Another Testimony of Jesus Christ

I beheld round the throne holy angels and hosts,
And sanctified beings from worlds that have been,
In holiness worshiping God and the Lamb,
Forever and ever. Amen and amen.

And now after all of the proofs made of him,
By witnesses truly, by whom he was known,
This is mine, last of all, that he lives; yea, he lives!
And sits on the right hand of God on his throne.

And I heard a great voice bearing record from heav'n,
He's the Saviour and Only begotten of God;
By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
Even all that careen in the heavens so broad.

Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
Are sav'd by the very same Saviour of ours;
And, of course, are begotten God's daughters and sons
By the very same truths and the very same powers."

(Joseph Smith Jr., Millennial Star, vol. 4 pp. 49-55, qtd. in Mormon Doctrine, Second Edition pp. 65-66)

How to Vote: The Words of a Prophet

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not endorse or support candidate for political office. However, President Harold B. Lee offered this counsel on voting:

I'll tell you how to vote. You read the 134th section of the Doctrine and Covenants and the 29th chapter of Mosiah, and then pray about it and you'll know exactly whom you should vote for at the election. That's how to vote" (Address to Seminary and Institute Personnel, Brigham Young University, July 8, 1966).

God's Commandments

I recently read a story about a controversy where homosexual woman who were kissing in the stands of a Major League Baseball game were asked to stop by an usher who had received a complaint from another woman in the stands. The debate in this article was really about whose rights are being infringed upon, or what is more important, the homosexuals being free to do as they wish in a public setting or those who prefer to not be exposed to homosexual behavior in a public setting.

As this is not a political blog, I am not going to get into the controversy here of whose rights trump whose. Rather, I am going to talk about the more fundamental issue—homosexuality.

Homosexuality is wrong.

The statement that stuck out most to me in the aforementioned article was this:

"Certain individuals have not yet caught up. Those people see a gay or lesbian couple and they stare or say something.”

Do not get me wrong, I do not hate homosexuals. I love them, as I do my best to love all of Heavenly Father’s children. However, there is no “catching up” to do. Simply because some people have chosen some morals are now okay does not mean the rest of us need to “catch up”. God makes it clear through his prophets in the Bible where he stands on homosexuality three distinct times:

Moses taught: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination” (Old Testament | Leviticus 18:22).

Paul taught the Colossians: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (emphasis added), (New Testament | Colossians 3:5).

Paul taught Timothy: “THIS know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good” (emphasis added), (New Testament | 2 Timothy 3:1-3).

Now if you are a believer and believe this commandment has changed, you must believe one having authority through Jesus Christ—meaning a prophet or an apostle (which is a prophet)—has spoken for God and changed it, making homosexuality acceptable. If you do not believe God speaks to men on Earth any more, then you must believe that this commandment—homosexuality is wrong—is still in force.

I will tell you what I believe. God does continue to speak to men on this Earth. There is a true and living prophet. However, since God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness on this Earth, none of his prophets have rescinded the doctrine that homosexuality is wrong. They have only reinforced it.

There is no “catching up” to do. Homosexuality is against God’s commandments. It is a weakness no doubt many have. However, we were put on this Earth with weaknesses so we could gain strength, knowledge, and power by overcoming those weaknesses. All of our weakness, or rather the combinations of our weakness, are unique to each of us, as we are unique children of God. Concerning this mortal state where we have weaknesses, King Benjamin taught:

”For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 3:19)”

I testify that as we seek to “yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit” and “putteth off the natural man” we will become more saintly “through the atonement of Christ the Lord”. I know that however difficult challenges and temptations are, even when the world says “it’s alright, everyone is doing it”, through Jesus Christ we can overcome those challenges, gaining greater control over our natural selves. I testify that this will only bring us closer to our Father in Heaven and his Son, Jesus Christ. This is my testimony, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Mormon Church is Either True or it is a Fraud: Blacks and the Priesthood

"Each of us has to face the matter—either the Church is true, or it is a fraud. There is no middle ground. It is the Church and kingdom of God, or it is nothing"

That is what Gordon B. Hinckley, a living prophet said in 2003. Either the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the one true church on this Earth or it is not. It is really that simple. Why? Well that answer is biblical.

Jesus taught in the sermon on the mount, as recorded by Luke in chapter 16 verse 13: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

Gordon B. Hinckely was teaching exactly what Jesus Christ taught roughly 2,000 years earlier. There is no half way, no in between. If the church is all true, you are serving God. If one part of the church's doctrine is false the entire church is false, because it would then be a fraud, answering only to the devil or mammon. Let us make one point clear, however, this is not the people of the church, this is the official doctrine, people are entirely fallible, as all humans can, will, and do error, even prophets.

This statement by President Hinckley came to my mind as I was thinking about the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the blessings of the Priesthood being extended to Blacks through revelation to the Prophet Spencer W. Kimball. It is true that many church leaders prior to 1978 said some harsh things towards blacks concerning their banishment from the Priesthood. Some of these statements sound even more harsh when read today because some of the common vernacular of that day is seen today as exceptionally inflammatory.

One Apostle in particular that I quote often, Bruce R. McConkie, was well-known to have made many harsh-sounding statements, and is where the church either being true or not true becomes part of this discussion. In 1978 Elder McConkie said:

"There are statements in our literature by the early Brethren that we have interpreted to mean that the Negroes would not receive the priesthood in mortality. I have said the same things, and people write me letters and say, "You said such and such, and how is it now that we do such and such?" All I can say is that it is time disbelieving people repented and got in line and believed in a living, modern prophet. Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or George Q. Cannon or whoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world.

It doesn't make a particle of difference what anybody ever said about the Negro matter before the first day of June 1978. It is a new day and a new arrangement, and the Lord has now given the revelation that sheds light out into the world on this subject. As to any slivers of light or any particles of darkness of the past, we forget about them. We now do what meridian Israel did when the Lord said the gospel should go to the Gentiles. We forget all the statements that limited the gospel to the house of Israel, and we start going to the Gentiles (qtd. from http://www.blacklds.org/Reynolds#en5 "All Are Alike unto God," an address to a Book of Mormon Symposium for Seminary and Institute teachers, Brigham Young University, 18 August 1978, as quoted in Jessie L. Embry, Black Saints in a White Church (Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1994), 34. [New Mormon Studies CD-ROM (Smith Research Associates, 1999)]."

I do not believe it can be said any more directly than this. Either you believe the church is completely true, led by Prophets, Seers, and Revelators, who continuously receive revelation for the church from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ or you reject living Prophets and believe this church is completely false. If you believe some revelations are true and others are not, then you believe the church is completely false, for God would not allow his Prophets to lead the church astray. As Elder McConkie described how the policy changed and the gospel was no longer only taught to the Israelites, but also to the Gentiles in ancient days, God does at times changes things within his church. But again, it comes down to do you believe in modern revelation or do you not? Then you can easily accepted the Lord's will when he presents changes to the membership through his leadership.

If you are not sure and would like to find out, Jesus taught us how, as recorded in John 16:23-24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."

I testify that when you do ask with a sincere heart, will real intent, the Lord will make the truth known unto you through the Holy Ghost. If you will allow it to penetrate your soul, you will feel the truth in your heart and know it in you mind. I share my testimony of this with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

How to Understand Prophecy

I am currently reading The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ by Elder Bruce R. McConkie, who as an Apostle of Jesus Christ, was sustained as a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator. He held this office from October 1972 until his death on April 19, 1985.

Elder McConkie outlines what it takes to understand prophecy on page 44:

But in the final analysis, there is no way—absolutely none (and this cannot be stated too strongly!)—to understand any Messianic prophecy, or any other scripture, except to have the same spirit of prophecy that rested upon the one who uttered the truth in its original form. Scripture comes from God by the power of the Holy Ghost. It does not originate with man. It means only what the Holy Ghost thinks it means. To interpret it, we must be enlightened by the power of the Holy Spirit. As Peter said, “No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21). Truly, it takes a prophet to understand a prophet, and every faithful member of the Church should have “the testimony of Jesus” which “is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelations 19:10). Thus as Nephi says, “The words of Isaiah”—and the principle applies to all scripture, all inspired writing, all Messianic Prophecies—“are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy” (2 Nephi 25:4). This is the sum and substance of the whole matter and an end to all controversy where discovering the mind and will of the Lord is concerned.

Are Mormons Christians? Part 2

This is a follow up from my previous posting of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's address from last October, where he addressed the question Are Mormons Christians? There he spoke of two tenants, "our scripturally based view of the Godhead" the principle of continuing revelation, or an open canon. He spoke specifically to the LDS view of the Godhead then. In April he spoke specifically to the LDS view of the open canon.

“My Words … Never Cease”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

We invite all to inquire into the wonder of what God has said since biblical times and is saying even now.

President Monson, may I claim a moment of personal privilege? As the first of the Brethren invited to speak following your singular message to the Church this morning, may I say something on behalf of all your Brethren of the General Authorities and indeed on behalf of all the Church.

Of the many privileges we have had in this historic conference, including participation in a solemn assembly in which we were able to stand and sustain you as prophet, seer, and revelator, I cannot help but feel that the most important privilege we have all had has been to witness personally the settling of the sacred, prophetic mantle upon your shoulders, almost as it were by the very hands of angels themselves. Those in attendance at last night’s general priesthood meeting and all who were present in the worldwide broadcast of this morning’s session have been eyewitness to this event. For all the participants, I express our gratitude for such a moment. I say that with love to President Monson and especially love to our Father in Heaven for the wonderful opportunity it has been to be “eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16), as the Apostle Peter once said.

In general conference last October, I said there were two principal reasons The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is accused, erroneously, of not being Christian. At that time I addressed one of those doctrinal issues—our scripturally based view of the Godhead. Today I would like to address the other major doctrine which characterizes our faith but which causes concern to some, namely the bold assertion that God continues to speak His word and reveal His truth, revelations which mandate an open canon of scripture.

Some Christians, in large measure because of their genuine love for the Bible, have declared that there can be no more authorized scripture beyond the Bible. In thus pronouncing the canon of revelation closed, our friends in some other faiths shut the door on divine expression that we in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hold dear: the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the ongoing guidance received by God’s anointed prophets and apostles. Imputing no ill will to those who take such a position, nevertheless we respectfully but resolutely reject such an unscriptural characterization of true Christianity.

One of the arguments often used in any defense of a closed canon is the New Testament passage recorded in Revelation 22:18: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of … this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” However, there is now overwhelming consensus among virtually all biblical scholars that this verse applies only to the book of Revelation, not the whole Bible. Those scholars of our day acknowledge a number of New Testament “books” that were almost certainly written after John’s revelation on the Isle of Patmos was received. Included in this category are at least the books of Jude, the three Epistles of John, and probably the entire Gospel of John itself.1 Perhaps there are even more than these.

But there is a simpler answer as to why that passage in the final book of the current New Testament cannot apply to the whole Bible. That is because the whole Bible as we know it—one collection of texts bound in a single volume—did not exist when that verse was written. For centuries after John produced his writing, the individual books of the New Testament were in circulation singly or perhaps in combinations with a few other texts but almost never as a complete collection. Of the entire corpus of 5,366 known Greek New Testament manuscripts, only 35 contain the whole New Testament as we now know it, and 34 of those were compiled after a.d. 1000.2

The fact of the matter is that virtually every prophet of the Old and New Testament has added scripture to that received by his predecessors. If the Old Testament words of Moses were sufficient, as some could have mistakenly thought them to be,3 then why, for example, the subsequent prophecies of Isaiah or of Jeremiah, who follows him? To say nothing of Ezekiel and Daniel, of Joel, Amos, and all the rest. If one revelation to one prophet in one moment of time is sufficient for all time, what justifies these many others? What justifies them was made clear by Jehovah Himself when He said to Moses, “My works are without end, and … my words … never cease.”4

One Protestant scholar has inquired tellingly into the erroneous doctrine of a closed canon. He writes: “On what biblical or historical grounds has the inspiration of God been limited to the written documents that the church now calls its Bible? … If the Spirit inspired only the written documents of the first century, does that mean that the same Spirit does not speak today in the church about matters that are of significant concern?”5 We humbly ask those same questions.

Continuing revelation does not demean or discredit existing revelation. The Old Testament does not lose its value in our eyes when we are introduced to the New Testament, and the New Testament is only enhanced when we read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. In considering the additional scripture accepted by Latter-day Saints, we might ask: Were those early Christians who for decades had access only to the primitive Gospel of Mark (generally considered the first of the New Testament Gospels to be written)—were they offended to receive the more detailed accounts set forth later by Matthew and Luke, to say nothing of the unprecedented passages and revelatory emphasis offered later yet by John? Surely they must have rejoiced that ever more convincing evidence of the divinity of Christ kept coming. And so do we rejoice.

Please do not misunderstand. We love and revere the Bible, as Elder M. Russell Ballard taught so clearly from this pulpit just one year ago.6 The Bible is the word of God. It is always identified first in our canon, our “standard works.” Indeed, it was a divinely ordained encounter with the fifth verse of the first chapter of the book of James that led Joseph Smith to his vision of the Father and the Son, which gave birth to the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our time. But even then, Joseph knew the Bible alone could not be the answer to all the religious questions he and others like him had. As he said in his own words, the ministers of his community were contending—sometimes angrily—over their doctrines. “Priest [was] contending against priest, and convert [was contending] against convert … in a strife of words and a contest about opinions,” he said. About the only thing these contending religions had in common was, ironically, a belief in the Bible, but, as Joseph wrote, “the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question [regarding which church was true] by an appeal to the Bible.”7 Clearly the Bible, so frequently described at that time as “common ground,” was nothing of the kind—unfortunately it was a battleground.

Thus one of the great purposes of continuing revelation through living prophets is to declare to the world through additional witnesses that the Bible is true. “This is written,” an ancient prophet said, speaking of the Book of Mormon, “for the intent that ye may believe that,” speaking of the Bible.8 In one of the earliest revelations received by Joseph Smith, the Lord said, “Behold, I do not bring [the Book of Mormon forth] to destroy [the Bible] but to build it up.”9

One other point needs to be made. Since it is clear that there were Christians long before there was a New Testament or even an accumulation of the sayings of Jesus, it cannot therefore be maintained that the Bible is what makes one a Christian. In the words of esteemed New Testament scholar N. T. Wright, “The risen Jesus, at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, does not say, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth is given to the books you are all going to write,’ but [rather] ‘All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me.’ ”10 In other words, “Scripture itself points … away from itself and to the fact that final and true authority belongs to God himself.”11 So the scriptures are not the ultimate source of knowledge for Latter-day Saints. They are manifestations of the ultimate source. The ultimate source of knowledge and authority for a Latter-day Saint is the living God. The communication of those gifts comes from God as living, vibrant, divine revelation.12

This doctrine lies at the very heart of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of our message to the world. It dramatizes the significance of a solemn assembly yesterday, in which we sustained Thomas S. Monson as a prophet, a seer, and a revelator. We believe in a God who is engaged in our lives, who is not silent, not absent, nor, as Elijah said of the god of the priests of Baal, is He “[on] a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be [awakened].”13 In this Church, even our young Primary children recite, “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.”14

In declaring new scripture and continuing revelation, we pray we will never be arrogant or insensitive. But after a sacred vision in a now sacred grove answered in the affirmative the question “Does God exist?” what Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints force us to face is the next interrogative, which necessarily follows: “Does He speak?” We bring the good news that He does and that He has. With a love and affection born of our Christianity, we invite all to inquire into the wonder of what God has said since biblical times and is saying even now.

In a sense Joseph Smith and his prophetic successors in this Church answer the challenge Ralph Waldo Emerson put to the students of the Harvard Divinity School 170 years ago this coming summer. To that group of the Protestant best and brightest, the great sage of Concord pled that they teach “that God is, not was; that He speaketh, not spake.”15

I testify that the heavens are open. I testify that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon is truly another testament of Jesus Christ. I testify that Thomas S. Monson is God’s prophet, a modern apostle with the keys of the kingdom in his hands, a man upon whom I personally have seen the mantle fall. I testify that the presence of such authorized, prophetic voices and ongoing canonized revelations have been at the heart of the Christian message whenever the authorized ministry of Christ has been on the earth. I testify that such a ministry is on the earth again, and it is found in this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In our heartfelt devotion to Jesus of Nazareth as the very Son of God, the Savior of the world, we invite all to examine what we have received of Him, to join with us, drinking deeply at the “well of water springing up into everlasting life,”16 these constantly flowing reminders that God lives, that He loves us, and that He speaks. I express the deepest personal thanks that His works never end and His “words … never cease.” I bear witness of such divine loving attention and the recording of it, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

1. For an introductory discussion on this topic, see Stephen E. Robinson, Are Mormons Christians? (1991), 46. The issue of canon is discussed on pages 45–56. Canon is defined as “an authoritative list of books accepted as Holy Scripture” (Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. [2003], “canon”).

2. See Bruce M. Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Greek Paleography (1981), 54–55.

3. See Deuteronomy 4:2, for example.

4. Moses 1:4.

5. Lee M. McDonald, The Formation of the Christian Biblical Canon, rev. ed. (1995), 255–56.

6. See “The Miracle of the Holy Bible,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2007, 80–82.

7. Joseph Smith—History 1:6, 12.

8. Mormon 7:9; emphasis added.

9. D&C 10:52; see also D&C 20:11.

10. N. T. Wright, The Last Word: Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture (2005), xi.

11. Wright, The Last Word, 24.

12. For a full essay on this subject, see Dallin H. Oaks, “Scripture Reading and Revelation,” Ensign, Jan. 1995, 6–9.

13. 1 Kings 18:27.

14. Articles of Faith 1:9.

15. “An Address,” The Complete Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1929), 45.

16. John 4:14.

Jesus Christ Declares His Doctrine

After his resurrection and ascension into heaven, Jesus Christ appear to a civilization of his "other sheep, not of this fold" in the Americas and declared unto them his doctrine. This record is recored in 3 Nephi 11 31-40 in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.

32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.

33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.

35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.

37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.

38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a bsandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.

God the Father and Jesus Christ Appeared to Joseph Smith

In accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.

After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction--not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being--just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

One of them . . . said, pointing to the other--"This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"

It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other--"This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"

My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)--and which I should join.

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof."

He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home.

Source: LDS.org.

The Christian Religion

Bruce R. McConkie wrote: “There are different churches because there are different doctrines. No two churches espouse and expound the same plan of salvation. If all men believed the same doctrines, all would belong to the same church. The mere existence of a false church of itself requires the support of false doctrines, false ordinances, false teachers, false prophets. In the very nature of things, a false church, in an attempt to survive, must oppose the truth as it is found in the true church, and this includes opposition to true doctrine, true ordinances, true teachers, and true prophets” (The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ, pg. 34).

To me this simply shows why there are so many denominations out there as well as single standing churches. There are many that will lump themselves under the title “The Christian Church” or "The Christian Religion," yet they are fundamentally different in that they do not teach the same doctrines and they do not have a leader who is also a prophet to declare and clarify doctrine, which is the pattern shown by the book we love and revere, the Bible.

I believe I belong to the one true church on the Earth. Do you believe your denomination is the only true church? If not, it may be time to re-evaluate what you believe.

The Importance of the Priesthood in Our Homes

The prophet Alma taught that this life is the “time to prepare to meet God”. (Book of Mormon | Alma 12:24) The Lord taught Moses: “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 1:39).

What does eternal life mean and why do we need to prepare to meet God? In Moses 7:35, the Lord taught Enoch that “Eternal is my name”. (Pearl of Great Price | Moses 7:35) Eternal thereby being a noun, not a verb changes how we might understand Moses 1:39, which again reads: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

There is much more to eternal life than living forever. Eternal life is literally God’s life. God wants us to live as he does because it is his work and his glory, or in other words, God’s very purpose is for us to live as he does.

Since God’s purpose is for us to live as he does, he has prepared a way for us to learn the things that will prepare us for that life. This is why we are all here upon this Earth. More specifically, this is why God has given us the family unit where as described in The Family: A Proclamation to the World: “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and . . . the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

Though not always possible, our families are designed to be organized in the same way that God’s family is organized, a father, a mother, and children. The way God serves and cares for his children is through his power. God gives a portion his power to men to act in his behalf, to serve and care for our families on this Earth just as he does with his eternal family. This power is the Priesthood.

The Priesthood is not restricted to those who lead congregations, only to be enjoyed by parishioners once per week. It is not granted as a certificate evidence of knowledge or a degree by man. Rather, God shares a portion of his power with all worthy males so that God’s work will be carried out unto all his children who will receive it so that potentially every member of every family, or all people, have the opportunity to have the literal power of God in their home.

Joseph F. Smith said: “[The priesthood] is nothing more nor less than the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the Earth for the salvation of the human family, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and act legitimately; not assuming that authority, nor borrowing it from generations that are dead and gone, but authority that has been given in this day in which we live by ministering angels and spirits from above, direct from the presence of Almighty God. . . . It is the same power and Priesthood that was committed to the disciples of Christ while he was upon the Earth, that whatsoever they should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, and that whatsoever they should loose on Earth should be loosed in heaven” (Gospel doctrine, 139-40)

Put more briefly, in “Preach My Gospel” it is written: “The priesthood is the power and authority given to man to act in God’s name for the salvation of His children. Through the priesthood we receive the ordinances of salvation, as well as blessings of healing, comfort, and counsel.”

God literally has given us the opportunity to work as him, in his name, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of everyone.

Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Priesthood is power like none other on earth or in heaven. It is the very power of God himself, the power by which the worlds were made, the power by which all things are regulated, upheld, and preserved.

It is the power of faith, the faith by which the Father creates and governs. God is God because he is the embodiment of all faith and all power and all priesthood. The life he lives is named eternal life.

And the extent to which we become like him is the extent to which we gain his faith, acquire his power, and exercise his priesthood. And when we have become like him in the full and true sense, then we also shall have eternal life.

Faith and priesthood go hand in hand. Faith is power and power is priesthood. After we gain faith, we receive the priesthood. Then, through the priesthood, we grow in faith until, having all power, we become like our Lord.

Our time here in mortality is set apart as a time of probation and of testing. It is our privilege while here to perfect our faith and to grow in priesthood power.”

“All of us who have calls to minister in the holy priesthood were foreordained to be ministers of Christ, and to come here in our appointed days, and to labor on his errand.” (“The Doctrine of the Priesthood”, Ensign May 1982).

Working backwards though some of these statements, fathers are ministers of Christ to their families. We are here on this Earth at this time in the world’s history because it was appointed for us to be here but also because it was appointed for our children to be here and in Elder McConkie’s words we have “come here in our appointed days to labor on [Christ’s] errand”. So we are Christ’s ministers to our children in our homes. Put in those terms, I feel the magnitude of responsibility placed on myself a priesthood holder in my home.

The priesthood in our homes allows each of us to gain more faith. The first principle of the Church is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The more faith we have, the more our testimonies will grow. Then the more likely we and our children are to choose righteous paths. As we increase in faith as families, the power of the priesthood is able to be more readily manifested and exercised in our homes until, one day, Heavenly Father grants all of his power unto us, so that we may live as God lives, having eternal life, in our family units as they are constituted here upon this Earth.

The priesthood is the power of government, or organization. There are specific activities that must occur on this Earth for people to reach their full potential—that of salvation in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom.

These activities are the saving ordinances. They are administered on the Earth by those holding the power and authority of the Priesthood. Going back to the statement from Preach My Gospel, it says: “through the priesthood we receive the ordinances of salvation”.

With worthy priesthood holders in our homes, we will draw our families closer together as fathers perform the saving ordinances of baptism and confirmation on all of their children and by performing the saving ordinance of the ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood upon their sons. I feel these bonds will last through eternity. I feel like the bonds created by these ordinances, especially as I’ve learned more and more the value and importance of them, have drawn me closer to my parents, as they taught me to the best of their knowledge in the right ways and when the time for each ordinance was right, my father baptized me, confirmed me, an ordained me to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Stronger bonds to each other and in the gospel will only make for a stronger family, with a foundation in Jesus Christ as Helaman, a priesthood holder himself, taught his sons Nephi and Lehi: ” Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall“ (Book of Mormon | Helaman 5:12)

Elder D. Lee Tobler of the Seventy said it another way: “Where the priesthood foundations to cope with [life’s] challenges are in place in the family . . . then we will not fear the eventual outcomes in future years. . . . Families, where the priesthood is honored and exercised, will be able to endure the present pressures and become eternal families. And in the process, individual members of families will have been perfected and prepared for the rewards of the faithful.” (Elder D. Lee Tobler of the Seventy. “Priesthood and the Home,” Ensign May 1999, 43).

The power of the priesthood will surely bring us nearer to Jesus Christ, fortifying our families against the exponentially increasing wickedness of the world we live in.

Finally, I have a couple of points of perspective from Elder McConkie that I have take the liberty to add to, so they might apply to the family.

“Truly, there is power in the priesthood—power to do all things!”

“If the world itself was created by the power of the priesthood, surely that same power can move mountains and control the elements” and keeps us from fighting in our homes.

“If one-third of the hosts of heaven were cast down to earth by the power of the priesthood, surely that same power can put at defiance the armies of nations or stay the fall of atomic bombs” or stop harsh or demeaning words towards each other from being spoken in our homes.

“If all men shall be raised from mortality to immortality by the power of the priesthood, surely that same power can cure the diseased and the dying and raise the dead” and helps us forgive and remove barriers to love with in walls of our very own homes.

“Truly there is power in the priesthood—a power which we seek to acquire to use, a power which we devoutly pray may rest upon us and upon our posterity forever” (“The Doctrine of the Priesthood”, Ensign May 1982).

In Doctrine and Covenants Section 121 we learn how the Priesthood should be used in our home in a revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith from Jesus Christ:

“No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy” (Section 121:41 - 43).

I have relied heavily on the words of others today. I do not have a miraculous story to tell about the priesthood in my home, though I do believe with complete certainty that miracles do happen in individual homes each and every day. What I can tell you is that growing up the priesthood was always in my home. I know that my parents had a much better understanding of what I was going through when I was a teenager with teenager issues than I thought they did at the time. I know that from the time I was a small child I was given blessings that comforted me and assisted me in life’s challenges. I know that through the faith of my parents I was taught in the gospel, which gave me a sure foundation, so sure than when I tried to make myself fall, I could not.

I know that learning from how my father exercised his priesthood while I was growing up; I am an effective priesthood holder in my family. It is certainly difficult to do every good thing in our homes. However, I have been very blessed to be inspired at times with the knowledge of when and how we should modify or add to the things we do in our home. Following these inspirations has had a distinct and absolute difference on our family, including increased faith, knowledge, and love. I know as I continually study out new and changing issues in our family, hold council with my wife, and with the children, when it is time to hold council with my Father in Heaven he will give our family the guidance we need.

I am thankful for the legacy of faith I am privy to. I know the power and influence of the priesthood has allowed me to grow in great strides as a person, a husband, and a father. I know that the Priesthood blesses lives and I know that God wants to share his power and all that he has with his children on this Earth. I am very thankful that I am able to serve my family with the power of God. I know it is real. I have felt it flowing through me. I feel it in my heart and soul each and every day. I share this with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.