Seeking To Know

I love General Conference. It seems to me that many of the talks this past conference centered on gaining a personal knowledge of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, Elder Robert D. Hales gave a beautiful description of the process in his talk titled just that. The following is a brief excerpt from that talk....

Look for the action words he uses to help us understand the pattern of progressing from believing, which is a light that all are born with, to knowing.

"Seeking to Know God, Our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ"

"Brothers and sisters, you may already know, deep in your soul, that God lives. You may not know all about Him yet and do not understand all His ways, but the light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God and the Light of Christ, which you are born with.

So come. Believe the testimonies of the prophets. Learn of God and Christ. The pattern to do so is clearly taught by prophets of old and prophets today.

Cultivate a diligent desire to know that God lives.

This desire leads us to ponder on the things of heaven—to let the evidence of God all around us touch our hearts.

With softened hearts we are prepared to heed the Savior’s call to “search the scriptures” and to humbly learn from them.

We are then ready to ask our Heavenly Father sincerely, in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, if the things we have learned are true. Most of us will not see God, as the prophets have, but the still, small promptings of the Spirit—the thoughts and feelings that the Holy Ghost brings into our minds and hearts—will give us an undeniable knowledge that He lives and that He loves us.

Gaining this knowledge is ultimately the quest of all God’s children on the earth."

Once again we are taught, that revelation will come to our minds and hearts and we can KNOW for ourselves of these truths.

I love the simplicity of this pattern, don't you?

The Camp of Israel and The Three Degrees of Glory

I love the Old Testament. That said, I believe that many of the “plain and precious” truths that were contained in the Old Testament were taken out during the many translation processes. Joseph Smith had the incredible job of restoring some of those truths back where they belong, within the context of the scriptural stories of the Old and New Testament. Today we have what is known as the JST or Joseph Smith Translation which adds back many truths that have been lost to the world.

The Lord knowing the “cunning and craftiness” of Satan and of men, knew that some of these evident truths would be tampered with. In His wisdom he allowed them to remain, buried in symbolism, known only to those who “searched” diligently, guided by the direction of the Spirit, to find them. These are some of the “mysteries of the kingdom” that we are instructed to search for.

One such mystery is that of the organizational make up of our Heavenly abode. The Doctrine and Covenants plainly teaches about the “three degrees of glory” and illustrates the nature of Heaven.

D&C 88:20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.

21 And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.

22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.

23 And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.

24 And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.

I believe that even though this doctrine is not as plainly taught in the Old Testament it is still there. It was such an important concept to learn, that the Lord made sure His covenant children would never forget it, or recognize the truth of it when taught to them a new.

One example of the Lord’s teaching on the "three degrees of glory" is shown to the Children of Israel through the manner in which they were to set up the camp of Israel, as they wandered in the wilderness under the direction of Moses. They were given strict instructions as to the placement of the tribes and tabernacle, as illustrated below.

Even in the placement of the Camp of Israel we see the separation, or concept of the degrees of glory, that is being taught. The innermost place was the Tabernacle of the Lord, moving out from there were the Son’s of Moses and of Aaron, or the priesthood. These priesthood holders acted as mediators between the outermost circle which consisted of the rest of the camp and represented the world, and the Tabernacle itself. There was even a place labeled “outside” the camp of Israel where certain portions of the sacrifices were to be taken.

To illustrate the point even further, within the Tabernacle there were three distinct separations as well.

D&C 131: 1 In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees;

The Lord made sure that the “mysteries of His kingdom” would be made know to those who searched for them throughout all generations. We are so lucky to have the added insights from the additional scripture we have been given, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Joseph Smith Translation. These scriptures allow us to more fully recognize these truths that are taught in both the Old and New Testaments.

History of Section 2 of The Doctrine and Covenants

Joseph Smith had suffered all manner of persecution after his report of the First Vision, especially by those who would have been considered the religious leaders in his area. Without the company of his former friends who “if they supposed (him) to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed (him)—(he) was left to all kinds of temptations and, mingling with all kinds of society, (he) frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, (he) was sorry to say, led (him) into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God.”


Without the proper influences in his life, Joseph Smith felt he had become guilty of levity and association with jovial company. Feeling that this was not the type of character befitting one who had been visited by God, Joseph felt inclined to call upon God to ask forgiveness for all of his sins and follies, and to understand his place or standing before Him. Praying with full confidence that his questions would be answered as they were before, Joseph discovered a light appearing in his room until it became a personage standing in the air beside him. This personage was Moroni, the last prophet of the Book of Mormon and the keeper of the plates.


The message that Moroni delivered to Joseph Smith is one of incredible consequence. It answered fully the questions that Joseph had posed to the Lord. A careful study of what was given to Joseph in response to his inquiry as to his standing before God, by way of scriptural references, shows the important part that Joseph would play in the coming forth of the gospel in this dispensation.


Malachi 3 and 4

Isaiah 11

Acts 3: 22-23

Joel 2: 28-32


In conclusion, it was three years after Joseph Smith received the First Vision that he again was visited by a Heavenly messenger and received the answer to his prayers once again and what we know today as Section 2 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Covenants The Lord Made With Our Fathers

Here is a list of Covenants that were made with our Fathers, allowing us to turn our hearts to them.

Adam
D&C 107:40-57

Enoch
JST Genesis 14:26-31
Moses 7: 60, 62-63

Noah
JST Genesis 9:21-25
Moses 8: 1-3

Abraham
Abraham 1:2-4
Abraham 2:9-10
Genesis 18:18-19
JST Genesis 22: 11-12
Genesis 22: 17-18

Isaac
Genesis 17:19
Genesis 26:3-4

Jacob
Genesis 28:3-4, 12-15

Joseph
JST Genesis 50:24-38
2 Nephi 21

Moses
D&C88:6-27
Deuteronomy 33:16-17 and many other chapters in Deuteronomy!

Ephraim and Manasseh
JST Genesis 48: 5-11

After seeing these beautiful promises, it is no wonder that Moroni told Joseph Smith that:

"He shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming."

These promises or covenants mean everything to us even today!

The Family: A Proclamation To The World and Propostion 8 In California

Last Sunday in our Young Adult Branch we had a combined Priesthood and Relief Society lesson on the document, The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I suppose the reason for the lesson with an emphasis on that document may have been brought about because of the recent discussion of Proposition 8 in California, where once again we, as voters, are being asked to redefine the bounds of marriage.

Although I have studied the proclamation in depth, and even been responsible for giving instruction on it in Seminary, I was once again amazed at the magnitude of such a piece of counsel that it is. We proceeded in class to study it paragraph by paragraph to unlock the council that is given inside.

May I first say that I noticed that it is very bold and to the point. Perhaps in past times of study I had not noticed this fact. But, with the divided discussion even amongst members of the church, pertaining to these bold truths, simply because of the recent political involvement, I had a tendency to squirm in my seat. I felt for the kind instructor who was attempting to teach these truths to a group of youth who may be somewhat "foggy" about them.

The Proclamation to the World does not pull any punches. It boldly states that “marriage is between a man and a woman”. It also states that “gender is an essential characteristic of individual pre-mortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” One of the kids raised their hand and asked, “Then do we believe that it is possible for someone to be born in the wrong body?” Isn’t it amazing that years before this question would be asked; a prophet of God gave the answer in a clear and unmistakable way?

I guess the most important thing I discovered by looking at the document once again is that our church is lead by men authorized by the Lord to speak for him. This document is proof of living prophets who could see beyond their day and look into the future, counseling us on what eternal truths are. At the time that the proclamation was issued, these truths were not being challenged as they are today.

Four words stood out to me the most, as I looked though the actual document. They are “declare”, “warn”, and “call upon”. Our dear sweet prophets who saw our day, declared boldly the truth about marriage and family, knowing those truths would be attacked. They then proceeded to “warn” us as a society about the consequences that would be brought about if these truths were to be violated. Then finally they “call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as a fundamental unit of society.”

This last part where they specifically “call upon” us is so prophetic. That has been fulfilled today right before your eyes. We have been asked by our current prophet Thomas S. Monson, to support our previous prophet and more importantly the decisions of the Lord, in a statement which reads,

“We ask that you do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time to assure that marriage in California is legally defined as being between a man and a woman. Our best efforts are required to preserve the sacred institution of marriage.”

The fulfillment of this prophecy is so exact. The wording in the proclamation asks to “promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.” Proposition 8 is exactly one of those measures.

I have observed something that concerns me far greater than even this pressing one of redefining marriage. For those of you who are unaware, there has become a division in the church over this issue. Many express a concern that “the church” has no place in politics and should remain silent on this issue. Many feel that by supporting Proposition 8 we as a church are showing a lack of tolerance and love for Heavenly Fathers children. Many of these arguments and other issues have arisen that have caused a division amongst the saints.

The major issue, as I see it, is a matter of obedience concerning the saints in the church today. It is one involving the foundational principle of testimony. It is testing the saints to the core, to see if in fact they do believe that this Church of Jesus Christ is being led by Him through modern day prophets. It is requiring a proof of that testimony by showing obedience and action. When a prophet of God requests something, we as a church should be unflinching in our resolve to adhere. Can you see the implications of this request going far beyond that of marriage and the family? It is a refining process for the saints as well.

“And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” Matthew 25:32-33

“Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:30

“Therefore, I must gather together my people, according to the parable of the wheat and the tares, that the wheat may be secured in the garners to possess eternal life, and be crowned with celestial glory when I shall come in the kingdom of my Father to reward every man according as his work shall be;” Doctrine and Covenants 101:65

There is far more at stake here than families, it is the individual.