And Then She Was Gone. . .

I write today to inform the world of the passing of my spouse and eternal companion, Patsy. Her passing came upon us all suddenly and without much warning. Those who have heard about it have asked, "Was she sick?" The answer is simple: not until in the last twenty-four hours when sepsis filled her body.

I met Patsy Hewlett when she was a student at East High School, one year younger than me. Until she drew her final peaceful breath on Earth, she loved me and her whole family completely, absolutely and wholeheartedly without any reservations. She was an emissary of Jesus Christ, a true angel on Earth. Easily the most spiritual woman I have ever known, she was on intimate terms with the Almighty.

One night recently, we settled down in front of the TV to watch a movie together over dinner. I asked her to say the blessing on the food while I paused the movie. There is a counter that tracks the minutes between the pause button and the play button. When we looked up again, the timer had exceeded 15 minutes. And that was a prayer over food, but so much more! Her individual prayer roll grew longer with each passing month. I used to tease her that she left out the tribe of Reuben. Oh, what prayers we have shared together over the years! Her final act on Earth, I believe, was to die, return to the spirit world and begin answering her own prayers on behalf of all for whom she prayed. Don't be surprised if you discover a new guardian angel who is pleading your cause before the Throne of Divine Grace. Without even knowing it, you may have been on her mind and in her heart. 💗💗 She loved, loved, loved hearts.

How I love this dear companion! Our first date by all accounts should have been recorded as a complete disaster. They ran out of food before we got there, the dance band had taken a break just before we arrived, and there was nothing to do but take up a spot on the side of the dance floor and talk. And oh, did we talk!

Our conversation expanded into the early morning hours on our way back home. It was soul-searching, deeply spiritual, and wide-ranging. I was amazed at the depth of her soul, the strength of her testimony, and the power that spilled forth from her all night long. When quizzed by my mother the next morning, she asked, "What was Patsy wearing?" I stammered out a response, "I think it was a yellow gown." I quickly assured her my memory wasn't bad, but that we were engrossed in a spirit to spirit deep connection I had never encountered. 

One of our younger sons said to me yesterday that he has been lamenting his children would not know or be able to remember Grandma Patsy. I said to him, "Don't worry, I will write the exhaustive seven-volume series about her and I won't leave a single stone unturned." I pray I may live long enough to complete that joyous work for our posterity.

As an example of her thoughtfulness, I took her to the emergency room in the Park City Hospital only last week when she was complaining of intense chest pain. I thought she may be having a heart attack, but it was only pericarditis, an inflammation of her heart lining, and I took home a regimen of anti-inflammatory medicine to treat it. Behind us in line came a middle-aged mother accompanied by her daughter. The mother was crying out in agonizing pain, gently holding her arm which we later discovered had been broken. Without even thinking, Patsy instructed me to let her go first in line ahead of us. And that's what happened. She always thought about someone else ahead of herself. It was instinctive with her, a reflexive act of charity.

We had a family gathering this last Sunday afternoon in our home. I had received permission from our bishop to offer her the sacrament after which we shared testimonies with each other. She was sedated for pain in her hospice bed, but even with her eyes closed, she said "Amen" when each one concluded, and she mouthed the words of the hymns we sang. It was a spiritual, peaceful outpouring of love for the Savior, the gospel and for each other. She loved every minute.

Then later that night she sat up, spoke with her beloved son, Andrew, who is a highly skilled surgeon. He told her he was concerned about her lungs. She said, "Yes, so am I." He asked her if she would like to return to the hospital for further testing to see if he could make her stronger. She said she would, and we packed her as gently as we could into the car.

That was the beginning of the end. They discovered three infectious sites in her body, including pneumonia in her lungs, none of which had been evident in her most recent blood workups. 

"Dad," whispered daughter Melanie early the next morning, "She's gone."

And with that simple notification she had left quickly, quietly and without disturbing anyone or being a burden to anyone - it was on her own terms and her own way.

People ask me how I'm holding up. The answer is also simple - I am being borne up as on the wings of angels all around me. They are my family, friends, and nearly everyone who has heard about her passing. And most of all, I am being sustained by my dearest Patsy who continues to minister to my needs in a higher and holier place.

 

Give Thanks, Flood the World with Gratitude

 

Yesterday President Russell M. Nelson offered his prescription for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the world and spiking here at home in Utah. His secret formula: 1) Flood the world with personal expressions of gratitude for the next seven days, and 2) offer up sincere and humble prayer daily.

That may sound too simplistic to some, but he explained in another news release that this idea hit him in the middle of the night and he followed through on the impression the next morning. He offered his own prayer for all the world to witness as he concluded his message.

So I will begin my personal "Thanksgiving Journal," Day 1: I #givethanks first and foremost to my beloved companion of over 50 years, Patsy. That's her, above (third from the left), in a four-generation picture on the snowy day of grand-daughter Ashley John's sealing at the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. She has the faith of a pioneer woman. I've often teased her that she was born 200 years too late. It was her leadership in mustering the faith of everyone in our family and our ward to see me through the episode of my meningioma diagnosis and subsequent brain surgery. She would have been at the top of my list in any event, but this latest example merely burnishes her place in all our hearts, especially mine.

I #givethanks for the knowledge of my Father in Heaven and His Only Begotten Son, our Redeemer Jesus Christ. But for the Savior's atoning sacrifice and Joseph Smith's humble prayer, we would be without hope in this world for the world to come.

I am constantly pondering what my life would be like without the Prophet Joseph Smith. As he opened the last dispensation of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these last days his faithfulness and persistence were astounding by anyone's calculations. Even his enemies seem to have been silenced to some degree as the monumental publication of the Joseph Smith Papers puts to flight so many of the specious and scurrilous allegations that now seem frivolous. I #givethanks to Joseph in this 200th anniversary year of his First Vision of the Father and the Son in the grove of trees near Palmyra, New York on a spring morning in 1820.

I #givethanks to God for the organization of His church, the only true and living church on the face of the earth today - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Its genius organizational design and flexibility for growth worldwide is expanding its reach day by day as we gather the house of Israel on both sides of the veil.

I #givethanks for a living and loving prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who continues unabated to give guidance and loving counsel to all the world. His gentle "invitations" are just that - calculated to offer a welcoming hand of fellowship to all who will respond with obedience and sacrifice. He is absolutely a man to match the mountains that surround us in the tops of the mountains of Utah.

This Thanksgiving season will be different because we are living in a COVID-19 pandemic. I hope we can remember that it's not to be measured as successful based upon the number who normally would gather around our table for dinner. Rather, this year let us measure ourselves based upon the depths of our gratitude for all the blessings a loving Heavenly Father has showered upon us.

I am greatly blessed for the return of my brain this year. How grateful I am for the advances of medical science that made possible the intrusion into my skull to excise that meningioma tumor. I #givethanks not only for skilled physicians and a talented medical team to support them, but most of all for the Great Physician who has made the healing so complete and perfect.

I think I am ready to even #givethanks for the brain tumor, now removed, that has put me in remembrance as never before of all the blessings I have received.

Patience, Not Anger, Eventually Wins Out

 About thirty-one years ago we added a large two-story addition to our original cabin structure in Pine Valley. It was late in November when we commenced construction, and getting the addition framed up and closed in before winter was our primary concern. 

We contacted the power company (then Utah Power & Light, now Rocky Mountain Power) to move the buried primary power cable running through the valley, and waited a week after three failed attempts at getting a response from them. Each day the temperature dropped, and the footing and foundation contractor told me he would have to move ahead, or cancel and wait until next spring. He was getting worried about pouring the cement in the winter months because of falling temperatures. 

After no response from the power company, except for shallow promises, "We'll get right on that," we decided to move ahead with a work around solution. The cement contractor fashioned a PVC collar to fit around the two-inch power cable where it would go through the two foundation walls and allow the power cable to run through our crawl space in the new addition. Problem solved, or so we thought.

Construction proceeded, we did in fact get the structure finished and closed in before the winter's fury descended upon us, and for those thirty-one years we have lived with that power cable in our crawl space. These are the things one does when you live where we live.

Fast forward thirty-one years. Despite several additional attempts to get the attention of the power company over the years, nothing was ever done until last week. We heard a knock at the door, and opened to greet a crew chief from Rocky Mountain Power who let us know they were on our property to inspect where the main power line was so that additional work around us could be accomplished. Blue stakes had marked the existing line with red paint and little red flags, and the crew chief was simply asking if the markings that showed the line running under our addition could possibly be accurate. I assured him they were, then he asked, "Could we go down in the crawl space and take some pictures of the line?" 

He took the pictures back to the office, and his parting words were, "I can't believe the power company has left this situation unaddressed for thirty-plus years. I don't know if we can get to it right away but certainly by next spring we'll move that line out around your home to the east, cut the existing cable and remove it from under your home." 

Imagine my surprise when I awoke the next day to find trucks, track hoes, dump trucks, and a large crew of men from the power company's subcontractor who were ready to go to work on rerouting the line. We walked the ground and agreed on the new trench location for the cable, and they explained they would bury the conduit in the ground that day and a crew from Rocky Mountain Power would follow up the first of this week and pull new cable and install a new terminal transformer box on our north property line. The speed, efficiency and accuracy with which they worked was impressive.

Turned out, when he got back to the office with the pictures, it was concluded quickly by the crew chief's boss, Mitch, that this was a project that leaped to the top of the list of priorities. He was good friends with two of our sons, Jake and Rich, who had lived in Mitch's neighborhood over in Heber City, and they had played together on the same Church basketball team and won a regional tournament together. He said to me when we met, "You've raised two great sons there, who have become great men. When I learned this was your home and the home where they had been raised, I was determined to make this happen sooner rather than later." It is good be the father of great sons, I thought to myself once again.

Last night, Mitch and his crew from Rocky Mountain Power arrived around 6:30 p.m., and confirmed they were there to pull the new cable through the buried conduit and make the new connections. They worked on it for about four hours, and we were only without power for about five minutes while they made the connections at both ends of the new cable in the junction boxes. When Mitch came up from the crawl space with the cable neatly coiled up in his hands, he said, "Well, promise kept after thirty-one years - we've taken out that 7200-volt power line from under your house and moved it safely away from you and your family."

The point of my telling this story is simple. Sometimes life presents us with experiences where we have choices. We can either huff and puff and threaten to blow down someone's house, or we can choose to be patient and civil, waiting for future events to unfold as they always will when truth rises to the top as cream rises in a bucket of fresh milk. And no, I will not be suing Rocky Mountain Power any time soon, and no, sitting on that 7200-volt power line for 31 years did not cause my brain tumor.

In this political election season in America, let us all be patient with one another and our politicians. Let us not be pouters or rioters. Let us, instead, be civil and patient with each other. America is the land where God chose to set the events in motion that would be hundreds of years unfolding in the ongoing restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Israel is being gathered from the four corners of Earth's expanse, and that work will take some time to complete. Be patient. "Let God Prevail," as President Russell M. Nelson has reminded us recently.

And just like the power company that fulfilled all its promises some thirty-one years later, God will yet fulfill all His promises too. (See Doctrine & Covenants 1:37). America will not fail in this political season, just as it has not failed in prior election seasons. Sometimes it just takes a little while to fulfill the promises the way we had hoped.

The True Doctrine of Womanhood

God knows males and females are innately equal. “The women’s 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 world’s view contend equality for women means God’s 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, in marriage they must be different. One must be male and one must be female. They cannot both be males or females. Changing the laws and taking public opinion polls, attempting to be "politically correct" will never change the true doctrine associated with women.

The male part is necessary to manufacture the seed. If there is no seed there is no life. This morning when I wished Patsy a Happy Mothers Day, her response was, "I couldn't have done it without you." And she is right. The dirty little secret among every man since Adam is that we get great pleasure in our role as men in creating children. Women, and here's the true doctrine, do all the heavy lifting. That said, there is no life without both a male and a female contribution.

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, God’s 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 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 God’s 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. Because of the revealed truth inherent in the Restoration doctrines, "God" has been revealed as an exalted couple possessing the power of procreation and the mission of the Church is to help God’s 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 society’s 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 God’s 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

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], 169-70).

In the war of words and false doctrine that engulfs us every day over homosexuality, arguments abound whether homosexual tendencies are genetic, environmental or learned behavior. While it spices debate, the answer eternally 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 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.

As recently as last month in General Conference, President Boyd K. Packer reminded us: "Tolerance is a virtue, but like all virtues, when exaggerated, it transforms itself into a vice. We need to be careful of the “tolerance trap” so that we are not swallowed up in it. The permissiveness afforded by the weakening of the laws of the land to tolerate legalized acts of immorality does not reduce the serious spiritual consequence that is the result of the violation of God’s law of chastity."

Recognizing the two parts must be different, males and females must 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 within the dichotomy of the marriage covenant.

The Easter Gift of Jesus Christ

It was thirteen years ago during Holy Week that my mother, Helen Lee Goates, passed away. Her funeral was held the day before Easter.

In the intervening years her influence on all of us has continued unabated. In fact, her influence may be more pronounced now that she is in the spirit world than it ever was when she was living in mortality. Life after death for us is not a matter of speculation, it is an absolute certainty. One day in the not too distant future she will be joined in the spirit world by my father. And in some future day beyond that they will come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, having been true and faithful to "the gospel" throughout their mortal probation.

Defining the term "the gospel" is a relatively easy matter if one cherishes the written Word. And the "fulness of the gospel" is also a term easily defined by the Lord's own declarations.

The Book of Mormon contains "the fulness of the gospel"

Our Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ

"Gospel" is a word one hears tossed loosely about in our modern world, but its meaning is defined in numerous ways. One fact remains -- the word is linked with scriptures and churches.  The Hebrew definition is simple.  It is usually translated as "glad tidings of great joy." The Greek translation is "good news." So what is the "good news" all about?  It's the reality of the redeeming blood of our Savior Jesus Christ that was shed for us in a voluntary act of love for all mankind regardless of ethnicity, gender, age or church affiliation. We may argue about the details as Christians, and it matters not what anyone else believes. Whether people even know about Jesus Christ does not alter in one iota the reality of His, and ultimately a universal, resurrection for all people.

His atonement is the integral centerpiece of a "plan" given to us by Heavenly Father. The plan involves creation, birth, the fall, the atonement, redemption from the fall and our eventual return to Him. Principles and ordinances of the gospel are involved. We are invited again and again to enlist our full participation and involvement in the plan.

These principles and ordinances are called "saving principles and ordinances"

Many have asked me over the years to define "the fulness of the gospel." I always defer to the Prophet Joseph Smith in answering this question because of the knowledge he received in restoring those saving principles and ordinances. What I think is never very useful if it doesn't align with scripture.

I have heard some sagacious high priests opine on this topic and conclude The Book of Mormon does not contain all the doctrines of the Restoration like temple marriage, the three degress of glory and baptism for the dead. Therefore, they claim, the fulness of the gospel cannot be found therein.  They point to the Doctrine and Covenants as a more complete record teaching the fulness of the gospel.

I could not disagree more strenuously. If words mean anything, Moroni revealed to Joseph Smith "there was a book [The Book of Mormon] deposited, written upon gold plates. . . that [contained] the fulness of the everlasting Gospel. . . as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants" of this continent (Joseph Smith History 1:34). In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord says several times The Book of Mormon does contain the fulness of the gospel (D&C 20:9; D&C 27:5; D&C 35:12, 17; D&C 42:12).

The first reference to the fulness of the gospel in The Book of Mormon occurs when our resurrected Lord  commands the Nephites to record his words. The purpose, He explained, was so His words could be brought forth among the Gentiles in the latter days so "the fulness of these things shall be made known among them." (3 Nephi 16:4, 7).

We are warned in the record the latter-day Gentiles would sin against the gospel and reject the fulness of the gospel. The evidence of this fulfillment of prophecy needs no elaboration to even the most casual observer who is aware of the political debates in this country. The resurrected Savior mentions specifically what those sins would be and describes them as "all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations" and clarifies the rejection of the fulness of the gospel will cause Him to bring the fulness of the gospel from among them (3 Nephi 16:8-10).

I've often pondered what that would look like. Would it mean our missionaries would be withdrawn from certain places in the last days because the people reject them? Are there gentile nations who would so fully reject the Word, causing us to withdraw? In recent years the Church has done just that among many European missons that were combined and consolidated. Now as the younger age for missionaries has kicked in, look where the prophet is re-deploying the missionaries in countries where the growth of the Church is exploding.

References from Moroni, the Doctrine and Covenants and The Book of Mormon itself all show The Book of Mormon does contain the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. By letting the scriptures define our terms, "the fulness of the gospel" and "the gospel" are used interchangeably in The Book of Mormon.

"The gospel" defined

The term "gospel" is defined by the Savior in 3 Nephi 27:9-22 as His coming to the earth to do the Father's will. As He was lifted up on the cross by men, so will all people eventually be lifted up and judged by the standards the Savior laid down for them as He taught them in person.

There are four specific conditions set forth for those who would obtain salvation from the effects of the fall of Adam and Eve:  (1) They have washed their garments in His blood through faith in His atoning sacrifice; (2) they have repented of all their sins; (3) they have been baptized in His name, which implies by the proper authority and method He outlined for them; and (4) they have been sanctified by receiving the Holy Ghost. 

Those who meet the conditions He set forth and subsequently endure in their faith in His redemption to the end of their mortal lives will be "lifted up" at the last day. That means they will be resurrected in a degree of glory, among the "many mansions" He prepared. (John 14:2; D&C 98:18).

This definition of the gospel or the fulness of the gospel is totally consistent with three of the Lord's definitions of the gospel we find in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 33:11-12; D&C 39:5-6; and D&C 76:40-43).

While the high priests who continue to debate the point are somewhat accurate in that there are some principles of the gospel, ordinances and doctrines which are not included in The Book of Mormon, all that is necessary -- the fulness of the gospel -- to lead a person to salvation in the celestial kingdom is included.  In the Doctrine and Covenants we have additional revelations coming later through the Prophet Joseph Smith about entrance into the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. These doctrines of exaltation include eternal marriage, salvation for our dead ancestors, and three heavens or degrees in the celestial glory (D&C 131:1-4).

Though they cannot be found in The Book of Mormon, some of these doctrines are implied. (See 4 Nephi 1:11; also 3 Nephi 25:5-6; Ether 12:32).

I have written before about the difference between power and authority in the priesthood, so a lengthy explanation is not needed here. But when the blessings of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the Holy Ghost are bestowed upon men (and women as outlined in previous posts), they may obtain through their faithfulness the power to receive all things the Father gives to His children. The doctrines of exaltation are bestowed through these powers. The Book of Mormon teaches the necessity of man's receiving both the priesthood and the Holy Ghost, noting all mankind may be exalted through these powers. (Alma 13:10-12).

Embrace the Fourth Article of Faith

In the great debates among the high priests (and they are many), the problem is too much repetition of only casual and occasional readings of the scriptures tending to mislead. If we did nothing more than embrace the Fourth Article of Faith we would find a perfect recitation of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel as taught in The Book of Mormon. All the steps of the fulness of the gospel are mentioned there and are ongoing, demanding a lifetime of dedication and effort to complete.

Ask yourself, when are we done with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, burying our old man of sin and walking in a newness of life in obedience to the promptings of the Holy Ghost?  

The path leading to eternal life

The initial embrace of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel only places us on the path leading to eternal life. Perpetual feasting at the banquet table of the doctrines contained in The Book of Mormon empowers us to embrace and live the fulness of the gospel.  We continue our journey of unknown length and complexity in the path of mortality until we are granted eternal life.

The Savior's own definition of the gospel as He gave it to the Nephites amplifies the path to eternal life. He testified He came into the world to do the will of the Father, that He "be lifted up upon the cross." (3 Nephi 27:13-14). His being lifted up on the cross at Golgotha was the culminating event of His ministry following His agony in Gethsemane. John corroborates this conclusion by recording that Jesus, after being lifted up, knew all things were now accomplished. (John 19:28).

We are faced with this unavoidable paradox as fallen mortals: The Savior told the Nephites "no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; . . . nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith." We can only hope to enter his kingdom if we are clean, and we can only be clean through our faith in His perfection. His garments were stained by His own blood as He voluntarily took upon Himself the stain of our sins, leaving our garments white and pure. This washing was done through "the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end." (3 Nephi 27:19).

Even before the atonement had been made, knowing it would be made (see Mosiah 16:6), all mankind were commanded to repent. (3 Nephi 27:19-20). This principle is expanded in The Book of Mormon. Amulek taught Zeezrom, "the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins." (Helaman 5:10). Repentance from all sins is clearly an ongoing process. That's why a one-time confession of the need for Christ in one's life is simply insufficient.

I have observed over a lifetime this unavoidable and sometimes uncomfortable truth -- the more I learn about the gospel the more my knowledge expands of the things for which I need to repent. That ongoing process is what brings us closer to sanctification in the blood of the Lamb. Nephi expressed it beautifully, and from the time I first read his words as a teenager until now there is always instant recognition of myself. He spoke of "the sins which do so easily beset me." The sins which agonize his soul slackened his strength because of his afflictions and he is angry because of his enemies. (2 Nephi 4:15-29). That's a highly developed sensitivity to the things of the Spirit that would never afflict one who is ambivalent or careless in his privileges with the Spirit.

That's why it's a process and we partake of the emblems of his death in the sacrament once a week in order to retain a remission of our sins.  (Mosiah 4:26).

Come unto Christ and be baptized in His name

When we obey the initial commandment to repent, we learn the commandment also includes coming unto Christ and being "baptized in [his] name." (3 Nephi 27:20). The Savior gave the Nephites explicit instructions regarding baptism. He had also given them authority to baptize, taught them immersion was the proper method of baptism, and gave them the exact wording to be used in the baptismal prayer. (3 Nephi 11:21-27).

In his definition of the gospel, the Savior specifies the purpose of baptism:  It is to receive the Holy Ghost. The gospel plan is that the person on whom the Holy Ghost is conferred "may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost" and thus stand spotless before Christ at the last day. (3 Nephi 27:20).

Being "born again"

We must be born again through a baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. (3 Nephi 9:20). Baptism places us on the path to eternal life.  After that, we must then press forward as led by the Spirit. (2 Nephi 31:17-20; Moroni 8:25-26). Through obedience to the principles and the saving ordinances of the gospel administered by the priesthood we are sanctified. To become sanctified is to become "pure and spotless before God."

This means being pure in thoughts and actions, not being able to "look upon sin save it were with abhorrence." (Alma 13:11-12). However, there is a difference between looking on sin with abhorrence and looking on the sinner.

All our Father's children, regardless of their current situation in mortality have access to the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. In the words of Joseph Smith, "God does not look on sin with allowance, but when men have sinned, there must be allowance made for them." (TPJS, 240-41). Part of that "allowance" is offering them a spiritual guide, the Holy Ghost. Routinely, investigators are taught by the missionaries how to recognize their first experiences with the Spirit of the Holy Ghost. As the Testator, the Holy Ghost bears witness that the doctrines the missionaries teach are true.

The fulness of the gospel, as the Lord Jesus Christ defined it to the Nephites, means a lifelong process of seeking eternal life. It involves choices and accountability, but it also allows for abundant mercy and love.  There is obviously far too much "breakage" along the way, and ample provision has been made by our Savior to reclaim ALL of Heavenly Father's children who will claim their blessings through repentance.

After defining what the gospel is, the Savior taught the Nephites to continue doing the works in His church which they had seen Him do. (3 Nephi 27:21). He commanded them to write the things He had taught, which would judge the world. (3 Nephi 27:23-26). His teachings are the path for living in happiness. His teachings include enduring to the end of our mortal lives. (2 Nephi 9:24; 2 Nephi 31:15-16, 20; Alma 32:13, 15; 3 Nephi 15:9).

Learn the principle of the resurrection

President Wilford W. Woodruff

President Wilford W. Woodruff (1807-1898), said this: "Without the gospel of Christ the separation by death is one of the most gloomy subjects it is possible to contemplate; but just as soon as we obtain the gospel and learn the principle of the resurrection the gloom, sorrow and suffering occasioned by death are, in a great measure, taken away. . . The resurrection of the dead presents itself before the enlightened mind of man, and he has a foundation for his spirit to rest upon. That is the position of the Latter-day Saints today. We do know for ourselves, we are not in the dark with regard to this matter; God has revealed it to us and we do understand the principle of the resurrection of the dead, and that the gospel brings life and immortality to light." (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff [2004], 82-83).

"Enduring to the end"

It has been said enduring to the end is a fifth step in the gospel plan, but it is really part of the fourth step of becoming pure and spotless before God.

These examples of following the Savior and His Apostles in their teachings were recorded in the Bible, but  the Bible has lost many plain and precious parts (see 1 Nephi 13:23-29; also TPJS, 327, and the Eighth Article of Faith). The Lord has provided The Book of Mormon, the most correct book, to outline more clearly the plan given by our eternal Heavenly Father to return to His presence.

Although the world rejects The Book of Mormon as scripture, a prayerful examination of its contents will prove to the sincere seeker of truth it absolutely qualifies as holy scripture. There can be no other explanation for its origin, though many have been offered, that can be successfully substituted.

On this Easter weekend of 2013, I offer my own testimony that Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, is our Savior and Redeemer. He was resurrected. The borrowed tomb where He was first laid when dead on that fateful Friday afternoon now and forever remains empty. On Sunday morning it could not contain Him as He burst the bonds of death and brought to pass the glorious resurrection. As the "first fruits" of the resurrection, He prepared the way for each of us to someday be resurrected and eventually receive whatever degree of glory we choose.

I pray we may choose well, that we may know it, live it, and love it.

The Path of Safety in a Chaotic World

This morning I was approached in private by a member of my ward about a doctrinal question. He prefaced his question by stating I had an "encyclopedic" knowledge of Church policies and procedures, doctrine and history. I can assure you who read these pages such is not the case, but then you would already know that.

Last week someone wrote me asking to validate a "story" he had found on the Internet about President Joseph Fielding Smith, who became president of the Church at age 93. While the story had elements of what "could be" truth - and isn't that always the definition of "half truths?" - it was one of those stories that was not attributed to a recognized and authentic source. I could do little more than label it for what it was in fact - a "faith-promoting rumor."

President Joseph Fielding Smith

It sent my mind back to the days surrounding the death of President David O. McKay, and the subsequent sustaining of President Joseph Fielding Smith. At age 93, President Smith was only three years younger than President McKay when he died. There was widespread speculation among members of the Church that perhaps in the wisdom of men President Smith would be side-stepped in the succession process and a younger man would be named as president.

Not only were these rumors afloat, and had been for some time about the so-called "crisis in leadership" in the Church, but the world at large was in turmoil. There were routine threats of bombs and murder plots bandied about, and some of these touched the Church as well. It was during this time that speculation about the blacks receiving the priesthood had reached an apex. Even BYU's participation in sporting events drew threats against the Church.

Harold B. Lee's principal biographer was my father, L. Brent Goates. He records: "The far-reaching and potentially disastrous climax came as feared in the Sunday afternoon conference session, when another bomb threat occurred as Elder A. Theodore Tuttle was at the pulpit preaching on the theme 'If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.' A telephoned message was delivered to President Lee on the stand of the Tabernacle stating that a bomb would go off during that session. According to Salt Lake City Public Safety Commissioner James Barker, President Lee emphatically said to the policeman delivering the note in the Tabernacle: 'There is no bomb in here; relax.' The session continued uninterrupted.

"The responsibility for that instantaneous decision and the assurance of that conviction are mind-boggling. It is one of the most significant illustrations of the seer-like qualities of President Lee. It was his gift to be guided by an intuitive inspiration, which quality his associates of the General Authorities understood and deeply admired in him.

"Following this tense but spiritually rewarding Sunday afternoon session, the First Presidency and the Twelve met in the temple for prayer and began a twenty-four-hour fasting for divine protection. On this occasion they presented the names of new General Authorities to be announced the following day at the concluding session of conference. After approval by the Twelve, Elder Boyd K. Packer, the newly called apostle, and Elders Joseph Anderson, David B. Haight and William H. Bennett, nominees to be added to the Assistants to the Twelve, were called in, interviewed and given time to spiritually prepare themselves and their families for this historic happening scheduled the next day.

"On Monday, April 6, 1970, the solemn assembly became the highlight of general conference. President Tanner conducted the session in the morning and President Lee was assigned to present the same formal voting procedures which have been followed without deviation during the last century, whenever there was a reorganization of the First Presidency. Despite continued threats of demonstrations in this session there was a tremendous evidence of unity and power of faith, as everyone in the Tabernacle, the Assembly Hall on Temple Square, and in the Salt Palace, and all the unseen audience tuned in by radio and television, were invited to stand and, when requested, witness with uplifted hands their sustaining vote of confidence and loyalty. In the three buildings mentioned not a single hand was raised in opposition.

"President Lee's address concluded this solemn assembly after President Smith and Elder Spencer W. Kimball, newly sustained as Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve, had spoken. President Lee felt a great spiritual uplift in carrying out his key role in this impressive service. There was a marvelous spirit of acceptance and joy as President Lee, at President Smith's direction, presented the charge to Elder Packer (formerly an Assistant to the Twelve) and the three new General Authorities before they were ordained and set apart at the next Thursday temple meeting." (Harold B. Lee: Prophet and Seer, L. Brent Goates, 414-415).

That was April, 1970. A year later in April 1971, the Church's growth trajectory was astounding to most observers. The 3-million-member mark was expected to be achieved by July of that year. Internationally the Church's growth presented some interesting new challenges in providing seasoned leadership to stay abreast of the membership growth.

By April 1972, President Harold B. Lee reflected about how he had selected his topic in his journal. He spoke of "many lonesome hours pondering what the Lord would have me say at the forthcoming general conference. My decision was to undertake the subject heading 'Time of Decision,' the caution in controversies, political and otherwise, and to offer five guidelines suggesting how all might be guided to wise decisions in their personal and public life. I feel content after my diligent search." (Ibid., 415; emphasis mine).

In reference to controversies that would accompany the intense political campaign in the fall of 1972, President Lee outlined five certainties by which one could detect and know the path to safety in the search for truth. These were: (1) Follow the Light of Christ within us. (2) Follow the positive teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (3) Do your business by the voice of the people. (4) Seek for statesmanlike men. (5) Judge by the light of gospel truths.

The full text of that talk can be found here. I will not recite it all, but his guidance those many years ago is about as fresh as it could possibly be for our day, even a day in which stories about his life and teachings are constantly being revised incorrectly by unwise accounts that circulate from unauthorized sources. The caution is imperative - do not accept as unchallenged truth what you find on the Internet.

This is what he said about "controversy." It's timeless: "In its loftiest sense, controversy may mean disputations because of honest differences of opinion. In its most degrading sense it may mean quarreling, strife, and name-calling. An example of that which degrades is the bitter personal abuse that so frequently is heaped upon an opposing candidate. Name-calling is continued throughout the whole season until listeners are left with doubt and mistrust that honor and integrity are to be found in any of those who may eventually be elected. The obvious hazard is that when these elected leaders have been maligned and down-graded, the seeds of disrespect to authority and law and order are sown in the minds of youth, particularly, instead of respectful obedience to counsel and to the laws enacted by those whose integrity and honesty have been thus impugned."

As we think back on the presidential campaign season of last year, could we have seen the fulfillment of the very conditions he warned about back in 1972?

President Harold B. Lee

He continues, speaking as though it were 2013: "Today we are constantly hearing from the unenlightened and misguided, who demand what they call free agency, by which they apparently mean, as evidenced by their conduct, that they have their agency to do as they please or to exercise their own self-will to determine what is law and order, what is right and wrong, or what is honor and virtue.

"These are frightening expressions when you reflect upon what I have just quoted from the revealed word of God. A moment’s reflection will help you to see that when one sets himself up to make his own rules and presumes to know no law but his own, he is but echoing the plan of Satan, who sought to ascend to God’s throne, as it were, in being the judge of all that rules mankind and the world. There has ever been, and ever will be, a conflict between the forces of truth and error; between the forces of righteousness and the forces of evil; between the dominion of Satan and the dominion under the banner of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ." 

In 2013, there may be no public policy debate more enticing to those who advocate "free agency" than the proponents of the LGBT agenda. This is not a "policy" debate like the blacks and the priesthood debate of the 60s and 70s era. This, instead, is a matter of doctrine. However, many "enlightened" sophists in the Church and outside it proclaim that equal rights under the law to the marriage laws of this country must be extended to any and all who would define marriage to suit themselves so it satisfies their free agency. Under the banner of "equality" access to rights granted by the Constitution, they would argue, must be extended in the domain of marriage definitions. It's a compelling argument in the public arena, but we cannot yield to it in eternal doctrines about the divine nature and origins of the family. The "equality" in the marriage debate is the inherent difference between men and women, and God makes them equal in that dichotomy.

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh. … And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men [meaning the atonement of the Savior], or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil. . . (2 Nephi 2:27).

. . . the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.” (2 Nephi 2:16).

I say this with all the love and tolerance for others' point of view I can muster: Do not confuse the seemingly plausible philosophies of men mingled with scripture regarding "agency" and "equality" with the revealed word of God. You can be tolerant of others without compromising the truth to comport with a twisted and contorted but seemingly reasonable and logical idea.

“Expedients are for an hour,” said Henry Ward Beecher, “but principles are for the ages.”

Said President Lee in this inspired sermon: "The Constitution of the United States has been mentioned several times by speakers in this conference as the basis of wise decisions in fundamental principles as applied to all matters pertaining to law and order, because it was framed by men whom God raised up for this very purpose. But in addition to that inspired document, we must always keep in mind that the greatest weapons that can be forged against any false philosophy are the positive teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Then he offered this: "It has been well said that one does not teach honesty by telling a man how to burglarize a safe, nor do we teach chastity by telling a youth all about sexual activities." How unwise our public education curriculum has become by teaching that LGBT couples and adopted children can be defined as "families." Tolerate it in the expanse of a pluralistic society we must, but accept it as a "doctrine" in opposition to the revealed word is the course no serious disciple of Jesus Christ would pursue.

His counsel on who to look for as adequate candidates to represent us in our republic: "In a word, we must seek for statesmenlike men who will ask, 'Is it right and is it good for the country or the community?' instead of those who may merely ask, 'Is it politically expedient?'" I'll leave that interpretation to the reader.

He summarizes how we may always remain on the path of safety in this chaotic world in which we live: "And now, finally, the supreme of all certainties is God’s eternal plan as given in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here we have given us the never-failing principles that will keep our feet firmly planted on the path of safety. By these eternal principles we can readily detect truth from error. In the earliest revelations of our dispensation we were told that the gospel teachings were given that 'inasmuch as they have erred it might be made known; And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed.'” (D&C 1:25–26).

Lighthouse at Dawn

I saw this picture early this morning on a website as the sun was peeking out behind the clouds over the mountains in Pine Valley.  It inspired a thought.

We are living in a dark world in the darkest part of the night right now.  The wickedness of the world about us is so obvious it needs little more publicity.  There is no need to broadcast the depravity and the lengths to which our Father's children have gone in these last days.  He certainly is weeping now as He did in the days of Noah. 

The population inside the great and spacious building continues to grow to a point where one wonders if it is surely not overcrowded. 

It reminded me of the C.S. Lewis-like snippet from one of Elder Neal A. Maxwell's books, Deposition of a Disciple (see page 63): 

"Individually we need to be more different. Collectively, the wheat and tares are to grow side by side until the end comes. Wheat and tares in their early stages are not as distinguishable from each other as at a later stage in maturity. When the wheat becomes more like wheat and the tares become more like tares, the rate of distinctiveness thus doubles. Likewise, as there is a deterioration of standards in the world, the light of the Church shines ever more brightly because other things are growing darker.

"The Church is pulling away from the world at a rate that would be noticeable even if the world were standing still in its standards. But the world is pulling away even from standards it once held. Thus the Church and the world are parting company like two speeding cars going in opposite directions. The Church is also increasing in its institutional efficiency as well as in its globalness and multi-culturalness. It is making its mark in many lands and in many more lives than ever before."

While we live now at the darkest moment in the history of mankind, it is clear the lighthouse of the restored gospel beams its light more radiantly out into the troubled storm-tossed seas of worldliness seeking to guide the weary and the weak into the safe harbor. 
 
We have nothing to fear, despite all the mounting bad news.  We know how this all ends. 
 
Knowing it, we will prevail somehow as we row those last few yards toward the lighthouse aided by the rising of the sun in the eastern skies.  Zion will increase in power, influence and beauty.

The Lord said on the very day the Church was organized: "For thus saith the Lord God: Him [Joseph Smith] have I inspired to move the cause of Zion. . .  Yea, his weeping for Zion I have seen, and I will cause that he shall mourn for her no longer; for his days of rejoicing are come." (D&C 21:7-8). The command and the desire to establish Zion were present at the very beginning of this final great dispensation.
 
Whatever happens between now and the safe harbor is only detail that hasn't been revealed yet.  But the safe harbor we seek is the establishment of Zion, a home for the faithful generations yet unborn who will inhabit it.  Whether from this side of the veil or the other, the quest for Zion will continue unabated by the choking growth of tares. 
 

I'm witnessing the rising third generation of pure wheat, symbolized by Eli David Goates, and I'm encouraged by what I see.  From my vantage point the rising of the sun in the east has never shone more brightly than it is right now.
 
The gathering storm clouds and the darkening night ahead cause me no fear whatsoever.  I know how this all ends.
 
P.S.  We win.