I spent the better part of last Sunday mildly, but not unexpectedly peeved at Brigham Young.  It is not that I don’t have some respect for him as a leader and a strong personality who accomplished many positive things.  My “relationship” with Brigham is very nuanced and complicated.

Reading the History of the Church, Volume 2, in preparation for completing the latest chapter of my book, I came across a passage that didn’t sit so well with me and prompted me to pull up the Joseph Smith Papers online to look at the original manuscript.  And there it was right in front of my face—19 additional words that completely changed the meaning of what Joseph said to the Twelve in a special council meeting with them held on Saturday, January 16, 1836.

The original manuscript says this:

“…also the 12 are not subject to any other than the first presidency; viz. myself, S. Rigdon and F.G. Williams—”

Pretty straightforward, right?  These comments came about largely due to a controversy in which the Twelve felt slighted because in a recent assembly they had been placed below the high councils of Kirtland and Zion in their seating assignments (sounds like the apostles of old arguing over who is the greatest in the kingdom, doesn’t it?)  In the meeting Joseph explained to them that there were practical considerations as to why they were seated in the way that they were—there was not insult intended, and that they (the Twelve) were only subject to the oversight and control of the First Presidency consisting of Joseph and his two counselors, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams.

Here is where Brigham’s sleight-of-hand comes into play with his 19 additional words which I highlight in bold (you will notice some changes in punctuation as this is now taken directly from Vol. 2 of the History of the Church):

“…also the Twelve are not subject to any other than the first Presidency, viz., “myself,” said the Prophet, “Sidney Rigdon, and Frederick G. Williams, who are now my Counselors; and where I am not, there is no First Presidency over the Twelve.”

Incredible!

By adding those words Brigham has completely changed the power structure of the Church and attributed it to the Prophet Joseph.  Of course, as the man who ran Sidney Rigdon out of town following the martyrdom, Brigham had to degrade any claim to authority held by the only man left in that quorum and elevate the Twelve above all else. And as we know, he succeeded in doing so and duping the saints into voting for a strong leader instead of a prophet.

Yet, the scriptures clearly teach that the First Presidency hold the keys of the kingdom and that even one remaining member can reconstitute the quorum if necessary.

In speaking to Frederick G. Williams in Section 81 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord states:

“Listen to the voice of him who speaketh, to the word of the Lord your God, and hearken to the calling wherewith you are called, even to be a high priest in my church, and a counselor unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun.; unto whom I have given the keys of the kingdom, which belong always unto the Presidency of the High Priesthood;” 

The Lord also states in D&C 90:6 that Sidney and Frederick “are accounted as equal with thee (Joseph) in holding the keys of this last kingdom.”  The First Presidency is special.   It is not an extension of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles where the senior guy becomes the next president / prophet.

D&C 102 is not a revelation from the Lord, but as a canonized Church policy makes clear that either of the two counselors may step in as presiding High Priest when the others are absent:

“The president of the church, who is also the president of the council, is appointed by revelation, and acknowledged in his administration by the voice of the church [note the bit about being appointed by revelation, not seniority].

And it is according to the dignity of his office that he should preside over the council of the church; and it is his privilege to be assisted by two other presidents, appointed after the same manner that he himself was appointed.

And in case of the absence of one or both of those who are appointed to assist him, he has power to preside over the council without an assistant; and in case he himself is absent, the other presidents have power to preside in his stead, both or either of them.

Not much ambiguity there.

Now on to my second discovery.  In reading through the version of Section 110 contained in Volume 2, I decided again to read the original version which is written in the third person.  The version in our scriptures has been changed to the first person.  There I noticed words of the Lord that were TAKEN OUT of the original record.  The original reads as follows:

“Yea the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured out, and the endowment with which my servants have already been endowed and shall hereafter be endowed in this House.

Brigham and his co-conspirators removed the words in bold!

But why?  Why would they feel the need to eliminate those words.  I believe for two reasons.

1- The appearance of the Lord and three prophets as recorded in Section 110 was the end of the great endowments in the Kirtland Temple.  Nothing even approaching the spiritual outpourings at that time have been experienced since.  Those words point to a future fulfillment (in the third watch) which challenges directly Brigham’s claim to the fulness of the gospel.  We have documented that future work extensively in previous blog posts.

2- By the time Brigham became aware of this vision —sealed up in Joseph’s journal and undiscovered until a decade after Joseph’s death—the Kirtland Temple was no longer in the hands of the Brigham faction of the church.  The Reorganized Church owned the Temple (still do) and Brigham likely wanted to downplay anything that had to do with the Kirtland Temple because he was full steam ahead on building temples to administer the masonic endowments that were part of turning the saints over to Satan for a period of chastisement.

Whatever the reasons, I think the Lord looks askance at anyone who would change His words for their own benefit.

You may have been a great leader, Brigham. But your changes to history are appalling.

Shame on you.

You’re one of the reasons why we Keep Searching.

Frankly, I didn’t know what to call this post.  It will not be an essay, but rather a quick note on something I discovered last evening reading in the History of the Church volume 2.  It may seem small and trivial to some, but it reinforces the view that the Melchizedek Priesthood was revealed at the Morley Farm conference over a year after the Church was organized, not a few months after the Priesthood of Aaron was revealed by John the Baptist aka Elijah.  It is so interesting to me to discover these little tidbits that would likely go unnoticed without a correct understanding of Church history—one that is free of the falsehoods that have been perpetuated to bolster Brigham Young’s claim that the Apostleship is all the authority needed or had on the earth.  He really did go out of his way to convince the Saints of that fact because he was never ordained a High Priest.

Anyway, the tidbit I ran across is found in the minutes of a conference held on April 21, 1834 in Norton, Medina County, Ohio, which state:

“The President (Joseph) then gave a relation of obtaining and translating the Book of Mormon, the revelation of the Priesthood of Aaron, the organization of the Church in 1830, the revelation of the High Priesthood, and the gift of the Holy Ghost poured out upon the Church;”

What struck me here was the sequence.  Notice that after the Priesthood of Aaron is revealed the church is organized, followed by the High Priesthood.  This characterization is inconsistent with the teaching that the High Priesthood was revealed by Peter, James and John (who I believe only revealed the keys of Apostleship, not the Melchizedek Priesthood) sometime later in 1829.  This may seem like a small detail, but it corroborates Joseph’s characterization that he left in the first cut of his history written in 1832.

“A History of the life of Joseph Smith Jr an account of his marvilous experience and of all the mighty acts which he doeth in the name of Jesus Christ the son of the living God of whom he beareth record and also an account of the rise of the church of Christ in the eve of time according as the Lord brought forth and established by his hand

firstly he receiving the testimony from on high [The first vision]

secondly the ministering of Angels [Moroni -Book of Mormon plates]

thirdly the reception of the holy Priesthood by the ministring of Angels to adminster the letter of the Gospel – the Law and commandments as they were given unto him – and the ordinencs [John the Baptist (are Peter, James and John included here?)],

forthly a confirmation and reception of the high Priesthood after the holy order of the son of the living God power and ordinence from on high to preach the Gospel in the administration and demonstration of the spirit the Kees of the Kingdom of God confered upon him [visit of Peter, James and John, or is this a reference to the restoration of the office of high priest?]

and the continuation of the blessings of God to him &c”

You can see the confusion the compilers of history were confronted with (their notes are in brackets).  When Joseph describes his third point he references “angels” in the plural, which would include more than John the Baptist, but would likely include Peter, James and John, especially since all four of them restored the authority to administer the letter of the gospel, including the law and commandments and the ordinances.  The minutes of the conference are fully consistent with his history.  I always look for 2 or more witnesses in according with the Lord’s Law of Witnesses. 

Anyway, I thought I would share that small insight.  Recently, my blogging has been significantly curtailed because I am placing all my energies on writing my book.  The working title is:

Like a Lamb to the Slaughter

Understanding Joseph’s Intercessory Offering and the Implications for Our Day

It is coming along at a reasonable pace, but I don’t expect to have it ready for publication before the end of this year.  Just didn’t want anyone to think that I have dropped off the planet.  I feel a sense of urgency to get it completed.

Your prayers are appreciated to keep this project moving forward.

Thanks and Keep Searching.

Warning: Occasionally, I can get carried away with a topic I feel passionate about. Usually, I stick with sound reasoning and analysis. This is not one of those posts. Although it is based on Jeremiah 23 and other scriptures, you will likely sense more than a hint of sarcasm in the following which is a fault of mine that I readily admit. Proceed with caution…I don’t mean to offend.

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It must be tough being a prophet, seer, and revelator (PS&R) these days. Adulation follows you everywhere you go as you “regulate all the affairs” of the church in whatever Stake you happen to be visiting that weekend. Nevermind that Joseph taught that the Twelve are to preach the gospel to the world and had no right to rule where there was an established Stake of Zion. As of this writing there is no established Zion, so by extension there are no Stakes. By that logic the PS&Rs have a right to rule, but that means they have to admit that the church is not what it purports to be.

It must be tough to sit in the chief seats, repeating the party line about missionary work, keeping the commandments, temple work, and of course paying your tithing, all the while receiving the perks and benefits that attend the office of PS&R.  No faith is necessary to receive the living allowances that flow freely in unknown amounts from the faithful members who sacrifice to pay tithing to the unaccountable. Somehow, D&C 84:86-91 doesn’t apply anymore. There, the Lord informs us how we can tell His true disciples–they will be traveling without purse or scrip.

It must be tough not to have to answer difficult questions. When pressed, the answer is usually something akin to what Elder Bednar related to a sister missionary some years back when she asked if there were any scriptures related to women and the priesthood. David was reported to have responded “I am scripture.” End of debate. We can’t even point out what is wrong because somehow, somewhere, it became scripture that it is wrong to criticize leaders of the church, even if the criticism is true.

Besides, if you get out of line the PS&Rs have redefined apostasy to mean acting in open and deliberate public opposition to the Church or its leaders and/or teaching as Church doctrine information that is not Church doctrine after being corrected by their priesthood leaders.

NEWSFLASH: I AM AN APOSTATE!

At least according to their apostate definition of apostasy. This despite the fact that my faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ has never been stronger. My understanding of the scriptures has never had more breadth. My testimony of Joseph and his divine prophetic roles has never been deeper. Like most of you, I am on a learning curve grounded and based on the scriptures and historically verifiable facts. But, of course, that doesn’t matter in the PS&R world. The very idea that you could hold beliefs that are outside the mainstream of PS&R thought is sufficient to cast you out from among the people, even when the doctrines change or are disavowed by the next generation ad nauseum.

Someday, I will be excommunicated for my writings. I am resigned to that fact because I don’t believe that the bulk of the leadership will repent when the servants return. I take comfort, however, in the fact that the same pattern happened in the days of Jesus when the Pharisees were equally unable to brook any sort of challenge to their claims of authority and cast many out of the synagogue.

Twice yearly, the PS&Rs have the additional burden of bringing forth the word of the Lord to His people at general conference. Members of the church wait with bated breath to hear what the Lord has to say through his chosen 15. “We are only a few days away! We must prepare our hearts to hear what He has to say through His prophets! We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet!”

Prior to conference I am reminded of what the Lord said to his servant Jeremiah in the Old Testament. He directly addressed the very situation we find ourselves in with leaders who claim the “burden of the Lord” — that awesome responsibility of receiving revelation from the Son of God himself.

In all the years I have yet to see a PS&R actually say “THUS SAYETH THE LORD.” Instead we have messages that may be inspiring or insipid, entertaining or educational, motivating or moving. But what we absolutely don’t have is the PS&Rs delivering the word of the Lord as if it came from the Lord himself. Rather, we have endless quoting of other men.

I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. (Jeremiah 23:30)

We have implications and suggestions that the prophet was moved upon to change this policy or that, or deliver the latest profound exhortation to “Keep the Commandments.” Perhaps the Lord is a fan of Lewis Carroll, I don’t know. But stories of Alice in Wonderland strike me as being a waste of our precious time, and smack of taking deeper things lightly–a condemnation that rests heavy upon the shoulders of the shepherds as well as the sheep.

“And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received–” (D&C 84:54)

“Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the Lord, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:32)

I am not here trying to suggest that talks in general conference are without inspirational messages, or bereft of the spirit. On the contrary, there are many good things to be had in meeting together as believers. However, that does not mean we are hearing the word of the Lord via those sustained as PS&Rs. Many speakers are able to influence and energize, inspire and motivate using the philosophies of men mingled with scripture. But does it mean, when we feel the spirit in our souls, that those words came from Jesus Christ himself? Hardly.

We are constantly taught that if we just keep the commandments, etc. etc. that we can find peace in this troubled world.

“They (the PS&Rs) say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.” (Jeremiah 23:17-20)

Yes, Jeremiah is seeing us in the latter days. He is seeing us despise the Lord when we engage in masonic-based temple ordinances that have nothing to do with the Lord’s true gospel. In fact, in v. 10 it says “because of swearing the land mourneth.” In my view this does not refer to letting fly with a 4-letter word occassionally, but rather the oath swearing that takes place in LDS temples. You, and each of you do solemnly swear…

Instead of preaching messages of peace, true messengers would not let us be comfortable in our sins. They would be calling us to repentance.

“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” (Jeremiah 23:21-22)

They would be calling on us to live the Law of the Lord, including consecration and monogamy.

They would be calling on us to repent of our materialism, our greed, our pride, our lusts and our covetousness.

They would be standing as examples themselves of humble followers of Christ instead of ruling over us with their control all the tithing money.

“A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof” (Jeremiah 5:30-31)

Yes. The people love to have it so, because not having a prophet is inconceivable to those who have been indoctrinated into placing their eternal salvation into the hands of mortal man.

So to those who claim the burden of the Lord, those of us who realize that we haven’t had a true prophet since Sidney was kicked out of the church by Brigham Young sincerely ask:

WHAT HAS THE LORD ANSWERED THEE? AND, WHAT HAS THE LORD SPOKEN? (Jeremiah 23:37)

Don’t be shy. Tell us straight up. Here is your big chance.

You are, after all, Prophets, Seers and Revelators, Right?

In the first two parts of this series we chronicled the importance of the Law of the Lord (Section 42), the fact that his people stumble when they don’t live it, and how the current shepherds over the flock don’t follow the scriptures in leading the people as they are required to by the Law.

This installment will explore the importance of receiving the “Fulness of the Scriptures” which the Lord addresses in Section 42 and which was given in February 1831. Joseph is commanded to move forward with inspired revisions to the Bible which is commonly referred to as the “Inspired Version” (abbreviated “IV”) or the “Joseph Smith Translation” (abbreviated “JST”):

“Thou shalt ask, and my scriptures shall be given as I have appointed, and they shall be preserved in safety” (D&C 42:56)

Perhaps the last phrase “preserved in safety” refers to the fact that Emma was entrusted with the manuscript after Joseph’s death instead of Brigham Young given the fact that Brigham oversaw changes to LDS history that cast a more favorable light on himself and his doctrines. Who knows what he would have done with the Inspired Version had he been given the opportunity.

What I find interesting is that in the very next verse the Lord commands Joseph not to teach from what is revealed in the IV until it has been received in full. The fact that he didn’t preach from the IV suggests there is more yet to come.

“And it is expedient that thou shouldst hold thy peace concerning them, and not teach them until ye have received them in full. And I give unto you a commandment that then ye shall teach them unto all men; for they shall be taught unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people.” (D&C 42:57-58)

In Nauvoo, Joseph was trying to get the saints to consecrate of their means to allow the Inspired Version to be published along with the Book of Mormon in one volume.  He knew that in order for him to teach these doctrine they needed to be published for all to read for themselves.  In April 1833 he said:

“It is not the will of the Lord to print any of the new Translation in the Star [refering to The Evening and the Morning Star, a church periodical at the time]; but when it is published, it will go to the world together, in a volume by itself; and the New Testament and the Book of Mormon will be printed together.” (History of the Church, 1:341.)

Today, we have the Inspired Version which has been published by the Community of Christ (previously known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). I highly recommend that any serious student of the scriptures pick up a copy which can be obtained HERE.  An online copy is also available HERE.

“Brother Joseph Smith, Jr. said … that the promise of God was that the greatest blessings which God had to bestow should be given to those who contributed to the support of his family while he was translating the fulness of the Scriptures … that God had often sealed up the heavens because of covetousness in the Church … and except the Church receive the fulness of the Scriptures that they would yet fail.” (Far West Report, p. 16, quoted in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938, p. 9.)

The foregoing is an amazing prescient warning. When I look at the inspired changes made by Joseph, I realize just how far afield we currently find ourselves on so many issues and doctrines. So let’s now explore some of what I consider to be the most important changes that he made in the Inspired Version. This blogpost is meant to be a big-picture overview, so I will not spend much time expounded on each of these, but they could each easily be expanded and analyzed in depth.

1 – The Nature of God

Commentary

The unity and oneness of the Son and the Father are clearly declared, giving us additional information on the “Mystery of Godliness.”  (See also, JST 1 Timothy 3:16).

2 – We must come to “Know the Lord” 

3 – The Lord will send His Servant to those who are Blind 

4 – The covering of the eyes of the prophets and the Marvelous Work

Commentary

This entire chapter has been re-written by Joseph to clearly teach that true prophets can lose their prophetic gifts when the people are unrighteous and reject their God.  I highly recommend reading the entire chapter. Additionally, v.26 clarifies that the people who “draw near to him with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from him” are the one’s who have been delivered the Book of Mormon. Very sobering!  See also 2 Nephi 27.

5 – Prophecy of Ancient Joseph about Joseph Smith

Commentary

This prophecy is also found in the Book of Mormon.  Very revealing about the role of Joseph Smith in the salvation of the Lord’s people in the last days. Also, allusions to a future work to be accomplished in convincing the people of the truthfulness of the Lord’s word and confounding false doctrines.

6 – The True Nature of the Melchizedek Priesthood

Commentary

The scripture goes on to describe the great power held by those of the Melchizedek order. I have written extensively in a post entitled “I am not a High Priest“about the fact that we do not understand what it really means to be a high priest as experienced by Joseph and 22 others at the Morley farm in June 1831. To be a high priest one must be called by God himself, and then ultimately chosen if they prove faithful. One does not become a high priest with the passage of time or because one is called into a bishopric or any number of other callings in the church that are reserved for high priests. God himself must call you by his own voice, it is not by the “will of man” nor by lineage.

7 – The True Nature of Tithing

Commentary

The great high priest, Melchizedek, was the keeper of the Lord’s storehouse. We learn that the storehouse is for the POOR, not to build spacious buildings and make investments. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse” (Malachi 3:10) takes on the meaning that contributions are to be used primarily for the poor. Additionally, tithing is to be made on one’s surplus – more than that which we have need – not on gross earnings. That is God’s eternal law.

8 – The Doctrine of the Three Watches

Commentary

Joseph’s version brings much greater clarity that the Lord will visit the earth 3 times before he comes in his glory. He comes as a thief in the night and all must be watching and waiting for His coming. Also,  he is directing his words to the shepherds of His people informing them that they must be prepared to teach and administer the law of consecration which is what I interpret “to give his children their portion of meat in due season” means. The wise servant is the one who watches for the Lord and is prepared to live the law of consecration when the time comes.

The blogger that goes by “Watcher” has taken this cyber moniker, I believe, because of the importance of this doctrine to us in the latter-days. We all must catch the spirit of watching and waiting for the Lord.

9 – King David sinned in taking many wives and concubines. 

Note that the Lord is talking to Solomon in these verses.

10 – John the Baptist is the Reincarnated Elijah 

11 – Everyone Must Stand on Their Own 

12 – Those Who Say They are Thine Have All Gone Astray 

The foregoing is just a smattering of some of the more salient doctrines that were clarified by Joseph. We rarely preach from the Inspired Version and hardly ever explore the doctrines that in any way conflict with modern interpretations out of HQ. Instead we would rather hear insipid pep talks on keeping the commandments and doing missionary work.

I think it is appropriate to close this lengthy post with one more mind-blowing passage from the JST which condemns the lawyers who have taken away the “key of knowledge.”

Luke 11:53

Woe unto you, lawyers! For ye have taken away the key of knowledge, the fulness of the scriptures; ye enter not in yourselves into the kingdom; and those who were entering in, ye hindered.

Joseph added the underlined and bolded part. The key of knowledge is the fulness of the scriptures of which the Inspired Version is an important part. There is much more that we need to receive that won’t come to us until we repent. What we have right now is treated lightly and it is no wonder we have been rejected as a church (D&C 124:32)

Putting this together has been an amazing spiritual experience for me as I continue to search the scriptures and gain knowledge. My commentary is not to be taken with any authority. Rely only on the scriptures and the Holy Spirit.

Happy Searching.

On the 27th of August 1843, Joseph Smith gave a sermon on the Three Grand Orders of the Priesthood.  In that sermon, he ordered them as follows from the lowest to the highest:

Aaronic (Levitical)

Patriarchal (Evangelical)

Melchizedek

Despite the clarity with which he taught this doctrine, the corporate LDS church and others continue to essentially teach that the highest form of the priesthood is the patriarchal priesthood — associated with the sealing ordinances in the temples and their connection to celestial polygamy. In other words, patriarchs such as Abraham received an even higher form of priesthood than the Melchizedek priesthood when they entered into what the church calls the “new and everlasting covenant” of marriage. Denver Snuffer also makes this argument in his talk given in Orem, Utah on priesthood on Novemeber 2, 2013.

The reason it was so important to debunk Section 132 of the D&C as a true revelation in my last post was because the justification for this great inversion rests primarily on the doctrines taught in that section.

The great patriarchs of olden times, including Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and many others were evangelists (meaning “missionaries”) of the simple gospel of Jesus Christ. Joseph himself said that “an evangelist is a patriarch” (TPJS pg 38-39) which the church has interpreted to mean the man ordained in each stake to give patriarchal blessing.  This has caused confusion in the minds of many.

Instead the scriptures describe an evangelist as one who has the priesthood to minister the gospel unto the inhabitants of the earth.  It is a lineal priesthood that is passed down from father to son, and thus inferior to the Melchizedek priesthood that is confirmed upon those who are called by God’s voice out of heaven and is “without father and mother” (in other words, not a lineal priesthood).  This is not to say that the great patriarch / evangelists did not ultimately receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.  The distinction is that they first had the patriarchal priesthood by lineal descent and right, and may later have received the highest priesthood of Melchizedek.

Regarding the patriarchal priesthood, D&C 107:39-41 explains:

“It is the duty of the Twelve, in all large branches of the church, to ordain evangelical ministers, as they shall be designated unto them by revelation–The order of this priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made.  This order was instituted inthe days of Adam, and came down by lineage…”

This scripture also makes clear that not every male member in the church should be ordained unto this priesthood, only those of the chosen seed as revealed to the Twelve by revelation.

The use of the term “evangelist” to refer to a ministry is very consistent with the New Testament in which Philip is referred to as an evangelist (Acts 21:8) and Timothy is exhorted by Paul to do the work of an evangelist and make full proof of thy ministry (2 Tim 3:5).  Additionally, Ephesians 4:11-12, refers to the Lord giving the church “some evangelists” for the “work of the ministry.”

Few members of the church own a book by Fred C. Collier entitled “Unpublished Revelations of the Prophets and Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It is not cheap to purchase but has some real gems therein including the following two excerpts related to patriarchal priesthood:

“Therefore, verily thus sayeth the Lord you God, I appoint these Twelve that they should be equal in their ministry and in their portion, and in their evangelical rights...” (November 3, 1835 pg 79)

“…in his [Joseph Smith] hands shall the Urim and Thummim remain and the holy ministry and the keys of the evangelical priesthood, also for an everlasting priesthood forever, even the patriarchal: for behold, he is the first patriarch in the last days.  He shall sit in the great assembly and general council of patriarchs, and execute the will and commandment under the direction of the Ancient of Days…” (September 22, 1835 pg 77, from a revelatory patriarchal blessing given by Oliver Cowdery)

In both of these revelations you can see a direct link between the patriarchal priesthood and a ministry.  This same connection is made in the Book of Abraham relating to his priesthood and ministry.

I have puposed to make of thee [Abraham] a minister to bear my name in a strage land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice. (Abr 2:6)

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations; And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee , as their father; And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abr 2:9-11)

Wow!  This was quite an epiphany for me.  The Abrahamic Covenant is all about the seed of Abraham who bear this ministry (the tidings of the gospel) and thus are instrumental in providing the blessings of the gospel to the inhabitants of the earth who hearken to their voice.

I suggest that anyone who is serious about understanding about the three priesthoods invest 75 mins. to watch the video produced by Watcher entitled

The “Priesthood of Aaron” is not synonymous with the “Aaronic Priesthood”

He brings great insight to a very confusing subject, and does it with scripture and historical record.  Do yourself a favor and watch it if you haven’t already.

Understanding the patriarchal priesthood provides a key to knowledge about the our current state and the meaning of the phrase from Malachi “turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to the fathers.” We will address that in greater depth in our next installment.

Keep Searching