(See http://www.brunson20.com/2013/05/the-joseph-smith-photograph.html to see the evidence for this being an actual photograph of Joseph Smith)
On this general conference weekend I would like to remind any who will hear; the teachings and words of the Prophet (yes I mean Joseph) that we may have drifted far away from. In doing this there is no intention on my part to criticize the current batch of leaders. If these words seem to be at odds of what is currently being taught, may I remind you of the teachings in sacred places where we learn that most people would accept the philosophies of men mingled with scripture while one man, namely Adam, did not believe everything that was being taught. He sought information from heaven and from true messengers authorized by God. I will leave it to each one to be the judge of exactly who these messengers are for each of you, but since I have a testimony that Joseph was one of these, of him I will make particular mention. Ultimately I would like the whole world to know that the only real source of truth and light is Christ and those who have received it from Him. This endowment of light and authority to teach others is not controlled by man or ordained by man, neither can it be prevented by man.
Let us reason and learn together and contemplate how we got from:
“if the people departed from the Lord, they must fall–that they were depending on the Prophet, hence were darkened in their minds, in consequence of neglecting the duties devolving upon themselves…” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 237-38).
And:
“Do not, brethren, put your trust in a man though he be a bishop, an apostle, or a president. If you do, they will fail you at some time or place; they will do wrong or seem to, and your support be gone…” (Apostle George Q. Cannon, Millennial Star, v. 53, pp. 658-659)
To this:
“When the prophet speaks the debate is over” (First Presidency message August, 1979)
And:
“When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan–it is God’s plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy. ” (Ward Teachers’ message for June, 1945 “Sustaining the General Athorities of the Church”)
And:
“It is my province to teach to the Church what the doctrine is. It is your province to echo what I say or to remain silent.” (Bruce R. McConkie letter to BYU Professor Eugene England, 19 Feb 1981)
Pretty lofty declarations these latter quotes are! The topic I would like to address is what is our right and obligation to pursue the mysteries of godliness and to search after truth. Joseph had a lot to say about this. Unfortunately in our day many have a lot to say about this that seemingly contradicts what he taught. I will not dwell too much on contradictory quotes or who may have said them for as Joseph taught “truth will cut its own way.”
In the Book of Mormon, Nephi wanted to know something that was not contained in scripture so he went to the source from whence the scriptures sprang:
I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him, as well in times of old as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.
For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.
For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come . . . (1 Nephi 10:17-19)
And what mysteries were revealed to him! He saw a grand vision to the end of the world including the birth, ministry and death of the Messiah. He saw the vision that his father saw, he saw the things that John wrote in the book of revelation. If he would have followed the counsel to leave mysteries alone and just go with the religious leaders, we would not have Nephi’s supernal teachings today. If he would have done this he would have stayed in Jerusalem and likely would have been killed. Yes but Nephi was a prophet some may say. No, Nephi was a young man at the time, the son of Lehi. Nephi searched after the mysteries of Godliness and became a sure witness “as a nail in a sure place.” (See Isaiah 22:23). He received the testimony of Jesus and because of that he became a prophet and a teacher of righteousness. Joseph taught that “Any man that does not receive revelation for himself must be damned . . . ” (Words of Joseph Smith). Joseph also liked to quote and elaborate on the scripture that teaches that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. He also taught:
“I advise all to go onto perfection and to search deeper and deeper into the mysteries of godliness. ” (Teachings of the Prophet Jospeh Smith pg. 364)
“It has always been my province to dig up hidden mysteries—new things—for my hearers.” (TPJS pg. 364)
However today we are taught to leave mysteries alone and that one may receive all the nourishment you need from the correlated curriculum in the church. Just read your scriptures, follow the prophet and his prophetic directives and all will be well with you. There is no need to do as Nephi or Joseph says for “the Lord has now given his work to men.” Let me contrast this teaching to the scriptures that have a different tale to tell us:
Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing–unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance. (Alma 26:22, Book of Mormon)
Far from being something that should be avoided, a prophet from the americas, Ammon, teaches us that the mysteries of God (along with having the ability to reveal that which has not been revealed and to bring souls to repentance) are great rewards to be obtained after paying the appropriate price of faith, repentence, good works and continual prayer.
Some Presidents of the church after Joseph considered that these mysteries were the simple things of the gospel; they are just mysteries to the unbelievers and to those without the guidanace of the spirit of the Lord. They also taught that there are some things we are just not going to know in this life so we shouldn’t bother with them. I reject that this is what Nephi, Joseph and Alma were talking about.
“When things that are of the greatest importance are passed over by the weak-minded men without even a thought, I want to see truth in all its bearings and hug it to my bosom. I believe all that God ever revealed, and I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief.” (TPJS pg. 374)
Example of Pelatiah Brown
In the report from Willam Clayton from the April 1843 conference, the prophet brought up the case of Pelatiah Brown who was hauled before the high council for teaching that the beasts in revelation represented the kingdom of God. Although Jospeh didn’t agree with brother brown (and then offered up the true meaning of the beasts) he did lament that:
“I did not like the old man being called up for erring in doctrine. It looks too much like the Methodist, and not like the Latter-day Saints. Methodists have creeds which a man must believe or be asked out of their church. I want the liberty of thinking and believing as I please. It feels so good not to be trammeled. It does not prove that a man is not a good man because he errs in doctrine.” (Words of Joseph Smith pg. 183)
It sure does feel good not be be trammelled unfortunately in the correlated environment we find ourself today there is an awful lot of trammeling of one’s beliefs. The unwritten rules of today’s Mormondom are get in, sit down (unless the prophet enters the room then you stand), and shut up! Anything more than this surely cometh of evil.
This encounter between brother Brown, Joseph and the High Council also shows how the High Council was an independent body equal in authority to the First Presidency; equal in authority to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and equal in authority to the the Quorum of the Seventy according to the Lord’s voice and revelation as recorded in D&C 107. Those who took over the church after the death of the prophet changed this fairly quickly, a topic for another post, but I digress. Yes it feels good to believe as one pleases even uncorrelated beliefs, even to believe the mysteries of godliness.
Mr. “Outcast of Israel” why are you bringing this up? Well let me tell you why. In our church and culture we have “evolved” to the point that we do not search for truth anymore. In our culture and church today truth is sometimes defined not by what is said but by who says it, no matter what the teachings may be. Why is this? Maybe, just maybe, it is because we are steeped in idolatry and are a slothful people, so willing to be ruled by others and to be told what to do instead of taking the responsibility for our salvation into our hands by laying hold of the grace of Christ. Or maybe all is well in Zion, yea Zion prospereth. Or maybe I am deceived. Or maybe I am a wolf in sheeps clothing sending forth 99 truths so the one lie can lay hold. Some of us are so far blinded that it no longer matters what is true, only what our leaders say is truth. This might sound critical nevertheless it is my observation after living and breathing Mormonism for these past 22 years. Again I could be wrong and evil and deceived, listening to the whispering of a bad source or so full of myself that I am just saying this to get attention. Yes that’s why YOU need the Holy Ghost to guide you in the ways of truth and righteousness. I myself, far from being a righteous person will use the words in the Book of Mormon as a self-description:
behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done. (Omni 2)
Some apostles teach and have taught that not all true things need to be searched for or taught, only that which is appropriate or edifying. Others have taught that the problem with historians is that they idolize truth. What? There is a problem with idolizing truth?? I would submit that there is a much bigger problem we have on our hands. The problem is not in idolizing truth, the problem is idolizing our leaders and the church itself. This may be why we no longer receive church financial reporting anymore after 1958 because it was no longer an edifying truth to see exactly how the sacred tithing funds were spent, never mind the revelation in D&C 26 stating “all things shall be done by common consent in the church, by much prayer and faith, for all things you shall receive by faith.” I am on a quest for pure truth, I want to know the mind of God which is the operation of the Holy Spirit let it take me where it may, I care not as long as it is true.
“One of the grand fundamental principles of “Mormonism” is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may. . . If I esteem mankind to be in error, shall I bear them down? No. I will lift them up, and in their own way too, if I cannot persuade them my way is better; and I will not seek to compel any man to believe as I do, only by the force of reasoning, for truth will cut its own way.” (TPJS)
“Mormonism is truth; and every man who embraces it feels himself at liberty to embrace every truth. … The first and fundamental principle of our holy religion is, that we believe that we have a right to embrace all, and every item of truth without limitation or without being circumscribed or prohibited by the creeds or superstitious notions of men or by the dominations of one another.” (TPJS)
My comment is amen and amen to what Joseph taught. And even though it is not being emphasized today in this way, it matters not for the principle is true nevertheless.
The prophet Joseph detested creeds. The Lord said of the creeds of Joseph’s day (not today mind you, he certainly must like today’s creeds):
“all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” (JSH vs. 19)
What we have today is worse than creeds. We have the false idea that everything an apostle or the president of the church says is a creed of sorts to be believed and a yardstick to which our faithfulness must me measured. If this idea has been taught from the leadership, this is a usurpation of the most grievous kind. If this is believed by the membership, this is a damning precept and an abomination.
I encourage all to pursue truth and to lay hold upon it wherever it may be found. The truths I have found and solemnly testify of are that God the Father is real and is involved in our lives. Jesus his beloved Son lives, He is the Holy One of Israel and our Savior. The only way you, I or anyone else can achieve our greatest potential is to follow his teachings and to keep his commandments. I testify that Joseph Smith was a true prophet in the midsts of so many false ones who came before and afterwards. He died faithful to the cause of Christ. I testify that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and scripture in every sense of the word. I bear witness to the restoration of the covenants of the Lord through Joseph Smith. May God bless us all in our own search for truth, may he be the author of our faith. May we have the courage, faith, humility and charity to continue our pursuit until we arrive at the feet of Christ, so that we may feel the prints of the nails in his feet, wrists, and hands, that we may feel the wound on His side; He will then be the finisher of our faith. This is what was restored to the earth, not just a church, but a knowledge; not just a book, but a covenant. May we receive the fullness that the Lord wants us to have.