Power and Covenants:

Men, Women and Priesthood

by R. Scott Strong and David B. Goates
1996

Revised 12/12/09

Table of Contents
Page Prologue PART 1 Section 1 Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Section 2 Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven PART 2 Section 3 Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Section 4 Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Section 5 Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Conclusion Epilogue Appendix A THE EQUALITY QUESTION Sexual Equality Equality of the Sexes Equality in Dichotomy Serving the Home Special Situations The Presiding Question The Presiding Principle The Principle of Order Righteous and Unrighteous Dominion THE PRIESTHOOD QUESTION The Priesthood What is the Priesthood? Power in the Priesthood No Power in the Law The Keys of the Priesthood The Presiding Keys of Authority The Spiritual Keys of Power How the Priesthood Administers the Keys Coming Into the Presence of God The Priesthood Keys and True Prayer The Patriarchal Order The Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood Temples and Temple Work The Creation of Man Creatorship Women and the Priesthood 3

6 14 17 28 36 46 49

64 80 85 92 100 111 130 133 138 147 157 180 185 194 196 197

PROLOGUE
Before their outing to the park one day in early Spring, two children asked their father for some money to buy candy and soda. Jill, the little girl, was crying as they left because her older brother, Joey, was given four quarters. She was given only one dollar bill. She left home feeling their father wasnt very fair, because Joey got four and she only got one. Joey felt he was really lucky getting four, when his sister only got one. He figured he was entitled to more because he was a boy. In truth, their father had given them exactly equal amounts of money, but he had purposely given them their equal shares in different denominations that day for a reason known only to him. That early in the season the concession stand would be closed. Only the vending machines would be available. He knew the candy machine took only quarters, and the drink machine took only dollar bills. If he had given them each a dollar bill or if each had only four quarters, they would only be able to acquire either drinks or candy instead of both. He told them if they would share they could each obtain the desired treats. Now it was up to them. Some brothers and sisters in similar circumstances might individually spend their share of the money, then proudly flaunt and consume what each had obtained while secretly envying what the other had. Worse, they might angrily argue over who had the best treat. Other brothers and sisters might do some wheeling and dealing, competitively bartering and manipulating to get more or less than the other based upon who was bigger or smarter. Still others might lovingly combine their resources, join together, share equally, and gratefully enjoy what their father had generously provided as gifts for each of his children -- a love given freely and equally to a beautiful daughter and a handsome son.

PART ONE THE EQUALITY QUESTION

Section One Sexual Equality

Chapter One

Equality of the Sexes

The Lord has revealed the truth about men and women from the beginning. Men and women are complete and equal partners. In General Conference, taking his text from the creation story in Genesis, President Howard W. Hunter taught: The Lord intended that the wife be a helpmeet for man (meet means equal) -- that is, a companion equal and necessary in full partnership. (See Ensign, Nov. 1994, pp. 49-51, emphasis ours). The woman is the other half of man, just as man is the other half of woman, and nothing short of a complete man (an exalted couple) comprises the true and full definition of God. Godhood requires parenthood. Gods are parents. Their dominions, principalities and kingdoms comprise their families -- their offspring. Gods have the power of endless (eternal) lives. They possess the power of the seeds (procreation) forever, worlds without end. Other resurrected beings without posterity are not Gods. These beings are not Kings and Queens, for they have no kingdoms, or posterity, to lovingly preside over in the grand order of eternal kingdoms. Brigham Young said: The kingdoms [God] possesses and rules over are his own progeny. Every man who is faithful and gets a salvation and glory, and becomes a King of kings and Lord of lords, or a Father of fathers, it will be by the increase of his own progeny. Our Father and God rules over his own children. Where ever there is a God in all the eternities possessing a kingdom and glory and power it is by means of his own progeny. (JD, 11:262, emphasis ours). By definition, then, the Gods are exalted Fathers and Mothers. Wherever we find a father, there must also be a mother. Motherhood is essential to fatherhood, and both are essential to Godhood. Erastus Snow, said it well: . . . there can be no God except he is composed of the man and the woman united, and there is not in all the eternities that exist, nor ever will be, a God in any other way. I have another description: There never was a God, and there never will be in all eternities, except they are made of these two component parts; a man and a woman; the male and the female. (JD, 19:270, emphasis ours). The Lords chosen servants have always taught this important doctrine. President Spencer W.

Kimball said the term man in the story of creation refers to a complete man which is husband and wife. (Ensign, March 1976, p. 71). In 1979, he taught marriage is the only true state. (Ensign, May 1979, p. 6, emphasis ours). Elder James E. Talmage: Neither of the sexes is complete in itself as a counterpart of Deity. We are expressly told that God is the Father of spirits, and to apprehend the literalness of this solemn truth we must know that a mother of spirits is an existent personality. . . (The Articles of Faith, 12th ed., pp. 442-43, emphasis ours). President Howard W. Hunter: It is not good for man nor for woman to be alone. Man is not complete without woman. Neither can fill the measure of their creation without the other. (Ensign, November 1994, p. 49, emphasis ours). President Hugh B. Brown: Without the sealing ordinances of temple marriage, man cannot achieve a godlike stature or receive a fulness of joy because the unmarried person is not a whole person, is not complete. (Improvement Era, August 1962, p. 572, emphasis ours). Only the full partnership of male and female can achieve eternal lives by the power of the seeds. Man or woman without the other is incapable of producing the offspring required to bring to pass the revealed work and glory of God -- the immortality and eternal life of man. (See Moses 1:39). Absolute equality between two mutually and exclusively dependent halves of one whole is a self-evident truth. Man and woman are truly dependent upon each other to achieve their common goal of Godhood. The work and glory of God is impossible for either to achieve without the other. How can one say to the other, I am superior to you, and have it be true? The other may say with complete integrity, You will never have what you want without me. I am your only hope, your only option, your only chance at what you want. Everything you hope for and desire is absolutely dependent upon your partnership with me. Its me or nothing. Then the first could respond, You are just as dependent upon me! The second could rightfully say, That is exactly my point. Each of us is no bigger, no higher, no more important, no better or more valuable in this common quest than the other. We either take each other, acknowledging each other as the equals we truly are, or we both have nothing. This stalemate, where neither has advantage over the other, neither has the requisite power nor capacities without the other, unequivocally confirms the equality of each half of the whole. Being mutually and exclusively dependent upon each other mandates respect and

appreciation for the equal value of the other and willing submission and trust in a full partnership. This is the true condition of males and females. If either the male or the female obtains a fullness of divine potential, it can only be realized in full partnership. There are no exceptions in the highest heavens. In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; And in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; and if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase. (D&C 131:2-4). A man in this context refers to a person, man or woman. The reference to a man here had to do with the fact the Prophet was speaking to William Clayton at the time. In this context whenever we refer to man in a generic way we are speaking about mankind -- men and women. President Joseph Fielding Smith states the case clearly, so there can be no misunderstanding the necessity for two partners in attaining the fullness of the blessings of the kingdom of God: In order to fulfill the purposes of our Eternal Father, there must be a union, husbands and wives receiving the blessings that are promised to those who are faithful and true that will exalt them to Godhood. A man cannot receive the fulness of the blessings of the kingdom of God alone, nor can the woman, but the two together can receive all the blessings and privileges that pertain to the fulness of the Fathers kingdom. (Take Heed to Yourselves, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1966], p. 258, emphasis ours). Throughout history the carnal societies of fallen men have often viewed women as second rate citizens, mere objects of pleasure, to be used and abused at the whim of their supposed male counterparts for sexual gratification and in subservient roles as servants and slaves in the kitchens and bedrooms of society. Even within the churches males have historically arrogated to themselves positions of superiority (as they suppose) by virtue of their gender and priesthood. In this great pluralistic democratic era in America, however, with constitutional support to bolster their cause, the womens movement is successfully seeking greater freedom and equality for all. It is no wonder oppressed women everywhere have risen in rebellion, seeking their rightful equal status with men in society. This new feminism is long overdue and clearly warranted. However, Latter-day Saints would be well-advised to exercise caution regarding these sweeping political and social reforms. There are many diverse ideas about what feminism is. Most of these ideas do not conform with the revealed truths of the Restoration.

Based upon the flood of light we enjoy, the Latter-day Saints can better define feminism within the Church as partnership. Men and women with that shared vision would then accept one another as equal brothers and sisters, become true partners, a Zion people who are of one heart and one mind, and [dwell] in righteousness. (See Moses 7:18). Most of the women we know in the Church simply want and deserve acceptance, recognition and participation on equal terms with men. Few women really advocate a need or feel a desire for a priesthood ordination. What seems most apparent, however, is a healthy willingness and assertiveness among women to speak up against intolerance, injustice and insensitivity. If men are listening carefully they will move closer to understanding their role in productive partnering with their wives, daughters and other women in their lives. This inspiring Church leader had an insightful perspective on feminism: If our century has been characterized in liberal societies by a growing feminism, it might be said that this trend is a reaction to the lack of respect accorded each woman. Everything that I have written on this theme in Mulieris Dignitatem [the Apostolic letter entitled The Dignity of Woman] I have felt since I was very young, and, in a certain sense, from infancy. Perhaps I was also influenced by the climate of the time in which I was brought up -- it was a time of great respect and consideration for women, especially for women who were mothers. I think that a certain contemporary feminism finds its roots in the absence of true respect for woman. Revealed truth teaches us something different. Respect for woman, amazement at the mystery of womanhood, and finally the nuptial love of God Himself and of Christ, as expressed in the Redemption, are all elements that have never been completely absent in the faith and life of the Church. This can be seen in a rich tradition of customs and practices that, regrettably, is nowadays being eroded. In our civilization woman has become, before all else, an object of pleasure. It is very significant, on the other hand, that in the midst of this very situation the authentic theology of woman is being reborn. The spiritual beauty, the particular genius, of women is being rediscovered. The bases for the consolidation of the position of women in life, not only family life but also social and cultural life, are being redefined. (His Holiness Pope John Paul II in Crossing the Threshold of Hope, ed. Vittorio Messori [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994], pp. 216-7, italics in the original). There is a hopeful tone in those words, as there is throughout the entire book. Perhaps we are at the apex of the change of direction in the swinging of the pendulum in womens rights. While we witness real and positive change in the fight to elevate women to their rightful equal status with men, there is alarming evidence we have overreacted in some very unwise and deleterious ways. There was a time in America during this century when political correctness regarding the domestic role of women was not an issue, because no one questioned the traditional family values of a father who worked outside the home and a mother who bore and

nurtured the children within the home. Unfortunately, statistics and current social conditions document conclusively the shift from oppression of women to a position nearing selfish irresponsibility. The data below illustrate dramatic changes in fifty years. The differences over time are startling. Male and female roles have been redefined with the following results. The graphs appeared in the Feb. 12, 1996 issue of USA Today, as compiled by Julie Stacey, from US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Health and Human Services, and Census Bureau data: Marriage rate per 1,000 unmarried women 15 and older: 1946 1994 51.5 Percentage of women, age 16 and over, in the labor force: 1948 32.7% 1995 59.1% Percentage of traditional families (husband works, wife does not): 1940 66.7% 1994 16.9% Percentage of dual-income families (both husband and wife work): 1940 9.2% 1994 42.4% Single-parent families as a percentage of all families with children under 18: 1950 7.4% 1994 26.3% Estimated median age at first marriage: 1947 23.7 (Men) 20.5 (Women) 1994 26.7 (Men) 24.5 (Women) Average number of children under 18 among married couples with children: 1955 2.2 1993 1.88 Number of children born out of wedlock (as a percentage of all births): 1946 125,200 (3.7%) 1993 1.24 million (31%)

118.1

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The obvious question is, What happened to the traditional family? There are multiple answers to that question, but all of them are compounded by the economic realities that have beset the whole world, not just the oft-maligned materialistic Western world. Writing in USA Today on January 27, 1997, Lester C. Thurow, a professor of economics and former dean of MITs Sloan School of Management, gives the following assessment in an article entitled Changes in Capitalism Render One-Earner Families Extinct: The traditional family is disappearing almost everywhere. Worldwide from 1960 to 1992, births among unmarried mothers doubled for those 20 to 24 years of age and quadrupled for those 15 to 19 years of age. The United States is far from being the worlds leader in this category, ranking sixth. Divorce rates are rising in the developed and underdeveloped world, doubling in Beijing in just four years. Female-headed households or households where females provide 50% or more of total income are becoming the norm. The reasons are straight-forward. The current economic system is no longer congruent with traditional nuclear family values, just as the Industrial Revolution two centuries earlier was not congruent with the then-traditional extended family values. In America, 32% of all men 25 years to 34 years of age earn less than the amount necessary to keep a family of four above the poverty line. While male wages are falling at the bottom, the costs of supporting a family are rising. Children need ever more expensive educations for ever longer periods of time if they are to make it in todays global economy. Economically many men, perhaps a majority, are being told that they should not plan to have a family since there is no probability that they will be able to support a family. Women are under enormous pressures because the economy gives them one message (go to work and make the money the family needs to survive) and old cultural mores give them another message (stay at home and take care of the children). They feel stressed because they are stressed. Today, family members support the family less because it is now much less necessary to their own survival. Men end up having strong economic incentive to bail out of family relations and responsibilities because they raise their own standards of living when they do so. Whether it is by fathering a family without being willing to be a father, by divorcing and being unwilling to pay alimony or child support, or by being a guest worker from the Third World and after a short time failing to send payments to the family back home, men are opting out. Among families with dependent children, 25% dont have a male present. Women get welfare only if no man is present in the home. Childrens economic standards of living are often higher as wards of the state in foster care than they would be if they stayed in their disintegrating families. Values follow economic realities. Individual fulfillment now ranks higher than family in public opinion polls. Competitive individualism grows at the expense of family solidarity. The ideal is choice, not bonds. In the language of capitalism, children

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have ceased to be profit centers and have become cost centers. The response quite naturally is to form fewer families and to have smaller numbers of children. When children do exist, parents spend less time with them 40% less than they did 30 years ago. With mothers at work, more than 2 million children under the age of 13 are left completely without adult supervision, both before and after school. Effectively, no one ends up taking care of the children, but they have to be left alone because paying for day care would use up most of mothers wages and negate the whole purpose of going to work in the first place. Historically, the single parent has been the norm in no society, but patriarchal linear life is economically now over. Family values are under attack, not by government programs that discourage family formation (although there are some) and not by media presentations that disparage families (although there are some), but by the economic system itself. It simply wont allow families to exist in the old-fashioned way, with a father who generates most of the earnings and a mother who does most of the nurturing. The one-earner, middle-class family is extinct. Social arrangements are not determined just by economics there are many possibilities at any point in time but whatever the arrangements, they have to be consistent with economic realities. Changes within capitalism are making the traditional family less and less compatible with the market. As a consequence, the family is an institution both in flux and under pressure. Basic questions about how the family should be organized have been put in play by economic reality. (USA Today, January 27, 1997, p. 17A). The equal though fundamentally different roles of men and women have been redefined, revalued and reordered, and the home has been the casualty. Whatever else may be said, this much is clear -- perhaps only the Latter-day Saints and a handful of devout leaders and members in other world religions have the only viable hope of balancing the course the world has taken. We have a chance because of the eternal perspective God has rained down upon our heads in the Restoration. Others who are honest in heart among the Christians, Muslims and Jews, will continue to value the traditional family. Pope John Paul II has never wavered in his support of faithful marriages, his renunciation of the sin of abortion and indiscriminate birth control measures, nor his advocacy of women rights, for example. Like our prophets, however, he too has been criticized for his views on women and the priesthood. President Kimball spoke with penetrating prophetic accuracy, when he said: Many of the social restraints which in the past have helped to reinforce and to shore up the family are dissolving and disappearing. The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us. (Ensign, October 1980, p. 4, emphasis ours). We speak not by way of alarm but by way of gentle counsel. Let us go back to the basics and follow the fundamentals. Thus we will experience a spiritual resurgence in

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our lives which will help us through these tempestuous times. (Ensign, May 1981, p. 80). As fallen mortals we have an innate desire to want it all, even when all the choices seems so good. The good news is we have more choices as men and women than ever before. Sometimes forgotten from our pre-mortal experience is the reality we came to earth to make choices here, as we did there. If we will follow President Kimballs counsel and go back to the basics, we will rediscover the truths about men and women, eternal marriage and the pure absolute equality of the sexes. Such truths will anchor our vision of becoming eternal couples dwelling in celestial glory and creating worlds without end. The realization of such lofty aims is only the result of todays choices. Those eternal choices have everything to do with our respective roles.

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Chapter Two

Equality in Dichotomy

The Gods know males and females are innately equal. The womens issue is not an issue because God and his anointed servants do not see and respect this obvious equality between men and women. Instead, the problem arises from a godless society lacking an eternal perspective, failing miserably to comprehend eternal truths. Some who have adopted the worlds view contend equality for women means Gods sons and daughters must share the same roles and duties in order to be perfectly equal. The most obvious example we see today is men and women marching shoulder to shoulder into war. In a society where heterosexual marriage is no longer considered by many to be a desirable state, where children are often viewed as an economic burden because the family farm gave way to jobs in the big city, and where lifestyle options abound outside the home and hearth of yesteryear, it is little wonder such philosophies have gained popularity among us today. However, while the restoration of eternal truth clearly confirms males and females have the same worth, it also reveals the innate power of the sexes lies in the wonderfully different characteristics the male and female join together. Each unique half complements the whole, and only in this God-given dichotomy properly joined together can mankind continue its progression. Man and woman are not only two equal parts of one whole, they are uniquely and necessarily different parts of one grand whole. We do not want them to be the same, we do not need them to be the same. To the contrary, they must be different. One must be male and one must be female. They cannot both be males or females. The male part is necessary to manufacture the seed. If there is no seed there is no life. The power of the seeds is the fountain of life. However, the seed must be processed or it quickly dies. The male does not have the capacity to process the seed he manufactures. He is incomplete. By himself he is not whole. He must be connected, sealed together in partnership with his other half who has the unique capacity to manufacture an egg and then process the growth of the embryo to maturity. By himself the male cannot process the seed to produce a living soul. No matter how many male parts we might add to the whole, the whole would forever remain incomplete and impotent to bring to pass the godly work of creating life. There is no place in eternal life, Gods life, for a single male or a single female who insists upon his or her right to act alone. The male needs, absolutely requires, a partnership with someone different than him -- one who has unique capacity he does not have. He needs the other half, a female half, with her

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singular attributes. He will never be whole without her. She will never be whole without him. Some among us who are challenged with homosexual tendencies may not fully understand the eternal implications of this fundamental precept. The Church has one singular mission -- to be an instrument in bringing to pass Gods stated work and glory, the immortality and eternal life of men and women. The Church is to assist men and women in reaching their full potential to become as God is. As we have seen, God is an exalted couple possessing the power of procreation, and the mission of the Church is to help Gods children become the same. The Church has no other legitimate mission even when it appears to be completely out of step with the exigencies of modern societys agenda. Homosexuality is simply not an option in the attainment of parenthood. It divides and subtracts from the achievement of the full divine potential of Gods sons and daughters. While adoptive homosexual parents may be caring and nurturing parents and are increasingly recognized as a legal definition of family, there is no power of the seeds in the homosexual relationship. It is a lethal perversion, a fatal distortion of those tender feelings and intimate acts calculated to bond the male and female parts together heterosexually in producing eternal lives. To expect the Church to embrace, condone or even tolerate homosexuality amounts to requiring the Church to desert its divinely mandated mission and to deny the realities of revealed eternal truth. The Church cannot do so and remain the instrument of God it was prepared to be in administering the priesthood keys that unlock the gates of eternal lives. Parley P. Pratt said: All persons who attain to the resurrection, and to salvation, without these eternal ordinances, or sealing covenants, will remain in a single state, in their saved condition, without the joys of eternal union with the other sex, and consequently without a crown, without a kingdom, without the power to increase. Hence, they are angels, and are not gods; and are ministering spirits, or servants, in the employ and under the direction of The Royal Family of heaven -- the princes, kings and priests of eternity. (Key To The Science of Theology, 9th ed. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1965], pp. 169-70). In the war of words over homosexuality, arguments abound whether homosexual tendencies are genetic, environmental or learned behavior. Eternally the answer is not really relevant. Homosexual partnerships are sexually impotent. The homosexual state is as incapable in the performance of the exalted work of God as the single state. Only an eternal heterosexual union with its two different parts has omnipotent potential. There should be no debate in the Church about the need to value and cherish our homosexually challenged brothers and sisters as individual children of God, and to advance

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their happiness and well-being to the highest degree possible. But none of that changes the eternal implications of their fiercely held sexual preference. They are free to choose, free to act. Choosing an alternative lifestyle here and now is always an option under the principle of moral agency. But we must not fail to help them clearly see the eternally limiting ramifications of their short-sighted choice. Recognizing the two parts must be different, males and females should cherish our different natures to perform our unique tasks for the benefit and blessing of the whole. While the powers resident in the different natures and capacities of the sexes are not the same, neither are they superior or inferior to each other. They are equally necessary and valuable. Some fail to understand the term different does not imply the meaning unequal. Different does not mean unequal. Different capacities are not unequal capacities. Different roles and duties are not necessarily unequal roles and duties. Different missions and responsibilities are not necessarily unequal missions and responsibilities. Some do not comprehend this important principle with regard to the sexes. Total and absolute equality can and does exist in the dichotomy of marriage.

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Chapter Three

The Equality of the Couple in Serving the Home

At the very heart of our societys current dilemma regarding the true roles of men and women is the devastating devaluation of the home and the consequent destruction of the family. The home is the most important priority of the saints. There are no qualifiers, no strings, no equivocations. It is almost axiomatic in the Church today. No success, said David O. McKay, will ever compensate for failure in the homes of the Latter-day Saints. The most important of the Lords work we will ever do, said Harold B. Lee, will be the work we do within the four walls of our own homes. The prophets have repeatedly reaffirmed the pre-eminent importance of the home above all other concerns. As long as the world incorrectly see the home and family as inferior values, lacking the importance of supposed greater things like business, politics, the arts, letters and sciences, they will also incorrectly perceive and devalue the unique power of womanhood. This power, as the restoration of eternal truth reveals, is centered in motherhood! The worlds solution to advancing the cause of women today is to change their historical roles, duties and missions to simulate a mans place in the world. The role of motherhood is being systematically devalued and discredited. From the beginning Satans objective has been to separate the man from the woman, knowing he could thus thwart Gods plan. His work of subtraction and division stands in stark contrast to Gods design to add and multiply. And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. (Abraham 3:26). This is my work and my glory -- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39). And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. . . (Moses 2:28; Genesis 1:28). Satans plan for separation and destruction of the man and the woman has not changed. Today alternatives abound, sometimes in the name of economic survival dependent upon two incomes, sometimes in the guise of a preferable lifestyle contrasted against the drudgery of

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homemaking, and too often in varying forms to avoid undesirable emotional baggage. One famous movie starlet on todays Hollywood scene recently said, Ill never have children. Theyre needy and greedy. Who needs that? These alternative voices, erudite or appealing as they seem to some, are excising the very heart of womanhood, the unique and precious power to bear and effectually nurture children, to be fruitful in bringing about the work and glory of the Gods, the immortality and eternal life of man. They would devalue, even destroy, parenthood, the very essence of Godhood. They seek to change the divine order revealed from heaven since the beginning. Our marriages are in shambles, our families are in jeopardy, and as the home goes can society be far behind? President Kimball said, . . . when the home is destroyed, the nation goes to pieces. There can be no question about this, and all historians or those who have followed a historical line of thought have come to that same conclusion. (Ensign, May 1978, p. 5, emphasis ours). In 1981, his advancing age silenced his prophetic voice. Today we live in that time he foresaw. More marriages are failing, more families are collapsing, fewer are staying together. Because of this dreadful state of affairs our society is floundering socially, economically, politically and physically. President Kimball offered this encouragement in the midst of the worlds confusion over the womans role: There has never been a time in the world when the role of woman has been more confused. There has never been a time in the Church when women are able to do more to show what their true role in the world can and ought to be. The impact and influence of women and mothers on our world is most important. The thought that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world is more viable today than ever before. (In Woman [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], p. 1, emphasis ours). Elder Jeffrey R. Holland offered the following observations about the role of women today, while quoting Elder James E. Talmage: Some confusion, or at least much discussion, is ongoing about gender and rights and priesthood. In the Young Womans Journal of 1914, Elder James E. Talmage wrote a remarkable piece, with particular relevance to the 1990s. Noting the sacred and eternal role of both women and men, Elder Talmage said eighty years ago, The status of woman in the world is a subject of present-day discussion and an element of

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current social unrest; it is, however, by no means a new topic. . . [Woman] has suffered the greatest humiliation during periods of spiritual darkness, when the Gospel of Christ was forgotten. [But in the light of the gospel] woman occupies a position all her own in the eternal economy of the Creator; and in that position she is as truly superior to man as is he to her in his appointed place. Woman shall yet come to her own, exercising her rights and her privileges as a sanctified investiture which none shall dare profane. (To Rejoice As Women, Talks from the 1994 Womens Conference, ed. Susette Fletcher Green and Dawn Hill Anderson, Concerning Covenants: Women, Men, Perspective, Promises, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1995], p. 107). Today the trumpet of womens liberation sounds louder than ever before, but it has never sounded a more confusing tune. Liberating women from oppression and victimization is both desirable and absolutely necessary. From the exploitation of Japanese sex slaves during World War II to women who are victims of domestic abuse at the hands of their husbands in their homes today, it seems there have always been severe examples of the mistreatment of women begging for correction. No one disagrees these egregious assaults against women must be eradicated. However, when seemingly brilliant people seek to liberate the modern woman from marriage, the home and full-time motherhood in exchange for anything else resembling a more attractive lifestyle, they propose something entirely different, extremely evil and terribly destructive. As we discussed in Chapter One, man is not complete in the single state. It is not good for man [or woman] to be alone. (Genesis 2:18). Neither is man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 11:11). Within the single state it is simply not possible for men or women to fill the measure of their creation and to find a fullness of joy therein. Except in those conditions where there is no other choice, the single state is not an option the Church can embrace or sanction, nor is the child-limiting married state. Individuals, as partners in unfruitful marriages who voluntarily limit themselves to little or no offspring after the manner of the todays conventional wisdom, are virtually no different than those who remain voluntarily single. Their state is the same. It is not the true state -the fruitful state in which mankind finds joy in their posterity. God had much more in mind than merely curing Adams loneliness by making certain he was not alone in the garden. He had in mind a procreative partnership whereby the man and the woman could productively multiply and fill the earth and have the joy and rejoicing therein that could not come in any other way! President Spencer W. Kimball:

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The prime purpose of marriage is to create the family and give unborn spirits earthly tabernacles and the privilege of building their own eternal lives. As we give way to the worlds notions, and ape their ways, we become enmeshed in their follies and we suffer accordingly. (In the World But Not of It, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [Provo, Utah: 14 May 1968], p. 5, emphasis ours). There seems to be a growing feeling that marriage is for legal sex, for sexs sake. Marriage is basically for the family; that is why we marry -- not for the satisfaction of the sex, as the world around us would have us believe. When people have found their companions, there should be no long delay. Young wives should be occupied in bearing and rearing their children. (Marriage is Honorable, in Speeches of the Year, 1973 [Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1974], p. 263, emphasis ours). President Joseph Fielding Smith: The family is the most important organization in time or in eternity. Our purpose in life is to create for ourselves eternal family units. (Ensign, July 1972, p. 27, emphasis ours). When a man and a woman are married and they agree, or covenant, to limit their offspring to two or three, and practice devices to accomplish this purpose, they are guilty of iniquity. . . (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-56], 2:87). The First Presidency, comprised of Presidents David O. McKay, Hugh B. Brown and N. Eldon Tanner: We seriously regret that there should exist a sentiment or feeling among any members of the Church to curtail the birth of their children. We have been commanded to multiply and replenish the earth that we may have joy and rejoicing in our posterity. (Letter to bishops, stake presidents and mission presidents, 14 April 1969, emphasis ours). President Ezra Taft Benson: The world teaches birth control. Tragically, many of our sisters subscribe to its pills and practices when they could easily provide earthly tabernacles for more of our Fathers children. We know that every spirit assigned to this earth will come, whether through us or someone else. There are couples in the Church who think they are getting along just fine with their limited families but who will someday suffer the pains of remorse when they meet the spirits that might have been part of their posterity.

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The first commandment given to man was to multiply and replenish the earth with children. That commandment has never been altered, modified, or canceled. The Lord did not say to multiply and replenish the earth if it is convenient, or if you are wealthy, or after you have gotten your schooling, or when there is peace on earth, or until you have four children. The Bible says, Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord. . . Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. . . (Ps. 127:3, 5). We believe God is glorified by having numerous children and a program of perfection for them. So also will God glorify that husband and wife who have a large posterity and who have tried to raise them up in righteousness. (CR, April 1969, p. 12; or Improvement Era, June 1969, pp. 43-44). The Church recognizes that not all women in the Church will have the opportunity for marriage and motherhood in mortality. Of necessity, some of our sisters have had to choose careers as a means of their own livelihood, and in some instances to provide for their families. But we do not encourage our young women to enter careers as lifelong objectives nor as alternatives to marriage and family. There is a godly and noble reason for this counsel. (Woman, pp. 70-71, emphasis ours). Godhood is our goal, our high and singular aim. Godhood is the only complete state, the only state wherein man and woman can obtain a fulness of joy. As we have been taught, this happy state comprehends the power of the seeds through the effectual and eternal union of the male and female, then the subsequent effectual parenting necessary to successfully bring children up in light and truth to a glorious kingdom. Herein is the work and glory and joy of God and mankind! In the accomplishment of this pre-eminent goal here or in eternity, the division of gifts (capacities) and duties (missions) between the male and female remains the same. The male, lovingly presiding in the family, is the partner mainly responsible for needs outside the home. These include the necessities to preserve the well-being of the family within the external context of the familys socio-ecclesiastical, socio-economic, socio-political and socio-physical environments. The Male Role Since the early 70s when the traditional roles of men and women came under acute attack, every President of the Church since then has given specific and consistent counsel: President Kimball: Men ought to be men indeed and earn the living under normal circumstances.

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(Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward Kimball [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], p. 318). President Benson: What, then, is a fathers specific responsibility within the sacred walls of his home? May I suggest two basic responsibilities of every father in Israel. First, you have a sacred responsibility to provide for the material needs of your family. The Lord clearly defined the roles of providing for and rearing a righteous posterity. In the beginning, Adam, not Eve, was instructed to earn the bread by the sweat of his brow. . . In a home where there is an able-bodied husband, he is expected to be the breadwinner. . . Brethren of the priesthood, I continue to emphasize the importance of mothers staying home to nurture, care for, and train their children in the principles of righteousness. . . Second, you have a sacred responsibility to provide spiritual leadership in your family. . . Mothers play an important role as the heart of the home, but this in no way lessens the equally important role fathers should play, as head of the home, in nurturing, training and loving their children. (See Ensign, November 1987, pp. 48-51, emphasis ours). President Hunter: You who hold the priesthood have the responsibility, unless disabled, to provide temporal support for your wife and children. No man can shift the burden of responsibility to another, not even to his wife. The Lord has commanded that women and children have claim upon their husbands and fathers for their maintenance (see D&C 83; 1 Tim. 5:8). President Ezra Taft Benson has stated that when a husband encourages or insists that his wife work out of the home for their convenience, not only will the family suffer in such instances... but [his] own spiritual growth and progression will be hampered (Ensign, Nov. 1987, p. 49). We urge you to do all in your power to allow your wife to remain in the home, caring for the children while you provide for the family the best you can. We further emphasize that men who abandon their family and fail to meet their responsibility to care for those they have fathered may find their eligibility for a temple recommend and their standing in the Church in jeopardy. (Ensign, November 1994, p. 51, emphasis ours). President Gordon B. Hinckley, the First Presidency and The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

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By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. (Proclamation To the Church and To the World, Sept. 23, 1995). The Female Role President Kimball: Normally, the husband is the breadwinner. We believe that the place of the woman is in the home, as a general rule. We realize that some women may need to be employed when their children are grown, or when there have been problems in their home and the breadwinner has been taken from them. The most sacred privileges that a woman could have are in the home, to be a partner with God in the creation of Children. (See Ensign, February 1974, p. 2, emphasis ours). President Benson: You [sisters] were not created to be the same as men. Your natural attributes, affections, and personalities are entirely different from those of a man. They consist of faithfulness, benevolence, kindness, and charity. They give you the personality of a woman. They also balance the more aggressive and competitive nature of a man. The business world is competitive and sometimes ruthless. We do not doubt that women have both the brainpower and the skills (and in some instances superior abilities) to compete with men. But by competing they must, of necessity, become aggressive and competitive. Thus their godly attributes are diminished and they acquire a quality of sameness with man. (Woman, pp. 70-71, emphasis ours). President Hunter: The First Presidency has said: Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest holiest service to be assumed by mankind (in James R. Clarke, comp. Messages of the First Presidency, 6 Vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75, 6:178). The priesthood cannot work out its destiny, nor can Gods purposes be fulfilled, without our helpmeets. Mothers perform a labor the priesthood cannot do. For this gift of life, the priesthood should have love unbounded for the mothers of their children. Honor your wifes unique and divinely appointed role as a mother in Israel and her special capacity to bear and nurture children. We are under divine commandment to multiply and replenish the earth and to bring up our children and grandchildren in light and truth. (Ensign, November 1994, p.50, emphasis ours).

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President Gordon B. Hinckley, the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurturing of their children. (A Proclamation To the Church and To the World, Sept. 23, 1995). These kindly and tender patriarch-prophets are not chauvinistically attempting to put women in their place, but are rather lovingly bearing witness and counseling the daughters of God as the Lords inspired servants. They point unerringly to that place where their sisters greatest privileges and joys can be found, both here and in eternity. Secondly, they counsel that these principles, privileges and joys unique to womanhood do not concern merely some of Gods daughters. President Kimball: Every girl, and I say every girl, should prepare herself for marriage and for domestic responsibilities. You are not reading that in the magazines today, but its true nevertheless. She should be encouraged to be proud to prepare for true womanly service. She should become skilled in things that are useful and enriching to her family life. She should develop her talents, strengthen her knowledge and testimony of the gospel, and be eager to serve others. . . (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1982], p. 320, emphasis ours). President Benson: We hear much talk -- even among some of our own sisters -- about so-called alternative life-styles for women. It is maintained that some women are better suited for careers than for marriage and motherhood, or that a combination of both family and career is not inimical to either. Some have even been so bold as to suggest that the Church move away from the Mormon woman stereotype of homemaking and rearing children. God grant that that dangerous philosophy will never take root among our Latter-day women! I repeat: You are elect because you were elected to a certain work. How glorious is the knowledge that you are dignified by the God heaven to be wives and mothers in Zion! (In Woman, p. 70, emphasis ours). Partnering Only a fool would attempt to competitively compare or erase these unique differences between the male and female roles. For 6,000 years ignorant and unwise men and women

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have fought the so-called battle of the sexes. The truth is we not only want the parts to retain their unique differences and missions, we need them to, or the whole will never be complete, and the missions never accomplished! We need to come to appreciate and value our differences instead of making light of them, disdaining them or seeking to eradicate them. We need to recognize how glorious our unique differences are, and how wonderfully they complement, temper and round out the whole to make our marital partnerships effective and marvelously complete. As Latter-day Saints blessed with an eternal perspective of life the world does not generally enjoy, we need to stop allowing the world to set our priorities, shape our values and influence the course we each choose during our mortal probation. The highways and byways of the worldly-wise are not the strait and narrow path to Godhood. It makes no sense for both the female and the male to leave children and home, seeking to serve and save their external environments while their family dies of neglect. The home is the fountain of life, the center of the universe! It cannot be ignored without reaping a sad harvest. Similarly, it makes no sense for both to stay home full-time, taking no thought for the provision of the family or the preservation of the environments in which the home exists. The home will not survive if the environments in which it exists socially, physically, politically, economically, ecclesiastically are destroyed. Similarly, the environments cannot survive if the home fails at the very headwaters of life. When intelligences live destructively they destroy not only themselves but also the environments to which they are connected. The home is the only place where the inculcation of true principles has been consistently effective in producing righteous lives to preserve and bless life and the environment, rather than injuring and destroying them. These unique and equal dichotomous roles of faithful mothers and fathers cannot be overemphasized. President Kimball offered this simple reminder to the believing saints: Remember, in the world before we came here, faithful women were given certain assignments while faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood tasks. While we do not now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to. (TSWK, p. 316). President Benson: Fathers, you cannot delegate your duty as the head of the home. Mothers, train up your children in righteousness; do not attempt to save the world and let your own family fall apart. . .

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The home is the rock foundation, the cornerstone of civilization. This nation and others will never rise above their homes. The church, the schools, and even the nations stand helpless before weakened and degraded homes. (In CR, Taiwan Area Conference, 1975, p. 3). The gospel is about fostering faith in, and obedience to, the eternal principles of eternal lives. Individuals can obtain eternal life without the degrees of men and professional success, but we can never obtain eternal life without faithful, righteous, viable marriages and families in the gospel context. The stringent requirements of exaltation do not include professional careers or nice houses, but they most certainly require successful marriages and loving homes. The Church is in the celestial home building business, and its blueprints are taken from the pages of the holy scriptures containing the fullness of the gospel and the inspired teachings and counsel of living prophets. To build on any other foundation will produce sand castles in futility. Taking Counsel from the Lord Some may contend the leaders of the Church offer general counsel for the general rule, and might seek to excuse themselves on the basis of specific perceived needs they do not think the prophets have seen or taken into consideration. We must be so careful. Refusing to follow the Lords prophets has always brought sorrow to the children of Israel. As Gods beloved sons and daughters we have been continually admonished to humble ourselves and to exercise great faith, not to seek to counsel, but rather to take counsel from [the Lords] hand (see Jacob 4:10-12). President Marion G. Romney cautioned the saints: In my view, seeking to counsel the Lord generally means disregarding the Lords counsel, either knowingly or unknowingly, and in place thereof substituting our own counsel or the persuasions of men. Doing this is a very common human weakness. But until we are able to conquer it, real closeness to the Spirit of the Lord eludes us regardless of our other gifts and attainments. On the other hand, when a person learns what the Lords counsel is and follows it, he irresistibly draws close to the Spirit. From its very beginning, the history of Gods dealings with his children on the earth testifies to the fact that those who disregard his counsel fail and come to grief. . . Now I do not think that many members of the Church consciously urge the persuasions of men or their own counsel instead of heeding the Lords. However, when we do not keep ourselves advised as to what the counsel of the Lord is, we are

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prone to substitute our own counsel for His. As a matter of fact, there is nothing else we can do but follow our own counsel when we do not know the Lords instructions. . . (Ensign, August 1985, pp. 2-5). We bear witness that following divine counsel will always bless our lives, both now and in the eternities to come. We are loved and cherished children of the Gods with divine potential to become like them, to find the same joys and obtain the same glories they possess, but only if we walk the same path they have walked then revealed to us for our benefit and blessing. We are little children with much to learn. Our eternal parents have walked this road before us. If we will have the humility and faith of little children to trust and follow them, while we may not understand all things now, the day will come when we will comprehend and rejoice in the great wisdom and power of these eternal principles our Heavenly Father has revealed through his anointed servants. The eternal truths pertaining to the dichotomy and synergy of our sexual natures, gifts and roles as male and female offspring of Deity are both beautiful and powerful. In the end we will come to know the singular roles of men and women both now and in eternity have always been and always will be mutually dependent, perfectly equal, but effectually different to bring to pass the work and glory of God.

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Chapter Four

Special Situations

When we attempt to superimpose these eternal truths into an imperfect mortal state like the one we now live in, an added measure of sensitivity and consideration is needed for many faithful individuals. The leaders of the Church have always responded to these realities with love and reassurance, while never yielding on the principles of truth they teach. Women Who Do Not Have Marriage Opportunities in This Life President Harold B. Lee: All women have a desire for companionship. They want to be wives; they want to be mothers; and when men refuse to assume their responsibility of marriage, for no good reason, they are unable to consummate marriage. Brethren, we are not doing our duty as holders of the priesthood when we go beyond the marriageable age and withhold ourselves from an honorable marriage to these lovely women, who are seeking the fulfillment of a womans greatest desire to have a husband, a family, and a home. (CR, October 1973, pp. 119-20; or Ensign, January 1974, p. 100). President Joseph Fielding Smith: You good sisters, who are single and alone, do not fear, do not feel that blessings are going to be withheld from you. You are not under any obligation or necessity of accepting some proposal that comes to you which is distasteful for fear you will come under condemnation. If in your hearts you feel that the gospel is true, and would under proper conditions receive these ordinances and sealing blessings in the temple of the Lord; and that is your faith and your hope and your desire, and that does not come to you now; the Lord will make it up, and you shall be blessed -- for no blessing shall be withheld. The Lord will judge you according to the desires of your hearts when blessings are withheld in this life, and he is not going to condemn you for that which you cannot help. (Doctrines of Salvation, compiled by Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-56], 2:76). President Harold B. Lee:

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You young women advancing in years who have not yet accepted a proposal of marriage, if you make yourselves worthy and ready to go to the house of the Lord and have faith in this sacred principle of celestial marriage for eternity, even though the privilege of marriage does not come to you now in mortality, the Lord will reward you in due time and no blessing will be denied you. You are not under obligation to accept a proposal from someone unworthy of you for fear you will fail of your blessings. Likewise, you young men who may lose your life in early life by accident, or a fatal illness, or in the terrible conflict of war before you have had an opportunity for marriage, the Lord knows the intent of your hearts, and in His own due time He will reward you with opportunities made possible through temple ordinances instituted in the Church for that purpose. Do all you can to comply with the laws of God pertaining to an exaltation in the kingdom of God. The Lord will judge you too by your works, as well as by the desires of your hearts, and your reward will be assured. (Ye Are the Light of the World [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], pp. 308-9). President Spencer W. Kimball: Marriage is honorable. Its a plan of God. It is not a whim, a choice, a preference only; its a must. We are talking to normal young people. Generally there are husbands for most young women. There might be an occasional young woman who does not find her companion, but there is little excuse for the normal young man. I tell young women who seem to have missed their chance for desirable marriage that they should do all in their power to make themselves attractive physically in dress and grooming, mentally in being knowledgeable on many subjects, spiritually in being responsive, emotionally in being genuine and worthy. And if one fails to find a companion after having done everything possible, then there will be provision for her in eternity. (Marriage is Honorable, in Speeches of the Year, 1973 [Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1974], pp. 261-62). Just as those who do not hear the gospel in this life, but who would have received it with all their hearts had they had it, will be given the fulness of the gospel blessings in the next world -- so, too, the women of the Church who do not in this life have the privileges and blessings of a temple marriage, through no fault of their own, who would have responded if they had an appropriate opportunity -- will receive all those blessings in the world to come. We desire all you sisters to know how much we love and appreciate you. We respect you for your valiant and devoted service and have many opportunities to observe how dedicated you are! (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982], p. 295).

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Unfaithful Companions President Joseph Fielding Smith: If a man and his wife are saved in separate kingdoms, for instance, the celestial and terrestrial, automatically the sealing is broken; it is broken because of the sins of one of the parties. No one can be deprived of exaltation who remains faithful. In other words, an undeserving husband cannot prevent a faithful wife from an exaltation and vice versa. In this case the faithful servant would be given to someone who is faithful. (Doctrines of Salvation, compiled by Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-56], 2:65). Childless Women President Lorenzo Snow: When two Latter-day Saints are united together in marriage, promises are made to them concerning their offspring that reach from eternity to eternity. They are promised that they shall have the power and the right to govern and control and administer salvation and exaltation and glory to their offspring, worlds without end. And what offspring they do not have here, undoubtedly there will be opportunities to have them hereafter. What else could man wish? A man and a woman in the other life, having celestial bodies, free from sickness and disease, glorified and beautified beyond description, standing in the midst of their posterity, governing and controlling them, administering life, exaltation and glory worlds without end! (Remarks Made at the Salt Lake Stake Conference, Salt Lake City, Saturday, March 13th, 1897, Deseret Evening News, 27 March 1897, p. 9). President Brigham Young: Many of the sisters grieve because they are not blessed with offspring. You will see the time when you will have millions of children around you. If you are faithful to your covenants, you will be mothers of nations. (Discourses of Brigham Young, selected by John A. Widstoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941], p. 200). Elder Melvin J. Ballard: God bless those mothers who are not yet permitted through no fault of their own to be mothers in very deed, but who are nevertheless mothers at heart. The Lord looks

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upon the hearts of men and women, and their intent, and they shall be judged according to their will and their desires. Such mothers shall not go through eternity childless. . . (Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard, compiled by Bryant S. Hinckley [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1949], pp. 206-7). Unrighteous Dominion President Harold B. Lee: . . .the wife is to obey the law of her husband only as he obeys the laws of God. No woman is expected to follow her husband in disobedience to the commandments of the Lord. (Maintain Your Place as a Woman, Ensign, February 1972, p. 50). President Brigham Young: I never counseled a woman to follow her husband to the Devil. (Discourses of Brigham Young, selected by John A. Widstoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941], p. 201). Women With Special Health Concerns Presidents David O. McKay, Hugh B. Brown, and N. Eldon Tanner (The First Presidency): Where husband and wife enjoy health and vigor and are free from impurities that would be entailed upon their posterity, it is contrary to the teachings of the Church artificially to curtail or prevent the birth of children. We believe that those who practice birth control will reap disappointment by and by. However, we feel that men must be considerate of their wives who bear the greater responsibility not only of bearing children, but of caring for them through childhood. To this end the mothers health and strength should be conserved and the husbands consideration for his wife is his first duty, and self-control a dominant factor in all their relationships. (Letter to bishops, stake presidents and mission presidents, 14 April 1969). President Hugh B. Brown: The Church has always advised against birth control and that is the only position the Church can take in view of our beliefs with respect to the eternity of the marriage covenant and the purpose of this divine relationship. There are, of course, circumstances under which people are justified in regulating the size of their families. Where the health of the mother is concerned, and where the welfare of other children

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would be adversely affected, parents sometimes, under the advice of their physicians, deem it wisdom to take precautionary measures. . . The Church cannot give a blanket or overall answer to the question which would be applicable to all situations. Seeking divine guidance and searching your own souls is recommended, but in a long lifetime of counseling on these matters, the General Authorities of the Church are united in recommending generally against birth control. (Quoted by Mark E. Petersen, in The Way of the Master [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1974], pp. 114-15). Mothers Forced to Work Outside the Home President Spencer W. Kimball: Normally, the husband is the breadwinner. We believe that the place of the woman is in the home, as a general rule. We realize that some women may need to be employed when their children are grown, or when there have been problems in their home and the breadwinner has been taken from them. The most sacred privileges that a woman could have are in the home, to be a partner with God in the creation of children. (Ensign, February 1974, p. 2, emphasis ours). President Ezra Taft Benson: The Church recognizes that not all women in the Church will have the opportunity for marriage and motherhood in mortality. Of necessity, some of our sisters have had to choose careers as a means of their own livelihood, and in some instances to provide for their families. But we do not encourage our young women to enter careers as lifelong objectives nor as alternatives to marriage and family. There is a godly and noble reason for this counsel. (Woman, pp. 70-71, emphasis ours). Just as nothing makes us appreciate good health more than sickness, or companionship more than loneliness, those of us who find ourselves in any of the circumstances outlined above would be the first to appreciate the counsel of the leaders of the Church regarding these paramount matters. We who may have been deprived of these blessings for a season would be among the staunchest defenders of these eternal principles and ideals. Certainly, nothing will make us more worthy of those blessings in eternity than to valiantly defend them here and now, especially in light of our personal and often painful circumstances. How tender our hearts been made to feel when we hear a valiant single sister defending the law of eternal marriage, when she herself has had no prospect of fulfilling her hopes in this life. How noble is the single parent, a mother forced to work full-time for the temporal

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welfare of her family, a Spiritual Living instructor in Relief Society who teaches with conviction the importance of mothers staying home to nurture their young children. How courageous is the childless woman who testifies of the supernal work in this life of mothering, who reaches beyond her family circle to embrace those in need of her love and gifts when denied the blessing of her own offspring. There are no greater souls than those who fight on in faith against the greatest of all odds and the improbability of fulfillment, who hold dear the very principles and covenants they are personally denied as they stand patiently outside the gate for a season. They go forward in faith, hoping in, believing in and trusting in Gods promises despite all the adversity and hardship arrayed against them. Like Job they are constrained to say, Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. (See Job 13:15). Perhaps no one in our experience exemplifies the possibilities of the total fulfillment of all the promises of the Lord more than Sister Maischt: Shortly after our baptism, Jutta and I became aware of an elderly sister named Sister Maischt, whose enthusiasm for the gospel and the church was so extraordinary that the shabbiness of her outward appearance did not matter much. From her looks, she was as close to a fairy tale witch as anyone I have ever seen always wearing the same, long, ugly black dress, and never clean, always smelly. She simply did not try to look groomed or acceptable. The missionaries were always very embarrassed by her and tried to prevent her from approaching us, which she often attempted. However, as a young convert, I did not see her outward appearance so much as I was fascinated by her relentless enthusiasm. No one knew her very well, and only later did I learn the whole history of her background. She was originally from East Prussia, about 1,000 miles east of Dortmund. She had five children who had been killed by the Russians. Her husband was killed. She was raped several times. Her farm was burned down. With a little handcart, she made her way to Dortmund to a piece of land she had inherited there. She lived in a shed without plumbing or electricity and lived off the food she grew on her land. She never talked about the details. When anyone asked her about her background, she would immediately change the subject and talk about the goodness of Christ, the support of angels, and her testimony of the Book of Mormon. One day, in the early days of my membership in the branch, I was questioning why I was there. There were some people in the branch with seemingly unrefined speech and behavior. I was standing there in our humble meeting place, undecided about whether I would ever come back, when she approached me with a look of determination, thrusting her face so close to mine that I could not avoid her smell.

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She yelled at the top of her voice three times, Brother Busche, it is true! Her words sank deep into my soul, touching my spirit. In a strange way, I was never offended by her smell, or her ungroomed hair, or the holes in her shoes, or the dirt on her shirt, or the wrinkles in her stockings. I can still feel today the power of her testimony penetrating my soul. One day, as I drove home with my wife and our little one-and-half-year-old son, Markus, we discussed Sister Maischt and the fact that she walked two hours one way to go to church. We debated whether we should make the sacrifice and leave thirty minutes earlier on Sundays to give her a ride to and from church. We felt good as we finally agreed that we would arrange our time to do this service for her. How surprised I was, however, when I presented her with our suggestion the next Sunday. She said, Brother Busche, you cannot do this to me. Im an old lady. How can I ever show the Lord how much I love Him, how much I adore Him, how much I depend on His atoning sacrifice for my salvation, and my desire to serve Him? Im too old and too ugly and too forgetful to serve as the Relief Society president or even as a teacher. The greatest joy of my life is on Sunday when I can get up early in the morning, walk to church, and take the sacrament. Yes, it is a long walk and, yes, my legs hurt and my back hurts, but every step I rejoice. Every tree and every shrub is my friend. I know every person behind every window. I greet them all with my heart and with my testimony. As I walk, I sing the hymns and when I arrive, Im through the hymnbook and my heart is full of joy and gratitude because my walk is a celebration of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. And you want to take this away from me? You cant do this to me. Let me walk. In a strange way, this woman taught me more about the gospel of Jesus Christ than I may have learned in Sunday School classes. Her commitment was total. Whenever she spoke, she bore her testimony. Yes, she looked funny, and people were embarrassed to associate with her, but the more I think about it, the more I know that she was probably one of the most compelling teachers I have ever had in my membership. Long before I was able to go to the temple, she told me of the urgent need for each member to go to the temple as often as possible. One time, she reported she had been in the temple in Switzerland at least once a month since the temple had opened. That was much more than anyone else in the branch had accomplished. When she could not get anyone to take her to the temple, which was ten or twelve hours away, she somehow saved the money to go by herself by train. Not a month went by that she did not manage to go to the temple. When I became branch president, one of the most touching experiences of my service was receiving the tithing envelopes from the members. I was deeply touched by the faithfulness and commitment of even the poorest in the branch. Sister Maischt in particular. When I first received her tithing, my heart was touched, but then I saw, to

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my surprise, that she had added a very large amount as a fast offering. It was nearly fifty percent of her tithing. In comparison, I said to her, Sister Maischt, you dont have to do that. This is a lot of money for you. She rebuked me in another outburst of conviction. She stomped her foot and shouted, Brother Busche, you are new in the Church. You dont understand yet. This fast offering is for the poor and this is serious. We must not let the poor go hungry. I learned that she did not consider herself poor. I also learned that she refused any help that people offered. I never saw her in any other dress or in any other shoes, and I doubt that she had any. I knew that she lived in a little shack without sanitary installation, but she considered herself rich. One day, she came to me and gave me a large amount of money. If I remember correctly, it was about 1,500 marks the equivalent at that time of perhaps $1,000. She came to me and said, Brother Busche, this is money for my funeral because this will be the last week of my life. I protested and said, Sister Maischt, you are going to live much longer. You are not going to die. She said, You dont understand. The Lord told me that my time of probation is over and that I should come to you to arrange for my funeral. This is the money, and these are the songs and speakers. She handed me a piece of paper with the arrangements for her funeral. When she did not show up the next Sunday in church, the Relief Society sisters visited her. They found her dead in her hovel, calmly and peacefully gone. Yet her influence remains still because once in a while, I feel compelled to speak about her. In my mind, she is a monument of womanhood that I know will stand in the day of her resurrection, in prominence and beauty, and stands for me as a beacon of light in these days when we are so easily distracted by the things of this world. (Elder F. Enzio Busche, Yearning for the Living God, 166-170). The prophets of God love the saints, and wear out their lives in service to them. They teach these priceless truths to bless our eternal lives, never to persecute or to injure our tender feelings and longings in righteousness. They realize there are special circumstances that from time to time preclude even the most valiant souls from fully attaining access to and living the higher law pertaining to the patriarchal order. They have no desire to injure or bring pain to their beloved brothers and sisters by teaching these important truths. The faithful, like Sister Maischt, will magnify their faith and hope in these teachings of eternal truth to the end the principles will bless and strengthen them despite their personal mortal circumstances. Likewise, the leaders of the Church have no desire to persecute or estrange the wayward, who may have voluntarily chosen to live contrary to these glorious truths. The invitation to enter in at the gate is always open to those who stray. It is always their hope these teachings will soften hearts, change lives and bring indiscriminate eternal happiness to all.

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Section Two The Presiding Question

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Chapter Five

The Presiding Principle

As equally loved sons and daughters of God none of us has an inherent right to preside over another. The children of the kingdom are equals. People are peers. Therefore, we each have a very natural aversion to being coerced, manipulated, looked down on or talked down to by each other. Nothing is more offensive to the free spirit. Nothing elicits more righteous indignation than to be treated as an inferior. Within our souls we sense, believe and know our inalienable individual rights as peer children of God. There are simply no morally valid grounds for anyone arrogating to themselves the arbitrary control of others. This applies to conditions inside and outside the home. Nevertheless, throughout the history of fallen man various individuals have risen above their peers to rule and reign. Usually, this domination is accomplished by means of one or more of the following attributes: 1) Greater physical strength; 2) greater intellectual acuity; 3) greater charismatic charm; or 4) greater financial wealth. Unfortunately, these people customarily reign with blood and horror on the earth, using their talents to manipulate and coerce others to serve their own selfish ends. Even if they were to rule in love and unselfishness additional endowments of certain talents may give these people the power to rule over others, but never the right! We repeat, no one has any inherent right to preside over another with this single and obvious exception: Parents have always had the inherent right and obligation to lovingly preside over their children. It has ever been so from the beginning. Children, small and inexperienced, need protection and nurturing, guidance and supervision. Without this care they would perish. In the beginning there was only one order, the family order. There was only one family, the family of Adam and Eve. All other people dwelling on earth were their children, born and nurtured in their home, in their family. Adam and Eve as parents naturally ruled and reigned in their home. The record indicates they ruled in love and sought to bring up their children in the light and truth of the gospel, according to the obligatory command they were given by their parents the Eloheim. The Eloheim passed on to their children, Adam and Eve, the divine family order of heaven, revealing and assigning the grand division of parental duties that devolve upon all parental

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partnerships. The man was to provide, earning his bread by the sweat of his brow, and the woman was to bring forth the children. This dichotomy of parental responsibility revealed from heavens in the beginning follows one general and simple demarcation principle: Both parents joined as equals in a full partnership are endowed with capacities to enable each to do many great things as they lovingly and jointly preside over their children, but one parent has primary responsibility for matters outside the home and the other has primary responsibility for matters within the home. This divinely revealed and time-proven division of duties is both remarkably simple and extremely effective. As noted earlier it makes no sense for both the female and male parents to leave children and home, seeking to serve and save their external environments at the expense of their family. Nor can both always remain home with no thought for the provision and preservation of the homes external environments. Either way the family loses. It is feasible both sets of duties, those without and within the home, could be accomplished by either parent as each is endowed as offspring of deity with wonderful potentials of intellect, strength and nobility of character. However, there is wisdom in endowing each with natures especially suited for their specific areas of responsibility to enhance performance of their separate duties. While both would need the godly attributes of patience and sensitivity, yet an extra endowment of these fruits of the spirit would be of great worth to the parent in the home charged with the incredibly important and demanding duty of working with their tender little ones day in and day out. While both would need the abilities to be soft and gentle at times, it would be prudent to especially endow the parent assigned to care for the delicate and easily hurt little ones in the home with these qualities. This parent would also need special provisions in their physical anatomy to feed and nurture the infants, and so forth. On the other hand, the parent assigned to duties outside the home could benefit from a somewhat different nature. While both parents need great courage and good strength, the parent required to protect and provide in the environments outside the home could surely use an endowment of extra muscles for combat and backbreaking physical labor. A more aggressive temperament may be required of this partner to face and mitigate the forces at work in the world every day that would threaten the peace and welfare of the family. The brute strength and relatively unemotional and aggressive nature of man that equips him to carry the burdens of the world outside the home, if not properly tempered and balanced by the tender sensitivity of the woman, could prove to be serious liabilities within the home where easily frightened little ones need to feel loved, safe and secure.

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Our gender differences are divinely programmed endowments to enable us to better perform our roles, as they run deeper and broader than many have perhaps understood. Even our different communication styles appear to spring from the fountains of our unique natures. Charles Pulvino and James Lee write: Judy Cornelia Pearson (1985), Deborah Tannen (1990), Judy B. Rosener (1990), and Linda Carli (1991) provide insight into differences in male and female communicative styles. Pearson, Tannen, and Carli focus on the communicative process whereas Rosener examines communication in leadership. . . Differences in communication between the sexes can be found in all channels of communication. In the verbal channel, for instance, there are a number of differences between how males and females communicate. Pearson highlights some of these differences. The first significant difference is in the formality of language. Females tend to use formal words and phrases, whereas males are more likely to use informal ones. For instance, a female might say, I understand what you are trying to tell me, while by contrast a male might say, I get the picture. Second, females appear to prefer the specificity that language can provide, while males appear to focus on the underlying principles or issues. . . One approach is neither better nor worse than the other, they are merely different. And the differences can often lead to misunderstanding and conflict. Males often feel they are explaining a concept and find that females responding to their statements focus on the accuracy of the words being used rather than on the ideas being relayed. Males then may judge that the females do not understand or are being unnecessarily picky about the choice of words. . . A third major difference can be found in the nature of the words or phrases used. Males and females differ in their tendencies to use hostile words, profanity, or expletives. Males are considerably more likely to lace their conversation with words of this type than are females. In general, men tend to have a much more earthy quality to their language. Females, by contrast, use more precise descriptions and are less likely to reveal overt aggressiveness in their speech. A fourth difference exists. According to Pearson, males are less likely to use hyper correction, intensifiers, fillers, qualifiers, or disclaimers than females. . . Tannen, in You Just Dont Understand, adds a slightly different perspective to our understanding of differences between male and female communication styles. Her emphasis is placed on the fundamental goals or purposes one has for communicating. In general, she suggests that most male communication is aimed at achieving independence, whereas a significant portion of female communication is geared toward relationship development or maintenance. (Financial Counseling, A Strategic Approach, [Madison, Wisconsin: Instructional Enterprises, 1991], pp. 45-48, emphasis

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ours). Such are the dichotomous natures of the sons and daughters of God. While every generality has exceptions, and learned behavior clearly plays a role in our lives, it must be acknowledged by all honest people that anatomical and emotional gender differences emerge naturally and extremely early in the lives of our children as they instinctively begin favoring dolls or trucks. These unique natures pertain to our divinely appointed roles, not only now but in eternity. Once again, President Kimball: We had full equality as his spirit children. We have equality as recipients of Gods perfected love for each of us. . . Within those great assurances, however, our roles and assignments differ. These are eternal differences -- with women being given many tremendous responsibilities of motherhood and sisterhood and men being given the tremendous responsibilities of fatherhood and the priesthood. (TSWK, p. 315, emphasis ours). From the beginning, fathers have been not only assigned, but also prepared, to serve outside the home, and mothers have been not only assigned, but also prepared, to serve within the home. Neither role nor nature is superior or inferior to the other. Both are absolutely imperative for the blessing and progression of mankind. As earlier observed, within the home and the context of the family the authority of parents to preside is inherent. It is not only their right but their duty. Parents naturally love and serve their children, and children naturally honor and submit to their parents in righteousness (to the extent they do not yield to the enticings of the flesh and the powers of the adversary). Outside the home, however, there is no inherent right of any man to preside over another! None! For the fathers assigned to deal with the realities of the environments outside the home this poses a most significant problem. How is one family going to deal with another family? Possessed of inherent and inalienable equality, yet having no inherent authority, no order, we have chaos. As individual families vie for territory and other resources, anarchy, war and contention will redound upon the generations to follow. What is to be done? As long as men and women were one big righteous and happy gospel-oriented family, the family order worked just fine. Parents would always be righteous and loving heads, and children would always be righteous in honoring their parents. No matter how many generations co-existed simultaneously there would be order and harmony, the oldest parents reigning supreme and each generation revering parents and grandparents in succession. This is the patriarchal priesthood order of heaven where all things are in their proper and rightful

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place. In a vision at Council Bluffs Joseph Smith taught Brigham Young about this great family order: Be sure to tell the people to keep the Spirit of the Lord; and if they will, they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family but they are all disorganized and in great confusion. (Manuscript History of Brigham Young, February 23, 1847, Church Historians Office). What is to be done in this state of disorganization and great confusion wherein people are not living in the family order. How are they going to co-exist in harmony with each other? What order will there be to govern separate and distinct families as they vie for common resources, differ in opinions and seek to communicate? How will order come where there is no inherent right to preside, no inherent right to govern each other? There has to be a valid authority outside the home, outside the immediate family. While it is not currently patriarchal in nature, it is still the priesthood. The fathers of the Church were given the ecclesiastical priesthood, a non-family-ordered extension of authority, so homes could still co-exist in harmony and order in the larger communities of the saints. Obviously, mothers would not need this authority, as their assignments within the homes already embody inherent authority in their motherhood. How could the order of the priesthood work, either patriarchally or ecclesiastically, if fathers were not heads of the homes they represented in the greater community, if they could not legally and authoritatively speak for their entire marital partnerships? What if the mothers were not obliged to honor those external decisions and the priesthood order in the greater community? The division and contention jeopardizing the communities would continue. Nothing would have been accomplished. One partner could not speak for the other. No agreements could be met and no binding accords could be consummated without all the mothers leaving home and children on a regular basis, as no one could rightfully and legally represent anyone else. Either the home would be destroyed from without as no order could be brought to bear upon the external environments in which the home dwells, or the home would be destroyed from within as the children were left to themselves. Either scenario represents a losing proposition for the survival of home. The equal female partners faithfully serving within the home were either going to have to voluntarily sustain their husbands in the priesthood order of the greater community outside

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the home, or order could never prevail and the peace and harmony of communities and homes could never be realized. Someone might propose that fathers stay in the home and nurture the little ones, while mothers go out to handle all the ecclesiastical affairs, the warfare, the competitive business and combative political infighting. This arrangement of role reversal would accomplish nothing more than the first proposition. First, the partnership would still be in the very same situation as before, requiring one partner to be governed and bound by the decisions and agreements entered into by the partner representing their partnership outside the home. Secondly, this arrangement would cause both partners to work extensively outside the home, or demand a complete reversal of the divinely appointed roles of the two partners, neither as well-suited to perform the others duties. President Benson: In the beginning, God placed a woman in a companion role with the priesthood. The Gods counseled and said that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him. (Moses 3:18). Why was it not good for man to be alone? If it were only mans loneliness with which God was concerned, he might have provided other companionship. But he provided woman, for she was to be mans helpmeet. She was to act in partnership with him. In this pronouncement that it was not good for man to be alone, God declared a fundamental truth. The Lord gave woman a different personality and temperament than man. By nature woman is charitable and benevolent, man is striving and competitive. Man is at his best when complemented by a good womans natural influence. She tempers the home and marriage relationship with her compassionate and loving influence. Yes, it is not good for man to be alone because a righteous woman complements what may be lacking in a mans natural personality and disposition. Nowhere is this complementary association more ideally portrayed than in the eternal marriage of our first parents, Adam and Eve. (In Woman, p. 69, emphasis ours). Imagine a society where men and women had become so one-sided everyone behaved like a man! Who would opt for losing the principles of gentleness, sensitivity and kindness? We need both the nature of women and the nature of men. Some may question the need of the male nature in the blessing and preservation of society, contending we should discard all aggressive tendencies in preference for gentleness. This

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presupposes a condition of evil being eradicated. However, the forces of evil will ever be at work in opposition to the forces of good in the universe. This opposition in all things is an eternal configuration. (See 2 Nephi 2:11). This being the case, passionate indignation, brute force and aggressive fervor to compete against the forces of evil will always be needed by the people of God. President Joseph Fielding Smith: Is there ever a time when war, or the taking up of arms is justified? Yes, there are such times. There have been many instances when the Lord has justified the taking up of arms and has approved his people in their obedience to such action. When it becomes necessary for a righteous people to take arms against their enemies who are the aggressors, in protection of their lives and in defense of their possessions, the Lord has approved. If you will read the scriptures carefully, you will discover that the Lord commanded his chosen people to prepare for war and even to be the aggressors in the accomplishment of his purposes. (Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 Vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1957-66], 3:50-51). However, competition, justice, aggression, cold rationality and sheer power must always be tempered by cooperation, mercy, sensitivity, compassion and gentleness to bring about the righteous balance of these eternal principles to preserve and prosper life. Unchecked, one is too strong and the other too weak. One would consume us with its power and the other would leave us to be destroyed by our impotency. It is not good for either of these to stand alone. Only joined together in harmonious union do these principles bless and prosper. In the exalted couple we call God we see the perfect balance and union of these eternal traits and principles. In The Book of Mormon we learn God is perfectly just -- and merciful also. (See Alma 42:15). Justice is characterized as being male in gender, and mercy is typified as being female in gender: For behold, justice exerciseth all his demands, and also mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus none but the truly penitent are saved. (Alma 42:24). The unwise have debated throughout the centuries about justice vs. mercy. So also, unwise and inexperienced partners in marriage have tended to war with each other because of their contrasted natures. Some have adopted unilateral configurations where one spouse is dominant and one is subordinant, others have opted unisexual configurations where one or both seek to become the same as the other in every way -. . . becoming a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs

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remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility. Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. (2 Nephi 2:11-12). Both of these configurations are wrong and will produce certain weaknesses and flaws in the marital relationship that will mitigate the effectiveness of the marriage and the happiness of the couple. Wise and experienced partners, however, will use their unique influences to righteously temper and balance each others natures, but never to destroy them. They will learn to respect and treat each other as equals, yet value and capitalize on each others special strengths. Working as a team, they will become one synergistic whole, binding their diverse natures together in harmony, not unison, thereby becoming a greater and more complete man and woman. These important gender differences emphasized in the sexes do not mean single males and females are completely bereft of each others qualities, nor do they mean males and females are inferior or superior to each other. If we believe in God and a conscious intelligent creation, it all simply means we are each intentionally designed to be wonderfully unique partners (parts). These key differences are calculated to bless us in ways we could not be benefited otherwise. Perhaps a simple analogy will be instructive: Basketball teams play the shorter, quicker players as the outside guards and the bigger, taller players as the inside forwards and centers. There are no rules in basketball to dictate this arrangement, but every team is organized this way. This structure has been demonstrated beyond doubt to be the most effective. The goal of the team is to be successful. Teams with short inside centers and forwards, and tall outside guards dont succeed. They fail for obvious reasons. In general, big players are not as adroit as smaller players in skillfully handling the ball outside, and shorter players are not going to score as many points and get as many rebounds inside as the taller players. Occasionally, coaches play tall lineups and short lineups, but the only consistently successful teams play the big guys inside and the little guys outside. Even though the inside duties and the outside duties can generally be performed by both, if you want the greatest possible success in basketball you play to your strengths.

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It has nothing to do with short guys being smarter or big guys being nobler. We can argue all day about which positions are the best or most important, but its all nonsense. They are all important in their individual roles that contribute to the teams success! A good team needs both types of players and it needs them to play in the right positions. To play the game otherwise is to choose to fail. Furthermore, someone is going to have to be given the authority to call the plays and the other players have to support him in that role without reservation. Only one player calls the plays, or the team would be in a constant state of confusion. One player will have to take the lead, usually the point guard, and the other players who are equally important team members need to support him in his role. Switching roles in the family is not the answer, nor is making both partners the same! One partner, the father, will need to deal mainly with the external issues pertaining to the wellbeing of home and family. The other partner, the mother, will need to remain home. Both are divinely assigned and prepared for this time-proven division of equally valued duties. Additionally, there will have to be a head. Father will have to represent the family according to his divinely assigned duties outside the home, and mother (his equal partner) will need to sustain him in that role. We live in a day when the Ms. and Mr. Mom phenomenon is in full bloom. However, given the special endowments of the sexes and the grand division of duties necessitated by the very nature of the inner home and the outer environments (and the structure of a universe balanced between good and evil), there is no other logical or viable configuration. The division of parental natures and duties is simply the most effective configuration to create and sustain a successful home. Creating a successful home here, leading to an eternal kingdom later, is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.

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Chapter Six

The Principle of Order

The need for a head in the home is no different than any other viable social organization known to man. The presiding principle is the foundation of order, and order stands at the headwaters of life. Gods house is a house of order. (D&C 132:8). All life is the result of order or organization. There are no exceptions. All order and organization are the result of law. Again, there are no exceptions. Without law there is no order. Without order there is no life. Without the laws of biology our bodies would disintegrate. Without the laws of government our society would devolve to anarchy and self-destruction. Without the laws of physics our solar system would fly into chaos. Law preserves and perfects life because law preserves the order upon which all life is dependent. (D&C 88:34). If the eternal system of law and order were destroyed all organization would end. Life in its present form would cease. Only eternal chaos and confusion would prevail. Gods house is not a house of confusion. He would never permit this to happen. He will always honor the demands of eternal law because confusion brings destruction, whereas order brings life. For behold, this is my work and my glory -- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (Moses 1:39, emphasis ours). When it comes to social order, every organization needs an order. Otherwise, chaos ensues. It doesnt matter if the organization consists of 2,000,000, or 2,000, or 200, or 2. To have order, there must be an order (first, second, third, etc.), and the order must, by definition, have a first, or a head. The only alternative is to have no order. There are no other options. We either have order or chaos. If we opt for order there must be an order. If there is an order there must be a head. If one were to say, Our order is to have no head, then a contradiction exists. What that really means is, Our order is to have no order. Calling chaos order does not make it so. Chaos is the absence of order. Does every order require a head? Can we organize ourselves in a configuration requiring no head? The real question is, Can we have order without having order? Of course, the answer is, No.

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Elder James E. Talmage said: In every organization, however simple or complex, there must needs be a centralization of authority, in short, a head. [God has placed man at the head of the household, alongside his wife as full and faithful partner,] and God holds him accountable for his administration. That many men fail in their station, that some are weak and unfit, that in particular instances the wife may be the more capable and in divers ways the better of the pair, should not be considered as evidence. . . [of] unrighteousness in the established order. Woman should be regarded, not in the sense of privilege but of right, as the associate of man in the. . . home, and they two should form the governing head of the family institution, while to each separately pertain duties and function which the other is less qualified to discharge. Weakness or inefficiency on the part of either in specified instances must not be taken to impugn the wisdom by which the organization of the home and of society has been planned [by God]. (The Eternity of Sex, Young Womans Journal, October 1914, p. 602, as cited by Patricia T. Holland in To Rejoice as Women, p. 107). We have a friend who was employed by a company with seven directors. They were opposed to appointing a leader from among the seven directors, because none believed himself to be a better leader than any of the other seven. Their entire company organization chart was flat, following the latest trend in management styles. It was not to be a vertical hierarchical organization. Everyone was a competent professional, needing little direction. The employees of the firm were called associates so no one would be slighted by being called an employee. The theory was everyone would have a stake in the success of the company and no one would feel inferior. No one assumed any leadership role for the decisions of the company. The teams of associates sort of reported to whichever director was available, then felt they had to contact at least four of the seven directors to achieve a majority consensus of the owners. As one can imagine, the result was chaos. The company folded after two years with no remaining cash to operate. They chose chaos when they chose no order. In a group someone must always go first, be first, speak first or choose first. We can elect, appoint or the position can be taken by force, but it is the most natural tendency in human nature to want to organize. Have you ever attended the first meeting of a newly formed committee? Remember the urgent need was to appoint a leader or spokesperson? It is usually the first item on the agenda. We know a small branch in the mission field where there werent enough members to fully staff every organization, so the branch president also served as the Sunday School president,

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the elders quorum president, the Relief Society president and the high priest group leader. He had the luxury of merely sitting down to think when he called a meeting. But in any organization with more than one person order must prevail. A group needs organization, it needs a leader even if it is a merely discussion facilitator. Every group needs a head. Monarchies have a head, dictatorships have a head, theocracies have a head, democracies have a head, parliaments have a head, even tribes have a head. There are no organizations without heads. Without a head they are not organizations. Is there one example of successfully organizing a group that worked without a head? Nothing in the history of the world comes to mind. There are different kinds of heads -- permanent heads, temporary heads, revolving heads, full heads, partial heads, air heads, despotic heads, loving heads, heavy-handed heads, hands-off heads, and brainless heads without a clue -- but always there is a head to bring order out of chaos. There must be a line of responsibility. Someone has to be ultimately responsible. Someone might say, We will have no head. We will operate strictly on a majority vote. That is what our friends company attempted to do. No one even felt enough authority to call for the vote, no one set the agenda for the items to be voted upon, everyone wondered when and how to present and discuss the issues and finally in the end one director was appointed czar with absolute authority and autonomy to lead. It was a desperate attempt to establish order after chaos had already prevailed. Others would argue that being equals as saints means we should have no heads in our homes or in the Church to lead us or to appoint us to duties and stewardships. When we become perfected and sanctified, made holy and become equals as gods, they would assert, we certainly will have no heads, no order and no appointments then. But those who would argue thus are mistaken. Even the Gods, exalted and sitting in celestial glory, dwell in order. Our God was appointed by the council of Gods, which was called by the head of the Gods. In the beginning, the head of the Gods called a council of the Gods; and they came together and concocted a plan to create the world and people it. (TPJS, p. 349), emphasis ours). The word Eloheim ought to be in the plural all the way through Gods. The heads of the Gods appointed one God for us. (TPJS, p. 372).

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Even the Gods operate within an order, and dwell eternally in order. Priesthood, according to the Prophet Joseph, is an order, even the holy priesthood after the order of the Son of God. It is an eternal order, not temporary in any way. (See D&C 107:3; JST Genesis 14:25-40; TPJS, pp. 157, 158, 167). Gods children will always be organized according to principles of law and order The organization of spiritual and heavenly worlds, and of spiritual and heavenly beings was agreeable to the most perfect order and harmony: Their limits were fixed irrevocably, and voluntarily subscribed to in their heavenly estate by themselves. (TPJS, p. 325, emphasis ours). The Father called all spirits before Him at the creation of man and organized them. He (Adam) was the head, and was told to multiply. The keys were first given to him, and by him to others. He will have to give an account of his stewardship and they to him. (TPJS, p. 158, emphasis ours). Those individuals who embrace the principles of authority and order, stewardships, laws and heads will come to comprehend God and His kingdom in its fullness.

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Chapter Seven

Righteous and Unrighteous Dominion

We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. (D&C 121:39). According to scripture, there are basically two approaches to leading or presiding. One is evil and detrimental to the organization, the other is good and beneficial. There are shepherds and there are sheepherders. Hugh Nibley contrasted leadership with management in a classic treatise many years ago. (See Leaders and Managers, commencement address delivered August 19, 1983, republished in Classic Speeches, Volume 1, 1994, by Brigham Young University). We can call it style, or we can call it philosophy, but there are really only two ways to go. Nibley observes: Leaders are movers and shakers, original, inventive, unpredictable, imaginative, full of surprises that discomfit the enemy in war and the main office in peace. For managers are safe, conservative, predictable, conforming organization men and team players, dedicated to the establishment. The leader, for example, has a passion for equality. We think of great generals from David and Alexander on down, sharing their beans or maza with their men, calling them by their first names, marching along with them in the heat, sleeping on the ground, and first over the wall. A famous ode by a long-suffering Greek soldier, Archilochus, reminds us that the men in the ranks are not fooled for an instant by the executive type who thinks he is a leader. For the manger, on the other hand, the idea of equality is repugnant and indeed counterproductive. Where promotion, perks, privilege, and power are the name of the game, awe and reverence for rank is everything, the inspiration and motivation of all good men. Where would management be without the inflexible paper processing, dress standards, attention to proper social, political, and religious affiliation, vigilant watch over habits and attitudes, and so forth, that gratify the stockholders and satisfy security? If you love me, said the Greatest of all leaders, you will keep my commandments. If you know what is good for me, says the manager, you will keep my commandments, and not make waves. . . Managers do not promote individuals whose competence might threaten their own position; and so as the power of management spreads ever wider, the quality

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deteriorates, if that is possible. In short, while management shuns equality, it feeds on mediocrity. On the other hand, leadership is an escape from mediocrity. All the great deposits of art, science, and literature from the past on which all civilization in nourished come to us from a mere handful of leaders. For the qualities of leadership are the same in all fields, the leader being simply the one who sets the highest example; and to do that and open the way to greater light and knowledge, the leader must break the mold. . . True leaders are inspiring because they are inspired, caught up in a higher purpose, devoid of personal ambition, idealistic, and incorruptible. . . . So vast is the discrepancy between management and leadership that only a blind man would get them backwards. Yet that is what we do. . . I am told of a meeting of very big businessmen in a distant place, who happened also to be the heads of stakes, where they addressed the problem of how to stay awake in the temple. For them what is done in the house of the Lord is mere quota-filling until they can get back to the real work of the world. (Ibid., italics in original). Nibley continues, by precisely drawing the distinction between the things of this world we seem to value so highly with the things money cannot buy: But what exactly are the things of the world? An easy and infallible test has been given us in the well-known maxim, You can have anything in this world for money. If a thing is of this world, you can have it for money; if you cannot have it for money, it does not belong to this world. That is what makes the whole thing manageable -money is pure number; by converting all values to numbers, everything can be fed into the computer and handled with ease and efficiency. How much? becomes the only question we need to ask. The manager knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing (Oscar Wilde, Lady Windemeres Fan, act 3), because for him the value is the price. (Ibid., italics in original). The Apostle Paul said those in authority over their peers must Feed the flock of God which among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; [thus respecting the free agency of their brothers and sisters] not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; [with pure and unselfish motives] neither as being lords over Gods heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. (1 Peter 5:2-3, emphasis ours). The Savior said: Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be the servant of all. For even the

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Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-44, emphasis ours). To the Nephites he said: Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants. (3 Nephi 12:1, emphasis ours). These are incredibly insightful teachings. To feed the flock is to lovingly teach the principles of salvation from the word of God, to spiritually nurture and succor the downtrodden ones, to lift the hands that hang down and to inspire and motivate by the power of the spirit through gentle persuasion and long-suffering. To take the oversight thereof does not mean to despotically lord over, but rather to lovingly watch over and to serve. In Babylon the people serve the king. In Zion the king serves the people. Righteous Leadership Righteous dominion should characterize the ministry of every called, ordained, anointed or set apart leader in the Church. These leaders are not stepping above their peers from their place of equality among their peers to a superior station as supposed by many. Instead, they are temporarily stepping down, humbling themselves to the point of voluntarily becoming the least and the servant of all those they are called to serve. They are not called to lord over, but rather to watch after. They are not appointed as an Orwellian Big Brother, a witch hunter or a hired sheepherder, but as a loving shepherd who cares deeply enough to give his life in time, energy and talent to serve and feed his sheep. A righteous leader will never constrain, coerce or manipulate those for whom he has stewardship, but will always work and sacrifice to serve and bless, to persuade and guide, to feed and protect with kindness and love, those for whom he has oversight. Watching out for their welfare will be his mission. Contrast the stake high councilor who stands at the pulpit, angrily shaking his fist at the collective body of the priesthood in the stake with a rock solid 70% home teaching effort and shouts, Those of you who dont do your home teaching will never inherit the celestial kingdom! with the humble bishop who is constantly setting an example by ministering quietly with his counselors among his people in their homes as the spirit directs him. Every member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an equal with a right based upon the principles of righteousness to have full fellowship with the saints. However, in Gods

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house some must be called to preside. Wives submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head. . . (Ephesians 5:22-23). Those set at the head in the Church to watch over the saints are called to be the least and the greatest servants of all. Paul draws the connection in the marriage relationship: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. (Ephesians 5:25, emphasis ours). President Marion G. Romney explains: With the Lord, the man is not without the woman, nor is the woman without the man. Husbands and wives should never forget these basic truths. They should remember their relationship and the purpose of it. They should be one in harmony, respect, and mutual consideration. Neither should plan or follow an independent course of action. They should consult, pray, and decide together. In the management of their homes and families, husbands and wives should counsel with each other in kindness, love, patience, and understanding. . . Remember that neither the wife nor the husband is the slave of the other. Husbands and wives are equal partners, particularly Latter-day Saint husbands and wives. They should so consider themselves and so treat each other in this life, that they will do so throughout eternity. . . The woman is not inferior to the man. It is true, of course, that the man holds the priesthood and in the righteous exercise thereof presides in the home. This he is to do, however, in the spirit with which Christ presides over his church. (In the Image of God, Ensign, March 1978, p. 2, 4). The true doctrine of presiding is a principle of humility, a principle of service. All are commanded to love their neighbor as themselves. When one is called to preside in the Church, however, it is a call to serve and to put the interests of the flock ahead of his own. He is expected to emulate the shepherding skills of the Good Shepherd. These are nothing more than parenting and marriage partner principles at work outside the home in the Church setting. In Babylon the children serve the parents. In Zion the parents serve the children. In Babylon the mother works in the home so the father can succeed in the world. In Zion the

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father works in the world so the mother can succeed in the home. He will put her needs ahead of his own. They will put their childrens needs ahead of their own. Such is the presiding principle. Presiding In The Home In this true presiding principle what woman is going to envy the man being called to preside in her home? If a woman resents the husband being called to be the least and the servant of all in the home, it is for one of three reasons: 1) The true principle of presiding is misunderstood; 2) the true principle of presiding is not properly practiced; or 3) the woman is an aspiring spirit. If this principle is not understood, it must be perceived this call to preside somehow makes the husband superior to the wife. We have seen this is not correct. They are equals. The man and the woman are full partners. He is in no way superior to her. His call to preside is merely a function of position. We have had some sad experiences in our service in the Church as we have witnessed heavyhanded husbands who constantly keep their wives in an inferior subservient position. One extreme example was a handsome young fellow who demanded that his wife walk behind him whenever they were out in public. She never had access to the checkbook, he kept her on a strict budget and she retaliated with the only thing she had left -- she withheld her body from him to punish him. She could no longer give herself to such a tyrant. As an orphan who joined the Church during his teen years he had simply never seen a husband-wife relationship modeled, and thought priesthood authority in the home meant he was the only, final, absolute lawgiver in the home. The story had a happy ending, as this young husband was able to see the folly of his ways and amended his views on presiding principles in the home, but not until after many tears were shed between them. President Hunter counseled the husbands on this wise: Presiding in righteousness necessitates a shared responsibility between husband and wife; together you act with knowledge and participation in all family matters. For a man to operate independent of or without regard to the feelings and counsel of his wife in governing the family is to exercise unrighteous dominion. Only through the new and everlasting covenant of marriage can they realize the fulness of eternal blessings (see D&C 131:1-4; 132:15-19). (Ensign, November 1994, pp. 49-51, emphasis ours). Leading and following have nothing to do with the equality of people. Many people do not

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understand this fact, and therefore labor under some very serious misconceptions. Positions and People Leading and following have to do with positions not people. Positions in the outward Church are arrayed vertically. Some positions are higher on the organizational chart than others. People in the kingdom are arrayed horizontally. Like this: POSITIONS

PEOPLE

All are equal peers as sons and daughters of God, each having infinite individual worth. No child of God is higher than another so none are lower either. All are equal. As people in the Church and kingdom of God on the earth we are all horizontal peers. Nowhere is this more beautifully depicted than in sacred temple precincts. Regardless of title, position, rank, economic standing, race or political persuasion all are alike unto God. We once attended a temple endowment session with President Benson and his wife. Though he was the highest ranking priesthood authority on the session he waited in line respectfully with Sister Benson, even when urged to go first because of his position in the Church. The higher they rise on the vertical organizational chart, it seems, the more deeply the General Authorities sense their positions as the servants of all. President Kimball was famous for his kisses and hugs. A handshake was never sufficient for him. Because people are called to fill positions some get confused, thinking a higher or lower position makes a person higher or lower in stature before the Lord. This idea is completely wrong. Positions do not make people superior or inferior to each other. President Kimball emphasizes: Now, in some places in the world there are men who do not recognize their wives with full righteousness. The man and the wife are equals; one has to be in authority, and that is the man. That does not mean that he is superior. (In CR, Lima Peru Area Conference, 1977, p. 21). Positions are merely assignments of duty, not price tags of personal worth.

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Some people with aspiring spirits who do not understand true presiding principles seek for high positions in the Church. It caused no end of grief for Joseph Smith. Addressing the Relief Society on April 28, 1842, he spoke in part . . . of the disposition of many men to consider the lower offices in the Church dishonorable, and to look with jealous eyes upon the standing of others who are called to preside over them; that it was the folly and nonsense of the human heart for a person to be aspiring to other stations than those to which they are appointed by God for them to occupy; that it was better for individuals to magnify their respective calling, and wait patiently till God shall say to them, come up higher. President Smith continued by speaking of the difficulties he had to surmount ever since the commencement of the work, in consequence of aspiring men. Great big Elders, as he called them, who caused him much trouble; to whom he had taught the things of the kingdom in private councils, they would then go forth into the world and proclaim the things he had taught them, as their own revelations; said the same aspiring disposition will be in this Society, and must be guarded against; that every person should stand, and act in the place appointed, and thus sanctify the Society and get it pure. He said he had been trampled under foot by aspiring Elders, for all were infected with that spirit. (TPJS, pp. 223, 225). Satan has always been an aspiring spirit. He wants to be above others. He inspires the people of the lie to manufacture reasons to rise higher. He totally misunderstands the true principle of presiding and sees it as a way to rise above others. We have seen this is all wrong. Righteous people have no desire to rise above one and other. The most unnatural act a bishop engages in is sitting in the judgment seat as required of his office, when he knows himself to be imperfect. Referring again to the basketball team analogy: A basketball team consists of five important positions: One center, two forwards and two guards. The point guard position is assigned the duty of calling the plays, and the rest of the players must run the play he calls. The five players are individual people with individual personalities and abilities. If one of them has an aspiring spirit he will covet to be the point guard, falsely perceiving this position puts one person above the rest of the team. The person playing the position of point guard may have no such aspirations at all. He knows he calls the plays for one reason -- that is a duty of the position to which he is assigned. He might even be a personality who very honestly wishes the configuration of duties were different than it is, but he does his job because that is his responsibility. Another player with an aspiring spirit will always covet the point guards role, never seeing the truth that a position on the floor has nothing to do

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with the person playing the game. The play calling point guard does not think his duty makes him the best player or the best person on the team. He simply sees it as a necessary duty that serves the team in accomplishing its goals. He is not lifted up in pride by this duty. In fact, he is humbled by the responsibility, as he knows the team is counting on him to perform this function well for their mutual benefit. An aspiring spirit would be lifted up and prideful in such a position and would look down on the others by virtue of his distorted perception of his role. Positions Aspiring spirits are sick. They are not right with God or man. They are affected by a distorted perception of truth and a selfish ambition perverting the way they approach life and interact with others. Righteous spirits see things correctly and approach life and their interaction with others with a righteous regard for the diversity of spirits with whom they labor. They do not seek to be above each other and they are happily content to be equals. While God is no respecter of persons, his ecclesiastical organization of positions is very vertical in its orientation. Few are called to lead. Most are called to follow. All are called to do both, holding positions somewhere on the organization chart that place them ahead of some and behind some. Follow the leader is a childs game. It is also a fundamental principle in the kingdom we must never forget. In D&C 28:6 Oliver Cowdery is chastised and told by the Lord, thou shalt not command him who is at thy head. . ., referring to his file leader, Joseph Smith. Such is the order of the house of God. Joseph was constantly surrounded by more educated, wealthier, more sophisticated and more dynamic personalities. But he was chosen to lead. We are also commanded to act in the office to which we are appointed (D&C 107:99), and we are admonished to let every man esteem his brother as himself. . . (D&C 38:24-25). Indeed, we are told we must be equal in both heavenly and earthly things (D&C 78:5-6), and if we are not one we are not his. (D&C 38:7). These are not contradictory sayings. Once understood and accepted into practice by the saints they are perfectly harmonious. There will be vertical positions in the kingdom relatively higher and lower so there may be order in all things, but people are equals, brothers and sisters, all beloved children of God. This is a grand key in our interpersonal relationships with each other as children of the

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kingdom. We must cherish our understanding of the difference between people and positions. Again, with people the interpersonal configuration is horizontal. With positions the interpersonal configuration is vertical. When we get it wrong and start thinking positions make people more or less important or valuable, problems arise. These misunderstandings cause leaders to be puffed up and followers to envy. This is all wrong and only diminishes true respect and destroys effective interpersonal relationships. Positions do not, cannot, increase or decrease the value of people. People need to understand the truth that positions are simply allocations of duties. Positions are not Gods appraised value of individual worth. Every soul is precious to our Heavenly Father as his beloved sons and daughters. People are the lambs of the Good Shepherd. People are peers. Confused leaders who believe positions make people superior and inferior to each other are: 1) Puffed up; and 2) poor leaders, seeking their own, thinking evil and practicing unrighteous dominion. Confused followers who believe positions make people superior and inferior to each other are: 1) Envious; and 2) poor followers, being easily provoked (offended), thinking evil, and not being easily entreated. (See Alma 7:23). Poor leaders and followers do not make for good interpersonal relations, communication and effective teamwork. Conversely, some people think all positions are evil and there should be no vertical designations of duty or lines of authority in the affairs of church and government. These are foolish notions. When it comes to positions and the allocation of duties, his kingdom is a very vertical priesthood organization and it works efficiently because leaders and followers are required to sustain and support each other. Charitable People It follows, then, there must be an order of vertical positions with leaders, followers and accountability, and people must be viewed and valued as equals. This true order of things requires charity, the pure love of Christ. . . . none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity. And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,

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endureth all things. (Moroni 7:44-45, emphasis ours). Only in charity will leaders cease to be puffed up and seek their own agendas, become respectful and kind, and come to genuinely see and treat followers with the kindness and respect proffered to equals. Only in charity will followers cease to envy, be easily provoked, and to become easily entreated, by becoming respectfully cooperative with their leaders. Both leaders and followers will cease thinking and speaking evil of each other, and valuing each other as equal brothers and sisters, lovingly and respectfully cooperating with and supporting each other in their positions of duty. By the way, we dont just set a goal to become more charitable, kind and loving. We must seek this gift earnestly and with real intent desiring to receive it. We love this magnificent scripture from Mormons writings in The Book of Mormon. He describes in perfect detail how to obtain this gift of love from God: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen. (Moroni 7:48, emphasis ours). Each who receives this gift of love will come to understand it is not the person they are submitting to as they obediently follow but the position. The person in the position comes and goes, personalities change, some are better, more beloved and revered, but reverence and gratitude for the position as a divine channel inspired of God to bless our lives will always be required. With the gift of charity as our personality filter we will come to know the position represents Gods authority. In submitting to the position we are honoring and obeying the God of us all who is represented therein. Only in this way will we become Zion, become one, and esteem our brother as ourselves. Only then as charity purifies our hearts will we be prepared to redeem Zion and truly become the people of God. Equal Worth as People To say we are all equal is not to say we are all equal in every specific talent. Each of us has infinite worth with valuable abilities and talents (though different) to genuinely contribute to the welfare of all. We want and need everyone. We should learn to rejoice in the diversity of gifts God has given. Every righteous soul is a priceless asset of infinite worth to our whole

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society. Each merits equal status through lineage and intrinsic worth, and makes a valuable contribution as a peer in the community of saints. When we begin to ignorantly weigh and measure personal worth or contribution because of position, we have slipped back into the confused state and need to reevaluate our erroneous and hazardous perception. Perhaps an example will help: Someone in the confused state may believe the stake president is the most important person in the stake, because he holds the highest position in the stake. Such a confused person would likely aspire to that position. These selfish aspirations would obviously be unrighteous. If this same confused person were the stake president, he would be puffed up and probably be exercising unrighteous dominion. This confused person might also be inclined to perceive other people in positions beneath his, such as a Primary teacher, as a lowly person because they hold a lower position. After all, he would reason, Primary teachers are a dime a dozen in comparison to the one and only stake president, and the ecclesiastical power and prestige of a ward Primary teacher pales in comparison to the much broader authority of the stake president. Ironically, this same confused person would be feeling great envy as he observed other people serving in positions above his own like the position of a General Authority. Aspiring spirits are never content. They are always seeking a higher position. Such a confused person who mixes up persons and positions will forever be struggling with major spiritual challenges. He will struggle with pride and envy, he will see things as they are not and therefore judge things as they are not. He will exercise unrighteous dominion and be easily provoked. Becoming Christlike will never be within his reach as long as he clings to his illusions. He will never come to appreciate that serving as stake president is no more valuable, superior or of greater worth than serving in the position of Primary teacher. He will fail to truly appreciate the Primary teachers contribution as just as valid and important as the stake presidents. The kingdom needs both! If they will both do their work with humility in the spirit of love, the kingdom will be blessed. At the end of the day if the stakes Primary teachers and mothers do not do their jobs, it wont be long before the stake president has no stake to watch over. To further illustrate, it helps to have seen a living example of these principles. One of the authors had the blessing of serving on a high council with a wonderful stake president. It was no surprise to learn some time after being released from his position on the high council that his former file leader was now a ward Primary teacher.

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The next time he met the new Primary teacher he found himself feeling just as much love and respect for this person as when the Primary teacher had served as his stake president. The person was the same noble spirit, only his position of service to the kingdom had changed. This great man happily served in either position, for he had the charity to see all people as peers and the wisdom to recognize the importance of all callings regardless of where the positions appear on the vertical organization chart in the outward kingdom. For the enlightened disciple of Christ every position in the Church is a call to serve others with selfless love in a meaningful way: . . .the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the leaner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength. (Alma 1:26, emphasis ours). In Zion there are no poor or rich, but all are of one heart. There is no division between leaders and followers, teachers and students, for all are equal as people. They all dwell in love, even charity, the pure love of Christ. The Pharisees (managers) of old prided themselves on their titles, their offices and positions in the hierarchies of Judaism. Theirs was a priesthood of outward forms and rituals as they lost sight of the true spiritual symbols and meanings in their worship. There are some alarming vestiges of these false traditions among us in the Church today. We believe where these realities exist it is not so much by intent, but as the result of innocently not knowing. What follows in the next part of the book is our attempt to assist modern-day saints in putting away forever our false Pharisaic priesthood traditions.

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PART TWO THE PRIESTHOOD QUESTION

Section Three The Priesthood

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Chapter Eight

What is the Priesthood?

The full and proper name of the priesthood is the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God. (See D&C 107:1-4). We learn by revelation its name was changed to avoid the too frequent reference to the name of the Supreme Being. The priesthood became known as the Melchizedek Priesthood, named after the great high priest Melchizedek. Two divisions or grand heads, consisting of the Melchizedek and the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood, operate within the Church. The Powers of Heaven Frequently we hear the priesthood defined as power. There can be an incorrect inference here. To say, Priesthood is power, is different than saying, The priesthood is the right (authority) to control or handle power. The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and the powers of heaven cannot be controlled or handled only upon the principles of righteousness. (D&C 121:36). The powers of heaven are the powers of the universe. The universe is a boundless environment measured by two infinite phenomena called time and space. Everything that exists including eternity and the Gods themselves exists in space, and space exists in time. There is no space in which there is no kingdom and there is no kingdom in which there is no space. . . (D&C 88:37). Likewise, man, angels and even the Gods dwell within time: In answer to the question -- Is not the reckoning of Gods time, angels time, prophets time, and mans time, according to the planet on which they reside? I answer, Yes. (D&C 130:4). This is not to say the Gods and angels are limited by time in the same way finite mortals are. Joseph taught: The great Jehovah contemplated the whole of the events connected with the earth, pertaining to the plan of salvation, before it rolled into existence, or ever the morning stars sang together for joy; the past, the present, and the future were and are, with Him, one
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eternal now. (TPJS, p. 220). Nevertheless, the scriptures unequivocally demonstrate that the Gods experience and measure time. (See Abraham 3:1-4; 5:13; 2 Peter 3:8). Some remarkable truths pertaining to the realities of the universe emerged in the Restoration. Perhaps the first and most fundamental of these is that within space and time there is no such thing as immaterial matter. (D&C 131:7). This includes spirit: All spirit is matter but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter. (D&C 131:7-8, emphasis ours). The scriptures also tell us, Whatsoever is light is spirit. (D&C 84:45). These two terms are used interchangeably throughout the scriptures. (See D&C 76:10-12; 133; 50:27). If we put the two revelations together we learn, Whatsoever is light is spirit. . . and all spirit is matter. (D&C 84:45; 131:7-8). Twentieth-century science has come to the same conclusion. Quantum mechanics agrees that light is the basic building block of matter in the universe. The terms light and spirit as used in the scriptures clearly refer to a refined material substance in the universe. Elder Parley P. Pratt explained this light or spirit is the purest and most basic substance and the ultimate power in the universe in his masterpiece, Key to the Science of Theology: The purest, most refined and subtle of all these substances and the one least understood or even recognized by the less informed among mankind is that substance called the Holy Spirit. This is the great, positive, controlling element of all other elements. It is omnipresent by reason of its infinitude, and it pervades all things. It is the agent or executive by which God organizes and puts in motion all worlds, and which by the mandate of the Almighty, or of any of his commissioned servants, performs all the mighty wonders, signs and miracles ever manifested in the name of the Lord -- the dividing of the sea, the removing of a mountain, the raising of the dead, or the healing of the sick. Those beings who receive of its fulness are called sons of God, because they are perfected in all its attributes and powers; and being in communication with it, they can, by its use, perform all things. Those beings who receive not a fulness, but a measure of it, can know and perform some things but not all. This is the true light that in some measure illuminates all men. It is, in its less refined existence, the physical light that reflects from the sun, moon, and stars, and other substances; and, by reflection on the eye, makes visible the truths of the outward world. It is also in its higher degrees the intellectual light or our inward and spiritual organs, by which we reason, discern, judge, compare, comprehend, and remember the subjects within our reach. Its inspiration constitutes instinct in animal life, reason in
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man, and vision in the prophets, and is continually flowing from the Godhead throughout all his creations. God sits enthroned in the midst of all his creations and is filled and encircled with light unapproachable by those of the lower spheres. . . His Holy Spirit centers in his presence and communicates with and extends to the utmost verge of his dominions, comprehending and controlling all things. . . (Ibid., pp. 24-25, emphasis ours). This spirit or light comprehends and controls the powers of heaven. This among other things is what makes a resurrected being God, rather than just another resurrected being. He has embraced more spirit or glory than terrestrial or telestial beings, and is virtually sealed to a fulness of this material light and truth. His whole body is filled with it and there is no darkness in him. (See D&C 88:67). Because this material-light-spirit has many properties it is called by many descriptive names or synonyms in the scriptures: Truth, glory, intelligence, law, power, etc. Since words only have meanings we ascribe to them by mutual agreement, let us agree to generally refer to this comprehensive material controlling substance as either light or spirit, but always remember this substance embraces multiple synonyms more descriptive than our common usage of these two words. Often when we use them hereafter the words will be italicized to distinguish them. God, who was once a man, has become one with a fulness of this light. He is sealed by a fulness of glory. It is as much a part of him as his resurrected body of flesh and bones is. His resurrected body, his temple, houses this glorious energy. (D&C 88:27-29). He is totally filled with it. He is the light and the light is him. He has not only a resurrected body, but a glorified resurrected body full of this spiritual light. His resurrected body literally shines like the sun. (See D&C 76:70; 88:28-29; JSH 1:17). It is significant to note the scriptures reveal this light as the light of the sun, and the light that enlightens our eyes is the very same light that enlightens our understandings. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. . . And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings. (D&C 88:7, 11). Light All light is the light of truth that comprehends one grand whole. (D&C 84:45). It is important to understand that even though all light and truth are one, not every form of even physical light in the universe is visible to the mortal eye. Consider our present scientific model of light, often called the electromagnetic or light spectrum:
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Long waves Short waves Micro waves Infra-red waves Red through Violet waves Ultra-violet rays X-rays Gamma rays Cosmic rays Light travels in wave-like patterns, often referred to as frequencies. The term frequencies has reference to how frequently the waves trough and peak. The light spectrum shown above begins at the top with the light having long wave patterns. It peaks and troughs less frequently than shorter wave-length frequencies. Our mortal eyes can only detect the frequencies of light that range between red and violet, the italicized category above. This is sometimes called the color spectrum. All the other frequencies of light are invisible to mortal eyes. These other frequencies or forms of light are just as real as the color spectrum. It is all light, we just cant see it. We use micro waves to cook with in our microwave ovens. We use short and long waves to communicate with in our short and long wave radio receivers and transmitters. We use infrared waves for photography and night vision equipment. Ultra-violet rays are what tanning machines and sunshine use to tan (sometimes burn) our skin, and X-rays are used by doctors and dentists to illuminate hidden bone structures. We have learned to use X-rays carefully, as we have come to realize they can produce cancer- making cells. Whether we see these forms of light with our eyes or not is really beside the point. All these frequencies of light are real and they affect us. There was a day when we used to say, If I cant see it, I wont believe it. We do not tend to say that as much these days, because we have come to realize we simply cannot see with the natural eye much of what is affecting our lives in this universe. In this century science has come to recognize that all light is matter, whether it is visible to us or not. This is very compatible with what the Lord said through Joseph: There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit [light] is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be seen by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter. (D&C 131:7-8, emphasis ours). Prophets Describe the Light When a mortals body is changed (transfigured, translated or quickened) by a special endowment of light, that person is enabled to see light that we normally cannot see, or in other words, to see, as seers, things spiritual. Such was the case as with Joseph, Moses and
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Enoch. Joseph: For no man has seen God at any time in the flesh, except quickened by the Spirit of God. Neither can any natural man abide the presence of God, neither after the carnal mind. Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected. (D&C 67:11-13). Moses: But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him. (Moses 1:11). Enoch: And it came to pass that I turned and went up on the mount; and as I stood upon the mount, I beheld the heavens open, and I was clothed upon with glory; And I saw the Lord; and he stood before my face, and he talked with me, even as a man talketh one with another, face to face. . . (Moses 7:3-4). In each dispensation prophets of God have been recipients of, and witnesses to, wonderful theophanies of this spiritual fire, glory or light of which we speak. Consider these examples (emphasis ours throughout): Moses: And the presence of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (JST Exodus 3:2). Ezekiel: And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had
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brightness round about. As the appearance of the [rain]bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. (Ezekiel 1:26-28). Lehi: And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much. (1 Nephi 1:6). Peter, James and John: And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. . . . behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:1-5). Joseph: . . . I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling be by name and said, pointing to the other -- This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him! (JSH 1:16-17). We are taught some significant details about this light by looking closely at such sacred accounts. Consider some of the details of the resurrected Moronis first visit to Josephs bedroom the night of September 21, 1823, as recorded in JSH 1:30-32, 43. The text of the scripture cited appears on the left below, our commentary appears on the right (emphasis ours throughout): While I was thus in the act of calling upon The first thing Joseph saw was not Moroni but God, I discovered a light appearing in my the light. This parallels his first vision, where room, . . . I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, and now what does the light do?
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which continued to increase until the room This also parallels his first vision, which was lighter than at noonday, [light] descended gradually until it fell upon me. In both cases the light grows and falls upon the prophet gradually. What is happening here? The recipients body is being prepared, changed, quickened, transfigured gradually but expeditiously to endure the glorious presence of heavenly beings. Otherwise, as Moses said, I should have withered and died. (Moses 1:11). In his famous Wentworth letter (wherein he penned the 13 Articles of Faith) Joseph wrote of this visitation in these words: On the evening of the 21st of September, A.D. 1823, while I was praying to God, and endeavoring to exercise faith in the precious promises of scripture on a sudden a light like that of day, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance, and brightness burst into the room, indeed the first sight was as though the house was filled with consuming fire; the appearance produced a shock that affected the whole body; Only after Josephs body was endowed with sufficient light was he able to discern his heavenly visitor:

when immediately a personage appeared at As with his first vision the light prepared him my bedside, to see heavenly beings, When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages; Note what the record says next:

standing in the air, for his feet did not touch This is just as it was in the sacred grove, when the floor. the Father and Son were standing above me in the air. What is the significance of this seemingly small detail? Simply this: The scriptures are explicit that no unclean thing can come into the presence of God (3 Nephi

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27:19; D&C 84:24). Joseph said, God Almighty Himself dwells in eternal fire; flesh and blood cannot go there, for all corruption is devoured by the fire. Our God is a consuming fire. (TPJS, p. 367). Celestial beings like God, Christ and Moroni (see TPJS, p. 119 and compare D&C 88:27-29 and JSH 1:33), dwell in glory. They are totally insulated by their glory, they never touch any unclean corruptible thing. By their light they not only sanctify the prophet they visit but their glory is constantly sanctifying the space around them -- they literally dwell in eternal fire.

He had on a loose robe of most exquisite This robe is most significant. Joseph couldnt whiteness. get over this robe.

It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.

This is the robe of the heavenly priesthood (see Revelation 6:11; 7:9; D&C 109:76). In Mormon 9:5 we read: For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you. We see that nakedness as used here refers to mortal mans sinful condition for very good reason. When we sin we lose light/glory, so we are naked or barren of Gods glory. Contrary to what most think, because of the atonement of Christ we each come into this world covered with glory because we are redeemed (D&C 29:46), spiritually alive (Moroni 8:12), whole (Moses 6:54), holy and sanctified (D&C 74:6-7). As infant children we did not just come from the presence of God, we are in the presence of God! To be redeemed means to be brought back into the presence of God (Ether 3:13), and innocent

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little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world: Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state innocent before God. (D&C 93:38). As redeemed little children Satan cannot even tempt us until we begin to become accountable before God. (D&C 29:46-47). Simply stated, little children do not need to be born again, born of the spirit, because they have not spiritually died! Unlike older mortals, little (infant) children are alive in Christ. This is the point Mormon is making in his letter to his son in Moroni 8. In other words, mankind spiritually falls one individual at a time. Each spiritually dies, loses the presence (i.e., the light of truth, the spirit of God) after he is born, not before or during birth as most have supposed. To spiritually fall means to lose light and truth or glory: The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. Light and truth forsake that evil one. Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God. And the wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the traditions of their fathers. (D&C 93:36-39). This is how we each spiritually fall from the presence of God. Gods presence is his spirit, his light and truth. (D&C 88:19). When we lose the presence of his light and truth we lose his presence. Just like father Adam, we each partake of forbidden things, and we each thereby become subject to the devil. Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil

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tempted Adam [consider yourself to be Adam here], and he partook of the forbidden fruit [destructive things] and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded to temptation. Wherefore, I, the Lord God, caused that he should be cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death, which is the last death, which is spiritual [loss of light/spirit] which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say: Depart, ye cursed. (D&C 29:4041). w Father Adam, having done that, saw his nakedness (his sin), and he hid from God. How did he seek to hide his nakedness, his sin? Satan taught him. He influenced Adam and Eve to hide their nakedness behind aprons (facades) of fig leaves! And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they had been naked. And they sewed fig-leaves together and made themselves aprons. (Moses 4:13). What this clearly symbolizes is Adam (man) hiding his iniquity. I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom. (Job 31:33). Fallen man, having personally sinned only has two options: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13). When we have lost righteousness, the fruits of the spirit and become spiritually barren, we are good for nothing but to be cast out. When the Lord comes seeking our fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22) we seek to hide our barrenness, or nakedness, behind fig leaves: Now in the morning as [Christ] returned into

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the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away. (Matthew 21:18-19). Christ said: I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean thought the word [gospel] which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abideth not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept the Fathers commandments, and abide in his love. (John 15:1-10). If we refuse to do this, come to Christs gospel of repentance confessing our sins, our only other option is to seek to hide or cover our sins with aprons of fig leaves. What are these aprons of fig leaves? It is easy to know. Who

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inspires us to make them? The devil, the father of all lies, he who was a liar from the beginning! (See Moses 4:4; D&C 93:24-25). This is his power -- to lie and deceive. (TPJS, p. 227). Fallen mans first inclination is to always hide his sins in his bosom, to hide them from God and to cover up with lies! But as we have seen, we cannot really hide our nakedness, our lack of righteousness, behind lies. The Eternal Judge will see our barren state. We must come forth in humility, confess our sins before God and let Christ the Savior cover our nakedness with garments of purity, even robes of righteousness through his gospel plan. Otherwise, we will be naked and ashamed on the day of judgment. Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness. (2 Nephi 9:14). This glorious robe is a spiritual covering, literally made of the spirit matter of which we speak -- glorious light. Such are the godly robes of the sanctified: BLESS the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment. (Psalms 104:1-2). And it shall come to pass that I, the Lord God, will send one mighty and strong, holding the scepter of power in his hand, clothed with light for a covering. (D&C 85:7). Of such is the glorious pure white robe of Moroni.

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Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning.

Josephs description of the Father and the Son in his first vision was the same. I saw two Personages; whose brightness and glory defy all description. Celestial beings like the Father, Son and Moroni are beings of glory. Their resurrected tabernacles of flesh and bones are filled with light: These are they whose bodies are celestial, whose glory is that of the sun, even the glory of God, the highest of all, whose glory the sun of the firmament is written of as being typical. (D&C 76:70). As Moses, Paul and Joseph said: Our God is a consuming fire. (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29; TPJS, p. 367).

The room was exceedingly light, but not so Why is the degree of light greater near very bright as immediately around his Moroni? Because he is its source! person. . .

After [his] communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him;

Not only does the light that fills Josephs room come from Moronis resurrected body, but Moroni controls just how much light his tabernacle emanates. Only resurrected beings can do this: Spirits can only be revealed in flaming fire and glory [they have no bodies]. Angels have advanced further, their light and glory being tabernacled; hence they appear in bodily shape. (TPJS, p. 325; D&C 129).

when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance.

In conclusion, we see that Moroni even travels in light. Here the light channel is called a conduit (a shaft or tube). In the first vision account Joseph called it a pillar of light. Lehi called it a pillar of fire. (1 Nephi 1:6).

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It is remarkable what we can learn from a single passage of scripture once we better understand the principle of light. This principle of power we call light is both key to greater understanding, and it comprehends all knowledge relating to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the power pertaining to godliness. Gods light proceeds forth from his presence to fill the immensity of the space that constitutes his kingdom. (D&C 88:12). Light is in all things, through all things, round about all things, above all things, and below all things. (D&C 88:41). God is omnipresent (everywhere in his kingdom) by virtue of his light. If it were not for the light that fills his body, he could not be omnipresent. His resurrected body of flesh and bones can only be in one place at one time, but not his light. This is the key to understanding his omnipresence. His light is the key to his omniscience as well. The scriptures are very clear on this subject. As we grow in light we are growing in the knowledge of God or in the knowledge of that which is just and true. (Mosiah. 4:12). If our eyes, minds and hearts are solely focused on the glory of God and serving him, our whole bodies can be filled with light and that body which is filled with light comprehends (knows) all things. (D&C 88:67). Light is the key to Gods omniscience. Light is also the key to Gods omnipotence. By his light he creates all things, both temporally and spiritually. (D&C 29:30-31). By his light he upholds all things, governs all things (D&C 88:13), and destroys some things as necessary. (D&C 5:19; 101:23-25). His light is not only very bright, but also very hot. (D&C 133:41; TPJS, p. 367). His light is the power by which he abounds (lives and moves and has his being), and it is the power by which we (his creations) also abound (D&C 88:50). Light is the power by which he communicates (D&C 76:10-12), travels (JSH 1:43), and has dominion over all his kingdoms (D&C 88:13). God is clothed in light. (Psalms 104:1-2; D&C 85:7; JSH 1:31). Light is the power by which he sanctifies, purifies and makes holy all who receive of his grace. (D&C 88:33-34). God dwells in light. Joseph Smith described it as eternal fire. (Isaiah 33:14-15; TPJS, p. 367). This light is the power of heaven that consumes the wicked as stubble, blesses and glorifies the righteous, and the power by which God enlightens and protects, heals and restores, resurrects and exalts. Light, all-consuming comprehensive light, is the power of God. The mantle of priesthood authority is designed to connect man to this light. The priesthood is the right or authority to control or handle the powers of heaven, the powers of light. (D&C 121:36). However, the priesthood is authorized to hold and administer the keys of this power only upon the principles of righteousness. (D&C 121:36). Light is pure and holy, and proceeds

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forth from the presence of the Man of Holiness whom we call God. (Moses 6:57). Those who would endeavor to control this holy substance by right of office must be holy as he is holy. There was not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity. (3 Nephi 8:1). As Joseph said, The power, glory and blessings of the Priesthood could not continue with those who received ordination only as their righteousness continued. (TPJS, p. 169, emphasis ours). President Harold B. Lee offers his definition of priesthood: What is priesthood? Well, weve had the definition -- its the power of the Lord given to man to act for Him in things pertaining to salvation. But I have a different definition that to me seems more accurate. Priesthood is the power by which the power of the Almighty works through man. (The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, ed. Clyde J. Williams [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1996], pp. 481-2, emphasis ours). Too many priesthood holders on earth who have been ordained to the priesthood think they have power, when what they have is the authority, or the right to control or handle the power. There is a big difference, especially when authority is conditioned upon living the principles of righteousness. We do not have any right to control any power if we are not living righteously. That is the only way we can be filled with, guided by and empowered by the Holy Spirit. D&C 121:34 warns, Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. . . D&C 95:5-6 tells us many who are called are ordained priesthood holders, but few of them are chosen. We learn, too, why they are not chosen. They who are not chosen have sinned a very grievous sin, in that they are walking in darkness at noon-day. They dont have the light of the spirit. (D&C 84:45). Returning again to D&C 121:34-37, the Lord explains to Joseph why those who are called fail to obtain the spirit: 1) Their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world; and 2) they aspire to the honors of men; that 3) they dont learn this one lesson -- that the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and those powers cannot be controlled or handled by unrighteous priesthood holders. Even more explicitly the Lord warns when we undertake to cover our sins, gratify our pride and vain ambitions, exercise control or dominion or compulsion in any degree of unrighteousness, the Spirit of the Lord is grieved, withdraws, and whatever power in the priesthood we thought we may have had by the laying on of hands is gone. Only when our bowels are full of charity towards all men can our confidence in exercising priesthood authority be harmonious with the powers of heaven.

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Little wonder, then, Joseph would say, Thus we behold the keys of this Priesthood consisted in obtaining the voice of Jehovah. . . (TPJS, p. 171). He meant our lives must so completely harmonize with the spirit of the Holy Ghost that everything we do in the exercise of our priesthood authority would be as though the Lord himself were speaking to us and through us. To use the priesthood authority we receive by the laying on of hands is to grow to a spiritual stature in our lives where everything we do in the name of the priesthood is to do, to say, to command and to bless in exactly the same way Christ would if he were in our shoes. Without the spirit of revelation we have no power. It is only in, and of, and by, and through the spirit we have any power in the priesthood. We can only obtain and retain the spirit by being humble, exercising great faith unto continuous repentance and doing our best to live righteous lives as we move toward our long-term goal of becoming perfect like the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.

President Lee explained we must live for this power: And with reference to the priesthood, when the Lord discusses in the eighty-fourth section [of the Doctrine and Covenants] the oath and covenant, exactly the same principle is implied. By the laying on of hands we get the promise of power and authority, but it will not be ours -- worlds without end -- unless we keep our part of the covenant. (THBL, p. 489, emphasis ours).

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Chapter Nine

Power in the Priesthood

Everything done in the name of the priesthood must be done by the power of the spirit or it is nothing. The priesthood authorizes us to preach the gospel. However, we also believe a person must be called by the spirit of prophecy to preach the gospel. (5th Article of Faith). We know we have authority to teach the gospel if we are set apart by the priesthood to teach, but we learn from the scriptures we must teach by the spirit or not at all: And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if you receive not the spirit ye shall not teach. (D&C 42:14, emphasis ours). Joseph taught: All are to preach the Gospel, by the power and influence of the Holy Ghost; and no man can preach the Gospel without the Holy Ghost. (TPJS, p. 112, emphasis ours). Having authority to teach is one thing, having power to teach is another. Righteous and wise men like the sons of Mosiah will always desire both the authority and the power to teach. These valiant priesthood brethren had the spirit of prophecy and revelation. When they taught, they taught with power and authority of God. (Alma 17:3). Another dimension of priesthood authority is to preside and conduct meetings. Even in this elementary priesthood duty we are admonished to conduct them by the spirit: But notwithstanding those things which are written, it always has been given to the elders of my church from the beginning, and ever shall be, to conduct all meetings as they are directed and guided by the Holy Spirit. (D&C 46:2, emphasis ours).

We always need the power of the spirit to fully effectuate the authority of the priesthood. We administer ordinances and callings by the authority of the priesthood. These also must be performed under the direction of the Holy Spirit: Every elder, priest, teacher, or deacon is to be ordained according to the gifts and callings of God unto him; and he is to be ordained by the power of the Holy Ghost,

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which is in the one who ordains him. (D&C 20:60, emphasis ours). The pattern should be self-evident. There must be authority delegated by those in positions to sanction what is done in the Church, but if all things are not done by the power of the spirit these hollow administrative works done in the spirit of mens wisdom are ultimately consumed on the bonfire of the works of men from whence there is no return. (3 Nephi 27:10-11). Power and Authority Priesthood, then, consists of two dimensions -- power and authority. Authority is a function of position, whereas power is a function of person. A persons power comes from whatever portion of the spirit dwells within him. The degree of spirit a person possesses can be traced directly to personal righteousness, which is always a direct result of his faith: The more faith, the more righteousness; the more righteousness, the more spirit; the more spirit, the more power. Neither men nor women need authority to have this power. The Holy Ghost bestows portions or endowments, gifts or fruits of the spirit to men and women according to this law of the gospel. Authority comes through calling and ordination to a position. It is a designation of vertical ecclesiastical domain. A mans priesthood defines the bounds of his jurisdiction and authority in the kingdom. It designates what he can do, when he can do it, where he can do it, how he can do it and to whom he can do it. All things must be done in order. No one, not even God, may transcend his bounds and remain justified. (D&C 88:36-39; Alma 42:25; TPJS, p. 336). Some people have authority and some people have power. Some have neither and others have both. Those who have one or the other, or both, have them in varying degrees. A priest has authority to baptize by water. A deacon does not. A priest cannot overstep his bounds and confirm someone by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. He does not have that authority. An elders quorum president has less dominion (his quorum only) than a stake president (the whole stake), though both have authority to preside. The person with the most power (not authority) in that stake (an arbitrary geographical Church boundary) might be someone who has no authority to preside over stake or quorum at all. Power is a function of the portion of spirit a man or woman possesses, which is a function of their personal righteousness, which is a function of their faith. This is according to the law of the gospel. The most successful and happy priesthood leaders in our experience have been the ones who have learned how to combine their spiritual power through the gifts of the spirit with the authority of their positions in the Church. Not surprisingly, they are also the ones most loved by those they serve.

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These leaders, we have observed, are wise to include and encourage maximum participation of women (young and old) in their administrative decision making, assuring women around them are fully invested in a partnership and completely enfranchised with their priesthood leaders. Just because a bishop thinks he is loving, caring, nurturing and kind to the women within his stewardship, does not always mean the women in his ward organizations would agree. At the conclusion of his stake conference assignment some years ago, Elder M. Russell Ballard carefully instructed the combined priesthood and women auxiliary leaders to work together in all their councils to assure none was left feeling unappreciated or uninvolved. Our mutual sharing in the outward Church will become the reflection of our inward feelings, impressions and honest beliefs. We will thus bless one anothers lives, rather than contending for visibility and control. The priesthood is not ours to own, control and exercise after the manner of our own will in any way. Stewardship, Not Ownership The priesthood does not give us the right to do whatever we want. The priesthood only gives us the right to do what we want when it is what God wants. This is an important clarification. We do not own our priesthood. Priesthood is given freely as a stewardship. It is Gods to give as he wills. We are entrusted with this stewardship to do his will, not ours. There is no power in our will, because we are fallen mortal people. Gods priesthood power will not work contrary to his will. We must have the spirit to guide us, to reveal his will to us so our will harmonizes with his. Not my will, but thine, be done, is the key. (Luke 22:42). Please do not misunderstand this point. We can do our will in using the priesthood, but only if our will is brought into subjection to Gods will. Sometimes this means our will as his children will be swallowed up in his will as our Father. (Mosiah 15:7). Because we are still little children, we must learn to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us]. (Mosiah 3:19). Father always knows best. This is why we must learn to counsel with him in all our doings, so he will be directing us. (Alma 37:37). We will then have confidence and power in the priesthood, knowing what we do is according to his will as the Holy Ghost becomes our constant guide. (D&C 121:46). As we ask in the spirit, it will be done. (D&C 46:30). Only by the fruits of the spirit can we maintain power or influence with our priesthood. (See D&C 88:41-42; Galatians 5:22). No power can be maintained by the priesthood except by the spirit. We can only do that which is according to Gods will with the priesthood, and we must have the spirit to know Gods will. Well-meaning people sometimes try to do their own will with the priesthood, not realizing it

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might be contrary to Gods will. They get no results and wonder why. The answer is they are still learning how to control the power. Priesthood ordinations only confer the right to control power subject to doing what God wants. Ordination is not a license for the setting and achieving of self-willed goals. Brigham Young said: Let the husband and father learn to bend his will to the will of his God, and then instruct his wives and children in this lesson of self-government by his example as well as by precept, and his neighbors also, showing them how to be brave and steadfast, in subduing the rebellious and sinful disposition. Such a course as this will eventually subdue that unhallowed influence which works upon the human heart. (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widstoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941], p. 198, emphasis ours). A good example of how we learn this lesson is the story of Amulek and Alma. (See Alma 14). Amulek is a junior companion. He is new in the ministry and is still learning. He and Alma have been bound and brought to the place of martyrdom, where they are forced to watch the women and children being burned. Amulek says in effect, Lets stretch forth our hands and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save these people. (See verse 10, emphasis ours). He did not yet understand using the priesthood to do Gods will. If he had stretched forth his hand, nothing would have happened. Alma, the senior companion, knew more. He said, The spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth my hand. He understood only the Holy Spirit gave him power in the priesthood, and that power only came by doing the will of God. The authors have been asked to give many priesthood blessings. We have come to learn we have no power in and of ourselves. We can only promise and bless people according to the will of God revealed to us through the power of the spirit. One of the authors was asked by his friend to bless his baby. The spirit constrained him from promising the baby anything. He simply blessed the baby that he and his parents would be comforted. He could do no more, because he had not been directed to anything more. The baby died soon thereafter. On another occasion, he was called to give a blessing to a woman who had been unable to bear children. After 18 years of fervent prayer she and her husband finally conceived a child. Her pregnancy was threatened, however, with a premature miscarriage. The doctors said, There is no way the fetus will survive, but when he blessed her the spirit said to her through him, You will have this baby. This woman was promised in the name of Jesus Christ by the spirit of revelation within this

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priesthood brother that she would fulfill her mission of bringing that baby into the world. It was given to him to say God would wrap the baby in his light, and keep it safe until the time of its birth (still about six months away). The priesthood holder said nothing of his own accord. He recognized and spoke the Lords will. We do not have any power. We are not the giver and taker of life. By the power of the spirit we are Gods mouth, we are not acting on our own. We are only the humble steward, always seeking to do the will of the master. That is the way of the priesthood. The baby was born as promised. Blessing, Not Asking We always have the right to petition God regarding our own wills. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. Any loving father is always interested in his beloved childrens hopes and desires. Our Father in Heaven is no different. This is called prayer when we ask certain things at his hands. Priesthood blessings, however, are not prayers. By the authority of the Holy Priesthood and the power of the Holy Spirit we have the right to handle and control upon the principles of righteousness, we are acting as Gods agents. It is our responsibility to perform his will, pronouncing authoritative blessings, bestowing specific gifts, and commanding various elements by the spirit of prophecy and revelation according to the faith and worthiness of his children. We must be in tune with the spirit. If we have a personal desire to do something by the power of the priesthood, we must first petition him for permission to use the priesthood in that way. Otherwise, when requests for blessings are made we simply listen to the spirit and perform the blessings as the spirit dictates. Then the blessings are not of men but of God.

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Chapter Ten

No Power in the Law

Having examined the principle of power in the priesthood, and before discussing the keys of the priesthood involved in obtaining spiritual power, it is important first to review some of the false traditions that have crept in among us. If we are seeking to acquire spiritual power through zealous compliance to the long list of commandments, practices, rituals and policies in the modern Church, we are pursuing an impossible gospel. Have you ever spoken to a little child about Jesus and marveled at their perfect faith in him? Children love stories about him. They believe his teachings. They trust him implicitly. The faith and humility of little children characterize the greatest folks in the kingdom of heaven. (See Matthew 18:1-5). We were all little children once, and to enter the kingdom of heaven we will each return to our childlike faith. Occasionally, prophets have to remind us of our true status when we forget who we are and where we came from. (See Mosiah 2:23-25). The Gospel We are deceived in this world as we partake of the forbidden fruit of Satans lies, and we are taught something called the gospel as the antidote. Frequently, however, we define the gospel incorrectly as a long list of commandments. We should teach compliance and observance of the commandments in the Church, but too often we witness people who have become discouraged with their quest for perfection. One slip, they think to themselves, and all is lost. Their lives enter a vortex of sin sometimes only because they misunderstood the principles of the atonement. The task before them to live this false gospel seems impossible. This assumption is just as faulty as the one that we can sin knowingly, then repent to our Church leaders at the appropriate time to get a temple recommend when needed. Only after we have gained sufficient seasoning to acknowledge our repeated failed attempts to measure up to the lofty expectations of the impossible gospel of checklists, it seems, do we learn the true gospel. (See D&C 18:11; 76:40-42). The long list of commandments and outward ordinances is not unlike the preparatory gospel of the law of Moses in an earlier time -- to give Israel a type and shadow of the spiritual blessings inherent in the atonement of Christ. The law was never to become the salvation it typified (see Mosiah 13:30-31; 16:14-15), but as sin escalates our lists grow longer to hedge up the way. We zealously admonish one another that not one must be lost. We learn to measure performance and compare relative compliance. Instead of feeding the

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sheep, the danger is that we become adept at merely counting them. The Savior reserved His most excoriating criticism for the leaders of Judaism in his day who exhibited inexhaustible zeal for long lists. (See Matthew 23). He despised those who make yourselves appear unto men that ye would not commit the least sin, and yet ye yourselves, transgress the whole law. (JST Matthew 23:21). They had their image to think about. Paul told the church in Rome that living the law in and of itself will not justify us regardless of how righteous we may appear to other men. The outward sign of conformity to the law in Pauls day was circumcision. In our day it is baptism. Speaking to modern saints Paul might say, To be a Mormon is not just to look like a Mormon, and baptism is more than a physical ordinance. The real Mormon is the one who is inwardly a Mormon, and the real baptism is in the heart -- something not of the letter but of the spirit. A Mormon like that may not be praised by man, but he will be praised by God. (See Romans 2:25-29). Not surprisingly, President Benson said the same thing frequently. (See Ensign, May 1986, pp. 4-7; also Ensign, May 1988, pp. 4-6). Receiving, Not Earning Two valiant prophets, Nephi and Stephen, rebuked their persecutors as uncircumcised of heart. (See Helaman 9:21; Acts 7:51-53). Their tormentors had been circumcised, and yet remained uncircumcised of heart. The circumcision of heart, a spiritual rebirth, had eluded them even though they had complied with the physical ordinances required by the law. Abinadi agrees with Paul: Salvation doth not come by the law alone. (Mosiah 13:28). Lehi tells Jacob redemption comes through the Holy Messiah to those who have a broken heart and contrite spirit, and that by the law no flesh is justified. (2 Nephi 2:4-9). Unto none else, says Lehi, can the ends of the law be answered through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah. Only Jesus and little children qualify as perfect. In our public teaching in the Church today we sometimes give the impression there are some preconditions imposed by the law before men and women can receive the Holy Spirit. However, Paul teaches it is futile to suppose the works of the law will bring the Holy Spirit of promise to the saints. Let us always remember the Holy Ghost comes to us as a gift after we exercise faith in our Saviors atonement for our sins, and not as a reward for our good works. Paul posed the rhetorical question, Was it because you practiced the Law that you received the Spirit, or because you believed what was preached to you? (Galatians 3:2-5). Paul speaks of the preparatory gospel as being insufficient to save us from our sins. The outward works of the law are of none effect if not linked to a spiritual conversion by faith. (Romans 4:14). Paul says, All that law does is to tell us what is sinful, and we must go on

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unto perfection in the doctrine of Christ without our dead works. (Hebrews 6:1). Abinadi echoes Pauls teachings. We often consider gifts and grace as troublesome doctrines, thinking in our Protestant ethic that we must earn everything we receive, but remember prophets speak and write to those who have already received the initial outward ordinances of baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. The ordinances are essential for salvation, but all mankind were lost because of the fall, and would have been endlessly lost were it not that God redeemed his people from their lost and fallen state. (Mosiah 16:35). Nowhere do prophets speak of any preconditions for salvation except faith in Christs atonement, repentance, and baptism. Outward ordinances only typify inward spiritual realities, they guarantee nothing. Those who cannot humble themselves in repentance for their sins before their Redeemer remain as though there had been no redemption made, despite their empty works of compliance without the spirit. Now examine Amuleks teachings as another witness: All are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made. (Alma 34:9). Through the redemption of Christ little children have escaped accountability for sin. The ordinances at age eight symbolize what happens to us later when we have partaken of the forbidden fruit and the effects of the fall are complete. That is what is meant by the baptism of the heart -- it is spiritual not physical. How many of us assume we are saved merely by our nominal membership in the true Church? Too many of us perform closure on our spiritual progress, thinking we have all the knowledge we need in the law. Paul taught the outward ordinance of baptism has no power to save. Only faith in Jesus Christ which worketh by love results in the desired goal of salvation. (Galatians 5:6). This deception of focusing our efforts on outward behavioral checklists breeds self-righteousness and spiritual complacency, collective sins of the chosen people who are not yet born again. (Alma 5:14). So what becomes of our boasts? demands Paul. There is no room for them. On the contrary, it is the law of faith, since, as we see it, a man is justified by faith and not by doing something the Law tells him to do. (See Romans 3:27-31). Faith Like Abrahams Paul cites Abrahams faith. Though it seemed Abrahams hope for posterity could not be fulfilled, he hoped and he believed. Through doing so he became the father of many nations exactly as he had been promised. Nothing could shake his faith. Since God had promised it, Abraham refused either to deny it or even to doubt it, but drew strength from faith and gave glory to God, convinced that God had power to do what he had promised. There are many in the Church today whose faith and hope in an eternal posterity seems in every particular as

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impossible as Abrahams. This is the faith that was considered as justifying him. Our faith too will be considered if we believe in him who was put to death for our sins and raised to life to justify us. (See Romans 4:13-25). It is easy to confess our faith in God once or twice in a lifetime. We only receive the blessings of Abraham as we live each day like Abraham. Would Paul have us abandon the requirements under the law for the outward ordinances and commandments of salvation? Not at all. He says the law is not sufficient to save us -- he does not say the law is disposable. But the law, even if it could be lived perfectly as Paul says he lived it, does not save. Salvation is perfect faith in Christ as our personal Savior, not perfect compliance with the checklist of commandments demanded by the law. Our doctrine is the doctrine of Christ. Once innocent children, we have all ingested the forbidden fruit of Satans lies. (D&C 93:3740). Pauls testimony was, I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the Law, but I want only the perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. (See Philippians 3:4-14). Alma taught the same doctrine. Each had a keen awareness of his fallen condition and his need for redemption. Each knew his deliverance from the bondage of sin. They were saved in the abyss of their sin and folly by faith, not because they were living the law perfectly. Almas salvation came not of any worthiness of myself. (Alma 36:2-5). Salvation for each of us comes as a gift of grace after all we can do, but we are commanded to teach our children the deadness of the law. (2 Nephi 25:23-30). Too often, instead, we advocate the merits of the law, insist upon compliance from our children and never teach them the true gospel of Jesus Christ. We deny the twin doctrines of the fall and the atonement when we concentrate on their outward performance, and we rate them good or bad against a false standard. Therefore, our judgment of them is faulty. Jesus taught only God was good. (Mark 10:18). So did Paul. (Romans 3:10-12). Eternal life is attainable only because of our faith in Christs atonement. We earn nothing as fallen beings, because any good in us comes from God. Either our good works are inspired by the Holy Ghost, or our works are merely works of men inspired by Satan and they perish. (3 Nephi 27:10-12). No advocate of the gospel was as faithful and fearless as Paul following his vision of the Lord, yet his writings disclose he continued to struggle with temptation all his life. He referred to his mortal weakness as a thorn in the flesh, and each of us is blessed with similar thorns. He was silenced in his thrice-repeated petition to have the thorn removed with, My grace is sufficient for thee. The thorn is our corruptible mortal flesh we must submit through repentance to the sanctification of the Lords grace. Paul finally learned there was no glory in

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achieving his own worthy goals under the law. Rather, he found the source of his spiritual strength in his dependence upon Christ to deliver him from his temporal infirmities. (See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10). It is a lesson for us. Spiritless checklists and self-determined goals are powerless to save. Moroni was weak in writing, and feared he would be mocked by the gentiles who received The Book of Mormon in the latter days. If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness, promised the Lord. He did not mean He gives us our many mortal weaknesses and temptations. He reveals our true weakness as fallen mortals to humble us, a weakness we never overcome until death (the end of our probation if we have been faithful). His grace strengthens us in mortality, not our vain exertions to remove our own thorn. My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, was the sweet whispering of the Holy Spirit to Moroni, who testifies, I know that thou workest unto the children of men according to their faith. (Ether 12:26-29). He lived like Abraham, and so must we. We exchange our sins for His love, the grace or charity spoken of in the scriptures. His grace is his enabling power given as a gift to make salvation possible for the penitent. Charity for others is obtained by our faith in Christs redemptive power to save us from sin and death, which gives rise to the hope that our faith will not be in vain and our sins will be forgiven. We cannot give the love we have not yet received. Moroni tells us the gift is given only when we pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ. (Moroni 7:48). That is what James meant by the necessity of good works to go with our faith. (James 2:20-24). Praying with all the energy of heart and acting on the answers is just the kind of good hard work James had in mind! Every covenant we make with God condemns us, because we all fall short of perfect performance. The weight of the law if borne alone will crush us. That is the purpose of the law -- to teach us we are weak and need help shouldering the load. The real joy and peace of living the gospel lies in the infinite possibilities if we know how, what and who to worship, not in keeping score on our checklists hoping to prove ourselves worthy. (D&C 93:19). Discipleship Why is perfection in the law so impossible in the flesh? All that the law does is to tell us what is sinful. There is no salvation in living the law of carnal commandments perfectly, said Paul. Salvation consists in being perfected in Christ through our faith on him as our personal Savior. He is our only hope for perfection. (Moroni 10:32-33). Our doctrine is, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, only then are we sanctified.

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Jacob taught a daily spiritual walk for the believer, not a one-time profession of belief. He said those who would claim salvation in Christ must consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility. (2 Nephi 9:41-42). Each day the true disciple denies himself all ungodliness and every worldly lust, takes up his cross, and follows the Savior. (JST Matthew 16:26). It becomes a way of life for the true disciple, not just a well-meaning slogan. Nephi promised, if ye will enter in by the way [baptism], and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show you all things what ye should do. Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ. (2 Nephi 32:56). He spoke of my doctrine, when Jesus said, whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved, and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child. (3 Nephi 11:31-40). Even the gates of hell shall not prevail against true disciples who build upon his rock. This is my gospel, taught Jesus when he invited us to repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 27:19-21). The law, though always intended to yield a spiritual result, operates in a natural, carnal, and temporal world. The Holy Ghost is the supernatural sanctifier of the natural man. (Mosiah 3:18-21). This is my doctrine, saith Christ, whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. (D&C 10:68). God give us the wisdom to avoid making more of the gospel than it is. King Benjamin taught the disciple should put his [her] trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life. . . This is the means whereby salvation cometh, and there is no other way. (Mosiah 4:6-8). Pauls teachings on grace and the futility of excelling in the works of the law are simple. The doctrine of Christ applies today, and shall suffice for thy daily walk, even unto the end of thy life. (D&C 19:29-32). The impossible gospel of searching for power by blind adherence and faith in our checklists under the law is just another false tradition with no power to save. Jesus never taught it, for my commandments are spiritual. (D&C 29:34-35). Only the Holy One of Israel can supply the perfect fruit of the tree of life. (1 Nephi 11:8-36; 2 Nephi 9; 25:23-30; 31:16-21). Mercy cometh because of the atonement, and none but the truly penitent are saved. (Alma 42:2324). Rather than our own perfection in mortality, our quest must be for the mercy of our Redeemer. Little children know the doctrine of Christ. They love Jesus. They know his love for them. As we wash our garments in his blood we become like them, holy and without spot. (Alma 13:11; Moroni 10:33). The possible gospel, the true gospel, is a very short list. It is so simple only little children understand it.

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Section Four

The Keys of the Priesthood

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Chapter Eleven

The Presiding Keys of Authority

On May 4, 1842, in a meeting above his store in Nauvoo, Illinois, the Prophet Joseph instructed his brethren . . .in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the fullness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the Firstborn, and come up and abide in the presence of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds. (TPJS, p. 237, emphasis ours). A new day had dawned upon the world. The keys of the priesthood had been restored to give us the access to the power of God and the authority (or order) of God, as neither would prove a blessing without the other. Where there is power there must be order to direct it, and where there is order there must be power to preserve it. Every member of the Church should understand this grand set of priesthood keys operates in two dimensions -- the administrative (authority) and the spiritual (power). In this chapter and the next we will examine each dimension. This much is clear. When used administratively priesthood keys are the exclusive domain of those ordained to the priesthood and set apart to positions of authority in the vertical organization of the Church. When used to access the spiritual powers of heaven, known as the gifts of the spirit, however, these keys are the domain of all the saints who have equal claim upon them with or without priesthood ordination. The ideal, of course, would be to live in a world where every priesthood holder in the Church appreciates and values the administrative and the spiritual aspects of the keys they hold. Confusion ensues in the implementation of priesthood-directed initiatives whenever priesthood holders are focused to extreme on either one or the other aspect of these keys. A hyper-spiritual leader with no concept of his administrative responsibilities could be just as damaging in his ministry as the hyper-manager who has never had a spiritual experience in his ministry. The truth is there is always something of the leader and the manager in each of us, and this is as it should be -- Brigham Young is a good example. This prophet leader was a spiritual giant and a consummate detail manager. The challenge is to remember which is

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which, and to apply the appropriate dosage of each in our duties and opportunities. The authority dimension of the presiding keys is referred to as the right of presidency. (See D&C 107:8). This is the authority God gives his servants to act within certain bounds according to their positions in the Church. Only the authorized ministrations by priesthood holders operating in proper channels are legally binding and acceptable before him. (D&C 132:8-10). These keys are variously referred to in the scriptures as the keys of the priesthood, (see D&C 132:7; 124:34, 123), the keys of the kingdom, (see D&C 81:2; 128:14), and the keys of the oracles of God, (see D&C 90: 4-5; 124:39, 124). The Keys of the Priesthood These presiding keys are often called the keys of the priesthood for at least two reasons: First, these presiding keys of authority are exclusive to the priesthood, and are handled and controlled only by those ordained to the priesthood; secondly, the keys pertain to offices or positions in the priesthood. (D&C 107:9). The Keys of the Kingdom The presiding keys are also called the keys of the kingdom. (D&C 81:2). By virtue of these keys Gods servants preside in his kingdom on earth, have authority to officiate in all the offices or positions and perform or administer all the ordinances thereof. Because of these rights, his servants may also enjoy the wherewithal to discern all the spiritual gifts or powers operative in the lives of the members of the kingdom to ensure they are of God. (See D&C 46:27). The Keys of the Oracles of God Sometimes these keys of presidency are called the keys of the oracles of God, because they give Gods servants the right to ask and receive revelation pertaining to the direction of his Church upon the earth. (D&C 90:1-6). They also give his servants the authority to speak for God. Anciently, the holy of holies in Solomons Temple was called the oracle, or the place where conversations with God took place. (See 1 Kings 6:16, 10-23). The full scope of these presiding priesthood keys is the absolute exclusive right given of God to preside in the priesthood, direct the kingdom, access the mind of God and speak for him in accomplishing his will in all things pertaining to the kingdom of God on earth. These keys are shared (delegated) down through priesthood offices according to the various positions in the Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is . . .the only true and living church upon the

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face of the whole earth, with which. . . God is pleased. (D&C 1:30). While he always respects and holds inviolate the eternal principle of free agency, his Church is not a democracy. It is, rather, a perfect theocracy where all things must be done in order according to the order of the priesthood he has restored. Only those holding the presiding keys of authority can direct the affairs of the kingdom. We are required to have humility like John the Baptist to never transcend our bounds and respect the order of the priesthood. (See TPJS, p. 336). The presiding keys of authority contemplate the breadth, the depth and the height of all priesthood offices. Only one man at a time on the earth holds these keys in the fullness of their ecclesiastical scope. (D&C 132:7). This man, of course, is the President of the High Priesthood, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Prophet, Seer and Revelator. Since the keys reside collectively among the Twelve Apostles, after being duly ordained to his position usually by the next senior Apostle among the Twelve Apostles, the President of the High Priesthood can then activate all the priesthood keys in directing the affairs of the entire kingdom under the direction of his head, the Lord Jesus Christ. He carries out his administration in council with his brethren of the Council of the First Presidency. This council, comprised of three high priests, represents the highest ecclesiastical authority of the priesthood on earth. President Kimball describes how this mantle of authority passes from one prophet to another in these words: Then more recently, the day after [President Joseph Fielding Smiths] funeral, in July 1972, there came to the Presidency of the Church, President Harold B. Lee, tried and true, educated in the program, spiritual, and above all, called of the Lord. The mantle changed its residence again. It fell on the newly ordained and set apart prophet and President, Harold B. Lee. We have seen this man, already trained and spiritual, grow and magnify his calling. As we see him make pronouncements and decisions, we recognize in them all the voice of the shepherd, the leader of men, a prophet of the Lord, the mantle bearer. (TSWK, p. 467). These keys give the President the right of presidency over the entire Church. By them he has right to preside over and to officiate in all the offices or positions in the Church. (D&C 107:89). With these keys he watches over the Church and discerns all the spiritual gifts and operations active in the Church. (D&C 46:16, 27, 29). The President of the Church also has the right through use of these presiding keys to delegate to others and to endow others with certain rights and authorities for the benefit of the kingdom. For example, while only he holds the sealing keys the authority to perform sealings

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for and on behalf of the saints in our temples is delegated to many others. Likewise, while he is the head, others are called to preside over and shepherd various congregations of the saints. Many who have held these presiding positions can attest to the spiritual mantle accompanying and blessing their ministrations to others within their stewardships as they have served in these priesthood offices. The next level of general authority holding presiding keys over the Church is the Quorum (or the Council) of the Twelve Apostles. These Twelve Apostles act as a governing body under their head, the Quorum (or the Council) of the First Presidency. The First and Second Quorums (or Councils) of the Seventy and the Presiding Bishopric are the other two general governing bodies holding presiding keys in the Church today. As the Church has grown numerically the Seventies have been deployed throughout the earth in Area Presidencies, regulating the affairs of the Church in large geographical areas once covered by only the Twelve Apostles. Area Authorities likewise operate with localized general authority to assist as directed by the General Authorities in the affairs of the stakes. Each of these governing bodies, no matter what its numerical size (3, 12, or 70), has a head. Each presiding quorum in the Church is an order, and has an order in it. This principle extends down the vertical organization chart to areas, regions, stakes, missions, wards, quorums and families. Each head at each level holds presiding keys within the scope of their callings in the kingdom. Each is limited in his authority, however, by a specific stewardship. While we often refer to only the Prophet as The Lords Anointed, by extension all these positions of authority may constitute the Lords anointed. Each endowed member of the Church has covenanted not to speak evil of these servants. God has put this order in place in his kingdom for the blessing of his children, the building up of his kingdom and the establishment of Zion. Honoring and sustaining the Lords anointed servants in every position from the greatest to the least is absolutely the key to the eventual perfection of Gods people. From the days of Moses and Aaron in the wilderness this has been the litmus test of Israels faithfulness. The test is no different today. Legions are the examples of those who could not accept counsel from the hands of the Lords servants. Submitting to Priesthood Authority Submitting to the Lords anointed has always been one of ancient and modern Israels greatest tests. Submitting requires humility and faith. It presupposes absolute trust and confidence that this order of priesthood administered through imperfect mortal men will really bless our lives.

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President Kimball pled with the saints not to repeat the mistakes of the past: Now a word of warning: Let us not make the error of the ancients. Numerous modern sectarians believe in the Abrahams, the Moseses, and the Pauls, but resist believing in todays prophets. The ancients also could accept the prophets of an earlier day, but denounced and cursed the ones who were their contemporaries. (Ensign, May 1977, pp. 77-8). Each man who holds these presiding keys at whatever level in the kingdom sits in positions of leadership during mortality as an imperfect and fallen mortal. Unlike the Catholics we have no infallibility doctrine for the Prophet. Joseph said, A prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such. (TPJS, p. 278). He never gave allusions to his perfection, nor should we put a similar expectation on our current leaders. Joseph also said: I told them I was but a man, and they must not expect me to be perfect; if they expected perfection from me, I should expect it from them; but if they would bear with my infirmities and the infirmities of the brethren, I would likewise bear with their infirmities. (TPJS, p. 268). There was only one perfect High Priest, the Lord himself. None of these servants is omniscient. Despite the obvious the order is not altered. Even when men dishonor their callings in the kingdom this ancient, now restored, order of priesthood continues to bless us in our imperfections. The order in Gods earthly kingdom is intended not to govern perfect men, but to facilitate our journey toward perfection. Our role is to humbly obey the Lord by sustaining the order of his anointed servants at every level despite all our imperfections. To submit to the position in the order is not to submit to the person. The authority of God is what the position represents. The person is our imperfect equal. Submitting to the position does not make us inferior to the person serving in the position. In humbly submitting to the position we manifest charity, our love and allegiance to God and our love and respect for his called servant who fills it. This is a fundamental principle in Gods kingdom. In sustaining or rejecting the one sent we sustain or reject the One who sent them. The Gospel of John shows Christ to be the paragon of one who is sent. Emphasis throughout the following citations is ours. Christ said: If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. (John 8:42).

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I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (John 6:38). My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. (John 7:16). The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Fathers which sent me. (John 14:24). He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which sent him. (John 5:23). John demonstrates the extension of this same principle to all whom Christ sends. The Savior said: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. (John 13:20). As my father hath sent me, even so send I you. (John 20:21). In our dispensation the Lord said it this way: For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth my Father. (D&C 84:36-37). To speak evil of the Lords anointed, the servants he has sent to us, is to speak evil of the Lord who sent them. To reject the Lords anointed is to reject the Lord. While the Lords servants are our peers as persons, they represent him in their positions. When we interact with one of his authorized servants, for instance a quorum president, we are in a very real sense interacting with the Lord who sent them despite their mortal imperfections. President Joseph Fielding Smith made this bold declaration and invitation to people in and out of the Church: We are the servants of the Lord. We have received light and truth and revelation from him. He has commanded us to proclaim his truths and live his laws. And so now, in harmony with his mind and will, and as guided by his Holy Spirit, we give counsel and direction to the Saints and to the world. . . We invite all our Fathers children, everywhere, to believe in Christ, to receive him as he is revealed by living prophets, and to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Counsel to the Saints and to the World, Ensign, 2:27 [July 1972]). We need two essential gifts if we are to righteously interact with each other in the order of the priesthood God has given us: 1) A testimony we are submitting to true representatives sent of

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the Lord; and 2) the charity to humbly sustain each other as imperfect peers in these vertical positions of authority. The Churchs stated threefold mission is to build the kingdom and establish Zion by preaching the gospel, perfecting the saints, and redeeming our dead. It is the work of gathering all things in heaven and earth together in one. If we are not one, we are not his. (D&C 38:27). If we do not become one, there will be no Zion, where all are of one heart and one mind. (Moses 7:18). The only way imperfect, ignorant mortal people like us will ever become a Zion society is to come together under our heads and submit our will to Gods will humbly and meekly at the hands of his anointed representatives. As families and couples we must become one, as quorums and wards we must become one, as stakes and missions we must become one under our heads the Lords anointed. According to President Harold B. Lee, accepting and sustaining the leaders of the Church is a valid test of our true conversion: Now I want to impress this upon you. Someone has said it this way, and I believe it to be absolutely true: That person is not truly converted until he sees the power of God resting upon the leaders of this church, and until it goes down into his heart like fire. Until the members of this church have that conviction that they are being led in the right way, and they have a conviction that these men of God are men who are inspired and have been properly appointed by the hand of God, they are not truly converted. (The Strength of the Priesthood, Ensign, 2 [July 1972]: 102-3). President Lee also admitted that to humbly accept and follow counsel from our leaders in the Church often requires great patience and faith: We must learn to give heed to the words and commandments that the Lord shall give through his prophet, as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me; . . . as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. (D&C 21:4-5.) There will be some things that take patience and faith. You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his names glory. . . . Lets keep our eye on the President of the Church. (CR, October 1970, pp. 152-3, emphasis ours).

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This test of followership is the grand key of true discipleship. Disciples are followers of their Master. Many profess to be disciples of Christ, but some are selective disciples. Some really do follow, while others cannot. Some will have the humility and meekness to submit, while others will be too proud to yield. These scriptural terms submit and yield recur throughout The Book of Mormon. In the mission field, in wards and stakes of the Church, some members can submit, others never will. Obedience has always required the meekness of humility. Most members in the Church are aware of these presiding keys of the priesthood. They touch our lives at least as often as every Sunday in our ward meetings. Fewer are conversant with how priesthood keys operate as the spiritual keys of power within the dimension of personal revelation. We can learn much about these precious priesthood keys in the scriptures and in the temple. In the same meeting cited at the opening of this chapter, Joseph said . . .there was nothing made know to these men but what will be made known to all the Saints of the last days, so soon as they are prepared to receive, and a proper place is prepared to communicate them, even to the weakest of the Saints. (TPJS, p. 237, emphasis ours). The temple is the proper place Joseph referred to above. If the temple is the classroom, the scriptures are the textbooks. Our knowledge of one supplements the other. We learn about these precious spiritual keys line upon line, precept upon precept. In the next chapter we will discuss the spiritual use of priesthood keys.

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Chapter Twelve

The Spiritual Keys of Power

The other dimension in which this grand set of priesthood keys operates is in the spiritual realm of personal power. We have already discussed the distinctions between power and authority, now we will examine these distinctions in their context as personal priesthood keys. We will call these the spiritual keys of power, because they are the keys to all the spiritual blessings of the Church. (D&C 107:18-19). These keys give all the children of God access to the things of the spirit. The English language sometimes uses the two terms power and authority interchangeably or synonymously, but the two terms are not true synonyms in the gospel context. Though the keys of the priesthood are the same, their use in Church administration (authority) and personal revelation (power) are very different in the scope of their influence. On the general administrative level they provide inspiration and revelation to direct, organize, call, ordain, set apart and administer. On a personal level, however, they operate only within the purview of an individuals personal life and family stewardships. While revelation is (or should be) the common denominator in the use of priesthood keys, the scope of personal revelation does not extend into anothers stewardship, one who is called to a position of authority in the Church we do not hold. We are rather loose in our usage of the names of these priesthood keys, because we have never thought how the simple principles and ordinances of the gospel might be considered priesthood keys. What follows lies at the heart of the matter with respect to women and the professed need by some to ordain them to the various offices in the priesthood men hold. These keys of spiritual power are administered only by the authority of the priesthood to the sons and daughters of God. Men and women receive these keys only from the priesthood, and nowhere else. These spiritual keys of power are used to obtain access to the mysteries of the kingdom of God in heaven. We will learn much more about these keys later. The keys of the oracles of God also redound to the benefit of each individual son and daughter of God. Personal revelation is a hallmark of Mormonism. We believe we are guided by the Holy Spirit and we champion the quest for personal revelation in our Church callings and our personal lives. Oracles are simply personal conversations with God. No one, male or female, can commune with God, receive knowledge of the mysteries of Godliness and know God except through these sacred spiritual keys.

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Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood Keys Because there are two divisions or grand heads, Melchizedek and Aaronic (see D&C 107:6), it will not be surprising to learn each priesthood has two specific priesthood keys associated with it. The scriptures reveal four spiritual keys of power in the priesthood: The first and second Aaronic Priesthood keys (so-called because they are administered by the Aaronic Priesthood), and the first and second Melchizedek Priesthood keys (so-called because they are administered by the Melchizedek Priesthood). These spiritual keys of power are administered to all worthy persons, male and female, in the Church regardless of position just as Joseph promised they would be. To this day we witness the keys being routinely given to even the weakest of saints. The Aaronic Priesthoods First Key Section 13 of The Doctrine and Covenants consists of the words John the Baptist spoke, as he conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery: Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels. . . (emphasis ours). Those who have the Aaronic Priesthood conferred upon them, we are frequently taught in the Church, thereby have right to the ministering of angels. The implication is those who do not hold this priesthood have no right to the ministering of angels. We have misunderstood, and obtaining a proper knowledge of these things is absolutely fundamental to the establishment of the latter-day Zion if we will ever be enabled to come into the presence of an innumerable company of angels. (See TPJS, p. 325). John said the Aaronic Priesthood holds the key of the ministering of angels. However, John did not say what that key was. What is the key of the ministering of angels? The Prophet Mormon revealed this first Aaronic Priesthood key: . . . it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men. . . (Moroni 7:37). The key is faith, specifically faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the key by which angels appear and minister unto men and women. It is the first spiritual key of power. Like the Hebrew Church [we must come] to an innumerable company of angels, unto God the Father of all, and to Jesus Christ the Mediator of the new covenant. (TPJS, p. 325). Upon reflection, this makes perfect sense. Acting in his editorial role in the compilation of the records comprising The Book of Mormon, Moroni reflected on the faith of his forefathers:

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I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers. . . Wherefore, ye may also have hope, and be partakers of the gift, if ye will but have faith. . . It was by faith that they of old were called after the holy order of God. . . By faith was the law of Moses given. But in the gift of his Son hath God prepared a more excellent way; and it is by faith that it hath been fulfilled. For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith. Behold, it was the faith of Alma and Amulek that caused the prison to tumble to the earth. Behold, it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi that wrought the change upon the Lamanites, that they were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost. Behold, it was the faith of Ammon and his brethren which wrought so great a miracle among the Lamanites. Yea, and even all they who wrought miracles wrought them by faith, even those who were before Christ and also those who were after. And it was by faith that the three disciples obtained a promise that they should not taste of death; and they obtained not the promise until after their faith. And neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith; wherefore they first believed in the Son of God. And there were many whose faith was so exceedingly strong, even before Christ came, who could not be kept from within the veil, but truly saw with their eyes the things which they had beheld with an eye of faith, and they were glad. . . (Ether 12:6-22, emphasis ours). All the mighty works recorded in holy writ have come by faith without exception. Without faith nothing happens. Of course it is the first key of power! No other possibility qualifies. From the Lectures on Faith in Josephs School of the Prophets, we learn: Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion and authority over all things; by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeable to the will of God. Without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation, nor existence! (Lectures On Faith, 1:24, emphasis ours). [Faith] is the principle of power in the Deity as well as in man. . . and without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation nor existence! (Lectures on

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Faith, Questions & Answers, Lecture First; also see Hebrews 11:3, emphasis ours). We may be given authority to act in positions in the Church, but without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we really have no power in the priesthood because without faith we can do nothing. (D&C 8:10). The Aaronic Priesthoods Second Key Returning to the reference of John the Baptists ordination of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, we see that he spoke of two Aaronic keys: Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of [1] the ministering of angels, and [2] of the [preparatory] gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. . . (D&C 13, emphasis ours). The Aaronic Priesthoods second key is the preparatory gospel: And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel; which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins. . . (D&C 84:26, emphasis ours). The preparatory gospel of repentance and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins is the second Aaronic Priesthood key. Our tendency, after dutifully memorizing the 4th Article of Faith in our Primary days, is to separate repentance and baptism in our minds. A thoughtful reading of all the scriptures on this subject, however, indicates the second principle of the gospel, repentance, is linked inseparably to the first ordinance of the gospel, baptism by immersion. Only repentance and baptism produce the remission of sins. It takes both to prepare a person to be born of the spirit. Hence, the reason we call both the preparatory gospel. Baptism, the next natural step following sincere repentance, is an Aaronic Priesthood ordinance, confirmed by D&C 107:20: The power and authority of the lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood, is to hold the keys of the ministering of angels, and to administer in outward ordinances, the letter of the gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, agreeable to the covenants and commandments. (Emphasis ours). Whether we say the baptism of repentance (D&C 107:20), or baptized unto repentance (Alma 7:14), it is the same. Only the effectual combination of both comprises the Aaronic

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Priesthoods second key known as the preparatory gospel. The Melchizedek Priesthoods First Key What is the Melchizedek Priesthoods first key of spiritual power? D&C 84:19 provides our answer: And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest (emphasis ours). How do we learn our first lessons in knowing God? What is the first key that gives a person access to the mysteries of godliness? Nephi answers: For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. (1 Nephi. 10:19, emphasis ours). The Melchizedek Priesthoods first key is the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is perfectly consistent with the two Aaronic Priesthood keys we have already examined. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the next ordinance of the gospel following baptism. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the first ordinance of the Melchizedek Priesthood, and the scriptures offer numerous examples to support the spirit as the medium whereby men and women begin to know the mysteries our physical eyes cannot see, nor ears hear. As Paul said: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things [mysteries] of God. For what man knoweth the things of man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, except he has the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (JST 1 Corinthians 2:9-14, emphasis ours). Joseph Smith said:

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No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator. (TPJS, p. 328). We never can comprehend the things of God and of heaven, but by revelation. (TPJS, p. 292, emphasis ours). The scriptural definition of a mystery is something that can only be known by the spirit through revelation: Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God. (Jacob 4:8). Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Now, behold, this is the spirit of revelation. . . Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not. Ask that you may know the mysteries of God. . . (D&C 8:2-3, 10-11). If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things -- that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal. (D&C 42:61). But great and marvelous are the works of the Lord, and the mysteries of his kingdom which he showed unto us, which surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion; Which he commanded us we should not write while we were yet in the Spirit, and are not lawful for man to utter; Neither is man capable to make them known, for they are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him, and purify themselves before him; To whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves. (D&C 76:116). But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26, emphasis ours above). Not surprisingly, then, the scriptures clearly confirm the Holy Ghost, the first Comforter from whom we begin to learn the mysteries of godliness in mortality, is the Melchizedek Priesthoods first key of spiritual power.

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The Melchizedek Priesthoods Second Key Just as John the Baptist provided us with both Aaronic Priesthood keys, Joseph Smith gives us both keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood: And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth [1] the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even [2] the key of the knowledge of God. (D&C 84:19, emphasis ours). One is tempted to interpret the words even the key of the knowledge of God as merely referring to the first key of the mysteries of the kingdom, but a careful reading of these words in context reveals this is a separate second key. And this greater [Melchizedek] priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of [1] the mysteries of the kingdom [by the power of the First Comforter], [2] even the key of the knowledge of God [by the power of the Second Comforter]. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God. (D&C 84:1923, emphasis ours). This second Melchizedek Priesthood key of spiritual power goes far beyond merely beginning to know the mysteries of the kingdom by the power of the Holy Ghost. Joseph learns in this revelation there is a key by which we may see the face of God by being sanctified and entering his rest, which rest is the fulness of his glory. This second key has reference to Jesus Christ, who is the Second Comforter. The rest of God is a scriptural allusion to those saints who are received into the church of the Firstborn as heirs to the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom. (D&C 76:54, 58). If in mortality these have their calling and election made sure, have received the more sure word of prophecy, and been sealed up to eternal life through the oath and covenant of the priesthood, they receive this priesthood key. The second Melchizedek Priesthood key is the Second Comforter, the final and grand spiritual key of power in the priesthood on the earth. In his doctrinal commentary on John 14, Joseph Smith said: There are two Comforters spoken of. One is the Holy Ghost. . .

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After a person has faith in Christ, [the first Aaronic key], repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins [the second Aaronic key] and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, [the first Melchizedek key], then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter [the second Melchizedek key], which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John in the 14th chapter. . . . Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man [or woman] obtains this last Comforter, he [she] will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him [her], or appear unto him [her] from time to time, and even He will reveal the Father unto him [her], and they will take up their abode with him [her], and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him [her] face to face. . . (TPJS, pp. 149-151, emphasis ours). All of us have been called and elected. We are all called to Gods kingdom and the invitation excludes none of Gods children. We are all elected to become the children of Abraham through the covenant he made with God. President Benson spoke of the calling and election of women in these words: Before the world was created, in heavenly councils the pattern and role of women were prescribed. You were elected by God to be wives and mothers in Zion. Exaltation in the celestial kingdom is predicated upon faithfulness to that calling. (Ensign, November 1981, p. 105, emphasis ours). By priesthood ordinance a man and woman may have their calling and election made sure. This is the more sure word of prophecy referred to in D&C 131:5: The more sure word of prophecy means a mans [womans] knowing that he [she] is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood. It is impossible for man [woman] to be saved in ignorance (emphasis ours). In his commentary on 2 Peter 1 Joseph said: The principle of knowledge is the principle of salvation. This principle can be comprehended by the faithful and diligent; and every one that does not obtain

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knowledge sufficient to be saved will be damned. The principle of salvation is given us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. (TPJS, p. 297, emphasis ours). The knowledge spoken of in these passages is not merely knowing Christ because we have obtained his presence and his company. It means knowing what Christ knows, that we are sealed up to eternal life because Christ communicates that knowledge to us personally. Joseph Smith also said: There are three grand secrets lying in this chapter, [II Peter i.] which no man can dig out, unless by the light of revelation, and which unlocks the whole chapter as the things that are written are only hints of things which existed in the prophet's mind, which are not written concerning eternal glory. I am going to take up this subject by virtue of the knowledge of God in me, which I have received from heaven. (TPJS, p. 304). Notwithstanding the apostle [Peter] exhorts them to add to their faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, etc., yet he exhorts them to make their calling and election sure. And though they had heard an audible voice from heaven bearing testimony that Jesus was the Son of God, yet he says we have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light shining in a dark place. Now, wherein could they have a more sure word of prophecy than to hear the voice of God saying, This is my beloved Son. Now for the secret and grand key. Though they might hear the voice of God and know that Jesus was the Son of God, this would be no evidence that their election and calling was made sure, that they had part with Christ, and were joint heirs with Him. They then would want that more sure word of prophecy, that they were sealed in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of God. Then, having this promise sealed unto them, it was an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast. Though the thunders might roll and lightnings flash, and earthquakes bellow, and war gather thick around, yet this hope and knowledge [through this Second Comforter] would support the soul in every hour of trial, trouble and tribulation. Then [this] knowledge through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ [the Second Comforter telling us we are sealed] is the grand key that unlocks the glories and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. (TPJS, p. 298, emphasis ours). Many who discover this doctrine for the first time are troubled by it because it is seldom taught publicly in the Church. However, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, spoke of it constantly and wrote of it repeatedly. (For example, see fourth verses of Hymns, no. 21; 134). He gives this added insight:

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To have ones calling and election made sure is to be sealed up unto eternal life; it is to have the unconditional guarantee of exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world; it is to receive the assurance of Godhood; it is, in effect, to have the day of judgment advanced, so that an inheritance of all the glory and honor of the Fathers kingdom is assured prior to the day when the faithful actually enter into the divine presence to sit with Christ in his throne, even as he is set down with his Father in his throne. (Revelation 3:21). (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:330-31, emphasis ours). When we take upon ourselves all the ordinances of salvation including the blessings of the temple endowment and eternal marriage covenants then live our lives in harmony with the gospel, we may press forward with faith and mature patience waiting upon the Lord for the day when our lives will be crowned with celestial glory. In terms of our eternal opportunities it does not really matter if our calling and election is made sure here or hereafter. But blessed are they who are faithful and endure, whether in life or in death, for they shall inherit eternal life. (D&C 50:5, emphasis ours). Once again, Elder McConkie: If we die in the faith, that is the same thing as saying that our calling and election has been made sure and that we will go on to eternal reward hereafter. As far as faithful members of the Church are concerned, they have charted a course leading to eternal life. This life is the time that is appointed as a probationary estate for men to prepare to meet God, and as far as faithful people are concerned, if they are in the line of their duty, if they are doing what they ought to do, although they may not have been perfect in this sphere, their probation is ended. Now there will be some probation for some other people hereafter. But for the faithful saints of God, now is the time and the day, and their probation is ended with their death. (Funeral Service for Elder S. Dilworth Young, July 13, 1981, typescript, p. 5, emphasis ours). Summarizing, then, the four keys of the priesthood, the spiritual keys of power, are: Faith (in the Lord Jesus Christ); the preparatory gospel (repentance and baptism); the First Comforter (the Holy Ghost, key to the mysteries of godliness); and the Second Comforter (Jesus Christ, key to the knowledge of God). Notice how specifically the scriptures describe these keys that have been exercised by the inhabitants of the highest celestial realm: And again we bear record -- for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the gospel of Christ concerning them who shall come forth in the resurrection of the justThey are they who received the testimony of Jesus and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given. That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained

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and sealed unto this power; And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true. They are they who are the church of the Firstborn. (D&C 76:50-54, emphasis ours). When used in the administrative domains of authority in the kingdom, the keys of the priesthood are for the exclusive use of the presiding priesthood as they govern in their various positions. However, each person in the Church (male and female) accesses these priesthood keys of spiritual power in their individual lives for the purpose of growing in the gifts and powers of the spirit. In this sense the keys are inclusive regardless of position. One common element that pertains to these keys, either administratively or individually, is they are all administered to the members of the Church by the priesthood. To preserve the order in his kingdom God does not authorize the dissemination of these keys except through the priesthood. The priesthood holds the exclusive right to administer these keys to mankind. All four keys are obtained only from the priesthood. Every worthy man and woman of record in the Church may enjoy the blessings of these priesthood keys. In the next chapter we will consider how these keys are administered by the priesthood.

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Chapter Thirteen

How the Priesthood Administers the Spiritual Keys of Power

We come closer now to the heart of the matter -- how these precious priesthood keys are administered by the priesthood to all members of the Church for their individual blessing. Administering the Aaronic Priesthoods First Key This first key is usually overlooked because we dont think about it in these terms -- we simply accept missionary work as one of the most visible functions of the Church. It is so obvious we do not give it a second thought. When the scriptures speak of the key of faith they invariably speak of faith unto salvation. The only faith to save man is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified. How does the Aaronic Priesthood administer faith? Paul answers in Chapter 10 of Romans: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias [Greek for Isaiah] saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:13-17, emphasis ours). Joseph Smith commented on this subject using this very text: To say that the heathens would be damned because they did not believe the Gospel would be preposterous, and to say that the Jews would all be damned that do not believe in Jesus would be equally absurd; for how can they believe on him of whom they have not heard, and how can they hear without a preacher, and how can he preach except he be sent; consequently neither Jew nor heathen can be culpable for rejecting the conflicting opinions of sectarianism, nor for rejecting any testimony but that which is sent of God, for as the preacher cannot preach except he be sent, so the hearer cannot believe without he hear a sent preacher, and cannot be condemned

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for what he has not heard, and being without law, will have to be judged without law. (TPJS, p. 221, emphasis ours). These teachings establish two key points regarding faith: 1) Faith comes only by hearing the word of God; and 2) the word of God is not just some words about God. The word of God is Gods word, which he sends to his children by his Holy Spirit through true messengers he authorizes and sends by the authority of the priesthood. No one can have faith in Christ unto salvation unless he has heard the word of God. The word of God can only be taught and heard in one tongue. This tongue is not Spanish, English, Hebrew, Greek, French or any other language of man. This tongue is the tongue of angels and it can be spoken only by the power of the Holy Ghost by those sent and authorized of God. It can be received only by those with broken hearts and contrite spirits. (See 3 Nephi 9:20). The 5th Article of Faith states: We believe that a man must [not optional] be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority [the priesthood], to preach the Gospel. . . Joseph said: Faith comes by hearing the word of God, through the testimony of the servants of God; that testimony is always attended by the Spirit of prophecy and revelation. (TPJS, p. 148). Nephi gives us this insight on the tongue of angels: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism -- yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels. . . (2 Nephi 31:13). Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost? Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ; for behold the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do. (2

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Nephi 32:2-3). . . .the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. (John 14:24). When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men. But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them. . . (2 Nephi 33:1-2). . . .the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit; and they are life. (John 6:63, emphasis ours above). The word of God spoken in the spiritual tongue of angels, heard and felt only by the spirit (in our heart), is the only way men and women can have faith in Jesus Christ. Without that witness of the spirit there can be no faith in the hearts of the children of God. . . . No man can know that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. (1 Corinthians 12:3, see also TPJS, p.223). A key word, as set forth in the scriptures is sent. Only sent messengers can declare the word of God with power and authority by the medium of the Holy Spirit. All this is accomplished through the priesthood. The priesthood performs the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. The priesthood authorizes and sends forth the messengers of salvation into the vineyard. The Church routinely calls missionaries. They are sent by the priesthood and empowered by the gift of the Holy Ghost. Each can speak as an angel. . . and go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! (Alma 29:1). The scriptures ratify this imagery of speaking with the trump of God in numerous places. (See also D&C 24:12; 29:4; 30:9; 34:6; 36:1; 75:4; 124:106; 43:18, 25; 88:92-110). Those with broken hearts will hear (feel) the witness of the Holy Spirit, believe, and exercise faith in the testimonies of Gods true messengers. Those with hard hearts will not receive this witness, this testimony, this key called faith. True Messengers Faith, then, is literally administered by the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood and is the Aaronic Priesthoods first key to spiritual power. Only by this first key of revealed religion can we discern the true messengers sent to us from God. These true messengers quite literally give us this key of faith on the Lord Jesus Christ unto salvation. Any other messengers are not

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true sent messengers from God. These true messengers speak by the tongue of angels with the authoritative power of the Holy Ghost. As their testimony is carried by the power of the spirit to the broken hearts and contrite spirits of men and women, each soul may know these are true messengers from the Father. In this way new converts begin to exercise the new key of faith, faith to know and say by the power of their own budding testimony of the spirit that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. One new convert described the power of this witness in these words: When I first heard the message of the gospel it was instantly welded to my soul. Even in subsequent years when my faith waned the weld never weakened. As with each new convert to the Church who hears the restored gospel for the first time, these true messengers can seem like ministering angels. Indeed, many regard their first set of missionaries as their saviors on Mount Zion, angels indeed. The ministering angels can be from either side of the veil. If mortals they can be missionaries, fathers, mothers, teachers and leaders. If immortal they can literally be resurrected angels, translated beings or spirits without bodies. Frequently, these angels in mortality are more often than not females -- our inspired sister missionaries sent by the priesthood or mothers and wives directed by the priesthood who teach and bless lives daily by the power of the Holy Ghost. The heaven-sent witness of these true messengers can be in either spoken form or written form. The scriptures are a good example of the written form: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Peter 1:20-21, emphasis ours). From the title page of our modern edition of The Book of Mormon, taken from the last leaf of the gold plates, we learn the book was . . .written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation. Obviously, the Holy Ghost can bear witness with power to either the spoken or written form of the word sent forth by servants of God to the children of men. In summary, we see faith for what it really is -- the key of the ministering of angels. Behold I say unto you. . . it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain. (Moroni 7:37).

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This faith always comes by hearing the word of God from the true messengers sent from his presence who cry repentance to the world. Administering the Aaronic Priesthoods Second Key The preparatory gospel is the second key of the Aaronic Priesthood. Regarding it, Joseph Smith taught: There are certain key words and signs belonging to the priesthood which must be observed in order to obtain the blessing. The sign of Peter was to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, with the promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost; and in no other way is the gift of the Holy Ghost obtained. (TPJS, p. 199, emphasis ours). This sign of Peter, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, is the outward ordinance or sign of the preparatory gospel. It is also referred to as the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins. (D&C 13; 84:26-27; 107:20). No outward act or ordinance of the gospel ever guarantees the inward spiritual reality it is meant to symbolize. Baptism does not constitute the whole of the preparatory gospel either. Baptism is merely the outward sign, the visible way we witness our compliance with the requirement to accept Christ as our Savior and repent of our sins. The preparatory gospel is more than the mere outward performance of an ordinance. It is truly exercising the first key of the Aaronic Priesthood -- faith unto repentance. (Alma 34:15-17). Baptism is awakening and arising from the dark grave of sin to the sunlight of righteousness through the principle of repentance. It is choosing to cease following Satan in his domination of a sinful world and to begin exercising faith and following a new master -- Christ the Lord. It is walking the strait and narrow path of righteousness, keeping the commandments and walking in the newness of life promised to the faithful saints. The key is the gospel of repentance accompanied by the sign of the baptism of repentance. This key is administered by the Aaronic Priesthood. The presiding officers in the Church call, set apart and send missionaries into the world to prepare Gods children for their spiritual rebirth, just as John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for the Savior. In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. . . . Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about

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Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. . . . I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire. (Matthew 3:1-3, 5-6, 11, emphasis ours). By authority of the Aaronic Priesthood the Lords servants are authorized to preach the gospel of repentance and perform the important sign of Peter, the ordinance of baptism, under proper supervision of their presiding ecclesiastical leaders. While only the priesthood has the authority to administer this key, these blessings are freely given and extended to all interested worthy individuals, male and female, who have reached the age of eight (the age of accountability). None of these has yet been given any priesthood whatever. People do not need to hold the priesthood to receive this priesthood key. In fact, none holds the priesthood when the priesthood administers this Aaronic Priesthood key to them. All may enjoy the benefits of the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins as soon as they have reached the age of accountability. The preparatory gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, can appropriately be summed up in a single word -- righteousness. Repentance and baptism are about sin. When we repent we repent of sin. We stop sinning. Ezekiel said: But if the wicked man will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all [Gods] statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live. . . All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him; in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. (Ezekiel 18:21-22; see also verses 30-32, emphasis ours). The truly penitent, those whose repentance is sincere, begin walking in the paths of righteousness. While they may continue as we all do to make mistakes, forget our covenants and fail to remember Christs atonement as often as we should, they have placed themselves on the path of a newness of life in righteous endeavor. Almas invitation rings in the ears of all the truly converted: Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. . . and show unto your God that ye are

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willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it [signify it] unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism. (Alma 7:14-15; see also Mosiah 18:10, emphasis ours). The preparatory gospel, the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, is about turning away from sin toward the sunlight of righteousness. Is there any other state heaven will sanction? None. No unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God, meaning the presence of God. Nothing short of people turning to righteousness prepares them for the companionship, visitation and ministration of holy beings. Indeed, we may now refer to this second Aaronic Priesthood key as righteousness. We may say the second key of the Aaronic Priesthood is synonymous with: 1) The gospel of repentance and baptism by immersion for the remission of sins (see D&C 13); 2) the preparatory gospel (see D&C 84:26-27); 3) the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (see D&C 107:20); or 4) righteousness (see Ezekiel 18:21-22). This key comes only through the administrations of the Aaronic Priesthood as Gods true sent messengers call the world to repentance by the preaching of the word of God and baptizing them by immersion for the remission of sins. Administering the Melchizedek Priesthoods First Key Joseph Smith taught: There is a difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Cornelius [Acts 10] received the Holy Ghost before he was baptized, which was the convincing power of God unto him of the truth of the Gospel, but he could not receive the gift of the Holy Ghost until after he was baptized. Had he not taken this sign or ordinance upon him, the Holy Ghost which convinced him of the truth of God, would have left him. Until he obeyed these ordinances and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on hands, according to the order of God, he could not have healed the sick or commanded an evil spirit to come out of a man, and it obey him. . . (TPJS, p. 199, emphasis ours). All who have reached the age of accountability of eight years, whether male or female, may receive the Melchizedek Priesthoods first key. We obtain the first Melchizedek Priesthood key, the gift of the Holy Ghost or First Comforter, at the hands of authorized Melchizedek Priesthood brethren. The sign or ordinance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost is the mechanism whereby this ordinance is administered. This key of power comes only through this priesthood, but we do not have to have the

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priesthood to receive it. In fact, no one ever holds the priesthood at the time they receive the sign or ordinance of this key. After we have received this key, whether we subsequently receive priesthood authority or not we may enjoy the benefits of the gift of the Holy Ghost in our personal lives. We do not need to hold the priesthood to enjoy the powers of this wonderful key of the priesthood. We only need to receive its authorized sign from the Melchizedek Priesthood by receiving the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is up to us as to whether we ever use the key to enjoy the powers of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives. Joseph described this first Melchizedek Priesthood key of spiritual power in these words: We believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost being enjoyed now, as much as it was in the Apostles days; we believe that it [the gift of the Holy Ghost] is necessary to make and to organize the Priesthood, that no man can be called to fill any office in the ministry without it; we also believe in prophecy, in tongues, in visions, and in revelations, in gifts, and in healings; and that these things cannot be enjoyed without the gift of the Holy Ghost. We believe that the holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and that holy men in these days speak by the same principle; we believe in its being a comforter and a witness bearer, that it brings things past to our remembrance, leads us into all truth, and shows us of things to come; we believe that no man can know that Jesus is the Christ, but by the Holy Ghost. We believe in it [this gift of the Holy Ghost] in all its fullness, and power, and greatness, and glory; but whilst we do this, we believe in it rationally, consistently, and scripturally, and not according to the wild vagaries, foolish notions and traditions of men. (TPJS, p. 243). What are the benefits of the gift of the Holy Ghost? The benefits fall into two general categories: The fruits of the spirit, and the gifts of the spirit. We will examine each. The Fruits (Goodness) of the Spirit The numerous fruits of the spirit are listed in several places throughout the scriptures. The fruits of the spirit are the attributes of Gods goodness. For instance, in Galatians 5:22, we find the fruits of the spirit are: Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Similar lists are found in many other places, like D&C 107:30-31. The Holy Ghost bestows the properties of increased spirit (light) to mankind. This light causes, inspires, instills or further magnifies and influences these feelings or attributes of goodness. Our thoughts, words and actions are thus affected by the Holy Spirit. This comprehensive list of godly attributes is referred to by Peter as the divine nature. (See 2

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Peter 1:1-10). These are the attributes of our Heavenly Fathers nature because he is filled with this power we call Holy Spirit (light), and it empowers him to feel, think, speak and act in these divine ways. These are the properties light instills in living organisms, whether premortal, mortal or post-mortal. The scriptures teach we can be blessed by the light of Christ before baptism with the lesser degrees of these sanctifying virtues, but only by the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands can we have access to the greater portions or degrees of these divine virtues. What gives us access to the greater portions of the divine spirit is the key called the gift of the Holy Ghost, the First Comforter, the first key of the Melchizedek Priesthood. This key opens the door to greater gifts or endowments of this glorious light to those who exercise greater faith and receive the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, thereby cleansing their temples through the blood of Christ. By this cleansing and sanctifying process Gods children come to him and become like him by becoming one with him in the light. Sometimes members of the Church wonder how there can be good and loving people in the world who do not enjoy the fullness of the gospel or the gift of the Holy Ghost. These, too, can enjoy the gospel and the spirit in lesser degrees without the administrations of the priesthood. All good comes only from God. (See Moroni 7:12; Alma 5:40). The people of the world do have a portion of the gospel, just not the fullness of the gospel. Good people in the world without the fullness of the gospel are growing in these fruits by exercising faith in the spirit or light of Christ that is given to every person who comes into the world. (See D&C 84:45-46; Moroni 7:15-16). They exercise their faith in the promptings of their conscience unto repentance and righteousness and grow in the spirit of Christs light. This has been happening consistently to people in every age and place since the world began whether they knew about Christ or not. With or without the fullness of the gospel the elemental gifts of the gospel have been active in the lives of Gods children. The fullness of the gospel, however, is a greater revelation and a greater endowment of Gods spirit calculated to prepare men to come back into Gods presence. Man must grow in spirit by degrees, and the more light one is given the more is expected and required of him. He who sins against the greater light receives the greater condemnation. (See D&C 82:3). As we preach the gospel we are taking the greater revelation and endowment of light restored from heaven to the world. Whether they ever have the opportunity to hear the fullness of the gospel in this life or not, the gospel in some degree is happening in their lives -- always. The spirit, or light of Christ, is calling them to righteousness. If they exercise faith in the word of God, even the small portion of the light we call conscience, they will repent and walk in righteousness according to the light they have received. Because they continually turn to greater righteousness, they grow in light or spirit. Their views become clearer and clearer as

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to what brings true happiness and peace, and what does not. They grow in light and truth, they grow in the fruits of the spirit and God loves them as he does all his children. Most of the billions of mortals who have ever, are now, or yet will inhabit this planet never had the fullness of the gospel revealed to them in mortality. They never even get the middle portions of Christianity in general. Nevertheless, they experience the mission of mortality just the same and will be judged according to their faith and righteousness as they respond to the voice of their Savior within their hearts. The fruits of the gospel are blessing their lives every day whether they realize it or not. They lack only the fullness. Only the fullness of the gospel can prepare the sons and daughters of God and the earth so they will not be consumed by the coming glory. The lesser portions or revelations of the gospel are insufficient to bring people and the planet to the sanctified state necessary to withstand the glory about to be revealed, when the earth is transfigured to its prophesied millennial glory. The Gifts (Power) of the Spirit The gifts of the spirit are the powers of God, not to be confused with Gods goodness. These unique gifts are vouchsafed to man through the medium of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Some in the Church have mistakenly believed there were two powers in the Church -- the power of the priesthood and the power of the spirit. However, there has never been but one. Just as the scriptures teach there is only one faith, one Lord and one baptism, so it should become apparent to those who search the scriptures there is but one power. The only power in the Church is the power of the spirit. There is no other power. As we have stated, although the English language sometimes uses the two words power and authority synonymously they are not true synonyms. Once again, the priesthood keys operate in two dimensions of power and authority. Because the power of the spirit is sometimes called the power of the priesthood, some in the Church have mistakenly understood that only those holding the priesthood have access to the gifts of the spirit. This, of course, is not true. There are incidents all through the scriptures and in our dispensation where non-priesthood holders have enjoyed the gifts and powers of the spirit. Many who hold no presiding keys of authority do enjoy the keys of power. They enjoy this power in the priesthood, meaning the powers of the spirit, through the keys of power (faith, righteousness and the gift of the Holy Ghost) the priesthood gave them.

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The gifts of the spirit are listed in three major passages of scripture: Moroni 10; D&C 46; and 1 Corinthians 12-14. This is how these gifts are described in each account: Moroni 10 Teach the word of wisdom Teach the word of knowledge D&C 46 Given the word of wisdom Given the word of knowledge that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge Given to have faith to be healed Given to have faith to heal Given the working of miracles Given to prophesy The discerning of spirits Given to some to speak with tongues Given the interpretation of tongues 1 Corinthians 12 The word of wisdom The word of knowledge

Exceedingly great faith The gifts of healing Work mighty miracles Prophesy concerning all things Beholding of angels and ministering spirits All kinds of tongues Interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues

Faith The gifts of healing The working of miracles Prophecy Discerning of spirits Divers kinds of tongues The interpretation of tongues

Note that priesthood authority is never mentioned as a requirement to receive any of these gifts of the spirit. In fact, the word priesthood isnt even found in any of the above chapters. Why is this? Gifts of the spirit are given to all members of the Church and are not the exclusive domain of priesthood holders. However, so there may be order in the Church, D&C 46:27 explains the bishop is given an additional gift to discern all those gifts, lest there shall be any among you professing and yet be not of God, but even in this case the bishop must submit himself to the influences of the Holy Ghost to receive this gift as with all other spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts do not automatically accrue to presiding authorities in the Church merely because of their position in the Church. Always the spiritual keys of power must be exercised even for those in positions of authority. This is true of Apostles and the presidents of deacons quorums. A very insightful lesson pertaining to these principles is found in The Book of Mormon. The spiritual keys of power (faith, righteousness and spirit/Holy Ghost) are mentioned hundreds of times. Faith occurs 263 times, righteousness appears 243 times, and spirit/Holy Ghost emerges in 371 passages. Surprisingly, the entire Book of Mormon uses the word priesthood only eight times, and seven of those references occur in the same chapter! (See Alma 13). The record of the Nephites and Lamanites does not focus on the authority of titles and positions,

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but rather on the spiritual power manifested in the individual lives we read about. In our dispensation it is possible some may have lost sight of these eternal principles of priesthood power, placing inappropriate emphasis on high sounding titles, positions and offices. Even in this one chapter, which uses the word priesthood seven times, the emphasis still remains on the spiritual keys of power: Now, as I said concerning the holy order, or this high priesthood, there were many who were ordained and became high priests of God; and it was on account of their exceeding faith and repentance, and their righteousness before God, they choosing to repent and work righteousness rather than to perish; Therefore they were called after this holy order, and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God. (Alma 13:10-12, emphasis ours). All members of the Church subject only to their personal faith and righteousness have a right to the gifts of the spirit in their personal lives, male or female, young or old through the gift of the Holy Ghost given to them by Melchizedek Priesthood holders. For example, in an exegesis on Mark 16, Joseph said: No matter who believeth, these signs, such as healing the sick, casting out devils, etc., should follow all that believe, whether male or female. . . Respecting females administering for the healing of the sick, he further remarked, there could be no evil in it, if God gave his sanction by healing; that there could be no more sin in any female laying hands on and praying for the sick [note the same language as for elders in James 5], than in wetting the face with water; it is no sin for anybody to administer that has faith [the first Aaronic key], or if the sick have faith to be healed by their administration. (TPJS, pp. 224-5, emphasis ours). President Smith then gave instruction respecting the propriety of females administering to the sick by the prayer of faith, the laying on of hands, or the anointing with oil; and said it was according to revelation that the sick should be nursed with herbs and mild food, and not by the hand of an enemy. Who are better qualified to administer than our faithful and zealous sisters, whose hearts are full of faith, tenderness, sympathy and compassion. No one. (TPJS, p. 229). Some have taken license in these apparent historical precedents, suggesting perhaps the Church has done wrong in withholding from women the priesthood ordinations of authority to

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administer to the sick. However, Joseph also stated in these remarks to the Relief Society that he calculate[d] to organize the Church in its proper order as soon as the Temple is completed. Remember, the restoration of all things was still unfolding. But he put no restrictions upon the spiritual power of women. President George Q. Cannon, counselor in the First Presidency, lamented even then the seeming lack of interest in these gifts of spiritual power, and admonished the saints, men and women to seek them earnestly: . . . we find, even among those who have embraced the gospel, hearts of unbelief. How many of you, my brethren and sisters, are seeking for these gifts that God has promised to bestow? How many of you, when you bow before your Heavenly Father in your family circle or in your secret places, contend for these gifts to be bestowed upon you? How many of you ask the Father, in the name of Jesus, to manifest Himself to you through these powers and these gifts? Or do you go along day by day like a door turning on its hinges, without having any feeling upon the subject, without exercising any faith whatever; content to be baptized and to be members of the Church, and to rest there, thinking that your salvation is secure because you have done this? I say to you, in the name of the Lord, as one of His servants, that you have need to repent of this. You have need to repent of your hardness of heart, of your indifference, and of your carelessness. There is not that diligence, there is not that faith, there is not that seeking for the power of God that there should be among a people who have receive the precious promises we have. . . . Let us seek for these gifts. Let us be exhorted this day in this Tabernacle, and bear in mind that these gifts are for us; and let us seek for them with all our might, mind and strength. I pray God that this may be the feeling in every heart. If there be those that have not obeyed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to them I would say, go to God in secret and ask Him in the name of Jesus concerning these things; and I tell you, as a servant of God, He will give you a testimony, and you will know that this is the truth. (Spiritual Gifts, delivered Sunday, Nov. 26, 1893, in the Tabernacle, as reported in Millennial Star, No. 16, Vol. LVI, Monday, April 16, 1894, p.241, and No. 17, Vol. LVI, Monday, April 23, 1894, p. 257). As we learned in D&C 46:27, when it comes to authoritatively discerning those gifts among the body of saints in the Church and how the saints interact with each other as they enjoy their spiritual gifts within the Church, there must be a head to provide order. The presiding high priest in each ward holds the keys of authority to direct the order of the Church. Just because we all have a right to the gifts of the spirit we do not have the authority to run around prophesying, teaching and healing with no order, rhyme or reason. That is not the way of Gods kingdom. Therefore, outside the use of these gifts of the spirit for our own personal blessing and benefit we generally look to the order of the Church when these gifts are utilized

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in any other capacity. One major dichotomy of duty made clear by the prophets over the years pertains to the roles of fathers and mothers within the kingdom of God and the order of the priesthood. The home is the most important priority of the saints. There are no qualifiers, no strings, no equivocations. It is almost axiomatic in the Church today. No success, said David O. McKay, will ever compensate for failure in the homes of the Latter-day Saints. The most important of the Lords work we will ever do, said Harold B. Lee, will be the work we do within the four walls of our own homes. The prophets have repeatedly reaffirmed the traditional roles set in place by God in the Garden of Eden in the days of Adam and Eve. Men are to look to the duties and necessities outside the home in a way that allows mothers to stay in the home and nurture their family. Generally speaking, it would not be wise for both mother and father to frequently run off serving missions, administering the affairs of the Church, healing the sick and saving the world while their families suffer. Since the introduction of the three-hour block scheduling of Sunday meetings, the leaders of the Church have repeatedly admonished the saints to focus their Sabbath at home, knowing that if the basic unit fails, the Churchs auxiliary programs (wonderful as they are) could not reclaim all that might be lost. As we examine the keys of spiritual power, we can begin to understand in part why the prophets have been so consistent in their call for mothers in modern Israel to return home and nurture their families in the gifts of the spirit. Spiritual gifts naturally flow to mothers because of their inherent divine nature. The grand priority of the saints must never be mistaken as simply one of many equal options, or seen as a part-time assignment. Women of God are not only free to enjoy and utilize, but must exercise the fruits and gifts of God in their personal lives. The salvation of their homes depends upon it. Their children need the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit to be active and alive in their mothers so the children may be brought up in the admonition of the Lord in the home. In the Church, however, God set up an order that children, mothers, fathers, quorum presidents, bishops, stake presidents, area presidencies and General Authorities must respect and never overstep. Spiritual power does not give us authority any more than authority gives us spiritual power. These are separate and distinct functions of priesthood keys. We must learn the priesthood. We must always act within the bounds the Lord sets. Enjoying certain spiritual gifts in no way gives us the right to step outside the bounds of our authorized role and calling within the kingdom. To do so would only create confusion and contention. The scriptures are clear that confusion and contention are not of God, but of the adversary. (See 3 Nephi 11:29; D&C 132:8).

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Each must learn his or her duty and act within the offices and roles to which we are called. Within those positions the Lord expects us to humbly use the gifts and fruits of his Holy Spirit to righteously fulfill our stewardships, and to bring about great things upon the earth. He pleads with us to exercise great faith and humility, to walk by his spirit through personal revelation and to humbly sustain and follow his anointed servants at all levels of the kingdom as they do the same within the scopes of their positions or stewardships. Those who love the truth will see there is no contradiction between the two. As members of the Church we need not feel belittled or intimidated when we are asked to sustain and follow other imperfect mortals who are called and set apart to lead us in various positions. As priesthood leaders we need not feel concerned or threatened by the saints at large who are enjoying magnificent manifestations of the spiritual keys of power in the priesthood in their personal lives and individual callings. All of this harmonizes with the revealed order of heaven. We know a story about a bishop who was so convinced he and only he could receive spiritual guidance within the bounds of his ward organization that he insisted knowing about every detail of every ward organization. There was never a home teaching assignment made without his authorization. No visiting teacher was assigned without his approval as to the worthiness of each visiting teacher sister. Each time a stake report was due his statistical clerk spent two or three hours with the bishop as the bishop documented every number in the report to make certain the clerk had done it properly. His administration reached a point where only a handful of ward members were able to fill positions, some having as many as three and four positions, because so many were not worthy in his view. Only a select few were worthy of temple recommends in his judgment, so exacting were his standards. It reached the heights of silliness when he specified the exact recipes the sisters were to use for one of their Relief Society dinners! That good Relief Society president was released never having learned the lessons she might have learned had the bishop let her have some autonomy in her stewardship. We may all enjoy the first Melchizedek Priesthood key, the First Comforter, with its wonderful spiritual endowments of goodness and power within the scope of our individual callings in the Church. Wise bishops and other priesthood leaders will actually . . .let every man [woman] learn his [her] duty in their various roles and positions in the Church. (See D&C 107:99). This is how we learn how to control and handle the powers of heaven with confidence. While we are learning we will make some mistakes, but if priesthood leaders will risk failure along the way as faithfully as God does while we learn to apply the spiritual lessons in our lives, all will be blessed eventually. This key is only administered to the children of God by the Melchizedek Priesthood -- always with wisdom and order within the bounds the Lord has set.

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The Fruits of Goodness and The Gifts of Power Both the fruits and the gifts are equally important in our lives. To have either without the other is not sufficient. Suppose you were given the hypothetical choice of having either a good god or a powerful god to rule over you, but not both. Which would you choose? If you chose to have a good god you lose. He has no power. He cannot bless you, heal you, protect or save you. If you chose to have a powerful god you lose. There is not a more terrifying prospect than an all-powerful god ruling over us with no goodness in him. We want and need our God to be both. We need our God to have the goodness and the power. So it is with us. We are Gods children, created in his image, male and female. His plan and desire, just as with any goodly parent, is for his children to grow to become like him. For us to become only good or only powerful will never make us like him. We need to develop and grow in both the fruits and the gifts of the spirit. Only then will we become like him. We must seek to grow in the goodness of God and in the power of God. Then we must allow every other child of God the same opportunity, male or female. Administering the Melchizedek Priesthoods Second Key The temple ordinances, taken collectively as one, are the ordinances that pertain to the Second Comforter. Like the ordinance of the laying on of hands, which enables us to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost or First Comforter, the temple ordinances empower men and women to receive the Second Comforter, to see the face of God, even the very Eternal Father of heaven and earth, that in patience we may have eternal life. (See Alma 11:38-41; D&C 101:38). And this greater [Melchizedek] priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of [1] the mysteries of the kingdom [by the power of the First Comforter], [2] even the key of the knowledge of God [by the power of the Second Comforter]. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God. (D&C 84:1923, emphasis ours). The personal appearance and ongoing companionship of the Second Comforter, even Jesus Christ or Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament, is the fruition of the Melchizedek Priesthoods second key. Only the fullness of these temple ordinances gives Gods children the

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fullness of the priesthood, wherein they are made kings and queens and priests and priestesses, joint-heirs with Christ, and through their faithfulness the power to see the face of Jesus Christ according to the promises of the Second Comforter. (See TPJS, pp. 149-151). Joseph said, speaking of the men who receive the fullness of the Melchizedek Priesthood: Those holding the FULNESS of the Melchizedek Priesthood are kings and priests of the Most High God, holding the keys of power and blessings. (TPJS, p. 322). If a man gets a FULLNESS of the priesthood of God he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping ALL the ordinances of the house of the Lord. (TPJS, p. 308). All men who become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ will have to receive the FULNESS of the ordinances of his kingdom; and those who will not receive all the ordinances will come short of the fullness of that glory, if they do not lose the whole. (TPJS, p. 309, emphasis ours above, spelling consistent with original). Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote of the women in such a marriage relationship: If righteous men have power through the gospel and its crowning ordinance of celestial marriage to become kings and priests to rule in exaltation forever, it follows that women by their side (without whom they cannot obtain exaltation) will be queens and priestesses. (Rev. 1:6; 5:10.) Exaltation grows out of the eternal union of a man and his wife. Of those whose marriage endures in eternity, the Lord says, Then shall they be gods: (D&C 132:20); that is, each of them, the man and the woman, will be a god. As such they will rule over their dominions forever. (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1979], p. 613, italics in original). Further, President Kimball speaks specifically of women becoming queens over their own posterity: You could be the queen of Holland, the czar of Russia, or the emperor of Japan. You could be any great person in this world, but you would be a pygmy compared to what you can be in this Church. Every one of you can be a queen who will not lose her crown when she dies, a king who will not lose his sceptre when he dies. Every one of you! Not just the smartest of you, but every one of you can become a queen or a king and have princes and princesses of your own. It all depends on what you do. (TSWK, p. 52, italics in original). For reasons of propriety we have chosen to divide the temple ordinances here into three

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major parts. The initial part of the temple ordinance is initiatory in nature and pertains to preparatory symbolic washings and anointings. These preliminary ordinances are a type and shadow of events yet to come when we have fulfilled our covenant duties to preach the gospel and administer its blessings to our fellowmen. (See Ezekiel 3:18-21; Acts 18:5-6; Jacob 1:19; 2:2; Ether 12:38; D&C 88:81-82). The second part endows Gods children with knowledge and power pertaining to the four priesthood keys in order to fulfill our covenant duties. Once admitted to the temple both men and women are freely given these keys of understanding, knowledge and wisdom we will need to regain our full fellowship with God. In the third part Gods children enter into sealing ordinances, the first being the conditional sealing ordinance of the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (see D&C 131:2), that we might someday become kings and queens over our own family kingdoms in eternity. President Boyd K. Packer makes it clear that both the man and the woman are involved together in all these sacred ordinances: Those who tell you that in the kingdom of God a womans lot is less than that of the man know nothing of the love, akin to worship, that the worthy man has for his wife. He cannot have his priesthood, not the fulness of it, without her. For no man, the Prophet said, can get the fulness of the priesthood outside the temple of the Lord (see D&C 131:1-3). And she is there beside him in that sacred place. She is there and shares in all that he receives. Each, individually, receives the washings and anointings, each may be endowed. But he cannot ascend to the highest ordinances -- the sealing ordinances -- without her at his side. (The Circle of Sisters, Ensign, Nov. 1980, p. 111, emphasis ours). Again, the fullness of the temple ordinance pertains to the second Melchizedek Priesthood key. These things are administered freely to worthy men and women and pertain to the spirit of Elijah and Messiah: The spirit, power, and calling of Elijah is, that ye have power to hold the key of the revelations, ordinances, oracles, powers and endowments of the FULNESS of the Melchizedek Priesthood and of the kingdom of God on the earth. . . (TPJS, p. 337, emphasis ours). The spirit of Elias is first, Elijah second, and Messiah last. Elias is a forerunner to prepare the way, and the spirit and power of Elijah is to come after, holding the keys of power, building the Temple to the capstone, placing the seals of the Melchizedek Priesthood upon the house of Israel, and making all things ready; then Messiah comes

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to His Temple, which is last of all. (TPJS, p. 340). In summary, each of the four priesthood keys is administered to men and women through the priesthood. Faith is administered through the priesthood, the preparatory gospel is administered through the priesthood, the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, the First Comforter, is administered through the priesthood, and the temple ordinances pertaining to the Second Comforter are administered through the priesthood.

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Chapter Fourteen

Coming into The Presence of God

There is only one grand purpose for the restoration of the fullness of the gospel -- to bring the children of God, lost through their transgressions resulting in their spiritual and physical death, back into the presence of God. Full fellowship with God is the goal. He wants each of the children to return from their prodigal paths. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said it well: Through the restitution of all things, God is actually giving away the secrets of the universe! (That Ye May Believe [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, Inc., 1992] p. 164). Like the patient master of the vineyard in the Zenos allegory of the tame and wild olive trees, Gods hand is always stretched out to wayward Israel bidding them to return. (See Jacob 5). He is the certain king who made a marriage for his son, and sent his servants throughout the land to extend the wedding feast invitation to all who would come. Sadly, as in the parable when we receive the invitation to come we too often make light of it. (See Matthew 22:114). Once fallen mortals have obtained the knowledge of good and evil (the knowledge of the gods) for themselves by experiencing the vicissitudes of mortality, they desire full fellowship with the gods. They would literally want to become one with the Eloheim (the Gods) who rule and reign in eternity. How does fallen man do this? Through use of the priesthood keys. What does it mean to dwell in Gods presence? Many imagine in elementary school fashion what it will be like going back into the presence of God or dwelling with God. Some may suppose we are all going back to live in his house or his neighborhood, his community or his planet. Such an idea does not seem very practical. He would have to have a very large house, or neighborhood or planet to house billions of children from worlds without end. Besides, we have a clue that our celestial kingdom will be right here on planet earth when it is glorified. (See D&C 88:17-26; 130:9). We are going to stay right here, but this earth is going to be rolled back into the presence of God and crowned with celestial glory. (TPJS, p. 181). What does it mean, then, to regain Gods presence? If not all will be living in Gods living room how will we be in his presence? To be in Gods presence means to be in the spirit -- his spirit. Remember light? This is the glory of God. He is filled with it. He is not just another resurrected being. He is a God. He is a glorified resurrected being filled with a fulness of light. This among other things is what makes him God. Many other resurrected beings are only filled with portions of glory, and are telestial or terrestrial instead of being exalted to the highest

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degree of glory, or light. God is a resurrected being of flesh and bone. His body can only be in one place at one time. Like a magnet, however, that can also be in only one place at one time, God has a magnetic field filled with and influenced by the presence of its electro-magnetic force. This force fills his kingdom with the power of his light. (See D&C 88:12). This glory that proceeds forth from his presence is as much a part of him as his hand or foot is. When his light is with us, he is with us. The words presence of God and glory of God, then, are used interchangeably. (See D&C 88:19). One way to explain Gods presence is found in D&C 109:12. Section 109 is the dedicatory prayer given in the Kirtland Temple. Joseph said it was given by revelation. In verse 12 Joseph prays, That thy glory may rest down upon thy people, and upon this thy house, which we now dedicate to thee, that it may be sanctified and consecrated to be holy, and that thy holy presence may be continually in this house. Obviously, Joseph was not asking that Gods resurrected body come down and sit continually in the temple. God cannot be confined to one little building on one little planet. Clearly, it is the presence of his glory Joseph is requesting. We see, then, the presence of God is the glory of God. Degrees of Glory Most Latter-day Saints have heard and used the phrase degrees of glory. Few, however, have really begun to understand the scope and magnitude of the ramifications connected with this phrase. Degrees of glory are degrees of Gods presence. The greater degree of glory we obtain, the greater the portion of Gods presence we receive. What degree of Gods presence do you wish to obtain? A telestial portion? A terrestrial portion? A celestial portion? A full portion (also called eternal life) or exaltation? Here in our mortal fallen condition we have lost the presence or the spirit of God. We have virtually no fellowship with God. We are spiritually dead, having spiritually fallen because of personal sin. The scriptures attest throughout we must be born of the spirit again. Telestial beings enjoy the first portion of Gods presence, having access to the light of the Holy Ghost, the First Comforter, and least of the members of the Godhead. (See D&C 76:81-86). Imagine a fulness of the presence of the Holy Ghost. What a marvelous gift! Terrestrial beings enjoy a greater degree of Gods presence, having access to the blessings of the fulness of the presence of the Second Comforter, even Jesus Christ, the second member of the Godhead. (D&C 76:71-77). Imagine the blessing of being the presence of Christ

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continually. Celestial beings enjoy an even greater degree of Gods presence. They enjoy the glory of the Father, the head God. (See D&C 76:54-62; also TPJS, p. 371). Those who have obtained the highest degree of this kingdom (D&C 131:1-4) enjoy a fullness of Godhood. They have full fellowship with the Gods, being like them and one with them in all things. A Degree at a Time Fallen man cannot come into the full presence of God all at once. We would be consumed by Gods glory. Remember, Our God is a consuming fire. (TPJS, p. 367; Hebrews 12:29). He lives in everlasting burnings in a perfect society and state, where no imperfect and corruptible thing can come or dwell. Joseph said, This is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment. (TPJS, p. 51). Man must come into the glorious presence of God by degrees, beginning at the first and so on to the fullness. Joseph reminds us we must learn line upon line, and grow precept upon precept: The Lord deals with this people as a tender parent with a child, communicating light and intelligence and the knowledge of his ways as they can bear it. (TPJS, p. 305). It is not wisdom that we should have all knowledge at once presented before us; but that we should have a little at a time; then we can comprehend it. (TPJS, p. 297). We cannot keep all the commandments without first knowing them, and we cannot expect to know all, or more than we now know unless we comply with or keep those we have already received. (TPJS, p. 256). Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. (D&C 50:40). We sometimes equate the word grace only with the word love, but love is a fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22), a property of light. To fully understand what it means to grow in grace, we must understand that grace is yet another term used synonymously with light. A careful reading of D&C 93:11-40 reveals that grace clearly equates to truth, light, spirit, intelligence and glory. To grow in grace by degrees is to grow in glory by degrees, as beautifully illustrated in D&C 93. To grow in glory by degrees is to grow in godliness, to come unto God by becoming one with him and to be filled with his presence, glory and light.

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Chapter Fifteen

The Priesthood Keys and True Prayer

The priesthood keys work in concert with prayer, the mechanism by which we communicate with God. Joseph said, The best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer, and obtain divine teaching. (TPJS, p. 191). The proper use of priesthood keys relates directly to prayer. Remember, these are the keys of the oracles of God. Mortal mans relationship with God is spiritual. We cannot see him with our eyes, hear him with our ears, touch him with our hands, smell him with our noses, or taste him with our tongues right now. Mortal man cannot comprehend God by the five senses. As Paul said: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. . . the things of the Spirit. . . are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:9-14). Since we are out of Gods presence, our relationship or fellowship with God is strictly spiritual for now. One said it well: We are not temporal beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a temporal experience. Our only means of fellowship with him is prayer and revelation by the power of the spirit. As we seek to come into greater fellowship with God through prayer and revelation we come into greater fellowship with him gradually, line upon line, precept upon precept, growing from grace to grace in light and truth. There is an order to prayer just as there is order throughout his house. True prayer is different than mechanical prayer. True prayer receives answers. D&C 124:95, 97 contains some interesting insight. Joseph is commanded to show Hyrum and William keys whereby they could ask and receive: That [Hyrum] may act in concert also with my servant Joseph; and that he shall receive counsel from my servant Joseph, who shall show unto him the keys whereby he may ask and receive. . . Let my servant William Law also receive the keys by which he may ask and receive blessings. . . What are the keys whereby we may ask and receive?

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[Joseph] spoke of delivering the keys of the Priesthood to the Church, and said that the faithful members of the Relief Society should receive them with their husbands, that the Saints whose integrity has been tried and proved faithful, might know how to ask the Lord and receive an answer. . . (TPJS, p. 226). The four priesthood keys are the keys to asking and receiving an answer. They are the four keys of true prayer. They are given to us in a very specific order. The first key to true prayer is to ask in faith. (James 1:5-6). There are a hundred scriptures to this effect. This is the first key of prayer. Investigators dont need to turn any of the other keys to get an answer to prayer. They dont need to repent, stop smoking and drinking, let alone get baptized or confirmed. All they have to do to get an answer is to turn the first key of the priesthood by asking in faith. If they will sincerely ask with real intent having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of the gospel unto them. (Moroni 10:4-5). That is all they need to do to obtain an answer. When the Lord answers, he reveals to the investigators that the missionaries are true messengers. The Holy Spirit carries the testimony of the missionaries to the heart of the investigators with power and they will know the truth. As simple as it seems this miraculous answer to prayer comes only if they turn this first key and ask in faith. If they do they will have taken the first step of spiritual fellowship with God. Once they have the witness of the spirit they have two choices: 1) They can reject it, either immediately or later; or 2) they can receive it, then take the next step of fellowship by turning the next key -- exercising their faith unto repentance, starting to live more righteously, then entering the waters of baptism and making a covenant with God to keep his commandments. Through this preparatory gospel they turn from sin to righteousness by seeking to keep the commandments. They have greater fellowship with God, more favor with him and greater power in their prayers. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. (1 John 3:21-22). For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. (1 Peter 3:12). Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. (1 Nephi 17:35).

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. . .Nephi was more faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord -- therefore he was favored of the Lord, for the Lord heard his prayers and answered them, and he took the lead of their journey in the wilderness. (Mosiah 10:13, emphasis ours above). This is the second key of true prayer, the key to asking and receiving an answer -- the Lord favors the righteous, for he hears their prayers and answers them. These are his children who obey his commandments and enter into the waters of baptism with full purpose of heart to take upon themselves the name of Christ. Once investigators are growing in faith and righteousness and in fellowship with God, we see the Holy Ghost, the third key, beginning to bless their lives: And it shall come to pass that he that asketh in Spirit shall receive in Spirit. . . He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh. (D&C 46:28, 30, emphasis ours). The third key of the priesthood is the Holy Spirit, and the third key of prayer is to ask in spirit. As we grow in faith we will live more righteously because true faith always produces fruit, works and righteousness. As we grow in righteousness we are worthy to receive more of the spirit, meaning more light. Just as the spirit will not dwell in an unholy temple (see Helaman 4:24; Alma 34:36), so the spirit will grow and increase in a temple becoming more and more righteous and worthy. (See D&C 50:24). Remember, however, this is a gradual process. (See D&C 50:40). Amulek gave an interesting warning to the saints, admonishing them to avoid being sealed in their wickedness by Satan. A profitable insight can be gleaned by restating his negative warning as a positive injunction without changing the meaning. Notice the notion of a long process at work here, either for good or evil: For behold, if ye have not procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold ye have become subjected to the spirit of the Lord, and he doth seal you his; therefore the Spirit of the Lord hath filled you, and hath found a place in you, and the Lord hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the righteous. (See Alma 34:35, emphasis ours). As we grow in spirit, our prayers are influenced more and more by the light expanding within us. We grow in the knowledge of God, the knowledge of that which is just and true (see Mosiah 4:12), and our thoughts and requests to God become more and more in harmony with his holy mind and will. Asking in the spirit is the third key as we grow in our fellowship with God.

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As we persevere, growing spiritually in light and truth, we will eventually reach the point where we obtain the fourth key. As part of obtaining the fourth key we can reach a point where we receive a very specific promise of the Lord: . . .and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will. (Helaman 10:5, emphasis ours). This is the fourth and grand key of prayer, the sealing power, wherein the Lord promises us that whatever is asked will be granted because he knows we will never ask for anything contrary to his will. That which we bind or seal on earth will be bound and sealed in heaven, and that which we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Whoever we bless God will bless and whoever we curse God will curse. All things shall be done according to our word. The sisters have the right through the fullness of the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood and personal worthiness to receive the Second Comforter and this ultimate promise of the Lord. Joseph Smith told the sisters of the Church: If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates. Females, if they are pure and innocent [the same requirements apply for men], can come in the presence of God. . . (TPJS, pp. 226-7). This second Melchizedek Priesthood key is reserved only for those children of God who receive all four parts of the temple ordinance, including the preliminary entry into the patriarchal order of the priesthood known as the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. Then proving themselves to be true and faithful in all things, they eventually have this fourth key sealed upon them by revelation and the spirit of prophecy through the power of the Holy Priesthood and the Holy Spirit of promise, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. (See D&C 131:5; 132:19).

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Section Five

The Patriarchal Order

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Chapter Sixteen

The Patriarchal Order of the Priesthood

When couples kneel across the altars of the temples from each other, they are initially and conditionally admitted to the patriarchal order of the priesthood known as the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. The name of this priesthood order should be obvious because patriarch means father. There are no fathers without mothers. In this way couples receive their formative lessons in Godhood and take the first step toward returning to full fellowship with God. If they continue in faithfulness they receive all the promises of righteous marriage sealed by the priesthood keys of authority: In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]; and if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is the end of his kingdom; he cannot have an increase. (D&C 131:1-4, emphasis ours). In other words, he has no kingdom that can grow and increase by the power of the seeds worlds without end. The power of the fullness and continuation of the procreative seeds forever is at the very core of Godhood. John A. Widstoe said, The government of heaven is by families. It is patriarchal. (Gospel Interpretations: Aids to Faith in a Modern Day [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1947], p. 100). Regarding people who do not enter into the order of eternal marriage the scriptures say: Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory. For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever. (D&C 132:1617). It is written of those who do enter into the patriarchal order and faithfully keep all the laws, rites and ordinances pertaining thereto: . . .they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation

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and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end. . . .strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it. . . .This is eternal lives. . . (D&C 132:19-24, emphasis ours). Exaltation is nothing less than the fullness and continuation of the seeds of procreation forever and ever. The continuation of lives has no end, even eternal lives. Exaltation requires eternal parenthood, eternal parenthood requires eternal marriage. President Joseph F. Smith said: 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 consummated 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 non 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. (CR, April 1913, p. 118-19). It is important to understand that those who enter the new and everlasting covenant of marriage are not covenanting to keep the commandments in general. They have already made those covenants in the waters of baptism. When entering the order of marriage, the brides and grooms promises are much more specific; they promise to keep laws, rites and ordinances that pertain to marriage, the patriarchal order of the priesthood. President Joseph Fielding Smith emphasized: There is nothing that will ever come into your family life that is as important as the sealing blessings of the temple and then keeping the covenants made in connection with this order of celestial marriage. (Ensign, July 1972, p. 27).

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Obviously, we must take such sacred promises seriously and think deeply and honestly about their meaning and import. What are the laws, rites and ordinances of marriage? The first marriage was performed by God when he joined Adam and Eve together. (See Genesis 2:20-24). Note that Eve is called Adams wife. This was an eternal marriage, as they were both infinite and eternal beings at the time. The Law of Marriage What was the great commandment or law given to Adam and Eve? (See Genesis 1:26-27). It was to multiply and replenish. The word replenish should be translated fill. (See Genesis 1:28, footnote c; note also verse 22 where the same Hebrew verb is used interchangeably). God commanded them to multiply. This law applies to all who enter the order of marriage. This is the first and great law of marriage -- we are commanded to multiply and fill the earth, that the man and the woman might have joy in their posterity. President Ezra Taft Benson testified: I can assure that the greatest responsibility and the greatest joys in life are centered in the family, honorable marriage, and rearing a righteous posterity. (Ensign, May 1988, p. 52). The Rite of Marriage What is the rite or ritual that applies to marriage? How do we fulfill the law to multiply? By what ritual do we multiply? What rite must we perform to keep this law? It is the rite or ritual of sexual union, or the passing of the seed. While sexual union between a man and a woman can be accomplished outside the bounds of marriage, sexual relations between unmarried people are forbidden. Furthermore, we understand God eternally accepts and ratifies only an eternal marriage when men, women and children are sealed by his authority, and only they will continue to retain the priesthood power of the seeds forever if they remain faithful. (See D&C 132:15-24). The only way, then, to keep the law of marriage is to perform the rite (or the ritual) pertaining to this law. It is a rite of passage, the passing of the seed from the male priest to the female priestess by means of a holy sexual union. These are very sacred principles, authorized and ordained of God for the exaltation of his children. President Kimball taught:

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We do not raise children just to please our vanity. We bring children into the world to become kings and queens, and priests and priestesses for our Lord. (In General Conference Report, Buenos Aires Area Conference 1975, p. 26). That mankind has desecrated and changed these principles does not diminish their sacred nature in the eyes of God. This is the reason sexual sins are so serious. People who disregard these spiritual truths associated with the sexuality of Gods children are tampering with holy and sacred priesthood powers designed for authorized priests and priestesses within the patriarchal order of the priesthood. Outside the bonds of holy matrimony sexual relations are an abomination in the sight of God. Along with the sin of murder sexual sins comprise the most egregious sins of all. The giving and the taking of life must be accomplished in the ways God ordains. Life and light are his domain. To tamper with the very powers of life is to trifle with Gods powers. (See Alma 39:5). Furthermore, only within the new and everlasting covenant of marriage will the familial relationships formed by marriage and sexual union here on earth stand in the eternities. God recognizes no other. (See D&C 132). The Ordinance of Marriage Now a word about the ordinance we covenant to observe and obey in this order of marriage. The law is to multiply by the rite of holy sexual union to form a living soul, so the ordinance associated with marriage should be obvious. Birth is the first great ordinance of this life, or the first living endowment of this life. Truly, this is a most wondrous and miraculous ordinance. In this holy ordinance a spirit child of God is endowed with a physical body. This physical body must be obtained in order to have all power over those who have not. (See TPJS, p. 181). This physical body is necessary to receive a fullness of joy. (See D&C 93:33-34). This physical body is a prerequisite to becoming a God. (See D&C 130: 22). This physical body is the main object of our coming here. (See TPJS, p. 181). We will each take this physical body with us into the eternities by observing and keeping the priesthood ordinance of resurrection. (See JD 15:137; D&C 88:15-16, 27-29). It is hard to imagine a holier priesthood ordinance in this world than the first priesthood ordinance we call birth. Earlier we referred to an incident in which a promise was given by the spirit to a sister during a priesthood blessing that she would fulfill the mission of bringing her child into the world. Bearing children is the priesthood mission of every priestess in the patriarchal order of the priesthood. This is a power men do not have and a mission they cannot undertake. What an incredible privilege to possess the power to organize and bestow a living temple upon a child of God.

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President Kimball glories in the possibilities of motherhood: Mothers have a sacred role. They are partners with God, as well as with their own husbands, first in giving birth to the Lords spirit children, and then in rearing those children so they will serve the Lord and keep his commandments. Could there be a more sacred trust than to be a trustee for honorable, well-born, well-developed children? (TSWK, p. 326). The daughters of Zion who intentionally avoid this mission or perform it half-way, arbitrarily limiting their posterity for the sake of convenience and/or half-heartedly performing their monumental roles as mothers, are no different than the sons of God in the Church who choose to be disobedient or slothful in their duties as priesthood holders. President George Albert Smith: How will those feel who fail to obey that first great command when they stand in the presence of the creator, who says to them, as He said to those of olden times, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven. How can they comply with that invitation if they have no children to take to the Father? They must remain childless throughout eternity. They have been blind to their rights and privileges. It is only by a proper understanding of the laws of God, and by compliance with the gospel of Jesus Christ, only by doing what the Lord has said we should do, that we will enjoy the fulness of happiness that our Father in Heaven has promised those who are faithful I do not feel to censure, but with all my heart I pity the man and woman who grace their home with the lesser animals of Gods creation, and keep away from firesides those angels from His presence who might be theirs through time and through all eternity. I realize there are some men and women who are grieved because they are not fathers and mothers, they are not blessed of the Lord in that particular, they have no children of their own, and by no fault of their own. I believe the Lord will provide in such cases. If they will do their duty in keeping the other commandments, their reproach will be taken away. I raise my voice among the sons and daughters of Zion, and warn you that if you dry up the springs of life and abuse the power that God has blessed you with, there will come a time of chastening to you, that all the tears you may shed will never remove. Remember the first great commandment; fulfill that obligation. (CR, October 1907, p. 38). President Joseph Fielding Smith: If the responsibilities of parenthood are willfully avoided here, then how can the Lord bestow upon the guilty the blessings of eternal increase? It cannot be, and they shall be denied such blessings. (The Way to Perfection, p. 239).

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President Brigham Young: There are multitudes of pure and holy spirits waiting to take tabernacles, now what is our duty? -- To prepare tabernacles for them; to take a course that will not tend to drive those spirits into the families of the wicked, where they will be trained in wickedness, debauchery, and every species of crime. It is the duty of every righteous man and women to prepare tabernacles for all the spirits they can. (Discourses of Brigham Young, John A. Widstoe [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1941], p. 197). The daughters of God are under covenant just as much as the sons of God to keep his commandments, and to diligently perform their assigned duties on earth. The Doctrine and Covenants says the daughters of God are given in marriage to the sons of God . . . to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfill the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified. (D&C 132:63, emphasis ours). Gods work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (See Moses 1:39). He cannot bring to pass the immortality of man if his mortal daughters thwart the work of bringing to pass the mortality of man. This is not an idle clich we hear frequently in the Church, nor has the doctrine been outdated by the current conditions of a godless society. The prophets have consistently laid stress on our part of the work and glory of God. Elder Melvin J. Ballard said: There is a passage in our Scriptures which the Latter-day Saints accept as divine: This is the glory of God -- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Likewise we could say that this is the glory of men and women -- to bring to pass the mortality of sons and daughters of God, to give earth-life to the waiting children of our Father. . . The greatest mission of woman is to give life, earth-life, through honorable marriage, to the waiting spirits, our Fathers spirit children who anxiously desire to come to dwell here in this mortal state. All the honor and glory that can come to men or women by the development of their talents, the homage and the praise they may receive from an applauding world, worshipping at their shrine of genius, is but a dim thing whose luster shall fade in comparison to the high honor, the eternal glory, the ever-enduring happiness that shall come to the woman who fulfills the first great duty and mission that devolves upon her to become the mother of the sons and daughters of God. The jewels in her crown, the stars that still glisten in her diadem, in time and

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in eternity, shall be the sons and the daughters to whom, through the blessing of the Lord, she has been instrumental in not only giving earth-life, but in bringing them, through care and devotion and faithfulness, into the paths that God has appointed for his children to follow. . . I grant you that there are many who approach the great responsibility of motherhood with fear and timidity, because of its dangers to the physical life of the mother, because of its pain its sorrow and its distress; but in the very nature of things, if God should lighten the burdens, the sorrow, and the pain of child-bearing, he would endanger the enduring love of the mother for her children. There is nothing worthwhile we obtain unless we pay the price for it. That which is given to us freely, we consider of little value, and so, because a mother goes into the valley of death, lays her life upon the altar to bring life into the world, and because through the rearing of the children who come to her, she spends many sleepless nights, denies herself the personal pleasures of life, devotes herself with patience and care and strength almost more than she has, to the welfare of her children -- this is what makes her love them. For where her treasure is, there her heart is, and the greatest treasure a woman has she gives in her service, her life itself. (Sermons and Missionary Services of Melvin J. Ballard, pp. 203-4). The prophets have been consistently clear on this important issue throughout the entire dispensation. They have taught, counseled and warned the saints these truths have eternal ramifications, and that the saints will regret the day if they are slothful in these supernal duties to God. Joseph Smith prophesied the day would come when none but the women of the Latter-day Saints would be willing to bear children, and his words are sadly coming to pass. (See Joseph Smith The Prophet, Truman G. Madsen, p.39). No matter how unpopular or inconvenient it may become, the priest and priestess must be diligent in their several duties, if the couple is to obtain the exaltation the Lord has promised those who keep the laws, rites and ordinances of marriage. These solemn promises and covenants are most sacred. Equality Between the Roles of Mothers and Fathers This observation on the patriarchal laws, rites and ordinances may be useful in illustrating the perfect equality in our separate roles as mothers and fathers. Who keeps the law of this order of the priesthood, the priest or the priestess? Both of them multiply and replenish. Who keeps or performs the rite of this order of the priesthood, the priest or the priestess? Both of them perform the rite. Who keeps or performs the ordinance of this order of the priesthood, the priest or the priestess? The first time this ordinance of birth is performed it is accomplished only by the priestess. The second time this ordinance of rebirth is performed it is accomplished only by the priest.

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Remember, all mankind (all men, women, and children) must be born twice -- or born again - to enter into eternal life. The first birth is physical and is performed only by the priestess. The second birth is spiritual (born of the spirit) and is performed only by the priest (baptism of water and of fire or spirit). Both are ultimately essential. Thus, the ordinance of birth is really performed in two steps -- first by the priestess, then by the priest. Please note, when the mother performs the first birth the man sits helplessly by as an interested observer. While he participated in the passing of the seeds, he does not participate in the first birth except to exercise his faith and prayers. Similarly, as he performs the baptism and confirmation of the second birth the roles reverse and she becomes the silent observer exercising her faith and prayers. In both births the three fundamental elements of birth are present: The water, the blood and the spirit: That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory; For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified. (Moses 6:59-60, emphasis ours). This truth is self-evident -- the mother and father are equals -- peers, as priest and priestess. Both are honored with important and companion roles in these priestly duties. We are each equal and unique parts of one wonderful synergistic whole with different assigned tasks and capacities to balance our work in the glorious process of developing an eternal union and an eternal family kingdom to make us God in the eternities. President Harold B. Lee emphasized the teaching of a former prophet in these words: In defining the relationship of a wife to her husband, the late President George Albert Smith put it this way: In showing this relationship, by a symbolic representation, God didnt say that woman was to be taken from a bone in the mans head that she should rule over him, nor from a bone in his foot that she should be trampled under his feet, but from a bone in his side to symbolize that she was to stand by his side, to be his companion, his equal, and his helpmeet in all their lives together. (Maintain Your Place as a Woman, Ensign, February 1972, p. 50).

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The patriarchal order is the order of fathers and mothers. Only in this order can we multiply and fill other worlds with our posterity. Other beings do not reside as couples and families in eternity, and do not have the power of the seeds (the power to increase) with the attendant parental responsibilities, worlds without end. (See D&C 132:17-17). President Joseph Fielding Smith taught the following about inheriting telestial and terrestrial kingdoms: . . . there will be changes in the bodies and limitations. They will not have the power of increase, neither the power or nature to live as husbands and wives, for this will be denied them and they cannot increase. . . Some of the functions in the celestial body will not appear in the Terrestrial body, neither in the Telestial body, and the power of procreation will be removed. (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:287). President Smith says not only the power will be taken, but the nature also. This makes perfect sense because puberty is a package. The nature and power come hand in hand and are inextricably linked together. Little childrens bodies do not have the power to reproduce. They do not have the sexual desire (or nature) to perform sexual acts. When they grow older they not only get the nature (desire) but also the power. When we get the power we get the nature. When we lose the power we lose the nature. Only in honoring our marital covenants by faithfully keeping these sacred laws, rites and ordinances in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage will the powers and blessings of the fullness of the priesthood become ours. We must understand that only in keeping these sacred laws, rites and ordinances explicitly linked to the order of marriage do we honor our sealing covenants. To arbitrarily abstain from, defer or limit our procreative and parental privileges and responsibilities is to reject in our hearts and by our works what we have solemnly promised with our lips. We must recognize that if we were to do this we would be making a mock of that which [is] sacred, and thereby risk losing these priceless powers forever. (See Helaman 4:12). President Harold B. Lee: We declare it is a grievous sin before God to adopt restrictive measures in disobedience to Gods divine command from the beginning of time to multiply and replenish the earth. Surely those who project such measures to prevent life or to destroy life before or after birth will reap the whirlwind of Gods retribution, for God will not be mocked. (CR, Oct. 1972, p. 63; or Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 62).

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Chapter Seventeen

Temples and Temple Work

The pinnacle of all mortal relationships is the binding and sealing of couples and their subsequent family units in the temples by the authority of the priesthood. Elder Bruce R. McConkie described the essential nature of temple covenants as they relate to our families and our eternal purposes: All things center in the family, and the family is the center of all things. Salvation itself is a family affair and consists of the continuation of the family unit in eternity. God himself is exalted and omnipotent because he is a Father, and his kingdoms and dominions are composed of his children over whom he rules in equity and justice forever. The whole system of salvation, of revelation, of religion, of worship -- all that comes from Deity for the benefit of man -- is tied into a divine patriarchal system. If any of us gain the fulness of reward in our Fathers kingdom, it will be because we enter into family relationships that are eternal in nature; it will be because we have perfected our own patriarchal family units. These concepts are part of the very foundation upon which true religion rests. (The Mortal Messiah, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979-81], 1:214). Joseph taught the essential purpose in gathering Gods sons and daughters together in every gospel dispensation has been temple work. This includes the building of temples, and the ordinance work pertaining to salvation and exaltation performed therein. (TPJS, pp. 182-3; 307-9). Only as we gather and pool our individual resources can we accomplish the monumental work of building temples and then receiving and performing the important ordinances therein. Only by virtue of the higher ordinances of the house of the Lord can Gods children be ultimately empowered to overcome the world, and to bring again Zion preparatory to the Lords second coming. If we do not obtain the fullness of the priesthood powers of Elijah, wherein we obtain the fullness of the sealing powers to be sanctified in the flesh and made holy, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming, as there would be none able to withstand the heat and light of terrestrial glory which will be manifest when old things are consumed and all things made new.

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We can only prepare for the Lords coming by working together. We cannot build temples alone. We cannot perform the work of gathering and perfecting a Zion people on any other premise. We must become one. There is an extremely important parallel principle in this. The key purpose in bringing Gods sons and daughters together in marriage and holy sexual union is also temple work on this wise: Marriage pertains to the creation of living temples for the spirit offspring of God, and there are holy ordinances that apply to salvation and exaltation performed in these living temples not unlike those ordinances performed in temples made of mens hands. The laws, rites and ordinances of marriage pertain to the creation of living temples for the spirit children of God. This is literally the work of temple building. The end result is the very same, the salvation and exaltation of Gods children through power: We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great principle of happiness consists in having a body. . . . All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not. (TPJS, p. 181). Salvation is nothing more nor less than to triumph over all our enemies and put them under our feet. And when we have power to put all enemies under our feet in this world, and a knowledge to triumph over all evil spirits in the world to come, then we are saved, as in the case of Jesus, who was to reign until He had put all enemies under His feet, and the last enemy was death. . . Perhaps there are principles here that few men have thought of. No person can have this salvation except through a tabernacle. . . the greatness of [Satans] punishment is that he shall not have a tabernacle. This is his punishment. (TPJS, p. 297). The spirits in the eternal world are like the spirits in this world. When those have come into this world and received tabernacles, then died and again have risen and received glorified bodies, they will have an ascendency [sic] over the spirits who have received no bodies. . . (TPJS, pp. 305-6, emphasis ours above). Latter-day Saints who comprehend their religion understand that bodies, temples and tabernacles are all closely related terms pertaining to common eternal principles of power and salvation. Both temples made with hands by the authority of the priesthood, and those made without hands by the authority of the priesthood, are absolutely essential to the salvation and exaltation of Gods children. The priest, possessing the power of the seeds is the fountain of living waters, spoken of in the scriptures. Living waters are living waters! This sacred fluid flowing from the priest fertilizes the priestess, the tree of life that she might bear fruit, or bring forth children unto

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the Lord. Blessed is the fruit of her womb. The great privilege of living temple work then falls to her to perform, as priests are not empowered with these keys or capacities. Let us note these marvelous powers: In her temple she performs sacred initiatory ordinances of life. In the waters of her womb she prepares or anoints her children with eyes to see, ears to hear, shoulders to bare the burdens of life, and with every other part and organ necessary to perform their proper functions. She clothes her child in a covering of skin which will act as a shield and protection to this spirit child until its work on earth is done. She also performs the living temple work of genetically endowing her child with innate knowledge and powers to enable the child to righteously perform its duties, preparatory to entering back into the presence of the Lord. Through the genetic powers of her temple, linked by the umbilical cord to her child within, she endows each child. One she endows with artistic fingers and eyes to create wonderful works of art. To another she endows gifted ears and voice to create beautiful music. Another she endows with great intellectual acuity, and to another she gives brute strength and great physical coordination. Multiple physical attributes are endowed upon the physical temples of the children of God by priestesses performing holy ordinances within their living temples, not for the dead, but for the living. The priestess by virtue of the sealing power she holds in concert with the Savior, performs the union or sealing of the body and spirit of her child. It is through this union her child becomes a living soul. What she and God have joined together let no man put asunder, as such would constitute murder. (See D&C 88:15-16). Finally, we have observed it is the priestess, who in a final washing and anointing by water, blood and the spirit breaks her holy water, and brings forth a new prince or princess of the kingdom in the miraculous and most holy ordinance of birth.

We emphasize here that no priest, regardless of offices or titles he may hold in the Church, is empowered with these sacred keys. None has either the authority or power to perform these sacred washings, anointings, living endowments and sealing ordinances pertaining to the life and salvation of Gods children but mothers. Not even in the eternal worlds to come will men possess these powers. We further note the priestess performs these holy ordinances and rituals according to sacred laws: According to the law of obedience she keeps the first law to multiply and fill the

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earth, and she righteously does so within the bounds the Lord has set according to the law of chastity. While the righteous priest sacrifices and works to build a temple of stones worthy of all acceptation to the Lord, no one keeps the law of sacrifice more perfectly than a faithful mother, as her physical temple sacrifices for nine long months to build a new and glorious temple unto the Most High God. Her baby becomes in every sense a temple worthy of all acceptation, she having fit and framed it properly at great personal cost, even at the peril of her own life. Consecrating her time, talents, energy and all with which the Lord has blessed her according to the law of the gospel, she creates, nurtures, teaches and serves her children in light and truth, and in Christ-like love before and after the ordinance of birth.

President Joseph Fielding Smith described . . .the women [who] will become queens [and] priestesses, in the eternal order that the Lord has given for the fulness of his kingdom. (See Take Heed to Yourselves: comp. Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1966], p. 258). She does not allow her temple to be defiled. In her holy place, holy things are done according to the laws of heaven within the bounds the Lord has set, and that which she brings forth in the covenant is holy unto the Lord. The promise to faithful mothers is their children will bring them great joy. Those who believe Gods daughters are slighted of priestly prerogatives need to have their eyes touched by the spirit to see things as they really are, rather than merely as they appear to be in the dark and deceptive world of the present. President Joseph F. Smith said: There are people fond of saying that women are the weaker vessels. I dont believe it. Physically, they may be; but spiritually, morally, religiously and in faith, what man can match a woman who is really convinced? Daniel had faith to sustain him in the lions den, but women have seen their sons torn limb from limb, and endured every torture satanic cruelty could invent because they believed. They are always more willing to make sacrifices, and are the peers of men in stability, Godliness, morality and faith. (Gospel Doctrine, p. 352). The prophets have always spoken consistently and emphatically about the singular role of mothers, a role with profound influence and power in the lives of her children. Wilford Woodruff had this perspective:

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I consider that the mother has a greater influence over her posterity than any other person can have. And the question has arisen some time: When does this education begin? Our prophets have said, When the spirit life from God enters into the tabernacle. The condition of the mother at that time will have its effect upon the fruit of her womb; and from the birth of the child, and all through life, the teachings and the example of the mother govern and control, in a great measure, that child, and her influence is felt by it through time and eternity. (Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1946], p. 269). Yes, it is true that for six thousand years it is the men who have been called to sacrifice family and home to go out into the lone and dreary world, even at the risk of life, and call the world to repentance. Theirs has been the mission to preach the gospel of repentance, even the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to bring about a new birth in the lives of men, women and children. The blood of the prophets stands as a witness to the devotion of Gods faithful sons. But how can this reality be shown to eclipse what the daughters of God have been called upon to suffer and sacrifice for six thousand years in bringing to pass the first birth of children even at the risk of their lives? The blood of queens and priestesses stands as a witness of the devotion of Gods faithful daughters. Yes, men have been called to teach and lead the Church in building up the kingdom of God. How does this even begin to overshadow the building of the kingdom accomplished by faithful mothers, who are bringing their children up in the admonition of the Lord? Yes, Gods sons have been exclusively authorized to perform vital priesthood ordinances pertaining to life and salvation in temples made with hands. How can it be said their priestly duties in any way exceed the miraculous ordinances of life and salvation Gods daughters are exclusively empowered to perform unto the Lord in temples made without hands? Know ye not, daughters of God, that ye are the temples of the Lord? Are we really going to quarrel about which birth is more important or whose role is more vital in the eternal scheme of things? Havent we more important things to do? Are we really

going to debate amongst ourselves in the Church whether or not gay marriage is even an option, given the flood of revealed truth that has been showered upon us in the Restoration? In the 1990s the Church dealt with the proposed equal rights amendments and now in this new century the Church stands adamantly opposed to any other form of marriage definition than the one given to us by revelation -- that marriage consists of the union between a man and a woman -- and no other definition is contemplated by the plan of happiness given to us by God.
As for presiding in the home, try to find even one righteous family where the children honestly respect and revere a father even as much or more than the mother. Which parent honestly

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wields the most influence, and which impacts the life of each child more? Which parent has the greater power, if we must compare? There is no such thing as the ascendancy of fathers in righteous homes. Modern society, and mankind historically, has not only failed to see, understand or truly appreciate the majestic powers of womanhood, but has failed to grasp even the slightest nuance of the eternal powers of womanhood. For six thousand years the holy temples of women have been abused, unlawfully entered, defiled and ravaged by fathers, brothers, husbands, brutes and devils. In the darkness of mortalitys debacle too many women have gladly traded their physical temple bodies which were designed for the noble role of mother and have sold their bodies for things as worthless as money and popularity. Today the holy powers and privileges of motherhood are being abased, mocked, ridiculed, belittled and deserted as never before. The daughters of God are ignorantly selling their holy birthrights and sacred rites for the pathetic pottage of money, degrees, professions and the honors of men. The tragedy is these are not true answers to the immortal yearnings of the female soul. The daughters of God will never be truly fulfilled adopting the inane roles of their selfish, brutish brothers, simulating the life styles of foolish TV role models, or deserting their ideals of marriage and their divine instincts of faithful motherhood for the professional workplace. Leaving the divine path of the Christ-centered faithful wife and selfless mother, they will never find the peace, fulfillment and happiness for which they long. To do so is proving to be as foolish a thing as the heavens ever witnessed. Of course, many long for these goals, but do not attain them for reasons beyond their control. For these the desires of their hearts will in time be fulfilled. Decades before he became President Benson, Ezra Taft Benson spoke of the genuine happiness associated with our homes: There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from the home. The sweetest influences and associations of life are there. We cannot be successful no matter what goals we attain in the material world, no matter what honors of men come to us; we will not be successful in our lives if we fail as fathers and mothers. (CR, Oct. 1947, p. 27). However, we are witnessing an increasing rate of failed marriages. Our families are crumbling, our society disintegrating, all at an unprecedented rate because women are bartering their eternal destiny for the fools gold of Babylon. The sons of God have long been guilty of distorted priorities, but faithful wives and mothers have persevered to their eternal glory until now. Today everything has changed, as women are partaking of the sins of the men in wholesale fashion, leaving few to stem a fateful tide.

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The fact so many marriages are failing and so many families are crumbling does not make casting away or rejecting eternal values any less foolish or tragic than in days of less opposition, when more marriages and families were succeeding. Eternal truth has never been defined by the trends of the moment. The truth is marriages are not failing and families are not failing either. Marriages dont fail. People fail. The gospel doesnt fail the people. People fail to live the gospel. In the end none of this proves or disproves the gospel. Rather, the gospel was given to prove the people. Never has there been a greater need for the sons and the daughters of God to stand firm in the faith and to be true to the work of the kingdom. Never has there been a greater need for the sons of God to stand firm and to be true to the work. Never has there been a greater need for the parents of Zion to be true to the cause of heaven. Arbitrary and selfish decisions about birth control, abortion, singlehood, homosexuality, lesbianism, transgender operations, day care centers and an overwhelming obsession with the honors of men, the wealth of the world, the popularity and pleasures of the world are turning the heads of the children of God in a most alarming fashion. Even in the Church among those who have entered into the covenant and been tutored in the eternal principles of salvation there is a disappointing lack of adherence to truth and the cause of Zion. Today too many living temples are being defiled. The ordinances therein are being changed, their higher purposes abandoned. Their glory is being diminished, their powers dwindling. As saints we need to more fully comprehend our gospel covenants. The first gospel principles and ordinances outside the temples are individual in nature, but the fullness of the gospel inside the temples is patriarchal in nature. They pertain to the eternal privileges and responsibilities of marriage and parenthood, which pertain to exaltation with the Gods. As a people and individually these sacred covenant duties must be our highest values, whether male or female, whether married or single, divorced, widowed, barren or genetically challenged in any other way. The insightful observations of Jeanie McAllister, a single sister in the Church, should hearten and give hope to all: Whether single or married, let us celebrate and support marriages and families. . . Thank God for the principle of eternal marriage and families together forever! For many of us who are single, the principles weve learned as the progeny of such marriages, or the prospect ahead that such a marriage can be ours, keeps our faith burning. Everyone benefits from happy marriages and happy children because, to a large degree, they create the world in which we live. We watch you who are married. We are heartened when we see moments of quiet

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affection between you. We notice what you say and do for your partners and your children. We say, We want marriages and families like that! Thank you when you live your lives in faith-promoting ways. It helps us. And thank you to those priesthood and Relief Society leaders who call us to meaningful positions of service and leadership in our wards and stakes. When we must wait for marriage, what a blessing it is not to wait to work in the kingdom. We can learn much from interacting with couples and families and, yes, from sitting through Relief Society and priesthood lessons about marriage and children. This is often tough for those of us not yet married, because it constantly reminds us of unfulfilled expectations. Proverbs 13:12 says, Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. And many who have not yet married or have lost a partner to death or divorce are often heartsick. Frankly, it hurts sometimes to be single. But even the happiest people tell me it hurts sometimes to be married. I think the truth is it simply hurts sometimes to be mortal. . . Let us be one. Let us be his. Single and married, let us join together as comrades in arms in the fight for families and all that is good, loving each other and, as the hymn says, moving onward as Christian soldiers, One in hope and doctrine, One in charity (Hymns, 1985, no. 246). (Ensign, March 1996, pp. 22-3). Mortality was never designed as a perfect set of circumstances for everyone. The gospel pointing to eternal felicity, however, is perfect. We must hold our temple covenants sacred and not faint in the heat of the day regardless of what life throws at us, no matter how confused the world becomes about these things, no matter how challenging our personal situations may become. If we are true and faithful, temple promises assure the day will come when the blessings of these eternal principles will be multiplied upon our heads an hundredfold, and we will be given all the Father has despite our disparate circumstances now. (See D&C 76:50-70; 84:33-49). Soon after he was called as the president of the Frankfurt Germany Temple, Elder F. Enzio Busche related this story, illustrating the relationship between what he termed the male and female parts of the priesthood: One day, not long after I had begun serving in the temple, I met a woman in the American military service who came for her own endowment. She was accompanied by some sisters from her ward, as well as a priesthood leader. As Sister Busche and I began teaching her about the temple, I felt that she had a somewhat unsettled spirit and saw a little of that in the sisters who were with her, who were all officers in the military. When the priesthood leader inquired as to when I thought the Church would receive revelation giving the priesthood to women, I was at first so shocked that I felt a strong desire to give a stern response and even question his worthiness to be in the temple.

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However, as I momentarily withheld my answer and sought guidance from the Spirit, I was witness to something most remarkable. A calmness from someplace else entered my heart, and I heard myself saying things that were somewhat new to me. As I remember, my remarks, in an abbreviated form, were approximately as follows: The priesthood is neither male nor female, although it has a male part and a female part. Through the eternal bond of marriage, built on the divine gift of love, the priesthood becomes complete. The roles of the two parts are, of course, vastly different. Heavenly Father has given the female the role of bringing new life to this world. She does so in a physical dimension by nurturing, tutoring, training, and teaching and in the wearing of the very eternal virtues of chastity, loyalty, and wholesomeness, which are essential for the very existence of humankind. Our Heavenly Father has given the male the role of providing, protecting, and admiring. Male and female are in many ways mysteriously different and, because of that, there is a natural desire to love one another in harmony with the divine laws as they have been reestablished by the restoration of the gospel. The best way to gain an understanding of the male and female part of the priesthood is to be reminded of a tree. As we look at a tree, it appears to be complete with its trunk, branches, leaves, and blossoms; but we know that another, equally important part of the tree is invisible. The roots which, quite unseen, lie deeply embedded in the soil are constantly nourishing and strengthening the visible parts of the tree. The roots do not argue with the trunk. They both enjoy oneness. The temple is the Lords essential instrument used to reestablish a true understanding of the male and female parts of the priesthood. In the temple, both men and women wear the robe of the priesthood and are given the garments of the priesthood. Righteous men and women learn that although women are not physically involved in conducting the affairs of the priesthood, no man can excel in his priesthood calling for long without the blessing and care and guidance of a righteous woman. When we listen very carefully in the temple and learn to understand and accept our male and female roles, we will soon see ourselves in our own limitations. Those who concentrate their efforts in developing the purposes and virtues of their own gender will build tender, bonding bridges between men and women on the basis of mutual respect and admiration, inspired by the divine, miraculous power of love. A society that fails to accept the eternal concept of this godly design must pay an unbearable price of confusion of the individual, which can, potentially, lead to chaos, destruction, and the unhappiness of the soul. (Elder F. Enzio Busche, Yearning for the Living God, 214-15). We love what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said about strengthening one another: It is as Martin Luther once said, The kingdom of God is like a besieged city surrounded

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on all sides by death. Each man [and woman] has [a] place on the wall to defend and no one can stand where another stands, but nothing prevents us from calling encouragement to one another. I think the Brethren have seen some spiritual death near the gates of the city in past days, and perhaps they fear they will see more in the years ahead. Each of us needs to take our place on the wall and to call out encouragement to one another. I have my station, and Sister Holland has hers, and each of you has your own. None of us will stand in the place of any other, but like Gideons valiant band, we can stand in our own place (Judges 7:21). Together we can fight against the prince of darkness and the dangers of spiritual decay. Our covenants are our protection. Our strength will be in the Lord. Every woman, man, and accountable child will be enlisted till the conflict is oer. We must stand true and call out encouragement to one another. (To Rejoice as Women, Concerning Covenants: Women, Men, Perspective, Promises, p. 109).

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Chapter Eighteen The Creation of Man

Having studied the sacred laws, rites, ordinances and familial responsibilities pertaining to the patriarchal order of the priesthood, we are now prepared to examine some of the greater truths of the godly works of creation and salvation of man in this and other worlds past, present and future. How was the first man, Adam, created? Contrary to popular belief he was not the product of eons of evolution, nor was he the result of some magical animation of dust. In all his creation accounts Moses speaks symbolically. Even in the temple drama we are told the portrayal of Adams creation is figurative. Adam was created the same way each of us was created according to the laws, rites and ordinances of eternal marriage -- there is no other way. Would the great Lawgiver violate his own laws? Joseph said: Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor? And everything comes in this way. (TPJS, p. 373, emphasis ours). Adam was not some Paleolithic Neanderthal man who evolved from the primordial swamps of Eden, nor was he some Frankenstein put together with spare parts or a fancy piece of pottery molded out of some wet clay. Adam was someones begotten son. Whose son? He was Gods son. Adam was the son of God. The scriptures are clear: And this is the genealogy of the sons of Adam, who was the son of God, with whom God, himself, conversed. (Moses 6:22, emphasis ours). Adam was Gods begotten son. So why do the scriptures say Christ is Gods Only Begotten Son? The phrase, Gods Only Begotten Son is really an abbreviation. The prophets have revealed the full intended meaning of the phrase as Gods Only Begotten Son in the Flesh! In the flesh means flesh and blood, or mortal. (See 1 Nephi 11:18 and Matthew 16:17 as examples). Christ is Gods only begotten son born of a mortal woman in this eternity. Mary was mortal flesh and blood. Adams (and our) Heavenly Mother was not. She was an immortal resurrected celestial woman -- hence, there was no blood in her. Joseph taught: When our flesh is quickened by the spirit, there will be no blood in this tabernacle.

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(TPJS, p. 367). All will be raised [in the resurrection] by the power of God, having spirit in their bodies and not blood. (TPJS, pp. 199-200). While Adam was begotten physically, he was not begotten of flesh and blood, meaning in the flesh, because he was not mortal at the time of his birth. He was not born of a mortal woman but of an immortal woman. There was no blood in Adams body at birth because there was no blood in his Mothers resurrected body. Furthermore, there would be no blood in Adams body until after the fall. Lehi makes the case absolutely clear -- Adam was infinite and immortal and would have lived forever had he not subsequently fallen. (See 2 Nephi 2:22). The Physical Creation God creates our physical world by Christ, with vegetation and fruit of every kind being brought from other planets. Then God (an exalted couple) comes to this planet, they partake of the vegetation and fruit growing here, charge their resurrected bodies made from the elements (dust) of their mortal planet an eternity ago with the elements of this planet. They combine in sexual union as priest and priestess, husband and wife, having both the power and the nature of the seeds forever. She conceives by the combination of his seed and her egg and brings forth a son made of the elements of this planet. Moses says Adam is the son of God made from the dust of the earth. His symbolic language raises strange possibilities in many sectarian minds. Simply stated, we are all made of dust and we return to dust when we die. For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. When we exhume an old corpse all that remains is dust. Our bodies are composed of the elements of this earth and so was Adams. We were made (organized) of those elements by the process of procreation through sexual union. So was Adam. As Joseph Smith said, Everything comes in this way. (TPJS, p.373). Father Adam was first a son. President Brigham Young said: [God] commenced the work of creating earthly tabernacles, precisely as He had been created in this flesh himself, [as man is, God once was] by partaking of the course material that was organized and composed this earth, until his system [body] was charged with it, consequently the tabernacles of His children were organized from the coarse materials [dust] of this earth. (JD, 4:218). In another sermon he said: After men have got their exaltations and their crowns -- have become Gods, even the

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sons of God -- are made Kings of kings and Lords of lords, they have the power then of propagating their species. . . Power is given to them to commence the organization of tabernacles. How can they do it? Have they to go to that earth? Yes, . . .they will go into the garden and continue to eat and drink of the fruits of the corporeal world, until this grosser matter is diffused sufficiently through their celestial bodies to enable them, according to the established laws, to produce. . . tabernacles for their spiritual children. (JD, 6:275, emphasis ours). Upon a moments reflection we have all learned these truths as we have created bodies for our children. If we were teaching our children these sacred principles, we would testify in words something like these: Children, this is how your physical creation occurred. You were all created by your father and mother, who obeyed the law of chastity, then the commandment to multiply and replenish. As your parents we performed the rite of holy sexual union. Mom conceived and then in observance of the law of sacrifice, ate food grown from the dust or elements of this planet until her body was charged with those elements sufficiently to form your physical body. Ultimately, she performed the first gospel ordinance you received -- you were born physically after your spirit and body united. Subsequently as your parents, and acting as a priest and priestess in the patriarchal order of the priesthood, we have consecrated our lives to your service as fully devoted parents. We havent done everything perfectly, but we are learning along with you. This process has been going on from generation to generation right back to Adam and Eve, but that is not where our genealogy begins. Because Adam was made in the very same way by his physical parents, our Heavenly Father and Mother, we are all their children. We are children of God. We are all their creations. They started the family tree with the power of eternal lives, the continuation of the seeds, the birthrights and rites pertaining to their godhood as an exalted couple. Once understood, how sad the thought any would sell or forfeit their birthright (their right to give birth) for a mess of pottage -- the petty fame and fortune of this dreary world. The Spiritual Creation Of the creation of our spirits, President Brigham Young said: Things were first created spiritually; the Father actually begat [through sexual union] the spirits, and they were brought forth and lived with Him. (JD, 4:218). After men have got their exaltations and their crowns. . . they have the power then of propagating their species in spirit; and that is the first of their operations with regard to organizing a world. (JD, 6:275, emphasis ours).

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Heber C. Kimball said: Now brethren you have got a spirit in you and that spirit was created and organized -was born and begotten by our Father and our God before we ever took these bodies; and these bodies were formed by him, and through him, and of him, just as much as the spirit was; for I will tell you, he commenced and brought forth spirits; and then, when he completed that work, he commenced and brought forth tabernacles for those spirits to dwell in. I came through him, both spirit and body. (JD, 6:31, emphasis ours). Did God produce us? He did, and every son and daughter of Adam upon the face of this earth; and he produced us upon the same principle that we produce one another. (JD, 6:101, emphasis ours). Brigham Young sums it all up by saying: When our spirits receive their bodies [in the resurrection] and through our faithfulness we are worthy to be crowned, we will then receive authority to produce both spirit and body. (JD, 15:137, emphasis ours). The Birth of Christ Christs physical body was created by his parents observance of the same laws, rites and ordinances. There is no other way. There is no other pattern. President Joseph F. Smith said: . . . how are children begotten? I answer, just as Jesus Christ was begotten by his Father. (Stake Conference, Sunday School Session, Dec. 20, 1914, partially reported in the Box Elder Times Newspaper, Dec. 24, 1914). Sexual union is not only holy, it is Godly. Nephi used explicit language when he described how Mary conceived: . . . the virgin thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. (1 Nephi 11:18). The angel thus explained to Nephi what the phrase the condescension of God really meant. (See 1 Nephi 11:16). Elder Bruce R. McConkie, writing about the title The Only Begotten in the Flesh, was equally as explicit. Speaking of Christ, he said:

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. . . [Christ] was begotten by Man of Holiness [Heavenly Father] as literally as any mortal father begets a son. The natural processes of procreation were involved; Jesus was begotten by his Father as literally as he was conceived by his mother. (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:144, emphasis ours). Men and women are always created in the image of God. Man is not created on any other principle than the eternal laws, rites and ordinances we have discussed -- godly couples, sealed forever, doing godly acts with the powers and within the bounds of the eternal priesthood. Christ as the Creator We have reviewed how exalted couples make bodies according to the laws, rites and ordinances of the patriarchal priesthood, but the scriptures also say Christ made men. What is his role in this holy process? How can Christ be the creator of man? He was not a resurrected being, he did not have a body before he came to earth, so how could he possibly give us bodies? The scriptures clearly teach that God The Father is our Father in Heaven. How can Christ possibly be mans creator? Some surmise there is a mistake here. They say the scriptures are not translated correctly on this point. Others suggest the meaning may only be figurative, because he sort of fathers us when we are born again of the Holy Spirit. Still others assert a case of Divine Investiture of Authority, because the Father is our creator. These possible explanations all sound plausible until they are compared to scripture: 1. The scriptures arent translated correctly here. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly, . . . says our 8th Article of Faith. However, this argument is used far too often in the Church as an excuse for not understanding doctrine. If there were only one obscure verse mentioning Christ as the Creator in the Bible, perhaps a case could be made for this argument, but this is one of the most documented doctrines of the scriptures. The doctrine appears not only in the Bible, but even more emphatically in The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. The Topical Guide lists numerous references under the heading Jesus Christ, Creator. It is not an incorrect translation, because the doctrine is everywhere. 2. The meaning is only figurative, because Christ sort of fathers us when we are born again of the Holy Ghost. Christ does not sort of father us when we are born of the spirit -- he does father us spiritually when we are born of the spirit. (See Mosiah 5:7). Still, this spiritual reality does not solve the Christ as Creator question, because when the scriptures speak of Christ as the Creator of man they speak of the making of man, not merely in the context of being born again. (See John 1:3; D&C 93:10; D&C 45:1; 3 Nephi 22:5; or Isaiah 44:24 as examples).

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3. It must be a case of Divine Investiture of Authority, because the Father is our Creator. This idea cannot be supported scripturally either. If this is just a matter of Divine Investiture of Authority, meaning Christ speaks for the Father as if he were the Father, we cannot explain away these scriptures: Moses 1:32-33, or D&C 76:42. These scriptures clearly exclude Divine Investiture of Authority as a satisfactory answer, because these passages cannot be interpreted that way. They do not say I created. They say the Father created us by Jesus Christ. It is not a matter of someone speaking in the first person for someone else. No matter who is speaking in these passages, they are saying the Father created all things by Christ. As stated in Moses 2:26, it is a matter of us not I. God said to his Only Begotten Son (Christ), Let us make man. . . These are reasonable attempts to explain a difficult doctrine but each comes short of the mark, because the scriptures unequivocally show the Father created us, made us, by Jesus Christ. Under direction of the Father, Christ made man. It is difficult to escape such explicit language so how do we explain it? The answer lies in our understanding of something Joseph called the Office of Messiah, coupled with the sealing power as they relate to the doctrine and principle of light we have already studied earlier. The Office of Messiah When we think of the Messiah, we most often think of a person not an office, and we think of the doctrine of redemption not the doctrine of creation. A cursory study of the scriptures and the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith reveals the full picture. The Messiah is the highest office in the priesthood next to full Godhood, and pertains to the sealing power. The sealing power applies not only to redemption but to creation. The doctrine of light literally illuminates this mystery of godliness. The sealing power is light. It is the ultimate power of the universe referred to as the powers of heaven. Light is the power of God. It is the power by which all things are added upon, created and made, preserved and upheld, diminished and destroyed. It is the law by which all things are governed. It is the power by which all things are known. It is truly the glory of God. Listen as Christ introduces himself: I am Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord; yea, even I am he, the beginning and the end, the Redeemer of the world. I, having accomplished and finished the will of him whose I am, even the Father, concerning me having done this that I might subdue all things unto myself Retaining all power, even to the destroying of Satan and his works at the end of the

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world, and the last great day of judgment, which I shall pass upon the inhabitants thereof, judging every man according to his works and the deeds which he hath done. (D&C 19:1-3). Who is the light of the world? I am the light of the world, says Christ, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12). Where did Christ obtain the light of life? Who gave it to him? Why was it given to him? What does he do with it? What does it have to do with us? Jesus Christ is the torch bearer of this eternity. He holds the key of life and is the author of all life in this system of planets. It was given to him by God his Heavenly Father in the morning of creation before the worlds (those belonging to this eternity) were made. John said: And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father; And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him. (D&C 93:16-17). This is the glory the Savior had with the Father before the world was. (John. 17:5). It is the glorious power by which he, the Old Testament Jehovah, accomplished all his wondrous acts before and after the world was created. In the beginning he was called to serve in the office of Messiah. His role in this office was to be the end (Redeemer) and the beginning (Creator). He was chosen not only to be the last but also to be the first. He stands not only as the finisher of our faith but also as the author. Messiah is Alpha and Omega. His Messiahship is complete, comprehensive and exhaustive. He is our all in all. Joseph Smith understood this. His ideas about creation were revolutionary and completely original for his day. Creation, he said, was as an intelligent act of the organization of existing matter in full compliance with eternal laws, rather than a magical materialization of something from nothing. He said: In the translation without form and void it should be read, empty and desolate. The word created should be formed, or organized. (TPJS, p.181). You ask the learned doctors why they say the world was made out of nothing; and they will answer, Doesnt the Bible say He created the world? And they infer, from the word create, that it must have been made out of nothing. Now, the word create comes from the word baurau which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. Hence, we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos -- chaotic matter,

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which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Element had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and re-organized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end. (TPJS, pp. 350-2; see also D&C 93:29). It is likely Joseph learned much of this as he was translating the Book of Abraham by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Moses account of the creation of the world the terms create, without form and void appear. (Moses 2:1-2). In the Abraham account, however, it reads: And they went down at the beginning, and they, that is the Gods, organized and formed [not created] the heavens and the earth. And the earth, after it was formed, was empty and desolate [not without form and void], because they had not formed anything but the earth. . . (Abraham 4:1-2, emphasis ours). This insight, of course, perfectly conforms with the Prophets sermons cited above. Many understand these teachings of Joseph regarding the organization of the world as here explained. Few, however, have caught what he said in relation to the key role of the Messiah in the organization of the world. He said: There are some important things concerning the office of the Messiah in the organization of the world. . . (TPJS, p. 341, emphasis ours). Joseph understood the role and office of Messiah comprehended the creation (or organization) of the world as well as the salvation and redemption of the world. Speaking of Christ the Messiah the scriptures say: . . . through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him. (D&C 76:42, emphasis ours). Christ the Messiah not only saves, he has power and authority to save what he makes or organizes! The dictionary says to organize means to intelligently arrange or form together into a coherent unity or functioning whole, to join or to cause a union. Some gathering and sealing agent must be applied not only to form or cause any organization to come together, but also to preserve and uphold the union once it is in place. This is true of any and every organization. For example, Noahs ship needed pitch both to seal the wood together initially, and then to hold it together thereafter or it never could have survived the flood. Our solar system needed gravity to bring it into place initially then to hold it in place thereafter, or its matter would fly into space. This is true of all material bodies (physical or spiritual organizations -- our bodies or the

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planets), and it is just as true of all social and political bodies (organizations) whether they be nations or marriages, families or governments. We need to understand two basic realities of existence: 1) All life, all organized entities, are the result of order and organization; and 2) all order is the result of the sealing agent, also known as law and identified in the scriptures as being the light of Christ: This is the light of Christ. . . The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God. (D&C 88:7,13, emphasis ours). There can be no creation without the sealing power of light, nor could the entities created continue to endure without it. Only Jesus Christ acting in the office of Messiah in this system of planets holds this key in its fullness. Note how explicit the language of this revelation is: The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world, because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men. The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him and of him. (D&C 93:9-10, emphasis ours). The sealing power is the ultimate power of the priesthood and the universe. By it worlds, solar systems, galaxies and meta-galaxies are bound (matter is brought together and organized), by it they are upheld (matter is preserved in a given state and held in place) and by it they are loosed (matter is disorganized and the organization destroyed). By it societies are blessed, prospered in unity and peace, and by it they are cursed, breaking down into anarchy and ruin. By it marriages and families are sealed in time and eternity. (D&C 132). By it sins are remitted and retained. (D&C 132:45-47). For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift. And again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law [light] is also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same. That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still. (D&C 88:33-35, emphasis ours). All who are governed by this sealing power of light are preserved by it and perfected and sanctified by it. All who refuse to be blessed and benefited by it through unwise uses of agency are cursed and destroyed by it. To the point, the creation of man is accomplished by

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this divine sealing power in the hands of the Messiah. Intelligence, which cannot be created or destroyed (see D&C 93:24), is brought together and formed into intelligences. Spirit, which is all matter (see D&C 131:7-8), is brought together and formed into individual spirits. The dust or elements of the earth are brought together and formed into body temples. Spirit and element (body) are brought together to form living souls. In each of these dimensions we see unorganized matter being brought together through holy laws, rites and ordinances in and of by and through the holy sealing power of the light of Christ. Every ordinance, every performance, every covenant et. al., must be sealed to take effect. Sealed by what? The Holy Spirit of promise (see D&C 132:7). What is the Holy Spirit of promise? Light, the powers of heaven, the sealing power. Light is the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful saints. It is administered to men and women in at least four major endowments or degrees as revealed in the scriptures. 1. The Primal Comforter, or the light of Christ, the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit promised or given as promised to every man and woman who comes into the world. By this gift of light all may know good from evil through the power of conscience of the natural man who receives primal glory (see D&C 84:45-46). 2. The First Comforter, the promise or gift of the Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit promised to the justified man who receives telestial glory (see D&C 76:86). 3. The Second Comforter, Jesus Christ, the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit promised to the sanctified man who receives terrestrial glory (see D&C 76:77). 4. The Final Comforter, the Father, the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit promised to the glorified man who receives celestial glory (see D&C 76:62). These endowments of light bear witness of truth, and comfort Gods children in righteousness. The three members of the Godhead as comforters each dispense additional degrees or endowments of light to worthy recipients who are prepared. They each bear witness of the truth (including each other, for they are each the spirit of truth or sealed to and one with the spirit of truth). They are the First Presidency of the church of the Firstborn in this system (eternity). (See comments by President John Taylor to this effect in his Mediation and Atonement, pp. 76-77). Every word must be established in the mouths of two or three witnesses (see 2 Corinthians 13:1; D&C 6:28). We lay a foundation in faith upon which we build with ever-increasing increments of truth, word, glory and spirit (light) dispensed to us by each member of the

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Godhead upon the principles of righteousness. The light of Christ, primal light, is added upon by the second, third and fourth. We choose our level of light and salvation by how much we are willing to receive. As we grow in light and truth we come into sacred contact with each glorious witness in a gradual progression of light and truth. Each comforts us with their gifts. Each bears witness of two truths: 1) The gospel is true; and 2) the individual is true through his or her faithfulness to the covenants made. The Godhead is bestowing glory or their presence upon the recipient as these endowments of truth and light are bestowed. (See D&C 76:50-86, especially verses 55, 62, 77, and 86). The Holy Spirit must seal all unions, even the union of the sperm and the egg at the time of conception or the union will not be consummated. The sealing agent applied by Messiah will be missing. Since the light of Christ authenticates the organization of life as the life of all things, it gives life to all things, and where that light is not there is no life despite attempts of modern man to create life. God is in control. Christ is the one who holds the key of life. He will give life, preserve life and take life as seemeth him good. (D&C 63:1-5). He has the power and the authority. He is the Messiah, Alpha and Omega, the creator and redeemer of all things. Jesus Christ, the Key Bearer, truly is the life of all men and women. His power creates us. His power preserves us. His power can destroy us. He most surely is the Creator, the giver of life both spirit and body. Why the Messiah Must be the Creator Why did the Father delegate this power and mission to be the Light Bearer or Key Bearer, the Life Giver, the Creator of all things, to his Son instead of doing it all himself? One of the most puzzling things about the gospel relates to Alma 34:11-12, which clearly says no one can pay for another persons sins, for such a thing would not be just. Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now, if a man murdereth, behold will our law, which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, Nay. But the law requireth the life of him who hath murdered. . . (Alma 34:11-12, emphasis ours). Since this is both logical and true, the question remains, How, then, could Jesus Christ our brother justly pay for our sins? Why can Christ pay for anothers sins, when the law says that is not just? Why isnt it just for one person to pay for anothers sins? The law requires punishment for the one who is responsible. There is absolutely no justice in someone paying

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for the transgression who is not responsible. As young men in school we remember hearing about a Polish priest who stood in, and was executed for a married man with a young family who was sentenced to be hung. The incident was reported widely in all the newspapers and on the news. We thought at the time, What a great and loving act that is. Then we thought, But where is the justice? No matter how loving or well-intended this is not a correct pattern. Justice and law require the life of the guilty party, not some innocent person who had no responsibility standing in for him so he could go free. Justice is not served in such ways. In fact, justice is offended, for such a thing is unjust and contrary to all for which justice stands. So why is Christs atonement valid in satisfying the demands of justice? Suppose Brother Jones is sitting at home reading the paper in the family room and the doorbell rings. Jones answers the door to find his next-door neighbor standing on the porch, his faced flushed with anger, fingers gripped tightly around a baseball in his hand. Jones, he says, Curtis Smith (a neighbor boy) just threw this baseball right through my $1000 bay window and youre paying for it! Well, Jones would probably tell him to go jump in a lake and so would the judge. Now suppose it was Matthew, the seven-year-old son of Jones, who threw the ball through his bay window. Is Jones going to pay? Yes. Will the judge make him pay? Yes. Would it be just? Absolutely. Why? Because there is an eternal inviolate law to satisfy the demands of justice: The Creator is always responsible for his creations. Jones is Matthews father. In the eyes of the law Brother Jones is Matthews creator, and he is responsible for what Matthew does until he grows up and becomes accountable in the eyes of the law. Jim Wilson, a hypothetical civil engineer, serves as another example to illustrate this point. Suppose the City of Seattle pays him to design and build a bridge. He completes the project, and three months later while a family is driving over it the bridge collapses and kills some of them because it was not designed properly. Is Jim responsible? Yes. Could he go to jail? Yes. Is that just? Yes. Why? Because that bridge was Jims creation, and the creator is always responsible for his creations. Does God hold parents accountable for teaching their children the gospel? Is the sin for failing to do so placed upon the parents heads? Yes. Is that just? Yes, because they created their children. (See D&C 68:25). Further, like the watchmen and prophets in ancient and modern Israel, if parents fail to warn their children with the gospel message, the parents will be required to account for the sins of their rebellious children in the same way the watchmen must answer for those they did not warn. (See Ezekiel 3:17-19; D&C 88:81; 109:41; 134:12; Jacob 1:19-2:2; Acts 18:5-6). The only qualifier here is what constitutes an adequate and sufficient warning before we must pay for the sins of others. God decides.

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President Joseph F. Smith emphasized the accountability of parents who neglect their teaching role in these words: The parents in Zion will be held responsible for the acts of their children, not only until they become eight years old but, perhaps, throughout all the lives of their children, provided they have neglected their duty to their children while they were under their care and guidance, and the parents were responsible for them. (CR, Apr. 1910, p. 6, emphasis ours). President Kimball, emphasizing the responsibility associated with being the creator, said: You see, we dont bring children into the world just to have fun with them and play with them and to be proud of them. We bring children into the world because the Lord, after he created this great world of ours, wanted it peopled by a righteous people who could go to other worlds and be the leaders there. So when a child is born, we have a tremendous responsibility. We dont just feed it and clothe it. We dont just give it housing. We have to do much more. (CR, Manchester England Area Conference 1976, p. 32, emphasis ours). In a sermon delivered by Joseph Smith in Nauvoo on August 13, 1843, the Prophet discussed the seal of the Holy Spirit of promise that would unconditionally seal a faithful father and mothers posterity with faithful observance of the marriage covenant by the parents. The historians who have examined the various accounts of the sermon are somewhat divided on the Prophets intent regarding the unconditional versus conditional nature of the promise, but in our day President Boyd K. Packer gives comforting insight in these words as he spoke of the moral pollution of the last days: It is a great challenge to raise a family in the darkening mists of our moral environment. We emphasize that the greatest work you will do will be within the walls of your home (see Harold B. Lee, in Conference Report, April 1973, p. 130), and that no other success can compensate for failure in the home (see David O. McKay, in Conference Report, April 1935, p. 116). The measure of success as parents, however, will not rest solely on how our children turn out. That judgment would be just only if we could raise our families in a perfectly moral environment, and that now is not possible. It is not uncommon for responsible parents to lose one of their children, for a time, to influences over which they have no control. They agonize over rebellious sons and daughters. They are puzzled over why they are so helpless when they have tried so hard to do what they should. It is my conviction that those wicked influences one day will be overruled. . . We cannot overemphasize the value of temple marriage, the binding ties of the sealing

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ordinance, and the standards of worthiness required of them. When parents keep the covenants they have made at the altar of the temple, their children will be forever bound to them. (CR, April 1992, pp. 94-94, emphasis ours). This is the first very important truth regarding the atonement. As our Creator, Christ is responsible for all our sins. Justice must be satisfied when we fall. He pays the full price on behalf of all who are faithful to their covenants. The effects of sin are physical and spiritual death, effects we cannot overcome alone. Read the following scriptures carefully: D&C 93:910; Ether 3:14-15; D&C 45:1-3. Many other references could be cited, but the point is made. Christ created us. Christ made us. We are his creations so he is responsible. Observe how clearly, simply and powerfully the Creator-Redeemer doctrine is set forth in scripture. Christ said: For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever [meaning anybody] ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive. For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them. . . (Mosiah 26:22-23, emphasis ours). . . .for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men. . . (2 Nephi 9:5, emphasis ours). To behoove means to be necessary, fit or proper. Dictionary). (Websters Ninth New Collegiate

He is the great Creator, the infinite giver of life to all men. It was absolutely necessary that he do this great thing. Not only is he the Creator of all things from the beginning (Mosiah 3:8), but from the beginning he also gave his creations the moral agency to do whatever they desired. (Moses 7:32). He freely created us and gave us agency, knowing what we would do with it. (Abraham 2:8). Christ knew exactly what the Father was asking of him when he accepted the calling and office of Messiah. He knew he would be responsible, he knew he would be held accountable by eternal law and he knew the unyielding principles of eternal justice would demand full payment for all the sins of his creations at the risk of losing them forever. He knew. He courageously, lovingly and faithfully said to the Father, Ill go where you want me to go, and Ill do what you want me to do. By becoming the infinite Creator, he became the only other being besides ourselves who could justly pay for our sins. No one else could do it because no one else is responsible for our sins. Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? emphasis ours). (Alma 5:15,

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The Father, then, had to give Christ the powers of life, make him the Creator so he could also be the Redeemer. If he were not our Creator he could not be our Redeemer, as he would not be a responsible party to our mistakes. Justice would reject his offering to pay for our sins. The scriptures are clear throughout -- Christ is the First (the Creator) and the Last (the Redeemer), the Beginning and the End, Alpha and Omega, the Author and the Finisher of our salvation. His infinite divinity is an extension of the Fathers godhood or godhead. The Fathers position and power in the eternities extended to the Son, is in part, the power by which Christ has the wherewithal to act as Messiah (Alpha & Omega). It was also necessary for the Father to give the Son this responsibility and these powers, because the Messiah would have to pay the wages of sin, which is death (see Romans 6:23). The Father cannot die again. His spirit and body have become inseparably connected, never to see corruption (death) again. (See D&C 93:33; 88:116; Alma 11:45; 12:18). This would be something the Son would need to do for the Father and the family, if the Firstborn would of his own agency accept such an awesome mission. The atoning sacrifice required both deaths: The physical death of the soul and the spiritual death. Both deaths are separations. In the physical death the body is separated from the spirit. In the spiritual death the spirit is separated from God, meaning the spirit of God. In the atonement Christ voluntarily suffered both these deaths to pay for the transgressions of his creations. Moral agency is within our domain to control. In the eyes of eternal law we mortals are mere children with much to learn. (See D&C 50:40). Our omniscient Creator can pay for our mistakes, but only if we choose to let him. Our agency cannot be compromised in any way. If we choose to reject Christs offering we must pay for our own sins. Alma teaches his son, Corianton, the principles of justice and mercy. Alma explains mercy cannot rob justice. He says the work of justice cannot be destroyed; if so God would cease to be God. (See Alma 42:13). All life is the result of order, or organization. There are no exceptions. All order and organization are the result of law. There are no exceptions. Justice is the administration of those laws that maintain, sustain, uphold and preserve life. Without law there is no order, and without order there is no life. Without the laws of biology our bodies would disintegrate. Without the laws of government our society would devolve to anarchy and self-destruction. Without the laws of physics our solar system would fly into chaos. Law preserves and perfects life, because law preserves the order upon which all life is dependent. (See D&C 88:34).

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If the eternal system of justice, law and order were destroyed, all organization would end. Life as we know it would cease. Only eternal chaos and confusion would exist. He would never permit this to happen. He will always honor the demands of eternal justice, law and order, because confusion brings destruction. God is committed to order and life, however. His work and glory are to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. (See Moses 1:39). All God would have to do to destroy the eternal system of justice, law and order that preserves his kingdom would be to make one exception to the law and justice would cease to exist. Law is perfectly rigid. It must be or order collapses. If laws are broken once without the consequence of justice then why not a thousand times? God cannot make the least allowance or he ceases to be a God. The law must be perfectly obeyed and justice must be perfectly served for the preservation of everything. (See D&C 1:31). On the other hand, one of Gods most powerful attributes is mercy. How can God be merciful, when the justice of law cannot be violated, must be honored, and is perfectly rigid? Alma explains this seeming paradox to Corianton. Mercy cannot rob justice, says Alma. (See Alma 42:13-15). The only way Christ can extend mercy to the repentant sinner is to first fully satisfy the broken law as our perfect, responsible and merciful advocate, but he will never violate the agency of his brothers and sisters. If the world only knew and understood these principles, who would knowingly reject such an offer? Christ atones for the sins of the world. Why? To bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just and merciful God. The beauty of the plan is not only the incredible love of God, but also the complete integrity of God. He honors justice by mercifully paying the price for the sins of his creations. (See D&C 19:15-19). Isaiah observed truly that God really did bear our griefs, and carry our sorrows. He really was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. . . and with his stripes we are healed. He really did make his soul an offering for sin and was stricken for our transgressions. (See Isaiah 53). Christ the Messiah paid for our sins by personally suffering in our place. He paid the uttermost farthing. He did not rob or cheat justice. He paid the full price because of his perfection. He suffered the pains of every living creature. (See 2 Nephi 9:19-21). To do less would have been to rob justice, and he never would. Some might claim the Father didnt actually make the sacrifice, only Christ did. The relationship of the Father and Son goes far deeper than we presently understand. By the power of the Fathers priesthood glory the Son is a literal extension of the Fathers Godhead. We can be sure the loving Father was very involved in the atoning sacrifice of his Son. The Father had to sacrifice his Only Begotten Son, just as Abraham was asked to offer up his only begotten son of Sarah, Isaac, in similitude of the great sacrifice. Even a casual reading of Abraham 1 and then Genesis 17 discloses the whole ordeal was far more painful for Abraham,

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the father who obeyed and sacrificed despite his hatred for human sacrifice, than for Isaac, the son who was offered then spared as the sacrifice. As parents we can empathize with a loving father sacrificing a beloved child. Was Abrahams suffering any less painful than Isaacs? Who would you rather be in that ordeal, Isaac or Abraham? Perhaps an even more heart-rending story is the one about the nameless mother in Israel whose infant was stolen from her by a grieving mother whose baby had died during the night. Abraham, probably because he was the great patriarchal example, gets more space in the scriptures, but this humble mother was willing to sacrifice truth, her emotional depravation, and even renounce her motherhood to spare the life of her child. She would have gladly sacrificed all that was dear and precious to her in this life, and as with Abraham the cleaving sword in Solomons hands was withdrawn at the last instant, but not until after her investment of absolute faith. (See 1 Kings 3:16-28). Can anyone plumb the depths of that mothers anguish? Now we come to the heart of the whole matter. Why was this fall and then subsequent mortal life and atonement all necessary? The only way his creations could ever obtain eternal life and become as God was to obtain physical bodies like his, then gain the knowledge he has. Gods knowledge is the knowledge of all things. (See 2 Nephi 9:21). The knowledge of all things means all things, good and evil. (See Genesis 3:5, 22; Moses 5:11). Experience with good and evil is the only way to obtain the knowledge of good and evil. We all taste the bitterness of sin (though we do all we can to teach our young people to avoid sin), and we thus learn to appreciate and prize the sweetness of obedience for ourselves. (See Moses 6:55). By experiencing good and evil in mortality, we compare, learn and become as wise as he. The debate continues to rage -- do we all have to partake of sin to know it is evil? Did Christ partake of iniquitys bitter cup? Most assuredly. Though Christ never personally sinned, as our Savior he took upon himself our transgressions, he drank the bitter cup of our iniquities to the dregs, which caused such terrible anguish that the scriptures indicate he suffered not only in body and spirit but even momentarily shrank from finishing the horrible ordeal of the atonement. (See D&C 19:16-19). Often vicarious suffering for sin is even more exquisite, since the principles of agency must be held inviolate. Every parent with a child who deviates knows the exquisite pain of vicarious suffering for sin. The bitter taste may be even greater than had the parents sinned. God has become perfect. He never sins, because he doesnt want to sin anymore. He has no desire to ever sin again, because he learned for himself as a mortal, just as each of us must, that the pleasure of sin is a lie, a dead end of terrible sadness and utter destruction. The only way to really know this is to experience it for ourselves. By partaking of sin we learn, but we have also subjected ourselves to the rigid demands of

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justice. No one sins (meaning to transgress the law) with impunity -- no one. There are no successful sinners. Sooner or later the demands of justice must be met. If even one could sin without consequences then all could. The perfect plan of life would collapse and death would prevail. Gods work would be completely decimated. Orson F. Whitney reiterated the Prophet Josephs teaching on the power of eternal sealings, but also the inevitability of the eventual payment for sins even when the posterity of righteous parents stray when he said: The Prophet Joseph Smith declared -- and he never taught a more comforting doctrine -- that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the cause of truth, would save not only themselves but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of divine providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in life or in the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent prodigal, to a loving and forgiving fathers heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God. (CR, April 1929, p. 110, emphasis ours). If we do not come to earth and experience evil with its terrible consequences of sorrow and death, we will never become like God because we will not know and understand what he does. When we do partake of evil we cannot be with God nor be like him, because we are guilty under the law. We are sentenced to physical and spiritual death, because those are the wages we must pay for sin. (See Romans 6:23). How do we experience evil so we can know what God knows, but not fall eternal victim to the consequences of evil? The answer is the divine solution of the Gods: Take the memory of the children from them, then put them in a carefully prepared probationary state of accountability. Let them experience sin, evil and the consequences of sorrow and death for themselves, but only to a necessary point -- only temporarily -- only long enough for the children to gain this important knowledge for themselves. Then provide an atonement through the infinite Creator, who can justly meet all the conditions and requirements of the law because he is responsible, sinless and infinite. Imagine this dialogue between the Savior and Satan to further illustrate the point. Jesus Christ the Messiah stands between man and justice (see Mosiah 15:9) and says, I will pay, I will satisfy the demands of justice for all these children who have sinned. Satan the destroyer says, You cant. No one can pay for sins they are not responsible for. It would not be just and

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I demand justice. Who are you to pay for their sins? Their Creator, responds Christ. I am responsible for giving them life. I gave them power to live, to move and to do. I gave them their agency. All they have and are is because of me. I am responsible for them because I created them. That may be true, counters Satan, but how can you possibly pay for their sins when you must pay for your own transgressions? You already owe the demands of justice for your own sins. I have no sins as you well know, despite your temptations, reminds Christ. I owe justice nothing because I am sinless. That may also be true, Satan responds, but how could you possibly pay the price of all the doings of all Gods children? Why, that is an infinite impossibility! I am infinite, answers Christ, and my infinite creations are all known to me and the Father. Adam was infinite (not mortal) at the time he transgressed the law. (See 2 Nephi 2:22). That means Adams transgression (his fall) was infinite. Christ had to be an infinite being to cure an infinite transgression. Christ was infinite. He was specially designed for his mission as the Messiah. He had a mortal mother so he could spill his own blood and lay down his body and die. He was sired by an infinite and divine Father so he had infinite capacity and power to take up his body in the resurrection following his crucifixion. He was sinless. Neither death nor hell had any claim on him. Every contingency was anticipated, every preparation was made from the very foundations of this world to make this plan just and effective in bringing about the eternal life of Gods children. Nothing has been left to chance. Nothing is arbitrary or out of order. All is according to law. The love of faithful parents who create, teach and nurture their children in the gospel covenant can appeal to this infinite sacrifice on behalf of their children who have wavered. The Law and Justice of the Universe When we consider the atonement of Christ, we often focus on the principle of mercy. Nothing more beautifully typifies the love of God than the sacrifice of his Only Begotten Son. However, there is actually nothing that better typifies Gods respect for the eternal principle of justice either. A proper understanding of these truths is most essential, as a misunderstanding could lead to some poor judgment decisions in our personal lives because we falsely perceive the actual workings of justice and mercy in the gospel plan.

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There are those who believe the law (meaning all the commandments) is not really very important in the gospel. From the standpoint of the individual sinner, of course, this is true. The writings of Paul are full of his realization he could not be saved even by living the law perfectly, as he had attempted to do in his Pharisaic traditions. These believe grace is the real key to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some believe, for instance, that Christ would somehow be offered the same grace by the Father he offers mortal sinners. They maintain Christ did not answer the ends of the law by fulfilling the law, but rather by suffering so much the Eternal Judge might say, You suffered so much I will mercifully suspend the law this time. I really shouldnt, but I will because my bowels are so full of love and mercy because of your suffering. Once again, this assumption does not comport with revealed truth regarding justice. He has answered all the ends of the law. (See Moroni 7:28). Justice exerciseth all his demands. (See Alma 42:24). The law must be fulfilled. (See 2 Nephi 9:17). The works of justice cannot be destroyed. (See Alma 12:32; 42:13, 22). Justice cannot be denied. (See Mosiah 15:27; Jacob 6:10). Mercy cannot rob justice. (See Alma 42:25). The system of justice and law spoken of in the scriptures is divine and eternal, because the eternal Gods, even the Eloheim who presided in the eternal worlds in which our God gained his exaltation, are its author. 1 Nephi 15:30 speaks of the justice of God. Mosiah 2:38 mentions the demands of divine justice. 1 Nephi 12:18 refers to the word of the justice of the Eternal God. Christ would never destroy the Fathers creations, so he did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law (see Matthew 5:17), to pay the full debt under the law, to honor the law and to keep the law without exception. He did not come to overpower the law by breaking it, robbing it, denying it and destroying it. He came to ensure that the ends of the law were answered, that justice exercised all its demands. He knew the law must be fulfilled. He understood the works of the law could not be destroyed, or God would cease to be God. He knew the law cannot be appeased by denying the law its right to exercise all its demands. The law is not satisfied with the currency of grace and mercy. The law demands the cold hard cash payment of absolute compliance. It is little wonder Satans offer to save all the Fathers children by suspending agency and mandating obedience and compliance seemed so attractive to a third part of his audience in the pre-existence. On the day of judgment he will still be demanding the laws fulfillment -every jot and tittle. He is our hateful enemy, and he will demand what he thinks is rightfully his -- our eternal souls. He will have no compassion because of Christs suffering. He knows no mercy. He will demand of a God who cannot lie that the ends of the law be answered. He will require that justice exercises all its demands. He knows anything short of this would make God a liar and break eternal law.

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There was only one way for God to righteously overpower the adverse effects of eternal justice upon his beloved children. (See Alma 34:15). He must satisfy justice (see Mosiah 15:9; Alma 34:16), appease justice (see Alma 42:15), and fulfill the law (see 2 Nephi 9:17). The only way the Father could do that and still mercifully forgive and save us, was to offer his perfect Son as the willing sacrifice who would pay the penalty, fulfill the law, and satisfy the demands of justice. (See Alma 34:14-15). These truths are fully described in the scriptures. The scriptures teach Christ suffered the pains of . . .every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam. (2 Nephi 9:21). They do not say Christs suffering was to fill up the bowels of the Father with mercy so the Father would be justified in suspending justice. Rather, Jacob declares, O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled. (2 Nephi 9:17, emphasis ours). One of the atonement metaphors in the scriptures is prison. Christ pays the bail so we can be released from prison. He does not merely cut a deal with justice -- he pays the uttermost farthing (Matthew 5:26), to the very last mite (Luke 12:59). We are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), and Christ did not get wholesale prices. He was obliged to pay our debt in full when he redeemed our souls. The merciful bowels hypothesis some have proposed would make God very merciful but not very just. The scriptures declare he is not only perfectly merciful, but perfectly just as well. (See Alma 42:15). Any thoughtful analysis of law and order in the universe makes both the supreme power and unyielding rigidity of the law imperative. As we consider the merciful atonement of Christ wrought with love, compassion and amazing grace, we must never forget justice was never robbed. On the contrary, at every turn the atonement met every single demand of justice completely. Such is the love and wisdom of God. To summarize, these are the characteristics of Christ that qualify him as our Redeemer: 1. Creator. Being our Creator makes him a responsible party to our sins. The only two beings who qualify as responsible parties are the giver of life (Christ), and the liver of life (each of us). 2. Sinless. Having no sin of his own, justice has no claim upon him. He has escaped the necessity to pay the wages of sin (death), since he is without sin. 3. Infinite. Not only was Adams transgression infinite because he was infinite when he

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transgressed, but the scope of the atonement is also infinite. To take upon himself the sins of an entire eternity required Christ to have infinite capacity. Christ inherited his infinite quality from his infinite and divine Father. 4. Mortal. The atonement required that Christ also be mortal, capable of separating his body and spirit in death. He had to have blood coursing through his veins so he could effectuate the blood atonement and die. The wages of sin had to be paid in the vicarious death of the Savior. He inherited this quality from his mother, Mary, who was mortal. 5. Foreordained. No man can take any priesthood honor upon himself. He must be called of God. The Messiah is an office in the priesthood (see TPJS, p. 341), requiring that proper authority be given of God as with other priesthood offices. 6. Sustained. Officers in the Church are never arbitrarily imposed upon Gods children. All officers must be sustained by the common consent of the Church. Christ was accepted and sustained as the Messiah by the general voice of two-thirds of all the host of spirits in the grand council of heaven before the world was. 7. Willing. Moral agency is ever present in the gospel plan. Christ was willing to make the requisite sacrifice for the Father and all the heavenly family. Through the entire process of trial, crucifixion and atonement he had the option to choose otherwise at any moment. The love, courage and devotion here manifest is beyond the comprehension of mere mortals. 8. Lineage. Christ was of the royal lineage of the house of Israel, and therefore possessed the actual birthright to ascend through the Davidic line to the throne as king of Israel. Christ was the spiritual king of Israel, and the physical king of Israel, when he took upon himself the iniquity of his people and suffered in spirit and body (see D&C 19:16-19) to redeem his people. While the great mercies of the atonement can never be overemphasized, all the above illustrates the atonement as perfectly just not merely merciful. All the qualities outlined above were necessary for Christ to enable him to meet all of the demands of justice as he effectuated the atonement. Lacking even one of these essential elements of the atonement he could not have satisfied all the demands of justice. A cursory glance of these eight credentials alone compels one to see how completely God respects, honors and obeys exactly his own eternal law. Little wonder, then, we are required to keep our temple covenants with exactness and honor if we are ever to become holy as he is holy. The Saviors words, Be ye therefore perfect, even as I and your Father in Heaven are perfect, are not idle words. While we need to keep in mind the Prophets wisdom that no man ever arrives in a minute, (see TPJS, p. 51), we must not become complacent in the false opium of a misunderstood grace doctrine. We must come

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unto Christ with more than our lips. Our minds and hearts must be illuminated by his light, our souls empowered by his glory and our hearts sanctified by his spirit until we do become perfect even as he is. The true gospel plan is a perfect balance existing between God and man. God cannot save man by himself, any more than man can become a god by himself. Only the two in a harmonious duet can accomplish the miracle of exaltation -- the creation of a new god! The true gospel plan is also a perfect balance between men and women. We are unique halves who can only become whole and complete in full partnership with each other. Further, the true gospel plan reveals parenthood to be the paramount principle of godhood. These partnerships must possess the power to procreate and the love to righteously preside as dedicated parent-servants, faithfully keeping as priest and priestess the laws, rites and ordinances of the patriarchal priesthood. They entered into this priesthood order by covenant, shouldering their responsibilities as creators, giving themselves wholly as kings and queens to their family kingdoms. The highest expression of the true gospel plan is the greatest power in the priesthood that God can bestow upon us and upon our posterity -- the power of the seeds. By this power comes the continuation of the lives, the creation of man worlds without end. The true gospel plan is the blessing and empowerment of intelligences with bodily temples, thereby enabling them to house ever ascending degrees of light. By the power of their bodies they gain ascendancy or power over those intelligences who are not so tabernacled. And finally, the true gospel plan reveals the universe as a system of order wherein all bodies physical, spiritual and social are governed by eternal law.

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Chapter Nineteen

Creatorship

When we fantasize about the marvelous possibilities of creation, we think of creating worlds, mountains, rivers and seas, men, women, children and animals. Seldom do we think about the incredible responsibilities associated with these marvelous powers. As noted before, creators are always responsible for their creations. This is an eternal law of the universe. There are no exceptions. Creations are the extensions of their creators! Nothing comes from nothing! If a thing exists, it is at the very least a reflection of the creator. Someone caused every creation to come into being. The cause is responsible! Eternal law, therefore, requires that the cause must always be the responsible party. The alternative, as we have seen already, is chaos. Parents as creators are responsible parties regarding their offspring. Creators who attempt to shirk responsibility or show little or no responsibility for their creations will lose their creative prerogatives. The power will be revoked. To irresponsibly unleash life forces into the universe with little or no thought for the subsequent repercussions is a destructive course that would lead to ruin left unchecked. Children, as new creations, need intensive care and nurturing until they reach the state of knowledge known as full accountability. Once a living creation is fully accountable in the eyes of spiritual and temporal law, the creator is no longer held accountable. The creator cannot pay for the transgressions of its creation any longer, for such a thing would not be just. Spiritually, we speak of being accountable at age eight. Actually, the scriptures show this to be only a quasi-accountability, because we older mortals are still children in the eyes of God with respect to our limited understandings. Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. (D&C 50:40). We are not fully accountable until we have sufficient knowledge to make our calling and election sure. (See TPJS, pp. 339, 357-358). Prior to making our calling and election sure the blood of Christs atonement may cover and cleanse us from our sins. After making our calling and election sure we pay the price for sin ourselves. Christ can no longer be our advocate at the bench of justice as our Creator, because we have reached a point in our progress where too much knowledge has put us beyond his redemptive power. We become fully accountable. We know what we are doing.

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Accountability has to do with knowledge, including the knowledge of the law. The more knowledge we have about the law, the more accountable we become to the law and vice versa. (See D&C 82:3; Mosiah 15:24; D&C 29:47-50; 2 Nephi 9:26). Until children reach certain stages of accountability, then, parents can and must pay for the transgressions of their creations to comply with divine law. The ubiquitous and inflexible law of a universe based upon order demands responsibility, if not from the unknowledgeable child then from the knowing creator of the child. There are no unaccountable acts in the universe. The world provides ample evidence that parents are carelessly and thoughtlessly creating (organizing) new living souls through the misuse of their procreative powers, and do not take literally and seriously the responsibilities associated with creation. The consequences for these reckless acts are significant: 1) The sin for failing to teach the children sufficiently in gospel principles will be upon the heads of parents (see D&C 68:25), and likewise all the sins of the children may fall upon negligent parents who do not make an honest effort to teach their children; 2) the irresponsible parents will lose their procreative powers in the resurrection, having demonstrated they are unprepared to righteously and effectively shoulder the role of parenting; and 3) individuals who lose these powers forfeit the eternal thrones, principalities and dominions accompanying the violated covenants. Having no eternal posterity, they lose every joy, every right and every power pertaining to eternal posterity and kingdoms. The promises made to Abraham were patriarchal in nature. They pertain to eternal families. These great promises of eternal blessings can be divided into three major categories: 1. Posterity. A family to lovingly rule and preside over as King and Queen. . . . in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore. . . (Genesis 22:17).

2. Property. A domain of space and matter to own and possess as an eternal inheritance, within and upon which the family kingdom may dwell. . . . I have purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear my name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice. (Abraham 2:6, emphasis ours). Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5, emphasis ours).

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3. Power. Power and authority as a Priest and Priestess unto the Most High God, power to create, procreate, bless, protect, sanctify and exalt. It is the power to control and destroy upon the principles of righteousness. Where there is a kingdom of posterity and property there must, of necessity, also be power to direct, bless and preserve it. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal. (Abraham 2:11, emphasis ours). Ironically, kingdoms and dominions of property and wealth, and power and authority are the very things the natural man has always coveted. In the end, however, the natural man who has conquered and obtained in this life often proves least worthy of the responsibilities of creatorship as an eternal parent, if he does not embrace the fullness of the gospel in the patriarchal order. Full-time Parents If we members of the Church do not understand why prophets counsel, warn, even plead with the saints to put their family duties above personal interests, professions, education, in fact, above all other things, perhaps it is because they do not comprehend the eternal ramifications of these principles. Seers who preside see things as they really are, because they have an inspired eternal perspective. It is within our reach to become seers for our own posterity. We too will come to see there must be a full-time father who does the best he can to provide and contribute to the preservation of the homes environments, and a full-time mother in the home who provides love, tranquility and nurturing. Then we have become seers in our own homes. Fathers, because their duties to the home are significantly external in nature, will primarily perform their labors outside the homes, while mothers will primarily perform the preponderance of their important duties within the home. As couples we must obediently and whole-heartedly adopt these true principles, thereby proving ourselves prepared and worthy of these eternal privileges and responsibilities in worlds to come. Those who faithfully embrace and shoulder the duties and responsibilities of full-time parenthood here will eventually come to comprehend these seeming burdens of mortality as great privileges that will give joy and rejoicing to the participants in the day of the Lord. We must be wise. These divine and eternal duties cannot be passed over lightly, assigned to others or handled on a part-time basis, as we seek to juggle them with other priorities we

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mistakenly value as being of equal or greater importance. President Kimball, quoting his predecessors in the First Presidency in 1942, stated: This divine service of motherhood can be rendered only by mothers. It may not be passed to others. Nurses cannot do it; public nurseries cannot do it; hired help cannot do it -- only mother, aided as much as may be by the loving hands of father, brothers, and sisters, can give the full needed measure of watchful care. The mother who entrusts her child to the care of others, that she may do nonmotherly work, whether for gold, for fame, or for civic service should remember that a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. (Proverbs 29:15.) In our day the Lord has said that unless parents teach their children the doctrines of the Church the sin be upon the heads of the parents. (D&C 68:25.) (Ensign, May 1974, p. 8). The living prophets fifty years ago and beyond saw our day. The price of a kingdom is all we possess. If we expect to receive all the Father hath, we must prepare our whole souls to give all we possess. We must consecrate our whole souls to the building of a kingdom of God. It is not, never has been, never will be part-time work, and the principles will never expire. No offering short of all we have is acceptable. Yet, how many times are we tempted to say in our testimonies, The gospel is an important part of my life? There is no greater offering to God than a new kingdom worthy of all acceptation within his kingdom. This is his glory. This is how he progresses in glory from degree to degree, as his kingdom expands by the power of the seeds through faithful sons and daughters assisting him in his work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men and women worlds without end. Herein is the Father glorified! There are three grand kingdoms with which we directly interact: 1. The Kingdom of God the Eternal Father to which we all belong as his offspring. 2. The Kingdom of God on the earth, which is our generation (speaking spiritually of the 70 billion (in round numbers) who have inhabited this planet. We must create our own kingdom, Zion, sanctify the earth, and present it pure before God that those of us who are worthy may have part and portion of his glory worlds without end. Brigham Young said: Do we realize that if we enjoy a Zion in time or in eternity, we must make it for ourselves? That all, who have a Zion in the eternities of the Gods, organized, formed, consolidated, and perfected it themselves, and consequently are entitled to enjoy it? (JD, 9:282). 3. Our own personal family kingdom, which should be obvious, is the seed of a new kingdom

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of glory in eternity. This is the fruition of the formative promises that were made to us when we first embarked upon our marriage covenant. We must serve with an eye fixed and immovable on these three kingdoms of God, which are kingdoms within kingdoms. If our eyes are single, if our hearts are right, if our motives are pure, we will bless and honor God in these things. His glory is expanded, so is ours! By becoming responsible creators of Zion and family kingdoms, we righteously contribute to the goodness of the universe and will have joy and rejoicing therein.

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Chapter Twenty

Women and the Priesthood

Once we properly understand the keys of the priesthood and the eternal family order of heaven, we will know: 1) Women prepared and endowed to be mothers have no use for the ecclesiastical keys of authority in the outward corporate Church, as their service is within the home; 2) women do need and have full right to the spiritual keys of power; and 3) if true and faithful, the day will come when women and men as couples will be anointed and ordained as priestesses and priests of God with power in their priesthood to rule and reign in their eternal home. Consider these three points in more detail: Women Have No Use for Presiding Keys Women do not need the presiding keys of ecclesiastical authority, because ecclesiastical duties outside the home do not fall to them in their equal but different stewardships as daughters of Zion. To encumber both husband and wife with duties outside the home leaves the home vulnerable to the corrosion and intrusions of the worlds philosophies. The home must always be the first priority of the saints, those who would obtain exaltation, the power of the seeds forever, eternal parenthood, and Godhood. This highest of priorities cannot be given mere lip service, part-time attention, or half-hearted devotion by the couple. We believe women fundamentally feel their roles, while men must rely upon reason and logic in theirs. The older we grow the more humbled we are by their heroic sacrifices. It is time to shift voices to an inspired piece of writing that states the case better than we ever could. Here is a mother who feels she and other women do not need priesthood authority to obtain the higher power the Savior modeled. Consider her words: One fast Sunday, a woman in my ward stood to bear her testimony. She wanted to tell the story of helping her friend through the early stages of labor. She struggled to find words to describe the religious relevance of the shared breathing, the rocking and moaning, and finally dwindled into a vague apology. I dont know why I wanted to tell you this, she said, and she quickly closed with an amen. She realized, as the words took shape, that she was telling the wrong story. As we have forgotten that God is creator, not just organizer, we have come to describe the process of spiritual growth as a hero journey, with royal sons seeking reunion with their fathers,

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encountering monsters of sin, temptation, discouragement. The journey is marked by an upward progression through lines of authority and ordination. Those who live for others do not have these heroic stories to tell. They clean and cook and build the fires around which the legends are spoken. They attend the births of heroes. And they are silenced by the mundane, never-finished nature of their tasks. There are no titles to be achieved. What we have forgotten is the spiritual richness of living for others. The richness is apparent in the troubling paradoxes, the absence of completion, the eternal nature of the work of genuine self-sacrifice. . . There are no hero mothers because we need a language that speaks of the living religion, of the word made flesh, to unify and equalize the disparate elements of human experience. . . We need to follow Christ, who told us to radically rethink spiritual journeys, and who reminds us that the kingdom of God is within our hearts. We need to follow Christ, who deliberately undermined the hierarchy of power, and taught that the first shall be last. We need, more honestly, to tell our spiritual stories, and universalize and institutionalize the lesson of Gethsemane, which is that we are the most exalted when we have surrendered our authority. Women alone have known this far too well for far too long. (Marni Asplund-Campbell, Pentecost, Gethsemane, Priesthood, Sunstone, Aug.-Sep. 1995, pp. 67-70). Elder John A. Widstoe validates her perspective: The possession of the Priesthood and its consequent family leadership should make men very considerate of woman. The man who arrogantly feels that he is better than his wife because he holds the Priesthood, has failed utterly to comprehend the meaning and purpose of Priesthood. He needs to remember that the Lord loves His daughters quite as well as His sons. It is but a small and puny-souled man who could wish to humiliate women as a class and keep them as an inferior sex; for men can never rise superior to the women who bear and nurture them. (Priesthood and Church Government [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939], p. 89, emphasis ours). A fully consecrated husband and father working outside the home is not laboring for his own selfish personal interests. He selflessly sacrifices for his family. If he is a true spiritual husband and father, his heart is set upon the welfare of those within his home and nowhere else. A righteous father will always be home, except when duty calls. He will always be home for two major reasons: 1) Home is where he should be; and 2) home is where he wants to be. All he does will be for the blessing and preservation of the occupants of his home, as he serves the multiple environments (ecclesiastical, economical, political and physical) in which the home dwells. All he does outside the home is ultimately for the welfare of the home.

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How many times do we hear good and well-meaning husbands thank their wives publicly, acknowledging they could not do their important work out in the business world were it not for the fact their faithful wives were so effective in their supporting roles at home? Such heartfelt acknowledgments may be prompted by the best intentions, but they miss the mark. We repeat: In Babylon the mother works in the home, so the father can succeed in the world. In Zion, however, the father works in the world, so the mother can succeed in the home. The family and the children matter more than anything else! The family matters more than professional success, more than profit margins, more than the economy, more than educational degrees, promotions, palatial offices and titles and honors of men. The children matter more than the size of the houses we build and live in, the make and model of the cars we drive, or the brand names and styles of the clothes we wear. By aping the worlds values too many of us have sought the petty things the people of the world desire and ignorantly lust after. What really matters most are the riches of eternity. What really matters is the building up of the Kingdom of God and the establishment of Zion. What matters is the salvation and eternal happiness of the sons and daughters of God. The glory of a son of God maximizing profits and rising to stardom in the corporate world is nothing compared to creating a new kingdom within Gods Kingdom with his wife. Such a kingdom creation glorifies God, the faithful couple and their posterity forever, worlds without end. The husbands work in the world is only important as the means to facilitate the work of the home, not vice versa. After work he does not go to the bars with the boys. On a business trip he is not playing around with other women. His heart is always invested in the home. He loves home, serves the occupants of the home, sacrifices for the home, thinks of the home, prays for the home, lives and (if necessary) dies for home. His only career is fatherhood! Everything else in his life is calculated to serve the building of his family kingdom. He has no other master. He serves only one. He understands that ultimately fatherhood and godhood are the same thing. As a loving and full partner with his wife he is true and faithful to his partner, and honors and rejoices in their sacred partnership. Even when away, lonely or weighed down and discouraged in the often mundane tasks of his assigned role, he takes great joy in knowing if he cannot be home he is at least doing the things to make it possible for his beloved partner to be there with their children. If women only knew how often the righteous husbands long to be home with their loved ones, perhaps some would stop complaining about their devalued roles in the home, and begin to appreciate the incredible privilege that is theirs. There are so many good women who have inherited single roles in life for a host of reasons, who would give all to be full-time mothers and homemakers. Their anguished tears and prayers ascend up to God daily that these privileges may someday be theirs. Surely these faithful sisters will have their righteous desires

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fulfilled in time or in eternity, for God judges according to the desires of the heart. (See D&C 137:9). How ironic there would be women, wives and mothers who view this coveted privilege as a curse. Because of the inroads of the worlds misguided values, some women in the Church today view their homes as prisons, children as burdens and the roles of their male counterparts as worthy of envy and aspiration. Sometimes they think the role of a man who receives stimulation and accolades outside the home, while they prepare meals, do the wash, change diapers and wade through the drudgery of daily housework, is much more desirable. They believe, rightly, their talents could make a difference as priesthood or business leaders. We have all heard the joke about turning the work of the priesthood over to the Relief Society if we want it done right. It isnt a question of capability, as much as it is a question of priority. Elder James E. Talmage affirms the time will come when we will see things differently: In the restored Church of Jesus Christ, the Holy Priesthood is conferred, as an individual bestowal, upon men only, and this in accordance with Divine requirement. It is not given to woman to exercise the authority of the Priesthood independently; nevertheless, in the sacred endowments associated with the ordinances [of] the House of the Lord, [it is clear how dramatically] woman shares with man the blessings of the priesthood. When the frailties and imperfections of mortality are left behind, in the glorified state of the blessed hereafter, husband and wife will administer in their respective stations, seeing and understanding alike, and co-operating to the full in the government of their family kingdom. Then shall woman be recompensed in rich measure for all the injustice that womanhood has endured in mortality. Then shall woman reign by Divine right, a queen in the resplendent realm of her glorified state, even as exalted man shall stand, priest and king unto the Most High God. Mortal eye cannot see nor mind comprehend the beauty, glory, and majesty of a righteous woman made perfect in the celestial kingdom of God. (The Eternity of Sex, Young Womans Journal, October 1914, p. 602, as cited by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in To Rejoice as Women, p. 108). Nevertheless, mortal father and mother roles are often trying and difficult. Both must submit to the urgent and immediate concerns and exigencies of mortality. Eternal perspective, however, shapes and molds our attitude, magnifies our aptitude and defines our certitude. Through Gods grace to sustain us we will come to see our eternal priorities in the light of truth and not be confused by the inverted values of a blind world. A mothers scorned and mundane duties here will someday translate into her privileges as Queen and Priestess in eternity. President Kimball holds out this vision for women:

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Come home, wives, to your children, born and unborn. Wrap the motherly cloak about you and, unembarrassed, help in a major role to create bodies for the immortal souls who anxiously wait. When you have fully complemented your husband in home life and borne the children, growing up full of faith, integrity, responsibility, and goodness, then you have achieved, your accomplishments supreme, without peer, and you will be the envy through time and eternity of your sisters who have spent themselves in selfish pursuits. (TSWK, p. 327). To be a righteous woman during the winding-up scenes on this earth, before the Second Coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling. The righteous womans strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. She has been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard the home -- which is societys basic and most noble institution. Other institutions in society may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help to save the home, which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife. (Ensign, May 1978, p. 4). I wish to say without equivocation that a woman will find no greater satisfaction and joy and peace and make no greater contribution to mankind than in being a wise and worthy woman and raising good children. (Sisters, Seek Everything That Is Good, dedication of Monument to Women, Nauvoo (6/28/78); Ensign March 1979, p. 2, emphasis ours above). Women Hold Spiritual Priesthood Keys of Power Women already have the spiritual keys of power, as administered to them by the priesthood. They do not need ordination for these keys any more than men do. Women have just as much right to all the gifts of the spirit as men do, remembering always that the powers of heaven can only be controlled and handled upon the principles of personal righteousness. Our families need wives and mothers filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. For instance, Brigham Young said: It is the privilege of a mother to have faith and to administer to her child; this she can do herself, as well as sending for the elders to have the benefit of their faith. (JD, 13:155). He also said: I want a wife that can take care of my children when I am away, who can pray, lay on

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hands, anoint with oil, and baffle the enemy, and this is a spiritual wife. (HC, 6:322). This notion of women exercising their faith with their husbands in administering to their children in time of need did no damage to the faith of President Joseph F. Smith, who said: A wife does not hold the priesthood in connection with her husband, but she enjoys the benefits thereof with him; and if she is requested to lay hands on the sick with him, or with any other officer holding the Melchizedek priesthood, she may do so with perfect propriety. It is no uncommon thing for a man and wife unitedly to administer to their children. (Improvement Era, Feb. 1907, p. 308). The saints need the powers of the priesthood, which are the powers of the spirit, active and alive in the home perhaps even more than they are needed in the wards and stakes. Our homes need wives and mothers filled with the gifts and powers of the spirit standing at the head of their homes beside their husbands, just as much as our wards and stakes need leaders filled with the spirit. Administering is what happens within the walls of the Church buildings, and is always directed by priesthood authority. Ministering, however, is what happens within the walls of homes where mother and father may exercise their spiritual gifts for the benefit of their posterity. There are allusions among the statements of the leaders of the Church to priesthood keys being exercised within the walls of the home that bear a striking similarity to offices and callings in the Church. Elder Franklin D. Richards properly described righteous fathers as Prophets, Seers and Revelators in their own homes: Men that are the heads of families need now to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be Prophets, Seers and Revelators to their families, to their kindred and to those that are around them. You need to have your roots strike deep into the soil of Heaven and stronger into the soil of eternity, that you may derive that nourishment and that strength that shall bring to you greater, more abundant and more glorious blessings than ever you have yet realized. (JD, 26:166). Fathers and mothers have inherent authority in their homes over their children by virtue of their fatherhood and motherhood, their parenthood. As ecclesiastical leaders in the wards and stakes, however, men have no inherent authority over each other. Without some extraneous mantle, placed upon him by invitation from his file leaders in the priesthood, no man has authority to lead another because of a temporary position he holds in the Church. Our wards and stakes would be in shambles, except for a wise God who has installed a marvelous rotating organization of authoritative priesthood positions to provide order outside the home in the Church.

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In the home the mother has power and authority. Her children are commanded of God to honor and obey her. Children are naturally filled with reverence and love for their mothers, despite their routine complaints. Some mothers, however, just like some priesthood leaders, do not have the spirit of the Holy Ghost in their callings, because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world and aspire to the honors of men that they do not learn the one grand lesson of priesthood spiritual power -- the powers of heaven can only be controlled and handled upon the principles of righteousness. When unrighteous women and mothers undertake to cover their sins, gratify their pride or their vain ambitions, or exercise control, dominion or compulsion upon their children in any degree of unrighteousness, the heavens withdraw themselves and the spirit is grieved. (See D&C 121:34-37). They thereby mar that inherent adoration of those priceless children. Conversely, what can a righteous mother do for her children? Consider President Joseph F. Smiths words of counsel: Our mothers, and the mothers of our children, whose hearts are filled with solicitude for the welfare of their children, having had conferred upon them the gift of the Holy Spirit, by the laying on of hands, can go to their secret chambers and bow down before God and commune with Him as no other mothers on earth can do, if they will only observe the principles they have embraced and will live up to their privileges. By the influence that they will thus gain over the hearts of their children they will lead them in the path of righteousness and truth, and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, in the love of truth, in obedience to His commands, in such a way as others cannot do who are destitute of these privileges, blessings and endowments, so freely conferred upon the mothers in Israel. (CR, Apr. 1912, p. 7). All righteous mothers come to a state wherein they are immeasurably revered by the children they have so selflessly served with their husbands in love and devotion. Such a couple will joyfully rule and reign in their house in Israel forever as full partners, serving their posterity as loving, eternal, heavenly fathers and mothers. Their hearts will be right where they valued their treasured children. Queens and Priestesses If the sons of God grow in knowledge and righteousness, the day will someday arrive when we will be chosen and anointed as kings and ordained as priests to rule and reign in Israel forever. Similarly, righteous wives will be anointed queens and ordained priestesses to rule and reign as well. John Taylor taught:

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Those women who go on to their exaltation, ruling and reigning with husbands who are kings and priests will themselves be queens and priestesses. They will hold positions of power, authority, and preferment. (Gospel Kingdom, p. 229, italics in original). These sacred anointings and ordinations bestow upon men and women the fullness of power to govern their own eternal family kingdoms, worlds without end as our Eternal Father and Mother have done before us. We have sought to give gospel illumination to the tumult of opinion and conflicting values abroad in the world today over the roles of men and women. Despite the shifting sands of social practice and dogma, the voices of living prophets have been a continuous and harmonious symphony of consistency on these important issues. Their counsel is anchored in the revealed scriptural imperatives we have cited. Finally, let us willingly and joyfully accept the counsel of our prophet leaders consistent with this summary statement from President Kimball: Supreme happiness in marriage is governed considerably by a primary factor -- that of the bearing and rearing of children. Too many young people set their minds, determining they will not marry or have children until they are more secure, until the military service period is over; until the college degree is secured; until the occupation is more well-defined; until the debts are paid; or until it is more convenient. They have forgotten that the first commandment is to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it. (Genesis 1:28). And so brides continue their employment and husbands encourage it, and contraceptives are used to prevent conception. Relatives and friends and even mothers sometimes encourage birth control for their young newlyweds. But the excuses are many, mostly weak. The wife is not robust; the family budget will not feed extra mouths; or the expense of the doctor, hospital, and other incidentals is too great; it will disturb social life; it would prevent two salaries; and so abnormal living prevents the birth of children. The Church cannot approve nor condone the measures which so greatly limit the family . . . How do you suppose that the Lord would look upon a man and a woman whose marriage seems to be largely for the purpose of living together and sex gratification without the responsibilities of marriage? How do you think that the Lord looks upon those who use the contraceptives because in their selfish life it is not the convenient moment to bear children? How do you feel the Lord looks upon those who would trade flesh-and-blood children for pianos or television or furniture or an automobile, and is this not actually the case when people will buy these luxuries and yet cannot afford to have their children? Are there not numerous people who first buy the luxury article and then find they cannot pay the doctor or a hospital bill incident to

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childbirth? How do you think the Lord feels about women who forego the pleasures and glories of motherhood that they might retain their figures, that their social life might not be affected, that they might avoid the deprivations, pains, and agonies of childbearing and birthing? How do you think the Lord feels as he views healthy parents who could have children but who deliberately close the doors by operation or by contraceptives, close the doors upon spirits eager to enter into mortal bodies? (TSWK, pp. 328-9).

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CONCLUSION
We have shown the house of God is in order. There is true and perfect equality between Gods beloved sons and daughters, though a few have yet to see these things clearly. Only together as husbands and wives will we find the eternal happiness we seek. Calls to preside and follow in the Church are calls to serve one another as equals. Charity, the pure love of Christ, is the grand key to all our interrelationships. We have come to appreciate the glorious design of God in endowing sons and daughters with unique gifts and assigning special tasks to each. We see the synergistic power of different parts with different capacities being sealed into glorious wholes to bless, benefit and exalt. We find joy and peace in our assigned labors as we all enjoy the powers of the priesthood and humbly submit to the authority thereof, not by constraint but willingly, knowing that order is calculated to prosper and bless all equally in righteousness. If ever a woman or man had cause to rejoice, it is in the perfect portrait of heaven painted by the beloved prophet of the Restoration, Joseph Smith. The eternal promises of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ are extended equally to loved sons and daughters of God. When people think of great faith and great power, they often speak of parting seas, moving mountains or even creating whole planets. They think of the incredible power it would take to create a world and they stand in awe at the very thought. Mountains and planets come and go, however. The eternal souls of men and women who dwell on the planets are priceless. The power to create billions of planets from space dust to revolve in all their glory in the infinite expanse of the sidereal heavens veritably pales into insignificance compared to the incomprehensible power to create the miracle we call life. The powers of procreation are the supreme gift of God given universally to men and women. The power and privilege to shape and form, to influence and mold life into gloriously productive, noble and happy beings is the greatest power ever exerted by any living entity. There are no other authorities or powers in the priesthood that even begin to compare with the exalted priesthood powers and privileges of eternal procreation and parenthood. No greater power exists than the inherent power and authority of a righteous mother. Even the infinite atonement itself, the very centerpiece of revealed religion, would be impossible without the peerless powers of a woman to give life. The Eternal Father in all his power and glory still required a mortal wife whose powers of motherhood could produce the

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body of our Savior, the body he would later sacrifice willingly and lovingly in the scourging, mockery and humiliation of Gethsemane and Golgotha. Even at the end of his atoning ordeal as he hung suffering on the cross for our eternal salvation, his last expressions concerned his mother in his petition to John to care for her, and his Father when he said, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit. How tragically ironic that men and women so often overlook, ignore or even desert home and family to run to and fro in the world seeking the petty powers of titles and offices, riches and fame of a fallen Babylon. The paradox is so exquisite! Let us never squander our vast eternal treasure in the worlds ahead for want of a pennys worth of faith today.

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EPILOGUE

It was a beautiful Spring day at the park. Joey and Jill were so glad to feel the warm sunshine on their faces, to be together playing with their friends after the long cold winter, and to see the brightly-colored new blossoms on the flowers and trees. Jill, Im ready for a drink, but it looks like the vending machine only takes dollar bills. Would you come with me and use your dollar, so we can get something to drink? asked Joey. Sure. I just found out I cant buy any candy without quarters. Would you use your quarters so we can get some candy? wondered Jill. No problem. I guess Dad really knew what he was doing. I thought I had more than you, but he really gave us the same amount. It just looks different until we put it all together, concluded Joey. Those to have eyes to see will see the mysteries of godliness in the light of revealed truth.

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Appendix A
A Proclamation To the Church and To the World September 23, 1995 We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creators plan for the eternal destiny of His children. All human beings -- male and female -- are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose. In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally. The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that Gods commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in Gods eternal plan. Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. Children are an heritage of the Lord. (Psalm 127:3.) Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives -- mothers and fathers -- will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations. The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His

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eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed. We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officials of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

Editor's note: A year before his death, Elder David B. Haight was invited to address the BYU Women's Conference on May 2, 2003. By then Elder Haight was the oldest living Apostle in the history of the Church. Almost totally blind, he spoke without a written text before him. At the conclusion of his talk, he stated: "I brought with me today a copy of the Proclamation on the Family. I wanted to talk to you about it, but time won't permit. I would just say to you, we wrote this in the temple. Every word of it is correct regarding women and marriage and families and children. The gospel is true. It is the hope of the world."

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