A prophet has said it is our duty, as
members of the LDS church, to preach and teach. He also said we
should “push the envelope.” I decided to take up that charge and
resurrect my blog. The idea for today's post came during the closing
song in Relief Society.
The Spirit of God
1. The Spirit of God like a fire is
burning!
The latter-day glory begins to come
forth;
The visions and blessings of old are
returning,
And angels are coming to visit the
earth.
[Chorus]
We'll sing and we'll shout with the
armies of heaven,
Hosanna, hosanna to God and the
Lamb!
Let glory to them in the highest be
given,
Henceforth and forever, Amen and
amen!
2. The Lord is extending the Saints'
understanding,
Restoring their judges and all as at
first.
The knowledge and power of God are
expanding;
The veil o'er the earth is beginning
to burst.
3. We'll call in our solemn
assemblies in spirit,
To spread forth the kingdom of
heaven abroad,
That we through our faith may begin
to inherit
The visions and blessings and
glories of God.
4. How blessed the day when the lamb
and the lion
Shall lie down together without any
ire,
And Ephraim be crowned with his
blessing in Zion,
As Jesus descends with his chariot
of fire!
I love this song. I always have.
I have learned so many things since I
last attended a church meeting a month ago, plus I'm in a ward I
moved out of over three years ago. I suppose it was a combination of
both that brought me to the perspective I had as I attended the
block.
The visions and blessings of old are
returning,
And angels are coming to visit the
earth.
What do we think of when we sing those
words? I used to think of Joseph Smith and his era, yet are these not
things we should be experiencing today? In the last several months, I
have met people who have seen visions, including angels and even the
Lord, Himself (their fruits bear record that this is so). I have seen
the Lord and angels in dreams, but not in waking visions nor
personally. I have met many people who, like myself, have gifts of
the Spirit. These gifts are varied and assorted.
The Lord is extending the Saints'
understanding
Has our understanding been
extended, or do we know less than did those in Joseph's day, though
we may tell ourselves that we know more and that there are some
things that Joseph just did not understand (even though he gazed into
heaven a whole lot more than 5 minutes, and most people since his
time have not gazed into heaven at all, especially those who write
our lesson manuals)? How is it that we understand more than he? How
can that be so if we have not entertained Gods and angels?
Restoring their judges and all as at
first.
Judges? Did Christ intend to restore
judges? Or was He shooting for an ancient societal order, such as was
found in Enoch's day? Was He shooting for leaders we were to obey at
the peril of our souls or was He shooting for a patriarchal order,
and a society in which each person would literally know the Lord as
we know our siblings and best friends?
The knowledge and power of God are
expanding;
I put forth that the knowledge and
power of God are expanding,
but not necessarily in our meetings. Christ, knowledge
(actual knowledge, not Mormonese
“knowledge” which is, “I really, really believe” at the most)
of Him, and the powers of heaven are there seeking us, begging us to
put our minds and lives in order, to turn and face Christ and only
Christ.
Knowledge:
I know my Savior lives because I saw Him. I touched Him. He spoke to
me as one person speaks to another, in my own language, using my own
name.
Power:
That which heals both body and soul; that which enlightens and
enlarges; that which literally moves mountains and trees, changes the
course of rivers, and calls down fire from heaven.
The veil o'er the earth is beginning
to burst.
Truly,
it was beginning in Joseph's time. Have we shut the heavens? Do we
believe they are open to only an elite few? Or do we understand
Joseph's teachings that the heavens must
open to all who hope to stand in Christ's presence when He comes? If
we cannot stand in His presence now, what makes us think we can stand
in His presence when He comes in the glory of His kingdom with the
Fathers?
We'll call in our solemn assemblies
in spirit,
To spread forth the kingdom of
heaven abroad,
I have
no idea what this couplet is even attempting to say. Do we honestly
know what a “solemn assembly” is? Is it the meetings we have
today when we dedicate a temple or sustain church leaders by quorum
in a general conference? I'm not so sure that's what one really is.
And how do we call these things “in spirit”? What does that even
mean? And how is this to spread for the kingdom of heaven abroad? If
anyone understands what the author of the lyrics meant when he wrote
this, please enlighten me.
Also,
the “kingdom” is not the “church” which, today, is a legal
corporation consisting of only one person. Everyone else is
“collateral” so to speak, but even in this abstract portion that
comprise the people who have been baptized into said organization,
the church is not really synonymous with the kingdom. The kingdom of
God pulls “fish” out of the church, but not all in the church
will go to the kingdom and not all outside of the church will be
denied the kingdom which is coming. (How can one be baptized into an
organization that is comprised of only one person is beyond me. It
must be the abstract portion, the portion that has a membership
number assigned, that pays tithes and such. Where these people fit in
the legal entity of the corporation is totally beyond me.)
That we through our faith may begin
to inherit
The visions and blessings and
glories of God.
Have
we done this? Have many since the time of Joseph Smith? I have begun
to know some who claim these experiences (I mentioned this above).
Have they really had those experiences or do they just think they
have? Well, that's the kicker, you know. It is impossible for us to
actually know what
another has seen or experienced, especially
if we have not also experienced and seen that thing.
Instead
of arguing whether Denver Snuffer or this person or that person has
actually seen the Savior, perhaps it behooves each
of us to search after the
Lord ourselves, asking Him
what we lack. Studying the scriptures as if we have no clue what they
mean (relying on the Holy Spirit to teach us the meaning). Shedding
the notion that the Holy Ghost speaks to us through causing us to
“feel good.” It is entirely possible for the Holy Ghost or Holy
Spirit to speak to us through “pure knowledge that enlightens the
mind” - it is entirely possible that the warm fuzzies and
tears of HeartSell (TM)
has nothing to do with the Holy Ghost.
Perhaps
we should study the Lectures on Faith which were considered
scripture, and which were removed arbitrarily. The people had no
choice. They were informed that the lectures were not scripture, and
that lie has been perpetuated.
Perhaps
we should be willing to sacrifice all to the Lord: our reputations,
our “safety,” our time,
our preconceived ideas, our false traditions, our money, our friends,
our family, our physical
belongings, our membership in
any and all organizations, our lives (whether by living or dying),
our hobbies, our lusts, the sins which easily beset us (it may also
be a good idea to discover which things are actually sins and which
are not), and our idols (the men that we slavishly follow as if they
were God, ignoring D&C 76 which points out that followers of men,
even if the men be true prophets, are cast into hell).
Then,
verse 4 can come about. By
the way, I looked up the words “Ephraim be crowned” and found
only three references:
1
WOE
to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious
beauty is a fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys
of them that are overcome with wine
(Old
Testament |
Isaiah
28:1)
3
The
crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet
(Old
Testament |
Isaiah
28:3)
32
And
there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion,
by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of
Ephraim.
(Doctrine
and Covenants |
Section
133:32)
I hope I am not coming off harsh. I deleted my previous blog for two
reasons: I did not esteem myself righteous enough to preach and
teach, and I did not wish to harm anyone's testimony. I bring it back
because I was told that it was a member's duty to preach and teach,
and it was advised to “push the envelope” as I mentioned at the
beginning of this post. May God bless you – and may God bless me to
only preach and teach as I feel directed by the Spirit and not by my
pride.