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The Law of the Lord — Part 1

05 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by onewhoissearching in Uncategorized

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consecration, law of the lord, poor, precepts of men

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In December 1830, the Lord commands the church to “assemble together at the Ohio” where he would “give unto you my law; and there you shall be endowed with power from on high. (D&C 37:3; D&C 38:32)  This, of course, meant that they were to undertake a journey of over 250 miles from New York to Ohio — quite a distance in the horse and buggy era.

Near Kirtland, Ohio, many of Sidney Rigdon’s congregants had accepted the message of the gospel and the Lord chose this place to reveal unto the saints HIS LAW.  We know today that The Law was canonized as section 42 of the Doctrine and Covenants and along with the Articles and Covenants of the Church (section 20) were copied and carried by missionaries of the time who went forth to spread the good news of the gospel.

Most distinctly within The Law which the Lord reveals were commandments to live the law of consecration and the law of monogamy:

“And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken.” (D&C 42:30)

“Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else.” (D&C 42:22)

There are obviously many other parts of the law and I highly recommend a carefully study of the entire section.  Consecration and monogamy stand out most starkly because these two parts of The Law are the one’s the saints failed to obey.

Knowing the importance that the Lord places upon obedience to his law, I decided to do a word search and see what I could find in His other scriptures.  Mind you, the term “the law” is very generic and I got lots of hits, but chose to focus on Isaiah and Jeremiah because of what they have to say about the last days.  Here are a few samples:

“Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 5:24)

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20)

“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” (Isaiah 24:5)

“This is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord:” (Isaiah 30:9)

“Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it…Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people…” (Jeremiah 6:19-21)

“…the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness…because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein;” (Jeremiah 9:12-13)

This is just a small smattering of the scriptures regarding the warnings to the people who would break and reject the Holy Law of the Lord.  And indeed, it was the 1830 restored Church of Christ that had the law revealed and ultimately rejected the law.

This should be a very sobering thought to a latter-day people who believe today that they have the fulness of the gospel and yet do not seek to live the Law of the Lord regarding consecration as it was revealed from heaven.  We hardly ever hear about it over the pulpit except as it has been redefined by the precepts of men to be:

“…that you do consecrate yourselves, your time, talents, and everything with which the Lord has blessed you, or with which he may bless you, to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for the building up of the kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion.”

So the law of consecration has been rewritten to mean that you give all you have to the corporate church so they can invest in land, buildings and stock portfolios as opposed to consecrating our properties for the support of the poor, which was the Lord’s primary stated reason for the law.

The corporate church does a masterful job of selling this fiction to the people. In the lesson manual for this year’s study of the Doctrine and Covenants there is a lesson entitled “The Law of Consecration (#14).”  Here are a few excerpts:

  • What is the law of consecration? (It is an organized way in which individuals consecrate their time, talents, and possessions to the Church to build the Lord’s kingdom and serve His children.)
  • Explain that the principles of the law of consecration have not changed since it was revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  However, the application of those principles changes from time to time.  The current prophet helps us understand how to apply these principles in our day.

The lesson goes on to explain the true nature of the Lord’s law of consecration and that it is an eternal law (kudos for that).  It then explains that we must be prepared and willing to live the law of consecration in its fulness, but that we do not need to wait for a future day to consecrate our lives to the Lord. “As we do all we can to live the law of consecration today, we will be better prepared to live the fulness of the law when the Lord asks us to do so.”

In other words, we are waiting for the Lord to tell us to live the law which he has already given us and condemned us for not living in the first place.  All the while we believe that we have the fulness of the gospel and all the blessings that are attendant thereto.  You can’t have it both ways people!  The law of the celestial kingdom requires equality in temporal and spiritual things.  We can’t have the fulness without living the true law of consecration. Period.

Rationalizations and the precepts of men have taken over the Law of the Lord which is plain, simple and clear.  In our next installment we will examine many of the ways in which the corporate church does not follow the scriptures even though the Lord says plainly in Section 42:59-60 that His Church is to be governed by the scriptures.

Keep Searching.

 

 

 

To Know the LORD – Part 1

24 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by onewhoissearching in Uncategorized

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know the Lord, poor

Scripture makes it clear that at the day of judgment there will be those who have prophesied and done many other wonderful works in the name of the Lord, and yet who will still not truly “know” Him:

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:22-23, 3 Nephi 14: 22-23)

In the foregoing, the Lord says that he never knew these people, but the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible reverses this to “Ye never knew me.”  This subtle change was also made to the parable of the ten virgins wherein the Lord says “Ye know me not” (JST Matthew 25:11).

The Doctrine and Covenants also teaches the same concept when the Lord states categorically that members of his own house never really knew him.

Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord.

And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord;

First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord. (Doctrine and Covenants 112: 24-26)

It’s pretty clear that the Lord is not happy with those of his people who are claiming to know  Him, yet have not truly known him.  The beginnings of the wrath that will be poured out prior to his coming start with a whirlwind at the head of the wicked who profess his name but do not his works (see Jeremiah 23:19 and Jeremiah 30:23. Note: the keyword “whirlwind” neatly ties these Jeremiah references to the D&C 112)

SO WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KNOW THE LORD?

In searching this out, I came across a very interesting scripture in Jeremiah that provides a strong clue to what it means to know the Lord.  As context, the Lord is chastising a king of Judah and then refers to the works of this king’s father:

…did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?  He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him; was not this to know me? saith the LORD.

When I first read that passage it hit me like a ton of bricks.  To truly know the Lord is to do the things that he did, especially with respect to those who are poor and needy.

I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. (Psalms 140:12)

As I further searched this out I came across numerous scriptures along these same lines.

For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land. (Deuteronomy 15:11)

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. (Psalms 41:1)

…he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. (Proverbs 14:21)

He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse (Proverbs 28:27)

The poor will ever be with us and we are commanded to be generous!  If we do the Lord promises:

  • He will deliver us from trouble
  • We will be happy
  • We will have enough (not lack)

The flip side is a curse if we hide our eyes from the poor and ignore their plight.  Job 20:19-29 chronicles a litany of bad things that happen to those who oppress and forsake the poor.  It’s a long passage which I won’t include here that can be summarized by saying that for those people there is no peace and much sorrow.

The Lord God of Israel, even Jesus Christ, spent his time with publicans and sinners, and was criticized by the Pharisees for doing so.  His works were among the downtrodden, the oppressed, the widows and the fatherless.  Is not this to truly know the Lord?

In part 2 we will examine how we are robbing the poor, all the while believing with great piety that we are doing the Lord’s work.

Keep searching.

 

Post History

  • Hallelujah! The Heavens Have Parted.
  • Iron Rod Podcast 007 & 008 — Church History Overview
  • Iron Rod Podcast 006 — The Nature of God
  • Iron Rod Podcast 005 — The Lectures on Faith
  • Iron Rod Podcast 004 – Role of Prophets
  • Iron Rod Podcast 003
  • Iron Rod Podcast 002 – How to Search
  • Iron Rod Podcast Announcement
  • No Rain
  • Elevating Jesus
  • Denver’s Sleight of Hand
  • Aw, Brigham. Really?
  • Priesthood Evidence
  • The Burden of the Lord
  • The Law of the Lord – Part 3
  • The Law of the Lord – Part 2
  • The Law of the Lord — Part 1
  • By the Hand of Elijah
  • The Great Priesthood Inversion
  • Section 132 – Standing Alone to Change the Simple Doctrine of Christ
  • Who’s Afraid of Section 77?
  • To Know the LORD – Part 3
  • To Know the LORD – Part 2
  • To Know the LORD – Part 1
  • Under Falsehood Have We Hid Ourselves
  • King Follett Discourse: Redefining God in our Own Image
  • Blind and Deaf
  • Vengence is Mine Saith the Lord
  • For a Small Moment Have I Forsaken Thee
  • Rowe v. Scriptures
  • Latter-day Road Map
  • What It Means to Be Sealed
  • I am not a High Priest…
  • Review of the “Boise Rescue” with Elder Oaks and Brother Turley
  • Don’t Conflate the Church with the Gospel
  • Latter-Day Scapegoat
  • One Like Unto Moses
  • We Don’t Need to Defend Joseph’s Polygamy
  • Spiritual Food Stamps
  • Where is the Fulness?

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