An Abridgment of an Abridgment- Nephi's Teachings on Recieving the Sealing Power

Looking back over Nephi’s life, through his record, we discover that he deliberately “hits the mountain tops”. This means he outlines wonderfully a pattern, or path, that must be followed to gain “power in the priesthood”.

Here is an “abridgment” of that path as I have observed so far.

His father taught him and testified of God. (1 Nephi 1:1)

He had a desire to know the “mysteries of Godliness” for himself. (1 Nephi 2: 16)

He “cried” unto the Lord which resulted in the Lord visiting him and he believed. (1 Nephi 2:16)

He entered into the same covenant as Abraham did. (1 Nephi 2, 1 Nephi 3:15)

He testified of this truth to others in the spirit of prophecy. (1 Nephi 2:17)

He cried unto the Lord on behalf of others or ministered in the office of a priest. (1 Nephi 2:18)

He learned the blessings that are given by obedience to the covenant he entered into, namely: Land inheritance (1 Nephi 2:20), prosperity in the form of posterity (1 Nephi 2:20), and priesthood power (1 Nephi 2:22)

He was promised the blessing of being a “ruler and teacher”, or a king, predicated upon his faithfulness. (1 Nephi 2:19-22)

He was given a test to prove if he would be faithful in all things. (1 Nephi 4)

He obtained “power in his word”, or the sealing power. (1 Nephi 7, 1 Nephi 17)

Generally we find all of this information in the first few chapters of the Book of Mormon. This is even before Nephi talks about the vision of the “Tree of Life”. I believe Nephi is trying to show us a pattern. When we truly see this pattern in Nephi’s life, it becomes easier to recognize it in the lives of others in the Book of Mormon, and the in other Standard Works of The Church, and even to pattern our own lives after it.

I am grateful that the Book of Mormon is a beautiful record of how to gain power in the priesthood, and seek for it individually, as Nephi and so many others did.

I know this may seem like a redundant review of my last several posts, but I believe a firm understanding of this process is needed before we can go on to “tackle” the Tree of Life vision and the meaning it has for each of us.

Please ponder and pray about these things and ask for further light and knowledge. Remember the only real difference between Laman and Lemuel, and Nephi, is this outlined process, starting most importantly with the desire to know, and the willingness to ask.

1 Nephi 15:3 For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought.

8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?

Taking The Book of Mormon Too Lightly Section 84

I have been so involved in studying and learning great things in the Book of Mormon that I have neglected to write down what I have learned. I need to repent, so today I, once again, will proceed to share some of the cool things I have learned.

Just to get you up to speed… in first Nephi we can learn all kinds of deep doctrinal things that perhaps are not seen unless a serious study of the book, with the help of the spirit, takes place. In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord pronounced a condemnation upon the Church for taking The Book of Mormon too lightly.

Doctrine and Covenants 84: 54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—

55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.

56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.

57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

In 1986, President Ezra Taft Benson gave a landmark talk titled, The Book of Mormon-Keystone of Our Religion. In that talk he stated:

Brethren and sisters, I implore you with all my heart that you consider with great solemnity the importance of the Book of Mormon to you personally and to the Church collectively.

Over ten years ago I made the following statement regarding the Book of Mormon:

“Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or our condemnation.

“Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life. There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod, and one who is not” (Ensign, May 1975, p. 65).

I reaffirm those words to you this day. Let us not remain under condemnation, with its scourge and judgment, by treating lightly this great and marvelous gift the Lord has given to us. Rather, let us win the promises associated with treasuring it up in our hearts.

I confess, I have been guilty of “taking the Book of Mormon too lightly” and have been under the same condemnation as the rest of the Church for that. As of late, I have come to realize a different aspect, or additional meaning, that can be applied to the warning given of “taking The Book of Mormon too lightly” other than not studying from it each day. I believe that part of taking The Book of Mormon too lightly rests in the way we perceive the doctrine that is being taught in the book itself. I believe that we are not looking for the deeper doctrinal concepts that both Nephi and Mormon tried to convey to us. These concepts, if seen and followed, will lead us back to the presence of the Father, both symbolically and literally. As far as I know, the condemnation has still not been lifted from the Church as a whole. I believe that the condemnation will be lifted as individuals come to understand the heavy, which is the opposite of light, doctrines that are contained within the pages of that great book. That condemnation will be taken away individually.

The first way to see deeper meaning within the pages of the Book of Mormon is to understand the priesthood perspective from which it was written. Lehi, who was the patriarch of his family, operates under the Patriarchal Priesthood. As a Church today we function under a lesser priesthood, one that might be termed “Apostolic Priesthood”, therefore we tend to perceive the Book of Mormon as written from that level. I believe it is written from an even greater perspective than we are used to seeing. We simply view it too lightly.

President Boyd K. Packer alluded to this very thing when he addressed us in Conference with a talk called, The Power of the Priesthood. He stated that, “The priesthood does not have the strength that it should have and will not have until the power of the priesthood is firmly fixed in the families.” Lehi had that power in the priesthood that we are lacking today. Lehi held the Patriarchal Priesthood. If we were more seriously engaged in seeking the face of the Savior, we too would operate under the same authority as Lehi and Nephi. In the Book of Mormon both of these great men show us the way to make this happen.

We simply cannot afford to take this council lightly any more.

Have you started a serious study of The Book of Mormon?

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Lehi 1 Nephi 1

How grateful I am for the record we are given in the Old Testament of the dealings of the Lord regarding the Children of Israel. Perhaps for the first time ever, in all my studies of the Book of Mormon, I finally believe I have come to more fully understand the historical background and current issues that the Prophet Lehi and his family faced by living when they did in Jerusalem. This understanding comes, in part, because of the accounts given by Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. These men, contemporaries of Lehi, were prophets of the Lord who delivered messages of repentance to a wicked and prideful people. These people, the covenant or chosen people of the Lord, had received authority to administer in the ordinances of the Temple, but had lost the “power” through disobedience, wickedness and the worship of false Gods or abominations. They had come to rely more upon the arm of flesh, than upon the Lord himself. (Again, my attention is called to Elder Boyd K Packer and his voice of warning given in conference.)

Isaiah had prophesied many years before the time of Lehi, to an unrepentant Northern Kingdom of their impending doom, or scattering, which became a reality because they were unwilling to listen to his voice. The Assyrians were the means the Lord used to accomplish this work of scattering, as He allowed them to conquer the Northern Kingdom and utterly destroy its leadership. In Lehi’s lifetime the prophet Jeremiah resounded with a similar message given to the prideful Southern Kingdom. These Children of Israel would soon follow the same path as the Northern Kingdom when the Lord uses the Babylonians to scatter His covenant people because of their disobedience to his commands.

The Babylonian “take over” of Israel came in waves. First, they quietly removed those who had wealth, education, or political power from the area and took them to either the city, or king’s court in Babylon, as was the case with Daniel, or to the outlying areas which were similar to refugee camps, which was the case with Ezekiel. Next they replaced the rightful King of Judah, who they took captive to Babylon, with a “puppet king”, one they could control, by the name of Zedekiah. It was during the first year of Zedekiah’s reign that Lehi received his call to cry repentance to the people of Jerusalem. At the same time the prophet Jeremiah was also preaching to the people in Jerusalem. Thus, we have four different prophetic accounts of the Lord’s message to His people who lived simultaneously.

It is interesting to note that the Lord instructed three of the prophets, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Jeremiah to convey His will to them, that they needed to physically surrender to Babylon but return to the Lord spiritually so that He could some day allow them to return to their land of promise. (This would be facilitated by His use of the Persian Empire, and King Cyrus who eventually conquered Babylon and, as Isaiah prophesied years earlier, allowed the Children of Israel to return and reconstruct their beleaguered Temple.) Lehi conversely was given the message to take his family and flee into the wilderness.

This is the situation that was present at the time of the record of 1 Nephi, as he informs us:

1:4 For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed.

Having entered into a Covenant with the Lord, the Children of Israel could not believe that their “great city” could be destroyed. They must have been confused by the message given, after all, they had a Temple in their midst, certainly the Lord would offer protection and guidance to those He loved? This attitude is evidenced by the account of the actions of Laman and Lemuel. Their focus on the authority, or gift of the covenant, allowed them to forget the true source from which the actual blessings come, the “power” of His word. I believe that the Book of Mormon is a definitive work, or instruction manual, on HOW to tap into that power. This is the same power that President Packer warned us about, which is ultimately the only way to be saved from destruction.

As I study, I love to look for principles and patterns that show HOW to gain that power in my life. That will be my focus in studying the Book of Mormon this time around.

What will be yours?

The Book of Mormon

I love the Book of Mormon. This year in my Institute class we are studying the Book of Mormon. Even though we have just started the class I can already see the blessing the Book of Mormon is in my life. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to study the Doctrine and Covenants in depth last year. It is a magnificent book of scripture that allows for a perfect transition into the study of the Book of Mormon.

My last posts were in regard to Section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants wherein I discussed the New and Everlasting Covenant and the possibility of receiving ones calling and election sure, which also involves the bestowal of the sealing power to the recipient. This process is one of progression from a prophet, to a priest, to a king. It requires one to pass a test given by the Lord as a trial of faith, such as the test given to Abraham to sacrifice his son, or Joseph Smith to practice polygamy. When one receives the power to seal, they speak as if the Lord were speaking himself. The power is in their word.

President Boyd K Packer recently spoke of this power when he addressed the Saints in his most recent conference talk titled, The Power of the Priesthood. He defined Priesthood as “the authority and the power which God has granted to men on the earth to act for Him. When Priesthood authority is exercised properly, priesthood bearers do what He would do if He were present.”

He also cautioned us in the following way, “We have done very well at distributing the authority of the priesthood. We have priesthood authority planted nearly everywhere. We have quorums of elders and high priests worldwide. But distributing the authority of the priesthood has raced, I think, ahead of distributing the power of the priesthood. The priesthood does not have the strength that it should have and will not have until the power of the priesthood is firmly fixed in the families as it should be.” He continued, “The authority of the priesthood is with us. After all that we have correlated and organized, it is now our responsibility to activate the power of the priesthood in the Church. Authority in the priesthood comes by way of ordination; power in the priesthood comes through faithful and obedient living in honoring covenants. It is increased by exercising and using the priesthood in righteousness.”

The Book of Mormon is a beautiful instruction manual on how to gain that power through the priesthood and claim the attendant blessings that go with it. It is no wonder that the Prophet Joseph Smith described it in the following way, “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

I can see that this is true.