All men should be entitled to two kinds of rights: – natural and artificial. Natural rights are embraced in life, liberty and the pursuits of happiness. Artificial rights consist of powers granted by legislative enactment; hence the machinery of government. …

Men do not enjoy all their rights in any government now existing. They waive the right by appointing men to make laws for the safety and convenience of the whole, allowing the majority to govern. But this is no criterion, or standard to suit the wants and capacities of the people. Every man is above the law, and can act as he pleases if he does not interfere with his neighbor’s right.

This is clearly taught in the great foundation of all law, the ten commandments. Human law, the artificial contrivance of the intellect, is not binding upon any honest man; nor should it be any more than the creeds and dogmas of bigots. Laws are for transgressors. …

Men have a right to petition and protest, and if either is unheeded by those entrusted with powers, they, the people, (oppressed) have what is denominated the reserved right of protecting themselves from insult.

Nor is it less legal for an insulted individual or community to resist oppression. For this reason, until the blood of Joseph and Hyrum Smith has been atoned for, by hanging, shooting, or staying in some manner, every person engaged in that cowardly, mean assassination, no Latter-day Saint should give himself up to the law: for the presumption is, that they will murder him in the same manner. The government has not redeemed the broken faith of the State; but upon the contrary, allowed an indicted murderer to sit in the legislative halls, whereby the whole state becomes accessory to the crime! The partaker is as bad as the thief.

Neither should civil process come in to Nauvoo, till the United States, by a rigorous effort, causes the state of Missouri and the state of Illinois to redress every man that has suffered the loss of lands, goods, or any thing else, by expulsion and the robbery from the one state and martyrdom and state plunder in the other. Commissioners can be appointed to regulate, where the clandestine forms of law might require the strange work of God to rebut it.

Let it be proclaimed to the ends of the earth that the lives of the Saints are their own property, and that they are bound to protect them, and that they will in the name of Israel’s God.

If any man is bound to maintain the law, it is for the benefit he may derive from it. No man can be compelled in a free country, to support a law that deprives him of his natural rights, when, enjoying them is no disadvantage to his neighbor. “Thus,” says Blackstone, “the statute of King Edward IV, which forbade the fine gentlemen of those times (under the degree of Lord) to wear pikes upon their boots and shoes of more than two inches in length, was a law that savored of oppression.”

Well, our charter is repealed; the murderers of the Smiths are running at large, and if the Mormons should wish to imitate their fore-fathers, and fulfil the scriptures making it “hard to kick against the pricks,” by wearing cast steel pikes about four or five inches long on their boots and shoes, to kick with, that’s the harm?

John Taylor, The Nauvoo Neighbor, 23rd April 1845.

The United States Supreme Court classifies all religious beliefs as either preferences or convictions. According to the court, only convictions are given the full protection of the First Amendment.

When is a Belief a Preference?

A belief is a preference when, under certain circumstances, that belief can be changed. A belief may be strong and intense and may still be a preference. The five circumstances noted by the court that most often cause one to change his beliefs are: peer pressure, family pressure, litigation pressure, jail pressure, and death pressure.

Peer Pressure – When the disapproval of others causes one to bend their beliefs, their beliefs are simply preferences.

Family Pressure – It is often pressure from within a family – from a spouse, parent, or child – that will cause one to lessen their beliefs. The court held that if family pressure causes one to change ones beliefs, then those beliefs are merely a preference.

Litigation Pressure – When one faces an intimidating legal battle, he often re-evaluates his beliefs. If a lawsuit changes your beliefs, they are preferences.

Jail Pressure – Would you be willing to suffer a jail sentence for your belief? If not, your belief is just a preference.

Death Pressure – The ultimate test of a belief is whether you would be willing to die for it – like many Christian martyrs have done throughout history. Would you be willing to die for your belief? If not, your belief is not a conviction.

When is a Belief a Conviction?

Convictions are self-determined – The court held that if you need other people to stand with you, your belief is not a conviction. A conviction must be self-determined, not influenced by what others do or by what others ask of you.

Convictions are nonnegotiable – If you are willing to even discuss the option of dishonouring your belief, your belief is not a conviction but only a preference.

Convictions are victorious – Victory is standing for what you believe is right, regardless of the cost. The court held that if you need earthly victory to remain true to what you believe, you do not have a conviction.

Convictions are lifestyles – The court held that if a man holds true to his beliefs, those beliefs will evidence themselves in a life which is consistent with those beliefs.

Convictions must control a person’s life.

If religious liberty is to be passed on to the next generation, it is critical that we study the Gospel so that we can understand what it teaches, live consistent lives according to those teachings, and stand firmly for Gospel principles. Only then will the world recognise God’s people to be people of conviction and only then will we find our faith is sufficient to pass the test of conviction versus preference.

This story was previously printed in
the British edition of Messenger magazine (2:1).
It was written by a previous editor.

Lehi’s dream of the Tree of Life is one of the most memorable visions in all of Mormonism. Beginning in chapter eight of the first book of Nephi, the vision sets the stage for everything that follows in the Book of Mormon. It is a testament to us that God’s plan for His children is for us to withstand the test of mortality, to be able to once again return to His presence; this is the Plan of Salvation.

The literal interpretation of the vision is that if we hold to the rod we will be given the opportunity to partake of the love of God. Through Nephi’s prophetic interpretation of the vision, we are able to gain an in-depth understanding of its meaning, as well as a glimpse at the grace of God. However, the vision and its meaning are so significant that if we dig a little deeper, we can find greater meaning and clues that shed light on some of the steps we must take in order to be worthy of the promises God has made to us.

Lehi’s dream isn’t just about the Nephites or any other particular group of people. It is about each and every one of us.

Relating Scripture to Ourselves

John records that the Savior said; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”¹

This raises the question: Who (or what) is the “world” this verse is referring to? Clearly, God does not love the wickedness of the world. But God loves His children whom He sent into the World – through His Son – and wishes for as many of them as possible to qualify for an everlasting life with Him.

The test of mortality began when Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and became mortal, which is commonly called “the Fall.” In Moses’ story, Adam and Eve transgressed and were cast out of the garden and the presence of God. Similarly, we are born into mortality as a perfect being in an imperfect world. Because of the Fall, mankind are incapable of remaining perfect before God and therefore unworthy to be in the presence of God. We have the free agency to choose to follow God, or to defy Him. We may often find ourselves in a world that seems to be like “the lone and dreary world” in Lehi’s vision. There are many dangerous temptations we encounter and things that lead us unknowingly off the path of truth and righteousness. We must call upon the Lord to escape the temptations of the world. We have been provided with all the resources we need through scripture, revelations from the Lord, keys of the Priesthood, and guidance by the Holy Ghost that will lead us back to Him if we will believe and obey Him.

God loves those who listen to His words and obey Him; His elect people. By sending His only begotten Son to atone for our sins, He gave each of us the chance to be forgiven of them and to become a part of his elect people.

Nephi admonishes us to “Go ye forth out of Babylon,”² calling us to repentance. But is forsaking our sins enough to enter into the Celestial Kingdom? No. We must follow all of God’s commandments if we desire to be in His presence again. Only the Atonement can make us worthy to make the covenants and meet the conditions He has required of us. The presence of God, symbolized as the Tree of Life in Lehi’s vision, is only attainable through receiving all of God’s ordinances of the gospel, including the endowment.

Through the grace of God we can do good works, and for those works we will be rewarded. Some will waste the days of their probation, or will begin with enthusiasm, but fall away in discouragement. A few will take full advantage of the opportunities God gives them; they will live a life worthy of obtaining the fruit of eternal life. Whether our deeds were wicked or righteous we will all have to face judgment, as Nephi foresaw:

“… the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation.

Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.

Wherefore the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest gift of all the gifts of God. …”³

Our Life as Seen Through Lehi’s Vision

While traveling in the wilderness with his family, Lehi announces that he has had a vision that has given him reason to believe that Nephi, Sam “and also many others will be saved,” but caused him to fear greatly for the salvation of Laman and Lemuel.⁴

The vision begins with Lehi traveling through a “dark and dreary wilderness.”⁵ This dark and dreary wilderness is analogous to mortality and the temptations therein. Nephi states that the dark and dreary wilderness represents the many temptations of the world.

Mortality has been defined as a probationary and preparatory state⁶ whereby man might become like God. There are four central ideas in the the plan of salvation: the creation, the fall, the redemption of mankind through the Atonement and ordinances of the gospel, and the ultimate judgment and reward for our deeds. It was God’s design that we come to earth to prove ourselves worthy to become like Him. If men want to become like God, they must not only endure mortality, but make necessary advancements and progressions through sacred ordinances while living in a mortal state. They must prove their worthiness and be able to withstand the temptations of the devil. The Atonement allows men, in their fallen state, to be worthy of receiving such ordinances and making covenants with God, and those who remain faithful to receive a glorious reward.

After the Fall, men became carnal, sensual, and devilish.⁷ We must take our bodies from corruption to “incorruption”, making ourselves worthy to be resurrected and ascend from mortality to immortality. “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”⁸ However, the journey is not easy and the temptations are great. Many fall away in sin and unbelief.

Satan is “the father of all lies,” and his goal is to “deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will.”⁹ Ignorance of truth is one of his best weapons. Satan is sly, devious and subtle. Without humbling ourselves and seeking the words of the Lord, we cannot endure the many temptations of the world. In the Doctrine and Covenants we learn that “darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face.”¹⁰ We are promised that we will be able to open the door to the kingdom of heaven, inasmuch as we humble ourselves and abide by His word, and heed the promptings of the Spirit.

Our Guide

Because Lehi is mortal, he must seek the word of the Lord to guide him through this vast wilderness. Out of the darkness a man dressed in white stands before Lehi and speaks to him, bidding Lehi to follow him through the dark wilderness. (Nephi sees this figure as a man, but knows it is the Spirit of the Lord.) The Spirit acts as Lehi’s divine guide. We might conclude that the Spirit is representative of the Holy Ghost in our own lives. It is also noteworthy that the Spirit acts like a tutor to Nephi, helping him to correctly understand what he is seeing. As Paul tells us, “the things of God knoweth no man, but [by] the Spirit of God.”¹¹

The Holy Ghost, one of God’s many gifts to us, is our own personal spirit guide through mortality. He can shield us and protect us from evil. We are told in John that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”¹² By being baptized and thereafter receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost we are given an unparalleled advantage that will allow us to be inspired in all things if we will have a broken heart and a contrite spirit, making it possible to endure to the end. The Holy Ghost is a gift given to any who will receive it; a gift that we should not take for granted:

“And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.”¹³

We know that mankind must pray and gain knowledge for themselves of the plan of salvation from the Holy Ghost. Nephi tells us that “Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark. For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.”¹⁴

The Fruit & The Gulf

After traveling for many hours, Lehi begins to pray unto the Lord to have mercy on him “according to the multitude of his tender mercies.”¹⁵ Only after calling upon the Lord, and with the assistance of the Holy Ghost, can Lehi begin to see through the darkness. He is shown a large and spacious field containing a tree “whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.”¹⁶

Lehi goes forth and partakes of the fruit which fills his “soul with exceeding great joy.”¹⁷ He finds that the fruit is so desirable that he wishes for his family to partake of it with him. The joy he feels after eating the fruit is representative of the joy one can experience after “tasting” the gospel – a joy that is not complete without one’s family.

According to Nephi, the tree represents the Love, or the presence, of God. The love of God is manifest unto us because we know that God sent His only begotten Son to the world. Christ condescended and died for our sins and thereby saved mankind from the effects of the Fall. Alma realized that the gift of mercy God granted to his penitent children, could have only come through so great a sacrifice:

“Mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence …”¹⁸

While Lehi is searching for his family so that they may also partake of the fruit with him, he sees a river. “It was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God … a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.”¹⁹

When Nephi speaks about a gulf he is inferring that the river is impassable – perhaps because of its wideness, the rapid course of the water, or because it is at the bottom of a ravine. He doesn’t tell us where the river’s course leads, but undoubtedly it leads away from the tree of life, either because it pulls people into a whirlpool, or brings them downstream to some hellish destination. But it is not the innocent who are sucked into these depths, but those who have incurred God’s justice, which none can escape from, for: “The justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.”²⁰

Lehi finally sees that his wife, Sariah, and his sons, Sam and Nephi, are at the head of the river and do not know where to go. Lehi calls to them and tells them to come to the tree to partake of the fruit with him. With the Plan of Salvation, we are promised that families may remain together if they abide by the laws of God. The Prophet Joseph stated that an eternal family unit, such as the one Lehi envisioned, can only be obtained through the sealing ordinances. He told the Saints, “The first thing you do, go and seal on earth your sons and daughters unto yourself, and yourself unto your fathers in eternal glory.”²¹ The Lord tells us that such family sealings are not binding unless they are part of everlasting marriage covenants. For, says He: “In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; and if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase.”²²

We are promised that if we meet these qualifications, and the conditions surrounding them, we can then be raised on the morning of the first resurrection with our loved ones and spend eternity with them (if they have also been faithful), ultimately extending our family throughout time and space:

“Having fought the good fight we then shall be prepared to lay our bodies down to rest to await the morning of the resurrection when they will come forth and be reunited with the spirits, the faithful, as it is said, receiving crowns, glory, immortality and eternal lives, even a fulness with the Father … Then will they become Gods, even the sons of God; then will they become eternal fathers, eternal mothers, eternal sons and eternal daughters; being eternal in their organization they go from glory to glory, from power to power; they will never cease to increase and to multiply, worlds without end. When they receive their crowns, their dominions, they then will be prepared to frame earths like unto ours and to people them in the same manner as we have been brought forth by our parents, by our Father and God.”²³

Noticing their absence, Lehi searches for Laman and Lemuel that they may also partake of the fruit. “And it came to pass that I saw them, but they would not come unto me and partake of the fruit.”²⁴ By choosing not to partake of the fruit, Laman and Lemuel forfeit their rights to have an eternal life with their family.

The Rod

Laman and Lemuel need not have strayed from the path that would have led them to their father, as Lehi went on to see, God had provided a rod of iron running along the bank of the river that leads to the tree. Nephi explains that the iron rod is “the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.”²⁵

The word of God is given to us in many forms: the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, revelations given to our Prophets, Seers and Revelators, and even through personal revelation. When we are baptized we make the decision to hold firmly to the rod. The words of God can keep us from being led into temptation because they teach us the differences between good and evil, and give us instructions for living the fullness of the gospel.

It is not enough, however, to recognize and believe in God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ—we must live by His words. Christ tells us that even more importantly than physical nourishment, we require all the words of God to live. After being tempted in the wilderness by Satan to turn stones into bread, Jesus answered him, “It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”²⁶

The Path

Those who are not seeking to follow God’s words will eventually stray from the path of truth and righteousness. In the vision Lehi sees a pathway that leads to the tree beside the iron rod. “And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even unto the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain [river] unto a large and spacious field as if it had been a world.”²⁷ It is easy for one to seemingly walk down the path, but only by adhering to the rod beside it can we ensure that we will not wander away from it.

We often think of the pathway as being “straight,” without curves. It shouldn’t be missed that the word “strait” is used instead of “straight.” Strait can sometimes be interpreted as “strict” or “rigorous.” By using “strait” to describe the path, we might be able to conclude that the path is strict, having set requirements, and consists of strict gospel principles. Nephi gives us greater insight to finding and adhering to the pathway:

“For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay: for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.”²⁸

Those following the strait and narrow pathway in Lehi’s vision are participating in correct principles and ordinances. They are active in the gospel and are obeying all of the laws of God. Yet, even those who are on the pathway are not safe from being led astray or succumbing to temptations. In fact, Satan’s main priority is to lead Christ’s elect people astray in any way that he can. It is his goal to confuse and manipulate us.

The Mists & The Building

A “mist of darkness” arises “insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.”²⁹ Nephi explains that the mists of darkness are “the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men and leadeth them away into broad roads that they perish and are lost.” The mists make it difficult to distinguish between the ways of God and of the world. Every faculty can be deceived except for the Spirit. Lehi sees that some do, in fact, make their way to the tree, but after reaching it and partaking of the fruit they fall away because of persecution. History has proven that persecution is inevitable when one chooses to follow God.

Lehi then sees a “great and spacious building” filled with all manner of people who mock and point fingers at those who are holding to the rod and those who partake of the fruit. The building appears to stand in the air, high above the ground. Those in the building look down upon the righteous because they feel they, themselves, are higher, ascended, and untouchable, like those on the tower of Babel. Nephi tells us that the building is the vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men.

It is easy for us to assume that those in the great and spacious building are only the wicked and the damned of the earth. However, we cannot even assume that we ourselves are not members of the great and spacious building at various times in our lives. Anytime we mock, criticize, or belittle those who are choosing righteousness, we allow ourselves to wander from the path into the great and spacious building. It is our duty to humble ourselves and refrain from pointing fingers and assuming the right to judge others. We must refrain from making judgments, especially judgments that mock the gospel, or mock those who have been called into leadership positions.

Foreseeing that the Gentiles would mock the words of the Lord, the prophet Ether stated:

“Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words. And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”³⁰

By choosing to stay on the pathway and hold firmly to the words of God, we are almost ensuring that we will be mocked by the world at some point. Some cannot withstand the mockery from those in the great and spacious building. After partaking of the fruit they “did cast their eyes about and were ashamed … they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.”³¹ These are they who had followed the path and had completed everything that was required of them. They had successfully made their way to the tree, but once they had eaten the fruit they suddenly became much more aware of and vulnerable to the temptations and evil of the world.

Persecution & The River

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ tells us, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”³²

Those who partake of the fruit and fall away are like those in Mark which are “sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time; afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately are offended.”³³

But, despite such opposition, and the strong temptation to give in and join the world to escape it, Jesus also warns us that, “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”³⁴

Lehi sees other multitudes; some making their way to the tree and partaking of the fruit, others going toward the great and spacious building. “And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the [river]; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads.”³⁵ He tells us that the great and spacious building “was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female;” and that there were “multitudes feeling their way towards that great and spacious building.”³⁶ Although Lehi did not foresee the fate of this building in which those who mock the Saints reside, the Lord tells us that “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall,”³⁷ and it was revealed to Nephi that this is what would happen to this great and spacious edifice too; “great will be the fall thereof.” Given the example of the tower of Babel, it was only to be expected that such a place, which is built on such a dubious foundation, would come crashing down or be washed away along with all of its occupants.

The Four Groups

There are four distinct groups of people in the vision: 1) those who intentionally seek the great and spacious building and have no desire to partake of the fruit. They mock and ridicule those who partake of the fruit. 2) Those who neglect the divine help of the iron rod and wander away and are lost. 3) Those who follow the path and succumb to pressures of the world. 4) Those who have a firm hold to the iron rod and follow the path of righteousness. These are they who have withstood the temptations and mockery of the world, who have lived the fullness of the gospel and will receive eternal life.

We can find in many places in scripture wherein the multitudes of the earth are divided into four groups. In Matthew 13, Jesus speaks of the multitudes of the earth in the parable of the seeds. One group of seeds fall by the wayside and is devoured by fowls. Another group of seeds fall onto stony ground and cannot grow deep roots, causing the sun to scorch them. Another group falls among thorns and is choked. The final group of seeds fall onto good earth and is able to grow and produce great quantities of fruits.

He tells us that if a person hears the word of God and understands it, but turns to the “wicked one”³⁸, they are the seed that has fallen to the wayside. The seeds that fall to stony ground are those who hear the words and receive them with joy, but fall away when persecution arises. The seeds that fall among the thorns are those who seek after the riches and evils of the world. “But he that received the seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth the fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”³⁹

These four multitudes in this parable, as well as the four multitudes in Lehi’s dream, will further be divided up into four resurrections, and the different degrees of glory that accompany them.⁴⁰ These same groups of people exist in our world today.

The lowest group is the sons of perdition who, in mortality, gained a perfect knowledge of the divinity of Christ through the Holy Ghost, yet chose Satan and intentionally chose lives of wickedness. These will come forward in the last resurrection, having had no part in the millennium of peace, being raised to be judged, then condemned. Those who continue into this attitude and ultimately deny all that is true and holy, will find themselves in eternal darkness.⁴¹ They will be cast out with the devil and will not be redeemed.

There are those who seek to do wrong, sometimes out of a desire to rebel against or oppose God, or, more commonly, believing it will grant them some advantage, popularity, acceptance, wealth, or success. They look down on others who do not conform, perhaps because of the guilt they feel when the presence of others remind them of the course they should have taken. The Second Resurrection, occurring at the end of the Millennial Reign, will bring forth these people who are like those Joseph Smith saw in his vision of the Telestial kingdom who “received not the Gospel of Christ.”⁴²

All those who attempted to live righteously, but “received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh” and “were blinded by the craftiness of men.”⁴³ will be given the opportunity to receive the fullness of the gospel in the afternoon of the first resurrection.

Despite the many ways in which they can be led astray, a few remain upon the path, holding to the rod, looking forward to what they can reach, relying on the Lord for His strength, and not solely upon their own, who disregard the mocking of others, who seek only for the things the Lord wishes to offer them, and who accept His will humbly, even when it results in opposition from others. They are those who will not lose the way because of short-sightedness or distraction, and who accept the Gospel fully, not partially. Their lives will be a progression through the steps of faith, laws, ordinances, and every Godly principle until they reach sanctification and the assurance of eternal life. These will come forward on the morning of the first resurrection; they will spend a thousand years with the ones they love, and an eternity in glory.⁴⁴

The questions we must ask ourselves are “Which group do we belong to? What stage are we at on our journey, and where are we heading?”

Our Purpose & Plan

Our purpose in mortality is to obtain a physical body and to strive to perfect ourselves. Mortality is a medium through which we are offered free agency to choose between the good and evils of the world. God has given us everything we need to be able to discern between good and evil, and has promised to guide us safely through mortality if we will seek Him out and live by His words.

God is loving, patient and merciful. Because He wants all of His children to become like Him, He has given us every opportunity to successfully endure mortality. However, man cannot be found worthy of living the laws and ordinances of the gospel, or being in the presence of God once again without the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ – a gift so valuable that, without it, no man could be saved.

Because man fell, we are imperfect and therefore incapable of always making perfect decisions. Through our Savior Jesus Christ’s Atonement, we know that all men can be forgiven of their sins and be able to stand at the judgment bar of God and be found worthy of God’s blessings, if we will repent and receive Him in this lifetime. We are completely dependent upon the Atonement. If we will actively accept the words of God and his plan for us, including all of the laws and ordinances of the gospel, He will be merciful to us. “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”⁴⁵

Lehi’s vision is a testament of God’s plan for His children to once again return to His presence. It is representative of the steps we must take during mortality to achieve this. It acts as a warning to us about the dangers we will encounter along the way, but also informs us of the great happiness we can have.

In the scriptures, we are told that this is the “the plan of salvation”⁴⁶, “the great plan of happiness”⁴⁷, “the plan of mercy”⁴⁸, and “the plan of redemption”⁴⁹. Through this plan and with the Atonement, we are given the chance to once again return to the presence of God and live in eternal, Celestial glory. This is the story of Lehi’s vision, and it is our story too.

K.A.

Endnotes

¹ John 3:16
² 1 Nephi 20:20
³ 1 Nephi 15:32-33,36
⁴ 1 Nephi 8:3
⁵ 1 Nephi 8:4
⁶ Alma 42:13
⁷ Mosiah 16:3, Alma 42:10, Moses 5:13, 6:49
⁸ 1 Corinthians 15:53
⁹ Moses 4:4
¹⁰ D&C 112:23
¹¹ 1 Corinthians 2:11
¹² John 14:26
¹³ 3 Nephi 9:20
¹⁴ 2 Nephi 32:3-5
¹⁵ 1 Nephi 8:8
¹⁶ 1 Nephi 8:10
¹⁷ 1 Nephi 8:12
¹⁸ Alma 42:23.
¹⁹ 1 Nephi 15:8
²⁰ 1 Nephi 15:30
²¹ History 6:251-53
²² D&C 131
²³ Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 18:259
²⁴ 1 Nephi 8:18
²⁵ 1 Nephi 15:24
²⁶ Luke 4:4
²⁷ 1 Nephi 8:21
²⁸ 2 Nephi 31:17-21
²⁹ 1 Nephi 8:23
³⁰ Ether 12:25-27
³¹ 1 Nephi 8:25-28
³² Matthew 5:10-12
³³ Mark 4:16-17
³⁴ Mark 8:38
³⁵ 1 Nephi 8:32
³⁶ 1 Nephi 8:27, 31
³⁷ Proverbs 16:18
³⁸ Matthew 13:19,38
³⁹ Matthew 13:30
⁴⁰ D&C 76 and 88
⁴¹ See D&C 76:31-39
⁴² D&C 76:81-90
⁴³ D&C 76:71-80
⁴⁴ D&C 76:50-70
⁴⁵ 2 Nephi 25:23
⁴⁶ Alma 24:14
⁴⁷ Alma 42:8
⁴⁸ Alma 42:15
⁴⁹ Alma 12:30

“Where did I come from? What am I doing here? Whither am I going? And what is my destiny after having obeyed the truth, if faithful to the end?”

For her benefit and all others concerned, we will endeavor to answer the questions in brief, as we understand them. The reason will be apparent for our belief in the pre-existence of spirits, and in marrying for time and all eternity.

Lady, whence comest thou? Thine origin? What art thou doing here? Whither art thou going, and what is thy destiny? Declare unto me if thou hast understanding. Knowest thou not that thou art a spark of Deity, struck from the fire of His eternal blaze, and brought forth in the midst of eternal burning?

Knowest thou not that eternities ago thy spirit, pure and holy, dwelt in thy Heavenly Father’s bosom, and in His presence, and with thy mother, one of the queens of heaven, surrounded by thy brother and sister spirits in the spirit world, among the Gods? That as thy spirit beheld the scenes transpiring there, and thou grewest in intelligence, thou sawest worlds upon worlds organized and peopled with thy kindred spirits who took upon them tabernacles, died, were resurrected, and received their exaltation on the redeemed worlds they once dwelt upon.

Thou being willing and anxious to imitate them, waiting and desirous to obtain a body, a resurrection and exaltation also, and having obtained permission, madest a covenant with one of thy kindred spirits to be thy guardian angel while in mortality, also with two others, male and female spirits, that thou wouldst come and take a tabernacle through their lineage, and become one of their offspring. You also chose a kindred spirit whom you loved in the spirit world (and who had permission to come to this planet and take a tabernacle), to be your head, stay, husband and protector on the earth and to exalt you in eternal worlds. All these were arranged, likewise the spirits that should tabernacle through your lineage.

Thou longed, thou sighed and thou prayed to thy Father in heaven for the time to arrive when thou couldst come to this earth, which had fled and fallen from where it was first organised, near the planet Kolob. Leaving thy father and mother’s bosom and all thy kindred spirits thou camest to earth, took a tabernacle, and imitated the deeds of those who had been exalted before you.

At length the time arrived, and thou heard the voice of thy Father saying, go daughter to yonder lower world, and take upon thee a tabernacle, and work out thy probation with fear and trembling and rise to exaltation. But daughter, remember you go on this condition, that is, you are to forget all things you ever saw, or knew to be transacted in the spirit world; you are not to know or remember anything concerning the same that you have beheld transpire here; but you must go and become one of the most helpless of all beings that I have created, while in your infancy, subject to sickness, pain, tears, mourning, sorrow and death. But when truth shall touch the chords of your heart they will vibrate; then intelligence shall illuminate your mind, and shed its lustre in your soul, and you shall begin to understand the things you once knew, but which had gone from you; you shall then begin to understand and know the object of your creation. Daughter, go, and be faithful as thou hast been in thy first estate.

Thy spirit, filled with joy and thanksgiving, rejoiced in thy Father, and rendered praise to His holy name, the spirit world resounded in anthems of praise to the Father of spirits. Thou bade father, mother and all farewell, and along with thy guardian angel, thou came on this terraqueous globe. The spirits thou hadst chosen to come and tabernacle through their lineage, and your head having left the spirit world some years previous, thou came a spirit pure and holy. Thou hast obeyed the truth, and thy guardian angel ministers unto thee and watches over thee. Thou hast chosen him you loved in the spirit world to be thy companion. Now crowns, thrones, exaltations and dominions are in reserve for thee in the eternal worlds, and the way is opened for thee to return back into the presence of thy Heavenly Father, if thou wilt only abide by and walk in a celestial law, fulfill the designs of thy Creator and hold out to the end that when mortality is laid in the tomb, you may go down to your grave in peace, arise in glory, and receive your everlasting reward in the resurrection of the just, along with thy head and husband. Thou wilt be permitted to pass by the Gods and angels who guard the gates, on onward, upward to thy exaltation in a celestial world among the Gods. To be a priestess queen upon thy Heavenly Father’s throne, and a glory to thy husband and offspring, to bear the souls of men, to people other worlds (as thou didst bear their tabernacles in mortality) while eternity goes and eternity comes; and if you will receive it, lady, this is eternal life. And herein is the saying of the Apostle Paul fulfilled, “That the man is not without the woman, neither is the woman without the man in the Lord.” “That the man is the head of the woman, and the glory of the man is the woman.” Hence, thine origin, the object of thy ultimate destiny. If faithful, lady, the cup is within thy reach; drink then the heavenly draught and live.

John Taylor, The Mormon, August 29, 1857, New York City

Sudden Light

I have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell:
I know the grass beyond the door,
The sweet keen smell,
The sighing sound, the lights around the shore.

You have been mine before,
How long ago I may not know:
But just when at that swallow’s soar
Your neck turned so,
Some veil did fall – I knew it all of yore.

Has this been thus before?
And shall not thus time’s eddying flight
Still with our lives our love restore
In death’s despite,
And day and night yield one delight once more?

(Dante Rosetti)

However, Tobias was more than a little scared at this prospect as previously “this maid hath been given to seven men, who all died in the marriage chamber” at the hands of an evil spirit. Yet the angel told him not to be afraid, and assured him “this same night shall she be given thee in marriage.”

After being given some instruction on how to ward of the demon that would oppose their union, he was further reassured that following he and his wife’s prayers, “God which is merciful, … will have pity on you, and save you: Fear not, for she is appointed unto thee from the beginning; and thou shalt preserve her, and she shall go with thee.”

Yet, we might wonder, why should the angel favor Tobias amongst all the other men? The answer seems to be in his statement that Sara was “appointed unto thee from the beginning.”⁴ Having heard this he softened, and we are told that from that moment “he loved her, and his heart was effectually joined to her.”

It seems that Sara, being appointed to Tobias from the beginning, suggests that their relationship was fore-ordained (or planned) in the pre-mortal world, and I began to wonder whether it was possible that many other couples were similarly ‘meant for each other’, or if this incident was just an exception.

The subject of relationships formed before this life is one upon which poets have also speculated, as this example from Dante Rosetti shows:

I have been here before,
But when or how I cannot tell: …
You have been mine before,
How long ago I may not know: …
Has this been thus before?
And shall not thus time’s eddying flight
Still with our lives our love restore …⁵

Although the doctrine is taught repeatedly within the Bible⁶, Latter-day Saints are unique amongst all Christians in believing in a pre-mortal life. It was declared a heresy by the Catholic church in 544 A.D.⁷ and didn’t resurface until the restoration.⁸

But did our lives in this pre-embodied state include relationships, love, and possibly even marriage in some form, or is this mere speculation?

A Restored Doctrine

Our first witness to this doctrine was one of Joseph Smith’s wives, Mary Elizabeth Rollins, who testified before students at Brigham Young University in 1902 that “Joseph said I was his before I came here, and he said all the Devils in Hell should never get me from him.”⁹

This would suggest that she was with the Prophet before mortality, and that they had some kind of binding relationship between them. This is further substantiated by a line from her autobiography in which she recalls that Joseph told her “I was created for him before the foundation of the Earth was laid.”¹⁰ It is also interesting that in her case, the adversary also seemed to oppose her and Joseph’s marriage.

The question remains though whether it is possible that a great many of us had such an opportunity to choose our spouse before this life, and it would seem from the recollection of one of Joseph’s friends that there was that chance:

“We also heard him say that God had revealed to him, that any man who ever committed adultery in either of his probations,¹¹ that man could never be raised to the highest exaltation in the Celestial Glory. And that he felt anxious with regard to himself and he inquired of the Lord, and the Lord told him that he, Joseph, had never committed adultery. This saying of the Prophet astonished me very much. It opened up to me a very wide field of reflection. The idea that we had passed through a probation prior to this, and that we must have been married and given in marriage in those probations, or there would be no propriety in making such an assertion.”¹²

If we accept Robinson’s account as accurate, the conclusion seems inescapable: If we could be unfaithful in our affections in the pre-existence, this would surely mean that we had already made a commitment of marriage to someone. This would agree with another contemporary of Joseph Smith who claimed that the Prophet taught, “All real marriages were made in heaven before the birth of the parties.”¹³

Joseph’s Successors’ Teachings

Was this concept taught only by Joseph Smith, or did his successors have anything to say on the subject? All we have from Brigham Young is his short but interesting statement that “Adam and Eve had children in the spirit, and their children married (brother and sister), then the bodies followed.”¹⁴ Yet from this small sentence it would seem he is saying that the spiritual children of God in their pre-mortal state married each other, and then they came to this planet to obtain bodies.

John Taylor declared this same same doctrine to the Saints in an article he wrote titled “The Origin and Destiny of Woman” in which he told a young woman:

“You also chose a kindred spirit whom you loved in the spirit world (and who had permission to come to this planet and take a tabernacle), to be your head, stay, husband and protector on the earth and to exalt you in eternal worlds.”¹⁵

As he wrote this himself, and was editor of the publication in which it was printed, we are in no doubt as to what his beliefs and teachings were: He believed in kindred spirits, in love before this life, and that a woman had a chance and choice of her husband prior to mortality.

Parents and Children Foreordained

If this is true for spouses, who is to say that such an order was not also extended to the planning of parents, and the children that would come through us? Abraham¹⁶, Mary¹⁷, and Joseph Smith Sr.¹⁸ all seem to be examples of parents chosen before their mortal probation to give birth to special children. John Taylor seemed to certainly see this idea as more than a possibility:

“Thou being willing and anxious to imitate them [those who went before you to earth], waiting and desirous to obtain a body, a resurrection and exaltation also, and having obtained permission, madest a covenant with one of thy kindred spirits to be thy guardian angel while in mortality, also with two others, male and female spirits, that thou wouldst come and take a tabernacle through their lineage, and become one of their offspring.”

Perhaps for some people to obtain the advancement and experience they desired or the purpose they needed to fulfill, they may have been given a difficult childhood, with specific challenges they would be able to learn and grow from. The Apostles quizzed the Savior about a blind man, asking if he (or his parents) pre-mortal sins led to him being born that way.. Yet Jesus told them that he was not born that way because of any sin, but to be able to show God’s power through being healed.¹⁹ Whereas, Abraham is an example of a righteous prophet with idolatrous parents,²⁰ and reminds us that righteous people are sometimes faced with great odds to overcome in order to develop the attributes that lead them closer to perfection.

An Interesting Vision

These concepts of pre mortal life and love have always been popular amongst Latter-day Saints, because of teachings such as these, but also due to their personal experiences. One faithful Saint claimed to have had a vision of how it was God’s intention from the beginning for certain men and women to be together:

“He [Jesus] spoke to me and said: ‘Look and see man as he came forth.’ I looked in the direction indicated and saw an innumerable line of God’s children extending further than I could see. they were arranged in pairs, male and female, and passed in front of the Eternal Father who named them; and they were clad in long white robes with girdles tied around the waists; each pair seemed to have been created mates.”²¹

Later in his vision he saw that the third of the host of heaven who were cast out were all men,²² leaving the remaining women to select future mates among the men that were left, which certainly gives one explanation for plural marriage.

Nineteenth Century Mormon Fiction and Poetry

The concept of pre-mortal love was once widely accepted enough to find itself – at least in poetic form – in the pages of official Church publications, such as this 1883 example from Edward Anderson shows:

Who knows but those who love on earth
Once loved in Heav’n, and promised there:
Together fell that they might rise,
Each other’s pains and triumph’s share?²³

Nephi Anderson, the father of LDS fiction, wrote his first and most influential novel on this subject, “Added Upon”, just prior to the turn of the 20^th century. It recounts the story of two pre-mortal spirits, Honan and Delsa, the love they develop before their earth lives, and how they find it again in mortality (as Rupert and Signe). Although, as we see from the following passage, Honan’s love for Delsa puzzled him at first:

“He was drawn to her more than to the many others who were equally valiant. As he thought of it, its strangeness occurred to him. Why should it be so? He did not know. Delsa was fair; so were all the daughters of God. She had attained to great intelligence; so had thousands of others. Then wherein lay the secret of the power which drew him to her?”

Although he worried he might not find her again on earth, she assured him, “You will go before and prepare a welcome for me. Then I will come.” Through Delsa (as Signe) he finds the Gospel, and wonders, “if we ever lived as intelligent beings in a pre-existent state – and I now can not doubt it, – we two knew each other there. Perhaps we were the closest friends.” To which she reveals, “I seemed to know you from the first. … I felt as if I had known you before.” From which point the author tells us they begin to read “life’s meaning in each other’s eyes.”²⁴

Modern Mormon views

In Doug Stewart’s musical “Saturday’s Warrior” a pre-mortal romance is portrayed by the characters Todd and Julie. As the prospect of their life on earth approaches Todd reassures Julie that he will not fail to recognize her, it would be “like saying that the sun and the moon and the stars will never recognize their glory. And beauty and virtue will never recognize their own!”

Julie, however, first places her affections upon Wally, who is preparing for his mission. On that mission he helps introduce the Gospel to Todd, who returns home with him, and is introduced to Julie. Upon seeing one another they renew their pre-mortal love, and complete the song they began together before their earth lives:

I’ve seen that smile somewhere before
I’ve heard your voice before
It seems like we talked like this before.
Sometime, who can be certain when?
But if I knew you then,
It’s strange I can’t remember
Feelings come so strong,
Like we’ve known each other oh, so long.²⁵

This scenario is still the subject of modern Mormon poetry, as can be seen in the following verses:

And though they would be apart at first,
they vowed to find each other someday.
Each would have something the other find familiar,
if they search and pray.
It would be that something, that little something,
that one would say or do,
the other would dwell on and then one day say,
“Hey, don’t I know you?”

A modern novel which also follows this same type of theme is Rachel Nune’s book “In Your Place,” which is a romance that spans the pre-earth and mortal lives.²⁶

Because people feel this eternal kinship in their relationships – a sort of spiritual deja vu – they incorporate it in their own stories, their poetry, and the hope that their children will share the same experiences. Although others may view their experiences as suspect, or their expectations as unrealistic.

Modern General Authorities

Despite the knowledge the early prophets in this dispensation seemed to have had in these matters, modern General Authorities seem to be reluctant to commit to any certain view. Joseph Fielding Smith, in 1931, wrote on this issue that: “It is possible that in some instances it is true, but it would require too great a stretch of the imagination to believe it to be so in all, or even in the majority of cases.”²⁷

The official policy on this subject is currently that “We have no revealed word to the effect that when we were in the pre-existent state we chose our parents and husbands and wives.”²⁸ President Spencer W. Kimball even seemed hostile to the idea:

“‘Soul mates’ are a fiction and an illusion; and while every young man and young woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfulness to find a mate with whom life can be most compatible and beautiful, yet it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price.”²⁹

Here President Kimball points out the true principle that any two people can fall in love who share the same values and determination to make the relationship work, and so we need not be eternally unhappy if the person we believe is meant for us chooses someone else, or proves unworthy. So it seems that it is the idea that we can only be satisfied with a specific ‘soul mate’ that he is really opposed to.

Seeking to find a mate with diligence and prayerfulness is more likely to lead us to those whom God would want us to marry, than waiting for them to come to us. If we are not looking for those who believe and live the same Gospel, we may never find or recognize those whom we may have made promises with before this life. However, if they did prove unworthy, then, without seeking God’s will we may never find those with whom we can attain just as much happiness in this life and the eternities.

Whatever our personal conclusions on these matters, or whatever we feel is God’s path for us in selecting our spouse, we should remember that to God our lives are not an accident, that He doesn’t make mistakes, and that He is capable of helping us to build relationships that last throughout the eternities. As C.S. Lewis wisely concluded:

“We think we have chosen our peers. In reality, a few years’ difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting – any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples ‘Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,’ can truly say ‘You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another.’ The friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others.”³⁰

Footnotes

Jessica: “I shall be saved by my husband; he hath made me a Christian.”
Shylock’s servant: “This making of Christians will raise the price of hogs: if we all become pork-eaters, in no time we’ll not be able to afford to cook bacon.” (The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare)

From the days of Noah there was a distinction between clean and unclean animals. It was only the unclean animals that went in two by two.(1) It does not say, however, exactly which animals were deemed unclean.

It wasn’t until the law of Moses that an exact list was given to Israel of which animals were forbidden under that those laws:

“This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:

To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.”(2)

Although pigs are the animal most widely associated with such dietary restrictions, there were many other animals forbidden, as can be seen from the following list:

Animals	Lev.	Deut.
Camel, Coney, Hare	11:4,5,6	14:7
Swine (Pigs)	11:7-8	14:8
Shrimp, Lobster, Eel }
Crab, Octopus, Clam }	11:9-10	14:9-10
Eagle, Ossifrage, Osprey	11:13	14:12
Vulture (Glede, Kite)	11:14	14:13
Raven	11:15	14:14
Owl, Nighthawk, Cuckoo	11:16	14:15
Little Owl, Great Owl	11:17	14:16
Cormorant	11:17	14:17
Swan, Pelican, Gier Eagle	11:18	14:16-17
Stork, Lapwing, Bat	11:19	14:18
Weasel, Mouse, Tortoise	11:29
Ferret, Chameleon }
Lizard, Snail, Mole }	11:30

Many of these animals do not make up our common diet either because they are too small or unpalatable to be easily edible. However, Shrimp, Lobster, Crab, Octopus, and Clam are all popular seafood items, and Eel, Rabbit and even Snails are eaten in some Western countries.

Why did the Lord instill such a distinction? It undoubtedly separated them from their pagan neighbors, but did it have any other benefits? The fact that those ‘forbidden’ animals were called “unclean” certainly suggests that they were probably considered unhealthy to eat. In fact modern science has discovered dangers associated with eating pork and shellfish that the ancient Israelites may have been unaware of, but which God certainly knew. As one commentator notes:

“The flesh of swine is highly susceptible to trichinosis, a malady easily transmitted to man. Shellfish can develop a deadly poison if it is not killed and handled properly. … Birds forbidden were generally birds of prey that lived on carrion (dead animals), or, in the case of the stork and the heron, those that may have eaten other unclean creatures.”(3)

Is this relevant to our day and conditions though? Joseph Smith rarely mentions Pork, except to record it as something he or someone else had eaten. Neither was it mentioned directly in the Word of Wisdom, although it speaks of eating all meats “sparingly.”(4) Brigham Young recalled that Hyrum Smith seemed to have a special liking for Pork(5), and that it was the primary diet of most of the American Saints between 1845-46.(6)

In 1868, However, Brother Brigham and others began to make public statements against eating Pork. He told the Saints that it was “susceptible to disease”(7) (probably speaking about Trichinosis), and that “if the people were willing to receive the true knowledge from heaven in regard to their diet they would cease eating swine’s flesh.” Nevertheless he told them he did not wish to put “it in a code of commandments”(8) and seems not to have received any written revelation on the subject.

Many have taken his advice seriously and exclude Pork from their diets, and believe they have been healthier as a result. Mormon Fundamentalist leader, Rulon Allred, believed that “Pork was not good meat” and that if we ate it “then we must pay the penalty of the violation of nature’s law.”(9) Like Brigham, though, he did not elevate it to being required for salvation, or designate eating Pork as a sin.

President Young’s other counsel on what food we shouldn’t eat are often forgotten. In another sermon he instructs mothers to “keep the children from eating meat,”(10) but few Saints follow that advice, and, interestingly, some of those who reject Pork out of seeming respect for the Law of Moses still eat Clam Chowder soup, Lobster, Shrimps, or Crab, which were equally discouraged anciently.

In ancient times there were practical reasons for avoiding such foods. However, few of those dangers still exist in our world in which animals are inoculated, food is kept in sanitized conditions and cooked thoroughly. For example: Trichinosis, the germ that affects Pork is killed by even moderate cooking, and is even eliminated when the meat is frozen. On the other hand, with all the hormones and modern diseases (such as so called mad-cow disease) are any meats particularly healthy?

A few Saints believe that the dietary restrictions of the law of Moses are just as binding on us today. This was an issue that came up in the early Christian church, as Gentile converts became members. Jewish members wondered if Gentile converts should be required to give up eating Pork and other meats that they had traditionally considered unclean. In the midst of this situation the Lord gave Peter, the Apostle a vision:

“I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven.”(11)

Thus the Lord can sanctify what he his people once considered unclean. It is interesting that some orthodox Jews would consider it a greater sin of ingratitude to refuse Pork accidentally cooked for them, than eating the meat they consider unclean.
Jesus put into perspective the relevance of what we eat compared with what we say when the Pharisees criticized the Apostles for not washing their hands prior to eating:

“And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? …

And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man:”(12)

Thus we need to be more careful with our spiritual diet than our physical one. Yet there are certainly benefits to our health in avoiding certain foods where reasonable and possible, as well as in eating plenty of others. For this reason the Lord gave us the Word of Wisdom, many aspects of which most of us fail to keep.

There is a temptation among some to try and turn dietary advice into commandments or requirements. Paul foresaw that this would happen and warned strongly against it:

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; … commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:”(13)

After the flood God gave all animals for the food of man(14), and in these last days the choice is up to us to use wisdom and discernment about what we will eat, and to allow others the same choice, realizing that their diet doesn’t necessarily determine their or our spirituality, especially if we look down upon others because of what they eat.

“For one believeth that he may eat all things:
another, who is weak, eateth herbs.”
(Romans 14:2)

Disclaimer: This article was not intended to encourage anyone to eat Pork, or to criticize those who don’t. It is to consider whether we are commanded to avoid Pork in our day.

Footnotes
1. Genesis 2:7.
2. Leviticus 11:45-47.
3. LDS Institute Old Testament Manual 1:173.
4. Doctrine and Covenants 89:12.
5. Brigham Young Office Journal, February 24, 1860.
6. Journal of Discourses 13:82.
7. 19 July 1877, Journal of Discourses 19:67-68.
8. 6 April 1868, Journal of Discourses 12:192-193.
9. 30 December 1973, Treasures of Knowledge 1:261,4.
10. 19 July 1877, Journal of Discourses 19:67-68.
11. Acts 11:5-10.
12. Matthew 15:10-18.
13. 1 Timothy 4:1,3-4.
14. Genesis 9:3.

Most of the world finds its information on Mosaic law solely from the Old Testament, but we Latter-day Saints have another source of God’s dealings with his people before Christ. Unlike the Bible which is only being acceptable only “as far as it is translated correctly”¹ with “many plain and precious things”² missing, the Book of Mormon is a volume of scripture translated into our language “by the gift and power of God.”³

According to President John Taylor, in his book Mediation and Atonement: “it appears indubitable from the two records, that Bible and the Book of Mormon, that the intent and true meaning of the law of Moses, of its sacrifices, etc., were far better understood and comprehended by the Nephites than by the Jews.”⁴

This means we should expect to find more insights in the Book of Mormon on the origins, purpose, and extent of the law of Moses in that divine record than from any Jewish experts or Rabbinical commentaries, and that its word should carry the greatest authority.

Why was the Law of Moses given?

Although a few aspects of the law of Moses existed in some form beforehand such as the sabbath and tithing, other parts were entirely unique, such as specific feasts, fasts, sacrifices, rules and penalties. The question arise – why did God wait until Moses to institute some of these things? Abinadi revealed the answer to the Nephites in his day:

“I say unto you that it was expedient that there should be a law given to the children of Israel, yea, even a very strict law; for they were a stiffnecked people, quick to do iniquity, and slow to remember the Lord their God;”⁵

This is essentially the same message King Benjamin had given over twenty years earlier, when he explained to his people that it was because “the Lord God saw that his people were a stiffnecked people” that “he appointed unto them … the law of Moses.”⁶ It was a punishment for disobedience, not a reward for righteousness.⁷

However, the law of Moses was not intended just as a form of punishment, in many of its rites it symbolized higher truths, that God hoped to draw the minds of the disobedient Israelites to. This was evident to Nephi who said his “soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given;”⁸ Likewise he taught that his family “look[ed] forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled”⁹ Amulek concurred with Nephi, and stated in one his mightiest sermons:

“this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.”¹⁰

Sadly, however, among modern Jews this has been largely lost, and was often forgotten by their ancient counterparts too.

The law of Moses could not bring salvation

However, until Christ’s atonement was accomplished the Nephites and Lamanites were required to still keep the law of Moses:

“Yea, and they did keep the law of Moses; for it was expedient that they should keep the law of Moses as yet, for it was not all fulfilled. But notwithstanding the law of Moses, they did look forward to the coming of Christ, considering that the law of Moses was a type of his coming, and believing that they must keep those outward performances until the time that he should be revealed unto them.”¹¹

This did not mean, however, that they did not recognize the shortcomings of those laws:

“Now they did not suppose that salvation came by the law of Moses; but the law of Moses did serve to strengthen their faith in Christ; and thus they did retain a hope through faith, unto eternal salvation, relying upon the spirit of prophecy, which spake of those things to come.”¹²

The law of Moses could never have offered exaltation, as the Book of Mormon states elsewhere “by the law [was] no flesh justified”¹³ and “salvation doth not come by the law alone;”¹⁴

As we quoted previously from the book of Alma, the ancient American saints believed they would only keep the law of Moses “until the time” Jesus “would be revealed unto them,” and they “looked forward” to that time, as Abinadi had revealed: “it is expedient that ye should keep the law of Moses as yet; but I say unto you, that the time shall come when it shall no more be expedient to keep the law of Moses.”¹⁵

Jesus fulfilled and ended the law of Moses

Upon his visit to the new world, the resurrected Jesus Christ stated that “in me is the law of Moses fulfilled.”¹⁶ In recent years many people have tried to find alternative meanings for the word “fulfilled” which mean something other than “ended” or “completed.” Indeed, we could argue the Hebrew or Greek meaning of that word ad nauseam, but the Book of Mormon was not translated by scholars, but by revelation into our language, and in simple terms Jesus goes on to explain exactly what he meant:

“he said unto them: Marvel not that I said unto you that old things had passed away, and that all things had become new.

Behold, I say unto you that the law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses.

Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end.”¹⁷

This last line quoted directly from Jesus is worth repeating: “I have come to fulfill the law: therefore it hath and end.” To fulfill in the mind of Jesus meant to end. “Old things had” definitely “passed away”, and “all things had become new” The law of Moses was superseded by the Gospel of Christ. As Moroni explains – “in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled.”¹⁸

The end of the law of Moses had long been expected by the Nephites. One example of this is that the people of Jershon “were taught to keep the law of Moses until it should be fulfilled.”¹⁹ Perhaps some wished, with the best intent, to keep its commemorations, ceremonies and sacrifices, as a tradition. Yet Jesus himself made it clear that the rites of the law of Moses were no longer acceptable before God:

“ye shall offer up unto me no more the shedding of blood; yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away, for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.”²⁰

As Amulek clarifies, when Jesus accomplished his sacrifice “then shall the law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away.”²¹

We even find from the record of the perfect society of Nephites who lived after the coming of Christ, that in the list of the characteristics of their community it states:

“they did not walk any more after the performances and ordinances of the law of Moses; but they did walk after the commandments which they had received from their Lord and their God, …”²²

All of this shows us there is nothing of importance we will lack by refraining from keeping the law of Moses in our day, and if we were to try to live it there would be nothing important to salvation that we would gain. It has “ended”, it is ‘no more expedient’, it has “passed away”, every “jot and tittle”, and we have received a “more excellent way” in its place, which we do much much better to focus our attention on.

Footnotes

“A recent study proved if you watch the movie just seven times … your brain would be transformed. Just seven times and The Secret is part of your life forever.” (Rhonda Byrne)¹

The Secret is a phenomenon. It is a video, a book, and a movement. In it’s DVD and hardback forms it has sold millions. It has been promoted on television by Oprah Winfrey and Larry King, and has made its way into business meetings, church services, support groups, and homes belonging to every ethnic, social and religious group.

It’s author calls it the “most powerful law in the universe,”² and claims that it was hidden for 3,500 years by leaders who wanted “to keep the power” to themselves.³ It promises to “give you anything you want: happiness, health, and wealth.”⁴

It claims to accomplish this through a formula of “ask, believe, and receive”⁵ that by “deciding what you want to be, do, and have,” and that by “thinking the thoughts of it,” and “emitting the frequency, … your vision will become your life.”⁶ Simply put, the universe is at your beck and call and is only awaiting its orders to furnish you with whatever you want.

The author, Rhonda Byrne, an Australian television producer⁷, was introduced to the Secret herself through a book her daughter gave her during a troubled time in her life. That book was “The Science of Getting Rich” written in 1910⁸, and influenced by the beliefs of Phineas Quimby, whose “New Thought” philosophy formed the basis of the Christian Science and Unity churches, with their hundreds of thousands of members.

Although the video and book tend not to speak about God directly, many Christians have embraced its teachings in the belief that they are just an embodiment of the principles of faith and prayer. But God tells us that whatever we see, hear, or learn we should compare it to His words, and test its truthfulness, and hold fast to what we find to be true. So, with that in mind, let us look at the Secret in greater depth and see how it stands up to the scriptures.

Throughout our analysis we will primarily look at passages in the book, rather than quotes from the video. This is so we can reference them so that anyone can look them up and see them in context. The book is but an extension of the same teachings given in the video, but gives us a more in-depth look at the ideas that make up the principles behind the Secret.

“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”⁹

The Universe is our God?

Pantheism is the false belief that God literally exists in everything. That God inhabits the rocks and trees, as well as you and me. This is the God the Secret teaches of:

“All that exists is the One Universal Mind, and there is nowhere that the One Mind is not. It exists in everything. The One Mind is all intelligence, all wisdom, and all perfection, and it is everything and everywhere at the same time.”¹⁰

However, the scriptures reveal that “God created the heavens and earth.” He is not the heavens and the earth!:

“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, …”¹¹

The Universe (God) is under our control?

“The Universe is the Universal supply and supplier of everything. Everything comes from the Universe.”¹²

The Secret teaches us that the universe does not have a choice, our will can override any reticence it has to give to us. Yet Isaiah tells us we were “created for [God’s] glory,”¹³ and Colossians remind us “All things were created by him, and for him:”¹⁴ We are God’s subjects, His children, and His servants. He is not our slave.

Put ourself first?

We live in a “me first” world seeking for self-fulfillment. This view seems to be reflected in the pages of the Secret, which teaches:

“Many of us were taught to put ourselves last … it is imperative that you tend to You first. Attend to your joy first. People are responsible for their own joy. When you tend to your joy and do what makes you feel good, you are a joy to be around …”¹⁵

In the Secret it seems that preoccupation with what you want is the solution to all your problems, taking this line of reasoning – obsessive compulsive people must be the most blessed people on the planet. However, looking out for number one, is what the Lord warns will be the top in His list of sins in these last days:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, …”¹⁶

Jesus too, warned off the consequences of putting ourselves first when he warned that “He that loveth his life shall lose it;”¹⁷

There is no right or wrong?

Everything is just a matter of opinion. As long as you’re not hurting anyone there is nothing wrong with it. These are popular views in the modern world, designed not to offend most people, except those who may happen to know what is true and right. Such views are reflected in the Secret:

“The law of attraction is a law of nature. It is impersonal and it does not see good things or bad things”¹⁸

“Be happy now. Feel good now. That’s the only thing you have to do….Whatever you choose for You is right.”¹⁹

Yet Christianity is a religion of moral absolutes. There are certain things that are always wrong in any circumstance. They are not matters of opinion, but are sinful and separate us from God.

“If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.”²⁰

No need to be grateful to God?

The Secret speaks about gratitude by reminding people to be thankful for the positive things they receive. But what is the source of all of our blessings and trials?

“The people, the job, the circumstances, the health, the wealth, the debt, the joy, the car that you drive, the community that you’re in…you’ve drawn them all to you, like a magnet. What you think about you bring about. Your whole life is a manifestation of the thoughts that go on in your head.”²¹

Is it to the impersonal Universe that we receive everything from? Are we the ones we should be thanking for everything we receive? Is it because of our efforts that we are blessed?

“they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”²²

“thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength.”²³

Jesus the millionaire?

“Jesus [and others] were not only prosperity teachers but also millionaires themselves, with more affluent lifestyles than many present-day millionaires could conceive of.”²⁴

This view may come as a surprise to those who have read the accounts in the Gospels of the life of Jesus. Where are the passages about his palaces, servants, land, animals, and riches? Some have concluded that his family was wealthy because of their noble ancestry. But there are many indicators of his poverty:

• His mother Mary could only afford to make an offering of a poor person at the temple.²⁵

• Jesus said he had “nowhere to lay His head.”²⁶
• Jesus and the apostles lived off of donations.²⁷
• Jesus had to obtain money by miraculous means to pay taxes.²⁸
• He did not wear costly apparel.²⁹
• He borrowed a boat from which to preach from.³⁰
• He borrowed a colt for His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on.³¹
• He was buried in a borrowed grave.³²
• The Apostle Paul states Jesus was poor.³³

Man is already a God now?

“You are God manifested in human form, made to perfection. … You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator.”³⁴

There is indeed a Godlike capacity within man, but we can also have very earthly attributes that separate us from God. We are far from the perfection of God in our mortal state, and if we were as honest as Paul was we would exclaim “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”³⁵ We must remain humble and remember, “there is none good but one, that is, God.”³⁶

Why read the scriptures?

“If you are seeking an answer or guidance on something in your life, ask the question, believe you will receive, and then open this book [The Secret] randomly. At the exact place where the pages fall open will be the guidance and answer you are seeking.”³⁷

In this passage from the Secret it would seem that the Secret is trying to take the place of the scriptures. Yet God testifies that the scriptures are sufficient for us to find truth from:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and 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.”³⁸

The Secret preaches that only trials happen to bad people or through bad thinking

In the philosophy of the Secret, the tragic death of office workers and plane travelers in the twin towers 9/11 disaster is considered to be the result of the negative energy of the victims.

Yet God tells us He “maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”³⁹ And in the example of Job we find a man who lacked no righteousness, but lacked no trials and tragedies either.

The Secret is hazardous to your health

Although the book includes a disclaimer regarding seeking competent medical help, it does not follow its own advice within the book:

“Think thoughts of perfection. Illness cannot exist in a body that has harmonious thoughts … Imperfect thoughts are the cause of all humanity’s ills, including disease, poverty, and unhappiness … You can think your way to the perfect state of health, the perfect body, the perfect weight, and eternal youth. You can bring it into being, through your consistent thinking of perfection.”⁴⁰

“Whether you want to regain perfect eyesight, dissolve disease and restore well-being, turn poverty into abundance, reverse aging and degeneration, or eradicate any negativity, focus on and love the presence within you and perfection will manifest.”⁴¹

The Bible is full of miraculous healings, but sometimes ill health is part of God’s plans, or a consequence of lifestyle, and gaining weight is a natural result of diet (or ill health). The Secret doesn’t preach asking God for healing, but looking to us to heal ourselves. Sickness can remind us of our reliance upon God, and the sickness of others can give us an opportunity to show compassion. We may ask – where are these people who can eat continually without ever putting on weight, who never age, who can engage in any risking behavior and never be effected by it?

Avoid negative people?

Does being around fat people make you fat? The Secret tells us keeping company with obese people can put more pounds on us than the actual fats contained in the foods themselves.⁴² Worse, it seems, than having fat friends is being around those who are negative, those who don’t take the Secret seriously, or are even critical of it.

This is the classic cult tactic – tell your followers that listening to anything negative about your teachings or even being around those who do not accept your teachings puts you at risk of hell, that way they will fear ever considering any alternative view, as doubt would be a sin, and they will never see any inconvenient facts, because they would come from ‘sinners’ or criticizers who couldn’t be trusted, or who could discourage you.

Yet Jesus went to the unpopular, the outcasts, and didn’t shy away from those who disbelieved or challenged him. He showed love to the most hated members of society: the tax collectors, the Samaritans, and the lepers. He taught us to seek out the discouraged and wayward, and to hold dialog with those who disbelieved us. Christ came to save sinners, yet the Secret could lead to us avoiding the people who need our help the most, because we consider them ‘negative.’

Sin and salvation are irrelevant?

Although the author of the secret probably wouldn’t condone causing another person pain, almost everything else anyone might do is considered okay. No want is considered excessive or trivial, and no goal is considered unreasonable. We are only responsible for ourselves and only accountable to ourselves, and the focus is on gratifying ourselves in the hear and now. There are fundamental problems for the Christian with such views, as was simply illustrated by one Theology professor who watched the Secret:

“There’s no mention of sin in The Secret. The cause of all the problems in the world and in our individual lives is merely bad thinking, specifically the failure to recognize and appropriately use the law of attraction. Therefore the solution to everything lies within us. And that, of course, eliminates the need for a Savior, a Substitute, or a Sacrifice. The cross and resurrection of Jesus become irrelevant.”⁴³

There is also no end goal in the Secret apart from personal gratification – it offers nothing beyond this life. In the Secret you find fulfillment in things or outcomes, but when the things cease to be of worth and your aims cannot last indefinitely, what are you left with?

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”⁴⁴

We should seek for riches?

People are poor, it seems, “because they are blocking money from coming to them with their thoughts.” Our lack of money is our own fault, for being too mentally lazy to think ourself out of our financial situation. The admonishment to seek for wealth and promise of obtaining it is throughout the Secret.

Yet seeking for riches – God tells us in no uncertain terms – is a sin. It is embodied in the ten commandments within the words “thou shalt not covet,”⁴⁵ and is explicitly spelled out in many passages of scripture.

God tells us to be content (satisfied) with having “food and raiment”.⁴⁶ He commands us to “labor not to be rich,”⁴⁷ to “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, … for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”⁴⁸ that we should “not seek our own … wealth”⁴⁹, and He calls “the love of money … the root of all evil.”⁵⁰

The true origin of the Secret

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”⁵¹

The first edition of the Secret DVD had a segment featuring Esther Hicks that has been taken out of subsequent copies. This is notable for many reasons 1) Hicks was the only ‘expert’ paid to take part in the video – taking 10% of all profits – even from the now edited versions, 2) Byrne, the author of the Secret had been a faithful follower of Hicks. Why was Hicks suddenly considered unworthy of a place in the DVD? Here are two possible reasons -

1) People might realize how reliant the secret was on the theories and terminology of Hicks and her husband. Indeed, anyone who reads Esther and Jerry Hicks’ book, “Ask And It Is Given”, cannot escape the conclusion that it highly influenced the Secret.

2) People might discover that the teachings of the Hicks claim to come from a ‘spirit being’ which inhabits the body of Esther and speaks through her. As the Secret once boasted that it’s teachings were received by “vibrationally accessing broader intelligence.” This fact would undoubtedly strain the credulity of the Secret amongst some of its viewers, and it might discourage some Christians from accepting its theories.

Jerry Hicks, was a former circus acrobat, who was inspired by the book “Think and Grow Rich”, to become rich himself giving seminars and selling books telling people how to become rich. It wasn’t long before his wife coincidentally found she had communication with an ancient multi-dimensional being that calls itself, Abraham. (The name being that of a Bible prophet is supposedly coincidental.) This gave their teachings a unique angle, which proved to be very lucrative as well.

The Hicks boast about the origins of the secret in their DVD, “The Secret behind the Secret.” But Rhonda Byrne doesn’t seem so keen to remind her audience where her ideas came from.

In the Bible there are examples of people who act as mediums for spirits, and their example of spirits that inhabit the bodies of others.⁵² Both are condemned as coming from Satan. Thus the Secret’s origins are occultic and inspired by demons.

The Secret still contains traces of its demonic origins, as can be seen from the following passage in the book:

“The Genie has simply answered your every command. The Genie is the law of attraction, and it is always present, and always listening to everything you think, speak, and act. … You are the Master of the Universe, and the Genie is there to serve you. The Genie never questions your commands. You think it, and the Genie immediately begins to leverage the Universe, through people, circumstances, and events, to fulfill your wish.”⁵³

This may make interesting mythology, but it makes lousy theology.

The results

The Secret has proved a great get-rich-quick scheme for its author. She has certainly learned that the secret to easy wealth is to write a book about the secret to easy wealth. Some of those who have already bought it have discovered this same secret and have written similar books of their own too.

Others have made expensive choices and purchases they cannot afford, on the basis that following the Secret will furnish them with the money when they need it, and many of them have lost everything they spent, or have been left owing large amounts. They usually blame themselves, because others have (by chance) done well, and – they reason – they must have failed because of their lack of confidence in themselves, God, or the universe. Few ever consider that it was a preoccupation with things and aims that don’t bring true happiness or don’t please God that failed them. God can give us more real spiritual treasures than we could ever find in the Secret.

There is no short-cut to God, the simple prayers given in the scriptures have worked miracles and saved lives, or sometimes just given comfort. The real result of the secret is disappointment and diversion from God and His plans for us.

We need to ask ourselves – for all the half-truths, misdirections, and outright lies the secret tells – is it worth keeping it on your shelves or in our DVD collections?

Ultimately the author of the Secret is the father of all lies, that is the real Secret – it is just Satanism dressed up in a different set of clothes. But, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him”⁵⁴ and it is found through Jesus Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”⁵⁵

Footnotes

“Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.”²

That revelation, however, was only known to a few at the time, and was not made public until 1852. However, the idea that our God was but one of many had already been hinted at four years earlier in the Prophet’s epistle from Liberty Jail in which he spoke of “a time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God or many gods, they shall be manifest.”³ In saying this he was perhaps paraphrasing the Apostle Paul who said in his first Corinthian epistle that “there be gods many, and lords many”⁴ He also hinted that there was more to the subject that was yet to be revealed. Yet It was not until April 1844, in the now famous King Follet sermon that Joseph publicly explained this doctrine to the Saints. Said he:

“God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by his power, was to make himself visible, – I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form – like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from, and walked, talked and conversed with him, as one man talks and communes with another. …

Here, then, is eternal life – to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.”⁵

The Prophet Joseph also later revealed why God chose us to have this privilege:

“God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. … [Therefore] he [used his] power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory, and intelligence, which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits.”⁶

Lorenzo Snow

Joseph was not alone in having this doctrine revealed to him, before he spoke of it even in private Lorenzo Snow received a revelation on the subject, as he recounts:

“I remember an incident which occurred in Kirtland when I received my first patriarchal blessing from Father Smith. A better man never existed, nor was there a man better-loved than he. I was introduced by my sister Eliza R., though at that time I was not a Latter-day Saint and had no idea of becoming one. He said to me: ‘Don’t worry, take it calmly and the Lord will show you, and you will want to be baptized,’ He told me another thing that greatly surprised me. He said, “You will be great, and as great as you want to be, as great as God Himself, and you will not wish to be greater.”⁷

About two years and a half after, in Nauvoo [in the Spring of 1840], I asked Elder Sherwood to explain a certain passage of scripture; and while he was endeavoring to give an explanation, the Spirit of God fell upon me to a marked extent, and the Lord revealed to me, just as plainly as the sun at noon-day, this principle, which I put in a couplet: “As man now is, God once was; As God now is, man may be.” That fulfilled Father Smith’s declaration. Nothing was ever revealed more distinctly than that was to me.⁸

I felt this to be a sacred communication, which I related to no one except my sister Eliza, until I reached England, when in a confidential private conversation with President Brigham Young, in Manchester, I related to him this extraordinary manifestation.”⁹

LeRoi Snow adds that “Soon after his return from England, in January, 1843, Lorenzo Snow related to the Prophet Joseph Smith his experience in Elder Sherwood’s home. … The Prophet’s reply was: ‘Brother Snow, that is a true gospel doctrine, and it is a revelation from God to you.’”¹⁰ After this doctrine became public knowledge Lorenzo Snow did not hesitate to teach it as an Apostle and Prophet:

“Now, how is it that God proposes to confer this mighty honor upon us and to raise us to this condition of glory and exaltation? Who are we that God should do all this for us? Why, we are just beginning to find out that we are the offspring of God, born with the same faculties and powers as He possesses, capable of enlargement through the experience that we are now passing through in our second estate. Let me illustrate. Here is an emperor sitting upon his throne, governing and controlling his empire wisely and properly. He has an infant son that sits upon the knee of its mother. That son he proposes to one day set upon his throne, to govern and control his empire. Here is that infant, perfectly helpless, not knowing how to sustain its own life, not able to walk alone, without any knowledge; and here is this mighty emperor sitting upon his throne and governing his vast empire. Who would believe that he could raise that infant up to such a condition as to make it suitable to be placed on his throne? No one would, unless he had seen such things accomplished in his experience; seen the infant develop into boyhood, and then to manhood, possessing all the powers, faculties and possibilities of its father. Now, we are the sons and daughters of God. He has begotten us in His own image. He has given us faculties and powers that are capable of enlargement until His fulness is reached which He has promised — until we shall sit upon thrones, governing and controlling our posterity from eternity to eternity, and increasing eternally. That is the fact in regard to these matters.”¹¹

President Snow even summarized his teachings in the form of a poem, two verses of which are as follows -

“This royal path has long been trod
By righteous men, each now a God:
As Abra’m, Isaac, Jacob too,
First babes, then men­ to gods they grew.
The boy, like to his father grown,
Has but attained unto his own;
To grow to sire from state of son,
Is not ‘gainst Nature’s course to run.”¹²

He also made it clear that this teaching applied to his sisters in the Gospel too -

“Women can become like our mother in heaven. You sisters, I suppose, have read that poem which my sister composed years ago, and which is sung quite frequently now in our meetings. It tells us that we not only have a Father in ‘that high and glorious place,’ but that we have a Mother too; and you will become as great as your Mother, if you are faithful.”¹³

The Scriptures

Is this a doctrine the ancients were aware of? Is it taught in the scriptures? What did God Himself have to say about this? Fortunately the Lord has answered all of these questions within the pages of holy writ. Our Heavenly Father has promised us that “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”¹⁴ Indeed He said to us that “Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”¹⁵

Jesus reiterated this doctrine when he commanded that we “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”¹⁶ Although Jesus had already reached perfection, yet He wished the Saints to all have the same relationship with His Father as he had, and to attain to the same level of perfection:

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;”¹⁷

Indeed, He wanted to share the same blessings and rewards that He had qualified for with all of those who were faithful, as He promised “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”¹⁸

The Apostle Paul likewise advocated that “we are the children of god: and if children, then heirs; heirs of god, and joint-heirs with Christ;” and that “we may be also glorified together.”¹⁹ He also admonished to share the same intent as Jesus “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:”²⁰ Likewise the Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that the day would come when “the saints shall be filled with his glory, and receive their inheritance and be made equal with him.”²¹

Although the scriptures do not teach explicitly that God was once a man²², as the preceeding passages have shown us, the Bible does clearly teach the following -

• We can be joint-heirs with Christ
• We can be the sons of God
• We can have the same glory Jesus has
• We can be one with the Father as Jesus is
• We can sit on the throne with Jesus
• We can be heirs of God
• We can inherit all things – all that the Father has
• We can sit on the throne with Heavenly Father
• We can become Gods
• We can be equal with God
  (and this does not rob Him of anything)
• We can be above all things, and have all power
  (& the angels will be subject to us)

Brigham Young

Joseph Smith’s successor Brigham Young not only sustained him in this doctrine but gave us additional insights into our Heavenly Father’s life before Godhood, and how He came to offer us the opportunity to become as He is:

Our Father in Heaven “has passed the ordeals we are now passing through; he has received an experience, has suffered and enjoyed, and knows all that we know regarding the toils, sufferings, life and death of this mortality, for he has passed through the whole of it, and has received his crown and exaltation.”²³

God said, “I want my children who are in the spirit world to come and live here. I once dwelt upon an earth something like this, in a mortal state. I was faithful, I received my crown and exaltation. I have the privilege of extending my work, and to its increase there will be no end. I want my children that were born to me in the spirit world to come here and take tabernacles of flesh, that their spirits may have a house, a tabernacle or a dwelling place as mine has, and where is the mystery?”²⁴

“The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like Himself; when we have been proved in our present capacity, and been faithful with all things He puts into our possession. We are created, we are born for the express purpose of growing up from the low estate of manhood, to become Gods like unto our Father in heaven. That is the truth about it, just as it is. The Lord has organized mankind for the express purpose of increasing in that intelligence and truth, which is with God, until he is capable of creating worlds on worlds, and becoming Gods, even the sons of God.”²⁵

He taught that this was not just our theoretical potential, but would be a reality to those who were faithful:

“After men have got their exaltations and their crowns – have become Gods, even the sons of God – are made Kings of kings and Lords of lords, they have the power then of propagating their species in spirit; and that is the first of their operations with regard to organizing a world. Power is then given to them to organize the elements, and then commence the organization of tabernacles.”²⁶

“Having fought the good fight we then shall be prepared to lay our bodies down to rest to await the morning of the resurrection when they will come forth and be reunited with the spirits, the faithful, as it is said, receiving crowns, glory, immortality and eternal lives, even a fulness with the Father …

Then will they become Gods, even the sons of God; then will they become eternal fathers, eternal mothers, eternal sons and eternal daughters; being eternal in their organization they go from glory to glory, from power to power; they will never cease to increase and to multiply, worlds without end. When they receive their crowns, their dominions, they then will be prepared to frame earths like unto ours and to people them in the same manner as we have been brought forth by our parents, by our Father and God.”²⁷

Many Protestants use this belief as a means of not accepting us Christians. They believe in a God that originates from nowhere, is made of nothing, is as large as the universe and as small as an atom. Because of their hostility it seems the LDS Church has begun to shy away from openly preaching this principle. Indeed when President Gordon B. Hinkley was asked “don’t Mormons believe that God was once a man?” he replied – “I wouldn’t say that.”²⁸ and on another occasion “I don’t know that we teach it.”²⁹

This attitude has been reflected in the newest LDS Church manuals. In the 1981 edition of the Gospel Principles it states, “Exaltation is eternal life, the kind of life that God lives. … We can become Gods like our Heavenly Father. This is exaltation.”³⁰ However, in the 1992 edition of the same book, the second to the last sentence in the paragraph says, “We can become like our Heavenly Father.” and the word “Gods” was taken out.

Whatever the views of the Church on this, Mormon Fundamentalist leaders have kept this doctrine alive, as can be seen from the teachings of Joseph Musser, who is considered a prophet to thousands of Fundamentalists -

“Because we have elected to become gods; we have elected to become king of kings and lord of lords; we have elected to earn and qualify for a world like this wherein we can go on during the eternities propagating; ruling over our progeny, and letting them build earths for themselves and propagate throughout the eternities. We have elected to do like our Eternal Father did.”³¹

Whether in or out of the LDS Church this belief looks like it will continue amongst those who believe in the teachings of Joseph Smith and other early Mormon apostles and prophets, who are seeking to become like their Heavenly Father, so they can offer other intelligences the same chance to progress they have been given. This is a goal which may, however, take aeons to accomplish, as the Prophet Joseph pointed out:

“When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospel-you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave.”³²

Summary of the Doctrine of Exaltation

As Taught by Latter-Day Prophets

Our Heavenly Father -

• God was once a man like us
• He lived on an earth in mortality
• He had a heavenly Father he worshipped
• He was the spirit child of that God
• He was resurrected
• He qualified to become a God

God’s Children -

• We are God’s spirit children
• He wants us to become as He is
• If we are faithful we can become Gods
• We can organize worlds
• We can people worlds with our spirit children
• We will rule over our children as a God
• They too will have this opportunity

Footnotes

When John the Baptist came to Oliver Cowdery and the Prophet Joseph Smith, and ordained them he promised them that the Aaronic Priesthood “shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”¹

Many Latter-day Saints have never considered the implications of this statement. Who are the sons of Levi? What kind of offering would the sons of Levi need to make? How did this relate to the Priesthood conferred in 1829?

Levi was the son of Jacob and Leah, whose children became known as the tribe of Levi. In a revelation to Moses, God gave Aaron (his brother and descendant of Levi) and his sons a special priestly responsibility, and designating his cousins functions to perform within the temple.

Although their principle duties were primarily temporal, such as dealing with the furnishings in the temple and musical accompaniment, they were also involved in purification rituals, prayers of thanksgiving, and assisting the Priests with burnt offerings.

John the Baptist seems to be quoting an earlier prophesy by Malachi that “God shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.”²

Malachi lived in a time when much of Israel had fallen into apostasy, when the temple had been desecrated, and most of the tribes were in Babylonian exile. He was looking forward to a time when the Messiah would come in power (through the second coming of Jesus) to the New Jerusalem, and when the Levites would again be able to fulfill their temple responsibilities.

That Malachi is speaking of the second coming of Jesus as the time period in which his prophesy will take place is verified by a latter-day revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1842, in which the Saints are told to offer the Lord a record of their genealogy, to be acceptable before Him before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.³

Joseph Smith’s Teachings

Although it is difficult to be sure which temple offering Malachi is speaking of, yet the Prophet Joseph seems to have taught that animal sacrifice will yet be restored. In a sermon given in October of 1840 he stated:

“… it is generally supposed that sacrifice was entirely done away when the Great Sacrifice [i.e.,] the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was offered up, and that there will be no necessity for the ordinance of sacrifice in future; but those who assert this are certainly not acquainted with the duties, privileges and authority of the Priesthood, or with the Prophets.

The offering of sacrifice has ever been connected, and forms a part of the duties of the Priesthood. It began with the Priesthood, and will be continued until after the coming of Christ, from generation to generation. We frequently have mention made of the offering of sacrifice by the servants of the Most High in ancient days, prior to the law of Moses; which ordinances will be continued when the Priesthood is restored with all its authority, power and blessings.”⁴

In this sermon he speaks of sacrifice being a duty of the Priesthood, but not what those sacrifices entail. This he goes on to clarify.

“These sacrifices, as well as every ordinance belonging to the Priesthood, will, when the Temple of the Lord shall be built, and the sons of Levi be purified, be fully restored and attended to in all their powers, ramifications, and blessings. This ever did and ever will exist when the powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood are sufficiently manifest; else how can the restitution of all things spoken of by the Holy Prophets be brought to pass. It is not to be understood that the law of Moses will be established again with all its rites and variety of ceremonies; this has never been spoken of by the prophets; but those things which existed prior to Moses’ day, namely, sacrifice, will be continued.

It may be asked by some, what necessity for sacrifice, since the Great Sacrifice was offered? In answer to which, if repentance, baptism, and faith existed prior to the days of Christ, what necessity for them since that time?”⁵

He says the law of Moses will not be restored – that is those lesser laws, offerings and feasts specific to the law of Moses (like the Passover) will not be restored. But has the time come for such sacrifices to begin again?

Lineage and Authority

Since the destruction of the temple and the Jewish priestly records of the time it is difficult to verify the lineage of those who claim to be Levites. So it would probably take new revelation to be certain who could fill this responsibility.

The Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the sons of Aaron have a right to be Bishops without having councilors or needing to be ordained a High Priest,⁶ yet in the Church’s history no-one has been considered to have the right lineage or be qualified to hold that calling under those circumstances.

Even if some who qualified were found, they would still have to be called and act under direction of the President of the Priesthood for their responsibilities and actions to be recognized by heaven.⁷

As well as lineage there is also the question of location. The temple Malachi and Joseph Smith prophetically speak of is either the temple of the New Jerusalem or the one in old Jerusalem that has been prophesied to be rebuilt. Neither are yet standing, and until they are (or revelation designated a tabernacle to be used for that purpose) the sons of Levi do not have the proper place set apart to carry out their sacrifices.

There is also some question over the use of the word “until” in the statement that the Priesthood “shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again.”⁸ The word “until” suggests that Aaronic Priesthood conferred upon them may be taken from the earth when the sons of Levi make a righteous offering. However, Oliver Cowdery recalled John using the word “that”⁹ instead – giving the impression that because the Priesthood had been restored then the sons of Levi could make such an offering – because such Priesthood must exist to build the temple and initiate its ordinances.

Did Joseph Introduce Animal Sacrifices In His Day?

Some believe that Joseph Smith intended to reinstitute animal sacrifices during his lifetime. It is alleged that Wandle Mace recorded in his journal that Joseph Smith instructed the brethren in Kirtland to sacrifice a lamb in conjunction with the ordination of Willard Richards.”¹⁰

Firstly, the account we have is from a biography written by Wandle’s wife Rebecca of what she recollected her husband saying to her long after the fact.¹¹

Secondly, Willard Richards was ordained in 1840, by which time the Prophet Joseph was living in Nauvoo not Kirtland, and before the temple in Nauvoo was even begun.¹²

Thirdly, Willard Richard’s was on a mission to England when he was made an Apostle by Brigham Young.¹³

Therefore, whatever Rebeca Mace was trying to recall much later from what she believed her husband said cannot be treated as anything but dubious.

Our Sacrifices and Offerings

In the days of Kirtland the Lord revealed that the Saints needed to do their genealogy and work for the dead to be able to make an acceptable offering to the Lord. In our day that is still one of the requirements the Lord has placed upon us.

But as far as we are concerned the time of burnt offerings has ended¹⁴, yet those of us who are not descendants of Levi can still make acceptable sacrifices of our own, and God tells us that greater than offering any animal upon an altar is the sacrifice of “a broken heart and contrite spirit.”¹⁵

“To obey is better than sacrifice.”
1 Samuel 15: 22

Footnotes