The Stumbling Block of Revelation

One of the key doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that of continuing revelation. This has been a great blessing in our fast changing world and society, allowing us to receive revelation and guidance directly from our Father in Heaven, specifically concerning issues and situations we find ourselves in today.

Unfortunately, this doctrine of continuing revelation can sometimes be a stumbling block for our testimonies.

Why a stumbling block?

Let's have a little history lesson.

Prior to 1978, the priesthood was restricted to men not of African descent. I won't go into specifics, because they aren't relevant to this post - but just know it was a complicated and strange policy, and many people didn't understand it. Even today, the best explanation we have (officially) is this statement from the Church:

“The origins of priesthood availability are not entirely clear. Some explanations with respect to this matter were made in the absence of direct revelation and references to these explanations are sometimes cited in publications. These previous personal statements do not represent Church doctrine.”

 In 1978, the Church issued an official declaration, based on revelation, extending the priesthood to all worthy male members of the Church.

Recently I have been hearing members of the Church say that they hope that the Church will eventually embrace same-sex marriage because, after all, the Church was "wrong" once (referring to the priesthood ban). They seem to be viewing the 1978 revelation as a sort of apologetic "Whoops, we were wrong, we're sorry" admission.

Honestly, it's hard not to see it that way, especially given all the personal statements and opinions that were offered as explanations for the priesthood ban, most of which were abhorrent, even in the early and mid 1900s when they were originally offered.

If so many apostles, prophets, and other Church leaders could be so misguided and racist, then might not our Church leaders today be bigots and homophobs? It isn't a completely illogical leap.

Except for one small principle which might help us sort out this whole issue.

At General Conference in April 2012, Elder Christofferson taught:

…it should be remembered that not every statement made by a Church leader, past or present, necessarily constitutes doctrine. It is commonly understood in the Church that a statement made by one leader on a single occasion often represents a personal, though well-considered, opinion, not meant to be official or binding for the whole Church.

While any number of racist sounding explanations for the priesthood ban can be readily produced by any proficient Googler, I think you would be hard pressed to find any of these comments listed in proclamation format, signed by all fifteen living apostles at the time of the statement's utterance, and good luck finding teachings by every single apostle since quoting the statements. In fact, most of the apostles either said nothing about the subject of the ban, and few quoted the misguided (in my opinion) statements of their brethren. We must always remember that prophets are still just men. Moses, arguably one of the greatest prophets, was scolded by God Himself. Even Joseph Smith had issues, admitting his youthful indiscretions and at times failing to be content with God's answers to his prayers and requests.

On the other hand, The Family: A Proclamation to the World is a document affirming the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, and testifying that gender is an eternal characteristic. This document was signed by every one of the fifteen apostles of Jesus Christ living when it was written, and it has been quoted by every newly called apostle since. I think it is safe to consider the document, and its call to "responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society" as being "official [and] binding for the whole Church".

It can definitely be hard to recognize what is revelation and what isn't, what is scripture, and what are the philosophies of man. Again, we can go back to our fundamental belief in revelation - not just continuing revelation through prophets and apostles, but personal revelation. Each and every one of us is entitled to receive our own revelation - as Levar Burton says "But you don't have to take my word for it."

More reading about revelation:
Becoming a False Prophet to Ourselves

Christ’s Millennial Reign

Book of Mormon Papers - a series of posts
containing papers I wrote for a
BYU Religion class my freshman year of college.

(Note: It’s ironic that I just wrote about how Isaiah has been on my mind – since I’ve been trying to slog through Isaiah in the Book of Mormon – and then here I come to post the next Book of Mormon paper and it’s about Isaiah. Maybe I need to pull out my Old Testament seminary manual or institute manual and have it by my bedside so I can get something out of Isaiah this time around. I actually love Isaiah, but I don’t always understand it without having to do tons of research, which is time consuming, and I read my Book of Mormon right before bed which doesn’t leave time for a lot of research. I usually read a page or two and write my thoughts in the margins. My scripture study usually comes during the day, and that’s when I do some major researching. But I keep feeling bugged to study Isaiah, so I think I’m going to have to start sooner rather than later… I’ve been putting it off so that I can finish my study of the Character of Christ in the gospels, so either I need to hurry up and finish my study of the gospels, or I need to postpone that and jump head first into Isaiah… )

 

The words of Isaiah are valuable sources of plain and precious truths of the gospel. When Nephi quoted Isaiah he included many prophesies of Christ’s first and second comings. What are some of the important things that Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming of Christ and what do these things mean? Isaiah prophesied of the destruction that would come to the wicked and the saving of the righteous and the peace that would come from Christ’s reign.

The fate of the wicked, or those members of the great and abominable church, has been compared by prophets to several tragic historical incidences. Isaiah relates the destruction of Assyria as a type for the destruction of the wicked during the second coming. Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would “punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.”(2 Nephi 20:12) Assyria was destroyed because of the worldliness of its people, and so shall the members of the great and abominable church be destroyed at the second coming of Christ.

When Isaiah prophesied of Christ’s birth he prophesied that Christ should be called “Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” (2 Nephi 19:12) The peace that will come from the Savior is everlasting and will dwell upon those who are righteous at the day of his coming. The Lord said “O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid…” (2 Nephi 20:24) The Lord will destroy those who contend against His people, and he will leave them with an everlasting peace. The state of the earth during the reign of Christ will be peaceful and righteous when “the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together and a little child shall lead them.” (2 Nephi 21:6)

Innocence, peace, and righteousness will characterize the world while Christ reigns, and those who are righteous at His coming will be spared to live at that time, while the wicked will be destroyed according to the prophesies of Isaiah and the word of the Lord.

What do the prophecies of Isaiah mean to you? How do you “liken” Isaiah to yourself?

A Part in the Prophecies

Book of  Mormon Papers - a series of posts
containing papers I wrote for a
BYU Religion class my freshman year of college.

(Note: There are several examples in the scriptures of events that happen to prepare a prophecy of the Lord – or commandment – to come forth. Every Christmas I think about Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem to be counted. I am pretty sure they didn’t have to go to Bethlehem in person, with Mary so close to delivery. I imagine they could have gone to their Rabbi and let him know Mary was going to have a baby any day now, so they were prefer to be counted by proxy. Like absentee voting. I am certain there wouldn’t be that big a problem. But Joseph knew who the child was the Mary was carrying, and he also knew that the baby Jesus was supposed to be born in Bethlehem, not Nazareth. We have the opportunity to help bring to pass the prophecies of the Lord. We know what they are (the gospel will be preached to all the earth – so serve missions!; the constitution of the United States will hang by a very thread and the Elders of the Church will rise up to save it – so get involved in the government of our nation!) I am sure you can think of several others. I think this is part of the importance of studying the words of Isaiah – not only so we can know the prophecies of the Lord, but so that we can take part in them. And be on the Lord’s side of the prophecies)

Throughout the entire journey of Lehi’s family in the wilderness, Laman and Lemuel murmured against Nephi and their father. Angels, shocking and other miracles failed to convince Laman and Lemuel of the power of God. When Laman and Lemuel were rebellious and desired to return to Jerusalem, why didn’t the Lord simply let them go back and destroy Laman and Lemuel along with the wicked of Jerusalem? Nephi testifies of the purpose of God saying “thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled.” (1 Nephi 17:3) In addition to strengthening Nephi and his family through afflictions brought on by the two, Laman and Lemuel would play a part in the prophesies that were shown to Nephi concerning the destruction of his seed and the apostasy which would eventually lead to the opening of the dispensation of the fullness of times.

The weaknesses in Laman and Lemuel’s testimonies caused Nephi to become a more faithful servant of the Lord. Nephi prayed often on behalf of his brothers and cared about their salvation a great deal. He was constantly reproaching his siblings because of their wickedness and rebelliousness. However, even when his whole family seemed to be murmuring against the Lord, Nephi’s faith was strong enough to withstand that temptation. It could have been difficult for Nephi to continue in the ways of the Lord when even his father, a great prophet, murmured against the Lord; however, Nephi not only showed his faith in the Lord, but he showed faith in his family when he asked his father “Whither shall I go to obtain food?” (1 Nephi 16:23) Nephi’s faith in the Lord was strengthened because of his family’s weaknesses. Nephi did not have the luxury of his family’s testimony to rely on all the time. His family was weak in their testimony, so Nephi was required to have a stronger testimony of the things he knew were true.

Although it may have been easier for Nephi and his family to get through the wilderness without the constant bickering and murmuring of Laman and Lemuel, the Lord needed Laman and Lemuel to play a special part in the plan that would include the apostasy and eventual restoration of the gospel. In 1 Nephi 12:15, Nephi sees in a vision the seed of Laman and Lemuel coming against his seed to war. This war led to the utter destruction of the righteous and the seed of Laman and Lemuel to be a “dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.” Nephi showed his understanding of the necessity of his afflictions when on the ship Laman and Lemuel bound him with cords. Nephi recorded, “Nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked.” (1 Nephi 18:11) Nephi understood that he was being used as an instrument in the Lord’s hand to bring to pass the judgment of his brothers.

Nephi’s blessings were great because of the afflictions brought on his family because of his brothers, and Nephi understood the commandments and prophesies of the Lord wherefore he “did not murmur against the Lord because of [his] afflictions.” (1 Nephi 18:16) Laman and Lemuel may have made the journey difficult, but the Lord has said “Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” (Ether 12:6) It may have been easier for the Lord to let Laman and Lemuel return to Jerusalem and be destroyed or carried into captivity, however the Lord is all knowing and “thus we see that the commandments [and prophesies] of God must be fulfilled.” (1 Nephi 17:3)

Have you ever felt like you were part of a prophecy? Do you think you have seen others who are part of a prophecy? Have you ever had to rely on your own testimony because your family didn’t have a strong enough testimony to sustain you?

That He May Prove Us

Book of  Mormon Papers - a series of posts
containing papers I wrote for a
BYU Religion class my freshman year of college.

(Note: This paper reminds me of a midterm that I wrote for this class about the Church of the Lamb of God. I can’t wait to post that paper – it was really long, so I might have to post it in parts. While reading the part where I say Heavenly Father “will give His children many opportunities to accept [the gospel]” I was reminded of something a friend of mine said during a Relief Society lesson. She said that before the judgment day “Each person will be taught the gospel in a way that they perfectly understand what they are accepting or rejecting.” I think that is pretty true, and kind of what I was saying in this paper.)

Nephi received a vision of many prophesies of the latter days. In these prophesies Nephi was shown the loss of many plain and precious parts of the gospel through the formation of a great an abominable church. Nephi was also shown the restoration of the gospel to the earth and the work that would spread the gospel to the world. The Lord also taught Nephi that some of the children of men would not accept the gospel. If the Lord knew who would accept the gospel and who would not, why did He not judge those He knew would not accept the gospel? Not only is the Lord merciful in that He will give His children many opportunities to accept and come unto Him, it is expedient that He should provide a way to test and try the children of men so that He may prove us – whether as followers of Him or followers of the “great and abominable church.”

The Lord told Nephi that “because of these things [the plain and precious parts of the gospel] which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, and exceedingly many do stumble…insomuch that Satan hath great power over them.” (1 Nephi 13:29) This may seem like a hopeless situation for those who never receive the plain and precious parts of the gospel. However, the Lord also states that He will be merciful unto the Gentiles and “bring forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel.” (1 Nephi 13:34) The Lord goes on to describe to Nephi the restoration of the gospel. The Lord wants His children to know of His gospel and would not let them perish in ignorance.

However, as more knowledge is revealed to the children of men, they have a much more crucial responsibility. The Lord said to Nephi that He would “work a marvelous work among the children of men.” (1 Nephi 14:7) This work is to be “everlasting” – or to be an eternal judgment. The Lord’s purpose in bringing forth the gospel in the latter days is to prove the children of men, either to convince them “unto peace and life eternal” or “unto their bringing brought down into captivity.” (1 Nephi 14:7). “Who’s on the Lord’s side, who? Now is the time to show!” (Hymn No. 260) The Lord has revealed His gospel in the latter days to prove the children of men and to separate them into those on His side and those against. The Lord has said that “whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations.” (1 Nephi 14:10).

Although the Lord is merciful and wishes all of His children to return to live with Him again, there stands the eternal truth that “the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God.” (1 Nephi 15:34) Therefore, the Lord has prepared a way to prove the children of men and judge them according to their hearts by bringing forth the gospel in the latter day, requiring man to choose between “liberty and eternal life…or captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil.” (2 Nephi 2:27)

What things do you learn about from the revelations that were given to Nephi? Do you think each child of God will have every opportunity to accept the gospel? What is the great and abominable church? What is the Church of the Lamb of God?

Becoming a False Prophet

I was reading a post over on How to Be Superwoman about Personal Revelation, and I skimmed over an article she linked to that one of her readers had sent to her. The article was basically arguing that there is no such thing as personal revelation (or “personal words from God” – his words) because we can’t always be 100% accurate 100% of the time, and a prophet has to be 100% accurate 100% of the time.

I think the author of the article made a really good point. I don’t mean to say I agree that there is no personal revelation – of course I believe there is – however, I still think he brought up some valid concerns about personal revelation.

People who believe in personal revelation (especially us Mormons, since we rely so heavily on it) can be very susceptible to become false prophets to ourselves.

How do we avoid become false prophets to ourselves? Here is the (edited) comment I wrote on Amy’s blog. It is mostly my testimony of personal revelation, and maybe some of the scriptures or points I brought up will help us understand and discern between true personal revelation from God, and what we think is from God, but is not.

The Bible tells us to ask God "Ask, and ye shall receive... knock and it shall be opened unto you." (Luke 11:9, Matt 7:7) "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." (James 1:5) I can tell you right now, I lack wisdom on just about every topic in my life. Especially as a mother. I have no clue what I'm doing - so I ask God, and He helps me. I am so grateful for that knowledge that God will answer my prayers.

I have asked, and I have received answers to many questions - including whether or not the Bible is true, whether or not the Book of Mormon is true, and most importantly, if Christ is my Savior. He is.

Paul said, "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." So if we have a testimony of Jesus, we have the spirit of prophecy (when we are testifying of Christ).

I would also add that I do not believe I (or anyone) will ever receive revelation from God that will be contrary to His word in scripture and from His prophets. (i.e., the person receiving "revelation" that he should not marry - that isn't from God, IMO). The scriptures make a really good measuring stick for what is revelation from God, and what is not. The Book of Mormon says, "all things which are good cometh of God...(see James 1:17 & 1 John 4:1-6) that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve Him, is inspired of God... for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God." Moroni 7:12-13,16

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit... Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matt 7:15-20)

I think that the author of the article makes a good point that people can become false prophets to themselves, and quite possibly to others. I see it all the time both in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and out of the Church. You have to be very cautious with personal revelation. It is very easy to become a false prophet if you aren't careful. But I think the author throws the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. If we don't have any revelation, how are we to know anything? How do you know the Bible is true? How do you know Christ is your Savior? If you know these things, how did you come to a knowledge of them? Or are you simply just hoping they are true?

Or did you get that knowledge from God? (knowledge from God = revelation)

I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that the fullness of that gospel is found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that God loves me and that He speaks to me.

Maybe God doesn't speak to me in a burning bush, but He does speak to me through a burning in my heart. And I am grateful for it.

How do you recognize when personal revelation is from God? How do you avoid becoming a false prophet to yourself? Have you ever had what you thought was a prompting from God, only to realize, upon further inspection, that it was indeed not from God?

Mysteries of Heaven

I started reading this morning in Matthew chapter 13, but instead of reading straight through I decided I want to study each parable a little more in depth. Before studying the parables, though, I want to study parables in general.

Whenever I read parables, or read about parables, I am reminded of my days in high school English classes, reading great literature and writing papers about what the author was actually saying. I remember getting annoyed at this once my junior year of high school. In fact, I wrote a poem, trying to make it sound all allegorical, when in reality I was just writing about the topic at hand. I remember having my English teacher read it and tell me what He thought it was about. I don’t think he fell for my little trick, but I do know that my attitude about analyzing literature got a lot better my senior year. I was really good at it, after all. I got to the point where I actually enjoyed reading literature and analyzing it.

I didn’t realize how perfectly that skill would translate into my gospel study until I got to Brigham Young University and took my first Book of Mormon class. My professor was not a religion professor – he was a Mechanical Engineering professor, and his class was probably one of the best religion classes I took my entire time at BYU. He really taught me how to study the scriptures. In his class, we had one assignment each day. We were to read an assigned section of the Book of Mormon, and then write a one page paper (didn’t matter what font size, margins, spacing, etc – whatever got our thoughts to fit on one sheet of paper, and take up the whole paper) asking a question about what we read, and answering it. Our midterm was a paper on the words of Isaiah, and our final was a paper about our own personal testimony. I learned so much about studying the gospel from following that pattern – ask a question, then find the answer.

Another thing I learned in high school (from a seminary teacher? from a Young Women’s leader? a Sunday School teacher? my parents? not sure…) was that truth can be found anywhere, and that the Spirit will help us discern truth. It was during high school that I started seeking for truth in all of my studies. As I would read textbooks and other reading assignments, as I would listen to my teacher’s lectures, I would carefully listen to the Spirit to discern what was true, and what was simple man’s philosophies. It wasn’t always easy, and I am sure that I wasn’t always accurate, but developing that ability to find truth in all things has been a real blessing in my life.

Between these two skills – being able to ask questions and find answers, and being able to find truth in all things – I have felt my study of the gospel has been greatly enriched.

One of the places I feel I have really been able to apply these two skills are in studying the words of Isaiah, and in studying parables.”

The word parable means “setting side by side, a comparison”. In a parable, gospel principles and doctrine are described by ordinary things – things in every day life. The Lord often taught this way (in parables) – and more so during his Galilean ministry. This is not really surprising, since the Savior was a Galilean, and His teaching was a lot harder to stomach by people who knew Him, and knew His family. Such an “ordinary” person could not be the Savior. Could he?

Why did the Savior teach in parables? He tells us in Matthew 13. “Because it is given unto you [the disciples] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them [people who don’t believe Christ] it is not given.” We get as much truth from parables as we are ready to receive. I feel like we get as much truth out of life as we are ready to receive. My husband and I were recently talking about finding meaning in everything, and one of us made the observation that life must be more worth living if you can find meaning in everything. I think that is a true statement – because the more truth we are willing to see, the more truth we will find, and the more truth we have (light and knowledge) the closer to Heavenly Father we can be.

Do you find meaning in parables and the words of Isaiah? Are you able to find truth and meaning in everything? What is your favorite parable from the Savior? What is your favorite Latter-day parable?

The Time Shall Come

(find the talk here)

I have been reading a lot lately about prophesies and their fulfillment. Maybe I was motivated to study the fulfillment of prophesy because I have been reading in Matthew, and that gospel is basically an accounting of all the prophesies that were fulfilled by the life of Christ.

Elder L. Whitney Clayton’s talk pointed out the fulfillment of several prophesies concerning the growth of the Church. I have always loved this quote from the Prophet Joseph Smith, “You know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother’s lap… this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world.” I can’t even imagine being among the members there at that meeting – and now, that prophesy has come true. This Church is indeed filling the world. It is incredible!

President Hinckley’s prophesy is just as amazing, though we have not completely seen if fulfilled at this time. He said, “We have scarcely scratched the surface. …Our work knows no boundaries. … Those nations now closed to us will someday be open.” It will be amazing to see nations opened for missionary work that are close to us today. The nation I am most excited for is China. Can you imagine what will happen when China is opened for missionary work? I can only imagine the rapid growth that will happen there.

I saw this video once in a Sunday School class years ago, and it was amazing to watch the growth of the Church happen right before your eyes.

“This work of the Lord is indeed great and marvelous, but it moves forward essentially unnoticed by many of mankind’s political, cultural, and academic leaders.” It is ironic that the growth of the Church has been so rapid, so world-encompassing, and yet people have hardly noticed. I loved that Elder Clayton pointed out “It progresses one heart and one family at a time,silently and unobtrusively, its sacred message blessing people everywhere.” This is probably the reason the growth goes unnoticed. There are not huge mass baptisms. Large groups of people don’t join the Church all at once. Conversion is a personal event, something that happens to one person’s heart. And as each person joins the Church and begins living the gospel, other hearts are touched. The Lord’s work progresses on an exceptionally personal level - “one heart and one family at a time.”

“Our most important message, which we are both divinely commissioned and commanded to take everywhere in the world, is that there is a Savior. He lived in the meridian of time. He atoned for our sins, was crucified, and was resurrected. That matchless message, which we proclaim with authority from God, is the real reason this Church grows as it does.” At our Regional Stake Conference yesterday, Elder David A. Bednar talked about this principle. We cannot be converted to programs, people, or policies. We are converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ – which is that He lives and that He atoned for our sins. Sometimes I think that we lose sight of the “most important message” of the Church. We need to remember that our message is of the Savior – and that is the message that we need to take to the world.

When we think about the gospel we need to remember that “this mighty latter-day work is not about [us]. It is the work of Almighty God and His Son, the Prince of Peace.” This work isn’t about the Prophet Joseph Smith – it isn’t about any of the prophets, it isn’t about us, it isn’t about our neighbors, our bishop, or anyone else – this work is about our Father and His Son. We are humble recipients of what they have to offer us, and their work will go forth regardless of our imperfections. Yesterday Elder Bednar testified that He alone does not have any of the capacity or ability to be an apostle – but that through the atonement of the Savior and through the power of the Holy Ghost, he is made to be more than he is. I loved Elder Bednar’s thoughts about that and I think they fit in with Elder Clayton’s testimony that this work is God’s work. We participate in God’s work as we allow the Savior to make us more than we are – and God does his work through us, but it is still God’s work. And we would do well to remember that.

In what ways have you seen prophesy fulfilled around you? In the world? Do you remember that this work is God’s work? Have you felt your abilities and capacities enlarged through the Lord?

Find more insight on this talk over at
Diapers and Divinity’s General Conference Book Club