THE REVEALER OF GOD

I was stunned by her comment. So much so that all I could say was "I don't believe it". We were sitting around the Christmas table and came to discuss the latest publications of Church history that had upset a number of members who had chosen to abandon their Church membership. The comment that sent me reeling from someone I have known for some years was this: "All these years the Church has glorified Joseph Smith when in fact he was a terrible man!". The conversation was quickly changed to prevent further negativity but the energy of that slanderous statement remained with me causing me sorrow and regret that I had not borne witness of my testimony of Joseph's prophetic calling. Somehow, however, I wonder if we are restrained from casting pearls before swine for I consider my testimony of Joseph to be one such pearl. I have been down the polygamy path. I went searching, not to disprove the Church, but to aid a history assignment towards my degree. I read and read and sorrowed and in the end I asked the Lord to help me understand and He did. By the power of His spirit my heart and mind were opened and I came to know the true character of Joseph Smith and came to understand that he acted during his prophetic calling out of good will towards the women that he was sealed to, with great desire that they should have the priesthood ordinances performed to seal them up to eternal life. As this understanding flooded over me I could not contain my tears and came to appreciate the great sacrifices the pioneers made in regards to living this commandment which had indeed tested and purified them and strengthened the Church through growth.

It is my belief that we need to tread lightly when we delve into the past. I heard one of my University professors say once that history is very much subjective. Even though it is supposed to be cold hard facts, they are recorded from someone's perspective, a human perspective. We of this century cannot fully understand the mentality, the challenges and the pattern of how things worked in times past. Equally hard to understand to the people of other time periods would be our dispensation; the liberties we take, the freedoms we have, the technology which affords us the ease with which we perform our daily tasks, the stresses of modern day living, our sicknesses, our anxieties, our depressions, our battle with forces of evil. A clear example of differences in times is found in Mary, the mother of Christ: some historians claim that Mary was 14 when she gave birth to Jesus. In the meridian of time, by the time girls reached that age they were well trained and ready for marriage. Today, Mary at 14, would have been considered a minor and not allowed to marry and any man who engaged in sexual conduct with her would be facing criminal charges. In times past and indeed until not long ago, marriage was a woman's destiny, now it is an option. Times change and with it the mentality of the people.

Was Joseph Smith a prophet? Yes. Was he perfect? No. He admitted so himself (JSH 1:28-9). But he did the best he could with who he was and with what was required of him. When the angel Moroni visited him for the first time he told him that his name will be had 'for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people' (JSH 1:33). It is sad indeed that even Church members are counted among those who speak ill of him. The truth is, each one of us has enough sins to worry about without worrying about those of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young or anyone else in the Church, living or dead. Another truth is, do we have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and are we focused on it? The Church is people but the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth, unchanging and the same yesterday, today and forever. It is administered to the hearts of the children of men by the power of His holy spirit. Once you have received this spiritual witness, all else is of little importance. Another truth, is there another Church out there as perfectly formed as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with apostles and prophets bearing the priesthood; with temples making available the saving ordinances for the living and the dead? To what other Church can we go for our eternal salvation? Who has what we have?

This year in Sunday School we are studying the Book of Mormon. Joseph Smith called this book the keystone of our religion (Introduction, The Book of Mormon). Ezra Taft Benson, one of its' strongest advocates, explained that this keystone is threefold: 1. it is the keystone in our witness of Christ; 2. it is the keystone of our doctrine; and 3. it is the keystone of testimony. Bruce R. McConkie taught that Joseph's expression that "'the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion' means precisely what it says. The keystone is the central stone in the top of the arch. If that stone is removed, then the arch crumbles, which, in effect, means that Mormonism so-called -- which actually is the gospel of Christ, restored anew in this day -- stands or falls with the truth or the falsity of the Book of Mormon" (Bruce R. McConkie, Conference Report, April 1961, pp.38-39). Personally, if I take 'stone' out of it, I end up with the 'key' to all that the Book of Mormon represents to me, a key to my salvation which is in Christ, in His doctrine and in my testimony of same.

On the last leaf of the golden record, Moroni explained the purpose of the Book of Mormon. This explanation is found on the very first page of the book as we have it today. It can be summarized in three words: show, know and convince. To elaborate, it is to show the remnant of the house of Israel (Lamanites) what great things God had done for them; so that they may know the covenants and one day be converted; and it is to convince the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. When Joseph Smith called the Book of Mormon the keystone of our religion he also said that 'a man would get nearer to God by abiding its precepts, than by any other book' (Introduction, The Book of Mormon). This promise has been repeated by many other prophets since Joseph. In 1963, Spencer W. Kimball said this: "But after all, it is not the book's dramatic crisis, its history, its narrative that are so important, but its power to transform men into Christlike beings worthy of exaltation" (Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1963, p. 6). How could a man who has brought the power of salvation and exaltation to mankind be a terrible man? The crucial part of all this is that we cannot have a testimony of the Book of Mormon if we do not have one of Joseph Smith, 'a prophet of dispensational proportions'......"As much as we delight in and need to have a testimony concerning the present-day prophet who heads the Church,we must also realise that each prophet subsequent to Joseph Smith has had a testimony of Joseph Smith. The echoing effect of these prophets only reinforces that there is an order and pattern by which that specific 'chosen vessel', the Prophet Joseph, was designed to re-reveal God to us in this day. As we teach the gospel in this dispensation, it is important to remember that the reality of God we proclaim to a world of non-members is founded on the knowledge of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith, the revealer of God......." (Jerry A. Wilson, The Great Plan of Happiness, Insights from the Lectures on Faith, p. 23)

I fully believe we will be held accountable for our sustaining vote of Joseph Smith or lack thereof because his accomplishments were not his own. To deny them would be to deny the power of God through which Joseph accomplished all that he was given to do to prepare us for the second coming. He was called of God and he was anointed to accomplish this work and to deny his divine calling is to deny God Himself. The spirit can bear truth to this fact, besides the logical considerations of his greatest accomplishment being the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon. Consider the following views of this logic:

 "There are three possible explanations for the origin of the Book of Mormon. One is that it is a product of spontaneous generation. Another is that it came into existence in the way Joseph Smith said it did, by special messengers and gifts from God. The third is the hypothesis that Joseph Smith or some other party or parties simply made it all up. No experiments have ever been carried out for testing any of these theories. The first has not even been considered, the second has been dismissed with a contemptuous wave of the hand, and the third has been accepted without question or hesitation. And yet the third theory is quite as extravagant as the other two, demanding unlimited gullibility and the suspension of all critical judgment in any who would accept it. It is based on the simple proposition that since people have written books, somebody, namely Smith or a contemporary, wrote this one. But to make this thesis stick is to show not only that people have written big books, but that somebody has been able to produce a big book like this one. But no other such book exists. Where will you find another work remotely approaching the Book of Mormon in scope and daring? It appears suddenly out of nothing--not an accumulation of twenty-five years like the Koran, but a single staggering performance, bursting on a shocked and scandalized world like an explosion, the full-blown history of an ancient people, following them through all the trials, triumphs, and vicissitudes of a thousand years without a break, telling how a civilization originated, rose to momentary greatness, and passed away, giving due attention to every phase of civilized history in a densely compact and rapidly moving story that interweaves dozens of plots with an inexhaustible fertility of invention and an uncanny consistency that is never caught in a slip or contradiction. We respectfully solicit the name of any student or professor in the world who could come within ten thousand miles of such a performance. As a sheer tour-de-force there is nothing like it. The theory that Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon simply will not stand examination. (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.7, Ch.6, pp.137, 138).

"[I only] say what so many have said before: that if Joseph Smith–or anyone else, for that matter–created the Book of Mormon out of whole cloth, that to me is a far greater miracle than the proposition that he translated the book from ancient records with an endowment of divine power to do so. Has anyone here ever tried to write anything? Have you ever, with your degrees and libraries and computers and research assistants, ever tried to write anything anyone could stand to read? Even if you have my guess is you haven’t succeeded at writing anything anyone would read more than once, or say it changed their lives, or say that were willing to leave family and fortune and future for–and then do it. You thought it was tough to have your dissertation committee grill you for a couple of hours. How about tossing your piece of work to the most hostile–and learned–of enemies for, say, 164 years (just to pull a number out of the air). Go ahead. Put that terrific master’s thesis of yours out there under a microscope for everyone to kick and gouge and attack for a century or two, and let’s see how marvelous that university-produced accomplishment of yours really was. After a little of that are you still standing by the divinity and immortality of your work? Is anybody still reading it? In light of all this, as it applies to the Book of Mormon which is still changing human lives and still moving moral mountains, and as one who has tried to write a line or two of both poetry and prose and failed miserably, I want to meet the author of this work whoever it is. I want to praise first hand such a remarkably gifted writer. Furthermore I’d live to read anything else this elusive figure has ever written. I’d love to talk to the whole research team who must have produced it. If they’ve got anything else they’ve ever put their pen to, I’ll pay any amount of money to get hold of it. This is writing that moves millions so more of it could certainly make millions. Let’s talk contracts. Surely in 164 years there must be someone willing to step for forward– you know, the “real” author–claiming credit for such a remarkable document and all that has transpired in its wake. Or at least those descendants of such an author should have come forth by now willing to cashier the whole thing. Where are they? Well the simple fact of the matter is no other origin for the Book of Mormon has ever come to light because there isn’t one. A bad man could not have fabricated such an inspiring book and a good man would not have done so" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, CES Symposium, BYU Marriott Center, 9 August 1994).

Elder David O. McKay told of his father's missionary experience that confirms Moroni's prophetic statement to the teenage Joseph that his 'name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people' (JHS 1:33):

"He accepted a call to a mission about 1880. When he began preaching in his native land and bore testimony of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he noticed that the people turned away from him. They were bitter in their hearts against anything Mormon, and the name of Joseph Smith seemed to arouse antagonism in their hearts. One day he concluded that the best way to get these people would be to preach just the simple principles, the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, the first principles of the gospel, and not bear testimony of the restoration of the gospel. It first came simply, as a passing thought, but yet it influenced his future work. In a month or so he became oppressed with a gloomy, downcast feeling, and he could not enter into the spirit of his work. He did not really know what was the matter, but his mind became obstructed; his spirit became clogged; he was oppressed and hampered, and that feeling of depression continued until it weighed him down with such heaviness that he went to the Lord and said: 'Unless I can get this feeling removed, I shall have to go home. I cannot continue my work with this feeling'. It continued for some time after that, then one morning before daylight, following a sleepless night, he decided to retire to a cave, near the ocean, where he knew he would be shut off from the world entirely, and there pour out his soul to God and ask why he was oppressed with this feeling, what he had done, and what he could do to throw it off and continue his work....He entered that place and said: 'Oh, Father, what can I do to have this feeling removed? I must have it lifted or I cannot continue in this work'; and he heard a voice, as distinct as the tone I am now uttering, say: 'Testify that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God'. Remembering, then what he tacitly had decided six weeks or more before and becoming overwhelmed with the thought, the whole thing came to him in a realization that he was there for a special mission, and that he had not given that special mission the attention which it deserved. Then he cried in his heart, 'Lord, it is enough' and went out from the cave. (Gospel Ideals, pp 21-22)

If we do not believe that Joseph Smith has done more towards the salvation of mankind save Jesus alone, we do not know and understand the Book of Mormon. In an interview with her sons a few months before she died, Emma Smith, bore her testimony to them: "My belief is that the Book of Mormon is of divine authenticity. I have not the slightest doubt of it....Though I was an active participant in the scenes that transpired, and was present during the translation of the plates....and had cognizance of things as they transpired, it is marvelous to me, 'a marvel and a wonder', as much as to anyone else". Describing her experience, she said: "The plates often lay on the table without any attempt at concealment, wrapped in a small linen tablecloth which I had given him [Joseph] to fold them in. I once felt the plates as they lay on the table, tracing their outline and shape. They seemed to be pliable like thick paper, and would rustle with a metallic sound when the edges were moved by the thumb, as one does sometimes thumb the edges of a book". She also testified, "I know Mormonism to be the truth; and believe the church to have been established by divine direction" (Gracia N. Jones, My Great-Great-Grandmother, Emma Hale Smith, Ensign Aug 1992)

What do we owe to Joseph Smith, 'a disturber and an annoyer of Satan's kingdom' (JHS 1:20), the revealer of God, a martyr in the cause of truth? In my opinion, much more than slanderous words and disregard for his sacrifices, obedience and divine appointment. When Parley P. Pratt visited Emma, 'a woman of commitment in sorrow', in Nauvoo where she remained after the saints travelled west, she told him 'I believe he [Joseph] was everything he professed to be'. Emma lived almost 35 years after the martyrdom of her prophet-husband. A few days before she died she told her nurse, Elizabeth Revel, that Joseph had come to her in a vision and said: "'Emma, come with me, it is time for you to come with me'. As Emma related it, she said, 'I put on my bonnet and my shawl and went with him; I did not think that it was anything unusual. I went with him into a mansion, and he showed me through the different apartments of that beautiful mansion'. And one room was the nursery. In that nursery was a babe in the cradle. She said, 'I knew my babe, my Don Carlos that was taken from me'. She sprang forward, caught the child up in her arms and wept with joy over the child. When Emma recovered herself sufficient she turned to Joseph and said, 'Joseph, where are the rest of my children?' He said to her, 'Emma, be patient and you shall have all of your children'. Then she saw standing by his side a personage of light, even the Lord Jesus Christ." (Gracia N. Jones, My Great-Great-Grandmother, Emma Hale Smith, Ensign Aug 1992)

Men may be deceived by our works and by our sins but God cannot. He knows all things and it is Him we must trust in all things, even in regards to a prophet named Joseph Smith upon whom the Saviour himself sealed his exaltation on 12 July 1843 in Nauvoo, Illinois:

"For I am the Lord thy God, 

and will be with thee even unto the end of the world, 

and through all eternity; 

for, verily I seal upon you your exaltation,

 and prepare for you a throne in the kingdom of my Father...."

(D&C 132:49)

THE BOOK OF HOPE

Some two thousand years ago, during the bleakest period of Church history, there was on the island of Patmos an exile, a prophet and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the last apostle alive, all others having been killed before him. And to that rocky island prison, on a particular Sunday came the glorified, exalted Christ to the apostle whom He called 'The Beloved'. "Heralded by the trumpet-blast of the godly voice and standing in the midst of seven golden candlesticks symbolic of the seven branches of the church in Asia was the Saviour. Some fifty or sixty years before He had hung in agony on the cross and had been laid in the dark recesses of a borrowed tomb. Now he stood in blinding, blazing glory before John: "I am he that liveth, and was dead", he declared, "and, behold, I am alive for evermore" (Revelation 1:18)" (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 449)

So overcome was John that he fell to the earth as though dead but the Saviour touched Him and told him not to be afraid but to write down the revelation which he was about to receive for the seven branches of the Church who were facing life-threatening persecutions. "They knew the wrath of a government intent on enforcing the policy of emperor worship. They knew the clutch of fear at the approaching sound of Roman legionaires. By the time of Patmos, according to the traditions that have come down to us, Peter had been crucified, Paul beheaded, Bartholemew skinned alive, Thomas and Matthew run through with spears. John was the only surviving apostle (an apostle who would survive it all and never taste of death); all the others had died violently because of their faith. By the time of Patmos, the history of the Church included the lining of Nero's colonnade with crucified Christians and the savagery of the mobs screaming for blood in the Coliseum and the Circus Maximus." (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 449).

The revelation which John the Beloved received is known to us as The Book of Revelation. There are many scholastic views of the book which offer explanations as to its' meaning. Some argue that the book needs to be considered with a non-prophetic view, that all that is contained therein pertains to the past, meaning John's day, referring to the clash between the Church and the Roman Empire. Others however, claim that the Book needs to be considered with a solely prophetic view and that the symbols within it are to be seen as future predictions of all the great events of history. Viewed either way, people throughout Christendom have found the Book of Revelation hard to understand. Joseph Smith has said, however, that "the Book of Revelation is one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written" (Teachings, p. 290). One can wonder how that can be so considering the extensive use of symbolism used by John when describing his vision. The clue to its plainness lies in the very heading of this book. Because The Book of Revelation was received by revelation, it can also be best understood through revelation. Thankfully, as Latter-day Saints, we not only have personal revelation to rely on for understanding of this book but also revelation given to latter-day prophets: "Thanks be to the interpretive material found in sections 29, 77, 88 and others of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants; plus the revisions given in the Inspired Version of the Bible; plus the sermons of the Prophet; plus some clarifying explanations in the Book of Mormon and other latter-day scripture; plus our over-all knowledge of the plan of salvation - thanks be to all of these things.....the fact is that we have a marvelously comprehensive and correct understanding of this otherwise hidden book" (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:431).

The greatest purpose and meaning of The Book of Revelation is that it is a book of hope. It's main purpose is not history but prophecy. This is evident in the fact that the Book covers the history of the earth's 6 thousand years only briefly whereas it expounds on the period of the Millenium in lengthy detail. What does this have to do with hope? The Book of Revelation gives us hope in that Millenium reign when evil, "in all of its power and wickedness, shall be put down once and for all" (The Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, p. 444). This knowledge would have given great hope to the saints who were witnessing the decline of the Church and the beginning of the Great Apostasy but it is of even greater value to us because it assures us that the forces of great evil which are gaining momentum in our day will one day be destroyed and come to an end. The Book of Revelation highlights the conquest of evil and that God is still over all and will triumph in the end, which triumph will cause all His creations to worship Him with glory and praise. The Book of Revelation presents the greatest contrast between the Saviour's first coming to earth and the second. Whereas the first time he was despised and rejected of men, when all this is over and the earth is rolled together as a scroll, even the earth will sing His praise and honour His name (Rev 4:9-11, 5:14, 11:17, 16:5).

The hope of true followers of Jesus Christ, and the hope referred to in John's revelation should be to gain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. Moroni tells us that if we have no hope we must be in despair (Moroni 10:22). An absence of hope for something better than this telestial life would surely suppress any incentive to repent, deplete the power of endurance, entice fear and diminish belief needed to overcome the natural man. The Book of Revelation gives us hope that all these things are possible. In it John sees Satan as a red dragon driving a woman with a child (The Church) into wilderness (apostasy) (Rev 12). As the woman rises again out of the wilderness John records 'the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus' (Rev 12:17). This is a frightful depiction of our day which would leave us, the members of the Church, to the buffetings of Satan if we had no hope that we can fight the fierceness of the battle that we are engaged in: "Yet, of all people, we as Latter-day Saints should be the most optimistic and the least pessimistic. For while we know that 'peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion', we are also assured that 'the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall reign in their midst' (D&C 1:35-36) (Ezra Taft Benson in CR, Oct. 1974, p. 90).

No one can read the concluding chapters of Revelation without feeling the hope that John felt as he looked forward to our day. It is somewhat appropriate that the Saviour would give him this glorious vision considering he was to live to witness incredible calamities, wars, pestilence, wickedness and the Great Apostasy. It might also be appropriate for us to assume that this vision was given to the beloved apostle, who would never taste of death, out of love so that the hope of the triumphant ending would enable John to endure everything preceding the Millenium when 'the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan' will be bound for a thousand years enabling a period of peace for those who will dwell with Christ in paradisiacal glory' (Rev 20:2). One would have to wonder what kind of chain it would have to be to bind the Prince of Darkness and what kind of bottomless pit could contain him? To believe that such a thing could ever happen means for us to believe that we are more powerful than him because we have kept our first estate. Because Satan is a spirit only, all his power is derived through spiritual means from those who live on this earth clothed in earthly tabernacles, meaning us. His power is added upon from spiritual energy that we create. We make him powerful by creating spiritual energy of darkness through sin or powerless by creating spiritual light through righteousness. Since the Saviour is the Light of the World, Satan is the opposite, the Prince of Darkness. The chain he will be bound with and the bottomless pit he will be cast into as referred to in the Book of Revelation are terms symbolic of righteous living of those who will qualify to live during the Millenium (see Eldred G. Smith in CR, Apr. 1970, p 142 and 1 Nephi  22:26). In other words, because of people's righteousness, there will be no spiritual darkness and therefore Satan's power will dissipate.

Righteous living proceeds from a committed heart of true followers of Jesus Christ. It does not come from complacency that some of us in the Church are familiar with: "The abundant life is a spiritual life. Too many sit at the banquet table of the gospel of Jesus Christ and merely nibble at the feast placed before them. They go through the motions - attending their meetings, perhaps glancing at the scriptures, repeating familiar prayers - but their hearts are far away. If they are honest, they would admit to being more interested in the latest neighborhood rumors, stock market trends, and their favourite TV show than they are in the supernal wonders and sweet ministerings of the Holy Spirit. Do you wish to partake of this living water and experience that divine well springing up within you to everlasting life? Then be not afraid. Believe with all  your hearts. Develop an unshakable faith in the Son of God. Let your hearts reach out in earnest prayer. Fill your minds with knowledge of Him. Forsake your weaknesses. Walk in holiness and harmony with the commandments. Drink deeply of the living waters of the gospel of Jesus Christ" ( Joseph B. Wirthlin, The Abundant Life, Ensign, May 2006).

Being merely Church members is not enough, we must build the spiritual core within us which will enable us to stand when the mighty winds of apostasy descend upon us. Then no imperfect leadership in the Church can offend us, no transpired event in Church history will sway us, no Church teaching we do not understand will cause us to give up. If we are built on the spirit of prophecy and an unshakable testimony of  Christ, we will withstand any pressure to cave and any temptation to sin and seek justification for same through some imperfection that we insist we have found in the Church for such imperfections only serve as great stumbling blocks that obscure our vision from perfectly seeing the Saviour of all mankind. With an absence of fear, being filled with hope and armed with righteousness and faith we can defeat and bind the enemy who seeks our destruction and pave the way for Him who will 'wipe away all tears from [our] eyes' (Rev 21:4) and with whom we can live during the Millenial reign of peace and happiness. It is therefore, our duty here and now to 'drink deeply of the living waters of the gospel of Jesus Christ' that we might have reason to hope for a better world, a world where 'there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away' (Rev 21:4).

".....for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay,

that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness....."

(Moroni 9:6)

ABSENCE OF FEAR

"Legend has it that one day a man was walking in the desert when he met Fear and Plague. They said they were on their way to a city to kill 10,000 people. The man asked Plague if he was going to do all the work. Plague smiled and said, 'No, I'll take care of only a few hundred. I'll let my friend Fear do the rest'."   -  Author unknown


During some of the toughest persecutions experienced by the saints in the meridian of times Apostle Paul wrote tirelessly to the Church exhorting the members to faithfulness and endurance. During his second imprisonment in Rome and just prior to his martyrdom, Paul wrote his second epistle to Timothy which stands as 'one of the great monuments to faith and hope in the face of loneliness and adversity' (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 375). One of the most profound things he said in this letter had reference to fear: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7). This statement should become the creed by which we, the saints of this dispensation, live by because we live in a world filled with turmoil, uncertainty, calamities and strife. We who are living during the winding up scenes of this earth's 6,000 years of time are living during the best and the worst of times. Before the Saviour comes again to personally reign for a thousand years we will experience some of the most intense trials of all dispensations that will drive fear into the hearts of all who will stand as witnesses of such times. Discoursing on the signs that will precede the Second Coming, the Saviour described the condition of our day: "And they shall hear of wars, and rumours of wars....for nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places" (JSM 1:28,29).

This scripture is a very accurate description of our world today for "nations and kingdoms and peoples are at war all over the globe. The D&C 45 version of this discourse says that men "will take up the sword (or its modern equivalent) one against another" (vs 23). We see this as people fight among their own without regard to any living person; and this, according to Christ, is due to the hardening of their hearts. There will be commotions and desolations as we just read that will come in the form of famines, pestilences, disasters and earthquakes. Such events have increased dramatically in just our lifetime. The D&C version also indicates that these wars and catastrophes will increase until "the whole earth shall be in commotion" which will cause "men's hearts to fail them" (vs 26). We already see the beginning of a general feeling of hopelessness, despondency, depression and despair among many in the world today. This, for instance, is one of the primary purposes of terrorists - to strike a feeling of fear and hopelessness in others - and this will only increase" (Larry D. Keeler, If Ye Are Prepared, Ye Shall Not Fear (Now Is the Time to Prepare), p.3). Like the civilizations of old we allow and even foster 'secret combinations' within our societies which drive fear into the inhabitants of the whole earth. These are our modern day 'Gadianton Robbers' who seek power by inducing fear for the purpose of controlling countries and nations in upholding Satan's plan of destruction of the plan of salvation.

Perilous times equal fear. For this reason the Saviour chose to make the signs of the times known to us who follow His teachings. He said He did so for the 'elect's sake' (JSM 1:29), 'elect' meaning those who have taken upon themselves His name through the covenant of baptism. In His infinite mercy, the Saviour wanted us to have hope of the promises He has made so that we would not be troubled and fearful of the present: "Be not troubled, for, when all these things shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been made unto you shall be fulfilled" (D&C 45:35). In other words, instead of fearing the calamities, rejoice that the end is fast approaching and the promises of something better are about to be fulfilled. Here are a few priceless promises made to the faithful who watch for the signs of His coming:

1. We can have peace in the midst of turmoil of the world and live without fear.
2. We can be assured that in the coming destruction of the world, we will be caught up to escape the baptism of fire for it is written 'that in the last days, two shall be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left' (Matt 24:40-41).
3. We can be assured a place in His Kingdom after this life, which He promised when He said to His disciples: "In my Father's house are many mansions: I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2)

An absence of fear equals a brighteness of hope. Hope and fear cannot co-exist for one will always dispel the other. If we choose not to fear, should we not hope for something better? Considering the bleakness of today's world, can we not rejoice when contemplating the promise of eternal life in Christ's Kingdom of which John the Beloved said: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice of of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev 21:1-4). Can we not in the absence of fear, have an abundance of hope in the Prince of Peace who can indeed dry all tears from our eyes and give us splendour and glory after the valley of shadow and death?

The greatest promise of all that we have been given is to receive the Second Comforter while still in mortality. The Prophet Joseph Smith has said that this is a reality for every faithful and worthy Latter-Day Saint who continues to humble himself before God; who hungers and thirsts after righteousness; and who lives by every word of God. Once a person has proven through his faithfulness that he will serve God at all cost, the Saviour Himself will come to Him and even manifest the Father to him, "and the Lord will teach him face to face" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 150-151, 298). Can we not be lifted up above fear when we hear the Saviour's divine promise such as this: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you....I will love [you], and will manifest myself to [you]....and my Father will love [you] and we will come unto [you] and make our abode with [you] (John 14:18, 21, 23). This promise is, firstly, that the Son and the Father will visit us in person; and secondly, that we can receive from Him an assurance while still in mortality that we will be exalted. This divine promise is given even though we are not yet perfect. This promise means that the Lord knows the innermost desires of our hearts and will assure us divine tutoring beyond the grave that will qualify us for exaltation. Joseph Smith himself received this promise: "For I am the Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the end of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father" (D&C 132:49)

What could we possibly fear if we had an assurance of exaltation and if we knew the Saviour was bringing with Him at His appearing the fulfillment of all His wondrous promises? No earthquake, no flood, no act of terrorism could possibly consume us with fear. We are children of the promise, the elect of the covenant, who have everything to hope for. We are here but for a moment; a moment of learning, a moment of faith, a moment of preparation. As we witness the fulfillment of the signs of the times may we be propelled to urgent preparation to meet our Maker and may we be like John the Beloved,to whom the Saviour gave a glorious vision of the Second Coming and following which He said: "Surely, I come quickly", meaning quickly after all has been fulfilled and to which John simply replied: 

"Even so, come, Lord Jesus"

(Rev 22:20)

A special thanks to my good friend Larry D. Keeler from whom I learnt most of what I posted here and his insightful talk entitled "If Ye Are Prepared, Ye Shall Not Fear" on which this post was based.

BY THE GRACE OF GOD PART 2

".....I will go before your face. 
I will be on your right hand and on your left, 
and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, 
and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." 
(D&C 84:88)

As disciples of Jesus Christ we have been given the mandate to become perfect. This perfection will be reached long after we pass on from this mortal life, nevertheless, whilst we are here we are to strive for excellence which will one day qualify us for godhood. Along this path however, we frequently, if not constantly, lack patience to cope with our sense of personal inadequacy. This impatience makes us prone to discouragement and a belief that because of our inadequacies perfection seems an unattainable goal. The gap between the ideal (perfection), and reality for some of us seems like a painful place to exist. In this gap we tend to encounter extreme guilt which makes many of us believe that we will never 'make it'. Women especially are susceptible to feelings of guilt to the point where some dread family-oriented lessons in Relief Society because emphasizing the ideals of motherhood makes them more aware of their own shortcomings and failure to live up to them. The truth is, all of us are falling short of the ideal for who among us could not relate to this family's scenario of the gap between reality and the ideal: "Then there are the family home evenings and scripture study sessions in our home. Somehow it has not been altogether natural for our children to glide reverently into their places all at once and all on time, prepared to ponder thoughtfully the wonders of eternity. More than likely, especially when they were young, they seemed to come swinging into the family room on the chandeliers like Tarzan on the vines, then would stand on their heads or flip themselves over the back of the couch during most of the lesson. During that stage of our family's history, our bishop lovingly referred to our children as curtain climbers, rug rats, and house apes. There were times in those days  when the gap yawned as wide as the Grand Canyon" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p. 178). 

We live in a 'feel good' day and age. Modern day psychologists and spiritual gurus advise strongly against any negative feelings that have the potential to harm our self-esteem. One such therapist claims that being seriously religious "is significantly correlated with emotional disturbance" and goes on to say: "People largely disturb themselves by believing strongly in absolutistic shoulds, oughts, and musts, and most people who dogmatically believe in some religion believe in these health-sabotaging absolutes....The less religious people are, the more emotionally healthy they will tend to be" (Albert, Ellis, "Psychotherapy and Atheistic Values", Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology (1980), p 635-7). The world's solution to coping with the gap between the reality and the ideal is to eliminate the ideal and make peace with your reality. By doing this, we are meant to be free from frustration, guilt and unhappiness. This solution is an appealing one to many who are encouraged to accept themselves as they are. Because not having to change is a more comfortable place to be, we convince ourselves that we are not 'celestial material' and fall out of the race. 

Our modern day pre-occupation with self-acceptance limits severely our possibilities for growth and change restricting the power of repentance. Many of us go so far as to believe that we cannot change human nature at all and that we are what we are. Those of us who are of that belief deny the power of the Atonement and are in effect saying to the Saviour, I don't need you, you have no power to do anything for me. When we come to that point we believe the world more than we believe Him. We then lose all faith that we can ever attain godhood because we know our own capabilities cannot get us there. The other choice we have in this matter is to focus on Him who overcame the world, resisted every temptation and avoided every sin. We must understand that the only way perfection is possible at all is through the grace of Him who has paved the way. Through His grace we too can overcome the world, resist every temptation and avoid every sin because His grace enlarges our capacities and turns our weaknesses into strengths but the most important gift of grace "along that path is the gift of hope, which is a source of comfort and strength for those who move courageously forward toward the perfecting ideal of the Saviour" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 183)

It astounds me to hear an active member of the Church exclaim "oh, I know I will never make it". This proclamation indicates a lack of understanding of the Atonement and a lack of acceptance of its' power. To me this belief is akin to sin. Contrast that mentality with active members of the Church in Jacob's time: "Wherefore, we search the prophets (scriptures), and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy (testimony); and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken, insomuch that we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea. Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things" (Jacob 4:6-7). It is clear from this scripture that those who believe that they will never 'make it' are the ones who put their faith in their capacities alone rather than in the grace of God which is the only way we can ever make it. If we can by the grace of God command the trees, the mountains or the waves of the sea to obey us, surely we can by this same grace also change the human nature. 

The spiritual endowments of hope are perspective, patience, serenity, peace, insight and endurance. When we press forward with steadfastness in Christ (2 Nephi 31:20), we do so with a hope that we can make it for the one who has made it is before us, behind us and by us (D&C 88:84, 49:27). We desperately need these endowments of hope because they help us to see that development toward spiritual maturity and godhood "is a process and not an event....it is a distance race, not a sprint....it is thus no race for the short-winded. To develop toward a Christlike character is a process, not an event. There may one day be some crowning event, in which the final endowment of grace completes a process that may take longer than mortal life. But to qualify for such a conclusion requires patience and persistence more than it requires flawlessness. It is indeed, our own groping and reaching in the struggle for growth that qualifies us for divine help." (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 184, 186)

In our quest for the ideal, we are like a toddler just learning to walk. The closer we get to the ideal, the more that ideal expands and creates new aspirations and a new gap, until we finally reach godhood: "When our capacities are small, God's expectations are not very demanding.......but just as we master these elementary demands, we discover greater expectations that we didn't quite see before. Gradually our capacity grows, but so does our understanding of what more we must become, 'For of him unto whom much is given much is required' (D&C 82:3). The Lord would have us stretch - but not out of shape.....in the midst of this process, the blessing of hope keeps the gap at a manageable distance. Our perceptions and attitudes really can be shaped and lifted by a gift of divinely given insight that lets us feel, even with some anticipation and optimism, that we can do it.....Hope, a divinely given blessing of atoning grace for those who seek it, after all they can do on their own, establishes in the way our mind sees things just the right distance between where we are and where we strive to be. It also reassures us, somehow, that the ever-receding ideal is not a trick, but part of a growth process that can be not only acceptable but exhilarating" (Bruce C. Hafen, The Broken Heart, p 187,188)

We need only search the scriptures in order to know the God we speak of; to know that to Him man is the underlying and over-riding purpose of all His works, that to Him we are everything (Moses 1:39); that it is for our sakes' He willingly laid Himself on the cross; that beside Him there is no Saviour; that the extent of His doings none can find out; that there are none who can stay His hand; that great is His wisdom and marvelous are His ways; that He is gracious and merciful unto those who fear Him and that He delights to honour those who serve Him in righteousness and in truth unto the end (D&C 76:1-5). This is the God we worship, this is the God we serve and this is the God we should believe.

"Behold, I have graven thee 

upon the palms of my hands;

thy walls are continually before me.......

come unto me thy Saviour"

(Isaiah 49:16, D&C 19:41))

BY THE GRACE OF GOD PART I

"A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

So this the man did, day after day.

For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all of his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. 

Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't moved". Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. The Adversary said: "Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough".

So that's what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord. "Lord", he said, "I have laboured long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately: "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed but is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock but your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom. That you have done. Now, I, my friend, will move the rock".

- Author unknown

Sometimes on our life's journey we come to think that everything depends on us: enduring, serving, overcoming, accomplishing, obeying. Considering the many responsibilities placed on our shoulders day in and day out, this seems like a logical conclusion for many of us. We tend to forget that in this mortal sphere, we are intended to walk by faith and not by capacity. In other words, we are not meant to 'do' this life alone. We of ourselves can do nothing. Even the Saviour of the world admitted this to be true of Himself: "I can of mine own self do nothing, as I hear I judge and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will but the will of the Father who sent me" (John 5:30). The scriptures tell us that our faith can be so powerful that it can move mountains but in our exerted efforts of pushing and straining we tend to overlook who is at the other end of our faith. By all means, we should exercise the faith that moves mountains but  we must remember that it is still God who moves them.

All God asks of us is willingness and obedience. We, by our own weak efforts and finite wisdom could never make of ourselves what He has intended for us to be. It was His purpose from the beginning that we become co-heirs with Christ in His kingdom. To become those heirs, we have been given saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ and commandments to live by. The interesting thing here is that none of us can live up to these commandments of ourselves. If we could, we would not need the saving ordinances to save us, or the Saviour to die for us. President Lorenzo Snow said that the gospel was so designed that it would be too hard for us to live it without God's help. Perhaps if it was designed so that we could live it without divine help we would lose focus of our eternal home. Perhaps if we had the power to save ourselves we would become as the Son of the Morning who fell because of self-righteous pride. President Snow's theory should give hope to many of us who are struggling to live the Gospel and feeling sharply our shortcomings:

"The character of the religion that we have espoused demands a certain course of conduct that no other religion that we know of requires of its adherents; and the nature of those demands upon us [is] such that no person can comply with them, unless by assistance from the Almighty. It is necessary that we comprehend, at least, in part, the great and important blessings that we are to derive, eventually by complying with the requirements of the religion or gospel that we have received. The sacrifices that are required of us are of that nature that no man or woman could make them, unless aided by a supernatural power; and the Lord, in proposing these conditions, never intended that his people should ever be required to comply with them unless by supernatural aid, and of that kind that is not professed by any other class of religious people. He has promised this aid...." (Lorenzo Snow, Teachings of Presidents of the Church, With God All Things Are Possible, p 178-9)

This aid that God has promised to all His children so they could live the Celestial law in the telestial world is called grace. Grace is both God's good will and a divine power that we can access here and now for our personal perfection. Grace is twofold. Our part is the willingness to obey and the Lord's is to empower us beyond our natural capacity. In other words, all we need is to be willing to push whatever rock the Lord requires of us, but He in the end removes the rock: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them" (Ether 12:27). The Saviour would not ask of us anything that He himself has not done. The amazing thing is that He subjected himself to the temptations and weaknesses of mortality not because He needed them but so that He could, through overcoming, gain compassion and power to succor us and perfect us. To 'succor' means to come to one's aid, help or relief. Because He himself has overcome the world, He has gained the power He can give us to overcome also: "Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me" (D&C 50:41).

Our willingness to obey and to overcome the weaknesses and trials of mortality, through God's grace, brings us greater rewards than the reward of salvation. The Lord tells us of this significant reward in Revelation: "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God..." (Rev 3:12); "A pillar in the temple of my God" means "a person of stature and eminence in the Celestial Kingdom of God. Heaven itself, the house and abode of God, is a temple, the chief and supreme temple of eternity" (Bruce R. McConkie). Christianity at large focuses only on salvation and the role of grace pertaining to that doctrine as outlined by Paul who said: "For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). Well did Paul say that salvation is free and none of us are to boast that we have in any way earned it. Through the infinite sacrifice of Jesus Christ all men will be saved and resurrected through no effort of their own. Exaltation, however, is a different matter. Exaltation must be earned: "Salvation in all its forms, kinds, and degrees comes by the grace of God....Men are saved by grace alone in the sense of being resurrected; they are saved by grace coupled with obedience, in the sense of gaining eternal life..." (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Volume II, Acts-Phillipians, p 492-3).

Eternal life does not only mean 'life with God' but 'life as gods'. As Revelation points out, he that overcomes will not only be a pillar in the temple of God but shall have God's name written on him: "God's name is God. To have his name written on a person is to identify that person as a god. How can it be said more plainly? Those who gain eternal life become gods! Their inheritance is both a fullness of the glory of the Father and a continuation of the seed forever and ever. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them" (D&C 132:19-20) (McConkie, DNTC, 3:458, The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 453).

"He that overcometh shall inherit all things:

and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment:

and I will not blog out his name out of the book of life,

but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 

even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 

(Rev 21:7, 3:5,21)

".....and a book of remembrance was written before him

for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, 

in that day when I make up my jewels......

(Malachi 3:16,17)

IN HEAVEN'S CARE

 

".....be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God , that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." 

(Ephesians 6:10-13)

There was a king in ancient Israel by the name of Ahab who was the most wicked and most powerful of the kings of northern Israel. He married Jezebel, a Sidonian princess, through whose influence the worship of Baal and Asherah was established and an attempt was made to exterminate the prophets and the worship of Jehovah (1 Kings 16, 18). Due to Ahab's political prowess, the kingdom of Israel was strong. When Ahab led his army against the forces of Syria, he took every precaution to come out of the battle alive, even disguising himself so that the Syrians would not recognise him.  The only thing he failed do was wear enough armour. It took one bow drawn by one man to hit the King of Israel between the section of his armour and cause a fatal blow. Ahab stayed out the battle in his chariot bleeding slowly to death and by night time he was dead (1 Kings 22:34,35).

The concept of battle armour is a foreign concept to us in this dispensation of times. The protective battle gear and weapons have somewhat changed since ancient times. Many of us cannot relate to fighting a battle in the physical sense, especially those of us living in the peaceful western world. There is, however, a battle we are all engaged in with the enemy that cannot be seen. This enemy is cleverly disguised in many evils of mortality who carefully draws his bow and fires his darts and arrows aiming to wound so we would, like Ahab, slowly bleed to death. Since the battle is directed at the destruction of our souls, meaning both body and spirit (D&C 88:15), it stands to reason that our armour should be spiritually strong.

When Nephi's brothers asked him the meaning of the rod of iron that their father dreamt of, Nephi replied that it was the word of God, which if they would hearken to, would protect them from the fiery darts of the adversary which could prove to their destruction (1 Nephi 15:23,24). The degree of protection we receive to combat the adversary is directly proportional to the diligence and heed we give to God's word, meaning obedience to His commandments.  How obedient we are here is an indication of how much we are willing to stand for the conviction that was ours in pre-existence.  The extent of our armour is a good indication of how valiant in our testimony of Jesus we are being here and now.  Since the battle for our souls is fierce, we cannot afford to choose which commandment we will obey and which we will let slide. Every act of disobedience creates cracks in the armour that is supposed to protect us. And it is just such cracks that the adversary targets. Many cracks make a loose armour. A cracked and loose armour is sufficient to cause discomfort leading to conviction that the armour is useless and not needed after all.

Paul's answer to combat the forces of evil is one of brilliance. The full armour of God that he admonishes the Ephesians to wear addresses all the vulnerabilities of mortality:

• Loins (reproductive organs): typifying virtue and chastity
• Heart: in the scriptures the heart is always used to typify our conduct
• Feet: typify objectives and goals in life which would take us to perfection, armour would protect us from getting off 'on the wrong foot'
• Head: a place the thoughts are stored which lead to actions

"Well, now, the apostle Paul went one step further. He didn't leave the man just with the armour on and expect him to cope against an army, seen or unseen. He had his armoured man holding in his hand a shield and in his other hand a sword, which were the weapons of those days. That shield was the shield of faith, and the sword was the sword of the spirit which is the Word of God. I can't think of any more powerful weapons than faith and a knowledge of the scriptures in the which are contained the Word of God. One so armoured and one so prepared with those weapons is prepared to go out against the enemy [and] is more to be feared than the enemies of the light" (Harold B. Lee, "Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace", Speeches of the Year, 1954, pp 2-4, 6-7).

If you ever wanted to be a hero, this is the time and place.  Examine the cracks in your armour and sharpen your sword of righteousness.  President Ezra Taft Benson said: "You will never have a better opportunity to be a greater hero in a more crucial battle than in the battle you will face today and in the immediate future. Be warned that some of the greatest battles you will face will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.  David's battles in the field against the foe were not as critical as David's battles in the palace against a lustful eye.  We will each find our own battlefield". (Ezra Taft Benson, "In His Steps", 1979, Devotional Speeches of the Year, 60).

"As a small boy in grammar school, I had a teacher who made King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table come alive.  She caused me to become so obsessed with stories of knights that I played and dreamed that I was one.  One evening I dreamed that I was a white knight on a white horse riding over the greens of England.  Suddenly, without warning, a knight dressed in black armour and mounted on a black horse appeared at the edge of the forest.  We measured each other carefully, lowered our lances, and charged at full gallop.  The lances struck target and both of us were knocked off our steeds.

I scrambled to my feet knowing that swords would be drawn and that hand-to-hand combat was imminent.  Fear gripped my heart as I saw my opponent rushing toward me flashing a long, gleaming sword.  Instinctively, I reached to my side and drew forth from the scabbard my weapon.  That is when the dream turned into a nightmare!  For in my hand was a small, dinky dagger - not a long, gleaming sword.  I woke up in a cold sweat screaming for help. 

Many times since that nightmarish experience, I have wondered about the serviceability of the Saints, particularly the young Latter-day Saints.  When God calls you to serve, are you positioned in the scabbard and ready to be drawn?  When the Lord draws you forth as his instrument in combating evil forces, what does he have in his hand - a long, gleaming sword or a dinky dagger?...The saving virtue of a sword is related to its strength, sharpness, cleanliness, and the hand which guides it.  Is it not the same with people?  I would pray that you would seek strength of character, sharpness of mind, and cleanliness of soul so as to become gleaming swords of righteousness.  By doing this, there will be no embarrassment, no disappointment, and no nightmare when He draws you out in battling the powers of darkness" (Elder Carlos E. Asay, "Instruments of Righteousness", New Era, June 1983)

UNTO THE CONVINCING OF MEN

  

".....as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people......and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death......" 

(Mosiah 18:8,9)

Imagine, if you will, being a convert to the Church of Christ living in Rome between A.D. 54 and 117. It is during this period that the Church suffered three horrific Roman persecutions, the third under the Roman Emperor Trajan "who reigned from A.D. 98 to 117. By this time Christianity had been declared an illegal society in the empire; and unless the saints renounced Christ, they were executed.....Before the first century was concluded, bearing faithful witness of Jesus Christ led to torture, persecution, and death so often that the very word 'witness' took on the connotation of dying for one's belief. To deny Christ and deify Caesar, or to die was the choice given many of the early saints of the Church" (The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p. 404). How strong would our conviction of the reality of Christ be if we were faced with such a choice? How seriously would any of us take the admonition to stand as a witness of God 'at all times and in all things, and in all places, even until death'? If we were faced with the choice, would we have chosen Caesar as our god or Christ?The apostles of the early Church were martyred because they would not deny Him. Not only would they not deny but they bore witness with boldness and conviction. Paul, suffered it all for Christ's sake: "Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness...." (2 Cor. 11:24-28). Despite it all, Paul lived up to the command the Saviour had given him on the road to Damascus: "Rise, and stand upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness....." (Acts 26:16)

Despite his deep understanding of the doctrine as evidenced by his prolific writing to the churches, when taken by an angry mob in Jerusalem and when brought before King Agrippa and the Roman governor Festus, Paul did not preach and expound his knowledge, instead he recounted his 'road to Damascus' experience and bore pure testimony of his conviction of the truth (Acts 21:6-10, 26:12-16). Even though his testimony was rejected and Paul met martyrdom for not denying Christ, he lived true to his conviction 'even unto death'. In our dispensation, Joseph Smith, like Paul had seen Christ and had suffered persecution and death because of his testimony which he could not deny and would not refrain from proclaiming. Like Paul, Joseph bore his testimony continually and simply and received the same treatment of which he said: "However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light and heard a voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe otherwise...." (JS-History 1:24-25)

When the Church's progress was hindered by iniquity in Alma's time, he went among the people himself to stir them up in remembrance of God, not by declaring hard doctrine but by bearing pure testimony for he knew this was the only way to 'reclaim' them, 'seeing no other way' (Alma 4:19). Alma knew that pure testimony is the only power that brings about true conversion because it is accompanied by the witness of the Holy Ghost. It is the influence of the Holy Ghost that inspires love, meekness and humility. If we want to be an influence for good in the midst of our congregations, we need to stand up as witnesses and bear pure testimony of our conviction. We must not only preach the word, but testify of its' truthfulness. Like the Saviour, like Paul and like Joseph Smith, we need to be 'testifiers'. We need to be heard saying, "I know":

"My experience throughout the Church leads me to worry that too many of our members' testimonies linger on 'I am thankful' and 'I love' and too few are able to say with humble but sincere clarity, 'I know'. As a result, our meetings sometimes lack the testimony-rich, spiritual underpinnings that stir the soul and have meaningful, positive impact on the lives of all those who hear them. Our testimony meetings need to be more centered on the Saviour, the doctrines of the gospel, the blessings of the Restoration, and the teachings of the scriptures. We need to replace stories, travelogues, and lectures with pure testimonies" (M. Russell Ballard, Pure Testimony, Liahona, Nov. 2004, 40-43)"

In October 1988 General Conference, President Ezra Taft Benson delivered a talk entitled "I Testify" throughout which he did nothing but bear testimony of all facets of the gospel and the Plan of Salvation. Each paragraph of the talk begins with 'I testify'. There is no doubt in my mind that those who heard this talk were convinced that President Benson 'knew'. In his final address to the Church, Bruce R. McConkie spoke exclusively about 'The Purifying Power of the Gethsemane' but none of the doctrinally sound things he said had as much bearing on our remembrance as the concluding testimony of that talk: "And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God - I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person. I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God's Almighty Son, that he is our Saviour and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through His atoning blood and in no other way" (Elder Bruce R. McConkie, The Purifying Power of Gethsemane, The Ensign, May 1985).

In our bearing of testimony we need to be like Jeremiah of old who could not be stayed from testifying despite the persecution he suffered: "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay" (Jeremiah 20:9). I imagine this is how Paul felt, the burning fire in his bones could not make him refrain from testifying of the truth. Do we feel this unquenchable fire in our bones when we are confronted and presented with opportunities such as these:

"I was in a college Sociology class following my mission. The teacher was engaging. His lectures reached into my heart and mind and I enjoyed almost everything he did. Almost. In spite of repeated claims that he was a member of the Church and an active one (he told us he taught Gospel Doctrine in a local ward), he seldom skipped an opportunity to criticize the Church. He may have done this from an inflated sense of the need to make his students (who were mostly Latter-day Saints) to think for themselves, or from a sincere belief that the Church was too autocratic. At any rate, I learned early in the course that he would challenge my willingness to 'stand as a witness' from time to time.

The first time it happened, the discussion had turned to the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I am not sure now, at a distance of 34 years, how we got from sociology to Iron County but were were there and Dr. Whoeveritwas directed a searching discussion into the causes of that tragic event. At one point, because of a comment from an interested but uniformed non-member student, the professor observed that to his certain knowledge, the death of the wagon train members at Mountain Meadows had been ordered by Brigham Young himself. 

I was jerked from my cautious interest in the discussion - a non-participant anxious to get on to other less controversial things - to a position of responsibility. I knew that what I had just heard was not true. I had studied enough church history and read enough of the documents about this event to know that Brigham Young tried desperately to prevent the least inconvenience from coming to the members of the wagon train. I thought about making that very point. I had just returned from two years of standing as a witness. But I was in a class of perhaps one hundred and seventy students (this was a required undergraduate class) and I was surrounded by strangers. I was reluctant to make a display of myself, and besides, my declaration would not matter that much anyway, would it? I sat, wrestling with myself in the silence following this statement, hoping the discussion would turn in another direction. And then, exactly in front of me, a young woman stood. Her hands gripped the back of the chair before her. Her voice was tight and she quivered with emotion. 'Dr. Whoeveryouare, I'm a new member of the Church. I was baptized less than a year ago. I've never even heard of the Mountain Meadow Massacre, so I don't know what you're talking about. But I know you are wrong!' And she sat down. 

This was I believe, the most powerful lesson I learned in college. No teacher ever reached into my heart the way her simple, powerful testimony did. She was willing to stand as a witness when I was not. But I made a promise to myself that day, studying the back of her head, consumed by my own shame. I told myself that I would never sit again when it was time for me to stand. This is a promise I have tried to keep.

As we study Acts 21-28, we see Paul standing as a witness. He would have been on his feet in an instant in that class, his eyes blazing, his voice like 'the roaring of a lion'. Joseph Smith described Paul in this way:

"He is about five feet high; very dark hair, dark complexion, dark skin;

large Roman nose; sharp face; small black eyes, penetrating as eternity;

round shoulders; a whining voice, except when elevated, and then it almost

resembled the roaring of a lion. He was a good orator, active and diligent, 

always employing himself in doing good to his fellow man."

(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 1839-42, p 180)

(Ted L. Gibbons, "Thou Hast Testified of Me", ldsgospeldoctrine.net)

May we 'stand as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places' and speak with the voice like 'the roaring of a lion' as we testify of the conviction of our hearts and may we be heard upon the mountaintops saying "I know".