Alma 34:14-16, LeGrand Baker, Mercy and Justice

Posted on August 17, 2012 by LeGrand Baker

Alma 34:14-16, LeGrand Baker, Mercy and Justice

14 And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.
15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption (Alma 34:14-16).

Compared with:

22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.
23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.
25 What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God (Alma 42:22-25).

In the above, the first by Amulek and the second by Alma, a quick reading seems to discover a conflict in the words, but a careful reading makes both more clear because each reinforces the power of the other. The apparent conflicts read:

…mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit.

It is a common belief among Christians that Christ’s mercy overpowers justice and will give them salvation without repentance. For Catholics, the words of the priest enables the mercy that brings one to heaven. For Protestants it is saying “I believe,” then “just doing one’s best,” and believing that God will “make up the difference.” In either case, the doctrine is that God will take one as he is, and do a miraculous change on him to make him good enough to get into heaven. The fallacy in the doctrine is that it teaches that it is God who imposes the change in our natures, and in doing so, it reduces heaven to the level of whomever God puts into it.

The scriptures do promise that there CAN be such a change in our natures, BUT they insist that it must come about by faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then making and keeping covenants that come in conjunction with the ordinances of salvation. There is no shortcut. It is a mater of continual repentance and refining of one’s Self. This refining process is enabled as a gift of the Saviour’s mercy. Exactly as Abinadi said:

15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of MERCY, which overpowereth justice, and BRINGETH ABOUT MEANS unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.

The origin of the idea that God can use mercy to overcome our individual agency is easy to come by. It is based on false premises. False premises cannot bring one to a true conclusion, so the conclusion is false as well. The false premises are these:

1. When one does not believe in a pre-mortal existence.

A religion that does not understand that we have a pre-mortal existence, cannot understand that much of what we are now is a product of what we have chosen to become. We come into this world innocent, but we bring two things with us: our personality and our integrity. Our personality stays in tact, it is our integrity that is tested here. But if one believes our cognizant Self was first created at birth then it must follow that whatever circumstances we are in, in this life is a product of chance, or of the workings of a capricious and incomprehendible God. By eliminating a premortal life in their teachings, they pretty much eliminate or severely curtail the importance of free agency. That leaves us as only a product of our environment and our genes. If our being here, and the circumstances in which we come is entirely happenstancial— something over which we had no control— then so are the circumstances that dictate the events of our lives. If agency is not an issue, then we are not wholly responsible for our actions. If we are not wholly responsible then God is responsible for our situation, and if he is responsible for putting us here, then he must also be responsible for getting us out of here and into heaven. That is the rationale, and with that logic there can be no way we can get to heaven except it be through God’s grace.

However, we did have a premortal life, and during that life we made some very important decisions about this life. President McKay said:

How the law of spiritual attraction works between the spirit and the expectant parents, has not been revealed, neither can finite mind fully understand. …. Of this we may be sure, each was satisfied and happy to come through the lineage to which he was attracted and for which, and only which, he or she was prepared. (Llewelyn R. McKay, Home Memories of President David O. McKay [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1956], 229 – 230.)

2. The other false premise is that after this life we go directly to heaven or to hell. A religion that teaches that one goes directly to heaven or hell when one dies allows no time or place for learning or repentance except in this earth life. Thus, they see this life as the only time given to us in which we can determine whether we wish to be saved or not saved.

The rationale is that since it is apparent that heaven is not available in this life, it follows that people cannot be saved on their own merit. As those religions have no place for priesthood and temple ordinances, they have to conclude that since God puts people on the earth as he chooses, he must also be totally responsible for saving them. Therefore (again) the conclusion that if we are to be saved at all, it must be only by God’s grace.

However, for God to simply “make up the difference” would negate the power of our own free agency, violate the purposes of the plan of salvation, and make ordinances and covenants (for the living as well as for the dead) of no use whatever. If one believed that everything that we will be throughout the eternities is determined by only what happens to us in this short, unpredictable earth life, there can be no promise of salvation except the one that is taught by the Protestants. That is, that in order for us to be saved, God simply must “make up the difference.”

The scriptures insist that is not true. Because we obeyed in the spirit world before we came here, we qualified (through the blessings of the atonement) to come into this physical world, and we became innocent from whatever sins we committed before we came here. A veil was dropped over our memory when we come into this world, so we could begin this life from the condition of innocence. The Lord explained that we have been made innocent twice. Once when we were born as spirit children of our Father in Heaven, and a second time when we were born into this world:

38 Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God (D&C 93:38).

Between the first and the second we had an opportunity to learn, repent, and obey. (That we could sin then, can be no question. A third committed irreparable sins and did not keep their first estate.) Our obedience gave us an opportunity to come to this world and answer the all-important question: Why did we obey. If the answer is that we love God and his children, then love will lead us to the quality of obedience that will enable us to accept the full blessings of the atonement.

That situation continues into the post mortal spirit world, thus enabling every individual (whether they lived in this world 5 minutes or a hundred years) to continue the experience of this existence until they have a full opportunity to accept or reject truth and repent. Thus, through the cleansing power of the atonement all persons have an absolute opportunity to become precisely what they choose to be.

Mercy (the blessings of the atonement) is the enabling power that permits one to repent and become his true Self. Amulek also testified:

8 And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it (Alma 34:8).

In this life, the atonement (mercy) suspends us above the powers of justice, giving us the opportunity to repent until we have completely defined who and what we wish to be. That takes a long time in this life, and may take much longer in the spirit world that follows. But when we are what we choose to be, and repentance has run the full course that we wish it to run, then mercy has also done all it can do, as Alma explains:

22 But there is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God.
23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice.
24 For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus, none but the truly penitent are saved.
25 What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice? I say unto you, Nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be God (Alma 42:22-25).

So in the end, it is mercy that ENABLES us to repent so we can QUALIFY to go to the Celestial Kingdom, but it is justice that ENABLES us TO GO here— Just as Amulek said:

16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith [pistis] UNTO repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption (Alma 34:16).

Posted in Alma | Comments Off on Alma 34:14-16, LeGrand Baker, Mercy and Justice

Psalm 21, LeGrand Baker, the song of redeeming love

Posted on August 15, 2012 by LeGrand Baker

Psalm 21, LeGrand Baker, the song of redeeming love

Alma references the “song of redeeming love” twice in chapter 5, then again in chapter 26.

13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of hell; and they are brought to sing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice? (Alma 26:13)

This is one of three references in the Book of Mormon to the song of redeeming love. The other two are in Alma 5 which is a powerful reminder of the ancient Israelite temple drama. One of the best examples is verse 19 where Alma asks: “Can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? [a reference to Psalm 24 which was sung as the people approached the Temple.] I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances? [Interestingly, if that is was in a Psalm, we no longer have it. But the idea is found in the more ancient Hymn of the Pearl. “And the likeness of the king of kings was completely embroidered all over it (his robe).” One wonders if that poem is what Alma was referring to.]

Alma reminded his listeners of the faith of those who were baptized in the waters of Mormon, lived the law of consecration in the wilderness, and eventually joined the Nephites at Zarahemla. He described the power of their conversion this way: “Their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved. (v. 9)

Later in his sermon, Alma will ask:

26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

There is a Psalm — one of the most important and beautiful of the ancient temple rites — that might actually be identified as a “song of redeeming love.” It is Psalm 21.

First, a quick review of the meaning of “redeem” may be useful. In the Greek, the word translated redeem means to purchase or ransom. The Hebrew word translated redeem means the same thing except in the Hebrew it is done by a member of one’s family. In the story of Ruth, Boaz is described as Naomi’s “kinsman”; and Job testified, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” Both “kinsman” and “redeemer” are translated from the same Hebrew word. (Strong # 1350)

The oldest of all the biblical uses of that word is Job’s. It reads,

25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. (Job 19:25-26)

The connotation of Job’s testimony — that to be redeemed is to see God — is the usual meaning of that “redeem” in the Book of Mormon. Here are four quick examples:

The Saviour said to the Brother of Jared:

13b. Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed [present tense] from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you. (Ether 3:14)

Lehi said to his son Jacob:

3b-4a. Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed [present tense], because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men. And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory.(2 Nephi 2:3b-4a)

Lehi testified of himself:

15. But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell [past tense]; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love. (2 Nephi 1:15)

Samuel the Lamanite used “redeem” to describe the final judgement.

16. Yea, behold, this death bringeth to pass the resurrection, and redeemeth all mankind from the first death—that spiritual death; for all mankind, by the fall of Adam being cut off from the presence of the Lord, are considered as dead, both as to things temporal and to things spiritual.
17. But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. (Helaman 14:16-17)

Applying that definition of redeem as used by Job and the prophets of the Book of Mormon, now let’s ask what might be the “song of redeeming love.” If to redeem, means to be brought into the presence of God, then I suspect the song may be the psalm that celebrates one who stands at the beautiful veil of Solomon’s Temple and asks to be invited within.

This was a participatory drama in which all played an important part, for what the king and queen were doing, symbolically the members of the audience were doing also. We do not know the extent of their participation, but one may surmise that parts or all of the audience sang many, if not most, of the Psalms as a part of the ceremonies.

In ancient Israel, a king was, by definition, one who had been foreordained in the Council in Heaven, and anointed to rule in this life. In Psalm 21, as in many of the others, the words are spoken by different voices. There are no stage directions, as there are in modern plays, so one has to pay attention to the words in order to know who is speaking. Our psalm begins by describing the action on the stage. This may have been sung a chorus as in a Greek play, or it might have been a narrator, or it may be that the entire audience sang this part. Psalm 21 reads:

1. The king shall joy in thy strength,
O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

2. Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,
And hast not withholden the request of his lips.

So the king has asked the Lord for something, and the Lord has granted that request. In the next verse there is an unusual word, “preventest.” The footnote in the LDS Bible helps with that. It says that the words “thou preventest him” might be translated “thou wilt meet him.” Using that phrase, this is the Lord’s response to the king’s request:

3. For thou wilt meet him with the blessings of goodness:
thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

This is the concluding scenes of a coronation as performed by God himself — it is the confirmation of one’s kingship and priesthood. (Psalms 110:4 says of the king: “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”) In the next verse we are to learn what blessing the king requested.

4. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him,
even length of days for ever and ever. [i.e. through all eternity]

5. His glory is great in thy salvation:
honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.

“Honour and majesty” are the names of the clothing that represents his kingship and priesthood. “Majesty” clearly represents his kingship, just as it does elsewhere in the scriptures. In Psalm 45:3-4 the king is told by God: “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty.” In Job 40:10 the fact that the Lord is talking about clothing is made even more clear: “Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.” God is dressed the same way in Psalm 93:1-2 and 104:1-2. His clothing is described in Abraham Facsimile 2 # 3 where we learn that God is “clothed with power and authority; with a crown of eternal light upon his head; representing also the grand Key-words of the Holy Priesthood, as revealed to Adam … and all to whom the Priesthood was revealed.”

In his sode experience, Enoch is dressed properly so he can be in the presence of God.

8 And the Lord said to Michael: ‘Go and take Enoch from out his earthly garments, and anoint him with my sweet ointment, [Charles’ footnote reads: “oil” ] and put him into the garments of My glory.’
9 And Michael did thus, as the Lord told him. He anointed me, and dressed me, and the appearance of that ointment is more than the great light, and his ointment is like sweet dew, and its’

10 smell mild, shining like the sun’s ray, and I looked at myself, and was like one of his glorious ones. (“The Book of the Secrets of Enoch,” 22:8-10, in R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, vol. II, (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1976). The sode experience is in vol. 2:442_445.)

In our psalm the words, “honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him” suggests that God himself has dressed the king in royal garments.

6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever:
thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

The king has received a blessing that reaches “for ever,” and now the king is “exceeding glad” because he has seen the countenance of God.

7 For the king trusteth in the LORD,
and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.

[i.e. the king will keep the covenants he has made with the Lord.]

The next 5 verses in the psalm are spoken by God to the king. It is easy for us to read them in the context of our own time — and that without much understanding. In the context of our time, these words sound like a battle hymn, whose emphasis is victory in war. But when one recalls that they were written in a time very unlike our own, then they have a different ring altogether. In the days of ancient Israel, there were no police forces that kept one safe as he traveled. People built walls around cities, and the wealthy built fortifications on their own estates. The words in our psalm, and many like them in the psalms and in Isaiah, are promises of protection — of invulnerability — the same kind of invulnerability he promises us, if we keep his commandments.

8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies:
thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.

9. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger:
the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

10. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth,
and their seed from among the children of men.

11. For they intended evil against thee:
they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.

12. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,
when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

The final verse is an anthem of praise, sung by the people who sang the first verses of the psalm.

13. Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength:
so will we sing and praise thy power. (Psalms 21:1-13)

I do not know whether this psalm was Alma’s referent in his sermon when he said: “If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?”

In any case, the psalm provides a relevant context in which one might ask one’s Self that question.

The consequences of one’s not knowing the mysteries of God, and of not keeping one’s eternal covenants, are very severe. Yet, we wander about in this world of darkness, going through life half awake, and uncertain about where and how to walk. After much thought and a good deal of watching other people, I have come to believe I have found the answer to the great question: “As one repents, what should one try to become?” I believe the answer is this: One should seek to be happy — that means to live according to the law of one’s own being – to become again one’s eternal Self and cover that Self with no facade that prevents family and friends from filling one’s life with companionship and joy. I believe that the object of this life is to demonstrate to one’s Self and to God, that what one was at the Council in Heaven, and what one is in this earthly environment are the same — and I believe that the major function of the Holy Ghost is to teach one the truth about who one is, and that the whole purpose of the principles and ordinances of the gospel is to give one the tools to be that.

Posted in Psalms | Comments Off on Psalm 21, LeGrand Baker, the song of redeeming love

Psalm 21 — LeGrand Baker — Covenant of Invulnerability in the Psalm’s veil ceremony

Posted on August 15, 2012 by LeGrand Baker

Psalm 21 — LeGrand Baker — Covenant of Invulnerability in the Psalm’s veil ceremony

The 21st Psalm describes the king’s request to enter the Holy of Holies through the veil. (In Alma 5 in the Book of Mormon, when Alma was asking the people in the congregation if they could still the song of redeeming love, as they had once sung it, it seems likely that the hymn he was referring to was the 21st Psalm.) The psalm begins by someone describing the action on the stage. It might have been a chorus, as in a Greek play, or a narrator, or it might have been the entire congregation who sang this part:

1. The king shall joy in thy strength,
O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
2. Thou hast given him his heart’s desire,
and hast not withholden the request of his lips
(Psalm 21:1-2).

This is what we know about what has already happened on the stage: the king had asked the Lord for something, and the Lord had granted that request. In the next verse there is an unusual word, “preventest.” The footnote in the LDS Bible helps with that. It says that the words “thou preventest him” might be translated “thou wilt meet him.” When we use that phrase, this is the way the chorus described the Lord’s response to the king’s request:

3. For thou wilt meet him with the blessings of goodness:
thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head (Psalm 21:3).

In the next verse we learn what the blessing was that the king had requested:

4. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him,
even length of days for ever and ever. [i.e. through all eternity]
5. His glory is great in thy salvation:
honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him (Psalm 21:4-5).

“Honour and majesty” are the names of the clothing that represents his kingship and priesthood: {1}

6. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever:
thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance (Psalm 21:6).

The king had received a blessing that reached “for ever,” and now the king is “exceeding glad” because he had seen the countenance of God:

7 For the king trusteth in the Lord,
and through the mercy of the most High he shall not
be moved (Psalm 21:7).{2}

That he will not be moved indicates that the king will keep the covenants he has made with the Lord.

The next five verses in the psalm are spoken by God to the king. It is easy for us to read them in the context of our own time—and that without much understanding, for they sound like a battle hymn whose emphasis is victory in war. But when one recalls that they were written in a time very unlike our own, then the words have a different ring altogether. In the days of ancient Israel, there were no police forces that kept one safe as he traveled. People built walls around cities, and the wealthy built fortifications on their own estates. The words in our psalm, and many like them in other psalms and in Isaiah, are promises of protection—of personal invulnerability—the same kind of invulnerability he promises all those who keep his commandments:

8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies:
thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger:
the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath,
and the fire shall devour them.
10. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth,
and their seed from among the children of men.
11. For they intended evil against thee:
they imagined a mischievous device,
which they are not able to perform.
12. Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back,
when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy
strings against the face of them (Psalm 21:8-12).

The final verse is an anthem of praise, sung by the people who sang the first verses of the psalm:

13. Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength:
so will we sing and praise thy power (Psalm 21:13).

About these events, Margaret Barker observes:

“The rituals of the holy of holies were thus taking place outside time and matter, in the realm of the angels and the heavenly throne, and those who functioned in the holy of holies were more than human, being and seeing beyond time.” {3}

The Covenant of Invulnerability is the covenant God made with us that if we would keep our eternal covenants he would remove all obsticles that might prevent us from doing so. It is taught throughout the scriptures. For example Ammon marveled at the Lord’s goodness with these words:

1 And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings? (Alma 26:1)

There may be no other scripture that so accurately express the sense of awe that the faithful feel as they watch the Lord fulfill the promises he has made to them. It is an echo of the much shorter, but equally profound question asked by Enos: “Lord, how is it done?”(Enos 1:7.)

The answer, while unfathomable from our perspective, is very simple to say in words: At the Council in Heaven we made covenants with God. On our part, we promised what we would do when we came here; on his part, he promised he would make it possible for us to do it—not easy—not even safe—but possible (Paul explains that in the first chapter of Ephesians). However, like the Prophet Joseph, Peter, and Abinadi, it might appear to others that we had been prevented from achieving our objective; but like with them, the end cannot come until the Father has fulfilled his covenants to help us succeed—unless, of course, we have chosen to not fulfill our part.

His promise is renewed here in this world as we are taught what we must do to return to him. His promise is virtually a guarantee of invulnerability—not against hurt or sorrow, but against failure if we do our part. The following are two excerpts from my forthcoming book on the Psalms, They discuss our of invulnerability. The first is from my discussion of Psalm 45 which portrays the king (and through him all the audience) receiving that promise during the proceedings of the Council in Heaven.

In his blessing to the king, the Father promised that when all these conditions are met, “thy right hand shall teach thee awesome things.” {4} Then Elohim concludes his blessings to the future king of kingship and priesthood with this final promise.

5. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee (Psalm 45:5).

Many of the psalms that contain blessings, conclude with similar promises of military invulnerability {5} as we move through linear time. {6} In ancient Israel there were two kinds of enemies. One challenged the king’s earthly responsibility for providing personal and national peace and security. The other (a holdover from the previous world) challenged his powers of one’s righteousness and priesthood. That is the context of these seeming military blessings in this and other psalms. They appear to suggest military conquest, but in fact they are reiterations of the assurance of the Lord’s guarantee that no power on earth or in hell could prevent one from keeping one’s premortal covenants, and from enjoying the blessings derived therefrom. It was a promise to the king who was newly dressed in sacred clothing; that by truth, meekness and righteousness; even though he found himself surrounded by enemies, he would remain invincible until his covenants were fulfilled and his mission accomplished.

The promise of invulnerability is often found in psalms that speak of the king’s actually approaching God. It is a reminder of the promise received in the Council that God is the guarantor that one will have the power to fulfill one’s eternal covenants. That promise of invulnerability is important because, as is always so in the cosmic myth, the assignment is impossible and only the intercession of the heavens can make a path through the obstacles that would prevent its fulfillment. The obstacles and the impossibility of the task are ever-present but then so is the guarantee that the Father will fulfill his part of the covenant.

It is the same guarantee as the prayer that concludes the first chapter of Ephesians, after Paul reminded his readers of their pre-mortal relationship with their Father in Heaven, and of the covenants and instructions they received before they left home. {6}

With those definitions in mind, consider the impact of Elohim’s blessing to the king as a single, coherent promise:

3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. [names of sacred clothing: glory is priesthood, majesty is kingship]
4 And in thy majesty ride prosperously [successfully] because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible [awesome] things. [Then follows the promise of invulnerability]
5 Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. (Psalm 45:3-4)

Elohim’s blessing to the king was a comprehensive covenant, embracing all of the powers and authorities of sacral kingship and priesthood—there was nothing left to be added except the promise about his posterity, and that was reserved for the conclusion of the psalm.

Two statements in the Doctrine and Covenants suggest that the powers of a king, as described in Psalm 45, closely parallel the powers of the Melchizedek priesthood. These passages are not the same as the statement in the psalm, but the messages seem to be the same. They emphasize the powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood in terms that sound very much like “truth, meekness, and righteousness.”

“Truth” is defined as knowledge of reality in sacred time: “truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (D&C93:2.).

“Meekness” is keeping the covenants we made at the Council and remake here:

9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. …
14 The secret [sode, decisions of the Council in Heaven] of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. (Psalms 25:9-10, 14)

“Righteousness” is zedek – correctness in temple and priesthood things.

The first of the D&C scripture reads:

19 And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries [“Mysteries” would probably be the same as sode in the Old Testament] of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God [knowing the truth].
20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof [In Isaiah and the Psalms, the word “ordinances” would probably appear as the code words “way”or “path”], the power of godliness is manifest.
21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh;
22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live [a sode experience].
23 Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God (D&C 84:19-23).

The second reads:

18 The power and authority of the higher, or Melchizedek Priesthood, is to hold the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church—
19 To have the privilege of receiving the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven [truth], to have the heavens opened unto them [sode experience], to commune with the general assembly and church of the Firstborn [Council in Heaven], and to enjoy the communion and presence of God the Father, and Jesus the mediator of the new covenant (D&C 107:18-19).

==========

ENDNOTES

{1} “Majesty” clearly represents his kingship, just as it does elsewhere in the scriptures. In Job 40:10 the fact that the Lord is talking about clothing is made even more clear: “Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.” In Moses 7:3-4, and in his sode experience, Enoch is dressed properly. One must be clean and properly clothed to come into the presence of God. In our psalm the phrase, “honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him” suggest that God himself has dressed the king in royal garments.

{2} The prophet Enoch describes an experience in a similar sequence:

3 And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory;
4 And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face (Moses 7:3-4).

{3} Barker, Great High Priest, 81
{4} The Tanakh (official Jewish translation) uses “awesome” rather than “terrible.”

{5} Some important examples are Psalms 2, 21, 110.

{6} At the conclusion of Paul’s discussion of the covenants we made with God in the premortal world (Ephesians 1:1-14), Paul prays that his readers may know three things:

First, “what is the hope of his calling.” Calling is a verb, thus it is God’s calling—his premortal assignment—to the Saints.

Second, “and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.” That is, what great blessings await those who keep their covenants.

Third, “And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead.” (v. 18-20 and on to v. 23)

In other words, Paul’s prayer concludes with the hope that we will know that the Father has also promised us that he will enable us to fulfill our covenants if we are faithful to the instructions of the Holy Ghost.

 

Posted in Psalms | Comments Off on Psalm 21 — LeGrand Baker — Covenant of Invulnerability in the Psalm’s veil ceremony

D&C 20: 77-79 — LeGrand Baker — Sacrament as Covenant

Posted on August 15, 2012 by LeGrand Baker

D&C 20: 77-79 — LeGrand Baker — Sacrament as Covenant

Alma 22:15-30 tells a story that can help us understand the sacramental covenant.

15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.
17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead. (Alma 22:15-18. Italics added)

It is apparent to me that to “give up” and to “give away” are not the same things. To “give up” is a passive approach. It is to abandon, to surrender, to desist from, to discontinue.

It may require some effort. It can be difficult, but the difficulty is to achieve the passivity. For example if one gives up smoking one may have to exercise a good deal of willpower in order to discontinue, but the willpower is directed toward inactivity. Another example: To give up telling lies is not the same as to seek to tell the truth, because not telling a lie does not impose the burden of saying anything at all. (If one determines to tell the truth, that would be a major change for the better, but it is also something different from simply giving up the habit of telling lies.)

Repentance is “giving away” one’s sins. The sins are forever there and they carry consequences. But both the sin and the consequence can be “given away” to the Saviour who will accept their burden and pay their price.

To give away is never passive, but always active. If you and I are sitting by a desk and my dollar bill is on the desk, and you take it, that’s stealing. If I proffer it to you and you don’t accept it, but I give it anyway, that’s throwing it at you, not giving it to you. If you do not accept I cannot give away, because throwing it at you is not the same as giving.

To give away requires action on the part of both persons, and that action always presupposes a written, spoken, implied or symbolic contract or covenant. An example of an implied covenant is that if you invite me to lunch (give me food), I could not accept your invitation without also accepting the implied covenant that you would pay for it and I won’t have to. An example of a written covenant is that if I wish to give you my car, I must go to the court house and fill out the necessary paper work. If you accept, you also accept the burden of paying the future taxes on the car.

As I understand it, The ordinance of baptism functions like that paper work in the courthouse. It is the formality of giving our sins to the Saviour. For us the meaning of the contract is that our sins may go into remission. It evokes the blessings of the atonement to put the sins in remission. The word initially meant a diminution of force or effect, a slackening of energy— like putting cancer in remission— and therefore making the sins inoperative. -The Saviour accepts the burden of the sins so that it will not weight us down as we seek to turn our lives around. “Repent” literally means to turn around and go the other way. To use the example above: repentance not only means that we stop telling falsehoods, but also to begin telling the truth and testify of it.

Repentance is giving one’s sins to the Saviour. The ordinance of baptism is literally a transfer of ownership.

Repentance is a maturation process. It requires persistence, refining, and re-refining. It requires both the gift of the atonement, and a knowing response on our part to the tutoring of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit teaches us how to repent and it cleanses us from those sins, then teaches us more and cleanses, and teaches and cleanses, ad infinitum. Thus, by the Spirit, our spirits are refined. As Moroni explained,

And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost… (Moroni 6:4)

That principle is taught to us weekly in the covenant of these words:

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat inremembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and [willing to] always remember him and [willing to] keep his commandments which he has given them; that [to the end that:] they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (D&C 20:77 bold added)

Being thus committed by covenant, our cleansing is again renewed by water that represents the Saviour’s blood— the cleansing waters of life.

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (D&C 20:79 bold and italics added)

I suppose that to understand this whole principle most clearly, one must simply take the Saviour at his word when he summed up it up to the Nephites. There, the first Beatitude (the one that is left out of the New Testament) might be translated into today’s terms as simply, “Blessed are those who follow the Prophet and the Brethren.” It reads,

1 …. Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.
2 And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins. (3 Nephi 12:1-2)

Posted in Sec 1-88 | Comments Off on D&C 20: 77-79 — LeGrand Baker — Sacrament as Covenant

Moroni 4 and 5 — LeGrand Baker — Sacrament as Covenant

Posted on August 15, 2012 by LeGrand Baker

 Moroni 4 and 5 — LeGrand Baker — Sacrament as Covenant

Alma 22:15-30 tells a story that can help us understand the sacramental covenant.

15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.
17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead. (Alma 22:15-18. Italics added)

It is apparent to me that to “give up” and to “give away” are not the same things. To “give up” is a passive approach. It is to abandon, to surrender, to desist from, to discontinue.

It may require some effort. It can be difficult, but the difficulty is to achieve the passivity. For example if one gives up smoking one may have to exercise a good deal of willpower in order to discontinue, but the willpower is directed toward inactivity. Another example: To give up telling lies is not the same as to seek to tell the truth, because not telling a lie does not impose the burden of saying anything at all. (If one determines to tell the truth, that would be a major change for the better, but it is also something different from simply giving up the habit of telling lies.)

Repentance is “giving away” one’s sins. The sins are forever there and they carry consequences. But both the sin and the consequence can be “given away” to the Saviour who will accept their burden and pay their price.

To give away is never passive, but always active. If you and I are sitting by a desk and my dollar bill is on the desk, and you take it, that’s stealing. If I proffer it to you and you don’t accept it, but I give it anyway, that’s throwing it at you, not giving it to you. If you do not accept I cannot give away, because throwing it at you is not the same as giving.

To give away requires action on the part of both persons, and that action always presupposes a written, spoken, implied or symbolic contract or covenant. An example of an implied covenant is that if you invite me to lunch (give me food), I could not accept your invitation without also accepting the implied covenant that you would pay for it and I won’t have to. An example of a written covenant is that if I wish to give you my car, I must go to the court house and fill out the necessary paper work. If you accept, you also accept the burden of paying the future taxes on the car.

As I understand it, The ordinance of baptism functions like that paper work in the courthouse. It is the formality of giving our sins to the Saviour. For us the meaning of the contract is that our sins may go into remission. It evokes the blessings of the atonement to put the sins in remission. The word initially meant a diminution of force or effect, a slackening of energy— like putting cancer in remission— and therefore making the sins inoperative. -The Saviour accepts the burden of the sins so that it will not weight us down as we seek to turn our lives around. “Repent” literally means to turn around and go the other way. To use the example above: repentance not only means that we stop telling falsehoods, but also to begin telling the truth and testify of it.

Repentance is giving one’s sins to the Saviour. The ordinance of baptism is literally a transfer of ownership.

Repentance is a maturation process. It requires persistence, refining, and re-refining. It requires both the gift of the atonement, and a knowing response on our part to the tutoring of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit teaches us how to repent and it cleanses us from those sins, then teaches us more and cleanses, and teaches and cleanses, ad infinitum. Thus, by the Spirit, our spirits are refined. As Moroni explained,

And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost… (Moroni 6:4)

That principle is taught to us weekly in the covenant of these words:

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat inremembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and [willing to] always remember him and [willing to] keep his commandments which he has given them; that [to the end that:] they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (D&C 20:77 bold added)

Being thus committed by covenant, our cleansing is again renewed by water that represents the Saviour’s blood— the cleansing waters of life.

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (D&C 20:79 bold and italics added)

I suppose that to understand this whole principle most clearly, one must simply take the Saviour at his word when he summed up it up to the Nephites. There, the first Beatitude (the one that is left out of the New Testament) might be translated into today’s terms as simply, “Blessed are those who follow the Prophet and the Brethren.” It reads,

1 …. Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am.
2 And again, more blessed are they who shall believe in your words because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me, and that ye know that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins. (3 Nephi 12:1-2)

Posted in Moroni | Comments Off on Moroni 4 and 5 — LeGrand Baker — Sacrament as Covenant

Job, LeGrand Baker, the power of personal integrity

Posted on August 15, 2012 by LeGrand Baker

Job, LeGrand Baker, the power of personal integrity

Job’s integrity brought him into the presence of God.

Alma 18:10-11
10 Now when king Lamoni heard that Ammon was preparing his horses and his chariots he was more astonished, because of the faithfulness of Ammon, saying: Surely there has not been any servant among all my servants that has been so faithful as this man; for even he doth remember all my commandments to execute them.
11 Now I surely know that this is the Great Spirit, and I would desire him that he come in unto me, but I durst not.

Mormon is a superb and very candid historian. He has an agenda and he not only doesn’t try to hide it, he insists we know what it is. He frequently concludes his stories with the words “and thus we see” then he explains the principles we should have learned. But he does not always do that. Sometimes he just tells the story and leaves it to us to discover the principles. That is an easy task because the principles can usually be reduced to four basic ideas: To be happy (1) one must exercise faith in God, (2) one must be true to the eternal law on one’s own being, (3), one must obey instructions and teachings of the prophets, and (4) one must comport his life in the same way the prophets conduct theirs. This story focus on the second and fourth of those principles: have the integrity to be true to one’s eternal self, and achieve that by doing what Ammon did.

Integrity is one of the most fundamental principles that leads to salvation. In my work at BYU, I once interviewed Arnold Friberg, who did the artwork for Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments. Friberg had great admiration for DeMille whom he described as having unbending integrity. Then Friberg defined the word: “Integrity is having no gap between what one says and what one does.” In gospel terms that simply translates to this: Integrity is having no gap between the covenants one makes and the life one lives.

Elder Maxwell spoke of integrity in eternal terms, He used the word “unvaryingness ” to describe the integrity of God. He said,

“We can serve others also by developing real integrity, which is more than being honest and true only until it becomes too expensive. In the crowds of chameleons in the world today, daring to be the same good self is being different. When our goodness is constant we are on the road, albeit only a short distance along, to the unvaryingness of Godlike love.” (Neal A. Maxwell, All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], 62.)

It is not surprising that President Monson equated faith in God with personal integrity. He said,

“Today, in a quiet grove at Valley Forge, there is a heroicsized monument to Washington. He is depicted not astride a charging horse nor overlooking a battlefield of glory, but kneeling in humble prayer, calling upon the God of Heaven for divine help. To gaze upon the statue prompts the mind to remember the oft-heard expression, “A man stands tallest when upon his knees.
“Men and women of integrity, character, and purpose have ever recognized a power higher than themselves and have sought through prayer to be guided by such power. Such has it ever been. So shall it ever be.” (Thomas S. Monson, Be Your Best Self [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], 24-25.)

The book of Job, which is not only some of the most beautiful but also probably the oldest poetry in our Old Testament, is all about integrity. It begins in the Council in Heaven where Satan wishes to lay claim to the earth, but he can’t because Job is there.

3 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. (Job 2:3)

From that time, Job’s life begins to fall apart, until his wife can’t take it any more.

9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.
10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. (Job 2:9-10)

Job’s steadfastness was an evidence of his sure knowledge. He laments,

23 Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!
24 That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!
25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. (Job 19:23-26)

As seems often to be so, Job’s most intense trial comes from those who should have been his friends but were his accusers instead. They attack him with all the philosophical and academic weapons they can muster. To which Job responds,

2 As God liveth, who hath taken away my judgment; and the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul;
3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
4 My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. (Job 27:2-9)

Later, he challenges his tormenters,

6 Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity. (Job 31:6)

In the end, God gives Job all that he requests, including the fulfillment of the ultimate promise. Job spoke in wonderment and said,

5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. (Job 42:5)

When the Prophet Joseph organized the Relief Society, he taught the sisters that each of our lives would be something like Job’s.

“He spoke of delivering the keys of the Priesthood to the Church, and said that the faithful members of the Relief Society should receive them with their husbands, that the Saints whose integrity has been tried and proved faithful, might know how to ask the Lord and receive an answer; for according to his prayers, God had appointed him elsewhere.” ( Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], 226.)

The Psalms repeatedly say that we will be judged according to our personal integrity (Psalms 7, 25, 26, 41, 78). Brigham Young confirmed that. He said,

“We have the principle within us, and so has every being on this earth, to increase and to continue to increase, to enlarge and receive and treasure up truth, until we become perfect. It is wisdom for us to be the friends of God; and unless we are filled with integrity and preserve ourselves in our integrity before our God, we actually lay the foundation for our destruction.” (Journal of Discourses, 5:54)

The ultimate importance of personal integrity is found in the Saviour’s praise of Hyrum Smith. In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph, the Saviour said,

15 And again, verily I say unto you, blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me, saith the Lord. (D&C 124:15)

As we approach judgement day, we will discover that one’s integrity is the final definition of one’s eternal Self. If that Self is the guileless personification of one’s love for God and for “that which is right,” then one is on the sure path that leads to eternal life.

Posted in Job | Comments Off on Job, LeGrand Baker, the power of personal integrity