Author: LeGrand Baker

Alma 38:12 – LeGrand Baker – “that you may be filled with love”

We are still in Alma 38 where uses one short clause to describe a remarkable concept.

12 …see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love.

In that verse, the word “that” is a very powerful conjunction. Other ways of saying it (“so that,” “in order that”) are weaker because the word is modified. Simply using “that” creates an unqualified relationship between the cause and the effect. (To see the power of the conjunction, try reading the sacrament prayers without the word “that.” You will find that without the conjunction the prayers become only disconnected ideas.)

Alma said to his son: “see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love.”

It is difficult for people in our culture to put those words into their proper perspective because in our vernacular language “passions” are often equated with lewdness, lasciviousness, and sexuality and seem to be the driving power behind much of the music, entertainment, and advertisements that bombard our lives.

A sidenote to Alma’s charge to “bridle all your passions” Paul’s explanation:

15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled (Titus 1:15).

True love is a passion: the way both our bodies and our minds express love through tenderness, affection, and the desire to make another happy and secure.

The best commentary I know on Alma’s meaning is the words of Peter (1 Peter 1:1-19). They begin with an almost poetic description of the intent of the early Christian’s temple drama, followed by step by step instructions about how to make one’s calling and election sure, then conclude with Peter’s testimony about his experience on the Mount of Transfiguration.

As we read closely, verses 1-7 their focus sharpens on the specifics of the path one must follow to ascend to those heights. He presents us with very succinct instructions about how to bridle our passions, “that ye may be filled with love.” He begins,

1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith [pistis] with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1).

Pistis is a powerful Greek word that incorporates the ideas of both making and keeping covenants. Here it is something one receives “through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ .” Righteousness describes the correctness of authority and procedure in priesthood ordinances and covenants. (See the chapter “Meaning of ‘Faith’– pistis” and “Meaning of ‘Righteousness’–zedek and Zadok”in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord).

Is short, Peter has used pistis and righteousness to represent the entire early Christian temple services. Then he gives a beautifully insightful description of what that temple experience meant.

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 (2 Peter 1:2-4).

In Peter’s summation, the blessings of the temple are just two promises: “that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” There, “having” calls attention to a condition in the past “Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” has already happened and creates the situation of the present: “that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.”

“Lust” means wanting something to the exclusion of wanting other thins. It, like anger, can become addictive because it produces an adrenalin high. It may be the appetite to possess something or someone. It may be the need of attention, praise, wealth, or power. For example such needs may cause a wealthy man to run for political office or a poor woman to try to use gossip to control the neighborhood. These are different in extent of the power, but not in the quality of the soul.

Then Peter teaches us how to overcome lust and enthrone charity as our dominant personalty characteristic, just as Alma teaches that we must “bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love.”

Peter’s 8 steps to doing that are these:

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith [pistis] virtue.”(2 Peter 1:5)

To many Mormons, “virtue” has come to mean chastity, but it means much more than that. It is the sum of manly perfection: of integrity (no gap between what one says and what one does); of rectitude (doing the right things for the right reasons); of physical, emotional, and intellectual excellence. It is the qualities of manliness that is personified in George Washington.

and to virtue knowledge; (2 Peter 1:5)

Inspired scriptures all teach the same thing because the ideas come from the same source. I think is not a stretch to say that Peter, the first President of the ancient Church of Christ, should mean by “knowledge” the same thing that the Lord taught Joseph Smith.

24 And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come (D&C 93:24).

That is, truth is knowledge of reality in sacred time, and is the only knowledge that has eternal value.

6 And to knowledge temperance; (2 Peter 1:6)

Temperance is moderation that is a product of self control. It is not doing anything in excess, but moving through life with an even keel, acting according to one’s own will, not being acted upon by excess of any kind.

and to temperance patience (2 Peter 1:6).

Patience is most beautifully described in Psalm 25. Patience with whom? With ourselves, with God, with other people, and with difficult circumstances.

and to patience godliness [reverence](2 Peter 1:6).

The Bible footnote and Strong (# 2150) both say the Greek word means “reverence.” We cannot hurt anyone or anything that we revere. It is recognizing and acknowledging the worth of another. It precludes the possibility of anger, contempt, and prejudice.

7 And to godliness brotherly kindness (2 Peter 1:7).

In this verse, the King James Version uses the phrase “brotherly kindness,” but elsewhere in the New Testament that same Greek word is always translated as “brotherly love” which has a somewhat stronger connotation. Strong: Greek 5360 [first edition, 1890] reads: “philadelphia; fraternal affection: brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren.” [Emphasis is in the original).

Righteous masculine virtues include extended and focused brotherly love. The Prophet Joseph emphasized this when he said, “Friendship is the grand fundamental principle of Mormonism, to revolution civilize the world.—pour forth love.” {1}

True love and eternal friendships originate and continue in sacred space and sacred time.

and to brotherly kindness charity.(2 Peter 1:7)

While “brotherly love” is a focused love, charity is a universal love. It is as broad as “reverence” and also as focused as philadelphia. It is the maturation and culmination of both. The law of consecration is what one does when charity is what one is. In the New Testament that combination of God’s love and his loving kindness is called “grace.” The Hebrew word hesed is the equivalent and is often translated as “mercy” or “lovingkindness..”

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. {2}

An explanation and clarification of the 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. {3}

Another definition says: “Hesed has in view right conduct in free kindness within a given relation. … [as in] Psalm 50:5, where Yahweh calls for a gathering of His hesedim [translated ‘saints’] who have made a covenant in sacrifice. It seems that the term hesed has a special place at the conclusion of a covenant.”{4}

The hesed relationship described in Psalm 25 evokes the terms of the premortal covenant between Jehovah and his children in this world. Elsewhere that same hesed relationship also exists as an eternal, fraternal bond among men. Consideration of the this-world continuation of those fraternal relationships brings us brings us back to Peter’s assurance that “brotherly kindness” (philadelphia) and charity are prerequisite to making one’s calling and election sure. Peter continues:

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:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:8-11).

And that bring us back to Alma’s instruction to his son Shiblon.

12  See that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love (Alma 38:12).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – ENDNOTES

{1} Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph, compiled and edited by Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook [Provo: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1980], 234.

{2}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.

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

{4} Gerhard Friedrich, ed. (Translator and editor

Geoffrey w. Bromiley), Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Miciugan,Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981), 9:386-7.

Alma 38:9, LeGrand Baker, The Word of Truth and Righteousness

Alma 38:9
9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.

Last week we discussed the Savior’s name-titles, “the life and the light of the world.” Those phrases describe his power to bring all things—-including ourselves—-into existence and to sustain all things until the resurrection and beyond. The next two phrased Alma uses, “the word of truth and [the word of] righteousness” describe the Savior’s power to rase the quality of our existence to a state of happiness here and to eternal joy hereafter.

I would now like to discuss the meaning of those two name-titles.

“Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (D&C 93:24). That is, truth is knowledge of eternal reality. Truth never changes, therefore its reality never changes. It was the same in the Council in Heaven as it is in the present, and as it will be in the eternities beyond. The key to knowing reality is (in its beginnings and in its conclusion) having a correct understanding of the truth about God. (See Who shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, paperback edition, 193-5)

“Righteousness” is translated from the Hebrew zedek and Zadok. It means to perform priesthood and temple ordinances and covenants with absolute correctness—- that is with the right authority, in the right place, holding arms and hands the right way, dressed the right way, and in the name of Christ. (See Who shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, paperback edition, 198- 200)

When Alma says Christ is “the word of truth and righteousness,” he is describing the Savior’s power, not only to give us life, but also to teach us how to come to him (redeem), and to teach us the knowledge we must have/live in order to remain in his presence (salvation).

In many scriptures, “the word” is code for priesthood power, especially the Savior’s own priesthood power. That is easy to understand because whenever we exercise the priesthood we do it by speaking words. Describing his own foreordination, Jeremiah wrote,

9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant (Jeremiah 1:9-10)

Similarly, Isaiah wrote said to the faithful men of Israel:

16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people (Isaiah 51:16).

The “word” also describes God’s priesthood power. Thus we read:

32 And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten (Moses 1:32-33).. (see also Jacob 4:8-9, D&C 29:29-32,

In the following, the “word of truth” is code for the gospel as it was preached in the premortal world. Thus Paul explains.

11 In whom [the Father] also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him [the Father] who worketh all things after the counsel of his [the Father’s] own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his [the Father’s] glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom [Christ] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom [Christ] also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which [sealing] is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his [the Father’s] glory (Ephesians 1:11-14).

In John, the name-title “Word” also represents the Savior’s power to teach in the very beginning of our beginnings:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1-14).

The JST version reads with more clarity:

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 (JST John 1:1-14).

The Lord confirmed that in D&C 93:

6 And John saw and bore record of the fulness of my glory, and the fulness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed.
7 And he bore record, saying: I saw his glory, that he was in the beginning, before the world was;
8 Therefore, in the beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of salvation—
9 The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men (D&C 93:6-9).

Priesthood is more than the power to do. It is also the power to be. “The word of truth” is also code for the fulness of the sealing powers of the gospel. The priesthood ordinances are necessary for righteousness (zedek), but it is mutual love that is the actual power that seals us to our family and friends. The Savior emphasizes that in John 17, in his great intercessory prayer, where truth, word, and love become synonymous.

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.(John 17:17-21)

When we read that in connection with D&C 88 and 93, it becomes apparent that light, truth, and love are all the same thing. We talk about each of their characteristics differently and therefore give them different names. But they all fill the immensity of space at the same time and all manifest the same sense of peace wrapped in the power of hased. If the Lord’s definition of truth is to know something—or someone—as an eternal reality, and if charity is loving others as they really are, then truth and charity are essentially the same thing. To love and comprehend another’s eternal worth—to know as one is known and see as one is seen—is to embrace that friend in sacred time and sacred space.

Truth is inseparably connected with righteousness, for without truth there can be no righteousness. The psalmist testifies:

10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
12 Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.
13 Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps (Psalms 85:2-13).

The Prophet Joseph expanded that sense of oneness by describing “righteousness and truth” in terms of sacral kingship. He wrote from Liberty jail:

46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever (D&C 121:46).

The apostle John put all of these ideas together in a magnificent description of the Savior and of our eternal relationship (“fellowship”) with him and his Father. John wrote:

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.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:1-7).

From these scriptures we might conclude that “the word of truth” is priesthood power exercised through the power that is derived from knowing reality in sacred time. And that “the word of …righteousness” is the enabling priesthood power that is derived from the correctness (zedek) of the eternal ordinances and covenants of godliness. And that the name-titles which Alma gives to Christ —-“ Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.”—-are powerful testimonies of who and what the Savior is.

Alma 38:8-9, LeGrand Baker, Light and Truth

8 And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.
9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.

In these verses Alma sums up some of the most profound testimonies of the Savior found anywhere in the scriptures. Alma does it so succinctly that two things are evident: 1) He is fully aware of the intent of the similar testimonies found in our modern scriptures, and 2) those concepts required no explanation to his son. Therefore it is apparent that these most profound doctrines were taught and understood by Book of Mormon prophets and the people.

Each time the Savior introduced himself he used that same phrase. He said, “I am the light and the life of the world (3 Nephi 9:18, 11:11).

12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).

John’s testimony is similar:

9 The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men (D&C 93:9).

Abinadi’s testimony to Alma is an explanation of that phrase:

9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death (Mosiah 16:9).

The doctrine that he is the life and the light of the world is much older than the Book of Mormon text.

In the Bible, the origin of all physical things began with the words, “Let there be light.” From the light, came all else. Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews recalls:

The heavens were fashioned from the light of God’s garment. …The light created at the very beginning is not the same as the light emitted by the sun, the moon, and the stars, which appeared only on the fourth day. The light of the first day was of a sort that would have enabled man to see the world at a glance from one end to the other. Anticipating the wickedness of the sinful generations of the deluge and the Tower of Babel, who were unworthy to enjoy the blessing of such light, God concealed it, but in the world to come it will appear to the pious in all its pristine glory. {1}

The Lord’s revelation to the Prophet Joseph is very explicit about that, and foreshadows the best scientific thinking of our time. He explained that the light of Christ is:

11 …the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—
13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things (D&C 88:7-13).

Whether one approaches it from Einstein’s theory or the string theory, matter is energy. In the scriptures that energy is called “light.”

When I was a young man astronomers taught that the universe was a vacuum except for those placed where we could see visible light, and that the light “that filled the immensity of space” was the light of the stars that traveled through that vacuum at amazing speed. Now astronomers teach that the universe is filled with “dark energy” and “dark matter.” They are “dark” because they are not visible, but in fact they are completely transparent and as is shown by the fact that visible light passes through them without restraint.

According to observations of structures larger than solar systems, as well as Big Bang cosmology…. dark matter accounts for 23% of the mass-energy density of the observable universe. In comparison, ordinary matter accounts for only 4.6% of the mass-energy density of the observable universe, with the remainder being attributable to dark energy. From these figures, dark matter constitutes 83%, (23/(23+4.6)), of the matter in the universe, whereas ordinary matter makes up only 17%. (From Wikipedia)

My simplistic way of understanding that is that just as ordinary energy/photons/matter of our visible universe is made of the Savior’s light. The dark energy/matter of the universe is also made of his light, but the latter’s properties make it imperceptible to our senses and even to our sophisticated scientific instruments.

Psalm 36 says it differently, and perhaps even more beautifully. As you read this psalm, remember the definition of hesed: “unfailing love, loyal love, devotion. Kindness, often based on a prior relationship, especially a covenant relationship.”{2}

5 Thy mercy [hesed], O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
7 How excellent is thy loving-kindness [hesed], O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.
8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
10 O continue thy loving-kindness [hesed] unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart (Psalms 36:5-10).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
ENDNOTES

{1} Louis Ginzberg, trans. Henrietta Szold, The Legends of the Jews, 7 vols. (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1937), 1:8-9.

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

Alma 38:1-15, LeGrand Baker, Alma to his son, Shiblon—be true to law of your own being

Our personalities are an eternal part of the law of our own beings. We come into this world with three things: agency, personality, and integrity. Our personalities stays intact. The thing that is challenged is our integrity—the question is: Can we be in the environment of this world the same person we were before we came here? (Even if cultural circumstances here temporarily stifle our personalities, it will blossom again after we are no longer in this world.)

Before we came here, each of us received an assignment that was to be fulfilled in this time and place. Those assignments were, of necessity, perfectly compatible with the personality that define us as an eternal Self. Alma’s commandments to his sons (virtually patriarchal blessings) demonstrate how those assignments and personalities were so well coordinated.

To Helaman, Alma gave the charge to preside, and to Shiblon he game the charge to teach. Helaman’s experiences in the mission field demonstrated that he was best fit for his assignment. Shiblon’s experiences demonstrated the same about him.

Consider Shiblon’s personality traits as his father describes them. He said:

11. See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.

The Hebrew word most often translated as wisdom (Strong 2451) has a number of other connotations: skill in war and administration, shrewdness, prudence. So we can know that Shiblon was a very bright young man. He was no weakling either, as is shown by his fathers admonition that he not boast in his “much strength.”

However, his calling was not so much about his abilities as it was about his personality. His brother had shown himself to be a dynamic leader, but Shiblon was different from that—not inferior, just different.

Other of Shiblon’s characteristics that his father mentions are:

v. 2 steadiness and your faithfulness [keeping eternal covenants] unto God;… as you have commenced in your youth
v. 3 because of thy faithfulness [Here, keeping missionary covenants] and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.
v. 4 and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.

Alma reminds him of the covenant of invulnerability that comes with keeping our eternal covenants, and promises him that if he will be true to who he is “that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day (v.5).”

Alma’s blessing concludes with an assignment to his son. While it is likely that the assignment may have been typical of that given to a “second son,” yet it is also true that it seems to fit his personality perfectly. Alma said, “And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things (v. 10).”

Shiblon’s blessing has a message for each of us. It is this: You and I, and all the other people who make up the Kingdom of God are different from each other. Those difference cannot be ranked as superior or inferior to others, they are simply different. Let me give you an example.

When I was a boy I lived on a small farm in Utah. We had a neighbor we called “Lib.” She was a simple lady with almost no education, and no leadership skills. People sometimes made fun of her because of that. But she was one of the kindest persons I have ever known—completely without guile—a ministering angel to everyone who needed help or who just need a friend.

My family and I loved her very much.

How can her qualities be ranked as lower than another’s great academic or leadership skills? I don’t believe they can.

Like Lib, each of us in this world is left to become the very best of what we already are. Like Lib and Shiblon, each of us is given an assignment that most perfectly fits our eternal personalities. And like them, each of us will be judged—not my our great successes—but by the quality of the love we give to others.

Alma 37:21-22, 28, 31-32 – – LeGrand Baker, Constitution to hang by a thread

21 And now, I will speak unto you concerning those twenty-four plates, that ye keep them, that the mysteries and the works of darkness, and their secret works, or the secret works of those people who have been destroyed, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, all their murders, and robbings, and their plunderings, and all their wickedness and abominations, may be made manifest unto this people; yea, and that ye preserve these interpreters.

22 For behold, the Lord saw that his people began to work in darkness, yea, work secret murders and abominations; therefore the Lord said, if they did not repent they should be destroyed from off the face of the earth.

……………..

28 For behold, there is a curse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to the power of God, when they are fully ripe; therefore I desire that this people might not be destroyed.

……………..

31 Yea, and cursed be the land forever and ever unto those workers of darkness and secret combinations, even unto destruction, except they repent before they are fully ripe.
32 And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you; trust not those secret plans unto this people, but teach them an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity.

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[In December 1948, when I was a child attending Primary, the church published a broadside with the photographs of the general authorities on one side (George Albert Smith was then President of the Church), and a statement by Preston Nibley on the other. I was given my copy in Primary, as I suppose everyone else in the church was also. The broadside is now very rare (I gave mine to BYU library’s Special Collections). The following is a copy of Elder Nibley’s short statement —- LeGrand]

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WHAT OF JOSEPH SMITH’S PROPHECY

THAT THE CONSTITUTION WOULD HANG BY A THREAD?

by Preston Nibley

FREQUENT INQUIRY is received as to the validity of the great prophecy. said to have been made by the Prophet Joseph Smith that the time would come when the Constitution would hang by a single thread, and at that particular time the Mormon people would step forth and save it from destruction.

For a number of years I have searched through the writings and sermons of the Prophet, but to date I have not found any record of the above prophecy as having been recorded by the Prophet himself, or by those who worked with him in his office and assisted him in writing his history.

The first reference to substantiate im­portant prophecy was given in a sermon by President Brigham Young in the old Tabernacle on the Temple Block, on July 4, 1854. The occasion was the celebration of Independence Day by the people of Salt Lake City. President Young was the principal speaker.

Following are a few excerpts from his sermon:

“The general Constitution of our country is good, and a wholesome government could be framed upon it; for it was dictated by the invisible operations of the Almighty. He moved upon Columbus to launch forth upon the trackless deep to discover the American continent. He moved upon the signers of the Declaration of Inde­pendence, and he moved upon Washington to fight and conquer, in the same way that he has moved upon ancient and modern prophets, each being inspired to accomplish the particular work he was called to perform, in the times seasons and dispensations of the Almighty….

“If the framers of the Constitution and the inhabitants of the United States had walked humbly, the God who defended them and fought their battles when Washington was on the stage of action, the nation would have now been free from a multitude of evils.

“Will the Constitution be destroyed? No. It will be held inviolate by this people; and as Joseph Smith said ‘the time will come when the destiny of this nation will hang upon a single thread, and at this critical juncture, this people will step forth and save it from the threatened destruction.’ It will be so.” (Journal History, July 4, 1854)

President Brigham Young does not give the citation of his information regarding this important prophect, whether it came to him direct from the Prophet Joseph Smith or not, but he states it in such a bold, fearles manner that it is evident that he knew exactly what he was talking about.

On February 6 and 7 of the following year, 1855, a celebration was held in the Social Hall, by the surviving members of the Mormon Battalion to commemorate their long march to the Pacific, made in 1846-47. On this occasion President Jedediah M. Grant made a few appropriate remarks. Among other things he siad:

“We are friendly to our country and when we speak of the flag or our Union, we love it, and we love the rights the Constitution guarantees to every citizen. What did the Prophet Joseph say? When the Constitution shall be tottering, we shall be the people to save it from the hand of the foe.” (The Mormon Battalion by Tyler, page 350).

Three years later, on January 3, 1858, Orson Hyde was speaking in the old Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. At that time he made this significant statement, which he worded somewhat differently than the two speakers quoted above.

“It is said that Brother Josesph, in his lifetime, declared that the elders of this Church should step forth at a particular time, when the Constitution should be in danger, and rescue it and save it. This may be so, but I do not recollect that he said exactly so. I believ he said something like this — that the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow, and, said he, ‘If the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the elders of this Church.’ I believe this is about the language, as nearly as I can recolict it.” (Journal of Discourses. Vol.6:152).

It appears from the above that Orson Hyde heard the Prophet Joseph Smith make the prophecy quoted, though he differs somewhat from Brigham Young and Jedediah Grant in his understanding of the same. However, we have a statement from Eliza R. Snow, that she actually heard the Prophet make the remarks which she quotes. The following is from the Deseret News Weekly of Jan. 19, 1870, page 556. It is the report of a meeting of the women of Salt Lake City, held in the hew Tabernacle. Eliza R. Snow was speaking:

“My sisters, my remarks in conclusion will be brief. I heard the Prophet Joseph Smith say if the people rose up and mobbed us, and the author­ities countenanced it, they would have mobs to their hearts content. I heard him say that the time would come when this nation would so far depart from its original purity, its glory and its love for freedom, and its protection of civil rights and religious rights, that the Constitution of our country would hang as it were by a thread. He said also that this people, the Sons of Zion, would rise up and save the Constitution and bear it off triumphant ‘.”

From all the above it is abundantly evident that the Prophet Joseph Smith did make the marvelous prediction that it is the destiny of the Latter-day Saints to some day save the Constitu­tion of the United States from destruction.

Alma 37:6-7, LeGrand Baker, by small means

6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

One of those “small means” is the impact weather has had on human history. Here are some examples:

A drought caused Abraham to go into Egypt.

Another drought caused Jacob, Joseph and their families to go into Egypt where they could increase in numbers until they were ready to conquer the Promised Land.

A prolonged drought (since no one knows the dates for sure, we can’t know how prolonged) in central Asia and east of the Mediterranean resulted in the destruction of ancient Troy, and the crippling of the Babylonian and Egyptian empires. It left a political and economic power vacuum in Palestine so that Moses could bring Israel there to settle in relative security.

One of the major reasons for the severity of the Black plague in the late 1300 and early 1400’s throughout Europe was that the weather was very cold and dry. That caused the plague carrying rats and mice to come into the cities and villages where they could find food. It is estimated to have cut Europe’s population about in half. It wiped out great landowning families and did not spare the clergy. It disrupted political and ecclesiastical power throughout Europe and showed that the Catholic church did not have the power to stop it. Thereby it was ultimately one of the major “causes” of the Protestant Reformation.

A severe wind storm in 1588 destroyed the Spanish Armada, enabling Protestant England rather than Catholic Spain to become the world’s great sea power. It enabled much of the world to have access to English participatory government and the King James Bible.

In America, at the time of the ratification of the Constitution, Pennsylvania was the most critical state. It literally cut the nation in two and a single nation under the Constitution would probably have meant little if she had not ratified. Many believed Pennsylvania would not ratify. In the back country where most of the population resided, the people were mostly Anti Federalists who feared a powerful federal government. The people in the east around Philadelphia were Federalists who supported the Constitution. On the day of the ratification vote a severe snow storm prevented the people in back country Pennsylvania from getting to their voting places. Pennsylvania ratified the Constitution, but without the snow the election probably would have gone the other way and the United States probably never would have happened.

After ratification, the new government under the new Constitution was to begin when a quorum of both Houses met in New York. Their first act would be to count the Electoral College vote and announce who the new president would be. That was planned for mid or late March. However, snowy spring prevented the new Congress from forming a Quorum until 6 April 1789 when the United States officially began as a new government.

In World War II, the Germans were aided in the Battle of the Bbulge by clouds that prevented the Allies from using their aircraft against the German tanks. The German’s needed to capture allied oil and gas supplies for their tanks because they had only enough gas to get the tanks as far as those supplies. When they were well over half way toward their goal (didn’t have enough gas to go back) the clouds moved and the allied air force had its way. That marked the turning point of the war.

Those are just a few. I’m sure you can think of lots more. The weather is just one example to show the truth of Alma’s promise that “by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.”

Another example, one that is so common that we actually expect it to happen, is when a Latter-day Saint (maybe a missionary, maybe not) “just happens” to be in the right place at the right time to meet someone who is seriously looking for the gospel. That and other similar “small means” happen daily as the Lord directs the affairs of the Kingdom of God.

Alma 37:3-4, LeGrand Baker, The Brass Plates

3 And these plates of brass, which contain these engravings, which have the records of the holy scriptures upon them, which have the genealogy of our forefathers, even from the beginning—
4 Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.
5 And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.

The truth of Alma’s prophecy is substantiated by the testimonies of Joseph Smith and the Three Witnesses. Of the four who saw the plates (Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris) three, Joseph, Martin, and David, each left detailed accounts of what they saw and heard that morning. The accounts are dissimilar enough to enable one to see the event from their different perspectives, but near enough alike that they confirm each other’s testimonies. (These are taken from my book Joseph and Moroni.)

Joseph Smith’s account reads as follows:

Not many days after the above commandment was given, we four, viz., Martin Harris, David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery and myself, agreed to retire into the woods, and try to obtain, by fervent and humble prayer, the fulfilment of the promises given in the above revelation—that they should have a view of the plates. We accordingly made choice of a piece of woods convenient to Mr. Whitmer’s house, to which we retired, and having knelt down, we began to pray in much faith to Almighty God to bestow upon us a realization of these promises.

According to previous arrangement, I commenced prayer to our Heavenly Father, and was followed by each of the others in succession. We did not at the first trial, however, obtain any answer or manifestation of divine favor in our behalf. We again observed the same order of prayer, each calling on and praying fervently to God in rotation, but with the same result as before.

Upon this, our second failure, Martin Harris proposed that he should withdraw himself from us, believing, as he expressed himself, that his presence was the cause of our not obtaining what we wished for. He accordingly withdrew from us, and we knelt down again, and had not been many minutes engaged in prayer, when presently we beheld a light above us in the air, of exceeding brightness; and behold, an angel stood before us. In his hands he held the plates which we had been praying for these to have a view of. He turned over the leaves one by one, so that we could see them, and discern the engravings thereon distinctly. He then addressed himself to David Whitmer, and said, “David, blessed is the Lord, and he that keeps His commandments;” when, immediately afterwards, we heard a voice from out of the bright light above us, saying, “These plates have been revealed by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God. The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command you to bear record of what you now see and hear.”

I now left David and Oliver, and went in pursuit of Martin Harris, whom I found at a considerable distance, fervently engaged in prayer. He soon told me, however, that he had not yet prevailed with the Lord, and earnestly requested me to join him in prayer, that he also might realize the same blessings which we had just received. We accordingly joined in prayer, and ultimately obtained our desires, for before we had yet finished, the same vision was opened to our view, at least it was again opened to me, and I once more beheld and heard the same things; whilst at the same moment, Martin Harris cried out, apparently in an ecstasy of joy, “‘Tis enough; ‘tis enough; mine eyes have beheld; mine eyes have beheld;” and jumping up, he shouted, “Hosanna,” blessing God, and otherwise rejoiced exceedingly. (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 1:54-55.)

Even though David Whitmer was an old man when he was interviewed by Orson Pratt, he described his experience with vivid memory.

It was in June, 1829, the latter part of the month, and the Eight Witnesses saw them, I think, the next day or the day after (i.e. one or two days after). Joseph showed them the plates himself, but the angel showed us (the Three Witnesses) the plates, as I suppose to fulfill the words of the book itself. Martin Harris was not with us at this time; he obtained a view of them afterwards (the same day). Joseph, Oliver and myself were together when I saw them. We not only saw the plates of the Book of Mormon, but also the brass plates, the plates of the Book of Ether, the plates containing the records of the wickedness and secret combinations of the people of the world down to the time of their being engraved, and many other plates. The fact is, it was just as though Joseph, Oliver and I were sitting just here on a log, when we were overshadowed by a light. It was not like the light of the sun, nor like that of a fire, but more glorious and beautiful. It extended away round us, I cannot tell how far, but in the midst of this light about as far off as he sits (pointing to John C. Whitmer, sitting a few feet from him), there appeared, as it were, a table with many records or plates upon it, besides the plates of the Book of Mormon, also the sword of Laban, the directors (i.e., the ball which Lehi had) and the interpreters. I saw them just as plain as I see this bed (striking the bed beside him with his hand), and I heard the voice of the Lord, as distinctly as I ever heard anything in my life, declaring that the records of the plates of the Book of Mormon were translated by the gift and power of God.

Pratt: Did you see the angel at this time?

Whitmer: “Yes; he stood before us. Our testimony as recorded in the Book of Mormon is strictly and absolutely true, just as it is there written. (Cannon in Nibley, LDS Stories, 96; Jensen, Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:266, 270; also D&C 17:1.)

Martin Harris was not present when David and Oliver saw Moroni and the plates, but his account, also given in an interview, was essentially the same as David’s.

Brother Harris said that the angel stood on the opposite side of the table on which were the plates, the interpreters, etc., and took the plates in his hand and turned them over. To more fully illustrate this to them, Brother Martin took up a book and turned the leaves over one by one. The angel declared that the Book of Mormon was correctly translated by the power of God and not of man, and that it contained the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Nephites, who were a branch of the lost sheep of the House of Israel, and had come from the land of Jerusalem to America. The witnesses were required to bear their testimony of these things, and of this open vision to all people, and he (Harris) testified, not only to those present, but to all the world, that these things were true, and before God whom he expected to meet in the day of Judgment he lied not. (Jensen, Biographical Encyclopedia, 1:275.)

Alma 36:24-26, LeGrand Baker, “filled with the Holy Ghost”

Alma 36:24-26
24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors;
26 For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God (Alma 36:23-26).

In this beautiful testimony Alma equates three magnificent phrases that seem to have a much greater meaning than the ideas with which we sometimes casually associate them. The phrases are:

(1) taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; (2) that they might also be born of God, (3) and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Then he invites us to seek to understand what those words mean:

26 For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God (Alma 36:26).

Of those ideas, the one I would like to focus on today is the one that Alma uses here, “filled with the Holy Ghost.”

That phrase is used very sparingly in the scriptures. The key to its meaning is in the Beatitudes as they are recorded in the Book of Mormon. In the Bible they a just some nice sayings that many scholars believe were not spoken by Jesus, but were put in Matthew there by an early editor. That mistake could not be made by reading the Book of Mormon. There, the Beatitudes they are not just a series, but a single sentence with each one beginning with a conjunction, usually “and.” They read this way:

In 3 Nephi 12:2 are the first principles, including being “visited by the Holy Ghost”; v. 3 is the endowment for the living; v. 4 is the endowment for the dead; v. 5 is about keeping eternal covenants. Verse 6 reads: “And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.” Verse 7 is how to function as a priestly king; 8 is Zion shall see God; 9, peacemakers are “called” children of God; 10-12 is persecution; 13 is missionary work; 14-16 is the charge to be a light (Menorah) to temple worshiping Saints. [If those are new ideas to you, you will find a full explanation in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, pages 925-97.]

The point is that for most of us there is a great deal of time, experience, and faithfulness between being “visited by the Holy Ghost” and being “filled with the Holy Ghost.” During that time and experience it is the Holy Ghost who teaches us how to make that transition.

There are instances of persons who did not require a great deal of time in this world because they were fully proven in the previous one. Though the phrase is not used here, an example is the 12 whom Jesus chose when he came to America. The first Nephi describes them this way: [Also see below: 3 Nephi 19:10-14.]

10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood (1 Nephi 12:10).

“Forever” is a very long time in both directions!

Another example is John the Baptist. The account of his premortal call is given in Isaiah 40:3-8, and is quoted in each of the four gospels. When the angel told Zacharias he would have a son, the angel said, “he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15). That statement was later confirmed by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph: “John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb (D&C 84:27).

In the New Testament, that blessing was given to many on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-6). The result was a group of distinguished missionaries, armed with power, to return to their own countries and teach the gospel.

“Being filled with the Holy Ghost” is usually described as a blessing to just one or two persons.

For example, when Moses expelled Satan from his presence, “Moses lifted up his eyes unto heaven, being filled with the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son (Moses 1:24) .

When the blind Saul (soon to be called Paul) was blessed by Ananias he promised the future apostle, “that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 9:17).

The prophets Alma and Amulek are two more:

30 And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.
31 And they had power given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their power until they were bound in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them (Alma 8:30-31).

When the Twelve (whom we mentioned earlier) where chosen by the Savior and were baptized:

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 baptize. 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 (3 Nephi 19:11-14).

Joseph and Oliver Cowdery had a similar experience when they were baptized:

73 …. We were filled with the Holy Ghost, and rejoiced in the God of our salvation (JS-History:73).

It seems to me that there are two important points tha t should be gleaned from these scriptures. The first point is this. Those are some of the very few places in the scriptures where one finds the phrase “filled with the Holy Ghost.” (The only other two are Acts 4:8 and Acts 13:9.) It seems to me that when the scriptures use words and phrases like that so very carefully and with such precision of meaning, we would do well to use them with that same care.

The second point is the one in the Beatitudes: for the great majority of us, being filled with the Holy Ghost is a process with an end goal that can be achieved. That promise is also given elsewhere in 3 Nephi: Mormon reports:

17 And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.
18 And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written (3 Nephi 26:17-18).

Mormon concludes Third Nephi with this promise:

1 Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you, for, behold he commandeth me that I should write, saying:
2…. come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel (3 Nephi 30:1-2).

Alma 36:22 — LeGrand Baker — Alma and Lehi saw God

Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.

Moroni concluded his introduction to the Book of Mormon with these words:

And now, if there are 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.

Our quick and easy way of reading that is: OK, so sometimes the authors of the Book of Mormon made some mistakes! But that may not be anything like what Moroni had in mind. He did not separate the content of the Book of Mormon into “the mistakes” of the authors and “the things of God.” It is not the authors, but it is the readers who are apt to make the mistakes. And it is the readers who ought to be very careful about judging their opinion to be more accurate than the words in the book. Today’s verse, which is about the testimonies of Alma and Lehi is an excellent example of how easy it is to read the scriptures to say the very opposite of what they really say.

The following is from an upcoming commentary on First Nephi that Stephen Ricks and I are preparing together:

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1 Nephi 1:8, Lehi “Thought” He Saw God

8. And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

To people in our modern culture it seems strange that Nephi would report that his father only “thought he saw God sitting upon his throne.” When we use that phrase, it means that we were not sure what we saw. However, Nephi came from a different culture, one that reflected the Greek influence that was being felt all through the Mediterranean world. The Greeks had established city-states along the southern coast of Italy and the island of Sicily. Archaeologists also fine evidence of Greek influence on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, near Palestine.

In the ancient world, most apparently in Greece, the highest human activity was to think. Our own western culture is based largely upon that same belief. The Deists of George Washington’s time picked up on that and asserted that the surest evidence that there is a God is that man can think and feel emotion. The Deists’ reasoning went this way: Man exists, therefore, we must have been created. If we were created, then there must have been a creator. If man can think and feel emotions, then his creator must have been able to think and feel even better than his creation. If that creator could think and feel as well as create, then he must be God. If those things are true, then it follows that God’s most important desire is to bring about good for the people he has created. That was their rationale for believing God had helped them in the American Revolution and had been instrumental in creating the Constitution.

The ancient Israelites believed that same sort of thing. To the ancients, the seat of both human thought and emotion was the heart. So they understood that the place where one thinks and the place where one feels emotion was the same. For example, in the Psalms, one can not “ascend to the hill of the Lord” or “stand in his holy place” unless he has “clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24).

In that ancient world, to think was the most significant of all human activities. In Nephi’s culture, to think was the supreme act of the human “heart.” The past tense of “to think” is “thought.” Thus, Nephi’s use of the word “thought” is simply the past tense of “to think.” That is the way he explains his father’s reaction to his vision. Nephi was not expressing his father’s uncertainty about what he saw, but he was saying—in the strongest language he could use—that Lehi not only saw God but that he understood what he saw.

There is another example of a similar vision’s being introduced the same way. Enoch begins the Book of Enoch by saying,

Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, that the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw. *

So when Nephi says his father “thought” he saw God, he asserts that he not only saw with his eyes, but understood with his heart. That is a far stronger testimony than his only saying that Lehi “saw” God.

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In our verse, Alma seeks to add additional credence to his own testimony by saying that he saw the same things and in the same way that Lehi saw: He saw “God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there.” And he understood as he saw.

Neither does he say that he saw God in a distant vision and wished he could get over to where God was. Of the four parts of a classic sode experience ** he mentions only two. The four are that the prophet returns to the Council in Heaven to reaffirm the covenants he made there. He mentions the other members of the Council. He sees Elohim sitting on the throne and presiding at the Council. Jehovah conducts the affairs of the Council and makes the assignments.

Nephi, whose purpose was to show that his father was a true prophet, mentions all four. Alma, whose purpose is to teach his son the reality of his experience, mentions only “God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels.” The next part of the vision (had he explained that to his son) was for Jehovah to teach Alma about his premortal covenants. That, no doubt happened, but it was beyond the scope of what Alma wished to emphasize to Helaman just then.

Alma’s statement, “my soul did long to be there. But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet” (Alma 36:22-23), is typical of many who have been beyond the veil and are reluctant to leave and come back to this dreary world again.

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*Enoch 1:1, R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, Oxford, 1964, 1:188.

** For a discussion of a sode experience see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, 95-107.

Alma 36:6-20 – LeGrand Baker — the source and nature of Alma’s pain and joy

16 And now, for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.
17 And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! (Alma 36:16-20)

To understand something about the horror of the darkness that enveloped Alma, we must begin by examining the nature of the light that later filled him with such joy.

The Gospel of John and Doctrine and Covenants sections 88 and 93 each begin by introducing the Savior as the source of light. He introduced himself to the Nephites that same way by saying:

18 I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end (3 Nephi 9:18).

John the Baptist testified that Jesus “was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). John’s words are expanded in Doctrine and Covenants 93.

9 The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. 10 The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him (D&C 93:9-10). (That is, “made…of” his light.)

The scriptures are replete with the fact that our physical selves are literally made of the great aura of light that surrounds the person of the Savior. Science confirms that. Whether one uses Einstein’s famous E=MC2or the more recent string theory, the conclusions are the same. All matter is energy. Energy is light—but we are talking about a much greater range of lights than just photons we can see with our eyes. The Savior said of himself:

6 He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;
7 Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made …
11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space— 13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things (D&C 88:6-7, 11-13).

That is explained in section 93: “And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come. . . . 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 93:24, 26).

The ultimate source of light is truth—truth shines. The Savior is the Spirit of Truth and has all truth, therefore his truth/light gives light and life to all things.

However, truth is information. It is the knowledge of reality in sacred time. Raw information cannot of itself produce light. But when intelligent beings assimilate truth, that truth shines within them and causes them to shine. The more truth they assimilate, the more they shine. Therefore, Christ above all, but all other intelligent beings also, radiate the light of truth. This ability to assimilate truth and emit light is the very definition of our earliest state of being as intelligences. The Lord explained:

29 Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be (D&C 93:29).

In comparison:

36 The glory [shechinah] of God is intelligence, or, in other words, [the fullness of] light and truth (D&C 93:36).

Man is also intelligence, but not its fullness. Intelligences (the very core of our personalities and cognizance) are not “light and truth” but “ the light of truth.”

Christ is the source of the light and salvation to all the inhabitants of this universe. The Prophet

Joseph testified:

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
(Joseph Smith, A Vision published in Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843).

God’s truth is infinite. It fills all space. Therefore his light is infinite also, and “fills the immensity of space.” Christ (that is, the great aura of the light of his truth radiates from his person) is “in all and through all things.”

His love is also in and through all things. Therefore truth, light, and love either occupy the same space at the same time or they are the same thing. If they are the same thing then love has the same physical qualities as light—not just photons, but also “that light which enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings.” To a much smaller degree, this also is true with man. Therefore, even though we can rarely see another person’s light, we can feel it, and we often use those feelings to communicate our love.

With God, light/truth/love are the defining qualities of his person and personality. To a much lesser degree, that is also true of man. Christ is also the source of life. John the Baptist testified that “in him was the life of men and the light of men.” The Savior explained,

50 Then shall ye know that ye have seen me, that I am, and that I am the true light that is in you, and that you are in me; otherwise ye could not abound.[live, exist] (D&C 88:50).

The Savior further explained:

66 Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound (D&C 88:66).

Human beings exude light: if light, then also truth and love. That truth/light/love become the eternal definition of each individual Self. The object of this life is to define one’s Self in those terms, and that definition persists into the eternities. The Savior explained;

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. 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.
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 (D&C 88:22-31).

If persons are pure truth/light/love, then the resurrected body that is compatible with that personality will be celestial. If it is less then pure, then their resurrected body will be compatible with their quality of light, and will be something different from celestial. What is less than pure celestial light must be the quality of light of “lower” kingdoms.

The product of truth/light/love/life is joy—eternal life is equivalent to eternal love, is equivalent to eternal joy. True joy can only be felt in tandem with other people who share the same quality of truth/light/love/life. For that reason, ultimate and eternal joy is a characteristic of only those in the Celestial Kingdom.

Joy in this life is the comradery that Peter called “brotherly kindness” (2 Peter 1:7) (the Greek philadelphia). That is equally true in the next world. The Prophet Joseph explained:

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).

Charity, which is the ultimate togetherness, is also the ultimate joy. Charity is the crowning qualification of those who are in the celestial kingdom. That is probably why only those in the celestial kingdom can be sealed together to experience perfect togetherness and why those in the lesser kingdoms experience only that quality of togetherness that they are willing to give and receive.

That helps us define the differences between the three degrees of glory. It is the differences in the quality of the truth/light/love/life/joy that exude from within the individual. For that reason, even though the priesthood sealing ordinances are necessary because there must be order in all things, adhering to those ordinances alone are not sufficient for us to be sealed to our families in the eternities. This is because ultimately, the sealing power is the quality of our own love as we share it with each other, and with the Savior, and his Father.

Summary: Our physical bodies are made of light, and the resurrection is the restoration of our physical bodies, then it follows that the quality of our resurrected bodies will be determined by the quality of the light of which that body is made. The quality of the light of the body is determined by the quality of truth/light/love/life/joy of the spirit that inhabits it.

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 (D&C 88:22-24).

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The severest contrast to charity is the self-imposed separation from others that is the product of an insatiable desire for self-aggrandizement.

Loneliness and aloneness are not the same things even though they may feel somewhat the same. Loneliness is a longing to be with others. Aloneness is self-imposed austerity and contempt, even hatred, toward others. There is neither love nor joy in a world of aloneness.

To understand the darkness that engulfed Alma, it helps to realize that if our truth/light/love diminishes, then so does our power to be alive and experience joy, so life itself becomes less as love becomes less.

Some persons exude little or no light. Alma’s life, to that point, had been more defined by his desire to “become a law unto itself”—that is, defined by his contempt and hatred for others rather than by love. The Lord explained,

35 That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still (D&C 88:35).

If our truth/light/love are the definition of our life, and if the quality of our life is the definition the quality of our joy, then the absence of truth/light/love must be hell.

A total lack of love is a total lack of light—a black hole where there is absolute aloneness but no quality of life. If one refuses the Savior’s light, and emits none of his own, and if he remains cognizant, then his existence must be only contempt for others and vanity for himself. The saddest of all scriptures reads:

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 88:32).