Against Wisdom, Part 2: There Shall be No Christ

And this anti-Christ, whose name was Korihor (and the law could have no hold upon him), began to preach unto the people that there should be no Christ. And after this manner did he preach, saying, O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? Why do ye look for a Christ? 

—Alma 16:8 RE

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

In Part 1 of this series, we considered the origins of scripture in Adam’s Book of Remembrance, followed by its loss or destruction and a replacement record being started by Joseph in Egypt. We also looked at two tactics employed against correct information about the Messiah and salvation. In this installment, we’ll consider the adversary’s further efforts to destroy scripture and prevent the salvation of mankind. 

Holy Order

As illustrated by Joseph’s example, wholesale destruction of scripture is not effective when Priesthood is present on earth, in the form of the Holy Order. To consider the role and importance of this Priesthood, let’s examine three statements from Joseph Smith:

…there are two priesthoods spoken of in the Scriptures, viz., the Melchizedek and the Aaronic or Levitical. Although there are two priesthoods, yet the Melchizedek Priesthood comprehends the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood, and is the grand head, and holds the highest authority which pertains to [the Holy Order] and the keys of the Kingdom of God in all ages of the world, to the latest posterity on the earth; and is the channel through which all knowledge, doctrine, the plan of salvation, and every important matter is revealed from heaven. (TPJS, p. 166-167 emphasis mine) 

In the quotation above, Joseph Smith defines the highest Priesthood as a “channel” through which “all knowledge, doctrine, the plan of salvation, and every important matter is revealed from heaven.” This is a very different notion from the idea that priesthood is authority to control, preside, or compel others. Rather, it is an opportunity to serve by receiving and disseminating saving knowledge to the family of man. 

Now the great and grand secret of the whole matter, and the summum bonum of the whole subject that is lying before us, consists in obtaining the powers of the holy Priesthood. For him to whom these keys are given there is no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men, both as well for the dead as for the living. Herein is glory and honor, and immortality, and eternal life. (T&C 151:9 emphasis mine)

Now, Joseph adds the information that “keys” are not a means of control, but rather knowledge that gives one the ability to obtain “facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men.” One possessing such keys may therefore obtain, and teach the way of, “glory and honor, and immortality, and eternal life.” The keys enable one to ask questions and receive answers from heaven.

“...all other priesthoods are only parts, ramifications, powers and blessings belonging to the same, and are held, controlled, and directed by it. It is the channel through which the Almighty commenced revealing His glory at the beginning of the creation of this earth, and through which He has continued to reveal Himself to the children of men to the present time, and through which He will make known His purposes to the end of time.” (TPJS, p. 167.) 

Joseph again clarifies the truth that Priesthood is a channel through which God reveals light and truth to humanity. Indeed, it is the channel through which God reveals himself. 

Among other things, the purpose of the Holy Order is to put in place a mechanism by which God can reveal from heaven what is necessary for the salvation of man on Earth. In every generation when God has provided salvation for mankind, it is the Holy Order used by God to fix what is broken, restore what has been lost, repair, heal, forgive, and reconnect those who are willing to give heed to the message sent from Heaven to enable mankind to become sons of God.  (Denver Snuffer, “The Holy Order” Oct. 29, 2017, p.8)

By now, we should have a firm understanding of the role of the Holy Order, and that members of the Holy Order who have received their errand from God are tasked with receiving, recording, translating and disseminating scripture for the benefit of all mankind. Such is not only evident from the quotations above, but is also amply illustrated by the succession of record keepers from Adam down to Joseph of Egypt who, as a member of the Holy Order, had both the means and the ability to restore scripture that had been lost. 

Therefore, the Holy Order may, at a minimum, be considered a fellowship of record keepers who stand in the breach between God’s truth and the forces intent on destroying scripture. The Patriarch Joseph filled that role and foiled Satan’s plan of destruction.

Ark of the Covenant

At the end of his life, Joseph instructed his descendants in several matters. First, that they would be held captive in Egypt, but that a deliverer would come in Moses. And second, he required that they promise to carry his bones with them out of Egypt when they were delivered:

Therefore, Joseph said unto his brethren, God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he swore unto Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph confirmed many other things unto his brethren, and took an oath of the children of Israel, saying unto them, God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here. So Joseph died when he was a hundred ten years old. And they embalmed him and they put him in a coffin in Egypt. And he was kept from burial by the children of Israel, that he might be carried up and laid in the sepulcher with his fathers. And thus they remembered the oath which they swore unto him. (Gen. 12:42-43 RE)

Note that Joseph’s embalmed body was placed in a “coffin” and left unburied so it could be taken to the promised land generations later. The word translated as “coffin” is אָרוֹן (aron), which occurs 277 times in the Hebrew bible, and is translated as “ark” 270 times, “chest” six times, and “coffin” only once. Therefore, it is entirely valid, even MORE valid, to say that Joseph embalmed remans were placed in an ark. This ark (aron), in my opinion, contained not only the remains of Joseph, who was the last recorded to hold the birthright covenant, but also Joseph’s brass-plates record of the covenant. An “Ark of the Covenant” indeed. 

The record shows the Israelites also built another ark in the wilderness for the stone tablets of Moses, which ark they also carried to the promised land, along with Joseph’s remains. Both arks therefore carried precious records—scripture—under constant guard and strict security. Nephi informs us that Joseph’s Plates of Brass included the five books of Moses, written in Egyptian. It’s therefore possible, even likely that Moses, who was raised in Pharaoh’s house and could therefore read and write Egyptian, originally wrote his five books on the Plates of Brass with his own hand. The record informs us:

And Moses wrote this law and delivered it unto the priests, the sons of Levi who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel. (Deut. 9:10 RE)

And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book until they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. (Deut. 9:13 RE)

Both of these references tell us that Moses’s record was associated with the ark and carried by the Levite priests. Later, in Nephi’s day the brass-plates record of Joseph and Moses was known as “the Record of the Jews” (1 Nephi 1:10, 21 RE)  and contained further scripture and prophecy, faithfully recorded and kept current by a family dynasty of record keepers, from Joseph down to Laban. This record—the Plates of Brass—formed the basis of Israelite scripture thereafter. The scrolls used at the temple, in daily study, and in worship all descended from the base texts of the Plates of Brass.

So now that we’ve further traced the potential history of the Plates of Brass, let’s look further at the adversary’s efforts to destroy scripture.

Tactic Three: Revision

The Holy Order’s success demonstrated the futility of attempting to destroy all true scripture. Thanks to Joseph, a resilient record yet stood, containing not only information going all the way back to Eden, but also a safe location to continue recording God’s word to humanity. 

According to Jacob, recording permanent writings on metal plates became the “gold standard” (pun intended) for truth preservation. Said he:

…and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain, but whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates must perish and vanish away; (Jacob 3:1 RE)

Because plates added permanency to the record, a new tactic became necessary for the enemy of our souls: Selective revision of true scripture. 

As I mentioned in Part 1, the most important information conveyed by scripture is knowledge of, and about, the Messiah. It is impossible to exercise faith unto life and salvation without knowing of the Savior in whom the faith must be centered. Not surprisingly then, the adversary’s efforts next focused not on destroying all scripture, but only on opposing belief in Christ. 

The very opening of the Book of Mormon informs us of this situation, as illustrated by the reaction of Jerusalem’s inhabitants to Lehi’s preaching:

Therefore, I would that ye should know that after the Lord had shewn so many marvelous things unto my father Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold, he went forth among the people and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard. And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them, for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations. (1 Nephi 1:5 RE)

OK, so Lehi testified of their wickedness and abominations, and they mocked him. The idea that such devoted, religious people were actually wicked and abominable seems to have struck them as laughable, even absurd. They knew themselves to be righteous—a view best articulated by Nephi’s own brothers: 

And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people, for they keep the statutes and the judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people. (1 Nephi 5:17 RE)

Now, back to Lehi’s preaching:

And he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a messiah and also the redemption of the world. And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him, yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out and stoned and slain; and they also sought his life that they might take it away. (1 Nephi 1:5 RE)

Calling the Jews at Jerusalem to repentance was viewed as a joke. But preaching about a Messiah who would come to redeem them was a different matter entirely. This information enraged the hearers to the point of murder. 

What? Seriously? How is this possible? Since when did Jews rage against the very idea of a Messiah, and seek to kill those who dared speak it? Clearly, something was afoot in Lehi’s time, making it dangerous, even deadly to share this information. Yet, according to Nephi, a great number of prophets had previously preached about the Messiah:

Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews, even a messiah, or in other words, a savior of the world. And he also spake concerning the prophets, how great a number had testified of these things concerning this Messiah of whom he had spoken, or this Redeemer of the world. Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer. (1 Nephi 3:2 RE)

Nephi’s brother Jacob shared the same truth:

Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Messiah. (Jacob 5:2 RE)

For, for this intent have we written these things: that they may know that we knew of Messiah, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming. And not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us. (Jacob 3:1 RE)

Indeed, Abinadi informs us that Moses was one of these prophets who prophesied of the coming Messiah: 

For behold, did not Moses prophesy unto them concerning the coming of the Messiah and that God should redeem his people? Yea, and even all the prophets who have prophesied ever since the world began — have they not spoken more or less concerning these things? Have they not said that God himself should come down among the children of men, and take upon him the form of man, and go forth in mighty power upon the face of the earth? Yea, and have they not said also that he should bring to pass the resurrection of the dead? And that he himself should be oppressed and afflicted? (Mosiah 8:2 RE)

Other prophets who spoke of Messiah include Zenoch, Zenos and Neum:

And the God of our fathers…yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob — yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up according to the words of Zenoch, and to be crucified according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulcher according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness which should be a sign given of his death… (1 Nephi 5:36 RE) 

And likewise, at least in the case of Zenos, they were killed for their testimony of Messiah:

And now I would that ye should know that even since the days of Abraham there have been many prophets that have testified these things; yea, behold, the prophet Zenos did testify boldly, for the which he was slain, and behold, also Zenoch, and also Ezaias, and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, Jeremiah being that same prophet who testified of the destruction of Jerusalem — and now, we know that Jerusalem was destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah — oh then why not the Son of God come according to his prophecy? (Helaman 3:9 RE)

The text further informs us that “many” were slain for preaching of Messiah.

Behold, I say unto you, yea, many have testified of these things at the coming of Messiah and were slain because they testified of these things — yea, the prophet Zenos did testify of these things, and also Zenoch spake concerning these things, because they testified particular concerning us, who are the remnant of their seed. (3 Nephi 4:11)

With the above in mind, we’ve got some questions that beg for answers:

• If so many prophets prophesied of the Messiah, where are their prophesies? 
• Why does the current old testament not directly mention the Messiah at all? 
• In fact, why doesn’t the word “Messiah” even appear in the Hebrew bible (other than in non-related passages about anointing kings)?
• What happened to Moses’s prophesies of the Messiah? 

We could continue asking questions along these lines, but the answer to them all is generally the same: We no longer have the records because there was a concerted effort to murder the prophets who testified of Christ and destroy the records of their prophecies. We could talk about the religious, political, financial and governmental reasons for this effort, but I don’t want to get off track. The point is that the records of Messiah were specifically targeted and altered. 

So effective was this coordinated attack that the world lost all record of prophets like Zenos, Zenoch, Ezaias, and Neum. In other cases, when the prophets were too well known or popular, their records were simply altered by scribes to remove information about the Messiah. Hence, the five books of Moses that have come down to us no longer teach anything of the Messiah who will bring redemption. Indeed the other prophets in our existing Old Testament only allude to the Messiah obliquely in prophecy or poetry. By diabolical design, there remains no direct teaching at all about the most important event in the history of this creation. 

This all brings us back to the Plates of Brass. At the time Lehi departed Jerusalem, the Plates of Brass were likely the ONLY existing, accurate record of the prophets left on earth. The family dynasty that faithfully kept the records had managed for centuries to prevent their destruction or alteration by anti-Messiah forces, all while continuing to faithfully record truth from heaven. But the soon-to-invade Babylonian army would quickly put an end to all that as they sacked the temple treasury and confiscated anything precious they could find. 

Had Nephi not retrieved the record and literally taken it to an entirely different continent for safekeeping, the world may well have lost the precious prophecies forever. But God’s foreknowledge prevented that from happening, and Nephi’s faith in the face of danger, discouragement and contradiction ultimately saved the record from destruction and preserved truth on the earth. Without the Plates of Brass record, I doubt there would have been a Book of Mormon record to record Nephi’s tale. 

As a side note, I’m continually amazed at those who criticize Nephi for killing Laban, or claim Joseph Smith made up the tale. Both the view from heaven, and a correct understanding of the importance of this record for the salvation of the world, give whole new realms of meaning to the Spirit’s declaration that “the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.” 

Though we don’t currently have access to the Plates of Brass, we are nevertheless blessed by their teachings through what was copied into or alluded to within the Book of Mormon. We also have the promise that the record will yet go forth to the world:

And now when my father saw all these things, he was filled with the spirit and began to prophesy concerning his seed — that these plates of brass should go forth unto all nations, kindreds, and tongues, and people, who were of his seed. Wherefore, he said that these plates of brass should never perish; neither should they be dimmed anymore by time. (1 Nephi 1:22 RE)

We’ll close this installment with a summary of the ground we’ve covered. 

• Our adversary fully understands the importance of truth to lead to faith and salvation. 
• Therefore, his efforts focus on destroying or removing truth to keep mortals bound in chains of darkness. 
• His approaches have included teaching against truth, destroying true records, and altering records to remove truths about the Messiah. 
• In all cases, God has anticipated Satan’s actions and has provided means to combat and overcome them. 
• God’s use of the Holy Order on earth to reveal, preserve, protect, recover and teach true scripture demonstrates God’s foreknowledge, wisdom, power, and commitment to our salvation. 

In Part 3, we’ll continue tracing the course of scripture through the ages, and discuss our adversary’s continued attempts to combat truth. We haven’t yet begun to exhaust the list of his evil tools and strategies.

I say unto you my sons, were it not for these things which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief. And we should have been like unto our brethren the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers which are not correct. O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true.

—Mosiah 1:1 RE

Against Wisdom, Part 1: Book of Remembrance

 And moreover, I say unto you that there shall be no other name given, nor any other way nor means, whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ the Lord Omnipotent.

—Mosiah 1:16, RE

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

This series of posts is about scripture. You should know that from the start, but you should also know this series might not be what you expect. To truly understand, appreciate, and utilize scripture in the best way possible, we have to start by understanding how utterly unlikely and miraculous it is that such a thing as scripture even exists. Likewise, we must understand how much Satan would prefer that scripture not exist, and how extensive have been his efforts to accomplish its destruction. 

The battle over scripture is the battle over the souls of men, and it has raged since the beginning. Only by studying the battle and its costs can we begin to appreciate the results. 

How Great the Importance

Our scriptures contain many categories of information, including history, prophecy, preaching, narration, parables, explication, legal interpretation, military strategy, theophany, civics, revelation and more. All of it is good, useful and beneficial. Indeed, Paul informs us: 

And all scripture given by inspiration of God is profitable — for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 1:9 RE)

But even with so much good and so many types of profitable information in scripture, there is yet one category of knowledge more important than them all. Lehi summarized it beautifully:

Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah, for he is full of grace and truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered. Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh and taketh it again by the power of the spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men, and they that believe in him shall be saved. (2 Nephi 1:6 RE)

How great the importance indeed! If we are not informed with reliable information about the Messiah, we cannot exercise faith in him unto life and salvation. As we learn in Lectures on Faith: 

Let us here observe that three things are necessary in order that any rational and intelligent being may exercise faith in God unto life and salvation.

First, the idea that he actually exists.

Secondly, a correct idea of his character, perfections, and attributes.

Thirdly, an actual knowledge that the course of life which he is pursuing is according to his will. For without an acquaintance with these three important facts, the faith of every rational being must be imperfect and unproductive, but with this understanding it can become perfect and fruitful, abounding in righteousness unto the praise and glory of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Lecture 3:4 RE)

Each of the three items on the above list are absolutely necessary and must be properly understood and applied by anyone who hopes to receive salvation. Indeed, though we may have volumes of scripture filled with all sorts of information filling thousands of pages, it all becomes useless and unprofitable if a very small portion of it can be damaged, modified, removed, concealed, or otherwise obfuscated so as to prevent the required knowledge from coming to mankind. If scripture fails to faithfully convey correct information about Christ, it fails to be worth much in any eternal sense. Therefore, this specific information in scripture becomes the primary point of attack for that being who is the enemy of our souls.

In this blog series, we’ll examine the many strategies Lucifer has employed, and continues to employ, in his attempts to blind, deafen, darken, capture, and destroy the souls of men and women. Though much of what follows will be familiar, even obvious, perhaps we can reach a few new realizations as we consider specific patterns. 

Likewise, we’ll also consider the steps God has taken to ensure mankind has correct teachings available to those who care to give heed to them. But first, we have to lay some groundwork.

Know your Enemy

On this journey, the first realization we need to achieve about the tactics of our adversary is that he has many ways to accomplish the same goal. One way is as good as the next, so long as the objective is met. In understanding one tactic, we must not make the mistake of assuming we comprehend them all. The war for souls is like any other war, with endless strategies, attack points, subterfuge and exploits available in pursuit of the same end. 

The upshot for us is that we must seek more than a passing understanding of these things if we hope to guard against them. Given mankind’s tendency toward pride and unbelief, we must take special care to begin with this core-deep understanding: that we lack understanding. Our ignorance is not only our greatest handicap, but also our least recognized. The common human tendency is to assume we’re right, when in fact, we’re fools. Using an analogy to the game of chess, it’s like we overturn the board and throw the pieces at one another, and assume we’re playing chess—all while utterly unaware there is MUCH more to the game, and it may take years to master. 

If we’re fortunate enough to recognize our ignorance, it must become a motivator to a diligent search for understanding. We’re all under attack, which means any thoughts of carnal security and trusting in our own understanding must be abandoned before any real learning can follow.

Lucifer has been at this a long time. Therefore, if we have any advantage, it is found in the history of scripture and the approaches he has employed in the past to destroy correct understanding.

So let’s start at the beginning. 

Tactic One: Believe Not

And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. And Satan came among them, saying, I am also a Son of God. And he commanded them, saying, Believe not. And they believed not, and loved Satan more than God.  (Genesis 3:4b-5a RE)

Let’s examine this tactic. In the first generations, we find Adam and Eve, who have stood in the presence of God, teaching their sons and daughters regarding “good and evil” and “the joy of [their] redemption” while Satan tells their offspring to “believe not.” Satan also claims to be a “Son of God,” and the matter therefore becomes a question of opinion. Who is telling the truth? Adam and Eve or Satan? Satan offers an alternative explanation and path, and convinces many to not believe what Adam and Eve teach.

Eventually, both Seth and his son Enos choose to believe and call upon the name of the Lord. At this point the text tells us a “book of remembrance” became necessary:

And then began these men to call upon the name of the Lord, and the Lord blessed them. And a book of remembrance was kept, in which was recorded in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration. And by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled. Now this same Priesthood which was in the beginning shall be in the end of the world also (now this prophecy Adam spoke as he was moved upon by the holy ghost). (Genesis 3:14 RE)

I think a couple of points are worth noting. Despite Satan’s efforts, there were men who called upon the name of the Lord and were “blessed.” They were first-hand witnesses in the Holy Order, and they recorded true information in a book for future generations, which also became the means by which their children were taught to read and write. This was the beginning of scripture, and the means by which others could learn of the Messiah and exercise faith in him. This conveyance of correct information, which includes writing “by the spirit of inspiration” was referred to as “Priesthood” (capital “P”). We are informed that this Priesthood will be present in our generation. At a minimum, this Priesthood includes the testimony of those in the Holy Order and accurate written scriptural records.

Tactic Two: Destruction

To avoid turning this blog post into a book, we’ll have to speed things along a bit as we trace the route of the scripture that began in Eden. Here are a few waypoints to consider in this journey, while keeping in mind that what follows is my understanding of events, based on available evidence. I don’t take issue if you view events differently, but at least consider the following:

• The Book of Remembrance was kept and passed down through the generations: Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah and Shem all kept the record. 

• The record ultimately made its way down family lines to the idolator Terah, father of Abraham, who in turn gave it to Abraham because he (Terah) had no use for it. Abraham read the record and desired to reconnect to the Holy Order (Abraham 1:1, 2:3). He therefore lived a life of righteousness, became God’s friend, received God’s covenant, sought out Shem (Melchizedek), and re-established the Holy Order.

• The record then passed from Abraham down to Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. When Joseph’s jealous brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery, they destroyed the birthright garment that had come from Eden (commonly called the “coat of many colors.”) They likely also destroyed the record. 

• Satan thought that by destroying the Book of Remembrance, he could prevent the Holy Order from returning. With no accurate record to teach of the coming Messiah, he supposed the battle was his. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for that meddling kid, Joseph.

See, it turns out Joseph was a seer, who rose from slavery to prominence and power in short order. Having gained Pharaoh’s favor, and having steered Egypt successfully through the famine as Prime Minister, Joseph had the necessary wealth, power, and craftsmen at his disposal to re-create the destroyed record, potentially with the help of his father, Jacob. To make the record harder to destroy, this time it would be etched on metal plates. And thus we have the likely birth of the “Plates of Brass” later discussed in the Book of Mormon—a record, you’ll recall, kept by Joseph’s posterity, and written in Egyptian. After Joseph, other prophets contributed to the record as well, including Moses, so that by Book of Mormon times, the “Record of the Jews” contained a great deal of information:

And he beheld that they did contain the five books of Moses, which gave an account of the creation of the world and also of Adam and Eve, who were our first parents, and also a record of the Jews from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, and also the prophecies of the holy prophets from the beginning, even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedekiah, and also many prophecies which have been spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah. (1 Nephi 1:22 RE)

Of course, this record most definitely contained the most important information of all: a correct understanding concerning the Messiah who would come. We know this because the record contained “the prophecies of the holy prophets from the beginning” and Jacob informs us: 

Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Messiah. (Jacob 5:2)

Indeed, he explains: 

For, for this intent have we written these things: that they may know that we knew of Messiah, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming. And not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us. (Jacob 3:1 RE)

This brings Part 1 to a close, but first let’s summarize. 

• The primary purpose of scripture is to teach the way of salvation through the Messiah
• Satan uses a variety of tactics to attack scripture and prevent this information from reaching those it may help
• The first scripture was called the “Book of Remembrance” and the keeping and conveying of the accurate record was referred to as “Priesthood.”
• The Book of Remembrance remained nearly 2500 years before it was likely destroyed by Joseph’s brothers.
• Satan’s plan to thwart the purposes of God by destroying the record failed when Joseph was able to restore the lost record in a more durable form. The truth about the Messiah remained. 

We’ll pick it up there in Part 2 with analysis of Satan’s further efforts to destroy what seemingly couldn’t be destroyed. Until then, remember this prophecy concerning our own day:

Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another, and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, says the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son that serves him. Then shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves him not. For behold, the day comes that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 

—Malachi 1:9-10 RE

Christ's Most Under-appreciated Sermon

From time to time people ask me when I'm going to write more blog posts. Believe me, I wish I could, but my time is currently occupied with a different project related to the Book of Mormon, which requires much commitment. There's plenty to blog about, and important things to consider, but I just can't fit much writing in lately. 

Meanwhile the Lord's agenda moves forward, and I do what I can to teach when possible. Last weekend marked the 4th annual Joseph Smith Restoration Conference. I think this was the best conference yet, featuring speakers and messages filled with light and truth. Here's the link to the conference website where you can watch the presentations:

Restoration Conference 2021

And here's a link to the talk I gave at the Conference last weekend. It's titled, "Thy Watchmen Shall Lift up the Voice: Christ's Most Under-appreciated Sermon." 

And here is the link to the PDF of Christ's sermon, as promised. Note: This version is slightly different than the one I showed in my presentation. This version incorporates some visual improvements suggested by conference attendees. I think it's better, and I appreciate all who suggested improvements. 

Important Note: The following PDF contains so much information that the only practical way to print a usable version is to print it several feet wide. (The original was designed as a 10-foot wide visual display for the conference.) If you try to print this version at a standard paper size, it will be unreadable. But if you use it on your computer screen, it zooms in and out very nicely. So it's best used on a screen, rather than as a print.

Click to Download PDF

Because the display version PDF above is not particularly easy to print or study, my friend Marv Bateman was kind enough to put together a text version of the information for study. Though the visual representations of the symmetry and linked portions of the sermon are absent, all of the text is present here and organized in the same headings as the large chart. 

Click to Download Text Version PDF

New Ten Talks Website

A new website has been created to provide friendly, easy access to the 10-talk series, "Forty Years in Mormonism" given in 2013-2014 by Denver Snuffer. This talk series commemorated the work begun by Joseph Smith, assessed the current status of that unfinished work, and charted the way forward to continue what Joseph did not finish. It is an excellent look at the beginning of the Lord's work now underway, through the lens of LDS church history, doctrines, and activities. 

If you have been looking for a way to share the message of the continuing Restoration with friends and family that is easy, simple, straightforward, and friendly, consider sending them to TheTenTalks.com. Or if it's easier, you can send them to The10Talks.com. It all ends up at the same site. 

It’s a great way to help people find and listen to (or read) Denver’s 10 lectures, in any format, without having to search, sort or scroll through tons of other material to find them. 

Brokenness of Man and Plural Marriage

Anthony Richmond has started a blog and reached out to me for my thoughts. I found his first post heartfelt, enlightening and important. It's worth a read:

Brokenness of Man & Plural Marriage

Abundance or Scarcity

A friend who has practiced the ways of abundance for many years asked me to post the following invitation. He is offering free for the asking, the 12-step process he has used to successfully create abundance in his life. He is not selling anything or asking for anything other than an email requesting the document. His goal is to help people be able to support the construction of the temple. I know this man to be both successful and generous in supporting the Lord’s work, and I recommend considering what he shares. 

Creating Abundance

I am thankful for Adrian’s post “Life Boat.” To quote Adrian, “I’m writing this as a plea for us to come together as a people and make the necessary sacrifices and provide the funds.”

In support of Adrian and those who want to provide for the temple fund but find their resources lacking, I am offering a 12-step process to help people be abundant, or create abundance, to devote to the “life boat,” i.e. the temple fund.

This is not an MLM. This is not a solicitation. This is simply my life experience with the ways of abundance. It is freely given. All you must do is ask.

E-mail: templepledge@protonmail.com 

Thanks,

Brian

Global

And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me, Remember thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea. And it came to pass that he said unto me, Look and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose foundation is the Devil. And he said unto me, Behold, there are save two churches only: the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the Devil. Wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church which is the mother of abominations, and she is the whore of all the earth.

And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters, and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters.

—1 Nephi 3:27-28 NC

Many of my friends, family members and loved ones belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is not surprising, given that I also belonged to that church for much of my life. The church has changed in many ways since they excommunicated my wife and me six years ago, to the point that much of what that church teaches, believes, and does is increasingly foreign to my experience as a faithful member of nearly 40 years. 

I’ll spare you the lengthy and rapidly increasing list of changes that have taken place as the church attempts to forge a completely new identity and rebrand itself into the world’s premiere mainline Christian denomination. Instead, I’ll just focus on a single, curious facet of the marketing makeover that caught my attention. 

I first started noticing right around Thanksgiving last year, when the church excitedly announced that President Russell Nelson would be giving a pre-recorded YouTube “Message of Hope and Healing.” What struck me was the number of times the word “global” appeared in the announcement and subsequent press releases (I added bolding in the examples):

“Russell M. Nelson, a global faith leader and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has a new message of hope, healing and unity…”

“Global faith leader offers prayer of gratitude and invites people everywhere to do two important things…”

“…read President Nelson’s personal account of when and how he received inspiration to offer this global prayer of gratitude.”

“The Story behind My Global Prayer of Gratitude”

This huge emphasis on the “global” nature of the church is not coincidence. A quick glance around the church’s News website yields an unending supply of examples:

“Liahona to Provide Universal Messages for a Global Church”

“Latter-day Saints Participate in Global COVID-19 Relief Efforts” 

“Global Effort to ‘Light the World’ Generates Donations for Charities”

“Below is a summary of how Latter-day Saints around the world participated in the global Christmas campaign…”

“The redesign [of the Church Office Building Plaza] will also emphasize and celebrate the global makeup of a Church of more than 16.5 million members in 196 nations and territories…We will remove this fountain, and we’ll have a large circle of flags here from many nations of the world to celebrate the international nature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

So, you get the picture. The marketing types hired by the church to do the re-brand clearly polled and focus-grouped numerous terms and ideas, and settled on “global” as in important identity marker to help the church gain wider acceptance and prominence.

The “global” identity marker was even further bolstered by the First Presidency’s “Statement on Vaccination”:

“As this pandemic spread across the world, the Church immediately canceled meetings, closed temples, and restricted other activities because of our desire to be good global citizens and do our part to fight the pandemic…As appropriate opportunities become available, the Church urges its members, employees and missionaries to be good global citizens and help quell the pandemic by safeguarding themselves and others through immunization.”

So now it’s not merely that the church is “global” but is also made up of “good global citizens” encouraged by The Prophet™ to be such. (They’ve also amped up the Prophet identity, but that’s a different story for another time.)

“As a worldwide organization, we have an obligation to be good citizens and to act with caution as it relates to such a unique setting as general conference, which traditionally brings thousands of visitors to Salt Lake City from around the globe.”

These sentiments fit well with the general “woke” agenda the church is now openly pursuing, including endorsing Black Lives Matter and racial conflict, supporting LGBTQ issues, emphasizing government control, encouraging loss of basic freedoms, and reacting with fear by calling for greater government control during these challenging times. All this while openly condemning those with conservative political views.

Indeed, the “global citizenship” movement is embraced and promoted by the UN under many auspices and organizations, ultimately promoting a new world order, one-world socialist government, population control, forcible redistribution of wealth, radical climate-driven agendas, anti-patriotism, loss of national identity, and every other item on the hard-left wish list. 

By continually using the language and buzz words of the global citizenship movement, the church is clearly signaling their abrupt change in direction and emphasis. They want to be accepted as part of the “woke” club, and become a major global player. Evidently, their marketing firm has convinced them this is the key to future growth and acceptance of the church that until recently was viewed as strange, culty, and not at all part of mainstream religion. In the face of dismal growth and decreasing activity statistics across the board, the church has chosen to embrace what is popular, worldly, and promoted by athletes, celebrities, politicians, social media companies, Hollywood, and big tech. 

But hey, it’s their church, and their right to stand for whatever they choose. In fact, I believe you can build a good case from scripture that being a good global citizen is part and parcel of the gospel. 

Let’s look at the lives of some of the prophets…

We’ll start with Noah. He was certainly a good global citizen. He preached repentance, was rejected, and rescued his family. Then, shut up in the ark, he waited out the deaths of, well, everyone on earth. 

Hmmm…scratch that. Not such a good global citizen after all. 

But wait! Abraham! Shining example there, right? Well, other than that business with Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot and all the killing and capturing spoils…yeah. No. Hmmm…

Moses? Good global citizen? Kinda trashed the environment in Egypt, defeated the greatest world power, drowned their armies, then insisted his people repent and turn back to God, not government…So we’ll just skip Moses. 

Enoch! Now there’s an example to be emulated! He preached repentance and offended everyone…mostly because everyone feared him, so much so that they all fled to a new land to get away from him. Ultimately he and his people left this world entirely. So…not global citizens at all. 

Let’s get right to Lehi. 

Wait, no, never mind. Not nearly woke enough. He couldn’t even find acceptance in Jerusalem, let alone a major city. He just couldn’t stop offending everyone!

Nephi? Couldn’t even get along with his brothers.

Jonah? First refused to minister where he was needed, then spread fear and condemnation.

Abinadi? Executed for sedition. 

Paul? No respect for authority.

Captain Moroni? Too patriotic! He forced people to support the cause of freedom. That is so un-woke!

Hmmm. I’m having a great deal more trouble coming up with examples of woke prophets being good global citizens than I thought I would, given the “Church of Jesus Christ’s” emphasis on this idea. 

So what about Jesus Christ? Good global citizen? Loyal subject? Kept all the rules? On the right side of the issues? Obeyed the leaders? Broad minded and inclusive? Tolerant? Didn’t make waves and certainly didn’t make corrupt leaders feel threatened? 

Uh…no. His own people wanted him killed, and the Romans didn’t find him loyal enough to defend. He claimed to be a king, for goodness sake, but said his kingdom was NOT of this world. Not a “good global citizen” by any stretch of the imagination. Everything he taught involved our reverence toward God, and treatment of our fellow humans in our immediate lives. He ministered to individuals; Global activism was never part of his agenda. Though leaders feared he would cause an uprising, he never did. He taught his followers to love and serve as he did, not to push for global change. He had the power to change the world, but he didn’t do so through activism or attempting to “cancel” his opponents. He understood societies change only when individual hearts are converted to righteousness.

Well golly. I’m starting to see a pattern. 

True prophets preach repentance, and most often get hated or killed for it. They are awake and they awaken others to their awful situation before destruction. But they are not “woke.” They unapologetically preach truth, whether it’s popular or not. (Pro tip: It’s never popular.)

False prophets preach woke-ness, global citizenship, and a litany of ideas contrary to the gospel embraced by Abraham, Nephi, Enoch, Adam and Jesus Christ. In doing so, they seek to become popular and accepted in the world—which only happens on the world’s terms.

I can’t find a single “global faith leader” in the scriptures. That club is reserved for something distinctly unscriptural, un-Christian, and unwelcome in the kingdom of God. In fact, it’s starting to sound a lot like the great whore, who has dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. A “global” faith indeed!

I’ll close with a distinctly un-woke message from an actual prophet:

For the time speedily shall come that all churches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become popular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world and to do all manner of iniquity — yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the Devil — are they who need fear, and tremble, and quake. They are those who must be brought low in the dust, they are those who must be consumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.

—1 Nephi 7:5 NC

Update January 31, 2022: A very interesting and alarming video on this topic has been posted to YouTube. I highly recommend watching it for a clearer view of the LDS church's agenda regarding globalism and wokeness. https://youtu.be/4X9p6s2Tlq0