Chapter 21
The Foreordination of Covenant Israel and Their Responsibilities

Introduction

Because of their faith and obedience in the premortal life, thousands upon thousands of the sons and daughters of God were foreordained to be members of the house of Israel in mortality. This foreordination carries with it nobility as well as great responsibility. As members of the house of Israel, we are princes and princesses, members of a royal covenant family commissioned to be the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:14) to take the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ “to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people” (D&C 77:8).

Doctrinal Outline

A. The people of Israel were a distinct and noble people in the premortal existence.

1. Because of their faithfulness in the premortal existence, the people of Israel were foreordained to become a holy nation (see Deuteronomy 32:7–9; Romans 8:28–30).

2. Foreordination determined, to a large extent, an individual’s placement among tribes and nations (see Acts 17:24–26; Deuteronomy 32:7–9).

3. Many faithful spirits were foreordained to important missions while in the premortal existence (see Abraham 3:22–23; Jeremiah 1:5; D&C 138:53–56).

B. God reestablished His covenant with Israel in mortality.

1. God’s covenant with Israel was made with Abraham, so it is often called the Abrahamic covenant (see Abraham 2:6–11; Genesis 17:1–22).

2. The covenant blessings to Abraham included the blessings of the gospel and the promises of eternal life (see Abraham 2:6–11; Genesis 17:1–22; D&C 132:28–31).

3. The Abrahamic covenant was renewed with Isaac and Jacob and their posterity (see Genesis 26:1–5; 35:9–12; Exodus 19:1–8).

C. Covenant Israel today means anyone who covenants to accept and live the gospel.

1. All people are invited to come unto Christ (see 2 Nephi 26:33; D&C 93:1).

2. After His Resurrection Jesus charged the Apostles to proclaim the gospel to all people (see Mark 16:15).

3. The blessings of Abraham are for everyone who embraces the gospel (see Romans 4:12–13; Galatians 3:13–14, 16, 28–29; Ephesians 2:11–21).

D. As God’s covenant people, Israel has been given a special charge and commission.

1. Chosen Israel should serve the Lord (see Isaiah 41:8–9; Leviticus 25:55; 1 Nephi 21:3).

2. Covenant Israel has a responsibility to take the gospel to all the world and be a witness of God’s work and glory (see D&C 63:37; 29:7; 88:81; Isaiah 43:9–10; D&C 1:4–5).

3. God’s covenant people should marry in the covenant (see Deuteronomy 7:3; Nehemiah 10:28–30).

4. The covenant people are to keep all of God’s commandments (see Deuteronomy 29:10–18; Mosiah 2:22; John 14:15).

Supporting Statements

A. The people of Israel were a distinct and noble people in the premortal existence.

■ “Israel is an eternal people. Members of that chosen race first gained their inheritance with the faithful in the pre-mortal life. Israel was a distinct people in pre-existence. Many of the valiant and noble spirits in that first estate were chosen, elected, and foreordained to be born into the family of Jacob, so as to be natural heirs of all of the blessings of the gospel” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:284).

■ “Those born to the lineage of Jacob, who was later to be called Israel, and his posterity, who were known as the children of Israel, were born into the most illustrious lineage of any of those who came upon the earth as mortal beings.

“All these rewards were seemingly promised, or foreordained, before the world was. Surely these matters must have been determined by the kind of lives we had lived in that premortal spirit world. Some may question these assumptions, but at the same time they will accept without any question the belief that each one of us will be judged when we leave this earth according to his or her deeds during our lives here in mortality. Isn’t it just as reasonable to believe that what we have received here in this earth [life] was given to each of us according to the merits of our conduct before we came here?” (Harold B. Lee, in Conference Report, Oct. 1973, 7–8; or Ensign, Jan. 1974, 5).

■ “Abraham’s mortal seed, because of long ages of preparation and devotion, while they yet dwelt as spirits in the presence of their Eternal Father earned the ‘right’ to the gospel and the priesthood and an eventual inheritance of eternal life. (Abr. 2:10–12.) That is, they were foreordained to be the children of the father of the faithful and to work the works of righteousness as did faithful Abraham. Though the gospel is for all men, in due course—‘For verily the voice of the Lord is unto all men, and there is none to escape; and there is no eye that shall not see, neither ear that shall not hear, neither heart that shall not be penetrated’ (D&C 1:2)—yet some are entitled to receive it before it is presented to others. The Lord sends forth his word on a priority basis. It goes to all men eventually, but some are entitled to hear the voice before others” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah, 507).

■ “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was. I suppose I was ordained to this very office in that Grand Council” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 365).

B. God reestablished His covenant with Israel in mortality.

■ “Abraham first received the gospel by baptism (which is the covenant of salvation); then he had conferred upon him the higher priesthood, and he entered into celestial marriage (which is the covenant of exaltation), gaining assurance thereby that he would have eternal increase; finally he received a promise that all of these blessings would be offered to all of his mortal posterity. (Abra. 2:6–11; D. & C. 132:29–50.) Included in the divine promises to Abraham was the assurance that Christ would come through his lineage, and the assurance that Abraham’s posterity would receive certain choice, promised lands as an eternal inheritance. (Abra. 2; Gen. 17; 22:15–18; Gal. 3.)

“All of these promises lumped together are called the Abrahamic covenant” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 13).

■ “When the Lord called Abraham out of Ur, the land of his fathers, he made certain covenants with him because of his faithfulness. One promise was that through him and his seed after him all nations of the earth should be blessed. This blessing is accomplished in several ways.

“1. Through Jesus Christ who came through the lineage of Abraham;

“2. Through the priesthood which was conferred upon Abraham and his descendants;

“3. Through the scattering of Israel among all nations by which the blood of Israel was sprinkled among the nations, and thus the nations partake of the leaven of righteousness, on condition of their repentance, and are entitled to the promises made to the children of Abraham; and

“4. In the fact that the Lord covenanted with Abraham that after his time all who embraced the gospel should be called by his name, or, should be numbered among his seed, and should receive the Holy Ghost” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:246).

■ “The essence of the covenant thus made with Abraham was the ancient, everlasting one, that those who are obedient to God’s law shall inherit the blessings of the Lord. Because Jesus the Christ replaced the lesser law of Israel by the higher one, we now speak, for the sake of distinction, of the ‘new and everlasting covenant.’ The word ‘new’ seems to have a sense of ‘restored,’ as in the words of the Lord to the Prophet Joseph Smith, ‘. . . this is a new and everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning’ [D&C 22:1].

“This covenant with Abraham was also a call to leadership. Therefore, it has been interpreted to mean that Abraham and his descendants were chosen to conserve in purity and to advance on earth the eternal plan for human salvation. Consequently, the seed of Abraham are often spoken of as the chosen or covenant people” (John A. Widtsoe, “Why Are We Called a Covenant People?” Improvement Era, June 1945, 349; see also “A Covenant People,” New Era, Feb. 1976, 45).

■ “Nor is this covenant confined to mortal life. It extends beyond the grave and into the celestial kingdom. The children of Abraham, if they will keep the covenant as they receive it in the house of the Lord, shall, as Abraham their father, continue on through all eternity to increase, and there shall be no end to their posterity. In this way the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, are extended to them, and they become partakers to the fullest extent. For there is to be a continuation of the ‘seeds forever’ among those who receive exaltation in the kingdom of God. This is the promise, and there shall come through Abraham kings and priests and rulers, not only on this earth but in the heavens, and so shall it be worlds without end” (Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, 96).

C. Covenant Israel today means anyone who covenants to accept and live the gospel.

■ “This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is more powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge, of a man who is of the literal seed of Abraham, than one that is a Gentile, though it may not have half as much visible effect upon the body; for as the Holy Ghost falls upon one of the literal seed of Abraham, it is calm and serene; and his whole soul and body are only exercised by the pure spirit of intelligence; while the effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile, is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham. That man that has none of the blood of Abraham (naturally) must have a new creation by the Holy Ghost. In such a case, there may be more of a powerful effect upon the body, and visible to the eye, than upon an Israelite, while the Israelite at first might be far before the Gentile in pure intelligence” (Smith, Teachings, 149–50).

■ “Is it necessary that we be of the house of Israel in order to accept the gospel and all the blessings pertaining to it? If so, how do we become of the house of Israel, by adoption or by direct lineage?

“Every person who embraces the gospel becomes of the house of Israel. In other words, they become members of the chosen lineage, or Abraham’s children through Isaac and Jacob unto whom the promises were made. The great majority of those who become members of the Church are literal descendants of Abraham through Ephraim, son of Joseph. Those who are not literal descendants of Abraham and Israel must become such, and when they are baptized and confirmed they are grafted into the tree and are entitled to all the rights and privileges as heirs” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:245–46).

■ “The oft-asked question, ‘Who are the children of Abraham?’ is well answered in light of the revealed gospel.

“All who accept God’s plan for his children on earth and who live it are the children of Abraham. Those who reject the gospel, whether children in the flesh, or others, forfeit the promises made to Abraham and are not children of Abraham” (John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 400).

D. As God’s covenant people, Israel has been given a special charge and commission.

■ “This understanding of the promise to Abraham places a heavy responsibility upon all who accept the gospel. As children of Abraham, they are under obligation to do the works of Abraham. The waters of baptism carry with them the promise on the part of the candidate that he will conform his life to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which of course was the gospel given, accepted, and practised by Father Abraham” (Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, 400).

■ “The reasons for the choosing of a special nation to bear the Priesthood and be favored with the oracles of truth are many. It is both consistent and reasonable for the Lord to call such people and bestow upon them special favors, when all the rest of mankind rejected the word. Through this covenant people the Lord reserved the right to send into the world a chosen lineage of faithful spirits who were entitled to special favors based on pre-mortal obedience. Moreover, the choosing of a special race, and the conferring upon it of peculiar covenants and obligations, which other nations would not keep, had the effect of segregating this race from other races. If no special covenant or peculiar practice had been given to Israel, with the strict commandment not to mix with other peoples, Israel would have disappeared as a nation in the course of a very few years. Even as it was it took years of training and constant guidance on the part of divinely appointed prophets to impress upon the people the sacredness of their special call. Moreover, they had to suffer for the transgression of the law and the breaking of covenants, be whipped and suffer bondage before they could learn their lesson” (Smith, Way to Perfection, 129–30).

Chapter 22
The Apostasy

Introduction

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms to the world that after the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the subsequent death of His Apostles, there was a falling away—an altering or a rejecting of His revealed word. The long night of apostasy lasted well over a millennium. During this period, man-made creeds and practices were substituted for the plan of salvation that Jesus had taught.

Doctrinal Outline

A. The Savior organized His Church and taught saving principles and ordinances during His earthly ministry.

See Ephesians 2:19–21; 4:11–14; John 3:5; Acts 2:37–38; 1 Corinthians 12:28.

B. A great apostasy from the Savior’s Church was foretold.

1. Old Testament prophets predicted an apostasy (see Isaiah 24:5–6; Amos 8:11–12).

2. New Testament prophets warned that mankind would turn away from the gospel (see Acts 20:29–30; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–4; 2 Timothy 4:3–4; 2 Peter 2:1–3).

C. A universal apostasy occurred after the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.

1. Early Apostles warned of growing apostasy within the Church (see Galatians 1:6–8; 2 Peter 2:1–3; 1 Corinthians 1:10–12; 11:18–19; 2 Timothy 1:15; Revelation 3:14–16).

2. Latter-day revelation confirms the reality of the Apostasy as foretold by Christ and His Apostles (see Joseph Smith—History 1:19).

Supporting Statements

A. The Savior organized His Church and taught saving principles and ordinances during His earthly ministry.

■ “In the dispensation of the meridian of time Jesus Christ established His Church upon the earth, appointing therein the officers necessary for the carrying out of the Father’s purposes. Every person so appointed was divinely commissioned with authority to officiate in the ordinances of his calling; and, after Christ’s ascension, the same organization was continued, those who had received authority ordaining others to the various offices in the Priesthood. In this way were given unto the Church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, high priests, seventies, elders, bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 198).

■ “[Jesus Christ] made provision for the establishment of his Church in the Meridian of Time, and he instructed his Apostles to complete the organization of the Church and to carry its message to all the world” (Hugh B. Brown, in Conference Report, Apr. 1965, 40).

■ “The Church was first organized on earth in the days of Adam, with that great patriarch standing as its first president, the presiding high priest over God’s earthly kingdom. The common sectarian notion that the day of Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian Church is a false heresy. Whenever the gospel has been on earth, it has been taught and administered in and through Christ’s Church. The Church or kingdom as organized in the meridian of time by our Lord and his apostolic ministers was a restored Church” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 133).

B. A great apostasy from the Savior’s Church was foretold.

■ “We affirm that the great apostasy was foretold by the Savior Himself while He lived as a Man among men, and by His inspired prophets both before and after the period of His earthly probation” (James E. Talmage, The Great Apostasy, 19).

■ “The foreknowledge of God made plain to Him even from the beginning this falling away from the truth; and, through inspiration the prophets of old uttered solemn warnings of the approaching dangers” (Talmage, Articles of Faith, 202).

■ “Prophecy and history predict and record a great and universal apostasy which was to be followed by a restoration as predicted by John in Revelation. The fact of the great apostasy is attested by both sacred and secular writ, and history bears witness that it became universal” (Hugh B. Brown, in Conference Report, Oct. 1964, 102).

C. A universal apostasy occurred after the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.

■ “For over seventeen hundred years on the eastern hemisphere, and for more than fourteen centuries on the western, there appears to have been silence between the heavens and the earth. Of direct revelation from God to man during this long interval, we have no authentic record. As already shown, the period of apostolic ministry on the eastern continent probably terminated before the dawn of the second century of the Christian era. The passing of the apostles was followed by the rapid development of a universal apostasy as had been foreseen and predicted.

“In the accomplishment of this great falling away, external and internal causes cooperated. Among the disintegrating forces acting from without, the most effective was the persistent persecution to which the saints were subjected, incident to both Judaistic and pagan opposition. Vast numbers who had professed membership and many who had been officers in the ministry deserted the Church; while a few were stimulated to greater zeal under the scourge of persecution. The general effect of opposition from the outside—of external causes of decline in faith and works considered as a whole—was the defection of individuals, resulting in a widespread apostasy from the Church. But immeasurably more serious was the result of internal dissension, schism and disruption, whereby an absolute apostasy of the Church from the way and word of God was brought about” (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 745).

■ “The most important of the internal causes by which the apostasy of the Primitive Church was brought about may be thus summarized: (1) The corrupting of the simple doctrines of the gospel of Christ by admixture with so-called philosophic systems. (2) Unauthorized additions to the prescribed rites of the Church and the introduction of vital alterations in essential ordinances. (3) Unauthorized changes in Church organization and government” (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 748–49).

■ “If the Savior had come back to earth at the beginning of the fifth century A.D., I doubt whether he would have recognized the Christian Church as the one that claimed descent from that which he had established, so far had it gone astray. Christianity had actually become a composite of Christian beliefs, practices, and doctrines; Jewish teachings and rituals; Greek, Roman, and Egyptian pagan philosophies; and pagan religions of various brands. The Holy Priesthood had been withdrawn from the earth. The power of godliness was no longer present in the Christian Church. Thus there was a complete falling away from the gospel which had been established by the Son of Man. The Church lay in darkness, and the darkness enveloped the earth. This spiritual darkness continued for hundreds and hundreds of years” (Milton R. Hunter, “The Missionary Assignment,” Improvement Era, Dec. 1951, 920).

■ “This is not a continuous church, nor is it one that has been reformed or redeemed. It has been restored after it was lost. It was lost—the gospel with its powers and blessings—sometime after the Savior’s crucifixion and the loss of his apostles. The laws were changed, the ordinances were changed, and the everlasting covenant was broken that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to his people in those days. There was a long period of centuries when the gospel was not available to people on this earth, because it had been changed” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 423).

■ “In the early centuries of the Christian era, the apostasy came not through persecution, but by relinquishment of faith caused by the superimposing of a man-made structure upon and over the divine program. Many men with no pretense nor claim to revelation, speaking without divine authority or revelation, depending only upon their own brilliant minds, but representing as they claim the congregations of the Christians and in long conference and erudite councils, sought the creation process to make a God which all could accept.

“The brilliant minds with their philosophies, knowing much about the Christian traditions and the pagan philosophies, would combine all elements to please everybody. They replaced the simple ways and program of the Christ with spectacular rituals, colorful display, impressive pageantry, and limitless pomposity, and called it Christianity. They had replaced the glorious, divine plan of exaltation of Christ with an elaborate, colorful, man-made system. They seemed to have little idea of totally dethroning the Christ, nor terminating the life of God, as in our own day, but they put together an incomprehensible God idea” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 425).

Chapter 23
The Restoration of the Gospel in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times

Introduction

The Restoration of the gospel in the last days was foretold by prophets in ancient times. The restored gospel is the kingdom of God on earth, the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that would become a great mountain and fill the whole earth, as seen by Daniel (see Daniel 2:34–35, 44–45). It is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which was organized 6 April 1830 in preparation for the Second Coming of the Savior.

Doctrinal Outline

A. The Great Apostasy after the meridian dispensation necessitated a Restoration of the gospel in the last days.

See Joseph Smith—History 1:12, 18–19; Isaiah 29:10–14.

B. Ancient prophets foretold the Restoration of the gospel in the dispensation of the fulness of times.

See Acts 3:19–24; Revelation 14:6–7; Daniel 2; Ephesians 1:10.

C. The dispensation of the fulness of times began with the appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith.

See Joseph Smith—History 1:5–19.

D. The Restoration of the gospel has commenced in this dispensation, the dispensation of the fulness of times.

1. All the keys, power, and authority necessary for our salvation ever bestowed from heaven in all ages have been restored in the dispensation of the fulness of times (see D&C 128:18–21; 27:5–13; 110:11–16; 112:30–32).

2. The knowledge and keys of this dispensation were given first to Joseph Smith (see D&C 110:16; 5:10; 28:2, 6–7).

3. God will reveal things which pertain to this dispensation, “things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world” (D&C 124:41; see also 121:26–32; 128:18; Articles of Faith 1:9).

4. God reserved certain choice spirits to come forth in the dispensation of the fulness of times to build the latter-day kingdom of God (see D&C 138:53–56).

Supporting Statements

A. The Great Apostasy after the meridian dispensation necessitated a Restoration of the gospel in the last days.

■ “In the early days of the Christian Church we understand that there was a good deal of speculation among its members with regard to their belief and practice, and the propagation of these speculative ideas created divisions and schisms. Even in the days of the Apostles there was evidently considerable division, for we read that some were for Paul, some for Apollos, and others for Cephas. The people in those days had their favorites, who taught them peculiar doctrines not generally received and promulgated. . . .

“You can read the account given of our first parents. Along came a certain character and said to Eve, you know women are of tender heart, and he could operate on this tender heart, ‘The Lord knows that in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt not surely die, but if thou wilt take of this fruit and eat thereof thine eyes will be opened and thou wilt see as the Gods see’; and he worked upon the tender heart of Mother Eve until she partook of the fruit, and her eyes were opened. He told the truth. And they say now, ‘Do this that your eyes may be opened, that you may see; do this that you may know thus and so.’ In the days of Jesus and his Apostles the same power was operating, and, actuated by that men hunted them until the last one was banished from human society, and until the Christian religion was so perverted that the people received it with open hands, arms, mouth and heart. It was adulterated until it was congenial to the wicked heart, and they received the Gospel as they supposed. But that was the time they commenced little by little to transgress the laws, change the ordinances, and break the everlasting covenant, and the Gospel of the kingdom that Jesus undertook to establish in his day and the Priesthood were taken from the earth” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 107).

B. Ancient prophets foretold the Restoration of the gospel in the dispensation of the fulness of times.

■ “You may take up Isaiah and all the prophets, and you will find that they refer to this latter-day dispensation, when the kingdom of God should be established on the earth. There never was a prophet, from Adam down, whose records we have, but had his eye upon this great dispensation of the last days” (Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 13:324).

C. The dispensation of the fulness of times began with the appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith.

■ “Thereupon the heavens parted and the veil was rent; the heavens, long brass, poured out showers of blessings; the age of light and truth and revelation and miracles and salvation was born.

“The place, the hour, the need, the man, and the divine destiny all united to usher in God’s great latter-day work. The heavens did not shake, nor the earth tremble. It was not an event heralded by the thunders and clouds on Sinai but one patterned after the calm serenity and peace present before an open tomb when Mary of Magdala uttered the reverent cry, ‘Rabboni,’ to the risen Lord.

“This was the occasion when the greatest vision ever vouchsafed to man of which we have record burst the gloom of solemn darkness. The gods of old revealed themselves anew. . . .

“Great God in heaven above—what wonders do we now behold! The heavens rend; the veil parts; the Creators of the universe come down; the Father and the Son both speak to mortal man. . . .

“Once or twice in a thousand years a new door is opened through which all men must enter if they are to gain peace in this life and be inheritors of eternal life in the realms ahead.

“Once or twice in a score of generations a new era dawns: the light from the east begins to drive the darkness of the earth from the hearts of men.

“Now and then in a peaceful grove, apart from the gaze of men, heaven and earth share a moment of intimacy, and neither are ever thereafter the same. Such a moment occurred on that beautiful, clear morning in the spring of 1820 in a grove of trees near Palmyra, New York.

“Man asked and God answered.

“Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son” (Bruce R. McConkie, in Conference Report, Oct. 1975, 24–25; or Ensign, Nov. 1975, 18).

■ “Yes, God does live. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate personal beings, alike in form, in whose image man is made. In order that these basic fundamental truths, lost to the world through centuries of erroneous teachings, might again be available to people of our day, a new revelation was necessary, and this was given to the fourteen-year-old Joseph Smith in the form of the most glorious vision ever given to mortal man, so far as the records indicate—a vision in which Father and Son appeared simultaneously” (Joseph F. Merrill, in Conference Report, Oct. 1948, 59).

D. The Restoration of the gospel has commenced in this dispensation, the dispensation of the fulness of times.

■ “Joseph Smith’s next great service to the race was in opening this gospel dispensation—the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. What does that mean? To dispense is to distribute or deal out in portions, as when the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is dispensed to a religious congregation. In a larger sense, it signifies the opening of the heavens and the sending forth of the gospel and the powers of the Priesthood, as a boon and blessing to mankind. The term ‘dispensation’ also defines the period during which these saving and exalting principles, thus sent forth, continue operative in pristine power and purity. There have been many dispensations of the gospel, though men know little concerning them. The gospel of Christ is more than ‘the power of God unto salvation;’ it is the power of God unto exaltation, and was instituted as such before this earth rolled into existence, before Adam fell, and consequently before man had need of redemption and salvation. It is the way of eternal progress, the path to perfection, and has been upon earth in a series of dispensations reaching like a mighty chain from the days of Adam down to the present time. The great difference between this dispensation and all others is, that this is the last and the greatest, virtually all dispensations rolled into one” (Orson F. Whitney, in Conference Report, Apr. 1920, 122).

■ “In this restoration it is necessary that the Church of Jesus Christ in its simplicity and truth be restored. All the keys and powers of priesthood held by the prophets of former dispensations must be conferred upon God’s chosen representatives on the earth. In this manner all the authority and keys of priesthood of the past are to flow into the most glorious and greatest of dispensations, like clear streams flowing into a mighty river. The everlasting covenant once given to the ancients, and which Isaiah says was broken, must be restored” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:167–68).

■ “In the restoration of authority it was necessary that John the Baptist—the messenger who was formerly sent to prepare the way—should first come. Then Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the greater priesthood had to come and give their power that the Church could be organized in the earth. Peter, James and John, the three chief apostles, who constituted the Presidency of the Church in that day, were the logical personages to come with this authority.

“But others had to come. After the coming of the apostles we do not know just what order was observed. It is natural for us to conclude that the authorities revealed and restored would begin with Adam, ‘who was the first man.’ Then would come Enoch, Noah, and so on down the line of authority to the dispensation of the meridian of time” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:173–74).

■ “It is left for us to see, participate in and help to roll forward the Latter-day glory, ‘the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God will gather together all things that are in heaven, and all things that are upon the earth,’ ‘even in one,’ when the Saints of God will be gathered in one from every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue, when the Jews will be gathered together into one, the wicked will also be gathered together to be destroyed, as spoken of by the prophets; the Spirit of God will also dwell with His people, and be withdrawn from the rest of the nations, and all things whether in heaven or on earth will be in one, even in Christ. The heavenly Priesthood will unite with the earthly, to bring about those great purposes; and whilst we are thus united in one common cause, to roll forth the kingdom of God, the heavenly Priesthood are not idle spectators, the Spirit of God will be showered down from above, and it will dwell in our midst. The blessings of the Most High will rest upon our tabernacles, and our name will be handed down to future ages; our children will rise up and call us blessed; and generations yet unborn will dwell with peculiar delight upon the scenes that we have passed through, the privations that we have endured; the untiring zeal that we have manifested; the all but insurmountable difficulties that we have overcome in laying the foundation of a work that brought about the glory and blessing which they will realize; a work that God and angels have contemplated with delight for generations past; that fired the souls of the ancient patriarchs and prophets; a work that is destined to bring about the destruction of the powers of darkness, the renovation of the earth, the glory of God, and the salvation of the human family” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 231–32).

■ “It was decreed in the counsels of eternity, long before the foundations of the earth were laid, that he, Joseph Smith, should be the man, in the last dispensation of this world, to bring forth the word of God to the people, and receive the fulness of the keys and power of the Priesthood of the Son of God. The Lord had his eyes upon him, and upon his father, and upon his father’s father, and upon their progenitors clear back to Abraham, and from Abraham to the flood, from the flood to Enoch, and from Enoch to Adam. He has watched that family and that blood as it has circulated from its fountain to the birth of that man. He was fore-ordained in eternity to preside over this last dispensation” (Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 108).

■ “This is a dispensation the greatest that was ever ushered in in the history of the world, because it comprehends all that has been before it and all that shall come after it” (Anthony W. Ivins, in Conference Report, Oct. 1932, 5).

■ “This is the last dispensation. [The Lord] has raised up men and women to carry on his work, and as I have often said, many of us have been held in the spirit world from the organization of this world, until the generation in which we live” (Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 21:284; see also “Responsibilities of the Priesthood,” Ensign, Sept. 1971, 20).

■ “The last word has not been spoken on any subject. Streams of living water shall yet flow from the Eternal Spring who is the source of all truth. There are more things we do not know about the doctrines of salvation than there are things we do know” (Bruce R. McConkie, “A New Commandment: Save Thyself and Thy Kindred!” Ensign, Aug. 1976, 11).

Chapter 24
The Scattering and the Gathering of Israel

Introduction

President Joseph F. Smith spoke of the purposes of the Church: “We proclaim the objects of this organization to be, the preaching of the gospel in all the world, the gathering of scattered Israel, and the preparation of a people for the coming of the Lord” (in James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4:145).

Doctrinal Outline

A. Ancient Israel was scattered throughout the earth because the people rejected God’s covenant.

1. It was prophesied that Israel would be scattered among the nations of the earth because of the people’s wickedness (see Leviticus 26:33; Deuteronomy 4:23–27; 28:25, 37, 64; 1 Nephi 10:12–13; 21:1; 22:3–4).

2. The scattering began when the Assyrians carried the ten tribes away into captivity (see 2 Kings 15:29; 17:6).

3. The scattering continued when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carried Judah away into captivity (see 2 Kings 25:1, 7, 11; 1 Nephi 10:3).

4. Lehi and his descendants were a branch of Israel, broken off and scattered (see 1 Nephi 15:12; 19:24; 2 Nephi 3:5).

5. After the death of Jesus, the Jews were scattered among the gentile nations (see 2 Nephi 25:15; Luke 21:24; D&C 45:18–21, 24).

6. The scattering of the Jews is likened in scripture to a sifting, a divorce, and the sale of a man to pay his debts (see Amos 9:8–9; Isaiah 50:1).

B. Through His prophets God promised to gather scattered Israel once again.

1. The gathering of scattered Israel is a result both of God’s mercy and also of Israel’s repentance (see Isaiah 54:7; Ezekiel 11:17; Jeremiah 50:4–5; 2 Nephi 10:7; 30:7).

2. According to God’s prophets, the redemption of scattered Israel shall be accomplished in the latter days (see Deuteronomy 4:27–31; D&C 113:6).

3. The raising of an ensign to the nations is the signal for Israel to be gathered home in the latter days (see Isaiah 5:26; 11:12).

4. Moses delivered to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the keys of the gathering of Israel (see D&C 110:11).

5. All nations will eventually deliver up the scattered peoples of the Lord, who will return to the lands of their forefathers’ inheritance (see Deuteronomy 30:3; Psalm 107:1–3; Isaiah 43:5–6).

6. Of the twelve tribes, the tribes of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, will be gathered first and then direct the other tribes in their gathering (see JST, Genesis 48:5–11; Deuteronomy 33:16–17; D&C 133:30–39).

7. Known as the remnant of the Lord, gathered Israel is likened to the ransomed or redeemed from captivity, the lost sheep sought out, or the outcasts taken back (see Isaiah 10:21–22; 11:11–12; Ezekiel 34:11–16; 2 Nephi 8:11).

Supporting Statements

A. Ancient Israel was scattered throughout the earth because the people rejected God’s covenant.

■ “If you will read the 26th chapter of Leviticus and the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy—there are many other chapters also in the Bible but these two especially—you will find recorded many things by way of covenant and promise and admonition that the Lord gave to Israel. He told them what would happen if they kept his commandments. He told them the consequences of breaking his commandments. All that was clearly set forth in these scriptures before the Israelites entered the promised land. . . .

“As time went on they violated these covenants. They turned away from the admonitions, the commandments, the instructions that the Lord gave them through the Prophet Moses, and eventually, because of that rebellion, the curses came upon them and they were scattered among the nations of the earth” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:165).

■ “We have something in the Book of Mormon that, if we did not have any other truth expressed in it, would be sufficient evidence of the divinity of this book. I have reference to the fifth chapter of Jacob. In this chapter we have a parable that nobody could have written unless he had the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord. It would have been impossible. . . . No greater parable was ever recorded. It is a parable of the scattering of Israel. The Lord revealed to Jacob that he would scatter Israel, and in this figure, Israel is a tame olive tree. . . .

“. . . In its native land it began to die. So the Lord took branches like the Nephites, like the lost tribes, and like others that the Lord led off that we do not know anything about, to other parts of the earth. He planted them all over his vineyard, which is the world” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 4:203–4).

■ “It has been said, that ‘if a complete history of the house of Israel were written, it would be the history of histories, the key of the world’s history for the past twenty centuries.’ Justification for this sweeping statement is found in the fact that the Israelites have been so completely dispersed among the nations as to give to this scattered people a place of importance as a factor in the rise and development of almost every large division of the human family. This work of dispersion was brought about by many stages, and extended through millenniums. It was foreseen by the early prophets; and the spiritual leaders of every generation prior to and immediately following the Messianic era predicted the scattering of the people, as an ordained result of their increasing wickedness” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 316).

■ “Israel was scattered because she apostatized; because she broke the Ten Commandments; because she rejected the prophets and seers and turned to wizards that peep and mutter; because she forsook the covenant; because she gave heed to false ministers and joined false churches; because she ceased to be a peculiar people and a kingdom of priests. When she became as the world, the Lord left her to suffer and live and be as the world then was” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, 186).

B. Through His prophets God promised to gather scattered Israel once again.

■ “The sufferings of Israel have been but necessary chastening by a grieved yet loving Father, who planned by these effective means to purify His sin-stained children. . . .

“Though smitten of men, a large part of them gone from a knowledge of the world, Israel are not lost unto their God. He knows whither they have been led or driven; toward them His heart still yearns with paternal love; and surely will He bring them forth, in due time and by appointed means, into a condition of blessing and influence befitting His covenant people. In spite of their sin and notwithstanding the tribulations that they were bringing upon themselves, the Lord said: ‘And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: I am the Lord their God.’ As complete as was the scattering, so shall be the gathering of Israel” (Talmage, Articles of Faith, 328–29).

■ “The restoration of the kingdom to Israel—that was the thing uppermost in the minds of Jewish Israel in our Lord’s day. . . .

“And so even the Twelve—after spending three years with Jesus in his mortal ministry; after associating with him for forty days as a resurrected being; and after being taught all that it was expedient for them to know to perform the labor that then was theirs—even the apostles sought yet to learn of the fulfillment of the prophetic word concerning Israel the chosen. ‘When they therefore were come together,’ at the time appointed for the ascension of Jesus into heaven, to sit down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, ‘they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?’ . . .

“. . . The kingdom was not to be restored to Israel in their day. Let them preach the gospel and save souls before the dire day of darkness that soon would cover the earth. The promised day of restoration, the day of Israel’s triumph and glory, the day of millennial glory—all this lay ahead. It was scheduled for the last days” (McConkie, Millennial Messiah, 309–10).

■ “Many ancient prophecies foretold that in the last days the Lord would set up an ensign to the nations, a standard to which Israel and the righteous of all nations might gather. (Isa. 5:26; 11:10–12; 18:3; 30:17–26; 31:9; 49:22; 62:10; Zech. 9:16.) This ensign is the new and everlasting covenant, the gospel of salvation (D. & C. 49:9); it is the great latter-day Zion (D. & C. 64:41–43); it is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 228).

■ “Now, we are concerned with the gathering of Israel. This gathering shall continue until the righteous are assembled in the congregations of the Saints in the nations of the world. This reminds us of the tenth article of faith, wherein the Prophet Joseph Smith said to his inquirer, ‘We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the new Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.’ . . .

“Now, the gathering of Israel consists of joining the true church and their coming to a knowledge of the true God. . . . Any person, therefore, who has accepted the restored gospel, and who now seeks to worship the Lord in his own tongue and with the Saints in the nations where he lives, has complied with the law of the gathering of Israel and is heir to all of the blessings promised the Saints in these last days” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 438–39).

■ “By and by the Jews will be gathered to the land of their fathers, and the ten tribes, who wandered into the north, will be gathered home, and the blood of Ephraim, the second son of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt, which is to be found in every kingdom and nation under heaven, will be gathered from among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles who will receive and adhere to the principles of the Gospel will be adopted and initiated into the family of Father Abraham, and Jesus will reign over his own and Satan will reign over his own” (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 121–22).

■ “Why is it that you are here to-day? and what brought you here? Because the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four quarters of the earth have been committed to Joseph Smith, and he has conferred those keys upon others that the gathering of Israel may be accomplished, and in due time the same thing will be performed to the tribes in the land of the north. It is on this account, and through the unlocking of this principle, and through those means, that you are brought together as you are to-day” (John Taylor, in Journal of Discourses, 25:179).

■ “It is essential in this dispensation that Ephraim stand in his place at the head, exercising the birthright in Israel which was given to him by direct revelation. Therefore, Ephraim must be gathered first to prepare the way, through the gospel and the priesthood, for the rest of the tribes of Israel when the time comes for them to be gathered to Zion. The great majority of those who have come into the Church are Ephraimites. It is the exception to find one of any other tribe, unless it is of Manasseh.

“It is Ephraim, today, who holds the priesthood. It is with Ephraim that the Lord has made covenant and has revealed the fulness of the everlasting gospel. It is Ephraim who is building temples and performing the ordinances in them for both the living and for the dead. When the ‘lost tribes’ come—and it will be a most wonderful sight and a marvelous thing when they do come to Zion—in fulfilment of the promises made through Isaiah and Jeremiah, they will have to receive the crowning blessings from their brother Ephraim, the ‘firstborn’ in Israel” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:252–53).

Spencer W. Kimball

Chapter 25
Priesthood: What It Is, How It Works

Introduction

“Members of the priesthood belong to the greatest fraternity, the greatest brotherhood in all the world—the brotherhood of Christ—and they have the obligation to do their best each day, all day, and to maintain the standards of the priesthood” (David O. McKay, “Priesthood,” Instructor, Oct. 1968, 379).

Doctrinal Outline

A. The priesthood is divine power and authority.

1. Priesthood is the power and authority to act for God (see D&C 112:30; 121:36; 107:8).

2. The power to bind and seal on earth and have it correspondingly bound and sealed in heaven requires priesthood authority (see Matthew 16:19; D&C 128:8–9; 132:46; Helaman 10:7).

B. Priesthood authority is conferred only by the laying on of hands.

1. Divine authority is received only by ordination through the laying on of hands by commissioned servants of the Lord (see Articles of Faith 1:5; Alma 6:1).

2. Those who hold priesthood power are commissioned to act in God’s name for the salvation of mankind (see D&C 20:73; 138:30).

C. There are two orders of priesthood.

1. The Aaronic Priesthood is called the lesser priesthood because it is an appendage to the Melchizedek Priesthood (see D&C 107:13–14; Joseph Smith—History 1:70).

2. The Aaronic Priesthood administers outward ordinances and is a preparatory priesthood (see D&C 84:26; 107:20; 13).

3. The Melchizedek Priesthood is a greater power, a priesthood of presidency, holding the right to administer in spiritual affairs (see D&C 107: 8–9, 18).

4. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the keys to the mysteries of the kingdom of God and performs the ordinances that pertain to godliness (see D&C 84:19–22; 107:18–19).

D. The work of God is performed by the power of the priesthood.

1. Those who hold the priesthood may preside over and direct the affairs of the kingdom of God on earth (see D&C 107:8, 60–66, 85–95; 102:9–11; Alma 6:1).

2. Bearers of the priesthood teach and instruct others in the truths of God (see Alma 17:3; D&C 28:3; 42:12; 2 Nephi 5:26; Ezekiel 3:17).

3. Priesthood holders are called to build up, to strengthen, and to bless the Church (see D&C 42:11; 20:38–60; 107:33–39; Ephesians 4:11–12).

4. Those who hold the priesthood administer gospel ordinances and spiritual blessings (see 3 Nephi 11:21; 18:5; D&C 20:38–51; 107:18–20, 23, 25).

E. Through the keys of the priesthood, God directs and coordinates His work.

1. The keys of the kingdom are the rights of presidency (see D&C 81:2; 107:21).

2. John the Baptist descended from Aaron and received his keys as a firstborn son (see D&C 68:16–18; 84:26–27).

3. John the Baptist bestowed the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (see D&C 13; Joseph Smith—History 1:68–69).

4. Peter, James, and John received keys of the higher priesthood from Jesus Christ (see Matthew 16:19; D&C 7:7).

5. Peter, James, John, and others bestowed keys of the higher priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (see D&C 27:12–13; 110:11–16; 128:20–21).

6. The keys of the priesthood are held by Church leaders and are exercised in the Church today (see D&C 112:30–32; 65:2; 68:19; 81:2; 28:7).

Supporting Statements

A. The priesthood is divine power and authority.

■ “What is the Priesthood? It is nothing more nor less than the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and act legitimately; not assuming that authority, nor borrowing it from generations that are dead and gone, but authority that has been given in this day in which we live by ministering angels and spirits from above, direct from the presence of Almighty God. . . . It is the same power and Priesthood that was committed to the disciples of Christ while he was upon the earth, that whatsoever they should bind on earth should be bound in heaven, and that whatsoever they should loose on earth should be loosed in heaven” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 139–40).

■ “What is priesthood? . . . It is the government of God, whether on the earth or in the heavens, for it is by that power, agency, or principle that all things are governed on the earth and in the heavens, and by that power that all things are upheld and sustained. It governs all things—it directs all things—it sustains all things—and has to do with all things that God and truth are associated with. It is the power of God delegated to intelligences in the heavens and to men on the earth” (John Taylor, The Gospel Kingdom, 129).

B. Priesthood authority is conferred only by the laying on of hands.

■ “God’s ministers are ordained. They have the holy priesthood conferred upon them and are ordained by the laying on of hands to officiate in specific offices and callings” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:748).

■ “Ordination of men to the ministry, as sanctioned by scriptural precedent and established by direct revelation of God’s will, is to be effected through the gift of prophecy and by the imposition of hands by those who are in authority” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 182).

C. There are two orders of priesthood.

■ “The Aaronic Priesthood is named after Aaron, who was given to Moses as his mouthpiece, to act under his direction in the carrying out of God’s purposes respecting Israel. For this reason it is sometimes called the Lesser Priesthood; but though lesser, it is neither small nor insignificant” (Talmage, Articles of Faith, 204).

■ “The Church has two characteristics—the temporal and the spiritual, and one is not without the other. We maintain that both are essential and that one without the other is incomplete and ineffectual. Hence, the Lord instituted in the government of the Church two Priesthoods—the lesser or Aaronic, having special charge of the temporal, and the higher or Melchizedek, looking to the spiritual welfare of the people” (Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 150).

■ “The lesser priesthood is a part of, or an appendage to the greater, or the Melchizedek priesthood, and has power in administering outward ordinances. The lesser or Aaronic priesthood can make appointments for the greater in preaching; can baptize, administer the sacrament, attend to the tithing, buy lands, settle people on possessions, divide inheritances, look after the poor, take care of the properties of the church, attend generally to temporal affairs; act as common judges in Israel, and assist in ordinances of the temple, under the direction of the greater or Melchizedek priesthood. They hold the keys of the ministering of angels and administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, and the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Taylor, Gospel Kingdom, 155).

■ “The Melchizedek priesthood holds the mysteries of the revelations of God. Wherever that priesthood exists, there also exists a knowledge of the laws of God; and wherever the gospel has existed, there has always been revelation; and where there has been no revelation, there never has been the true gospel” (Taylor, Gospel Kingdom, 139).

D. The work of God is performed by the power of the priesthood.

■ “The Priesthood after the order of the Son of God is the ruling, presiding authority in the Church. . . . In other words, there is no government in the Church of Jesus Christ separate and apart, above, or outside of the holy Priesthood or its authority” (Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 144).

■ “The priesthood or authority in which we stand is the medium or channel through which our Heavenly Father has purposed to communicate light, intelligence, gifts, powers, and spiritual and temporal salvation unto the present generation” (Lorenzo Snow, The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, 85).

■ “Our lives are wrapped up with the lives of others. We are happiest as we contribute to the lives of others. I say that because the priesthood you hold means that you are to serve others. You represent God in the field to which you are assigned” (David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals, 168).

■ “What is the priesthood for? It is to administer the ordinances of the gospel, even the gospel of our Father in heaven, the eternal God, the Eloheim of the Jews and the God of the Gentiles, and all he has ever done from the beginning has been performed by and through the power of that priesthood” (Wilford Woodruff, The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 67).

E. Through the keys of the priesthood, God directs and coordinates His work.

■ “It is necessary that every act performed under this authority shall be done at the proper time and place, in the proper way, and after the proper order. The power of directing these labors constitutes the keys of the Priesthood. In their fulness, these keys are held by only one person at a time, the prophet and president of the Church. He may delegate any portion of this power to another, in which case that person holds the keys of that particular labor” (Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 136).

■ “[Joseph Smith] lived until he received every key, ordinance and law ever given to any man on the earth, from Father Adam down, touching this dispensation. He received powers and keys from under the hands of Moses for gathering the house of Israel in the last days; he received under the hands of Elias the keys of sealing the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers; he received under the hands of Peter, James and John, the Apostleship, and everything belonging thereto; he received under the hands of Moroni all the keys and powers required of the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim; he received under the hand of John the Baptist the Aaronic Priesthood, with all its keys and powers, and every other key and power belonging to this dispensation, and I am not ashamed to say that he was a Prophet of God, and he laid the foundation of the greatest work and dispensation that has ever been established on the earth” (Wilford Woodruff, in Journal of Discourses, 16:267).

Chapter 26
The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood

Introduction

Because the responsibility of holding the priesthood is so great, all who receive it do so by an oath and a covenant. Honoring the covenant means that “the man who accepts the priesthood also accepts the responsibilities that go with it. He promises that he will give service and make himself approved” (Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, Apr. 1966, 102).

Doctrinal Outline

A. The Melchizedek Priesthood is received by an oath and a covenant.

1. A covenant is a solemn promise between two parties (see Genesis 6:18; 17:1–8; 1 Samuel 18:3; D&C 82:10).

2. Oaths are sworn affirmations that we will be true and faithful to our promises (see Numbers 30:2; Alma 53:11; 1 Nephi 4:35–37).

3. God uses oaths to confirm His promises to us (see Genesis 26:3; Deuteronomy 7:8; Jeremiah 11:5; Acts 2:30; Moses 7:51).

4. In accepting the covenant of the priesthood, a man promises to receive the priesthood and to magnify his callings in it (see D&C 84:32–39, 43–44).

B. Righteousness is the key to priesthood power and eternal life.

1. God is trying to make His mortal children a nation of priests and kings (see Exodus 19:6; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6; D&C 76:55–56).

2. “The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven” and can be controlled only upon the principles of righteousness (D&C 121:36; see also vv. 34–35).

3. Those who hold the priesthood are to lead and govern only by love, kindness, and persuasion (see D&C 121:41–46).

4. Priestcraft is a counterfeit of priesthood and causes us to err (see 2 Nephi 26:29; Alma 1:2–12; Micah 3:11; D&C 33:4).

5. Corrupt men lose the power of the priesthood (see D&C 121:37–40).

6. Righteous men gain eternal life by faithfully observing the oath and covenant of the priesthood (see D&C 84:33–39; 121:45–46).

Supporting Statements

A. The Melchizedek Priesthood is received by an oath and a covenant.

■ “A covenant is a binding and solemn agreement entered into by at least two individuals. It requires that all parties involved abide the conditions of the compact in order to make it effective and binding” (ElRay L. Christiansen, in Conference Report, Oct. 1972, 44; or Ensign, Jan. 1973, 50).

■ “To swear with an oath is the most solemn and binding form of speech known to the human tongue; and it was this type of language which the Father chose to have used in the great Messianic prophecy about Christ and the priesthood. Of him it says: ‘The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.’ (Ps. 110:4.)” (Joseph Fielding Smith, in Conference Report, Oct. 1970, 92).

■ “In ancient dispensations, particularly the Mosaic, the taking of oaths was an approved and formal part of the religious lives of the people. These oaths were solemn appeals to Deity, or to some sacred object or thing, in attestation of the truth of a statement or of a sworn determination to keep a promise. These statements, usually made in the name of the Lord, by people who valued their religion and their word above their lives, could be and were relied upon with absolute assurance. (Num. 30.)” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 537–38).

■ “Beginning in the meridian of time the law whereunder men might take oaths in righteousness was done away, and the saints were commanded to refrain from their use. . . .

“No such restriction on oath taking, however, applies to Deity. Both in ancient and modern times he has spoken to his saints with an oath. (D. & C. 124:47.) The great covenant made with Abraham that in him and in his seed all generations should be blessed was made by God with an oath in which Deity swore in his own name (because he could swear by no higher) that the covenant would be fulfilled. (Gen. 17; Deut. 7:8; 29:10–15; Luke 1:67–75; Heb. 6:13–20.)” (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 538).

■ “When we receive the Melchizedek Priesthood we do so by covenant. We solemnly promise to receive the priesthood, to magnify our callings in it, and to live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. The Lord on his part promises us that if we keep the covenant, we shall receive all that the Father hath, which is life eternal. Can any of us conceive of a greater or more glorious agreement than this?” (Smith, in Conference Report, Oct. 1970, 91).

■ “Now, you made an oath, when you received the priesthood. You made an oath, and you cannot with impunity ignore that oath. You promised. When the stake president or mission president interviews, or the bishop or branch president, he asks promises: ‘Will you? Do you? Have you done? Will you continue to do?’ And with that oath and the promise, you move forward into your service in the Melchizedek Priesthood” (Spencer W. Kimball, in Stockholm Sweden Area Conference Report 1974, 99).

■ “One breaks the priesthood covenant by transgressing commandments—but also by leaving undone his duties. Accordingly, to break this covenant one needs only to do nothing” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 497).

■ “The Lord has made clear that they who receive his priesthood receive him. And I think that means more than just sitting in a chair and having somebody put his hands upon your head. I think when you receive it, you accept it. You do not just merely sit. ‘And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.’ Can you imagine anything greater? Shouldn’t we be frightened, almost awed as we contemplate the honor we have and the responsibility we have that has come from the oath and the covenant” (Kimball, in Stockholm Sweden Area Conference Report 1974, 100).

■ “It is of utmost importance that we keep clearly in mind what the magnifying of our callings in the priesthood requires of us. I am persuaded that it requires at least the following three things:

“1. That we obtain a knowledge of the gospel.

“2. That we comply in our personal living with the standards of the gospel.

“3. That we give dedicated service” (Marion G. Romney, in Conference Report, Oct. 1980, 64; or Ensign, Nov. 1980, 44).

■ “They shall be ‘sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.’ I present to you the thought that President David O. McKay, who was in his nineties, President Joseph Fielding Smith, who was in his nineties, and all the Presidents of the Church since almost the beginning became men of advanced age, that their bodies were renewed, and their spirits were sanctified” (Kimball, in Stockholm Sweden Area Conference Report 1974, 99).

■ “Have you thought of that? ‘All that my Father hath’: to be a God; to be a great leader; to be perfect; to have all the blessings which you can ascribe to your Father in heaven—all that is available to you and me as we hold the priesthoods, particularly the Melchizedek Priesthood, which of course comes only after the Aaronic Priesthood” (Kimball, in Stockholm Sweden Area Conference Report 1974, 99).

B. Righteousness is the key to priesthood power and eternal life.

■ “Whenever the Lord has a people on earth he offers to make them a nation of kings and priests—not a congregation of lay members with a priest or a minister at the head—but a whole Church in which every man is his own minister, in which every man stands as a king in his own right, reigning over his own family-kingdom. The priesthood which makes a man a king and a priest is thus a royal priesthood” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:294).

■ “Most men are inclined to abuse authority, especially those who wield it who are the least prepared to hold positions of trust. It has been the characteristic of men in power to use that power to gratify their own pride and vain ambitions. More misery has come to the inhabitants of this world through the exercise of authority by those who least deserved it, than from almost any other cause. Rulers of kingdoms in the past have oppressed their subjects, and where they had the power they have sought to increase their dominions. We have had some horrible examples of misplaced ambition which, in recent years, placed the very existence of humanity in peril. These conditions still prevail in high places bringing fear and consternation to the troubled world.

“There should not, however, be any of this unrighteous ambition within the Church, but everything should be done in the spirit of love and humility” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Church History and Modern Revelation, 2:178).

■ “The priesthood cannot be conferred like a diploma. It cannot be handed to you as a certificate. It cannot be delivered to you as a message or sent to you in a letter. It comes only by proper ordination. An authorized holder of the priesthood has to be there. He must place his hands upon your head and ordain you. . . .

“I have told you how the authority is given to you. The power you receive will depend on what you do with this sacred, unseen gift.

“Your authority comes through your ordination; your power comes through obedience and worthiness” (Boyd K. Packer, That All May Be Edified, 28–29).

■ “There is no limit to the power of the priesthood which you hold. The limit comes in you if you do not live in harmony with the Spirit of the Lord and you limit yourselves in the power you exert” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 498).

■ “Priesthood and priestcraft are two opposites; one is of God, the other of the devil. When ministers claim but do not possess the priesthood; when they set themselves up as lights to their congregations, but do not preach the pure and full gospel; when their interest is in gaining personal popularity and financial gain, rather than in caring for the poor and ministering to the wants and needs of their fellow men—they are engaged, in a greater or lesser degree, in the practice of priestcrafts” (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 593).

■ “The faithful in the priesthood are those who fulfill the covenant by ‘magnifying their calling’ and living ‘by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.’ (D&C 84:33, 44.) Far more seems to be implied in these requirements than token obedience—far more is needed than mere attendance at a few meetings and token fulfillment of assignments. The perfection of body and spirit are implied, and that includes the kind of service that goes far beyond the normal definition of duty. ‘Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen.’ (D&C 121:34.)” (Spencer W. Kimball, “The Example of Abraham,” Ensign, June 1975, 4).

■ “Now, the sealing for eternity gives to you eternal leadership. The man will have the authority of the priesthood, and if he keeps his life in order he will become a god. . . . The Lord created this earth for us and made it a beautiful place to live. He promised us that if we would live the right way we could come back to him and be like him” (Spencer W. Kimball, in São Paulo Brazil Area Conference Report 1975, 43).

■ “What then, is the doctrine of the priesthood? And how shall we live as the servants of the Lord?

“This doctrine is that God our Father is a glorified, a perfected, and an exalted being who has all might, all power, and all dominion, who knows all things and is infinite in all his attributes, and who lives in the family unit.

“It is that our Eternal Father enjoys this high status of glory and perfection and power because his faith is perfect and his priesthood is unlimited.

“It is that priesthood is the very name of the power of God, and that if we are to become like him, we must receive and exercise his priesthood or power as he exercises it.

“It is that he has given us an endowment of heavenly power here on earth, which is after the order of his Son and which, because it is the power of God, is of necessity without beginning of days or end of years.

“It is that we can enter an order of the priesthood named the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (see D&C 131:2), named also the patriarchal order, because of which order we can create for ourselves eternal family units of our own, patterned after the family of God our Heavenly Father.

“It is that we have power, by faith, to govern and control all things, both temporal and spiritual; to work miracles and perfect lives; to stand in the presence of God and be like him because we have gained his faith, his perfections, and his power, or in other words the fulness of his priesthood” (Bruce R. McConkie, in Conference Report, Apr. 1982, 50; or Ensign, May 1982, 33–34).

Chapter 27
The Law of the Sabbath

Introduction

In every dispensation the Lord has commanded His people to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). Many promises and blessings are extended to those who keep the law of the Sabbath. For example, in the days of Jeremiah, the Lord promised to spare Jerusalem and its inhabitants if they would keep the Sabbath (see Jeremiah 17:20–27). In our day the Lord has promised us the “fulness of the earth” if we will obey this commandment (D&C 59:16).

Doctrinal Outline

A. Sabbath observance is a law of God.

1. Jehovah rested from His creative labors on the seventh day and called it the Sabbath (see Genesis 2:2; Moses 3:2–3; Exodus 20:11).

2. The Lord commanded Israel to keep the Sabbath holy (see Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–15).

3. The Lord declared that Sabbath observance would be a distinguishing characteristic of His chosen people (see Exodus 31:13, 16–17; Ezekiel 20:12).

4. The Savior observed the Sabbath and kept it holy (see Luke 4:16; 13:10–17).

5. Latter-day revelation affirms the significance of the Sabbath in this dispensation (see D&C 59:9–13).

B. The Sabbath day was changed in the meridian dispensation.

1. In Old Testament times, the Sabbath was observed on the seventh day (see Exodus 20:8–10; 31:14–17; Deuteronomy 5:12–14).

2. In New Testament times, Church members began to observe the Sabbath on the first day of the week to commemorate the Savior’s Resurrection (see Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; John 20:19).

C. The Lord has given some general guidelines for proper Sabbath observance.

1. We should attend Church meetings on the Sabbath and worship God (see D&C 59:9–13).

2. The Sabbath is a day to renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament (see D&C 59:9; 3 Nephi 18:1–10).

3. The Sabbath is a day to rest from temporal labors (see D&C 59:10; Exodus 20:10; Leviticus 23:3).

4. On the Sabbath we should prepare our food with a singleness of heart (see D&C 59:13).

5. The Sabbath is a day to perform good deeds (see Matthew 12:10–13; Luke 6:1–11; 13:11–17).

6. The Sabbath is a day to do the Lord’s will and refrain from seeking our own selfish pleasure (see Isaiah 58:13–14).

D. Blessings come to those who observe the Sabbath.

1. Observing the Sabbath can help the Saints remain unspotted from worldly enticements (see D&C 59:9).

2. Keeping the Sabbath holy is a work of righteousness that can bring to the individual “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59:23).

3. Both temporal and spiritual blessings come to those who keep the Sabbath (see D&C 59:16–20).

Supporting Statements

A. Sabbath observance is a law of God.

■ “No law in all scripture has been more clearly defined than that of the Sabbath. From the time of Genesis to our own day, there has been no subject spoken of more directly or repeatedly than the Sabbath.

“It is one of the laws most dear to the heart of God. Yet it is noted far more in its desecration than in its acceptance and proper observance” (Mark E. Petersen, in Conference Report, Apr. 1975, 70; or Ensign, May 1975, 47).

■ “This very day upon which we meet here, to worship, viz, the Sabbath, has become the play-day of this great nation—the day set apart by thousands to violate the commandment that God gave long, long ago, and I am persuaded that much of the sorrow and distress that is afflicting and will continue to afflict mankind is traceable to the fact that they have ignored his admonition to keep the Sabbath day holy” (George Albert Smith, in Conference Report, Oct. 1935, 120).

■ “An acquaintance of mine had purchased a lovely boat and had just finished varnishing it and painting it. When I stopped by, he was admiring it. I surmised that he was getting it ready to take it, with his family, to the reservoir the next Sunday. He said, ‘It is complete and in readiness except for one thing.’ Then he asked me, ‘Could you suggest an appropriate name for the boat?’ I knew him very well. I thought for a moment, and then I said, ‘Well, perhaps you should name it The Sabbath-Breaker.’ He looked at me, and he understood” (ElRay L. Christiansen, in Conference Report, Apr. 1962, 33).

B. The Sabbath day was changed in the meridian dispensation.

■ “The Church accepts Sunday as the Christian Sabbath and proclaims the sanctity of the day. We admit without argument that under the Mosaic law the seventh day of the week, Saturday, was designated and observed as the holy day, and that the change from Saturday to Sunday was a feature of the apostolic administration following the personal ministry of Jesus Christ. Greater than the question of this day or that in the week is the actuality of the weekly Sabbath, to be observed as a day of special and particular devotion to the service of the Lord” (James E. Talmage, The Articles of Faith, 449).

C. The Lord has given some general guidelines for proper Sabbath observance.

■ “People frequently wonder where to draw the line: what is worthy and what is unworthy to do upon the Sabbath. But if one loves the Lord with all his heart, might, mind, and strength; if one can put away selfishness and curb desire; if one can measure each Sabbath activity by the yardstick of worshipfulness; if one is honest with his Lord and with himself; if one offers a ‘broken heart and a contrite spirit,’ it is quite unlikely that there will be Sabbath breaking in that person’s life” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 219).

■ “To many, Sabbath breaking is a matter of little moment, but to our Heavenly Father it is one of the principal commandments. It is a test to ‘see if we will do all things’ commanded. . . .

“In the early days of Israel specific injunctions were given, and the death penalty was imposed for violation. Perhaps this was the only way that these former slaves could be taught the law of obedience and be brought to an understanding of the commandments of the Lord. Rabbis and priests made mockery of the commands by carrying them to unwarranted extremes in which a knot could not be tied nor loosed; a fire could not be kindled nor extinguished; a broken bone could not be set; a dead body could not be moved from wreckage; a bed could not be moved; sticks could not be gathered. And it was against these excesses that the Savior lashed rather than the Sabbath day itself, for he who instituted the Sabbath had greatest respect for it. . . .

“It would appear that the reason the Sabbath day is so hard to live for so many people is that it is still written on tablets of stone rather than being written in their hearts. . . .

“In the days of weak Israel it seemed necessary for the Lord to specify the many things which people must not do on the Sabbath, but in our own day it would seem that he recognized the intelligence of his people, and assumed that they would catch the total spirit of worship and of the Sabbath observance when he said to them: ‘Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.’ (D&C 59:8.)” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 217–18).

■ “A man of my acquaintance remained home each Sabbath and justified himself by saying that he could benefit more by reading a good book at home than by attending the sacrament meeting and listening to a poor sermon. But the home, sacred as it should be, is not the house of prayer. In it no sacrament is administered; in it is not found the fellowship with members, nor the confession of sins to the brethren. The mountains may be termed the temples of God and the forests and streams his handiwork, but only in the meetinghouse, or house of prayer, can be fulfilled all the requirements of the Lord. And so he has impressed upon us that: ‘It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus.’ (D&C 20:75.)” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 220).

■ “For Latter-day Saints, to offer up ‘sacraments’ in the house of prayer as the Lord commands means for you to present your devotions before the Lord in the form of songs of praise, prayers and thanksgiving, testimonies, and the partaking of the sacrament and the study of the word of God. In its most widely accepted usage it means for you to stand for any sacred right or ceremony whereby you affirm your allegiance to your Heavenly Father and His Son” (Harold B. Lee, Ye Are the Light of the World, 72).

■ “The Savior said that the Sabbath was for man and not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is for man to obey and in which to find profit but not to break or desecrate. The Savior repeatedly insists upon the hallowing of the Sabbath day. He recognized the fact that livestock must be loosed from the stall and taken to water and fed and that other chores must be done. He recognized also that the ox might get into the mire or the ass fall into the pit; but neither in the letter nor in the spirit did he ever approve the use of the Sabbath for ordinary and regular work or for amusements and play. He healed the sick on the Sabbath, preached in the synagogues on this day, but he gave the Sabbath not for amusement and labor but for rest to the mind and body, change and relaxation from heavy service, and leisure for works of mercy. The observance of the Sabbath is a part of the new covenant” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 216–17).

■ “The Sabbath day is given throughout the generations of man for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between the Lord and his children forever. It is a day in which to worship and to express our gratitude and appreciation to the Lord. It is a day on which to surrender every worldly interest and to praise the Lord humbly, for humility is the beginning of exaltation. It is a day not for affliction and burden but for rest and righteous enjoyment. It is a day not for lavish banqueting, but a day of simple meals and spiritual feasting; not a day of abstinence from food, except fast day, but a day when maid and mistress might be relieved from the preparation. It is a day graciously given us by our Heavenly Father. It is a day when animals may be turned out to graze and rest; when the plow may be stored in the barn and other machinery cooled down; a day when employer and employee, master and servant may be free from plowing, digging, toiling. It is a day when the office may be locked and business postponed, and troubles forgotten; a day when man may be temporarily released from that first injunction, ‘In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.’ (Genesis 3:19.) It is a day when bodies may rest, minds relax, and spirits grow. It is a day when songs may be sung, prayers offered, sermons preached, and testimonies borne, and when man may climb high, almost annihilating time, space, and distance between himself and his Creator.

“The Sabbath is a day on which to take inventory—to analyze our weaknesses, to confess our sins to our associates and our Lord. It is a day on which to fast in ‘sackcloth and ashes.’ It is a day on which to read good books, a day to contemplate and ponder, a day to study lessons for priesthood and auxiliary organizations, a day to study the scriptures and to prepare sermons, a day to nap and rest and relax, a day to visit the sick, a day to preach the gospel, a day to proselyte, a day to visit quietly with the family and get acquainted with our children, a day for proper courting, a day to do good, a day to drink at the fountain of knowledge and of instruction, a day to seek forgiveness of our sins, a day for the enrichment of our spirit and our soul, a day to restore us to our spiritual stature, a day to partake of the emblems of his sacrifice and atonement, a day to contemplate the glories of the gospel and of the eternal realms, a day to climb high on the upward path toward our Heavenly Father” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 215–16).

D. Blessings come to those who observe the Sabbath.

■ “We constantly talk about the worldliness of the present day and speak of the fact that our young people face more serious temptations than did those of a generation ago, and this is probably true. Also, more parents seem to be caught up in the worldliness of today than was the case a generation ago.

“What can we do to protect ourselves under these hazardous circumstances? How can we better help our young people to remain unspotted from the world?

“The Lord gives us the answer, and says that it can be done by sincerely observing the Sabbath day. Most people have never thought of it in this way, but note the words of the Lord in this regard: ‘That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world’—note these words—‘that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shall go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day.’ (D&C 59:9.)

“Think about that for a moment. Do we really believe in God—sincerely? Are we convinced that he knows what he is talking about? If we are, then will we take him and his word seriously? Or will we further trifle with divine revelation?

“The Lord does know what he is talking about. Sabbath observance will help us to more fully remain unspotted from the world” (Petersen, in Conference Report, Apr. 1975, 70; or Ensign, May 1975, 47–48).

■ “Sunday is worship day. It is holy. [The United States] is a Christian nation, and the Lord has promised that as long as we keep him in mind and worship him this Country will stand—this Government will stand. No other nation can take it or destroy it. But if we forget Him, God’s promises are not binding.

“Why should Sunday be observed as a day of rest? First, Sunday is essential to the true development and strength of body, and that is a principle which we should proclaim more generally abroad, and practice. . . .

“A second purpose for keeping holy the Sabbath Day is: ‘That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world.’ Contemplation during that sacred hour, self communion, and higher than that, communion in thought and feeling with the Lord—the realization that He is near enough to be aware of what you are thinking. What you think about—is really what you are. . . .

“There is a third reason. Keeping holy the Sabbath Day is a law of God, resounding through the ages from Mt. Sinai. You cannot transgress the law of God without circumscribing your spirit. Finally, our Sabbath, the first day of the week, commemorates the greatest event in all history: Christ’s resurrection and his visit as a resurrected being to his assembled Apostles” (David O. McKay, in Conference Report, Oct. 1956, 90).

Chapter 28
Celestial Marriage

Introduction

President Spencer W. Kimball counseled us about the importance of eternal marriage:

“Honorable, happy, and successful marriage is surely the principal goal of every normal person. One who would purposely or neglectfully avoid its serious implications is not only not normal but is frustrating his own program. There are a few people who marry for spite or marry for wealth or marry on the rebound after having been jilted. How distorted is the thinking of such a one!

“Marriage is perhaps the most vital of all the decisions and has the most far-reaching effects, for it has to do not only with immediate happiness, but also with eternal joys. It affects not only the two people involved, but their families and particularly their children and their children’s children down through the many generations. . . .

“In selecting a companion for life and for eternity, certainly the most careful planning and thinking and praying and fasting should be done to be sure that, of all the decisions, this one must not be wrong. In true marriage there must be a union of minds as well as of hearts. Emotions must not wholly determine decisions, but the mind and the heart, strengthened by fasting and prayer and serious consideration, will give one a maximum chance of marital happiness” (“Marriage and Divorce,” in Speeches of the Year, 1976, 143–44; see also Kimball, Marriage and Divorce, 10–11).

Doctrinal Outline

A. Marriage is ordained of God.

See Doctrine and Covenants 49:15–17; Hebrews 13:4; Matthew 19:5–6; Genesis 2:18, 24.

B. A marriage must be performed with the sealing power of the priesthood to be valid after this life.

1. God intended that marriages should be eternal (see Matthew 19:6; D&C 132:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:11).

2. A marriage not performed with the sealing power of the priesthood is not valid after this life (see D&C 132:7, 15–18).

3. Only one person on the earth at a time holds the keys of the sealing power (see D&C 132:7).

C. Celestial marriage is essential to exaltation.

1. In order to obtain the highest degree in the celestial kingdom, a man and a woman must enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (see D&C 131:2–3).

2. A marriage must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise before the husband and the wife can obtain exaltation (see D&C 132:19).

3. Those who are married by the power of God and achieve exaltation will have eternal increase (see D&C 132:19; 131:2–4).

Supporting Statements

A. Marriage is ordained of God.

■ “It is the normal thing to marry. It was arranged by God in the beginning, long before this world’s mountains were ever formed. Remember: ‘Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man.’ (1 Corinthians 11:11.) . . . Every person should want to be married. There are some who might not be able to. But every person should want to be married because that is what God in heaven planned for us” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 291).

■ “Marriage is ordained of God. It is not merely a social custom. Without proper and successful marriage, one will never be exalted” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 291).

B. A marriage must be performed with the sealing power of the priesthood to be valid after this life.

■ “The greatest joys of true married life can be continued. The most beautiful relationships of parents and children can be made permanent. The holy association of families can be never-ending if husband and wife have been sealed in the holy bond of eternal matrimony. Their joys and progress will never end, but this will never fall into place of its own accord. . . .

“God has restored the knowledge of temples and their purposes. On the earth this day are holy structures built to this special work of the Lord, and each is the house of the Lord. In these temples, by duly constituted authority, are men who can seal husbands and wives and their children for all eternity. This is a fact even though it is unknown to many” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 297).

■ “Now let us consider the first marriage that was performed after the earth was organized. Adam, the first man, had been created as well as the beasts and fowls and every living thing upon the earth. We then find this recorded: ‘And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.’ After the Lord had formed Eve, he ‘brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife and they shall be one flesh.’ (Genesis 2:18, 22–24.) These words were undoubtedly just what they sound like. They were very likely the words spoken by Adam reciting the vows of the first marriage upon this earth. With the completion of that marriage the Lord commanded them to ‘be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it.’ (Genesis 1:28.) Here was a marriage performed by the Lord between two immortal beings, for until sin entered the world their bodies were not subject to death. He made them one, not merely for time, nor for any definite period; they were to be one throughout the eternal ages” (Harold B. Lee, Decisions for Successful Living, 125).

■ “We see the use of seals everywhere. When a signature is notarized, an impression is made upon the paper with a seal. When a license is obtained from a municipality or a state, from a federation or an association, somewhere upon it is impressed the official seal of the organization. You find it on the diploma issued by universities, on legal documents that process through the courts, and on many other papers.

“The use of a seal is a visible means of signifying that the document is authoritative, that it is worthy of respect and recognition, that its effect is binding.

“Seal is the right word, therefore, to be used to represent spiritual authority. In this case it is not represented by an imprint, by a wax impression, by an embossment, or by a ribbon; nor by an engravement on a signet, or by a stamp, or by a gold design pressed onto a document. The seal of official authority relating to spiritual matters, like other things spiritual, can be identified by the influence that is felt when the sealing power is exercised.

“The sealing power represents the transcendent delegation of spiritual authority from God to man. The keeper of that sealing power is the Lord’s chief representative here upon the earth. That is the position of consummate trust and authority. We speak often of holding the key to that sealing power in the Church.

“Much of the teaching relating to the deeper spiritual things in the Church, particularly in the temple, is symbolic. We use the word keys in a symbolic way. Here the keys of priesthood authority represent the limits of the power extended from beyond the veil to mortal man to act in the name of God upon the earth. The words seal and keys and priesthood are closely linked together” (Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple, 82).

C. Celestial marriage is essential to exaltation.

■ “I remember we had in our community in Arizona a good man who passed away. He and his lovely wife had resisted the teachings of the Church. And the wife, when he died, said, ‘I know that we will be associated as husband and wife through eternity.’ But she could say that a thousand times and it would still not come true because they were not humble enough to accept the law of marriage. They may receive other blessings, but not exaltation. That is reserved for those who are faithful and who obey the commandments” (Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 298).

■ “Marriages performed in the temples for time and eternity, by virtue of the sealing keys restored by Elijah, are called celestial marriages. The participating parties become husband and wife in this mortal life, and if after their marriage they keep all the terms and conditions of this order of the priesthood, they continue on as husband and wife in the celestial kingdom of God. . . .

“The most important things that any member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ever does in this world are: 1. To marry the right person, in the right place, by the right authority; and 2. To keep the covenant made in connection with this holy and perfect order of matrimony—thus assuring the obedient persons of an inheritance of exaltation in the celestial kingdom” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 117–18).

■ “The house of the Lord is a house of order and not a house of confusion; and that means that the man is not without the woman in the Lord, neither is the woman without the man in the Lord; and that no man can be saved and exalted in the kingdom of God without the woman, and no woman can reach the perfection and exaltation in the kingdom of God alone. That is what it means. God instituted marriage in the beginning. He made man in his own image and likeness, male and female, and in their creation it was designed that they should be united together in sacred bonds of marriage, and one is not perfect without the other. Furthermore, it means that there is no union for time and eternity that can be perfected outside of the law of God, and the order of his house. Men may desire it, they may go through the form of it, in this life, but it will be of no effect except it be done and sanctioned by divine authority, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 272).

■ “For remember, brethren, that only those who enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage in the temple for time and eternity, only those will have the exaltation in the celestial kingdom. That is what the Lord tells us” (Harold B. Lee, in Conference Report, Oct. 1973, 120; or Ensign, Jan. 1974, 100).

■ “Therefore, through the mercy and justice of the Lord, any young woman who maintains her virtue and accepts in her heart all the commandments and ordinances of the gospel will receive the fulness of the glory and exaltation of the celestial kingdom. The great gift of eternal life will be given her. This gift the Lord has described, shall be a ‘fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.’ All the gifts of exaltation will be hers, because she has been true and faithful, and what was denied her here will be given to her hereafter” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Marriage in Eternity,” Improvement Era, Oct. 1957, 702).

■ “The Holy Spirit of Promise is the Holy Spirit promised the saints, or in other words the Holy Ghost. This name-title is used in connection with the sealing and ratifying power of the Holy Ghost, that is, the power given him to ratify and approve the righteous acts of men so that those acts will be binding on earth and in heaven. . . .

“To seal is to ratify, to justify, or to approve. Thus an act which is sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise is one which is ratified by the Holy Ghost; it is one which is approved by the Lord; and the person who has taken the obligation upon himself is justified by the Spirit in the thing he has done.

“The ratifying seal of approval is put upon an act only if those entering the contract are worthy as a result of personal righteousness to receive the divine approbation. They ‘are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.’ (D. & C. 76:53.) If they are not just and true and worthy the ratifying seal is withheld” (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 361–62).

■ “Marriage covenants authorized and sealed by that God-given power, endure, if the parties thereto are true to their troth, not through mortal life alone, but through time and all eternity. Thus the worthy husband and wife who have been sealed under the everlasting covenant shall come forth in the day of the resurrection to receive their heritage of glory, immortality, and eternal lives.

“It is the blessed privilege of resurrected beings who attain an exaltation in the celestial kingdom to enjoy the glory of endless increase, to become the parents of generations of spirit-offspring, and to direct their development through probationary stages analogous to those through which they themselves have passed.

“Eternal are the purposes of God; never-ending progression is provided for His children, worlds without end” (James E. Talmage, “The Eternity of Sex,” Young Woman’s Journal, Oct. 1914, 604).

■ “Except a man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity, while in this probation, by the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood, they will cease to increase when they die; that is, they will not have any children after the resurrection. But those who are married by the power and authority of the priesthood in this life, and continue without committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 300–301).

■ “The gift promised to those who receive this covenant of marriage and remain faithful to the end, that they shall ‘have no end,’ means that they shall have the power of eternal increase. Only those who have this power will truly ‘know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent.’ Others may see the Lord and may be instructed by him but they will not truly know him or his Father unless they become like them” (Joseph Fielding Smith, The Way to Perfection, 247).

Chapter 29
The Importance of the Family

Introduction

Only in and through a family unit can we obtain eternal life. President Gordon B. Hinckley declared:

“How beautiful is that home where lives a man of godly manner, who loves those for whose nurture he is responsible, who stands before them as an example of integrity and goodness, who teaches industry and loyalty, not spoiling his children by indulging their every wish, but rather setting before them a pattern of work and service which will underpin their lives forever. How fortunate is the man whose wife radiates a spirit of love, of compassion, of order, of quiet beneficence, whose children show appreciation one for another, who honor and respect their parents, who counsel with them and take counsel from them. Such home life is within the reach of all who have cultivated in their hearts a resolution to do that which will please their Father in Heaven” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1985, 66; or Ensign, May 1985, 50).