not thus easily accessible. The whole of the past, the whole of the future and well over 99% of the present are not available to our individual observation. But notwithstanding the difficulty of knowing this majority of facts, it is most important that we nevertheless gain true ideas about some things in the past, in the future and in the unseen present, and it is desirable and useful to know as much as possible.
The difficulty of our gaining most facts for ourselves plus the desirability of having many facts difficult to obtain have caused us human beings to create a division of labor. We commission historians to tell us about the past, scientists to tell us about the large and the small and the existence and processes of our physical surroundings. We hope for prophets to tell us of the future, and there are many candidates for the calling of prophet, but few who are found to speak truly.
This division of labor creates then what we call experts. Experts are persons of training and judgment who attempt to wrest the truth from the universe and who relay that truth for the benefit of non-experts. One of the reasons that each of you graduates are here today is because you have become an expert in some field. You know things the majority of us do not know, and more importantly, you have learned how to obtain and use this esoteric information. Thus armed you are prepared to make significant contributions to knowledge and understanding as you go out into the world. Though there are many kinds of experts in the world, experts in facts have a primary role because we cannot solve our problems effectively and efficiently unless we have a command of the facts of situations as they really are.
To say that we understand things “as they really are” reminds us that sometimes there is no human way to gain needed facts and that sometimes the experts are wrong. Notwithstanding these important limitations, it is satisfying to know that men are making impressive inroads into the unknown as our body of facts doubles now about every ten years.
Let us turn then to the realm of value. Whereas facts have an objectivity to them, values do not. Values are personal reactions of individuals to things. Values relate to desire. Whatever a man desires, that thing is valuable to him. Thus we choose and reject food according to one’s taste, which is part of our desire. We act politically according to that which we think will fulfill our desires. We plan for the future according to the desires we have for a thing to come to pass or not to come to pass.
Nothing has value in and of itself. Value, positive or negative, accrues to something only as an agent has feelings about it. When we use the words “good”, “beautiful”, “appropriate,” “boring”, etc., we are not saying anything factual, but rather are we speaking about our desires, about whether the thing in question pleases us or not.
Historically speaking, many persons have assumed that value is as objective as fact, that there is a “good” and a “beautiful” which is as objective as is the “true”. The obvious falsehood of that assumption is shown in that men have made significant progress in achieving progressive and more inclusive agreement as to facts or truths, but have made not a shred of progress in recorded history in agreeing on what is good or beautiful. Admittedly, some romantic souls yet cling to the idea of an objective “good” and “beauty”, but all they really assert is the desire that all men might have the same “noble” perceptions as they do. Such temerity and arrogance we can do nicely without.
One possible source of confusion that has led some to consider value to be objective is the failure to distinguish the good and the beautiful from that which is right or righteous. Righteous is the activity of blessing others. To make a long story short, righteousness relates to the fact side of the universe, not to the value side. It is objective, not subjective. This confusion of good with right has been natural since most men, I suppose, have desired that their desires be also righteous. The great honor and distinction accorded to the honest in heart is because of their rare ability to perceive and admit that their desires have not hitherto been righteous.
But now to come to the point of all this. Recognizing that value is subjective, as distinguished from fact, we can see immediately that there is no such thing as an expert in the realm of values. Each man, because he is an agent, is sovereign and supreme as to what is good and beautiful. Any person who pretends to say for others what is or should be good or beautiful for those others is strictly a charlatan or a monster. To pretend to expertise in the realm of value is absolute intellectual dishonesty, for there is no process other than tyranny which makes one man’s desires more desirable than another man’s desires.
Yet the world abounds in tyranny. In self-appointed experts who pretend to lead the masses to what is good and beautiful. This indeed out Herod’s Herod, and on every hand we see this intellectual knavery. Almost everywhere men say to others, “You should do this,” “X is beautiful,” “Y is desirable,” “We ought to believe Z”. This type of monstrosity is called by the scriptures, priestcraft. It is men setting themselves up before the world as a light unto the world for praise and for gain. It is the tyranny of Satan translated into this world. It is a temerity that even God himself cannot and will not partake of, for He, God, lets men choose for themselves their own good. If God Himself is content to honor each man with choice in relation to value, how much more ought men to respect and honor the personal desires of other men. But no: self-appointed Saviors abound in religion, politics, medicine, education, business, in every field of human endeavor. Thus we see that Satan’s plan, which was rejected in the council in heaven, is implemented far and wide here on earth.
But some of these self-appointed Saviors say, “We only speak that which is right. We have the absolute, the objective, so all men of intelligence will do our bidding and those who are not intelligent must be forced to do our bidding for their own good.” The pretension to be an expert in righteousness is of course worse than the pretension to be experts in the realm of the good and the beautiful. It can quickly be shown that only an omniscient being can have any hold on knowing what is righteous. Any man who claims to know what is right of himself is thus pretending to be God. And when he then enforces his opinion upon others, he is admitting to be an accomplice of Satan.
Oh, how great and glorious it is to live in a day when there are among us true prophets of God. For true prophets are never found practicing priestcraft. They are not self-appointed. The do not pretend to tell any man what is good for him, let alone enforce that supposed “good” on him. They do state to all men that which is right, but they do not pretend to say it of their own knowledge. Rather do they speak humbly for God, and they invite all men to inquire of God, directly, for attestation of the correctness of what they say.
We as mortals have a simple choice. We may follow the prophets of God in pursuing righteousness and heaven, or we will be subject to priestcraft and its varieties of hell. For God is the fountain of all righteousness. Only through acceptance of him and his prophets can we gain righteousness. But if men will not accept God as their leader, they are inevitably doomed to suffer under some man who thinks he knows what is good or right and is willing to use power to promote and enforce his ideas.
The application of all this is simple. As you go out into the world to be experts in facts, be wary of either practicing or being subject to priestcraft. Recognize that every man is honorable before God and esteem his desires for himself as being as valuable as yours are to you. Recognize that the only real expert in government is God, and that if we do not choose to be governed by God, the only other reasonable alternative is to do business by the voice of the people, for the majority of the people will seldom desire that which is evil. And above all, avoid giving power to any many or group of men whereby they can enforce on others what they think is “good” or “right”. Let us cherish persuasion, long-suffering, pure knowledge and love unfeigned so that we labor to assist and to honor one another.
If our education has done us some real service, may we ever cherish the distinction between fact and value, remembering that there are not and cannot be human experts in the realm of value. And perhaps that solemn realization will help us always to remember Him who is the fountain of all righteousness and through whom we may lay hold upon every good thing, even Jesus Christ, the Savior of Mankind. Of Him I bear witness, of His holiness and of the greatness of His holy prophets. I believe that the most intelligent thing any man, educated or not, can do, is to accept the true prophets of God and to be led by them to know the Master. With all my love and devotion I bear witness of them and especially of Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
In LDS discourse, the term “devil” denotes anyone who promotes the cause of evil, but it is especially applied to those unembodied spirits who rebelled against God in the premortal life and were cast down from heaven to this earth. The devil, who leads them, is also known by the personal names of Lucifer in the premortal existence and Satan since being cast down.
The name Lucifer means “light bearer” in Latin and is a translation of the Hebrew Heylel ben Shakhar, which means “herald son of dawn” or “morning star.” In the premortal life, Lucifer was an angel having authority in the presence of God. He played a prominent role in the Council in Heaven. After the Father in Heaven offered the plan of righteousness to help his children become as he is, Lucifer countered with an alternative plan.
The Father’s plan was to save and exalt all of his obedient children. To be obedient, they must keep his commandments and do good. In the Father’s plan, it was foreknown that many would reject exaltation and therefore would receive lesser glories.
Lucifer’s plan proposed to “save” all of the Father’s children by forcing each to obey the Father’s law in all things. Lucifer desired that he be rewarded for this great feat of saving everyone by having the Father’s honor and glory given to him personally. Because mortals can be saved only in their own freely chosen repentance, Lucifer’s proposal was rejected. In the ensuing war in heaven, he gained the allegiance of a third of the Father’s spirit children. Lucifer and his followers were then cast out of heaven to earth, where he became Satan and they all became devils (Moses 4:1-3; D&C 29:36-37;76:25-38).
The name Satan comes from a Hebrew root meaning “to oppose, be adverse,” hence “to attack or to accuse” (see Rev. 12:10). On this earth the role of Satan and his fellow devils is to attack the working of righteousness and to destroy it wherever possible (Moses 4:4; D&C 10:20-23;93:39).
Righteousness is the condition or action of accomplishing the greatest possible happiness for all beings affected. The attainment of full righteousness is possible only with the help of an omniscient and omnipotent being. This full righteousness is the special order of the Celestial Kingdom where the Father dwells. When the Father’s will is done and his order is in place, every person and every thing attains, or is attaining, the potential he, she, or it has for development and happiness. This righteousness is the good of “good and evil.” It is to be contrasted with those human desires that are contrary to the Father’s order and will.
A good (righteous) person is an agentive being who chooses and accomplishes only righteousness. No mortal is intrinsically and perfectly good, nor can a mortal alone rise to that standard (Matt. 19:17). But mortals can do righteous acts and become righteous through the salvation provided by Jesus Christ. Christ is the fountain of all righteousness (Ether 12:28). The children of God can achieve the Father’s order of righteousness through Christ if they choose that order in explicit rejection of evil.
Evil is any order of existence that is not righteous. A state of affairs, an act, or a person not in the order of righteousness is thus evil. Letting one’s neighbor languish in abject poverty while one has plenty, or stealing, or desiring harm for another person are all evils. Satan promotes evil everywhere he can, to thwart the righteousness of God (see D&C 10:27). Thus, Satan tempts people to do evil instead of the Father’s will. Satan himself is not necessary to evil, but he hastens and abets evil wherever he can.
Satan’s first targets on earth were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Knowing that the Father had commanded Adam and Eve not to partake of the forbidden fruit on penalty of death, Satan sought to destroy the Father’s work by enticing Adam and Eve to partake of it anyway. Satan’s success marked the beginning of the world (as distinct from the creation of the earth), of Satan’s kingdom on this earth (see JST, Matt. 1:55).
By obeying Satan, Adam and Eve opened the way for him to have partial dominion over them, over the earth, and over all of their children (see Fall of Adam). Examples of his partial dominion over the earth granted by the Father are his ability to possess the bodies of animals (Matt. 8:28-32) and to use water to destroy people (D&C 61:14-19). Satan gained the power to tempt those who are accountable to do evil (D&C 29:39), to communicate with individuals to teach them things (usually but not always lies), to possess their bodies, to foster illness and disease, and to cause mortal death. He promotes sin, the doing of evil, which brings spiritual death to the sinner and misery to all those affected. In each of these opportunities, Satan’s power is limited: He can do only what he has specific permission from God to do (D&C 121:4; Luke 8:30-33). His power may be taken away by individuals as they hearken to God and as they correctly use the holy priesthood to limit his operations (D&C 50:13-35).
What Satan did not realize in Eden was that what he did in attempting to destroy the Father’s work was actually the very thing needed to fulfill the Father’s plan (Moses 4:6). People could not demonstrate their love of God and their willingness to do the work of righteousness sufficiently to qualify them for exaltation unless they were subject to, and able to overcome, evil and devil adversaries, such as Satan and his hosts (2 Ne. 2:11-22).
On earth Satan is thus the father of deception, lies, and sin-of all evils-for he promotes them with vigor. He may appear as a counterfeit angel of light or as the prince of darkness, but his usual manifestations to mortals come as either evil revelation to one’s heart and mind or indirectly through other persons. His mission is to tempt everyone to choose evil so that each accountable human being’s choices can serve as an adequate basis for a final judgment.
This earth life is a mortal probation for all those who have the opportunity to accept and live by the new and everlasting covenant while in the mortal flesh. Those who do not have a full opportunity in this earth life will have their probation extended through the spirit world existence that follows it. By the time of resurrection, each of the Father’s children will have made a final choice between good and evil, and each will be rewarded with the good or the evil chosen during the probation (Alma 41:10-15).
When Satan tempts a person to do evil, there are limits to what Satan can accomplish. He can put before a person any kind of evil opportunity, but that evil is enticing only if the person tempted already desires that thing. When people are tempted, it is actually by their own lusts (James 1:12-15).
Satan has power on earth only as individual persons give it to him by succumbing to his temptations (TPJS, p. 187). The agency of human beings is to choose righteousness through the Holy Spirit of God or to choose selfishness through the flesh by succumbing to Satan’s temptations (2 Ne. 2:26-29). (Human flesh is not evil, but Satan may tempt humans through their flesh.) Individuals who repent in this life are nevertheless tempted by Satan until their death; then Satan has no power over them ever again. Those who die unrepentant are still in Satan’s power in the spirit prison (Alma 34:34-35). All except the sons of perdition will eventually accept Christ and obey him, and thereby escape the dominion of Satan (D&C 76:110). Thus is the Father’s plan of agency fulfilled.
Satan’s three temptations of the Savior may be seen as paradigmatic of all human temptation (see David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals, p. 154, Salt Lake City, 1953). The temptation to create bread and eat it when he should not represents the human temptation of the flesh, to sate the senses unrighteously. The temptation to cast himself down from the temple and to be saved by angels when he should not represents the human temptation of social acclaim. The temptation to receive the kingdoms of this world when he should not represents the temptation to have unrighteous dominion or power over others. The Savior did not yield to any of these temptations because his heart was pure and he knew that the way of righteousness lay only in doing the Father’s will in all things.
All accountable mortals are tempted, even as our Savior was tempted. As mortals succumb, Satan gains power and earth life becomes a hell. Every person may resist temptation by choosing good over evil. But misinformation, evil cultural traditions (D&C 93:39), despair, and desperate human need all make the choosing of good difficult, even if the person does not particularly desire a given evil (cf. 2 Ne. 28 for an extensive description of the ploys of Satan).
Through Jesus Christ and the partaking of his new and everlasting covenant, mortals have the opportunity to gain power to choose good over evil unerringly and always. As they do so, they are able to establish the righteousness of God and thus heaven on earth (Moses 7:18; D&C 50:34-35; see alsoZion).
Human beings resist Satan and evil by controlling their desires-that is, (1) by not desiring the evil that Satan proffers; (2) by gaining more knowledge so that they will be able to see that Satan’s temptations are not what they really want; and (3) by having their hearts purified by Jesus Christ so that they will no longer desire any evil but desire instead to do the Father’s will in all things (Moro. 7:48; cf. the Savior’s answers in Matt. 4:1-10).
The great help in resisting temptation is the Holy Spirit. It is Satan’s business to dwell in and with all individuals who do not have the Holy Spirit with them, sometimes even gaining total possession of a person’s body, so that he or she loses agency for a time. Partial possession may also occur, for whenever a human being becomes angry, he or she is at least partially possessed by Satan (James 1:20).
In his role as the destroyer, Satan can cause illness and death, but only with permission from God. He cannot take people before their time unless they disobey God and thus forfeit their mission (Job 1:6-12).
As the father of lies, Satan has a disinformation campaign. He spreads false notions about himself, about God, about people, about salvation-all for the purpose of defeating acts of faith in Jesus Christ. Mortals believe his lies because the lies are pleasing to the carnal mind and because they promote or support the selfish desires of the individual who believes them. About himself, Satan tells people that there is no devil, that such an idea is wild imagination (2 Ne. 28:22). About God, Satan desires human beings to believe either that he does not exist or that he is some distant, unknowable, or forbidding being. He tells people that they are to conquer in this world according to their strength and that whatever anyone does is no crime (Alma 30:17). Favorite lies about salvation are either that it comes to everyone in spite of anything one does (Alma 21:6) or that it is reserved only for a special few insiders (Alma 31:17). These erroneous creeds of the fathers, fastened upon their children in the form of false creeds, are called in the scriptures “the chains of hell” (Alma 12:11; D&C 123:7-8).
Secret combinations are another devilish device for spreading misery and obstructing the cause of righteousness (Ether 8:16-26; Hel. 6:16-32). Satan tempts selfish individuals to use others to their own oppressive advantage. Secrecy is essential to prevent retaliation by the victims and just execution of the laws against such combinations. Secret combinations involve personal, economic, educational, political, or military power that controls or enslaves some persons for the pleasure and profit of others.
Satan also has influence over the spirits of wicked persons who have passed from mortality by death and who inhabit the spirit prison (sometimes called Hades). The inhabitants of this prison do not yet suffer cleansing pain, which will later come, but continue to be subject to Satan’s lies and temptations (Alma 40–41). They also have the opportunity to hear the servants of Christ (D&C 138:28-37), and if they did not have the opportunity on earth, they now may repent unto exaltation. If they did have the opportunity on earth but did not use it, the spirit prison opportunity again allows them to reject Satan and his lies and temptations, but with the reward of a lesser glory (D&C 76:71-79).
During the Millennium, Satan will be bound (Rev. 20:2). He will still be on earth, attempting to tempt every person, as he has since the Fall of Adam, but he will be bound because no one will hearken to his temptations (1 Ne. 22:26).
Toward the end of the Millennium, Satan will be loosed (D&C 88:110-115) because people will again hearken to him. But he will be vanquished and sent from this earth to outer darkness, where he and his followers, both spirits and resurrected sons of perdition (Satan is Perdition, “the lost one”), will dwell in the misery and darkness of selfishness and isolation forever.
Bibliography
For a more complete treatment of the concept of the devil from an LDS point of view, see LaMar E. Garrard, “A Study of the Problem of a Personal Devil and Its Relationship to Latter-day Saint Beliefs” (Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1955). EspThe Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity (Ithaca, N.Y., 1977), Satan: The Early Christian Tradition (Ithaca, N.Y., 1981), Lucifer: The Devil in the Middle Ages (Ithaca, N.Y., 1984), and Mephistopheles: The Devil in the Modern World (Ithaca, N.Y., 1986) constitute a comprehensive history of the concept of the devil traced through literature, art, and philosophy from ancient times to the modern day. The presentation is a thorough and scholarly treatment but does not derive from an LD
Philosophy (the “love of wisdom”) originated in the Western world in ancient Greece. The attempt to find wisdom by ancient thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle led them also to investigate the world (nature), the unseen world (metaphysics), and how we know (epistemology). Wonder about nature through progressively refined epistemological procedures led through the centuries to modern scientific methods. As philosophers developed standards for accurate description and generalization, new sciences were born and detached themselves from philosophy: the first was physics, and the latest is linguistics. But the basic problems of epistemology, metaphysics, and ethics (including aesthetics and the philosophy of religion) dominate present philosophy as much as they did in ancient times. Although the solutions are more varied now, the basic issues remain the same.
Latter-day scriptures do not present a philosophical system, but they do contain answers to many classic philosophical issues. These scriptures preclude ex nihilo creation, idealism (immaterialism), a chance theory of causation, and absolute determinism. They affirm the eternality and agency of the individual person, the necessary existence of evil apart from God, a nonrelativistic good (righteousness), and the doctrine that all mortals are the offspring and heirs of God. God is affirmed as a perfected physical being who governs all things in pure love and who continues to communicate with his children on earth by personal revelation.
Observers of the LDS position have ascribed philosophical labels and tendencies to it, but that position usually will not fit neatly into the stock answers. It is empirical, yet rational; pragmatic, yet idealistic; oriented toward eternity, yet emphasizing the importance of the here and now. Affinities are found with the Cartesian certainty of personal existence, the positivist insistence on sensory evidence, the Enlightenment emphasis on elimination of paradox, and the postmodern respect for the “other.” The ultimate standard for all being, truth, and good is Christ himself.
Contemporary analytic and existential movements in philosophy have had little impact on LDS thought, not because it is not aware of them, but because it has different answers to the questions they pose. The knowledge of God is established through careful experimentation with God’s promises, which results in tangible consequences, culminating in the possibility of seeing God face to face. Existential angst is recognized and met by personal guidance from God to establish a path to righteousness and fulfillment, the general features of which each person must follow, but with individual parameters. The relativism of situational ethics is answered in spiritual assurance and power to do those things that are eternally worthwhile. Mind-body dualism is answered by the material nature of spirit (more refined matter) (D&C 131:7).
Answers to the questions How may I know? What is the seen world? What is the unseen world? and How shall I be wise? are all answered personally for every fully participating Latter-day Saint. The equivalent of epistemology in an LDS frame is the ordinances, focusing on the ordinance of prayer. Through the ordinances and in connection with other epistemologies come all of the light and knowledge sufficient to live a spiritually successful life. Questions about the natural world are answered by one’s culture as corrected by personal revelation. One must have some guidance on questions of metaphysics, and such is found in holy scripture and confirmed to each individual through personal revelation. The ultimate question as to how to be wise is answered both in general and in particular. The general answer is that to be wise is to love God with all of one’s heart, might, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as God loves us (D&C 59:5). The particular answer is to repent of sinning and to live by the whisperings of the Holy Spirit and the counsels of the living prophet (Isa. 50:10-11).
While LDS culture does not encourage philosophizing directly, every LDS person is encouraged to become a profound theologian. Becoming such necessitates a heavy commitment to active study “in theory, in principle, in doctrine” to search out the weighty matters of time and eternity (D&C 97:14), which include the basic questions of the philosophers. The imperative “study it out in your mind” (D&C 9:7-8) is a standard for all LDS persons, not just for academics. “Time, and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thought” (TPJS, p. 37) are not inimical to but are the preface to and foundation for personal revelation.
Madsen, Truman G. “Joseph Smith and the Ways of Knowing,” pp. 25-63. BYU Extension Publications, Seminar on the Prophet Joseph Smith, 1962.
Oaks, Dallin H. “Ethics, Morality, and Professional Responsibility.” In Perspectives in Mormon Ethics, ed. Donald G. Hill, Jr., pp. 193-200. Salt Lake City, 1983.
Yarn, David H., Jr. “Some Metaphysical Reflections on the Gospel of John.” BYU Studies 3 (Autumn 1960):3-10.
Receiving personal revelation is a vital and distinctive part of the LDS religious experience. Response to personal revelation is seen as the basis for true faith in Christ, and the strength of the Church consists of that faithful response by members to their own personal revelations. The purpose of both revelation and the response of faith is to assist the children of men to come to Christ and learn to love one another with that same pure love with which Christ loves them.
TYPES OF REVELATION. A dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a series of personal revelations from God. These revelations may be direct manifestations from God, as in the following typical cases:
1. theophanies (seeing God face-to-face), as in the first vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith, which came at the beginning of the present dispensation (JS-H 1:15-20)
2. revealed knowledge from the Father that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:13-17; see alsoSpirit of Prophecy)
3. visitations of angelic persons, such as the appearance of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith (JS-H 1:30-32)
4. revelations through the Urim and Thummim, by which means Joseph Smith translated the book of mormon
5. open visions, as when Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were shown the kingdoms of the hereafter (see Doctrine and Covenants: Section 76)
6. physically hearing the voice of God, as is recorded in 3 Nephi 11
7. receiving the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit, as in the experience of Elijah (1 Kgs. 19);
11. manifestations of the Light of Christ, by which all men know good from evil (Alma 12:31-32; D&C 84:46-48).
Such direct manifestations of the mind and will of God are known as gifts and are contrasted with signs. Gifts always have a spiritual component, even when they have a physical aspect. Signs are physical manifestations of the power of God and are a form of revelation from God, though they may be counterfeited and misinterpreted. Signs may show that God is at work, but spiritual gifts are required to know how one should respond.
REVELATION TO THE CHURCH. In every dispensation, God appoints his prophet to guide his people. The prophet’s purpose is not to be an intermediary between God and others, though a prophet must often do so. His purpose is, rather, to assist others to receive from God the personal revelation that he, the prophet, has taught God’s truth, which will show the way to Christ.
The prophet as head of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and all other persons who preside in the Church, including General Authorities, stake presidents, bishops, general presidencies, and parents, may receive revelation for the benefit of those over whom they preside. These revelations can be passed on to the membership of the Church through conference and other talks and in personal counsel. But each individual is entitled to know by personal revelation that these messages given through presiding authorities are truly from the Savior himself. President Brigham Young expressed concern that the Latter-day Saints would “have so much confidence in their leaders” that they would “settle down in a state of blind self-security,” abandoning the responsibility to obtain their own revelation: “Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not” (JD 9:150).
Presiding quorums in the Church are entitled to revelation for the Church on matters of doctrine, policies, programs, callings, and disciplinary actions, as each might be appropriate to a given quorum. Decisions of these quorums are to be made only by the personal, individual revelation of God to each member of that quorum. “And every decision made by either of these quorums must be by the unanimous voice of the same; that is, every member in each quorum must be agreed to its decisions, in order to make their decisions of the same power or validity one with the other” (D&C 107:27).
The scriptures contain the inspired writings of God’s appointed prophets and are provided to others for their edification (D&C 68:2-4). By this means, people have received the inspired words recorded in the Old and New Testaments. Through revelation, the Prophet Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon (see Book of Mormon Translation By Joseph Smith) and received those things set forth in the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. Latter-day Saints anticipate that more prophetic scripture will yet be revealed and that scripture written by past prophets but now lost to the world will be restored (2 Ne. 29:11-14; D&C 27:6; see alsoScriptures: Forthcoming Scripture). The true meaning of all scripture is to be revealed by the power of the Holy Ghost to the individual reader or hearer (2 Pet. 1:20; D&C 50:17-24).
PERSONAL REVELATION. After baptism and confirmation, each member has the right, when worthy, to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost (see Gift of the Holy Ghost). Through that companionship all the gifts of the Spirit are revealed to faithful individuals, who accomplish their mortal works in righteousness through the gifts and power of God revealed to and through them (Moro. 10:25). The challenges of living by personal revelation include (1) distinguishing revelation from God through his Holy Spirit from personal thoughts and desires, and from the influences of Satan (see Devils); (2) following the teachings and directions of the living prophet of God; and (3) living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4; John 3:5-8; D&C 50:13-24;98:11-13; Deut. 8:3).
In modern societies, the idea of divine revelation is widely discounted for many reasons, including the violent acts that some have perpetrated while claiming divine direction. But God has made it known through the restoration of the gospel that revelation is available to all who seek it and that failure to seek spiritual guidance and direction is itself a mistake and a form of wishful thinking. Humans have eternal spirits, and each person experiences the supernatural influences that work upon his or her own spirit. Better than to ignore the spiritual side of oneself is to study one’s personal spiritual experiences until they make sense. Those who acknowledge spiritual experiences are called the “honest in heart,” and they are candidates for the revealed riches of godliness (D&C 8:1;97:8).
The fundamental revelation from God is the knowledge of good through the Light of Christ (John 1:9). The prophet Lehi taught his children that because of the choices made by Adam and Eve, their descendants receive supernatural knowledge of both good and evil, making a choice between the two necessary in fulfillment of the purpose of earth life. After mortality God returns to each human being eternally the good or evil each chose in life (Alma 41:1-5; 2 Ne. 2:27).
But before any final judgment, each person will be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. This gospel is the good news that the Son of God will assist all persons to stop doing evil and will save them from the consequences of all the evil they have done if they will believe in him and repent. Acting to accept this revelation constitutes faith in Jesus Christ, which, if it continues, may bring additional revelation from God: more instruction; the gifts of the Spirit; the knowledge imparted through saving ordinances of the new and everlasting covenant; angelic visitations; visions; the revelation to know God himself face to face; and finally, the revelation to be given the fulness of godhood, to be made joint-heirs with Christ (D&C 121:29).
The LDS concept of individual revelation as fundamental to all human experience helps explain other distinctive LDS teachings. The key to making the proper distinction between supernatural revelation and its counterfeit is that fundamental knowledge of good and evil. Individuals must experiment, being as honest in heart and mind as they can, until they can see clearly what is good and what is evil. Those who learn to distinguish good from evil in this life can then distinguish the good spirit from the evil spirit. They then can distinguish the true gospel of Jesus Christ from its counterfeits, the true path of righteousness from the byways of covenant breaking and bending, and the true and living God from the image of God produced by their own wishful thinking (Moro. 7:5-19).
Joseph Smith taught the Saints how to recognize and receive revelation: A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; (i.e.) those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God, will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus [TPJS, p. 151].
To learn to communicate with others by the gifts of that Holy Spirit makes it possible for one to be a prophet or prophetess of God. Latter-day Saints believe that through divine revelation every child of Christ may, and should, become a prophet or a prophetess to his or her own divinely appointed stewardship (Num. 11:29), holding fast to that which is good and rejecting that which is evil (1 Thes. 5:19-21).
Thus, the human problem is not to get revelation, but to understand the revelation one receives, to respond only to that which is good, and to minister only that which is good. The servants of Christ are counseled to look to him and to him only for light and truth. They are told not to take counsel from any human being or to hearken to any person unless he or she speaks by the power of the Holy Spirit. Truth, light, righteous power, and salvation come from above, from God himself, through divine revelation, and not from human beings or from below (2 Ne. 28:30-31).
Chauncey C. Riddle, “Days of Wickedness and Vengeance: Analysis of 3 Nephi 6 and 7,” in The Book of Mormon: Helaman Through 3 Nephi 8, According To Thy Word, ed.Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr. (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1992) 191–206.
Days of Wickedness and Vengeance: Analysis of 3 Nephi 6 and 7
Days of Wickedness and Vengeance, by Chauncey Riddle, quoted from The Book of Mormon: Helaman Through 3 Nephi 8
Chauncey C. Riddle
Chauncey C. Riddle was professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University at the time this was published.
In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord comments upon the conditions of the world in these last days and his reaction to those conditions as follows:
And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood will not cleanse them if they hear me not. (D&C 29:17)
We learn from this passage that there are times when the patience of the Lord comes to an end. Though he often endures the typical wickedness of the world with great longsuffering, there are times when he will not so endure. These times are marked by three factors: (1) human wickedness is great; (2) the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached to the wicked persons and they deliberately reject it; (3) the Lord invokes a temporal punishment upon these wicked people which destroys them off the face of the earth.
The Lord also specifically designates two time periods as “days of wickedness and vengeance” (Moses 7:46, 60). One such designated time is the meridian of time, as we see in the response to Enoch’s plea to know when the Savior will perform the Atonement:
And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth; and he cried unto the Lord, saying: When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life? And the Lord said: It shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance. 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 7:45–17)
Wickedness of those to whom the Gospel had been preached characterized the meridian of time both at Jerusalem and in the new world, and in both cases was followed by the temporal vengeance of God.
The other days of wickedness and vengeance specifically denominated by the Lord are the latter days:
And Enoch beheld the Son of Man ascend up unto the Father; and he called unto the Lord, saying: Wilt thou not come again upon the earth? Forasmuch as thou art God, and I know thee, and thou has sworn unto me, and commanded me that I should ask in the name of thine Only Begotten; thou hast made me, and given unto me a right to thy throne, and not of myself, but through thine own grace; wherefore, I ask thee if thou wilt not come again on the earth. And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfil the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah; and the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be upon the children of men, but my people will I preserve. (Moses 7:59–61)
With these two times as “days of wickedness and vengeance” in mind, let us now turn to a close inspection of 3 Nephi 6 and 7.
Analysis of 3 Nephi 6 and 7
The Nephite “days of wickedness and vengeance” came at the end of a prolonged war with the Gadianton robbers. To defeat their enemies the Nephites had gathered into one city, taking all their possessions and their flocks and herds and their stores of provisions. This forced the Gadianton robbers to attack the gathered forces of the Nephites since the robbers could not exist without being parasitic on someone who would work hard to produce food and other goods (3 Nephi 3–6). The Gadianton robbers attacked the main stronghold of the Nephites and were defeated. The crucial factor in this victory was the hand of God:
And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies. And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies. But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them. (3 Nephi 4:8–10)
After the victory, the Nephites recognized the source of their strength:
And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies. Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God. And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of then-repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction. (3 Nephi 4:31–33)
That recognition on the part of the Nephites is important because it is plain that they knew what they were doing and what God had done. The record further reports:
And now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people of the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be fulfilled. And they knew that it must be expedient that Christ had come, because of the many signs which had been given, according to the words of the prophets; and because of the things which had come to pass already they knew that it must needs be that all things should come to pass according to that which had been spoken. Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night. (3 Nephi 5:1–3)
The record continues to note the blessings of God upon the Nephites:
And they began again to prosper and to wax great; and the twenty and sixth and seventh years passed away, and there was great order in the land; and they had formed their laws according to equity and justice. And now there was nothing in all the land to hinder the people from prospering continually, except they should fall into transgression. (3 Nephi 6:4–5)
Unfortunately, they did fall into transgression, notwithstanding the great deliverance and blessings which the Lord had poured out upon them in the very recent past:
But it came to pass in the twenty and ninth year there began to be some disputings among the people; and some were lifted up unto pride and boastings because of their exceeding great riches, yea, even unto great persecutions;
For there were many merchants in the land, and also many lawyers, and many officers.
And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.
Some were lifted up in pride, and others were exceedingly humble; some did return railing for railing, while others would receive railing and persecution and all manner of afflictions, and would not turn and revile again, but were humble and penitent before God.
And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord. (3 Nephi 6:10–14)
We note that the beginning of the trouble among the Nephites was disputation; they ceased to see eye to eye because some became lifted up in pride and arrogated to themselves a self-rightness that was a rejection of the ways of the Lord. Rejecting the Lord is the beginning of pride; pride is enmity towards God. Having pride leads to boasting and glorying in the greatness of some persons, in their riches, in their stations in society, and in their learning. Boasting and pride lead to putting many others down and elevating the few, which is the basis of persecution.
Mormon notes that the people began to be distinguished by ranks according to their riches and their chances for learning. When the Nephites were righteous, even the kings labored with their own hands to provide for the temporal support of their own households so as not to bring unnecessary burdens upon the people and to be equal with those over whom they reigned. (Mosiah 2:14; 6:7) When the priests and teachers of the Church were righteous they labored with their own hands for their own support and taught for nothing; teacher and hearers would leave their labors, savor the word of God together, and return to their labors rejoicing:
And there was a strict command throughout all the churches that there should be no persecutions among them, that there should be an equality among all men; that they should let no pride nor haughtiness disturb their peace; that every man should esteem his neighbor as himself, laboring with their own hands for their support. Yea, and all their priests and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support, in all cases save it were in sickness, or in much want; and doing these things, they did abound in the grace of God. (Mosiah 27:3–5)
In Alma we read:
And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength. And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely. (Alma 1:26–27)
We observe in Nephite history the typical pattern in the societies of “natural men.” Society is stable and prosperous when there is a religious piety and humility among a people. But when pride enters, people reject God and morality and begin to fashion their own designs to foster their personal interests. Those who are proud forget that every person is a beggar before God, dependent upon him for life, breath, and prosperity. They begin to think that their good fortune in being richer or more learned or more refined than other people is due to their intelligence, or their hard work, or their superior genes. They begin to say of the poor, in the words of King Benjamin: “The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just” (Mosiah 4:17).
King Benjamin then comments upon this foolish thinking: “But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God” (Mosiah 4:18). No interest in the kingdom of God? Surely, some will say, if a people are moral and upright and attend church faithfully, God will find a celestial abode for them. But King Benjamin makes it clear that taking care of the poor, even making ourselves equal with them is a necessity and not a nicety for discipleship unto Christ:
For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
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.
And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.
And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world. . . .
And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may walk guiltless before God—I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, bom spiritually and temporally, according to their wants. (Mosiah 4:19–23,26)
Now it is clear that the Book of Mormon peoples, the Nephites in particular, had a very clear understanding of this necessity to impart to the poor and to be humble before God. The generation that we have been examining had been rescued from an everlasting destruction only four years before they again began to wallow in the mire of sin and selfishness, caring neither about their less fortunate neighbors nor about the eternal welfare of their own souls.
What could cause so great and so quick a lapse from faith in Christ and bring total rejection of discipleship? Mormon provides the answer to this question:
Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this—Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world. And thus Satan did lead away the hearts of the people to do all manner of iniquity; therefore they had enjoyed peace but a few years Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did wilfully rebel against God. (3 Nephi 6:15–16,18)
The next stage of this drama was that another opportunity for repentance was given to these people who had been greatly blessed by God and knew it and yet did wilfully rebel against him. For he sent prophets unto them who plainly spoke of their transgressions and rebellions:
And there began to be men inspired from heaven and sent forth, standing among the people in all the land, preaching and testifying boldly of the sins and iniquities of the people, and testifying unto them concerning the redemption which the Lord would make for his people, or in other words, the resurrection of Christ; and they did testify boldly of his death and sufferings. (3 Nephi 6:20)
At this point the wickedness of the wayward Nephites increased, for some in leadership positions murdered those prophets, thus shedding innocent blood and giving the ultimate rejection of the Savior:
Now there were many of those who testified of the things pertaining to Christ who testified boldly, who were taken and put to death secretly by the judges, that the knowledge of their death came not unto the governor of the land until after their death. Now behold, this was contrary to the laws of the land, that any man should be put to death except they had power from the governor of the land. (3 Nephi 6:23–24)
The final episode in this saga of evil-doing was that those who murdered the prophets also conspired to murder the governor and to set up their own kingdom. They preferred the rule of evil dictators to a government of good laws and just rulers, a further rejection of all that the Savior stands for: “And they did set at defiance the law and the rights of their country; and they did covenant one with another to destroy the governor, and to establish a king over the land, that the land should no more be at liberty but should be subject unto kings” (3 Nephi 6:30).
The result of all of this wickedness was the destruction of the government and the Church and the division of the people into tribes or kinship groups:
And it came to pass in the thirty and first year that they were divided into tribes, every man according to his family, kindred and friends; nevertheless they had come to an agreement that they would not go to war one with another; but they were not united as to their laws, and their manner of government, for they were established according to the minds of those who were their chiefs and their leaders. But they did establish very strict laws that one tribe should not trespass against another, insomuch that in some degree they had peace in the land; nevertheless, their hearts were turned from the Lord their God, and they did stone the prophets and did cast them out from among them. (3 Nephi 7:14)
In this final state of wickedness the Lord sought yet a third time to recover his people, the Nephites. He sent his faithful servant Nephi, and others, to bear a final witness before the day of wrath and vengeance:
Thus passed away the thirty and second year also. And Nephi did cry unto the people in the commencement of the thirty and third year; and he did preach unto them repentance and remission of sins . . . And there were many in the commencement of this year that were baptized unto repentance; and thus the more part of the year did pass away. (3 Nephi 7:23,26)
Thus the human part of the drama had come to an end. The Lord in his kindness had blessed the people when they called upon him and his name. But when they became worldly and wicked in the peace and prosperity with which the Lord blessed them, he sent prophets to them, whom they slew. Finally, the Lord sent his most faithful servant unto them. Through all of this came a final separation of the righteous from the wicked. The few who were righteous hearkened to the words of the prophets and Nephi; the many who were wicked stonily rejected both them and God, ultimately rejecting their own redemption. Now it was time for the Lord to do his great work of vengeance.
In the beginning of the thirty and fourth year, at the time of the crucifixion of the Savior in Judea, there arose a great storm in the land of the Nephites, worse than had ever before been experienced. By fire and tempest, by the opening and closing of the earth, by the sinking and rising of parts of the land, all but the more righteous part of all of the people of the Nephites were destroyed. And these included the humble followers of Christ, who had already repented (3 Nephi 8). The day of vengeance came as the Lord destroyed of the more wicked among the Nephites, thus fulfilling the days of wickedness and vengeance among this people.
Of course, that is not the end of the story. After the visitation of the Savior among them, the Nephites entered into that blessed era of Zion, an era of such faithfulness as had never been before seen among so many. They lived in righteousness and peace for the full lifetimes of two generations (4 Nephi 1:22–23). The days of wickedness and vengeance were thus designed for a purpose: to cleanse the earth in preparation for ushering in a special era of righteousness.
The Last Days: Also Days of Wickedness and Vengeance
It remains for us now to trace the parallels and differences between the former and the latter days of wickedness and vengeance:
1. Key participants in both occasions are segments of the house of Israel. The house of Israel is the “chosen” people, those who have been commissioned by the Savior for a special mission in the history of the world. The mission of Israel is to bear witness of Christ in both word and deed, that all the world might know to come unto him and through him partake of life and salvation. But most of the time in the history of the world, Israel has not been able to get itself into any great faithfulness, let alone perform its mission to the remainder of humanity. In the meridian of time in Jerusalem, John the Baptist was sent as a special messenger to prepare the Jews for the advent of the Messiah. John did his work well, for all of Judah knew of him and of the Messiah about whom he taught. To those who accepted John’s message, the Savior came in glory and with blessings. To those who rejected John, the Savior was a stumbling block. Their rejection of John was a rejection of Jesus. When they demanded Jesus’ blood, they sealed their own fate and brought upon themselves the destruction of Jerusalem and of the last vestige of the kingdom of Judah, vengeance following upon wickedness.
Among the Nephites in the meridian of time, the wickedness and vengeance came before the Savior appeared to them. The Nephites were blessed to have prophets. And as they hearkened to God under the instructions of those prophets, they were blessed. But when they deliberately rejected God, knowing his goodness, they too reaped just vengeance as a consequence of their choosing wickedness.
In the last days, Israel is again front stage in the Lord’s great drama. Again the mission is the same, to bear witness of Christ in word and deed that all the world might know how to come to Christ and find rest in him. But in these last days there is a special warning which necessarily accompanies the invitation. Not many days hence the world will be cleansed by fire, and every corruptible thing, of man or of nature, will be swept from the earth. The invitation to come unto Christ is also the invitation to become pure, to be able to pass through the fire unscathed. The fire is the Lord’s vengeance in these latter days. If Israel were not to do its work in these latter days, then neither the world nor Israel would be prepared for the Second Coming of Christ, and the world would then be “utterly wasted” at his coming (D&C 2).
2. A second parallel between the meridian of time and the last days is the increased fury of Satan. It seems to be a general principle that before great blessings come strong temptations and trials. We see this in the attack of Satan on the boy prophet Joseph Smith in the grove (JS-H 1:15–17); had he yielded in fear to being possessed of Satan, he would not have received the blessing of the vision. Satan worked mightily with the Jews of Jerusalem to blind them to the gifts and signs from heaven, both spiritual and temporal, which led the majority of the blood of Israel to reject both John and Christ, notwithstanding the fact that they came in explicit fulfillment of plain prophecy which the children of Israel themselves also accepted.
Among the Nephites, it is a marvel to see that in the space of three years the majority of the people could turn from universal gratitude to God for preserving their lives to gross immersion in worldliness and the abandonment of Christ and his teaching. Such can only be accounted for by extraordinary pressure from the adversary, and the prophets acknowledge Satan’s success.
In the last days, Satan will also be unleashed in devastating fury. We are told that people will be as bad as they were in the days of Noah, when the thought of every man’s heart was only to do evil continually. In Noah’s time the people “were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage; and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be” (JS-M 1:42–43). Because they knew not the Lord in the time of Noah, they lived according to their own will and pleasure, rejecting righteousness. The call of Israel to the world in these last days is that everyone should seek the Lord and his righteousness to know that all things must be done in the Savior’s way to be good or righteous and that to do otherwise is to reap the whirlwind of vengeance and destruction. The world today, as it moves toward the Second Coming, is full of gross wickedness and selfishness in abusing others, particularly children and spouses, committing abortions, taking drugs, wantonly destroying, and the flaunting of all that is holy and sacred. This great success by Satan is to be expected, for it is the spiritual fire through which all of the righteous must pass; they deliberately reject and refuse to participate in the evil which is all around them. That rejection enables them to be worthy to pass through the temporal or physical fire which will come to cleanse the earth of all wickedness at the Second Coming. Those who successfully pass through both of these fires will then be able to endure the joy of the Savior’s presence and blessings during the millennium.
3. A third major parallel of these two times of “wickedness and vengeance” is the coming of the Savior following each of them.
When the Savior came to Judea in the meridian of time, his mission was to complete his atonement, to fulfill our Father’s plan by which every human being might be reconciled to him. The Savior had volunteered to come and do our Father’s will in all things, by which obedience he might show all of us the way back to Father’s presence. Our Savior accomplished three of the four requisites which comprise the Atonement
The Savior came to Judea first to descend from his exaltation to go below all things, that he might then again rise above all things and be the judge of all things. To fulfill this part of his mission, our Savior was bom of Mary but fathered by our Heavenly Father, that in his mortal life he might have the dual heritage of mortality and immortality. Then, commanding and controlling both of these opportunities, he molded them together in perfect obedience to Father, thus showing the ultimate pattern which all people must seek to attain. This living a perfect life in mortality qualified him to become the perfect and pure sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. Thus in living a perfect life every day, our Savior wrought the Atonement.
Having lived a perfect mortal life enabled our Savior to do the suffering which was necessary for atonement, to pay for all sins so he might forgive each human being who will sincerely repent. Without being forgiven of our sins, none of us could again stand in our Heavenly Father’s presence, for in him there is not the least degree of allowance for sin (Alma 45:16). All who enjoy his presence must be pure, free both from sin and from all trace of sin. Thus our Savior took upon him the sins of every man, woman, and child, suffering for each of us individually in Gethsemane and upon the cross. By doing so, he fulfilled Father’s will and completed the Atonement.
In his death, our Savior worked out a third aspect of his great atonement, the sacrifice of a mortal life which was pure, without spot or blemish. By offering this sacrifice, our Savior seized the keys of death and hell from Satan. This makes it possible for every human being to be resurrected to an unending physical existence after this mortal probation is over, after the temporary body we have in mortality has been returned to the earth.
The fourth aspect of the Atonement which our Savior wrought was fulfilled not only in time but also in eternity, in the eternality of existence which was the envelope of his moral sojourn. As the premortal Jehovah, as the mortal Jesus of Nazareth, and as the resurrected Christ, our Savior presides over the process by which the Holy Spirit labors to eventually witness to every human being of the righteousness of God, the atoning mission of Christ, and the opportunity and means by which each one may come personally unto the fulness of the measure of the stature of Christ, thus to share with him all that he and Father have in eternity. This is the fourth and final aspect of the Savior’s atonement.
Thus the coming of the Savior to the Jews was to make possible the eternal blessings for all humankind. Our Savior wrought his work well, and prepared the way, but most of the Jews rejected him in his sojourn to earth. That rejection was great wickedness, which was visited on their heads with vengeance, the righteous and just vengeance, recompense of a just God.
The coming of our Savior to the Nephites was part of his eternal rather than his temporal assignment. He came to the Nephites not to atone, but to bless. For the days of wickedness and vengeance had already passed for them, and he came to reward those who had passed through the fire of vengeance spiritually unscathed because of their righteous faithfulness in him. And he did bless them. In time, they were all converted to him and came to have one heart, one mind, to dwell in righteousness, without having any poor person among them (4 Nephi 1:1–22). This period of Zion was indeed the precursor and pattern of the Second Coming in which his presence will bless the whole world with this same opportunity to partake of the heavenly gift and to dwell in Zion.
Our Savior’s mission at his Second Coming in the last days is to do just as he did with the Nephites: He will bless all of us who manage to pass through the fire of the days of wickedness and vengeance and the fire of his temporal destruction with the joy of his presence and the opportunity to dwell safely in Zion forever. But instead of coming only to Israel to offer them such a delight as he did with the Nephites, in these last days every nation, kindred, tongue, and people is being invited to the wedding feast. Admission to the feast comes in having the good sense to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached in these last days and to come into the fold of the Good Shepherd and partake of the fulness of the New and Everlasting Covenant. By hearkening to the Holy Spirit, we will receive safe passage through the fires of wickedness and vengeance to enter into the joy of the Lord.
The conclusion to this whole matter is to see that the days of wickedness and vengeance are in reality the days of righteousness and blessing. The wickedness through which each of us must pass is but the fire which proves our love for the Lord and his righteousness; it is the special opportunity to be especially righteous in these last days. The vengeance is itself a blessing, a cleansing of the earth that greater blessings may follow, even as being in hell is a blessing which makes possible the greater blessing of inheriting glory afterwards. All that God does is a blessing to those who will receive a blessing at his hand. To live in the days of wickedness and vengeance is thus to live in the very days of the greatest faith, righteousness, and blessing which the world has ever seen, albeit on the part of but a few. Each of us individually chooses for himself or herself whether these will be days of wickedness and vengeance or days of righteousness and blessing.
Definition: Education is the self-creation of a person who is learning to solve his problems. Principles of education:
Learning, not teaching is paramount in importance. Learning is the adaptive response of an intelligent being to his environment. Enough learning results in education. Teaching is the attempt to help people learn but it can guarantee nothing.
Learning values is the most important learning. Values guide all & person learns, thinks, and does.
Skill learning is second in importance. Skills are the ability to do everything a person does.
Knowledge learning is third in importance. With the correct values and skills, a person can get the knowledge he needs.
All education is religious education. A person’s religion is his habits, his character, centering on his values. All educational enterprises are value laden.
Learning is always a do-it-yourself project. No one can learn anything for anyone else.
The hallmark of good learning is over-learning. Anything over-learned is used reflexively. Sometimes people think they have learned when they have only understood. (Understanding is the counterfeit of learning.)
Teaching is facilitation of learning. But there is no guarantee that it can be done.
The most important facilitation of learning is to engender confidence in the learner. Then the do-it-yourself ability has the best chance to go into motion.
The criterion of being educated is the ability to solve problems, not credit or degrees. There are many degreed people who can’t really do anything.
Education should produce individuality, not conformity. Yet the grading system of our culture principally rewards conformity.
The truly educated person is one who solves his problems in such a way as to benefit maximally all whom he affects. This is righteousness, the highest attainment possible for any human being. The only way to accomplish this is to become as Christ is through the laws and ordinances of the New and Everlasting Covenant.
John Taylor was called in 1849 to take the gospel to France.
Shortly after the discussion Elder Taylor left Boulogne for Paris, where he began studying the French language and teaching the gospel. Among the interesting people whom he met there was M. Krolokoski, a disciple of M. Fourier, the distinguished French socialist.
Krolokoski was a gentleman of some standing, being the editor of a paper published in Paris in support of fourier’s views. Another thing which makes the visit of this gentleman to Elder Taylor interesting is the fact that it was the society to which he belonged that sent M. Cabet to Nauvoo with the French Icarians, to establish a community on Fourier’s principles. At his request Elder Taylor explained to him the leading principles of the gospel. At the conclusion of that explanation the following conversation occurred:
Krolokoski: “Mr. Taylor, do you propose no other plan to ameliorate the condition of mankind than that of baptism for the remission of sins?”
Elder Taylor. “This is all I propose about the matter.
Krolokoski: “Well, I wish you every success; but I am afraid you will not succeed.”
Elder Taylor: “Monsieur Krolokoski, you sent Monsieur Cabet to Nauvoo, some time ago. He was considered your leader — the most talented man you had. He went to Nauvoo shortly after we had deserted it. Houses and lands could be obtained at a mere nominal sum. Rich farms were deserted, and thousands of us had left our houses and furniture in them, and almost everything calculated to promote the happiness of man was there. Never could a person go to a place under more happy circumstances. Besides all the advantages of having everything made ready to his hand. M. Cabet had a select company of colonists. He and his company went to Nauvoo — what is the result? I read in all your reports from there — published in your own paper here, in Paris — a continued cry for help. The cry is money, money! We want money to help us carry out our designs. While your colony in Nauvoo with all the advantages of our deserted fields and homes — that they had only to move into — have been dragging out a miserable existence, the Latter-day Saints, though stripped of their all and banished from civilized society among savages — among the peau rouges as you call our Indians — which Christian civilization denied us — there our people have built houses, enclosed lands, cultivated gardens, built schoolhouses, and have organized a government and are prospering in all the blessings of civilized life. Not only this, but they have sent thousands and thousands of dollars over to Europe to assist the suffering poor to go to America, where they might find an asylum.
“The society I represent, M. Krolokoski,” he continued, “comes with the fear of God — the worship of the great Eloheim; we offer the simple plan ordained of God, viz: repentance, baptism for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Our people have not been seeking the influence of the world, nor the power of government, but they have obtained both. Whilst you, with your philosophy, independent of God, have been seeking to build up a system of communism and a government which is, according to your own accounts, the way to introduce the Millennial reign. Now, which is the best, our religion, or your philosophy?”
The Savior said that signs (physical evidences, marks) would follow his disciples who truly believe in Him.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:15-18)
What are the marks of a latter-day saint?
The hallmark of a true disciple of the Savior is success. Such an one will not put his hand to doubtful or unworthy causes. He seeks a commission from the Lord, and when so commissioned the Lord assures that he need not fail, and will not, if faithful. Essential individual marks are as follows:
Self control. A latter-day saint is not given to highs and lows, to anger or depression, to compulsive action of any kind. Eating, sleeping, exercise, personal appearance, and properties are all well-ordered, Health and strength are sufficient to the tasks undertaken. Learning, giving and becoming a better person all during life.
Family oriented. Being a father or mother is seen as the greatest mission in this world. The sacrifices necessary to being part of a good family are gratefully made.
Priesthood oriented. Learning and faithfully fitting into the priesthood structure of the family and the church as evidenced by faith acceptance and discharge of callings. Missionary, genealogy, welfare and church service are pursued with enthusiasm and ingenuity. Concern for the poor is always evident.
Skilled in subduing the earth. An honorable occupation will be pursued to provide economic benefits for family and for the kingdom. Whatever one’s profession, one will be skilled in doing many things with one’s hands.
Active in promoting political freedom. Will be supportive of causes that increase the freedom and agency of man, including just punishment of those who misuse that freedom and agency. Will honor every man in his station but recognize no one worthy to rule mankind except Jesus Christ.
