Before we continue, I have an addendum to the previous post. I leave my posts alone once I've uploaded them. The book of Jasher has more evidence for there being great technology and what kind of wickedness there was. Jasher 4:
16 And all the sons of men departed from the ways of the Lord in those days as they multiplied upon the face of the earth with sons and daughters, and they taught one another their evil practices and they continued sinning against the Lord.
17 And every man made unto himself a god, and they robbed and plundered every man his neighbor as well as his relative, and they corrupted the earth, and the earth was filled with violence.
18 And their judges and rulers went to the daughters of men and took their wives by force from their husbands according to their choice, and the sons of men in those days took from the cattle of the earth, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and taught the mixture of animals of one species with the other, in order therewith to provoke the Lord; and God saw the whole earth and it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon earth, all men and all animals.
If you read the previous post, I needn't say more.
So we had the flood. How did the giants return?
We know they returned because of Genesis 6:4 saying: ...and also after.
Let's take a look at some of the more popular theories.
The first is that there was another incursion by angels. If that were to be the case, why does the bible (through Moses) only mention the one in genesis 6?
A second theory is that because they were technologically advanced, they could have escaped death from the flood by hiding in bunkers or remaining in aircraft for the duration of the flood. While this is theoretically possible, the giants mentioned in the bible don't seem to have that technology after the flood.
The third theory gets closer to how I recently viewed the matter. Ham was cursed by Noah for whatever he did with "uncovering his nakedness". This curse brought about giants through his seed. It is true that the seed of Ham became giants (Cannanites and Philistines for sure, perhaps other tribes as well; Goliath was a Philistine).
However, why would a curse make one's offspring giant? Also, while that event was significant, it isn't brought up relating to any giants.
Another theory:
Let's look closer at Genesis 6.
9 ¶ These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
So Noah was perfect in his generations, he was genetically clean. As were his sons. However, verse 12 says all flesh was corrupt. Were Noah and his sons not flesh? Yes they were, but they were the only exceptions to "all flesh being corrupt". We do this sort of thing today in our language. An example: all of them were wicked, save one.
So the women that Noah's sons married were not listed before the "all flesh was corrupt". The idea is that Ham's wife carried DNA of the giants. With our current understanding of DNA, she may have only had 1/2 or 1/4 of the DNA of a giant. (Or even less, I suppose). This would easily explain why some of the canaanites and philistines were giants, but not all of them.
There's one more theory that we must discuss; and it involves nimrod, an early descendant of Ham. The bible says he became a mighty one. What did he really become? The book of Jasher says that he was feared in all the earth. Why would one man be so feared if he was an ordinary man? This idea is that somehow Nimrod changed his DNA and became a giant, which, if it were a "germ line mutation" it would be transferred to his seed.
I'm not here to tell you which one is most likely, and it's possible that something else entirely occurred. Either way, the giants returned, and some few still remain to this day. I, myself have heard eyewitness testimony of this fact from multiple sources, and have no reason to doubt them, given the biblical ramifications.
There is still much debate about how the giants returned, and I have only given a cursory summary of each, as it is not my purpose to provide an in-depth analysis of each.
I highly recommend spending time in prayer on whether this matter is important for you to learn about and how it may impact your understanding of history.
Next, we will delve into the significance of the tower of babel (or really, its destruction), and how that has impacted the very direction of human history.
It's my goal to connect a few dots that have been forgotten in the sands of time.
May the peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with you.
Friday, January 17, 2020
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Great Wickedness on the Earth - Part 1
This post is intended to set the stage of an important worldview that has been lost over the millennia.
God told Enoch in Moses 7: 36, "... and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren."
What was this wickedness? What happened such that this earth of all the earths (see Moses 7:30) was more wicked than others?
Why would angels of heaven not keep their first estate? (Jude 1:6)
Where did the giants come from (Moses 7:15, Genesis 6)?
Is the fall of Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12) related to such great wickedness and fallen angels?
Let's see if we can connect some of these dots in this series.
Genesis 6 really sets the stage to understand what has gone on over the past 6000 years or so.
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Who were the "sons of God"? And how did we get giants from them coming in unto the daughters of men? It should be obvious that giants would not come about if these "sons of God" were ordinary humans, but that this would require something of a more supernatural ilk.
The wickedness of man was tied to the giants by using the conjunction "and". Therefore the presence of these giants and the "sons of God" (who I believe to be the angels that kept not their first estate as described in Jude and discussed later) brought about great wickedness. So much wickedness that God decided he would wipeout all flesh by the flood.
We learn in the first book of Enoch that the watchers (as the fallen angels are called) taught the children of Adam forbidden knowledge. What was that forbidden knowledge?
1 Enoch 8:
1 And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all
2 colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they
3 were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
Why is it that the weapons of war brought about godlessness? Could it be that they no longer were reliant on God, but on these angels? We aren't given much detail, but we do know that in the same chapter in Genesis, Noah is given the command to build the arc. The two incidents (angels coming down and the flood) seem to be related.
Side note: I'm not saying that we can't or shouldn't study some of the things listed above. One should be very careful when studying such things as it can easily lead to pride and idolatry.
But why did the angels of heaven fall? What would cause holy and righteous angels to make that kind of choice?
Perhaps there is more going on than meets the eye at first glance. Let's take a look at the book of Enoch for some further clarification.
1 Enoch 6:
1 And when the sons of men had multiplied, in those days, beautiful and comely daughters were born to them.
2 And the watchers, the sons of heaven, saw them and desired them. And they said to one another, “Come, let us choose for ourselves wives from the daughters of men, and let us beget for ourselves children.”…
5 Then they all swore together and bound one another with a curse.
6 And they were, all of them, two hundred, who descended in the days of Jared onto the peak of Mount Hermon.
1 Enoch 7:
1 These and all the others with them took for themselves wives from among them such as they chose. And they began to go in to them, and to defile themselves through them, and to teach them sorcery and charms, and to reveal to them the cutting of roots and plants.
2 And they conceived from them and bore to them great giants. And the giants begat Nephilim…
In other words, the angels were enticed by the beauty of women and sought to have their own seed.
They took an oath, much like the ones in the Book of Mormon. In Ether 8, we read:
15 And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish. And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning.
Where did Cain get this oath?
Moses 5:
29 And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.
30 And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.
31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
Isn't this the same kind of oath the "watchers" made with each other? This is speculation, but it would appear that they either watched Cain make his oath, or were taught by the prince of the power of the air (or one of his subjects). Some even believe azazel is the same being as lucifer, but we won't delve into that debacle here.
So these angels were wicked, but why does Genesis 6 say that the wickedness of man was great? What did these angels do to cause men to be wicked?
The watchers taught them sorcery and charms. The children of Adam were taught to rely on themselves instead of God. They were taught to manipulate the world around them, not by the will of the true and living God, but by their own will. Letting go of one's will for the will of God is one of the most important tasks in this life. The "miracles" that they would have performed can be done by God, and by His followers, but never without permission and always in His way. A good example of this is any of the plagues of Egypt that were replicated by the sorcerers. Doing those miracles was sinful because they didn't do it by the power of God, or with His permission.
Additionally, the watchers taught them how to be idle by technology. What great wickedness has been brought about by the technology we have today?
What else happened that led to the flood?
Let's take a look at Genesis 6.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
The earth was corrupt? What did they do to the earth to corrupt it? Was it the violence? Violence has a tendency to harden hearts, just look at how people feel toward those in "enemy" countries.
What does "all" flesh signify? If we look at the current direction of gene editing technology, it should be clear that animals are included in our experiments. One example is the liger, a combination between a lion and a tiger. I'm not making this up.
So all flesh was corrupted and life needed a new start. That's why there was a flood. It's not just wickedness, but corruption of flesh.
Now that we have some more background, let's take a look at the offspring of the watchers.
They were giants.
1 Enoch 7:
1. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants.
2. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells:
3. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them,
4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind.
5. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood.
6. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
Did those giants have spirits? Where did those spirits come from? For those that have been through an LDS temple endowment, you are aware of the threat that the spirits that followed lucifer would possess the bodies of the children of Adam. I submit that the giants were not a creation ordained by God, so God was not going to be supplying spirits for them; yet they had spirits.
1 enoch 15:
And now the giants, who have been begotten from body and flesh, will be called evil spirits on earth, and their dwelling-places will be upon the earth.
9. Evil spirits proceed from their bodies; because they are created from above, their beginning and first basis being from the holy watchers, they will be evil spirits upon the earth, and will be called evil spirits.
10. But the spirits of heaven have their dwelling-places in heaven, and the spirits of the earth, who were born on the earth, have their dwelling-places on earth.
11. And the spirits of the giants, who cast themselves upon the clouds, will be destroyed and fall, and will battle and cause destruction on the earth, and do evil; they will take no kind of food, nor will they become thirsty, and they will be invisible.
12. And these spirits will not rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them, in the days of murder and destruction.
Other translations use the word "demon". Either way, their spirits are evil or demonic. The spirits were already followers of satan and lucifer, they just inhabited giant bodies.
At this point, you may be thinking: ok, I can understand why God would just send a flood to wipeout all of the giants and corrupt flesh, but what does this have to do with wickedness after the flood? That's the topic we'll cover in part 2.
God told Enoch in Moses 7: 36, "... and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren."
What was this wickedness? What happened such that this earth of all the earths (see Moses 7:30) was more wicked than others?
Why would angels of heaven not keep their first estate? (Jude 1:6)
Where did the giants come from (Moses 7:15, Genesis 6)?
Is the fall of Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12) related to such great wickedness and fallen angels?
Let's see if we can connect some of these dots in this series.
Genesis 6 really sets the stage to understand what has gone on over the past 6000 years or so.
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Who were the "sons of God"? And how did we get giants from them coming in unto the daughters of men? It should be obvious that giants would not come about if these "sons of God" were ordinary humans, but that this would require something of a more supernatural ilk.
The wickedness of man was tied to the giants by using the conjunction "and". Therefore the presence of these giants and the "sons of God" (who I believe to be the angels that kept not their first estate as described in Jude and discussed later) brought about great wickedness. So much wickedness that God decided he would wipeout all flesh by the flood.
We learn in the first book of Enoch that the watchers (as the fallen angels are called) taught the children of Adam forbidden knowledge. What was that forbidden knowledge?
1 Enoch 8:
1 And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all
2 colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they
3 were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
Why is it that the weapons of war brought about godlessness? Could it be that they no longer were reliant on God, but on these angels? We aren't given much detail, but we do know that in the same chapter in Genesis, Noah is given the command to build the arc. The two incidents (angels coming down and the flood) seem to be related.
Side note: I'm not saying that we can't or shouldn't study some of the things listed above. One should be very careful when studying such things as it can easily lead to pride and idolatry.
But why did the angels of heaven fall? What would cause holy and righteous angels to make that kind of choice?
Perhaps there is more going on than meets the eye at first glance. Let's take a look at the book of Enoch for some further clarification.
1 Enoch 6:
1 And when the sons of men had multiplied, in those days, beautiful and comely daughters were born to them.
2 And the watchers, the sons of heaven, saw them and desired them. And they said to one another, “Come, let us choose for ourselves wives from the daughters of men, and let us beget for ourselves children.”…
5 Then they all swore together and bound one another with a curse.
6 And they were, all of them, two hundred, who descended in the days of Jared onto the peak of Mount Hermon.
1 Enoch 7:
1 These and all the others with them took for themselves wives from among them such as they chose. And they began to go in to them, and to defile themselves through them, and to teach them sorcery and charms, and to reveal to them the cutting of roots and plants.
2 And they conceived from them and bore to them great giants. And the giants begat Nephilim…
In other words, the angels were enticed by the beauty of women and sought to have their own seed.
They took an oath, much like the ones in the Book of Mormon. In Ether 8, we read:
15 And it came to pass that thus they did agree with Akish. And Akish did administer unto them the oaths which were given by them of old who also sought power, which had been handed down even from Cain, who was a murderer from the beginning.
Where did Cain get this oath?
Moses 5:
29 And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.
30 And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.
31 And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
Isn't this the same kind of oath the "watchers" made with each other? This is speculation, but it would appear that they either watched Cain make his oath, or were taught by the prince of the power of the air (or one of his subjects). Some even believe azazel is the same being as lucifer, but we won't delve into that debacle here.
So these angels were wicked, but why does Genesis 6 say that the wickedness of man was great? What did these angels do to cause men to be wicked?
The watchers taught them sorcery and charms. The children of Adam were taught to rely on themselves instead of God. They were taught to manipulate the world around them, not by the will of the true and living God, but by their own will. Letting go of one's will for the will of God is one of the most important tasks in this life. The "miracles" that they would have performed can be done by God, and by His followers, but never without permission and always in His way. A good example of this is any of the plagues of Egypt that were replicated by the sorcerers. Doing those miracles was sinful because they didn't do it by the power of God, or with His permission.
Additionally, the watchers taught them how to be idle by technology. What great wickedness has been brought about by the technology we have today?
What else happened that led to the flood?
Let's take a look at Genesis 6.
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
The earth was corrupt? What did they do to the earth to corrupt it? Was it the violence? Violence has a tendency to harden hearts, just look at how people feel toward those in "enemy" countries.
What does "all" flesh signify? If we look at the current direction of gene editing technology, it should be clear that animals are included in our experiments. One example is the liger, a combination between a lion and a tiger. I'm not making this up.
So all flesh was corrupted and life needed a new start. That's why there was a flood. It's not just wickedness, but corruption of flesh.
Now that we have some more background, let's take a look at the offspring of the watchers.
They were giants.
1 Enoch 7:
1. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants.
2. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells:
3. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them,
4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind.
5. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood.
6. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
Did those giants have spirits? Where did those spirits come from? For those that have been through an LDS temple endowment, you are aware of the threat that the spirits that followed lucifer would possess the bodies of the children of Adam. I submit that the giants were not a creation ordained by God, so God was not going to be supplying spirits for them; yet they had spirits.
1 enoch 15:
And now the giants, who have been begotten from body and flesh, will be called evil spirits on earth, and their dwelling-places will be upon the earth.
9. Evil spirits proceed from their bodies; because they are created from above, their beginning and first basis being from the holy watchers, they will be evil spirits upon the earth, and will be called evil spirits.
10. But the spirits of heaven have their dwelling-places in heaven, and the spirits of the earth, who were born on the earth, have their dwelling-places on earth.
11. And the spirits of the giants, who cast themselves upon the clouds, will be destroyed and fall, and will battle and cause destruction on the earth, and do evil; they will take no kind of food, nor will they become thirsty, and they will be invisible.
12. And these spirits will not rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them, in the days of murder and destruction.
Other translations use the word "demon". Either way, their spirits are evil or demonic. The spirits were already followers of satan and lucifer, they just inhabited giant bodies.
At this point, you may be thinking: ok, I can understand why God would just send a flood to wipeout all of the giants and corrupt flesh, but what does this have to do with wickedness after the flood? That's the topic we'll cover in part 2.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Ether 13
2 For behold, they rejected all the words of Ether; for he truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man; and that after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof;
We see that they rejected all of Ether's words. As discussed in Ether 12, he was a prophet of the Lord, which means his words here are the words of Christ. Are we able to only accept some of the words of Christ? The words of Christ do not represent a buffet in which we can accept the words we like and reject all others. While some may try to only focus on a part of His words, we need to be open to ALL of His words. If you read His words, don't just assume you know what He is trying to say, because we often assume using our background and filters rather than taking the words at face value or what they really mean.
Joseph Smith said the following about interpreting scripture: What is the rule of interpretation? Just no interpretation at all. Understand it precisely as it reads.I have a key by which I understand the scriptures. I enquire, what was the question which drew out the answer, or caused Jesus to utter the parable? (Teachings pg 276)
"He truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man", what would that include? Did he teach about the fall, and how the atonement would be performed on our behalf, such that faith and repentance were needed? He probably mentioned baptism by immersion and by fire and the Holy Ghost, along with the need for us to see Christ in this world. If we look at D&C 132: 22-23, it says, " 22 For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.
23 But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also."
What does it mean to receive Him in the world?
See 2 Nephi 32:6
" 6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do."
Is receiving Him in the world the same as Him manifesting himself unto one of us?
If we pair those verses with a quote from Joseph Smith about knowledge, it begins to be clear.
"Knowledge saves a man.." - King Follett discourse. What knowledge is it?
And finally, Joseph came out and said that seeing Christ will "peradventure from this time henceforth occupy your attention while you live." King Follett sermon. Knowing God is part of the journey. How can we become like Him if we don't know Him?
Back to all things.
Is it significant that he told them ALL THINGS? When was the beginning of man? Was it before or after the fall?
This land did become a choice land, what's so special about this land? Why do All MEN need to serve Him who dwell on this land? What happens if we don't serve Him? What waters receded off this land? Were they the waters of the flood? Or was this land under water before the flood?
I'm not here to give you all the answers, but to encourage you to ponder these things for yourself.
The next several verses represent what Moroni included as part of ALL THINGS. Let's take a look at them individually.
3 And that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
This land is the place for the New Jerusalem. It will come down from heaven. Here we see a parallelism much like what we see in Isaiah to define words. What is the HOLY SANCTUARY of the Lord? Is it not heaven itself? The New Jerusalem will come down from the presence of the Lord.
When will it come down? I do not know, but I suspect that the New Jerusalem is the city of Enoch that must return. The city of Enoch is spoken in Moses 7:62 and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
Moses 7: 63
And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;
So, the New Jerusalem shall come down from heaven, there will be a gathering from the 4 quarters of the earth, and those with Enoch will receive those that are gathered. It is interesting to note that the Lord said "we will kiss each other". He includes himself in that ritual or ordinance. Why? Because he will dwell with them.
Back to Ether
4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land.
Wow. Ether had at least one vision of Christ's life. Was it anything like what Nephi saw in 1 Nephi 13? What about what alma saw in Alma 7:11-14? What about every other prophet in the book of Mormon as discussed in Helaman 8:19-23?
If you are unsure that these prophets saw Christ, please read the verses in Helaman carefully.
Ether spoke concerning a new Jerusalem upon this land. What land is that?
5 And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel
Is this verse still yet in the future? Or did it already happen? Has Jerusalem been rebuilt to be a holy city of God? No. Therefore, it must be destroyed and rebuilt as a holy city.
6 And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type.
7 For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish not.
8 Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away.
The New Jerusalem will be for the remnant of Joseph upon this land. There has been a type going on with all of this. Joseph was taken to Egypt and had an inheritance there. His seed were brought here, and have an inheritance here. Egypt is spoken of in Isaiah, the nations upon this land are represented by Egypt in Isaiah. This can be a reference to that type as well.
We learned in verse 3 that the New Jerusalem will come down from heaven, but verse 8 speaks of the remnant of Joseph building up a holy city. Could there be a combination of both?
9 And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and they shall be like unto the old save the old have passed away, and all things have become new.
10 And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.
11 And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham.
What does a new heaven mean? How will that happen? Does it have something to do with the elements melting with fervent heat?
The New Jerusalem will come after there is a new earth. Why? Will their coming burn us up and make a new earth? What is significant about those that dwell in the New Jerusalem?
Is being washed in the blood of the lamb the only requirement? What are the others? What are the requirements to be numbered with Joseph's seed? What about being numbered with the seed of Israel as a whole or Abraham? Are there requirements for those as well?
Then the old Jerusalem will be restored. They also will have been washed clean from the blood and sins of this generation by the blood of the Lamb. There will be people from all over the world that gather in the old Jerusalem. Including the lost ten tribes that went north.
12 And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are they who were first, who shall be last; and there are they who were last, who shall be first.
I don't have much to say about this verse, but who was first? Who was last? Why does it reverse?
13 And I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out; and he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come upon the people.
Here we see that we are not given the things that Ether told his people. Yet we find it so easy to be lifted up in pride that we have the book of Mormon and so we have more knowledge than everyone else. This people were taught things that we cannot understand. We know so little that we are as infants.
Perhaps our understanding of future events has been quite skewed, and hopefully these words have helped you think about what is to come. There is more to the chapter than first meet the eye. While there are more verses, I will not be discussing them as they are mostly about the history of the remaining people.
We see that they rejected all of Ether's words. As discussed in Ether 12, he was a prophet of the Lord, which means his words here are the words of Christ. Are we able to only accept some of the words of Christ? The words of Christ do not represent a buffet in which we can accept the words we like and reject all others. While some may try to only focus on a part of His words, we need to be open to ALL of His words. If you read His words, don't just assume you know what He is trying to say, because we often assume using our background and filters rather than taking the words at face value or what they really mean.
Joseph Smith said the following about interpreting scripture: What is the rule of interpretation? Just no interpretation at all. Understand it precisely as it reads.I have a key by which I understand the scriptures. I enquire, what was the question which drew out the answer, or caused Jesus to utter the parable? (Teachings pg 276)
"He truly told them of all things, from the beginning of man", what would that include? Did he teach about the fall, and how the atonement would be performed on our behalf, such that faith and repentance were needed? He probably mentioned baptism by immersion and by fire and the Holy Ghost, along with the need for us to see Christ in this world. If we look at D&C 132: 22-23, it says, " 22 For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.
23 But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also."
What does it mean to receive Him in the world?
See 2 Nephi 32:6
" 6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do."
Is receiving Him in the world the same as Him manifesting himself unto one of us?
If we pair those verses with a quote from Joseph Smith about knowledge, it begins to be clear.
"Knowledge saves a man.." - King Follett discourse. What knowledge is it?
And finally, Joseph came out and said that seeing Christ will "peradventure from this time henceforth occupy your attention while you live." King Follett sermon. Knowing God is part of the journey. How can we become like Him if we don't know Him?
Back to all things.
Is it significant that he told them ALL THINGS? When was the beginning of man? Was it before or after the fall?
This land did become a choice land, what's so special about this land? Why do All MEN need to serve Him who dwell on this land? What happens if we don't serve Him? What waters receded off this land? Were they the waters of the flood? Or was this land under water before the flood?
I'm not here to give you all the answers, but to encourage you to ponder these things for yourself.
The next several verses represent what Moroni included as part of ALL THINGS. Let's take a look at them individually.
3 And that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
This land is the place for the New Jerusalem. It will come down from heaven. Here we see a parallelism much like what we see in Isaiah to define words. What is the HOLY SANCTUARY of the Lord? Is it not heaven itself? The New Jerusalem will come down from the presence of the Lord.
When will it come down? I do not know, but I suspect that the New Jerusalem is the city of Enoch that must return. The city of Enoch is spoken in Moses 7:62 and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
Moses 7: 63
And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other;
So, the New Jerusalem shall come down from heaven, there will be a gathering from the 4 quarters of the earth, and those with Enoch will receive those that are gathered. It is interesting to note that the Lord said "we will kiss each other". He includes himself in that ritual or ordinance. Why? Because he will dwell with them.
Back to Ether
4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land.
Wow. Ether had at least one vision of Christ's life. Was it anything like what Nephi saw in 1 Nephi 13? What about what alma saw in Alma 7:11-14? What about every other prophet in the book of Mormon as discussed in Helaman 8:19-23?
If you are unsure that these prophets saw Christ, please read the verses in Helaman carefully.
Ether spoke concerning a new Jerusalem upon this land. What land is that?
5 And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel
Is this verse still yet in the future? Or did it already happen? Has Jerusalem been rebuilt to be a holy city of God? No. Therefore, it must be destroyed and rebuilt as a holy city.
6 And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type.
7 For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish not.
8 Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away.
The New Jerusalem will be for the remnant of Joseph upon this land. There has been a type going on with all of this. Joseph was taken to Egypt and had an inheritance there. His seed were brought here, and have an inheritance here. Egypt is spoken of in Isaiah, the nations upon this land are represented by Egypt in Isaiah. This can be a reference to that type as well.
We learned in verse 3 that the New Jerusalem will come down from heaven, but verse 8 speaks of the remnant of Joseph building up a holy city. Could there be a combination of both?
9 And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and they shall be like unto the old save the old have passed away, and all things have become new.
10 And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.
11 And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham.
What does a new heaven mean? How will that happen? Does it have something to do with the elements melting with fervent heat?
The New Jerusalem will come after there is a new earth. Why? Will their coming burn us up and make a new earth? What is significant about those that dwell in the New Jerusalem?
Is being washed in the blood of the lamb the only requirement? What are the others? What are the requirements to be numbered with Joseph's seed? What about being numbered with the seed of Israel as a whole or Abraham? Are there requirements for those as well?
Then the old Jerusalem will be restored. They also will have been washed clean from the blood and sins of this generation by the blood of the Lamb. There will be people from all over the world that gather in the old Jerusalem. Including the lost ten tribes that went north.
12 And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are they who were first, who shall be last; and there are they who were last, who shall be first.
I don't have much to say about this verse, but who was first? Who was last? Why does it reverse?
13 And I was about to write more, but I am forbidden; but great and marvelous were the prophecies of Ether; but they esteemed him as naught, and cast him out; and he hid himself in the cavity of a rock by day, and by night he went forth viewing the things which should come upon the people.
Here we see that we are not given the things that Ether told his people. Yet we find it so easy to be lifted up in pride that we have the book of Mormon and so we have more knowledge than everyone else. This people were taught things that we cannot understand. We know so little that we are as infants.
Perhaps our understanding of future events has been quite skewed, and hopefully these words have helped you think about what is to come. There is more to the chapter than first meet the eye. While there are more verses, I will not be discussing them as they are mostly about the history of the remaining people.
Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Isaiah 13 / 2 Nephi 23
1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
What is a burden? The word burden occurs frequently in biblical prophecy, particularly in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. I have found it to be foreshadowing a prophecy of destruction or ill events. I believe this word is used because bad news must be such a burden on a prophet, and they probably mourn the unbelief of others.
Joseph Smith along with a few others was told to "preach nothing but repentance unto this generation." (D&C 19:21, Mosiah 18:20) Wouldn't repentance be a burden to preach?
Therefore, we have a prophecy about the destruction of Babylon.
What is Babylon? Where is Babylon? What does Babylon represent today?
In Isaiah's day, Babylon was both a large city and an empire that was quite large. It was full of idolatry, whoredomes, riches, luxuries (for the time), along with entertainment and commerce. Do we not see these same things among us? It could be said that whoredoms, riches, and luxuries are idols. Do you put anything between you and God?
Therefore, Babylon is an idea, it's the concept of seeking the things of this world. In other words, any location or group of people that seek the world before God can be called Babylon, or a part of Babylon. Do most cities (if not all) fit this description?
Revelation 18 speaks of the same topic:
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Please note that the merchants are made rich with Babylon. Why are they made rich? Could it have something to do with idolatry and/or materialism? John also prophesies the destruction of Babylon well after the Babylonian empire was destroyed which means it must exist today.
That sure sounds like the end of the world as we know it. And I'm not one for doom and gloom, but the first verse already went there. let's move on.
2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones, for mine anger is not upon them that rejoice in my highness.
These verses represent an exodus in the last days just before the burden of Babylon comes to fruition. If His anger isn't upon those that rejoice in Him, whom is it upon? Have you been sanctified? Do you rejoice in Him? Is rejoicing different than believing in or praising him?
Can you rejoice in His highness without a "hope for a better world"? (Ether 12:4) does this mean that those of us that don't have the sure knowledge will of necessity go through the destruction of Babylon?
I do want to point out that it's very likely that the phrase "shake the hand" denotes a servant beckoning for those prepared few to come and establish Zion in the tops of the mountains.
4 The noise of the multitude in the mountains like as of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together, the Lord of Hosts mustereth the hosts of the battle.
Here we have some parallelism that lets mountains represent kingdoms. The shear volume of the multitude that will destroy Babylon will be immense. What nation has the largest standing military? We'll come back to that later.
Who gathers this large force? What does that say about who is in control of the situation?
5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, yea, the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
The destruction comes from an external source rather than from within. Who will do the destroying? What people will fight the war?
6 Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, every man’s heart shall melt;
8 And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
These verses describe how bad things will be. Those unprepared will experience fear to a degree that they await the death of a damned soul.
People may proclaim things such as "how could this happen?!" While the righteous will be as Mormon wondering how the people could have fallen. (See Mormon 9?)
What is the meaning of "their faces shall be as flames?" We express emotions with our faces, and flames often represent fierce anger or indignation. Does this foreshadow the angry mobs that will riot when they no longer have food? Once the shock subsides, anger will set in upon those who haven't truly rejoiced in the Lord.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
This verse could be taken literally to mean some sort of nuclear winter or cloud cover for an extended period of time. Another level could represent spiritual darkness that covers the land, that the Spirit of the Lord has been/will be removed, along with feeling forsaken by Christ and Heavenly Father.
There could also be a connection to 1 Corinthians 15: 39-41, but I'm not exactly sure how.
11 And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay down the haughtiness of the terrible.
It will be due to wickedness that darkness will cover the earth, and there will come a time when the people are ripe for destruction. This will occur along with the abomination of desolation.
We can also see the truth that those who choose to be proud shall fall (on a side note, what are those parades called that are in support of homosexual behaviour?) If we choose to lift ourselves up to be equal with God or above Him through means of the world (I.e. Knowledge, technology, riches etc...), we will only be thrust down. Take Lucifer for example, that's exactly what he did and now where is he?
Lifting oneself up in pride is different than awaking, arising, believing, repenting, getting baptised and so on. As one does these things with full purpose of heart, that one will move away from the desires of the world. They will become a new creature in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:17) this isn't necessarily perfection, and maybe someday I'll compare the two.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Why is it "a" man. What kind of man is this? Is this the average guy that does not seek the Lord? The righteous men will be fewer after the destruction. This leads me to believe that some of those that love the Lord will not be called out to Zion before the destruction, but will remain. This will be for a wise purpose in God. From my reading of the scriptures, I can see that the Lord lets the wicked kill the wicked, but Wo unto the wicked that slay the righteous. I can also imagine that those righteous that remain and those slain are called for that purpose.
13 Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
What does it mean to shake the heavens? The image of shaking a snow globe comes to mind. Will the shaking heavens only be due to the movement of the earth, or something more? Will the earth move at the same time the heavens are shaken?
When will He accomplish this? In His wrath. It appears that the wrath is an event, but a separate event, other than the day of the Lord.
The rest of this chapter is full of imagery, which gives us a clue as to how wicked the world will be. They won't even value a newborn baby. This is pretty horrifying stuff. Below is the rest of the chapter.
14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up; and they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
15 Every one that is proud shall be thrust through; yea, and every one that is joined to the wicked shall fall by the sword.
16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver and gold, nor shall they delight in it.
18 Their bows shall also dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her day shall not be prolonged. For I will destroy her speedily; yea, for I will be merciful unto my people, but the wicked shall perish.
With all of this tragedy, there is hope. He will be merciful to His people. Let's turn our hearts to Jesus Christ and ask him to root out our shortcomings, and our weaknesses; that we may be called His people.
What is a burden? The word burden occurs frequently in biblical prophecy, particularly in the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah. I have found it to be foreshadowing a prophecy of destruction or ill events. I believe this word is used because bad news must be such a burden on a prophet, and they probably mourn the unbelief of others.
Joseph Smith along with a few others was told to "preach nothing but repentance unto this generation." (D&C 19:21, Mosiah 18:20) Wouldn't repentance be a burden to preach?
Therefore, we have a prophecy about the destruction of Babylon.
What is Babylon? Where is Babylon? What does Babylon represent today?
In Isaiah's day, Babylon was both a large city and an empire that was quite large. It was full of idolatry, whoredomes, riches, luxuries (for the time), along with entertainment and commerce. Do we not see these same things among us? It could be said that whoredoms, riches, and luxuries are idols. Do you put anything between you and God?
Therefore, Babylon is an idea, it's the concept of seeking the things of this world. In other words, any location or group of people that seek the world before God can be called Babylon, or a part of Babylon. Do most cities (if not all) fit this description?
Revelation 18 speaks of the same topic:
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Please note that the merchants are made rich with Babylon. Why are they made rich? Could it have something to do with idolatry and/or materialism? John also prophesies the destruction of Babylon well after the Babylonian empire was destroyed which means it must exist today.
That sure sounds like the end of the world as we know it. And I'm not one for doom and gloom, but the first verse already went there. let's move on.
2 Lift ye up a banner upon the high mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles.
3 I have commanded my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones, for mine anger is not upon them that rejoice in my highness.
These verses represent an exodus in the last days just before the burden of Babylon comes to fruition. If His anger isn't upon those that rejoice in Him, whom is it upon? Have you been sanctified? Do you rejoice in Him? Is rejoicing different than believing in or praising him?
Can you rejoice in His highness without a "hope for a better world"? (Ether 12:4) does this mean that those of us that don't have the sure knowledge will of necessity go through the destruction of Babylon?
I do want to point out that it's very likely that the phrase "shake the hand" denotes a servant beckoning for those prepared few to come and establish Zion in the tops of the mountains.
4 The noise of the multitude in the mountains like as of a great people, a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together, the Lord of Hosts mustereth the hosts of the battle.
Here we have some parallelism that lets mountains represent kingdoms. The shear volume of the multitude that will destroy Babylon will be immense. What nation has the largest standing military? We'll come back to that later.
Who gathers this large force? What does that say about who is in control of the situation?
5 They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, yea, the Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
The destruction comes from an external source rather than from within. Who will do the destroying? What people will fight the war?
6 Howl ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, every man’s heart shall melt;
8 And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
These verses describe how bad things will be. Those unprepared will experience fear to a degree that they await the death of a damned soul.
People may proclaim things such as "how could this happen?!" While the righteous will be as Mormon wondering how the people could have fallen. (See Mormon 9?)
What is the meaning of "their faces shall be as flames?" We express emotions with our faces, and flames often represent fierce anger or indignation. Does this foreshadow the angry mobs that will riot when they no longer have food? Once the shock subsides, anger will set in upon those who haven't truly rejoiced in the Lord.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
This verse could be taken literally to mean some sort of nuclear winter or cloud cover for an extended period of time. Another level could represent spiritual darkness that covers the land, that the Spirit of the Lord has been/will be removed, along with feeling forsaken by Christ and Heavenly Father.
There could also be a connection to 1 Corinthians 15: 39-41, but I'm not exactly sure how.
11 And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay down the haughtiness of the terrible.
It will be due to wickedness that darkness will cover the earth, and there will come a time when the people are ripe for destruction. This will occur along with the abomination of desolation.
We can also see the truth that those who choose to be proud shall fall (on a side note, what are those parades called that are in support of homosexual behaviour?) If we choose to lift ourselves up to be equal with God or above Him through means of the world (I.e. Knowledge, technology, riches etc...), we will only be thrust down. Take Lucifer for example, that's exactly what he did and now where is he?
Lifting oneself up in pride is different than awaking, arising, believing, repenting, getting baptised and so on. As one does these things with full purpose of heart, that one will move away from the desires of the world. They will become a new creature in Christ. (2 Corinthians 2:17) this isn't necessarily perfection, and maybe someday I'll compare the two.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Why is it "a" man. What kind of man is this? Is this the average guy that does not seek the Lord? The righteous men will be fewer after the destruction. This leads me to believe that some of those that love the Lord will not be called out to Zion before the destruction, but will remain. This will be for a wise purpose in God. From my reading of the scriptures, I can see that the Lord lets the wicked kill the wicked, but Wo unto the wicked that slay the righteous. I can also imagine that those righteous that remain and those slain are called for that purpose.
13 Therefore, I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
What does it mean to shake the heavens? The image of shaking a snow globe comes to mind. Will the shaking heavens only be due to the movement of the earth, or something more? Will the earth move at the same time the heavens are shaken?
When will He accomplish this? In His wrath. It appears that the wrath is an event, but a separate event, other than the day of the Lord.
The rest of this chapter is full of imagery, which gives us a clue as to how wicked the world will be. They won't even value a newborn baby. This is pretty horrifying stuff. Below is the rest of the chapter.
14 And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up; and they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
15 Every one that is proud shall be thrust through; yea, and every one that is joined to the wicked shall fall by the sword.
16 Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled and their wives ravished.
17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver and gold, nor shall they delight in it.
18 Their bows shall also dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.
19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.
22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces; and her time is near to come, and her day shall not be prolonged. For I will destroy her speedily; yea, for I will be merciful unto my people, but the wicked shall perish.
With all of this tragedy, there is hope. He will be merciful to His people. Let's turn our hearts to Jesus Christ and ask him to root out our shortcomings, and our weaknesses; that we may be called His people.
The Gospel - part 3: Baptism
This post is going to be more about baptism being part of the doctrine, and its history rather than the symbolism and necessity of it.
Let's begin with confirming that baptism is part of the doctrine of Christ, " 11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do." (2 Nephi 31)
"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." (3 nephi 11)
"5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3)
From these verses we can see that the doctrine taught is the same before Christ came in the flesh, while he was in the flesh, and following his resurrection. In a later post I'll show why this is significant.
Baptism was spoken of by the Father, and then by Christ. Why would Nephi say "the Father hath said..." if he didn't hear the voice of the Father?
Christ reaffirms that it is also the doctrine of the Father in 3rd nephi.
Its history
Baptism was not something invented by John the Baptist or by Nephi. It was a common practice in the Torah, and Adam was also baptized.
"13 And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean." (Leviticus 15)
64 "And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water." (Moses 6)
Isaiah also mentions the waters of Judah, and Nephi clarified this to mean waters of baptism. (See Isaiah 48 and 1 Nephi 20, verse 1)
While baptism was mentioned, there doesn't seem to be evidence that many understood baptism unto repentance. It is obvious that Moses had an understanding from the book of Moses, but Abraham makes no mention of it, nor do most of the books of the old testament.
Does this indicate something? At a minimum it indicates a few possibilities: we're expected to know about it, translators removed many examples but left the New testament ones or even the idea that baptism was more about ceremonial cleanliness in the old testament rather than repentance.
The translators didn't remove the New testament ones, so errors with scribes seems less likely. And while an argument could be made with the bible about ceremonial cleanliness, Moses 6 shows Adam understood baptism was related to repentance:
53 "And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden."
That leaves us with the idea that we are supposed to have an understanding of baptism from sources other than the old testament texts. Nephi didn't speak of baptism being something new. He must have known about it from previous knowledge, meaning the Jews had an understanding of it before the destruction shortly after 600 B.C.
There is an article in the Jewish encyclopedia that I found to be well worth reading HERE
This article states, "Baptism was practised in ancient Judaism, first as a means of penitence..." And then later, "To receive the spirit of God, or to be permitted to stand in the presence of God, man must undergo Baptism"
I find it curious that it also said, "In order to pronounce the name of God in prayer in perfect purity, the Essenes underwent Baptism every morning." Essenes were a sect of Judaism that existed until the destruction of Jerusalem around 600 B.C.
From our current culture, baptism seems to start with John the Baptist, but the New testament writers do not explain baptism, or that it was a new practice among them, just that John was baptizing.
Mosiah 18 shows that baptism is a way to witness before God that you covenant with Him.
" 10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?"
In conclusion, baptism was used before Christ came, and is still used today to witness before God that we will serve him for the rest of our mortal lives.
Let's begin with confirming that baptism is part of the doctrine of Christ, " 11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do." (2 Nephi 31)
"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." (3 nephi 11)
"5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3)
From these verses we can see that the doctrine taught is the same before Christ came in the flesh, while he was in the flesh, and following his resurrection. In a later post I'll show why this is significant.
Baptism was spoken of by the Father, and then by Christ. Why would Nephi say "the Father hath said..." if he didn't hear the voice of the Father?
Christ reaffirms that it is also the doctrine of the Father in 3rd nephi.
Its history
Baptism was not something invented by John the Baptist or by Nephi. It was a common practice in the Torah, and Adam was also baptized.
"13 And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean." (Leviticus 15)
64 "And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water." (Moses 6)
Isaiah also mentions the waters of Judah, and Nephi clarified this to mean waters of baptism. (See Isaiah 48 and 1 Nephi 20, verse 1)
While baptism was mentioned, there doesn't seem to be evidence that many understood baptism unto repentance. It is obvious that Moses had an understanding from the book of Moses, but Abraham makes no mention of it, nor do most of the books of the old testament.
Does this indicate something? At a minimum it indicates a few possibilities: we're expected to know about it, translators removed many examples but left the New testament ones or even the idea that baptism was more about ceremonial cleanliness in the old testament rather than repentance.
The translators didn't remove the New testament ones, so errors with scribes seems less likely. And while an argument could be made with the bible about ceremonial cleanliness, Moses 6 shows Adam understood baptism was related to repentance:
53 "And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden."
That leaves us with the idea that we are supposed to have an understanding of baptism from sources other than the old testament texts. Nephi didn't speak of baptism being something new. He must have known about it from previous knowledge, meaning the Jews had an understanding of it before the destruction shortly after 600 B.C.
There is an article in the Jewish encyclopedia that I found to be well worth reading HERE
This article states, "Baptism was practised in ancient Judaism, first as a means of penitence..." And then later, "To receive the spirit of God, or to be permitted to stand in the presence of God, man must undergo Baptism"
I find it curious that it also said, "In order to pronounce the name of God in prayer in perfect purity, the Essenes underwent Baptism every morning." Essenes were a sect of Judaism that existed until the destruction of Jerusalem around 600 B.C.
From our current culture, baptism seems to start with John the Baptist, but the New testament writers do not explain baptism, or that it was a new practice among them, just that John was baptizing.
Mosiah 18 shows that baptism is a way to witness before God that you covenant with Him.
" 10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?"
In conclusion, baptism was used before Christ came, and is still used today to witness before God that we will serve him for the rest of our mortal lives.
Sunday, June 21, 2015
The Gospel - Part 2: Repentance
“Repentance is a
thing that cannot be trifled with every day.
Daily transgression
and daily repentance is not
that which is pleasing in the sight of God.”
TPJS, p 148
Why We Must Repent
“15 For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come;
yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass
the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence
of the Lord.
16 Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the
resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of
Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both
as to things temporal and to things spiritual.
17 But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind,
yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.
18 Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance,
that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire; but
whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh
upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second
death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness.
19 Therefore repent ye, repent ye, lest by knowing these
things and not doing them ye shall suffer yourselves to come under
condemnation, and ye are brought down unto this second death.” (Helaman
14:15-19, emphasis added).
Verse 15 is only included to give context to verses 16-19.
Samuel the Lamanite is discussing the coming of Christ for His mortal ministry.
At the end of His mortal ministry, he will die to bring to pass the
resurrection of the dead. Samuel also defines what the “first death” is in 16,
that we are all redeemed from “that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the
fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord…” We can see that
because of the fall, we “are considered as dead…” 2 Nephi 2:21 supports this
idea with the word “lost” instead of dead:
“And the days of the children of men were prolonged,
according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh;
wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was
lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the
children of men. For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he
showed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their
parents.”
So we are “dead” or “lost” and must repent in order to
return to God. Verse 18 in Helaman brings up repentance, that because of
Christ, the condition of repentance exists. As I did with the post on faith, I
will expound only enough to make known what I am attempting to say, although
there may be much more to learn in the specific verses.
Why do all men have the commandment to repent? Are we all
lost? Do we all sin? If all men have the commandment to repent, and “repentance
is unto them that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law”
then all of us must sin (Moroni 8:23). All of us must be lost. All of us must
be “considered as dead”. If so, then “awake to a sense of your awful situation”!
(Ether 8:24).
Ezekiel 18:30 illustrates that iniquity can be our ruin. He
was speaking to the children of Israel at the time, but the admonitions of the
Lord to them can also apply to us: “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your
transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” While many things may have
been lost in translation among other things over the millennia, the need for
repentance is something that has always been true.
We can also see in numbers 23:19 that “God is not a man,
that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he
said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”
God has no need for repentance because He is perfect. As learned from the last
post, we cannot have true faith unless we have an understanding of His
perfections, characters, and attributes; one of which being that He has no need
of repentance.
What is Repentance?
According to Strong’s Concordance of the Bible, repentance
in Greek is “to change one’s mind or purpose.” (see http://biblehub.com/greek/3340.htm),
and the Hebrew word is “shoob” which means “to turn back” among other similar
meanings (Strong’s Concordance-Hebrew word 7725). Therefore, a simple
definition could be to make a change in one’s life direction. Often this change
is due to a change in understanding, or when faith grows. Not every instance of
repentance is something big or very difficult, but includes even the small
changes that we make in life. According to this definition, repentance isn’t
always a religious experience. In many aspects of a life, a child learns things
that are simple, and have potentially been simplified to the point that those
things may be partial truths. As the child grows, so does their understanding
and they must undergo some cognitive dissonance in order to determine the truth
behind all of the simplistic answers they once had. One example is at first, a
child may understand that Christ died for the things we do wrong. Later, that
child would have to add to that understanding that Christ also suffered in
Gethsemane for our sins, and that the atonement can apply in their life if they
repent and “come unto Christ” among other things.
It makes sense that one would turn back, or make a change in
one’s life direction upon learning new truths that bring good cause to make
changes.
When we repent, we turn from our sins, transgressions,
unbelief, and anything that is coming between us and Him. In recent months, a
lot of the repentance I’ve gone through has been of false traditions and
beliefs that I held which are contrary to the scriptures. I couldn’t repent
until I found the scriptures to tell me that I believed false doctrine. One thing
that has helped me to learn from the scriptures, the Book of Mormon in
particular, is that I don’t read the words with the perspective that I know
exactly what they say. I let the words tell me what I need to learn from them
without any preconceived notions. While doing this can be a challenge, the
scriptures have really begun to open up to me.
Just a small aside: I’m talking about repenting and coming
to Christ, but the word can also be used to repent and return to wickedness.
It, however, does not appear in scripture with this meaning (to my knowledge).
Helaman 6:31 could have employed the word “repent” instead of “did turn unto”;
but again, just an aside.
How Can We Repent?
While the scriptures speak much about the stuff from which
we need to repent, and why we need to repent, not much is said about how to
repent. Why is that? I’ll let you ponder that. Those that heard King Benjamin’s
address “had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the
dust of the earth. And they all cried
aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of
Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be
purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven
and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men. And
it came to pass that after they had spoken these words, the Spirit of the Lord
came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of
their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith
which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which
king Benjamin had spoken unto them.” (Mosiah 4:2-3, emphasis added).
They viewed themselves in their carnal state, or in other
words, they knew in their hearts the things that they had done in their lives
that were contrary to the will of God. Because of this humbling experience,
they cried unto God for forgiveness.
Why does it say “cried” instead “prayed”, or “spoke”? Speaking unto the Lord is
solely with the mind. Praying should involve the heart and mind, but crying
involves the whole soul of a person. When one cries unto the Lord, they truly
offer up the desires of their heart and soul. They are doing so “acting no
hypocrisy and no deception before God” (2 Nephi 31:13). What was the result of
such a cry? The “Spirit of the Lord came upon them” and they were purified.
Alma had a similar experience, but was “racked with torment”
to a degree much greater than those that heard King Benjamin speak. Alma 36:18-20
states: “Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me,
who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting
chains of death. And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my
pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh,
what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold…” (emphasis added) Again, we
see the use of the “cry” word, and a very similar outcome. Crying for forgiveness
is essential for us to receive such.
Repentance seems to be far more than a step-by-step process.
While we do need to recognize what we’ve done wrong and work to correct it,
repentance is a change of heart that only comes as we turn to Christ. As we
turn to Christ, He can forgive us immediately as He forgave sin frequently
before healing the afflicted. One idea that can be very helpful is to go out
and show compassion to others, help in every way. As you attempt to be
compassionate, as you attempt to emulate Christ, you will begin to have
Christ-like feelings of your own, in your heart, for others.
While there
may be several tenets to the principle of repentance, forgiving others is
essential. I realize this question has been asked by others, but why should you
expect forgiveness when you refuse to forgive others? Christ was teaching
prayer when he stated “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
(Mathew 6:12). We are to forgive others for their offenses so we can be
justified in being forgiven.
Seek to
know what YOU need to change each day from your Father in Heaven. He will tell
you what you need to work on. I’ve found that when He tells me what to change,
it’s a lot easier because then I know that it’s His will to do so. A large part
of Christ’s work is to forgive us, that is the reason for the atonement. If it
were not so, all mankind must unavoidably perish. So worry less about your specific
sins, whatever they may be, and go to the Father in prayer, cry unto him for
help. Cry unto him to know what you need to work on. Perhaps you need to learn
some things before He will help you get rid of something in your life that you
now desire to forsake. So instead of checking off some list, just go to the
Savior, for in Him you will find what true repentance is.
“Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Helaman
5:32)
Thursday, May 7, 2015
The Gospel - Part 1: Faith
Many who read this post are already very familiar with the
Gospel plan; however, I feel that it would be a good idea to just review the
gospel as a whole before discussing faith in depth.
Joseph Smith stated that the first ordinances of the gospel
were faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the
Lord’s supper. (See the 14 articles of faith in Wilford C. Wood’s Joseph Begins his Work Vol. 2).
I’m not going to discuss the following verses very in depth,
however, these verses illustrate the entirety of the gospel. 2 Nephi 31: 11-12,
“And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my
beloved son. And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is
baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me;
wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.”
Would we repent if we didn’t first have faith in Christ?
Then cometh repentance, and “the first fruits of repentance is baptism” (Moroni
8:25). Once we have been baptized in Christ’s name, the Father will give us the
Holy Ghost (the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost). Then we need to “follow
Him, and do the things which [we] have seen [Him] do.” How can we do this save
we shall see in vision or dream the things that He hath done? If we have seen Him do things, then we have
seen Him. It is essential to see Him in this life in order to be exalted.
D&C 132 confirms this is verses 22 and 23: “For strait is the gate, and
narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives,
and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither
do ye know me. But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and
shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.”
What is
Faith?
Now that we have an overview of the Gospel, let’s turn our
attention to faith. What is Faith?
“It is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen (Hebrews 11:1); that is, it is the assurance we have of the
existence of unseen things. And being the assurance which we have of the
existence of unseen things, must be the principle of action in all intelligent
beings” (Lectures on Faith, 1, questions). If you haven’t already read and
studied Lectures on Faith, I invite you to do so now; avoiding any of the added
commentaries (I won’t be doing a commentary on the lectures here or anytime
soon unless I’m commanded of the Lord to do so). You can find the lectures
http://lecturesonfaith.com/1.php>here
.
I will, however, use some of the lectures in order to
further define faith. Faith is not only the principle of action in all
intelligent beings, but also the principle of power as it was by faith that the
worlds were framed (see lecture 1). Without faith, we would become dormant and
cease to perform anything. I submit that we would even cease to speak because
we wouldn’t have faith that there would be an outcome to our speech. Those with
sufficient faith (even as small as a grain of a mustard seed, see Matthew
17:20) can speak and things shall occur, such as a mountain being moved from
its place, or a sea being parted for a group of people to pass through. Often,
when we work by faith, it isn’t by a physical exertion, but by a mental
exertion (See lecture 7, paragraph 3). When I’ve had the opportunity to
exercise faith, I’ve found that I often feel some kind of exertion within that
is hard to explain(it lies mostly within the chest), but caused by the mind.
Belief
So where does belief fit into the picture? I could say that
I believe in Christ, therefore I have faith that repentance will actually bring
forgiveness. While there are a few cases in which belief and faith can be used
interchangeably (see mark 9:23), Alma 32 differentiates the two. If we plant
the seed (the word) with belief, it will produce faith. Belief comes before
faith, yet it seems that the belief doesn’t disappear once faith is present,
but feeds the faith.
“But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties,
even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea,
even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you,
even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.
Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed
may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if
ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the
Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel
these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves-It must needs be
that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge
my soul; yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” (Alma 32: 27-28) Belief
leads to faith.
True Faith
However, we need true faith, and there is a difference
between true faith and just faith, and that depends upon the object of our
faith. Faith is most useful when the object upon which it rests is understood.
When we understand the characteristics, attributes, and perfections of Deity,
we can then have true faith. I’ll restate the above sentence for clarity: IT IS
IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE TRUE FAITH IN A GOD WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND. Are we allowed to
have questions about the nature of Deity? Absolutely. I believe that it isn’t
possible to fully understand everything about him to a fullness; but it is possible
to have a general understanding of every one of his attributes and
characteristics. This will be the only way we can have true faith. Because true
faith can also include the word “expectation” in its definition; when we have
true faith, we are willing to sacrifice the things in our lives that lead us
away from him, and expect that those sacrifices will bring us to Him and help
us to understand Him even better. True faith also produces the expectation that
in order to obtain a desired result, a specific commandment must be kept. Once
this is understood, a goal that you may have can be simply accomplished according
to the specific commandment that brings the blessing.
Learning
Through Faith
We can learn through faith. D&C 88:118 says: “As all
have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea,
seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and
also by faith.” It seems that the Lord is giving two options for learning,
faith and study. But one must already have faith to learn by faith. Therefore He
prescribes searching in the best books for learning, until faith is gained,
when the greater learning can take place. If there are two ways for learning,
and the Lord prefers to teach us through our faith, then that is how we should
learn. Do you have sufficient faith to learn this way? With faith we can go to
the Lord in prayer and receive answers directly from Him. Does this mean we
don’t study the scriptures anymore? No. It means that we have questions to ask
for which our faith is sufficient to be answered. Personal revelation allows us
to understand the scriptures to a greater degree than we could by only study.
Faith also allows us to understand things. “Through faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God…” (Hebrews 11:3). If
faith was used to frame the worlds, then it is self-evident that God has faith;
therefore, as we try to become like Him, we must gain faith as He has. We can gain
this faith through sacrifice.
Gaining Faith
As stated above, sacrifice is a wonderful tool for gaining
faith.
”Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require
the sacrifice of all things, never has power sufficient to produce the faith
necessary unto life and salvation; for from the first existence of man, the
faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be
obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things: it was through this
sacrifice, and this only, that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal
life; and it is through the medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things, that
men do actually know that they are doing the things that are well pleasing in
the sight of God. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has, for the
truth's sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he
has been called to make this sacrifice, because he seeks to do his will, he
does know most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and
offering, and that he has not nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these
circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on
eternal life. It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are
heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in
sacrifice, and by this means obtained faith in God and favor with him so as to
obtain eternal life, unless they in like manner offer unto him the same
sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are
accepted of him.” (Lecture 6:7-8) Unless we also sacrifice everything to know
God, we cannot be heirs with those that have. We have to make the sacrifices
that are pleasing to God in order to see the Hand of God in our lives. This
will produce more faith.
“Without faith it is impossible to please [God]”. (Hebrews
11:6) Why would this be? Why is faith so important?
“…because, without faith it is impossible for men to be
saved; and as God desires the salvation of man he must of course desire that
they should have faith, and he could not be pleased unless they had, or else he
could be pleased with their destruction.” (Lecture 7:7)
It is through using our faith that we come unto God.
Experience shows that when things happen in our lives that we need faith to get
through, our faith can increase.
“But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and
beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it
swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this
strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I
know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.”
(Alma 32:30)
Through using faith, we not only gain more faith, but we
gain knowledge.
“…because ye have tried the experiment… ye must needs know
that the seed is good. And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your
knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because
you know…” (Alma 32:33-34)
While I understand that many of the above items are
well-known, I hope something I’ve said has brought you closer to Christ, as we
need to become as He and our Heavenly Father now are.
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