The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints describes itself as “the Restored Church”, and since God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (see Mormon 9:7-11), we are taught that it is in the image of the original Church of Christ, as it existed during His earthly ministry. After a period which in the Church is described as “the great apostasy”^[2], this Restoration had become necessary, and moreover it was prophesied (Rev 14:6). This essay is intended to consider up to what extent this claim, that today’s Church is in the image of the original Church of Christ, with its divine manifestations such as revelations, prophecies, visions and miracles, as these occurred in days of old, still can be recognized in the Church as we now know it.

The backgrounds of these considerations will be set forth and illustrated, and in order to emphasize the importance of these issues, I choose to do so particularly in the light of the events in Iraq during the past few years - although while doing so, and while sharing something of my personal perspective upon this issue, this essay is not intended to discuss the Iraq-issue in itself, beyond this scope.

In the final sections of this essay it will be investigated what prophecies have been made concerning the Church in our time; what expectations we as a Covenant people can hold for the future, particularly regarding the establishment of Zion; and with which divine conditions we must comply to see these expectations fulfilled. Therefore I challenge the reader to read this lengthy essay to the very end.

This essay is not intended to satisfy the souls of those who wish to be at ease in Zion, nor for those who are seeking "spiritual fast food", with an unwillingness to scrutinize the Scriptures, other resources and their own deepest feelings and motivations. To the contrary: You will read about perspectives and prophecies which are not pleasing nor comforting; truths which some won’t like to hear, might find disturbing, or even shocking; and quotations of scriptures which convey an unsettling message.

The reader who only superficially or partially reads this essay might interpret it to be “criticizing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints”, and even though I do think that an inquisitive mind is required in a search for light and truth, it is not my intention to break down, or to bring a negative message. Therefore, I exhort the reader not to “jump to conclusions” while reading this essay.

Yet, sincerity in a quest for light and truth also requires frankness, being straightforward and critical. Nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that “all criticism is wrong when the church is involved”, as is commonly believed. Even the contrary is true: Oliver Cowdery was told to admonish Joseph Smith when necessary (see D&C 6:18-19); and captain Moroni criticized chief judge Pahoran, and even threatened him with war (see Alma chapter 60). Even though his criticism towards Pahoran wasn't totally justified, by writing his critical letter he did move Pahoran into action. We are even admonished to raise the warning voice when necessary (see Ezekiel 3:16-21). Generally, from these examples we learn that if criticism, though imperfect as was captain Moroni’s, is meant to edify and cause improvement, it is justified. On the other hand, if we only criticize others with the intention to pull ourselves up by seeking to pull them down, it is not justified.

Therefore I wish to emphasize that I do consider the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be the work of God; I am absolutely convinced that the Book of Mormon is the word of God to mankind in our day, and therefore I will elaborately quote from it in this essay. Consequently I also do believe that Joseph Smith Jr. has been a Prophet, Seer and Revelator in the hand of God in bringing this forth.

Hence, this essay, though critical for the sake of truth finding, is not written with any hostile intentions towards the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, nor would I approve its use for any such purposes, for instance by partial, one-sided quotations.

On the other hand, I am no advocate of the idea that “all is well in Zion” (see 2 Ne 28:21-29), and those who think otherwise might find this essay disturbing, since it sheds another light on that matter – a light, the source of which we find in prophecies of old. Prophecies, often found to be “disturbing” by those who are satisfied with the status quo, and yet again spiritually uplifting by those who are dissatisfied with it.

In closing this introduction, I wish to state that I do not have the expectation that this essay would be of any significant influence within the LDS community. However, I do hope that it will be food for thought for some rare individual, who is willing to leave the comforts and certainties of everyday life, and to raise spirituality from beyond the prescribed standard rituals of programs, procedures and protocols.

In my quest for light and truth, I also investigate whether we may expect to find the answers to some vital questions on the long betrodden path of our religious living thus far, but I do not claim that I already found these answers. I emphasize that I do not believe any mortal being to be infallible, which of course includes me. I express my mind in this essay, aware that I might err in some of my ideas. I am therefore open for criticism on this essay - and even I would appreciate it, in an open discussion with its readers, as long as contention is avoided (see 3 Ne 11:28-30).

Finally, the writing of this essay has been arduous and time consuming, and without any compensation or aim for commercial gain. I have done so because of the need I felt to call the attention to some important issues which are rarely, if ever discussed within the LDS-community. Hence, I would encourage the spreading and sharing of this document amongst those who have a sincere interest in it, to enhance some discussion and awareness amongst those who feel likewise.

Menno Feenstra, author
Elder in the Arnhem Ward,
Apeldoorn Netherlands Stake
September 2008
m.feenstra9@chello.nl

2. Summary

2.1. Frame of Reference

In a frame of reference regarding prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles, comparisons are made between such divine manifestations during the earthly ministry of Christ, those during the Restoration and those in the Church today. Assuming the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to be in the image of the church as it existed during Christ's earthly ministry, and supposing that this Church has been restored to prepare the world for the Second Coming of Christ, we should expect prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles to be at least similar to those in days of old, both in “quantity” as well as in “quality”. Therefore, the question is asked what new prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles of similar magnitude can be recognized in the Church today, and what new revelations we have heard regarding the Second Coming of Christ during the past decades.

2.2. Our Quest for Light and Truth

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints correctly teaches that personal revelation from a divine source is required to find those truths which are essential for our individual salvation. This teaching is strongly emphasized where “investigators” are involved; yet the Scriptures and also modern day church authorities mention that once one has obtained a “testimony” and has been baptized, not “all is done” in the quest for light and truth.

Stinging questions are asked concerning our attitude towards this quest: Our inclination to discard our personal responsibility is examined, as is our tendency to put our trust in others, particularly in church authorities. This tendency becomes manifest when all of their words are implicitly considered as divinely inspired and hence infallible, even when merely their personal perspectives, interpretations and opinions are involved, and even when they explicitly make clear that they are still in the process of “seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit”.

From this perspective, the words of recent “prophets, seers, and revelators” are investigated, and a comparison is made between what we knew then and what we know now. I have chosen what has been said regarding the issue of the American invasion of Iraq as a clear example, quoting from the discourses “The Times in Which We Live” and “War and Peace” by the late President Gordon B. Hinckley.

I have also taken the freedom to bring up some moral issues related to this matter, particularly to contrast them against some other issues, where I have chosen the rather recent issue concerning earrings as another example: Minor issues when compared to matters of life or death, or war and peace, I should think, but in this essay I will also quote one of the General Authorities who seems to think otherwise.

2.3. Thus Saith the Lord versus Putting our trust in the Arm of Flesh

Questions about modern day prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles in today’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints can also be asked from the perspective of an “investigator”, or from the perspective of any other open, but inquisitive mind. What should faithful Church members answer to such questions, in good conscience? Further questions arise concerning those whom we are supposed to sustain as our political governors, who also claim to have been inspired by God to undertake disputable actions.

In conclusion to further questions regarding today’s revelations and miracles, or the lack thereof, in answer to which questions the contrast between the modern Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other religious groups appears to be rather dim, the Church itself is investigated: Today’s leadership is compared with the leadership in Christ’s original Church, as it can be found in the Scriptures. In good faith, merely using source material provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints itself, the backgrounds of today’s leadership in the Church is investigated, particularly their status in this world and their established links with the world and with worldly leadership. A light is shed upon this issue from the perspective of ominous prophecies from the past.

Previous General Authorities from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are quoted, who also warned for these ominous developments. Beyond the scope of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, another religious leader is also quoted, who noted similar developments in other Christian churches, and warned for the peril this brings to our very salvation.

Then it is investigated what exactly was meant by Wilford Woodruff when he stated that “… the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of this Church to lead you astray”, and with whom this statement leaves the responsibility for any revelation.

Again likening the Scriptures to ourselves, and comparing spiritual leadership in days of old and during the Restoration with today, this implicitly assumed infallibility of church leadership appears to be a fallacy - it was then; it still is today; and this even is according to divine intent. Our inclination to be “at ease in Zion” is examined, as is our natural desire to put our trust in the arm of flesh.

2.4. The new apostasy and the New Restoration

Are we “anxiously engaged in a good cause”; are we really seeking divine guidance; or do we feel rather threatened when confronted with “light and truth” from an unexpected viewpoint, or when Heaven comes too close? Attitudes on these matters during ages past are examined, in order to compare them with our attitudes today.

Then the “more excellent way” of a spiritual approach is advocated, rather than a literal or “carnal” approach towards living Gospel principles, and this is linked to the establishment of Zion. President Ezra Taft Benson’s strong words of warning regarding our time are quoted, where he too refers to the Book of Mormon, stating that “all is not well in Zion”, and a different light is shed upon the prophecy given in Daniel, concerning the kingdom that shall not be taken away.

Quoting the words of Christ Himself from the Book of Mormon, a distinction is made clear regarding the Gentiles on the one hand, and the house of Israel on the other. Words of warning from the last prophets of the peoples described in the Book of Mormon are quoted, i.e. Mormon, Moroni and Ether, directed to us in these latter days, and similar messages from the Doctrine and Covenants and from early church leaders of the Restoration. All this is then placed in the perspective of the previous findings of this essay, thus coming to an explanation for the apparent difference in the degree of divine manifestations then and now.

The allegory of the tame and wild olive trees in Jacob 5 from the Book of Mormon is used to further clarify the foreknown destiny of the Gentiles, and the glorious destiny of the house of Israel, with which in particular today’s Lamanites are meant. These conclusions are again based on the words of Christ, in Third Nephi.

In closing this essay, rather than leaving the reader with a message of doom, the reader is challenged to an awareness of the current state of spiritual affairs, and to raise the bar from a literal, “carnal” Gospel living to a higher, spiritual level, which is made concrete in nine somewhat more “tangible” points.

Finally, it is explained how this message is meant to be in the light of a similar call to repentance by Samuel the Lamanite.

3. Frame of Reference regarding prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles

3.1. Prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles during the earthly ministry of Christ

When we read the New Testament, we get an impression of how the early Church of Christ was organized and guided, and in the Book of Mormon we read about the times during which it existed on the American continent. We read of prophets which prophesy; seers with visions; and revelators with revelations.

Appearances of angels are common place, both in the Bible ^[3] as in the Book of Mormon ^[4], and furthermore we get the impression that "miracles" occurred often. When we speak of a "miracle"^[5] we understand this to be a divine intervention which by far exceeds coincidence or a favorable conjunction of circumstances. Most often, these miracles can’t be caused by human intervention – events such as curing the incurable: “Arise, take up thy bed” (see for instance Mark 2:11).

The prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles during the times about which the Scriptures speak, generally had the following characteristics:

Many prophecies are concretely, objectively "controllable" events. The events about which is prophesied can’t be foreseen by man, and they are actually and literally fulfilled. Often it is explicitly stated that in fact it is not the prophet himself who speaks, but the Lord: “Thus saith the Lord”^[6].

One example out of many is the prophecy of Samuel the Lamanite concerning the day, night and day which would be as one day (see Helaman 14:1-7). Something similar had not been prophesied before, and therefore this was a new prophecy.

Other examples tell about the prophets Abinadi and Ether in the Book of Mormon, who both warned wicked rulers against the consequences of whoredoms, secret combinations and warfare. Both prophesied about the events which would follow on the condition of repentance, and warned what would happen if there would be no repentance (see Mosiah 11:19-25,27-29 and Ether 13:20-21).

The visions about which the Scriptures speak are rich in symbolism, thus offering an understanding of the divine plan in a manner which can’t be achieved by common language, as for example is the case in the dream of Lehi about the Tree of Life (see 1 Nephi 8:2-36).

Concerning revelations there can be no doubt about the divine origin thereof: Jacob in the Book of Mormon tells about the astonishing powers obtained, even over “the very trees”, “or the mountains, or the waves of the sea”, because of their “revelations and the spirit of prophecy”; hope, and a “faith unshaken” (see Jacob 4:6).

In Helaman 8:27-28, by revelation, Nephi announced the murder of the chief judge, and also declared who killed him. This was investigated by some unbelieving witnesses, and these revelations to Nephi appeared to be truthful (see Helaman 9:1-5): The killer appeared to be a member of the Gadianton band^[7], a secret combination seeking for riches, power, prestige and impunity, (read Helaman 6:21 – 30; see also Moses 5:51; 3 Nephi 7:6-9). In the Book of Mormon we are warned against such secret combinations, about which it is prophesied that they will exist in our day (see Ether 8:18-25).

Jesus and His Apostles performed many miracles, including many healings. The lame and the crippled were not just provided with a “miraculously” obtained walker, as described by President Thomas S. Monson when discussing the events in an orphanage in Bucharest, Romania ^[8], but they were commanded to "arise", and so they did, to the amazement of those who knew them (see Acts 9:34).

3.2. Prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles during the Restoration

Similar prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles can also be recognized in the Church during the early days of the Restoration:

Joseph Smith, son of a farmer, received many prophecies about future events of which no man in his time could have known, such as the American Civil War – some thirty years before this occurred (see D&C 87:1-3), and many prophecies more.

Many of his visions are recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, such as the Degrees of Glory (see D&C 76:50-113). This revelation is in no contradiction with the Bible, but rather sheds further light on the teachings of Paul concerning this subject (see 1 Corinthians 15:40-42) – a light which couldn’t be found anywhere else in previously recorded Scripture, which lack of light lead many to believe there is only “heaven” for the “good”, and “hell” for the “bad”.

Joseph Smith Jr. received revelations such as the Word of Wisdom (see D&C 89:4-21), revealing medical insights which were confirmed very many years later, long after his death.

Still in 1918 Joseph F. Smith, another President of the early Church, received a vision concerning the redemption of the dead, which paints a revealing, comforting image of the spirit world, again unseen in previously revealed Scripture (see D&C 138).

And then there are many stories about "miracles", such as miraculous healings of severe illnesses such as cholera^[9], and the appearances of angels, for example at the inauguration of the Kirtland Temple^[10].

3.3. Prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles in the Church today

In many discourses within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, these events of ages past are recited again and again; thus they form a frame of reference to compare their “there and then” with our “here and now”. So, in this comparison, what has happened since “then”? What new prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles of similar magnitude can be recognized in the Church today – for instance during the past 30 years?

We are mindful that, although it is not known when the Second Coming of Christ will be, we can rest assured that it comes closer every day. Therefore, should we not expect that God gives revelations to today’s prophets, seers and revelators, as He did since the beginning of man (see Amos 3:7)?

Even when Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith Jr., he extensively discussed this topic (see Joseph Smith - History 1:36-41), thus indicating that this Church has been Restored to prepare the world for the Second Coming of Christ. What new revelations have we heard about this most important event during the past 30 years?

4. Truth finding and personal revelation

Jesus taught: "... the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Those who wish to join the Church are still required to receive personal revelation before they can be baptized. To be allowed to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, one needs to desire to become acquainted with ‘the truth’, which ‘truth’ needs to be confirmed through personal revelation from the Holy Ghost (see Moroni 10:4-5). In the Church, this personal revelation, commonly known as ‘a testimony’, still is an absolute requirement for joining the Church through baptism.

Once baptized, this longing for ‘truth’ and personal revelation shouldn’t stop! The Book of Mormon explains:

2 Nephi 31:19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; […]

20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, […] Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

Also in the Book of Mormon, Ammon, acquainted with the human tendency to slacken and become weary, warns us with the following words:

Mosiah 8:20 O how marvelous are the works of the Lord, and how long doth he suffer with his people; yea, and how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men; for they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over them!

Said Elder Dallin H. Oaks:

“In modern revelation the Lord has told us to “seek learning ... by study and also by faith.” (D&C 109:7) We seek learning by studying the accumulated wisdom of various disciplines and by using the powers of reasoning placed in us by our Creator.”^[11]

Therefore, we have to continue ‘investigating’, asking substantial questions, because even the Scriptures provide ‘evidences’ to stimulate such a quest for truth finding (see for instance 3 Nephi 23:7-14). We should never cease to be inquisitive; we are even warned against such spiritual laziness, by several presidents of this church, as will be set forth later.

4.1. Substantial questions and the ‘testimony’

However, often the idea seems to prevail that once we have been baptized, we shouldn’t ask any further questions concerning what is said by Church leaders, because if we do so, we just might become ‘apostate’^[12]. When substantial questions are asked regarding statements of Church leaders, questions which are hard to answer, the common response is to “give a testimony” of the Church; the Restoration; the Priesthood, or for example the prophetic calling of the current President.

The one to whom these substantial questions are presented might suppose that the substantial questions can be settled with such a ‘testimony’, rather than giving a substantial answer. Thus the assumption is made that the Church member asking the questions should rather blame him or herself for not being satisfied with such a ‘spiritual approach’ to the matter.

Nevertheless, during the times of the Book of Mormon, substantial answers were given to substantial questions, even to those who were very hostile towards the Church, such as Korihor the antichrist (see Alma 30:40, 44).

Therefore, avoiding the need to answer substantial questions with such a ‘testimony’ could also be considered as a sign of weakness. It might even be reminiscent of the Dark Ages, during which the reading, understanding and interpreting the Scriptures was considered the sole responsibility of the clergy, and the seeking for independence in such spiritual matters was considered as a token of apostasy: Hence, the faithful had to show unconditional confidence and obedience to the priest or to the Pope, or else he or she was considered to be a ‘heretic’^[13].

4.2. Investigating ones own beliefs: Measuring with one measure

In contrast, of ‘investigators’, i.e. those who are not - or not yet – members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it might be expected that they critically and rationally consider their own beliefs, for as much as these differ from those of this church. While serving my full time mission in England, we regularly asked substantial and rational questions to our investigators regarding their beliefs, for example regarding the Pope of the Roman Catholic church. As we were told, according to the doctrine of that church, the Pope is infallible^[14], as a divine gift.

However, James E. Talmage, once an Apostle in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has written a book titled “The Great Apostasy”^[2], describing serious abuses in the history of the Roman Catholic papacy, such as more than one Pope at once^[15]; traditions such as indulgences^[16]; or the inquisition^[17], instituted to try and execute ‘heretics’ and ‘apostates’.

When confronted with such substantial and rational questions, these investigators, who often had been faithful followers of their religion, didn’t know how to answer, except for an expression of loyalty to their church - a kind of ‘testimony’. We as missionaries then sometimes were even accused of being ‘indoctrinated'^[18] or ‘brainwashed’^[19], or as if our difficult substantial questions were ‘inspired by the devil’. However, such accusations were merely considered as a sign of weakness, for the lack of substantial answers.

Well then, since James E. Talmage in his book “The Great Apostasy” can measure the Roman Catholic Church, shouldn’t we likewise, with an open mind, good will and in all sincerity, measure today’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, by asking substantial questions regarding the current state of affairs in relation to prophecies, visions and revelations, which are to be its foundation? For we do not measure by double standards.

The following has been written with similar forthrightness. As was already said in the introduction to this essay, there is no intention to “criticize the Church and its leaders”, but “difficult questions” must be asked in the following context, because this is a quest for answers which will not be easily found.

For the sake of such an analysis, beginning at the headquarters of the Church, the following articles are relevant in this regard:

4.3. Continuing Revelation

President James E. Faust said the following^[20]:

“I wish to focus on God’s communications to all of His children through prophets, as distinguished from personal revelation received by individual members of the Church and others. The prophets, seers, and revelators have had and still have the responsibility and privilege of receiving and declaring the word of God for the world.

The principal qualifications of a prophet in any age are not wealth, title, position, physical stature, scholarship, or intellectual attainment.

The two qualifications are,

first, a prophet must be called as such by God and ordained by one known to have legal and spiritual authority (see D&C 42:11),

and second, he must receive and declare revelation from God. No man knows the ways of God except they be revealed unto him (see Jacob 4:8).

[...] The responsibility for determining the divine validity of that which one of the oracles of God may state does not rest solely upon him. President J. Reuben Clark, formerly a member of the First Presidency, stated, “We can tell when the speakers are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost’ only when we, ourselves, are ‘moved upon by the Holy Ghost’ ”^[21] This is in harmony with the counsel of President Brigham Young:

“I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not”^[22]

These very same words were again quoted by President James E. Faust in one of his First Presidency Messages^[23], and also by Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve^[24], so they must still be important to us, today.

These remarks are also in harmony with the Scriptures:

John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

24 ... and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

So a prophet receives revelations - divine guidance; but the members are instructed not to take this for granted. We can conclude that revelation to no matter who can never replace personal revelation; we are to investigate the words of Church leaders, according to James E. Faust, quoting Brigham Young.

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good ^[25]

This investigation we will now do. Let us therefore scrutinize summaries of two articles which were rather recently published by the Church. My intention is to merely consider this as a case study in view of the major issue of prophecies, visions, revelations and miracles in our day. The central theme of current world events regarding the wars “on terrorism”, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, will be discussed for the sake of clarification of this major issue, but as already said in the introduction, these wars in themselves are not the central issue of this essay.

As an observation to those readers who hold the view that “we should not discuss politics”, especially not from a religious perspective, I wish to point out that very many and large parts of the Scriptures deal with political issues as well.^[26]

4.4. The Times in Which We Live

President Gordon B. Hinckley^[27]

[…] I have just been handed a note that says that a U.S. missile attack is under way^[28]. I need not remind you that we live in perilous times. I desire to speak concerning these times and our circumstances as members of this Church.

You are acutely aware of the events of September 11, less than a month ago. […] Now we are off on another dangerous undertaking, the unfolding of which and the end thereof we do not know. […]

We do not know how long this conflict will last. We do not know what it will cost in lives and treasure. We do not know the manner in which it will be carried out. It could impact the work of the Church in various ways. […] Among our own people, this could affect welfare needs and also the tithing of the Church. It could affect our missionary program. […]

No one knows how long it will last. No one knows precisely where it will be fought. No one knows what it may entail before it is over. We have launched an undertaking the size and nature of which we cannot see at this time. […]

Great are the promises concerning this land of America. We are told unequivocally that it “is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:12). […]

I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us. […] Now, I do not wish to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom. I am optimistic. I do not believe the time is here when an all-consuming calamity will overtake us. I earnestly pray that it may not. […]

Now, brothers and sisters, we must do our duty, whatever that duty might be. Peace may be denied for a season. Some of our liberties may be curtailed. We may be inconvenienced. We may even be called on to suffer in one way or another. […]

4.5. War and Peace

President Gordon B. Hinckley^[29]

[…] And so I venture to say something about the war^[30] and the gospel we teach. I spoke of this somewhat in our October conference of 2001. When I came to this pulpit at that time, the war against terrorism had just begun. The present war is really an outgrowth and continuation of that conflict. Hopefully it is now drawing to a conclusion.

As I discuss the matter, I seek the direction of the Holy Spirit. I have prayed and pondered much concerning this. […]

In a touching letter I received just this week, a mother wrote of her Marine son who is serving for the second time in a Middle Eastern war. She says that at the time of his first deployment, […] “he told me about going to war. He … said, ‘Mom, I have to go so you and the family can be free, free to worship as you please. … And if it costs me my life … then giving my life is worth it.’ […]

The question arises, “Where does the Church stand in all of this?”

[…] as citizens we are all under the direction of our respective national leaders. They have access to greater political and military intelligence than do the people generally. Those in the armed services are under obligation to their respective governments to execute the will of the sovereign. When they joined the military service, they entered into a contract by which they are presently bound and to which they have dutifully responded.

One of our Articles of Faith, which represent an expression of our doctrine, states, “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (Articles of Faith 1:12).

But modern revelation states that we are to “renounce war and proclaim peace” (D&C 98:16).

In a democracy we can renounce war and proclaim peace. There is opportunity for dissent. Many have been speaking out and doing so emphatically. That is their privilege. That is their right, so long as they do so legally. However, we all must also be mindful of another overriding responsibility, which I may add, governs my personal feelings and dictates my personal loyalties in the present situation.

When war raged between the Nephites and the Lamanites, the record states that “the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for … power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

“And they were doing that which they felt was the duty which they owed to their God” (Alma 43:45–46).

The Lord counseled them, “Defend your families even unto bloodshed” (Alma 43:47). […]

It is clear from these and other writings that there are times and circumstances when nations are justified, in fact have an obligation, to fight for family, for liberty, and against tyranny, threat, and oppression.

When all is said and done, we of this Church are people of peace. We are followers of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was the Prince of Peace. But even He said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).

This places us in the position of those who long for peace, who teach peace, who work for peace, but who also are citizens of nations and are subject to the laws of our governments. Furthermore, we are a freedom-loving people, committed to the defense of liberty wherever it is in jeopardy. I believe that God will not hold men and women in uniform responsible as agents of their government in carrying forward that which they are legally obligated to do. It may even be that He will hold us responsible if we try to impede or hedge up the way of those who are involved in a contest with forces of evil and repression. […]

4.6. Prophetic guidance and counsel in times of trials?

What may we expect of a "prophet, seer and revelator"? Wouldn’t we expect decisiveness in his guidance and counsel which we receive in perilous times of trials (see 2 Timothy 3:1), and even more so when spoken from the pulpit during a General Conference? In the Book of Mormon, which was written for our day, Ammon explains:

Mosiah 8:17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.

Nevertheless, when reading the words in these discourses, we cannot overlook the manifold expressions of doubt, uncertainty, desperation, and he even states: "I do not know what the future holds "!

Besides this, we seem to read a justification for the invasion of Iraq, because of a supposed threat of the American freedom, particularly freedom of religion, and in a comparison with Book of Mormon-times, a threat against their homes, their wives and their children.

By now we know that at the time there was no such threat, but since then insecurity in the world has increased, because of this invasion, and many in the Muslim world find a justification for aggression against the ‘crusaders’ who unjustifiably attacked and invaded a Muslim country. Can we blame them for feeling thus? Or how would we feel if we were in their situation?

It is stated that "... as citizens we are all under the direction of our respective national leaders. They have access to greater political and military intelligence than do the people generally." These words give the impression that we are called upon to put our trust in a government which purports to defend our liberty. Yet, by now it has become common knowledge how deceptive were the arguments for orchestrating a cause for this aggression, which by all internationally recognized norms was unlawful, and as we now know, without a just cause: We now know that the weapons of mass destruction, which supposedly threatened our freedom and our liberties, and the presence of which was portrayed as the cause for this war, were never found in Iraq.

Once this deceit became public, another excuse was invented in an attempt to justify this invasion: The deposing of a cruel dictator. Maybe for the sake convenience it is “forgotten” that this same cruel dictator previously was supported by those who later pretended to strive for the liberty of the Iraqi people.

Donald Rumsfeld, US Minister of Defense during the invasion of Iraq,
shaking hands with Saddam Hussein

Is it not this same deceptiveness about which Gordon B. Hinckley spoke when he said:

“That war, so bitter, so intense, has never ceased. It is the war between truth and error, between agency and compulsion, between the followers of Christ and those who have denied Him. His enemies have used every stratagem in that conflict. They’ve indulged in lying and deceit. They’ve employed money and wealth. They’ve tricked the minds of men.” ^[31]

While reading this, it almost seems as if Gordon B. Hinckley himself also felt deceived by the arguments for this warfare.

Succor to the oppressed

Since we are now aware that our freedom and our liberties never were threatened by the previous Iraqi regime, even though by Gospel standards it was an evil regime, shouldn’t we also consider this issue from another point of view within the perspective of the Gospel? Shouldn’t we be aware that the Iraqi people have become the most afflicted victim of this invasion – a people which already suffered greatly because of an international boycott and previous wars, particularly against Iran? Today their suffering continues. And did Christ not teach us to succor the oppressed, rather than waging war against them?

Our duty to obey governmental leaders

In his discourse President Hinckley called upon the membership for civil obedience, confirming that " I believe that God will not hold men and women in uniform responsible as agents of their government in carrying forward that which they are legally obligated to do. It may even be that He will hold us responsible if we try to impede or hedge up the way of those who are involved in a contest with forces of evil and repression."

Yet, from this viewpoint, shouldn’t we ask ourselves the following questions about civil obedience:

If we are to be absolutely obedient to governmental leaders in all circumstances, shouldn’t Alma senior have been obedient to king Noah when he gave his death verdict to Abinadi (see Mosiah 17:1, 9-10, 13, 20)?

Shouldn’t the "wise men from the east" have listened to the governmental leader Herod and return to him to let him know where to find Jesus so he might “worship” Him (see Matthew 2:1-3, 12)?

Shouldn’t Paul have given heed to the Romans and their gods (read for example Acts 19:23-28);

or Joseph Smith Jr. to the governmental leaders who imprisoned him (e.g. D&C 122:6);

or Jesus to the hypocritical Pharisees (e.g. Matthew 23:13-15, 23-29; Luke 11:38-44; 12:1), Pilate (e.g. Matthew 27:13-14; Mark 15:2-5) and Herod (e.g. Mark 8:15)?

Shouldn’t the LDS pioneers have cooperated more with the US government, which in those early days opposed them, and whose legal powers led to the imprisonment and finally the martyrdom of Joseph Smith Jr.?

Shouldn’t the citizens of occupied Europe have cooperated with the Nazis in “legally” persecuting the Jews, rather than giving them shelter in their homes, thus also risking their own lives for trespassing the laws of Hitler?

Should we still consider resistance fighters^[32] during the German occupation of Europe, such as Hannie Schaft^[33], as “disobedient citizens”?

Should we consider Von Stauffenberg^[34], the German army officer who tried to kill Adolf Hitler, to be a betrayer of his country?

Will God hold these people accountable for their disobedience to the governmental leaders of their time, who were most of all the servants of satan?

Of course not! Particularly the Covenant People should be aware that the “god of this world” is the same being whose aim it is to “reign with blood and horror”, or in other words, with “shock and awe”^[35]. This people, whose church is established by the Prince of Peace, should rather be the last to support such ideas and methods, aware as it is of the deceptions of modern day secret combinations, whose worst crime might be to commit mass murder in the name of Christendom – thus painting a bleak image of Christianity, and fomenting hostility against it.

Moral position on the Iraq invasion

It is true that in general, there may be a justifiable cause for participating in warfare, and as explained by Bruce R. McConkie, during the course of warfare the Lord will show whether it is justified in His sight:

Although all wars are in their nature evil, yet the fact is that they do exist and that the Lord uses them to further his purposes. Indeed, because of the wickedness of men, he has in his wrath "decreed wars upon the face of the earth, and the wicked shall slay the wicked, and fear shall come upon every man." (D&C 63:33.)

Righteous men are entitled, expected, and obligated to defend themselves; they must engage in battle when there is no other way to preserve their rights and freedoms and to protect their families, homes, land, and the truths of salvation which they have espoused.

In many wars, perhaps most, both sides are equally at fault and neither is justified. But there have been and yet will be wars in which the balances of eternal justice will show that one side had the favor of Deity and the other did not.

Obviously when Enoch led the armies of the saints against their enemies, with the power of God being manifest to the degree that mountains fled and rivers turned from their courses to aid the saints, there was a right and a wrong side in the conflict. (Moses 7:13-16). When Joshua led the armies of Israel against the kings of the Amorites, with the Lord staying the sun in the heavens so that Israel could carry on the slaughter, there was a right and a wrong side to the war. When Moroni rent his coat and wrote upon it - "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children" - and thereby rallied the Nephites to battle, he had the Lord on his side. (Alma 46:12.)

In the American Revolution the Lord was with the colonists and poured out his wrath upon Great Britain and those who opposed the Americans. (1 Nephi 13:17-19). The preservation of the American union through the great Civil War was a just cause. World Wars I and II were both righteous wars as far as the allies were concerned, and the Lord's purposes were furthered by the victorious parties.

It must be clearly understood, however, that the responsibility for the loss of life and desolations poured out through warfare will rest upon those who foment and cause the wars.^[36]

How does this compare with the events in Iraq? Are there any signs from which we may conclude there is any degree of a Divine approval for this invasion? In his 2007 Easter message, the Pope had the courage to appropriately state that "Nothing positive comes from Iraq"^[37]. When did we hear a similar statement from the pulpit of the Conference Centre in Salt Lake City ‑ any expression of compassion for the hundreds of thousands of deaths and for the maimed, wounded, bewidowed, or orphaned “non-combatant” victims of the Iraq invasion? Or any expression of condemnation regarding the events in Guantánamo Bay^[38], Abu Ghraib^[39] or secret CIA-prisons^[40], making even more innocent victims amongst a people who already suffered from years of oppression, deprivation and warfare? And what about all those soldiers returning from the Iraqi nightmare, many of them traumatized for the remainder of their lives and beyond, because of the ugly scenes they were obliged to witness, or maybe even because of rash decisions they had to make regarding someone else’s life or death – these soldiers themselves often being quite young still, and also frequently with little education to be able to make such decisions? Is this a ‘just cause’, attracting Divine approval?

‘The church has no position on the war in Iraq’

On July 23^rd 2005, amongst other topics, journalist Mike Wallace of CBS^[41] also interviewed President Hinckley about his views on this war. Said he: “LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley was not and is not happy with the war in Iraq. He deplores what's going on there”. But apparently also present during this interview was "LDS spokesman" Dale Bills, and the latter "was quick to say the church has no position on the war in Iraq". Has the policy changed, and according to the Church, is this war no longer for the cause of “our homes and liberties, our wives and children, our freedom to worship, our duty to God in defense of our families, for liberty, and against tyranny, threat, and oppression” - if it ever was?

The statement that “the church has no position on the war in Iraq”, strangely enough not even voiced by President Hinckley himself but by an “LDS spokesman”, brings to my mind the following Scripture:

Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

4.7. The promises regarding America

"Great are the promises concerning this land of America", said President Hinckley, but of course the fulfillment of these promises, as with all divine promises, is based upon the principles of righteousness, as is explained by Ether, who, during a time of warfare, said about this continent that “the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof” (see Ether 13:2), and again by Nephi in the Book of Mormon when discussing the taking the land of Canaan by the Israelites:

1 Nephi 17:35: Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.

36 Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.

37 And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.

38 And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.

Also in the Book of Mormon, king Limhi, who rules over a people brought into bondage, explains:

Mosiah 7:20 And again, that same God has brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem, and has kept and preserved his people even until now; and behold, it is because of our iniquities and abominations that he has brought us into bondage.

29 For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not succor my people in the day of their transgression; but I will hedge up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a stumbling block before them.

30 And again, he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the chaff thereof in the whirlwind; and the effect thereof is poison.

31 And again he saith: If my people shall sow filthiness they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth immediate destruction.

Alma Jr. was very explicit regarding the conditions for America to comply with, in order to receive the blessings referred to by President Hinckley:

Alma 45:16 And he said: Thus saith the Lord God - Cursed shall be the land, yea, this land, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, unto destruction, which do wickedly, when they are fully ripe; and as I have said so shall it be; for this is the cursing and the blessing of God upon the land, for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.

We can find more examples in the Scriptures about destruction of the nations of the wicked by a divine hand. For instance, why did the Lord decree that the inhabitants of all the earth had to be destroyed by the Flood? We find the motives in …

Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Since “the course of the Lord is one eternal round” (1 Nephi 10:19), we should ask ourselves whether the invaders of Iraq were “the righteous”, and the Iraqis “the wicked”, who by divine decree were to be destroyed? Because starting a war “filled with violence”, or of “shock and awe”^[42] against a poor country, with as argument the fallacy of a nonexistent threat of weapons of mass destruction, is as pernicious today as it was in the days of Noah. On the other hand, honesty, sincerity, love for mankind and aversion to lies and deception, warfare, murder, rape and destruction, are Christian principles which are unrecognizable in this warfare.

Moreover, history teaches us that during the Nuremberg Trials^[43] against the Nazi's of Hitler’s Germany, excuses such as "an order is an order" (to kill the Jews) and "we didn’t know" (about the concentration camps) were done away with by the prosecutors of the allied forces.

How would the judges of those days judge today’s excuses such as "we were just following orders" (to torture Iraqi prisoners and other “suspects of terrorist activities”) and "we supposed we had correct information" (the deceptive “information” about the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq)?

Finally, how does this statement that "great are the promises concerning this land of America" by President Hinckley compare with the current state of affairs and the current perspectives of the long term consequences of this war? And again, where was, or where is today, prophecy, vision or revelation regarding this issue?

5. Thus Saith the Lord

In the two discourses which we just studied, which were given over a rather long period of time and on a very important issue, affecting the entire world, how can we still hear the prophet who prophesies; the seer with visions; or the revelator who reveals? Where do we still hear “thus Saith the Lord”?^[6] Instead, we hear expressions such as: “The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve have declared that ...”^[44] Did the Lord abolish the use of this expression? Or else, how can we distinguish between what is “said by the Lord” on the one hand, and the precepts of men (see D&C 45:28-30) on the other hand, to avoid that we should put our trust in the arm of flesh (see D&C 1:19-20)?

Or should we believe that the Lord Himself would use expressions such as: "We do not know ...”; "it could ...”; "no one knows ...”; "I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative ...”; "I do not wish to be an alarmist. I do not wish to be a prophet of doom ...”; "I do not believe ...”; "I earnestly pray that it may not ...”; "... may be ..." "I seek the direction of the Holy Spirit ...”; "which [...] governs my personal feelings and dictates my personal loyalties ...”; "I believe that God ...”; "It may even be that He ..."

Aren’t these expressions of doubt? For when it is the Lord Himself who speaks, He is very determined:

D&C 1:38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

During the General Conference of October 2007, in one his very last discourses to the entire Church, President Hinckley made a remark which, though meant to be funny, also underlines this issue: Said he:

“Now, my brothers and sisters, we live with an interesting phenomenon. A soloist sings the same song again and again. An orchestra repeats the same music. But a speaker is expected to come up with something new every time he speaks. I am going to break that tradition this morning and repeat in a measure what I have said on another occasion.” ^[45]

Although it might be appropriate for someone like a General Authority, who has to give many “talks”, to repeat what was said before, it would be contradictory to the principle of “continuing revelation”^[46] if this wouldn’t be interlaced with “something new” every once in a while.

One might say that every once in a while we do hear “something new” from the pulpit in Salt Lake City. When this happens, it is all too often pronounced to be “the word of God”, and it is made into a big issue. For instance, there was the declaration of President Hinckley regarding female church members that “One modest pair of earrings is sufficient”^[47]. Regardless of one’s view on the issue of earrings, the important issue here is whether this just was President Hinckley’s personal opinion, or whether this is “the word of God”. From that perspective, let us consider how this issue was considered by a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder David A. Bednar:

Sister Bednar and I are acquainted with a returned missionary who had dated a special young woman for a period of time. He cared for her very much, and he was desirous of making his relationship with her more serious. He was considering and hoping for engagement and marriage. This relationship was developing during the time that President Hinckley counseled the Relief Society sisters and young women of the Church to wear only one earring in each ear.

The young man waited patiently over a period of time for the young woman to remove her extra earrings, but she did not take them out. This was a valuable piece of information for this young man, and he felt unsettled about her nonresponsiveness to a prophet’s pleading. For this and other reasons, he ultimately stopped dating the young woman, because he was looking for an eternal companion who had the courage to promptly and quietly obey the counsel of the prophet in all things and at all times. The young man was quick to observe that the young woman was not quick to observe.

I presume that some of you might have difficulty with my last example. You may believe the young man was too judgmental or that basing an eternally important decision, even in part, upon such a supposedly minor issue is silly or fanatical. Perhaps you are bothered because the example focuses upon a young woman who failed to respond to prophetic counsel instead of upon a young man. I simply invite you to consider and ponder the power of being quick to observe and what was actually observed in the case I just described. The issue was not earrings!^[48]

Another example is the “challenge” by President Hinckley to finish reading the Book of Mormon before the end of the year^[49]. This challenge was given the status of "revelation", and by Elder L. Tom Perry it was spoken of as a kind of a program:

“According to President Hinckley’s plan, we should be reading now in the book of Alma - somewhere between chapters 4 and 12. Are you ahead of schedule or behind?”^[50]

During the first General Conference following the “expiration date” of this challenge, President Hinckley made a statement which gave the impression of another motive for this “challenge”, besides the intended spiritual growth: Said he: “They were observed reading the Book of Mormon while riding the bus, while eating lunch, while in the doctor’s office waiting room, and in scores of other situations.”^[51]

As for myself, although already used to regular Scripture study, not wishing to “rebel” and therefore meeting this challenge, it became necessary to keep track of how many chapters still had to be read daily to be able to finish reading the entire book (which I already have read many times) before the end of that year. For the lack of contemplation and meditation, due to this time limit, it became like “eating without digesting”, rather than the promised blissful experience. When the program was completed, I was left to conclude for myself that I should have been wiser than meeting such “challenges” of a lower law!

Yet, in the current LDS-culture, not observing “the letter of the Law”, but rather “likening all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23) seems to be considered as “doubting the Word of God” and as a step on the road to apostasy.

Even though the confirming statement “thus Saith the Lord” has gone silent, the axiom of how to deal with the words of Church leaders, as explained here by Elders Bednar and Perry, is that we should obey immediately and literally, without asking questions. Is that the way to make Eternal Progression?

5.1. A shrill contrast

Of course the leadership of any organization, whether that is a school, a university, a company, the army or a church, can counsel its students, staff, soldiers or membership, on their outward appearance. But David A. Bednar makes much more of the “earring-issue”: He declares this to be “prophetic counsel”, an issue weighty enough to decide on vital, even eternal issues such as marriage!

Furthermore, how contradictory is this message when it is compared with other messages about tolerance, as they were preached previously, for instance by Gayle M. Clegg, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, when she describes a group of “boisterous teenagers” with “tattoos, chewing tobacco, and extreme hairstyles”. Against her expectation, based on their outward appearance, this group helped her and her family when help was needed. Says she:

“Our family has often retold the story of being stuck in the mud and rescued when we have temporarily forgotten the basic goodness of people and judged needlessly. Jesus saw beyond the temporal coverings to the heart as He reached out to the tax collectors, forgave the debtors, and healed the sinners.” ^[52]

This attitude is again confirmed by Diane L. Spangler, who writes in her Liahona article:

We must learn, as Samuel did ^[53], that the body and the person are not to be judged using worldly criteria. A person’s worth is not dependent upon his or her appearance. What makes a temple precious is what it allows us to learn and to do. Many buildings are outwardly beautiful, but only within the temple can the splendor and magnificence of God’s eternal truth and promises be found. Likewise, the worth of the body is great in the sight of God, but the preciousness of the body comes from what it allows us to learn and do and from what it radiates from within. We must enable our temple-bodies to radiate the light, love, and truth of Christ.

These suggestions can aid you in helping your children develop a healthy body image: Teach your children that God values us because of who we are, not how we look.

Help your children understand the differences between the worldly perspective on the body and the gospel perspective. If your children criticize another’s appearance, teach them that this behavior is inconsistent with gospel teachings.^[54]

The Scriptures too are quite clear about the irrelevance of the outward appearance:

John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

Apparently, the views of David A. Bednar differ considerably from those of other prominent LDS-personalities. Each one of them is entitled to have their personal opinion, but the attitude which Elder Bednar seems to encourage could well provoke judgmental behavior. Thus it would become reminiscent of the self righteous attitude of Pharisees^[55] and Zoramites (see for instance Alma 32:2-3), or of the attitude of Christian fundamentalism.^[56]

Indeed, the issue is not earrings; neither is it the invasion of Iraq. The issue is to distinguish between the personal opinion of Elder Bednar or President Hinckley and “the Word of the Lord”. With so much difference in the explanation of the Gospel regarding this topic, it is hard to believe that the Lord would be the author of all this confusion (see 1 Corinthians 14:33).

Besides, the contrast between the silence about the mass murder and destruction, subsequent to the invasion of Iraq on the one hand, and this emphasis about the far reaching conclusions which should be drawn regarding the “prophetic counsel” concerning the amount of earrings in a girl’s ear on the other hand – that contrast is very shrill indeed!

Of course, on minor issues like these it is rather easy to “admonish” an audience of people who mostly are devoted to the church. However, what seems to be lacking is the courage to admonish for instance world leaders who are engaged in an unjust warfare; the kind of courage as was exposed by Ether as mentioned before (see again Ether 13:20-21), or by Abinadi, who ended his life as a martyr for the sake of truth and righteousness (see Mosiah 17:1, 5-13).

5.2. The self censure of ‘yea and amen’

The “orthodox” LDS reader might think that bringing up matters like these, regarding what has been said by Church leadership, is doubtful, to say the least: Instead of being “critical”, should we not silently follow, say "yea and amen", and just do as we are told by Church leaders, “promptly and quietly obey” their counsel “in all things and at all times”, as proclaimed by Elder Bednar, even without asking any questions? Should we not censor ourselves in our “thinking freely”?

No, we shouldn’t! Brigham Young even warned against this very attitude - a warning quoted by J. Reuben Clark, Ezra Taft Benson and several times by the late James E. Faust of the First Presidency, as cited before. Moreover, wouldn’t such a suffocating self censoring, if it would be required, take us back to the dark days prior to the Restoration; days during which the clergy thought in behalf of “the believers”, when “thinking freely” was considered as a form of heresy, and which therefore all too often ended up at the stake, where the heretics were burned, as once was Abinadi for his daring words against king Noah? On the other hand, could a true follower of Christ, Who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (see John 14:6), object to scrutiny for the cause of Light and Truth?

5.3. Self criticism and the need for an explanation

In being “critical”, we should also be critical of ourselves. Maybe we are wrong, and the real facts regarding the invasion of Iraq differ from how the media now present them. Or who knows that maybe on the long term it will work out for the good of mankind. But even if that would be the case, aren’t we entitled to know what “liberties” were at stake which now have been saved because of this invasion? Which was the battle between Good and Evil, and what did the great evil consist of, that justifies all the suffering this invasion has caused, still is causing, and most likely still will cause for many years ahead? Think of the enormous number of victims, both the living and the dead; think of the traumatized American military of all ranks, who no longer believe in the "just cause" of this war; think of all the veterans who, after their home coming, are left to their fate; but above all, and much more, think of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi’s who are powerless against the destruction of their country, the mutilation and killing of their loved ones, and whose hope for the future has been bombed and blown away by “shock and awe”, or in other words, by “blood and horror”. To many of the new generation, the only “power” they feel is left to them is the power of hatred, wrath, and violent revenge; and as they feel there is nothing left for them to live for, they might feel, though wrongfully, this is the only remaining cause to die for – by acts of terrorism, even suicide attacks.

Shouldn’t faithful followers of Christ, the Prince of Peace, ask themselves questions like these? Or imagine meeting with a Christian “investigator” of the “Mormon church”, and as such having read the discourses quoted before, as they were spoken from the prophetic pulpit in Salt Lake City. If such an investigator would ask how it appears from these discourses that these are the words of a "prophet, seer and revelator", what should a faithful Church member answer, in good conscience?

Stronger still: Imagine meeting with a faithful Church member who had a son or daughter in the military, going to the battle scenes in Iraq, believing this to be “for the good cause” because the words of President Hinckley gave that impression, and that son or daughter is maimed for life, or even killed on that battlefield^[57]. Imagine that by now this Church member also knows more of the real motives of the American governmental leaders to start this war, thus knowing that these motives are not as pure as even President Hinckley was led to believe. How should the apparent vindication for this war by President Hinckley be explained, or at least the lack of his disapproval when this war started? Or should we still believe that this war was “the will of God”? Because George W. Bush also claimed to have been inspired by God to start this war^[58].

6. The last revelation …

So what do the new prophecies, visions and revelations still consist of for our day, which come to us through "prophets, seers and revelators"? The last vision officially recorded in the LDS Standard Works is the vision concerning the redemption of the dead by Joseph F. Smith in 1918 (see D&C 138).

Since then, there have been no further additions to the canon of recorded prophecies, visions and revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, until sixty years later, when the last revelation, officially recognized as such by the majority of Church members, came to President Spencer W. Kimball in 1978 (see D&C Official Declaration 2), now thirty years ago, according to which the Priesthood could be confirmed upon “all worthy male members”, while until then male members with Negroid characteristics were excluded, because of a curse which Noah had pronounced regarding the posterity of their forebear, Cham (Genesis 9:20-27; see also Moses 7:8, 22).

And even this then new policy was disputed by some Church members, because it contradicted their expectations in consequence of what had previously been said by Brigham Young. Said he:

“We have this illustrated in the account of Cain and Abel. Cain […] killed his brother. […] When all the other children of Adam have had the privilege of receiving the Priesthood, and of coming into the kingdom of God, and of being redeemed from the four quarters of the earth, and have received their resurrection from the dead, then it will be time enough to remove the curse from Cain and his posterity. He deprived his brother of the privilege of pursuing his journey through life, and of extending his kingdom by multiplying upon the earth; and because he did this, he is the last to share the joys of the kingdom of God.”^[59]

Once more the issue arises: Was this revelation to Brigham Young, or, since he had more interpretations of his own, was this again merely his personal interpretation of Scripture? To those who are inclined to interpret “the prophet’s” every word to be “the absolute and revealed truth”, this seeming contradiction between the words of Brigham Young on the one hand, and those of Spencer W. Kimball on the other, will have caused controversy and the need to “choose” between either one, or even none of them to sustain as a true "prophet, seer and revelator". But even when leaving this issue aside, what happened with revelation since 1978?

Once again likening the Scriptures to ourselves, we find that in the past there have been more episodes without revelation to the church. Compare the following scripture with our world as it has been for decades, and as it still is today:

Omni 1:10 Behold, I, Abinadom, am the son of Chemish. Behold, it came to pass that I saw much war and contention between my people, the Nephites, and the Lamanites; and I, with my own sword, have taken the lives of many of the Lamanites in the defence of my brethren.

11 And […] I know of no revelation save that which has been written, neither prophecy; wherefore, that which is sufficient is written. And I make an end.

Does this offer an explanation for the apparent lack of revelation in our present day?

6.1. Have miracles ceased?

Besides prophecy and revelation, in the frame of reference mention was made of the miracles during the earthly ministry of Christ and during the Restoration. According to Moroni, miracles should still occur and angels should still appear amongst those who have faith in Christ:

Moroni 7:35 And now, my beloved brethren, […] has the day of miracles ceased?

36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.

Thus seeing the importance of this issue, what is the state of affairs nowadays in “the True Church” regarding miracles? Some Church members can testify of miraculous events in their lives, exceeding by far the “miraculously obtained walker”, as mentioned by President Thomas S. Monson^[8]. However, the rare occurrence of miracles is not unique for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: For instance, the book "Remarkable Recovery"^[60] describes a vast number of well documented miraculous healings, mostly of cancer, unexplainable from a medical viewpoint. The book describes how not only the attitude towards life of the healed person often seems to play an important part in this miraculous healing process, but all too often also his or her religious convictions. It appears that people from all walks of life, all manner of religions – such as those who worship their forefathers, and even atheists, sometimes are miraculously healed.

We are aware that God is not only the God of the Latter Day Saints, and that therefore none is exempt from His miraculous intervention where He sees fit, but nonetheless, considering the words just quoted from the book of Moroni, one might expect the frequency of such events to be much higher within the organization which claims to hold the one and only True Priesthood. But is it? Because we also know of many very tragic events befalling the LDS-community, such as much suffering and premature deaths, e.g. because of severe illnesses and accidents. These tragedies did not only befall the often revered Pioneers, but they still befall all membership, and even the General Authorities of this Church. So again, where does this Church distinguish itself from all others?

6.2. Our Search for Light and Truth

Of those who guide the Church and who are proclaimed to be "prophets, seers and revelators", we have indeed received many edifying words and doctrinal explanation, in countless books and publications, and over the past few years also via Internet and satellite TV. Often these messages can be experienced as enlightening, as a nourishment to the soul, and since "a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit" (see Luke 6:43-44), we can acclaim their pure motives and their good intentions.

However, recent history regarding events in the world, and in particular the way these were dealt with in the Church, as described above, is a stimulus for further investigation, not in order to criticize, but as a continued search for Light and Truth, of which we are taught that it is part of our Earthly trials (see D&C 93:36-40). In performing this search, we look for sources of light and not of darkness. Therefore, we need not examine any resources with obviously hostile intentions towards the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; plenty of useful source material is available from LDS resources. When researching these resources, can we find any indications which might lead to an explanation, at least in some measure, for the remarkable differences between on the one hand the early Churches, both in the days of the earthly ministry of Christ and in the early days of the Restoration, and on the other hand the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints as we now know it?

7. The glory and honor of the world

Again using the Scriptures as a Frame of Reference, in these we can find much information concerning the personal backgrounds of the prophets and other religious leaders in the Old and New Testament and in the Book of Mormon. Also, much is known regarding the life of Joseph Smith Jr. and of his contemporaries. Thus we learn of their strengths and their weaknesses, and how the Lord chose them and guided them in their divine callings.

The policy proclaimed by Jesus, regarding the calling of His servants, includes the following:

Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,

10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

Another aspect of these divine callings is explained by Paul:

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.

In the early days of the Restoration this policy was continued, as we can read in …

D&C 1:19 The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh

20 But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world;

21 That faith also might increase in the earth;

22 That mine everlasting covenant might be established;

23 That the fullness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.

D&C 133:57 And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fullness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant, reasoning in plainness and simplicity

58 To prepare the weak for those things which are coming on the earth, and for the Lord’s errand in the day when the weak shall confound the wise, and the little one become a strong nation, and two shall put their tens of thousands to flight.

59 And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thrash the nations by the power of his Spirit.

Wilford Woodruff also emphasized this policy, as follows:

These elders of Israel were called from the various occupations of life to preach as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost. They were not learned men; they were the weak things of the world, whom God chose to confound the wise, "and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are."^[61]

Using both the early Christian church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the first days of the Restoration as frames of reference, we can compare this with the information regarding those whom we are supposed to support in our day as "prophets, seers and revelators", information which is or which recently was made publicly available in LDS resources. And even though we can sympathize with the persons involved, it is appropriate to be merely factual in presenting the following about them.

On the website of the Church, short biographies of some of the General Authorities are made available. What follows is a summary of certain aspects of this information, which draw the attention from within the perspective of this essay:

Biography of President Gordon B. Hinckley

“In 2004, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civil award, by President George W. Bush^[62].

He has been the recipient of a number of educational honors including the Distinguished Citizen Award, from Southern Utah University; Distinguished Alumni Award, from the University of Utah; and honorary doctorates …. “^[63]

Moreover he has been honored with visits from George W. Bush, photos of which have been published in newspapers and on the Internet, for example the one below:

George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, visiting the
First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints:
Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson and James E. Faust^[64]

Biography of President Thomas S. Monson

“President Monson was awarded the University of Utah’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1966. He is also the recipient of the Boy Scouts of America’s Silver Beaver Award (1971), its prestigious Silver Buffalo Award (1978), and international Scouting’s highest award, the Bronze Wolf (1993). In 1997 he received the Minuteman Award from the Utah National Guard, as well as Brigham Young University’s Exemplary Manhood Award. In 1998 he and Sister Monson were each given the Continuum of Caring Humanitarian Award by the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph Villa.”^[65]

Like his predecessor, President Monson too meets with the political leadership of the United States of America, as was recently published on the LDS Newsroom, as well as on the website of the White House^[66].

Biography of President James E. Faust

“He received the Distinguished Lawyer Emeritus Award of the Utah Bar Association in 1995. In August of 1997 he received an honorary doctorate degree from Brigham Young University. He was awarded honorary citizenship of the city of São Paulo, Brazil in April of 1998.”^[67]

Biography of Elder Russell M. Nelson

“A host of awards and honors have come to him, including the Distinguished Alumni Award, University of Utah; the Heart of Gold Award from the American Heart Association; a citation for International Service from the American Heart Association; and the Golden Plate Award, presented by the American Academy of Achievement.

He has been awarded honorary professorships from three universities in the People’s Republic of China.”^[68]

7.1. Joining hands with the wicked

While reading these biographies, and comparing them with the Frame of Reference from Scriptures, the manifold expressions of the "wealth, title, position, […] scholarship, or intellectual attainment", as mentioned by Elder James E. Faust^[69], unavoidably draw the attention.

Of course, although these aren’t “principal qualifications of a prophet”, neither should they be an objection: It might even be recommendable when those who are chosen to be the Lords servants are men of diligence and of achievement.

But weren’t also prophets who went before them recommendable for their “worldly” achievements, such as Joseph Smith Jr., who might have been recommended, even by the world, for the establishment of Nauvoo, or Brigham Young, who might have been recommended for the establishment of Salt Lake City and its magnificent buildings, such as the Temple there? Yet, did they actually receive any awards or honor from the world for those great achievements? They received none; rather the contrary: Hostility, hatred, opposition, humiliation and persecution, even from the US Government.

It is therefore obvious and remarkable that the homage received by at least some of today’s General Authorities is in shrill contrast with the treatment which their predecessors received during the first episode of the Restoration, when Joseph Smith Jr. explained:

... the destinies of all people are in the hands of a just God, and He will do no injustice to any one; and this one thing is sure, that they who will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution: and before their robes are made white in the blood of the Lamb, it is to be expected, according to John the Revelator, they will pass through great tribulation. (Revelation 7:13-14)^[70]

Men have to suffer that they may come upon Mount Zion and be exalted above the heavens.^[71]

And now, beloved brethren, we say unto you, that inasmuch as God hath said that He would have a tried people, that He would purge them as gold, now we think that this time He has chosen His own crucible, wherein we have been tried; and we think if we get through with any degree of safety, and shall have kept the faith, that it will be a sign to this generation, altogether sufficient to leave them without excuse; and we think also, it will be a trial of our faith equal to that of Abraham, and that the ancients will not have whereof to boast over us in the day of judgment, as being called to pass through heavier afflictions; that we may hold an even weight in the balance with them; … ^[72]

But maybe the current state of affairs has been foreseen. Let us therefore consider the following words of Brigham Young, and compare them with our day:

“There never has been a day for ages and ages, not since the true church was destroyed after the days of the Apostles, that required the faith and the energy of godly men and godly women, and the skill, wisdom and power of the Almighty to be with them, so much as this people require it at the present time. There never was that necessity; there never has been a time on the face of the earth, from the time that the church went to destruction, and the Priesthood was taken from the earth, that the powers of darkness and the powers of earth and hell were so embittered, and enraged, and incensed against God and Godliness on the earth, as they are at the present. And when the spirit of persecution, the spirit of hatred of wrath, and malice ceases in the world against this people, it will be the time that this people have apostatized and joined hands with the wicked, and never until then; which I pray may never come.” [Discourses of Brigham Young 4:326: Chapter 10: The Last Days - Confusion of the Last Days]

The following warning words of Jesus are in the same spirit:

Luke 6:22: Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.

26 Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

However, this development of receiving the glory and honor of the world is not unique for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, neither is it something new. Speaking of other Christian denominations, similar questions have been asked:

"Doth man love his Lord who would be willing to see Jesus wearing a crown of thorns, while for himself he craves a chaplet of laurel? Shall Jesus ascend to his throne by the cross, and do we expect to be carried there on the shoulders of applauding crowds? Be not so vain in your imagination. Count the cost, and if you are not willing to bear Christ's cross, go away to your farm and to your merchandise, and make the most of them; only let me whisper this in your ear: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"^[73]

7.2. Top management or Priesthood?

Besides all this homage, received as described, in these biographies we also recognize that these men often became General Authorities of the Church after having had a high social status in society. And although we are aware that Prophets and Apostles of old, such as Abraham, Lehi, Luke and Paul, amongst others, probably or certainly had a similar high social status, yet we should also ask who of the General Authorities from recent years has a more humble background, like the one …

of a shepherd such as David (see 1 Samuel 16:7, 11-12);

of a fisherman such as Peter (Matthew 4:18-22), who, together with the apostles James and John, just earned “enough for their needs”;

of a farmer’s son such as Joseph Smith, whose father worked for daily wages (see for instance Joseph Smith - History 1:50, 55);

or of a "carpenter’s son" such as Jesus (Matthew 13:55), whose parables are directed to people with humble backgrounds, such as the parable of the sower (see Matthew 13:18-32); a parable about a woman baking bread (see Matthew 13:33), besides another parable about "a certain householder, which planted a vineyard" (see Matthew 21:33-39).

In spite of the statement previously made by James E. Faust, and besides these General Authorities, nowadays it also seems to have become policy to generally elect “stake and ward leaders [who] are highly educated and financially secure”, as explicitly stated by Elder C. Scott Grow of the Seventy^[74]. This is quite a different policy from the one proclaimed by Jesus, regarding His servants! And after all, it cannot be so that “anything in this world can be bought for money”.

Could it be that this changed policy of calling Chief Executive Officers and others of high social ranking to positions of leadership in the Priesthood explains the prominence of statistics, procedures, programs and protocols; the emphasis on quantity rather than quality; the importance given to Church growth rather than the establishment of Zion? Is this why dogma's are being taught, such as an assumed “infallibility” in the statements of Church leaders, instead of sound doctrine, such as real personal revelation leading to obeying the Spirit of the Law, rather than the letter? Is it a cause why “being critical” is considered as a sign of apostasy, rather than as a sign of searching for light and truth?

We believe the Book of Mormon to be written for our day. Doesn’t this mean that we can expect many, if not all events and circumstances described therein to be applicable to our day, at least to some extent? From this assumption, should we not wonder why we can read the following verses in this Book?:

3 Nephi 6:12 And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.^[75]

A General Tendency

Although the following statement was not specifically made regarding any LDS-community, can’t we recognize something familiar, and in conjunction with the above, in the following words of warning from the Reformed Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, regarding “modern” Christendom?

"Everywhere there is apathy. Nobody cares whether that which is preached is true or false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better."

In the late 1800s, Charles Spurgeon warned that the Church was drifting away from the purity of the Gospel. Instead of boldly proclaiming the truths of Scripture, Christians were candy-coating the Word, being careful not to offend anyone. As a result, Christianity's influence in nineteenth-century England was severely weakened.

Now, 100 years later, John MacArthur is sounding the same alarm. And it's a warning the Church just can't ignore.

The signs of compromise are all around us: Numbers have become more important than the message. Churches are offering up "Show-Time" religion instead of the "Old-Time" religion. Pastors have turned to the marketing industry to help them draw people in rather than relying on the sovereign power of God.

Until all that changes - until we return to our calling to go into all the world and preach the Gospel without shame - the Church is in danger of losing its impact on society. And that would be our generation's greatest loss.^[73]

Market Driven Ministry?

The church is in competition against the world. And the world is very good at capturing people's attention and affections. The church, on the other hand, tends to be very poor at "selling" its product. Evangelism should therefore be viewed as a marketing challenge, and the church should market the gospel the way all modern businesses sell their products. That calls for some fundamental changes. The goal in all marketing is "to make both the producer and the customer satisfied", so anything that tends to leave the "consumer" unsatisfied must be jettisoned. Preaching - particularly preaching about sin, righteousness and judgment - is too confrontive to be truly satisfying. The church must learn to couch the truth in ways that amuse and entertain.^[73]

8. Fallibility and “being led astray”

An argument often used to hold on to the “carnal security” (see 2 Nephi 28:21) sought in thoughtless obedience when confronted with all this so called “criticism on Church leaders”, is the following statement made by President Wilford Woodruff regarding his "Manifesto" to abolish plural marriage:

“I say to Israel, the Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as president of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the program. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so he will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty.”^[76].

Is this the answer to all questions discussed before? Does this statement of “not being led astray” by any president of the Church guarantee that there will always be prophecy, visions and revelation? Because of this statement, can we “rest” assured and leave the responsibility for revelation exclusively with the leadership of “the Brethren”?

8.1. Personal responsibility of Church members for Divine Guidance

No, we cannot. Joseph Fielding Smith, another former president of the Church, strongly emphasized the personal responsibility of the individual Church members when he said the following:

"There is nothing more important in the lives of members of the Church than to have the gift of the Holy Ghost. There is nothing of greater importance to the individual member of the Church than the gift of knowledge, and this does not come by observation but by constant study and faith. Each member holding the priesthood should be so well versed that the light of truth would be constantly in his heart. No authority of the Church when guided by the Holy Ghost will ever teach a doctrine that will be contrary to the revealed word of the Lord. He may express an opinion, a personal view, but in doing so he should so declare it. The writings of Paul were not sent forth to the saints in various parts of the world in their completeness as doctrine. There were times when Paul expressed his own opinion. The authorities of the Church have the same privilege, but when they do, they should make it perfectly clear that it is their personal view. When they have the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord the members of the Church should likewise, by their faith and obedience, have the same Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord will bear witness to our spirits, under such conditions that what has been said is true."^[77]

When quoting such statements as the one from Wilford Woodruff, one should also clearly understand what exactly is meant by them. Said the same Wilford Woodruff:

It is our privilege so to live as to have the Spirit of God to bear record of the truth of any revelation that comes from God through the mouth of His prophet who leads His people, and it has ever been a key with me that when the prophet who leads presents a doctrine or principle or says “thus saith the Lord” I make it a point to receive it even if it comes in contact with my tradition or views, being well satisfied that the Lord would reveal the truth unto His prophet whom He has called to lead His Church before He would unto me. And the word of the Lord through the prophet is the end of the Law unto me^[78].

Thus, with this emphasis on “the Spirit of God”, “revelation that comes from God” and “thus saith the Lord”, these statements certainly cannot be explained as “statements of infallibility”. Such an interpretation of infallibility is not in accordance with the image painted in the Scriptures of previous spiritual leaders.
To the contrary, the Scriptures are replete with their errors, often grievous. Some well known examples are the following:

Noah fell drunk (Genesis 9:20-21);

Moses killed an overseer of Hebrew slaves (Exodus 2:11-12),

and once he acted as if it was he himself who had the power to make water flow from a rock (Numbers 20:8-12);

Saul was called and anointed by the Lords prophet to be the king of Israel (1 Samuel 10), but he became apostate, sought counsel from a spiritualist (1 Samuel 28:6-14); and attempted to kill David (1 Samuel 19).

King David became his successor (2 Samuel 2), but then he committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11).

Jonah fled from his divinely called mission to Nineveh (Jonah 1);

the Apostle Judas betrayed Jesus (Luke 22:3-6; 47-48);

the Apostle Peter denied Jesus three times (Luke 22:34; 54-62);

the Apostle Paul once persecuted the Church of Christ (Acts 8:1-3);

And even Jesus, even though He was without sin, certainly was very critical of the religious powers during His earthly ministry, calling them “fools”, “blind guides”, “hypocrites”, “serpents”, and “generation of vipers” (Matthew 23).

In the Book of Mormon, we can read about …

Lehi murmuring against God (1 Nephi 16:20, 25)

Alma Senior being amongst the “high priests“ of the wicked king Noah. When he became fully aware of the extent of their sins, he had the courage to defend Abinadi, for which he was persecuted (Mosiah 17:1-4). He then fled, and was inspired to establish the doctrine and ordinances of the Church of Christ (Mosiah 18:1-14).

His son Alma Junior rebelled against this Church (Mosiah 27:8-9), until he was admonished by an angel (Mosiah 27:10-17).

And even the brother of Jared, who once spoke with the Lord face to face (Ether 3:6-13), had previously been chastened by the Lord for not having remembered to call upon His Name during the space of four years (Ether 2:14).

The Prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith Jr., didn’t attempt to hide his human failures:

He admits having been “associated with jovial company” (Joseph Smith History 1:28),

and he extensively describes how he even lost 116 pages of the manuscript of the Book of Mormon, and how the Lord chastens him for that (D&C 10:1-2).

In the Doctrine and Covenants, …

“the Lord rebuked Joseph Smith, David Whitmer, and others for not having their minds on the things of God, for yielding to “the persuasions of men” (D&C 3:6; D&C 5:21),

and for being “persuaded by those whom I have not commanded” (D&C 30:2)”^[11] .

Likewise many other high ranking Church leaders are warned, admonished, and chastened.

Why do we have to read about this? It shows us that no man is without sin (1 John 1:8-10), and that the Lord is no respecter of persons (James 2:1-10).

And now, some two centuries beyond the Restoration, have Church leaders suddenly become infallible? Should we therefore consider their every word, impression, opinion or interpretation as the one and only truth for all mankind? Or are we opening up our hearts and minds to the adversary when we seek personal revelation to know God’s Will concerning our personal lives, responsibilities, progression and family – because in seeking such personal revelation, we just might come to insights, and make decisions which could differ from “the general rule”?

Could it really be safe to “always stay with the majority”? Would God recommend this as a key for being “on the safe side of the fence”? Is there then any “safety in numbers”?

Scriptures prove the contrary: Prophets such as Adam, Enoch, Noah and Jeremiah stand out as “lonely people”, and even in the Temple we learn that Satan has success with his doctrine of “philosophies of men mingled with Scripture” amongst the “majority” of mankind, Adam being a lonely exception. Joseph Smith Jr. himself too must have felt very lonely quite often during the many years which transpired between his First Vision and the Restoration, and even after the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Likewise, Jesus was “one of a kind”, certainly not “one of the crowd”: It was rather “the majority” which cried for his crucifixion, and who preferred the release of Barabbas (see for instance John 18:40). Hence His teaching in …

Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

The notion that “staying with the majority” would be the way to our exaltation is contradictory to these historical facts and teachings, and therefore it only provides a false sense of security – of putting one’s confidence in the arm of flesh.

If the best counsel would be to “take no risk”, and to “blindly”, or “thoughtlessly follow what Church leaders tell us to do”, then why would Elders James E. Faust and Ezra Taft Benson, they themselves being prominent Church leaders, quote Brigham Young, thus warning against this very attitude?

Or on the other hand, couldn’t the attitude of literally interpreting all what Church leaders say, considering all of this to be “the Mind and Will of God”, be described as “fundamentalist”? With such an attitude, shouldn’t all adult male Church members, for example, wear beards, as did Brigham Young – or maybe not, as did Joseph Smith Jr.? Or shouldn’t their hair be somewhat longer, just like Jesus is depicted on LDS images? Because after all, shouldn’t we “have received His image in our countenances” (Alma 5:14)?

Of course, such a literal interpretation of these words from the Book of Mormon-prophet Alma would be ridiculous; this is not the spirit of what he meant to say. Then why would this be any different today?

The fact of the matter is, that Church leaders never were infallible, nor will they ever be, while they, like all mankind, are mortal beings.

We must therefore conclude that the attitude which seems to assume the infallibility of Church leaders, in any aspect, is a deviation from the truth. One might choose to feel, think or believe otherwise, but most likely at some moment in life one cannot avoid to either accept this conclusion, or to hold on to this assumption, thus risking to finally come to the conclusion that “all are apostate except for me”.

8.2. Putting our trust in the Arm of Flesh

Thus far, we have considered the role of Church leaders, and not without “criticism”. In this world, criticizing leadership is a common thing to do, especially when things don’t work out the way we expected, or wished them to. But where there are leaders, there are also those to be led. What about their responsibility?

How different from teaching that “all is well in Zion” would it be to teach, or even to ‘just’ suppose, that we should thoughtlessly follow Church leaders, because if we do so “all will be well”? The Book of Mormon warns us that this will be one of the false concepts Satan will try to make us believe in these, the last days (2 Nephi 28:21).

We are also acquainted with the cycle of persecution by the world, repentance by the Saints, blessings by the Lord, and the apostasy of pride. Throughout the centuries this cycle has existed, and it still does, even in our day. In all Scriptures we can read how time and again not all was well in Zion, because the Covenant People did not abide by the main principles of the Gospel, personal divine guidance being a leading principle. Because its members considered mortal man to be their leader, rather than the Lord, even the Covenant People and the True Church often were in disarray:

Thus it was that the children of Israel blamed Moses for their dangerous situation when the armies of Pharaoh persecuted them (Exodus 14:10-12). Again, the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron when they were afflicted with hunger (Exodus 16:2-3), or with thirst (Exodus 17:2-3).

Likewise, Laman and Lemuel murmured against their father Lehi (1 Nephi 2:11-12); in their rebellion, they even smote their younger brothers Sam and Nephi with a rod (1 Nephi 3:28) and they ridiculed Nephi when he was about to build the ship which would take them to their promised land (1 Nephi 17:17-22).

Their murmurings, rebellion and opposition can be considered as sinful, because by so doing, in fact they did not oppose any mortal man – i.e. Moses, Lehi or Nephi – but the Lord Himself, acting through these mortal men because of their prophetic cloak. It is important to note that the Scriptures also show us that those who rebelled should have known about this prophetic cloak, because the Lord had made it very clear to them whom He had chosen to be His spokesmen, to avoid that just anyone can claim this cloak:

After their miraculous deliverance from the armies of Pharaoh, the children of Israel should have ceased to rebel against Moses (see Exodus 14:31). In His patience, the Lord gave them sign after sign that Moses was His chosen servant: To still their hunger He provided them with quails and manna (Exodus 16:13-15); to quench their thirst He made water come out of a rock (Exodus 17:6). Wasn’t that good enough?

The Lord was patient with Laman and Lemuel as well: In spite of them being insensitive for spiritual matters, their father was filled with the Spirit to the extent that “their frames shook before him” (1 Nephi 2:14). It was even an angel who declared to them that the Lord had chosen Nephi to be a ruler over them (1 Nephi 3:29). Later, Nephi again receives miraculous divine protection against his brothers when the Lord caused that “whoso shall lay his hands upon [Nephi] shall wither even as a dried reed” (1 Nephi 17:48; 52-54). Yet, still not entirely aware of Whom it was they actually had to deal with, Laman and Lemuel erroneously “fell down before [Nephi], and were about to worship [him]” (1 Nephi 17:55). Besides these fearful signs, they were also positively impressed by the “exceedingly fine workmanship” of the finished ship they were instructed to build (1 Nephi 18:4).

From the time of the Pioneers of the Restoration, Brigham Young has been compared with Moses. And although there has not been a miraculous crossing through any sea, and many pioneers even died on their way, their was also the miraculous saving of the early Saints form “devouring crickets” by great flocks of seagulls^[79].

These examples, and many more, clarify how at certain times of great trial the Lord “proves” to His Covenant People whom they should esteem as His chosen servant. These “proofs” are not necessarily only given when this people rebels or murmurs; the example of the seagulls shows the contrary. And now, again using this as a frame of reference, we should ask: What can be said about similar proofs today?

9. Our attitude towards personal revelation

Wouldn’t it be easy to thoughtlessly follow any “leader” to the letter of the law, thinking that by doing so, “all will be well”, and our souls won’t be able to deviate from the path to salvation? However, this erroneous idea also is contrary to modern day revelation regarding the Lord’s expectations of mankind:

D&C 58:26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

But while on a course of thoughtlessly following leaders, how can we still avoid the pitfalls of a personality cult, in which leaders are presented as god-like and infallible, their portraits being hung in church buildings and homes, and the producing of works such as biographies that glorify “the leader”?

The same attitude might also lead one to believe that it would be better to just “do as we are told” by leaders who are thus revered, rather than to sincerely seek personal divine guidance and revelation, because after all, who are we, ordinary members, to suppose that we should be more worthy or able than these leaders, to receive such guidance for our personal lives and on our own path to salvation? We should also ask ourselves what would be the difference between such an attitude and “putting our trust in the arm of flesh”, or even idolatry.

9.1. When Heaven comes too close

In the Scriptures we can read and learn about this very attitude, in which personal revelation is either rejected completely, often even with hostility, or entrusted to an elected few, rather than accepting personal responsibility:

Why were Laman and Lemuel so hostile towards Lehi and Nephi for receiving revelation (see for instance 1 Nephi 2:11; 1 Nephi 16:38; 1 Nephi 17:20; see also Alma 21:5)?

Why was Abinadi killed by fire for teaching about the coming of Christ, Him being “the God, the Father of all things,” who would “take upon him flesh and blood, and go forth upon the face of the earth” (Mosiah 7:26-28)?

Why was capital punishment installed for those amongst the Nephites who believed in the appearance of Christ, as prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite (3 Nephi 1:5-9)?

Why was there so much opposition to the claim of Joseph Smith Jr. of having seen the Father and the Son (Joseph Smith-History 1:21-23)?

Or why would modern-day LDS object to anyone claiming to receive personal divine guidance for his or her personal life, in a direction which might be (or at least seem to be) contradictory to what others think God has commanded? Such guidance, then, cannot be from any other source but from the devil, or can it?

Maybe it is because, while on a search for Light and Truth, we are afraid to discover a light too bright, shining on inconvenient truths about ourselves and about opportune, but erroneous beliefs we adhered to. Maybe we don't like being confronted with the real possibility of divine guidance. Maybe we feel threatened when Heaven comes too close. Or maybe we feel more secure on the long betrodden path of imaginary certainties and truths we either created or invented ourselves, or which were dictated by others.

Hence the common longing for guidance by the arm of flesh, rather than by God Himself. Hence the longing for a king, in the Old Testament (see for instance 1 Samuel 8:5-8) and amongst the Jaredites (Ether 6:22-24); or the longing for any religious leader as the representative for the Son of God, or of God Himself. Hence the support for false prophets, as described in Helaman 13:26-28, or even the longing for a Golden Calf (see Exodus 32:1-4).

9.2. A devilish plan!

Parley P. Pratt, an Apostle from the first days of the Restoration, wrote a piece intended as “Mormon Fiction” for theatre, entitled "Dialogue between Joseph Smith and the Devil"^[80]. The following excerpts are “food for thought” in view of the issues discussed thus far:

Smith [addressing the devil]:
… let me inquire what course you intend to pursue in the future and whether this warfare between you and me will still be prosecuted? And if so, what course do you intend to pursue hereafter? …

Devil:
Mr. Smith, … I will now fully open to you the place of my future campaign. … Heretofore I have endeavored to throw contempt upon your course in hopes to smother it and to keep it under, as something beneath the notice of us well informed Christians. For this cause I have generally caused it to be represented that you were a very ignorant, silly man, and that your followers were made up of the unthinking and vulgar, and not worthy of notice. But the fact is, you have made such rapid strides and have poured forth such a torrent of intelligence and gathered such a host of talented and thinking men around you, that I can no longer conceal these facts under a bushel of burning lies, and therefore I now change my purpose and my manner of attack.

I shall endeavor to magnify you and your success from this time forward and to make you appear as much larger than the reality as you have heretofore fallen short. … This I think will be more successful in putting you down than the ignoble course I have heretofore taken, so prepare for the worst.

Another “devilish plan” would be to turn our back on the Gospel and on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints all together, justifying such a decision by all that has been discussed thus far. However, would it be wise to throw away all we learned from the Scriptures, in particular those which came to us by this very Church? And then what? To whom shall we go (see John 6:66-68)? In a quest for Light and Truth, an escape to Babylon offers no solace (see D&C 1:16).

9.3. The More Excellent Way

Therefore, wouldn’t it be “the more excellent way” to accept that Church leaders, all Church leaders, are fallible man, as they themselves sometimes are keen to admit? In a comment with the article “American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows”^[81], it is also explicitly stated that “In fact, the Church has never taught that its leaders are divine or infallible.”

Shouldn’t we consider Church leaders, at all organizational levels, as usually well intending, often self-sacrificing, but yet fallible man of flesh and blood? And shouldn’t we, with such an attitude, carefully and with a sympathetic ear, listen to their message, and then accept our own responsibility in how to receive and apply their message – a responsibility in which we will also seek for divine guidance through personal revelation? A responsibility which also extends to far beyond determining the truthfulness of the messages which come to us through other men, and in which we accept our individual responsibility to receive our personal revelation for our individual salvation?

We receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit after our baptism, and how could we ever apply this Gift if we merely attempt to live the letter, rather than the spirit of the law – or of these messages? Therefore, the Apostle Paul taught:

"... for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2 Corinthians 3:6)

In the Scriptures we can also find examples of great challenges by priesthood leaders to “the members” to seek for personal divine guidance:

Numbers 11:29 And Moses said ... would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

Said king Benjamin:

Mosiah 2:9 … for I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.

The extent to which these words were sometimes heeded in the past, and the forthcoming results, are expressed in marvelous verses such as these:

Jacob 4:6 Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy; 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.

Jarom 1:4 And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.

In modern day revelation we again read:

D&C 46:7 But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of devils.

8 Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given;

Elder Dallin H. Oaks expressed his feelings on this matter as follows ^[11]:

“I long for the day prophesied by Isaiah when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:9; 2 Nephi 21:9). In an inspired utterance, the Prophet Joseph Smith described the Lord’s “pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints.” (D&C 121:33). This will not happen for those whose “hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men.” (D&C 121:35). Those who fail to learn and use “principles of righteousness” (D&C 121:36) will be left to themselves to kick against those in authority, “to persecute the saints, and to fight against God” (D&C 121:38). In contrast, the Lord makes this great promise to the faithful:

“The doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.

“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.” (D&C 121:45-46).”

However, strangely enough, amongst the Prophets and Apostles of Old, as well as since the days of the Restoration, there have been very few who dared to raise the bar for Personal Revelation, even to the extent of Revelation by the Second Comforter - literal, personal appearances of Christ Himself to mortal man, and making our calling and election sure (see for instance John 14:15-23; 2 Peter 1:1-12; 19; see also D&C 93:1-4). Is this an aim too high to strive for?

This is strange indeed, because as true disciples of Christ, shouldn’t it be our first and foremost desire to meet face to face with Him Whose Name we have taken upon us, and to receive his image in our countenances (see Alma 5:14)? Wouldn’t such an experience, as described by Elder Melvin J. Ballard in the following account, be the highest crown of personal revelation?

"I found myself one evening in the dreams of the night, in that sacred building, the temple. After a season of prayer and rejoicing, I was informed that I should have the privilege of entering into one of those sacred rooms to meet a glorious Personage, and, as I entered the door I saw seated on a raised platform, the most glorious Being my eyes have ever beheld or that I ever conceived existed in all the eternal worlds. As I approached to be introduced, He arose and stepped toward me with extended arms, and He smiled as He softly spoke my name. If I shall live to be a million years old I shall never forget that smile. He took me into His arms and kissed me, until the marrow of my bones seemed to melt. When He had finished I fell at His feet, and as I bathed them with my tears and kisses, I saw the prints of the nails in the feet of the Redeemer of the world.

"The feeling that I had in the presence of Him who hath all things in His hands-to have His love, His affection and His blessing was such that if I ever can receive that of which I had but a foretaste, I would give all that I am, all that I ever hope to be, to feel what I then felt."^[82]

And yes, in such a great endeavor of a quest for light and truth, once we have overcome the dark nights of our doubts, the crumbled hopes of our feeble hearts, our mortal veils of fears and unbelief, our worldly desires to rely upon all manner of carnal securities, and once we have risen above the clouds of our earthly cares, there is still the risk of being misguided by an angel of light (see for instance 2 Corinthians 11:3-4; 14; D&C 129:8)

But as in life itself, and even incorporated in the Plan of Salvation, there needs to be a risk: In matters of eternity, being misguided is “at the peril of our own salvation”. Bruce R. McConkie expressed this quite clearly, and several times:

At the peril of losing their own salvation, men must learn the will of God concerning them, for "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)^[83]

Even Jesus has no doctrine of his own; even he receives his doctrine from the Father; and it is the doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that all men must believe in Christ, repent of their sins, and live his laws to be saved. Men choose what they believe ... at the peril of their own salvation. Ought we not to learn know what Deity thinks about a doctrine, rather than seems, for one reason or another, to be desirable to us?^[84]

Man's problem, at the peril of his own salvation, is to determine the reality and source of spiritual communications.^[85]

Yet, the greater the risk we take, the greater our awareness may become of a Savior Who won't let us down inadvertently, when we put our trust in Him on our stairway to our Heavenly home. And while considering these risks, we might as well consider there is no other way.

For a comparison, likewise it is with the Priesthood: Wo unto him who turns away from it; and wo unto him who never receives it (see D&C 84:40-42).

10. The Establishment of Zion

Besides our individual pursuits for our salvation, “establishing Zion” should be the common cause for the people of the Covenant. But what exactly is this supposed to be? Said Joseph Smith Jr:

“The building up of Zion is a cause that has interested the people of God in every age; it is a theme upon which prophets, priests and kings have dwelt with peculiar delight; they have looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of this our day; but they died without the sight; we are the favored people that God has made choice of to bring about the Latter-day glory; it is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory, "the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God will gather together all things that are in heaven, and all things that are upon the earth, "even in one," when the Saints of God will be gathered in one from every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue, when the Jews will be gathered together into one, the wicked will also be gathered together to be destroyed, as spoken of by the prophets; the Spirit of God will also dwell with His people, and be withdrawn from the rest of the nations, and all things whether in heaven or on earth will be in one, even in Christ. The heavenly Priesthood will unite with the earthly, to bring about those great purposes; and whilst we are thus united in the one common cause, to roll forth the kingdom of God, the heavenly Priesthood are not idle spectators, the Spirit of God will be showered down from above, and it will dwell in our midst. The blessings of the Most High will rest upon our tabernacles, and our name will be handed down to future ages; our children will rise up and call us blessed; and generations yet unborn will dwell with peculiar delight upon the scenes that we have passed through, the privations that we have endured; the untiring zeal that we have manifested; the all but insurmountable difficulties that we have overcome in laying the foundation of a work that brought about the glory and blessing which they will realize; a work that God and angels have contemplated with delight for generations past; that fired the souls of the ancient patriarchs and prophets; a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family”.^[86]

Also, according to the prophecy given in Daniel 2:44-45, in the last days the God of heaven shall “set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever”.

These words offer a great perspective! And again, certainly they contain items of recognition from the early days of the Restored Church. Yet, what in these words do we recognize in the current church? What of these scenes have we passed through, what “privations” have we endured; what “untiring zeal” have we manifested in recent years, to still qualify today for this great description of establishing Zion?

On the other hand, in the Book of Mormon we also find warnings regarding what establishing Zion is not:

2 Nephi 26:29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.

31 But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish.

Also note what President Ezra Taft Benson stated about the importance of the Book of Mormon today:

The Book of Mormon was written for us today. God is the author of the book. It is a record of a fallen people, compiled by inspired men for our blessing today. Those people never had the book - it was meant for us. Mormon, the ancient prophet after whom the book is named, abridged centuries of records. God, who knows the end from the beginning, told him what to include in his abridgment that we would need for our day.^[87]

Since we believe the Book of Mormon to be written for our day, we should take this to heart, and we should also consider what more this sacred book tells us concerning our day – both words of promise and words of warning. Therefore, this is the next subject matter of this essay.

10.1. Prophecies from the Book of Mormon concerning our time

In his discourse “Cleansing the Inner Vessel”^[88], President Ezra Taft Benson expressed strong words of warning regarding our time, referring to the Book of Mormon. In doing so, he mentioned several of the issues dealt with in this essay. Said he:

Watchmen - what of the night? We must respond by saying that all is not well in Zion. ...

It takes a Zion people to make a Zion society, and we must prepare for that. ...

We don’t need changed programs now as much as we need changed people!

.. the Book of Mormon warns us of the tactics of the adversary in the last days: “And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well - and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.” (2 Nephi 28:21).

There are many “awake” passages in the Book of Mormon, ...

As a people, it seems we can survive persecution easier and better than we can peace and prosperity.

Unless we read the Book of Mormon and give heed to its teachings, the Lord has stated in section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants that the whole Church is under condemnation:
“And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.” (D&C 84:56.) The Lord continues: “And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.” (D&C 84:57.)

Now we not only need to say more about the Book of Mormon, but we need to do more with it. Why? The Lord answers: “That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.” (D&C 84:58.) We have felt that scourge and judgment!

The Book of Mormon has not been, nor is it yet, the center of our personal study, family teaching, preaching, and missionary work. Of this we must repent.

May I now discuss a subject of grave concern that deserves deeper development than we have time. It is the subject of pride.

Mormon writes that “the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” (Moroni 8:27.) The Lord says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39.)

“The humble followers of Christ” are few. (2 Nephi 28:14.)

Humility responds to God’s will - to the fear of His judgments and the needs of those around us. To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts.

The two groups in the Book of Mormon that seemed to have the greatest difficulty with pride are the “learned, and the rich”. (2 Nephi 28:15.) But the word of God can pull down pride.
(See Alma 4:19.)

With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come many blessings.

The proud do not change to improve, but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change. But we can do it.

... we must first cleanse the inner vessel by awaking and arising, being morally clean, using the Book of Mormon in a manner so that God will lift the condemnation, and finally conquering pride by humbling ourselves.

Returning to the prophecy given in Daniel, who are the people from whom the kingdom shall not be taken, to be left to other people? As explained by President Ezra Taft Benson, this must be “a Zion people”; “humble followers of Christ”; a people which seeks “the applause of heaven” rather than “the applause of the world”; a people which has “cleansed the inner vessel” from pride, thus lifting the condemnation of the entire Church.

Thus far in this essay, the Book of Mormon already has been extensively quoted; and now we will further scrutinize some of the prophecies regarding our time. The image painted therein is not rosy. Elaborating on the scriptures quoted by President Ezra Taft Benson, and keeping in mind that these were written for our day, we may also assume it was particularly written for the people of the Covenant.

The following scriptures usually are interpreted as referring to those who reject the Restored Gospel, particularly during the period of the Restoration, but when we add the entire people of the Covenant as a group to whom these words are also directed, they become more meaningful to us, in our day:

2 Nephi 28:3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord -

4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.

5 And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;

11 Yea, they have all gone out of the away; they have become corrupted.

12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.

14 They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.

21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well - and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!

25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!

26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!

27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!

28 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.

29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!

30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.

32 Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; …

More words which contain a strong warning and which can also be considered prophetic, particularly regarding us, the “Gentiles”, were spoken in what probably is the most important part of the entire Book of Mormon; these are the words of Christ Himself:

3 Nephi 16:10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fullness of my gospel from among them.

11 And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.

12 And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fullness of my gospel.

13 But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel.

14 And I will not suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through among them, and tread them down, saith the Father.

15 But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O house of Israel.

16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, thus hath the Father commanded me - that I should give unto this people this land for their inheritance.

In these verses, a clear distinction is made between “the Gentiles” on the one hand, and “the house of Israel” on the other. Since these words were said by Jesus while He visited the Americas, this part of the house of Israel must relate to the surviving Lamanites, whom we can still find in Latin America today.

While reading certain parts of the Book of Mormon, we may be inclined to suppose that these only apply to the first days of the Restoration. But since events in history often are repeated, we should have a more open mind, for instance when we read the words of Mormon, the prophet who compiled the Book of Mormon, who also foresaw our day and the Restored Church in it, describing it as follows:

Mormon 8:27 And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness.

28 Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying of them who belong to their churches.

36 And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.

37 For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.

38 O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies - because of the praise of the world?

It is also explained that the “secret combinations”, spoken of in the Book of Mormon, will again exist in our day, and we are warned that these might even cause our destruction:

Ether 8:20 And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hath been made known unto me that they are had among all people, …

22 And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed; …

23 Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain - and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.

24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.

25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

The Book of Mormon also warns us for the relation between the before mentioned attitudes of "we have enough"; the “carnal security” of "All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth" (2 Nephi 28:21), pride, the applause of the world, the love for money and our substance on the one hand; and on the other hand these secret combinations: Speaking of the robbers of Gadianton, the Book of Mormon tells us that:

Helaman 6:38 And it came to pass on the other hand, that the Nephites did build them up and support them, beginning at the more wicked part of them, until they had overspread all the land of the Nephites, and had seduced the more part of the righteous until they had come down to believe in their works and partake of their spoils, and to join with them in their secret murders and combinations.

10.2. Ominous prophecy

Strong words of warning regarding our time were again revealed to Joseph Smith Jr., as we can read in the Doctrine and Covenants:

D&C 112:23 Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face.

24 Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.

25 And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;

26 First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord.

In similar words, Joseph Smith Jr. prophesied:

"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads" (Isaiah 35:10); and then they will be delivered from the overflowing scourge that shall pass through the land.”^[89]

January 11, 1833: I send you the "olive leaf" which we have plucked from the Tree of Paradise, the Lord's message of peace to us; […] for if Zion will not purify herself, so as to be approved of in all things, in His sight, He will seek another people; for His work will go on until Israel is gathered, and they who will not hear His voice, must expect to feel His wrath. Let me say unto you, seek to purify yourselves, and also all the inhabitants of Zion, lest the Lord's anger be kindled to fierceness. Repent, repent, is the voice of God to Zion; and strange as it may appear, yet it is true, mankind will persist in self-justification until all their iniquity is exposed, and their character past being redeemed, and that which is treasured up in their hearts be exposed to the gaze of mankind. I say to you (and what I say to you I say to all,) hear the warning voice of God, lest Zion fall, and the Lord sware in His wrath the inhabitants of Zion shall not enter into His rest.^[89]

Parley Parker Pratt, an Apostle of the early days of the Restored Church, issued similar, and even clearer words of strong warning:

I spoke of the general prosperity and resources of the country, acknowledging the hand of Providence in the same; warned them against national pride, ambition, and injustice; exhorted them, in common with all citizens, to use the utmost diligence to preserve the general peace and the pure influence of our national institutions; and to improve in light, intelligence and love, without which we, too, might be brought down to destruction like the Israelites and Nephites of old; and our bones and ruined cities and monuments alone be left to other people, as theirs were left to us, as a testimony of our greatness which would have passed away.^[90]

10.3. The new apostasy

While reading about such ominous prophecies, in our mind we may be inclined to postpone their fulfillment to future generations far beyond the scope of our imagination, so it won’t affect us. Yet, in doing so, we must then also ignore their forebodes, consisting of a new apostasy in the Restored Church, as has been prophesied, as proven in this essay. And in postponing the fulfillment of prophecy from ages past, we must also reject the words of the prophets and apostles of the early days of the Restoration – by which very act in itself we will incur the vengeance of a just God, so we are warned. This desire to postpone these signs of our times also is counterproductive to an attitude of repentance – which in reality is the only escape route from this path of doom.

The need for repentance, both on an individual basis and for the Church as a whole, both for its leadership and for all of its members, has been spoken of throughout the Scriptures, and again since the days of the Restoration. Said Joseph Smith Jr:

... and so long as unrighteous acts are suffered in the Church, it cannot be sanctified, neither can Zion be redeemed; ...

The churches seem to be in a cold, languid and disconsolate state; and as the revolution of the earth is once in twenty-four hours, so we may look for frequent revolutions among this wicked and perverse generation, and also in the Church of Christ. When the head is sick, the whole body is faint; and when the Church lifts up the head, the angel will bring us good tidings. Even so. Amen.^[91]

What sins do we have to repent of? A quick search for some key words on the resource database on the websites of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints might give a clue. For instance, isn’t it shocking to hear so many discourses and lessons, and to read so many articles about pornography? A search on this LDS database with this keyword already gives hundreds of ‘hits’! Another keyword which generates even more ‘hits’ is “abuse”. We are frequently warned against many more sins, such as the before mentioned sin of pride, and all the evils it brings with it, with hostility at its core ^[92]. Could these be indicators of some of the sins we as a covenant people have to repent of, and is this what “the inner vessel” needs to be cleansed of? I think it is.

Besides this, already extensively studied in this essay has been the worst crime of all, warfare, which combines all of the worst sins of mankind, as described by Bruce R. McConkie:

War is probably the most satanic and evil state of affairs that can or does exist on earth. It is organized and systematic murder, with rapine, robbery, sex immorality and every other evil as a natural attendant. War is of the devil; it is born of lust. (James 4:1).

Words are incapable of expressing the human depravity that has accompanied war in every age, but the era of time known as the last days is the one in which the most extensive and wicked of all wars have been and will be fought. ^[36]

When studying the sins of ancient Israel, we find that their worst sins were idolatry, whoredoms and murder. These Scriptures we can also liken to ourselves:

Today’s idolatry has its likeness in seeking the glory, honor and praise of the world;

Today’s whoredoms are called pornography and all sorts of abuse.

And today’s murders consist of modern warfare to rob the poor and oppressed, using all manner of deception to make this seem justified in the eyes of Babylon.

And even though not all actually participate in murder and warfare, when considering how often these are the central issues in movies, in which violent crime and warfare also are glorified, these themes apparently are found very attractive to the mind of the public. As explained in Helaman 6:35-40, the Spirit will withdraw when encountered with “wickedness and hardness of our hearts”.

As a Covenant People, we should keep ourselves aloof from this Babylon, because on the other hand, if this Covenant People chooses to participate in it, rather than in “seeking wisdom” (see Mosiah 8:20), why would the Lord still bless them with his guidance? After all, there is a relationship between the degree of the divine guidance we receive, and the degree of attention we pay to it:

Alma 29:8 For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, of their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have; …

So we should understand that as a Covenant People, we personally and the Church as a whole will receive the revelation and inspiration we merit, which merits are based upon our attention and our obedience to the Divine. Or, in the words of Joseph Fielding Smith:

"There are many things that the Lord would reveal to his people, if they were prepared to receive them." [...] "The Saints were not in all cases faithful and true, therefore these blessings were withheld, and we still wait for them."^[93]

From all these considerations I conclude that seeking for and receiving revelation, each one of us within their personal responsibility, and any prophet, seer and revelator for the entire Church, is a combined effort by membership and leadership alike. Is it not meaningful that when John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, he addressed them as his “fellow servants” (see D&C 13:1)? Shouldn’t we all be “fellow servants” in a common cause? On the other hand, the attitude that this burden should only rest upon the leadership is not in accordance with Scripture (e.g. see D&C 38:24-27).

Therefore, if we are satisfied to live by the Law of Moses, or to forcefully live by the letter of the Law, as did the Scribes and Pharisees, we shouldn’t expect to receive anything more.

And if we choose not to live as it behooves a Covenant People, but instead to merely put our trust in the arm of flesh, or to glorify man instead of God, or if we even choose the ways of Babylon and its leaders, we are not worthy to receive any prophecies, visions or revelations at all!

10.4. The New Restoration

The Scriptures show that words of warning usually go unheeded, shocking though they may be, and that therefore the calamities prophesied come to pass in full measure. There is no reason to suppose that in our day this would be otherwise: Even though there will be individual exceptions, we can expect that the world at large will not repent, neither will the majority of those whom claim to be the Covenant People, but whom yet choose the ways of Babylon.

The allegory of the tame and wild olive trees in Jacob 5 of the Book of Mormon provides us with a remarkable insight in the foreknowledge of how through time, the nations of mankind will respond to the Gospel and to the establishment of the Kingdom of God:

After discussing the early days of the House of Israel, in verses 43 through 47 of Jacob 5 we read about the colonization of the American Continent, which was "choice above all other parts of the land"; about the Restoration of the Gospel, and about the following apostasy within the Restored Church, becoming like “the wild olive-tree” of the Gentiles:

Jacob 5:43 And behold this last, whose branch hath withered away, I did plant in a good spot of ground; yea, even that which was choice unto me above all other parts of the land of my vineyard.

45 And thou beheldest that a apart thereof brought forth good fruit, and a part thereof brought forth wild fruit; and because I plucked not the branches thereof and cast them into the fire, behold, they have overcome the good branch that it hath withered away.

46 And now, behold, notwithstanding all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit; and these I had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self. But, behold, they have become like unto the wild olive-tree, and they are of no worth but to be hewn down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me that I should lose them.

47 But what could I have done more in my vineyard? […] and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?

The answer to this question follows; it is the same issue for which President Benson warned us^[92]; pride:

Jacob 5:48 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard - have not the branches thereof overcome the roots, which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?

The following verses explain how eventually the Gospel will return to the original House of Israel:

Jacob 5:52 Wherefore, let us take of the branches of these which I have planted in the nethermost parts of my vineyard, and let us graft them into the tree from whence they came; and let us pluck from the tree those branches whose fruit is most bitter, and graft in the natural branches of the tree in the stead thereof.

54 And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would are yet alive; wherefore, that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree, and I will graft them in unto them. Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard.

55 And it came to pass that they took from the natural tree which had become wild, and grafted in unto the natural trees, which also had become wild.

56 And they also took of the natural trees which had become wild, and grafted into their mother tree.

57 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck not the wild branches from the trees, save it be those which are most bitter; and in them ye shall graft according to that which I have said.

58 And we will nourish again the trees of the vineyard, and we will trim up the branches thereof; and we will pluck from the trees those branches which are ripened, that must perish, and cast them into the fire.

59 And this I do that, perhaps, the roots thereof may take strength because of their goodness; and because of the change of the branches, that the good may overcome the evil.

60 And because that I have preserved the natural branches and the roots thereof, and that I have grafted in the natural branches again into their mother tree, and have preserved the roots of their mother tree, that, perhaps, the trees of my vineyard may bring forth again good fruit; and that I may have joy again in the fruit of my vineyard, and, perhaps, that I may rejoice exceedingly that I have preserved the roots and the branches of the first fruit—

61 Wherefore, go to, and call servants, that we may labor diligently with our might in the vineyard, that we may prepare the way, that I may bring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good and the most precious above all other fruit.

62 Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time, for behold the end draweth nigh, and this is for the last time that I shall prune my vineyard.

The next verse is of particular interest: "The last" (i.e. the Gentiles who received the Gospel after the earthly ministry of Christ) shall be the first (the Gospel was restored through the Gentiles). Then “the first” (i.e. the original House of Israel, which received the Gospel through Prophets and from Christ Himself) shall be the last (i.e. the original House of Israel will once again receive the Gospel when the Gentiles will have rejected it)^[94]:

Jacob 5:63 Graft in the branches; begin at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last, and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last; and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time.

67 And the branches of the natural tree will I graft in again into the natural tree;

68 And the branches of the natural tree will I graft into the natural branches of the tree; and thus will I bring them together again, that they shall bring forth the natural fruit, and they shall be one.

11. Destination of the Gentiles and the Lamanites

The Lord always revealed his purposes with his people (see again Amos 3:7); for better or for worse, depending on their acceptance or rejection of his Gospel. As a covenant people we should have a keen interest in this subject, about which much concerning us is to be found in the Book of Mormon.

11.1. The Gospel will be taken away from the Gentiles, prior to their destruction

Earlier in this essay we already studied 3 Nephi 16:6-16, which clearly mentions the restoration of the Gospel through the Gentiles, later to be followed by their rejection of it and by becoming wicked like the Nephites of old, reason for the Lord to take the Gospel away from them. We also read warnings by Joseph Smith Jr., Brigham Young, Parley Parker Pratt and Ezra Taft Benson to the Gentiles, about the need for repentance, lest we as a people be rejected by the Lord.

It is a matter of course when this ‘taking away of the Gospel’ is preluded and accompanied by a lack of revelation, prophecies and visions, but the Lord’s punishments won’t be limited to ‘just’ that: We also already studied D&C 112:23-26, and beyond that, the Book of Mormon contains far stronger warnings, directed to the Gentiles:

3 Nephi 21:11 Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, […] they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant.

12 And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver.

13 Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off.

14 Yea, wo be unto the Gentiles except they repent; for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Father, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and I will destroy thy chariots;

15 And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and throw down all thy strongholds;

16 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy land, and thou shalt have no more soothsayers;

17 Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands;

18 And I will pluck up thy groves out of the midst of thee; so will I destroy thy cities.

19 And it shall come to pass that all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, shall be done away.

20 For it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that at that day whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel;

21 And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.

I believe the sad tale of the Book of Mormon will be repeated, as human history is inclined to do. In this tale, we can compare the Nephites of old with the Gentiles of our day, i.e. mainly the Europeans and those of European descent, which is today’s posterity of the American pioneers. Likewise we can compare the Lamanites of old with their posterity of our day, i.e. mainly the inhabitants of Latin America.

Nephi, the son of Lehi, foresaw the destruction of his people, as he states in:

1 Nephi 15:4 And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of [...] the things which I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the children of men.

5 And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall.

Likewise, Joseph Smith Jr. foresaw the destruction of his spiritual kindred and was “overcome” because of it:

Joseph went to God, and he opened his mind by vision, in which he saw the destruction of our nation; he saw that famine and pestilence and war would lay waste our land, until it became so terrible that he prayed God to close the vision.^[95]

The message of the Scriptures has been the same all through the history of mankind: Repent or perish! The same applies to our day. We should not fool ourselves in believing that we can avoid the dire consequences of disobedience to the Gospel by having a year supply, which we know might come to spoil, or by having financial savings and investments, of which we know from history they may loose their value overnight, or by any other means of carnal security (see 2 Nephi 28:21). The only way to avoid “the destruction of our people” is complete repentance, taking the Holy Spirit as our guide in performing the Lord’s will concerning us, as individuals and as a people, leadership and membership alike.

11.2. The Lamanites will inherit the American Continent and establish the New Jerusalem

Let us now look to the promises made to those of the House of Israel, living in our day, and more in particular to the Lamanites, about whom we can read in more detail in the Book of Mormon.

Note that even on the title page of the Book of Mormon it already mentions that this book has been "Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; ...", and throughout the entire Book of Mormon it is clear that the writing of it is primarily destined to the Lamanites (see for instance Enos 1:13‑18). When studying the Book of Mormon, it becomes apparent that the purpose of their having this Book available goes far beyond the merely becoming acquainted with it, or accepting the Gospel – however valuable that in itself already is. In the Book of Mormon it is made clear that the Lord’s purpose with the Lamanites is, for them – and not for the Gentiles - to become the people to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ.

When studying 3 Nephi 16, we should note that here the Lord speaks to the “House of Israel”, to whom he says he will “give unto this people (there being composed of Nephites and Lamanites) this land (i.e. the American Continent) for their inheritance “(3 Nephi 16:16). In 3 Nephi we can read more about when this people will have inherited the American Continent, and what their great assignment will be:

3 Nephi 21:22 But if they [i.e. the Gentiles] will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance;

23 And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a city, which shall be called the New Jerusalem.

24 And then shall they assist my people that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, in unto the New Jerusalem.

As we thus read, it will be the Lamanites, not the Gentiles who will establish Zion, and the New Jerusalem as part of it; the Gentiles will merely “assist” them in doing so. Yet, the Lord does not apply “preferential treatment” to any person or group of people, merely because of them belonging to either the House of Israel or to the Gentiles; this was the vain belief of the Pharisees and Sadducees, who were rebuked by John the Baptist:

Matthew 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

All those who “bring forth fruits meet for repentance” will be accepted by the Lord, regardless of what group of people they belong to, because it has also been revealed that:

D&C 38:16 … all flesh is mine, and I am no respecter of persons.

So when reading about the prophecies of doom directed to the Gentiles of the last days, and about the glorious promises made to the Lamanites, no one should consider him or herself to be either damned or elected, merely because of the group of people he or she belongs to: The requirements of repentance and obedience have been, are, and forever will be the same for all mankind, throughout all ages.

12. The Challenge

This essay paints a grim picture of the current state of affairs. Yet, this essay is neither intended as a negative “alternate voice”^[11], nor to surrender to feelings of doom. To the contrary: Besides as a voice of warning, it is also meant as a great challenge to “lengthen our stride”, and to “raise the bar” to meet with the Lord’s expectations of a Covenant People, a Zion People – expectations we are not yet meeting with, not by far. Throughout all the Scriptures, prophets always have explained that going the way to Heaven will demand our very utmost effort:

Mormon 9:27 [...] Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

D&C 1:31 For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;

3 Nephi 12:48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

Already quoted before from Matthew are the following words of Christ:

3 Nephi 14:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat;

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Throughout all times in the history of mankind, it has always been clear that the bar of the Lord’s expectations of us is at a height which will remain out of our reach, unless we obtain his divine help. This help is available:

Moroni 10:32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

In order to establish Zion, we are expected to exercise our faith as once did the brother of Jared, to whom the Lord appeared; see Ether 3:6-13. The prophecy, the fulfillment of which today’s Covenant People is to cause, is the following:

Ether 4:7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are.

Joseph Smith Jr. also clearly expressed what high expectations we are to meet with:

Men and angels are to be co-workers in bringing to pass this great work, and Zion is to be prepared, even a new Jerusalem, for the elect that are to be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, and to be established an holy city, for the tabernacle of the Lord shall be with them.^[96]

This is a call to the Covenant People, the Zion People we are supposed to be. Most of all, we can express our faith through our works, since “faith without works is dead” (see James 2:20). Taking the life of Christ as an example, we should be aware that our works should be in the spirit of hope, meekness and charity (see Moroni 7: 42-48), and not in the vein of self-righteousness, as were the works of the Pharisees, because of their emphasis on the letter of the law – which thus became a carnal law, killing the spirit.

When we live by this Higher Law, as it was taught by Christ, we, membership and leadership alike, will be more sensitive for the Spirit, and we will become like the brother of Jared, who received divine revelation, and to whom even all the inhabitants of the earth were shown (Ether 3:25); we should become like that.

12.1. Spiritual keys of discernment

Therefore, once again “likening all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23), I hereby make some propositions to discern whether we are living by the letter of the law, as it was taught by the Pharisees, or by the spirit of the law, as it was taught by Christ:

1. Living the commandments:
When we live by the letter of the law, we interpret commandments literally, and thus we are led to believe that we can be saved by the law (see Mosiah 13:27-32). Thus we are also prone to become slothful servants who need to be commanded in all things, i.e. in all details of the law, and for the lack of spiritual guidance, we give heed to the commandments of men.

When we live by the spirit of the law, we will become sensitive for the spirit of the laws and commandments; we will be mindful of why they were given, and thus we will also be aware that their divine purpose never was to judge and condemn each other, but rather that we should love our neighbor, and God above all (see Matthew 22:36-40). We will learn to be our own stewards, assuming our personal responsibility to receive divine guidance for the purpose of our own salvation, and therefore also to make the right priorities when several commandments seem to conflict, as was discussed earlier in this essay (see also D&C 46:7-9);

2. Personal revelation:
When we live by the letter of the law, sound doctrine is replaced by dogma's which exclude divine guidance. A prophet, seer and revelator then is not considered as a fallible human being, with whom God is willing to work in spite of his fallibility, but implicitly this "prophet" or Church president becomes like an infallible idol to whom everyone is indebted absolute and total obedience, including to his personal views, interpretations and whims - and thus this "prophet" will have become God’s substitute, rather than His spokesman.

When we live by the spirit of the law, we accept the Lord’s anointed as His benevolent, yet fallible fellow servants (see again D&C 13:1), we lend a sympathetic ear to their words, and we assume our personal responsibility to discern, “by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not”^[22]. Thus we can be a people to whom are taught “correct principles and they govern themselves”^[97];

3. Trust in God and a fearless call to repentance:
When we live by the letter of the law, and therefore we put our trust in the arm of flesh, we seem to have no other option but to put our trust in leaders and in others who are in positions of authority, whether in the political, medical or other fields, because we suppose they know more than we do - even in matters of life and death, war and peace.

When we live by the spirit of the law, we put our trust in God; we don’t overrate the possibilities of mankind, such as scientific progress, and we resist the abuse of power, position, and all other forms of corruption. Prophetic voices give severe warnings for the far reaching and destructive consequences of all forms of evil, whether committed by citizens or by their political leaders;

4. Leadership:
When living by the letter of the law, particularly those who can be discerned by their “wealth, title, position, physical stature, scholarship, or intellectual attainment”^[20] will be called as Church leaders, as once were the kings of Israel for want of something visible to adore or even to worship (see 1 Samuel 8:5-8).

When living by the spirit of the law, the gift of discernment can be applied to consider the hearts of all men, regardless of their riches or poverty, their education or lack thereof, their social status or their outward appearance, as were the prophets of old, who boldly and fearlessly proclaimed the Word of God, even if that meant offending the world’s governors, judges or other leaders (see for example Helaman 7:13-22; 8:1-7);

5. Preaching the Gospel:
When we live by the letter of the law, purposes of preaching the Gospel are related to “as a marketing challenge”^[73], with goals such as acquiring a certain number of baptisms per mission, or new stakes within the church organization, or “filling the chapel”, or “doubling church membership within five years”. Full time missionaries spend a considerable part of their service knocking doors, to receive flat rejections of the uninterested, the indifferent and the unprepared, or to find houses abandoned. “Goals” for missionary work are expressed in statistics, as are the results, particularly the number of baptisms and the number of “potential priesthood holders”; and investigators have to put up with “procedures” such as chaperones, regardless of how these investigators experience this. With such an emphasis on quantity, it is of no surprise that “low baptism and retention rates” and “inactive members” become an issue in the Church.

When we live by the spirit of the law, we distinguish between merely acquiring church membership, and the higher aim of preaching the Gospel, to talk of Christ, to rejoice in Christ, to preach of Christ, to prophesy of Christ, that all may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins (see 2 Nephi 25:26). Those who seek and those who are guided by the Spirit will find each other, as often was the case in times of old, such as with Philip and his remarkable encounter with “a man of Ethiopia” (see Acts 8:26-39).

The results of preaching the Gospel can be measured in our desire to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people; and in our willingness to bear one another’s burdens, and to mourn with those that mourn; and our willingness to comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, that we may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that we may have eternal life, and the desire of our hearts to witness before the Lord that we have entered into a covenant with him, that we will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon us (see Mosiah 18:8-10).

Thus, thousands will be brought to the knowledge of the Lord, and as many as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them, and are converted unto the Lord, will never fall away, for they will become a righteous people, who will lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they will not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren (see Alma 23:5-7);

6. Perfecting the Saints:
When we live by the letter of the law, “perfecting the Saints” is likewise merely measured in hours of Scripture study, in deadlines achieved for finishing reading a certain book, and in theological philosophies and debate. In our church meetings “there is apathy; nobody cares whether that which is preached is true or false. A sermon is a sermon whatever the subject; only, the shorter it is the better"^[73] and our prayers become meaningless rituals of unfelt words which will not draw anywhere near to the Heavens.

“Perfecting the Saints” also includes programs such as home teaching and visiting teaching, the results of which, by the letter of the law, are again merely measured in numbers of visits. Yet, in spite of many social contacts, we feel restrained in expressing our feelings and our thoughts, maybe because of our vulnerability and fragility, or because of our fear to not follow suit with what others might expect us to think and feel.

Likewise, by the letter of the law, priesthood blessings such as anointing the sick will also become a mere ritual without the healing strength of faith (see D&C 42:43-44), and like anyone else in our world, we will merely rely upon our own strength and upon physicians to be healed – or not.

And thus, ere we are aware, we draw near to God with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (see Joseph Smith-History 1:19);

When we live by the spirit of the law, our soul delights in the scriptures, and our heart ponders them, and writes them for the learning and the profit of our children. Our soul delights in the things of the Lord; and our heart ponders continually upon the things which we have seen and heard. Nevertheless, our heart will also sorrow because of our flesh; our soul will grieve because of our iniquities, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset us; but we will also know in whom we have trusted. Our God will be our support; He will lead us through our afflictions, and He will preserve us upon the perilous waters of life (see 2 Nephi 4:16-20)^[98].

When we live by the spirit of the law, at times in our prayers, we will wrestle before God to receive a remission of our sins, because the words which we have often read and heard concerning eternal life and the joy of the saints will have sunk deep into our heart. At times, our soul will hunger, and we will kneel down before our Maker, to cry unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for our soul, until our prayers will have reached the heavens. We will also feel a desire for the welfare of our fellowmen, and pour out our whole soul unto God for them. Because we will hear the voice of the Lord, our faith will be unshaken in the Lord, and we will pray and labor with all diligence, so the Lord will grant unto us according to our righteous desires, because of our faith, knowing that whatsoever thing we shall ask in faith, believing that we shall receive in the name of Christ, we shall receive it (see Enos 1:2-4; 9-12; 15).

He will fill us with his love, he will confound our enemies, he will hear our cries, and he will give us knowledge by visions - our eyes will behold great things, yea, even too great for man. We will trust in Him forever; and we will not put our trust in the arm of flesh; for we know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh, in man or he who makes flesh his arm (see 2 Nephi 4:21-34).

By the spirit of the law, through faithful priesthood blessings, the blind will receive their sight, the deaf will hear, the dumb will speak, and the lame will walk (see D&C 35:8-13). Furthermore, in the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood, those in need of comfort will be comforted (Mosiah 18:9), and all will be nourished by the good word of God, to keep us in the right way, to keep us continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ. Our church meetings will be conducted after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost (see Moroni 6:9). In our sermons, we will “preach naught but repentance” (D&C 19:20-21) to wake us up from a deep sleep (2 Nephi 1:13), and we will also speak one with another concerning the welfare of our souls (see Moroni 6:4-5);

7. Redeeming the Dead:
When we live by the letter of the law, genealogical research degenerates into data processing and data-extraction. The Templework is described as “doing sessions” and becomes a mechanical routine, whereby in the past for some “names” the vicarious ordinances were done manifold, wherefore nowadays it is organized mainly by computer software and data networks. While routinely attending the Temple we are easily tempted to participate in trivial conversations, rather than observing to be reverent.

When we live by the spirit of the law, instead of “doing names” the heart of our fathers will turn to ours, and our heart will turn to them (Malachi 4:5-6), to receive inspiration, dreams and visions, whereby even those on the other side of the veil who most eagerly are waiting for their redemption, or whose names have long been lost on earth, can reveal themselves to us. Thus, we can perform the vicarious ordinances in their behalf, and in reverent participation the solemnities of eternity will rest upon our minds (D&C 43:28-34) while our understanding of the Plan of Salvation increases considerably, and our desire to live the Gospel to the fullest becomes and stays firm;

8. Religious experience and Church service:
When we live by the letter of the law, our religious experience is governed by traditions and rituals^[99]; our Church service by programs, protocols, procedures and statistical processes; the Church becomes like a company in which particularly leaders, missionaries and home teachers are to account for their results, which are measured in numbers and evaluated in statistics, as is the case in any other company, but which is very unlike the Church of Christ. Thus, our religious experience will not prevent our hearts from becoming cold.

When we live by the spirit of the law, we receive personal inspiration in our religious experience; our Church service is governed by charity and love unfeigned, and the Church becomes a place of refuge where we can meet our brothers and sisters “in the faith” with joy and in friendship, knowing beforehand that we will be with few (see Luke 12:32), so there is no point in measuring our numbers. Within this bond we will support and edify each other in our drawing closer to God, and we will love all our fellowmen, regardless of their outer appearance, their political or other convictions, or the creeds they wish to adhere to (see Articles of Faith 1:11);

9. Eternal progression:
When we live by the letter of the law, “eternal progression” is seen as doing as we are told to do and as was done before; saying as we were said to say and as was said before; and thinking as we were taught to think and as was thought before; or in other words: Treading the long betrodden path, marked by traditions and rituals which at a time long past might have been meaningful, but the meaning of which has since long gone lost because of thoughtlessness and carelessness.

When we live by the spirit of the law, we are aware that wide is the road to perdition (see Luke 13:23-24), and spacious the fields and buildings of the world, in which to loose our way (see 1 Nephi 8:20-28). We are also aware that “progression” is a search for light and truth (see D&C 93:36-40), along the more excellent way (see 1 Corinthians 12:31), as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, whereunto [we] do well [to] take heed, and the day star arise in [our] hearts, even the more sure word of prophecy (see 2 Peter 1:19).

As Covenant People and as a Church of Christ, in preparing first ourselves, and then all our fellowmen who wish to do so, to meet with Christ, either in this life or in the next, we will need His guidance in meeting with these challenges, and we must eagerly exert ourselves to receive this guidance.

12.2. Samuel the Lamanite and the Restoration of the House of Israel

The question remains which will be the people to meet with such challenges, or to fulfill the glorious prophecies regarding the promised land and the Second Coming. The Book of Mormon gives us many clues^[100]. A meaningful event described in the Book of Mormon is, that for the specific announcement of the coming of Christ on the American Continent, Samuel, a Lamanite prophet, was chosen (see Helaman 13:1-2), thus introducing a change between peoples considered to be generally "righteous", from the Nephites, who previously prevailed in having prophets, seers and revelators, to the Lamanites.

The consideration for this to be a foreshadow for our day, combined with, and besides the very many other promises regarding what is yet future for the Lamanites, gives rise to my expectation that there will yet be some sort of a big “revolution” in the Restored Church, the causes of which can be speculated about in the light of other prophecies for these last days.

But we should be mindful that during the sequence of apostasies and restorations throughout the ages, there have been many more of such “revolutions” in the Church and amongst what should have been the Covenant people. Through such events, the wheat is separated from the chaff, amongst membership and leadership alike, and the Lord’s purposes are brought to pass with those who wish to seek Him and who wish to prepare for a better world, rather than to be satisfied with the dreary Babylon we now live in, and the arm of flesh this world relies upon.

Since it is also prophesied that the Lamanites will blossom as the rose (see D&C 49:23-28), this “revolution” might bring this to pass, causing also a big transfer of the leadership of the restored Church from Gentile to Lamanite Israel, while the hypocrites and the fainthearted will harvest the bitter fruits of their evil words and deeds, and of their abstinence from resisting the evils of Babylon.

This is my creed. In conclusion, I hope the reader will have recognized that the essence of this essay first and foremost is intended as a “wake up call” to an awareness of what has been prophesied about us, and that our condition gives cause to a call to repentance, a call to return to the basic principles of the Doctrine of Christ, and to “raise the bar” of our Gospel living to a more spiritual level, taking the Holy Spirit as our guide while doing so (see D&C 45:56-59), thus to become the people we ought to be.

And since these prophecies give cause to expect that many will fail to do this, or fail to meet with divine expectation, we can also look forward for a Prophet, Seer and Revelator to stand up at a time when the Lord sees fit, as once did Samuel the Lamanite, to prepare ourselves for the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Helaman 13:2-13).

Notes

[1] Source of painting: The Book of Mormon Paintings of Arnold Friberg: "Samuel the Lamanite on the Wall".

[2] This “great apostasy” is comprehensively described by James E. Talmage in “The Great Apostasy”, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1968 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1909);

[3] Search for all forms of the word ANGEL in the Text of the Old and New Testament of www.scriptures.lds.org.

[4] Search for all forms of the word ANGEL in the Text of the Book of Mormon of www.scriptures.lds.org.

[5] “In the broadest sense, miracles embrace all those events which are beyond the power of any presently known physical power to produce. They are occurrences which deviate from the known laws of nature and which transcend our knowledge of those laws. [...] But in the gospel sense, miracles are those occurrences wrought by the power of God which are wholly beyond the power of man to perform. Produced by a supernatural power, they are marvels, wonders, and signs which cannot be duplicated by man's present powers or by any powers which he can obtain by scientific advancements. Miracles in the gospel sense are gifts of the Spirit; they take place when the Lord on his own motion manifests his powers or when man by faith prevails upon Deity to perform supernatural events.” McConkie, Bruce R. Mormon Doctrine. 2d ed. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1966.

[6] Search for all phrases "Thus saith the Lord" in the scriptures on www.scriptures.lds.org

[7] For references to the Gadianton band see Helaman chapters 2-3, 6-8, 11, 3 Nephi chapters 1-3, 4 Nephi, Mormon chapters 1-2

[8] Thomas S. Monson, “Teaching Our Children” Liahona, Oct 2004, 3

[9] Alexander L. Baugh, “Joseph Smith and Zion’s Camp” Ensign, June 2005, 42–47

[10] Milton V. Backman Jr., “Kirtland: The Crucial Years” Ensign, Jan 1979, 24

[11] See Dallin H. Oaks, “Alternate Voices,” Ensign, May 1989, pg 27

[12] See Guide to the Scriptures: Apostasy: A turning away from the truth by individuals, the Church, or entire nations.
See also Guide to the Scriptures: Rebellion: Defying or opposing the Lord, including refusing to follow his chosen leaders and willfully disobeying his commandments.

[13] In Christianity, heresy is a "theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Roman Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. By extension, heresy is an opinion or doctrine in philosophy, politics, science, art, etc., at variance with those generally accepted as authoritative." Oxford English Dictionary: "heresy"

[14] "In general, exemption or immunity from liability to error or failure; in particular in theological usage, the supernatural prerogative by which the Church of Christ is, by a special Divine assistance, preserved from liability to error in her definitive dogmatic teaching regarding matters of faith and morals." Catholic Encyclopedia > Infallibility

[15] "A false claimant of the Holy See in opposition to a pontiff canonically elected. At various times in the history of the Church illegal pretenders to the Papal Chair have arisen, and frequently exercised pontifical functions in defiance of the true occupant." Catholic Encyclopedia > Antipope. See also: Talmage, James E. The Great Apostasy. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1968, Chapter 10: Results of the Apostasy.--Its Sequel.: 2. Three Popes At One Time.

[16] In illustration of the indulgences as sold in Germany in the sixteenth century, we have the record of the doings of John Tetzel, agent of the pope, who traveled about selling forgiveness of sins. Says Milner: "Myconius assures us that he himself heard Tetzel declaim with incredible effrontery concerning the unlimited power of the pope and the efficacy of indulgences. The people believed that the moment any person had paid the money for the indulgence he became certain of his salvation: and that the souls for whom the indulgences were bought, were instantly released out of purgatory. * * * John Tetzel boasted that he had saved more souls from hell by his indulgences than St. Peter had converted to Christianity by his preaching. He assured the purchasers of them, their crimes, however enormous, would be forgiven; whence it became almost needless for him to bid them dismiss all fears concerning their salvation. For, remission of sins being fully obtained, what doubt could there be of salvation?" Ibid. Chapter 9: Internal Causes,--Continued. See also “Catechism of the Catholic Church - The sacrament of penance and reconciliation” - X. Indulgences

[17] "Inquisition (Latin inquirere, to look to): By this term is usually meant a special ecclesiastical institution for combating or suppressing heresy. Its characteristic mark seems to be the bestowal on special judges of judicial powers in matters of faith, and this by supreme ecclesiastical authority, not temporal or for individual cases, but as a universal and permanent office. Moderns experience difficulty in understanding this institution, because they have, to no small extent, lost sight of two facts. On the one hand they have ceased to grasp religious belief as something objective, as the gift of God, and therefore outside the realm of free private judgment; on the other they no longer see in the Church a society perfect and sovereign, based substantially on a pure and authentic Revelation, whose first most important duty must naturally be to retain unsullied this original deposit of faith. Before the religious revolution of the sixteenth century these views were still common to all Christians; that orthodoxy should be maintained at any cost seemed self-evident." Catholic Encyclopedia > Inquisition. See also: Talmage, James E. The Great Apostasy. Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1968, Chapter 10: Results of the Apostasy.--Its Sequel.: The Reformation

[18] In this context, indoctrination is understood to mean: "to teach systematically or for a long period to accept (especially partisan or tendentious) ideas uncritically". Oxford English Reference Dictionary, Second edition 2002. See also: "Indoctrination" from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Indoctrination is the process of inculcating ideas, attitudes, cognitive strategies or a professional methodology. It is often distinguished from education by the fact that the indoctrinated person is expected not to question or critically examine the doctrine they have learned."

[19] "The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives two definitions of brainwashing. The first, similar to the Oxford English Dictionary definition, is: 'A forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social or religious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas'. The second is: 'persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship'. What this has in common with the first definition is the use of pressures to override the victim's capacity to think rationally about his or hers situation and beliefs." Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control, by Kathleen Eleanor Taylor, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 0192804960, 9780192804969. See also: "Brainwashing" from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Brainwashing (also known as thought reform or as re-education) consists of any effort aimed at instilling certain attitudes and beliefs in a person - sometimes unwelcome beliefs in conflict with the person's prior beliefs and knowledge." Ref: Compare: Dorland, Newman W. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 29th. edition. Philadelphia, Saunders, 2000.

[20] President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, "Continuing Revelation", Liahona, August 1996

[21] J. Reuben Clark: Selected Papers on Religion, Education, and Youth, edited by David H. Yarn Jr., Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1984, pages 95–96.

[22] Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886, Volume 9, page 151: “Eternal Punishment--"Mormonism," &c. - Remarks by President Brigham Young, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, January 12, 1862.” Reported by G. D. Watt. See also: Discourses of Brigham Young, selected by John A. Widtsoe, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1941, Chapter 12: “The Priesthood”, page 135.

[23] James E. Faust, “‘The Truth Shall Make You Free” Ensign, Sep 1998, 2

[24] Ezra Taft Benson, “Civic Standards for the Faithful Saints” Ensign, Jul 1972, 59

[25] See 1 Thessalonians 5:21

[26] See for instance the following examples of some political issues dealt with in the Scriptures:
a: Freedom of religion established by law: Alma 30:7-11;
b: Complaint of government’s neglect: Alma 59:13; Alma 60:1-14;
c: Consequence of corrupted laws and government: Mosiah 29:25-27; Helaman 5:2-3; Helaman 6:38-40; Helaman 7:4-5;
d: Consequence of contention in the government: Helaman 1:18;
e: Government overthrown and replaced by criminals: 3 Nephi 7:1-14;
f: Judges to be preferred over kings: Mosiah 29;
g: Money values and payment of judges: Alma 11:1-19;
h: "A declaration of belief regarding governments and laws": D&C 134;
i: "We believe in being subject to [governments]": Articles of Faith 12

[27] Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Times in Which We Live” Ensign, Nov. 2001, 72

[28] Referring to the U.S. missile attack on Afghanistan, following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon of September 11^th 2001.

[29] Gordon B. Hinckley, “War and Peace” Ensign, May 2003, 78

[30] The invasion of Iraq, which began on March 18^th 2003

[31] Gordon B. Hinckley, “An Unending Conflict, a Victory Assured” Ensign, Jun 2007, 4–9

[32] Resistance during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. Resistance movements are sometimes also referred to as "the underground" See for instance "Resistance during World War II" from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[33] Jannetje Johanna Schaft, born on 16 September 1920 in Haarlem, The Netherlands. She became a remarkable Dutch resistance fighter, and was liquidated 1945 by the Nazi occupiers on 17 April. At her funeral on 27 November 1945, Wilhelmina, Queen of The Netherlands, called her the "symbol of the Resistance".

[34] Count Claus Philipp Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (15 November 1907 - 21 July 1944) was a German army officer and one of the leading officers of the failed July 20 Plot of 1944 to kill German dictator Adolf Hitler and seize power in Germany. See also German Resistance Memorial Center, Topic - Stauffenberg and the Assassination Attempt of July 20, 1944.

[35] See "Dances With Wolfowitz" by Maureen Dowd, New York Times, April 9, 2003. See also "Operation: Iraqi Freedom - Shock and Awe: Achieving Rapid Dominance" by Harlan K. Ullman and James P. Wade, NDU Press Book, December 1996

[36] McConkie, Bruce R. Mormon Doctrine. 2d ed. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1966.

[38] See for instance Human Rights Watch World Report 2003 – “U.S. Human Rights Leadership Faulted” - Washington, D.C., January 14, 2003

[39] Guardian, May 2004: The images that shamed America

[40] CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons. Debate Is Growing Within Agency About Legality and Morality of Overseas System Set Up After 9/11. By Dana Priest, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, November 2, 2005; Page A01

[41] The Religious Affiliation of Veteran Broadcaster Mike Wallace, Reporter for the TV News Show 60 Minutes, Webpage created 22 July 2005. Last modified 22 August 2005

[43] Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal Nuremberg, 14 November 1945 - 1 October 1946

[44] Gordon B. Hinckley, “Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children” Liahona, Jan 2001, 61–62, 67–68

[45] “The Stone Cut Out of the Mountain”, President Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference October 2007

[46] See for instance James E. Faust, “Continuing Revelation” Ensign, Aug 1996, 2

[47] Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Body Is Sacred” New Era, Nov 2006, 2–5

[48] David A. Bednar, “Quick to Observe” Ensign, Dec 2006, 30–36

[49] Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Testimony Vibrant and True,” Ensign, Aug 2005, 2–6

[50] Ensign, November 2005, "Blessings Resulting from Reading the Book of Mormon", by Elder L. Tom Perry Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

[51] Gordon B. Hinckley, “Seek Ye the Kingdom of God” Liahona, May 2006, 81–83

[52] “Teaching Our Children to Accept Differences” by Gayle M. Clegg, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, Liahona, Jun 2004, 16

[53] See also Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; […] for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

[54] Diane L. Spangler, “The Body, a Sacred Gift” Liahona, Jul 2005, 16

[55] See for instance Matthew 23:23-28; see also Luke 12:1 [...] Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

[56] See for instance: BBC News, 8 August, 2002: Saudis lash US 'Christian extremists', by Magdi Abdelhadi, BBC Arab affairs editor

[57] See for instance the account regarding Sister Alyssa R. Peterson, as related in AZ Central Special Report, "Flagstaff GI loved people, languages - Soldier was killed Monday in Iraq", by Mark Shaffer, Republic Flagstaff Bureau, Sept. 18, 2003. As a Mission Leader within the Church, the author of this essay became acquainted with her during her mission to the Netherlands in the late 1990’s.

[58] “Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush”, by Ron Suskind, The New York Times, October 17, 2004

[59] Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886. “Spiritual Gifts--Hell--The Spirit World--The Elders And The Nations--The Lamanites--The Temple. A Discourse by President Brigham Young, Delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, Dec., 3, 1854.”

[60] "Remarkable Recovery" by Caryle Hirshberg and Marc Ian Barasch, 1995, Riverhead Books/The Putnam Berkley Group, Inc.

[61] Woodruff, Wilford. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff. Edited by G. Homer Durham. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1946: An Explanation of the "Manifesto" Given to the General Conference, October 6, 1890

[62] LDS Newsroom: Time line of Significant Events as President: “2004 - 23-Jun - Was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in the White House” See also: “2001 - 13 January - Named one of the most admired men in the world for the second consecutive year by an annual survey of Americans -- included on the list were Pope John Paul II, President Bill Clinton, Gen. Colin Powell and President-elect George W. Bush”

[63] LDS Newsroom, Salt Lake City 27 January 2008: "Beloved Church President, Gordon B. Hinckley, Dies at 97"

[64] Photo: Salt Lake Tribune, September 1^st 2006; See also: Time line of Significant Events as President: 2006 - 31 August - "President George W. Bush visited the First Presidency". (It is peculiar, to say the least, that this same George W. Bush who visited with the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also is a member of the "Skull & Bones"-society; see: Skull And Bones, Secret Yale Society Includes America's Power Elite, June 13, 2004, ©MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc)

[65] LDS Newsroom, Salt Lake City 4 February 2008: "Biography of President Thomas S. Monson"

[66] LDS Newsroom, 29 May 2008: President George W. Bush greets Thomas Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the church's headquarters. Thursday, May 29, 2008, in Salt Lake City. White House photo by Eric Draper. (Notice the handshake).

[67] LDS Newsroom, Salt Lake City 14 August 2007: "President James E. Faust Remembered"

[68] LDS Newsroom, Leader Biographies, Elder Russell M. Nelson

[69] President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, "Continuing Revelation", Liahona, August 1996

[70] Smith, Joseph Jr. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Edited by B. H. Roberts. 2d ed., rev. 7 vols. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-51, Volume I, Chapter XXXII, pg 449.

[71] Smith, Joseph Jr. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ibidem. Volume V, Chapter XXVIII, pg 556.

[72] Smith, Joseph Jr. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ibidem. Volume III, Chapter XX, pg 294.

[73] Quoting Charles Haddon Spurgeon, a Baptist preacher in Victorian England, in “Ashamed of the Gospel: When the Church Becomes Like the World”, by John MacArthur, Crossway Books; April 5, 2001, ISBN-10: 1581342888; ISBN-13: 978-1581342888. See also: “The Spurgeon Archive”

[74] C. Scott Grow, “The Book of Mormon, the Instrument to Gather Scattered Israel”, Ensign, Nov 2005, 33

[75] See also 4 Nephi 1:23 And now I, Mormon, would that ye should know that the people had multiplied, insomuch that they were spread upon all the face of the land, and that they had become exceedingly rich, because of their prosperity in Christ.
26 And they began to be divided into classes; …

[76] Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, Chapter 19: "Following the Living Prophet", 195,
quoting Woodruff, Wilford. The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff. Edited by G. Homer Durham. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1946: An Explanation of the "Manifesto" given to the General Conference, October 6, 1890. See also: Official Declaration 1.

[77] Smith, Joseph Fielding. Answers to Gospel Questions, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957-1966, Volume 2: "The Teachings of Church Authorities": A Key to Understanding

[78] Ibidem, quoting Journal of Wilford Woodruff, January 27, 1860.

[79] See for instance The Life of John Taylor, by B. H. Roberts, Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1963, Chapter 22, page 199

[80] A Dialogue between Joseph Smith and the Devil, Parley P. Pratt, published in the New York Herald on January 1, 1844.
See also: Ensign, June 1981, Seeking “the Good, the Pure, the Elevating”: A Short History of Mormon Fiction, Part 1, by Richard H. Cracroft

[81] "American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows", September 1857, Excerpt from a review by Patricia Nelson Limerick, Washington Post, 3 August 2003

[82] “Classic Discourses from the General Authorities: The Sacramental Covenant”, by Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Council of the Twelve from 1919 to 1939, New Era, January 1976

[83] McConkie, Bruce R. Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, Volume 1: The Gospels, "How To Interpret the Scriptures"

[84] McConkie, Bruce R. The Messiah Series. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1978-82, Chapter 112: The Galilean Appearances, "Jesus Appears on a Mountain in Galilee"

[85] McConkie, Bruce R. Mormon Doctrine. 2d ed. Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1966: "Hallucinations"

[86] Smith, Joseph Jr. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ibidem. Chapter XXXV, page 609-610, quoting Times and Seasons Monday, 2 May 1842: The Temple

[87] Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God”, Ensign, May 1975, pg 63

[88] Ezra Taft Benson, “Cleansing the Inner Vessel” Ensign, May 1986, pg 4

[89] Smith, Joseph Jr. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ibidem. Volume I, Chapter XXII: The prophecy on the war of the rebellion - the Olive Leaf-communication to Mr. Saxton - warning to Zion; page 315-316

[90] Pratt, Parley P. The Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, Chapter 12, page 65

[91] Smith, Joseph Jr. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ibidem. Volume II, Chapter X, page 146

[92] Ezra Taft Benson, “Beware of Pride” Ensign, May 1989, pg 4: "The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen."

[93] Smith, Joseph Fielding. Answers to Gospel Questions. vols. 1-4. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1957-1966, Volume 2, page 114

[94] The issue of the kingdom of God passing on from one people, with love for money and substance, to another people, poor and despised, is not only mentioned in the Book of Mormon; it was already a theme in the preaching of Jesus in Luke 14:16-24, which closes by saying: “None of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” Scriptural references to Matthew 21:43 and Acts 13:46 clarify that here the passing on from the Jews to the Gentiles is meant; hence “the first shall be the last”. In this essay we also study what is meant by “the last shall be the first”.

[95] Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886, Volume 22, Wilford Woodruff, June 26, 1881: Remarks by President Wilford Woodruff, Delivered at Bountiful, June 26, 1881. (Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs.) The Work of the Saints in this Generation, etc., page 236.
Also see "John Taylor's Vision of Destruction" (1877/8), allegedly a revelation received by John Taylor, reprinted in (among others) “Unpublished revelations of the prophets and presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”, V. 1, , pp. 119-123, composed by Fred C. Collier, © 1979, published in 1981 by Collier's Publishing, Salt Lake City, Utah ISBN: 0934964009. However, the authenticity of this text is challenged.

[96] Smith, Joseph Jr. History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ibidem. Volume II, Chapter XX, page 260

[97] Journal of Discourses. 26 vols. London: Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886: John Taylor: Vastness of the wisdom and intelligence of God. Impotency of man to govern righteously. Discourse by Elder John Taylor, delivered in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, May 18, 1862. Reported by J. V. Long; page 58.

[98] … or “in the fell clutch of circumstance and under the bludgeoning of chance”, as it was expressed by William Ernest Henley in the poem “Invictus”.

[99] Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Selected by Joseph Fielding Smith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Press, 1938, "Unwillingness of Saints to Learn", pg 331: "I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions: they cannot stand the fire at all. How many will be able to abide a celestial law, and go through and receive their exaltation, I am unable to say, as many are called, but few are chosen. (Jan. 20, 1844.) DHC 6:183-185. See also "The Priesthood", pg 321: "To become a joint heir of the heirship of the Son, one must put away all his false traditions."

[100] One of these clues might be found in 2 Nephi 3:22-24, where Lehi prophesies to his grandson Joseph. Even though the main part of this chapter relates to Joseph Smith Jr. and sr., in verses 23-24 the posterity of Joseph, grandson of Lehi, is brought to bear, where it speaks of “one mighty among them [i.e. among thy seed - the seed of Joseph, grandson of Lehi], who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith, to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy brethren. This cannot possibly relate to Joseph Smith Jr. and sr., since they certainly weren’t Lamanites, while we must assume the posterity of Joseph, grandson of Lehi, cannot be anything else but Lamanite.