Gordon B. Hinckley

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Spiritual Knowledge

October 11, 2009 in Education by Greg | No comments

In 1993, Richard G. Scott spoke about acquiring spiritual knowledge at BYU’s Campus Education Week. In beginning his talk, Elder Scott asked, “Why center on spiritual knowledge?” to which he responded by quoting Spencer W. Kimball:

Olive_Tree Spiritual learning takes precedence. The secular without the foundation of the spiritual is but like the foam upon the milk, the fleeting shadow.

Do not be deceived! One need not choose between the two . . . for there is opportunity to get both simultaneously; . . .

Secular knowledge, important as it may be, can never save a soul nor open the celestial kingdom nor create a world nor make a man a god, but it can be most helpful to that man who, placing first things first, has found the way to eternal life and who can now bring into play all knowledge to be his tool and servant. (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 390.)

He also quoted others:

President J. Reuben Clark observed:

There is spiritual learning just as there is material learning, and the one without the other is not complete; yet, speaking for myself, if I could have only one sort of learning, that which I would take would be the learning of the spirit, because in the hereafter I shall have opportunity in the eternities which are to come to get the other, and without spiritual learning here my handicaps in the hereafter would be all but overwhelming. (CR, April 1934, p. 94.)

President Gordon B. Hinckley stated:

This restored gospel brings not only spiritual strength, but also intellectual curiosity and growth. Truth is truth. There is no clearly defined line of demarcation between the spiritual and the intellectual when the intellectual is cultivated and pursued in balance with the pursuit of spiritual knowledge and strength.

The Lord Almighty, through revelation, has laid a mandate upon this people in these words:

“Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118). (CR, April 1986, p. 63; also, “Come and Partake,” Ensign, May 1986, p. 48.) . . .

As knowledge unfolds it must be understood, valued, used, remembered, and expanded.

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What is an Endowment?

February 7, 2009 in Temple by Greg | 17 comments

What is an endowment? is an important question to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Simply put, an endowment is “A special spiritual blessing given to worthy and faithful members of the Church in the temple.”1 James E. Faust, a former counselor in the First Presidency taught:

Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple Each temple building is an inspiration, magnificent and beautiful in every way, but the temple building alone does not bless. The endowed blessings and divine functions—involving much that is not of this world, such as priesthood keys—come through obedience and faithfulness to priesthood authority and covenants made. As we feel and see the awesome beauty of each temple, we see in vision and hold in our remembrance the endless blessings that will come to so many through its being.2

The Endowment – A Gift

Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles taught the following concerning the endowment:

In the temple we receive an endowment, which is, literally speaking, a gift. We need to understand the spiritual significance of it and the importance of keeping the sacred covenants and obligations we make in receiving this gift. Each “temple ordinance is not just a ritual to go through, it is an act of solemn promising.”3 The temple endowment was given by revelation. Thus, it is best understood by revelation, vigorously sought with a pure heart.4

Elder Nelson went on to teach the importance of preparation in attending to the sacred ordinances of the temple:

Parents should teach the importance of the temple from a child’s earliest days. President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) taught members of the Church to display a picture of a temple in their homes where children could see it and plan from their earliest years to go there and to remain worthy of that privilege. Under President Gordon B. Hinckley’s inspired direction, temples have become more readily accessible. Now that temples have been prepared for the people, the people need to prepare themselves for the temple.5

What is an Endowment?

Echoing President Faust and Elder Nelson’s teachings, Andrew F. Ehat addressed the question What is an endowment? in “’Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord?’ Sesquicentennial Reflections of a Sacred Day: 4 May 1842”:

The Prophet Joseph Smith did many things publicly to prepare the Saints for the promised blessing of the endowment. Just the record of his public sermons would serve us well in the quest for preparation.6 Let us look at only one of these public sermons in which the Prophet Joseph refers to an ancient example of the sacred endowment.

What is an Endowment? »»

  1. “Endowment”. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 7 February 2009.↩
  2. Faust, James E. “Who Shall Ascend Into the Hill of the Lord”. August 2001. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 7 February 2009.↩
  3. Hinckley, Gordon B. Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997. 638.↩
  4. Nelson, Russell M. “Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple”. March 2002. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 7 February 2009. Ed. – See also Temple Endowment Understood by Revelation.↩
  5. Ibid.↩
  6. See 2 April, 16 April, 17 May, 11 June, 16, 23 July, 13, 27 August, 9 October 1843; 21 January, 10 March, 7 April, 16 June 1844 sermons as recorded in The Words of Joseph Smith: The Contemporary Accounts of the Nauvoo Discourses of the Prophet Joseph – hereafter WJS, 168-73, 194-99, 202-4, 209-16, 232-36, 238-42, 243-47, 252-55, 317-19, 327-36, 340-62, 378-83.↩

Succession in the LDS First Presidency

January 1, 2009 in Religion by Greg | No comments

Last year, J. Stapley wrote a short post mentioning that the succession in the LDS First Presidency has not always been a smooth transition. This was written shortly after President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away on January 27th, 2008.

As I reviewed the abbreviated post, the articles cited, and the comments in response to his post, I came across the following comment and felt it deserved attention, if only to post it here on our blog. This comment was written by “Me” in response to the original article. Although I have a sneaking suspicion as to the identity of Me, I’ll refrain from positing a guess.

As Me points out, the question of succession in the LDS First Presidency is related to “keys”:

Joseph Smith, Junior The question is simply one of keys: those of the Aaronic priesthood – keys of the ministering of angels, of repentance, and of water baptism – and those of the Melchizedek priesthood – keys of bestowing the gift of the Holy Ghost; keys of the endowment (Moses), and of eternal marriage (Elias), and of the sealing power (Elijah); and the keys of the Kingdom of God (Peter, James & John). Who had the keys the moment Joseph and Hyrum were killed?

Ehat’s use of the label “general authorities” is not anachronistic: “The latter [the traveling high council composed of the Twelve Apostles] can only be called in question by the general authorities of the church in case of transgression” (D&C 102:32). But even if it were, it could be taken merely as a label that modern-day readers of his thesis could readily understand. The fact remains that whatever appellations one uses and whatever groups one thinks should be added to the Venn diagram, there was only one governing body of the Church in which a quorum of its members had received all of the keys restored through Joseph Smith: the Quorum of the Twelve. No other body at the moment of Joseph’s death – not the First Presidency, nor the Nauvoo Stake Presidency, nor the Nauvoo High Council, nor even the Kingdom of God (Council of Fifty) – had a quorum of members who held all priesthood keys, and only 9 of the Twelve had them all.

Succession in the LDS First Presidency »»

Prophet of Doom

December 19, 2008 in Economics by Greg | 2 comments

Shortly after 9/11, Gordon B. Hinckley stated that he did not “wish to be a prophet of doom.”1 When he made that comment, I had the thought that he didn’t need to be a “prophet of doom” because preceding prophets going all the way back to the Old Testament had prophesied about the events of the latter-days. And as I studied their statements, I got a pretty good sense that the dispensation in which I live is not going to be a “bed of roses” so to speak. Especially after recently rereading Orson Pratt’s comments about the redemption of Zion and contemplating Jeffrey R. Holland’s message in a recent fireside for young adults (see Lessons from Liberty Jail).

Nouriel Roubini So when I received this article sent to me by a good friend, I got a chance to read something by Mr. Doom himself – Nouriel Roubini, an economics professor at New York University – and it reminded me of President Hinckley’s comments.

Here’s what a modern-day Cassandra has to say about the current economic crisis:

We are in the middle of a very severe recession that’s going to continue through all of 2009 – the worst U.S. recession in the past 50 years. It’s the bursting of a huge leveraged-up credit bubble. There’s no going back, and there is no bottom to it. It was excessive in everything from subprime to prime, from credit cards to student loans, from corporate bonds to muni-bonds. You name it. And it’s all reversing right now in a very, very massive way. At this point it’s not just a U.S. recession. All of the advanced economies are at the beginning of a hard landing. And emerging markets, beginning with China, are in a severe slowdown. So we’re having a global recession and it’s becoming worse.

Things are going to be awful for everyday people. U.S. GDP growth is going to be negative through the end of 2009. And the recovery in 2010 and 2011, if there is one, is going to be so weak – with a growth rate of 1% to 1.5% – that it’s going to feel like a recession. I see the unemployment rate peaking at around 9% by 2010. The value of homes has already fallen 25%. In my view, home prices are going to fall by another 15% before bottoming out in 2010.2

As the Obama administration prepares for an $850 billion infrastructure plan to jolt the economy, it seems wise to remember how the similar New Deal and Fair Deal stimulus plans worked in the 1930’s:

“Why the Great Depression lasted so long has always been a great mystery, and because we never really knew the reason, we have always worried whether we would have another 10- to 15-year economic slump,” said Ohanian, vice chair of UCLA’s Department of Economics. “We found that a relapse isn’t likely unless lawmakers gum up a recovery with ill-conceived stimulus policies.”

“President Roosevelt believed that excessive competition was responsible for the Depression by reducing prices and wages, and by extension reducing employment and demand for goods and services,” said Cole, also a UCLA professor of economics. “So he came up with a recovery package that would be unimaginable today, allowing businesses in every industry to collude without the threat of antitrust prosecution and workers to demand salaries about 25 percent above where they ought to have been, given market forces. The economy was poised for a beautiful recovery, but that recovery was stalled by these misguided policies.3

President Hinckley didn’t need to be a doomsayer. We had already been warned and forewarned. In 2001, and even before (see Lay Up Grain for Seven Years), we have been told to “be prepared”.

Sources:

  1. Hinckley, Gordon B. “The Times in Which We Live”. November 2001. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 19 December 2008.↩
  2. Roubini, Nouriel. Beth Kowitt, Jon Birger, and Brian O’Keefe, eds. “8 Really, Really Scary Predictions“. 11 Decmber 2008. CNN Money. 19 December 2008.↩
  3. See Smith, Jimmy. “The New Deal Prolonged the Depression and We’re Doing It Again”. 18 December 2008. Analytical Insights. 19 December 2008. The original quote is from Sullivan, Meg. “FDR’s Policies Prolonged Depression by 7 Years, UCLA Economists Calculate”. 10 August 2004. UCLA Newsroom.↩

Lay Up Grain for Seven Years

December 1, 2008 in Emergency Preparedness by Greg | 9 comments

Lay up grain for seven years was mentioned in a talk given by Heber C. Kimball in 1857. A number of years ago, Gordon B. Hinckley1 spoke to the general body of the priesthood and told us:

Now, brethren, I should like to talk to the older men, hoping that there will be some lesson for the younger men as well. I wish to speak to you about temporal matters. As a backdrop for what I wish to say, I read to you a few verses from the 41st chapter of Genesis.

Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, dreamed dreams which greatly troubled him. The wise men of his court could not give an interpretation. Joseph was then brought before him:

Joseph, the Butler and the Baker by Alexander Ivanov “Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river: And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in a meadow: And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed . . . . And the lean and the ill favoured kine did eat up the first seven fat kine: . . . And I saw in my dream … seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good: And, behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them: And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears: . . . And Joseph said unto Pharaoh . . . God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one . . . What God is about to do he sheweth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt: And there shall arise after them seven years of famine . . . . And God will shortly bring it to pass” (Genesis 41:17–20, 22–26, 28–30, 32).

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  1. Gordon B. Hinckley served as the 15th President and prophet, seer and revelator of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death on January 27, 2008, at the age of 97.↩

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