Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

John’s testimony is similar:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My family and I loved her very much.

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

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

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

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

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

……………..

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

……………..

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

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

WHAT OF JOSEPH SMITH’S PROPHECY

THAT THE CONSTITUTION WOULD HANG BY A THREAD?

by Preston Nibley

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

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

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

Following are a few excerpts from his sermon:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A drought caused Abraham to go into Egypt.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joseph Smith’s account reads as follows:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pratt: Did you see the angel at this time?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The prophets Alma and Amulek are two more:

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

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

11 And it came to pass that Nephi went down into the water and was baptized.
12 And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen.
13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
14 And behold, they were encircled about as if it were by fire; and it came down from heaven, and the multitude did witness it, and did bear record; and angels did come down out of heaven and did minister unto them (3 Nephi 19:11-14).

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

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

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

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

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

Mormon concludes Third Nephi with this promise:

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

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

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

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

And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ.

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

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

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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

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

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

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

– – – – – – – – –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That is explained in section 93: “And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come. . . . The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth” (D&C 93:24, 26).

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

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

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

In comparison:

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

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

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

Joseph testified:

He’s the Saviour and only begotten of God;
By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
Even all that careen in the heavens so broad.
Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
Are sav’d by the very same Saviour of ours;
And, of course, are begotten God’s daughters and sons
By the very same truths and the very same powers
(Joseph Smith, A Vision published in Times and Seasons, February 1, 1843).

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

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

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

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

The Savior further explained:

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

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

22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.
23 And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.
24 And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.
25 And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law—
26 Wherefore, it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it. 27 For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again, a spiritual body.
28 They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
30 And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.
31 And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness (D&C 88:22-31).

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

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

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

1 When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.
2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy (D&C 130:1-2).

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

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

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

22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.
23 And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.
24 And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory (D&C 88:22-24).

——————-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

32 And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received (D&C 88:32).

Alma 36:5, LeGrand Baker, ‘Born of God’

After a long time doing other things in the Book of Mormon Project, we are now returned to Alma 36.

The attachment is an attempt to expand Alma’s statement in 36: 5 that says, “if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things.” We Latter-day Saints tend to overlook the importance of the concept of being “born of God,” or “born again.” The words have been taken over by the Protestants, so we don’t use them. Yet, the concept is one of the most important in the plan of salvation. The attachment is mostly a series of scriptures with very little commentary from me. The sequence of the scriptures tells a most extraordinary story. If you have time to read it carefully, I think it will be of some value to you.
Lots of love
LeGrand

Alma 36:5, LeGrand Baker, ‘Born of God’

5 Now, behold, I say unto you, if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things; but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself;

————————————-

To be “born of God” is about ordinances and covenants—some performed by humans in this world, some not. In both cases its meaning is very different from the Protestant use of the phrase “born again.”

The phrase, “born again” Is found in only two places in the New Testament. the first is in the Nicodemus story (John 3:3-7) which is usually understood to be talking about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The other is 1 Peter 1:21-23, which is in the context of faith, hope, and charity. Peter wrote:

21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

This concept seems to be more in line with what Alma said than the usual interpretation of John 3.

For Paul, the idea of sonship had a legal connotation. That is, we are adopted and are therefore legal heirs. He wrote:

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together (Romans 8:14-17).

To the Ephesians, Paul wrote that the adoption he spoke of was part of our foreordination “before the foundation of the world.” Therefore it was a part of the covenant we made that would enable us to return to our Father after we have completed what we came to this world to do. He wrote:

3 Blessed be the God and 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:
5 [the Father] Having predestinated [foreordained] us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

The Savior explained that principle to the brother of Jared:

11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?
12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.
13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.
14 Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all mankind have life, and that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters (Ether 3:11-14).

That adoption, to be a child of Jehovah, was the crowning ceremony of the ancient Israelite temple service. At the king was anointed, he spoke these words:

7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee (Psalms 2:7).

The king’s anointing was a two-part ceremony. He was anointed king and adopted as son. In this case “son” of God is the royal new name (For a discussion of Psalm 2 and the new name see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, 499-516.)

The Savior explained this principle even further. In the Beatitudes he said:

9 And blessed are all the peacemakers, for they shall be called [new covenant name] the children of God (3 Nephi 12:9).

John, the Beloved Apostle, taught the early Saints that same principle. He wrote:

1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2).

In that same letter John tied adopted sonship to charity, as they are each necessary to the other:

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.(1 John 4:7-9)

That same doctrine was taught by Mormon in his great sermon. While most of the Beatitudes are short synopsis of sections of Isaiah or the Psalms, verse 9, which concludes with “they shall be called the children of God” seems not to be. However, we can find a complete discussion of its meaning in Moroni 7.

25 Wherefore, by the ministering of angels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ.
26 And after that he came men also were saved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the sons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you. …
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.(Moroni 7:25-26, 46-48.)

The conclusion of all this is that becoming—actually becoming—a child of God is a gift from the Father through his Only Begotten Son. But like all gifts, it is one for which we must be fully worthy. The Savior explained:

8 I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life (D&C 45:8).

The Lord himself put the capstone on this principle when he described those who will inherit the Celestial Kingdom. I have italicized some of the words that are very important.

50 And again we bear record—for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just—
51 They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given—
52 That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power;
53 And who overcome by faith [pistis], and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
54 They are they who are the church of the Firstborn.
55 They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—
56 They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory;
57 And are priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.
58 Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God—
59 Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.
60 And they shall overcome all things.
61 Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet.
62 These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever.
63 These are they whom he shall bring with him, when he shall come in the clouds of heaven to reign on the earth over his people.
64 These are they who shall have part in the first resurrection.
65 These are they who shall come forth in the resurrection of the just.
66 These are they who are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all.
67 These are they who have come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of Enoch, and of the Firstborn.
68 These are they whose names are written in heaven, where God and Christ are the judge of all.
69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.
70 These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical (D&C 76:50-70).

So, when Alma declared, “ if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things,” he was telling us more than he used words to say.

Alma 36:3-4 – LeGrand Baker – Alma teaches about invulnerability

3 And now, O my son Helaman, behold, thou art in thy youth, and therefore, I beseech of thee that thou wilt hear my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself—not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God (Alma 36:3-4).

Perhaps the most overreaching covenant we make, or have ever made, with God has no name in LDS literature. That necessitated that Stephen and I finding a name for it when we wrote Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord. The name we chose was “the covenant of invulnerability.” These verses describe it perfectly. It is not that we will not experience troubles and afflictions, it is that neither those trials, nor the people who cause them, will have the power to prevent us from

Many of the psalms that contain versions of that blessing conclude with a promises of military invulnerability.{1} There were two kinds of enemies in their world. One challenged the earthly concerns of kingship’s responsibility for personal and national peace and security. The other (a holdover from the previous world) challenges the powers of one’s righteousness and priesthood. The contexts of the seeming military blessings in this and other psalms suggest that the intent of the blessing was to give the assurance that the Lord guaranteed that no power on earth or in hell could prevent one from keeping one’s premortal covenants, and from enjoying the blessings derived therefrom. It was a promise that even though the king (who was dressed in sacred clothing; empowered by truth, meekness and righteousness) might find himself surrounded by enemies whose intent was to destroy him, he would remain invincible to their ultimate power until his covenants were fulfilled and his mission accomplished.

These promises of invulnerability are usually found in those psalms that speak of the king’s approaching God.{2} It is not a promise that one will not have difficulties, even great difficulties, but rather it is a reminder of the covenant made in the Council that God is the guarantor that one will have the power to fulfill one’s eternal covenants. An excellent description of the power of this covenant is Alma’s testimony:

3 …I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
4 And I would not that ye think that I know of myself—not of the temporal but of the spiritual, not of the carnal mind but of God (Alma 36:3-4).

That covenant of ultimate invulnerability is the golden thread that runs through the entire ancient Israelite temple drama, as it is also fundamental to the apostate and apocryphal versions in the cosmic myth: the assignment is impossible and only the intercession of the heavens can make a path through the obstacles that would otherwise prevent its fulfillment. The obstacles and the impossibility of the task are ever-present but then so is the guarantee that the Father will fulfill his part of the covenant. It is embodied in the Abrahamic covenant.{3}

11 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal (Abraham 2:11).

It is the same guarantee as the prayer that concludes the first chapter of Ephesians, after Paul reminded his readers of their premortal relationship with their Father in Heaven, and of the covenants and instructions they received before they left home.{4}

Nephi’s testimony is that if God gives instructions they are in accordance with eternal covenants, and God’s part of that covenant is that he will override the obstacles that would prevent him from keeping his part of the covenant.

8 And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord (1 Nephi 8).

Lehi also understood the truth and power of God’s promise of ultimate invulnerability. He recognized that Nephi’s assurance was not just the expression of a boy’s unschooled trust, but that Nephi had in fact “been blessed of the Lord.”

FOOTNOTES

{1}Some important examples are Psalms 2, 21, 45, 110. Psalm 21 is the king standing before the veil of the temple. It concludes with a promise of invulnerability. Not all “war psalms” are that kind of concluding blessing. Eaton identifies several psalms “that reflect warfare: 7; 11; 17; 27; 3 1; 35; 40; 42-3; 44; 54; 55; 56; 59; 60; 62; 63; 66; 69; 70; 108; 109; 140; 141; in several others the military aspect is not brought out but can reasonably be assumed: 5; 16; 2.8; 142; 143.” (Eaton, Kingship and the Psalms,130.)

{2}A splendid example of the covenant of invulnerability is found in the code that describes the animals in the veil ceremony of Job 40:1–42:5.

{3}The covenant of Abraham is first given in what appears to be a kind of veil ceremony in Abraham 1:16-19. The promises made to Abraham and his descendants include: 1) the promise of land (Abraham 2:6; Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 15:9-14); 2) the promise of posterity (Abraham 2:9; Genesis 12:2; 13:16; 15:5; 17:2; 18:18; 22:17; 3) the promise of priesthood blessings ( Abraham 1:3-4; 1:18; 2:11); and 4) the promise of salvation (Abraham 2:10). The covenant of invulnerability is found in the words, “I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; (Abraham 2:11, see Genesis 12:11-3). See Stephen D. Ricks, “The Early Ministry of Abraham (Abraham 1 and 2),” in Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, eds., The Pearl of Great Price (Salt Lake City: Randall Book, 1985), 219-20.

{4}At the conclusion of Paul’s discussion of the covenants we made with God in the premortal world (Ephesians 1:1-14), Paul prays that his readers may know three things:

First, “what is the hope of his calling.” Calling is a verb, thus it is God’s calling—his premortal assignment—to the Saints.

Second, “and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” That is, what great blessings await those who keep their covenants.

Third, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.” (v. 18-20 and on to v. 23)

In other words, Paul’s prayer concludes with the hope that we will know that the Father has also promised us that he will enable us to fulfill our covenants if we are faithful to the instructions of the Holy Ghost.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –