Category: Jacob

Jacob 1:8 — LeGrand Baker — The Savior in Gethsemane

Jacob 1:8
8   Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against God, to provoke him to anger, but that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world; wherefore, I, Jacob, take it upon me to fulfil the commandment of my brother Nephi.

Each time I read this verse I wonder what the verb “view” means. And each time I think of the testimony of Elder Orson F. Whitney. Elder Whitney was born in Salt Lake City in 1855, just a few years after the saints arrived in Utah. He was ordained an apostle at the age of 50, and died in 1931. His testimony is published in the Improvement Era, September, 1969, p 68-79. The introduction was written by Albert L. Zobell, Jr.

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Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855.1931). one of the poet-historian princes of the Latter-day Saints, became an apostle April 9. 1906, at the same time as George F. Richards and David 0. McKay.

Elder Whitney, always a popular and much-sought-for speaker, spoke at the MIA June Conference in 1925, recalling how, as a young man of 21, he had served a mission in Pennsylvania and had found some success in expressing his thoughts in newspaper articles and poems.

His companion chided: “You ought to be studying the books of the Church; you were sent out to preach the gospel. not to write for the newspapers.”

Young Whitney knew his missionary-brother was right. but he still kept on, fascinated by the discovery that he could wield a pen. In his words, as he spoke at a Sabbath evening MIA session June 7,1925:

“One night I dreamed–if dream it may be called–that I was in the Garden of Gethsemane, a witness of the Savior’s agony. I saw Him as plainly as I see this congregation. I stood behind a tree in the foreground. where I could see without being seen. Jesus, with Peter, James and John, came through a little wicket gate at my right. Leaving the three Apostles there, after telling them to kneel and pray, he passed over to the other side, where he also knelt and prayed. It was the same prayer with which we are all familiar: ‘0 my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.’ (Matt. 26:36-44; Mark 14:32-41; Luke 22:42.)

“As he prayed the tears streamed down his face, which was toward me, I was so moved at the sight that I wept also, out of pure sympathy with his great sorrow. My whole heart went out to him, I loved him with all my soul, and longed to be with him as I longed for nothing else.

“Presently he arose and walked to where the Apostles were kneeling-fast asleep! He shook them gently, awoke them, and in a tone of tender reproach, untinctured by the least suggestion of anger or scolding asked them if they could not watch with him one hour. There he was, with the weight of the world’s sin upon his shoulders, with the pangs of every man, woman and child shooting through his sensitive soul — and they could not watch with him one poor hour!

“Returning to his place, he prayed again, and then went back and found them again sleeping. Again he awoke them, admonished them, and returned and prayed as before. Three times this happened, until I was perfectly familiar with his appearance — face, form and movements. He was of noble stature and of majestic mien-not at all the weak, effeminate being that some painters have portrayed — a very God among men, yet as meek and lowly as a little child.

“All at once the circumstances seemed to change, the scene remaining just the same. Instead of before, it was after the crucifixion, and the Savior, with those three Apostles, now stood together in a group at my left. They were about to depart and ascend into Heaven. I could endure it no longer. I ran out from behind the tree, fell at his feet, clasped him around the knees, and begged him to take me with him.

“I shall never forget the kind and gentle manner in which He stooped and raised me up and embraced me. It was so vivid, so real, that I felt the very warmth of his bosom against which I rested. Then He said: ‘No, my son; these have finished their work, and they may go with me, but you must stay and finish yours.’ Still I clung to him. Gazing up into his face — for he was taller than I — I besought him most earnestly: ‘Well, promise me that I will come to you at the last.’ He smiled sweetly and tenderly and replied: ‘That will depend entirely upon yourself.’ I awoke with a sob in my throat, and it was morning.”

“That’s from God,” Elder Musser said, when he heard the story. “I don’t need to be told that,” Elder Whitney replied, and then he told the vast MIA congregation:

“I saw the moral clearly. I had never thought that I would be an Apostle, or hold any other office in the Church; and it did not occur to me even then. Yet I knew that those sleeping apostles meant me. I was asleep at my post — as any man is, or any woman, who, having been divinely appointed to do one thing, does another.

“But from that hour all was changed — I was a different man. I did not give up writing, for President Brigham Young, having noticed some of my contributions in the home papers, wrote advising me to cultivate what he called my ‘gift for writing’ so that I might use it in future years ‘for the establishment of truth and righteousness upon the earth.’ This was his last word of counsel to me. He died the same year, while I was still In the mission field, … laboring then in the State of Ohio. I continued to write, but it was for the Church and Kingdom of God, I held that first and foremost; all else was secondary.”

Jacob 1:7 — LeGrand Baker — enter into his rest

Jacob 1:7
7   Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness.

Last week I received the following note from Richard Dilworth (Dil) Rust: “Here is a copy of what I’ve sent to Beck Locey (who will see it a week from now). I thought you might want an advance copy; indeed, you may want to send in an elaboration (or correction) to join my post.”

I would not have presumed to respond to Dil’s comment without that invitation. The subject Dil is addressing is, so far as I am aware, the most sacred subject which people are given the right to talk about. I suppose that is the reason this subject and other sacred ideas, are so frequently encoded in the scriptures. That way people can trivialize the code words without trivializing the ideas. For example, I am never offended when I hear the phrase “come unto Christ” used with reverence in any church meeting. On the other hand, I think I have never heard that phrase used in a church meeting (except sometimes general conference) where the speaker has used that phrase to mean the same thing that it means in the scriptures.

When I saw the list of scriptures that Dil recommended we read, I went ‘WOW!’

Psalm 95 is an invitation to enter the presence of God. If this hymn were sung during the New Year’s festival (as I presume it was), then it is likely that the time and place where it was sung was at the conclusion of the great procession when the people and the king came into the temple. This psalm was probably sung just before the veil of the temple was opened, so the people could look into the Holy of Holies and see the golden throne of God.

Hebrews 3:7 — 4:11, is Paul’s explanation of what it means to “rest.” He compares each of his hearers to those who were invited to go with Moses to Sinai to be in the presence of God, and says, “let us labour therefore to enter into that rest.” But why is being in the presence of God called “rest.” Paul explains: God performed all of his labors of the creation in six days, then, on the seventh day, God no longer performed his own labors. So it is with us. Paul says, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” (4:10-11)

Alma 12 & 13 are Alma’s explanation of the legitimacy of kingship and priesthood. In the ancient Near East, evidence of that legitimacy had to be based on two things: 1) one’s receiving a call at the Council in Heaven, and 2) one’s fulfilling the assignment he received in that call.
Here Alma uses the word “rest” in both senses: In connection with being in the presence of God to receive one’s initial call, and also as evidence of its fulfillment. (This is a fun story: Zeezrom and his friends are planning a political coup. Alma tells Zeezrom he can’t do that, and cites the priesthood principles of kingship as evidence. Zeezrom understands and repents.)

There is another word which ties each of those scriptures together also. It is “provocation.”

Jacob said, “… that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest, lest by any means he should swear in his wrath they should not enter in, as in the provocation in the days of temptation while the children of Israel were in the wilderness. (Jacob 1:7)” In these scriptures, Jacob, Alma, and Paul are all paraphrasing the 95th Psalm which says, “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness; when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.” (V. 8-9) Thus, to “provoke the Lord” is to refuse to enter into his presence.

As in ancient Israel, one symbolically enters the Lord’s presence in the temple. (See Moroni 10:29-31) But one can also enter his presence. (See the next verses, Moroni 10:32-34)

To “come unto Christ” is not an act of one’s own will, but an act of faith. Faith is not believing hard, it is keeping covenants. One cannot “grunt believe” and therefore force one’s way into the presence of God, but must come by invitation. No amount of fasting, prayer, or self deprivation can bribe God into letting one in. The principle explained by Mormon is relevant here. Angels show “themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. (Moroni 7:30)” The “firm mind” is as important a quality as the “strong faith.” The keys by which one may enter, as Moroni and Mormon each explain, are faith, hope and charity.

The Saviour explained all that in the 14th chapter of John. As a part of that explanation he said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

“Way” is a code word. If one were to use that word to describe the 95th psalm, it is the steps one takes in the temple to get to the veil.

“Way” means something else as well. More than anyone else, Jim Cannon has taught me this:

The most important thing one does in the temple, is the very last thing one does there: that is, he leaves the building. He does not stay. The temple is not a monastery. One goes in, only to come out again. As Moses came down from the mountain, as the brother of Jared came down from the mountain, as Jesus, Peter, James and John came down from the mountain, we must all come out of the temple and be in this world what we were instructed to be while we were symbolically on the mountain.

The “way” one may “come unto Christ” and “enter into his rest” is to “walk” in the “paths of righteousness” after one has come out of the temple. The way one does that, as Mormon said, may be judged by one’s “peaceable walk with the children of men.” (Moroni 7:3-4)

Two other scriptures which Dil mentioned are:
3 Ne 27 is the Saviour’s explanation of how one must come into his presence.

13-17: “This is the gospel .. that I came into the world to do the willof my Father, because my Father sent me.
18-19: “This is the word: … no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood.
20: This is the commandment: … that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.”

Moroni 7 is Mormon’s instructions to those who “have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven.” (V.3)In the end, as Mormon points out, it all boils down to charity. The instructions are about faith, hope, and charity, and the purpose of the instruction is “that we may be purified even as he is pure” (v. 48)

Mormon’s ideas are not original with him. The Saviour explained the same thing.

19   And behold, I have given you the law and the commandments of my Father, that ye shall believe in me, and that ye shall repent of your sins, and come unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. Behold, ye have the commandments before you, and the law is fulfilled
20   Therefore come unto me and be ye saved; for verily I say unto you, that except ye shall keep my commandments, which I have commanded you at this time, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven
….
23   Therefore, if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee-
24   Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I will receive you.” (3 Nephi 12:19-24)

The more closely one looks, the more one realizes the “principles” of the gospel are not plural at all, but singular: The covenants one made at the Council, the covenants one remakes here, the life one lives here, the covenants one keeps here, the charity one feels here, the fulfillment of the Saviour’s promises to those who keep their covenants in charity. They are the same thing. We think of them lineally because we live in a world of time. But the principles are not lineal, they are a composite of one, just as their purpose is one: “that we should be holy and without blame before him in love (Ephesians 1:4).”

Jacob 6:1-7 — LeGrand Baker — ‘his arm of mercy’

In Jacob’s brief analysis of the Zenos’ allegory of the olive trees, he compares the trees to the house of Israel, then, carefully and deliberately changes the focus of the allegory altogether. In this change, the olive tree is no longer all of Israel, but every individual who is a part of Israel. He writes,

5   Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.
6   Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?
7   For behold, after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?

So the tree is all of Israel who come to this earth, or else, the tree is each individual person who has made a covenant which identifies him or herself as “Israel.”

I suggested in a question last week that “Israel” might also be bigger than either of those. I have thought about my question since then, and the question has grown with my thinking, but the answer is far beyond my reach. Nevertheless, I would like to give you some of the ideas that expand the question, in case you would like to think about it also.

In February 1843, at the request of W.W. Phelps, the Prophet Joseph re-wrote the vision which is the 76th section of the Doctrine and Covenants in poetry form. It was published in the Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843, and republished in the Millennial Star, August, 1843. Part of it reads,

And now after all of the proofs made of him,
By witnesses truly, by whom he was known,
This is mine, last of all, that he lives; yea, he lives!
And sits at the right hand of God on his throne.
And I heard a great voice bearing record from heav’n,
He’s the Saviour and only begotten of God;
By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
Even all that career in the heavens so broad.
Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours;
And, of course, are begotten God’s daughters and sons
By the very same truths and the very same powers.

President John Taylor wrote an editorial published in The Mormon, New York, New York, August 29, 1857, under the title of “Origin, Object, and Destiny of Women.” Part of that editorial reads,

Knowest thou not that; eternities ago, thy spirit, pure and holy, dwelt in thy Heavenly Father’s bosom, and in his presence, and with thy mother, one of the Queens of heaven, surrounded by thy brother and sister spirts in the. spirit world, among the Gods. That as thy spirit beheld the scenes transpiring there, and thou growing in intelligence, thou sawest worlds upon worlds organized and peopled with thy kindred spirits, took upon them tabernacles, died, were resurrected, and received their exaltation on the redeemed worlds they once dwelt upon. Thou being willing and anxious to imitate them, waiting and desirous to obtain a body, a resurrection and exaltation also, and having obtained permission, thou made a covenant with one of thy kindred spirits to be thy guardian angel while in mortality, also with two others, male and female spirits, that thou wouldst come and take a tabernacle through their lineage, and become one of their offspring. You also choose a kindred spirit whom you loved in the spirit world, (and had permission to come to this planet and take a tabernacle) to be your head, stay, husband, and protector on the earth, and to exalt you in the eternal worlds. All these were arranged, likewise the spirits that should tabernacle through your lineage. Thou longed, thou sighed, and thou prayed to thy Father in heaven for the time to arrive when thou couldst come to this earth, which had fled and fell from where it was first organized, near the planet Kolob. Leave thy father and mother’s bosoms, and all thy kindred spirits, come to earth, take a tabernacle, and imitate the deeds of, those you had seen exalted before you.

The identity of those other persons is suggested by President Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection (Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 1963), p. 50-51. Speaking of the pre-mortal spirit world, President Smith wrote:

It is reasonable to believe that there was a Church organization there. The heavenly beings were living in a perfectly arranged society. Every person knew his place. Priesthood, without any question, had been conferred and the leaders were chosen to officiate. Ordinances pertaining to that pre-existence were required and the love of God prevailed. Under such conditions it was natural for our Father to discern and choose those who were most worthy and evaluate the talents of each individual. He knew not only what each of us could do, but also what each of us would do when put to the test and when responsibility was given us. Then, when the time came for our habitation on mortal earth, all things were prepared and the servants of the Lord chosen and ordained to their respective missions.

Paul said to the Ephesian Saints:

3   Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
4   According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. –(Eph. 1:3-4).

Near the beginning of President Taylor’s editorial that I just quoted, he addresses the unnamed woman to whom he was writing with these questions,

Lady-whence comest thou? Thine origin? What art thou doing here? Whither art thou going, and what is thy destiny? Declare unto me if thou hast understanding? Knowest thou not, that thou art a spark of Deity, struck from the fire of his eternal blaze, and brought forth in the midst of eternal burning?

I suspect that statement is not allegorical, but is a real description of our origins. Just a few quick examples: Members of the Council in Heaven are sometimes called stars in the scriptures, other times they are collectively called “the heavens” An example of the first is the Lord’s question to Job,

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

An example of the second is Isaiah’s description of a Council meeting in Isaiah 49 (but it doesn’t work well unless you use the Book of Mormon version in 1 Nephi 20, which is what I will quote. This Isaiah is different from the one in the Bible. In the Bible the chapter is about Cyrus, king of Persia. In the Book of Mormon the chapter is about the war in heaven and Joseph Smith’s role in it.

14    Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called [“called” may mean called the way we use it in the church today, but as in the first verse which I will quote below, it more likely means “named” suggesting that “Israel is a covenant name], for I am he; I am the first, and I am also the last. Mine hand hath also laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens. [It becomes clear as we go on that “the heavens” are the members of the Council] [To “span” is to measure, I presume this means he has placed his right hand on the heads of each of the members of the Council, measuring them, thus designating them as sacred space — a temple.] I call unto them [the heavens] and they [the heavens] stand up together. [One stands to make a covenant, see 2 Kings 3:1-4 and Psalm 82 where the gods ask God to “arise” so they make a covenant with him.] All ye [the heavens], assemble yourselves [i.e. at the Council] , and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved him [that turns out to be the Prophet Joseph, by the way]; yea, and he will fulfill his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans. (1 Ne. 20:14)

At the beginning of that same chapter Isaiah says the same thing:

1   Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear [covenant] by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear [covenant] not in truth nor in righteousness.
…
3   Behold, I have declared the former things from the beginning;
…
5   And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; (1 Ne. 20: 1-5)”

I checked and found there are more phrases like “the beginning” and “before you were born” and that sort of thing, in this chapter of Isaiah than in any other part of the Old Testament except the creation story in Genesis.

So it appears that very early on in our existence we made covenants, and that the new name associated with those covenants was “Israel.” The tree is all the “Israel” in this world, just as it is each individual who has taken the covenant name of Israel.