The Gathering

How has the gathering of the Saints affected me in my life? I have ancestors on my mother's side of the family that were Mormon pioneers. Obviously, without their sacrifice I wouldn't necessarily be a member of the church today. It is also because of the gathering that we have the church. If the saints had not gathered, they would probably have suffered the same fate as the early church. The Apostles were unable to keep tabs on a church membership spread all over Europe and Asia, and eventually the branches all fell into apostasy. If we hadn't gathered in our day, I'm sure we would have suffered that same fate. Today, of course, we no longer gather to the Great Basin, but we are still gathered into Stakes of Zion wherever we may be to lift and strengthen one another.

Women, Hymns, and D&C 25

Doctrine and Covenants Section 25 is one of the first insights into the role of woman in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  In order to appreciate this fully, though, we have to understand a bit of background.  But, before that, I want to share a quotation that we read in Priesthood Quorum today.  This is from The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith manual:

It is the duty of a husband to love, cherish, and nourish his wife, and cleave unto her and none else; he ought to regard her feelings with tenderness, for she is his flesh…  It is the place of the and, to stand at the head of his family, … not to rule over his wife as a tyrant, neither as one who is fearful or jealous that his wife will get out of her place, and prevent him from exercising his authority.  (Page 482)

To us today, this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.  Of course a husband should treat his wife with respect, and he shouldn’t rule over his house as a tyrant.  However, if we understand the historical context of this revelation we see just how important it is.  In 1800’s America, the woman was to be subject to her husband in everything.  She was not to get out of her place, or prevent her husband from exercising authority over her and her house.  He did not need to treat her has his own flesh, but as something less.  Women would live in subjection their entire lives, first to their father, and then after they were married, to their husbands.  So, we see that this revelation was a radical teaching.   And this teaching first is alluded to in Section 25.

First, the Lord addresses Emma directly in the revelation as my daughter.  This puts her on equal ground with her husband Joseph, whom the Lord addresses as my son in many revelations and visions.  The Lord calls her an elect lady, and tells her that there is a work for her to do.  She is also told that she is appointed to expound scripture to the church. This was unheard of in that time.  There was no such thing as a lady pastor in Emma’s time.  Women only taught other women and children, never men.  Women were also never called upon to do anything of importance.  However, Emma was called upon to organize a hymnal for the church.

Again, today we might think “oh, a songbook, that’s a woman’s thing.”  However, in Emma’s day it was not.  The men were the ones writing all the hymns, like W. W. Phelps, so why wasn’t Brother Phelps called to organize the hymnal?  Also, we might look lightly upon Emma’s work, because it was “just the hymnal” instead of the Book of Mormon or some other scripture.  But isn’t the hymnal scripture?  Isn’t everything therein the official doctrine of the church?  Also, another interesting point that was brought up in our class…  There may be a week that we don’t read a single verse from the old testament in church.  We might not read a single verse from the new testament.  Or maybe it’s the Book of Mormon, or Doctrine and Covenants…  But do we ever have a single week go by that we don’t sing a hymn?  Never!  Every week we sing at least 3 hymns from the hymnal during sacrament meeting, and maybe more than that in other classes.  So can we really look so lightly upon this work?

Another interesting point on the subject of Hymns:  Today in sacrament meeting, one of the counselors in our bishopric, Brother Haglund, made a really interesting observation.  In sacrament meeting, we sing a hymn before each prayer.  He suggested that this might be to bring our hearts in unison before we pray unto the Lord.  I think that’s very true.  As taught in D&C 25:12, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto the Lord.

I know that was kind of all over the place, but here’s the point: women are elevated to the level of actors in the restoration, not just people to be acted upon.  Women have played an important role in the restored church since the early days in Nauvoo, and continue to do so today.

The Articles and Covenants

Section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants is also known as "The Articles and Covenants of the Church of Christ."  This is the most often references section in the Doctrine and Covenants by the Lord, as well as by the brethren at General Conference.  It was read in full at every General Conference of the church until the year 1835, which is when it was published, thus allowing the Saints to read it on their own on a regular basis.  Why was it so important that they would read the entire section—and it's not a short section either—at every General Conference?  And why is it referenced so often?  The answer is, of course, in what it contains.

On page 433 of the Joseph Smith Papers book (Volume 2: Revelations and Translations), there is a previously unpublished revelation given to a man named Lincoln who has been called on a mission.  He is commanded to bring the "Articles and Covenants" and "some of the commandments."  Interestingly, aside from the Book of Mormon and the Bible, this is really all he would need.  The Articles and Covenants as contained in Section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants had all of the information that a missionary would need.

The first twelve verses of the section cover a brief history of the Restoration up through 1830, which is when the revelation was received.  This tells of Joseph Smith's call as a Prophet and a Seer, and as a Translator.  It also tells of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.  This would be akin to our first lesson on the Restoration in Preach My Gospel, which is what the missionaries worldwide use today!

Verses 17 through 37 talk about the restored doctrines of the creation, fall, atonement, repentance and baptism.  These basic truths are necessary for any convert to understand, and can be found in the second and third lessons of Preach my Gospel.

The remainder of the chapter talks about the organization and regulation of the church.  These early missionaries, unlike most missionaries today, not only proselyted, but actually established wards of Zion in the places they went.  These verses are much like a Priesthood Handbook of Instruction, explaining how all of the basic ordinances of the restoration are performed, the duties and organization of the several priesthood offices, and other details of the restored church.

The Articles and Covenants were all the information necessary to learn of the restoration, receive the saving ordinances of baptism and the sacrament through proper priesthood authority, and organize Zion.  No wonder the Lord commanded Lincoln to bring a copy on his mission!  It was obviously one of the most important revelations to the early Saints, and still of great benefit to us today.

A Marvelous Work and a Wonder

“Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 4:1).  Doctrine and Covenants section four, section six, section eleven, section twelve, and section fourteen all start with this or a similar phrase.  So what is this “marvelous work” that is so important that the Lord refers to it in the first verse of five different sections of the Doctrine and Covenants?  It refers to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.  But why was this such a great and marvelous work?  Well, there are several reasons for that!

First, where did the book come from?  It was a record painstakingly engraven on metal plates by the ancient inhabitants of the Americas, preserved by the hand of the Lord for hundreds of years, and then delivered to the boy Joseph by the hand of an angel.  That’s not something that has ever happened before in any recorded history that I know of.  Sounds pretty marvelous to me!

Second, how was this ancient record (written in a dead, forgotten language called “reformed Egyptian” by Moroni) to be translated?  The young Joseph, who had received minimal formal education as a young child, knew nothing of foreign languages and could barely compose a coherent sentence was going to do it!  As Martin Harris was convinced when he witnessed the process for himself, it was only by the gift and power of God that such a feat could possibly be accomplished.  Again, pretty marvelous in my opinion!

Third, what was to be done with the record once it was translated?  The young, impoverished Joseph was to publish this record containing the word of God unto all the world.   Eventually, Martin Harris leased his farm to pay for the printing costs, but even after printing the book it still had to go unto all the world.  That’s a pretty daunting task!  A young farm boy from upstate New York had to get the book all over the world.  Although it only made it to a few countries during Josephs lifetime through missionaries to Europe, the Book of Mormon today has truly gone to all the world, translated into more languages than I even know names for and carried by an army of young men to the four corners of the earth.  Again, marvelous!

A little aside...  While serving my mission in Taiwan, I spent some time in our mission office.  One day the senior couple assigned to our mission invited us out to lunch.  While at lunch, the senior elder asked us, “Do you know why the church is true?”  Well, I obviously knew why the church is true—because it is!—but I didn’t know what his reason was...  So, he told us, “Because if it wasn’t, this army of nineteen-year-old boys would bring it to its knees in a day.”  I would say that’s another marvelous thing about the Book of Mormon: in spite of all the ... not-so-intelligent things that these young missionaries do, when people read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, they know that it is the word of God and they join the church!  That’s actually in fulfillment of another prophecy (that the weak will confound the wise), but I think it’s kind of related to Martin Harris and Joseph Smith too.  Like Martin, this brother was amazed that these inexperienced, unlearned young boys can find so much success!

Finally, what is the Book of Mormon?  It is another testament of Jesus Christ.  It is the voice of ancient prophets crying to us from the dust.  It is the keystone of our religion.  It is the book that will bring us closer to God than any other.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and it is truly a great and marvelous work.

What I learned from the lost 116 manuscript pages

One of the most common promises in the scriptures is: "Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.  For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened" (3 Ne 14:7–8).  I have learned from my personal study of the scriptures as well as my own personal experience that this promise is 100% true.

I used to believe that God would only answer some prayers (those that were in accordance with His will and would be in our best interest), but I have found that this is not exactly the case.  If we express enough faith and work by asking for long enough, He will answer our prayer.  This same lesson was taught by the Savior during his earthly ministry as the parable of the unrighteous judge (Luke 18:1–8).  We need to be careful what we ask for, because God will answer our prayers—but it may be unto our condemnation if that which we ask for is not right.  Martin Harris learned this lesson from both the positive and negative perspective.

When Martin wanted to show the 116 manuscript pages to his wife and other relatives to prove the truth of the work to them, he asked Joseph to inquire of the Lord.  The Lord said no, so he asked again.  After several times, the Lord finally granted them permission to do as they wished.  However, they paid for the consequences of their choice.  The manuscript pages were lost, and both Joseph and Martin’s salvation was at stake.  Fortunately, they both sought and obtained forgiveness for their sin, but they learned the lesson that you should not ask for that which is not the Lord’s will.  He will grant it, but it is unto your condemnation.

On a more positive note, Martin Harris also received his wish to be one of the three witnesses of the Book of Mormon.  Upon learning of the Lord’s plan to have three special witnesses of the Book of Mormon and the Gold Plates unto this generation, Martin Harris immediately desired to be one of them.  Joseph Smith, Martin Harris, and the other two witnesses proceeded into the forest—and what did they do?  They poured out the desires of their hearts unto the Lord until the blessing was fulfilled.  Martin Harris and two others beheld the Gold Plates and other sacred artifacts by the hand of an angel, and they heard the voice of the Lord bear witness of the truthfulness of the work.

I personally have also had an interesting experience with praying unceasingly.  My freshman year here at BYU I had my mission prep class right before physics, so I would bring my brand-new scriptures (which I had just purchased with plans to bring them on my mission with me) to class every day.  One day, however, I accidently left them in my classroom, and didn’t realize that I didn’t have them until after all the buildings on campus had closed for the evening.  It was a Friday, so first thing Monday morning I rushed back to my classroom, only to find my scriptures gone.  I asked the professor, and I went and looked in the lost and found, but to no avail…  I felt terrible that I had lost my brand-new scriptures, and I wanted desperately to find them.  For the space of three weeks I pleaded with the Lord every night that I would be able to find them again, and I continued my efforts.  Finally one day while I was walking with my physics professor (asking where the Geology department was because he suggested that they might be in a lost and found there), I had a very strange experience.  I stopped walking, and suddenly found myself looking in the opposite direction.  After I recovered from the initial confusion of “why am I stopped?” I realized that I was staring directly at my scriptures!  They had been tucked away in a corner of a strange room that I had never even walked by before!  I knew immediately that the Lord had answered my prayer, but it did take three weeks of praying.  I know that God hears our prayers, and He will answer them if we express enough faith.

At the end of John's account of the Savior's ministry, he explains his purpose in writing his gospel: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:31). John wanted to bear testimony that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. How did he know this? Because he was Jesus' beloved disciple. He knew Jesus, he saw His works, and knew firsthand of His divinity.

This past week we had the opportunity to listen to the Lord's modern special witnesses bear testimony of His divinity. Just as in times of old, Christ has called twelve Apostles lead by the First Presidency upon the earth. They, like John, have a special testimony of Jesus Christ and we can learn of Him by listening to their witness.

However, we do not have to simply take their word for it, or even John's. John wanted us to have life through Christ's name. All throughout the New Testament Jesus asks us to come unto Him. He is the Bread of Life, the Fountain of Living Water. If we believe on His name, do His works, and seek His will then we can come to know Him for ourselves. We can gain our own testimonies that Jesus is the Christ.

I personally know that Jesus is our Messiah. I know that He suffered for our sins in Gethsemane, and that He died on Calvary that we might live. As the prophet Isaiah said, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). I know that His Atonement is real, and that through Him we can find comfort, healing, and rest. In the spirit of the Easter holiday, I want to testify: I know that my Redeemer lives!

Baptisms for the Dead

My ward has planned a trip down to the Salt Lake Temple this Friday. This temple isn’t special just because the Saints spent so much time and made so many sacrifices to complete it, being one of the first temples in this dispensation, but also because they administer the Endowment in a more traditional manner. However, since we’re not in the Salt Lake Temple’s district, they’ve asked us to provide our own names for the ordinances. So, last week I got in contact with my Aunt Susan, and she sent me 5 male names that hadn’t had any of the ordinances done yet.

Since we’re just doing an Endowment session when we go down to Salt Lake on Friday, I needed to do all the rest of the ordinances first this week before we go. I went over to the Provo Temple today and did the Baptism, Confirmation, and Initiatory ordinances in behalf of these five dead ancestors. This is my first time taking names all the way through the temple like this, so it’s been a really neat experience!

The doctrine of vicarious ordinances done by the living in behalf of the dead is one very unique to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, the doctrine is there. As Elder Holland has pointed out in the past, anyone who believes in the Atonement of Jesus Christ automatically believes in the concept of ordinances by proxy. Also, in Paul’s writings to the early saints in Corinth he asked, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?" (1 Cor 15:29). However, the full doctrine of vicarious ordinances for the dead was lost during the apostasy...

I am so grateful to live in the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. I can't imagine living in a time covered by the darkness of apostasy. We are so lucky to know that our Father in Heaven loves all of His children, and that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has power to save every man, woman and child. Even if our ancestors didn't have the opportunity to hear the gospel during their lifetimes, they have the chance to hear it in the spirit world, and we can perform the saving ordinances in their behalf here. If they choose to accept the service we do for them, then they can enjoy all of the same blessings as we will for all of eternity!