Written during the months of June and July of 2015 in response to having my temple recommend revoked which resulted shortly after in having my name removed from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Loyalty First to the Lord, Then the Church
While on my mission I was told by a fellow missionary that if Jesus
Christ Himself appeared to him, and it was without any doubt God, and if God
said The Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder-Day Saints was no longer the true
church on earth, he would not believe God because he has his “testimony” in the
church. He said this quoting the mission
president from his home ward who taught him this perceived principle of what a
testimony is. Bless the missionary’s
heart, but this sort of placing of one’s trust and faith in a group of men
(religious organization) before placing it in the God we claim to love and
worship is false and cannot produce salvation unto the soul.
Now you are probably thinking, “No duh. That’s crazy! Of course I would
follow the Savior before following an organization.” But read on. Sadly this
kind of teaching, whether it is intentional or unintentional, is what is being
taught in the curriculum of the church: Absolute loyalty to the Church and its
leaders.
“…and under this head ye are made free,
and there is no other head
whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh;
therefore, I would that ye should take
upon you the name of Christ, all
you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient
unto the end of your lives.” -Mosiah
5:8
There is no other way but through Jesus Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the life and no
man cometh unto the Father but through Him. (John 14:6) Therefore, it is my
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I whom I shall
place my full faith, and not in the “arm of flesh”, or any group of men or
organization. They cannot save me.
Salvation comes only through Christ, therefore I take absolute caution when any
one attempts to place man, an organization, a church system, or the “arm of
flesh” between me and my relationship with God.
“O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that
cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he
that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.” -2 Nephi 4:34
When I returned home from my mission I made it a priority to attend the
temple as much as possible because I sought for further light and knowledge
from God, and to renew covenants with Him.
One Saturday morning within an hour after I returned home from
worshiping in the temple I received a phone call to come in into my stake
president’s office and speak with him.
In the interview I
was asked to surrender my temple recommend after someone reported to my stake
president that they saw me in the temple that very day. When called in to
speak with my stake president, I was told that after I came home from my
mission and during my interview prior to being released from my mission, I did
not include in my testimony that President Monson is a prophet, and therefore
it was assumed that I understood that I was no longer worthy to enter the
temple.
My worthiness to enter into the house of the Lord
should not have anything to do with proclaiming loyalty to a man, or testifying
that he is anything more than a man. My
worthiness to enter into the Lord’s house should be contingent upon my
relationship with and my testimony in the Savior and my Father in Heaven, not
my relationship with or my testimony of what the President of the Church and
the brethren may or may not be. There is
nothing in the covenants that we make in the temple that mention having to
proclaim that any man is anything. We do
not covenant with Monson, or any other person, except for our spouse and
God. Salvation comes only through Jesus
Christ. He is the gatekeeper of our
salvation. Not Thomas S. Monson. It will be our Lord Jesus Christ whom we
shall converse with at the veil and it is Him who shall take us into the
presence of our Heavenly Father.
Attending the temple and learning of God and covenanting with Him are
the desires of my heart, and I know in my heart without a doubt that I am
worthy to have that right to do so. So I attended the temple regularly until I
had my temple recommend taken away that day.
I told my stake president that I sustain President
Thomas S. Monson and the Quorum of the 12 in their efforts to become prophets, seers, and revelators, but I do not believe
that they have shown forth the fruits that would demonstrate that they are. I pray for them that they may seek to do the
will of God and lead the church in righteousness. Although they may have been called by the church to hold church
positions that does not automatically make them prophets, seers, and
revelators. Being chosen by God and receiving their calling and election made sure
will make them prophets, seers, and revelators.
Hence the term “Behold there are
many called, but few are chosen….” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:34) How does one become chosen by God for the
responsibility to which he has been called?
By learning and diligently magnifying their duty as given in the
revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants section 107. Contrary to popular and cultural belief, we
should not suppose that any man or woman is automatically entitled to the gifts
and blessing required for their calling, or why else would the Lord give us
this warning at the end of section 107 after the Lord explained the duties of
church positions:
“Wherefore, now let
every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is
appointed, in all diligence. He that is slothful shall not be
counted worthy to stand, and he that learns not his duty and shows
himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand. Even so. Amen.” -Doctrine and Covenants 107: 99-100
This is inferring that leaders,
including the first presidency and the brethren have a duty they need to
fulfill. We are to look for in our
leaders these gifts, and if they are not there we are to count them
unworthy. Why else would the Lord have
his church governed by the common consent of those governed? (Doctrine
and Covenants 26:2) Why is there even a sustaining vote? When we choose to exercise our free agency in
not voting in favor for the actions of the President of the Church, we are
denied temple rights and even faced with excommunication? Whose temples are
they? Whose church is this, President
Monson’s, or Christ’s? God expects His
church to be governed by the common consent and sustaining vote with the
expectation that we judge righteously and “count worthy” our leaders. God has given us a measuring stick in which
we should use to hold our leaders accountable. That measuring stick is the Holy
Scriptures. Here is one example from the
words of Christ from the Sermon on the Mount about how to judge leaders:
What are
the fruits of a prophet, a seer, a revelator?
Turn these nouns into verbs. In short, a prophet is someone who
has been in the presence of the Lord and who is charged with the responsibility
of teaching others that they must also attain the same
blessing, while yet in the flesh, and with telling others how that
is possible. It is the testimony of a
true prophet who has stood in the presence of God in how “….God became an object of faith among men after the fall; and what it
was that stirred up the faith of the multitudes to feel after him- to search
after a knowledge of his character, perfections, and attributes, until they
became extensively acquainted with him, and not only commune with him and
behold his glory, but be partakers of his power and stand in his presence”
(Lectures on Faith 2:34) A prophet
gives us the correct knowledge of the characteristics and attributes of deity
so that we may know and trust the God in whom we place our faith. And with that faith rooted in the correct
knowledge of God, we can have faith sufficient enough to lay hold upon
salvation and eternal life, which comes from personally knowing our Savior
Jesus Christ. That’s all a Prophet is, a special witness of Jesus Christ. They never want people to follow them;
instead they point others to the Lord to follow Him. They are not people we are to idolize and
celebrity-worship. They don’t invest
tithing money to build multi-million dollar shopping malls. They simply have something great, the correct
knowledge of God and a personal relationship with Christ, because they speak
with him face to face, and they wish for us to have that same privilege with
God. The
Holy Scriptures are the records written by those exact people and contain the
instructions of how to obtain that same privilege. Study their words. Study the teachings of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, and tell me this isn't so. The Holy Scriptures are the truth, it lays
out the way we must go to achieve salvation through Christ. It is the measuring stick of what is of God,
and what is not. The Holy Scriptures are
the law.
Do leaders place higher value in the Holy Scriptures,
or in the Handbook of Instructions, a book written not by men and women who
have claimed to have stood in presence of God, but by a committee in Salt Lake City? What do the leaders use as their measuring
stick when they minister and judge? They refer to their handbook of policies
and regulations which are not canonized as scripture.
“…Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine;
and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand
them.” -Doctrine and Covenants 10:63
“Now I need not rehearse the matter; what I have said may suffice.
Behold, the scriptures are before you; if ye will wrest them it shall be to your own
destruction.” -Alma 13:20
This is why I
have had my temple recommend taken away - because although I am found innocent
before God and the doctrine found in the Holy Scriptures, according to the
brethren and the Handbooks, I am an unworthy apostate.
"Wo unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the
key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in
ye hindered." -Luke 11:52
I seek to
do the will of the Father. Yes, I am
very imperfect and full of many flaws, and I do stumble and make mistakes
often, but as I turn and come unto Christ, to learn of him, and to covenant
with Him, it is Him, my loving Lord, Savior, and Redeemer to whom I am forever
in gratitude, who strengthens me. I
seek only a stronger and more intimate relationship with God and to “enter in” into His presence. By teaching and requiring that you must
place a man between yourself and the Lord and not making the Savior the sole
focus of your worship, leaders in the church have taken away the "key of
knowledge", and have not "entered in" themselves. And by having my temple recommend taken away,
I have been hindered from entering in.
Despite me be denied these blessing, I know
these blessings come from God only and I have not lost faith in my Savior Jesus
Christ. I told my stake president that
although I may not have a temple recommend, I have faith God will provide a way
for me to receive those covenants and to one day be sealed to my future
wife. I have no doubt in my mind the
Lord will provide, because he always fulfills His promises. Getting married in the temple does not
automatically insure that a couple will be sealed for time and all eternity
because everything in the endowment session is only a type and shadow for what
really needs to happen. Getting inside
the temple with your spouse is not the end goal in life. There is more a couple needs to do if they
want to be together forever, which is why I seek to have that future sealing
made sure by God himself though the
Patriarchal Priesthood.
What is Faith if it’s Never Tested? What is Truth if it’s Never Questioned?
The start of my path to God
began when I was very young. I can’t
remember my exact age, I must have been 11 to 13 years old, but I already had
doubts about the Book of Mormon, if Joseph Smith really saw what he saw, and if
God was even real. I doubted the whole
religion concept, thinking that it all could be made up stories by really smart
crazy people. So took the challenge of
reading the Book of Mormon and asking God if it is true or not as directed in
Moroni 10:4-5
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye
would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are
not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having
faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the
Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all
things.” -Moroni 10:4-5
Even at a young age I labored upon
the word of God and read the entire book.
I then asked God in prayer if it were true or not, believing that if it
were true I would receive an answer. I wanted to know if He was real or not. I received an answer through the power of the
Holy Ghost that it is true, that Joseph Smith really did speak with God the
Father and Jesus Christ, and that God loves me.
It wasn’t what I would call a “warm feel good fuzzy” feeling or goose
bumps you get when you feel emotionally happy or feel fulfilled. It started with a very powerful burning in my
bosom which I felt from the Holy Ghost which grew stronger and stronger. There was no way my body could naturally
produce that kind of feeling on its own.
It came from an actual presence outside myself which I could feel all
around me as if the Holy Spirit was hugging me.
God, or at least His Holy Spirt, was in that room with me and God
answered me and testified of the truth.
I knew at that moment and I know now within my heart, and within my
mind, that what I experienced is real and true. I can never deny that. I believe I received that kind of manifestation
because although I had doubts, I also had full faith that if God were real, he would
answer, because I was honestly seeking.
If anyone asks God, having faith that He will answer, he will
answer. God is no respecter of persons,
He loves each and every one of His Children, and He wants to establish a very
personal, loving, individual relationship with anyone that is willing to turn
themselves to Him.
September 2013 I received my
mission call to serve in the Philippines Baguio Mission, the same mission both
my parents served in during the early 1990’s.
The mission president was a good man whom I love very much. His wife is a very sweet woman who just so
happened to grow up in the same stake my mother attended in the Philippines. I reported to the Provo MTC December 4th
2013. I was called by the first
presidency of the church to serve until November 18th 2015, but looking
back I believed God had a different time frame in mind. I served for 16 months and loved
every minute I spent with the Filipino people whose blood and culture runs deep
through my veins.
My mission was AMAZING. It certainly is the best mission and I
couldn’t have been more blessed to have been called to where I served. It was in the Philippines where I connected
with my Pinoy side. It was in those
moments while in the service and company of the Filipino people that I saw and
felt God’s love for His children. My
heart grew as I learned to love and serve others and God. God taught me so many things and He changed
me in ways I never thought possible in those short 16 months. He was able to do so because I earnestly
sought for that personal relationship with Him.
In November of 2014, after almost a
year in the mission, I received an email from my father addressed his family. It contained many concerns about the current
state of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Even though I did not and never knew any of
the details of my family’s decisions concerning their actions in relation to
the church, I could tell that my family was on a new path, and whether or not
it was God’s path, I knew not. This
stressed me immensely to the point where I hit “rock bottom” during Christmas
week. The Lord humbled me, but He was
always there ready to lift me up when I was ready to turn to Him. During my time of great worry I came to the
conclusion that I must either remain in
darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs (James 1:5), that
is, ask of God. I made a conscientious
decision that I would no longer rely solely on my family for answers pertaining
to doctrinal issues or my spirituality, nor would I rely on the organization
and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for the same
thing. I made a decision and commitment
to myself that I would remain independent of all religious and theological
ideas and philosophies of anyone and instead rely solely upon God and my
relationship with Christ for answers and direction. I knew because of the witness I received at a
young age of the reality of a God and the truth of the Book of Mormon and the
Prophet Joseph Smith that I could trust Jesus Christ and his words in the Holy
Scripture. That was the message I sought
to deliver to the people of the Philippines.
I never once doubted my testimony of what I know to be true, but just
because the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God,
does not mean that the church that holds the printing and copy rights of that
book is infallible or perfect, immune to corruption or apostasy.
So I prayed and asked God for
guidance. I did as Joseph Smith did in
Joseph Smith History 1:11 and I labored upon the word of God. I searched the scriptures diligently and
fasted often. You can’t expect to receive
any type of revelation from God of knowledge of truth unless you first exercise
faith. And we know faith if it hath no works, is
dead.. (James 2:17). Faith requires
action, works, labor… Therefore, to obtain knowledge from God, you
must first exercise that particle of faith by asking, seeking, knocking. Then it shall be given you, then shall you
find, then shall it be opened unto you.
(Mathew 7:7-8) God’s not just going to give you knowledge or
experiences of Him unless you have the faith to diligently seek Him.
“But without faith it is
impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. “ -Hebrews 11:6
God does not want you to be simply
satisfied and content with the words and testimony of what truth is from
another person. Simply hearing and
believing does not require faith, therefore without that faith it is impossible
to please him. You must diligently seek
God to obtain your own testimony, revelation, knowledge of truth about
everything, and an individual relationship with Him. That’s what God wants for each of His children
to have, and that is what I sought for. And because I sought by faith, by faith
I obtained.
The
revelations didn’t come to me in a sudden manifestation of the Holy Spirit or
an angel and “Bamb!” I knew everything there is to know about the mysteries of
heaven, but revelations did come over the course of several months as I
pondered and searched the scriptures and diligently sought by faith to commune
with my Father in Heaven. My eyes were
opened and the scriptures were unfolded to me to a perfect new understanding as
I fasted diligently for that further light and knowledge of Jesus Christ. As I obtained greater understanding of the
characteristics and attributes of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, joy began
to fill my soul and I could feel the love of God in my life constantly. I obtained this knowledge not from any other
man’s teachings, but by the power of the Holy Spirt. And that is how we must all learn of
God.
“9 But as it is written, 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.
10 But God hath revealed them
unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep
things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the
things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of
God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” -1
Corinthians 2: 9-11
My father did not convince me any
of the things I have learned recently, nor did any other person, although seeds
were planted in my heart by them. It is
the Spirt of God who is my teacher. While
I was on the plane ride home from the Philippines I sat next to a man who was
professor in theology with a several degrees from some nice university. We discussed the nature of deity and how man
comes to a knowledge of God. He argued
that in order to learn of God we must go to man-made institutions and the best
universities and acquire the best education possible. He was baffled when I suggested that we
should do as the prophets of old have done which is seek by faith for that Holy
communion with Deity and learn of Him through His Holy Spirit - that the Holy
men in the Bible were not well “educated” by the world’s measurement of success
and education, nor did they attended prestigious universities, but that they
sought by faith for the knowledge they obtained. He told me it’s not necessary to go and pray
on a mountain like Moses, and that we have the Bible, which is good enough. But then why was Moses trying to get the children
of Israel to come up the mountain to see God?
Moses wanted the people to have a stronger personal relationship with
Jehovah (Christ) and to learn of God from God.
(Exodus 20:18-21, 24:1-18) Read the words of others who have stood in
presence of God and see if they are not inviting us to come unto Christ and
learn of Him from Him. To learn about
the things of God we must seek directly from God, not from man, because the things of God knoweth no man, but the
Spirit of God, which Spirit we can become partakers of through the
atonement of Jesus Christ. Of course God
will place people in our lives who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will
serve as messengers from God to us, but that message will always relay the same
obligation to us: “Take what has been
said to the Lord and ask Him yourself; Don’t take my word for it, learn of it
for yourself from God!! Don’t follow me, follow God.” That requires much more faith on our part, the
kind of faith that is rooted directly in Christ.
The problem
the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is faced with
today is that its mainstream members are not taught to diligently seek
knowledge and wisdom directly from God, and are content with having it given to
them by a President of the Church and quorum of brethren. “Let the leaders talk
to God and we will just listen to what they have say” Why? Because it’s much easier to place faith in a
good man than it is to place your faith in the God you cannot see. Humans naturally want to have leaders to lead
them and take responsibility for their welfare in temporal and spiritual
aspects. People just want to be told
what to do so they don’t have think too much about it and devote resources to
it. It’s what we call in economics specialization. “You worry about researching and learning of
God and his ways, I’ll worry about
something else, and then you can give me a quick checklist of ordnances,
rituals, and routines I need to do” People
want a list of rules of do’s and don’ts.
They want a handbook of instructions and manuals and easy–to-read
monthly magazines subscriptions to tell them how to live, instead of laboring in
prayer and studying the scriptures. They want a commandment so they can have a
blessing. God doesn’t not want a hierarchy system,
kings, or even presidents of a church to tell us how to live our lives. God warns against it in the Book of Mormon (Ether 6:22-30, Mosiah 23:7,Alma 51) Salvation
doesn’t come through a pastor, or a pope, or a prophet, or a king. It
comes through Christ. (John 14:6) Therefore, come unto Christ. You want to know your standing with God? You want to know for yourself if God loves
you and cares for you? Don’t seek that
knowledge from a man or a religious organization. You will only be feeding yourself false
hope. Seek for that relationship with
God and ask Him yourself.
What I Learned
The Gospel of Jesus
Christ Starting with Faith
So what exactly did the spirit
teach me over course of several months after I first began to diligently seek
God’s will for me? I was simply taught
the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its purest form: faith, repentance, baptism,
receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, enduring to the end, the end which is to
enter into presence of and covenant with God.
“Verily,
thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh
his sins (repent) and cometh unto me(baptism), and
calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall
see my face and know that I am; (endure
to the end)” -Doctrine and Covenants 93:1
Everything
in the Gospel of Christ starts with faith, and continues with faith. Therefore my diligent search of God’s will
for me began with the principle of faith.
While I was fasting and deeply pondering the scripture I was lead to
this scripture in the Book of Mormon.
This is the account written by Moroni of the Brother of Jared about how
the Bother of Jared saw God and spoke with Him.
To learn more about the background story of the Bother of Jared read the
first 4 chapters of Ether.
“And in that day that they shall exercise
faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may
become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the
brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and
all things that in them are.” -Ether
4:7
The things which the bother of Jared saw, the
unfolding of all the revelations, was part of seeing and knowing Christ. This
is how we are redeemed from the fall, by knowing Christ because we have entered
into His presence.
“And when he had said these
words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou
knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought
back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.” -Ether 3:13
As
Christians, and especially members of The Church of Jesus Christ who profess
The Book Mormon to be the word of God and Joseph Smith to be the prophet of the
restoration, we must not only seek to be like Christ, but we must seek to know
him, even as the brother Jared did, face to face. As Moroni gives his commentary on the book of
Either he commends us to do just that.
“39 And then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus, and that he hath
talked with me face to face, and that he told me in plain humility, even
as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things;
41 And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the
prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be
and abide in you forever. Amen.” -Ether
12:39,41
Moroni saw Christ and spoke
with him face to face, Joseph Smith saw Christ and spoke with Him face to face,
and they are both telling us to seek for that same relationship with God, to
“seek this Jesus”.
After
reading these scriptures and pondering the absolute depth of these passages the
Holy Spirit testified to me that this is what is meant by “end” in the term
“enduring to the end” of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ: to stand in His presence even while in the flesh in mortality. Reading the scriptures with that new
perspective, everything in those pages started to make sense. Honestly this stressed me out because I knew that
the path I was starting on was going to require a lot more faith on my
part. I knew I could not rely on the
Church for my salvation anymore. It had
to come from my relationship with Christ. It stressed me out because I knew
that my life was forever going to be different than I had expected it to be,
yet I was filled with hope and joy from my Savior and Lord as I was filled with
light and truth. Ether 4:7 got me to ask several more questions which only led to
more answer as I sought from God.
1.
Why don’t people see Christ today even as the
brother of Jared and Moroni did?
2. Ether
4:7 states “that day that they shall
exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did”. How does one exercise faith even as the
brother of Jared did?
3. The
scripture then states, “that they may
become sanctified in me” What does
it mean to be sanctified in me (Christ)? How does that work exactly?
Question 1. So
why don’t people see Christ? Christ explained in the passage of verses in John 14:16-23 that “I
will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (18) “..I will love him (he who hath Jesus’s commandments, keeps
them, and loves Christ), and I will
manifest myself to him.” (21)
and “we (the Father and
Christ) will come unto him, and we will make
our abode with him.” (23) Before you judge me crazy for believing that
Christ can appear to you, because you are interpreting these scriptures as
Jesus just referring to the presence of the Holy Ghost, read the revelation
given to Joseph Smith concerning John 14:
“John 14:23—The appearing of the
Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that
the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and
is false.” -Doctrine and Covenants
130:3
So if
Christ said that he will manifest himself unto us, and since Christ is “a God
of truth and canst not lie” (Ether 3:12), He has to do what he says he
will do - which means we are doing something wrong if we have not received this
Second Comforter. I found my answer to
why we don’t have this relationship with Christ, as we are commanded to, in the
following verses of Ether 4.
“Come
unto me, O ye house of Israel, (that’s
us! The covenant people! He is not referring to those who have not accepted the
Book of Mormon, He is referring to those who have already accepted it and have
covenanted through baptism by proper authority.)and it shall be made manifest
unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation
of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief.” -Ether
4:14
The
answer is unbelief. Unbelief is what is holding the world back. It’s what holds
each and every one of us from coming closer to God. It’s what has always held back the people in
the Book of Mormon: 2nd Nephi 32:7, Mosiah 1:5, Alma 19:6, Alma32:28, 3rd
Nephi 19:35, Ether 4:13, Mormon 1:15, Moroni10:2. What is unbelief? Its
“that’s impossible” “I don’t care” “I’m
not good enough” “I’m a bad person” “I’m not worthy” “I know no other way” “I
can never see myself like that” “God
only needs to speak the prophet, not me, and if he does I don’t need to know
about it” “the brethren will never lead
you astray” “this is how it’s been done in the church and
my family for generation after generation, they can’t possibly be wrong” “…traditions
of their fathers, which are not correct.” (Mosiah 1:5) Unbelief is
closed-mindedness, false traditions, lack of confidence, fear of being
incorrect, fear of having to change. Complete
unbelief is a complete unwillingness to accept the slight possibility of
something being true, or untrue. Both
atheists and religionists are guilty of unbelief. In order to obtain any truth we must first
seek for it. God rewards those who
diligently seek after him, and to seek
for something is to first believe in its possibility. God won’t manifest himself to you if you are
blinded by unbelief. The world is full
of it, and that is what keeps the heavens closed.
“Or have angels ceased to appear unto
the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them?
Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there
shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
Behold I say unto you, Nay; for
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 7:36-37
Nothing is impossible with
God. He loves all. It doesn’t matter
what the world says, what matters is what he says, and he wants a close
relationship with you. The Gospel of
Jesus Christ is for everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have
done, God can fix you if you’ll let Him.
Anyone can have what the Brother of Jared had with God, what Joseph
Smith had with God. That experience is neither
exclusive to nor an automatic privilege of those who are called to the First
Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve. “…God
is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” (Acts34-35) It’s for
anyone who first believes, then exercises faith. There is however a huge difference between
mere belief and faith. Not just anyone
who simply believes in Christ can have a close relationship with Deity. They must first exercise faith, even as the
brother of Jared.
Question 2 is,
“How does one exercise faith in God even as the brother of Jared?” Now you need to know there is a huge
difference between belief and faith.
There is technically no such thing as invalid beliefs because a belief
is just an idea that belongs to individual who believes in it. Everyone has beliefs, but few people have
faith. I can believe as hard as I want
to that if I go to the gym and work out and diet properly I will be buff, but
unless I get off my butt and do something, nothing will happen. I can still believe as hard as I want, but it
won’t make a difference. The same
principle applies to God and our salvation.
You can believe in Christ as hard as you can. You can say “I BELIEVE I BELIEVE!” but unless
you act, or exercise faith, you will never know for yourself if there even is a
God despite how many times you tell yourself there is one. So what is Faith? It is a principle of action
and power.
“Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” -Hebrews 11:1
“And now as I said concerning
faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have
faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” -Alma32:21
For
example: you are a good student and you enroll into a class. You hope
that by the end of the course you will pass and you learn the material required
for your degree. You don’t have a
guarantee or evidence or perfect knowledge that you will pass or
learn anything at that moment you enroll but you have a hope or a belief that is
what you will accomplish. Anything can
happen during the course which could stop you from passing or learning,
therefore you won’t have a 100% perfect
knowledge until after you complete the class. So based off of your hope, you act. You go to class, you study, and you work
hard. Then you will have the evidence or perfect knowledge if you passed or learned anything.
The same
concept applies for whenever you get behind a steering wheel. You don’t have the hard scientific evidence the moment you start the engine
and pull out the drive way that you will make it to your destination, but you hope you will and are pretty dang sure
you will, but you don’t know for sure yet because it hasn’t happened. After you exercise faith by driving all the
way to your destination, then you will have a perfect knowledge that you made it.
“Think
back and reflect upon the history of your entire life, from the period of your
first recollection, and ask yourself what principle excited you to any kind of
action or what was is it that makes you get up and try do anything? Is it not your belief or hope that if you
attempt to do something, something will happen as a result of your
actions. Would you not knock, unless you
believed that it would have been opened unto you? Would you sow, unless you
believed you would reap? Would a farmer plant, unless he believed he would
gather? Would you have ever asked, unless you had believed you would
receive? Is there anything that you
would have done, either physical or mental, if you had not previously
believed? Are not all your exertions of
every kind, dependent upon your faith?
Or I could ask, what have you not obtained by reason of your faith? Faith is then the moving cause of all actions
in all intelligent beings, including God.” (Paraphrased from the Lectures on
Faith 1:11) Faith is action. It
is the action that results from your belief.
The farmer won’t harvest unless he farms. He won’t farms unless he believes. If there is no action, it’s not faith. Hence the term Faith without works is dead. (James
2:17)
Faith is also a principle of power.
“Through faith we understand that
the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were
not made of things which do appear.” -Hebrews
11:3
By
this we understand that the principle of power which existed in the bosom of
God, by which the world were framed, was faith; and that it is by reason of
this principle of power existing in Deity, that all created things exist; so
that all things in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, exist by reason of
faith as it existed in Him…. Take this principle or attribute—for it is an
attribute—from the Deity, and he would cease to exist (Lectures of Faith 1:15,16)
Faith is the
power by which God works. God created everything and runs the universe by this
power. Priesthood is not the power - Priesthood
is a fellowship or communion with God which gives man the “perfect knowledge”
needed for faith to be sufficient and powerful.
It Is by faith that prison walls can be rent, hearts can be softened and
changed, miracles are wrought, and mountains moved. (Ether 12:13-17,30). This
power comes only from God and no other, and it is wrought by faith, not
necessarily priesthood. So I am going to sidetrack for a little bit here and
talk about another important doctrine which goes hand in hand with the
principal of faith.
Priesthood
What is
priesthood? It is not a calling or
office in the church. It is not the
priesthood of deacon, teacher, priest, bishop, etc… Those are church positions
of leadership and quorums. The
priesthood and power of God cannot be passed around by placing hands on heads
and saying words and boom you have the authority of God. There is difference between being called by
the church and being chosen by God.
Although we have callings in which we are to exercise the priesthood
that does not mean we have been chosen by God to do so… Hence many are called, but few
are chosen. (D&C121:34-40) The power and authority to minister belongs
to God, therefore we must seek by faith to know the will God and to be chosen by him to use that power. Below is a passage from the Joseph Smith
Translation of Genesis chapter 14. This is how Melchizedek was called by God to
the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God, which we now refer to as
just the Melchizedek priesthood. (D&C107:3-4)
“26 Now Melchizedek was a man of
faith, who wrought righteousness; and when a child he feared God, and stopped
the mouths of lions, and quenched the violence of fire. (He
first had exceedingly strong faith, even as a child)
27 And thus, having been approved of God, he
was ordained an high priest after the order of the covenant which God made with
Enoch, (Enoch walked and talked
with God. He received his covenants
directly from God)
28 It being after the order of the Son of God;
which order came, not by man, nor the will of man; neither by father nor
mother; neither by beginning of days nor end of years; but of God; (Melchizedek’s
father had the priesthood, but he didn’t get it from his father Noah, or a
bishop, or any other man. He was
ordained directly by God)
29 And it was delivered unto men by the
calling of his own voice, according to his own will, unto as many as believed
on his name.” (God will call you by his own voice when you
receive this highest priesthood, he needs to call you, not a church leader)
This is Holy
Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God, known as Melchizedek Priesthood,
is a personal direct real relationship with God. It’s a fellowship with Christ.
Through this sure knowledge of God
then your faith becomes perfect. And through this perfect faith in God, and by
his will, you will have access to unlimited power and nothing shall be impossible unto
you (Mathew 17:19-20)
“For God having sworn unto Enoch
and unto his seed with an oath by himself; that every one being ordained after
this order and calling should have power, by faith, to break mountains, to
divide the seas, to dry up waters, to turn them out of their course; To put at
defiance the armies of nations, to divide the earth, to break every band, to
stand in the presence of God; to do all things according to his will, according
to his command, subdue principalities and powers; and this by the will of the
Son of God which was from before the foundation of the world.” -JST Genesis 14:30-31
The Aaronic
priesthood is what has remained in the world
from the time it was restored to Joseph Smith and will never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do
offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. (JS History 1:69) The Aaronic priesthood is not a fellowship
between man and God. It is a fellowship
between man and man that is why it is the lower priesthood, the preparatory
priesthood. This priesthood holds the
keys to the ministering of angels. (Doctrine and Covenants 13:1) It can
be a fellowship with angles, but not God.
The purpose of having a fellowship with man, and angles, is to prepare
us to enter into the presence of God and receive that higher priesthood. For you Mormons who are familiar with the
temple session, think Peter, James, and John - and what were they? Certainly heavenly
messengers, angles! What were they preparing Adam and Eve to receive? Was it
not to receive the highest level of the Melchizedek priesthood, the patriarchal
priesthood, which is to converse with the Lord and have Him take you into the
presence of the Father? I’ll talk more about this when I explain baptism by
fire and gift of the Holy Ghost
How to Exercise Faith
So back to the
question “How does one exercise faith even as the brother of Jared?” How does
one obtain the faith necessary to enter into the presence of the Lord? The answer is found in the Lectures on Faith
written by Joseph Smith, the most influential book in my life. The Lectures on
Faith was originally published and canonized, ratified by the general assembly
of the church by common consent, vouched for by the Prophet Joseph Smith and God as scripture. It was considered the “Doctrine” of the
Doctrine and Covenants while the revelations we have today are the “covenants”. It was removed in 1921 by a committee of men,
without the common consent of the church, who thought they knew more about the
nature of Deity than the man who boldly claimed to have stood in the presence
of God the father and Jesus Christ in these latter-days. The entire book talks about faith. I would expound upon the whole book, but It would
be much easier for you to obtain a copy of it and labor upon it, ponder it, and
pray about it. Read it and learn from
God through the Holy Spirit; you will be enlightened. The book presents the subject of faith in the
following order:
1. Faith
itself, what is it. ( I just briefly
explained in this document)
2. The
object on which it rest. In order for
faith to have power, we must have the correct knowledge of the God we place our
faith in - his nature, attributes, characteristics, how He works, His plan for
us, our relationship as mortal humans to Him, and how to have faith in Him. Without a correct knowledge, faith will not
work. That is why God sends us
messengers, or Prophets, who have stood in His presence to give us, or in
Joseph Smith’s case restore, the
correct knowledge we need to so that we may exercise faith until salvation
properly. Because they have been redeemed, or other words, because they have
stood in the presence of God, they can tell us the how to do the same. You can find the most correct knowledge
about God in the Book of Mormon. There
is no such thing as being saved in ignorance.
You can’t be saved by blindly following leaders because you may be
placing faith in the wrong concept of Deity.
One must know for himself, not merely believe, the course of life they
are pursuing is in accordance with the will of God, therefore you must know for
yourself the correct characteristics and attributes of Deity for faith to work. Joseph Smith states, “ A man is saved no faster than he
gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into
captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more
knowledge and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and
give us knowledge of the things of God.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pg.
217) I do, however, know that God is a God of mercy; he provides a way
for those who have died in ignorance to learn the correct knowledge for their
faith to be sufficient unto salvation.
3. The
effects which flow from faith. Miracles, the heavens opening, restoration of
correct knowledge and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, salvation, redemption,
exaltation.
Repentance and The Atonement
My third
question is, “How does one become sanctified
as mentioned in Ether4:7?” As we know from the scriptures, No unclean thing can enter into the kingdom
of God, No unclean thing can dwell in God’s presence. (Moses 6:57, Alma 11:37, 1st Nephi
10:21, 1st Nephi 15:34, 3rd Nephi 27:19)
“And I
say unto you again that he cannot save them in their sins; for I cannot deny
his word, and he hath said that no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of
heaven; therefore, how can ye be saved, except ye inherit the kingdom of
heaven? Therefore, ye cannot be saved in your sins.” -Alma 11:37
In order to be saved we must
inherit the kingdom of heaven.
“Wherefore teach it unto your children,
that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the
kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his
presence…” -Moses
6:57
In order to inherit the kingdom of
heaven, aka Kingdom of God, we must also be able to bear His presence, but no
unclean thing can enter into His presence. The brother of Jared did, however,
because he repented and was sanctified.
To be sanctified is to be completly cleansed from all sin, which is an
impossible task by ourselves. We as
natural human beings cannot be perfect, yet God has commanded that we be
perfect.
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.” -Mathew
5:48
“Yea, come unto Christ, and be
perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall
deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and
strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye
may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in
Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.” -Moroni 10:32
We cannot perfect ourselves. Only Christ can perfect us, but first we must
come unto him. Repentance is much less
behavioral and much more about what goes on in your mind and heart. Repentance is not just about abstaining from
drugs, alcohol, pornography, and bad behavior.
What I mean it’s not about telling yourself “I won’t sin, Darn it I’m
sorry I won’t do it anymore, I’ll try, I’ll try, I’ll try harder!” Repentance
is simply turning away from sin and turning to Christ, opening your heart to
him so that he will fix you. You can’t fix yourself. Don’t get down on yourself about your bad
behaviors and imperfections. Learn about
God and his will for you and he will fix you faster than any addiction recovery
plan could. Repentance is a change of mind, a fresh view about God, about oneself,
and about the world. (Bible Dictionary; Repentance) As we
turn to Christ with faith, we learn of Him through the scriptures and personal
revelation as we develop a stronger relationship with Christ, and as a result
our perspective changes. Therefore repentance is not an I say sorry to God after I sin and he forgives me. It is not a “Phew, I said sorry, I repented. I can do whatever I want to
now so long as I do not break that commandment or rule, and I am safe!” Repentance is a process of constantly
turning yourself, your will, your thoughts, and your heart to God. Repentance
is having that broken heart and contrite spirit which allows Christ to cleanse
you (2nd Nephi 2:7). If you
are trying to forsake sin, or conquer an addiction, without Christ, it can be
near impossible and very painful. If you
are the “goody Mormon” and are always obedient to church standards for anything
but a true love for Christ, it is not true repentance. It’s just living life guided by moral
standards that dictate you behaviors.
As we allow Christ in our lives he changes our hearts and as a result
our desires change to where we will have no more disposition to do evil.
“And they all cried with one voice,
saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also,
we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord
Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that
we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” -Mosiah
5:2
This happens because Christ fills us
with light and truth which cause the powers of temptation to flee. Why?
“Light and truth forsake
that evil one.” -Doctrine
and Covenants 93:37
“The glory of God is intelligence,
or, in other words, light and truth.” -Doctrine
and Covenants 93:36
As you receive light and truth, you
also obtain a higher “intelligence”, which is the glory of God. You become partakers of the Glory of God, or
in other words become more intelligent, in portions as you receive “grace by
grace” until you receive the fullness.
You become more godly, and as a natural consequence godly people don’t
have a desire to do the unimportant immoral things of the world. (D&C93:11-14) And what exactly is truth?
“And truth is knowledge of
things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” -Doctrine
and Covenants 93:24
It is knowledge which is why “A
man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pg. 217) knowledge, perfect knowledge of God, is what saves us. And perfect knowledge comes by means of
faith.
Perfect knowledge of all things pertaining to
God past, present, future= truth, and light and truth= intelligence, and
intelligence= the glory of God. Then when we gain perfect knowledge of God
through our faith, we become in a portion or degree, Gods ourselves, “…line
upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little … and unto
him receiveth God will give more, and from them which shall say, we have
enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.” (2nd
Nephi 28:30)
That is why:
“Whatever principle of intelligence we
attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a
person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence
and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to
come.” -Doctrine
and Covenants 130:18-19
This scripture is not necessarily
referring to worldly knowledge. It is
referring, but not exclusively, to heavenly knowledge of God. This is the kind of knowledge that gives one
an advantage in the world to come. Why?
“A man is saved no faster than he gets
knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into
captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more
knowledge and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and
give us knowledge of the things of God.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pg.
217)
So when we become sanctified we become
cleansed, or purified, by Christ from the sins, imperfections, and everything
that makes us fall short of the glory of God.
We are then able to become partakers of the glory of God (aka
intelligence, knowledge, truth). How are
we sanctified?
“And again, if ye by the grace of
God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in
Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ,
which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye
become holy, without spot.” -Moroni
10:33
“For
by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the
blood ye are sanctified” -Moses
6:60
It
is by the blood that was shed by Christ for every person in the world, or other
words it is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
What is the atonement? It is not
just a payment made by Christ for the price of sins. It is to become “at one” with God. Jesus Christ made it possible for us to
become “one” with God. Because we are
all imperfect and have sin, we cannot enter into the presence of God and become
one with Him. Christ shed his blood so
that we may become sanctified of all imperfections and become perfect, even as
Christ is, and become one with Him and the Father. Here are the words of Christ in His
intercessory prayer with the apostles to the Father found in John chapter 17.
“17-19 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is
truth. (what
is truth? What does truth do to the evil one?) As thou hast sent me into the
world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I
sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. (Christ
is the mediator between us and the father, because he is God and is sanctified,
he can sanctify us)
20
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word; (This
atonement is not just for the apostles, but for all those who will believe)
21-23 That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the
world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be
one, even as we are one:
I
in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the
world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved
me.” -John 17:17-23
We become one with one with Father and Christ, even as
they are already one. Not physically one because we all have separate bodies, but
literal in the sense that we become one with the Godhead through the spirit of
God, which can be referred to as the “mind” of the God (Lectures on Faith Lecture 5) - that spirit we become
partakers of through the baptism of fire when we receive the Holy Spirit. We become one with them because we have the
same glory as they do, which can only be given to us by Jesus Christ, which
Glory, or in other words intelligence, or in other words light and truth, or in
other words that perfect knowledge of God, makes it possible for us to be made
perfect in them as one. This is the true
purpose of the atonement. It is becoming
one with The Father and Christ! To
ascend to their level of glory and progression and become Gods ourselves, while
in the flesh.
Baptism
While on
my mission a new policy was initiated concerning the requirements of
baptism. In a zone conference it was
announced that before an investigator could be baptized he/she must fill out
their “My Family” booklet. They would
have to do their genealogy work and prepare names for the temple before they
would be allowed to covenant with God for themselves through baptism. As little as this additional requirement may
be, it didn’t feel right to me. I opened
up my scriptures to 3rd Nephi chapter 11. This is the chapter where Christ first visits
the people of ancient America. The very
first thing Christ does is set the forth the manner of baptism and the requirements
necessary for the ordinance. Read 3rd Nephi 11:21-41. Repeatedly Christ lays down the doctrine
of baptism saying there shall be no
disputations among you. (vs 22, 28)
“22 And
again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto
them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize;
and there shall be no disputations among you.
23 Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth
of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name,
on this wise shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the
water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.” -3rd
Nephi 11:22-23
The requirement for baptism is repentance, which means to turn to away
from sin and turn to Christ, and desire.
There are no disputations to the requirements. There are only 2: Repentance and desire. I then shared the following scripture from 3rd
Nephi 11 with first my zone leader at the conference:
“39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso
buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against them.
40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it
for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock;
but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to
receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.” -3rd Nephi 11:39-40
Jesus Christ himself in 3rd Nephi 11 just explained the
Doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ concerning baptism and then said not to
add any more or less to and establish it as doctrine. By
adding additional requirements to baptism the church has added to the doctrine,
which cometh of evil, and is not built upon the rock of Christ. My zone leader told me that because the
mission president has “keys” and revelation he can change things. Sorry, but keys are a charge, responsibility,
ministry to carry out a duty. They do not give a man authority or power to
change or add upon doctrine established by God himself. God is the
same today as yesterday, and forever. (D&C3:2) God doesn’t change his mind about doctrine or the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. He doesn’t change his mind about
the doctrine He established, even in the pre-existence, from the foundation
of the world. (1 Nephi 10:18,
Mosiah 4:6-7, Alma 12:25) Yes ,certain laws will be fulfilled, (law of Moses
3rd Nephi 9:17-20), but the doctrine of Christ can’t change. Things which the church has taught as doctrine,
claiming that God simply changed his mind about it, like polygamy and blacks
being denied the priesthood, was not God’s will or doctrine to ever begin
with! They were falsely establish by men
as doctrine because of racism and sexual immorality within the leadership of
the church following Joseph’s death. I
can assure you Joseph Smith was not racist because he knows God is no respecter
of person (Acts 10:34-35) and he was not polygamist nor did he support it- he
sought to abolish it.
So I brought the baptismal requirement issue, along with the scriptures
from 3rd Nephi 11:39-40, up with my mission president. I found out that the Philippines Baguio Mission
was the lowest of all the 21 mission in temple names inputted and one of the
lowest in baptism. So the new
requirement was implemented as a means to get higher stats, which is a great
tactic if you are running a business, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a business,
it’s the eternal salvation and exaltation of individual souls. My stake president and I had a long
conversation where I expressed my worry about how the sacred baptismal covenant
has become polluted with too many regulations, policies, and agendas. Baptism is sacred personal promise and
witness to God, you can’t use something as sacred and personal as that as a
means to obtain high statistics. We came
to no conclusion. We only shared our
viewpoints on the issue.
It was shortly after my conversation with my mission president when I
received a very surprising revelation that I needed to go home
immediately. I was getting transferred
to a new area, yet God was telling me that my work in service to the Filipino
people was complete. I looked deep into
my heart to make sure that it was the voice of the Lord calling me home and not
something else. I would have stayed in
the mission despite the doctrinal issue of baptism. I would have stayed despite my family
issues. In fact, I LOVED the Philippines
and I did not want to leave. I wanted
to stay, but God wanted me to come home.
It broke my heart, but the voice of the Lord was calling me home. I prayed and fasted much and I know that it
was His voice calling me. I know my
mission was honorable in the sight of our Lord, and that I learned and
accomplish everything that the Lord needed me to learn and accomplish in those
16 months.
So I went in for an interview with the mission president and told him
what the will of God was for me. This
was a Monday morning. My mission
president asked me to call home. I
believe it was divine grace that I was able to reach my family, who were out
camping in high the mountains in an out-of-cellphone service area. Now my family did not normally go on camping
trips, but they felt that particular Sunday (Monday Philippines time) that they
needed to spend the Sabbath Day away from city in order to do some soul
searching about their relationship with God and with the church. My parents came to a decision that they would
not resign from the church or go inactive until I had returned home. They felt that it would not be fair to put me
in that position. It was shortly after
they made this decision that my mother’s phone received a call from me from the
Philippines. They were shocked when I told
them that God wants me to come home. It was the Lord’s hand moving us. They
knew it was time to act. Shortly after
returning from their trip they asked to be released from their callings and
ceased activity in the church. They haveshared their story, and so I will not attempt to do so here.
Sacrament and Baptism by Fire
I returned home April 1st and on the morning of April 4th
I was baptized by my father at the river.
Yes, I was baptized at 8 years old, and yes, I have been re-baptized and
yes, the ordinance was performed by the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood and
power of God. Of course the re-baptism
was not sanctioned by the church, but it was recognized by God. Why was I baptized again? I can assure you I
did not get baptized into any other church or religious organization. I wanted to repent and the first fruits of
repentance is baptism! (Moroni 8:25) I was baptized again because I had a desire
to come closer to God and witness unto Him that I want to follow him. I
wanted to renew my baptismal covenant with Christ. Nowhere in the scriptures does it say we
cannot be baptized again by proper authority.
When Christ came to the people of America in 3rd Nephi those
were the people that were spared though the horrible destructions because they
did not reject the prophets ( 3rd Nephi 10:12). These
people who did not reject the prophets were the people who were baptized by
Nephi. (3rd Nephi 7:25-26) Yet it was these very same
people in which Christ commanded repeatedly that they should be baptized.
“And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my
name, or ye can in nowise receive these things. And again I say unto you,
ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little
child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.” -3rd Nephi 11:37-38
Rebaptism was practice in the early church up until the 1900’s. The idea
that the sacrament renews your baptismal covenant is false. Search the scriptures and try to find where
it says the sacrament can renew your baptismal covenant and give you a
remission of sins. I personally think
that the reason rebaptism was removed from the church and replaced with the
idea the sacrament renewed covenants was a tactic used to increase church
attendance. The purpose of the sacrament is to simply have God’s spirit with
us. Christ defines the purpose of the
sacrament after he brakes and blesses the bread.
“And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto
you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me.
And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.” -3rd Nephi 18:7
Again Christ defines the purpose of sacrament after administering the
wine.
“And this shall ye always do to those who repent and are baptized in my
name; and ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you,
that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do
always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.” -3rd Nephi 18:11
In fact the purpose of the sacrament is defined in the actual sacrament
prayer itself
“O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus
Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake
of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness
unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them
the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which
he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.
Amen.” -Moroni 4:3
The purpose of the sacrament is to take it in remembrance of Him, to
witness unto the Father that we are willing to take upon the name of Christ,
remember Him ALWAYS, and keep the commandments.
We do this so that we may have his Spirit to be upon us, which spirit is
the Holy Spirit.
So after Jesus defines the purpose of the sacrament he gives us this
warning in verse 13
“But whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not
built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain
descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they
shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them.” -3rd
Nephi 18:13
More would be making the sacrament something it is not like saying it
gives you forgiveness of sins because it’s renewing your baptismal
covenant. Less would be not kneeling down
in humility before your maker as a congregation when you ask the Father
to bless and sanctify the emblems. (Moroni 4:2… “and they did kneel down with
the church...”) Less would be using water instead of wine. Drinking alcoholic wine for the sacrament
is not contrary to the Word of Wisdom. (Doctrine and Covenants 89:5-6) There
is reason why wine is supposed to be used.
It is symbolic of the savior in so many ways which helps us remember
Him. Yes, I drink alcoholic grape juice, but only for the sacrament. For those of you Mormons who have never
tasted wine and are wondering what it tastes like… it’s disgusting and
bitter. Kind of what you would expect
for something representing the blood that was shed for each one of us to taste
like.
After we are baptized we are to receive to Holy Ghost. This doesn’t come to us by default when we
have hands placed on our head, but it comes as we diligently seek it, hence in
the command in the blessing “…and I say
unto receive the Holy Ghost”. Just
like the priesthood, we do not obtain it by default from an ordination by
man. We don’t receive it unless we do
something to qualify for it and it comes from God. The Lamanites were baptized by fire and with
the Holy Ghost and they didn’t even know it! (3rd Nephi 9:20) Therefore laying on of hands does not
guarantee one’s baptism by fire. So why
is baptism by fire essential? Let’s turn to 2nd Nephi 32 and read
the entire chapter:
“And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat
in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by
the way. (the way being
baptism) But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts? 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? (so after we are baptized we receive
the Holy Ghost, which allow us to speak with the tongue of angels… what the
heck is that?)
“Angels speak by the power of the
Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said
unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will
tell you all things what ye should do.” -2nd Nephi 32:1-3
To speak with the tongue of angels mean that
we are literally able to commune with heavenly angels. That is why it is “by the Spirit ye are justified”
(Moses 6:60) Being justified by the spirit gives us that power to commune with
heavenly messengers. It also enlightens
and expands the mind to the scriptures.
Because the Holy Ghost gives us the tongue of angels which allows us to
understand angels, and because angels speak the words of Christ, and the
words of Christ can also be found in scripture, then Holy Ghost also opens up
the scriptures to a greater and deeper understanding. This is the reason that since I was baptized
again and received the baptism by fire through the Holy Ghost I have been able
to comprehend the scriptures like never before.
The plain and precious things are so clear to me. I feel the exact same way Joseph Smith did
after he was baptized.
“Our minds being now enlightened, we began
to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning
and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner
which we never could attain to previously, nor ever before had thought of.” -Joseph Smith History 1:74
I am
humbled by the increase of light and knowledge I have received through the
power of the Holy Spirit. I have gained
this knowledge because the Holy Spirit has taught it to me through the
scriptures. This is the role of the Holy
Ghost. To enlighten us with
understanding. We need the Holy Spirit
in order to understand the scriptures so that we can obtain the correct
knowledge of Deity so that we can be like Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and
be able to exercise faith properly unto salvation. This is why we take the sacrament - so that
we may have his spirit to be with
us. Because when we have His spirit, we
are filled with an understanding of the things of God, which is perfect
knowledge, which is light and truth, which is intelligence, which is the glory
of God.
Remember how I said
the Aaronic priesthood is the preparatory priesthood of a fellowship among men,
which is to prepare us receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is a
fellowship between God and man? Remember how Aaronic priesthood holds keys to
the ministering of angels? Well what is
the job of an angels? They do the work of the God, which is “to
bring to pass the immortally and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39)
which immortality and eternal life come only though being redeemed by Jesus
Christ which comes though entering into His presence. (Ether 3:13) So angels prepare us to
enter into in the presence of God, from whom we will receive the highest
priesthood. That is what the job of
Peter James and John was as they ministered unto Adam and Eve. (endowment
session) They were angels and they ministered
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which gospel is to prepare us to enter into the
presence of God. This is the doctrine of
Christ and this is why no further doctrine will be given until Christ
himself gives it to you personally.
6 Behold,
this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given
until after he (Christ)
shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you
in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do. -2nd Nephi 32:6
Nephi wrote 2nd Nephi as plainly
as he possible could, yet people don’t understand it because of the
unbelief as I had mentioned earlier in this document.
“And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the
Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief,
and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they
will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is
given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.” -2nd Nephi 32:7
“Wherefore, now after I have spoken these
words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do
ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the
dark.” -2nd Nephi
32:4
If you don’t understand what I am writing
and scriptures I have shared please do
as Nephi suggests and ask. If you don’t
ask you will perish in the dark. Take
the scriptures I have shared, read them, ponder them, and please PRAY about it
for an understanding!
“And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive
that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak
concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a
man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not
a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray. But behold, I say unto
you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing
unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name
of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy
performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.” -2nd Nephi 32:8-9
Ultimately
I was left with a decision: be brought into a church disciplinary council to be
excommunicated, or ask to have my name removed from the records of the church. Because I love my bishop and stake president,
and because they are such wonderful and great men, I did not want them to be
brought under condemnation for judging me falsely. So May 27, 2015 I had my name removed from
the membership records of the Church. It
is those leaders in Salt Lake City who do err. But I am not the one with the
authority to accuse or condemn anyone. I
am only in authority to judge the doctrines proclaimed and the policies enforced. We are all commanded and have the obligation to
do just that. I would ask that you judge
what I have written in these pages, but that you judge so righteously in the
way prescribed in Moroni 7:14-19. I do have
an obligation to say that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is no
longer true because it does not follow the teaching in the Book of Mormon. It has a form of godliness, but lacks the
power thereof because it does more and less than what God would have it do. (3rd
Nephi 11:39-40, 3rd Nephi 18:12-13, Doctrine and Covenants 10:67-68)
The Gospel of Jesus Christ however is true.
It is the most beautiful and wonderful thing. I am full of gratitude to my Savior Jesus
Christ and will love Him for all eternity.
I will place my faith and trust in Him.
The priesthood is alive on the earth and I thank God for that marvelous
blessing. It doesn’t come from man, but
it comes from God when we ask for it. The prophet Joseph Smith saw God the Father
and Jesus Christ in 1820 and he was given the power to translate the Book of
Mormon. That book is true. The gospel of Jesus Christ was restored, but
the restoration is not complete. Joseph
Smith was murdered before the complete fullness and truths were revealed. It is up to us to repent, put aside all pride
and worldly idols and humbly open our hearts to God, and come unto Christ. Let us not procrastinate the day in which we
turn to Christ to develop our personal relationship with Him. Blessed
are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble, (Alma
32:16) don’t wait for God to humble you.
Because He will, but He will do so out of love, in an attempt to open
your heart up to Him, because eternal salvation is far greater than any earthly
or temporal blessing. It is up to us to
rise up and rescue the restoration. This
a great and dreadful time to live in.
For the trials which lay ahead for our nation we will need God more than
ever. We must learn now how to have
faith in Him. Only He can save us. Blessed be the name of the most high God. He is wonderful, He is all powerful, He is
truth, He is just, He is merciful, He is patient, He is eternal, He is love,
and He is my Heavenly Father. In the
Holy name of Christ, Amen.
My reason for resignation was similar to yours. I was brought into an interview with the Stake President because people in my ward had reported that I had been posting articles on facebook which were apostate - even though they were not. They were in favor of the Lord and his gospel. I was told I would face a disciplinary council. Because I didn't want the leaders to bring condemnation upon themselves through those acts, I also chose to resign.
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