Author: LeGrand Baker

Helaman 14:10 — LeGrand Baker — ‘because I am a Lamanite’

Helaman 14:10
10 And now, because I am a Lamanite, and have spoken unto you the words which the Lord hath commanded me, and because it was hard against you, ye are angry with me and do seek to destroy me, and have cast me out from among you.

No doubt, Samuel the Lamanite was correct in his analysis of their assessment of him. It is common for people to put people unlike themselves in the disdainful category of the “others,” and then not bother to consider them as individuals. We see the same sort of thing when Philip told Nathanael about Jesus. Later Jesus paid Nathanael the ultimate compliment when “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!.” But before Jesus said that about Nathanael, Nathanael asked Philip, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:47 & 46)

It is apparent that Nathanael’s prejudice was a learned cultural response, because he abandoned it without hesitation.

We might also assign the Nephite’s reaction to Samuel’s prophecy as cultural prejudice were it not for the rocks and arrows they shot at him. Their’s was something much more severe than Nathanael’s. Jesus spoke of the Nephite’s kind of prejudice when he prayed to his Father in behalf of the Twelve: “ I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world (John 17:14).”

Prejudice (or something akin to it) can have the positive purpose of warning us to stay away from dangerous or unpleasant situations. However, unthinking prejudice can cripple our sensitivities. Blind prejudice is to potential friendships what misapplied Round Up is to a flower garden. It causes fear or anger to penetrate our souls just as the misapplied weed killer penetrates into soil and destroys even the potential life of individual flowers.

Prejudice is putting people in categories, ignoring them as individual, but disdaining or even hating them because of the categories we have put them in. It destroys the possibility of individual friendships and leaves an emptiness in our soul in the place where that friend otherwise would be.

As I wrote this I realized that prejudice has eternal consequences, but I just couldn’t make the idea jell. Then I got an email from my dear friend Richard Dilworth (Dil) Rust. Dil brought everything together for me. He wrote:

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LeGrand: In an experience related to your excellent insights concerning Helaman 13:38, a woman of another faith who has been reading the Book of Mormon posed this question: If, as it says in Alma 34, there is no opportunity to labor after this life, how can those spirits cast into prison (Alma 40) have an opportunity to accept Jesus as their savior and repent?

I responded:

As for what you read in Alma 34, Amulek’s teaching needs to be considered in context. These Zoramites to whom he is preaching had received the gospel and then turned away from it. Amulek refers to the “many witnesses” they had already received of the truth about Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation (Alma 34:33). Thus for them, if they were not to repent in this life—after all the opportunities they had—they would “have become subjected to the spirit of the devil” (Alma 34:35). It helps to know, also, that the“same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world” (Alma 34:34). In other words, at the end of our lives we will go into the spirit world with the same attitudes, beliefs, consequence of choices, and character traits that we had at the close of our lives on earth. We will be aided or limited by all of this.

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The part of Dil’s statement that caught my attention was this: “at the end of our lives we will go into the spirit world with the same attitudes, beliefs, consequence of choices, and character traits that we had at the close of our lives on earth.”

That statement takes the consequences of prejudices from just making us lame in this life to projecting that disability into the life to come. There, if we do not repent, it will cripple us for eternity.

That brought to my mind this statement in the Doctrine and Covenants. Notice, it does not say “whatever information.” It says:

18 Whatever PRINCIPLE OF INTELLIGENCE we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
19 And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come (D&C 130:18-19).

I believe that statement has little or nothing to do with book-learning. I believe that the “principle of intelligence” is the same principle that has enabled our growth from the time we were intelligences, and will continue to do so throughout eternity—charity, love, more specifically mutual love: philadelphia, hased.

The statement in the Doctrine and Covenants is encouraging. Its converse is terrifying:

18 Whatever PRINCIPLE OF INTELLIGENCE we [fail to ] attain unto in this life, it will [not — cannot] rise with us in the resurrection.
19 And if a person [fails to gain] more knowledge AND intelligence in this life through his [lack of] diligence and DIS-obedience than another, he will have so much the DIS-advantage in the world to come (D&C 130:18-21).

Once again, it all comes back to the same principle: It’s about light and darkness, love and hate, caring and contempt. If prejudices in this life preclude our loving others for the light that is in their individual souls, then we have so much the disadvantage in the life to come. Prejudice can destroy us. Teaching others to perpetuate our prejudices can cause us to help them destroy themselves.

Helaman 13:38 — LeGrand Baker — everlastingly too late

Helaman 13:38
38 But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.

This statement by Samuel the Lamanite contains a question that virtually shouts at us. The question is: Except for sons of perdition, does God put restrictions on anyone so that they are no longer able to repent. The answer is, God himself NEVER puts restrictions on anyone that would take away their right to repent. The question now expands to be, how then, are they precluded from repentance.

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In Who shall ascend into the Hill of the Lord, Stephen and I suggested that the inclination to do good or evil is an eternal part of our sense of Self, and that our choosing and then acting on those inclinations is the most fundamental part of our eternal nature.

Our rationale began with B. H. Roberts’s conclusions which were essentially these:

An inteligence is an entitity that is intelligent. That is, he is able to distinguish the “me” from the “not me,” and is able to judge between the desirable and the desirable, and is able to choose between them.

The Doctrine and Covenants identifies an intelligence as “the light of truth” (93:29). Yet, it defines truth as “knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (93:24). That is, truth is information as God knows it in eternal time. Elsewhere we learn that “truth shines” (88:7). That requires some thought to sort it out.

Information does not shine. However the assimulation of truth by intelligent entities causes the entities to shine, thus intelligences are the “light of truth.” The more truth it assimulates, the more it shines. the Savior is the “Spirit of truth” and “received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth” (93:26).

Given those premises, if an intelligence can know “me” from “not me” and can choose to act on the most desirable of alternatives, it has agency. Therefore can choose to sin or not sin, as it can choose to repent or not repent. The ability to make those choices must begin as soon aw we become cognizant, therefore, the Savior’s atonement must be operative in our behalf that early on also or the power to choose would only be the ability to self-destruct.

As soon as we become cognizant, we are confronted with the most difficult question of our existence, and that question will never go away until is completely resolved. The question is: “What is in my best interest?”

That brings us to a discussion of Samuel the Lamanite’s assertion that happiness cannot be found if we look for it in the wrong places.

The question that constantly repeats itself throughout our experience in linear time is, “What is in my best interest?” If one perseves it to be in his best interest to love and bless others, and to accept love and the blessings of goodness from them, then that will be what he defines as the object and fulfillment of the happiness he seeks.

However, if, on the othe other hand, he decides the that the object of his productivity is to subdue, dominate, and control others, and use them to give himself satisfaction, then that will define his sense of fulfillment, and he will believe that seeking after that fulfillment will bring happiness.

The difference is that in the former, mutual love (hesed) brings eternal fulfillment. But in the latter, the desire to control others can never be fully satisfied. Therefore, seeking it brings only an addiction-like sense of getting there, but (like an addiction) it is incapable of delivering fulfillment.

If an intelligence makes the decision that his object is to seek power at the expense of others, then that is the begining of his personal evil, and unless he repents it becomes the ultimate road that leads to his damnation.

If those conclusions are correct, then we may say that the reason the Savior has never sined is because he has never, in the whole of his eternal existence, sought to use other people to his personal advantage. Conversely, the reason that Satan is absolutely evil is because his whole desire is to dominate, control, and destroy—to take away their agency by subjecting their wills to his.

Those examples are the two extreme ends of the spectrum. The rest of us fall somewhere along the continuum that is between those two ends.

If we wish to speculate further we may say that the third part that followed Satan and theose who followed him thereafter are those that bought into his argument that “one prospers according to his strength,” and that self fulfillment comes from dominating others.

On the other hadn we might also conclude that the “noble and great ones” are those who, like the Savior learned that their greatest personal fulfillment comes through a mutual desire to bless and be blessed (hesed).

If we accept that logic and follow it through to the end of our experience in linear time, we come to this simplistic, but otherwise probably reasonably accurate conclusion that those who get to the celestial kingdom are those who love and serve each other; those in the terrestial kingdom accept the worth of others passively so they don’t help or hurt too much; and those in the telestial kingdom ar those who seek to use others to their own advantage; while those in hell have no other object except to dominate and destroy by domination.

Thus Samueel the Lamanite can assert with great certainty that one cannot find godlike joy by searching in the wrong places, or with the wrong criteria, or wrong objectives. God never has and never will deny anyone the right to repent. However, one can become so deeply habituated to attitudes and acts of selfishness and anger that it becomes as though he were sucked into their grip like being sucked into a black hole where one denies for onself the possibility of learning how to love as God loves. The only effective way to avoid that fate is to not procrastinate the day of our repentance

Helaman 13:13-14 — LeGrand Baker — freedom is for the righteous

Helaman 13:13-14
13 But blessed are they who will repent, for them will I spare. But behold, if it were not for the righteous who are in this great city, behold, I would cause that fire should come down out of heaven and des troy it.
14 But behold, it is for the righteous’ sake that it is spared. But behold, the time cometh, saith the Lord, that when ye shall cast out the righteous from among you, then shall ye be ripe for destruction; yea, wo be unto this great city, because of the wickedness and abominations which are in her.

This is a working principle that is expressed several times in the scriptures. If a government protects the righteous, then the Lord will protect the government. It seems to be the same whether the government is a city or a nation. The most famous example is in

Genesis 18, 19 where God and Abraham dicker over the fate of Sodom. Abraham asked, “Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?” What if there are fifty righteous in the city. The Lord responds, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” He can’t find fifty so Abraham reduces the number: 40? 30? 10? Eventually it came to only Lot and his two daughters. They left then there were none and the city was destroyed.

In the United States, we have that same promise, and implicitly, that same curse. Jacob speaks of that promise but he expands it from “a land of liberty”to this all inclusive statement:

13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.
14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words (2 Nephi 10:13-14).

Zion is the pure in heart (D&C 97:21). The location of Zion is most clearly defined as the place where her stakes are and ultimately where the temples are. Now, as stakes and temples dot the earth, Zion is spreading across all nations where there is freedom to worship. Steadily, Zion is encompassing the whole earth.

Now as we read Jacob’s promise, that which was first applicable to the United States is becoming applicable to the whole world.

In Jacob’s prophecy there is no promise of continual peace, only of ultimate success. Another relevant prophecy is that of the Prophet Joseph saying that the American Constitution would hang by a thread and (as Eliza R. Snow wrote) “that this people, the Sons of Zion, would rise up and save the Constitution and bear it off triumphant.

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, so the chances of your having seen it are remote enough that it probably will not be a redundancy to include a copy of Elder Nibley’s short statement here.

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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 believe 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.

Helaman 12:24 — LeGrand Baker — grace for grace

Helaman 12:24
24 And may God grant, in his great fulness, that men might be brought unto repentance and good works, that they might be restored unto grace for grace, according to their works.

The phrase “grace for grace” is rare in the scriptures, but very significant. This verse in Helaman is the only place it is found in the Book of Mormon. In the New Testament is in also found only once, that is John 1:15-17. It reads:

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:15-17).

In the Doctrine and Covenants the phrase is found only twice, and both of those are in Section 93. They read:

11 And I, John, bear record that I beheld his glory, as the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, even the Spirit of truth, which came and dwelt in the flesh, and dwelt among us.
12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;
…..
19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace (D&C 93:11-21).

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A few weeks ago I sent you an analysis of Psalm 25 which is set in the context of remembering our premortal covenants, and a word that brings those covenants with God into a deeply personal friendship/relationship is the Hebrew hesed.

In that psalm, hesed is used three times. It is translated as “lovingkindnesses” in one place and as “mercy” in the other two. Even though the hesed relationship described in Psalm 25 is between the king who speaks the words, and Jehovah to whom he addresses them, it must be remembered that in the Israelite temple drama the king represented every man in the congregation. Therefore, the hesed relationship described here also evokes the terms of the covenant between Jehovah and each worthy person. That being so, it follows that this same hesed relationship also exists as an eternal, fraternal bond between each man with Jehovah, perhaps between us and prophet/king, and most certainly each other.

The simplest and best definition of hesed is found in a new edition of Strong’s Concordance. It reads “hesed, unfailing love, loyal love, devotion. kindness, often based on a prior relationship, especially a covenant relationship.” {1}

The idea that ties “grace for grace” to hesed is in Friedrich’s ten volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. It which has a long article on the meaning of “grace.” Within that article there is a section on Old Testament equivalents. The author finds hesed to be the Hebrew word that most like the New Testament meaning of “grace.”

Another equally well respected source, The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, asserts that “the Greek equivalent is Philadelphia, fraternal love.” It also says:

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 their phrase, “dealing with the closest of human bonds,” is easily found in the definition of the Greek word, philadelphia.

Strong defines philadelphia as “fraternal affection: brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren.” {3}

Perhaps the best way to approach its meaning is to use Peter’s assurance that “brotherly kindness” (philadelphia) and charity are final prerequisites to making one’s calling and election sure. Peter wrote:

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; {4} and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness [“reverence” in the LDS Bible footnote; one cannot hurt anyone or anything that one reveres];
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness [philadelphia]; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-11).

Another Greek word that carries much the same connotation is pistis.{5} In the New Testament, pistis, is translated as “faith” from the Greek word which is all about making and keeping covenants. In Paul’s time, pistis was not a religious term.{6} It was used either as a diplomatic word that had to do with making a treaty, or else as an economic term that had to do with securing the validity of a contract.{7} Pistis did not actually refer to the conditions of the contract, but rather to its object and to the evidence that the contract was binding.{8}

Friedrich’s ten volume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament has more than 40 pages discussing pistis and related Greek words. In his primary definition of pistis, he wrote:

Stress is often laid on the fact that this is a higher endowment than wealth. … Concretely pistis means the “guarantee” which creates the possibility of trust, that which may be relied on, or the assurance of reliability, “assurance’. … pistis is the “oath of fidelity,” “the pledge of faithfulness,” “security.” This leads on the one side to the sense of “certainty,” “trustworthiness,” on the other to that of “means of proof,” “proof.” In particular pistis denotes the reliability of persons, “faithfulness.” It belongs especially to friendship.{9}

So, our faith in God or in each other, is a covenant relationship that “belongs especially to friendship.” When we act in faith we are keeping the covenants; when we pray in faith, we are evoking the blessings of the covenants.

That is simply another facet of the covenant, friendship/love relationship that is expressed in grace, hased, and philadelphia.

CONCLUSION

Now we have two scholars with very similar, though somewhat different understandings. The one says “grace” is hesed, “because we are dealing with the closest of human bonds.” The other says hesed is most like philadelphia, fraternal love translated as brotherly love. Into that mix we add pistis, which is making and keeping covenants and “belongs especially to friendship.”

We are left to conclude this: the phrase “grace for grace” is about mutual covenants that focus on friendship, unfailing love, fraternal love. Peter says that learning how to give (and implicitly, to receive) that kind of love is a prerequisite to making our calling and election sure. Even though we are saved individually in the celestial kingdom, there is no such thing as solitary salvation. Salvation is to be part of the celestial community where each individual is sealed to every other individual in an eternal, covenant relationship based on mutual love. If we cannot achieve something like that here, we will have a jolly hard time achieving it in the hereafter.

So, perhaps it would not be inappropriate to understand “grace for grace” to be about the eternal maturation of loving, covenant relationships.

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ENDNOTES

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

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).

3} 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, 1894] reads: “philadelphia; fraternal affection: brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren.” [Emphasis is in original).

This is probably significant. Righteous masculine virtues include priesthood, extended brotherly love, and charity. In contrast, righteous women enjoy the focused yet overriding feminine virtue that has a more singular quality of charity than men have. In the eternities our Father’s objective has always been to bring each of us back to him in the eternal family unit where friendship, love, and charity are the sealing power—timeless in both directions—and where each participates in the creation of endless lives “after their own image”—“as innumerable as the stars” in the heavens (D&C 132:30-31).

4} “In ancient thinking, ‘virtue’ was closely tied to what seemed ideal masculine qualities: toughness, courage, simplicity of life, loyalty, piety, and contempt for suffering and even death.” Steve Mason, “Did the Essenes Write the Dead Sea Scrolls?” Biblical Archaeology Review 34, 6 (November/December 2008): 62.

5} In Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, there is a long chapter about pistis in connection withe faith in Moroni 7.

6} New Testament writers often avoided using in-vogue religious terms when teaching the new gospel. LDS missionaries do the same. For example, in the South, missionaries avoid using the phrase “born again.” That is a powerful and very important scriptural concept, but it is a phrase Mormons cannot use when doing missionary work in the Southern States because the Baptists and others have already defined it their way. If Mormon missionaries used that phrase when speaking to those people, “born again” would be understood according to the hearer’s prior learning, and unless the missionary laboriously redefined it, his words would be understood according to their usage, so when Mormons discuss being “born again” we speak of becoming a son or daughter of God.

7} “The words [beginning with] pist– did not become religious terms in classical Greek. . . . Nor did pistis become a religious term. At most one can only say that the possibility of its so doing is intimated by the fact that it can refer to reliance on a god.” (Gerhard Friedrich, ed., trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols. [Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1964-1976], article about pistis, 6:179).

8} Friedrich gives a further definition: “Stoic Usage: Primarily, then, pistis is an attitude of man to himself, not to others. As Man’s faithfulness to himself, however, pistis makes possible a right relation to others. He who is pistos = ‘faithful’ to himself, can also be pistos = ‘faithful’ to others; he alone is capable of genuine friendship. (Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 6:182)

9} Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 6: 177. In the text pistis is written in Greek letters. In this quote pistis is written in italics. In the last sentence emphasis is added.

Helaman 10:16 – LeGrand Baker – Nephi’s escape

Helaman 10:16
16 But behold, the power of God was with him, and they could not take him to cast him into prison, for he was taken by the Spirit and conveyed away out of the midst of them.

Mormon’s account of this event is very brief. For we who live when such magic happens all the time on TV, it is easy for us to immagine that Alma was somehow swooped away of the euilivent of some sort of magic carpet. However, God doesn’t work that way.

There are two other examples of this same sort of experience. From these, we may learn that Alma’s experience was miraculous, but not quite like a magic carpet.

The best example is when the Savior was speaking to the people in Nazareth. He read them some prophecies about himself, and they refused to believe.

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way (Luke 4:28-30).

The second example is from the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Apostates from Kirtland, Ohio, formed a mob and threatened the lives of Joseph and his faithful friends. When the faithful fled Kirtland and headed for Far West, Missouri, the mob followed them. This is what happened:

The weather was extremely cold, we were obliged to secrete ourselves in our wagons, sometimes, to elude the grasp of our pursuers, who continued their pursuit of us more than two hundred miles from Kirtland, armed with pistols and guns, seeking our lives. They frequently crossed our track, twice they were in the houses where we stopped, once we tarried all night in the same house with them, with only a partition between us and them; and heard their oaths and imprecations, and threats concerning us, if they could catch us; and late in the evening they came in to our room and examined us, but decided we were not the men. At other times we passed them in the streets, and gazed upon them, and they on us, but they knew us not. One Lyons was one of our pursuers.

(Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951], 3: 2 – 3.)

I suppose that Nephi’s experience was much like that.

Helaman 10:6-7, LeGrand Baker, Sealing Power

6 Behold, thou art Nephi, and I am God. Behold, I declare it unto thee in the presence of mine angels, that ye shall have power over this people, and shall smite the earth with famine, and with pestilence, and destruction, according to the wickedness of this people.
7 Behold, I give unto you power, that whatsoever ye shall seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven; and thus shall ye have power among this people (Helaman 10:6-7).

This is an interesting scripture — and a bit perplexing. Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob saw God. So did Alma, Helaman, and Captain Moroni — so there can be no question about whether the Nephites had and exercised the Melchizedek priesthood. They also enjoyed the fullness of the temple experience. I cannot recall any strong evidence before 3 Nephi that the Nephites enjoyed the sealing ordinances of the temple, but 3Nephi 12:4 shows that they did understand the doctrine (otherwise Jesus wouldn’t have referenced it), and Moroni 10:31 clearly indicates that it was part of the Nephite temple covenants (see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord).

Elijah is the prophet whom we most often associate with this sealing power. From the Bible we learn virtually nothing about who he was. He suddenly appears with only this introduction:

1 And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word (1 Kings 17:1) .

No one knows what a Tishbite was or anything else about Elijah’s early life. But in that brief introductory verse we suddenly find him in the same place as Nephi, with the Lord giving him power to control the elements. It would be interesting to know about his relationship with God before that day, but that is another of those sacred stories we are not told.

Elijah was taken up into heaven without tasting death (as was Alma and Moses). He was with the Savior on the Mount of Transfiguration and he restored the sealing power to the Prophet Joseph.

Even though Nephi lived on a different continent from Elijah, and did not have the same post-translation priesthood responsibilities as Elijah, from what we know, it is difficult to conclude that Nephi was a lesser prophet, with lesser priesthood powers than Elijah.

I do not call attention to their similarities and differences to stir up any conjectures about priesthood power, but only to point out again that it is sometimes as important for us to know just which things we don’t know, as it is important to know what we do know.

The Prophet Joseph made some intriguing observations about the sealing power. In the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph it is reported this way:

      How shall God come to the rescue of this generation? He will send Elijah the prophet. The law revealed to Moses in Horeb never was revealed to the children of Israel as a nation.
Elijah shall reveal the covenants to seal the hearts of the fathers to the children. and the children to the fathers.
The anointing and sealing is to be called. elected and made sure
“Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually.” The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right from the eternal God, and not by descent from father and mother; and that priesthood is as eternal as God Himself, having neither beginning of days nor end of life.
The 2nd Priesthood is Patriarchal authority. Go to and finish the temple, and God will fill it with power, and you will then receive more knowledge concerning this priesthood (TPJS 323).

That statement is expanded and clarified from the Prophet’s diary kept by Franklin D. Richards. The diary entry reads much more a student’s class lecture notes, and in that form focuses on different aspects of the Prophet’s teachings. It reads:

      how shall god come to the rescue of this generation. he shall send Elijah law revealed to Moses in Horeb — never was revealed to the C. of Israel and he shall reveal the covenants to seal the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. — anointing & sealing — called, elected, and made sure without father &c. a priesthood which holds the priesthood by right from the Eternal Gods. — and not by descent from father and mother. (Franklin D. Richards, 27 Aug 1843 in : 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], 244.)

Helaman 5:23-24, LeGrand Baker – veil of light

Helaman 5:23-24
23 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned.
24 And when they saw that they were encircled about with a pillar of fire, and that it burned them not, their hearts did take courage.

From the LDS Bible Dictionary we read:

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

When a prophet writes that he has seen God, he often tells us that he saw the light before he saw God. Here that light is described as being “encircled about with a pillar of fire.” The shechinah is described differently by different prophets. For example: as a fire (Lehi), a cloud (brother of Jared), a light (Joseph Smith), smoke (Isaiah), and glory (Stephen).

The shechinah is the veil of light that separates us from God. In Solomon’s temple it was represented by the veil that separated the rest of the Temple from the Holy of Holies and God’s throne.

For that reason, understanding what the shechinah is and what its purpose is, is significant for Latter-day Saints.

I have gathered up some of the scriptural references to the veil of light. Each talks about the shechinah in a different way. That variety helps one recognize the shechinah when we encounter it in the scriptures, and helps us understand how important it is. The list, including the ones mentioned in the Bible dictionary, is: Genesis 3:23-24, Exodus 3:1-6, Exodus 13:21-22, Exodus 24:15-18, Exodus 40:34-38, Numbers 9:15-17, Numbers 14:14, 1 Kings 8:10-11, Psalms 78:14, Psalms 104:1-6, Isaiah 6:1-4, Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-9, Luke 9:28-36, Acts 1:6-12, Acts 6:8, 7:55-56, Revelation 15:8, 1 Nephi 1:5-6, 1 Nephi 15:27-30, Alma 19:6, 3 Nephi 18:36-39, Ether 2:4-5, Ether 2:14, Ether 3:1-11 , Moses 1:1-12, Moses 4:29-31. Also accounts of the First Vision and the testimony of the Three Witnesses.

If you wish to read them without bothering to look them all up, they are all quoted in the attachment.

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Genesis 3:23-24

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

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Exodus 3:1-6

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.

4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

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Exodus 13:21-22

21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:

22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

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Exodus 24:15-18

15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.

16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

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Exodus 40:34-38

34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:

37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.

38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

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Numbers 9:15-17

15 And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.

16 So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.

17 And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.

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Numbers 14:14

14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

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1 Kings 8:10-11

10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

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Psalms 78:14

14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.

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Psalms 104:1-6.)

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.

6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.

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Isaiah 6:1-4

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Ezekiel 1:4.

For Ezekiel, it was like a tornado:

4 I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Matthew 17:1-9

1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.

3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid.

8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

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Mark 9:2-9

2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.

7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

9 And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

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Luke 9:28-36

28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.

30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:

31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.

33 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.

34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.

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Acts 1:6-12

6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.

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Acts 6:8, 7:55-56

8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

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Revelation 15:8

8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

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1 Nephi 1:5-6

5 Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.

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

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1 Nephi 15:27-30

27 And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.

28 And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.

29 And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.

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

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Alma 19:6

6 Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting life was lit up in his soul, yea, he knew that this had overcome his natural frame, and he was carried away in God—

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3 Nephi 18:36-39

36 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of these sayings, he touched with his hand the disciples whom he had chosen, one by one, even until he had touched them all, and spake unto them as he touched them.

37 And the multitude heard not the words which he spake, therefore they did not bear record; but the disciples bare record that he gave them power to give the Holy Ghost. And I will show unto you hereafter that this record is true.

38 And it came to pass that when Jesus had touched them all, there came a cloud and overshadowed the multitude that they could not see Jesus.

39 And while they were overshadowed he departed from them, and ascended into heaven. And the disciples saw and did bear record that he ascended again into heaven.

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Ether 2:4-5

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

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

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Ether 2:14

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

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Ether 3:1-11

1 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared, (now the number of the vessels which had been prepared was eight) went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord, saying:

2 O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.

3 Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.

4 And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.

5 Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men.

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

7 And the Lord saw that the brother of Jared had fallen to the earth; and the Lord said unto him: Arise, why hast thou fallen?

8 And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.

9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?

10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.

11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?

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Moses 1:1-12

1 The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain,

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

3 And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?

4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.

5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.

6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.

7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.

8 And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.

9 And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.

10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.

11 But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.

12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.

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Moses 4:29-31

29 Therefore I, the Lord God, will send him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken;

30 For as I, the Lord God, liveth, even so my words cannot return void, for as they go forth out of my mouth they must be fulfilled.

31 So I drove out the man, and I placed at the east of the Garden of Eden, cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.

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J.S.-History:16

16. …. I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

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Another version reads:

and I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision and saw two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in features, and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon-day.

{Jessee, Dean C., “The Early Accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision,” BYU Studies, Spring, 1969, 295. (This is the Wentworth letter in which the Prophet Joseph first wrote the Articles of Faith.)}

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A pillar of light above the brightness of the sun at noon day came down from above and rested upon me and I was filled with the spirit of God; and the Lord opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord and he spake unto me saying .

{Frederick G. Williams, the scribe who wrote this account, wrote “a pillar of fire” then crossed out the word “fire” and replaced it with “light.” Punctuation is added to this quote because there is none in the original, spelling has been modernized.}

{Jessee, “ Early Accounts,” 287-91.}

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J.S.-History 1:68.

On another occasion the young prophet described a “cloud of light” in connection with the visit of John the Baptist, again conveying a sense of peace more than of wonder: “a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light.”

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Joseph Smith’s account of the experience of the Three Witnesses 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.}

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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.

{Jensen, Andrew, Latter-day Saints Biographical Encyclopedia, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City, Andrew Jensen Memorial Association, 1901-1936).

Cannon, George Q. “Visit to David Whitmer,” in Preston Nibley, L.D.S. Adventure Stories (Salt Lake City, 1953), 93-97.}

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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.}