Goodbye America!  Nice Knowin' Ya'

​I want to make a single point.  However, I need to lay a little historical context first.  So here we go!

   1.  When the Saints followed Brigham Young to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, they found themselves beyond the geographic boundaries of the United States and had entered into Mexico.

   2.  That's right: in 1847, what we call "Utah" was owned by Mexico.  So the Saints literally fled the borders of the United States (see, there's a reason we love Cinco de Mayo!)

   3.  Brigham Young was angry at the government of the United States; he felt the U.S. had betrayed the Saints and had not defended their religious rights.  Brigham wanted nothing to do with the government and wore his wounds openly. 

In fact, in the only revelation Brigham Young received that is canonized (in Section 136), you can almost feel his pain:

​   Thy brethren have rejected you
   and your testimony, even
   the nation that has driven you out;

   And now cometh the day of their calamity,
   even the days of sorrow, like a woman
   that is taken in travail; and their sorrow
   shall be great unless they speedily repent. . .

   For they killed the prophets,
   and them that were sent unto them.

(D&C 136:34-36) 

   4.  So, what do you do in a power-vacuum?  What do you do in the middle of Mexico when left to your own devices?  Well, establish a mini-theocracy, of course!  Which is what Brigham did.  He styled himself (and was anointed in the Council of 50) as the King of Deseret.  

   5.  Never mind that Brigham should have known better.  After all, Jacob in the Book of Mormon prophesied:

    And this land shall be a land of liberty
    unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings
    upon the land, who shall raise up
    unto the Gentiles. . . .

    For he that raiseth up a king
    against me shall perish,
    for I, the Lord, the king of heaven,
    will be their king, and I will be a light
    unto them forever.

(2 Nephi 10:11, 14).

[See also, "Council of Fifty and its Members," by D. Michael Quinn, BYU Studies, vol. 20, no. 2 (1980).]

   6.  Just to put a finer point on this subject of kings, Jesus specifically told his apostles NOT to act like kings.

    The kings of the Gentiles
    exercise lordship over them;
    and they that exercise authority
    upon them are called "benefactors."

    But ye shall not be so:
    but he that is greatest among you,
    let him be as the younger;
    and he that is chief,
    as he that doth serve.

(Luke 22:25-26)

(For a taste of how crazy things got during the whole "blood atonement" business, Brigham Young's bodyguard, Bill Hickman (1815-1883), who was a Danite and had committed a number of murders, confessed to federal authorities and attempted to implicate Brigham Young in many of his crimes.  The federal authorities found him credible enough to cut a deal with him.  Hickman turned States Evidence to testify against President Young in a case that the federal authorities were pursuing.  Hickman was excommunicated by the Church for defaming President Young and the federal government placed Hickman into Witness Protection because of death threats the Danites were making against their old friend.)

   Yikes!

Hello Again America!  No Hard Feelings?

   7.  Anyway, in one of history's great ironies, U.S. President James Polk entered into the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, ending the Mexican-American War.  As part of the Treaty, the Mexican government ceded one-half of its land to the United States, including Utah (and parts of modern-day Arizona, California, New Mexica, Texas, Colorado, and Nevada).

   8.  So, after all that, the Saints in the West found themselves back in the United States.  Huh.  That was unexpected.  Kinda like if the ex-girlfriend you dumped in the messiest way possible purchased your apartment building after the breakup and you had to pay her rent every month.

    ​   Awkward. 

   9.  Brigham Young didn't want anyone, including the government, interfering with his business, including polygamy (which, by the law, was a federal felony under the Morrill Act and Edmunds-Tucker Acts).  

One of my favorite quotes from Brigham Young that showcases his wonderful brazenness is this:

"Polygamy they are unconstitutionally striving to prevent.... How will they get rid of this awful evil in Utah?  They will have to expend about three hundred millions of dollars for building a prison, for we must all go into prison.  And after they have expended that amount for a prison, and roofed it over from the summit of the Rocky Mountains to the summit of the Sierra Nevada, we will dig out and go preaching to the world."

(Brigham Young, quoted in Richard D. Poll, “The Legislative Antipolygamy Campaign,” BYU Studies 26, n. 4 (1986) : 109.)

  Now that's a jail break I would have loved to see!

Territorial Much?

   10.  So what's the big deal with Deseret being brought back into the fold of the United States?  [Cue maniachal laughter.]  Well, it made Utah a TERRITORY.  And what's wrong with being a Territory?  Well, for the Church, everything!  It meant that Washington D.C. reclaimed power over the Territory's government.  This was a huge deal.  It divested Brigham Young of his political authority.

   11.   You see, as a Territory, Utah came under the control of Congress.  That meant that Washington got to choose our leaders, appoint our governors, and even our federal judges.  As a token of respect, I guess, the federal government re-appointed Brigham Young as the governor of the new Territory. 

   But . . . that led to war.

   11.5  As an aside, members of the Church comprised most of Utah's Territorial Legislature in 1852, when they officially made Slavery legal.  It took the Civil War and Congress to repeal Slavery a decade later.  So that's depressing.  The Church that bears the Ensign of Liberty (the Constitution) to the world chose to be a slave territory when we knew (WE KNEW!) God did not approve:

    It. Is. Not. Right.
    that any man
    should be in bondage
    one to another.

(D&C 101:79)

The Mormon War

   12.  The Mormon War (1857-1858) was caused by the Mormon settlers being "in rebellion," according to the federal government.  President James Buchanan sent federal troops (we're talking about the U.S. Army) to escort Alfred E. Cumming to the Territory to replace (read: depose) Brigham Young as governor.  

   13.  As the Smithsonian put it so well:

"In the late 1850s, Mormons believed that the world would end within their lifetimes," says historian David Bigler, author of Forgotten Kingdom: The Mormon Theocracy in the American West, 1847-1896. In addition, he says, "they believed the forefathers who wrote the American Constitution had been inspired by God to establish a place where His kingdom would be restored to power. The Mormons believed their own kingdom would ultimately have dominion over all the United States." At the same time, the American nation was pursuing a "manifest destiny" to extend its domain westward all the way to the Pacific. The continent was not large enough to accommodate both beliefs.... [A] succession of federal officers—judges, Indian agents, surveyors—came to the territory only to find that the governor [Brigham Young] would circumvent or reverse their decisions.

("The Brink of War," by David Roberts, Smithsonian Magazine, June 2008, accessed at 
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-brink-of-war-48447228)

​With the impending invasion of the Territory, Heber C. Kimball exclaimed, "I will fight until there is not a drop of blood in my veins. Good God! I have wives enough to whip out the United States."  Id.

           (President James Buchanan)   

   14.  Tensions escalated between Johnston's Army and the Mormon militia that numbered around 4,000 men under Brigham Young's command.  President Young relocated 30,000 members to the south and buried the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple; he declared Martial Law; he stationed men at the ready to burn down their houses and barns and orchards as the Army advanced.

   15.  Luckily, thanks to the intervention of Thomas Kane (a non-member who was a friend to the Church) a resolution with Brigham Young was mediated in which President Young agreed to step down as governor.  (Kane would later go on to receive a promotion in the Union Army to Major General for his bravery at Gettysburg.)

   16.  Let that sink in.  It took the U.S. Army and the threat of thousands of deaths to persuade Brigham Young to let go of just his political power.  This same Church, by the way, that once rebelled against the legitimate government of the United States today preaches we should submit to civil authority and pay taxes and wear masks . . . because, you know, we're such good citizens.  How far we've come!

"Plan B" to the Rescue

   17.  But not all was lost.  The way to regain power was clear enough: if Utah became a State (rather than a Territory) then the people here could vote into office (into power) whoever they wished.  "Let's get those Gentiles outta here!"

   Time to lobby for Statehood.

The Faustian Bargain 

​   18.  Well, in order to get Statehood the Church was going to have to make some changes.  No way Washington was going to approve Statehood unless the Church became more . . . American. 

   19.  ​What is the most important thing to the Church?  What would the Church be willing to give up in exchange for Statehood?  What would the Church do for respectability?  What was the Church willing to lay on the altar to regain its political position, to earn two LDS Senators and a couple of Congressmen?

    You decide.

Questions

   20.  Why was President Brigham Young so opposed to being ruled when he himself was a ruler?

     a.  Why does the Church ― which chaffed under Washington's collar of authority and control as a Territory in the 19th Century, and which scarified so much to secure Statehood for itself ― why does the Church now treat its local stakes and wards like territories?  

     b.  When the Church has advocated so fiercely (historically) for independence ― for self-determination and self-government ― why does the Church deprive its members of the privileges that it has fought to retain for itself as an institution?

The Point

​That was a lot of context to lead us here, to the present.  But sometimes clarity comes from hindsight.

   21.  How can the Elders of Israel be defenders of the Constitution when we do not follow the principles contained in the Constitution in our Church government?

      *****
​
To Those Who Believe that Men and Women Can Be Free:

Four score and a hundred years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new religion, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great religious war, testing whether that religion, or any religion so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. . . . 

That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain ― that this Church, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom ― and that religious government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

     *****

Amen.

Promised or Cursed Land?

According to Joseph Smith, "the Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God." 

(Joseph Smith, Letter, 20-25 March 1839, quoted in Larry E. Dahl and Donald Q. Cannon, eds., Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith’s Teachings. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000, p. 143.)

Can you think of another word for "glorious standard?"  Oh yes!  Ensign.  The Constitution is an ensign.

    Zion shall flourish,
    and the glory of the Lord
    shall be upon her;

    And she shall be an ensign
    unto the people,
    and there shall come unto her
    out of every nation under heaven.

(D&C 64:41-42)

The Lord promised that America “shall be a land of liberty” and “unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever” (2 Nephi 1:7).

But it is important to remember that it is the land that is choice, not necessarily its people.

Only the righteous “shall be blessed upon the face of this land” (2 Nephi 1:9), while unto the wicked it shall be “cursed” (2 Nephi 1:7). 

So America is a Promised Land, but don't forget that one of those promises is that this land is cursed when the people are wicked.

Conditional Prophecy

​In 1858 ​Elder Orson Hyde told the Saints:

It is said that brother Joseph in his lifetime declared that the Elders of the Church should step forth at a particular time when the Constitution should be in danger, and rescue it, and save it.

This may be so; but I do not recollect that he said exactly so. I believe he said something like this — that the time would come when the Constitution and the country would be in danger of an overthrow; and said he, If the Constitution be saved at all, it will be by the Elders of this Church. I believe this is about the language, as nearly as I can recollect it.

(Orson Hyde, Address given 3 January 1858; quoted in Dahl and Cannon, eds., Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith’s Teachings, 145-46.)

So . . . what are the Elders of the Israel supposed to be doing to protect the cause of freedom?

Every Member a Missionary . . . for Freedom?

​President John Taylor taught, “Besides preaching of the gospel, we have another mission, namely, the perpetuation of the free agency of man and the maintenance of liberty, freedom, and the rights of man.”  (John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 23:63, 9 April 1882.)

Our missionaries of liberty preach the three pillars of freedom mentioned in D&C 134:2:

   1.  The free exercise of conscience

   2.  The right to and control of property

   3.  The protection of life

Not Perfect

Obviously the Constitution was not perfect when it was written (for example, the Great Compromise and Suffrage.) 

However, I do not ascribe to Presentism.  I am grateful for the foresight of the Framers who made the Constitution a living document that could be amended and improved by future generations. 

President J. Reuben Clark said, “It is not my belief, nor is it the doctrine of my Church that the Constitution is a fully-grown document. On the contrary, we believe it must grow and develop to meet the changing needs of an advancing world.”  (J. Reuben Clark, “Constitutional Government: Our Birthright Threatened,” Vital Speeches of the Day 5 (1938): 177.)

So let's improve the Constitution. 

    Let's raise the Ensign.

The Stakes  

​On July 19, 1840, Joseph Smith gave a speech in which he said:

   Even this Nation
   will be on the very verge
   of crumbling to pieces
   and tumbling to the ground
   and when the Constitution
   is upon the brink of ruin
   this people will be the Staff
   up[on] which the Nation
   shall lean and they shall bear
   the Constitution away
   from the verge of destruction.

(Joseph Smith, "Discourse, 19 July 1840, as Reported by Martha Jane Knowlton Coray–B," The Joseph Smith Papers)

You see, for Joseph Smith the Constitution embodied the principles of righteous government.  America was to be a prototype of Zion, where people would learn to govern themselves. 

The "destruction" of the Constitution, therefore, would threaten the whole Zion enterprise. 

So this was never about politics: it was about preparing the soil in which Zion could blossom as a rose.

So let's see:  have we established Zion?  

​   No.  Why not?

Is it because we have not followed the "just and holy principles" of the Constitution in our Church councils and government?

The Prayer for America

The prayer at Valley Forge was pretty great.  But another impressive prayer for America was given by Joseph Smith at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple:

   O Lord, may those principles
   which were so honorably
   and nobly defended, 
   namely, the Constitution
   of our land, by our fathers,
   be established forever.

(D&C 109:54)

How long is forever?  Are these "principles" eternal?  Are they principles belonging to the Kingdom of God?

Well, who gave us these "principles?"

​   I [have] established
   the Constitution
   of this land,
   by the hands of wise men
   whom I raised up
   unto this very purpose.

(D&C 101:80)​

   1.  How well are we defending the "just and holy principles" (D&C 101:77) of the Constitution?

   2.  Is the Church obeying the "just and holy principles" which protect our "moral agency" (D&C 101:78) itself?

   3.  ​If the Constitution were a living thing, how would we measure its health or take its pulse?  How healthy is it?

Walk the Walk

Recently I was having lunch with friends and we were talking about the response of the government to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The conversation transitioned to the way the First Presidency has dealt with the crisis, most recently with their statement on August 12, 2021:

   We find ourselves fighting a war against the ravages of COVID-19 and its variants, an unrelenting pandemic. . . 

   We know that protection from the diseases they cause can only be achieved by immunizing a very high percentage of the population. . .

   We can win this war if everyone will follow the wise and thoughtful recommendations of medical experts and government leaders. 

   Huh.

Well, we are fighting a "war" ― but not against a virus.  The war has always been about agency.  

I mentioned in Part 3 of the Series "The Church Began to be Broken Up" that we don't need Nero and hungry lions and tar and feathers and extermination orders and Edmunds-Tucker Acts . . . when all it takes is a virus to bring the Church to its knees.

Is it too Late to Save the Constitution?

​In the Spring of 1966 Clarence Manion, Dean of Notre Dame Law School and a constitutional law professor for many years, spoke in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. It was interesting to hear him begin his talk by saying that he had heard that the Mormons had a prophesy that the Constitution would one day hang by a thread, and they would be the means of saving it. Then he very earnestly said that if the Mormons are going to save the Constitution, they had better wake up and get going, because it seemed to him that it was already almost too far gone to save.

(The Elders of Israel and the Constitution, p. 198).

Captain Moroni?

Sometimes I wonder if a modern-day Captain Moroni will burst onto the scene. 

I keep waiting.

   Do ye suppose that God
   will look upon you
   as guiltless while ye sit still
   and behold these things?
   Behold I say unto you, Nay.

   I do not fear your power
   nor your authority,
   but it is my God whom I fear.

   I seek not for power,
   but to pull it down.
   I seek not for honor
   of the world,
   but for the glory of my God,
   and the freedom and welfare
   of my country.

(Alma 60:23, 28, 36)

Now that is the spirit of Zion.

   It is also the Spirit of Christ.

   The Spirit of God,
   which is also
   the spirit of freedom.

(Alma 61:15)

Sometimes as I sit in Church, or as I read press releases from the Church Newsroom, seeing all of the attention given to authority and to power and money and to the praise of men, I wonder:

   When did we stop being freemen and become king-men?

Prophecy is Like a Box of Chocolates . . . 

The LDS people are a people of prophecy. 

We have an important role to play in the fulfilment of the Lord's covenants in these last days.

  But not in the way we expect.

The scriptures reveal a destiny for the Church that is somewhat . . . different . . . than the one we usually hear about. 

Personally, I am not sure why we interpret scriptural prophecy in the most narcissistic way possible.  But it might come as a big surprise to learn that we are not up for Best Actor, but instead are nominated only for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

In this Series I want to contextualize the role of the Church within the broader Greatly Marvelous Work of the Father (who always wins Best Director).

Scene: Ward BBQ

Picture this:  We are chatting at a summer ward barbeque as the evening breeze blows our paper plates and napkins across the lawn, and children run around with happy shouts, and the water in our plastic cups turns warm while we watch the sun lean heavily on the horizon. 

I turn to you and ask: 

"What part do you see yourself playing in the future of the Church and its destiny?"

Do we see ourselves, or the Church, as the star of the show?  Are we a diva?  Do we see the Church negotiating a contract to pull at least a $20,000,000 paycheck with backend royalties for its performance?

Scene: Casting Call for Extras

When I watch TV or movies, I love looking at the people in the background, seen through a half-focused lens, doing something away from the main action (like eating at a restaurant in a booth next to the main couple).

Picture this:  What if we are not the stars but are extras in this unfolding drama? 

Don't fret: being an extra is awesome!  We may not get paid very much but at least we're in the movie and get to enjoy craft services.      

Well, I believe we all have a bit of the gift of prophecy in us.  We can sense the signs of the times being fulfilled before our eyes.  The Lord is hastening across white fields ― and the laborers are few.

I bet you have pondered how best to prepare for the coming calamity.  Do you feel prepared?  Are you anxious about the times of tribulation?  Have you wondered what else you can do to be ready?

Because . . .

   It's showtime.

"Be Not Troubled"

Before we take a deep dive into the prophecies that describe our role in the last days, there's a couple of things we need to get out of the way.

   1.  If we plan for the future from a place of fear, we open ourselves to being deceived.

I cannot overstate how important this principle is, so I am going to repeat it: if we plan for the future from a place of fear, we open ourselves to being deceived.

   There are many spirits
   which are false spirits,
   which have gone forth
   in the earth, deceiving
   the world.

(D&C 50:2)

When Jesus told his disciples about the events preceding his Second Coming, "they were troubled" (D&C 45:34).  Why were they concerned?!  They didn't even have to live through these times.  But here we are, with earthquake, famine, hailstorms, war, and much more to come.

   And I said unto them:
   Be not troubled,
   for, when all these things
   shall come to pass,
   ye may know
   that the promises
   which have been made
   unto you shall be fulfilled.

(D&C 45:35).

The Lord is always trying to teach us is to "fear not."

It's Okay to Die

Remember Jerry Seinfeld's famous joke? 

"According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy."

The ultimate fear, I suppose, is death.  So much of our preparation revolves around survival (food storage, water purification, guns).  

But Jesus told us:

   Fear not even unto death;
   for in this world your joy
   is not full, but in me
   your joy is full.

   Therefore, care not for the body,
   neither the life of the body;
   but care for the soul,
   and for the life of the soul.

(D&C 101:36-37)

So whenever I eat Skittles and Hostess cupcakes I tell myself, "Eating junk food is fine!  The Lord said not to care for the body."

   It's okay to die.  We all do. 

   Those that die in me
   shall not taste of death,
   for it shall be sweet
​   unto them.

(D&C 42:46)

Remember what the Lord told Joseph early on when things were rough?  One of the ways we can be like Jesus is by not being afraid to die.  

   Blessed are ye,
   for they can do
   no more unto you
   than [they did] unto me.

(D&C 6:29)

"A Girl Worth Fightin' For"

Being fearless, though, is not enough.  (After all, it is easy to die.)

In order to make it through the coming storm, we also need a reason to live.  

What will motivate us to "carry on" during the coming tribulation?

We need to find our purpose.  We need to cling to that holy purpose that gives us the will to go on at all costs.

   Perfect love casteth out all fear.

   2.  Instead of seeking to preserve our own life, we can focus on living so that we may bless the lives of others.

Sure, we could build a bunker for ourselves and our family, shutting ourselves off from everybody.  We could stockpile canned food and water while waiting out the storm, playing Monopoly and eating microwaved popcorn as the world burns.

But has the Lord called us to isolate ourselves in some remote ranch in rural North Dakota?  Does the Lord want us to retire to our private island in the Pacific and turn our backs on His suffering children?  Are we more concerned with staying alive than we are with being alive in Christ?

​   Thou shalt bear their infirmities.
   Thou shalt stand in the place
   of thy stewardship.

(D&C 42:52-53)

I love John the Baptist's response to the people before the Lord's first coming, and believe he would say the same to us before the Lord's Second Coming:

   And the people asked him, saying,
   What shall we do then?

   He answereth and saith unto them,
   He that hath two coats,
   let him impart to him
   that hath none;
   and he that hath meat,
   let him do likewise.

(Luke 3:10-11)

As others have said, I say too:  The most important preparation we can make in order to survive what is to come is to take care of the poor and needy today.

The Lord has called us to warn, to serve, to sacrifice, to love, to care, to cherish one another ― He has not called us to retreat into our private silos when things collapse. 

To survive the coming tribulation, we must have community.  We cannot make it alone. 

The promises of the Lord will be fulfilled communally.

SPOILER ALERT

This Series may contain doctrine that is intended for a mature audience only.  Reader discretion advised.

Santa, Baby (An Analogy Regarding Our Place in Prophetic History)

When is the right age to tell a child that Santa Claus is not real?

I have five children and they all came to a knowledge of the truth about Santa at different times, in different ways.

I am no expert on childhood development, but generally speaking, I've noticed that the right time to have the "Santa Claus discussion" is around the time my kids start asking too many questions.  

    "How can Santa visit every child in one night?"

    "How does Santa get into homes without a fireplace?"

    "How do reindeer fly?"

Sure, I could double-down on the deception ― I could make reindeer tracks in the snow in the front yard; craft ever more elaborate milk-and-cookie dioramas for Rudolph; draft letters in the handwriting of elves sent magically from the North Pole . . . . 

But the longer we keep up the ruse, the harder it becomes to come clean.  If we wait too long, our children will look elsewhere for answers.

So at last we confess, "Honey, your friends at school are right.  I've been lying to you your whole life."

   "What?!" they cry, with tearful, beseeching eyes.  "But why, daddy?"

   "Well, sweetie, I wanted to make Christmas special for you.  So I jumped aboard the Polar Express of our cultural traditions and I became part of the ruse."

   Our child wipes their eyes.  "But daddy, you taught me to always tell the truth!"

   "Well, yes, but some lies are for your own good.  One day you'll understand."

   "Stop patronizing me, daddy.  I really want to know the truth.  Please don't mislead me."   

   "But weren't you happy in your little bubble? I recall how your countenance glowed under the lights as you opened your gifts on Christmas morning."

   "But it wasn't real!  How long can my joy last in something that is fake?"

   "Oh, my dear little one.  I never meant to harm you.  It's just that "reality" is much less exciting than make-believe.  A little white lie was all it was."

    * Cue Jingle Bells. *

Who Will Build the Ark?

You know who'd be a really good person to know?  Whoever it is building the Ark in the last days ― the Ark that will withstand the flood of fire to come.

    Is it America?  The Church?  Beyoncé?  Who is going to spearhead this project?

    1.  Ark.  A symbol of temporal salvation for the people of God.

   2.  Ark of the Covenant. A symbol of God's word and protection. 

And while we're on the subject, what will the modern ark be built from?  Noah built his boat out of gopher wood because it would float on water.  That was smart, considering destruction came by flood.

But that won't work for us.  Wood burns in a fire.

So buoyancy is not what we're after.  No, we need something flame-retardant.

Actually, maybe we should just stay out of boats for a bit (metaphorically speaking).  The Lord said that "the days will come that no flesh shall be safe upon the waters" (D&C 61:15).  The last place we'd want to be stranded is at sea.

(So if you're gonna "stay in the boat," I wouldn't put much stock in that life jacket.  If the ship sinks, we're sunk.)

Knock on wood.  Whoops!  That was the whole point.  

The Love Boat®

What is the difference between an Ark and a Cruise Ship?

Taking and mixing our metaphors even further (sorry!), let's play devil's advocate for a minute. 

If the devil knew that the "waters" were unsafe, and wanted to "drown" as many souls as possible, what would he do?

   Send them on a cruise, of course!  

That's right ― into the arms of that woman who "sitteth upon the waters."  

   "No, don't take Noah's Ark.  He's a bore.  And the animals stink.  And it'll be so much work!  You'll be up from dawn till dusk shoveling manure.  Join us on the Love Boat® and we'll take care of everything for you!"

Satan would have us believe that safety and security are found on the open sea, away from all those troublesome [promised] land-lubbers who missed the boat.

(Never mind that the scriptures prophecy that the cruise ship will, regrettably, hit an iceberg and sink as a great highway of ice is cast up in the midst of the great deep.)

   "Come join us on the Love Boat.®
We've got a Skipper who will guide us, and a crew who will tell us what to do.  Reax and enjoy 'eating, drinking, and giving in marriage' (Moses 8:21)."

The sad part?  This ill-fated cruise ship will be filled to capacity with "mighty men" and "men of great renown" (Moses 8:21).  

   Bon voyage!

To Be Continued . . . 

Next time we'll look at the following:

   1.  What is the last-days Ark?

   2.  Who builds the last-days Ark?

   3.  How can we get tickets to board the last-days Ark?

If You Give A Mouse a Cookie

​Published in 1985, the children's book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie launched a whole series of "circular tales" that use the trope of a slippery slope.

The story follows the consequences of giving a mouse a cookie:

First, he'll ask for a glass of milk; then he'll want a mirror to see his milk-moustache; which will prompt him to give himself a haircut while admiring his reflection; then he'll want a broom to sweep up his hair clippings . . . and this continues from one thing to the next, until the refrigerator reminds him that he's thirsty; so naturally he asks for a glass of milk ― which makes him want a cookie.

See?  Full circle.

Billions and Billions Served

​McDonalds celebrated the sale of their 100 billionth burger (sold by Ray Kroc himself) on national TV in 1963.

(Is it crazy that McDonalds uses 7% of all potatoes grown in the U.S. for its french fries?  I don't know how we'd survive another Great Potato Famine, do you?)

McDonalds began in 1940, but what made it so popular was something it invented in 1948: the drive-thru.  (That's right, McDonalds invented the drive-thru.)

Nowadays McDonalds doesn't publish their sales data, but we know there have been "Billions and Billions Served."

Billions and Billions Saved

In August 1988, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that its members had performed the 100 millionth endowment for the dead.

(Church News, August 27, 1988, accessed at https://www.thechurchnews.com/archives/1988-08-27/endowments-bless-the-living-and-dead-152854)

It took 111 years (1877 - 1988) to reach that milestone.

Don't we all hope to see on the marquee of the temple in New Jerusalem someday:

   "Billions and Billions Saved!"

(I know what you're thinking, and no, not dollars. We're talking about billions of souls.)

But why are we doing all this work for the dead?

​If You Give a Man an Endowment . . .

We go to the temple once for our own endowment and sealing (that is, unless you get married a bunch of times; but even those who are excommunicated and then rebaptized don't have to return to the temple to re-receive their endowment ― they just have their "blessings restored") (by the way, if our covenants can be restored by the laying on of hands, why can't they be conferred that way?).

So why do we go back to the temple again and again? 

Well, to perform vicarious ordinances for the dead!  It is an act of service for those who are departed, right?  Isn't the work of redeeming the dead an important part of the Restoration?

   Well, no.  It's not.

Huh?

Joseph Smith did not teach temple work for the dead other than baptism ― which will really be the work of the Millennium. (He did allude to a time when we would do anointings and other ordinances for the dead in Zion, but didn't live long enough to restore what he had in mind.)

George A. Smith:

The Twelve were then instructed to administer in the Ordinance [singular] of the Gospel for the dead, beginning with baptism and the laying on of hands. This work was at once commenced. . . . This was seen to be but the beginning of an immense work, and that to administer all the ordinances of the Gospel to the hosts of the dead was no light task. Some of the Twelve asked Joseph if there could not be some shorter method of administering for so many. Joseph in effect replied, “The laws of the Lord are immutable, we must act in perfect compliance with what is revealed to us. We need not expect to do this vast work for the dead in a short time. I expect it will take at least a thousand years.”

(George A. Smith, Statement, General Minutes of St. George Stake, 1872–1878, series 11, vol. 4, 25 December 1874.)

Joseph Smith was quite clear about baptisms for the dead, stating that "the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead" (D&C 128:18).

Notice that Joseph defined the "welding link" as just baptisms for the dead. 

   1829:  Baptisms performed for the living.

   1832:  Revelation that gospel is preached to the dead (see D&C 76:73).

   1840:  Baptisms first performed for the dead.

   1842:  Nauvoo endowment introduced for the living.

   1842(ish):  Nauvoo Law of Adoption under which the living were sealed to priesthood "fathers."

​Why Did the Church Start Doing Endowments for the Dead in 1877?

Why did temple work change so dramatically in 1877?

Did the Lord come up with a better way of doing things?  Was the old way just to prepare us for something greater?

Well, one answer is that Wilford Woodruff was inspired by God to make the changes.  We could call it "continuing revelation."

But revelation does not come in a vacuum.  It is situated in the context of one's culture and comes in response to one's concerns.

And there were a couple of things going on at the time that influenced the Church's decision to extend temple work to our dead ancestors. 

First and foremost, I think, was the desire to distance ourselves from the confusion that accompanied who-was-who-was-who-adopted-to-and-why? 

Allowing people to be sealed to their dead ancestors was less controversial because it was black-and-white.  So the Law of Adoption (in which we picked our parents) was replaced with the current practice (where we don't pick our parents).

Another factor was the Church's need to respond to growing occultism and spiritualism in the United States.

Remember how American society was enthralled with seances and communing with the dead, particularly after the Civil War?  Families wanted to know the fate of their deceased loved ones. 

While the Church was insulated from the Civil War for the most part, it was exposed to the encroaching influence of the occult.  The Brethren frequently spoke against it, hoping to squash it.

According to Richard Bennett, the Chair of Church History and Doctrine at BYU, one of the reasons the Church began doing work for the dead was because:

[P]eople [were] seeking the dead.  Was that a factor in the beginning of endowments for the dead for the church in 1877?  I claim that it may have been one of the factors to begin to address how we really think about them.  'There is redemption for the dead but it’s not that way' [i.e, through the occult or spiritualism].  So was it a factor?  I argue that it probably was one of the factors.

(Richard Bennett, Interview Part 8, on Gospel Tangents, posted April 12, 2017, accessed at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIYxSSBpjLY)

Veneration of the Dead
 
If you're Catholic, you light a candle and pray to your deceased relatives. 

If you're in China, ancestor worship is seen as the ultimate homage to the dead.

If you're Buddhist, your piety will assist your departed loved ones toward the Heavenly Realm.

If you're in Vietnam, you will surely have an ancestor altar in your home.

If you're Egyptian, you practice mummification rituals for the dead.

If you're LDS, you go to the temple under your ancestor's name and perform ordinances vicariously.

Will "The" Fathers Please Stand?

Here's the important part:  who are "the fathers" referred to in Malachi?  

   And he shall turn the heart
   of the fathers
   to the children,
   and the heart
   of the children
   to their fathers,
   lest I come
   and smite the earth
   with a curse.

(Malachi 4:6)

Is this referring to our genealogical fathers? (Which is the way I hear it being interpreted in Sunday School.)

Look at how Abraham used the term "the fathers":

   I sought for the blessings of the fathers,
   and the right whereunto I should be ordained
   to administer the same . . .
   I became a rightful heir, a High Priest,
   holding the right belonging to the fathers.

   It was conferred upon me from the fathers;
   it came down from the fathers,
   from the beginning of time . . .
   even the right of the firstborn, or the first man,
   who is Adam, or first father,
   through the fathers unto me.

(Abraham 1:2-3)

Now contrast that with what Abraham says next:

   My fathers,
   having turned
   from their righteousness,
   and from the holy commandments
   which the Lord their God
   had given unto them

(Abraham 1:5)

What is the difference between "the fathers" and "my fathers?"

What if "the fathers" referred to the patriarchal fathers of old with whom the Lord covenanted, like Adam, Enoch, and Abraham? 

What if "the fathers" referred to those noble and great ones ("gods" in Abraham 5:4) who condescended to earth in order to guide us to a better estate? 

As I said in part 6 of this series:

All covenants involve the promise to love (sealing).  Covenants are kept by lowering ourselves to lift others up (so in a way all covenants are covenants of condescension, which typifies the love of God).

Rubber Meets the Road

A few months before his death, on March 10, 1844, Joseph preached the doctrine of Elijah.  I don't know about you, but what he taught sounds a little different from what we're used to hearing today.

You be the judge:

The spirit power & calling of Elijah is . . . the sealing of the hearts of the fathers unto the children & the hearts of the children unto the fathers even those who are in heaven . . . .

[Umm.  Our fathers are not in heaven, are they?  I thought they were in the spirit world.]

I wish you to understand this subject for it is important & if you will receive it this is the spirit of Elijah that we redeem our dead & connect ourselves with our fathers which are in heaven . . . .

Again the doctrine or sealing power of Elijah is as follows if you have power to seal on earth & in heaven then we should be crafty the first thing you do go & seal on earth your sons & daughters unto yourself & yourself unto your fathers in eternal glory.

(Joseph Smith, Discourse, Nauvoo, 10 Mar. 1844; in Wilford Woodruff, Journal, pp. [205]–[212]; handwriting of Wilford Woodruff)

Is My Hearing Aid Turned On?
​
Let's see if I heard this straight:

Joseph's vision was for us (the living) to build Zion so we could connect ourselves to "the" fathers who sit in eternal glory in heaven (in other words, for us to be grafted into the natural branches). 

Then, once we're sealed to the fathers "in heaven," we can work backwards and seal our ancestors to ourselves?

Did I get that right?

Full Circle

The current "covenant path," on the other hand, has us sealing ourselves (who are not exalted) to our dead ancestors (who are not exalted), thinking that it will . . . exalt us both?

That is some creative reasoning, for sure. 

    Not Exalted + Not Exalted = Exalted (??)

I wish!  If ever there was a dollop of carnal security to top our pancake, there it is.

Grafting two dead branches together gives us . . . a longer dead branch. 

What we need is to be grafted into the True Vine: into the natural branches (through which the covenants and promises flow).

   I do it that I may preserve
   unto myself the natural branches
   of the tree; and also, that I may lay up
   fruit thereof against the season
   unto myself;
   for it grieveth me
   that I should lose this tree
   and the fruit thereof.

   And it came to pass that the Lord
   of the vineyard went his way,
   and hid the natural branches
   of the tame olive tree.

(Jacob 5:13-14)