Good Better Best

A Difficult Problem

(From the Autobiography of Parley Parker Pratt, page 145)

“Of all the places in which the English Language is spoken, I found the City of New York to be the most difficult to access the minds or attention of the people.  From July to January we preached, advertised, printed, published, testified, visited, talked, prayed and wept in vain.  To all appearances there was not interest or impression on the minds of the people in regard to the fullness of the gospel.

There was one member of the Church of the Saints living there, whose name was Elijah Fordham, and he was an Elder and assisted me.  We had baptized about six members and organized a little branch, who were accustomed to meeting in a small upper room in Goerck Street; sometimes two or three others met with us.  We had hired chapels and advertised, but the people would not hear and the few who came went away without being interested.  So we had been forced to give them up after spending our money and strength in vain.

We had retired to our private room upstairs with the few members we had, to hold a last prayer meeting, as I was about to take leave for New Orleans.  We had prayed all around in turn, when, on a sudden, the room was filled with the Holy Spirit and so was each one present.  We began to speak in tongues and prophesy.  Many marvelous things were manifested which I cannot write; but the principal burden of the prophesying was concerning New York City and our mission there.

The Lord said that He had heard our prayers, beheld our labors, diligence and long suffering towards that city; and that He had seen our tears.  Our prayers were heard and our labors and sacrifices were accepted.  We should tarry in the city and go not thence as yet, for the Lord had many people in that City and He had now come by the power of His Holy Spirit to gather them into His fold.  His angels should go before us and cooperate with us.  His Holy Spirit should give the people visions and dreams concerning us and the work of the Lord and He would make bare his arm to heal the sick and confirm the Word by signs following; and from that very day forward we should have plenty of friends, money to pay our debts with the publishers; means to live and crowds to hear us.

There should be more doors open for preaching than we could fill; crowds, who could not get in, should stand in the streets and about the entrance to try to hear us and we should know that the Almighty could open a door and no man could shut it.

As these things were manifested in power and the demonstration of the Spirit, we could not doubt them.  So we gave up going to New Orleans and concluded to stay; but we were almost ready to say in our hearts, like one of old: ‘If the Lord should make windows in Heaven, could these things be?’

Now there was in this little meeting a man named David Rogers, whose heart was touched.  He, being a chair maker, fitted up a large room and seated it with the chairs of his warehouse and invited us to preach in the same.  This room was crowded.  He then joined with one of our members, who was a joiner and rented a small place and seated it for a regular place of meeting; this was generally crowded.  In the meantime, a Methodist clergyman came to hear me, whose name was Cox.  He invited me to his house to preach, near East River; he and his household were obedient to the faith, with many of the members of his society.  While preaching, a lady solicited me to preach in her house in Willett Street; for, said she, “I had a dream of you and of the new Church the other night.”  Another lady wished me to preach in her house in Grant Street.

In the meantime I was invited by the Free Thinkers to preach, or give a course of lectures, in Tammany Hall.

  In short, it was not three weeks from the delivery of the prophecies in the upper room till we had fifteen preaching places in the city, all of which were filled to overflowing.  We soon commenced baptizing and continued doing so almost daily during the winter and spring.  One lady, who had been four years under the doctor’s care with a crippled leg, arose and walked, with her leg instantly restored whole, even as the other.  Her physician was immediately dismissed and was very angry, because we had spoiled his patronage.  He even threatened to sue us.  Another lady, who had lain in her bed four years with the dumb palsy, arose and walked.  She had not, previous to our laying hands on her, been able to stir a finger, or a toe, on her right side for about four years; so said the family and so she herself testified.

In this case her physician and also some religious ministers, who called to see her, glorified God, acknowledged His hand and exhorted her to persevere in the faith.

A child of Mr. Wandle Mace of Number 13 Bedford Street was healed of brain fever, in the last stage, when the doctors had given him over and the kindred and neighbors had gathered in to see him die.  I laid my hands on him, in the presence of them all and he was healed and in a few hours took nourishment and commenced to play and run about the floor. 

In the same house, in an upper chamber, lay a woman, by the name of Dexter, sick, who had not left her room, nor scarcely her bed, for some six months; she was at the point of death and her babe also, who had take the disease from her.  Her mother, who had the care of her, was present when the child was healed and she ran upstairs and told the woman that there were men below who healed the sick as in days of old, by the laying on of hands in the name of Jesus. 

The woman exclaimed: “Thank God, then I can be healed.”  She sent for us and was from that hour restored to health and the child also.  She walked about two miles to the East River and was baptized and then walked home again, it being a very wet day with snow and rain and the sidewalks about shoe deep in snow and mud.  After these three miracles of healing had been witnessed in that house in Bedford Street, six persons who witnessed them were baptized, namely: Wandle Mace and wife, Theodore Curtis and wife and the sick woman and her mother before named.

During our stay in New York I made frequent visits to the country and to other towns.  Branches of the Church were formed at Sing Sing and in Jersey and also in Brooklyn and various other parts of Long Island.  Some members were also baptized in Holiston, Massachusetts.  (Thus, the work went forward at an alarming rate).

Joseph & the New Testament

How Joseph Smith Offers Significant Information About The New Testament

By Robert J Matthews   (He is speaking at the BYU Sperry Symposium on October 28th 2006 & only part of his talk is included here). (see 2^nd Nephi 29:4-12)

“The same forces that caused the Great Apostasy of the Lord’s Church and left the world without an adequate Church for 1800 years also altered the manuscripts from which our present New Testament has been translated.  Since no originals of the New Testament are known to be in existence today then it is my feeling that the world lacks a completely adequate collection of the New Testament.

 

Concerning the original New Testament documents, the highly respected British Scholar, Sir Frederick Kenyon said:  ‘The originals of the several books have long ago disappeared.  They must have perished in the very infancy of the Church, for no illusion is ever made to them by any Christian writer.”

The loss of priesthood, doctrine, ordinances, covenants and a depleted sacred record characterizes the great apostasy.  You just have to know that the great apostasy affected more than just organization and teachings.  It also affected the manuscripts themselves.  They are part of the great apostasy in their depleted condition.  But the great apostasy also sets the stage for the great restoration.  If every essential that was lost is not made up somehow & given again; then we don’t really have a restoration.

We do not need the original manuscripts as much as we need the vital information they contained.  Much of that information we have received by revelation and received by the Prophet Joseph Smith, without the manuscripts.  My view is that thru the restoration we have a pattern of doctrine and procedure showing that other dispensations, throughout the history of the world, were conducted in the same way that the New Testament dispensation was conducted and also the fullness of times.  The Prophet Joseph Smith said as much and I quote:

“Now the purpose in Himself, meaning God, in the winding up scene of the last dispensation is that all things pertaining to that dispensation should be conducted precisely in accordance with the preceding dispensations.”  The Prophet said that the Lord wanted the ordinances to remain the same in every dispensation.

Therefore: “Christ set the ordinances to be the same forever and ever and set Adam to watch over them to reveal them from heaven to man or to send angels to reveal them.”  Joseph Smith’s contributions provide meaningful patterns that are not available from any other known source.  In this treatise, I frequently refer to Joseph Smith’s teachings.  Now what I mean by that is everything we got from the Prophet Joseph Smith.

That’s the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, the JST and also the Prophet’s sermons and writings.  All of that goes under the general heading of the teachings of Joseph Smith.  Now let’s talk about Joseph Smith’s credentials.

Latter-day Saints accept Joseph Smith’s teachings as having a bearing on the writing and compilation of the New Testament.  Several factors make using the Prophet’s utterances not only legitimate but also very rewarding.

The established order of the Church is that men do not appoint themselves but must be called of God by revelation and they speak as moved upon by the Holy Ghost.  Further, the nature of the heavenly plan is such that it can only be understood thru the aid of the Holy Ghost and the ordinances of salvation can be administered only by the authority of the Holy Priesthood.

New Testament apostles and prophets had the necessary qualifications and they were therefore what I call “insiders.”  Joseph Smith had the same qualifications from the same Lord Jesus and he was also of the same spiritual stature as they.  He had an edge in understanding the New Testament writers since he had been personally visited by many of them.  He was very much an “insider.”  Now I want to make that point because that is Joseph Smith’s credentials.  Among the qualifications to understand the scriptures, nothing is more necessary than inspiration from the Holy Ghost.

Paul explained that since the natural man does not have the Holy Ghost he cannot understand the things of God for they are spiritually discerned.

The Prophet Joseph Smith remarked, “If one man cannot understand these things but by the Spirit of God, ten thousand men cannot.  It is alike out of the reach of the wisdom of the learned and the tongue of the eloquent.”

In other words, in Gospel research, no other success can compensate if you fail to have the help of the Holy Ghost.  Joseph Smith had practical experience with the operation of the Holy Ghost.  After he and Oliver Cowdery were baptized, they received the Holy Ghost and they were able to better understand the scriptures.

Again, Joseph Smith elaborated, “We were filled with the Holy Ghost and rejoiced in the God of our salvation.  Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings and the true meanings and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain to previously nor ever before had thought of.”

Learning to use the Holy Ghost is a growth process.  Elder Orson Pratt recorded the conversation he once had with Joseph Smith.  “Elder Pratt mentioned that as Joseph Smith used the Urim and Thummim, in the translation of the Book of Mormon, he wondered why he did not use it in the translation of the New Testament.  Joseph answered him that the experience he had acquired while translating the Book of Mormon, using the Urim and Thummim had rendered him so well acquainted with the spirit of revelation and prophesies that he did not need to use the Urim and Thummim.

We see a steady spiritual growth in the Prophet.  Joseph Smith was the greatest Gospel restorer of all time.   The Lord had given him the keys of those mysteries which had been sealed, even things which were from the foundation of the world.  As the leader of the dispensation of the fullness of times, it was in the very nature of Joseph Smith’s calling that he was able to discuss in authoritative detail the conditions and functions of all previous dispensations, including the New Testament. 

He understood the New Testament better than anyone else has understood it, since the days of Peter, James, John and Paul.  Now the scriptures speak of one Lord, one faith and one baptism.

Joseph Smith declared emphatically, that the fullness of the Gospel with the focus on Christ as Creator and Redeemer accompanied by priesthood, ordinances, covenants and callings was instituted in heaven before the foundation of the world.  This complete Gospel plan was preached in the name of Christ in every dispensation beginning with Adam.  Sacred records and histories were kept by the authorized servants of God in each dispensation.

The New Testament dispensation was unique because it included the Lord’s birth, earthly life, his death and resurrection.  But the doctrines & ordinances of salvation that were taught in the New Testament dispensation had to be the same as all other dispensations.

Joseph Smith taught, “All that were ever saved were saved thru this great power of redemption, as much before the coming of Christ as since, if not then God has had different plans in operation to bring back men to dwell with Himself and this we cannot believe, since there has been no change in the constitution of man, since he fell.  The Gospel has always been the same, the ordinances to fill its requirements, the same and the officers to officiate, the signs and proofs, the same.”

Paul’s comment about one faith; one Lord and one baptism in not confined to Paul alone but should be seen as the prevailing rule, thru out the entire scope of the Gospel, anywhere, anytime, on earth and in heaven.  This principle is not clearly taught in the Bible but there are some hints about it.  These facts are abundantly attested in the teachings of Joseph Smith.

Inasmuch as all dispensations have the same plan of salvation, the records of those dispensations are able to make known some of the concepts that are not clearly stated in our current New Testament.  As taught in 1^st Nephi, chapter 13, verses 32 to 40.  Much truth was lost thru the New Testament and it makes the point that many of these truths were deliberately lost.

Without the restoration and the Prophet Joseph Smith, we would not realize how thin and incomplete our current New Testament really is.

Its marvelous, what it is, but it is just a hint of what it once was.  Joseph Smith gave us a larger, wider and more comprehensive view of the Lord’s work on this earth than we could have imagined from the Bible alone.  Its scope of operation is worldwide, rather than focused on the near east, as the Bible would suggest.  Anyone who has read, understood and believed the Book of Mormon, cannot avoid the wider view and can never again look at the New Testament in the same way as before, having read the Book of Mormon.

Revelation showing the wider view of Jesus Christ and his personal visits to the different groups in addition to the Jews in Palestine, in no way lessens the New Testament or the Holy Land, rather these other items widen our view of an active and caring Savior, who is God of the whole world and is not an absentee landlord of most of it.

In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 88, verses 46 to 61, we see that Jesus is also the Lord of the whole universe, visiting the inhabitants of many worlds as their only redeemer, with the same plan of salvation that we know on this earth. 

What the Book or Mormon does and what modern day revelation does, is giving us a clearer understanding of the New Testament.  Its multi continental, not to one area but to all the continents of the earth and also dual hemispheric.  The Lord’s plan involves all the continents and all of the people.

Now next, let’s talk of the New Testament portrayal of Jesus.  It is sometimes ambiguous and incomplete.  We may accept as sound doctrine and historical fact that Jesus was the Son of God, in the flesh, born of Mary, & baptized by John the Baptist.  We know that he received the Holy Ghost and performed many miracles, including, casting out evil spirits and restoring the dead unto life.

He chose 12 apostles, he commissioned them to teach and baptize all nations, he promised to come again to the earth and establish a worldwide kingdom.  He shed his blood in Gethsemane, he died on a cross, he atoned for our sins, he rose from the dead with a body of flesh and ascended into heaven.

Furthermore, the witness of Christ, that is given in the book of Acts, the Epistles and the Revelation of John is verified by Joseph Smith, including his teachings.  Now I’d like to speak of the Topical Guide.

Every major concept of Jesus Christ can be verified by latter-day revelation thru searching the Topical Guide.  For instance, under the heading “Jesus Christ,” there are 58 subheadings that separate various aspects of Christ’s ministry from the Old Testament, the New Testament, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.

No better instrument on earth shows how marvelously Latter-day revelation sustains the New Testament.  The Topical Guide presents nineteen pages of scripture references to support those 58 subheadings about Jesus.  It’s a marvelous thing.  In addition to the Topical Guide, there are hundreds of statements about Jesus that come from Joseph Smith, of which the following is just one example.

“The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the apostles and prophets concerning Jesus Christ.  That he died, was buried and rose again the third day and ascended into heaven and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it, but in connection with these, we believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost, the power of faith, the enjoyment of spiritual gifts, according to the will of God, the restoration of the House of Israel and the final triumph of truth.”

Now there is a growing trend of unbelief in the world.  For most of the past century a growing trend of unbelief has grown among biblical scholars, casting doubt on the historical accuracy of the New Testament.  It has become popular in some circles to show a distinction between what they call the Jesus of history and the Christ of faith, alleging that the divine atoning and Holy Christ who is worshiped and trusted by many faithful Christians, never really existed as such a person.

This view has been the subject of many publications…When we realize that the modern world would reject divine revelation and be immersed in unbelief, and that the Bible would be spurned by many, we begin to understand why the Lord would be prepared for such an emergency.

We read in 1^st Nephi 13:32-40 that soon after Christ many precious covenants would be deliberately taken out of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb.  We read also that because of these things taken out of the Gospel of the Lamb, an exceeding great many do stumble.  The Lord, however, promised to correct this situation by restoring the plain and precious parts of the Gospel, which had been kept back by that great and abominable church whose formation thou has seen.

Now as a remedy, the Lord has brought forward the Book of Mormon, and other books to convince the Jews, the Gentiles and the Lamanites that the records of God are true.  The angel of the Lord declared that these records which thou has seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them.  Please note the emphasis on the New Testament and that the angel said to Nephi that it would be in need of some repair and restoration.

The tone of latter-day revelation shows the words of Jesus to be very straight forward in his speech. However, let’s look at some examples of ambiguous and confusing statements.  Such as when Pilate said to Jesus, “Art thou the king of the Jews?”  (Luke 23:3) And Jesus answered and said unto Him, “Thou sayest it.” Twice I’ve been in meetings where I’ve heard people say, “Jesus did not say he was, the Son of God.”  Pilate said that, not Jesus, and because of the ambiguity of that passage, it is not clear.  It is just as vague in the Greek manuscript.  However, in the JST it reads, “Yea, thou sayest it.”

Now there are certain phrases and doctrinal concepts that are important to us.  Certain phraseology was unique when men had only the Bible.  These are repeated in latter-day scripture and are shown to be characteristic of other dispensations also.  The Books of Moses, Abraham and the Book of Mormon have word order and content similar to the King James Version of the Bible.

The following examples will illustrate this.  (This is an example of parallel phraseology).

You are familiar of Paul’s statement about faith, hope and charity in 1^st Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 2, “…though I have all faith so that I can remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing.”   Moroni, in the Book of Mormon says almost the same thing.  Moroni 7:44 says “for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.”

Mormon about three years later and about 10,000 miles away said if he had not charity he is nothing.  Paul said charity suffereth long and is kind.  Mormon said about the same thing, is not puffed up, rejoiceth not in iniquity, charity never faileth.  Not only is it the same concepts but also in the same order.

 

Now it would be easy and perhaps many do think that Joseph Smith just copied that right out of the Bible.  That’s not at all satisfying to you or to me because it does violence to Joseph Smith as a translator.  Also, there are so many of these type statements that it is hard to believe that Joseph Smith could work all these in so casually.

Dr. Sidney Sperry’s conclusion is that probably Jesus had discoursed about charity to both the Jews and to the Nephites and it was in the writings and traditions of each church and that Paul and Mormon attained the words independent of one another from these sources.  That is a very strong possibility.  There might be more we could contemplate and that is that Paul and Mormon could have received these words by the Holy Ghost, totally independent of each other.

These points need to be made clearly so that we can explain that the Gospel has a certain way that it is taught & that this was worked out in the premortal life.  This is the way the Gospel is revealed in every dispensation.

Now we have another example from John about the sons of God, “it does not appear what it shall be but we know when he shall appear, we will be like him.  For we shall see him as he is and every man that has this hope in him, purifies himself, even as he is pure.”

You will notice in Moroni’s time, still quoting Mormon, it is very similar, not only the same thoughts but in the same word order. John 3:3 verses Moroni 7:48.   For we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure..   Let’s go to another.

The ax is laid at the root of the tree.  Alma, Chapter 5, verse 52 says this:  “And again I say unto you, the Spirit saith: Behold, the ax is laid at the root of the tree; therefore every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire”…  Here’s Alma in the Western Hemisphere, nearly a century before the time of Christ.  Now we have John the Baptist over in the Holy Land about 30 AD, saying “now the ax is laid at the root of the tree and cast it into the fire.  Now did Joseph Smith just steal the words of John the Baptist & put it in Alma’s mouth?  Not at all.  The Spirit told him what to say.  Now, if you look at this closely it gives you a whole new view.

Now let look at another one.  First cleanse the inward vessel.  Here’s Alma Chapter 60, verse 23, it happens to be Captain Moroni that is doing the speaking here.  God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also.  Jesus, in Matthew Chapter 23:26, said something similar:   26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

These statements are separated by many miles and many years.  Jesus knew but Moroni had no concept that Jesus would say a similar thing later.  It was just in the revelations they had received.  Let’s look at one more.  None other name for salvation.  Nephi said at about 545 BC, when he had been talking about Christ, this is the way and there is none other way, nor name given under heaven, where men can be saved in the kingdom of God.  In the Holy Land about 34 or 35 AD we have Peter saying: “Neither is there salvation in any other for there is no name given under heaven among men where they may be saved.  That’s the same concept.

 

If we look in the Book of Moses, the sixth chapter, 52^nd verse, we find Enoch saying the same thing 3,000 years earlier.

“Which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men.” It just simply is the doctrine.  The doctrine that is true in every dispensation.  Therefore we should not be surprised that we find the same doctrine taught in the same way as they were worked out in the premortal life.

How widespread is parallel phraseology?

In the scriptures, how many parallels are there and where do they occur?

I have found at least 75 examples spread throughout the scriptures.  They occur in at least nineteen of the 27 New Testament books, with Matthew, 1^st Corinthians & Hebrews being the greatest number & at least 11 of the 15 books of the Book of Mormon have passages parallel to the Old and New Testament.  I don’t mean just quotations from the Old & New Testaments but I mean even before they are saying these things in the Bible, they are saying them in the Book of Mormon.

It is also my observation and I think this is a major point, that parallel or near parallel passages occur in preaching or revelatory situations in which the Holy Ghost is involved or when a prophet cites what an angel has said unto him.  Other than Jesus, individuals were probably unaware that there utterances closely resembled what others in a different hemisphere and different time had said or would say.

These are evidences of a divine pattern.  Earlier in this talk I made a point that the complete gospel plan was in place before the foundation of the world and that the gospel has been the same in every dispensation.  What I am saying now is that revelations from heaven in every dispensation would follow the preordained pattern.

There is a sequence and a fixed order to the principles and ordinances of the gospel and they were probably revealed in clusters like a formula or pattern in every dispensation.

Nephi, Jacob, Benjamin, Alma, Amulek & Samuel the Lamanite, all said that they were repeating what an angel had told them.  Now ministering angels would know the fixed, preordained plan and they would reveal the gospel in its proper order and cluster.

Order and sequence are demonstrated in a variety of situations.  When the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Master which is the great commandment in the Law, he answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and with all thy mind and the second is like unto it.  Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self.

Now, that seems like a simple enough statement.  The same priority occurs in the Ten Commandments.

Now we know that the first four commandments deal with our relationship to God.  The last four commandments deal with our relationship to our fellow men.  For instance, no other gods, no graven images, no taking the Lord’s name in vain, honor the Sabbath Day.  Now, starting with the 5^th commandment, which is your relationship with your parents, now that’s a good transition to the remaining commandments; honor your parents just squeezed right in there.  That is, not kill, not steal, no adultery, not bear false witness & not covet.

There is something gained when you see the commandments, not as ten disjointed sentences but in a divine order, in an intelligent design. The same holds true with the Articles of Faith.  They start out with God and the atonement & the first principles of the Gospel and shifts to personal relations with people and the government and so on.

It is also true of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount.   As found in 3^rd Nephi 12, verses 1 and 2.  The first four beatitudes deal with faith in God, repentance, baptism, & receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.  If you look at the beatitudes in Matthew, Chapter Five, in the Bible, those first four are not there anymore.  If we know the rule and the pattern, we will realize something is missing.  What has been lost are those first four that deal with our relationship to God.

Such vital things as faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, & receiving the Holy Ghost have been restored thru the Prophet Joseph Smith.

It is noticeable that the beatitudes in the New Testament lack the early statements about faith and thus do not fit the established pattern that is so well given in 3^rd Nephi.  Fortunately this complete list has been restored by the JST.

The pattern thus displayed in a wide selection of scriptures is supported by the words of God to Nephi in 2^nd Nephi Chapter 29:8, where the Lord says to Nephi:  “I speak the same words to one nation like unto another.”  If you read that casually you would think, that’s nice, but now you can see how it applies, that it really means something.

The Book of Mormon is our strongest source for declaring that the Lord wants certain things to be written and the words that are written to be preserved.

It also tells why the Lord wants those things written and preserved.  The whole of 2^nd Nephi, Chapter 9 dwells on this subject and contains the word of the Lord, declaring that the testimony of two nations is the witness unto you that I am God.  And that I speak the same words unto one nation, like unto another.  I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today and forever.

Furthermore, the Lord has said:  I command all men that they shall write the words which I shall speak to them, for out of the books that shall be written I shall judge the world.  The Lord says still more:  I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it and I shall speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it and I shall speak unto the lost tribes of Israel and they shall write it.  And they shall eventually each have the books of the other groups.

With such strong declaration and affirmation it is strange that of the 27 books in the New Testament, only one, the Book of Revelation, has any statement that the author was commanded to write and interestingly enough it says it fourteen times in that one Book of Revelation.  In my view it is unlikely that the Lord would command only one of the New Testament Apostles to write when commandment to write the scriptures are so prominent in all the other dispensations.

Why would it not be so in the New Testament also?  It is my opinion that the Lord did command the Apostles to write and the fact that the command does not appear in our New Testament is simply more evidence of the leanness and inadequacy of the record.  It is a glaring omission, conspicuous by its absence.

Now Jacob in the Book of Mormon made an informative observation that writing on metal was limited because of the difficulty of engraving.  But metal was durable and would remain but writing on any other material like paper or leather would perish and vanish away, said Jacob.  Since the Lord knew long beforehand, that the New Testament books would be altered and shortened with the loss of plain and precious things and also that many covenants would be taken away, we see the wisdom of the Nephites writing on metal plates and then bury the record in the ground out of the reach of men.

This way it could remain unchanged and testify of Christ and the original New Testament and also supply doctrinal concepts missing from the current New Testament manuscripts.  The Lord’s sensitivity to written records was shown when he noted of the fulfillment of particular prophesy of Samuel the Lamanite that was not included in the official Nephite record and the Lord commanded that it be included. 

Among other purposes of the written scripture the Book of Mormon says that it has enlarged the memory of the people and it keeps the commandments always before our eyes.  Thru the years, unauthorized changes were made so that current copies vary from the original and are neither as accurate nor as complete as the originals were.

There seems to be an ever present tendency in people to want to alter the scriptures, the word of the Lord, for in the scriptures I have found & I have no secret way of finding things, I just read a lot.  There are a least 17 different passages with warnings against alterations citing both intentional and unintentional variance.

Now perhaps some may feel that the Prophet Joseph Smith was not a textual critic in current use of the term, having not studied the biblical documents.

That he might not have been aware of questions of authorship and dating and simply spoke in the traditional context of the day when he discussed the New Testament.

However, Joseph Smith did engage in a number of activities characteristic of a deep comprehension of textual backgrounds.

One, he translated an original parchment written and hidden up by John.  This is now D&C Section Seven.

Two, he raised questions about the accuracy of the Bible as mentioned in the 8^th Article of Faith.

Three, he was fully aware of 1^st Nephi 13, saying that the New Testament had suffered many losses of precious material.

Four, he judged the Song of Solomon to be not inspired.

Five, he spoke of the apocrypha of only partially translated correctly.

Six, he wrote that the Jewish rulers had taken away the fullness of the scriptures even before the days of Jesus.

Seven, he wrote that many writings were taken away from the words of Moses.

Eight, he said that many points touching the salvation of man had been taken out of the Bible or lost before it was compiled.

Nine, he took issue with details of the books of Daniel and Revelation.

Ten, he said the Bible did not always agree with the revelation that he had received from the Holy Ghost.

Now, a closing paragraph.  But Joseph Smith never, so far as I have seen, ever made, even a suggestion, that would cast any doubt on the authorship of any of the New Testament.  My testimony is that the Prophet’s calling as a Seer and as a translator, far outweighs his possible lack of a formal education & training concerning manuscripts and foreign language.

If the documents of the early church were available today, we would see that the Prophet’s decisions in every particular and that the question of doubt raised by some scholars is the consequence of those scholars working with imperfect manuscripts, not having the divine holy calling that the Prophet had, & they probably lacked the Holy Spirit, many of them.  Now who can match the high level of a Seer?  A greater spiritual gift can no man have.  That’s the Book of Mormon definition of a seer.

Now it’s my observation that if we were to take literally or at least believingly what Joseph Smith has said and give him credit for knowing, that it would alter the traditional view of the origin of the New Testament.  Now I just rejoice, exceedingly, just to know about the Prophet Joseph Smith and to have so much that came thru him.  Joseph Smith was everything he said he was and more.  The Church today is just as true as it was during Joseph’s day with our living Prophet who also is a prophet and a seer and a revelator.”  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

The Book of Mormon—a Book from God, Oct 2011 General Conference by Tad R. Callister

Years ago my great-great-grandfather picked up a copy of the Book of Mormon for the first time. He opened it to the center and read a few pages. He then declared, “That book was either written by God or the devil, and I am going to find out who wrote it.” He read it through twice in the next 10 days and then declared, “The devil could not have written it—it must be from God.”

That is the genius of the Book of Mormon—there is no middle ground. It is either the word of God as professed, or it is a total fraud. This book does not merely claim to be a moral treatise or theological commentary or collection of insightful writings. It claims to be the word of God—every sentence, every verse, every page. Joseph Smith declared that an angel of God directed him to gold plates, which contained the writings of prophets in ancient America, and that he translated those plates by divine powers. If that story is true, then the Book of Mormon is holy scripture, just as it professes to be; if not, it is a sophisticated but, nonetheless, diabolical hoax.

C. S. Lewis spoke of a similar dilemma faced by someone who must choose whether to accept or reject the Savior’s divinity—where there is likewise no middle ground: “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. … You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. … But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”2

Likewise, we must make a simple choice with the Book of Mormon: it is either of God or the devil. There is no other option. For a moment I invite you to take a test that will help you determine the true nature of this book. Ask yourself if the following scriptures from the Book of Mormon draw you closer to God or to the devil:

“Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” (2 Nephi 32:3).

Or these words of a loving father to his sons: “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation” (Helaman 5:12).

Or these words of a prophet: “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him” (Moroni 10:32).

Could these statements from the Book of Mormon have possibly been authored by the evil one? After the Savior cast out certain devils, the Pharisees claimed that He did so “by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.” The Savior responded that such a conclusion was nonsensical: “Every kingdom,” He said, “divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every … house divided against itself shall not stand.” And then His compelling climax: “And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?”(Matthew 12:24–26; emphasis added).

If the foregoing scriptures from the Book of Mormon teach us to worship and love and serve the Savior (which they do), how can they be from the devil? If so, he would be divided against himself and thus be destroying his own kingdom, the very condition the Savior said could not exist. An honest, unbiased reading of the Book of Mormon will bring someone to the same conclusion as my great-great-grandfather, namely: “The devil could not have written it—it must be from God.”

But why is the Book of Mormon so essential if we already have the Bible to teach us about Jesus Christ? Have you ever wondered why there are so many Christian churches in the world today when they obtain their doctrines from essentially the same Bible? It is because they interpret the Bible differently. If they interpreted it the same, they would be the same church. This is not a condition the Lord desires, for the Apostle Paul declared that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5). To help bring this oneness about, the Lord established a divine law of witnesses. Paul taught, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1).

The Bible is one witness of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another. Why is this second witness so crucial? The following illustration may help: How many straight lines can you draw through a single point on a piece of paper? The answer is infinite. For a moment, suppose that single point represents the Bible and that hundreds of those straight lines drawn through that point represent different interpretations of the Bible and that each of those interpretations represents a different church.

What happens, however, if on that piece of paper there is a second point representing the Book of Mormon? How many straight lines could you draw between these two reference points: the Bible and the Book of Mormon? Only one. Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses.

Again and again the Book of Mormon acts as a confirming, clarifying, unifying witness of the doctrines taught in the Bible so that there is only “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” For example, some people are confused as to whether baptism is essential for salvation even though the Savior declared to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). The Book of Mormon, however, eliminates all doubt on that subject: “And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, … or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 9:23).

There exist various modes of baptisms in the world today even though the Bible tells us the manner in which the Savior, our great Exemplar, was baptized: “[He] went up straightway out of the water” (Matthew 3:16). Could He have come up out of the water unless He first went down into the water? Lest there be any discord on this subject, the Book of Mormon dispels it with this straightforward statement of doctrine as to the proper manner of baptism: “And then shall ye immerse them in the water” (3 Nephi 11:26).

Many believe that revelation ended with the Bible even though the Bible itself is a testimony of God’s revelatory pattern over 4,000 years of man’s existence. But one incorrect doctrine such as this is like a domino set in motion that causes the fall of other dominoes or, in this case, the fall of correct doctrines. A belief in the cessation of revelation causes the doctrine that “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Mormon 9:9) to fall; it causes the doctrine taught by Amos that “surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7) to fall; and it causes the doctrine that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34) and thus speaks to all men of all ages to fall. But fortunately the Book of Mormon reenthrones the biblical truth of continuous revelation:

“And again, I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God, and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations. …

“Do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever … ?” (Mormon 9:7, 9).

In other words, if God, who is unchangeable, spoke in ancient times, He will likewise speak in modern times.

The list of doctrinal confirmations and clarifications goes on and on, but none is more powerful nor poignant than the Book of Mormon’s discourses on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Would you like to have emblazoned on your soul an undeniable witness that the Savior descended beneath your sins and that there is no sin, no mortal plight outside the merciful reach of His Atonement—that for each of your struggles He has a remedy of superior healing power? Then read the Book of Mormon. It will teach you and testify to you that Christ’s Atonement is infinite because it circumscribes and encompasses and transcends every finite frailty known to man. That is why the prophet Mormon declared, “Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ” (Moroni 7:41).

No wonder the Book of Mormon proclaims with boldness, “And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ” (2 Nephi 33:10). Together with the Bible, the Book of Mormon is an indispensable witness of the doctrines of Christ and His divinity. Together with the Bible, it “teach[es] all men that they should do good” (2 Nephi 33:10). And together with the Bible, it brings us to “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” That is why the Book of Mormon is so crucial in our lives.

Some years ago I attended one of our worship services in Toronto, Canada. A 14-year-old girl was the speaker. She said that she had been discussing religion with one of her friends at school. Her friend said to her, “What religion do you belong to?”

She replied, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons.”

Her friend replied, “I know that church, and I know it’s not true.”

“How do you know?” came the reply.

“Because,” said her friend, “I have researched it.”

“Have you read the Book of Mormon?”

“No,” came the answer. “I haven’t.”

Then this sweet young girl responded, “Then you haven’t researched my church, because I have read every page of the Book of Mormon and I know it’s true.”

I too have read every page of the Book of Mormon, again and again, and I bear my solemn witness, like my great-great-grandfather, it is from God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Fire

Approach the Fire  (A paraphrased story of Truman G. Madsen)

Years ago a man by the name of Milo Baufman went into a Presbyterian Church and liked what he heard. He felt something, a good something, full of warmth…fellowship.  He was not the sort to do something half way but considered it a call.  He decided that he wanted to become a Presbyterian minister. 

He took four years of theological school and got a straight “A” in every course.  Just before he was to be ordained he met an LDS girl.  They became serious and married but right away there was a problem.

She told him that she could not stay married to a man who was a Presbyterian minister and he would have to choose her or his faith.  He stewed on that, thought for awhile & finally chose her but it also meant that he hated the Mormon Church.  Can you imagine what this would do to him?  He had just spent the last four years training for the ministry.

He returned to a vocation of manufacturing furniture and began acting as a Presbyterian layman.  Brother Madsen, at that time began teaching an Institute class which Milo began attending.  6:30 A.M., every Wednesday and Milo came every time.   What for?  To fight against the words of Truman.  Milo was not discourteous, but he took exception with almost all of what was spoken by Bro. Madsen.

Nearly three years later he invited Truman to lunch and they talked for nearly four hours.  Milo said he wanted to mention some things.

“First you have a program in the Mormon Church.  You just don’t preach on Sunday because it is something to do.  Everyone is involved in a dynamic program that makes a difference.  More different than any individual by himself could make; and I don’t find it in my own church and I don’t see it in any other church on the horizon that can match it.   But I can’t accept that Book of Mormon.”

Truman asked him why.   He said, “It just can’t be historical.  Here are prophets 600 hundred years before Christ, 2,000 years before Christ, talking about all about Christ.  Specifics, now we know that can’t be.  There isn’t one Old Testament prophesy that can be identified as exclusively to be referring to the Messiah.  Not one.  So how come the Book of Mormon just assumes?  Obviously the editors read it back and dated it.  Moreover, I will concede you this…”  Bro. Madsen then interrupts  & says, “This is what was maddening about the man, he would always grant me 49% & then say, “but.”

Milo continued, “I will admit that perhaps today there are people committed to Christ thru the Book of Mormon who wouldn’t have been without that Book.  I will admit further that there are certain statements in the Book that are of doctrine or of Christian practice which are superior in clarity to the New Testament.  I will even admit that maybe God sent the Book into the world to challenge proud people like me.  But,… I can’t accept it.”

Well, he went on to mention that it would be a real problem to ever say that those blankety, blank Mormons were really right after all.  But that he had now made one decision, & that was that he could not go back to Presbyterianism, but to be really honest, he couldn’t accept his wife’s faith either.  I sympathized with him and mentioned that we could go on to pray for him.

We have learned that the program of the Church appeals, so bring people to it.  Don’t depend on the full time missionaries alone to do it.  Approach the fire.  Then we call two embers, young missionaries and we send them far away; then we complain that they are not grown up yet.  We undercut the very people we sacrificed like everything to send out.  That doesn’t make any sense.  Here is the fire.  Their task is to bring people to it.  The missionaries are sometimes ashamed to and that’s our fault.

Bring people into the fire, and then they will catch.  Milo Baufman observed his wife going to Relief Society.  He had a son that was going to BYU.  He read his letters, he knew but he went on being a Presbyterian layman until the contrast just broke him down.  There were some people that said he became suicidal.  He was so depressed and so rent and torn.  His wife was hoping and praying after all these years & finally she called Truman & said will you come & administer to him?  Sister Baufman, “Does he have the faith?  We know you do but what about him?”  She said, “Well, he will let you.”  “Yeah, but that’s not quite enough,” was Truman’s reply.  “Please come and talk and try,” she said.  So we did. 

After two hours, when he kept saying, “That if at the outset you do and it doesn’t disappoint you then maybe I’ll let you do it.”  It wasn’t much to go on.  Bro. Madsen said that, “I’ve never had such aching arms after that blessing.  It was just so hard to do.  The only thing I could say that was of any worth is that his problem would soon be resolved.  The next night he phoned me a said, “The blessing was completely fulfilled.  I’ve gone and joined the church of the good shepherd.”

Within an hour I got a call from his wife and she was desperate.  She wanted a blessing for herself.  She remarked, “I had hoped that this would be the end and it wasn’t and I haven’t anymore strength.”  By that time I didn’t either.  I grabbed my counselor and I anointed and he gave the blessing & he said, in effect, “Sister Baufman don’t be worried, your husband will join the Church soon, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

When we got outside, I said to my counselor, “Do you know what you just said?  Why did you say that?”  His response was, “I was inspired.”  Truman thought, I wasn’t but I kept my mouth shut.  Three weeks later Milo called me and said he wanted to be baptized and write a book entitled, Confessions of a Mormon Convert.

We’ve chatted and I tried to find out what was the secret.  He prayed fervently.  He felt the love of those around him.  Love always wins.  He was impressed that they fasted for him and he was moved by it.

95% of the Church membership do not mention the Gospel because they are afraid of offending people and as a result, they say nothing.  The other 5% do it but have the same fear.  If only 25% of the Church would do it, the missionaries would be kept busy.

In learning all this I’ve done some radical things.  On one occasion I got on a plane and sat next to a man laughing and said, “What do you know about the Mormon Church and when are you going to join?”  Then he stopped laughing.  I was feeling my strength and then added, “Now you need to careful with your answer because if you positively respond, I’ll likely talk to you about the Mormon Church all the way to Bangor, Maine.”  He thought a moment and responded, “Oh, what the heck, go ahead.”  I discovered you can say just about everything if you smile.  I did that several times and got two converts and a lot of friends, but most of you are afraid of that.

You can try it on cab drivers.  I got off a plane in Montreal and now I say that cab drivers are one of my hobbies.  You can ask them almost anything and they will answer.  I said to him, “Do you love your wife?”  He responded,” Yes.”  I could see his eyes in the rear view mirror and he meant it.  “Why do you love her?”  “Because of what we have been thru together.”  The writer, James Thurber says that is the definition of love, ‘what you have been thru together.’  I asked, “What have you been thru together?”  He said he had been a Hungarian refugee and told me that story.  I knew that he had been thru much. 

Then I asked a very presumptuous question.  “Have you been faithful to your wife?”  Again I could see his eyes when he said, “Yes,” and I knew he meant it.  By this time we had arrived at my Hotel.  I got out my business card, gave it to him and said, “You will forget me but one day you will remember that you had met a man who was ready to tell you how you can be with your wife, forever.  Good night.”  He contacted the Church.  We went to Church with him the following Sunday.  His baptism was in August.

Now you think I’m bragging about me but I could tell you of some mistakes I’ve made as well.  My wife and I were once in a Hotel when we saw a religious group that were walking thru in their outer religious clothing.  Most of our missionaries would feel like dissolving into the stone walls when they saw them.  That did not stop my wife.  They said to her, “Of course we do not want to know more, we are preparing for a religious life.  She kept asking.  “How would you like to visit us at our mission home at this address?”  “Oh, we couldn’t do that, we only get out on holidays.”  That did not stop her either.  “How about Thanksgiving?”  “I don’t know, maybe.”  “Nice talking to you.”  And they left.

I was just sitting down to a Turkey sandwich on Thanksgiving evening and the door bell rang and they came in.  We had a magnificent evening.

They were friendly and insightful.  They liked the feeling of the home, they liked us.  I knew some things about St. Thomas that they didn’t know; they knew some things that I didn’t.  We actually asked them to close the evening by prayer and they prayed like we do.  From then they came back several times and even on non holidays.  They brought a different person each time they came until we knew twenty of them.  At last count, four have left the seminary and one of them is at BYU.  He is the one that my wife and I taught all the discussions to.

See, we’re scared, we’re scared.  That’s what the Lord said, when he said don’t hide you light under a bushel.  Give them the chance to say no; don’t assume they’ll say no.  You can go to your neighbor, who you believe is a hopeless cause and say, “Haven’t you always wondered where we go every Sunday?

I’m trying an experiment.  I want you and your family to go with us to Church next Sunday and get your most candid reaction as to what attracts you and things you find most troubling.  After you have visited our Church, we can introduce you to fresh young people who will give you discussions on what we can do for you.   After that, let’s get together and just talk.”  Do that and you’ll be bringing them to the fire.

Also do this.  Ask a stranger, “Are you a Mormon.”  They answer, No, why do you ask?”  “Because you look like a Mormon.”  “What does a Mormon look like?”  “There’s a something that’s healthy minded & there’s a clean cut look about you.  Are you sure you’re not a Mormon?”  Wouldn’t you like to hear about the greatest thing that’s ever happened on the earth?”  It’s worked in several areas.  It worked on a waitress in Las Vegas, of all places.  She admitted that she believed in Christ.  My wife asked her what Church she belonged to.  She stated that she had only recently moved with her mother to Vegas and didn’t belong to any Church.  My wife, Ann, said, “Wouldn’t you like to come with us to our Church tomorrow?  She looked us over as if to discover if this was some sort of a hoax and then decided to come along.  Later, we baptized her mother and herself.

Bring people to the fire.  Use a little boldness and get over the fear of offending. God loves you and he loves your neighbor.