TRUTH NEVER CHANGES
A PUBLICATION IN THE SPIRIT AND TRADITON OF TRUTH MAGAZINE
Y VOLUME
15 SPRING 2012 NUMBER
02 Y
THE KINGDOM
OF GOD
AND
THE CHURCH OF GOD
AND
THE CHURCH OF GOD
Joseph W. musser
(Supplement to the new & everlasting covenant of marriage, chapter V, pp. 83-90)
(Supplement to the new & everlasting covenant of marriage, chapter V, pp. 83-90)
"And this Gospel of the
Kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations; and
then shall the end come."
IN THIS ISSUE:
The Kingdom of God & The Church of
God………………………............……...25
1882 Revelation………………………………………………………………….....….30 Commentary On……………………………………………………………………....32 Editorial………………………………………………………………………………….34 Fruitful & Multiplying?........................................................................................38
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper…………………………...............………....39
The Rules of the Kingdom………………………………………………….......……46 A Timeless Admonition……………………………………………………..…..........56 |
"Gospel of
the Kingdom"--What is the Kingdom, and in what sense does it differ from
the Church? In general usage the terms Kingdom of God and the Church of God are
employed interchangeably. "The Church and Kingdom of God" is a common
expression among Latter day Saints; indeed, it is an expression often found in
Holy Writ. In considering these two subjects at this point, however, we shall
do so in their restrictive sense--as specific organizations with definite
prerogatives--rather than along the broad lines in which they are generally
regarded, and which was, no doubt, the sense in which Jesus used the term:
"And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world," etc.
The
two--the Church of God and the Kingdom of God--may be said to be one very much
as Christ Jesus and his Father are one--one in purpose, in principle, but
distinct in organization and mission, both the direct instruments of the
Priesthood and neither complete without the other. The one, the Kingdom, being
God's political government on earth, having within its functions the protection
of all people, whether members of the Church of Christ or not. This Kingdom,
with Christ the King, is destined to subjugate all other kingdoms and rule the
world.
The
Church might be termed the spiritual branch or propaganda division of the
Priesthood. To its sacred care is entrusted the duty of proclaiming the "Gospel
of the Kingdom" to mankind--of guarding and administering God's Holy
ordinances necessary to the salvation and exaltation of man.
It
might be said by way of comparison that the Church and the Kingdom--both
appendage organizations--are to the Priesthood what the Sabbath Schools, Mutual
Improvement Associations, etc., are to the Church--they are the tools or
vehicles used by the Priesthood in accomplishing God's purposes on earth.
The
Church does not function in political or civil affairs, its labors being
confined to ecclesiastical direction; and its jurisdiction is restricted to its
membership, with judicial powers limited to acts of excommunication.
It
is the Kingdom that controls the political destinies of man—or rather, protects
man in his political rights--and to which men of all creeds and beliefs may
look for protection in the exercise of their inalienable rights as citizens of
earth.
Hence
the two organizations, in principle, are one--neither of them perfect without
the other; as the man is not perfect without the woman, nor the woman without
the man, neither is the Kingdom perfect without the Church, nor the Church
without the Kingdom.
That
the Kingdom of God was established, at least in part, by Joseph Smith, is
evident from the following information extracted from the History of the
Church, Vol. 7:381-2:
"President
(Brigham) Young in writing a letter (May 3, 1844) to Reuben Hedlock, president
of the European Mission at the time said to him: `The kingdom is organized and
although as yet no bigger than a grain of mustard seed, the little plant is in
a flourishing condition and our prospects brighter than ever. * * *
"Again
in a discourse under date of July 8, 1855, President Young said: `As was
observed by Brother Pratt (this morning) that kingdom (i.e., of God) is
actually organized and the in habitants of the earth do not know it. If this
people know anything about it, all right: it is organized preparatory to
talking effect in the due time of the Lord, and in the manner that shall please
him. As observed by one of the speakers this morning, that kingdom grows out of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but is not the Church; for a
man may be a legislator in that body which will issue laws to sustain the
inhabitants of the earth in their individual rights and still not belong to the
Church of Jesus Christ at all. And further, though a man may not even believe
in any religion it would be perfectly right, when necessary, to give him the
privilege of holding a seat among that body which will make laws to govern all
the nations of the earth and control those who make no profession of religion
at all; for that body would be governed, controlled and dictated to acknowledge
others in those rights which they wish to enjoy themselves. Then the Latter-day
Saints would be protected, if a kingdom of this kind was on the earth, the same
as all other people.'
"The
late President George Q. Cannon while editor of the Juvenile Instructor said:
`We are asked, is the Church of God and the Kingdom of God the same
organization? and we are informed that some of the brethren hold that they are
separate. This is the correct view to take The Kingdom of Cod is a separate
organization from the Church of God. There may be men acting as officers in the
Kingdom of God who will not he members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
day Saints. On this point the Prophet
Joseph gave particular instructions before his death, and gave an example,
which he asked the younger elders who were present to always remember. It was
to the effect that men might be chosen to officiate as members of the Kingdom
of God who had no standing in the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter day Saints.
The Kingdom of God when established will not be for the protection of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints alone, but for the protection of
all men, whatever their religious views or opinions may be. Under its rule, no
one will be permitted to overstep the proper bounds or to interfere with the
rights of others.' * * *"
It
will be noted that Brigham Young makes the positive statement that the "Kingdom
of God is actually organized."
The
main feature of the organization of the kingdom with which we are familiar is
its legislative "Council of Fifty," a certain proportion of its personnel
comprising honorable men of the earth who are not identified with the Church.
This legislative body was known in the days of the Prophets Joseph Smith and
Brigham Young as the "Council of Fifty." (See History of the Church, Vol.
7:213, also 379--foot note, quoting Brigham Young as saying: "General Council
is the Council of Fifty.") It may well be understood that identified with
this legislative body, in the early days, were honest and honorable men, not
members of the Church, but rightful citizens of the Kingdom, who, as it was
their duty to do, championed the cause of the Church in the dark days of mob
violence and drivings.
An
item of history extracted from the journal of William Clayton, under date of
May 30, 1847, while the Pioneer camp was en route to the West, is enlightening,
as it reveals the names of some of the members of this "Council of
Fifty," and positively identifies them with the Kingdom of God organization.
We here quote the item referred to:
"Sunday
30 (May, 1847). The morning fair and somewhat more pleasant, although there is
yet appearance for more rain. I felt quite unwell through the night and also
this morning, having severe pain. At nine o'clock most of the brethren retired
a little south of the camp and had a prayer meeting, and so many as chose to
expressed their feelings. At a little
before twelve they met again in the same spot to partake of the sacrament. Soon
afterwards all members of the Council of the K. of G. (Kingdom of God) in camp,
except Brother Thomas Bullock, went onto the bluffs and selecting a small,
circular level spot surrounded by bluffs and out of sight, we clothed ourselves
in the priestly garment and offered up prayer to God for ourselves, this camp
and all pertaining to it, the brethren in the army, our families and all the
Saints, President Young being mouth. We all felt well and glad for this
privilege. The members of the above
council (were) Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, Orson Pratt,
George A. Smith, Wilford Woodruff, Amasa Lyman, Ezra T. Benson, Phineas H.
Young, John Pack, Charles Shumway, Shadrack Roundy, Albert P. Rockwood, Erastus
Snow, myself (William Clayton), Albert Carrington and Porter Rockwell. The two
latter having no clothing with them stood guard a little distance from us to
prevent interruption. * * *. (From William Clayton's Journal, Deseret News
Press, 1921, pp. 202-203.)
It
is to be regretted that the present Assistant Church Historian, in publishing
this same item of history in the Tribune, in the serial called "Day by Day
With the Utah Pioneers," now running, has assumed the right to so change
the original notes of William Clayton as to make it appear that the body of men
designated by William Clayton as the "Members of the Council of the K. of
G." (Kingdom of God) was in fact
the quorum of the "Twelve and some others"; thus obscuring an
important fact of history. Source information should be sacredly guarded. The
distortion and misleading changes referred to cannot be too severely condemned.
What purpose the Historian sought to achieve in effecting a substitution of the
Council of Twelve for the "Council of the K. of G." (clearly meaning
Kingdom of God) is not revealed. The notes of William Clayton do show
conclusively that the "Council of Fifty" comprised both members of
the Quorum of Twelve and other faithful brethren not prominent in any Church
office. This is also true, as hereafter shown, of accession to the higher
Council of the Priesthood--the "Council of the Presidency"—Gods direct
mouthpiece to earth--embracing brethren who were both officers in the Church
and members of the "Council of the Kingdom of God"--as many as three positions
to one person--all subordinate, however, to the Priesthood appointment.
The
Prophet Joseph Smith left much valuable information on this subject of the
Kingdom, which, together with copious comments of Elder B. H. Roberts, are
found in the "Rise and Fall of Nauvoo," by Roberts, pp. 177-182. Quoting
from pages 180-181, the authors comment:
"It
is evident from all this, that speaking broadly, with the Prophet the Kingdom
of God was the government of God on earth and in heaven--whether that
government was manifested through the authority of a single individual or a
complete system of ecclesiastical or national government. This is, however,
speaking broadly, not to say loosely; and in the same manner that the subject
is spoken of in holy scripture where the phrases Kingdom of God, Kingdom of
Heaven, the Church of Christ, Church of God, the Church, etc., are often used
interchangeably and indiscriminately to represent in a general way that divine
institution which God in whole or in part from time to time establishes to help
man in the matter of his salvation. But it is proper for the reader to know
that Joseph Smith when speaking strictly recognized a distinction between `the
Church of Jesus Christ' and the `Kingdom of God.' AND NOT ONLY A DISTINCTION
BUT A SEPARATION OF ONE FROM THE OTHER. The Kingdom of God according to his
teaching is to be a political institution that shall hold sway over all the
earth; to which all other Governments will be subordinate and by which they
will be dominated. Of this Kingdom Christ is the King; for He is to reign `King
of Kings' as well as `Lord of Lords.' While all governments are to be in subjection
to the Kingdom of God, it does not follow that all its members will be of one
religious faith. The Kingdom of God is not necessarily made up exclusively of
members of the Church of Christ. In fact the Prophet taught that men not
members of the Church could be not only members of that Kingdom, but also
officers within it. It is to grant the widest religious toleration, though
exacting homage and loyalty to its great Head, to its institutions, and
obedience to its laws.
"On
the other hand the Church of Christ is purely an ecclesiastical organization,
comprising within its membership only those who have embraced the Gospel of
Jesus Christ; who inwardly have accepted its principles in their faith, and
outwardly have received the rites and ceremonies it prescribes. Of this Church
Jesus Christ is the Head, since He is to be the `Lord of Lords' as well as
`King of Kings.' The Church is peculiarly Christ's. It bears His name. It is
composed of members who, while not behind others in doing Him homage, as the
head of the Kingdom of God, accept Him as more than the King of Kings--they
accept Him as Lord--as Lord of Lords, as Redeemer--Savior--God. But the Church
of Christ precious as it is; beloved by its great Head; in the harmony of it;
truth, perfect; in the beauty of its holiness, passing all praise in its power
of salvation, absolute--yet the Church of Christ will doubtless stand under the
protecting aegis of the Kingdom of God in common with other systems of
religion, enjoying only such rights as will be common to all. And while the
Church of Christ will enjoy to the full her privileges, promulgate her faith
without let or hindrance, make known the truth she holds and her saving grace
and power, and manage her own affairs--yet she will not usurp the prerogative
of the Kingdom of God, nor interfere with those outside the pale of her
jurisdiction--outside of her membership. Such, in substance, was the teaching
of the Prophet on this subject. Not publicly, or at least not very publicly,
but he taught the foregoing in the
counsels of the Priesthood as many testify, and EFFECTED AN ORGANIZATION as a
nucleus of the Kingdom above referred to of which some who were not in the
Church were members."
One
comment of Elder Roberts is entitled to further attention at this point. He
says:
"And
while the Church of Christ will enjoy to the full her privileges, promulgate
her faith without let or hindrance, make known the truth she holds and her
saving grace and power, and manage her
onto affairs--YET SHE WILL NOT USURP THE PREROGATIVE OF THE Kingdom of
God, nor interfere with those outside the pale of her jurisdiction--outside her
membership."
The
present leaders of the Church of Christ assume the position that many entering
the Patriarchal order of marriage since the Woodruff manifesto, have been
legally excommunicated from the Church and now stand wholly without the pale of
the Church. Assuming this to be true the jurisdiction of the Church there must
end; and if the Church were now guided aright it would not attempt to
"interfere with those outside the pale of her jurisdiction--outside her membership,"
as is the case today. In his letter to the author, President Grant said:
"These people (those entering into polygamy since the manifesto) to whom
you refer have no standing in the Church AND NEVER WILL HAVE AS LONG AS THEY
LIVE, IN TIME OR IN ETERNITY, unless they repent of their misdeeds." Then, if those entering into the Patriarchal
order of marriage since the manifesto, and who are alleged to have been handled
by the Church for their fellowship, have no standing in the Church (an
assumption, however, that we cannot admit), why pursue them further with a
vindictive hatred that only finds its parallel in the mob actions against the
Saints during the Missouri and Nauvoo days? Is it not clear that the once
persecuted has now turned persecutor? The present leaders have gone so far as
to have resolutions passed in the general conferences of the Church, pledging
its membership to this unhallowed work of persecuting those who are attempting,
in all sincerity and holiness, to live the Gospel as their fathers did, and as
God directed his children through the Prophet Joseph Smith to do. This is
clearly an attempted usurpation of powers not intended to be possessed by the
(church, the continued indulgence of which is bound to lead the Church into all
sorts of excesses and injustices. Let the Church confine its efforts, in
disciplining, to its acknowledged membership, leaving the civil authorities to
handle the law's infractions in accordance with its rights and powers, thus
relieving the Church of the unsavory work of trying to regulate the affairs of
the world. The Church should adhere closely to its eleventh Article of Faith, which
reads: "We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the
dictates of our own conscience, and ALLOW ALL MEN THE SAME PRIVILEGE, LET THEM
WORSHIP HOW, WHERE OR WHAT THEY MAY."
REVELATION
GIVEN THROUGH PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR
AT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH TERRITORY,
OCTOBER 13, 1882
GIVEN THROUGH PRESIDENT JOHN TAYLOR
AT SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH TERRITORY,
OCTOBER 13, 1882
Thus saith the Lord to the
Twelve, and to the Priesthood and people of my Church: Let my servants George
Teasdale and Heber J. Grant be appointed to fill the vacancies in the Twelve,
that you may be fully organized and prepared for the labors devolving upon you,
for you have a great work to perform; and then proceed to fill up the presiding
quorum of Seventies, and assist in organizing that body of my priesthood who
are your co-laborers in the ministry. You may appoint Seymour B. Young to fill
up the vacancy in the presiding quorum of Seventies, if he will conform to my
law; for it is not meet that men who will not abide my law shall preside over
my priesthood; and then proceed forthwith and call to your aid any assistance that
you may require from among the Seventies to assist you in your labors in
introducing and maintaining the gospel among the Lamanites throughout the land.
And then let High Priests be selected, under the direction of the First
Presidency, to preside over the various organizations that shall exist among
this people; that those who receive the gospel may be taught in the doctrines
of my Church and in the ordinances and laws thereof, and also in the things
pertaining to my Zion and my kingdom, saith the Lord, that they may be one with
you in my Church and my kingdom.
Let
the Presidency of my Church be one in all things; and let the Twelve also be
one in all things; and let them all be one with me, as I am one with the
Father.
And
let the High Priests organize themselves, and purify themselves, and prepare
themselves for this labor, and for all other labors that they may be called
upon to fulfill.
And
let the Presidents of Stakes also purify themselves, and the Priesthood and
people of the Stakes over which they preside, and organize the Priesthood in
their various Stakes according to my law, in all the various departments
thereof, in the High Councils, in the Elders' quorums, and in the Bishops and
their councils, and in the quorums of Priests, Teachers and Deacons, that every
quorum may be fully organized according to the order of my Church; and, then,
let them inquire into the standing and fellowship of all that hold my Holy
Priesthood in their several Stakes; and if they find those that are unworthy let
them remove them, except they repent; for my Priesthood, whom I have called and
whom I have sustained and honored, shall honor me and obey my laws, and the
laws of my Holy Priesthood, or they shall not be considered worthy to hold my
Priesthood, saith the Lord. And let my Priesthood humble themselves before me,
and seek not their own will but my will; for if my Priesthood, whom I have
chosen, and called, and endowed with the spirit and gifts of their several
callings, and with the powers thereof, do not acknowledge me I will not
acknowledge them, saith the Lord; for I will be honored and obeyed by my
Priesthood.
And,
then, I call upon my Priesthood, and upon all of my people, to repent of all
their sins and shortcomings, of their covetousness and pride and self-will, and
of all their iniquities wherein they sin against me; and to seek with all
humility to fulfill my law, as my Priesthood, my Saints and my people; and I
call upon the heads of families to put their houses in order according to the
law of God, and attend to the various duties and responsibilities associated
therewith, and to purify themselves before me, and to purge out iniquity from
their households. And I will bless and be with you, saith the Lord, and ye
shall gather together in your Holy places wherein ye assemble to call upon me,
and ye shall ask for such things as are right, and I will hear your prayers,
and my spirit and power shall be with you, and my blessing shall rest upon you,
upon your families, your dwellings and your households, upon your flocks and
herds and fields, your orchards and vineyards, and upon all that pertains to
you; and you shall be my people and I will be your God; and your enemies shall
not have dominion over you, for I will preserve you and confound them, saith
the Lord, and they shall not have power nor dominion over you; for my word
shall go forth, and my work shall be accomplished, and my Zion shall be
established, and my rule and my power and my dominion shall prevail among my
people, and all nations shall yet acknowledge me. Even so. Amen.
—COMMENTARY—
ON
T H E 1 8 8 2
R E V E L A T I O N
The 1882 revelation was published in early European editions
of the Doctrine & Covenants, and this revelation was given only eight years
prior to the Church issuing the Manifesto of 1890, and begin her efforts to
abandon the practice of Celestial Plural Marriage within her ranks. Ironically enough, the Lord told Seymour B.
Young that he needed to conform to His law.
What law would the Lord require His servants in presiding positions
live? “You may appoint Seymour B. Young
to fill up the vacancy in the presiding quorum of Seventies, if he will conform to my law; for it is
not meet that men who will not abide my law shall preside over my priesthood…”
The Lord throughout the Doctrine & Covenants often
refers to a Law, and the conditions wherein one must follow to receive the
blessings. D&C 41:4: “…and ye shall
see my law is kept.”
And, “Zion cannot be built up unless it is by the principles
of the law of the celestial kingdom;
otherwise I cannot receive her unto myself.”
(D&C 105:5).
And, “There is a law,
irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which
all blessings are predicated—
“And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by
obedience to that law upon which it
is predicated.” (D&C 130:20-21)
And in Section 132:21, the Lord is saying, “Verily, verily,
I say unto you, except ye abide my law
ye cannot attain to this glory.”
And, “Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter
ye into my law and ye shall be
saved.” (D&C 132:32).
At the time the 1882 revelation had been given, Seymour B.
Young had not entered into the Principle of Celestial Plural Marriage, hence,
the Law of Celestial Plural
Marriage. The Lord was very clear that
if he did not submit to the law, he
would be removed from the presidency of the Seventy. Section 132 is all about the reward of
fulfilling the law and the penalties
for not fulfilling the law.
Often today, members of the Church erroneously believe that
if they go to the temple and have their marriage there, they have fulfilled the
law.
But that is not so! The Lord
throughout that section tells us that if we do not adhere to the conditions
Abraham lived in his lifetime (CPM), then we cannot expect to receive the same
blessings as he did, nor be with him in the Celestial Kingdom, if we do not
live this way today.
“And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even
the law of Christ, must inherit
another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial
kingdom.
“For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.” (D&C 88:20-21).
The Law of
Celestial Plural Marriage is the New & Everlasting Covenant, and all those
unto whom this Law is revealed,
“must obey the same. For behold, I
reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that
covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be
permitted to enter into my glory.”
(D&C 132:3-4).
The directions and conditions here are expediently implicit,
and a requirement all those desiring to attain celestial glory and, literally,
godhood, must obey and live in our own lifetime.
“Then shall they be gods, because they have no end;
therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue;
then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have
all power, and the angels are subject unto them.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this
glory.” (D&C 132:20-21).
There is no short-cut to the Celestial Kingdom. There is no other way to achieve the highest
of exaltation, and that is by adhering to the conditions and stipulations the
Lord has lined out in this section. If
one doesn’t follow the provisions, then we ourselves limit our own progression.
“But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father, which he made unto
Abraham.
“God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to
wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other
things, the promises.
“Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord,
commanded it.” (D&C 132:33-35)
E
D I T
O R I
A L
It
is the practice of this publication to accept articles authored by some of its
readers, as well as opposite viewpoints, providing they are in good taste. The foundation of this publication is to
perpetuate the Fulness of the Gospel as revealed by the Prophet Joseph Smith,
Jr. This Editorial is in response to the
article published in the last issue, “The Fullness of the Keys of the Kingdom,”
15-01:11.
—Associate Editor—
Response to the article
in the last TNC entitled The Fullness of the Keys of the Kingdom.
While there are many good and uplifting
sentiments in the fore mentioned article it is important to examine it in light
of principles revealed through the prophet Joseph Smith, and others of the
servants of God through the ages. As the
Church of Jesus Christ and The Kingdom of God were to be established in our
day, The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, we must consider all principles
pertaining thereto and evaluate them through the revealed word of God. If we show that the information contained in
said article is true, we are duty bound to follow its precepts, and if contrary
to the truth, we are duty bound to follow the truth.
In his treatise the author of the
article explains the importance of studying and understanding Isaiah, for that
book is the key to “…unlock the entire volume of scriptures and open to us a
scene of Israel from its inception to the final winding up scene…” He further prompts us that “…specifically in
Isaiah, we discover that the Lord has given mankind various ‘sets of keys’ by
which to govern His kingdom and bless His people Israel.” They are 3 sets as follows: 1) The Keys of Authority to Perform the
Ordinances of the Gospel. 2) The Keys to
Lead the People. 3) The Keys of Torah.
Let us analyze each set individually and determine whether
or not they fall within the guidelines established by the prophet Joseph and
his successors in the priesthood. The
author makes several points to show his position in relation to each of these
sets of keys and in so doing promotes his views to present himself as one who
knows, perhaps one who is endowed with the third set of keys herein stated.
1) The
Keys of Authority to Perform the Ordinances of the Gospel. In this he states that; A) these keys are
conveyed from one man to another and this pattern was established since the
time of Adam. B) They give man authority
to perform the established ordinances for others only. C)
They are subject to the one who holds the Keys to Lead the People. D)
They can organize no groups or church.
E) They are the keys given to
those entrusted by John Taylor to keep alive the principle of Celestial Plural
Marriage as per the 1886 revelation.
2) The
Keys to Lead the People. A) These are given directly by God and he who is
so chosen is heralded by signs and wonders from heaven so that the Lord’s
people know he is empowered to lead them in the way of life and salvation. B) He
has authority over those who have the authority to perform ordinances.
3) The
Keys of Torah. A) Are given as a gift directly from God and not
from another man. B) This is when a man ascends to the status of
gospel scholar and can teach and inform others.
C) He is given revelation to see
patterns and to see the future. C) He
takes on the mind of God because he studies how God thinks. D) Has no authority to administer ordinances
or lead the people. E) Has the authority from God to share the
scriptures on any particular gospel subject.
It would be very tedious to treat
these sets of keys, elucidating each point separately, when a general exposé will suffice, only
occasionally touching upon the more crucial.
First, let us make it clear that we live in the Dispensation of the
Fullness of Times when all principles come together in one for the last time. The highest authority and all
the keys of priesthood pertaining to us were dispensed from heaven and given to
Joseph Smith never to be taken again from the earth. How, then, is it possible for he who is
chosen to lead the people, to open the heavens and receive the keys afresh
heralded by signs and wonders? It would
make a mockery of the restitution of all things. It would require another dispensation or
restoration, and clearly departs from the truth as it has been directed. “The Lord Almighty…will continue to preserve
me…until I have fully established my mission in this life, and so firmly
established the dispensation of the fullness of the priesthood in
the last days, that all the powers of earth and hell can never prevail against
it.” Joseph Smith Jr., 1842 (History of
the Church,5:139-40)
Our author, though well meaning,
has erred again in his report by suggesting that “ … no authority or a fullness
of keys is centered in one man or group of men, thus mitigating against
dictatorship in the Kingdom of God and therefore, promoting free agency and a
mutual dependency on one another to fully pursue the building of the
Kingdom.”
Such has never been taught from
the restoration of the gospel till now.
“I know that there are those in our midst who will seek the lives of the
Twelve as they did the lives of Joseph and Hyrum. We shall ordain others and give
the fullness of the priesthood, so that if we are killed the fullness of the
priesthood may remain.” Brigham Young
(History of the Church, 7:230)
The fact is that many have
received a fullness of priesthood keys with authority to perpetuate the same
and this helps insure that the keys continue until Christ comes. A question of dictatorship is never a
concern with the reception of these blessings because those who receive them
are strictly governed by the scriptures and the laws of God. The revelations must apply to them as they
apply to all men and they are subject to the Law every bit as much. The fear of being trampled upon vanquishes
faith and ultimately drives men to relinquish blessings they might otherwise
receive. Proper judgment, in the case of
usurpation of authority, secures the blessings of justice for those wrongfully
dealt with. No man is justified in
tyranny and will surely reap a harsh reward for so acting.
When one receives the Fullness of
Priesthood, he does so on two levels: 1)
He is ordained by an authorized man to obtain all that that man himself has,
including the Apostleship. 2) That which
he has received from the authorized man is than confirmed upon him by the
Father and the Son through his faithfulness and diligence. Level # 2 is where that person’s Calling and
Election is made sure and it is said that he is then made one with the Father
and the Son and the General Assembly of the Firstborn. Joseph Smith described aptly this process
when he said, “…There are signs in heaven, earth and hell; the Elders must know
them all, to be endowed with power, to finish their work and prevent
imposition. The devil knows many signs,
but does not know the sign of the Son of Man, or Jesus. No man can truly say he knows God until he
has handled something and this can only be in the Holy of Holies.” Joseph Smith, May 1842 (History of the Church,
Vol 4:608)
When the writer of the article
asserts that no man or set of men holds the fullness of keys, but later
refers to the “ … one man who is charged to lead
the people and has been given keys and authority…”, it baffles the mind and
leaves one wondering in utter confusion.
In another paragraph he refers to one man-ism or few men-ism
as one of the signs of apostasy, and yet one cannot escape the
harrowing thought that the “…one man who is charged to lead the people
and has been given keys and authority…” could very well fill the billing for
the “one man” who comes under this sign of apostasy. We leave the reader to sort out these obvious
contradictions.
In one paragraph the author
references the little apostate offshoots of Mormonism which suggests to
the mind that because of their small numbers and separation from others they
could not possibly possess keys of authority and function outside of the Church
or one of the larger groups. He also
impugns the character of such as may reside with this small offshoot because
they study intently the restored gospel and feel “superior” and then implies
that they or he will begin to style themselves or himself as the One mighty
and Strong holding the fullness of keys.
These sentiments are fraught with judgment and the contributor of them
appears to style himself as the ultimate authority on the
subject.
Having broached the subject of
the One Mighty and Strong, a brief review of its application to our discussion
will be highly beneficial. Section 85 of
the D&C promises that the Lord will send “…one mighty and strong, holding
the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose
mouth shall utter words, eternal words;
while his bowels shall be a fountain of truth, to set in order the house
of God,…”. We don’t have to stretch far
to conclude that if the house of God needs to be set in order, it must be out
of order. Let us now then examine the
particulars of this issue.
In Truth 9:115-119,
Joseph Musser defines the one mighty and strong who is coming (…“holding the
scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering, whose mouth
shall utter words, eternal words; while
his bowels shall be a fountain of truth.”) to be none other than the Prophet
Joseph Smith. A further look shows that
the terms scepter of power, light for a covering, whose mouth shall utter
eternal words and whose bowels shall be a fountain of truth “… doubtless
describes an immortal and resurrected being.”.
He also shows that Orson Pratt opines that this should be the case when
he said, speaking of Joseph Smith “…we still were in hopes that he would live
and that he would be the man who, like Moses, would lead the people from
bondage. I do not know but what he will yet. God’s arm is not shortened that He cannot
raise him up even from the tomb. We are
living in the dispensation of the fullness of times, the dispensation of the
resurrection,”. Jay Golden Kimball
acknowledged to Joseph Musser that the Church was out of order and that “ it
would take someone mighty and strong to set it back in order, we cant do it.”
No specific mention has been made
in the article about the need to embrace the law of plurality or celestial
plural marriage in order for a man to hold and administer in the fullness of
keys. So much has already been expounded
upon this subject that perhaps it may seem redundant. However, it should be pointed out that it is
an absolute requirement and has been expounded from the beginning of the
dispensation. We cannot pass it by. No power will be given any man who claims to
hold the fullness of keys and fails to live that law.
One short word needs to be said
on organizing “new churches” or forming a “group”. Though many people may want to do so, our
position is clear that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints is the
true church and will remain on the earth through the millennium. The fullness
of priesthood will also remain upon the earth, though presently independent
from the church. We claim to be members
of the church and, as such, have no disposition to organize another church. It would be in opposition to the will of God
and contradictory to the precepts of the restored gospel. We do claim, however, the propriety of
gathering with those of like mind if they so desire. To organize within that
gathering is acceptable and in no way undermines the church or the priesthood
for “where two or more are gathered in my name there I will be also.”
As for the keys of Torah, it
becomes problematic to say that one man has the ascension over another and is
called of God to become a “Gospel Scholar” and knows more about the mind and
thoughts of God than any one else who is a diligent seeker of truth. The Lord places the conditions upon man by
which he ascends unto God and receives of His glory. “He that keepeth his (Gods) commandments receiveth
truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things.”
(D&C 93: 28).
The last item to be touched upon
is the idea that those who received special callings from John Taylor to keep
the principle of plural marriage alive never had authority to do anything
else. In taking this stand it must be
considered that, when the one who called them died, their authority to act also
died with him. There are two ways that
the before referred to men could function after the death of he who called
them: 1) They could function under the
presidency of others who followed John Taylor.
2) They could operate under their own authority had they received a
fullness and none of the ensuing presidents
acknowledged them.
It is believed that John W. Wooley
and Lorin Wooley held the fullness but one would be hard pressed to find a
record of them passing those keys on to others.
With that in mind, we have certain understanding that those men acted
under the Presidents of the Church up Through Joseph F. Smith. All of those presidents held the fullness and
with the exception of Joseph F. Smith they received it directly from Joseph
Smith Jr. Joseph Musser on the other
hand came on the scene after the original 5 men were called by John
Taylor. His was a unique
circumstance.
Joseph Musser received the
fullness of priesthood, upon condition, at the hands of Lorenzo Snow, fifth
president of the church. We can surmise
that after the death of Lorin Wooley, Joseph Musser was the only one of Council
of Friends who actually held the fullness of keys. If it was given to others, the record is not
clear. In 1953 Joseph Musser passed
those keys on to others. Now the church
may have passed the keys along, but, because of the changing of ordinances and
the failure of the church to keep alive the law of celestial plural marriage it
has failed to secure the blessings of the fullness of keys to itself.
In conclusion, various men hold
the fullness of keys as has been passed on from the time of Joseph Smith Jr.
never to again be taken from the earth.
There is vomit on all tables presupposing a need for a setting in
order. This setting in order will begin
at the house of the Lord with the prophet Joseph Smith as the One Mighty and
Strong to implement that requirement. Men
according to their faithfulness are always called to receive as much as they
are able to bare, even a fullness of priesthood, and God withholds nothing from
them that they are worthy to obtain. It
is my solemn hope and prayer that the floodgates of truth open up to the
inquiring minds and that misconceptions and deviations from the revealed word
of God find no footholds in us.
Your fellow Servant
Fruitful & Multiplying?
In January of this year, we were witness to a new federal
rule, which required faith-based employers to provide birth-control and
reproductive services within their health care coverage. This enactment has stirred quite a debate
between pro-life and pro-choice proponents.
Many feel their First Amendment rights have been violated with this
rule, while the opponents laud this decision.
But the position led by many Catholic priests across our
country is admirable; they have urged their parishioners to oppose this
rule. One of the first commandments
given to our parents in the Garden of Eden, was to be fruitful and multiply
and to replenish the earth, while that of the adversary has always been to
limit, to tear down, to destroy, and to force upon others by compulsion, his
will.
This rule is adversarial in many regards and Saints of God
should oppose it. We all have our
agency, for that was the premise ofChrist’s Plan of Salvation—we have free
will, and are left to our own decision-making within our own lives, and we’ll
be judged according to our works and actions.
It is an abomination to have anything forced upon us.
Please write to your Congressman or
Representative to abolish this Luciferian rule.
|
THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORD'S SUPPER
Joseph E. Taylor
18 November 1894
18 November 1894
The Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper is, to my mind, one of the most sacred ordinances that is given to us in
this dispensation. I have thought, upon
many occasions, and my thoughts have been the result of close observation, that
there are many persons in the various congregations that assemble on the Sabbath
day in these sacramental meetings who do not seem to attach that importance to
this sacred ordinance that belongs to it.
You and I, in consequence of the Fall were temporally and spiritually
dead, and unless a Redeemer had been provided for us, I might say we were
hopelessly lost, temporally and spiritually.
The full effect of the Fall has, probably, never been made
manifest. But we know enough to satisfy
our mind that the Fall was complete. It
was a fall in entirety; it was going below all things; it was a desert in other
words, below all things; for it is said of Jesus, in taking upon himself
humanity, that he descended below all things in order that he might rise above
all things. Consequently, if this was
the case with the Son of God, whom we all consider to be pure, certainly it
must be the case with us, for we have descended in our mortality as low as
Jesus did. And He descended below all
things in order to bring us up and out from our low fallen condition.
The
Savior of the world, when ministering to the Nephites upon this continent,
after His resurrection, and when he had called the Twelve Apostles, or His
Disciples, as they are termed in the record, and had taught the assembled
multitude the principles of the Gospel, and given much valuable instruction
concerning the other branches of the House of Israel, He commanded the
multitude that they should sit down upon the ground. Probably it will be better if I read that
portion of the history, so that I make no misquotation. The record reads:
And
it came to pass that Jesus commanded His Disciples that they should bring forth
some bread and wine unto Him.
And
while they were gone for the bread and wine, he commanded the multitude that
they should sit themselves down upon the earth.
And when the
Disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread, and brake it; and
he gave unto the Disciples, and commanded that they should eat.
And
when they had eaten, and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto
the multitude.
And
when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the Disciples,
behold there shall be one ordained among you, and to him will I give power that
he shall break bread, and bless it, and give it unto the people of My church,
unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in My name.
And
this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken
bread, and blessed it, and gave it unto you.
And
this shall you do in remembrance of My body, which I have shown unto you.
And
it shall be a testimony unto the Father, that ye do always remember Me.
And
if ye do always remember Me, ye shall have My spirit to be with you.
And
it came to pass that when He had said these words, He commanded His disciples
that they should take of the wine of the cup, and drink of it, and that they
should also give unto the multitude, that they might drink of it.
And
it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it, and were filled; and
they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they were filled.
And
when the disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them, blessed are ye for this
thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling My commandments, and this doth
witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded
you.
And
this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in My name; and ye
shall do it in remembrance of My blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may
witness unto the Father that ye do always remember Me. And if ye do always remember Me, ye shall
have My spirit to be with you (III Nephi xviii:1-11).
In
the twentieth chapter of the same Third Book of Nephi, we find the following:
And
He commanded that they should arise and stand upon their feet. And they arose and stood up upon their feet.
And
it came to pass that He break bread again, and blessed it, and gave to the
disciples to eat.
And
when they had eaten, He commanded them that they should break bread, and give
unto the multitude.
And
when they had given unto the multitude, He also gave them wine to drink, and
commanded them that they should give unto the multitude. Now there had been no bread, neither wine,
brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude.
But
He truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink;
And He said unto them,
he that eateth this bread, eateth of My body to his soul, and he that drinketh
of this wine, drinketh of My blood to his soul, and his soul shall never hunger
nor thirst, but shall be filled.
Now
when the multitude had all eaten and drunk, behold they were filled with the
Spirit, and they did cry out with one voice, and gave glory to Jesus, whom they
both saw and heard.
In
passing, I desire to make mention of one little matter that has been a subject
of some discussion by some individual members of the Church, and it has been
reported to me that the matter has been discussed in meetings of the quorums of
the priesthood, and that is, the mode of administering the sacrament. The contention on the part of some has been
very strong indeed, that the whole congregation should kneel when the prayer is
offered for the consecration of the bread, and also when the prayer is offered
for the consecration of the water--for we use water in place of wine. Now, if you notice the first time that Jesus
administered the bread and wine to the disciples and to the multitude, He
commanded that they should sit down upon the ground, and the next time He
administered the bread and wine, He commanded that they should stand upon their
feet. I presume both of these positions
of the body were acceptable to the Lord, and I imagine that it is not so much
the position of the body as it is the worthiness of the individual to partake
of the ordinance. But we have a great
many brethren in the Church who are very technical on certain points, and who
harp upon these technicalities to the disturbance of many individuals who are
perfectly willing to remain satisfied with the examples that have been set in
the Church by the highest authorities. I
recollect the question being once asked in a priesthood meeting if anybody knew
a time when Joseph, the Prophet, desired the people to kneel before partaking
of the sacrament. There were many
persons in the audience who were well acquainted with Joseph--well acquainted
with the Church from its earliest organization, but there was not one
individual that remembered that during the days of Joseph, when he presided
over the meetings of the congregations of the Saints, the people were asked to
kneel. The question was then asked if
any person recollected during the presidency of President Young that he
commanded or desired the people to kneel when the sacrament was being
administered; no response; nobody could recollect, and yet we find in the
revelations of the Lord to us that the party administering the sacrament shall
"kneel with the Church and call upon the Father in solemn
prayer." I want my young brethren
and sisters to notice this phraseology, "in solemn prayer,
saying"--then follows the prayer that has been revealed by the revelation
of God for us to offer for the consecration of the bread and the water. If I am not mistaken, the rule has now been
established, and the word has been given through the highest authority, that
the individuals who shall administer, or, in other words, the individuals who
shall break the bread and bless it, and the individuals who shall pour out the
water and bless it, shall kneel at the time they offer the prayer. I will make one remark on this occasion
tonight, by way of suggestion, that when there are two, which is generally the
case, to administer the bread and water, or, in other words, to prepare the
bread and water for the sacrament, no matter whether they carry them or not,
let these two kneel conjointly together--the one that is not mouth kneeling
with his brother who asks the blessing upon either the bread or the water. I think this is proper seeing that they are
acting conjointly.
Some
years ago in one of the wards of this stake, though remote from this city, we
were holding a ward conference. The
meeting house was packed. It was rather small to begin with, although perhaps
large enough for ordinary occasions. The
bishop had inaugurated the system--he was technical upon the point--of having
the people kneel at the time the bread and water was blessed, and I noticed a
terrible confusion during the blessing of the bread. The people were packed in the house almost
like sardines in a box, and to get down on their knees, and to relieve
themselves from that position, created, as I have said, a vast amount of
confusion. I suggested to the bishop to
have the congregation seated while the blessing was being asked on the water,
and have the brethren who were administering the sacrament kneel. I am satisfied in my own mind that this was
correct under the circumstances. And by
the way, there was another thing very distasteful to me. The floor was very dirty, and consequently a
great deal of dust attached to the dresses of the people. If we must kneel we certainly ought to have a
floor that is sufficiently clean upon which to kneel with some degree of
satisfaction, and not have our minds charged with the thought that in kneeling
we are injuring our dresses.
I
speak of these things because there has been a tendency in the minds of a great
many persons to be captious in regard to this matter, and there are a great
many individuals who confine themselves so radically to the written word that
they will not allow one particle of variation.
We will find, however, many circumstances in which we will be placed
when the written word will hardly seem to apply, and while there may be no
change from the spirit of the written word, yet the written word itself may not
be carried out.
I
presume the Latter-day Saints have heard President Taylor tell the story that
during the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith the latter called upon President
Taylor, Orson Hyde and some others to write a constitution for the Church. Having received the appointment they applied
themselves diligently to frame the instrument, and from time to time they
reported to one another and compared notes.
But there was always something that could not be accepted, could not be
passed upon. Brother Joseph, after a
while, asked, "Well, Brother Taylor, have you got that constitution
prepared?" "No,
sir." "What is the
reason?" "Because we cannot
write it; we cannot agree upon the constitution." "Well," said Joseph, "I knew
you could not. Ye are my
constitution--as Twelve Apostles--ye are the living oracles." That is what he meant. "The word of the Lord shall proceed from
you, and that, too, in keeping with the circumstances and conditions of the
people, and you shall have the inspiration of Almighty God given to you to give
counsel suited to them." Now, what
about the written word? Shall we ignore
it? Shall we pass it by as a thing of no
value to us whatever? Or shall we retain
it, read it, and commit it to memory, and above all things become possessed of
the spirit underlying the written word.
Take, for instance, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. I would that the Latter-day Saints were
posted today as to the reasons why the Lord gave these revelations. There is a reason for everyone. There is a circumstance that did or was about
to exist that made the revelation a necessity.
There are revelations that are given to individual persons. There are revelations that are given to
branches of the church. There are
revelations that are given to the whole church.
There are revelations that are given revealing some portions of the
hidden things of God. There is a
revelation revealing the mysteries, we might say in this connection, of the
celestial, terrestial and telestial worlds, and, also, in the same revelation,
there is considerable said in regard to those individuals who have placed
themselves outside of the pale of any degree of salvation-- sons of perdition,
for whom no ordinance can be administered--individuals who have placed
themselves by their acts beyond the reach of salvation. You take this revelation, for instance,
pertaining to the glories of the celestial, terrestial and telestial worlds,
and let many individuals read it carefully and seek to mature ideas that come
to their mind in connection with this revelation. You ask these individuals their opinion upon
this, that and the other passage, and I guarantee to tell you that there will
be a vast variety of ideas upon that written word, a vast difference in
conception. And now, mind you, while
these individuals may be more or less possessed of the spirit of the Almighty,
yet is it not possible that a man might err even upon the written word? Ask yourself the question. Is it not possible that you and I may place a
wrong construction upon the revelations of Almighty God? Do brethren vary in opinion belonging to the
same quorum, to the same organization, vary in their opinion upon points of
doctrine? Why, yes; and they vary very
largely and very widely, and in some instances I have found that one individual
is the very antipodes of another, so far apart are they in their ideas. Does that change the spirit of the
revelation? Not by any means. What is the reason of this diversity of
thought and opinion and construction?
Simply the fact that we have not grasped the real truth underlying the
revelation. And yet these men are good
men, useful men, men full of zeal and intelligence, and full of faith in
God. The sick may be healed under their
hands, the power of God may be manifested in them, and yet they may err in
judgment in trying to conceive the proper and correct idea upon points of
doctrine which God himself has revealed.
You come to the principle of baptism, however, and there is no question
about that. And why? Can you answer? You Sabbath school scholars, can you answer
why there is no difference of opinion in regard to the ordinance of
baptism? Simply because we all partake
of it, we all experience it, we all pass through it. When you come to grasp the eternal things
that God, to a certain extent, has revealed in order to give us some light upon
things pertaining to eternity, that is another thing. You and I have not passed through it, and
consequently we must reach out to gain a conception, and according to our
capacity to conceive, so are we satisfied in our mind. We talk upon this subject, on that subject,
and we shall find our brother varying from us in ideas, and yet he is a good
brother. When you and I have passed
through death, when we have had our bodies called forth from the tomb, when our
spirits shall become united with these tabernacles, when you and I shall be
celestialized we will know something about celestial glory, it will not be
merely conjecture. We will understand by
actual experience, and there will be no difference of opinion whatever.
But
to return to our subject, the Sacrament of the Lord's supper. At what period of the world's history this
ordinance was first revealed and practiced among the people I cannot say. There is just one simple mention I find in
the Bible that would seem to carry the idea that probably this ordinance was
instituted and practiced by the people at an early day, but this is not
established as a fact. When Abraham had
been to rescue his kinsman Lot, and he was returning from the slaughter of the
kings--for he had rescued Lot, and it is very certain many of the kings had
been slain--Melchisedek, the king of Salem, met Abraham in the valley of
Shareh. This Melchisedek was a mighty
man, a man who was recognized by heaven as worthy to have the priesthood of God
called after his name, for up to that time it had been called after the Son of
God. We read that Melchisedek brought
forth bread and wine and blessed Abraham in the name of the most high God. In what manner that bread and wine was
administered history is silent, and this is the only instance to be found in
King James' translation, that I am aware of, where a reference is made to bread
and wine alone being given until the days of the Savior. Certain it is that when Melchisedek brought
forth bread and wine it was given to Abraham and his followers, whether in the
shape of a sacrament I cannot say. But
Jesus inaugurated this sacred ordinance first in Palestine; afterwards among
the people of Nephi upon this Continent after His resurrection, and to the
ordinance he attached the greatest importance.
I made the remark some time ago that you and I were temporally and
spiritually dead, temporally and spiritually lost; we needed a Savior, we
needed somebody to atone for the wrong that had been done, and place us in a
position whereby we could pass to our redemption and inherit glory. That being was found in the person of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten of the Father, according to this
flesh, called by a great many names--chosen above all other individual spirits
or persons in the eternal world, before the earth was formed or had an
existence; for the whole plan of redemption pertaining to this earth was
discussed, was arranged, shall I use the word ordained? Everything pertaining to the redemption and
final exaltation of man in view of the Fall was arranged in the eternal world
in the councils of the Gods, and Jesus, of all the rest of the spirits, was the
one chosen to perform the work of redemption, to suffer and die and pass to His
resurrection and in this manner atone for the sin of our first parents--Adam
and Mother Eve. To Him was given the
keys pertaining to the gospel, which gospel was taught to man in order that he
might observe certain laws, and receive certain ordinances. It is recorded of Lucifer, the son of the
morning--unquestionably a being of noble origin; for we can readily imagine he
must have been a being of noble origin, when, standing in the presence of the
Gods, he dared to offer himself as a savior.
That he said: "Here am I, send
me." "What will you
do?" "I understand that
redemption, though provided so extensively, is not to affect all, that all will
not be saved. My proposition is that I
will save all." "Upon what principle?" "I will compel individuals to do what is
right; and none will be lost." This
interfered with the agency of man, a cardinal principle pertaining to this
earth, as well as all worlds--a principle that always did exist, always will,
for the simple reason we have no use for the man that is compelled to do
right. What could the Father do with
such individuals if they were to come into His presence and presume to inherit
His glory? Would he find rebellion
there? Yes. Would there be a disposition to rise in
mutiny? Yes. To unnecessarily discuss questions? Yes.
To produce confusion? Yes. It would require an army to keep them right
after you had saved them. What use have
you for such characters as these? None
whatever, much less the Father. The
individual who reaches a condition of glory and exaltation, who will sit upon a
throne and be possessed of dominion and power, must be one who voluntarily
subscribed to all the laws of God, and willingly assumed all the
responsibilities of his own acts; who, in the midst of evil and other ordeals
of severe trial, came through unharmed.
No
individual person will inherit glory unless he is tried and has proven himself
worthy of that glory. I will not say
that trials will not await us in future conditions as well as in the past. I cannot tell the amount of labor that will
have to be expended to bring back the human family to its true condition. How much influence was brought to bear upon
the evil one to humble himself before the Father is a question. But he continued to rebel, and the heavens
had to interfere. Michael and his hosts
fought, and the result was that a third part of the hosts of heaven was cast
down to earth. If they had not rebelled
they would have had the privilege of taking their position legitimately as it
was designed they should. But they
placed themselves outside of that privilege because of that rebellion, and they
were thrust to earth, and when Adam came he found the evil one in the Garden of
Eden, a pure place, without corruption of any kind, in the shape of a serpent,
using all the philosophy and probably sophistry with Mother Eve upon the
occasion that is mentioned in the Scripture.
Do you suppose that that individual, the Son of the Morning, had he been
permitted to come to the earth, could have passed through the ordeals that the
Savior did, the being that yielded to His Father, listened to His Father, that
sat, shall we say, upon the lips of His Father, and when it came to the last
agonies in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He knew that His time had come, when
He asked that the cup might pass from Him because of the agonies of His
physical body, sweating great drops of blood--tell me, I say, if you think that
the enemy of righteousness, the person possessed of wicked ambition, could have
passed the ordeal the Savior did?
Never. What did He do? He took upon Himself your sins and mine, and
the sins of millions and billions and trillions of beings that have existed or
will exist. He bore the burden Himself,
and if He had not done so you and I were lost forever. What else did He do? He preserved His body so pure, by observing
the laws of God, that He had power to come forth on the third day, having
conquered everything pertaining to death and the devil.
Now,
then, do you see any philosophy in this sacred ordinance of the sacrament? Are there any reasons that come to your mind
why we should partake of the emblems representing the body and blood of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, in all solemnity, in solemn prayer saying: "O, God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee
in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the
souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the
body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O, God, the Eternal Father, that they
are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember Him and
keep His commandments, which He has given them, that they may always have His
Spirit to be with them. Amen." In remembrance of what? The bread representing the body, and when it
comes to the water, in remembrance of the blood that was shed. In partaking of this ordinance our minds
should not wander in every direction until we simply partake of the bread and
water mechanically. What follows this
ordinance? What is embodied in this
prayer? You partake of the ordinance in
order that His Spirit may be with you.
You cannot have spiritual life without it. You show me a person who from Sabbath to
Sabbath, month to month, and year to year, absents himself from these sacred
meetings of the Latter-day Saints, and I will show you a man from whom the
Spirit of the Lord will be taken and he will become spiritually dead. Do you believe it? It seems to lay at the very foundation of
your spiritual life and mine. We
sometimes are careless in partaking of this ordinance. I have seen sisters partake of it in the
congregations of the Saints with gloved fingers. In this connection I have thought of the
saying of the angel that spoke to Moses:
"Take thy shoes from thy feet and do not desecrate this ground, for
it is holy." Excuse me, sisters, if
I talk plainly upon this subject, but I feel all I say. I recollect when the matter of administering
the sacrament in Sunday Schools was first mentioned, some Bishops stood out
against it--Bishop Woolley, of the Thirteenth ward, for one. What was the reason? He was afraid the children would not
recognize its sanctity. I could
appreciate his thought. I mention this
to ask my brethren and sisters of the Sunday School, if they seek to impress
upon the children the sanctity of this ordinance. If you have not done it sufficiently to
satisfy your feelings in the past, I ask you to make an extra effort in the
future.
The
speaker then dwelt upon the observance of the Sabbath day; upon the simple
language used in the revelations of God to man; upon the power of prayer and
the answering thereof in the due time of the Lord, and concluded by urging the
Saints to submit in all things to the will of the Father.
The Rules of the Kingdom
(From Truth Never Changes, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1995)
1.
The Council is
convened and organized by the President of the Church, subject to the rules of
the Kingdom of God. He is elected
standing chairman upon the convening of the Council.
2.
Members of the Council sit according to age,
except the chairman.
3.
According to the order of voting in the Council,
a recorder and a clerk of the Kingdom are elected. The clerk takes the minutes of the meeting
and the recorder enters the approved minutes into the official records of the
Kingdom. They are voting members, though
they do not occupy a seat in the circle.
4.
All motions are presented to the Council by or
through the standing chairman. All
motions must be submitted in writing.
5.
To pass, a motion must be unanimous in the
affirmative. Voting is done after the
ancient order: each person voting in turn from the oldest to the youngest
member of the Council, commencing with the standing chairman. If any Council member has any objections he
is under covenant and freely make them known to the Council. But if he cannot be convinced of the
rightness of the course pursued by the Council he must either yield or withdraw
membership in the Council. Thus a man
will lose his place in the Council if he refuses to act in accordance with
righteous principles in the deliberations of the Council. After action is taken and a motion accepted,
no fault will be found or change sought for in regard to the motion.
6.
Before a man can be accepted as a member of the
Council his name must be presented to the members and voted upon unanimously in
the affirmative. When invited into the
Council he must covenant by uplifted hand to maintain all things of the Council
inviolate agreeable to the order of the Council. Before he accepts his seat he must agree to
accept the name, constitution, and rules of order and conduct of the
Council.
7.
No member is to be absent from any meeting
unless sick or on Council business. If
this were not the case, rule five could be invoked to invalidate any action of
the Council.
8.
A member can be assigned to only one committee
of the Council at a time.
9.
Adjournment and specific date of reconvening the
Council are determined by vote. The
Council may be called together by vote.
The Council may be called together sooner at the discretion of the
chairman. If the Council adjourns
without a specific meeting date (sine die), it next meets only at the
call of the standing chairman (or new President of the Church), if applicable
* * *
Now Melchizedek was a man of
faith, who wrought righteousness, and when a child he feared God, and stopped
the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire. And thus, having been approved of God, he was
ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with
Enoch. It being after the order of the
Son of God; which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by
father nor mother; neither it was delivered unto men by the calling of his own
voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed on his name. For God having sworn unto Enoch and unto his
seed with an oath by himself: that every one being ordained after this order
and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to divide the
seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course. To put at defiance the armies of nations, to
divide the earth, to break every band, to stand in the presence of God; to do
all things according to his will, according to his command, subdue
principalities and powers; and this by the will of the Son of God, which was
from before the foundation of the world.
And men having this faith, coming up unto this order of God, were
translated and taken up into heaven.
* * *
In this Council was instituted the Ancient Order of things
for the first time in these last days.
And the communications I made to these (this) Council were of things
spiritual, and to be received only by the spiritual minded: and there was
nothing made known to these men but will be made known to all Saints, of the
last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive, and a proper place is
prepared to communicate them, even to the weakest of Saints: therefore, let the
Saints be diligent in building the temple and all houses which they have been
or shall hereafter be commanded of God to build, and wait there time with
patience, in all meekness and faith, & perseverance unto the end. Knowing assuredly that all these things
referred to in this council are always governed by the principles of
Revelation.
* * *
Joseph delivered a discourse on the “gathering of Israel.”
He…asked:
What was the object of Gathering the Jews together or the people of God in any
age of the world, the main object was to build unto the Lord an house whereby
he could reveal unto his people the ordinances of his house and glories of his
kingdom & teach the people the ways of salvation for (there) are certain
ordinances & principles that when they are taught and practiced, must be
done in a place or house built for that purpose.
This was purposed in the mind of God
before the world was and it was for this purpose that God designed to gather
together the Jews oft but they would not; it is for the same purpose that God
gathers together the people in the last days to build unto the Lord an house to
prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings, &c.
Then he made this extremely interesting statement:
If a man gets the fulness of God
(“Fulness of Preisthood” in the published vision) he has to get (it) in the
same way that Jesus Christ obtained it and that was by keeping all the
ordinances of the house of the Lord.
Never before in public pronouncements had the temple
ordinances taken on such significance in the Mormon doctrine of salvation. But Joseph seemed to imply that this doctrine
was not readily accepted even by some in the Quorum.
Men will say I will never forsake you
but will stand by you at all times but the moment you teach them some of the
mysteries of God that are retained in the heavens and are to be revealed to the
children of men (in the temple) when they are prepared, They will be the first
to stone you and put you to death. It
was the same principle that crucified our Lord Jesus Christ…Why Jesus said how
oft would I have gathered you together (was) that they might attend to the
ordinance of baptism for the dead as well as the other ordinances (of) the
Priesthood.
Some of those mysteries to be taught in the temple included
the doctrine and ordinances whereby men are promised the blessings of Eternal Godhead.
Continuing his discourse, he said, “Gods have ascendency over the angels; angels remain angels.
Some are resurrected to become
gods, by such revelations as God gives in the most holy place—in his
temple.” But he again warned, “Many seal
up the door of heaven by saying so far God may reveal and I will believe.” He then concluded by saying, “The reason why
the Jews were scattered and their House left unto them Desolate was because
they refused to be gathered that the fulness of the Priesthood might be
revealed among them.
* * *
On 6 August 1843, Brigham Young in public discourse said,
“If any in the Church
(have) the fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood (I do) not know it. For any person to have the fullness of that priesthood, he must be a king and
priest.”
* * *
“Second Comforter”
will
have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him or appear unto him from time
to time, & even (Christ) will manifest the Father unto him & they will
take up their abode with him, & the visions of the heavens will be opened
unto him & the Lord will teach him face to face & he may have a perfect
knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, & this is the state &
place the…
* * *
However, by 25 October 1831 he was able to testify that
“many of us have (gone)
at the command of the Lord in defiance of everything evil, and obtained
blessings unspeakable in consequence of which, our names are sealed in the
Lamb’s Book of Life, for the Lord has spoken it.” Joseph concluded the meeting by saying that
“until we have perfect love we are liable to fall and when we have a testimony
that our names are sealed in the Lamb’s Book of Life we have perfect love &
then it is impossible for [a] false Christ to deceive us.”
That same day he taught that those of the “High Priesthood”
who had received a testimony that they were sealed up unto eternal life could, if and only when they were prompted by the Spirit, be given power to seal other worthy
individuals up unto eternal life. At this time in the history of the Church
such persons did not by virtue of their sealed condition have independent
authority to officiate in such power, but only as they were moved upon and
vouchsafed such power temporarily by the Spirit.
* * *
The conferral of the fulness of the
Melchizedek Priesthood came not by being “a Prophet nor apostle nor Patriarch
only but of King and Priest to God to [have the power to] open the windows of
heaven and pour out the peace and Law of endless Life to man and no man can
attain to the joint heirship with Jesus Christ without being administered to by
one having such authority of Melchisedec.”
But Joseph admonished again that
“to become a joint heir of the
heirship of the Son he must put away all his traditions…angels desire to look
into [ the fulness of the priesthood], but they have set up too many stakes.
* * *
Saints…Come up as Saviors on mount Zion…by building their temples erecting
their Baptismal fonts & going forth & receiving all the ordinances, Baptisms, Confirmations, washings and
anointings, ordinations & sealing powers upon our heads in behalf of all
our Progenitors who are dead & redeem them that they may come forth in the
first resurrection & be exalted to thrones of glory with us, & here in
is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, & the
Children to the Fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah.
* * *
…through which you have passed is
actually laying before you a picture or map, by which you are to travel through
life, and obtain an entrance to the celestial Kingdom hereafter. If you are tempted in regard to these things
here [in the Temple], you will be tempted when you approach the presence of God
hereafter. You have, by being faithful,
been brought to this point, by maintaining these things which have been
entrusted to you. * * * It is not merely for the sake of talking over these
things that they are given to you, but for your benefit and for your triumph
over the powers of darkness hereafter. We want the man to remember that he has
covenanted to keep the law of God, and the woman to obey her husband, and if
you keep your covenants you will not be guilty of transgression. The line that is drawn for you to maintain
your covenants, and you will always be found in the path of obedience, after
that which is virtuous and holy and good, and will never be swallowed up by
unhallowed feelings and passions. If
you are found worthy and maintain your integrity, and do not run away and think
you have got all your endowment, you will be found worthy after a while, which
will make you honorable with God. You
have not yet been ordained to anything, but will be by and by. You have received these things received these
things because of your compliance with all the requisitions of the law, and if
faithful you will receive more. You have
now learned how to pray. You have been
taught how to approach God and be recognized.
This is the principle by which the church has been kept together, and
[it has] not [been by] the power of arms.
A few individuals have asked for your preservation, and their prayers
have been heard, and it is this which has preserved you from being scattered to
the four winds. Those who have learned to approach God and receive these blessings,
are they better than you? The only
difference is they have been permitted to have these things revealed unto
them. The principles which have been opened
to you are the things which ought to occupy your attention all your lives.
They are not second to anything; you have the key by which, if you are
faithful, you will claim on your posterity all the blessings of the
Priesthood.”
Elder H. C. Kimball said,
“The ideas advanced by Brother Lyman
are good and true. ***God is like one of us, for He created us in His own
image. Every man that ever came upon
this earth, or any other earth, will take the course we have taken—Another
thing, it is to bring us to an organization, and just as quick as we can get
into that order and government, we have the celestial Kingdom here. You
have got to know your brethren or you never can honor God. The man was created and God gave him dominion
over the whole earth, but he saw that he never could multiply and replenish the
earth without woman, and He made one and gave her to him. He did not make the man for the woman but the
woman for the man. ***But if a man does
not use a woman well and take good care of her, God will take her away from him
and give her to another. Perfect order
and consistency makes heaven, but we are now deranged, and the tail has become
the head. ***One reason why we bring our
wives…
* * *
…church had labored to attain to the
blessings we now enjoy. Another thing he
thanked God for—Already [we have] had more than five hundred persons through
[the Temple Endowment ceremonies], and therefore, if half of them should be
like the foolish virgins and turn away from the truth, the principles of the
Holy Priesthood [still] would be beyond the reach of mobs and the assaults of
the adversaries of this Church. Order
was one of the laws of heaven. When we
come together *** and unite our hearts and act as one mind, the Lord will hear
us and will answer our prayers. He
related an instance of some children being healed and cured of the whooping
cough in one night through the prayers of himself and Elder Woodruff in
Michigan, while they were there on a mission [in June 1844 before the death of
the Prophet Joseph]. Said that whenever
they could get an opportunity they retired to the wilderness or to an upper
room, they did so [and prayed after the Holy Order]*** and were always
answered. It would be a good thing for
us*** every day [to] pray to God and in private circles. ***We are different from what we were before
we entered into that quorum—Speedy vengeance will now overtake the
transgressor. When a man and wife are
united in feeling, and act in union, I believe that they can hold their
children by prayer and faith, and will not be obliged to give them up to death
until they are fourscore years old.
Sometimes men trifle and destroy the confidence which each ought to have
in the other, this prevents a union of faith and feeling. The apostasy of Thos. B. Marsh was caused by
so small a thing as a pint of stripplings—and his oaths brought the
exterminating order which drove us all out of Missouri.
“The woman ought to be in subjection
to the ma—be careful to guard against loud laughter—against levity and
talebearing. He expressed his unfeigned
love for the brethren and his confidence in their endeavors to keep these
rules. “The Spirit of God” was then
sung. Elder Kimball next addressed the
meeting. He concurred in all that had
been said, the observation of these things is most essential. About four years ago next May [which would
have been May 4, 1842 to be exact] nine persons were admitted into the Holy
Order—five are now living, B. Young, W. Richards. George Miller, N. K. Whitney,
and H. C. Kimball, two are dead [James Adams, d. 11 August 1843 and Hyrum
Smith, d. 27 June 1844], and two are worse than dead [meaning William Law and
William Marks]. You have not got all you
will have if you are faithful. He spoke
of the necessity of women being in subjection to their husbands, “I am subject
to my God, my wife is subject to me and will reverence me in my place and I
will try to make her happy. I do not
want her to step forward and dictate to me any more than I dictate to President
Young. In his absence I take his place
according to his request. Shall we cease
from loud laughter? ***Will you never
slander your brother and sister? I will
refer your minds to the covenants you have made by an observance of these
things you will have dreams and visions.
***We shall not be with you long.
We cannot rest day or night until we put you in possession of the
Priesthood. ***If we have made you clean
every whit, go now to…
* * *
…with us is that they may make a
covenant with us to keep these things sacred.
***You can’t sin so cheap now as you could before you came to this order
[viz. Received the ordinances of the Endowment]. It is not for us to reproach the Lord’s
anointed, nor to speak evil of him; all have covenanted not to do it”
* * *
Many remembered Joseph’s being equivocal on his personal
forebodings. According to Orson Hyde,
Joseph said, “Brethren…some important Scene is near to take place. It may be that my enemies will kill me, and
in case they should, and the Keys and power which rest on me not to be imparted
to you, they will be lost from the Earth.”
Despite these references by the Prophet to the possibility of imminent
death, his next words—the words of the Charge—were more ambiguous about this
possibility. “I roll the burden and
responsibility of leading this Church [this “Kingdom” in Johnson; this “Church
and Kingdom” in most accounts] off my shoulders onto yours. Now round up your shoulders and stand under
it like men; for the Lord is going to let me rest a while.” Orson Hyde believed that no one present
realized that Joseph Smith was going to die soon.
We did not consider, at the time he
bore this testimony, that he was going to die or be taken from us; but we
considered that as he had been borne down with excessive labors, by day and by
night, he was going to retire to rest and regain his health, and we should act
under his direction and bear the responsibility of the work. But when the fatal news came to us, in the
Eastern States, that he, with his brother Hyrum, had been massacred in Carthage
Jail, I will tell you it brought his words home to our minds, and we could then
realize that he had spoken in sober earnest.
* * *
“The
order of the house of God has been, and ever will be, the same.”
* * *
When
Joseph gave these discourses, Quorum members concerned over the doctrine of
plural marriage no doubt understood the implication: To receive the highest
blessings of the Gospel—the fulness of the Priesthood—one must put away all old
traditions. The Saints had to be willing
to obey all God’s commands if they were to be worthy to receive the fulness of
the priesthood. Moreover, whether one
were a president, patriarch or apostle in the Church, unless one received the
fulness of the priesthood ordination of king and priest one did not possess all
the oracles of God—the power to open the Heavens. And this power could only be conferred by one
having the fulness of the Priesthood.
* * *
He began
by mentioning his anxiety over the lack of time in which to perform these
ordinances.
I would to God that this temple was
now done that we might go into it & go to work & improve our time &
make use of the seals while they are on the earth & the Saints have none
too much time to save & redeem their dead, & gather together their
living relatives that they may be saved also before the earth will be smitten.
* * *
Previous “Last Charge”-Type Occasions
To be sure, Joseph Smith had often before spoken in the
shadow of death. In July of 1834, he
said to a council of High Priests in Missouri that “if he should now be taken
away that he had accomplished the great work which the Lord had laid before
him, and that which he had desired of the Lord, and that he now had done his
duty in organizing the High Council, through which Council the will of the Lord
might be known on all important occasions in the building up of Zion, and
establishing truth in the earth.” Yet in
November 1835, a year later, on the occasion of speaking to the Quorum of
Twelve Apostles and outlining the nature of the Kirtland Temple endowment
ordinances for the first time, he remarked, “I supposed that I had established
this Church on a permanent foundation when I went to Missouri, and indeed I did
so, for if I had been taken away, it would have been enough, but I yet live,
and therefore God requires more at my hands.”
As in this case, when he achieved one plateau in his ministry, he
reconciled himself to the Quorum of the Twelve, Joseph Smith said:
There
is one great deficiency or obstruction in the way that deprives us of the
greater blessings; and in order to make the foundation of this Church complete
and permanent, we must remove this obstruction, which is, to attend to certain
duties that we have not as yet attained to…[namely,] the ordinance of washing
of feet. This we have not done yet, but
it is necessary now, …and we must have a place prepared, that we may attend to
this ordinance aside from the world… The house of the Lord must be prepared,
and the solemn assembly called and organized in it, according to the order of
the house of God; and in it we must attend to the ordinance of washing of
feet. It was never intended for any but
official members. It is calculated to
untie our hearts, that we may be one in feeling and sentiment, and that our
faith may be strong, so that Satan cannot overthrow us, nor have any power over
us here.
To these apostles, Joseph Smith further said of the
relationship of the ordinances and the outpouring of the Spirit of God that
“the endowment you are so anxious about, you cannot comprehend now, nor could
Gabriel explain it to the understanding of your dark minds; but strive to be
prepared in your hearts, be faithful in all things, that when we meet in the
solemn assembly…we must be clean every whit [to receive the washing of feet
ordinance…]
* * *
My feelings at the present time are that, inasmuch as the
Lord Almighty has preserved me until today, He will continue to preserve me, by
the united faith and prayers of the Saints, until I have so fully accomplished
my mission in this life, and so firmly established the dispensation of the
fullness of the priesthood in the last days, that all the powers of earth and
hell can never prevail against it. (History of the Church, 5:139-140)
* * *
“I know there are those in our midst who will seek the lives
of the Twelve as they did the lives of Joseph and Hyrum. We shall ordain others and give the fulness
of the priesthood, so that if we are killed the fulness of priesthood will
remain. Joseph conferred upon our heads
all the Keys and powers belonging to the Apostleship which he himself held
before he was taken away, and no man or set of men can get between Joseph and
the Twelve in this world or in the world to come.”
* * *
…show that he understood that with Joseph’s conferral of the
full keys of prayer in conjunction with the fulness of priesthood ordinances,
the fulness of the apostleship was only attained when an apostle received the
ordination of king and priest. Through
the Twelve Disciples in Jesus’ day received the apostleship as recorded in
Matthew 10, only three of the
apostles received the power of Elijah—the
power to seal on earth and in heaven—and
they did not receive it until the time of Jesus’ transfiguration recorded in
Matthew 17.
The Prophet Joseph has laid the foundation for a great work,
and we will build upon it…Let those who hold the keys of the kingdom of God
build it up in all the world. If…he is a
king and Priest [which Presidents Rigdon and Lyman were not], ;et him go and
build up a kingdom this is his right, and it is the right of many here but who
is the head? The Twelve…Now if you want
Rigdon, Lyman or Law to lead you or anybody else, you may have them, but I tell
you in the name of the Lord, that no man can put another between the Twelve and
the Prophet Joseph. Why? Because Joseph was their file leader and he
has committed into their hands the keys of the Kingdom for all the world.
* * *
Elder Rigdon was appointed by President Smith to go to
Pittsburg and build up a church; but he was expressly forbid to take any one
with him. Now I would ask, has Elder
Rigdon accomplished his mission? Has he
sought to build up the Church according to President Smith’s order? No. He
has been holding secret meetings; he has ordained men illegally, contrary to
the order of the priesthood; he has been ordaining men to the offices of
prophets, priests and kings; whereas
he does not hold that office himself; who does not know that this is wrong? There is not an officer belonging to the
church but what is acquainted with this fact.
Can a teacher ordain a priest?
Can a priest ordain an elder? Can
an elder ordain an apostle? You all know
they could not, it is contrary to the order of God; and…
* * *
Heber C. Kimball as Witness
[Sidney Rigdon] has no authority only what he receives from
the church, if he was one with us, why was he not in our councils? He was not in the council pertaining to the
High Priesthood [viz., the Anointed Quorum] until just before he started for
Pittsburg. Brother Phelps was the means
of bringing him in, but he has not got the same authority as others; there are more than thirty men who have
got higher authority than he has.
* * *
To John Taylor, Joseph Fielding, and those serving as
witnesses in this trial, Sidney Rigdon had violated one of the most basic of
all rules of order in the Church: he sought to administer ordinances he had not
received. This was what he was charged
with and this was the actual…
* * *
Here is John C. Bennet, and Wm. and Wilson Law, Robert D.
Foster and the Higbee’s, are all the while seeking to come back and if they
cannot accomplish their purposes they will seek to take our lives…The Twelve
have received the keys of the kingdom and a slong as there is one of them left,
he will hold them in preference to anyone else…We stand forth as the shepherds
of the sheep and we want to lead you into green pastures, that you may be
healthy and strong. There are men here
brethren who have got authority, but we don’t want to mention their names, for
the enemy will try to kill them.
Apostle Kimball again referred to Joseph Smith’s lack of
confidence in Sidney as a reason Sidney was replaced in the First Presidency by
Amasa Lyman shortly before the October general conference and during the
Anointed Quorum meeting of 1 October 1843.
Brother Joseph shook him off at the
conference a year ago, he said he would carry him no more; if the church wanted
to carry him they might, but he should not.
Joseph said, he had no more authority in his office as counselor. Elder Amasa Lyman was appointed in his stead,
and all the power and authority and blessings which Elder Rigdon ever had, was
put on the head of Brother Amasa…If Elder Rigdon was in good standing, why has
he not been with Br. Joseph in all his councils. He has not acted as a counselor in Bro.
Joseph’s councils for five years, but the Twelve have, they have never forsaken
him. How when Bro. Joseph is gone, he
comes and sets us aside.
Then, in what must have been a stirring testimony, in
language reminiscent of I John 1:1 where John bore testimony of his handling
the nail prints of the glorified Christ, Elder Kimball capped his witness by
saying, “I have handled with my hands, and have heard with my ears, the things
of eternal reality, but I never betrayed Bro. Joseph.”
* * *
Joseph Fielding, one who received the endowment ordinances
from Joseph Smith on 9 December 1843 and witnessed the administration of these
ordinances in the Nauvoo Temple, evaluated just how well Brigham and the Twelve
Apostles did in carrying out Joseph’s precise instructions: “On Friday, the 13th
[of December 1845] I and my Wife received it in the Days of Joseph and Hyram
[sic] but it is now given in a more perfect manner because of better
convenience [that is, in the Nauvoo Temple they had two and one half times more
floor space than they had in the Red Brick Store], the 12 are very strict in
attending to the true and proper form…ministering in the Temple and teaching
the way of Life and Salvation.” (Ehat,
“The Nauvoo Journal of Joseph Fielding,” pp158-159)
Wilford Woodruff Journal, 2 December 1843. When Willard Richards [in April 1845] and
Brigham Young [on 1 November 1843] said that the endowment anointings
“pertained” or gave one “admittance” to the “highest order” of priesthood, both
knew that their language should not be construed to mean that by the endowment
alone the fulness had been conferred. To be sure, the endowment ordinances conveyed
the covenants and the crucial keys to achieving the highest priesthood
order. But, they both knew that the
“anointing and ordination to the highest and holiest order of the Priesthood”
was not first conferred until 28 September 1843…both Brigham Young and Willard
Richards clearly understood Joseph Smith’s distinction on this very point.
* * *
“There is only one Endowment.
It comes in two parts, but there is only one.” Bill Baird
* * *
1st Anointing: A
promise to become.
2nd Anointing: Definite
blessings sealed.
3rd Anointing: By
the LORD Himself.
Joseph W. Musser
__________________________________________________________________________________
A
timeless admonition
A recent report came that in a
Sacrament Meeting, in the Allred Group, a Councilman stated that the Group will
no longer perform vicarious work for the dead, nor any more missionary work,
that this work is to be done by the Church.
On one occasion, I heard the
testimony of Brother Morris Kunz, in which he reported one of Brother Lorin C.
Woolley’s prophecies. Brother Woolley
stated with great emphasis that every Priesthood Quorum from the highest to the
smallest would become out of order.
Brother Woolley’s counsel to the
Brethren called in the early 1930’s was the same as that which Brother Musser
gave to those called in the new Council called in the 1950’s” Whatever the
Church is capable and willing to do, the Brethren were to allow the Church to
do. Whatever the Church did not want to
do, or was not qualified now to do—the Priesthood must step in and fulfill.
I would ask:
1) Why?
2) What does it take to have the Fulness of the
Gospel?
3) Can anything be done away with, and still
have the Fulness?
4) Shall we
work to help bring about an “Out-of-Orderness”?
The Angel Moroni stated that the
Priesthood as revealed by Elijah must be upon the earth at the Lord’s coming,
or the earth would be utterly wasted.
God is not a God of out-of-orderness!
As quoted in an earlier issue of T.N.C., Brother Rulon stated that the
Brethren in 1886 were given as much authority as there is. Why?
So that a subsequent President of the Church could not come along and
say, “I have more authority than you, and I revoke anything President Taylor
gave you.”
The Church cannot revoke this
because those Brethren were given a Fulness of Keys: The ability to fill any
void in the Church or the Priesthood.
Oddly enough, there are still
those who say, “We are only called to keep Plural Marriage and the United Order
alive.” Yes, that has been the major
effort of Fundamentalists—why, because for a long time this was all that was
given up by the Church.
Do we really believe that the
Apostleship is with us? What is the
Church able to do now after having polluted the Priesthood? Can we send the names of our loved ones to
the Temple and possibly think that blessings await them after vicariously being
endowed by Canaanites?
Temple work now must be shifted
to the Priesthood in my opinion. To hold
all the keys is to be able to do all the work of the Restored Gospel of Jesus
Christ. No wonder why John W. Woolley,
who was often referred to as, “Grandpa Woolley,” use to say, “All I have to
give are blessings to the people.”
The Work of the Lord will not
fail, nor be given to another people. We
claim nothing more than to be Latter-day Saints. The Church can shake hands with the world—the
Groups can cast off the requirements of the Gospel, just as the Church has—but
look around—you will always find that the Lord has foreseen and provided a
means to keep every law alive!
Out-of-order, yes—but here upon the earth!
God’s work will not be
frustrated. We have only two choices:
1)
Pray and be led by the Holy Spirit to find those
who are doing the Lord’s work and assist—
OR
2)
Fight against the Lord and the Servants He has
called.
One or
the other—the middle ground is shrinking up—“Choose ye this day whom ye will
serve.” As for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord. May God help us to have
some of the valor as Joshua to serve the Lord.
Holiness to the Lord,
Editor (J. Ted Jessop, TRUTH NEVER CHANGES, Vol. 4, No. 5, 1999)
H o l i n e s s
Y
T o T h e
T o T h e
L o r d
TRUTH NEVER CHANGES
Volume 15, Number 02
Spring 2012
Volume 15, Number 02
Spring 2012
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