continuing revelation – Page 6 – What Do Mormons Believe?

Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenants

A question was input into the illustrious question box (that rectangular thing on the right there) as to what the Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants are. Well, A) they’re books and B) having perused both of them multiple times I feel qualified to explain the following:

monson_medium Firstly and foremostly, in order to understand these books it must be understood that we believe that God still speaks to man. There is a prophet on the earth today (Thomas S. Monson by name, as seen in the lovely picture) who receives revelation directly from God for the people of our day and age.

Ok. The Pearl of Great Price is a sort of hodgepodge of articles and publications that concern our faith and doctrine. It contains, among other things, Joseph Smith’s account of his First Vision when God and Jesus Christ appeared to him in the spring of 1820. It also contains the Book of Abraham: a translation of some ancient Egyptian papyri that Joseph Smith acquired, which contain writings fasc of the ancient patriarch Abraham. This book sheds fascinating new light on pre-earth life and the creation (click here). Way cool times three. It’s also got some nifty facsimiles like this one on the left.

The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of revelations from God to the Prophet Joseph Smith as well as to some of his successors. It also contains inspired declarations made by these same men. We regard it is as a book of scripture like the Bible because it is the writings of prophets inspired by God. It’s a truly remarkable book in that we can hear the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ speaking to man in our modern day. Some of my favorite passages from the book include this, Joseph Smith’s testimony of Jesus Christ and this here, a trio of verses that keep me motivated.

But, as Reading Rainbow would remind us, you don’t have to take my word for it—be your own judge, read from the Pearl of Great Price here, the Doctrine and Covenants here.

More Than the Bible?

Q. How do you explain Revelation 22:18-29 (KJV) in conjunction with the addition of the Book of Mormon (and others) to Holy Scripture?

I can handle verses 18-21, but 22-29 are beyond me. I’d love to hear what you think of those.

Chapter 22 of Revelation is the final chapter of the New Testament, verses 18-29 (KJV) are shown below:

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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The implication is that since these verses close out the Bible as we know it today, God will not allow any more prophecies. My response to this would be a long series of quotations from a talk given recently by the Apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, but I think it would be more sensible for you to read it or listen to it or watch it (below) yourself.

Ye Receive No Witness Until…

We (on this website) have emphasized the role of prayer in learning truth from God, but I must admit we have been leaving something out.

Some may get the impression that if any question arises, a good Mormon will kneel, ask God, and then ‘pop!’ the answer appears in their heads. This approach does work sometimes:

I knew a guy named Seth that couldn’t for the life of him remember the name of an essay he was trying to explain to me. He was agonizing over it. You know the feeling — it’s on the tip of your tongue… I suggested he pray about it. At first he thought that was a silly idea. Then he went into another room and came out a few minutes later, beaming. “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Seth said triumphantly, “I said a prayer and it just came to me.”

This process is very similar to the scientific method: identify a problem, devise a test (prayer), perform the test, document the results, and adjust your actions to fit your new knowledge. The issue is that sometimes God wants to see (or wants us to see) how well we will adjust our actions before he gives us the answer. For example, it makes little sense for Him to affirm that Jesus is the Christ if you don’t intend to ever become His disciple.

The Book of Mormon puts it like this, “…I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” Ether 12:6

leap-of-faith

Thus, the action comes before the answer. This is called a ‘leap of faith,’ and shows God a token amount of trust in Him and His messengers. Elder David A. Bednar, an Apostle in the Church, gave this illustration:

Recall how the Israelites came to the river Jordan and were promised the waters would part, and they would be able to cross over on dry ground. Interestingly, the waters did not part as the children of Israel stood on the banks of the river waiting for something to happen; rather, the soles of their feet were wet before the water parted. The faith of the Israelites was manifested in the fact that they walked into the water before it parted. They walked into the river Jordan with a future-facing assurance of things hoped for. As the Israelites moved forward, the water parted, and as they crossed over on dry land, they looked back and beheld the evidence of things not seen. In this episode, faith as assurance led to action and produced the evidence of things not seen that were true. (Seek Learning by Faith, David A. Bednar)

So, when you ask God if the Book of Mormon is true, do it with real intent. Read it. Invest some time in it. Show the Lord that you are willing to step into the baptismal font if this really is His church. These are the prayers that receive mighty answers.

‘You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you’
– Harold B. Lee, 11th president and prophet of the LDS Church

Polygamy

In light of current events happening in the state of Texas regarding a group of polygamists, I feel I should explain a little more about polygamy. To quell any doubts in your mind, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), do not, I repeat, do not engage in polygamy. Men have only one wife and women have only one husband. This has been the law in our church for 117 1/2 years now. If anyone associates in any way with the practice of polygamy and they do not disavow their practices they are excommunicated from our Church, no questions asked.

I have one wife and thank goodness I have only one wife! I would have double the honey-do list if I had two and I can’t even keep up with the one.

It is true that in our early history there were men who had multiple wives. The reason? We believe in continuing revelation from God as the method for guiding the Church and its people. That is, we believe that God speaks to us through prophets, just as he always has from Adam down to Jesus Christ and the original twelve apostles. We believe that God called Joseph Smith as a prophet, just as he had all of the previous prophets. We also believe that God commanded Joseph Smith to institute this practice of polygamy and to his credit, he was obedient. We don’t know exactly why God commanded this, but polygamy is not a new thing. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had multiple wives; Moses did too. Like I said, God commanded and these men obeyed.

wwoodruff In this same vein, on September 24, 1890, Wilford Woodruff, then president and prophet of our Church declared that from this date forward, plural marriages would not be allowed. This was to be in accordance with the constitutional laws that had been established. As quick as it began, it was ended. You must realize that this declaration became a binding doctrine upon all members of our church at that time and ever since. If they did not heed the declaration, they found their way out of the church.

You must also realize that there were those who were not happy with this. Those who disagreed and would not follow the established doctrine called Wilford Woodruff a fallen prophet and split from our church. They set up their own church, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). These are the people who are still practicing polygamy today in Colorado City, AZ/Hildale, UT and Eldorado, TX as well as other places. They still recognize Joseph Smith as a prophet, as well as Brigham Young and John Taylor, the second and third prophets, but not Wilford Woodruff the fourth prophet of our Church. Why they believe that God could command one thing, but not be able to stop it is beyond my understanding.

The members of the FLDS church still read the Book of Mormon and I assume they share a majority of their beliefs with the Mormon Church. They are not all bad people, they are good people. I have dealt personally with many who practice polygamy. They work hard and they do a lot of good in this world, but they have their own beliefs and we, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, have our beliefs. I don’t condemn them for having their own beliefs, but I do not condone their practices. As I said, the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints does not practice polygamy.

I hope that this helps you all understand where the Church stands on this issue that comes up over and over again. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

What Do Mormons Believe? – The Restoration

What is it that makes us different? Why do Mormon missionaries knock on the doors of Christians if they preach the gospel of Christ? It is more than a desire to gather sheep into our flavor of worship.

Since the Garden of Eden the Lord has given us instructions on what we ought to spend our time doing in life. His pattern is to choose a mortal man, call him a prophet, and dispense the information through him. He needs two things: access to truth and authority (priesthood) to preach it. It’s simple and efficient. At least, it is when the people listen to him.

Invariably, the backlash against the prophet leads to a revolt against him and against God. When the prophet is killed, the dispensing of gospel truth is thwarted and the people are left in the dark. We Mormons call this “apostasy.” Fortunately, the Lord has always followed apostasy with a new prophet and a new dispensation, beginning with Adam, then Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Elijah, etc.

Case in point: John the Baptist was called as a prophet to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry. He and Jesus taught the gospel truth, restored the priesthood power, and organized the Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus called Peter and the other apostles to lead the flock after His departure.

Up to this point you probably feel comfortable. Here comes the primary theological difference between Mormons and most other Christians:

John the Baptist was beheaded, Christ was crucified, and the apostles were rejected and murdered. They who held the authority of the Lord were eliminated and the world became apostate again. This time it lasted for over a millennium, allowing a smattering of false teachings from non-prophet church leaders to creep in.

Reformers such as Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, Roger Williams, and others saw problems in the religions of their days; they did their best to correct them, but lacked the capacity (and the authority) to fully revert to Christ’s original church. They could not authoritatively speak for God, since he had not spoken to them or given them permission, and many of these reformers recognized that fact.

This dark apostasy came to its end when a young man of 14 years prayed in seclusion in a grove of trees in 1820. Joseph Smith was looking for the true church. Not a nice church, or a charismatic church, or a ceremonial church, but the church that God himself directed. As he searched the Bible he read,

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5

He felt that if anyone lacked wisdom he did, for what to do he did not know. And unless he could gain more wisdom he would never know. In a grove of trees near his country farmhouse, he knelt and prayed. In his words:

“I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me…

“When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

“My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right…—and which I should join.” Joseph Smith-History 1:16-18

Joseph received an answer from the lips of the Savior himself: That his Church was in apostasy. There were no prophets on the earth and there hadn’t been for over a thousand years.

However, even in these demoralizing words was a message of hope: the apostasy was now broken, and Joseph was receiving direct communication from God. Over the course of Joseph’s life, he was visited by the Lord, and also by other angelic messengers, many more times. He was chosen to be a prophet and through these visitations the priesthood authority was restored. The church was reorganized upon the foundation of apostles and prophets.

Now, we carry this amazing message of hope to all nations of the earth. We are honest in our desire for others to know that the Lord’s work is restored. His successor, Thomas Monson, is the living prophet today. We know it, and we want you to know it too.

How? It’s simple. Pray.

God knows whether this is all true, and I daresay he has an opinion on the matter. Ask him yourself. I have, and so have millions of now-Mormons. You may not receive as glorious a visitation as Joseph did, but he will answer you. Often it comes as a feeling from the Holy Ghost, or an idea you hadn’t thought of. Maybe in a word from a neighbor. Ask and ye shall receive. If you won’t ask, you don’t receive.