Spirits

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Gadianton Robbers

March 29, 2009 in Book of Mormon by Greg | 9 comments

The Book of Mormon records that the Gadianton robbers “did prove the overthrow, yea, almost the entire destruction of the people of Nephi” (Helaman 2:13). Who were these Gadianton robbers and why were they given such a prominent role in the Book of Mormon, such that an entire civilization was destroyed?

9/11 and the Gadianton Robbers

Shortly after the events of 9/11, Gordon B. Hinckley referred to “terrorist organizations that must be ferreted out and brought down.” He went on to state:

We of this Church know something of such groups. The Book of Mormon speaks of the Gadianton robbers, a vicious, oath-bound, and secret organization bent on evil and destruction. In their day they did all in their power, by whatever means available, to bring down the Church, to woo the people with sophistry, and to take control of the society. We see the same thing in the present situation. (9/11 and the Gadianton Robbers).

A Pattern of the Second Coming

Since the Book of Mormon is a “pattern for preparing for the Second Coming” of Jesus Christ¹, the following is a list of characteristics and quotations about this curious group that resulted in the destruction of an ancient society and which has modern parallels.

Continue reading Read the rest of this entry »

“. . . in the Book of Mormon we find a pattern for preparing for the Second Coming. A major portion of the book centers on the few decades just prior to Christ’s coming to America. By careful study of that time period we can determine why some were destroyed in the terrible judgments that preceded His coming and what brought others to stand at the temple in the land of Bountiful and thrust their hands into the wounds of His hands and feet” Benson, Ezra Taft. Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988. 59.↩

Brigham Young’s Vision of Joseph Smith

February 21, 2009 in Religion by Greg | 7 comments

A couple weeks ago, I came across S. Faux’s post about the law of adoption in The History of Sealings within Families. His post caught my attention because two of my Danish ancestors – who were some of the first to join the LDS Church in that country – were later “adopted” to Erastus Snow and Minerva White. Once I found that sealing record in the archives of the Family History Library, I had an intense desire to better understand this practice. Consequently, Carrie and I met with a friend of ours who shared with us material that brought greater understanding to this practice that was modified in 1894.

With that backdrop, the following is Brigham Young’s vision of Joseph Smith at Winter Quarters in 1847 as recorded by Hosea Stout:

This morning there was to be a private meeting of the high Council at sun rise. About 9 o’clock I went & found only three members present so we staid awhile and come away home

In the afternoon I went to the Council house to a meeting at which Elder Henry G. Sherwood spoke after that I was around as usual At six went to a High Council as usual There was not much done of interest except some remarks of President Young which I will give in short It is in relation to a spell of sickness he had had lately.

He spoke as follows.

“Another subject which I wanted to speak of is this.

On Wednesday morning I was taken ill and it has been asked if I had a vision I was taken so suddenly sick. Just as I was getting out of my bed that I could not go out. I tried to return to the bed again, but could not even get back

As to how I felt, No one can tell how I felt, until he dies and goes through the vail and when he does that he can then tell how I felt

All that I know, is what my wife told me about it since. She said that I said, I had been where Joseph & Hyrum was.

And again that I said, it is hard coming to life again.

But I know that I went to the world of spirits; but what I saw I know not, for the vision went away from me, as a dream which you loose when you awake.

The next day I had a dream.

I dreamed that I saw Joseph sitting in a room, in the South West corner, near a bright window.

He sat in a chair, with his feet, both on the lower round.

I took him by the hand and kissed him on both cheeks, and wanted to know why we could not be together, as we once was.

He said that it was all right, that we should not be together yet.

We must be separated for a season.

I said it was hard to be separated from him.

He said, it was all right and putting his feet down on the floor.

Now all you who know, how he looks, when he used to give council, know all about, how he looked then

I told him that the Latter Day Saints was very anxious to know about the law of adoption, and the sealing powers &c and desired word of council from him.

Joseph said; do you be sure and tell the people one thing.

Do you be sure and tell the brethren that it is all important for them to keep the spirit of the Lord, To keep the quiet spirit of Jesus, and he explained how the spirit of the Lord reflected on the spirit of man and set him to pondering on any subject, and also explained how to know the spirit of the Lord from the spirit of the enemy.

He said the mind of man must be open to receive all spirits, in order to be prepared, to receive the spirit of the Lord; otherwise it might be barred so as not to receive the spirit of the Lord, which always brings peace and makes one happy and takes away every other spirit. When the small still voice speaks always receive it, and if the people will do these things, when they come up to the father, all will be as in the beginning, and every person stand as at the first.

I saw how we were organized before we took tabernacles and every man will be restored to that which he had then, and all will be satisfied. After this I turned away & saw Joseph was in the edge of the light; but where I had to go was as midnight darkness.

He said I must go back, so I went back in the darkness.

I want you all to remember my dream for I it is a vision of God and was revealed through the spirit of Joseph.”¹

The Manuscript History of Brigham Young records the following account of this experience:

Joseph stepped toward me, and looking very earnestly, yet pleasantly said, “Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord and it will lead them right. Be careful and not turn away the small voice; it will teach you what to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom. Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction, so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from all other spirits; it will whisper peace and joy to their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the spirit of the Lord they will go right. Be sure to tell the people to keep the Spirit of the Lord; and if they will, they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion.²

Sources:

Brooks, Jaunita, ed. On the Mormon Frontier: The Diary of Hosea Stout, 1844 – 1861. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1982. 237-239.↩
“Brigham Young’s vision of Joseph Smith”. Manuscript History of Brigham Young. 1847. 56.↩

Nibley on Book of Mormon Geography

December 1, 2008 in Book of Mormon by Greg | 20 comments

In general, Dr. Hugh W. Nibley wrote very little about the geography of the Book of Mormon. And I suppose with good reason. In 1890, George Q. Cannon wrote:

There is a tendency, strongly manifested . . . among some of the brethren, to study the geography of the Book of Mormon. . . . We are greatly pleased to notice the . . . interest taken by the Saints in this holy book. . . . But valuable as is the Book of Mormon both in doctrine and history, yet it is possible to put this sacred volume to uses for which it was never intended, uses which are detrimental rather than advantageous to the cause of truth, and consequently to the work of the Lord. . . . The First Presidency has often been asked to prepare some suggestive map illustrative of Nephite geography, but have never consented to do so. Nor are we acquainted with any of the Twelve Apostles who would undertake such a task. The reason is, that without further information they are not prepared even to suggest. The word of the Lord or the translation of other ancient records is required to clear up many points now so obscure.¹

In 1993, the First Presidency wrote:

The Church emphasizes the doctrinal and historical value of the Book of Mormon, not its geography. While some Latter-day Saints have looked for possible locations and explanations because the New York Hill Cumorah does not readily fit the Book of Mormon description of Cumorah, there are no conclusive connections between the Book of Mormon text and any specific site.²

A few weeks ago, a member in our congregation told me about a DVD he recently viewed and was excited to share it with me (see DNA Evidence for Book of Mormon Geography). When he first told me about the DVD, the first thought I had in my mind was an article by Dr. Nibley entitled Ancient Temples: What Do They Signify? in the September 1972 Ensign. Here are a few excerpts that may (or may not) pertain to the ongoing question about the locale of the Book of Mormon: Continue reading Read the rest of this entry »

Cannon, George Q. “Editorial Thoughts: The Book of Mormon Geography”. The Juvenile Instructor. 1 January 1890: 25:18–19.↩
Correspondence from Michael Watson, Office of the First Presidency, 23 April 1993 as cited in Hamblin, William J. “Basic Methodological Problems with the Anti-Mormon Approach to the Geography and Archaeology of the Book of Mormon”. Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 1993: 2:161-197.↩

The Gift of Spiritual Experiences

October 21, 2008 in Religion by Greg | 2 comments

The Gift of Spiritual Experiences is an excerpt from a book entitled Mine Errand from the Lord: Quotations and Teachings from Boyd K. Packer on Meridian Magazine. I personally appreciate the timeliness of this wise counsel:

It is not wise to continually talk of unusual spiritual experiences. They are to be guarded with care and shared only when the Spirit itself prompts you to use them to the blessing of others. I am ever mindful of Alma ’s words:

It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him. (Alma 12:9).

I heard President Marion G. Romney once counsel mission presidents and their wives in Geneva, “I do not tell all I know; I have never told my wife all I know, for I found out that if I talked too lightly of sacred things, thereafter the Lord would not trust me.” (82–04, p. 53)

I have learned that strong, impressive spiritual experiences do not come to us very frequently. And when they do, they are generally for our own edification, instruction, or correction. Unless we are called by proper authority to do so, they do not position us to counsel or to correct others. (82–04, p. 53)

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Book of Mormon

October 20, 2008 in Book of Mormon by Greg | No comments

In August 2005, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were counseled to read the Book of Mormon by President Gordon B. Hinckley.¹ He cited Parley P. Pratt’s experience when he first read the Book of Mormon:

It is inspiring to learn how Parley Pratt came to know of the book about which he wrote the words of this hymn. In August of 1830, as a lay preacher, he was traveling from Ohio to eastern New York. At Newark, along the Erie Canal, he left the boat and walked 10 miles (16 km) into the country where he met a Baptist deacon by the name of Hamlin, who told him “of a book, a strange book, a VERY STRANGE BOOK!. . . This book, he said, purported to have been originally written on plates either of gold or brass, by a branch of the tribes of Israel; and to have been discovered and translated by a young man near Palmyra, in the State of New York, by the aid of visions, or the ministry of angels. I inquired of him how or where the book was to be obtained. He promised me the perusal of it, at his house the next day. . . . Next morning I called at his house, where, for the first time, my eyes beheld the ‘BOOK OF MORMON’—that book of books . . . which was the principal means, in the hands of God, of directing the entire course of my future life.

“I opened it with eagerness, and read its title page. I then read the testimony of several witnesses in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep.

“As I read, the spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true, as plainly and manifestly as a man comprehends and knows that he exists.”²

As part of that talk, President Hinckley stated:

The Book of Mormon narrative is a chronicle of nations long since gone. But in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, it is as current as the morning newspaper and much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions of those problems.

I know of no other writing which sets forth with such clarity the tragic consequences to societies that follow courses contrary to the commandments of God. Its pages trace the stories of two distinct civilizations that flourished on the Western Hemisphere. Each began as a small nation, its people walking in the fear of the Lord. But with prosperity came growing evils. The people succumbed to the wiles of ambitious and scheming leaders who oppressed them with burdensome taxes, who lulled them with hollow promises, who countenanced and even encouraged loose and lascivious living. These evil schemers led the people into terrible wars that resulted in the death of millions and the final and total extinction of two great civilizations in two different eras.

No other written testament so clearly illustrates the fact that when men and nations walk in the fear of God and in obedience to His commandments, they prosper and grow, but when they disregard Him and His word, there comes a decay that, unless arrested by righteousness, leads to impotence and death. The Book of Mormon is an affirmation of the Old Testament proverb: “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34).³

Since 9/11, the United States has been involved in the War in Afghanistan and in 2003 entered into the War of Iraq. At present, there seems to be no end in sight to the end of either of these wars.

Sources:

Hinckley, Gordon B. “A Testimony Vibrant and True“. August 2005. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 20 October 2008.↩
Pratt, Parley P. Jr., ed. Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2000. 36-37.↩
Hinckley, Gordon B. “A Testimony Vibrant and True“. August 2005. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 20 October 2008.↩

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