Truth Never Changes Volume 10, Number 3

TRUTH NEVER CHANGES

A PUBLICATION IN THE SPIRIT AND TRADITON OF TRUTH MAGAZINE

Y VOLUME 10    MARCH  2006   NUMBER 03 Y

priesthood

obedience to priesthood defined—blind obedience displeasing to the lord; man’s accountability to god fully explained

In this issue: PRIESTHOOD……………………………..…87 GEN. CLARK & THE EXTERMINATION ORDER……………………………………….93 A PARTIAL LIST OF CHANGES…………..95 QUOTE ………………...…………………….96 DESTINY OF ZION’S CHILDREN…………96 KING ARTHUR & MERLIN—A REALITY OR FICTION?……………………………….101 A LETTER OF ENCOURAGEMENT……...104 SELECTED PROPHECIES OF B. YOUNG.106 CONSPIRACY OF NAUVOO……………..107 REMEMBERING BROTHER JOSEPH……114 THE HOLY GHOST (cont’d.)………………117 QUOTE …………………………………..…121 VISION ON THE PLAINS………………….122 THR RIGHT TO HEIRSHIP…………..……123 COMMENTARY ON NEW JERUSALEM...125 CHOOSE YE THIS DAY………………..…127 EDITORIAL………………………………...128 SONS OF MICHAEL……………………….132

Men in their ambition have ever sought for power, to rule and to exercise a controlling influence over their fellow men, and generally but little regard has been had to the way and means by which they have come into possession of such power, neither when obtained, has it been always used with an eye single to the benefit or salvation of mankind.  The desire, we admit, is a very natural one, from the fact that man is designed by God, and capacitated in his organization to be a ruler in a greater or less degree in the many grades that exist, from having rule over his own passions, propensities, and person, to that of a family tribe, community or society, in a state or nation, an empire or a kingdom; and even his ambition may aspire to rule the world, or like God, peradventure, to sway the scepter of unnumbered worlds.

All power is not immediately derived from the same source, but all legitimate right of Government is in the Priesthood of God.  Tyrants and usurpers, under the titles of Emperors, Kings, Presidents, have dominion upon earth, which has been obtained, and is maintained by the sword and by blood, all of which is a usurpation of power, gained by might, and not by right.  The very sound of the word Priesthood, to every man who has a correct idea of the government of God, imparts a sensation that either elevates his soul with joy, or he feels its influence is not within his reach, it abandons him to despair.  It implies a divine right to govern and control, exercised by God, and imparted to whom He will; and when held by man under His approbation, is superior to every other power, and therefore cannot virtually be called in question by any other.  This right of government is so secured that no man can take the honour or power thereof unto himself, for God calls whom He will, and confers it upon him in His own appointed way; hence no man can obtain it without believing and confessing that there is a medium of immediate communication between him and his God; and all men who are called as was Aaron by direct revelation, and ordained unto the Holy Priesthood, are ordained for men, in things pertaining to God, that reconciliation may be brought to pass.

By this we learn that the Priesthood administers in a perfect organization or government, because it is the government ordained and upheld by a perfect Being: it is a holy and just authority, because it administers in things pertaining to God, and partakes of the virtue of all His attributes, It is reasonable, then, for us to conclude that God would require obedience and respect to be paid to His government wherever found, and that those who hold the Priesthood should be recognized has His messengers.

Upon a point so self-evident, we have no need to reason further to authorize us to remark, that in the administration of perfect law, there must be perfect obedience to that law, on the part of the subjects who are governed by it; otherwise there is a violation of the law, which must be atoned for by the transgressor: if it were not so, the honour of the law would not be maintained; but the law of God, being perfect, not only provides for the salvation of all through mercy, but it is also armed with justice, that its supremacy may be maintained by meting out a just recompense to the transgressor.

The Priesthood is now among men upon the earth, and is in successful operation for their salvation.  The King himself, who holds all power in this Priesthood, was upon the earth more than eighteen hundred years ago, and desired to reign by virtue of it, but mankind would not suffer Him.  He was holy, but men were so wicked they could not appreciate His goodness, nor His power; therefore they destroyed Him, and would not suffer Him to live upon the earth.  And what was the result?  That same holy power and saving influence which he possessed He conferred upon men, who were not so perfect as Himself, and ordained them to be the medium of His power, that peradventure their labours and ministrations might be more adapted to the low, groveling, and degraded condition of those who were to receive them, and because of it, be better appreciated than His labours and motives were.

The minds of men generally are not capacitated to receive the ministrations of perfect beings; hence each grade of intelligences (sic) is administered unto by the next above in capacity, power, and glory, like unto the way of life to a Saint, which is from grace to grace, and from faith to faith, living by that which is in part until that which is perfect shall come.  When the government of God is thoroughly established upon the earth, through the immediate agency of men and angels under God’s own supervision, and has so far gained the supremacy over contending powers, that the King’s person can be safe among men, and be duly honoured by them, then will He again come to reign, and bring in that which is perfect; then shall a universal day of peace and righteousness be enjoyed by those who inherit the earth; for the King has decreed that all who cannot abide and honour the perfect administration of His laws in that day, shall be destroyed from off the earth.

According to examples which are recorded in sacred writ, and which have actually been witnessed by many of the Saints of the present dispensation, men are called to receive the Priesthood, and in virtue of it, perform a certain work for which they seem adapted, and afterwards they are suffered to dishonour that Priesthood by using the influence which they have gained, to lead others astray; and thereby dishonour and reproach have at times been brought upon those who considered it a duty to listen to their counsel.  By being enabled thus to accomplish their covetous, lustful, and unlawful ends, they have brought disgrace and suffering upon others, incurred the wrath of God and the disapprobation of His people upon themselves, and the power of the Priesthood has altogether departed from them, for its virtue will not abide with those who violate its laws.

Because of these facts, and the apparent imperfections of men on whom God confers authority, the question is sometimes asked—to what extent is obedience to those who hold the Priesthood required?  This is a very important question, and one, which should be understood by all Saints.  In attempting to answer this question, we would repeat, in short, what we have already written that willing obedience to the laws of God, administered by the Priesthood, is indispensable to salvation; but we would further add, that a proper conservative to this power exists for the benefit of all, and none are required to tamely and blindly submit to a man because he has a portion of the Priesthood.  We have heard men who hold the Priesthood remark, that they would do anything they were told to do by those who presided over them, if they knew it was wrong: but such obedience as this is worse than folly to us; it is slavery in the extreme; and the man who would thus willingly degrade himself, should not claim a rank among intelligent beings, until he turns from his folly.  A man of God, who seeks for the redemption of his fellows, would despise the idea of seeing another become his slave, who had an equal right with himself to the favour of God; he would rather see him stand by his side, a sworn enemy to wrong, so long as there was place found for it among men.  Others, in the extreme exercise of their almighty (!) authority, have taught that such obedience was necessary, and that no matter what the Saints were told to do by their Presidents, they should do it without asking any question.

When the Elders of Israel will so far indulge in these extreme notions of obedience, as to teach them to the people, it is generally because they have it in their hearts to do wrong themselves, and wish to pave the way to accomplish that wrong; or else because they have done wrong, and wish to use the cloak of their authority to cover it with, lest it should be discovered by their superiors, who would require an atonement at their hands.

We would ask, for what is the Priesthood given unto men?  It is that they may have a right to administer the law of God.  Have they then a right to make void that law?  Verily no.  When the law of God has gone forth from his own mouth, and been declared by the mouths of His Prophets and Apostles, saying, “Thou shalt not lie;” who can say by the virtue of his Priesthood, you may lie and be approved?  The Lord and His Prophets have declared unto His people, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  Then who can say, Thou mayest commit adultery, and it will be no sin?  It is written as a law unto the Saints, “Thou shalt not kill.”  Then we ask again, who can kill and be forgiven?  And in like manner it might be asked of all the laws of God, who has the right to make them void?  None can revoke the decree but Him by whom it was given; {And we all know that God never “revokes or abrogates His laws”} neither can the laws of God be trampled upon with impunity, or revoked by a lesser power than that by which they were framed.

It is written of God, that He cannot lie; then none need suppose that He will approve of it through His authority, which is on the earth; neither is He the Son of man that He should repent, therefore He will maintain the law by which His kingdom is governed.  Should any think that they can give counsel to gratify their lusts, or answer avaricious ends, and say, “No one seeth us,” while they indulge therein, and delight in sin as a sweet morsel, they will learn with sorrow, that an eye which never sleeps has been upon their path, and He that seeth in secret shall make manifest, and reward openly every man according to his deeds, whether good or evil.

If a man could have as much authority as the Almighty, it would not authorize him to do wrong, nor counsel another to do wrong; and the man that will administer with partiality, for the sake of screening iniquity, will find his stewardship will be taken from him.

In Administering the government of God, there are three parties concerned, viz., the subject who is governed, the person who governs, and the person by whose permission, or under whose approbation he governs.  Should a person be required to violate a known law by his President, or if he is not satisfied with the counsel which he gives, he should not openly rebel against that President, but if they cannot see eye to eye, he should appeal privately to the next higher power or President, and where three are thus brought together who have a spirit to do right, right will prevail, and harmony be maintained.  While such is the character of God’s government that its genius and policy are to the end that iniquity may be swept from off the earth, persons need not think to excuse themselves for performing a known unlawful act simply because they were told to do it by another; if such an excuse as this would justify, none would ever need to come under condemnation; for men would be sure to find someone on whom to lay the burden of their sins.  The day has come when everyone may expect to answer for their own sins, without attempting to cloak them with another’s Priesthood.

Great is the responsibility of that man who is called to give counsel which involves the salvation of another; and when such counsel is given, it should be of that pure character, that the powers above him upon the earth, with angels and God, can approve.  He will then have no occasion to destroy his own influence and power by telling others that it will be no sin for them to commit adultery, to lie, to steal, etc., if they are told to do it by the Priesthood and thereby pervert the ways of the Lord, and bring reproach upon the honour of His cause.  The Lord asks for no such confidence in His Priesthood as this; neither do good men who are under its influence.  The Priesthood never demands a wrong at the hands of another, though men who hold the Priesthood may make such a demand, as has sometimes been the case, and for which they have had to suffer.

Where the authority of God is, there should be the confidence of all men be reposed, sufficiently to obey its laws, but not to violate them; for we have not yet learned that it has power enough to save the transgressor in his sins.  Some men have been so wise as to think the little authority they had was sufficient for them to set aside law and revelation, and mete out justice and judgment upon their own responsibility.  But in the end they have found that responsibility to be greater than they could bear.

These sentiments are not advanced with the idea of defining the limits of Divine authority, nor that any one can find language to portray the extent of the rights and powers of the Priesthood; for to fully comprehend it, would be to comprehend God.  But they are offered with the consideration that Saints may be led to see the skill and wisdom manifested in its organization; how safely it is guarded from the impositions of men, and the impossibility of sin prevailing where it is duly and wisely administered, and that none need be imposed upon if they understand the rights and privileges which it guarantees to them: then, if they do not avail themselves of those rights, they are left without excuse.  Extreme exercise of power, in cases of such importance, and upon matters of such infinite moment, should be studiously avoided, when we consider that everyone must render a faithful account of his stewardship.

Some have supposed that the more authority men have in the kingdom of God, the greater is their liberty to disregard His laws, and that their greatness consists in their almost unlimited privileges, which leave them without restrictions, but this is a mistaken idea.  Those who are the greatest in authority, are under the greatest restrictions; the law of their sphere is greater than that of those who are less in power, and the restrictions of penalty of that law are proportionably (sic) great; therefore they are under the greater obligation to maintain the virtue of the law and the institutions of God, otherwise confidence could not be reposed in them, but distrust and evil surmisings (sic) would be the result; disaffection would be found lurking in every avenue of society, and by thus severing the cords of union, it would prove the destruction of any people.

A voice from the heavens has again been heard breaking the silence of ages with a purpose and determination to establish the kingdom of God, and introduce a celestial government upon the earth; and if mankind will respect and obey those laws when revealed to them, they shall be saved, and inherit a celestial glory.  Therefore, had we a voice like the sound of the trump of the Archangel, that could be heard by all living, or had we the power of a God to penetrate and make every heart to feel and realize the truth, we would proclaim it abroad in the ears of all living—Repent ye, repent ye, for the hour of God’s judgement has come, and the transgressor shall perish from off the earth, while the meek shall be redeemed to inherit it forever.  (Millennial Star, 14:593-596)

MISSION STATEMENT

Truth Never Changes does not represent any organization, neither is it the voice for any religious group, church, &c.  We are not a corporation.

We encourage family patriarchal organizations.  No one here considers himself the “One Mighty & Strong” to set any church or group in order.  We believe in the perpetuation of the Fulness of the Gospel as revealed by the Prophet Joseph Smith by the Lord Jesus Christ.  We believe in the preservation of all of the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood.

We invite any reader to contribute articles, poetry and faith-promoting experiences that would be uplifting in nature.  We reserve the right to deny or edit any (or all) portion(s) of contributed material.  All contributions will remain on file and the identity of the author will remain anonymous, as we believe in keeping an eye single to the Glory of God and not men.

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General Clark and the Extermination Order

Should the Saints still pray that the blood of the Prophets be avenged?  Dear reader, read this expose, and judge for yourself.  Though during the Civil War the State of Missouri suffered nearly beyond repair, for her crimes against the Mormons, no true Saint can sit by and feel that she has fully paid the penalty.  Those who understand the work of God are waiting, praying and laboring against the day when the State of Missouri shall be ““wept so clean that there won’t be so much as a yellow dog to wag its tail”.  And though the present Church leaders may find it easy to forgive and forget, in order to make friends, those who have the gospel of Christ at heart continue to hear the blood of the innocent cry unto the heavens; and they lend their voices in protest against the wrongs suffered by their fathers and await with gladness the execution of judgement against the wicked, that the Lord by oath and covenant has decreed.—Editor of Truth Magazine

On the 6^th, Gen. Clark delivered his noted extermination speech, and read over the names of the brethren who were made prisoners, to await a trial for something, they knew not what, and placed under a strong guard.  In order that the tyrant may not be forgotten I insert a portion of his speech:

“Gentlemen, you whose names are not attached to this list of names, will now have the privilege of going to your fields and of providing corn, wood, etc., for your families.  Those who are now taken will go from this to prison, be tried, and receive the due demerit of their crimes.  But you (excepting such as charges may be hereafter preferred against) are at liberty as soon as the troops are removed that now guard the place, which I shall cause to be done immediately.  It now devolves upon you to fulfill the treaty that you have entered into, the leading items of which I shall now lay before you.

“The first requires that your leading men be given up and tried according to law; this you have complied with.

“The second is that you deliver up your arms—also this has been attended to.  The third stipulation is that you sign over your properties to defray the expenses that have been incurred on your account; this you have also done.  Another article yet remains for you to comply with, and that is, that you leave the State forthwith; and whatever may be your feelings concerning this or whatever your innocence is, it is nothing to me.  General Lucas (whose military rank is equal to mine) has made this treaty with you, and I approve of it.  I should have done the same had I been here, and am therefore determined to see it executed.

“The character of this State has suffered almost beyond redemption, from the character, conduct and influence that you have exerted; and we deem it an act of justice to restore her character by proper means.

“The order of the Governor to me was that you should be exterminated, and not allowed to remain in the State.  And had not your leaders been given up, and the terms of the treaty complied with before this time, your families would have been destroyed and your houses in ashes.

“There is discretionary power vested in my hands, which, considering your circumstances, I shall exercise for a season.  You are indebted to me for this clemency.  I do not say that you shall go now, but you must not think of staying here another season, or of putting in any crops; for the moment you do this the citizens will be upon you; and if I am called here again, in case on non-compliance with the treaty made, do not think I shall act as I have done now.  You need not expect any mercy, but extermination, for I am determined the Governor’s order shall be executed.

“As for your leaders, do not think, do not imagine for a moment, do not let it enter your minds that they will be delivered and restored to you again, for their fate is fixed, the die is cast, their doom is sealed.

“I am sorry, gentlemen, to see so many apparently intelligent men found in the situation that you are; and oh!  If I could invoke the great Spirit of the unknown God to rest upon and deliver you from that awful chain of superstition, and liberate you from those fetters of fanaticism with which you are bound—that you no longer do homage to a man.

“I would advise you to scatter abroad and never again organize yourselves with Bishops, Priests, etc., lest you excite the jealousies of the people and subject yourselves to the same calamities that have now come upon you.

“You have always been the aggressors, you have brought upon yourselves these difficulties, by being disaffected, and not being subject to rule, and my advice is, that you become as other citizens, lest by a recurrence of these events you bring upon yourselves irretrievable ruin.”

He also said, “You must not be seen as many as five together, if you are, the citizens will be upon you and destroy you, but you should flee immediately out of the state.  There is no alternative for you but to flee, you need not expect any redress; there is none for you.”

* * *

The murders, house-burnings, robberies, rapes, drivings, whippings, imprisonments, and other sufferings and cruelties inflicted upon the people of God under the illegal orders of Missouri’s Executive, have only in part been laid before the world, and form a page in history unsurpassed and unparalleled in the history of religious persecution—that foulest of all crimes.  This historic page alone can credit Lilburn W. Boggs and his minions with feeding the ministers of the proscribed religion on the flesh of their murdered brethren; the odium of which is fully shared by the ministers of different denominations who participated in these vile atrocities.  If hell can furnish a parallel, where is it?

I have not the ability to write what I saw and felt and realized, but will leave it to eternity to reveal the scenes of those days.  I can say before God, angels, heaven and earth, that I am innocent of violating any law of the State of Missouri, and my brethren are equally innocent and virtuous, true to their God and their country.

The measure they meted to the Latter-day Saints shall be measured to them again, and upon all those who had a hand in our persecution and expulsion, and those who consented to it, four-fold, full, running over, and pressed down; and as the Lord God Almighty liveth, I shall see it come to pass!—Life of Heber C. Kimball  (Truth 16:69-71)

The following is a list of partial changes within the Church, observed by Brother Musser in Feb. 1953.  Brother Ogden Kraut noted an astounding 95 changes a mere 22 years later in his book, 95 Theses, Pioneer Press, 1975.  How many more changes can the Saints endure?

1)      Adam-God Doctrine

2)      Conferring of the Priesthood

9)   The Law of Celestial Marriage

9)   The United Order

5) The Gathering

6) The Missionary System

7) The Endowments altered

8) The Garment changed

9)Tithes and Offerings

Because of these changes, the following have happened:

1)  Men do not receive the oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

2) Lack of continuous revelation

3)      Duties of Twelve Apostles changed

4)      Duties of High Council changed

5) Duties of Seventy changed

6) Duties of Elders, Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons changed.

7) The purpose of need of prayer changed

8) Manifestations of the Spirit are not had

9) Church denies the 85^th Section, wherein the “One Mighty and Strong” is to set the house of God in order. (Truth, 18:276)

 

We think it high time for the Saints to stop and consider.  Accept leadership?  Yes, indeed!  But be sure that such leadership is following the pattern revealed and which is set before them in the law book of God to the Church.  Let not faith be lean or lifeless, but let it be a living, burning, consuming power that leads into all truth.  Saints, do not stop your thinking, nor your praying.  Do not stop studying the word of God with faith, but learn for yourselves the Gospel plan and follow it; then you will be in a position to back your leaders with a strength and power that will spell victory for all.  —Joseph White Musser—

DESTINY OF ZION’S CHILDREN

The word has gone forth concerning Zion from every part of the land, “Let her be defiled”; for if this can be accomplished an easy victory can then be won, and “Mormonism” will no longer be a standing menace to the Christianity of the age.  To accomplish this the attack must be made upon the youth of Zion, for it is universally conceded that the sires and matrons of the people are impregnable to all assaults that Christianity can make upon them.  To defeat them in argument upon any one principle of their faith has been decided long ago to be an impossibility; illegal arrests and trials before partisan judges, and the verdicts of packed juries, followed by unlawful imprisonments (sic), have been powerless.  They have also proven many times during the last 55 years that mobbing, driving, the less of all earthly possessions, together with the shedding of the blood of their best men, who have been slain by hired assassins, have most signally failed to moved them even in the smallest degree from their stern purpose of living according to the laws that God has revealed.  Consequently the only hope of their antagonists lies in the prospect of reaching the sons and daughters of this people by any means whatever, no matter whether it be right or wrong, good or bad; for the employment of any and every agency is considered strictly legitimate when used to accomplish this end.

The avenues to evil and wrong doing in our midst are opened wide and are made most inviting by the allurements that are spread out to attract and entrap you.  Being too young to threaten, (as they do your fathers in case of non-compliance), sophistical reasoning and illogical argument are employed, together with the promise of place, position, emolument, and above all freedom from the restraints of the Priesthood (which they hate) are promised by way of reward if you will only forsake the ways of your fathers and become like unto—in short, one of them.

As Zion, according to the promise, must be perpetuated through her children, and her institutions and laws be maintained by them, it is of the utmost importance that the youth of Zion should understand the nature of the structure it is their destiny to help rear—the foundations of which have already been laid.  All eyes are directed hitherward (sic) and nearly every individual is ready to predict that we must of necessity yield to the pressure now being brought to bear upon us; and many who profess strong feelings of friendship for us are advising in relation to the (to them) proper course we should pursue.

It is said that “history repeats itself”.  Not many years ago a prominent man took this for his text, and (and as he undoubtedly thought) kindly advised that a very important principle of our faith should, for the time being at least, be no longer taught or practiced; for, said he, fifty millions of people have proclaimed against it and you must eventually succumb.  Going back to past ages he quoted in support of his proposition many prominent circumstances recorded in sacred writ were reputed holy men had been overslaughed (sic) because they refused to yield to the popular clamor.  Said he, notably was this the case in the instance of the Savior of the world and His immediate followers.

Coming down to our time, he commented largely upon the life and character of Joseph Smith the Prophet.  While he awarded to him honesty of purpose during his entire life and granted for argument’s sake that he had received revelation from God, yet he believed Joseph Smith might and “would have lived many years, and perhaps until today, had he not been so persistent in carrying his point against the express wishes of the overwhelming majority.  While the people of the nation might regret his cruel murder, they still felt that he alone was responsible for the loss of his life.”

He then made an appeal, quoting the text that “history repeats itself”, and predicted that the day was not far distant when the voice of the majority would prevail and begged that we should consider well and take action before we were compelled to yield.  All of which is very good reasoning from his standpoint.  And while we appreciate the motives of our would-be friend, there is just one answer to the proposition: We dare not.  We cannot.

Was there ever a dispensation of the Gospel but was opposed by the opposite power?  Not one.  As the righteous Abel fell a victim to the cruel hatred of his own brother, and in the language of the Eternal One, that blood “cried from the ground for vengeance”, so in the dispensations succeeding did the blood of the Prophets and holy men flow, because they would not bow down and submit to the popular clamor.  Rather than yield to the demands of unrighteous and wicked men, (and these in many instances the lawgivers, rulers and governors of peoples and nations) they yielded their own lives and thus became heirs to the great glory.

The Prophet Joseph is one of the multitude (for they are now a multitude).  He was, and is, and will be the head of this dispensation.  Others in this dispensation, Apostles and righteous men, have yielded their lives also.  Some have been preserved from the power of death, and are today living martyrs of the truth. God has preserved their lives according to the purposes of His own mind, the wisdom which will be fully manifest in His own due time.  This was also the case with Daniel of old, the three Hebrew captives, John the Revelator and many others.

I now ask, would the purposes of God have been accomplished better in the preservation of the life of the Prophet Joseph than in his death?  I think not.  Had he not received and bestowed upon his brethren the Apostles, all the keys, authority and gifts necessary to the prosecution of the labor for the living and the dead previous to his slaughter?  He had.  While the Latter-day Saints would have rejoiced to have had the ministrations of the Prophet Joseph continued down to his old age, were there not other labors to be performed that none other than the founder of this last dispensation could open up and commence, which labor could not be performed in the flesh?  Was there not a host of spirits behind the veil anxiously waiting for their salvation and could not obtain it without the personal ministrations of the man who held the keys thereof?  This is as plainly manifest to the Latter-day Saints as that the antediluvians were anxiously waiting the advent of a slain Redeemer in their midst to open for them “the prison doors, and let the captive go free.”

As 1800 years of ostracism, slavery, persecution, yea, untold woes, have followed the people who cried out, “His blood be upon us and upon our children”, and the end of this suffering is not quite yet, so will that people have assented to the foul murder of the Prophet, Patriarch and others of this last dispensation feel the vengeance of an offended God to their bitter sorrow.

In the meantime, “Jesus has ascended up on high and has led captivity captive.”  Joseph has followed, and like his Master, immediately commenced his labors among the spirits in prison.  Those who have fallen as he did, and a mighty host of others, are engaged in the same work.  We are seconding their labors by building temples and entering therein; receiving baptisms, washings and anointings (sic) for the worthy dead who have received the testimony of Jesus through the Holy Priesthood, and thus are the captives set free.  Then while wicked men have, and do today design to frustrate the purposes of the Almighty, it is plain to be seen that the work of God is not hindered by proscription, imprisonment or death.  On the contrary, imprisonment or the foul murder of a righteous man is sanctified to him, for he suffers for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, while the perpetrators of the deed are barred from eternal life.

Youth of Zion: This is the foundation that the Prophet Joseph and your fathers have laid.  Will you build upon it and continue to rear a structure that shall endure not only the violence of mobs, ostracism and death, but the “wreck of matter and the crash of worlds?”  A structure that shall be recognized by heaven as worthy a place among the redeemed eternities?  For this you have been permitted to come upon the earth, and that, too, through parentage that can bequeath to you the power, and also at a time when this work can be performed by you.  Will you be true to your destiny, or will you fail?

While all the world are prophesying the downfall of Israel and her institutions, the apostasy of her children, the closing of the mouths of her Prophets and Seers, I also will prophesy concerning the youth of Zion: That you will not fail the heavens: that you will not fail God’s Prophet: that you will not fail your faithful fathers and mothers; but that you will maintain inviolate every principle of the Gospel, every ordinance and key of the Priesthood, and that you will prosecute this labor until death; that your sons and your son’s sons, to the latest generation, having been taught and instructed by their fathers, will continue to work in their day and time until the last spirit destined for earth shall have received a tabernacle, the last soul worthy of salvation received the same in some degree of glory, and this earth be sanctified, pass to its resurrection and be restored to its place in the celestial sphere.

True, some may be unfaithful and lost their right to these blessings and the possession of these powers by yielding the sophistries, and falling victim to the wiles of their professioned (sic) friends, but who in reality are their bitterest enemies.  It requires the purest lives in order to attain to that living faith that shall make us acceptable to God and give us the power to endure and overcome.  A looseness of conduct—indulgence in those things which are forbidden—is dangerous in the extreme and should be always avoided.  Look around you and view the men in whom you have the greatest confidence; what is their history?  They destroyed themselves to God in their youth; their conduct since has been without reproach.  As years have rolled by, their unswerving integrity has stamped them worthy of your greatest esteem, and you involuntarily do them reverence by the honor you pay to them in their place and station. These men are worthy of emulation.  They may be ostracized by the world and the government in which they live; they may be persecuted, imprisoned, aye, slain, and follow the martyrs who have gone before; but their power, their Priesthood, remains, for to them it has been made doubly secure.

Youth of Zion: Should you not feel a pride in faithfully representing such an ancestry by perpetuating in your lives their faithfulness, their integrity, their Priesthood, which has come to you through them; and never, no never, yield one principle, one doctrine, one ordinance, or one law of the Gospel revealed by God to us?  I answer for you in all confidence, and I say, you do, and you will, now and forever.  (J. E. Taylor, Contributor 6:331-333)

KING ARTHUR & MERLIN—

A REALITY OR FICTION?

Numerous works have been penned regarding the enigmatic legend of Avalon, Camelot, Merlin, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and the Holy Grail, and equally numerous postulations have also been theorized. 

Questions that many have wondered, are:

Did these men really exist?

Did these events really happen?

And if so, how accurate are the stories?

What is the holy grail?

King Arthur was born A. D. 559 and died in 603—just a mere 44 years upon this earth.  However, to understand Arthur, it is necessary to examine “Grail Lore”, events in Celtic mythology and the history of Great Britain. 

It is well known that Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy tin-trader, having mines on the southern coast of the “Isle of Man,” as the Celtics called their land.  In both Drama of the Lost Disciples and Bloodline of the Holy Grail, genealogies indicate that his daughter Anna married Bran the Blessed, who was an Archdruid of the Ciele De and son of King Llyr (Lear).  People often picture the druids as being human-sacrificing pagans, and perhaps that is what they degenerated to down through the ages.  However, I find it difficult to believe that a bearer of the Holy Priesthood, and uncle to the Savior of the world, would give his daughter away in marriage to a tree-hugger.  We know the gospel was preached upon this island, and it is logical to conclude that the Word of God was accepted by the natives, and hence friendships and familial bonds were established.  This is also an indication of Joseph’s previous acceptance there, considering the hostility the Romans experienced with the natives.  Would you let a man come on to your land and begin mining without your permission?  No. 

Reason stands that  Joseph of Arimathea had long been accepted by the natives of Britain, and could come and go as he pleased, and finally, that these people became his own through the marriage of his daughter.  And from that marriage sprung the descendants of the Rulers of Wales and Brittany, as described from pages 180 to 199 of Bloodline of the Holy Grail, which includes familiar names from Arthurian lore such as Coell of Camulod, (d. 262); Maxen Wledig, Imperial Guletic of Britain (388); Vortigern, Ruler of Powys, Regulus of Britain, 418; Viviane del Acqs, Queen of Avallon, who married Taliesin, Archdruid and Prince Bard, whose daughter Morgause, married Lot of Lothian; and Emrys of Wales, father of Ambrosius Aurelius, who was the father of Emrys Ambrosius the Merlin, who married Nimue, the daughter of Taliesin.  A little farther down the line, we see names such as Arthur, High King and Guletic; Gawain; Lancelot; Galahad; Percival; Ywain; Modred

It is said that Joseph of Arimathea fled Israel, taking with him Mary  Magdelene and her daughter—whose father was Jesus Christ.  It is said that the Frankish Merovingian Kings claimed to be the posterity of this child—the Merovingians known as Priest-Kings, or “fisher kings”.  The Merovingian Kings were also called the sorcerer-kings or the thaumaturge-kings because they could heal by the laying on of hands.  (Holy Blood Holy Grail, pp. 236)  Anyone familiar with the Priesthood understands that principle.  I am confident that the children of the Savior were taught every principle of the Gospel and Priesthood, and that these teachings followed them and their posterity.  It is also interesting to note that the Merovingian Kings were a polygamous people.  This is an historical fact, which the reason for taking plural wives puzzles modern historians.  The Merovingians became converted to Catholicism during the reign of Clovis I, 481 to 511, and the church actually turned a blind eye to the plural marriages among the royal family, whose blood was the sangreal.

This blood is the holy grail.  The grail that the Arthurian legends depict wasn’t truly the chalice to capture the blood of Christ as it spilt from his wound—the explanation for that action is simple: Jews still believe that every particle of the body should be buried with the body.  That is why in modern Israel, we have observed individuals mopping up the blood of bomb victims with handkerchiefs and placing the blood-soaked cloth upon the respective bodies.  The grail was the blood of Christ—the vessel that carried it was the daughter of Mary Magdelene—His offspring, His child, who came from the sea.

San Greal = Holy Grail

Sangreal = Holy Blood

Sangre Al or (El) = The Blood of God

However, the information passed down through the ages became corrupted.  Respected “historians” wrote their own accounts of the Arthurian legends and these became the stories we are familiar with today—Chretien de Troyes, in 1175; Robert de Boron in 1190; the Vulgate Cycle by Cisterian Monks in 1235, and Le Morte de Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory in 1485.  These men were all “official historians,” but the true meaning of the Sangre El was lost—the final “history” being published nearly 1000 years beyond Arthur’s death. 

What is interesting to me is the fact that all of these men depict Arthur and his knights scouring the countryside in search of the Holy Grail—Parcifal even seeing it—however if the bloodline stated above is correct—each one of these men in search of the Grail were grails holding the blood of Christ within their veins. 

Why would most of the world be shocked to see that Jesus fulfilled the second commandment ever given to the First Parents—Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth?  We as Mormons know that the Savior was married—the Marriage at Cana is evident of that fact.  We as Mormons know He had children—Section 122 is evident of that fact.  We as Fundamentalist Mormons know He was a polygamist—the “train of women that followed him,” and Mary and Martha, sisters of Lazarus, and Mary Magdelene are all evident of that fact,

Did King Arthur exist?  Did Emrys Ambrosius exist?  In Stephen R. Lawhead’s work of fiction, The Pendragon Cycle he interprets Avallach, Merlin and others as having come from the sea—but from Atlantis—landing on the southern shores of the British Isle. 

I believe there is truth in any myth or legend—although how much of it is fact remains to be seen.  Did Arthur and Merlin exist?  I believe they did, their mutual ancestors came not from Atlantis, but as close as the Near East, and carried to the Isle of Man, the Sangre El—the Blood of God.

N

 

A LETTER OF ENCOURAGEMENT

February 11, 1992

Dear Son ____:

I hope that this finds you well and happy.  I’ve had you on my mind for some time now and have wanted to write to see how you are doing.  I rejoice in your decision in being re-baptized.  I feel that it is a proper step to take.  It does carry with it a very heavy responsibility; the door is open to enter with our Father in Heaven and spend eternity with Him.  The Church also offers this to the members.  Some would say that it is only with the Church; but this is not so.  The Church has made serious changes that I’m sure make our Father weep to see that men give more importance to the laws and popular trends of modern society than to the eternal precepts of God.

But the fact remains that it is God’s church and enough of the truth remains that people can be baptized in the Church and enter into the Celestial Kingdom, but not in the way they perceive, or in other words, not exalted—but rather saved in the presence of God.  To come up and be qualified, one must comply with the same laws that the Father has; and this by one man’s choosing.  By exercising one’s free agency in choosing to live the higher laws of the Gospel inspire opposition from everyone—even the Church—by will alone, one seeks to duplicate the order of the Celestial Kingdom in one’s own home or family.  This is what is required; not only the choice, but the ordinances performed by the Priesthood of God.  For this purpose, the Lord commanded Pres. John Taylor to organize a council of Apostles other than the 12 in the Church.

The support system is not the same as in the Church; there is more responsibility upon the individuals.  Truly then the greatest work is done within the Family Unit.  One must plead to the Lord that their heart is softened and that they have a hunger to learn, talk about, participate in the things of the Gospel.  One must draw close to the Spirit of the Lord through constant fasting and constant prayer.  Anything short of that will not do, unless one is spiritual and has that kind of relationship with the Lord.  When difficulties arise or persecution comes up, then, because our roots are not deep, we fall.

The evil one whispers in the ear of the children of men and says, “You can’t make it” or “Others can do this, but not you.”  All is a lie.  Each one that will draw close to the Lord and repent forsaking his sins, cleansing his soul and cleaving unto God with all his heart can become qualified to have the heavens opened unto them, becoming servants of God.  I know this to be true.  I also know that temptation can so easily beset mankind, especially when one is alone with no one to lean upon.  That is why the Lord commanded for the Saints who would live the higher laws to gather together in one land where they could support one another.  This has been the law to those of old and it still holds true today.

My counsel to you my son is to sell your house to anyone who will qualify to take over the payments and come up here where there are others who endeavor to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness.  Flee out of Babylon and partake not of her sins.  Cleave unto virtue, truth, prayer and fasting.  Ask the Lord if this is not what He wants for you.  See if the Lord does not want you to be a part of His Priesthood.  You can’t be part of both—it won’t work.

I know that God lives.  I know that His Church is true, even if it is out of order.  I know that He has One Mighty and Strong that will set things in order by and by.  I also know that you shook hands with the Lord’s servant, who with the Council, holds the keys to the Priesthood on the earth today.

It’s your life, you must live it the way you want, but your forefathers have been part of this Work from the beginning.  Richard Jessop was one of the first men to go to prison after the Manifesto in 1896, because he refused to give up his wives and break his covenants.  Your mother’s line is one of the most sacred in history.  This is your heritage; this is your birthright.  You can come forward and say I now put my wayward youth behind me to come and begin to measure up to my ancestors, or you can continue to procrastinate, telling yourself, “I’ll do it, but not just right now.”  Or you can refuse to have anything to do with it—the choice is yours, but so is the responsibility for your choices.  You can’t let others make these choices.  You can’t say, “Well whatever happens will be what God wants me to do.”  No, if you are to rise up to Father in Heaven’s level, it is by choice alone; by agency.  By learning what God’s commandments are and then by keeping them; and not delivering your life or destiny to chance.  Satan controls chance; we must seek God in prayer and in fasting and then act by faith.

My prayers are ever with you.  I love you with all my heart.  I only want the best for you.  I know that you have it in your heart to do the Lord’s will.

My blessings to you,

Your father,

Jackson Ted Jessop

 

 

Selected Prophecies of the Provo Valley

From the  Prophet Brigham Young

[As recorded in the diary of Ben H. Bullock of Provo, Utah]

“Predictions made by President Brigham Young in the presence of my father, Benjamin Kimball Bullock and repeated to me by my father in the presence of my mother, Martha E. Bullock, upon several occasions prior to his death in 1901.

Father said, “When President Young would make his visits among the Saints and hold meetings, some of us brethren living in Provo, Utah would be appointed by President Abraham O. Smoot (who was then President of the Utah stake), to go out on Provo Bench and meet Pres. Young and accompany him into Provo, and on different occasions, when we met President Young, he would stop, get out of his carriage, straighten out his legs, and then would talk to us, telling of many things that would come in the future.  The Provo Bench was a vast stretch of land covered with sage and not a drop of water existed on it anywhere, but this is what Pres. Young told us:

Some day all of this sage brush will disappear, water will be taken out of the Provo River in canals to water this land and this bench will become a beautiful garden spot, where any kind of delicious fruit, and vegetables will be grown, beautiful homes will be erected and Provo and Pleasant Grove will become on solid city.

On another occasion Pres. Young stated:

Some day an earthen dam will be constructed in Provo Canyon across the Provo River, making a large reservoir and water will be taken from this reservoir around the foothills of this valley into Salt Lake Valley and the people of Salt Lake City will get much of their supply of water from this source.

Father said, “On another occasion Pres. Young was in Provo and pointing to Springville, Utah, said,

Some day one of the largest steel and iron plants in the United States will constructed on the shore of Utah Lake, beginning between Provo and Springville, coal will be brought from the large coal deposits in the mountains and the iron will come from the immense iron deposits in Southern Utah.  Railroad facilities will come and everything needed is in abundance in Utah.

CONSPIRACY OF NAUVOO

Those who have read the life of Joseph Smith the Prophet, must be familiar with the fact that from his earliest boyhood he was ever the object of bitter persecution.  Not withstanding the numerous published accounts of mobbings, drivings, bodily injuries, aggravating accusations, mock trials, and murderous attempts upon his life which he endured, and with which the people are familiar, there are, no doubt, many events and trials yet hidden from the world in the bosoms of his most familiar friends, which may have caused him far greater agony than many of those with which the public are acquainted.  Among these the following narrative may be classed, as it has never before been published, and the facts it contains may have had an important influence in hastening, if not really accomplishing, the death of the Prophet.

Early in the spring of 1844 a very strong and bitter feeling was aroused against Joseph, among many of his brethren in and around Nauvoo; and some who held high positions in the Church and were supposed to be his best friends, turned against him and sought by various means in their power to do him injury.  Many murmured and complained, and some of the more wicked, even watched their opportunity to take his life, and were continually plotting to accomplish that end.  At length this wicked feeling became so strong and general, among a certain class, that it was resolved to form an organization, or secret combination that would better enable them to accomplish their wicked purposes.

Accordingly a secret meeting was appointed to take place in the new brick house of William Law, Joseph’s first counselor, on a certain Sabbath, and invitations to attend it were carefully extended to members of the Church whom it was thought were disaffected, or in sympathy with these wicked views and desires.  Among those who received invitations to attend this meeting was Brother Denison L. Harris, now the Bishop of Monroe, Sevier County, Utah, then a young man of seventeen years of age.  Austin A. Cowles, at that time a member of the High Council, was one of the leaders in this wicked movement, and being a near neighbor and on intimate terms with Brother Harris, he had given young Denison an invitation to the secret meeting, and told him also to invite his father, but to be sure and not breathe a word about it to anyone else, as it was to be kept a profound secret.  Denison was much perplexed over the invitation he had received, and certain things that Brother Cowles had told him; and while sitting on his father’s woodpile, thinking them over, and wondering what he had better do, another young man named Robert Scott, who lived but a short distance away, came over and sat down on a log and the two began to converse about various subjects, such as generally engage the conversation of young men of their age.  It seems they had been intimate companions for several years; and they had not conversed long before each discovered that the other had something on his mind which troubled him, but which he did not like to reveal.  Finally, one proposed that, as they had always been confidants, they now exchange secrets, on condition that neither should reveal what the other told him.

Both readily agreed to this, and when each had told the cause of his anxiety, it proved to be the same—both had received an invitation to the same secret meeting.  Robert Scott, having been reared by William Law, seemed to be almost a member of his family, and on this accounted had been invited by him to attend the meeting.

“Well, Den,” Robert said after a short pause, “are you going to the meeting?”

“I don’t know,” replied Denison, “are you?”

“I don’t know whether to go or not,” said Robert, “suppose we go in the house and tell your father of this invitation and see what he says about it.”

They entered the home and consulted for some time with Denison’s father, Emir Harris, who was a brother of Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon.  They informed him of his invitation to the same meeting, and told him many other things that Brother Cowles had told Denison.  He decided to go at once and lay the whole matter before the Prophet Joseph Smith, who was then in Nauvoo, and ask his advice.  He immediately went to Joseph’s house, a distance of about two and a half miles, and informed him of the whole affair.  Joseph listened with interest until he had finished, when he said: “Brother Harris, I would advise you not to attend those meetings, nor pay any attention to them.  You may tell the boys, however, that I would like to have them go, but I want them to be sure to come and see me before the meeting takes place.  I wish to give them some counsel.”

Subsequent events showed the wisdom of Joseph in advising Brother Emir not to attend the meeting and selecting young men to do the work he wished to have accomplished.  Brother Harris returned and told the boys what Joseph desired them to do, and they readily agreed to comply with his request.  Accordingly, on the next Sunday before the secret meeting took place, Robert and Denison called at the house of Joseph to learn what he wished them to do.  He told them he desired that they should attend the meeting, pay strict attention, and report to him all their proceedings, at the first favorable opportunity.  He moreover cautioned them to have as little to say as possible, and to avoid giving any offense.

They attended the meeting as desired.  There were quite a number present, and the time was mostly occupied in planning how to get at things the best, and effect an organization.  Strong speeches were also made against the Prophet, and many lies were told to prejudice the minds of those present against him.  This portion of the proceedings was not a difficult task, for the element of which the audience was composed was only too susceptible to such evil impressions, and those who spoke were eminently successful in producing the desired impressions, and arousing the feelings of enmity toward the Prophet, that they might wish to use in accomplishing his overthrow.  It seems that the immediate cause of these wicked proceedings was the fact that Joseph had recently presented the revelation on Celestial Marriage to the High Council for their approval, and certain members were most bitterly opposed to it, and denounced Joseph as a fallen Prophet, and were determined to destroy him.

The meeting adjourned to convene again on the following Sabbath, and the two young men were invited to attend the next one also, but were cautioned not to tell a soul of what had transpired at the first one.  At the first suitable opportunity they called upon Joseph, related to him what had taken place, and gave him the names of those who had taken part in the proceedings.  The leading members among the conspirators, for such they really were, were William and Wilson Law, Austin A. Cowles, Francis and Chauncey Higbee, Robert Foster and his brother, two Hicks brothers, and two merchants, Finche and Rollinson, who were enemies to the Church.  After hearing their report and asking several questions to which they answered to the best of their knowledge, Joseph said, “Boys, I would like you to accept their invitation and attend the second meeting.  But come again next Sunday, before their meeting convenes, as I may have something more to say to you before you go.”

At the expiration of a week they again went to see Joseph, who gave them the necessary advice, after which they went to the meeting.  This time the conspirators were still more vehement in their abusive remarks about Joseph.  New crimes that he had committed had been discovered, and the old ones were much magnified.  Their accusations were not only against him, but against his brother Hyrum and other prominent men in Nauvoo.  There seemed to be no end to the wickedness of which these good men were accused, as most of the time until a late hour was occupied by different ones in denouncing and accusing Joseph and his friends of the most heinous crimes.  Before the meeting adjourned, however, it was agreed that they should all endeavor to work the matter up as much as possible during the week, that something definite might be accomplished towards effecting a more complete organization without further delay.  The meeting was to convene again on the following Sunday.  As the boys had kept quiet and said nothing against any of their proceedings, it was supposed, of course, that they were in sympathy with the movement, and an invitation was accordingly extended for them to attend the next meeting.

As on the previous occasion, the young men watched a fitting opportunity of reporting to Joseph without arousing the suspicions of any that attended the meeting.  He listened attentively to the recital of all that had taken place at the second meeting, after which he said, “Boys, come to me again next Sunday.  I wish you to attend the next meeting also.” 

The boys promised to do so, and left the room.  They kept the meetings and their connection with them, however, a profound secret from the rest of their friends, and at the appointed time again went to the house of Joseph to receive their usual instructions.  This time he said to them with a very serious countenance, “This will be your last meeting; this will be the last time they admit you into their councils.  They will come to some determination, but be sure,” he continued, “that you make no covenants, nor enter into any obligations whatever with them.  Be strictly reserved, and make no promise either to conspire against me or any portion of the community.  Be silent, and do not take any part of their deliberations.”  After a pause of some moments, he added, “Boys, this will be their last meeting, and they may shed your blood, but I hardly think they will, as you are so young.  If they do, I will be a lion in their path!  Don’t flinch.  If you have to do; die like men; you will be martyrs to the cause, and your crowns can be no greater.  But,” said he again, “I hardly think they will shed your blood.”

This interview was a long one.  Joseph’s sensitive feelings were touched by the faith, generosity and love manifested by these young men in their willingness to undertake such a hazardous enterprise at his bidding.  He blessed them and made them precious promises for their sacrifice, and told them if their lives were taken their reward would be all the greater.

After leaving Joseph’s house with his sincere wishes for their safety, the boys waited anxiously for the time of meeting to arrive.  They fully realized the dangers into which they were about to plunge themselves, yet they did not shrink.  They knew it was their duty, and they determined to attempt it at all hazards.  They were no familiar with the names of the persons conspiring against Joseph, the object they had in view, and many of their plans for accomplishing that object.  Moreover, they were supposed by the would-be-murderers to be in perfect sympathy with all their hellish designs; and if, by any circumstance, they should arouse the suspicion that they were present at Joseph’s request, or even with his knowledge, their lives in such a crowd would, indeed, be of little value.  They determined to trust in the Lord and die rather than betray the Priesthood.  Their feelings may perhaps be imagined as the time of meeting drew near, and they started off in the direction of William Law’s house, where it was to be held.  They certainly displayed faith that every young man in Israel should cultivate.

On arriving at the rendezvous they found to their surprise and discomfiture, that the entrance to the house was guarded by men armed with muskets and bayonets.  After being scrutinized from head to foot, and carefully cross-questioned, they succeeded in passing the guards and gaining admittance.  From this it will be seen that great care was taken to prevent any person from entering, except those whom they knew to be of their party, and ready to adopt any measures that might be suggested against the Prophet Joseph. 

On entering, they found considerable confusion and much counseling among the members of the conspiracy.  All seemed determined that Joseph should die, yet objections were raised by some to each of the plans proposed.

The Prophet was accused of the most wicked acts, and all manner of evil was spoken of him.  Some declared that he had sought to get their wives away from them, and had many times committed adultery.  They said he was a fallen prophet, and was leading the people to destruction.  Joseph was not the only one against whom they lied.  His brother Hyrum and many of the leading men in Nauvoo were accused of being in league with him and sharing his crimes.  In these councilings (sic) and plannings (sic), considerable time was spent before the meeting was called to order, and anything definite commenced.  The boys, however, followed Joseph’s instructions, and remained quiet and reserved.  This seemed to arouse the suspicions of some that they were not earnestly in favor of their wicked purposes, and some of the conspirators began to take especial pains to explain the young men the great crimes that Joseph had committed, and the results that would follow if his wicked career were not checked, with a view to convincing them that their severe measures against Joseph were for the best good of the Church, and persuading them to take an active part with them in accomplishing this great good.  The two boys, however, sat together quietly, and would simply answer their arguments by saying they were only young boys, and did not understand such things, and would rather not take part in their proceedings.

As before stated, Brother Scott had been reared in the family of William Law, and the latter pretended great friendship for him on that account, and was very anxious to explain to him the object of the proposed organization, and induce him to join.  He would come around and sit beside Robert, put his arm around his neck, and persuade, argue, and implore him to join in their effort to rid the Church of such a dangerous impostor.  At the same time Brother Cowles would sit beside Brother Harris in the same attitude, and labor with him in equal earnestness. 

The boys, however, were not easily convinced.  Still in their replies and remarks, they carefully tried to avoid giving the least offense or arousing any suspicions regarding the true cause of their presence.  They said they were too young to understand the “spiritual wife doctrine”, of which Joseph was accused, and many of the other things that they condemned the Prophet.  Joseph had never done them any harm, and they did not like to join in a conspiracy against his life.

“But,” they would urge, “Joseph is a fallen prophet; he receives revelations from the devil; and is deceiving the people, and if something decisive is not done at once to get rid of him, the whole Church will be led by him to destruction.”

These and many other arguments were vainly brought forth to induce the boys to join them, but they still pretended not to understand nor take much interest in such things.  At length they ceased in their persuasions, and, things having developed sufficiently, they concluded to proceed with the intended organization.

An oath had been prepared which each member of the organization was now required to take.  Francis Higbee, a justice of the peace, sat at a table in one end of the room and administered the oath to each individual separately, in the following manner:

The candidate would step forward to the table, take up a Bible, which had been provided for the purpose and raise it in his right hand, whereupon the justice would ask in a solemn tone, “Are you ready?”

And receiving the answer in the affirmative would continue in a tone and manner that struck awe to the minds of the boys as they listened, “You solemnly swear before God and all holy angels, and these your brethren by whom you are surrounded, that you will give your life, your liberty, your influence, your all, for the destruction of Joseph Smith and his party, so help you God!”

The person being sworn would then say, “I do!”  After which he would lay down the Bible and sign his name to a written copy of the oath in a book that was lying on the table, and it would be legally acknowledged by the justice of the peace.

The boys sat gazing upon this scene, wondering how intelligent beings who had once enjoyed the light of truth could have fallen into such depths of wickedness as to be anxious to take such an oath against the Prophet of God and his faithful followers.  They also felt no little uneasiness concerning their own fate, and almost dreaded the moment when the last one should have taken the oath.  At length that portion of the business was accomplished, and about two hundred persons had taken the oath.  Among that number were three women, who were ushered in, closely veiled to prevent being recognized, and required to take the same oath.  Besides doing this, they also testified that Joseph and Hyrum Smith had endeavored to seduce them; had made the most indecent and wicked proposals to them, and wished them to become their wives.  After making affidavit to a series of lies of this kind, they made their exit through the back door.  One of the women, whom the boys suspected as being William Law’s wife, was crying, and seemed to dislike taking the oath, but did so as one who feared that the greatest bodily injury would surely follow a refusal.

After the oath had  been administered to all but the two boys, Law, Cowles and others again commenced their labors to get them to take it, but met the same success as before.  Arguments, persuasions and threats were in turn used to accomplish their desire, but in vain.  They exhausted their ingenuity to inventing arguments, lies and inducements to get the boys to unite with their band.  “Have you not heard,” said they, “the strong testimony of all present against Joseph Smith?  Can a man be a true Prophet who would commit adultery?  He is a fallen prophet, and is teaching the people the doctrines that his own imagination or lustful desires have invented, or else he received that revelation from the devil.  He will surely lead the whole Church to destruction if his career is not stopped.  We can do nothing with him by the law, and for the sake of the Church we deem it our solemn duty to accomplish his destruction and rescue the people from this peril.  We are simply combining and conspiring to save the Church, and wish you to join in our efforts, and share the honors that will be ours.  Come, take the oath and all will be well.”

“Oh, we are too young,” they replied, “to understand or meddle with such things, and would rather let others who are older and know more do such work.  We came to your meetings because we thought you were our friends and gave us an invitation.  We did not think there was any harm in it, but if you will allow us to go now we will not trouble any more of your meetings.  Joseph Smith has never done us any harm, and we do not feel like injuring him.”

“Come boys,” said another of the crowd, “do as we have done.  You are young, and will not have anything to do in the affair, but we want you (to) keep it a secret, and act with us; that’s all.”

“No,” replied the boys in a firm but cool tone, as they rose to leave, “we cannot take an oath like that against any man who has never done us the least injury.”  They would gladly have passed out and escaped the trouble they saw brewing for them; but, as they feared, they were not allowed to depart so easily.  One of the band exclaimed in a very determined voice, “No, not by a damned sight!  You know all our plans and arrangements, and we don’t propose that you should leave in that style.  You’ve got to take the oath or you’ll never leave here alive.”

The attention of all was now directed to the two boys, and considerable confusion prevailed.  A voice in the crowd shouted, “Dead men tell no tales!” 

Whereupon a general clamor arose for the boys to take the oath or be killed.  Even their pretended friends, Cowles and Law turned against them.

“If you do not take the oath,” said one of the leading members, in a blood-curdling tone, “we will cut your throats.”

The looks and conduct of the rest showed plainly that he had spoken only what they were ready to execute.  It was evident that the mob were eager for blood.  That moment certainly must have been a trying one, but it seemed that fear had suddenly vanished from the bosoms of the two boys, and they coolly, but positively again declared that they would not take that oath nor enter into any other movement against the Prophet Joseph.

The mob was now enraged, as they thought they were betrayed, and it was with the greatest difficulty that the leaders succeeded in keeping them from falling upon the boys and cutting them to pieces.  The leaders, however, were no less determined that the boys should die, but as the house in which the meeting was held stood but a short distance back from the street, they thought it better to be more quiet about it, lest someone might be passing and discover what was going on.  Order was at last restored, when the boys down into the cellar, where the deed could be more safely accomplished.

Accordingly, a guard, with drawn swords and bowie knives, was placed on either side of the boys, while two others, armed with cocked muskets and bayonets, at their backs, brought up the rear as they were marched off in the direction of the cellar.  William and Wilson Law, Austin Cowles, and others, accompanied them to the cellar.  Before committing the murderous deed, however, they gave the boys one more chance for their lives.  One of them said, “Boys, if you will take that oath your lives will be spared; but you know too much for us to allow you to go free, and if you are still determined to refuse, we will have to shed your blood.”

But the boys, with most commendable courage, in the very jaws of death, once more rejected the only means that would save their lives.  At this juncture, when it seemed that each moment would end the earthly existence of these two noble young men, a voice from one in the crowd, as if by Divine interposition, called out just in time to save their lives, “Hold on!  Hold on there!  Let’s talk this matter over before their blood is shed!”  {To be continued…}

REMEMBERING BROTHER JOSEPH

SAINT JOSEPH WHITE MUSSER

March 8, 1872 – March 29, 1954

This March, we remember highlights of the life of Saint Joseph White Musser, a great man of God, and a key figure in both Church and Fundamentalist LDS history.

Joseph White Musser was born March 8, 1872 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Amos Milton and Marry Elizabeth White Musser.

His father Amos Milton Musser was Church Historian, and Joseph would often copy manuscripts at his father’s behest—one of which, was the revelation given to President John Taylor in 1886.

Circa 1890, Brother Joseph was promised by his Stake President that he, Joseph, would enter into the Law of Plural Marriage.

On June 29, 1892, age twenty, Joseph Musser was sealed for time and eternity to Ruth Selms Borquist in the Logan Temple.

March 20, 1893, he was ordained a Seventy.

April 6, 1893, was an usher in the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple.

On January 27, 1895, Brother Joseph received a call to a mission to the Southern states from President Wilford Woodruff—set apart by Brigham Young, Jr., (mouth), Heber J. Grant and John W. Taylor—was called to the North Alabama Conference.

July 24, 1895, while on his mission, Brother Joseph received word of the birth of his first son, Joseph.

Thanksgiving Day, 1899—at age 27, received a written invitation from President Lorenzo Snow to receive ‘Higher Anointings’ in the Temple

December 1899, a messenger from President Snow came stating that Brother Joseph had been selected to enter into Plural Marriage and “help keep the Principle alive.  God’s Prophet told me to accept the law and keep it alive.  His subordinates said if I did so, they would cut me off the Church…It was a time when every man was in honor bound to carry his own burdens and yet live every law of the Gospel.

“In answer to prayer, Mary Caroline Hill, a daughter of William Hood Hill, a member of the Mill Creek Ward Bishopric, came within our horizon.  She was a beautiful young lady, about 25 years of age; had refused many proposals—had been waiting for the right man.  Her father had done time, presumably with my father, in the penitentiary for polygamous living.  I was astounded, when asking Brother Hill for the hand of his daughter, to be flatly refused.  He said it could not be done; they were handling people for proposing it.  I was greatly taken back.  I had been at his home, with other Stake and General Officers of the Church on numerous occasions and eaten at his table.  I rather took it for granted that he knew my hidden motive in being there so often and thought he was in harmony with it.

“I said, ‘Well Brother Hill, it can be done, and now the responsibility is upon you.  Your daughter is agreeable to the situation.’

“The conversation took place in the office where I was employed, in town.  He left and in about one half to three quarters of an hour he returned and assured me it was all right and that I might go ahead.  Astonished and yet grateful, I asked what had happened to change his mind so quickly.  He said after leaving me he, ‘bumped into Apostles John Henry Smith and Matthias F. Cowley; he put the question to them.  They assured him it was all right and advised him to return to me and give his consent to the marriage.  Thus Mary entered into my family in 1901”  (Truth, 20:17)

November 11, 1901, he was selected as a President of the 105^th Quorum of Seventy.

February 16, 1903, was ordained a High Priest.

September 20, 1905, was made a High Councilor in Wasatch and Duchesne Stake.

Later, under the direction of President Joseph F. Smith, Brother Musser again entered into the Principle, and had Ellis Shipp sealed to him.

1915, an Apostle conferred upon him the sealing power of Elijah, along with instructions to insure the Principle did not die out.

May 14, 1929, was ordained a High Priest Apostle and a Patriarch to all the world

In the 1930’s, Lucy Kmetzsch was sealed to him.

Joseph W. Musser had 21 children born to him:

Children of Rose: Rose, Joseph B., Mae Lorraine, Neil B., Ruth B., Bertha B., and Gertrude B.

Children of Mary: Mary H., Naomi H., Blanche H., Guy H., Priscilla H., and Helen H.

Children of Ellis: Josephine S., Ellis S., Milton S., Lucile S., and Samuel S.

Children of Lucy: JoAnn K., Amos K.

In his lifetime, Brother Musser received many, many callings within the Church and Priesthood, holy duties in service to the Lord, which he fulfilled.

Brother Musser was author to many invaluable publications, such as Michael Our Father and Our God, Celestial Plural Marriage, Supplement to the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage.  He was author to many important pamphlets like A Priesthood Issue; and  Priesthood Items; and he was Editor of Truth Magazine.

Brother Musser, though not acknowledged as such, presided as true President of the Priesthood after the death of J. Leslie Broadbent in 1935.  John Yates Barlow had never received his 2^nd Anointing—how can a man living a lesser law preside over a man who is living a higher law? 

After several unfavorable events and once things began to deteriorate within the Priesthood Council in Short Creek, Utah, President Musser, under the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ, who visited him the night before, called a new Council on January 12, 1952.  (Journal of Joseph Lyman Jessop).  Those men are listed as follows:

Rulon C. Allred

Eslie Jenson

John Butchereit

Owen A. Allred

Marvin L. Allred

Joseph B. Thompson

Joseph Lyman Jessop

Both Marvin L. Allred and Joseph B. Thompson have attested that when they and the above men were ordained to the Apostleship, Joseph Musser announced he had spent the night conversing with the Lord Jesus Christ, and Brother Joseph’s countenance was so brilliant the brethren could scarcely look upon his face.  “Bro. R. C. Allred admonished us to never announce ourselves as Apostles but let the Lord do it in His own way,” wrote Lyman Jessop in his Journal on that date.  On February 3^rd, 1952 he recorded:

Joseph said, “I am under covenant with the Lord to do this (Priesthood) work and be responsible for it—as long as I live.  I cannot give it to anyone else…I have received instruction from the other side to give the second endowment to those who qualify for it and each one will be called by revelation who are to receive this endowment…I am the only one that can give them.  This will enable you to see God and live…The Lord has told me what to do.”

This Council was called and approved by the Lord Himself, and these men listed above, received a Fulness of Priesthood—thus the Holy Order of the Holy Priesthood, the Friends of the Lord—again upon the earth.

While on the earth, Joseph White Musser was a Prophet and a Patriarch.  He was and is a Priest and a King of the Most High God.  He was a man who stood up for correct principles and remained undaunted in the face of persecution.  He was a stalwart man of God, yet remained sincerely humble in all his dealings.  He was a true lion of Israel—strong and courageous—and left us the best example a man can leave another human being.  Those who knew him say he was the kindest, selfless and generous man they had ever seen—and it is said that his was the character and personality that encouraged others to better their own lives.  Brother Joseph was a man of sterling integrity, who always had the Spirit of God about him, and many found it difficult to leave his presence—a man, who radiated the pure love of God. 

He is a Saint, indeed.

THE HOLY GHOST

13 JANUARY 1977, SLC, UT.

BROTHER RULON C. ALLRED

(Continued from page 74)

            Q: You were saying that the intelligences that we were was just light and truth, and God organized it to make a spiritual being.

            RCA: Was light and truth.  That’s right.

            Q: So you can’t say that intelligence was just a blob up there that was pulled out to make a spiritual being.

            RCA: Just how the intelligence existed in light and truth, it may have had some ethereal organization.  But it could not function as an entity until it was begotten.  Intelligence and light and truth are everywhere in the atmosphere and in the void of space.  But everywhere in that void of space we see physical organizations, and there are spiritual organizations that we can neither see or apprehend with fine instruments.  And so it is with intelligence.  In some places it is very intense spiritually, sometimes it is very dense physically, and it varies throughout nature.  And the Gods in their resurrected, immortal state, through an eternal program that is part of the laws of nature, begat spiritual children just as we beget our physical children, and the Gods cannot be begotten in any other way.

            Q: I wonder, in the physical state, you do things through genetics and even during the actual birth that takes place, starvation for oxygen, etc., it totally changes the physical capabilities that an individual has.  The spirit, then, is markedly bound by the physical limitations.  Is that something that has been pre-planned for that particular spirit so that they might achieve certain lessons, or is that just a happenstance?

            RCA: I think that it is not a happenstance, but I think the degree of intelligence, the place that they occupy in the foreordained purposes of the Gods throughout eternity, are in the exact friendship of certain existing circumstances that were eminent and evident in the father and the mother at the time of the begetting of the child physically, as well as spiritually—if you understand what I mean.  That is the reason we have such a diversity of intelligence and limitations and extensions.

            Q: But to take this back, now, into the organization of the truth and light into the spiritual child, does the same type of thing happen so that some spiritual children were perhaps more equal than others, so to speak?

            RCA: Yes.

            Q: Or did they all start out equal?

            RCA: No they did not.  God Himself tells us that they do not.  So we have the same variations in the spiritual that we do have in the physical.  He said, “I stood among them that were spirits, and there were many of them that were noble and great.  Thou, Abraham, wast one of them.  Thou wast chosen before thou wert born.”  And then He goes on to explain to Abraham that the spiritual existence is like the physical.  If you see a world in space, then you may know of a surety there is one greater somewhere else.  So the spirit children are exactly in the same ration.

            Q: But if a spirit child didn’t really have the opportunity to, say, achieve the best spiritual body, and as a result was limited in its achievement the same as the physical body limits the spirit when it comes into the world, is that really being fair with the individual spirit?

            RCA: That’s a question that mortal beings who know nothing about spiritual beings are constantly throwing up to us right now, and saying it isn’t fair that God would create us with all these different intellects and different statuses.  We should all have been created equal with exactly the same amount of opportunities and exactly the same height and have exactly the same number of hairs on our heads and exactly the same color of eyes, etc.  The truth of the matter is there is nothing unfair about it.  It is part of an eternal and divine plan that operates through the Spirit of God, that creates worlds that differ in degrees of glory, and spirits with different degrees of intelligence and capacity. T hey are born that way, and then their growth after their birth is in exact ratio to the manner in which they exert themselves to attain light and truth.  One person that is born way down at the bottom of the ladder may be way up here by the time he has lived for a few thousand years in the presence of God.  Others who were born very intelligent, will be proud and indifferent and spend their time not obeying the commandments of God.  From the time of birth we have a difference physically here.  Children in a family will complain, “Well, I didn’t have the same chance that the other children had.”  But as far as we in our mortal existence can, we give them all an equal chance.  But they start out, no matter how well we guide them with different degrees of attentiveness and height and growth and color of eyes and hair and laziness or exertion, they are all different.  And the spirits were in like ration.

            But if you don’t believe that, let’s go to Alma, Chapter 13 of the Book of Mormon.  He is talking about the spiritual existence.  He said that there were those in that spiritual existence who had equal opportunities with their brothers and sisters for all of the same spiritual blessings that they could have attained in the spirit world.  But they were not diligent, wherefore they obtained not the blessings.  Those that were diligent and magnified their responsibilities, these were chosen of God to preach these principles in the spirit world and here too, that they might become as equal as they would allow themselves to be. S o you see, in the whole plan there is the wisdom of God.

            You can compare these things on a lower level.  You’ve got the reindeer that come from the north.  They beget their children.  All of those little fawns are born just as nearly perfect as their physical anatomies will permit them to be.  But there are certain conditions that are a part of the law of nature—in feeding and from the mother and from the terrain, that make them a little different in height and strength and stamina.  Then when the summer months come and pass and winter comes, they migrate to the south, and the wold follows the (herd).  He destroys those that can’t keep up.  And you say, “But God isn’t fair to let that happen.  It isn’t right that God should permit these things to be.”  But it’s a part of the very nature of existence.

            Q: Would the law of obedience, a variation in obedience, go back as far as native intelligence?

            RCA: That I do not know.  I do know positively that Brigham Young and Joseph Smith told us we were not just aimless individuals in eternity unorganized, that we were literally begotten in the spirit world just as literally as we are begotten in the physical world just as literally as we are begotten in the physical world.

            Q: Rulon, would it not be reasonable to say, going from the height to the bottom of the whole situation, that Lucifer himself exemplifies that, because he had every opportunity and was one of the most intelligent beings that God had created spiritually?

            RCA: And one of the first ones.

            COMMENT: And yet he fell because of our disobedience.  If you go back into the intelligence state, it was very likely maybe that he had the greater opportunity to get that intelligence.  But he didn’t use it properly, so he lost it.

            Q: We are judged according what we have to work with?

            RCA: That’s right.

            COMMENT: Is it not true in every stage of life that we are judged according to the opportunity that God gives us.  And if we live as near perfect as we can in the sphere in which God has given us and take advantage of everything we’ve got, then we become the sons of God.  If we do not, then we are on the downgrade.

            COMMENT: We are judged according to the opportunity that we accept.

            Q: So we have the same chance, but on different planes?          

RCA: That’s right.

Q: The reason I asked the question if I was also adopted, is because of the fact that my Patriarchal Blessing tells me that I am through adoption.

RCA: All of us are, more or less.

Q: But me more so?

RCA: Not necessarily so.

Q: I thought because I belong to a different race of people.

RCA: That could be so, my dear.  But the very fact that you accepted the gospel would possibly preclude that possibility.  It doesn’t take a different race to do that, because we find that some of the most benighted and darkened people among the so-called Caucasian races of the world and some of the brightest and noblest spirits from among our Lamanite and other Occidental families.  So there is a different degree of the application of the world itself.  All of the Church today is not the Church of Israel.  Only by acceptance of the gospel do they become of Israel.  We may have the strain of the blood of Ephraim in our veins and it comes down to us.  And you doubtless have, as I have, but it isn’t because we have that that we are numbered with Israel.  It is because we accepted the gospel and are by adoption, we become literally of Israel.

COMMENT: Even the Prophet Joseph was spoken of as a gentile.

Q: So is there a transformation that takes place when you are baptized into the gospel, into the Church?  Is there some sort of literal transformation that takes place in the strain of blood that is in you, physically?  Or is it just spiritually that you are talking about?

RCA: The ordinance of spiritual and temporal, in that it enlightens the mind of one who has much of the blood of Israel in his veins.  While if it comes to a person who is almost entirely Gentile, it will almost tear them to pieces sometimes.  And that burst of light and knowledge coming to them will be apparent upon their physical body like it  would not be so with others who have the blood of Israel in their veins.

COMMENT: And if faith and repentance do not precede it, it is not even efficacious.

RCA: If faith and repentance haven’t preceded the ordinance of baptism, then it is not efficacious.

RCA: …There are those appointed to stand in that office, or to represent the Holy Ghost, to represent the fulness of truth.  They are not the fulness of truth.  Someone may go out as ambassador of the President of the United States and act in his name in all respects, but he is not president.

Q: In this discourse by Orson Pratt, Journals of Discourse 2:334, is this not basically accurate?  The whole discourse is basically about the Holy Ghost.

RCA: This discourse, as I remember it, having read it before, is in conformity with truth.  But in many areas in this discourse, he speaks of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost as we would speak of the Church and the Kingdom.  He is in one instance referring to it in a limited sense and in another in its fullest sense.  Therefore if you don’t understand the principle, you can get off base.  That’s your problem.  He does not make proper differentiation between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost.  Therefore, speaking of them in some instances as two distinct opposites there, two distinct portions of the Holy Ghost.  Therefore, it isn’t clear.

Q: Some people say that the Holy Ghost acts as a librarian for the Holy Spirit.

RCA: Well, that’s a good Church statement.  That is that the Holy Ghost is like the library of knowledge and light and truth, for the Holy Spirit.  But that is not true in the sense that the Holy Ghost is a revelator in full of the light of God and cannot activate our minds and our bodies to that fullest extent that we are entitled to it, unless we are pure and holy.  But the Holy Spirit which gives us our sense of morals, our ability to discern between right and wrong in every man.  That is the light of Christ.

Q: What causes the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost?  Is that a connection between you and the Spirit and comes from without?

RCA: It is shed upon us in greater magnitude when we are moved upon by the Spirit of God in God’s service.  It never comes to us in its fulness until our bodies can be literally enlivened by it, every particle of it.  We could not continue to dwell in mortality long if it should dwell with us constantly.

Q: So there’s an ebb and flow?

RCA: It’s an ebb and flow.  And it flows to us in exact proportion and relation to our harmony with the outpourings of the Spirit of God.  If we were to have it all the time we would not long remain in mortality.

Q: The Doctrine and Covenants says the sanctified should be aware lest they fall and would indicate that you haven’t arrived even though sanctification should come to you.  There’s still an ebb and flow.

RCA: I think it was Lorenzo Snow who gave this account of how he was saturated with the Spirit in answer to his prayers, after constant prayer to the Lord for several hours, that it seemed almost more than he could bear.  And that since that time he had it from time to time in like portion.  That’s about one of the best descriptions of it that you could get.

In my own personal experience I have had the Holy Ghost rest upon me so that I felt as if I were a transformer of God’s word that I was speaking not of myself at all, but that He was speaking through me.  And when you get into that position, it’s one of the most marvelous things in the world.  Your whole body is enlightened by it.  You can have the voice of God speak to you literally.  You no longer hear it with the ear, but you hear it with every particle of your body.  Every particle of the body is enlightened by it.

Q: In connection with that, I’ve read of some experiences where a sister heard the voice of the Lord and was afterwards called “A daughter of the voice.”  Does that mean that they heard the voice of the Lord?

RCA: It could mean a great deal, it might mean a great deal.  It might mean nothing, because we mortals are so prone to play upon words.  And I’m inclined to feel that sometimes it is a play upon words.  But we can be a son or daughter of the voice of God, if we have the Holy Ghost speaking through us.  But most of the time in our mortal lives, we are agents of God with very definite mortal limitations.  And we cannot always be and are not the voice of God.  The Prophet Joseph Smith even said it himself, “I am not always a prophet.  I do not always speak by the voice of God.”  (Treasures of Knowledge, Vol. 2, pages 329-333)

“If a woman whose bloodline is not polluted, asks to enter into a man’s family and he turns her down, that man is going to have a lot of explaining to do on the other side as to why he did not accept her hand in marriage.”  —J. Ted Jessop— 2000

“If a good woman, eligible for marriage, chooses a good man, and expresses the wish to be married to him, he is bound to receive her unless barred from such act through physical disabilities or financial distress, in which event she may still choose him, she taking the consequences.  Should he refuse and cause her to sin to destruction, he will be responsible for her fall and must redeem her in eternity.”          —Joseph W. Musser— 1931

VISION ON THE PLAINS

GIVEN TO BRIGHAM YOUNG,

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA,

17 FEBRUARY 1847

On Wednesday morning, I was taken ill and it has been asked if I had a vision.  I was taken so suddenly sick, just as I was getting out of my bed that I could not go out.  I tried to return to the bed again, but could not even get back.

As to how I felt, no one can tell how I felt, until he dies and goes through the vail and when he does that, he can then tell how I felt.  All that I know is what my wife told me about it since.  She said that I said, I had been where Joseph & Hyrum was.  And again that I said, it is hard coming to life again.  But I know that I went to the world of spirits; but what I saw I know not, for the vision went away from me, as a dream which you lose when you awake.  The next day I had a dream.

I dreamed that I saw Joseph sitting in a room, in the South West corner, near a bright window.  He sat in a chair, with his feet, both on the lower round.  I took him by the hand and kissed him on both cheeks, and wanted to know why we could not be together, as we once was.

He said that it was all right, that we should not be together yet.  We must be separated for a season.  I said it was hard to be separated from him.  He said, it was all right and putting his feet down on the floor.

Now all you who know how he looks, when he used to give council, know about how he looked then.  I told him that the Latter-day Saints was very anxious to know about the law of adoption, and the sealing powers, &c and desired word of council from him.

Joseph said, “Do you be sure and tell the people one thing.  Do you be sure and tell the brethren that it is all important for them to keep the spirit of the Lord, to keep the quiet spirit of Jesus,” and he explained how the spirit of the Lord reflected on the spirit of man and set him to pondering on any subject, and also explained how to know the spirit of the Lord from the spirit of the enemy.

He said, “The mind of man must be open to receive all spirits, in order to be prepared, to receive the spirit of the Lord, which always brings peace and makes one happy and takes away every other spirit.

“When the small still voice speaks, always receive it, and if the people will do these things, when they come up to the Father, all will be as in the beginning, and every person stand as at the first.”

I saw how we were organized before we took tabernacles and every man will be restored to that which he had then, and all will be satisfied.  After this I turned away & saw Joseph was in the edge of the light; but where I had to go was as midnight darkness.  He said I must go back, so I went back into the darkness.

I want you all to remember my dream.  For I, it is a vision of God and was revealed through the spirit of Joseph.

THE RIGHT TO HEIRSHIP

I will now give you the text, and probably shall call upon the brethren to fill out the sermon.  I do not know that I can refer you to the Bible for the particular chapter and verse to find the text; but the text may be given here, and the book referred to hereafter.

The text is the right to heirship.  I will, however, make an addition to the scripture before I proceed further with my remarks and say, “the right of heirship is the Priesthood,’ for unquestionably this will be connected with the text, and brought into the discourse.

In the little that I shall say, I will endeavor to point out the items of doctrine, and the right view to be contemplated and spoken upon by the brethren, for I wish this subject to be properly understood.

Pertaining to the Kingdom of God; to this earth; to the organization of it; to the bringing forth of the children of men upon it; to the preparatory gospel or law, to fit and prepare them, after receiving their tabernacles, to enter again into the presence of their Father and God, this heirship, this right, did belong, still belongs, and forever will belong to the first born son in every family of Adam’s race.

This is understood from the Bible, not only by the Latter-day Saints, but also by the Christian world.  Jesus Christ, first begotten of the Father, of all the rest of the children, and of all they possess, alone is the lawful heir.  This is no mystery.

After passing over the ages and generations of the children of men for about six thousand years, we will come to the present congregation and say, the right of heirship is the same now that it was in the beginning.  It is as it was, and as it ever will be, worlds without end.  This I wish the Latter-day Saints to understand a little better than they have heretofore.  I will give you my reason.

For instance, here are sisters in this Church that have been bereaved of their husbands, who died full of faith in the holy gospel, and full of hope for a glorious resurrection of eternal life.  One of them is visited by a High Priest, of whom she seeks information touching her situation, and that of her husband.  At the same time, the woman has a son 25 years of age, is an Elder in one of the quorums of the Seventies, and faithful in all the duties connected with his calling.  She has also other sons and daughters.  She asks this High Priest what she shall do for her husband, and he very religiously says to her, “You must be sealed to me, and I will bring up your husband, stand as proxy for him, receive his endowments, and all the sealing, keys, and blessings, and eternal Priesthood for him, and be the father of your children.”

Hear it ye mothers!  The mother that does that, barters away the sacred right of her son.  Does she know it?  No!  This has been done in hundreds of instances, though innocently and in ignorance, which makes it excusable.  For my part, I am willing to wink at the ignorance of the people, and I believe our Heavenly Father is.

But you that will hear, and be made to understand the true principles that govern this matter, go from this place, and do hereafter as has been done in by gone days; instead of the children being robbed of their just rights, the woman shall loose her children, and they shall yet stand in their place, and be put in the possession of their rights.  What is to be done?  Let mothers honor their children.  If a woman has a son let her honor that son.

But a mother may say, “My son is only five years old.  I never had but one son among a number of daughters; I am advancing in years and may die before I can be sealed to my husband.”

Let that son wait until he is old enough to officiate for his father, and though you may go into your grave, let your son do his duty, and never hang to the skirts of a man that is avaricious.

You may see a great many miserly persons with regard to dollars and cents; it is just as natural for men t be miserly with regard to their religious blessings.  You may see hundreds of elders who say to the sisters, “Come, and be sealed to me,” crawling round to make the holy ordinances of God a matter of speculation to administer to their avaricious dispositions.  They will tell you that you will go into eternity, and find yourselves without husbands, and cannot get an exaltation, that you cannot have this, that, or the other, unless you are sealed to them.  I am free, and so are you.  My advice to the sisters is, never be sealed to any man, unless you wish to be.  I say unto you High Priests and Elders, never, from this time, ask a woman to be sealed to you unless she wants to be, but let the widows and children alone.

I will refer you to a discourse I delivered here last season, upon the subject of the resurrection and the millennium, setting forth before the people the work to be accomplished in that period of time.  We have at least one thousand years, counting 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 57 seconds to the years, if I recollect right, wherein the Elders of Israel will enter holy temples of the Lord, and officiate for just such persons as you and I, that have done the work we were called to do in our day, whether it was much or little.  There will be hundreds of thousands of the sons of Jacob to administer in these temples for you and I.  Joseph, Hyrum, Father Smith, and many others will be heads of this dispensation, and hold the keys of it, for they are not taken from him, they never were in time, they never will be in eternity.  I shall be there if I live, or if I die.  If I die, my brethren or my children will officiate for me; I shall lose nothing through death.

Magnify your callings in this Church, and I will warrant you an exaltation just as good, and as great, as you can ask for.  I might notice many more items pertaining to this matter; but the Elders going round telling the sisters they must be sealed to them or they cannot get an exaltation, particularly, has wounded my feelings.  How ignorant such men are!  This to me is like a shadow.  To talk about it is sheer nonsense.  Let every man and woman magnify their calling in the Kingdom of God and He will take care that we have our exaltation.

Sisters come to me and inquire what they shall do, saying, “Brother A or B taught me so and so.”  They are as wild deer on the mountains; their ideas and calculations are derogatory to every shade of good sense, and do every principle of the Priesthood of Heaven.

Brethren, learn to be patient, and submissive to your duty and callings in life, and not be anxious to accumulate to yourselves that, which, when you have obtained, you are at a loss to know what to do with it.  There are scores of men in this house, that if they could pile up an almost unlimited amount of gold, in a short time they would not possess one dime of it.  There are also scores of Elders here, if they had 500 women sealed to them, and a thousand children they would destroy themselves, and those over whom they exercised any influence.  They would not know what to do with them.  You want to have another wife; but do you use well the one you have got?  It is a bad omen to me when a man wants another wife, and the one he has got is ready to leave him.  If you cannot keep the jewel you already possess, be cautious how you take more, lest you lose them both.

…Let me hear no more of this, “You must be sealed to me or you cannot get an exaltation.”  If a man gets the widow of a good man, sealed, married to him, with a view to hold control over, and rob every child in that family of their birthright, he will be mistaken.  It will not be.  I say to you my brethren, magnify your calling, honor the Priesthood, and if a man has stepped up and married your mother under the influence of such an expectation, turn him out of your house and maintain your birthright.  Brigham Young, 8 April 1853; Deseret News, April 30, 1853

—COMMENTARY—

ON

THE NEW JERUSALEM

In the days of Joseph Smith, the Saints held the belief they would build New Jerusalem in Jackson County, Missouri, at approximately 1890, for in 1835, he stated that the Gospel would go forth, for “the coming of the Lord was nigh—even 56 years should wind up the scene.”  (DHC 2:182).

In 1843, the Prophet Joseph received a revelation from the Lord, who said, “Joseph, my son, if thou livest until thou are eighty-five years old, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man…”  (D&C 130:15)

The Prophet Joseph having been born in 1805 would have been 85 years of age in 1890, had he not been martyred the following year he received that revelation.  The Saints, following this martyrdom and fleeing westward, fully expected to return to Jackson County—this belief held sacred to the Saints beyond the administrations of Brigham Young, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff.  It is interesting to note that Lorin Woolley set men apart to lead the Saints of God back to build this great city.

Where are we today?  What are our feelings upon this matter?  To me, it seems as though complacency has pervaded our minds and lulled us to sleep.  For the Saints to return to Jackson County and build the governing seat of the Kingdom of God to the world for the Lord was a reality in the early days of the Church.  It should be our reality, too! 

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  (2 THES. 5:2).

And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?  For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.  …But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  (2 PETER 3:4, 10)

It will be a reality—us going back to Jackson County, Missouri.  And in that day that we are called, our exodus from Babylon will be in haste.

Let him who is on the housetop, flee, and not return to take anything out of his house.

Neither let him who is in the field, return back to take his clothes.

And woe unto them that are with child, and unto them that give suck in those days!

Therefore, pray ye the Lord, that your flight be not in winter, neither on the Sabbath day.  (Matt. 24:14-17—Inspired Version)

The day will come, dear reader, when you and I will be summoned to a desolate, uninhabited land—for Brigham Young prophesied there wouldn’t even be a “yellow dog left to wag its tail,” in Jackson County.  Are you ready for this reality?  Are you prepared—both temporally and spiritually?  Let us not be complacent and at ease; let us sanctify ourselves before the Lord and await His glorious return—the Great and Terrible day of the Lord.  Great to His Saints—Terrible for the sinner.

Choose   Ye   This   Day

“…Now that you can see all that you have done;

It’s time to take that step into the Kingdom…”

“This Dying Soul,” John Petrucci/Dream Theater

What defines a Mormon Fundamentalist?  I would like to believe there are few differences between a Mormon Fundamentalist and a Latter-day Saint from 130 years ago. Although many of us have not experienced the persecution they did, a Mormon Fundamentalist is nothing less than a Latter-day Saint, who remains true to the restored teachings and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through His servant, the Prophet Joseph Smith.

A true Latter-day Saint believes there is no change in the Gospel.

A true Latter-day Saint believes there is no change permissible to the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood.

A true Latter-day Saint holds sacred his/her testimony of the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Bible—as long as they are translated correctly—this knowledge given as a gift and witness of the Holy Ghost.

A true Latter-day Saint understands that only through faith, long suffering, good works, and sacred ordinances—beginning with baptism and culminating with having one’s calling and election made sure—can one attain the highest degree of exaltation.

A true Latter-day Saint knows that one cannot be where Father Abraham is without first performing the works of Abraham.

A true Latter-day Saint comprehends there is more than a simple belief of Christ, in order for one to be “saved.”

A true Latter-day Saint knows not to be pretentious in his/her acumen and seek out the accolades of man, but rather share the Gospel as the Spirit of God directs him or her to do.

A true Latter-day Saint knows and understands humility and diligence in serving the Lord.

A true Latter-day Saint places Christ first and foremost in his or her life.

The Prophet Joseph Smith once stated that one would not be condemned for believing too much, however Joseph Musser taught that in the end days, while the Savior resides upon the earth during His Millennial Reign, that all religions shall eventually come to a reckoning of the truth.  The Scriptures teach us that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Redeemer of this earth.  And yet Brigham Young once made the statement that if an individual wishes to worship a white dog as the son of God, that individual will have that right to do so in those times soon to come.  We understand that every individual in the Kingdom of God will have their religious freedoms protected, and we likewise understand that none will be able to deny the existence of the Christ, for He will reign in Zion, the New Jerusalem, where her laws are just.

We as Latter-day Saints have a preparatory mission unto the world—to prepare for the return of the Lord in His Glory.  We Latter-day Saints, as adhering to the fundamentals of the Mormon creed, have a charge to preserve every law, every rite, every ordinance of the Holy Priesthood, lest the earth be wasted at the Lord’s coming and smitten with a curse.  There must be a people upon the earth living the Fulness of the Gospel when He returns. 

There is only one true religion upon this earth that is acknowledged as correct and is likewise practiced in Heaven—that is comprised of the eternal principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and ordinances of the Holy Priesthood, which was restored to this world by the Prophet Joseph Smith.  All the Gods before our Heavenly Father lived the same religion upon the worlds they dwelled upon as mortals, and the same doctrines will be taught upon worlds without end. 

Study it for yourself.

Read it for yourself. 

Believe it because it is true.

There is more to our religion than the New Testament.  There is more to our religion than what those of the sectarian faith hold dear as their creed—Priesthood; revelation from the heavens; ordinances performed by legal administrators; in short, the truth.  Has the truth set you free?  Are you a believer?  Are you a true Latter-day Saint? 

If you are, gird up your loins and choose ye this day whom you will serve. Live up to your covenants, for the time is far spent.  Repent, ye Israel.  Repent, ye Gentiles, for the return of the Lord is nigh, even at the gates.

Never cease calling upon the Master until you hear His words, “Enter ye, into the joy of the Lord,” and set foot into the Kingdom.

6

E   D   I   T   O   R   I   A   L

AVOIDING APOSTASY AND DECEPTION

AND THE SUBSEQUENT HEARTACHE

Joachim was a mere 17 years old. He lived in Jerusalem. His father, Jarusha, was a strict Pharisee, and sat on the local Yad Yeshem of the local synagogue, a leader of the local congregation of Jews. Jarusha was particularly schooled in the Testament, and had studied a particular subject which had drawn him all of his life - the Messiah. Joachim was an excellent student of the Testament, too, having studied under Gamaliel, the famed teacher of the Scriptures, which put him in good stead to succeed his father, one day, as a particularly gifted student and teacher of the Torah.

The Family of Jarusha, were very strict in keeping the dietary laws of Israel, in that they would not eat pork, nor of any of the forbidden animals as outlined in the Testament. The Sabbath Day was observed with great strictness, as were all the Ten Commandments. Even the rules and regulations that the High Priest of Israel, Caiphas had handed down, were observed with strictness, exactness, and honor. The High Holy Days, were observed with the required piety. In every way, that Jarusha understood, he kept the duties and laws of being a Son of the Covenant with exactness and honor. Each year, he and his family who were of age, would make the annual pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, which wasn't that far away.

One day, two men of rather rough appearance, appeared at the door of Jarusha's home. "We bring glad tidings of great joy", was their first Message. "For the Messiah has come among us, has carried out His Mission, and has returned to live with Father in Heaven." Jarusha, of course, was not home, but off to a local city on business, with his merchant business, of providing fine furniture to the upper classes of the area, catering specifically to wealthy Romans. However, Joachim was home and being a tad more "open-minded", invited these two men into the home, fascinated to hear their Message, knowing how much he and his father had discussed the matter of the coming Messiah.

These two "rough" men, began opening up the story of Yeshua Is Nazaret, a humble Carpenter, who had been born in Bethlehem and who had lived in Nazareth most of His life, and who was the Messiah. They spoke of the Atonement and of His Death and Resurrection... and at each juncture, they showed Joachim right out of the scriptures, how Yeshua had fulfilled each part of the Prophecy of the Messiah in the Testament. With each "proof" from the Scriptures, Joachim could clearly see how Yeshua had, in fact, fulfilled the Prophecy. He was becoming increasingly convinced of the Message of these two men.

With the completion of the "story", the two men told Joachim, he would have to ask God, if the things they were teaching were true. God would tell him. And then, just like that, they left--they left Joachim to sit and ponder their Wonderful Message. He did just that, and as he pondered, he heard himself say: "Oh, Adonai, Giver of All Truth, tell me truly if this Yeshua, the Carpenter of Nazareth, is the Messiah." No answer was forthcoming, but that night, as Joachim slept, an angel came to him in a dream and standing at the opening of a tomb he had never seen, invited Joachim to enter the tomb, and showing him the empty place, with the used burial clothing, exclaimed in a sweet, musical voice, in pure Hebrew: "Come and see the Place where your Messiah was laid. For He is not here. He has risen, as was prophesied in the Testament."

Joachim awoke, crying, his heart full of Joy, his whole body on fire, as if he were to be lifted right off his bed.  He knew!  He absolutely knew for a fact that this Yerusha of Nazaret, this Yeshua ben Adam, was the Promised Messiah.  He could hardly wait for dawn, to seek out these two men and find out more of what they knew and to know what more he must do to follow this Messiah, that he had just discovered.  

And then the thought occurred to him—How would he tell his father?  Oh, his father would be overjoyed to learn that the Messiah had come and had already carried out His mission. Leaving his bedchamber, Joachim entered the kitchen, to see his mother and two sisters, preparing the morning meal, as was their custom. His father was in his office, dressed in his usual Pharisaical garb, complete with skullcap (yarmulke) and a very serious demeanor. For Jarusha, life was a very serious matter, and there was no room for fun or games.

"Good morning, father," Joachim said almost cheerfully.

"Good morning, son, " mumbled the senior Pharisee.

"Father, I have some good news." Jarusha looked up, with a scowl. "I have found the Messiah. Two men came by here while you were gone and shared with me the story of a man who fits the Prophecies in every way, and who has already come among us and carried out the mission of Messiah."

Jarusha even scowled more, his face starting to turn red. "If it is that Yeshua Is Nazaret, you can forget him. He is no Messiah. I suspect the deceivers have come among my own household to lead them astray, with their species of false doctrines and heresies."

"But father, I had this dream of an angel coming to me and the most wonderful feelings of Joy that engulfed my heart, as I contemplated their Message yesterday. I just know He is our promised Messiah."

"Son, do you see Israel established in her glory as God's Kingdom? No, you do not. We are still in bondage to the Roman tyrants. Do you see the Armies of Israel organized as they once were, when our Glorious King David ruled as God directed him to rule? No, you do not. But most importantly, the distinguished Sandhedrin, the Council of Learned and God-fearing men who rule our people, Israel, as well as the great High Priest, himself, Caiphas, have correctly adjudged this man as a traitor to Israel, as a blasphemer against our most Sacred Laws, and as a person guilty of Treason against Caesar. He was properly adjudged and crucified for his sins. Later, as sworn testimony will show you, dear son, his body was stolen by a few of his disciples, who now claim he was 'resurrected'. We have the affidavits, sworn testimony of the Roman guards who were eyewitnesses to the theft of the dead body of this malefactor. Now, his followers go about the country attempting to subvert our people by leading them astray with these ridiculous and unfounded and false stories regarding the supposed Messiah-ship of this Carpenter's son. Further research, has shown that he was actually the illegitimate son of a Jewish handmaiden and a Roman guard. But to cover up the misdeed, the story went about that he was somehow miraculously conceived, the son of God and this wretched woman. So son, put away your foolish notions and rest assure that you have been carried away in the deceptions of Satan in believing this man as our Messiah. He just doesn't fit the Prophecies."

Joachim sat and mused for a minute. He had never ever won an argument with his father. And he knew the Commandment to honor his father and his mother, as one of the Ten Commandments. To disagree with his Father, was tantamount to dishonoring him. And if this "testimony" he had received were to go any farther, it would eventually mean his banishment, not only from his Community of Israel, but from his dear family. He knew for a fact his family would disown him.

And as Joachim thought more on the subject, he reasoned in his mind: "Some of the most knowledgeable and best men in Israel, men of renown, men of great understanding of the Testament, men of experience, have ALL disavowed and rejected this Carpenter's Son as our Messiah. How can two such rough and uneducated men be so stupid as to ignore all of that evidence? Fifteen men sit on the Sandhedrin. Fifteen men listened to the Testimony of those involved with this Yeshua ben Yusuf (if he truly is the son of Yusuf) and all came to the same conclusion--he was a malcontent, a blasphemer, and a man guilty of treason, unto crucifixion. And then, there is our Great High Priest - Caiphas - who challenged him to declare that he was the Messiah--and then, this Carpenter's son blasphemed and said he was - at least Caiphas said he blasphemed. And in our law, blasphemy is punishable by death. And he broke the Roman Law, too, and was properly adjudged and crucified as a treasonous man."

Joachim was reeling. So much evidence against this Yeshua. So many men of great renown all saying the same thing - "He's no Messiah." Then, like a brick, it hit Joachim, as if he realized something for the first time. "Oh, my goodness, if Yeshua is the Messiah, as these men claim He is, then the leaders of my People are guilty of murder. They killed the Messiah. He is not guilty of blaspheme. He is not treasonous. He was set up and rail-roaded to the cross."

That was too much for Joachim. For he knew many of these men. He even met Caiphas once and was overwhelmed with his goodness and his strictness in keeping God's law. The men on the Sandhedrin had done a wonderful job of leading and guiding the People of Israel through all the years of captivity, causing them to be able to live the Laws of Moses without interference, and protecting them from the Zealots who would bring the wrath of the Romans down on them in the form of new civil laws designed to oppress them. He had heard men on the Sanhedrin give talks in the Temple and in the synagogue and they were such excellent talks, explaining many parts of the Law that had added greatly to his understanding of God's Will for His People. No, these men were not murderers. No, these men had not sent an innocent man to the cross. No, Israel was not under condemnation for murdering their Messiah. God would never abandon His People, Israel. God made Eternal Promises to the descendants of Abraham, and when God makes Eternal Promises, He never reneges or goes back on those promises. And his family and those who lived God's Religion, the Law of Moses, were the descendants of Abraham, heir to the Promises of God. God had not cursed them, but blessed them, and it was obvious to anyone who wanted to open his eyes, how Israel had been blessed with the blessings of God.

"Rest assured, Israel is on track", Joachim thought to himself, "And one day, the Messiah will come as promised and free our nation from the shackles which now bind her. And then, she will take her rightful place at the head of the Nations, with God, the Messiah at Israel's head."

And with the talk of his father so fresh in his thoughts and his own reasonings and logic, Joachim breathed a sigh of relief, grateful he had been saved all of the heartache and suffering that comes with deception and apostasy. How close he had come to being deceived, but thankfully he had heeded the advice of his legally constituted religious leaders--his father, his Rabbi, his Cohen, and most of all, the Sanhedrin and the High Priest, Caiphas, in finally coming to a resolution on this "Yeshua issue".

Qadosh L’Adonai

Sons of Michael

1891 Version

sons of Michael, he approaches!

Rise; the eternal father greet;

bow, ye thousands, low before him;

minister before his feet;

hail!  Hail!  The patriarch’s glad reign,

hail!  Hail!  The patriarch’s glad reign.

Spreading over sea and main.

Sons of Michael, ‘tis his chariot

Rolls its burning wheels along!

Raise aloft your voices million

In a torrent power of song:

Hail!  Hail!  Our head with music soft!

Hail!  Hail!  Our head with music soft!

Raise sweet melodies aloft!

Mother of our generations,

Glorious by great Michael’s side,

Take thy children’s adoration;

Endless with thy lord preside;

Lo, lo, to greet thee now advance;

Lo, lo, to greet thee now advance

Thousands in the glorious dance!

Raise a chorus, sons of Michael,

Like old Ocean’s roaring swell,

Till the mighty acclamation

Through rebounding space doth tell

That, that the Ancient One doth reign,

That, that the Ancient One doth reign

In his paradise again!

Holiness

Y

to the

lord

truth never changes

volume 10, number 03

march 2006

p. o. box 433

st. johns, az 85936-0433

“truth never changes—nor fails”