The Ongoing Restoration

I was scheduled to give a talk on March 15. Usually my talk preparation drags out, and I revise and revise until right up until I give it. But this time I pounded out a talk early in the week, read it through, and then couldn't think of anything else and set it aside. Of course that was the first week that our regular church gatherings were cancelled, so this talk wasn't meant to be given. But I am sure I was meant to study and write it. So I'll post it here like I usually do with the talks I write.

The Ongoing Restoration

When he was getting ready to plan speakers for this month, John decided to go through the old programs and lists of who has spoken in the last year or so to make sure he didn’t ask people who had just recently spoken. He came downstairs after compiling his spreadsheet and asked, “You know who I noticed hasn’t spoken in quite a while?”

You can guess the answer, and here I am, packing in all of my Sacrament Meeting participation before I have this baby next month and become a hermit for a while. (This is funny in retrospect; we all became hermits a lot sooner than I had anticipated.)

Today I’m going to talk about the ongoing nature of the restoration and what it means for us to live now, in the dispensation of the fullness of times. I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to reflect on it this month as we are preparing for General Conference and the bicentennial of the First Vision.

Elder John A. Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve told of a time when he was with a group of stake officers and someone asked him how long it had been since the Church had received a revelation. Elder Widtsoe rubbed his chin thoughtfully and replied, “Oh, probably since last Thursday.”

In his talk, “Are you Sleeping Through the Restoration?” Elder Uchtdorf said, “Sometimes we think of the Restoration of the gospel as something that is complete, already behind us—Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, he received priesthood keys, the Church was organized. In reality, the Restoration is an ongoing process; we are living in it right now. It includes “all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal,” and the “many great and important things” that “He will yet reveal.” Brethren, the exciting developments of today are part of that long-foretold period of preparation that will culminate in the glorious Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

A huge part of what makes us different as a church is our belief that revelation is ongoing; that “[God] will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” I love this doctrine, and I love that we have a living prophet on the earth today to guide us. But there has always been a little question or tension in my mind, which I have summed up this way: How is it that we say that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel, or that the Prophet Joseph Smith restored the fullness of the Gospel, if there are still great and important things yet to be revealed?

When I think logically about this, two answers come to mind:

1. There must be a difference between what we call “having a fullness” and “having everything.”
2. Having a fullness doesn’t mean that we understand and apply it fully.

I think both of these apply to us in these last days; we are seeking to understand the fulness we have been given and to increase to perfection through Jesus Christ.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained what it means to live in the dispensation of the fulness of times:

“Whenever the Lord reveals the plan of salvation anew so that men do not have to rely solely upon prior dispensings from heaven of the same glories and wonders, it is called a dispensation of the gospel. This may or may not involve a restoration of keys and powers and priesthoods. 

…

“We live in the dispensation of the fulness of times. That is to say, we live in the dispensation of the fulness of dispensations. We have received all of the ‘keys, powers, and glories,’ possessed by them of old. Angelic ministrants have come from these Biblical dispensations which had distinctive keys and powers—‘all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their priesthood.

“In the dispensation of the fulness of times,’ as Paul promised, the Lord will ‘gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.’ All of the rivers of the past have or will flow into the ocean of the present; already all of the keys and powers have fallen to our lot; in due course all of the doctrines and truths will be manifest to us.”

My translation of all of this is this: we have all of the Priesthood keys and powers, all of the principles and ordinances of the Gospel necessary for our salvation and exaltation, and because of that, we have the ability to receive every doctrine and truth as we are prepared to do so individually and as a church.

President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Of all things, that for which we should be most grateful today is that the heavens are indeed open and that the restored church of Jesus Christ is founded upon the rock of revelation. Continuous revelation is indeed the very lifeblood of the gospel of the living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are all a covenant part of this dispensation and of this process of ongoing revelation and restoration. It will not be completed “until we come to the fullness of the body of Christ,” and it requires something of all of us. President Kimball continued:

“it is the sad truth that if prophets and people are unreachable, the Lord generally does nothing for them. Having given them free agency, their Heavenly Father calls, persuades, and directs aright his children, but waits for their upreaching hands, their solemn prayers, their sincere, dedicated approach to him. If they are heedless, they are left floundering in midnight’s darkness when they could have the noonday sun.”

I think if any one of us examines our own hearts, our own understanding, and our own commitment to the Gospel, we will find places where we are lacking the investment of time or study or obedience that would be required to really understand and apply the principles of the Gospel in our lives. These things come, as Nephi put it, “line up one line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.” It is the work of a lifetime and then some to grow and be converted unto the measure of the fullness of Christ. The more we learn and obey, the more the Lord can add to our understanding.

The same is true for us collectively as a Church. Sometimes we expect perfection out of the church organization and leadership, and become upset when teachings or policies change over time, but we forget that the Church is no more than the sum of a whole lot of imperfect people striving to become perfect through Christ and trying to follow Him. The only perfect thing about it is the person leading it—Jesus Christ—and the authority that He has delegated. The process of growth and revelation that this authority enables works just as it does for each of us as individuals: we are taught line upon line as we are ready to receive, and our understanding as a church will grow and be perfected over time. This means that we should not only accept when the prophet asks us to stretch or grow or even change our minds, we should expect him to do so.

It also means that as we look back on the great unfolding of this dispensation so far, we shouldn’t be surprised to see that there were imperfections and blind spots among our predecessors, even among the greatest of them, any more than we should be surprised to find them in ourselves. They, like us, were learning line upon line, and could only be taught as much as they were prepared to ask. In response to their questions about how the Church should be established, many really hard things were required of them, and I am constantly inspired by the bravery and faith with which they responded. But I know that as great as they were, they didn’t respond perfectly. They didn’t understand perfectly. No one from Joseph Smith until now has attained perfection or managed to live the fullness of the Gospel without taint from the philosophies of their time, their own weaknesses, and their own intentional or unintentional biases. And I feel to say, thank goodness. Thank goodness that kind of perfection isn’t expected of me and of you in this life, and thank goodness that the Lord is able to bring about His work in spite of what poor agents we can be on His errands. As Elder Holland famously said, Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we.

Elder Holland also said:

Brothers and sisters, this is a divine work in process, with the manifestations and blessings of it abounding in every direction, so please don’t hyperventilate if from time to time issues arise that need to be examined, understood, and resolved. They do and they will. In this Church, what we know will always trump what we do not know. And remember, in this world, everyone is to walk by faith.

…

And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work. As one gifted writer has suggested, when the infinite fulness is poured forth, it is not the oil’s fault if there is some loss because finite vessels can’t quite contain it all. Those finite vessels include you and me, so be patient and kind and forgiving.

I love the way that Clayton Christensen described the process of modern revelation in his book The Power of Everyday Missinoaries:

Revelation is a lot like a detective movie. The protagonist (the prophet) starts out with limited understanding of a complicated problem. As he asks question after question, the truth becomes clearer, but not without dead ends and wrong hypotheses based on limited information along the way. 

These movies end with the message on the screen, To be continued . . . (as in, “. . . we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God,” stated in our ninth Article of Faith). There are many of these ‘movies’ in the process of revelation. The ‘stars’ of these other movies include Moses, Peter, Thomas, Joseph Smith, and others—prophets whose understanding of God came from iterating processes of questions, answers, and teaching; questions, answers, and teaching.

Perspective matters a lot. From God’s perspective, the doctrine of Christ is complete and unchangeable. Some current or former members of our church pray that our prophets will change our doctrines or policies to conform to emerging societal norms. God does not invent the rules and doctrines on the fly to keep pace with society, however. From God’s perspective, doctrine is unchangeable. But from our perspective, we must always expect that the doctrine that we understand will always evolve and improve. We should expect that the Prophet might change things, on occasion. But we must also believe that we, as members, might be wrong too—and we might need to be willing to change our position on a policy or belief as we learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We simply must pray that we might ask the right questions, questions that will lead to our knowing more of what God knows.

I suppose what I have taken from all of this is summed up in that last sentence. I hope that we will seek and pray to ask the right questions. To ask the questions that will lead us to repent. To ask the questions that will stretch us and lead us to grow. To ask the questions that will help us to increase in understanding line upon line, precept upon precept, and to be patient in that process. I know that Christ lives and that we are part of His latter-day work. I know that Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet of God, to restore the Gospel fulness and to launch this ongoing dispensation of light and knowledge that we get to be a part of. That doesn’t mean that we or our leaders are necessarily more perfect than anyone else, but it does mean that we have covenanted to be on His side. As my primary class discussed a few weeks back, we are free agents, but through covenant we have committed to be on the Lord’s team, to act on His behalf, and to keep trying when we fall short. As we do so I know that He is anxious to give us knowledge and blessings according as we are prepared to receive them.

President Nelson has recently taught: “These are exciting days. The Lord is hastening His work right before our eyes. It is thrilling. It is rigorous. More is required from each of us—more than ever before. And more is being given. … My dear brothers and sisters, the ‘veil o’er the earth is continuing to burst, and one of the deep desires of my heart is for you to receive all that the Lord is ready to reveal to you.”

That this desire sinks deep into my heart and yours is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Feminism and the Church

A great treatise by Bruce and Marie Hafen.

Women, Feminism, and Gender

Journals

I love this Newsroom article from LDS.org on the importance of keeping a journal.

I am grateful that my mom got me a journal for my eighth birthday. I am grateful that I have felt to keep a journal since then, even if plenty of the the things I wrote as I grew up are surely embarrassing. Writing has helped me grow closer to my Savior and to record the things He has taught me. Reading my own thoughts has helped me to see in retrospect how the Lord's hand has guided my life. And now that I am old enough to want to know more details of my parents' and grandparents' lives, I can see why the things I write may be valuable, even if it doesn't feel like it at the time.

Why Alvin?

From Revelations of the Restoration, 1140:

The question could well be asked as to why it was that Alvin would be chosen to represent these truths [redemption of the dead]? The answer is that he is the perfect example of hte kind of person to whom these principles apply. Alvin died in November of 1823. His passing had been a matter of considerable sorrow to the Smith family and to the young woman to whom he was engaged. Their wounded souls had been cut to the core at his funeral by an the unfeeling remarks of the Presbyterian minister who had consigned Alvin to hell because he had not been baptized or involved in that church.

Despite his relative youth, Alvin was a man of unusual spiritual propensity. Before his death, he called each of his brothers and sisters in turn to his bedside and gave them a parting admonition. To his eighteen-year-old brother, Joseph, he said: "Be a good boy, and do everything that lies in your power to obtain the record [the Book of Mormon]. Be faithful in receiving instruction and in keeping every commandment that is given you" (Smith, History o f Joseph Smith, 1996, 116). Mother Smith stated that "Alvin had ever manifested a greater zeal and anxiety, if ti were possible, than any of the rest with regard to the record which had been shown to Joseph, and he always showed the most intense interest concerning the matter. With this before our minds, we could not endure to hear or say one word upon that subject, for the moment that Joseph spoke of the record it would immediately bring Alvin to our minds with all his kindness, his affection, his zeal, and piety. And when we looked to his place and realized that he was gone from it, to return no more in this life, we all wept with one accord over our irretrievable loss, and we 'could not be comforted, because he was not'" (Smith, History of Joseph Smith, 1996, 119).

Nearly twenty years later, Joseph Smith recounted his feelings at the time of Alvin's death, saying: "I remember well the pangs of sorrow that swelled my youthful bosom and almost burst my tender heart when he died. He was the oldest and noblest of my father's family. . . . He lived without spot form the time he was a child. . . . He was one of the soberest of men, and when he died the angel of the Lord visited him in his last moments" (History of the Church, 5:126-127).

I love this quote; I always thought that the vision of Alvin with his parents must have been so poignant for Joseph because they had been so close.

Thomas B. Marsh on apostasy

After the saints were driven from Nauvoo, Thomas B. Marsh, former president of the Quorum of the Twelve who had betrayed the prophet, went to Salt Lake City, confessed to his wrongs and pleaded for forgiveness. Speaking to the Saints, he said:

Many have said to me, 'How is it that a man like you, who understood so much of hte revelations of God as recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, should fall away?'...

I have sought diligently to know the Spirit of Christ since I turned my face Zionward, and I believe I have obtained it. I have frequently wanted to know how my apostacy began, and I have come to the conclusion that I must have lost the Spirit of the Lord out of my heart.

The next question is, 'How and when did you lose the Spirit?' I became jealous of the Prophet, and then I saw double, and overlooked everything that was right, and spent all my time in looking for the evil; and then, when the Devil began to lead me, it was easy for the carnal mind to rise up, which is anger, jealousy, and wrath. I could feel it within me; I felt angry and wrathful; and the Spirit of the Lord being gone, as the Scriptures say, I was blinded, and I thought I saw a beam in brother Joseph's eye, but it was nothing but a mote, and my own eye was filled with the beam; but I thought I saw a beam in his, and I wanted to get it out; and, as brother Heber says, I got mad, and I wanted everybody else to be mad. I talked with Brother Brigham and Brother Heber, and I wanted them to be mad like myself; and I saw they were not mad, and I got madder still because they were not. Brother Brigham, with a cautious looks, said, 'Are you the leader of the Church, brother Thomas?' I answered, 'No.' 'Well then,' said he, 'Why do you not let that alone?'

Well, this is about the amount of my hypocrisy--I meddled with that which was not my business.

-Journal of Discourses, 5:206-7

Emma Smith and D&C 25

From the Doctrine & Covenants student manual, p. 50:

It had been just over three years since the Prophet Joseph Smith and Emma Hale had been married in the small village of South Bainbridge, New York. Joseph was now twenty-five years of age and Emma twenty-six. 
     The seventh of nine children born to Isaac and Elizabeth Hale, Emma was born on 10 July 1804 in Harmony, Pennsylvania. There the Prophet met and courted her while he was working for Josiah Stowell. It is reported that Emma was a beautiful woman with an attractive personality, and she had the reputation of being a refined and dignified woman who was an excellent housekeeper and cook. Her Methodist upbringing had helped her develop a great love of music.
     The first three years for the newly married couple were indeed tense and trying ones. Eight months after their marriage Joseph received the golden plates from the angel Moroni. From that moment on their lives were punctuated with persecution and trial. Emma passed through these trying experiences with her husband. She was at his side during those agonizing months when Joseph lost the gift to translate. She served as his scribe for a while. Her heart must have ached when the Prophet was arrested on trumped-up charges again and again. She traveled with the Prophet on many of his missionary journeys and shared with him the joy and sorrow associated with teh preaching of the gospel. Emma was a woman of great courage and strong will. Of her the Prophet's mother, Lucy Mack Smith, wrote: "I have never seen a woman in my life, who would endure every species of fatigue and hardship, from month to month, and from year to year, with that unflinching courage, zeal, and patience, which she has ever done; for I know that which she has had to endure . . . she has breasted the storms of persecution, and buffeted the rage of men and devils, which would have borne down almost any other woman." (History of Joseph Smith, pp. 190-91).
     Now, in July of 1830, possibly near her birthday, the Lord directed to Emma a revelation known as section 25 of the Doctrine and Covenants.


And from A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants by Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett, p. 168-69:

     Emma was baptized a member of the Church by Oliver Cowdery on 28 June 1830, and was confirmed by her husband, Joseph, in early August of that year. She was with Joseph and Oliver during the mob action and Josehp's two arrests and trials in the Colesville area. She herself was also at risk of physical injury during that time, and, like Joseph and Oliver, she suffered considerable harassment and vilification from the mobs. As a result of her New York experiences, Emma Smith was as much in need of encouragement from the Lord as were her husband and Oliver Cowdery (see D&C 24), having endured persecution with them ever since her wedding three and a half years earlier. Sometime during the month following her baptism, in July 1830, after returning home from New York to their farm in Harmony, Pennsylvania, Emma received Doctrine and Covenants 25 through her husband, Joseph.


As is the case with many who give their lives in supporting roles, we sometimes overlook how much Emma suffered and sacrificed, and what must have been the depths of her faith and commitment to the Lord. I think it is probably safe to say that Joseph couldn't have done his work without Emma by his side.

Background on D&C 20, and why I care.

From Joseph Fielding McConkie & Craig J. Ostler's Revelations of the Restoration, p. 154-55:

     As early as June 1829 Joseph Smith asked Oliver Cowdery to formulate an expression of basic principles and practices of the soon-to-be-organized Church. Oliver in turn asked the Prophet to inquire of the Lord about what he should do. Doctrine and Covenants 18 was given in response to that request. In the revelation Oliver was directed to rely upon the teachings "concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock" (D&C 18:4) as contained in the Book of Mormon. Drawing upon the principles in the Book of Mormon, Oliver submitted a manuscript to the Prophet. "Then Joseph Smith, or both he and Oliver Cowdery, revised that document. They put it in the format now found in section 20" (Woodford, "Articles and Covenants," 264-65).
     Section 20 binds together a number of sepearate revelations. It appears that verses 1 through 4, which designate the day upon which the church was to be organized, were given early in April 1830. Other sections of the revelation were at least influenced by Oliver's draft and may have existed before that date. Section 20 is divided into distinct discussions concerning the brief history that preceded the Church organization, a declaration of beliefs, requirements for baptism, duties of priesthood offices and members, ordinances of the Church, and record keeping. This revelation and section 22 became known among the early members as the Articles and Covenants of the Church.

This didn't strike me as particularly interesting until I read the heading to Section 20, which quotes Joseph Smith as saying "We obtained of him [Jesus Christ] the following, by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, which not only gave us much information, but also pointed out to us the precise day upon which, according to his will and commandment, we should proceed to organize his Church once more here upon the earth."

When I imagine the Prophet obtaining a document from the Savior, I imagine a direct stream of words that come out of his mouth and are written down on paper, with the exact wording flowing. This, of course, is something that has never happened to me. There are times when writing talks or lessons where certain phrases or ideas flow quickly, but never an entire lesson; those come bit by bit--I take all of my study and impressions and thoughts, organize them over a period of time, pray about them, and ultimately settle on something I feel good about. It takes time and work and sometimes some agonizing, all of which is hopefully inspired by and approved by the Lord. And guess what!? That is how this revelation came about! Not to mention that the prophet had human help--Oliver Cowdery did a draft of the composition.

It is funny as I grow to find so many of my childish imaginations demystified. Prophets are people just like me. Much of their revelation is received in the same ways that I have received revelation, the only difference between us being the scope of our relative stewardships. It is encouraging to think that I can receive revelation just as they can, and also humbling to know it because it means I am just as responsible to put in that effort.

*Silly side-note: another mystical image I came across while reading to the littles: in the Book of Mormon reader, all of the men in Nephi's family have beards, but Nephi is clean-shaven. Funny that we have to portray a clean-shaven hero/protagonist, even though as a Jewish man in that time period, Nephi probably had facial hair. Tee hee.

Follow-Up on D&C 4

A story of how Joseph Smith, Sr. applied the instructions he was given:

Joseph Smith, Sr., was filled with the testimony of the truth, and was always anxious to share it with others. He was almost sixty when he made the tedious journey back to [Stockholm--Potsdam] New York to carry the gospel to his father and mother, his sisters and brothers. Soon after his return he was imprisoned for a small debt of fourteen dollars, rather than deny the divinity of the Book of Mormon and be forgiven the debt! He was cast into a cell with a condemned murderer and left for four days without food. Later he was transferred to a prison workyard where he preached the gospel and converted two persons whom he later baptized. He was in prison a full month before his family was able to obtain his release!


E. Cecil McGavin, The Family of Joseph Smith [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1963], p. 68.

All of us who desire to serve the Lord have the same calling to the work of the gathering. How true will we be to it?

p.s. My posts may have a different flavor for a while; I found two huge binders of handouts from a beloved Institute director. I can't hang on to them forever, so I am studying with them as an aid and recording the things I want to save here, in my journals, and in my scriptures. I think they may be an enjoyable departure from my normal ramblings, and also help me to be more consistent in recording my studies. Time will tell!

Interesting Take on Translating

A quote from Joseph Fielding Smith about Joseph Smith:

After the Prophet received the record, the Urim and Thummim and breastplate, he did not commence to translate immediately. In fact, this he could not have done. In the first place he discovered that the translation of the record had to be studied out. It was similar to any other kind of skill, it took study and practice. It was not a matter of sitting down and having the translation of the characters appear to him like looking at a picture screen. It required deep and sincere faith and a contrite spirit. Just as well might one expect to play a musical instrument without practice, or to accomplish another difficult task. Therefore in seclusion, such as he could obtain, he worked over his problem and gradually the light dawned and the skill came so that he could say after the task was finished: "I translated the Book of Mormon by the Gift and Power of God."

"Church History and Modern Revelation," Melchizedek Priesthood Manual (1947), p. 19.

This is particularly striking after I just read Moroni 10, where we are told that all have gifts of the Spirit given to them, but also that we should strive to lay hold upon every good gift. Such gifts don't come or stay with out an effort to receive them.