Who wrote the Four Gospels?
In an effort to combat the misplaced logic applied to the authorship of the Biblical text, I will endeavor to offer my two cents on the authorship of the four gospels.
J.G. Einchhorn first used the term “higher criticism” in 1787 to identify the investigation of sources on which the biblical author drew his material and the way in which he used or combined his material. “Higher Criticism” should be distinguished from “lower criticism”. Lower criticism generally asks questions having to do with the preservation and transmission of the biblical text and tries to determine the most reliable form of text. In this sense, it is virtually synonymous with what is called textual criticism.
Higher criticism can be divided into negative (destructive) and positive (constructive) types. Negative criticism denies the authenticity of much of the biblical record. Negative higher criticism presupposes that the Bible came from a purely human source and approaches the bible in sort of a “guilty until proven innocent” bias. I am going to focus on discrediting negative higher criticism.
Most of the early leaders of the higher critical movement in Germany and Holland had no faith in the god of the biblical narrative or in supernatural revelation. Much of higher criticism is based on hypotheses and suppositions that repudiate the traditional view of inspiration. These methods investigate the origins, forms, styles and contents of the Biblical text, not to confirm the authenticity, but to discredit their genuineness, to discover discrepancies and to challenge their authority. The origins of higher criticism are deeply intertwined with rationalism and naturalism. The rationalism and deism of the 18th and 19th centuries related the biblical stories to religious myth and not history. They sought to account for the development of scriptures from a purely human and sociological standpoint in keeping with the philosophical trends of the time.
Critical scholars who study the origins of the four gospel accounts generally believe they emerged as collections of oral traditions, using three approaches to their social development as an authoritative body of literature. The first form of criticism focuses on the period of oral transmission. The second, source of criticism focuses on the way the different literary units were put together to make up the gospels. Third, redaction criticism focuses on the literary and theological contributions of the authors. Critical scholars believe that the redactors put their spin on the words of Jesus to address their situation.
Many form critics assume that these units, passed on orally, underwent significant change, but the synoptic gospels were written within the lifetime of most of the apostles and other eyewitnesses. Paul even appeals to living eyewitnesses in his argument for the resurrection. (1 Cor. 15:6) It is impossible to believe that the early church could so quickly recompose the stories and sayings of Jesus with out opposition. Instead, what we have in the early church is utter devotion to the sayings and stories of Jesus as they were delivered.
The fact that Luke interviewed eyewitnesses to the life and teaching of Christ is indisputable (Luke 1:1-4). Matthew as an apostle was himself and eyewitness of Jesus, and Mark was working with Peter when he wrote his gospel account. If Matthew, Mark or Luke had recomposed the gospel stories to fit their own situations, the eyewitnesses to Jesus and especially the apostle John would have known it. Surely John would have corrected any mistake they would have made. The synoptic gospels were well known and highly circulated in the first century. If they had contained significant errors and contradictions, they would have been disputed from the beginning.
Many critical scholars believe in a two source hypothesis. They hold that Mark and “Q” (A lost collection of the sayings of Jesus) were used independently by Matthew and Luke. The theory of “Q” (short for the German “Quelle” meaning “Source”) began in the 19th century amidst allegations that the gospels were historically unreliable and primarily literary. These critics are drawing on the Modern understanding of how biographies are written, raising issues about the omission of the early years of Jesus.
Moreover, Jesus said “But the helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father sent in my name, will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26). Those who talk about “Q” ignore the role of the Holy Spirit in moving those who wrote the scriptures. The Apostle Peter tells us “Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”. The fact is, there is an overwhelming body of evidence that four gospels were known early in the history of the church. For instance, the Didache (100 CE) quotes the Lord’s Prayer.
This could be discussed all day, but I will come to a bottom line. In fine, higher criticism is a method born out of doubt and sown in skepticism. It is indicative of an apostasy and will not lead men to endure with Christ or prepare them for eternal life. Some things are true, regardless of if you believe them or not.
Jesus is the Christ; he has inspired men to write the Biblical text. During the apostasy men stood in open rebellion to his will, and they rejected the Spirit of Truth. Truth has been restored to the earth once again. Our redeemer lives, he bears record of his existence to those who seek after that tangible witness. This is his work and his glory, to bring to pass the immortality of men. He loves us. The authority to act in his name is on the earth again. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I so testify that these things are true. I leave you with this, my witness in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
For more info visit: www.mormon.org
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Monday, November 3, 2008
Polygamy in the Restoration
What is the deal with Polygamy? To me, this is the least exciting topic to deal with, but it stresses people out, so I figure I should address it.
Polygamy at times, has been authorized by God. For instance, it was not just permitted, but commanded in such instances as the case of Deuteronomy 25:5-10 where if a man dies and does not give his wife a child, the wife shall marry his brother in addition to the wife he already has, this is known as Levirate marriage.
Deut 25:5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house.10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
Lamech had 2 wives (Genesis 4:19), Esau 3 wives (Genesis 26:34), Jacob 2 (Genesis 31:17), Moses (Exodus 21:10,Deuteronomy 21:15),Ashur 2, Gideon many(Judges 8:30), Elkanah 2, David many, Solomon had 700 wives of royal birth, Rehaboam 3, and Abijah 14. Jehoram, Joash, Ahab, Jeholachin and Belshazzar also had multiple wives. Job had at least 4 wives (Job 42:9),Abraham had many(Genesis 16:1-4,Genesis 25:6) the list roles on....
The role of polygamy in the scriptures was often vindicated by the early church fathers of the Catholic faith. Terullian states:
"As I think, moreover, each pronouncement and arrangement is (the act) of one and the same God; who did then indeed, in the beginning, send forth a sowing of the race by an indulgent laxity granted to the reins of connubial alliances, until the world should be replenished, until the material of the new discipline should attain to forwardness: now, however, at the extreme boundaries of the times, has checked (the command) which He had sent out, and recalled the indulgence which He had granted; not without a reasonable ground for the extension (of that indulgence) in the beginning, and the limitation of it in the end"
It seems his stance on the subject is that although Monogamy is the normal practice, Plural marriage is at times commanded by God for the purpose of bearing seed.
Augustine further vindicates the practice going so far as to state that the primary source of contention on this practice is contingent on social structure.
"Again, Jacob the son of Isaac is charged with having committed a great crime because he had four wives. But here there is no ground for a criminal accusation: for a plurality of wives was no crime when it was the custom; and it is a crime now, because it is no longer the custom. There are sins against nature, and sins against custom, and sins against the laws. In which, then, of these senses did Jacob sin in having a plurality of wives? As regards nature, he used the women not for sensual gratification, but for the procreation of children. For custom, this was the common practice at that time in those countries. And for the laws, no prohibition existed. The only reason of its being a crime now to do this, is because custom and the [secular] laws forbid it."
We are living in the fullness of times as such, every priesthood key is on the Earth at this time. (Many of them were conferred in the Kirkland Temple.) In biblical times, not all keys were on the Earth at the same time, but in this dispensation of the fullness of times, every key must be exercised at least for a time.
Plural Marriage is a Celestial law. The reinstitution of this practice was quite possibly the greatest challenge of keeping the faith for the early saints. I believe God commanded it as a test of their faith. The practice of Plural marriage was one that ensured the work rolled on.The saints were being killed in large numbers and every time they moved, there were those who stayed behind and practiced their own brand of Mormonism. Joseph did -not- want to practice it when it was revealed, he conceded to God after he was told that if he did not practice it, that his life would be taken. God commands the practice of plural marriage for the sole intent to raise up a righteous kingdom of Saints to worship him.
As a precursor to the Manifesto issued by the Prophet Wilford Woodruff in 1890, Pres. Woodruff had a vision of a conspiracy in congress that if the Saints continued the practice that they would be exterminated. All the Manifesto says is that the keys to practice it in this life had ceased for a year and that the Saints would not take new wives. Many of the Saints moved to Mexico where the practice was not illegal and continued to sustain their wives with freedom of persecution. This does not change that Celestial Plural Marriage is a law of heaven.
To answer the question regarding what "happens in an eternal covenant when a husband is widowed and he is sealed to his spouse for time and all eternity", you have to understand the essence of a covenant relationship. A "covenant" relationship is such that there must be one person in the covenant can not break his end of the deal. God must always be a part of this relationship, man and woman can not enter into a Marriage covenant with out God, because God is the only one in this relationship who can not break his end of the deal. You can think of the marriage covenant as a triangle with 2 people entering into their own covenant with god. As such, If a man were to leave his wife and become unfaithful, as long as the wife was faithful, god would remain in covenant with the woman and the benefits of this covenant would still apply to her. Moreover, as the law permits, if a man is widowed and he has entered into a eternal marriage covenant with God, he can be sealed to another wife in addition to his previous wife and the second wife can reap the benefits of this covenant relationship.
In the case of the widower, Jesus answered this question in the Gospels. It is found in Matthew 22:23-30 (and is synoptic counterparts Mark 12:18-25 and Luke 20:27-36) Using Deut 25 as a source for the law, The Saduccees (Who did not believe in a resurrection.) tried to pose a hypothetical situation that was self contradictory according to the law. Many critics of Mormonism like to sight this scripture as proof text for contradiction in doctrine of Celestial Marriage. I'll admit, it takes an academic understanding of this scripture to fully ascertain the meaning. God knows this, that is why he has given us living Prophets to guide us and with our sustaining of them we can succeed with out this academic understanding. The Restored Gospel is not biblicist in nature, we believe the word of God is not subject to individual interpretation, as such it is to be understood as it is revealed through the mouth of a living prophet. As for an academic understanding, this is a case where the original greek language is not properly conveyed in this instance. There is a difference between the state of marriage and the Act of Marriage. ("given in marriage") The word Marry is "gamousin", the third person form of "gameo" which means to enter into the marriage state. As such, this clearly refers to the act and not the marriage state. The second term in this verse is "gamizontai" which is an alternate way of saying the same thing. The phrase for referring to a married Person is "gamesas". If Jesus wanted to refute the existence of eternal marriage he would have used that word. ("gamesas" is used in the case of 1 Cor 7:33 making a reference to the state of marriage.) In fine, Jesus was saying that there will be no marriages after the resurrection. (read Alma 34:32-36)
Labels: joseph smith, manifesto, plural marriage, polygamy, wilford woodruff
For more info visit: www.mormon.org
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Friday, August 15, 2008
Blacks and the Priesthood A new "Light and Knowledge"
Quoting from an address by Elder Bruce R. McConkie titled "All are Alike unto God."
Forget everything that I have said, or what President Brigham Young or President George Q. Cannon or whomsoever has said in days past that is contrary to the present revelation. We spoke with a limited understanding and without the light and knowledge that now has come into the world.We have a short 30 years ago, entered into a new light and understanding on this issue. Yet many members are not certain how to harmonize the statements of Prophet's and Apostles of old regarding this issue and other issues. Studying church history, the actions of the Saints and the Prophets that we're called by god to lead them, is a subject that we can grow in understanding from. We have the ability to look at Prophets like Joseph Smith Jr., Brigham Young and John Taylor through a microscope in a way that we do not have the ability to do with the ancient prophets.We get our truth and our light line upon line and precept upon precept. We have now had added a new flood of intelligence and light on this particular subject, and it erases all the darkness and all the views and all the thoughts of the past. They don’t matter any more.
It doesn’t make a particle of difference what anybody ever said about the Negro matter before the first day of June of this year, 1978. It is a new day and a new arrangement, and the Lord has now given the revelation that sheds light out into the world on this subject. As to any slivers of light or any particles of darkness of the past, we forget about them.
This is a blessing and a curse in many facets. Many can not differentiate the study of history from the study of scripture. The living Prophet speaks scripture for Heavenly Father's children. We also have a canonized multi-volume library known commonly as "The Standard works" we believe this canon is open and flexible. Any thing god reveals through his prophets that is scripture and pertinent to the salvation of man will be introduced as canon formally. If we are looking for guidance of the Prophetic nature we only need look as far as the scriptures or the living Prophet.
We believe the restoration is gradual as is our conversion. It is not fair to the living Prophet whom the Lord has called and we have sustained, to compare his teachings which are current with the Lord to a Prophet of old. To do so is to deny the power and authority present on the earth today.
We all held the power and authority of the Priesthood in its fullness before we came to this earth. Thus, when a man receives the Priesthood in this life we are having it restored beyond the veil. In many cases we have been offered preparatory route to follow. In days of old the Levitical order of Priesthood was practiced as a shadow of things to come yet prophets were called to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.
The restoration of the Priesthood as with the restoration of Jesus Christ's church is gradual and on going and it will be so until he whom we serve comes in glory to restore this priesthood by hand to the head of every worthy recipient. "Every Nation, Kindred, Tongue and People."
Moving in this direction, I want to take a moment to address the curse God put on the Lamanites. It is even common among Latter-day Saints to apologize this issue by sighting 2 Nephi 5:21 as where God changed the skin color of the Lamanites to black to be as a sign of their wickedness. I hope to clarify the misconception on this issue.
2 Nephi 5:21 And he had caused the acursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and bdelightsome, that they might not be centicing unto my people the Lord God did cause a dskin of eblackness to come upon them.
I'd like to call attention to footnote D. on the word "skin" which points us to 2 Nephi 30:6. It reads:
2 Nephi 30:6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall aknow that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their bscales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a cdelightsome people.We can than look at the footnote B. on the word "scales" which points us to the topical guide. TG Darkness, Spiritual. It is my conclusion that the curse that was implied as dark skin was their visage the face, countenance, or appearance of a person.The word countenance could be used to replace the word skin in this passage.
The word "pure" in this scripture was changed from the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon. The word originally read "White" The change dates to 1837. The change was made by Joseph Smith in the 1837 edition of the Book of Mormon, though it was not carried through in some other editions, which mistakenly followed the 1830 instead of Joseph’s change. It was restored in the 1981 edition, but that was nearly 150 years after the change was made by Joseph. The reason the change was made because Joseph feared people would misinterpret the intended meaning.
This pattern of understanding must be applied when dealing with the issue of race in the scripture.
Labels: 1978 revelation, 2 nephi 5:21, black mormons, blackness of skin, blacks in the priesthood, curse of canaan, curse of skin color, father lehi, lamanite curse, lds priesthood, racism
For more info visit: www.mormon.org
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Monday, July 7, 2008
Patriarchal Priesthood
Well, I stumbled on some of the writings of Fred Collier, an apostate who has written some doctrinal commentary on restoration beliefs. I used to feel like a faithful rebel for reading any apostate literature but I am to the point where I feel like I have my hand in the cookie jar whenever I review their insights. His article on the Patriarchal order of Priesthood can be easily unearthed by doing a google search. I didn't happen to agree with his conclusions so I researched this statement out on my own to come to a conclusion. I wrote this a few months ago and ended up editing the wikipedia page entry on this subject because I believe they were -way- off.
In Nauvoo, Illinois on August 27, 1843, while the Nauvoo Temple was being constructed, Joseph Smith, Jr. taught, using Hebrews 7 as background material, the "Three Grand Orders" of priesthood:
- There are three grand orders of priesthood referred to here.
- 1st. The King of Shiloam (Salem) had power and authority over that of Abraham, holding the key and the power of endless life.... The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right from the eternal God, and not by descent from father and mother; and that priesthood is as eternal as God Himself, having neither beginning of days nor end of life.
- The 2nd Priesthood is Patriarchal authority. Go to and finish the temple, and God will fill it with power, and you will then receive more knowledge concerning this priesthood.
- The 3rd is what is called the Levitical Priesthood, consisting of priests to administer in outward ordinances, made without an oath; but the Priesthood of Melchizedek is by an oath and covenant.
- The Holy Ghost is God's messenger to administer in all those priesthoods.
Eight years earlier, the prophet had dictated a revelation that declared, “There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood”. At the time this revelation was recorded, there were, in fact, only two orders of priesthood in the Church. By the time of the 1843 Nauvoo discourse, the temple was under construction and Joseph declared that knowledge of the “Patriarchal authority” would be revealed in the temple.
The Nauvoo Temple was constructed by 1844 and dedicated to the lord in 1846 by Orson Hyde. It was the first Latter-day Saint temple where the ordinance of Eternal Marriage was practiced.
The Latter-Day Saints believe that the oath of the Priesthood referenced in Hebrews 7 was revealed to Joseph Smith in a revelation in Kirtland, Ohio on September 22 and 23, 1832. This revelation is contained in the Doctrine and Covenants. The promise of this oath is critical to understanding their belief in exaltation.
- "They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God."
Bruce McConkie famous Latter-day Saint Scholar and Mormon Apostle wrote in his apologetics work "Mormon Doctrine" regarding the subject.
- "Those who shall hereafter rule and reign in eternity as exalted beings will form a patriarchal chain which will begin with Father Adam and spread out until every exalted person is linked in. Exaltation consists in the continuation of the family unit in eternity, and every family which so continues will find its proper place in the eternal organizational framework which the Almighty has ordained. None will be forgotten. Unworthy mortal links will be dropped in eternity, for there is no family in which all generations will attain exaltation; later generations of worthy families will be welded into the links formed by their ancestors who became worthy of a like exaltation with them. All those after the day of Abraham (of whatever literal lineage they may be) who so live as to be worthy of a place in this great patriarchal chain will be welded into Abraham's lineage and shall rise up and bless him as their father."
The word Patriarch means "Father-Ruler" and one can not have a Patriarch with out a Matriarch. Latter-day Saints believe that Man and Women can be joined in marriage for all eternity if done with the proper authority and in the bounds of a Temple. This (Eternal Marriage) is the definition of the Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood.
For more info visit: www.mormon.org
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Tuesday, January 29, 2008
We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet
Gordon B. Hinckley Prophet,Seer and Revelator 1910-2008We are blessed saints to be lead by Prophets in these latter-days. It was a blessing to have Gordon B. Hinckley as our hallowed Prophet. President Hinckley embraced technology and media and took the Lord's church to new levels of positive exposure. We will be in his debt for years to come as we reap the benefits of his fruitful labor to build God's temples here on earth in this righteous dispensation of the fullness of times. This work will continue by the divine guide of the only true God and Jesus the Christ who he has sent to redeem us. We can be encouraged by the many blessings the Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley revealed to us as he received revelation for the Saints. Should we have the pleasure of sustaining President Thomas S. Monson as our Prophet, Seer and Revelator in April, I can not imagine the great things he will lead us to understand.
We do the Lord's work here on earth and in his kingdoms of Glory. We humbly try to keep the commandments that have been revealed to us in this dispensation. We also encourage others to know of this great work so that the Lord may bless them as he has blessed us. This work requires courage and effort, the boldness to stand firm in the conviction that Christ will return to redeem us. We obey with diligence and trust. Our faith and understanding grow as we begin to embrace the truth of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Testimony of Gordon B. Hinckley as recorded from General Conference Oct. 1999 titled: "Good-Bye to This Wonderful Old Tabernacle"
"Now I leave with words that have been spoken so often from this great assembly hall--my testimony, my blessing, and my love--with you, my dear associates in this great cause. This work is true. You know that, as do I. It is God's work. You know that also. It is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the way to happiness, the plan for peace and righteousness.
God our Eternal Father lives. His Son, our Redeemer, the resurrected Savior of the world, lives. They appeared to the boy Joseph Smith to part the curtains in opening a great work of restoration, ushering in the dispensation of the fulness of times. The Book of Mormon is true. It speaks as a voice from the dust in testimony of the divinity of the Lord. The priesthood with its keys, its authority, and all of its blessings is upon the earth.
And we are partakers of these precious gifts. And so, as we might say to an old friend, good-bye. May the blessings of God rest upon this sacred and wonderful hall. And may we, as those who have come here frequently to partake of the Spirit felt here, live worthy of the title Latter-day Saints is my humble prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen."
For more info visit: www.mormon.org
12:42 AM
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Friday, January 25, 2008
Masonic Lodges and Latter-Day Saint Temples
In June 22, 1834 at Fishing River, Missouri, Joseph Smith prophesied that the endowment would be revealed. On the 4th and 5th of May,1842 the endowment was revealed to the saints in the upper room of The Red Brick Store. (The Relief Society was also organized here.) There are some similarities to certain rituals that were already in practice by different groups at the time. We will explore these similarities and the logical understanding of why they exist.
D&C 105:18 But inasmuch as there are those who have hearkened unto my words, I have prepared a blessing and an aendowment for them, if they continue faithful.Joseph Smith became a Mason in March 1842, advancing all the way to Master Mason the next day. This was unusual since the normal minimum wait between each of the three degrees is thirty days. It was not uncommon for visionary men in the 18th and 19th century to join the Freemasons both George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt were members of this fraternity. Joseph did not continue beyond the 3rd degree of Masonry. This is significant because that is the level you have to attain to be part of their sacred ceremony.
Joseph Smith was in search of the truth god had promised to reveal to him in many things. He viewed ordinances as sacred and was told he would find the truth in a multitude of confusion. He was told by God that he would be revealed The Endowment ceremony. In short,the endowment is a Ceremony members of the LDS Church go through to solidify their covenants with God and commit them self to these covenants with veracity and sanctity. Heber C. Kimball described the parallel to masonry as the mason rituals as being "degenerated" IE the rituals practiced in the Masonic Lodge ceremony once had truth but had fallen into apostasy over the years.
Joseph saw the Freemasons as a noble group with great values. He encouraged other Saints to join the Masons. Some might say that the Prophet Joseph adapted the teachings of brotherhood he learned from the Masons into his teachings about how the Priesthood should be conducted.
Just as Joseph did not invent baptism by immersion, he likewise did not invent the endowment ceremony. Rather, Joseph restored the endowment from its former state of apostasy and brought back the truthfulness of it.
If you or I saw the mason lodge ceremony we might not be able to discern what we were looking at. But Joseph looking at this ceremony had a moment of eureka.
The mason initiation rites go through a story of Hirum Abif a figure mentioned in the bible as a stone mason who was the Master Mason on King Soloman's Temple. The Mason Temple tells a tale of this biblical story as handed down from the Masons.
Chronicles 2:13 And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of aHuram my father’s,14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and ato find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.
Essentially, the story told in the Masonic Lodge ceremony goes through the story of this biblical account, each initiate is taken through a mock ritual where this story is acted out. In contrast the endowment ceremony is largely a creation liturgy and has no mention of Hiram Abif.
The complex work of a Prophet is a fascinating subject. It is clear that we do not have a first hand understanding of what talks Joseph had with God. Even most LDS skeptics agree that Joseph had a sincere nature and honestly believed he was spoken to by God and told he would restore the truth of god's plan for men in these latter days. Although some of the same movements and structure is used in the LDS endowment ceremony are borrowed from the Mason Lodge ceremony, NONE of the symbolism or context in which they are used are the same.
Why do Latter-day Saints including myself tread lightly when addressing this subject? Well, there are some things that are so simple and pure that deserve a level of sanctity and reverence. You wouldn't want to discuss your parent's sex life, although the act had to have occurred at least once for you to exist. The Temple is open to all, however as with a University, there are prerequisites to entrance. Curiosity alone is not a prerequisite or qualifying factor to enter into the temple. Keeping the commandments of God is the most important factor that qualifies entry into the house of God. Through righteous living, we can prepare ourself for entry into his house and making eternal covenants with our Heavenly Father. If we do not keep his commandments and enter in unworthily we would defile his house and he would cease to enter into it.
The work we do in our temples for both the living and the dead are sacred and pure ordinances and are performed by worthy members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. To compare our Temple work with the Mason lodge rituals is unfair. A fair summation is to sight that the Masons had many good ideas some of which were perfect, others that had become degenerated. If Joseph had sought to steal the ordinance from the Masons, he would have changed them completely. The fact that similarities exist suggest that Joseph was not trying to be deceptive in his methodology of restoration.
The complex work of a Prophet is a fascinating subject. It is clear that we do not have a first hand understanding of what talks Joseph had with God. Even most LDS skeptics agree that Joseph had a sincere nature and honestly believed he was spoken to by God and told he would restore the truth of god's plan for men in these latter days. Although some of the same movements and structure is used in the LDS endowment ceremony are borrowed from the Mason Lodge ceremony, NONE of the symbolism or context in which they are used are the same.
Why do Latter-day Saints including myself tread lightly when addressing this subject? Well, there are some things that are so simple and pure that deserve a level of sanctity and reverence. You wouldn't want to discuss your parent's sex life, although the act had to have occurred at least once for you to exist. The Temple is open to all, however as with a University, there are prerequisites to entrance. Curiosity alone is not a prerequisite or qualifying factor to enter into the temple. Keeping the commandments of God is the most important factor that qualifies entry into the house of God. Through righteous living, we can prepare ourself for entry into his house and making eternal covenants with our Heavenly Father. If we do not keep his commandments and enter in unworthily we would defile his house and he would cease to enter into it.
The work we do in our temples for both the living and the dead are sacred and pure ordinances and are performed by worthy members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. To compare our Temple work with the Mason lodge rituals is unfair. A fair summation is to sight that the Masons had many good ideas some of which were perfect, others that had become degenerated. If Joseph had sought to steal the ordinance from the Masons, he would have changed them completely. The fact that similarities exist suggest that Joseph was not trying to be deceptive in his methodology of restoration.
For more info visit: www.mormon.org
7:55 AM
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Friday, January 18, 2008
Adam God Theory
A typical response to the Adam God Theory is "The problem with "Adam-God" is that we don't understand what Brigham meant." What Brigham Young had to say regarding Adam as God, has been contested,debated and misunderstood since this doctrine was revealed to the Saints in the infancy of Brigham Young’s tenure as Prophet. Is Adam a god? Some scholars like Dr. Nibley have made statements to the effect that it was true doctrine, however few people understand it. He never goes on to offer an explanation. I decided I would take a stab at it and offer my own theory on what Brigham could have possibly been driving at.
It is important to understand that the word “God” as it is understood has lost its meaning in modern understanding. The Hebrew understanding of the word “ēl” has been translated simply to mean “God” which is understood in modern thought as a self explanatory word referring only to the Almighty. Hebrews understand this word very differently, to them they understand it to mean “power and authority” of a legalistic religious sense. At times it refers to the creator, and at times it does not. Throughout scripture the root of ēl is used contextually and at times refers to those who god has granted his authority to. In the case of Psalm 82, referring to those who hold the priesthood, the root of this word is used in its plural form (elōhîm). “Ye are gods and children of the Most High.”
The earth was created in three stages or epochs. The first epoch, involves the spirit creation, or the spiritual earth, in this stage the intelligences were organized into spirit bodies. The second epoch involved the creation of the physical earth and its preparation to sustain human life forms. The third epoch was the stage in which life forms came to the earth, including our first parents Adam & Eve. No single creation account is an entirely definitive, continuous record. Each account provides us with pieces of different events within the creation story. In the Genesis account, there are actually two accounts. Moses’ first account, found in Genesis, chapter 1 is a description of the first epoch or spirit creation. His second account found in Genesis, chapter 2 describes the third epoch. In this third epoch, the earth was still in a terrestrial state. Abraham’s creation account beginning in Abraham, chapter 4 starts just as the first epoch is drawing to a close, it than goes on to describe the second epoch, which is the birth and development of the physical earth.
The Pauline account describes three states of being; he compares them to the Sun, Moon and Stars, each differing in glory from the next. Two of the states of being or epochs are mentioned as Celestial and Terrestrial. As it was previously stated, no account has ever been completely definitive.
The commandment given to our first parents before their fall from the paradisiacal Garden of Eden can be very plainly understood, if it is read carefully and in context.
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
Adam was to procreate, and to have dominion over all the earth. In this essence Adam received his power and authority and was given godhood over the earth. The
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
The key is the word used for “sorrow” which is atsav meaning to labor, toil, to sweat, to do something very hard. Again, Adam is given dominion over this Patriarchal society. Thus his godhood in the traditional sense is preserved. As a consequence of the fall did Adam loose his exaltation in the Patriarchal framework of eternity? Contrariwise, Adam is at the very head of this patriarchal chain. Just after the fall, the words ring very clear.
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil.
Labels: adam, adam-god theory, brigham young, creation, eve, god the father, the fall, the first man
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12:28 AM
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12:28 AM
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