Category: Restored Gospel

C. C. Riddle

6 February 1989

In Doctrines for Exaltation: The 1989 Sperry Symposium on the Doctrine and Covenants, 224-45. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1989.

1. Introduction

I begin with a word about speaking. Realities are wholes. Human words can never capture wholes, thus human descriptions always fall short of being true to the reality they attempt to describe. The best we human speakers can do with words is to paint broad brush strokes which indicate some basic relationships and hope that each recipient will gain inspiration from that painting, partial and incomplete though it be, and that each hearer will then search for the truth of the matter through the Holy Spirit.

I propose to paint for you a picture of the New and Everlasting Covenant. I do not suppose that I can or will say everything necessary to do justice to this topic. But I will attempt to express what I feel to be certain key concepts and ideas which are important. I ask you to compare these with your own picturings of the reality of things in the hope that we may each move one step closer to understanding those things which are eternally important. I therefore bear the following witness.

2. The gods.

We begin with the concept of our God. We know of three beings who are our God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost>>1. These three are individuals, yet they are also one, and furthermore, they invite every human being to become one with them>>2. The good news of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God is our Father and invites us to become as he is and one with him through his son Jesus Christ.>>3

Though there be gods and lords many, there is but one God,>>4 and that God is the priesthood – ordered community of all the righteous exalted beings who exist.>>5 To be invited to join them by hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to receive the greatest message in the universe; to be enabled to join them by receiving the New and Everlasting Covenant is to have the greatest opportunity in the universe; to be joined with them is the greatest gift in the universe, which gift is life eternal, sharing with them all the good they have and are.>>6

This good which they share is righteousness. Righteousness is that necessary order of social relationships in which beings of knowledge and power must bind themselves in order to live together in accomplishment and happiness for eternity. They bind themselves to each other with solemn covenants to become predictable, dependable and united so that they can be trusted. They bind themselves to be honest, true, chaste and benevolent so that they can do good for all other beings, which good they do by personal sacrifice to fulfill all righteousness.

The contrary of this good is evil. Evil is departing from God’s order of righteousness by twisting and/or diminishing it. Evil enables one being in a social order to fulfill his own personal desires at the expense of others, thus to be a law unto himself.>>7

3. Man

We, the children of God, as we are found in our natural and evil state upon the face of this earth are called by the scriptures “natural man” or sometimes simply “man.”>>8 The natural man is without God and Christ in the world, and by default is carnal, sensual and devilish.>>9 We pay more attention to information that comes through our flesh than that which comes directly to our spirit. We are sensual as much as we delight more in the pleasures of the flesh and of the world than we do in doing good. We make devilish decisions when we would rather yield to the temptations of Satan and be selfish rather than to perform the sacrifices necessary to do good for others. Such a natural man tends to continue in his inertial path of choosing first good, then evil, as he pleases, but is jarred out of his complacency by a divine witness. The witness is that to become righteous he must repent of choosing evil and accept the godly order of choosing good. Those who accept that jarring are the honest in heart.>>10 Those who will not accept it harden their hearts by that rejection, placing themselves further from righteousness.>>11

The honest in heart who hear the Restored Gospel are taught that Father is Man of Holiness who cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.>>12 They are also taught that Father so loved his children of this world that he gave his Only Begotten Son as a sacrifice so that every human soul might be redeemed both from the effects of the Fall of Adam and from the effects of his own sins and weaknesses. They are taught that because of the Fall man’s nature is to be evil continually,>>13 and that only through striving to accept the merits and mercy of the Son of God can any human rescued from being and doing evil.>>14

4. Salvation

The rescue process is called salvation. To be saves is to be placed beyond the power of one’s enemies.>>15 The great enemy of each human being is himself, for in our weakness and selfishness we are and do evil. We as individuals or as collective humanity cannot help ourselves or each other fully to overcome weakness or selfishness.>>16 But that overcoming is possible if we fully cooperate with Jesus Christ in fulfilling Father’s plan of salvation. That cooperation enables each human being also to become a person of holiness, which is to be completely righteous, perfect in good, even as the Father is, even as the Son is.>>17

But such salvation comes only by covenant with God, never by accident or by natural or human process.>>18 Man must first understand, then desire the proffered transformation of his own eternal nature when it is proffered.>>19 Before it is too late>>20 man must cooperate with Christ to the fullest extent of his considerable human powers to do better,>>21 and he must then fully submit to the incomparable divine power of Jesus Christ to create for him and of him & new creature, remade in every aspect of being.>>22 Thus human beings may become good and gods.>>23

There are two covenants whereby a human being may attain complete good and thus become an exalted being as God is. These two covenants were established by Father in the beginning for the salvation of his children. The first of Father’s covenants is a covenant of justice; the second is called the New and Everlasting Covenant and is a covenant of mercy.

5. The first covenant.

The first covenant of justice was discussed in the council of the gods held before this world was as is recorded in the Book of Abraham:

God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou was chosen before thou was born.

And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go dawn, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. (Abraham 3: 23?26. Emphasis added.)

The conditions of the first covenant, the Covenant of Justice, were that:

1. Father would give his children instruction and commandments.

2. Any child who would believe Father and obey his every commandment, without exception, would in that obedience grow to attain and maintain all the good which Father is and does, which is exaltation.

3. Any child who disobeyed any single commandment of Father, would, without exception, immediately die spiritually, which spiritual death is to be cut off from Father’s presence, no longer to be able to grow in his order of good.>>24

4.For every transgression of a commandment of Father, the offender must suffer for that sin and make full restitution for that sin, this suffering and restitution being at least equal to the suffering and loss caused to the persons against whom the transgression was committed.>>25

It is possible that the Covenant of Justice, or the first covenant, is the order of heaven spoken of in the Lord’s prayer.>>26 If so, it would have been the abrogation of that covenant by which the third of the hosts of heaven fell in the premortal war in heaven.>>27 That speculation aside, it is quite plain that this covenant of justice was understood by Adam in the Garden of Eden, for he was determined to and intended to keep all of Father’s commandments.

But Adam transgressed the first covenant, and by so doing immediately brought upon himself and upon all of his posterity the promised spiritual death.>>28 In this condition, if there were no intervention, Adam and his posterity would have been lost and fallen forever.>>29 Upon mortal death every soul would have passed fully into the power of Satan, to become angels to Satan forever.>>30

This Fall of Adam was necessary. It was necessary because every child of Father needs to be out of Father’s presence, to have forgotten the premortal existence, thus to be thrust into a strange world where he would be forced to choose between good and evil according to the desires of his own heart.>>31 It is a proving of the heart of each person whereby each person may see for himself whether or not he will choose good over evil and thus be able to stand the opportunity of wielding Father’s unlimited knowledge and power.>>32 But if the Fall was necessary, so was it necessary to have a means of reclaiming man from the Fall should any man desire to choose good and only good. Father in his goodness and omniscience had already provided before the Fall for a second covenant.>>33

6. The second covenant.

This new covenant is a covenant of mercy, and is the New and Everlasting Covenant. It is new because it is the second covenant,>>34 and it is everlasting because “Everlasting” is one of the names of him in whose name we must learn to do all things.>>35 We make this covenant with the Father, with the Son, and with the Holy Ghost, but we receive all of the blessings of this covenant through the Son, who is Everlasting. Through him and only through him may any fallen creature claim blessings which are everlasting.>>36

The New and Everlasting Covenant has two basic parts. Part one is the covenant baptism, being born of water and of the spirit. This is our pledge to seek after good and to eliminate all choosing and doing of evil in our lives, and the receiving of the power to keep that promise.>>37 Part two is the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. The work of part two is to receive the power and authority of God and to become perfect in using that power and authority to minister unto other beings to bring about their happiness,>>38 The intent of both of these parts is to enable a human being to lay hold on every good and godly thing in both time and eternity.>>39 They enable us to do all that we can do towards our own salvation, but also to receive and rely upon the fullness of the grace of God, that we might be fully transformed from the weak natural creature which we were into one like unto God himself, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Please do not mistake: we here consider parts one and two of the covenant as separate only because it helps us to see the whole better by analysis. Analysis reveals distinctions, but these distinctions are artificial and illustrative only. The New and Everlasting Covenant is one living whole; the two parts intertwine and enable each other in every way, even as the intertwining of body and spirit make the living, acting, breathing human soul, indissoluble in function but separable in understanding.

The formal nature of part one of the New and Everlasting Covenant is initiated in the covenant of baptism, and is progressively renewed and strengthened in partaking of the flesh and blood of our Savior in the sacrament. Part two of the New and Everlasting Covenant is initiated by ordination, and is enlarged by the ordinances of the temple.

7. Baptism

The light of Christ is given to every man who comes into the world, that he may know the good, as opposed to the many varieties of evil which are promoted by Satan in this world.>>40 The essence of human living is to make many choices between good and evil each day.>>41

We choose so that we can demonstrate what we really desire. If we desire the good, we show that our nature is compatible with Father’s and that we would enjoy doing the work of righteousness in time and eternity. If we desire evil, we show that we cannot be trusted with any great power, for we would tend to use it for our personal advantage rather than for the great work of righteousness in which all of the gods participate.>>42

Every soul who comes to accountability is thus forced to wrestle with good and evil and to make choices. He who chooses good will discover that he also chooses evil, for all of us sin and go out of the way.>>43 To every sinner there eventually comes a new light, the Holy Ghost. This new light bears witness of Jesus Christ and tells him that if he will put his trust in Christ, Christ will become his Savior and help him to stop choosing evil. Those who desire to stop choosing and doing evil find this message most enticing, so much so that they are willing to try the experiment to see if the Promise is true.>>44

Each soul is instructed that if he wishes to try the experiment, he must believe and trust in the Son of God and begin to eliminate each evil thing from his life. These steps are called faith and repentance. The promised consequence of taking these two steps is that the Holy Spirit which guides and enables these two steps will then come in even greater abundance, and will reward the experimenter with increased understanding and power to have even more faith and to repent of more sins.>>45 If the experimenter is pleased with that result, then a new proposal is made to the experimenter: Would you be willing to enter into a covenant with God what would enable you to have full faith in Jesus Christ, to strengthen your repentance by enabling you to have the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit? Those who accept this message are given the opportunity to enter into the New and Everlasting Covenant by being baptized.>>46

There are three things which must be promised by the candidate for baptism:>>47

l. The recipient must be willing to take upon himself the name of Jesus Christ. Taking the name of the Savior begins in the waters of baptism whereby we accept Jesus Christ as our new spiritual father and are willing to be known as his children before all men at all times and in all places. But it is also an expression of the willingness to take upon us all of the names of Jesus Christ, even until we receive a fullness of what he is and has. This willingness then is the willingness to go on to receive the second part of the New and Everlasting Covenant, which is to receive the oath and covenant of the Holy Priesthood.>>48

2. The covenantor additionally promises always to remember his new father Jesus Christ. This seems to mean that one should think upon him, yearn for him, pray continually in his name, be anxious for the success of his great work of salvation among the children of men.>>49

3. The recipient of the covenant of baptism must also affirm his willingness to abide and obey every instruction which his new father will give to him. Only in so doing can the covenantor come to avoid choosing and doing evil, for righteousness in this world is only of Christ, he being the sole fountain of this rare reality.>>50

It will be noted that this requirement of total obedience>>51 is much like the requirement of total obedience of the first covenant; indeed it is identical with it. The difference is that in the second covenant there is the possibility of salvation and exaltation even if this promise is not entirely kept at first. This is to say that there is Provision for salvation even if one is weak and sins after taking the covenant. But the covenant also provides that the covenantor cannot suppose that the provision for sinning will allow him an escape forever; the escape is strictly temporary, and while yet in mortality the person must learn firmly and determinedly to keep this promise to obey fully and faithfully every single instruction the Savior gives him without error or omission, which means a complete cessation of sinning.>>52

The immediate reward to the covenantor for making these three promises of the covenant of baptism is that hands are then laid upon the person’s head, he is blessed with the right to the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit, and he is commanded to receive that companionship unto himself.>>53 Only with the help received through that constant companionship can any individual keep the promises made in the waters of baptism. And only by keeping the promises made will the Holy Spirit remain with the person. If one willfully disobeys the promptings to do good which the Holy Spirit brings, one is no longer entitled to nor can stand the continuing presence of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit then mercifully departs.>>54

Receiving the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit is the baptism of fire which normally follows the baptism of water, and is the occasion for the person receiving a remission of the penalty due for the sins which he has previously committed but has now repented of.>>55 The presence of the Holy Spirit then enables the person to go forth in the knowledge and power of God on the straight and narrow path of righteousness. As long as the person is obedient to the Savior’s instructions as received through the Holy Spirit, he will retain that forgiveness of sins and will enjoy the continued blessed presence of that companionship. Willful disobedience, however, brings a loss of both.>>56

By receiving the baptism of water and of fire the covenantor has now entered upon the strait and narrow path that leads to the end, which is eternal life.>>57 But he is by no means there yet.>>58 What he has gained is a fighting opportunity to win the battle between good and evil in his life. If he will do all he can to keep the covenant of baptism, surely and firmly evil will be eliminated from his life, replaced in every particular by the righteousness of God. Thus the person triumphs over worldliness and evil in his or her own person. Until this triumph of good over evil is an accomplished fact in his life, little can be done with the second part of the New and Everlasting Covenant.>>59

8. The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood.

As the first part of the New and Everlasting Covenant focuses on the triumph of the covenantor in the battle to replace evil with good in all things, so the focus of the second part, the oath and covenant of the Holy Priesthood, focuses on the training of the individual to function for good in the power of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God, and to use that power correctly and advantageously in the callings of God to promote the eternal work of righteousness. The challenge of receiving the Holy Priesthood is: Now that you have shown that you can overcome evil for yourself, let us see if you can go further, to wield the power of God, in righteousness, to help others to overcome evil.>>60

There are three steps or stages by which one takes upon himself the oath and covenant of the Holy Priesthood and receives the power and authority of the Son of God.>>61 The first stage is to receive the priesthood, which one does by receiving ordination, being set apart to a calling, and by functioning faithfully in that calling under the guidance and instruction of the Holy Spirit. Those who thus function carry out the mind and the will of God. If they do this faithfully, they will be given progressively greater power and responsibility in their stewardships, but this does not necessarily mean church position.>>62 To receive the priesthood does mean that one fully accepts the priesthood authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter?day Saints and that one will be subject to those who preside over him in that priesthood.

The second stage of receiving the oath and covenant of the Holy Priesthood is to receive one’s personal endowments in the Holy Temple of God. The endowment consists first of special blessings which are given to the person so that he or she can bear the power of God in this world without being destroyed by the abundant evil which will confront and oppose his and her labors to do the work of God in the power of God. Secondly, the endowment is a set of instructions and understandings which assist the person to understand mortality and his role therein. Thirdly, there are covenants which the person makes, special promises to bear the burden of the work of the Lord in righteousness and purity. These promises are covenants of the oath and covenant of the priesthood.>>63 The oath is action taken by God, who cannot lie nor sin in any way. Men, who can and do sin and lie, make covenants with God that they might escape sinning altogether and wield the power of God in righteousness, and they do this altogether for the glory of God, as part of their worship of him for his goodness, for his righteousness.”

The third part of the oath and covenant of the Holy Priesthood is to receive the covenant of marriage in the temple. This is God’s marriage, eternal marriage, the establishment of a new eternal kingdom in the pattern of godliness, to do the supreme work of godliness eternally. Blessings are bestowed, covenants are made, and power and authority to act in the priesthood roles of husband and wife, father and mother, are given.>>65

To receive the oath and covenant of the Holy Priesthood of the Son of God is to affirm & desire to take one’s place in the divine order of righteousness. To be received into that order is, as it were, to be brought into a harness.>>66 The harness is a great eternal set of bindings that link husbands to wives, parents to children, men to God. To be worthy of the harness, one must pull one’s assigned weight in one’s assigned priesthood labors to further the eternal work of righteousness using the gifts and powers of God. One enters that place in the harness by free will, accepts the burden of the position by free will, and endures to the end by free will. The harness is not imposed upon anyone against his or her desires. Rather it is gained only by much pleading and repentance and is fulfilled only in sacrifice and obedience.>>67 It is true that the outward forms of the priesthood are seemingly imposed upon some in their ignorance, unwillingness or disobedience; but such an imposition is but a temporary thing of this world. Unless they repent, such persons have no power to bind or to act for God in this world, nor have they any claim on the power of God for the next world.>>68

The net sum of the New and Everlasting Covenant is that it is the power by which a human being learns to love God with all of his heart, might, mind and strength, and to establish God’s righteousness here on earth.>>69 This is another way of saying that we are thereby enabled to love our Savior and our neighbor in the exact same manner in which our Savior’ loves us.>>70 The work of the Aaronic Priesthood is to set into the godly order of righteousness affairs that pertain to the subduing of the earth and civil governing. The work of the Melchizedek Priesthood is to promote the spiritual welfare of souls through missionary work, genealogy and temple work, and the perfecting of the saints unto the establishment of Zion. The highest focus of the Melchizedek Priesthood is the perfecting of the bonds of love between a husband and wife that binds them to the Savior and their children to them in the drawing power of that perfect love which we can receive only from our Savior and only as we abide the promises we make in the New and Everlasting Covenant.

9. The Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Hitherto we have concentrated almost solely on what human beings need to do to fulfill their opportunities and responsibilities in the New and Everlasting Covenant. I wish now to turn our attention to our Savior’s role in this grand pattern of salvation for mankind. We have been discussing the necessary human one percent of the work of the covenant. Now we turn to the divine ninety?nine percent, the grace of God whereby we ore saved. We are and can be saved by that ninety?nine percent only if and as we fully do our one percent.>>71 I turn now to the atonement of Jesus Christ.

When we examine the etymological roots of the word “atonement”, we find that in old English there was a regular expression used to say that people became “at one.” This was sometimes spelled as two words, sometimes as one. The concept was a bringing together, an arranging of agreement, a uniting of hitherto estranged parties. The process by which this uniting was achieved was in English appropriately denominated “atonement.” When a word was desired to express what our Savior accomplishes in our behalf, no better word could be found than the word “at?one?ment,” which we have come to pronounce atonement. This English word is the translation of the Hebrew “kaphar”, which means among other things to cover, and the Greek word “katallag”, which means to change in an intensive way, and also to reconcile. The Savior’s atonement does cover our sins, and change our nature, and reconcile us to the Father.

My understanding is that our Savior’s atonement is the general descriptive term which covers all of his labors to exalt mankind from the moment he said “Father, thy will be done, and the glory he thine forever,”>>72 to the great and last day when he will present his children spotless before Father for Father’s acceptation unto exaltation.>>73 As it is the task of men to learn to love God with all of heart, might, mind and strength,>>74 so we can see that it is the task of our Savior’s atonement to enable men to love God with all of heart, might, mind and strength. We will describe the atonement in these four aspects.

9. Justification.

The process by which our Savior enables men to love God with all of their minds is termed in the scriptures “justification.” Our Savior helps us to become just, which is to say righteous, by teaching us the truth we need to understand about God, about righteousness, about ourselves, and about the nature of our mortal probation. That teaching is essentially accomplished through the teaching and preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Gospel was given to our father Adam, and will be yet taught to every child of Adam. Jesus Christ is the truth,>>75 and only in truth can man act correctly to be saved. Thus our Savior has worked since the beginning to make sure that every human person has access to enough truth to take advantage of the opportunity to be ennobled in righteousness, to be redeemed from the Fall of Adam, and to be reunited with Father.>>76

But truth of itself does not fulfill righteousness. The understanding of what is must be supplemented by correct principles which tell us what ought to be, and by specific instructions as to how to implement those correct principles within the framework of the true reality that has been revealed. Thus our Savior also reveals correct principles and specific directions as to how to act wisely for righteousness. These principles and directions are called in the scriptures “light,” and together with truth, they constitute intelligence, or the glory of God. Enabling his children to have his light and truth as the basis of all of their understanding, choosing and acting is the purpose of the Savior’s process of justification of his children, thus to assist each of them to become just beings.>>77 This mission of justification of his children the Savior does largely through his agent, the Holy Ghost.>>78 The receiving of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost is the means by which our new father, Jesus Christ, teaches each of his children to walk in light and truth, giving each line upon line and precept upon precept until that great day when through complete faith in him each of his children is glorified in light and truth,>>79, even as he, our Savior, has been so glorified by his father.>>80

In behalf of justification, the prophets have labored in each dispensation to explain to men the basic outlines of truth and righteousness, and have hoped that men would rejoice in those outlines, desire to become more righteous, and enter into the New and Everlasting Covenant to receive a fullness of righteousness. In behalf of justification the scriptures have been written, that men might better understand the witness of past generations and see that God and righteousness are the same today, yesterday and always. The Scriptural epitome of what it means to be just, to have received the justification of Christ, is given in the Sermon on the Mount. The Book of Mormon is the scripture which lays out justification both as a process and a product with greatest clarity.>>81 The scriptures testify that justification through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is indeed just and true.>>82

10. Purification

As the new children of Christ bask in the light and truth of our Savior’s justificatory power, it gradually dawns on each of them that to pour light and truth into the human vessel is not enough. As a child of Christ attempts to love the light and truth that come to him by his new father’s gift, each becomes aware of an alarming fact: having light and truth is no guarantee of being able to do what is right. Sometimes we know full well what our Savior would have us do, but we yet deliberately do that which is evil because we want to. If a person has indeed begun to love God and his neighbor, this revelation of the impurity of one’s own heart is horrifying. It means that at any time one is able to and apt to kick over the traces of the priesthood harness and consort with the evil powers in this world to gain some short?term personal advantage. It is this realization which makes even the prophets to weep and to mourn because of their iniquities and weaknesses.>>83

Providentially, the Savior has a cure for this malady of heart, this willingness to choose evil over good. The Savior’s cure is denominated in the scriptures as “purification.”>>84 Being the Lord God Omnipotent, the creator of Heaven and Earth and all things that in them are, being fully invested with the power of Father, our Savior can reach into our bosom and give each of us a new heart, a pure heart. He tells us that he will not do that upon some incidental request but only after we have done literally all we can do to repent and conform to the standards of godliness with the powers and opportunities he has already given to us. if we have repented of every sin which we can repent of, have made fourfold restitution as far as we are able,>>85 have been reconciled to our brother,>>86 we may present ourselves at the altar with a broken heart and a contrite spirit,>>87 and plead in mighty prayer for this change of heart.>>88 Then and only then will our Savior reach in and give that person a new heart.

The new heart will be a pure heart, one that has no selfish desires, one that is willing to do the right thing. It will choose to do the will of God at all times and places, no matter what the opposition nor the sacrifice involved. This new heart is made in the image of that of Jesus Christ, that same heart which enabled our Savior to say, “Father, not my will, but thine be done,” that same heart that enabled him to live a sinless life, that same heart for which he was chosen to be the Firstborn and to be the Only Begotten.

To be purified is to become literally a new creature in Christ, to die as. to the old person that we were, literally to become of the heart and mind of our new father. The scriptures promise great rewards for those who qualify and take this step. The scriptural name for this new heart is “charity.”>>89 Charity is to have a heart that loves with the pure love of Christ. Without that charity, we are literally nothing. Thus is the heart of a person saved. Then becomes possible for the person to be redeemed from the fall,>>90 to see God,>>91 and not to need to be further protected from the tree of life by those helpful cherubim.>>92

11. Resurrection.

The strength, or the mortal tabernacles of men were rendered temporary and relatively impotent by the fall of their mortal father, Adam. This fallen and mortal state of man’s body is a blessing because being temporary it does not have to be endured forever. Pain, illness, hunger, aging and other kinds of physical distress are able to serve their useful temporary purpose in the education and strengthening of the spiritual aspect of individuals while allowing an anticipated surcease.>>93

Permanent physical death would not be an improvement. Were mortal death to be the end of being tabernacled in flesh, every human would be at a serious disadvantage, because only when clothed in flesh can there be a fullness of joy.>>94 Because of the circumstances in which Adam fell, he became subject to Satan, and that subjection would have been complete and final had not the Savior a most important part to play relative to our physical tabernacles.

Our Savior is God for every living creature, for he created all of us physically and is charged with fostering our eternal welfare. All the while that he is offering truth and righteousness for our minds and hearts through the light of Christ and through the covenant processes of justification and purification, he is also entirely mindful of the physical circumstances of each being on earth. Not a sparrow nor a hair of our heads falls to earth unnoticed by him.>>95

For his eternal purposes our Savior suffers to transpire much that we humans call evil. But he also prevents much evil from occurring and transmutes all of what evil he does allow into the possibility of becoming a blessing. For that behind?the?scenes love for us he gets precious little credit. But he gives that love in spite of the unknowing and selfish complaining of his reluctant charges.

Persons of the world pay a good deal of attention to creature comforts. In fact, some spend most of their time in acquiring, comparing and consuming the delights of the flesh. Worldly wisdom has it that a pleasure in hand is worth two hundred in the heavenly bush. Worldly wisdom also has it that the end justifies the means in acquiring said carnal delights, especially when taken at the expense of one’s enemies.

But for his faithful covenant children, those who have hearkened to the spiritual call to truth and righteousness, the Savior recommends sacrifice and selective denial of the flesh.>>96 Those of his children who are faithful to his recommendations then receive special physical blessings through the power of his Holy Priesthood and his Holy Spirit, so that illness, accident, genetic disorders and death take no more than their exact allotted toll. As is appropriate in his wisdom, his faithful servants are renewed in the flesh,>>97 that their earthly mission cannot be shortened by natural processes. He intervenes when appropriate when their enemies would destroy them.>>98 And when the time does come for the beneficial suffering of death, his faithful children are accompanied at each step by his Holy Spirit and foreknow his will in these matters. They know that they are not left alone.>>99

When they do die as to the flesh, it is our Savior that welcomes them to the eternal worlds, and assigns them to new labor in his order of priesthood.>>100 He ministers salvation in the spirit world through them, even as he does on earth, that all former mortals might know of and partake of the gifts he has to give.>>101

When our Savior took upon himself the role of Messiah, descending below all things to become flesh and blood on this earth and in this fallen world, he bought with him a special advantage. Being born of and fully empowered by an immortal Father, he had the power not to die and also to raise himself from the dead should he choose to die. Being born of a mortal mother, he inherited the power to die. Not needing to die, he voluntarily gave up his possibly unending mortal life and all he could have accomplished in that sojourn for a greater purpose.>>102 By dying voluntarily he performed the sacrifice of the atonement, and by that sacrifice seized the keys of death and hell from Satan, who had gained them in the Fall, and thus prepared the way for the resurrection of all mankind.>>103

Thus after all probation has been extended, after each human creature has chosen the law by which he desires to be governed,>>104 after all things are set in order and there is no further need of the special change known as repentance, then our Savior extends the opportunity of resurrection to each human being through his priesthood order. Every soul will receive again a tabernacle of flesh and bone, nevermore to die.>>105 His righteous children receive a tabernacle of his own order, a celestial body, having the same powers that he inherited from his Father in becoming the Only Begotten. Thus our Savior draws us into the same order of flesh and bone as that which he and Father enjoy. Thus in one more way we may become one with Father through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

12. Sanctification

Coming into this world already just and pure, our Savior was able to live in mortality without sinning. This astounding achievement was not automatic. He knew full well that he had the power to sin and he could easily have stepped off the path in either direction at any time. But because he loved Father with all of his heart, might, mind and strength, he refused to sin. In that love he also loved us, his neighbors, with that same pure love with which Father loves him. Thus our Savior was the perfect model of righteousness, truly our total exemplar.>>106

By not sinning even once our Savior demonstrated that he was indeed The Son of God. Not only did he show us the way, the truth and the life, but he also made it possible by his sinlessness to suffer for our sins, which is the fourth and final aspect of his atonement.

The need for the suffering of the atonement came from the nature of human sin. Sin is transgression of the law of God.>>107 The law of God is not arbitrary, but is established upon eternal principles of righteousness. That righteousness, by way of justice, demands that when one being hurts another without cause and permission, that hurt must be matched by a similar suffering on the part of the perpetrator of the injury. Not only that, but restitution must be made so that the injured person is at least as well off after the injury as he or she was before the injury. Only as both of these conditions are fully satisfied, suffering and restitution, can any sinner stand blameless before Father and endure his presence.>>108

Having given men the opportunity to sin after having created them, our Savior also provided that a man might not be eternally damned for having sinned if he were truly sorry.>>109 The appropriate measure of sorrow is that the sinner confess the sin, forsake sinning completely by turning to do only the Savior’s will,>>110 and make whatever partial restitution he can, which is repentance. Repentance indeed removes sinning, thus sparing the one-time sinner from further jeopardy, but that does not absolve the former sinner of the debt previously incurred. Only our Savior can make a sufficient and restitution to render the sinner clean enough that that person could ever again live with Father.

So when a man has done all he can to repent of sinning and to make restitution for his sins through partaking of the New and Everlasting Covenant, our Savior then assumes responsibility for the remainder of the obligation, saving men by his grace, but only after they have done all they can do.>>111 The restitution he does through his role as Jehovah, the Father of Heaven and earth, he who is able to reach into eternity and remove the everlasting eddies of the sins that men commit. He is able to stop the otherwise inexorable eternal consequences whereby evil is propagated through time and space by cause and effect. Thus he is able to leave each resurrected being in a condition where he or she suffers no eternal consequence for any evil done to him in mortality by any other mortal.>>112 Thus our Savior satisfies part of the demands of justice. It yet remained for him to suffer for the sins of all mankind, those sine past, present and future to his mortal sojourn.

The occasion of the suffering of the atonement was but one day of his life, the final day of his mortality. In Gethsemane and through the time on the cross, our Savior trod the winepress alone,>>113 suffering the debt of sin, suffering a total suffering equal to all of the sinning that ever had or ever would be done.>>114 Having paid the debt of sinning for the sins of all men, he can invite all men to come to him and to learn of his ways and to partake of his forgiveness.>>115

Through his suffering our Savior made it possible for men not to need to suffer for their own sins, and thus also made it possible for them to be acceptable again to Father. Thus our Savior offer to all men the cleansing of their might, that their power and priesthood in time and eternity might not need to be shortened because of blood and sins. He cleanses their garments, their power, that he then might make them perfect, complete, in all good things, even as Father is. Thus his divine restitution and suffering constitute a great work of atonement, enabling men to be one with Father in might, thus enabling men to share all that Father and he have.>>116

13. Conclusions

Thus human beings are saved by the grace of Christ, but only after each does all he or she can do to perfect, purify and ennoble himself or herself. The saving grace of Christ is his New and Everlasting Covenant and his power of Atonement, which are made possible by his righteousness and perfect faith in his Father.

Thus human beings may be saved only by binding themselves to Christ. It is as if our task were to stand straight and tall before Father. But because of the Fall, we are broken and twisted. The Savior is our straight and tall splint. If we bind ourselves to him, wrap strong covenants around us and him that progressively draw us up into his form and nature, then we can become righteous as he is and can be saved. But without him we are nothing.>>117

Thus “the righteous” spoken of in the scriptures are not human beings who are or can become righteous by themselves. The righteous are only those who have bound themselves to Jesus Christ by the promises of the New and Everlasting Covenant and who then keep those promises.>>118 Only in him and by him are they able to do any good thing. The righteous acts they do are not strictly their own acts; therefore they take no credit for them. Rather do they give the glory to God. They know that their righteous acts are acts of Christ, chosen by the pure heart given by Christ, understood by the just mind given by Christ, carried out by the new strength given by Christ, redounding to the blessing of others in the priesthood might of Christ. Thus in Christ the righteous move, and live and have their being.>>119

If a human being endures to the end in the New and Everlasting Covenant, until he is literally transformed into the stature of Christ in heart, might, mind and strength, then he may love God with all of his heart, might, mind and strength. And if he then endures to the end of mortal life in that same condition, unfailingly enacting that same love, that new nature will become his eternal nature. He and she become one with God, part of God, also to work for the immortality and eternal life of man forever, as gods.>>120

Thus the purpose of the New and Everlasting Covenant is to provide a means whereby every human being may come to be able to fulfill the first covenant, to do all things whatsoever their God commands them. But the first covenant cannot be fulfilled by one who has sinned. Therefore it is only through living vicariously in Christ that any mortal fulfills the first covenant and thereby is enabled to become exalted. Thus Christ wrought eternal life for us in love by satisfying justice for us vicariously. He extends mercy to all who will learn to love until their love can satisfy the demands of Father’s justice. The New and Everlasting Covenant is our detour whereby our Savior strengthens us until we can tread the narrow way of justice and mercy on our own.

Thus the New and Everlasting Covenant is a special case of the first covenant, that which enables sinners to yet claim the blessing of exaltation in eternity even though they themselves by themselves do not merit such blessing and are at first unable to receive such blessings. Only in and through Christ may they inherit, through his worthiness.

Our Savior kept the first covenant, and was exalted by it. For had he sinned, there could have been no one to at?one him with Father. Because of his faithfulness in the first covenant, the second or New and Everlasting Covenant was made possible, that all of us may share his blessings with him for all eternity.>>121

Footnotes

1. D&C 20:28

2. John 17:21

3. D&C 20:59

4. 1 Cor 8:5-6

5. D&C 124:123, 76:50-60, Alma 13:1-16

6. D&C 14:7

7. D&C 88:21?35

8. Mosiah 3:19

9. Moses 5:13

10. D&C 8:1?3

11.Alma 10:6; 12:10,35

12. Moses 6:57; D&C 1:31

13. Gen 6:5; Ether 3:2; Moroni 7:8

14. Moroni 6:4; D&C 3:20

15. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 305

16. Acts 4:12

17. 3 Nephi 12:48; 27:2?

18. TJS p. 272 “Where there is no kingdom of God there is no salvation. What constitutes the kingdom of God? Where there is a prophet, a priest, or & righteous man unto whom God gives his oracles…” to eventuate in the administration of the New and Everlasting Covenant.

19. TJS p. 217 “A man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge.”

20. D&C 45:6

21. 2 Nephi 25:23

22. 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15

23. D&C 132: 19?20

24. Alma 42:14

25. Alma 42:22?28

26. 3 Nephi 13:10

27. Moses 4:1?2; Rev. 12:7?11

28. 1 Cor 15:22

29. Alma 42:14

30. 2 Nephi 9:7?9

31. Psalms 37:4; Mosiah 11;2; P of GP JSHistory 1:15

32. Psalms 24:3?5

33. l Nephi 10:18

34. Moses 6:56

35. Gen 17:7?8

36. D&C 132:19

37. Eph 4:11?13

38. D&C 121:41?46

39. Moroni 7:9

40. John 1:9

41. 2 Nephi 2:26; Alma 5:41

42. D&C 121: 34?40

43. Rom 3:12; 2 Nephi 28:11

44. Alma 32:28?32

45. Alma 32:34

46. Mosiah 18: 8?10

47. Moroni 4:3

48. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Taking Upon Us the Name of Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 1985 pp. 80-83

49. Alma 34:17?27

50. Ether 8:26; 12;28

51. John 14:15

52. Alma 22:16

53. John 20:22; 2 Nephi 31:13; D&C 39:23; 76:52

54. Alma 7:21

55. 2 Nephi 31:17

56. D&C 82:7

57. 2 Nephi 31:18

58. 2 Nephi 31: 19?21

59. D&C 121:36

60. Mosiah 8:15?18

61. D&C 68:2?4

62. Matt 25:14?30

63. D&C 84:39

64. D&C 82:19

65. D&C 131:1?4

66. Alma 13:6?9

67. D&C 97:8

68. D&C 121: 34?37

69. 3 Nephi 13:33

70. John 13:34

71. 2 Nephi 25:23; Mosiah 2:21

72. Moses 4:2

73. D&C: 76:107

74. D&C 59:5

75. John 14:6

76. 2 Nephi 2:3

77. D&C 93:28

78. Moses 6:60

79. D&C 76:69

80. D&C 93:11?14

81. E.g., Alma 5

82. D&C 20:30

83. 2 Nephi 4:27; Isa 6:5

84. Mal 3:3; James 4:8; D&C 112:28

85. D&C 98:44: Luke 19:8

86. Matt 5:23?24

87. 2 Nephi 2:7

88. Mor. 7:48; Mosiah 4:2

89. Moroni 7:47

90. Ether 3:13?14

91. 3 Nephi 12:8

92. Alma 12:21

93. 2 Nephi 9:15

94. D&C 93:33?34

95. Luke 12:6?7

96. Moroni 10:32

97. D&C 84:33

98. 2 Nephi 4:33

99. John 14:18

100. 2 Nephi 9:41

101. D&C 138:30

102. John 10:18

103. 2 Nephi 9: 10?12

104. D&C 88: 23?37

105. Alma 11:41-44

106. John 14:6

107. 1 John 3:4

108. D&C 4:2, D&C 84:24

109. Mosiah 26:23

110. D&C 58:43

111. 2 Nephi 25:23

112. Matt 19:29

113. Isaiah 63:3

114. D&C 19:16-17

115. 3 Nephi 27:13-22

116. Alma 34:12-17

117. John 15:1-5

118. Alma 9:28

119. Acts 17:28

120. D&C 132:19-20

121. D&C 88:107

The New Testament and the Latter-Day-Saints – Sperry Symposium 1987 – p. 263-278

Chauncey C. Riddle

This paper is divided into three parts:

1. Deals with the place of the New Testament in our lives and why we must know it.
2. Discusses the three modes of interpreting the New Testament.
3. Contains special suggestions for interpreting the New Testament.

Part 1: The Place of the New Testament in Our Lives

To understand the place of the New Testament in the life of a Latter-day Saint, we must first inquire as to the place of the scriptures in general. If salvation is the goal for man, then we see that there are three principal helps for man as he seeks to be saved. The first help is God himself. Salvation is not a mortal or human thing. It is supernatural, a lifting of man from human to divine status, and comes to us only in the person of Jesus Christ. It is through the personal power and intervention of Jesus Christ that any man is saved from unrighteousness.

The second help sent by God to draw men unto him that they might be saved is the prophets of God. These are they who are given power from God to teach the true gospel of Jesus Christ and to administer the saving ordinances, which are the covenants thereof. The gospel is necessary because men must understand and desire salvation from unrighteousness before they can be saved. Each person is then saved in and through the covenants each makes with God and the carrying out of the promises made by each person and by God.

A third help for salvation is the holy scriptures. The purpose of the scriptures is to acquaint men with the possibility of salvation, that each might have the opportunity to understand and to desire salvation through Jesus Christ. Those who have that desire are pointed by the scriptures to find a prophet of God, that they, too, might partake of the covenants and thus enter into life, which is salvation. When the scriptures are not adulterated by men, they perform well those two tasks: allowing men to desire righteousness by understanding its possibility in Jesus Christ, and pointing them to find an authorized servant of Jesus Christ who can lawfully and effectively administer the saving ordinances.

Let us note what is necessary for salvation: God is necessary, and since he saves men only through covenants, the covenants are necessary. Prophets of God would not be necessary if God himself were to come down and administer the gospel and the covenants directly to men. But God chooses not to do that most of the time. When God chooses not to come down, then men who desire to be saved must seek a legal administrator sent from God, a prophet. In this case, the prophet, who bears the authority of God to teach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof, becomes necessary. The scriptures are not necessary. They are helpful, but men could be saved if there were not one line of scripture written. Men could be saved by the prophet of God without scripture, for the true prophet has all that is necessary.

But the scriptures are helpful. They point our minds to our God and to righteousness. They make us hunger and thirst for the ordinances which make righteousness possible. Each different scripture gives the witness of a different people and / or time, showing that God loves his children and saves men in all ages through the very same gospel and ordinances. The New Testament is the special witness of the prophets who labored in the Old World during the meridian of time. They give us many precious insights into the life and ministry of the Savior and his apostles. But no Latter-day Saint needs those insights to be saved.

We are a missionary people, however. The New Testament is the only record of Jesus Christ and his gospel that much of the world knows. That record therefore is the bridge by which we can put them in touch with the true priesthood authority of God. Because Latter-day Saints are a missionary people, we need to know the New Testament backwards and forwards, not for our own salvation but that we might be instrumental in bringing the knowledge of how to be saved to others of our brothers and sisters. For us to ignore the New Testament or to know it poorly is not to love either our God or those Christian neighbors whom our God has given us.

Part 2: Three Modes of Interpreting the New Testament

The first mode for understanding the New Testament is private interpretation; the second is scholarly interpretation; and the third is prophetic interpretation.

A. Private Interpretation

Private interpretation of the New Testament is reading some version of it and deciding that it means whatever we think it means. In this method, each person sets himself up as the interpreter and fixes on his own fancy as the standard. There are two principal ways of doing this.

The first kind of private interpretation is whimsical; with it we allow our own creative imagination to tell us that the text means whatever pops into our heads as we read it. Many human beings interpret everything they read in this way.

The second variety of private interpretation is the dogmatic variety, wherein the reader attributes the same meaning to the text which he or she has been told by someone else is the proper interpretation. Without any further thought or inquiry the reader simply accepts what he has been told.

The New Testament has a pointed comment about private interpretation. Peter warns us not to indulge in it: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21). The dogmatic variety of private interpretation is what the scriptures call the “chains of hell” (see D&C 123:7-8). The purpose and end of private interpretation is to confirm and convince the reader of what he already believes. It is principally an occasion for self-justification, a path to be eschewed under all circumstances.

B. Scholarly Interpretation

Scholarly interpretation of the New Testament is applying a rational formula to the translating of a scriptural text into some vernacular and then designating the significance of that text. There are two principal varieties of scholarly interpretation.

First-class scholarship has each of the following criteria as necessary conditions: (a) the most authentic.e .version of the text must be used; (b) the text must be used in the original language (Greek, for the New Testament); (c) the scholar must be aware of and account for what every other first-class scholar has said on the topic or passage being interpreted; and (d) the first- class scholar must use a rational formula which I explicitly describes and which any other scholar could discern and use. These rather strict conditions for first-class scholarship cause it to be rare. One mark of the work of first-class scholars is the abundance of footnotes, but many footnotes do not make first-class scholarship. Only a first-class scholar will read all the footnotes, track down the origins, and judge for himself whether or not a writer makes sense. It takes a first- class scholar to identify and deal with a first-class scholar.

Second-class scholarship is interpretation which satisfies any one of the conditions for first-class scholarship but lacks one or more of the other requirements. There is a good deal of second-class scholarship in the world.

The rational formulae which scholars use are of some note, and it serves our purpose to review the principal varieties here.

“Lower,” or textual criticism, is the comparison of texts to determine by both internal and external evidence the text which is most authentic. In the case of the New Testament, this usually is the pursuit of the oldest manuscript, assuming the oldest to be the closest to the source. We have nothing which could be considered an original manuscript for the New Testament, so lower criticism is important to every student of that text.

“Higher” criticism is the search for authorship of biblical texts by considering internal evidence, such as writing style, vocabulary, historical references, and so forth.

Grammatical criticism, or ordinary textual interpretation, is intense analysis of the words and grammatical forms of the text, in an attempt to establish what would constitute an acceptable modal translation of the text based on what are considered to be the meanings of other nonscriptural texts of the Koine Greek which appears in the New Testament manuscripts.

Source criticism is the attempt to structure the hypothetical original documents which the writers of the Gospels and Acts might have used to compose those works, drawing evidence from the similarities and differences found among the synoptic Gospels in particular.

Form criticism is the attempt to relate the New Testament texts to the literary forms present in the manuscripts of the contemporary Hellenic culture of the writers of the New Testament. Various pericopes or fragments of the text are analyzed as paradigms, tales, legends, myths, and exhortations, interpretation being affected by the perceived literary device employed.

Redaction criticism assumes that there were primary source documents like those which source criticism seeks to reconstruct, and that writers of the New Testament were principally employed in stitching the older fragments together with comments of their own, which is redaction. The work of redaction criticism is to reinterpret the text in light of the perceived biases and emphases of each redactor.

Tradition-history criticism attempts to correlate the biblical text with the historic development of the New Testament church. It is based on two principles: first, that the Christology of the New Testament is not that of Jesus himself but is a product of the legends which grew up in the first century; and second, that it is possible to separate the authentic teachings of Jesus himself from the accretions added by later Christians.

Comparative religion criticism (history of religion criticism) approaches the New Testament by noting what elements it does and does not have in common with the other religions of the ancient Near East. Relationships with Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, and other religions are established, showing that the atoning sacrifice and purification rites were common to many cultures.

Demythologizing is the attempt to relieve the New Testament of its supernatural elements, which, it is said, are no longer tolerable to the enlightened mind, and to discover the authentic, timeless core that lies within those supposed myths. An interesting variation on that theme is the attempt to “remythologize” the text in favor of modern myths, those more acceptable to modern minds.

Hermeneutics, as an intellectual approach, leaves the attempt to say what the text originally meant to others, and concentrates instead on discerning what the text should mean for us in our modern setting. Instead of our judging the text, it is understood that the text judges us who read it. As Jesus established a common understanding with the people to whom he spoke that he might thereby surely deliver his message, so we must seek today that frame of mind in which the teachings of Jesus will be most meaningful to us.

Another scholarly device is that employed by Harnack, Boman, and others in the attempt to characterize the patterns of Hebrew thinking as they contrast with those of the Greek mind. Boman sees the Hebrews as interested in action, whereas the Greeks look for the unchangeable, eternal verities; the Hebrews focus on inner qualities of soul, while the Greeks favor visible particulars in describing persons; Hebrews see action as either complete or incomplete, whereas the Greeks nicely divide time into past, present, and future. Such differences as these, Boman contends, must be taken into account when interpreting the Hebrew New Testament message in Greek grammatical forms.|interpreting the new testament (fn:1)|

An excellent explanation of much that relates to the scholarly interpretation of the New Testament is found in a work edited by I. Howard Marshall, entitled New Testament Interpretation.|interpreting the new testament (fn:2)| I recommend especially the article by F. F. Bruce entitled “The History of New Testament Study,” one by E. Earl Ellis entitled “How the New Testament Uses the Old,” and a third by Anthony Thiselton entitled “The New Hermeneutic.”

The end or goal of scholarly interpretation is knowledge. The scholar seeks, with the best rational tools and worldly learning that he can muster, to reach conclusions that are intellectually justifiable. His greatest fear is that he will believe something that is unworthy of rational assent. Often he assumes protective custody of nonscholars in attempting to spare them the horrors of naive belief and private interpretation, thus becoming a brother-keeper. Some scholars, of course, have a real belief that Jesus was divine. They search and reason while believing, hoping to find a better faith, and through their faith have given great gifts to the world. I think here of works such as that of James Strong, who, with others but without the benefit of a computer, produced that invaluable tool for biblical scholarship that we know as Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.|interpreting the new testament (fn:3)| I also recommend the volume by Richard L. Anderson entitled Understanding Paul, an interpretive work of first-class scholarship.|interpreting the new testament (fn:4)|

Scholarly interpretation is clearly an improvement on private interpretation. Scholarly and rational though it is, much of it is guesswork. But gems can be found in it which are well worth the search. This body of material is much in the category of the biblical Apocrypha concerning which the Lord declared through the Prophet Joseph Smith: “There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men …. Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth therefrom; And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefitted” (D&C 91:2-6).

We now contrast private and scholarly interpretation with prophetic interpretation. Prophetic interpretation is interpretation of a scriptural text under the immediate direction of the Holy Spirit. This is personal revelation, the same kind of personal revelation by which the scripture was originally created. This kind of interpretation is denominated “prophetic” because it is the Holy Spirit which brings the true testimony of Jesus Christ and that testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy. Whoever has the Holy Spirit to guide him or her is for that moment a prophet-not necessarily a prophet to anyone else, but at least a prophet unto himself or herself. Since it takes a prophet to tell a prophet, the Holy Spirit binds the sent prophet to the receiving prophet in the unity of submission to the mind and will of God (cf. D&C 50:13- 24).

Thus there are two basic types of prophetic interpretation. The first is the prophecy of receiving from God for one’s own personal benefit. As one approaches a scriptural text in prayer and faith, ready to do what is instructed by the Holy Spirit, one indeed may receive specific instruction in connection with text as to how that should be interpreted, then acting accordingly in one’s own life situation and predicaments. This is using the text as if it were a Urim and Thummim, a divinely given aid to facilitate the receiving of further revelation from the Lord. Since the Lord has promised that he will give wisdom–that knowledge of how to act in faith–that we might please him, such revelation is a frequent occurrence. Its occurrence is correlated strictly with the degree to which the person seeks and hungers after righteousness through Jesus Christ. We noted above that the purpose in private interpretation is self-justification and that the purpose of scholarly interpretation is the ascertaining of truth, that one might know what to believe. Contrasted with both is the purpose of prophetic interpretation: to be able to act in faith to please God. Action, which includes but goes much beyond mere believing, is the end of prophetic scriptural interpretation. Built into this kind of prophecy is the supposition that this process will take place again and again, and that through much faith and experience in experimenting with those messages delivered by the still, small voice of the Spirit, one will come to know for oneself, unerringly, what is and what is not the voice of God in this world. Thus one becomes sure and established, rooted and tested in the faith of Christ, and through that mature faith comes all other good things from God.

The second kind of prophetic interpretation of the scriptures is the prophecy of receiving from God for the purpose of bearing witness to others concerning God. To safeguard the purity of this kind of revelation, the Lord has put three safeguards on it. First, prophecy may be received and delivered to other human beings only by those who are ordained of God by the laying on of hands by those who have true authority from God, even as was Aaron. Second, the hearer will always be one to whom the preacher or teacher is specifically sent. It will be publicly known to members of the Lord’s Church who those preachers and teachers are that are duly sent. Third, each hearer is entitled to personal revelation from God himself confirming any interpretation or prophecy which the one who is sent might deliver to him or her. Thus the prophecy of preaching or teaching for God must be matched by the prophecy of receiving from God by the hearer for the witness of the preacher or teacher to be valid and binding. These three essentials are clearly stated by the Lord as his standard: “And, behold, and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth–And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost. And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation” (D&C 68:2-4).

Thus, each human being who encounters the holy scriptures has three choices: he may put his own private interpretation on the scripture, he may use the tools and formulae of the scholarly world in interpreting it, or he may seek and find personal revelation that the Lord might interpret it for him. It seems that this is an exhaustive taxonomy; every interpretation can be correctly designated as one of these three.

But what about the value of mixing these three types of interpretation? It is plain that private interpretation is always evil and that it will destroy any good that might otherwise be found by an individual when combining it with either scholarly or prophetic interpretation. Scholarly interpretation is evil if it is private interpretation, that is to say, if it is not done under the inspiration and permission of the Holy Spirit. But scholarship can be noble and spiritually rewarding. The scholarly work of Mormon in creating the Book of Mormon is a perfect model of responsible, spiritual scholarship. But scholarly or not, interpretation of scripture must always be purely prophetic to avoid being evil. The kingdom of our Savior today could use more first-class scholarship by those who enjoy the spirit of prophecy. Of course, what it most needs is more persons reading the scriptures by the spirit of prophecy and then acting faithfully. We have enough scripture; we need to better use what we have. It is promised that then we shall have more.

D. Applications by History

How can an understanding of these three kinds of interpretation be seen to operate historically? First, we note that all scripture is produced by prophecy, by the revelations of God to his chosen servants. The intention is that all reading and interpreting of any portion or of all of that scripture should be done by prophecy, either for the benefit of the individual in his own stewardship or for the purpose of instructing others. But when men sin, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are taken from them. If they then interpret scripture, they are forced either to scholarly or to private interpretation.

After prophets ceased in Judah in Old Testament times (c. 400 B.C.), there arose the schools of rabbinic interpretation. Rabbinic interpretation is scholarly interpretation. It focuses on reading the accepted text in the original Hebrew, knowing what other rabbis have said about it, and elaborating interpretation according to rational formulae. These scholars were known as scribes and Pharisees in the Savior’s time. Jesus was a problem to them because he did not have the rabbinic training or outlook: he taught as one having authority, for indeed he was a prophet of God. He spoke only by the spirit of prophecy and instructed his followers to do likewise. In this the Savior threatened the rabbinic tradition of the scribes and Pharisees. They saw themselves as the saviors of the common people, preserving them from the great evil of private interpretation of the holy scriptures, which is generally the scholarly attitude. It was these protectors of the people who called for and gained Jesus’ blood, calling him a blasphemer for pretending to revelation from his Father and theirs. So they had their way, and rabbinism has maintained its hold on Judah to this day.

Paul was a rabbinic zealot, persecuting the blasphemers wherever he could. He was cured of his spiritual blindness by a revelation which left him physically blind. But then, knowing revelation, he became a faithful disciple of the Savior, teaching the deadness beth of the law of Moses and of the rabbinic tradition of interpretation which refused to see the law as the schoolmaster to prepare Israel for Christ.

During the time of Paul and the other Apostles, prophetic interpretation of the scriptures flourished, though not without opposition. But when the apostles were gone, the opposition triumphed and scholarly interpretation replaced revelation, even as it had done in Judaism earlier. Training for the priest became the study of languages and philosophy that scholarly work might be pursued. Thus, the world came to think that one cannot preach unless he is school learned.

The Protestant Reformation provided an interesting twist on the old story. When Luther, Wycliffe, and others translated the Bible into the vernacular languages, they did so as scholars, but they were undoubtedly aided by the Holy Spirit in much of what they did. The result was that prophetic interpretation again began to flourish. Individuals could now read the things of God and interpret them for themselves, and through faithful obedience to God as he gave them revelation, they revolutionized the world for much good. Institutionally, Protestantism has always been weak. Lacking authority for the preaching and teaching gifts, it has foundered on the question of authority. But individuals were not barred or prevented from doing much good. That is perhaps why the practice of Christian religion among genuine Protestants has so often been very good while the theory has been very bad.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also reflects the tension among these three modes of interpreting the scriptures. Prophetic interpretation is the core and being of the Restored Church. But there are those who insist on their own private interpretation of the revelations. These go off into the desert (spiritually and/or temporally) and form their own private churches and kingdoms. They have their reward.

Others employ scholarly methods to interpret the scriptures, and some of that scholarship is first-rate. Among these scholars there are those who are also submissive to the Holy Spirit, who wait upon the Lord; they have sometimes made important contributions to the kingdom, often anonymously. They know that their blessings come not through their scholarly attainments but from their faith in Jesus Christ Another group in the Church are scholars of one sort or another who do not brook priesthood authority and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They come to believe that reason must and will eventually triumph over what they call “blind faith.” To them, blind faith is unscholarly faith. They struggle with what the General Authorities of the Church say and cannot fully support those authorities. They are sometimes miffed because persons of lesser intelligence and scholarship are placed in positions of authority over them or are given precedence before them. Their scholarship has become a stumbling block to them. This is one source of the so-called anti-intellectual bias of the Church.

But scholarship and revelation can go hand in hand as long as revelation is the leader, the interpreter, and not vice versa.

Part 3: Suggestions for Interpreting the New Testament

We come now to the third part of this paper, which is to make some concrete suggestions for faithful, prophetic interpretation of the New Testament. It is incumbent upon every faithful member to read the New Testament during 1987, if at all possible. If we read it and how we read it will determine much about our future.

I will make seven specific suggestions as to how one might profitably go about reading the New Testament prophetically. I report these as admonitions to myself, hoping that something I say might find a responsive chord in your spiritual repertoire.

1. I believe that it is important to begin each scripture session with prayer, that we might demonstrate our faith and make ourselves more receptive to the whisperings of the Spirit. Indeed, prayer itself, if done truly, is simple practice at receiving and obeying personal revelation. It is thus a specific preparation for receiving what the Lord would have us do in connection with the text we are about to examine. I call as my witness on this point, Nephi of old: “But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul” (2 Nephi 32:9).

2. It has often been noted that we tend to see in a text what we already believe. If what we already believe is true, then we have a great help in interpreting the scriptures. But if we are struggling with new doctrine and have false doctrine as our interpretive frame, we will have a difficult time when the Holy Spirit tells us something contrary to what we already believe. We must clean up the launching pad to avoid misinterpretation.

One excellent way to cleanse our minds of error is to let the Book of Mormon be our standard of doctrine and truth. Of course, the Book of Mormon cannot give us the truth without revelation. But at least we are reading the book with the most correct text in this whole world. A better place to practice interpretation by the Spirit and to establish a true theology and cosmology is difficult to find, and if found, is sometimes not accessible (such as the person of a General Authority). My witness here is the Prophet Joseph Smith: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (Introduction to The Book of Mormon).

3. We need to see all things from the perspective of eternity. There is only one thing which matters in eternity: righteousness. If righteousness is the thing after which we hunger and thirst, then as we read the scriptures prayerfully and faithfully, we will be filled with information about how to obtain righteousness and how to avoid unrighteousness. The Christian world generally believes that the problem of salvation is to somehow get forgiveness for unrighteousness. The Book of Mormon shows us that the larger problem is getting our personal self re-created into a new being that no longer does anything unrighteous. Studying that process of re-creation through being reborn and growing up into the stature of the fulness of Christ is the key to righteousness and eternity. We have the promise of the Savior: “Blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost” (3 Nephi 12:6).

4. We can liken the scriptures unto ourselves. When we read the stories of the scriptures, we can imaginatively put ourselves in the place of the characters of the story. How would I think, feel, and act if I suddenly awoke and realized that I am the prodigal son? What should I then feel, think, say, and do? Or do I imagine myself to be the other brother who supposedly never sinned; do I see myself as saved while all about me are prodigal? If so, I probably am in great need of repentance for even allowing myself to suppose that I am that son.

When I read of Ananias and Sapphira, do I understand what must have been going through the heart and mind of each when questioned about the consecration? Can I feel the fear of trusting entirely in that unseen Jesus Christ, yet being tugged upon by the Holy Spirit to tell the truth? Can I imagine the anguish each must have felt in deliberately denying the Holy Spirit, grasping at a worldly straw? Can the memory of that imagination help me in the future when my faith wavers and the cares of the world press upon me? I can indeed live a hundreds lives in my imagination, and taste the bitterness of sin and the joy of righteousness vicariously. That knowledge then can help me to be strong and reject the bitterness of hell. Through Cain I know murder and perdition. Through Judah I know the pain of adultery. Through David I know the damnation of lust. Through Peter I deny that I know the Christ and have bitter tears. Through Paul I know persecution and stoning. Through John I know what it is to lean upon the Savior’s breast and be his beloved disciple. Not that I do these things, but the Holy Spirit causes all these things in me as I prayerfully meditate and ponder the stories which the prophets have carefully preserved for me under instruction from the Holy One. Again, I call Nephi as my witness in this likening: “And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23).

5. More specifically I can ask myself how I relate to the priesthood authority which my Savior has set over me. Am I Uzza who steadies the ark? Am I Simon who would buy the power of the priesthood if I cannot bring myself to repent to get it? Am I like the rich young man who goes to the authorities for help but then has to go away sorrowing because I love the world more than I love obedience? Can I see how I must not pretend that I am as good as the prophet, as Hiram Page was tempted? Do I see in my bishop and stake president the same authority and power which parted the Red Sea and fed the five thousand?

The brethren who preside over us are human, but the authority they have is not. Can I look both fully in the face and accept them? When those brethren use a scripture to teach us, do I find fault with their interpretation because I fancy myself to be superior, then neglect to do what they tell me, thus compounding the error? Peter tells us that the key to perfecting our love for the Savior is first to learn to love the brethren whom he has sent to preside over us (see 2 Peter 1). If our reading of the scriptures encourages us and enables us to do that, we are profiting from the scriptures indeed.

6. If we love the brethren who preside over us, we then can use our reading of the scriptures to draw us closer to the Lord himself. Have we read the life of the Savior in all the detail preserved for us, then prayed for the confirmation so that we can say with Peter; “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16)? If we read with faith, we will know that our Savior loves us and that he does nothing save it be for the benefit of the world. If we love and serve him, everything which happens to us he will turn to our good. As our admiration and love for him and our faithfulness to him grow, we will grow in the power and understanding of his word. The scriptures will indeed become a Urim and Thummim to us. We will not be in doubt as to what he would have us believe and do. He himself tells us, “And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, I leave these sayings with you to ponder in your hearts, with this commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall call upon me while I am near–Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (D&C 88:62-63).

7. My final suggestion for interpreting the New Testament and all scripture is that we strive to understand how to apply the great commandment. We are told, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him” (D&G 59:5). I take this to mean that there are four basic and distinct ways in which we should love our God. Since everything we do should be an act of love for him, reading the scriptures must be one of those things, and we should use the scriptures to lean how we can love and serve him with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength.

Our heart is the heart of our spirit body and is the factor which determines what we choose among the alternatives furnished by the mind. Most of us have the problem that our hearts are not pure: we want to do what is right, but we also want to sin. So we defeat ourselves, frustrate ourselves by doing some good things but not being able to reap the full benefits because we also tarnish ourselves with sinning. The solution to the problem is to find the one way to become pure in heart, which is found only in the Savior. If we come unto him as little children, believing and obeying, he can purify us. When we read the scriptures, we might well be asking, What does this passage teach me about how I should feel and what I should desire? If I then follow through with what I am instructed by the Spirit to feel and desire, I am beginning to love the Lord with my heart.

Our mind apparently is the brain of our spirit body. It is our mind which knows and understands, which receives instruction and reproof, which contemplates the world and the perspective of eternity. If our mind is right, we will receive many things but admit into our beliefs only those things directly attested by the Holy Spirit, which will show us the truth of all things. Under the direction of that Spirit we will train ourselves to think, to compare, to analyze, to relate, to synthesize, to create, to conjecture, to test, to evaluate. We will strive to furnish our heart with an able and truthful servant and companion. Even as the heart needs to be pure, so does the mind need to be filled with truth and to eschew all error, even until one sees and understands the mysteries both of this world and of eternity. Only the Spirit of Truth, which is Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost acting as one, can so purify our minds and fill them that we can begin to become wise servants, properly furnished with the perspective of eternity. As we read the scriptures, we should be hungering and thirsting after truth, jealous for every true belief, that we might learn to love the Lord fully, in truth and righteousness, with our mind.

Our strength is our body, our mortal tabernacle. To love our God with all our strength, we must study and train ourselves until we furnish this body with the very best nutrition available, the best hygienic environment we can muster, the most valuable exercise and work which is appropriate. We must treasure our power of reproduction, deeming its purity of more value than physical life itself. We must search out that field of labor where the Lord would have us dwell and be a husbandman to his vineyard, and bring forth upon the earth those physical and spiritual fruits which will please him. Our study of the scripture will help suggest particulars of how we might act as just and wise stewards, how we might keep ourselves unspotted from the world, how we might need to sacrifice our very physical life in the cause of our Master. Thus we learn to love the Lord with all of our strength.

Our might is our sphere of influence in this world: our money, our property, our belongings, our family and friends, our stewardships. We are apprentice gods, and it pleases God to instruct us in all the ways of godliness if we seek righteousness rather than power. As we read his word, we will learn many things about how to be a just and wise steward. Through his Spirit he will show us good examples in the scriptures of the very principles and standards that he himself abides. As we are faithful in complying with that instruction, he is able to make us rulers over many, for we have then learned to love him with our might.

Learning to love God through the scriptures is like learning to braid with four strands. Here and there, line upon line, and precept upon precept, we learn the standards and requirements for loving him with heart, might, mind, and strength. As we obey, we make the strands a reality instead of a possibility. As we obey through time, we twist, turn, weave, and sacrifice until we have formed a tightly woven strand, one that is strong yet flexible, durable yet pliable, ready and able to bear the weight of eternal things. We personally, being reborn and refashioned, have become worthy of the Master of our apprenticeship through loving him and his word.

One example must suffice. We read in John that if we continue in the word of the Savior, we are his disciples indeed; then we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free. How shall we interpret this according to heart, might, mind, and strength? With our heart we can desire to know him who is the truth, desire enough that we actually repent of our sins and obey his will through his Holy Spirit, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. With our mind we can understand that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that besides him there is no Savior and no salvation. We see that the world does not know the truth. We must put our whole trust and confidence in him only. With our strength, we can sacrifice to keep his commandments, to get up when we should, to sleep when we should, to eat when we should, to go and come and work and play as we should, to defend or retreat as we should, to till the earth and provide for our own as we should. With our might we can tithe and consecrate, foster good causes and bless, share with our neighbor who is in want, store for a dark future, and invest in that which is eternally worthwhile. For if we love and serve him who is the truth, he will then be able to set us free from every impurity, every smallness, every selfishness, every error, every untoward desire. Then we shall be free indeed.

The sum of the matter is that scripture is of no private interpretation. We must search and strive until we find that Holy Spirit which alone can make the scriptures come alive to us with that life which never ends. May we relish that great treasure, the New Testament, in that way, is my hope for all of us.

1. Boman, Thorlief; Hebrew Thought Compared with Greek, W. W. Norton Co., 1960.
2. Paternoster Press, Exeter, England, 1977.
3. MacDonald Publishing Company, McLean, Virginia.
4. Anderson, Richard Lloyd; Understanding Paul, Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1983.