Saturday, December 24, 2011


SOME NOTES ON OUR TIMES

And that every man should take righteousness in his hands and faithfulness upon his loins,
and lift a warning voice unto the inhabitants of the earth; and declare both by word and by
flight that desolation shall come upon the wicked.  Doctrine & Covenants 63:37

Pres Hinckley read D&C 43:17 – 35 to the general authorities in February of 2004.

A local Area 70 returned from general authority training and told of the discussions among the brethren of the nearness of the Second Coming.  Speaking of things which are to come to pass, the brethren noted that as far as the prophecies are concerned, “All the boxes have been checked.”

Suppose the forces of evil reach their zenith in the next year or two.

Suppose the monetary systems in the world collapse in the next year or two – that we all go the way of Greece and Italy. 

Suppose social and economic chaos results.

If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear. (D&C 38:30)

Why not fear?  Because when the Savior comes he will heal the earth, it will be spiritually reborn and all evil will be done away.  It will indeed be a paradise! (See Article of Faith #10.)

Make no mistake, the time are perilous.  There are some interesting scriptures which outline the social, spiritual and economic conditions before the savior’s first coming.  The revelations outline similar circumstances for His second coming.

We each need to look into ourselves and ask “Am I prepared?”  Imagine the Savior appearing to the world – would you run out to meet him?  Would you hide in the closet?  When the disasters hit the Nephite world at the time of the Savior’s death and they were enshrouded in thick impenetrable darkness for three days (i.e., the Spirit, the Light of the World, was withdrawn) and they lamented mightily having put off their repentance, both of attitude and deed. (3 Ne 8:23-25)

In our times the prophets have given great warnings.  I think none so vivid and chilling as a message from the First Presidency, read in conference By David O. McKay in 1942. 

No Heart He Would Not Break
David O. McKay, General Conference Report, October 1942, p. 13

These days through which we are now passing present many problems which are new to all of us but are particularly strange to the younger generation -- those who have little background of experience and whose knowledge is limited and immature. Infidelity, atheism, unchastity, intemperance, civil corruption, greed, avarice, ambition -- personal, political, national -- are more powerful today than at any other time in the lives of us now living. They are pulling and thrusting us almost at will into new fields of action, new lines of thought. They are shaking the faith, undermining the morals, polluting the lives of the people. They have thrown many so far off balance in all of their activities, economic, social, political, and religious, that they stand in real danger of falling. Satan is making war against all the wisdom that has come to men through their ages of experience. He is seeking to overturn and destroy the very foundations upon which society, government, and religion rest. He aims to have men adopt theories and practices which he induced their forefathers, over the ages, to adopt and try, only to be discarded by them when found unsound, impractical, and ruinous. He plans to destroy liberty and freedom -- economic, political, and religious, and to set up in place thereof the greatest, most widespread, and most complete tyranny that has ever oppressed men. He is working under such perfect disguise that many do not recognize either him or his methods. There is no crime he would not commit, no debauchery he would not set up, no plague he would not send, no heart he would not break, no life he would not take, no soul he would not destroy. He comes as a thief in the night; he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Without their knowing it, the people are being urged down paths that lead only to destruction. Satan never before had so firm a grip on this generation as he has now.


So, each of you face the reality of a wicked world, where Satan has convinced many that the things which are wrong are, in reality, right.  And vice versa, Satan has convinced many that truth is error.  Much of it is just Korihor revisited.  After telling the people that the traditions of their fathers, their religion, was a product of a frenzied mind and designed to put them in bondage, he said preached that there was no such thing as sin, that “Every man fared according to the management of the creature . . . and whatsoever a man did was no crime.”  He later admitted the devil had taught him these things and sent him out to teach others, which he did because these things are “Pleasing to the carnal mind.”

“And I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great curse upon me.” (See Alma 30)

President Heber C. Kimball was well known throughout the church for his gift of prophecy.  He was bold and humble, but he spoke the truth by the spirit.  He warned the church in the 1800’s that they would face some fearsome trials.  His words were fulfilled.  Yet today they sound equally as important and ever more relevant. They are words for us today.

The time is coming when we will be mixed up in these now peaceful valleys to that extent that it will be difficult to tell the face of a saint from the face of an enemy to the people of God. Look out for the great sieve, for there will come a great sifting time and many will fall. For I say unto you there is a test, there is a test. There is a test coming and who will be able to stand?  You imagine that you what would have stood by the Prophet Joseph Smith, for many have said they would have liked to have been associated with him. If you would have stood by him when persecution raged and he was assailed by foes within and without, you would have defended him and been true to him in the [mi[d]st of every trial. You think you would have been delighted to have shown your integrity in the days of mobs and traitors. Let me say to you, that many of you will see the time when you will have all the trouble, trial and persecution that you can stand and plenty of opportunities to show that you are true to God and his way. This Church has before it many close places through which you will have to pass, before the work of God is crowned with victory.    

To meet the difficulties that are coming it will be necessary for you to have a knowledge of the truth of the work for yourselves. The difficulties will be of such a character that the man or woman who does not possess this personal knowledge or witness will fall. If you have not got the testimony, live right and call upon the Lord and cease not until you obtain it. If you do not you will not stand. The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself.     (See The Life of Heber C. Kimball by Orson F. Whitney, pp. 449-450.)

Many of us will live to see the day when these prophesies and pronouncements will be fulfilled so clearly that each of us will recognize it.  We will say, “the prophets were right!”  Indeed, it may be on our very doorstep!

What are we to do?  Each of us needs to look within himself or herself and assess where we are. 
Are we moving toward the light?  Do we stand for truth and righteousness?  Are we willing to do what the Lord desires of us? [And he only desires for us what we would want for ourselves if we had a perfect knowledge of things.] We know enough, however, to live by faith and understand that the Lord has done all things, from the creation to the atonement to the restoration, so we could live with Him again in His kind of life!!!  I testify of this to each of you!!!  Soften your hearts and be believing and obedient and you shall receive the greatest of the gifts of God!

One of my favorite songs is to hear the children sing:

            I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
            I KNOW WHO I AM.  I know God’s plan.
            I’ll follow Him in faith.
            I believe in the Savior Jesus Christ.  I’ll honor His name.
            I’ll do what is right; I’ll follow His light.
            His truth I will proclaim.  (Children’s Songbook, 77.)

You know who you are.  Most don’t.  Remember who you are and remember your destiny and the blessing of the covenant under which you were born.

Parents, please have a Family Home Evening on this topic as a start to the new year.

At the end of his life, Lehi he called his children and grandchildren around him.  He gave them encouragement and instruction as well as blessings.  His heart was very tender toward them and he pled with them: “Remember the words of thy dying Father.”  I feel the same urgency to tell you all these things in love and pray they will go deep into your hearts.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Scott and Scotty

I want to share some family things which need to be kept, even kept closely, and not be lost.  As many of you know, my sister Christine had four children.  The second was a boy named Scott.  He was one of those sparkly kids who had great promise for the future.  He exhibited kindness and thoughtfullness beyond his years.  He contracted Leukemia at about age 8, which was aggressively treated, and many of us thought the treatments were successful.  Christine, however, knew from the start that this disease would be final, even though he seemingly recovered.  Just at the 5-year mark of remission, it came roaring back and subsequent treatments helped but did not cure.

During his final illness, Christine and my brother Terry went to the hospital in Salt Lake City to visit Scott.  When they left the hospital and were walking to the car, another car stopped and inquired, "Terry, what are you doing here."  The driver was Elder Neal A. Maxwell. Terry introduced Chris and explained Scott's situation.  Elder Maxwell said all the appropriate things, bid them goodnight, rolled up his window and started to leave.  He stopped his car, however, and the window came back down.  HE addressed Chris and said, "You know, sometimes the Lord drafts the best."

I thought of that as I pondered the death of Adam Acosta.  We know so little while here on earth.  We truly see "Through a glass darkly."  But we have been given enough and, with study and contemplation, will be given more.  Even to understanding or feeling enough to make sense of things and find peace amid the turmoil.  I thought of Adam, his willingness to serve and the great imapct Keith Pearce had upon his life.  How he willingly served a mission, even though his personality tended more to introversion than to knocking on peoples' doors.  and I though of Elder Maxwell's remark in conjunction with Section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

29 And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding aquickened, and I perceived that the Lord went not in person among thebwicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them;
  30 But behold, from among the righteous, he aorganized his forces and appointed bmessengerscclothed with power and authority, anddcommissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in edarkness, even to fall the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.
  31 And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the aacceptable day of the Lord and proclaim bliberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would crepent of their sins and receive the gospel.
  32 Thus was the gospel preached to those who had adied in their sins, without a bknowledge of the truth, or in ctransgression, having drejected the prophets.
  33 These were taught afaith in God, repentance from sin, bvicarious baptism for the cremission of sins, the dgift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands,
  34 And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be ajudged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

I encourage reading the whole section to get a fuller view of our lives shortly after we pass through the veil.

So to me, Adam and Scott are now part of that great force taking the gospel to those who so desperately need its redemptive power.  Should the accept it, they then get very anxious to receive the vicarious saving ordinances which are performed int he temples.  The best way to maintain a connection with those who have passed through the veil is to do the family history and temple work for those to whom they preach the gospel!

So, my Dad was very close to young Scott, who was named for him.  He really felt deeply Scotty's struggles and pain.  He talked about it a bit at a family reunion and he broke down in public, not something which was usual for him.

When my Dad died, his body went to the same mortuary which handled Scotty's burial.  In fact, the same man who prepared Scott's body also did the work for my Dad.  When Terry and I went there he told us a story I do not want to have lost.  But it is a sacred story and should not be widely told.  Anyway, he said that as he prepared Dad's body, he was very distinctly aware of the presence of both Dad and Scott.  In fact, he said, they were standing side-by-side and he was impressed with the spirit which accompanied them.

My Dad was buried on the day Jacob Scott Warner was born.  Jacob carries the name of both of these relatives In Memoriam.  This is a great responsibility and I am confident Jacob can live up to it.

We are all tied together by ordinances involving covenants and promises.  So important are they -- important enough to give our lives for.  I don't necessarily mean dying for them, as happens to a few, but giving our lives in the sense of living for the fulfillment of these covenants.  I know that this period of reflection has given me a stronger sense of commitment to be more like what I ought to be.  I love you all!  God Bless. 

Friday, August 26, 2011

An Unprofitable Servant

Paul begins the letter to the Romans with an interesting introduction. There is more going on here in Romans 1:1 than we might think. By knowing a bit about what went on in that time in that part of the world, we find some interesting things about Paul's view of his role as a servant in the work of the Lord and about our own relationship to Deity. By understanding better where we stand in relation to God, we are better able to understand what God wants of us and what he expects us to be.

Paul announces himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. The word he uses for servant is the Greek doulus. I am told that if you or I were Greek scholars and were translating this, we would be tempted to translate it as “slave” instead of servant. Certainly the servants in the Roman world were very close to what we would call slaves.

Paul was a Roman citizen and as such a high ranking member of society. He voluntarily identifies himself as a servant – one of the lowest classes in society. He wants to make a strong point about the gospel and our relationship to God. By submitting ourselves to Him we become his servants. We must do His will. Masters in the Roman world had life and death power over servants.

We Are His Servants Because:

  1. We voluntarily submit to His will. This is a renewal of our pre-mortal covenant to come into this world and to do the “will of the Father.” He sent us to “Prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God will command them.” [Abraham 3:25] So obedience is the ultimate test. We renewed our commitment to obey when we were baptized. I see a similitude of this as missionaries are called on their missions. They ask for and receive a call to go to a certain mission. They return a letter to the the Prophet accepting the mission call on the terms offered – laying aside “every other concern.” They send back a letter which answers affirmatively the questions, “Will you always obey all mission rules?”

    Then the Prophet, through their priesthood leaders, approves entering the temple, where they, like us, make additional covenants -- including, among other things, obedience. Here we have three witnesses to our willingness to obey; pre-mortally, at baptism and in the temple. Some of the most treasured of scripture affirms the Savior's understanding of the importance of obedience.


And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. [Mark 26:39]

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; [Hebrews 5:8-9]

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning. [3 Nephi 11:10-11]

The Savior accomplished all He did through obedience to the Father and became the author of salvation. Similarly, we are saved by faithful obedience.

  1. We are His servants because we are bought with a price. We are owned by him.

Servants or slaves are not owed anything by their masters. They are owned and kept and they owe their masters their works. So we work for God without any expectation of earning a nything. We cannot earn our way to heaven. We have nothing to bargain with because we are already owned. And we already owe all we have. We can never repay [Mosiah 2:24] and we are always unprofitable servants.

Any gift from the master is by grace, not works. Hence we are saved by grace, not by works. Work we must, because it is our duty as bondsmen. Paul understood this and so did his readers In Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, etc. they knew as servants of Christ they were obligated to serve Him with all their hearts. Paul's point is that this is not enough to save us. Mercy and grace come to us through faith – after all we can do.

  1. We are his servants because He created us. Our physical creation is more than a single event. We owe our physical lives to the Savior not for just the creation of our bodies some time in the past. We owe him our ongoing existence. “In Him we live and move and have our being,” says Paul. [Acts 17:28] King Benjamin says that God “has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another . . .” [Mosiah 2:21].


So the upshot is we are threefold his. By creation, by redemption and by our voluntarily accepting him as our master. Jus as in Paul's day, the servant is sustained in life by the master and therefore owes all. We can earn nothing. We cannot be exalted by our works, because we can never overcome the debt which grows each day. King Benjamin explains it this way [Mosiah 2:20-25 paraphrased.]

If we serve with our whole souls we are still unprofitable, because it is only through Him that we have the power to do anything. But yet, if we do “any good thing,” He immediately blesses us and we remain yet in His debt. All he requires of us is that we keep His commandments – but yet we have not earned but are blessed by grace, because He is gracious.

So then, what do we have to offer? We offer ourselves, but we have done that already and we execute that promise so imperfectly that he gave His life for us so our shortcomings in keeping that promise could be expiated. He has given us something which He does not claim and will not take back from us, and that is our agency. We can offer that back to Him in all humility. Which then brings us back to obedience.

There is one other thing we can offer Him. We can offer Him others. We can bring others to Him, by thrusting in our sickles with our might. In doing so, we “Lay up in store that we perish not, but bring salvation to our souls.” [D&C 4:4]

Behold, I say unto you that it is my will that you should go forth and not tarry, neither be idle but labor with your might— Lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, proclaiming the truth according to the revelations and commandments which I have given you. And thus, if ye are faithful ye shall be laden with many sheaves, and crowned with honor, and glory, and immortality, and eternal life. [D&C 75:3-5].

And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen. [D&C 16:6]

So, in the continuing saga of learning while serving, we look at serving as the key to drawing closer to the throne of grace. Finally, Paul tells Timothy that by teaching in the kingdom he will both save himself, and them that hear him. [1 Timothy 4:16]

Magnifying the High Priests Group

A talk to be given in the Annual Stake High Priest Quorum Meeting, 8/27/2011

The calling of the High Priest Group Leader and his assistants is a great calling! There is much opportunity to do good in this calling, but . . . .

Let’s step back just a minute and comment on callings in general. There are two kinds of callings in the church [my thoughts, not doctrine of any kind]. There are those which have a lot of work “wired” to them. In other words, the work comes to you. A good example is a counselor in the Bishopric. They have constant duties, callings to issue, meetings to attend, requests for temple interviews, youth interviews, etc etc. You stay busy or buried in that calling – sometimes both!

The second type of calling is where you have a lot of latitude to define the work and the workload. The High Councilor has much discretion in what he does and can make his calling larger or smaller based on how proactive he wants to be in his assignments. The high priest group leadership is much the same way. There is little which marches in the door, but much possibility for good in these callings.

This is reminiscent of the parable of the talents. It is very clear to me that I was not called just to maintain the status quo. How will I invest the talent which is the HP Group so I can return it with interest when called upon to report my stewardship?

This is not an easy question to answer – and I sruggle with it all the time. No question about it: knowing what to do takes energy and investment. How you answer this question in your own life and in your HP Group is up to you. I can give some examples perhaps, but there is NO PROGRAMMATIC ANSWER to this question.

So how do we go about answering this question, i.e., how do we go about magnifying our stewardship? Let’s take a brief and broad look at our stewardship:

  1. People and Families assigned to us
  2. Family History
  3. Temple Preparation and Activity
  4. Membership in the Ward Council, which is the major council for planning and implementing ward initiatives and activities [Not the Bishopric]. {We need to be better aware of the role of the Ward Council as the Brethren are defining it and instructing us. See the Red GHI}

In response, our group has had a lot of fun and we have worked on the sociality in our grup and ward. A few of our initiatives have included the following:

  1. Under the auspices of the Ward Council, we have instituted a monthly Gospel Study evening and date night. This has resulted in some excellent and stimulating presentations on gospel topics and some time for social interaction as well.
  2. Held two workshops on Family Search Indexing, teaching in a hands-on way how to participate in this wonderful initiative. We set and easily met a goal of 10,000 names for the ward.
  3. Again, under the direction of the Ward Council, we have organized and taught several Temple Preparation Seminars.
  4. Last week we spearheaded a social where ward members brought foods from various countries throughout the world – including lands of their ancestry or lands of their ancestry. In addition, display tables of items from these countries were set up by members, and many delightful conversations were held between members who have not had many opportunities to interact. We also covered a map of the world with different colored pins, denoting temples we have visited, countries where family members have served missions and places of ancestral origin. We also had a table where people could learn Indexing or sit with a family history consultant and see how New Family Search works. One youth found 23 names which he was able to make temple-ready! We emphasized the world-wide nature of the church and the many cultures represented in our own ward – and got a better sense of others and the wonderful things they bring to the enterprise we call the restored church!
  5. We assist the Family History folks with a monthly “come-as-you-are” genealogy help session, where members get one-on-one help with their research or whatever they need.

You will not find all these things in your handbooks. You and I are agents unto ourselves and can, through our efforts, bring to pass much righteousness. But these are not things you should go do in your ward. Each of us needs to discover what our people need and be responsive to it. What does the Lord have in store for our people?

The Boy Prophet Joseph came out the grove and went to his home. There he spoke to his mother, saying, “Mother, I have learned for myself . . . “ [Joseph Smith 1:20]

Having a stewardship does not mean we have a to-do list which we can check off and then be done. Having a stewardship means constant attention to our area of responsibility and finding out for ourselves what is need to magnify our stewardship and the talent we have been given.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Apostasy, Part 2

Read Part 1 first if you haven’t already. This will make more sense in context.

Note: References to Socrates are not to a Greek Philosopher chronicled by Plaro, but to a 4th century historian of the same name,

Overview

The early church struggled with self-definition. The apostles were sent out to be witnesses of Christ in all the world. This they and the results were remarkable. Success dates from the great Pentecost experience, after which Peter becomes a stalwart, powerful and mature leader. Yet there was much which needed definition – and there were no printing presses, telephones, powered vehicles, etc, etc. to assist in this process. So leadership meetings were difficult and relatively rare and communication was by personal visits, messengers or letters. Much of the New Testament is comprised of some of these letters. Keep in mind that these written letters were “occasional” in nature – that is, written as a thing in itself in response to a need, situation or problem. This is in contrast to some like, say, the Federalist Papers which were written as a body of work, building one upon another or in response to other letters on the same topic, a succession of letters made into one whole. Also, Paul’s preference was to visit with “his” congregations personally, second choice was to send a messenger or emissary, and writing a letter was the third option in order of preference. From this we might infer that if there was something really important for him to address, he might well have done so in person, thus depriving us (and potentially the rest of Christendom of his time) a written record of whatever was going on. [Note also the titillating fact that a version of the Book of Acts has been identified which is about 20% longer than our current book.]

Moral of the story thus far: To our best knowledge there was never a handbook written outlining the doctrines and practices of the church. But if there was such a thing, we certainly don’t have it. And we won’t even slow down to comment on the argument that we don’t need anything more than the Bible, that it is fully adequate. Manifestly untrue. Were it fully adequate, why are there so many creeds, edicts, papal bulls . . . . most using non-scriptural terms to define the faith? Whoops, I wasn’t going to go there,

The histories of the churches demonstrate growing, real differences. What constitutes scripture? [Have you seen a Catholic Bible?] The first known list of scriptural books which make up our New Testament dates from the early 4th century. Many volumes did not make the cut to get into the official scriptures, although individual churches or movements used them.

I think you get the drift.

Anyway, enter Constantine. It is not our purpose to spend much time on him. But he was Emperor, which counts for a whole lot, and he converted to Christianity. He became unhappy with the wrangling and the “wrestling” in the church over doctrine and decided to do something about it. He called for a world-wide council and told them, essentially, that their behavior unacceptable and that he wanted the squabbling stopped and that no one got to go home until they had solved the doctrinal questions which beset the church.

Some Pre-Nicean Background

With the loss of the apostles and their authority, the church was really a set of congregations. They struggled within themselves and between each other. They were obviously well disposed to each other and did things like share the apostolic letters and post-apostolic letters they had through the expensive and time consuming and problematic process of hand copying. Within the void of leadership we see the emergence of the ‘Church Fathers’ – a group of educated leaders who essentially filled the leadership void because they could write and had scholarly credentials. Many of their writings exist and give us great insight into what was happening, especially in the 3rd and 4th centuries of the church.

The training of the day was Greek Philosophy, rhetoric and dialectic. Rhetoric being the art of philosophical debate or argumentation and dialectic being a popular and powerful example of how the rhetoricians argued. In fact, many of these folks traveled around as itinerant teachers or performers, earning a living through their knowledge and rhetoric.

Into this context we have an event which the historian Socrates credits as being impetus for
Constantine to call the Council of Nicea. He describes it this way:

One day [the Bishop of Alexandria] in a meeting of his presbyters and the rest of the clergy under him theologized in a rather showy way on the subject of the Holy Trinity; philosophizing to the effect that that in a triad is really a monad. Arias, one of the presbyters under his authority and not unskilled in dialectic give and take, took the extreme opposite position, just to show how much smarter he was, and replied bitingly to the things the Bishop had said. . . . By constructing his (Arias) syllogisms by this novel reasoning, he attracted everybody’s attention – and with a small spark lit a might blaze.

Here we see the problems with philosophy, i.e., man’s wisdom. The Bishop was being showy, using non-scriptural terms like triad and monad, and Arias taking on the challenge just to outshine the Bishop. They were not motivated to discover the truth and they started a controversy which engulfed the whole church. Constantine said this disunity was improper and led the children of God astray. Thus he called the Council of Nicea to settle the controversy once and for all.

Socrates gives us this view of some pre-council activities:

Meanwhile, not long before the general assembly was to take place, certain dialecticians were addressing the multitude and showing off in controversy. Great crowds being attracted by the pleasure of hearing them, one of the confessors, a layman with a clear head, stood up and rebuked the dialecticians and said to them that Christ and the Apostles did not give to us the dialectical art nor empty tricks, but straightforward knowledge preserved by faith and good works. When he said this, all those present were flabbergasted, and then agreed. And the dialecticians, hearing straight talk, became a good deal more sober and contained. Thus was abated the uproar which dialectic had stirred up.

Well, there were apparently some clear headed people around. Unfortunately they were not among those who were about to make the creeds.

Here is another interesting vignette. It involves Justin and someone identified only as an old man or aged Christian. Justin was a pagan and a philosopher who converted to Christianity and became one of the more influential early writers and teachers in the church. This dialogue goes a long way to illustrate the problem faced in the early church.

In a public forum Justin explains that the main business of philosophy is the search for God. To this the old man questions:

OM: What do philosophers say God is?

Justin: That which always has the same relationships to things, is always the same in and of itself and is the cause of all other things. That is God.

OM: How can such a being be known? If someone told you that there was an animal in Ludia shaped like no other animal on earth with such and such properties . . . and you haven’t seen it, you would at least need to talk to someone who had seen it. [Justin agrees.] Then how can philosophers think correctly about God or say anything true about him since they don’t have any actual knowledge about him, having at no time either seen or heard,

Justin: But my dear old man, God is not to be seen with the eyes as other living things are, but only to be grasped with the mind, as Plato says, and I believe him! According to Plato, God is seen with the mind’s eye; He being the cause of all perceptible things but himself; having no color, no shape, no dimension – none of such qualities as may be seen by the eye, but yet is that which exists beyond all existence; unutterable, indiscernible, yet alone beautiful and good, coming as a direct intuition to properly disposed spirits because of their kinship and their desire to see Him.

Compare this with Matthew 16:16-17; John 17:3.

So the Council was held. Out of came a creed which was more philosophical than scriptural. It passed on a close vote. At the end of the Council, Constantine address the group, restated that the squabbling was to stop and declared the new creed binding on all of Christendom. After all, he says, “it is incomprehensible.”

Hillary, a participant and Christian writer of the time, had this to say:

"We avoid believing that of Christ which He told us to believe, so that we might establish a treacherous unity in the false name of peace, and we rebel with new definitions of God against what we falsely call innovations, and in the name of the Scriptures we deceitfully cite things that are not in the Scriptures: changeful, prodigal, impious, changing established things, abolishing accepted doctrine, presuming irreligious things."

As on observer noted, “Either the Christians became philosophers, or the ancient philosophers were somehow Christians all along.”

Eusubius, a major Christian historian, went to great pains to hail this Council as a wonderful thing and that his employer, Constantine, had done a great thing to bring this to a wonderful conclusion. He defends the use of non-scriptural terms and reassures us that this wall just fine. After all, the council had worked hard and all was arrived at not without careful examination and according to opinions presented and agreed upon in carefully worded “logismoi”.

Logismoi? Yes, an interesting choice of wording because Paul uses this very word when he says revealed knowledge invalidates and confounds all “logismoi: -- that is all calculations of men.

This is in contrast to how the church, led by a prophet, resolves disputes. Let’s go back to one of the disputed ideas in the early church which we considered at the beginning – the problem of circumcision. The church leaders met together and counseled and prayed. Then Peter announced the decision that was given him of the spirit. Acts 15:12 says “Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.”

Conclusion

A brief one, as we are out of time. But the reformation comes along, primarily to correct abusive practices in the church. Luther had 95 theses which he thought needed to be addressed, for example. He had no intention of starting his own church, but he wanted to resolve differences. Gradually, very gradually, religious toleration increased. This paved the way for a new nation to be founded specifically as a place where the gospel could be restored and the long famine of hearing the word of the Lord could be over. (Amos 8:11-12) But it was a near thing. Bringing forth of the gospel “Cost the best blood of the 19th century” (D&C 135) and the persecutions are not over yet – not by a long way.

But if the Latter-day Saints have been spared this groping in the philosophical half-light, searching for the ideation called God, it is because we have been lead by living prophets and apostles. It is worth remembering that Paul warned Timothy that the church would harbor those who were “ever learning, but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

A final note on faith and works – “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. . . . If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:31-32, 36)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

It has been pointed out to me just how derelict I have been in blogging. All I can say is that I am flattered anyone noticed. So in honor of those requests, I am posting my notes for my Friday Night Gospel Study presentation. This will be given July 1.

THE APOSTASY

We have to begin this discussion by setting some background. There are three points I want to make about what was going on in the early church. I will try to make these points in 10 minutes each, leaving 30 minutes for discussion of the central event which crystallized the apostasy and, in my mind, kind of made it official. [Although it had happened long before this, insidiously, it was the Council of Nicea which stands out in my mind as the point in history we can point to which makes it a done deal, no turning back and all the churches thereafter signed up that his creed was the official document of the apostasy. It was not the apostasy, it was just the formal signed declaration which assured they would teach ever after the doctrines of men and reason and not the doctrines of Christ and of revelation.]

It is very clear that from this point forward the churches taught the philosophies of men, mingled with scripture.

Point #1: What is happening in the early church?

The far flung world was made large by the difficulty of communication and travel. Letters took long journeys and replies were slow. Each of the apostles worked diligently to testify of Christ in all the world. [Acts1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.] As we shall see, the apostles initially had a narrow of view of what this meant, but then we are in pre-Pentecost days here and the weight of revelation in the church was yet to come.

A big question in the church concerned the relationship of the church and the gospel to the Jewish and the gentile members. There are three populations in the church:

The Jews living in the area of Jerusalem, the Jews living in the Greek/Roman world, the Diaspora, and the gentile converts, or Greeks as they were often called.

Now here I am giving my view and I am doing it in 10 minutes so it is quick and broad brush, but I think it will help as a context.

The Jewish Christians came up through the Jewish religion. They were the chosen people of God. The worked hard at their religion, which required a great deal more of them than did the pagan religions which surrounded them. [N.B. “Pagan” here means non-Jewish and/or non Christian. Pagan religions were generally polytheistic and imbued nature with religious powers which they respected and celebrated. Pagan does not have the negative connotation that it does today in our ordinarily language, e.g., “sinner” or “reprobate.”]

So here might be the Jewish Christian view of the world. We are the chosen people, we had Moses who gave us God’s law and we live the Law of Moses. Our prophets prophesied of the Messiah to come and that He would come through Judah. The Messiah did come, we are still the same chosen people [after all, the Messiah did come to us] and we keep going as Jews, Children of Abraham and of the covenant, with the now re-instituted and expanded Gospel. Still right, still chosen, still doing the same things only bundled in faith and not the performances of the Law, etc, etc.

Peter was clearly of such a mind as this in the beginning of his ministry as well. He began to change through the revelation to take the gospel to the gentiles, beginning with Cornelius, It is interesting to me that the Lord used the metaphor of Food, non-Kosher we would say today. Peter said he had never eaten that which was unclean. But he was corrected – things thought to be unclean in the past are not so now. By understanding this vision perhaps Peter also begins to understand that not only will the gospel go to the gentiles, to all the world, but that the Law truly is done away.

There were two issues which brought this into clear focus; Circumcision and the sitting at table with gentiles. From a Jewish Christian point of view, new converts needed to be circumcised to keep the Abrahamic covenant [Genesis 17:9-11]. In fact, this did happen in some cases. But in Acts 15 we have the model for the resolution of doctrinal questions in the Church. You go to the Prophet, to the 12, and they discuss it, pray about it and receive revelation.

The gentile convert view might look something like this: This is a new dispensation of the gospel. We believe the message and are baptized as a sign of our covenant with God. We are not Jews nor do we need to be. But the Law of Moses was fulfilled in Christ, but literally and figuratively. We are the Children of Christ, not Abraham.

This set of issues plays its way throughout the New Testament letters and the Book of Acts. If you keep this in mind as you read and study, you will be impressed with just how difficult a problem it was to solve in the actual practices of the various congregations throughout the New Testament world.

Point #2: The Problem of Works

Works #1

Works of the Law of Moses. These are all of the performances, sacrifices and rituals required by the Law to teach the people to look forward to the Messiah and how to recognize him. He would be the fulfillment of the Law. A) He would personally keep all aspects of the Law, fulfill it in his own life. He did all the things required of a faithful Jew of the day. B) He was also the fulfillment of the Law in that He was the Messiah, the sacrifice, the LAMB OF GOD put upon the altar for us. So the Law was fulfilled in reality – not cast aside, but completed.

This was a sticking point in the New Testament church and much of Paul’s writing dealt with these issues. It is important to differentiate between when Paul is talking about these kinds of works vs. when he talks about Works #2 or Works#3.

Works#2

The ordinances, judgments, sacraments of the church are often referred to as works. For example, baptism is an ordinance or sacrament of the church.

The problem here is both simple and very insidious. Here is the simple way to think about these “works.” Is baptism necessary? Yes. Is baptism sufficient? No.

[Acts 19 shows us good intentions are not enough and there are right and wrong ways for baptism, but that is for another day. Joseph Smith commented that you might as well baptize a bag of sand as to baptize someone who was not full of faith and repentant.]

The problem with Works#2 will be discussed in a moment.

So we ask, In what way is baptism not sufficient?

This brings us directly to Works#3.

This version of works refers to personal righteousness, service, charity of heart and “good deeds.”

Are they necessary? Yes.

Are they sufficient? No. [1 Corinthians 13, Section 121:34-46, Matt 7:24ff]

This issue became difficult as a growing worldwide church became large, somewhat contentious over doctrine and as confused as the primitive church over practices. Institutional solutions to problems were solved through synods, conferences, rhetoric, dialectic, heated debate, etc and eventually voted on or decreed by the head of the church or of the government. Many issues and doctrines were not “settled” for 1000 years! Some, like faith vs. works, is still a contentious issue throughout Christendom and we could spend hours on this. [The main problem is those who want to craft a theology out of verses read in isolation and out of context. The New Testament is not a theological treatise and was not written that way and to wrest the scriptures in that way leads to creeds which are an abomination is the sight of God.]

The church in the middle ages became more aligned to procedure and ordinances. You can, after all, keep track of this – its empirical. The issues of faith and good works took a back seat. This lead to abuses [there are always abuses, even in our church, see 121 again. Thankfully, though, we have no “career paths” in the church and release people from leadership and make them followers again to reduce the chances of personality cults, etc.]. The REFORMERS, especially, Martin Luther, set out to bring things back into balance, not to overthrow the church. They wanted, in a sense to bring into balance Faith and Works (ordinances) and Works (personal righteousness).

Point #3: So where did we go wrong?

It is difficult to describe the processes in the early church in any detail. We just don’t know the facts. Most of what we “know” is inferred from history, context and thoughtful speculation. We do know some things:

The testimony of the Savior and the spiritual writings of the early leaders were powerful enough to echo through the centuries and endure to our time.

Devoted people spent much of their lives in service so that we could have the scriptures. This includes the Jews and the early Christians.

The Brethren appear to have more difficulties keeping the churches in line than they did in creating new churches through preaching. Splinter groups, setting up on their own terms but using the name of the church and some of its writings (and some of their own) were a confusion and a distraction.

The church cannot be run according to man’s wisdom. Paul saw that early on and warned against it. Note that he was one of the brightest and most gifted and he knew of the folly of men's wisdom (foolishness to God).

There were constant warnings of apostasy – both individual and institutional. We should not be surprised that the church did not remain.

With the loss of apostolic authority, the loss of direction became an obvious problem. No longer did people act with true authority, but took that honor unto themselves. (Heb 5:4)

Peter really captures these problems in a letter to James:

“They think they are able to interpret my own words better than I can, telling their hearers they are conveying my very thoughts to them – while such things never entered my head. If they take such liberties while I am alive, what will they do when I am gone?”

Well, he was gone and so were the 12. The now leaderless church struggled for identity, direction and guidance. Where was the Moses, the Samuel, the Peter, for their time? Priesthood leadership from ordinary people called of God by prophecy was replaced by scholars trained in classical Hellenistic philosophy, dialectic and rhetoric. The church began to be followers of Aristotle, Plato and other philosophical schools and THE LANGUAGE OF THE CHURCH BECAME THE LANGUAGE OF PHILOSOPHY and SO DID THE DOCTRINES – mingled with scripture.

All this come to a crescendo with Constantine. He became tired of the bickering and “wrestling” in the church and called the church leaders into council and told them they were not to leave until the problem was solved.

What Problem? The problem of a church nearly 300 years old did not know who or what they were worshiping.

We will now take a sneak peak at the Council of Nicea, because it is a living laboratory of how man’s wisdom is foolishness to God.

[The look at Nicea is coming in the next Blog]

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Mini Blogs

You have either forgotten entirely that I have a blog or you have charitably noticed, but not mentioned, that I haven't posted anything in a month. I plan to remedy that, starting right now. I am going to enter some mini-blogs about the Book of Mormon. They are not designed to be scholarly, because I am not one, but they take from the work of scholars. In other words, these are more homey and personal -- yet profound because of the truths contained.

It is no accident that this comes 24 hours before I give a presentation on the Book of Mormon to our ward as a Friday Night Fireside. There is so much material about the Church, the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph that we just can't comprehend much of it! [E.g., "No man knows my history." That includes, by the way, Fawn Brodie who wrote a book about Joseph and took that quote as the title. That was the highlight folks, it was downhill after that. She also wrote a similarly wretched book about Thomas Jefferson which would have completely ruined her academic reputation if she hadn't relieved a lot of people's minds about Joseph Smith. Hugh Nibley wrote a riposte called "No Ma'am, That's Not History," which shreds Brodie's scurrilous book. I have a copy which can be borrowed with a promise of careful handling.]

So, blogette #1

'I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone to our religion, and that a man can get closer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book." This is a bold claim. Joseph Smith did not respond to the Lord's call to the prophet ship tentatively. He was, as we now like to say, "all in." If he was perpetrating a fraud, it was a bold one. If he was trying to pass off fantasy for fact, he was doing so with a flourish. many, assuming to know the answer before investigating, look high and low for explanations of this great revealed keystone of our religion -- everywhere but in the book itself. As one historian noted, tongue in cheek, the Book of Mormon is one book people don't need to read in order to have an opinion of it! So true!

How do we resolve the question? By taking the one course which will give us the answer and which, by the way is right in front of us. Read the book! Follow its precepts! See what happens! Stop wringing your hands (or your brains)! This is good doctrine. The Lord Himself explained this to reticent listeners in His day: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." [John 7:17) As my parents were wont to say, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

So quit looking for a replacement for the Spaulding Manuscript. That ship sailed over a 100 years ago.

We can apply all this in the micro as well as the macro sense. When we are troubled, when we are down, when we are spiritually confused, WHEN WE FEEL FAR FROM GOD, the answer is the same. Sup from the pages of the Book of Mormon, apply them to your life and you will feel the renewing spirit of God come back into your life. "I will not leave your comfortless: I will come to you." (John 14:18)