3 Nephi 19:23-29 & John 17 — LeGrand Baker — Eternal Family and Eternal Friendships

Posted on November 10, 2013 by LeGrand Baker

3 Nephi 19:23-29
23 And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one.
……
29 Father, I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them (3 Nephi 19:23, 29).

That prayer is essencially the same as the Savior’s great intercessory prayer as is recorded in John 17:

9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
…………
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me (John 17:9-11, 20-23).

The revelations to the Prophet Joseph both clarified the meaning of, and emphasized the importance of that oneness. In the first example the Savior equates becoming a son of God with that eternal oneness:

2 I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am one in the Father, as the Father is one in me, that we may be one (D&C 35:2).

In the second example he makes it unequivocal:

27 Behold, this I have given unto you as a parable, and it is even as I am. I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine (D&C 38:27).

And in the third example he equates that oneness with eternal glory:

13 For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth—yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one (D&C 29:13).

The oneness of the Gods with the oneness of God’s faithful children in that same family-friendship-relationship is the most beautiful doctrine I know. It is the ultimate product of the Savior’s Atonement, and the ultimate source of joy for Father, and for the Savior, as well as for ourselves.

The minimal requirements for that is that we trust in God; repent; accept those requisite ordinances and covenants that make and keep us clean. and that authorize us to believe {1}; and that we do our part to validate the sealing ordinances by living those covenants and receiving the attendant blessings.

Those are the minimum requirements. However there is one more overriding qualification that enables us to experience the joy of the celestial world. The scriptures repeatedly testify that the ultimate qualification is charity. The society of the celestial world is built upon multiple mutual relationships of unfailing love.

May I tell you my personal feelings—and these are only my opinions—about the meanings of eternal family and of eternal friendships, and why I believe that they are exactly the same thing.

As a boy, I remember hearing church talks about genealogy and how important it is that one be sealed to one’s parents, and they to theirs, etc., etc., in one continuous and beautiful chain until finely we get to Adam . (There was always some wiggle room stuck in those talks, saying that if some ancestor were bad, then his link would not be in the chain, but the chain would be intact anyway.) I think visually, so I visualized that concept this way:

Here is Adam—who looks very funny indeed—from him comes zillions of chains of people, so he looks much like poor old Jacob Marley in Dickens’ Christmas Carol, with chains attached to him in every direction. Or maybe like a porcupine with all those quills coming out. That imagery didn’t make a lot of sense when I was a boy, but it was how I understood what I was taught, so I believed it must be right somehow.

Then one morning, when I was on my mission in England, my companion and I came out of the house just as the sun was coming over the trees. There, in the bushes, was a magnificent spider web, still covered with dew. As the sun shone on it, its pattern sparkled like diamonds. That was my answer! I realized that the idea of chains was very misleading. The sealing relationships do not work that way. Rather, it is like the pattern of the spider web: I am sealed to my parents. My mother is sealed to her parents. Grandma is sealed to her sister, my mother’s Aunt Rinda, who is sealed to her son, who is sealed to his wife, who is sealed to her brother, who is sealed (through his wife) to her parents, ad infinitum. It wasn’t a chain at all. It was a beautiful pattern like that spider web with everyone ultimately sealed to everybody else. I really liked that idea, and I still like its implications. But they go further than just “family.”

I believe that in that same way we are sealed to our “friends.” Let me give you an example:

Jon and Rachel and their children are sealed together as an eternal unit. The children marry and now the original couple are sealed by that same priesthood authority to their children’s spouses and children, this multiplies for generation after generation.

But it works the other way too. Both Jon and Rachel are sealed to their parents and siblings, who are sealed to theirs and to theirs, until a dozen generations back Jon is descended from Rev. John Lathrop who came to America in the 1770’s.

Jon and Rachel have a son who goes on a mission to California where he meets and baptizes a young man who becomes his life-long friend. The new convert’s family also goes back a dozen generations to that same John Lathrop.

The point is that missionary and his convert friend are each sealed to Rev. Lathrop and he is sealed to each of them. The two young friends are part of the same family and are sealed together by the same priesthood authority that seals them to their own parents and siblings.

The practical application of that idea is that because everyone is ultimately related to everyone else, then everyone who is in the celestial kingdom is also sealed to everyone else who is in the celestial kingdom.

I strongly believe that our friendship bonds have similar eternal roots to our family bonds, and that both have a much firmer base than just our short relationships in this life’s experiences. I believe that the love of both family and friends is founded on eternal covenants, originating a very, very long time ago. I believe that friendships that seem to originate here, and become projected into the future eternities, are strong here because they actually began in past eternities. That is, in this world we don’t make new friends, we only recognize old ones.

I liked the spider web imagery of our sealing relationships for many years, but after a while it asked questions it could not answer. The most pressing of those questions was also the most simple: Why was it two dimensional like the spider web? What would happen if it were not two dimensional? That question was answered one day in a conversation with my dear friend Jim Cannon. Jim was explaining to me the mathematical distinctions between a “ball” and a “sphere.” A sphere is like a basketball. It has only outsides and is hollow in the middle. A ball is like the baseball: it is solid throughout. That was the answer to my question. It was not two dimensional, it was three dimensional like a ball. Then Jim tried to explain the mathematical concept of multiple dimensions. And it was like all my lights came on.

It is now my opinion that the system of relationships in the Celestial World is like a multi-dimensional ball. This is why: If it were only a three dimensional ball with the Savior in the center, then that asks, “who is next to him and who is way out on the outside edge?” That question, in that form, does not admit to any answer because the answer to the first part has to be “everyone,” and the answer to the second part has to be “no one.”

But a multi-dimensional ball does not ask that question. This ball is so complex that every individual is next to the Saviour, and every individual is also next to every other individual. It seems to me it has to be that way. Even though my mind does not know how to visualize such a ball, that doesn’t matter because what I have tried to do is use the imagery of physical proximity to describe one’s attitudes of love, and the meaning of the eternal sealing power. So even though the physical juxtapositions I have tried to imagine is not adequate, that analysis is still the only way I can understand how all of Adam’s children can be sealed to gather as one eternal family.

For those who keep their covenants, and whose sealings are validated by the Holy Spirit of Promise, there is only one magnificent eternal family. While the ordinances and covenants are absolutely indispensable to make us a part of that family, in the final analysis it is not the ordinances but our love for each other—charity—our oneness—that is the final sealing power.

The Saviour’s love for us is the eternal constant. Therefore, the only variable is our love for God and for his children. If that statement is correct, then the power to be saved in the Celestial kingdom is equivalent to one’s individual power to personify—to respond to and to be an expression of— to actually be charity — hesed.{2}

If that is true—and I am convinced it is—then the whole matter boils down to the simplest of all possible formulas: Said one way it is this: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Said another way it is the conclusion of Moroni 7, “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

I truly believe that love is not only the ultimate sealing power, but that, as such, it is also the final qualification for Celestial glory.

Essentially all I have written says only this: All one has to do in order to be saved in the Celestial kingdom is to be the sort of person who is comfortable being sealed to everyone else who is also a part of that multi-dimensional celestial family relationship.

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FOOTNOTES

{1} “George A. Smith, while serving in the First Presidency, re- ported: ‘Joseph Smith taught that every man and woman should seek the Lord for wisdom, that they might get knowledge from Him who is the fountain of knowledge; and the promises of the gospel, as revealed, were such as to authorize us to believe, that by taking this course we should gain the object of our pursuit.’” [emphasis added]
(Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Joseph Smith [Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Salt Lake City, Utah, 2007], 266
{The original source in footnote 18: George A. Smith, Deseret News: Semi- Weekly, Nov; 29, 1870, p. 2.}

{2} Hesed is a Hebrew word that means unfailing love based on a prior covenant.

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3 Nephi 19:9-22 — LeGrand Baker — Holy Ghost & the “Second Comforter”

Posted on November 1, 2013 by LeGrand Baker

3 Nephi 19:9-22 
9 And they did pray for that which they most desired; and they desired that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them.
10 And when they had thus prayed they went down unto the water’s edge, and the multitude followed them.
11 And it came to pass that Nephi went down into the water and was baptized.
12 And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen.
13 And it came to pass when they were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire (3 Nephi 19:9-13).
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19 And it came to pass that Jesus departed out of the midst of them, and went a little way off from them and bowed himself to the earth, and he said:
20 Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world.
21 Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their words.
22 Father, thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in me; and thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest them, and they pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with them (3 Nephi 19:9-22).

For me, a careful discussion of the Holy Ghost must begin with the Beatitudes. (There is an analysis of each in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord. A click on the search engine of this website will take you there. Use “Savior’s Coronation Sermon” as the search words.)

Briefly, the Beatitudes in the Book of Mormon walk us through the following sequence: (v. 1) Follow the Brethren; (v. 2) first principles and ordinances (visited by the Holy Ghost); (v. 3) endowment for the living; (v. 4) endowment for the dead; (v. 5) keep eternal covenants; (v. 6) hunger for priesthood and temple things and filled with the Holy Ghost; (v. 7) how to be a king and a priest; (v. 8) Zion shall see God; (v. 9) peacemakers called (new name) “children of God”; (v. 10-12) righteous will be persecuted; (v. 13) missionary responsibilities; (v. 14-16) be a light to the Saints. (If you haven’t seen that sequence in them before, please check the documentation in the book—thanks.)

The Beatitudes are important to our discussion of the Holy Ghost because near their beginning one is “visited with the Holy Ghost,” but it is not until after temple work, keeping eternal covenants, and hungering for temple and priesthood things, that one is “filled with the Holy Ghost.” There is a carefully outlined progression between being “visited” and being “filled.”

Some time before the Savior came to the Nephites, Nephi had already established a priesthood organization so that all who repented could “be baptized with water (3 Nephi 7:25).” So it is easy to recognize this baptism in 3 Nephi 19 as a re-baptism. or more correctly as a baptism into the new church and kingdom established by the Savior.

There are also many references to the Holy Ghost throughout the Book of Mormon, just as there are prior references to baptism, so there can be no question that by the time we enter the scene described in 3 Nephi 19, the people who participated in these ceremonies had long since already been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, their desire “that the Holy Ghost should be given unto them,” and the Savior’s response, make it apparent that their request was to receive something in addition to what they already had. When that request is fulfilled, the language describing the event is the same as is in verse 6 of the Beatitudes:

13 And it came to pass when they [the Twelve Disciples] were all baptized and had come up out of the water, the Holy Ghost did fall upon them, and they were filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire (3 Nephi 19:13).

In our own time, after we are baptized, priesthood holders lay their hands upon our heads and give us the command—and therefore the authorization—to receive the Holy Ghost. Thereby, we begin the journey to ultimately become “filled.” Parley P. Pratt penned the most beautiful description of the blessings that come in consequence of our accepting that command and moving toward its fulfillment. He wrote:

.       The gift of the Holy Spirit adapts itself to all these organs or attributes, It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, invigorates and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being.
.       In the presence of such persons one feels to enjoy the light of their countenances, as the genial rays of a sunbeam. Their very atmosphere diffuses a thrill, a warm glow of pure gladness and sympathy, to the heart and nerves of others who have kindred feelings, or sympathy of spirit. No matter if the parties are strangers, entirely unknown to each other in person or character; no matter if they have never spoken to each other, each will be apt to remark in his own mind, and perhaps exclaim, when referring to the interview, “O what an atmosphere encircles that stranger! How my heart thrilled with pure and holy feelings in his presence! What confidence and sympathy he inspired! His countenance and spirit gave me more assurance than a thousand written recommendations or introductory letters.” Such is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and such are its operations when received through the lawful channel, the divine, eternal Priesthood.{1}

Mormon’s description is much more succinct, yet even more complete:

25 And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;
26 And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God (Moroni 8:25-26).

Mormon’s reference to the Holy Ghost as the “Comforter” is not only important in this context, but it also helps us understand what that means in other scriptures as well. Mormon says this Comforter “filleth with hope and perfect love.” In his great sermon on faith, hope, and charity (Moroni 7), Mormon uses hope to mean one’s living at thought the covenants were already fulfilled. And that, Mormon says both here and in the sermon, leads to perfect love which is charity.{2} Charity is, as Peter teaches us, the ultimate step toward making one’s “calling and election sure” and receiving entrance “into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:1-11).”

It is evident from Mormon’s explanation that to “comfort” means much more than just to give encouragement or good advise. His understanding of “comfort” is perfectly consistent with the way the word in is used in both the Old and New Testaments and by the Savior in the Beatitudes in the Book of Mormon.

There, to give “comfort” means to bestow on another the power to transcend sorrow. A “Comforter” then, is one who gives another that abiding and overriding power. For example, in the Beatitude that reads, “And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” the Savior was paraphrasing Isaiah 61. There, the initiate is comforted or empowered by receiving an enthronement ceremony. During that coronation the recipient is washed, anointed, clothed, crowned, and given a new royal king-name. Thus, in Isaiah, to empower means to make one a priest or priestess and a king or queen.{3}

A wonderful example in the Book of Mormon of the meaning of “comfort” as empowerment is this brief account of the beginning of the mission of the sons of Mosiah:

10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted (Alma 17:10). (I take it that “his Spirit” means the same thing here as it does in Ether 3.)

A similar one is this testimony by Alma:

27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success (Alma 26:27).

If I read them correctly, in both of those accounts it is not the Holy Ghost, but the Savior who administered the comfort or empowerment. The Prophet Joseph explained how that is so by quoting John to show that there are two Comforters. He said:

The Two Comforters
.        There are two Comforters spoken of. One is the Holy Ghost, the same as given on the day of Pentecost, and that all Saints receive after faith, repentance, and baptism. This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is more powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge, of a man who is of the literal seed of Abraham, than one that is a Gentile, though it may not have half as much visible effect upon the body; for as the Holy Ghost falls upon one of the literal seed of Abraham, it is calm and serene; and his whole soul and body are only exercised by the pure spirit of intelligence; while the effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile, is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham. That man that has none of the blood of Abraham (naturally) must have a new creation by the Holy Ghost. In such a case, there may be more of a powerful effect upon the body, and visible to the eye, than upon an Israelite, while the Israelite at first might be far before the Gentile in pure intelligence.
The Second Comforter
.       The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted.
.       When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses.
.       Note the 16, 17, 18, 21, 23 verses:
.       “16. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
.       “17. Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
.       “18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. * * *
.       “21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
.       “23. If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
.       Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions—Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn.{4}

An Old Testament example where “comforted” is used in this way—and in a context that relates to the ancient Israelite temple drama, and which associates “comfort” with the power of redemption—is this frequently quoted passage from Isaiah. In this passage, “redeem” has the same meaning as it does in the Brother of Jared story in Ether 3:10-13.{5}

7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, {6} that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God (Isaiah 52:7-10).{7}

There is a very important discussion of the Holy Ghost in the Lectures on Faith, Lecture 5. If you do not have convenient access to the book, that lecture can also be found on this website under the “Favorite Quotes” section at the top of the home page. From there go to “Smith, Joseph, Lectures on Faith, lecture 5.”

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FOOTNOTES

{1}Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology (Liverpool, F. D. Richards, 1855), 98-99.

{2} For a discussion of faith, hope, and charity in Moroni 7 see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord , the four chapters called: Moroni 7: Faith, Hope, and Charity; Meaning of “Faith” — pistis; A Meaning of “Hope”; and A Meaning of “Charity”. In the paper back edition (the one that is on this website) those chapters are on pages 696-721.

{3} The word “comfort” as used in that coronation ceremony is discussed in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord in two chapters. In the paperback version that is avaliable in this website, they are: The Meaning of “Comfort,” on pages 340-43; and the discussion of the Beatitude on pages 656-59.

{4} Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976), 149.

{5} In Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, see the chapter called: A Meaning of “Redeem”— to “Come Unto Christ” on pages 510-19.

{6} Isaiah”s words “How are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings” can be understood in three different ways. See Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, pages 498-99.

{7} This passage from Isaiah is quoted four times in the Book of Mormon: Mosiah 12:21-25, 15:28-31; 3 Nephi 16:16-20, 20:30-35.

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3 Nephi 19:4 — LeGrand Baker — Greek names among Nephite Twelve Disciples

Posted on October 26, 2013 by LeGrand Baker


3 Nephi 19:4
4 And it came to pass that on the morrow, when the multitude was gathered together, behold, Nephi and his brother whom he had raised from the dead, whose name was Timothy, and also his son, w hose name was Jonas, and also Mathoni, and Mathonihah, his brother, and Kumen, and Kumenonhi, and Jeremiah, and Shemnon, and Jonas, and Zedekiah, and Isaiah—now these were the names of the disciples whom Jesus had chosen.

This list of names shows an unexpected Greek influence among the Nephites.

Apart from the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the pseudepigrapha, there are almost no written Israelite records that predate the Babylonian captivity. However, it is becoming increasing apparent to scholars that the ancient cultures of the eastern Mediterranean were not isolated from each other. Recent archaeological evidence suggests a Greek influence in ancient Israel that goes back at least 3,500 years.{1}

Among the twelve disciples whom Jesus chose, there may be five with Hebrew names (Nephi, Jeremiah, Zedekiah, and Isaiah, and probably Shemnon), three with Greek names (Timothy, Jonas, Jonas), and the remaining four probably have Jaredite origins. They are all easy to account for except the three Greek names. For those, there seem to be two possible explanations: (1) There were Greeks who came to America and settled among the Nephites after Lehi’s family arrived. (2) There was a strong Greek influence in Lehi’s family, either found on the brass plates or in their education. The latter seems to be the more likely because Lehi’s reasoning in 2 Nephi 2:5-16 is carefully structured like a Greek logical argument.

It is interesting, and probably relevant to note that two of the men with Greek names were in Nephi’s own immediate family. Timothy was Nephi’s brother and Jonas was that brother’s son. The fact that Jonas, the Greek form of Jonah, was common enough that there were two who shared that name may suggest a stronger Greek influence than we might otherwise have thought.

There is another bit of information about these Twelve that could open up a whole new understanding about our very eternal nature.

Six hundred years before, when Nephi saw them in vision, he described them as “they are righteous forever.” What he tells us has some fascinating implications about the eternal consistency of our use of agency, our personalities and our integrity. “Forever” in both directions is a very long time. Nephi wrote:

7 And I also saw and bear record that the Holy Ghost fell upon twelve others; and they were ordained of God, and chosen.
8 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the twelve disciples of the Lamb, who are chosen to minister unto thy seed.
9 And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are of the house of Israel.
10 And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood (1 Nephi 12:7-10).

When one ponders these verses in conjunction with what Paul says about foreordination in Ephesians 1, and with the discussion of priesthood in Alma 13 (highlight the word “order” throughout that chapter), then what Nephi wrote takes on wonderful possibilities.
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FOOTNOTE

{1}See Eric H Cline and Assaf Yasur-Landau, “Aegeans in Israel, Minoan Frescoes at Tel Kabri,” Biblical Archaeology Review, July/August 2013, Vol 39, No 4, 37-44.

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3 Nephi 18:22-35 — LeGrand Baker — how to judge other people’s sins

Posted on October 21, 2013 by LeGrand Baker

3 Nephi 18:22-35 

22 And behold, ye shall meet together oft; and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you and forbid them not;
23 But ye shall pray for them, and shall not cast them out; and if it so be that they come unto you oft ye shall pray for them unto the Father, in my name.
24 Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.
25 And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation.
26 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he turned his eyes again upon the disciples whom he had chosen, and said unto them:
27 Behold verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you another commandment, and then I must go unto my Father that I may fulfil other commandments which he hath given me.
28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it;
29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul; therefore if ye know that a man is unworthy to eat and drink of my flesh and blood ye shall forbid him.
30 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out from among you, but ye shall minister unto him and shall pray for him unto the Father, in my name; and if it so be that he repenteth and is baptized in my name, then shall ye receive him, and shall minister unto him of my flesh and blood.
31 But if he repent not he shall not be numbered among my people, that he may not destroy my people, for behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered.
32 Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.
33 Therefore, keep these sayings which I have commanded you that ye come not under condemnation; for wo unto him whom the Father condemneth.
34 And I give you these commandments because of the disputations which have been among you. And blessed are ye if ye have no disputations among you.
35 And now I go unto the Father, because it is expedient that I should go unto the Father for your sakes.

The message here is about discriminating against people whom we perceive to be sinners and therefore we justify ourselves for shunning them because they are “unsaveable.” The key to the problem is in its conclusion:

34 And I give you these commandments because of the disputations which have been among you. And blessed are ye if ye have no disputations among you.

The disputations seem to have been about whether people who consider themselves to be especially good should have to tolerate the association of sinners— the unworthy “lower sorts.”

Shakespeare focuses on this same issue in a conversation where Hamlet tells Polonius to treat the traveling players with dignity. Polonius replies:
.           My lord, I will use them according to their desert.
.     To which Hamlet exclaimed:
.           God’s bodykins, man, much better: use every man after his desert,
.                     and who should escape whipping?
.           Use them after your own honour and dignity: the less they deserve,
.                     the more merit is in your bounty (Hamlet. Act 2, Scene 2).

There are two kinds of sins: The most important are those that damage a person’s eternal Self. They are the sins that God defines. But those are often the most difficult for other people to see and judge.

The other kind of sins are those that are defined, established, and enforced by culture. They have nothing to do with the soul but everything to do with the social perceptions of “sinfulness. Those are the easiest for others to see and they are also the one’s that divide people between “us” and “others.” It’s like Minnie Pearl once observed,

In spite of everything I’ve just told you, it seems that folks in the Switch are no more perfect than anyone else, they just have a clearer understanding of how other people sin. {1}

Because we don’t know their circumstances, we do not understand and our standard for judging someone else’s sinfulness or their excellence is an illusion at best. For some people the standards they impose upon others may best be described by the long-since worn out: “do as I say, not as I do.” Thus we somehow think it reasonable to put a burden on others that we are not willing or able to carry ourselves.

Perhaps even more frequently the person we fancy we see in our own mirror is the standard of excellence by which one can rightly judge the actions and motives of others. We judge our enemies (real or imagined) according to their response to our needs (whether our needs real or imagined). When we do that, compassion tends not to be a very high priority in the criteria upon which we base our judgments.

In the Church there are minimal standards of worthiness. They are minimal because they are necessarily limited to things that are observable and measurable. Sometimes the rules get in the way of compassion. That presents a dichotomy that is described beautifully by this story. It is told by a dear friend of mine. It is a true story whose punch line illustrates the problem very well. I have heard my friend tell it several times, and always with the same poignant message. I asked him to write it so I could share it with you. He wrote:

A family story handed down to me by my father:

Ninety years ago a bishop could approach the president of the church directly with his concerns.

The bishop approached the president with the intent to resign since he didn’t want to sit in judgment on two of his ward members.

Bishop:
“I know, President, that what they have done really requires that a church court be held. But I really don’t want to sit in judgment on them. They have been so faithful in the past and such a support to me as their bishop. Could someone else handle this affair?”

President:
“Bishop, you don’t need to handle this. There are always plenty of people willing to sit in judgment on others.”

In today’s scripture, the Savior said there had been “disputations” among the people—probably not just about how to enforce the standards, but also about which standards to enforce.

That tends to be true in the Church we belong to as well. For example, when I was a boy caffeine was taught by many to be against the Word of Wisdom. They judged other people accordingly. They were a bit disgruntled that the Church was not explicit about that, because without explicit directions local leaders could not enforce what they believed was “that part of the Word of Wisdom”. (The Church is explicit now; the Handbook of Instructions clearly says caffeine is not against the Word of Wisdom.). Then as now, hot drinks (tea and coffee) were forbidden and that was enforceable because they were easily defined. However, cold soft drinks that contained caffeine was a different matter altogether. There are more things in tea and coffee than just caffeine, but the caffeine was the easiest to talk about so that was what they focused on. It gave credence to this joke that made the rounds: “If you are in Utah, how can you tell a Mormon from a non-Mormon —- By the temperature of their caffeine!”

The point is, it was the people who didn’t drink Coke who defined Coke as a sin. In the small town where I grew up, it was convenient to judge others accordingly because one could easily discover who did and who didn’t buy Coke. Those who watched also judged, but their definition of sin was based only on their personal opinion of what a sin ought to be.

The church is like an egg. It has two distinct parts within its shell. It is not complete without both parts but they function differently. The center is the priesthood whose function is to perform and validate covenants and ordinances. Around that core is an organization whose purpose is to uplift each individual person, and provide both organized and casual opportunities for friends to associate and work together. If the notion of “church” can be discussed separately from priesthood powers and responsibilities, then one could argue that the “church” is—and is intended to be—the core of our personal and community sociality. For those who enjoy that association, church membership satisfies many of their most basic needs. However, personalities also come into play. I suspect that a lot more people leave the church because their social needs are not met than leave because they don’t like the doctrine.

If that is true, then the salvation of both the wayward and active members of the Church is largely contingent upon one’s open willingness to accept other people as friends, and to “judge not that ye be not judged.” To the degree that is true, then the Savior’s instructions in these verses are simply an elaboration on the first two “great commandments”: to love the Lord and to love his children.

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FOOTNOTE

{1} Kevin Kenworthy, The Best Jokes Minnie Pearl Ever Told, p. 63.

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3 Nephi 18:15-21 & Enos — LeGrand Baker — prayer and ‘mighty prayer’

Posted on October 15, 2013 by LeGrand Baker

3 Nephi 18:15-21

15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.
16 And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you.
17 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto his disciples, he turned again unto the multitude and said unto them:
18 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
19 Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;
20 And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.
21 Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.

In the scriptures, prayer is a very serious matter, and the habitual reciting of a “shopping list” is probably not what the they mean when they admonish us to pray always. There are several important scriptural instructions about how we should pray and what we should pray for, some are explicit and some are only implicit. I have discussed some already. One is:

“3 Nephi 13:9-13, Matthew 6:9-18 — LeGrand Baker — The five versions of the Lord’s Prayer”

You can easily find this by going to the search engine and typing “3 Nephi 13:9-13” You can also find it by entering “Lord’s Prayer,” but that will bring up more citations than just the one you are looking for. Another is:
“Mosiah 26:39 — LeGrand Baker — prayer without ceasing”
which can also be found by entering either the reference or the title in the search engine.

I tried to put my own feeling about prayer in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord. This is the very best I could do:

Prayer is like walking in the mountain with a friend. There are times when you see a sunrise so expansive and glorious that it must be shared with your friend to be fully appreciated. There are times you walk with the other in silence, then you stop and your eyes look—alone—as you ponder the perfect beauty of a columbine. Sometimes you talk together—your friend and you—but only briefly – because a smile can say so much more. Sometimes the words flow like the confluence of two great rivers and the ideas reach out to embrace a world as big as the open sea. Sometimes you walk together quietly and say nothing, and the unspoken words are more profound than speech. There is no aloneness in the quiet, just as there was no aloneness when all your conscious world was only the beauty of a single columbine. Friendship is like that. So is prayer. {1}

A classic discussion of what prayer should be is this famous one spoken by Amulek:

17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save.
19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies.
23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness.
24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you (Alma 34:1-41).

There is another kind of prayer that is sometimes mentioned but never described in the scriptures. It is also a very profound prayer. In the Book of Mormon its intensity is described with the words “mighty prayer.” We first encounter the phrase in Nephi’s psalm where he writes that his prayer was spoken with boldness

24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me (2 Nephi 4:24).

It becomes increasingly apparent, as we examine the scriptures, that this is the kind of “mighty prayer” that is prayed by prophets— and not in ordinary circumstances or with ordinary results.

For example, Enos’s characterizes it as a “wrestle,” perhaps suggesting the same kind of boldness Nephi described. He wrote:

2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins. …
4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens (Enos 1:2, 4).

Mormon also describes Alma’s “mighty prayer” as a “wrestling with God.”

10 Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance (Alma 8:10).

These choices of the word “wrestle” are probably reminiscent of Jacob’s wrestling with “a man” when he was given the new covenant name of Israel, and he saw the vision of the angels on the ladder that reached to heaven. At the top of the ladder he saw God and received the fullness of the blessings of Abraham. That sounds very much like a sode experience (Genesis 28:13 32:24).

In another place Mormon described mighty prayer as a group prayer. He wrote:

6 Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in fasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God (Alma 6:6).

This idea of a “mighty prayer” being a communal prayer is consistent with the Savior’s instructions to the Twelve as they are reported by Moroni:

1 The words of Christ, which he spake unto his disciples, the twelve whom he had chosen, as he laid his hands upon them—
2 And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles.
3 Now Christ spake these words unto them at the time of his first appearing; and the multitude heard it not, but the disciples heard it; and on as many as they laid their hands, fell the Holy Ghost (Moroni 2:1-3).

Near the end of 3 Nephi, we find the disciples praying in the way they were instructed by the Savior.

1 And it came to pass that as the disciples of Jesus were journeying and were preaching the things which they had both heard and seen, and were baptizing in the name of Jesus, it came to pass that the disciples were gathered together and were united in mighty prayer and fasting.
2 And Jesus again showed himself unto them, for they were praying unto the Father in his name; and Jesus came and stood in the midst of them, and said unto them: What will ye that I shall give unto you? (3 Nephi 27:1-2).

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FOOTNOTE

{1} Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition, p. 1026; second edition p.710-11 .

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3 Nephi 18:7-11 — LeGrand Baker — the sacrament as covenant

Posted on October 8, 2013 by LeGrand Baker

3 Nephi 18:7-11 

In 3 Nephi 18 the resurrected Savior administers the sacrament to the Nephites, and in conjunction with thats he also instituted a formal covenant with them. There are two correspond scriptures in the Book of Mormon that discuss this. One is Mosiah 5 where King Benjamin officiates as the people make a similar covenant. The other is Moroni 4 and 5 where the sacrament prayers are given verbatim. The covenants made by the people of King Benjamin and the ones in 3 Nephi are incorporated as an integral part of those prayers.

The Lord’s instructions to the Nephites includes the terms and objectives of the covenant. He said:

7 And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.
8 And it came to pass that when he said these words, he commanded his disciples that they should take of the wine of the cup and drink of it, and that they should also give unto the multitude that they might drink of it.
9 And it came to pass that they did so, and did drink of it and were filled; and they gave unto the multitude, and they did drink, and they were filled.
10 And when the disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them: Blessed are ye for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandments, and this doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you.
11 And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you (3 Nephi 18:7-11).

In Mosiah 5 the people spoke in unison and said:

5 And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken by the angel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.

To which the king responded:

6 And now, these are the words which king Benjamin desired of them; and therefore he said unto them: Ye have spoken the words that I desired; and the covenant which ye have made is a righteous covenant.
7 And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.
8 And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.
9 And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.
10 And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God.
11 And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the name that I said I should give unto you that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts.
12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts, that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you (Mosiah 5:5-12).

As King Benjamin explains, to take upon oneself the name of Christ is to “become his sons and his daughters.” When we are adopted into a new family we take the family name as our own. But the terms of the adoption covenant mean more than that. An adopted child has the full rights of inheritance. So to take upon us the name of Christ is to lay claim to all the blessings implied by the family relationship.

The blessing on the bread is a reiteration of that covenant. Like all covenants it has two parts: the promises of the first party and the promises of the second.

For our part, we—

witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing [that is the operative word] to take upon them the name of thy Son, and [that they are willing to] always remember him, and [that they are willing to] keep his commandments which he hath given them,

For God’s part, his promise is

that they may always have his Spirit to be with them (Moroni 4:3).

The blessing on the water is different from that. It is an assertion and an evidence that we are actually keeping the covenants we just made:

that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness … that they do [“do” is the operative word here] always remember him,

Through that assertion we lay claim to the fulfillment of the Father’s part of the covenant:

that they may have his Spirit to be with them (Moroni 5:2).

Notwithstanding the fact that we take the sacrament weekly, and that many, especially the children, do not understand what the words say, there is noting trivial suggested in its frequent repetition. When the words of the covenants in the blessing on the bread are understood to represent a renewing of all of the covenants we have made, including the temple covenants; and the words of the blessing on the water asserts that we are keeping all of those covenants, then we begin to understand power represented in those ordinances.

It is little wonder the Savior warned:

28 And now behold, this is the commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall not suffer any one knowingly to partake of my flesh and blood unworthily, when ye shall minister it;
29 For whoso eateth and drinketh my flesh and blood unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to his soul….(3 Nephi 18:28-29).

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