Doctrinal Questions from the Youth II (cont.)

The Doctrine of Exaltation:

If I wasn’t born under the covenant will I be lost?

No, you won’t be lost. No one is ever lost. Heavenly Father (and Mother) love all Their children. The invitation is always open to become a faithful son or daughter of God.

The covenant you ask about is important to understand. It is often called “the Abrahamic Covenant,” or the same covenant that God made with Abraham. We are all the seed (or children) of Abraham. Outside the temple, where we must go to enter into the Abrahamic Covenant, the words of the covenant may be found and are best expressed in Abraham 2:6-11 in The Pearl of Great Price:

But I, Abraham, and Lot, my brother's son, prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord appeared unto me, and said unto me: Arise, and take Lot with thee; for I have purposed to take thee away out of Haran, and to make of thee a minister to bear my name in a strange land which I will give unto thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, when they hearken to my voice.
For I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven; the earth is my footstool; I stretch my hand over the sea, and it obeys my voice; I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot; I say to the mountains — Depart hence — and behold, they are taken away by a whirlwind, in an instant, suddenly.
My name is Jehovah, and I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall be over thee.
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;
And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father;
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee; and in thee (that is, in thy Priesthood) and in thy seed (that is, thy Priesthood), for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.  (Ibid., italics mine).

To be “born under the covenant” means that a child’s parents have already been sealed in the temple before the child was born. If the child is not born under the covenant, its parents may eventually decide to be sealed in the temple, and then their children are subsequently sealed to them, as though they had been born under the covenant with all the same blessings as those who were.

Those not born under the covenant, whose parents never do go to the temple, when they grow up may enter in to the new and everlasting covenant of marriage themselves with a worthy partner and create thereafter a posterity that is born under the covenant.

If we live the gospel, and if we enter into the temple with a worthy companion, and are sealed as man and wife, we receive the Abrahamic Covenant and are entitled (subject to our worthiness) to all the blessings bestowed upon Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

This marriage covenant is also referred to by the Prophet Joseph Smith as “the patriarchal order of the priesthood.” (See D&C 131:1-4, also TPJS, 322-323).

As to what is involved in the patriarchal order of the priesthood, Joseph Smith says that in the temple of God there is an order of priesthood that is patriarchal. “Go to the temple,” he says, “and find out about this order.”

So when I was a young returned missionary I went to the temple. I took Patsy Hewlett with me, and we knelt at an altar together where we were sealed by my grandfather who had the authority to perform that marriage ceremony. On that 19th day of December 1969, we entered together into “an order of the priesthood.” When we did it, we had sealed upon us, on a conditional basis, every blessing that God promised Father Abraham — the blessings of exaltation and eternal increase. We were told that IF we were true and faithful the day would come when we would become just like Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.

The name of that order of priesthood, which is patriarchal in nature, because Abraham was a natural patriarch to his posterity, is “the new and everlasting covenant of marriage.” It is available to every one of Heavenly Father’s children who lives in faith and righteousness, whether we are born under the covenant or we later enter into it.

No one who seeks for all the blessings that God wants to bestow upon us and subsequently receives them is ever lost.

Were Jesus’ brothers and sisters almost perfect because he was perfect?

No. Only Jesus was perfect. Jesus is the “Only Begotten Son” of God in the flesh. It is clear that Jesus had other brothers and sisters whose birth parents were Joseph and Mary.  Their father, Joseph, was the carpenter from Galilee. However, Jesus Christ was the Only Begotten Son of our Father in Heaven, and none approaches His perfection.

On a deeper level the idea of being “almost perfect” in your question is profound. There are several references to the family of Jesus in the scriptures. You may want to look them up sometime: Matthew 12:46-50; JST Matthew 12:44; Mark 3:31-35; JST Mark 3:26; Luke 8:19-21; 11:27-28; JST Luke 8:19-20; 11:29, to cite a few.

These verses tell a story of Mary, the mother of Jesus and her other sons and daughters, the offspring of Mary and Joseph. Mary and some of Jesus' half-brothers seek to converse with him, but are unable to do so because of the throngs. He is told: “Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.” It is a wonderful story, because it gives us yet another example of how He taught from simple experiences such profound eternal truths that testified of His own divinity. In the presence of His mother and some of her children — those with whom he grew to maturity in Nazareth and with whom he had played and worked and associated in the hills near Galilee as a boy, He made this startling statement:

“Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
And he gave them charge concerning her, saying, I go my way, for my Father hath sent me. And whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

The profound truth here is that He concluded this teaching by saying, “Yea, and blessed are all they who hear the word of God, and keep it.”

Mary was blessed because she bore God's Son, but all women can be blessed right along with Mary the Mother of Jesus if they keep the commandments of God. These children of Mary were Jesus' brothers and sisters, who came from the same mother inside whose body His mortal body was created from the dust of the same earth, but he says that all the disciples could also be his brothers and sisters if they did the will of His Father in Heaven. In that sense, if they did and if we do, aren’t we all “almost perfect” as you suggest?

The blessings of eternal life are available — freely, without money and without price — to all of us. It matters little how we come into this world, it’s what we do after we get here that really matters most. Christ was born in the lowest and most humble of all circumstances imaginable.

None of us is born into this world as the literal sons and daughters of God, “after the manner of the flesh” like Christ was, but each of us, through repentance and righteousness, can be adopted into the family of the Eternal God and become joint-heirs with Christ of the fullness of the glory and power of the Father.

None of us can be the literal children of Mary, but all, through repentance and righteousness, can be adopted into the family of her Firstborn Son and become His brothers and sisters spiritually.  In that sense each of us has the potential of becoming a "firstborn," inheriting all the Father hath regardless of our mortal parentage.

At the very root of the plan of salvation is a new birth, a birth to righteousness, by which all disciples, all children of the same Heavenly Father may become the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ. They are born again, and they become members of His family, in your words, “almost perfect” (see Mosiah 15).

Will we have our same name in heaven as we do on earth?

We need to learn to be more specific when we refer to “heaven.” The word generally refers to a place we go after death. But when we use the word, do we mean the spirit world, or do we mean one of the three degrees of glory in the resurrection?

Actually, there are at least five degrees of glory that have been revealed – telestial, terrestrial and celestial (see D&C 76) – with three degrees of glory in the celestial degree (D&C 131:1). So, what is “heaven?” I can only assume you refer to the highest degree of the celestial kingdom.

In The Doctrine and Covenants, Section 130:10-11, we read a reference to Revelation 2:17, which states: "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Those "who overcome by faith" (see D&C 76:53) inherit the celestial kingdom. Such have received the "hidden manna" or the revealed knowledge of Christ and his gospel. They will be given a white stone symbolizing their innocence and purity before God. "A new name," will be written on the white stone, which symbolically suggests that heirs of the celestial kingdom are prepared to enter into a new life.

When you go to the temple you will learn more about this new name, but remember that everything you see and learn in the temple is merely symbolic, representing a spiritual reality that is promised but not yet realized.

If you get married twice in the temple, who will we be with (sealed to) in heaven?

This is a question with many parts. Fundamental to understanding all the answers to all the questions that arise, however, is an understanding of temple marriage. Let’s review.

While she is alive, a woman may be sealed to only one man. While he is alive, a man may be sealed to only one living woman at a time. “For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none. . . For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people [to have more than one wife]; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.” (Jacob 2:27-30).

However, after her death a woman may be sealed to another man if she had also been his wife during her lifetime. The second sealing would require her to choose between the two in the eternal worlds that lie ahead.

Among the living, we may only be sealed to one living person at a time. However, a man may be sealed to more than one wife if the plural wives are deceased. Such was the case with President Harold B. Lee, who was sealed to three women. Presidents Joseph Fielding Smith and Howard W. Hunter were sealed to two women. Elders Russell M Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks and L. Tom Perry are also sealed to two women. These are notable well-known examples, but there are many other Latter-day Saints for whom similar arrangements are true. There is no revealed answer about why a woman cannot have more than one husband at a time.

Official Declaration One in The Doctrine and Covenants, commonly known as “The Manifesto,” dated October 6, 1890, officially ended the practice of plural marriage or “polygamy,” in the Church among the living. The Church offers no sympathy to splinter groups that continue the practice of polygamy today, and excommunicates those members who insist on ignoring the mandates of the Manifesto.

If you are the child of parents who “get married twice in the temple,” then your question is one that is frequently asked by children when divorce and subsequent re-marriage occurs. If the children are “born under the covenant,” and their parents subsequently divorce then remarry in the temple or outside the temple, the children were still “born under the covenant” even though one or both of their parents broke the covenant, and no subsequent sealing on earth is performed to seal them to anyone new.

The covenant is still in full force for the righteous children, despite the infidelity of the parent(s) and when they grow to maturity they may take a husband or a wife into the temple to be sealed to them and to begin their own family unit.

In the resurrection those who are heirs of the highest degree of the celestial kingdom will be sealed to those next closest relatives to them who are faithful, such as grandparents if their parents fail to live worthily.

The bottom line in covenant making is this: If we are true and faithful to our covenants it makes no difference to us if others in our family line are not – we may still claim all the promised covenant blessings despite their poor choices.

What if you don’t get married on earth?

I assume you are asking what happens if you don’t get married in the temple while you are living in mortality. Joseph Smith said: “Except a man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity, while in this probation [the same result may be accomplished through vicarious work for the dead in the temples], by the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood, they will cease to increase when they die; that is, they will not have any children after the resurrection. But those who are married by the power and authority of the priesthood in this life, and continue without committing the sin against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory.” (TPJS, 300-301).

President Spencer W. Kimball reminds us that it is not just a matter of going through the temple that assures us eternal life. He said: “Now, all Latter-day Saints are not going to be exalted. All people who have been through the holy temple are not going to be exalted. The Lord says, ‘Few there be that find it.’ For there are the two elements: (1) the sealing of a marriage in the holy temple, and (2) righteous living through one's life thereafter to make that sealing permanent. Only through proper marriage - and I repeat that - only through proper marriage . . . can one find that strait way, the narrow path. No one can ever have life, real life, in any other way under any other program.” (“Marriage is Honorable,” Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year, 1973, 265-66).

All the prophets in this dispensation have said the same thing in answer to this question – if you are a woman and the opportunity for a temple marriage never presents itself because a man never asks you to marry, and you remain true and faithful throughout your life, you will have all the promised blessings of temple marriage in due time in the realms up ahead.

That is what the work of the Millennium will be -- in part, to seal worthy women who did not marry in this life to men who are worthy to claim them.  It will take a thousand years, I suppose, to sort all that out.

If you are a man, however, and elect not to marry in this life when you have had the opportunity to do so, there are no such assurances. Men and women are to marry in this life to have the blessings of eternal life in the worlds and eternities that follow. “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else,” (see D&C 42:22). That is the standing law within the Church forever.

The first example of eternal marriage we have is between Adam and Eve, and the law of eternal marriage has never changed.

If you are already sealed to your parents, but you don’t get married in the temple can you be with your parents in heaven?

No. Why would you want to do that, when you could have your own wife or husband and form your own eternal family unit?

In order to keep your eternal blessings in place that are given to you by parents who are sealed together, you would want to live your own life and claim those blessings for yourself. Being “born under the covenant” is only the beginning. As you grow to an age when you are able to enter the temple, it is necessary to go and claim those blessings for yourself.

Our parents, whether they remain faithful or they leave the Church and forsake their covenants, can only set us on a path at first. Then it is up to us to live worthy lives when we are no longer under their roof, and the goal is that we all together embrace and live the gospel so that we can all claim all the promised blessings of eternal life in the resurrection.

What happens to families who aren’t sealed? Will they have a chance after death?

Those who are not members of the Church will, of course, “have a chance” after death to hear the gospel for the first time and accept or reject it. That’s why we go to the temple and do work to “redeem the dead” by doing baptisms, confirmations, priesthood ordinations, endowments and sealings for our departed ancestors who did not have the gospel when they were living at a time when those covenants and blessings were unavailable to them. That would only be fair.  The plan of our Heavenly Father is built on that fundamental principle of fairness and access for all to all the promised blessings.

However, some in the Church continue to embrace this notion that we too will “have a chance” if we wait until after death to secure our blessings. It would be politically correct, perhaps, to say to members of the Church today, “Well don’t worry about it, everything will be fine and it will all work out someday, somehow,” but that is not what the scriptures reveal to us.

If we are members of the Church today, living as we do in the “dispensation of the fullness of times,” there is no excuse for us to put off until the spirit world what we can accomplish in righteousness while we are alive. It is a false idea that we will get a “second chance” if we reject the fullness of the gospel in our lives as members of the Church right now.

I think Alma gave the best answer to this question:

And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance;
But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;
Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest.
And may the Lord grant unto you repentance, that ye may not bring down his wrath upon you, that ye may not be bound down by the chains of hell, that ye may not suffer the second death.” (Alma 13:27-30).

Later Amulek said essentially the same thing as Alma:

For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.
Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis [meaning death], that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.
For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked. (Alma 34:32-35).

For those of us who have entered into the new and everlasting covenant of the gospel and of marriage in this life, we are required to repent here and now, not there and later on.

For that reason, we partake of the sacrament each week. Only those in the spirit world who never heard the gospel in this life may hope for eternal glory when they accept the gospel in the spirit world. If they heard the gospel in mortality and rejected it, then later on accepted it in the spirit world, their fate is clear: “And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh; who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it. (D&C 76:73-74).

These verses describe those who inherit the terrestrial kingdom. Christ wasn’t mincing His words with politically-correct theological gas when he appeared among the Nephites. He was plain-spoken, and his doctrine was simple:

And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned. [That’s not very politically correct, is it?] Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.” (3 Nephi 11:33-35).

Alma didn’t say it would be easier to repent later and wait for another chance someday in the spirit world. He was counseling his son, Corianton, who had strayed from the gospel. He was worried that Corianton was being casual in his gospel commitment. So he pled with him to repent and reasoned with him this way:

If he has desired to do evil, and has not repented in his days, behold, evil shall be done unto him, according to the restoration of God. And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance. Oh, my son, I desire that ye should deny the justice of God no more. Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins, by denying the justice of God; but do you let the justice of God and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down in the dust in humility. (Alma 42:28-30, emphasis mine throughout).

Elder Melvin J. Ballard, the grandfather of Elder M. Russell Ballard, who was also an Apostle in his day, said:

“But this life is the time in which men are to repent. Do not let any of us imagine that we can go down to the grave not having overcome the corruptions of the flesh and then lose in the grave all our sins and evil tendencies. They will be with us. They will be with the spirit when separated from the body. The spirit only can repent and change, and then the battle has to go forward with the flesh afterwards. It is much easier to overcome and serve the Lord when both flesh and spirit are combined as one. . . Every man and woman who is putting off until the next life the task of correcting and overcoming the weakness of the flesh are sentencing themselves to years of bondage, for no man or woman will come forth in the resurrection until they have completed their work, until they have overcome, until they have done as much as they can do. ("The Three Degrees of Glory," sermon delivered in Ogden, Utah, on 22 September 1922).

I've heard that if my parents were married in the temple that even if I sin I can still be sealed to them -- is that true?

Only the laser-like penetrating minds of the youth can expose what may appear to be the weak underbelly of any doctrinal principle with such piercing insight!  What a great observation, but let's be precisely clear -- there are no "short-cuts" to exaltation.

Having set forth the general principles associated with procrastinating the day of our repentance, but simultaneously recognizing the silent suffering of so many parents whose children have strayed in these waning days of the last days, President Boyd K. Packer offered an added layer of understanding in 1992 (see "Our Moral Environment," Ensign, May 1992, 68). 

In that General Conference talk, President (then Elder) Packer quoted Elder Orson F. Whitney in what has become a favorite statement in the Church ever since:

“The Prophet Joseph Smith declared — and he never taught a more comforting doctrine — that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.” (Orson F. Whitney, in Conference Report, April 1929, 110, emphasis mine.)

Note that Elder Whitney, as comforting as the statement is for sorrowing parents, offers no short-cuts for the wayward youth, as some have implied.  "Thorny path," "they will suffer for their sins," "have to pay their debt to justice" -- none of those phrases suggests an easy exaltation for wayward children.  What it does convey, however, is that in the eternal plan of salvation for His children ample provision has been made for every possible chance for wayward children to return to the covenant their parents have made, whether in this life or the next.  If it takes a thousand years in the spirit world during the Millennium, all will be given every opportunity without exception to embrace the covenant -- all based upon the supreme doctrine of individual moral agency.  We get to choose our own eternal destinies now and forever.

Also implicit in the statement is the fact that parents must first save themselves.  Falling short of exaltation, no father or mother can expect to somehow claim their wayward children.  The Church also offered an article in 2002 in the Ensign, entitled “Hope for Parents of Wayward Children,” (Ensign, September 2002, 11) with additional quotes.

In the very next paragraph of his talk, Elder Packer added:

We cannot overemphasize the value of temple marriage, the binding ties of the sealing ordinance, and the standards of worthiness required of them. When parents keep the covenants they have made at the altar of the temple, their children will be forever bound to them. President Brigham Young said:

“Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and Kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang.” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols., 2:90–91).

The thought kernel that prompted Elder Whitney and others to make such bold declarations about the power of the eternal marriage covenant, I believe, was the Prophet Joseph's funeral discourse at the funeral services for Elias Higbee, given August 13, 1843.  (See HC, 5:530; Ehat and Cook, Words of Joseph Smith, 241, where it is clear the promised blessings in the Prophet's teaching on the topic applies only to parents who have "made their calling and election sure.")  Clearly, Elder Whitney was not even born until 1855, so he was not personally acquainted with the Prophet.  But the Prophet's teachings on the topic were preserved and Elder Whitney was a member of the Twelve when he said what he did.

The parents, through their own faithfulness, may secure their children to themselves in eternity -- that much is clear.  But the stark reality is that the children who stray will still have to return (whether in this life or the next) through the same "gate" comprising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, prompting them to repent of their sins, entering the waters of baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.  (See 2 Nephi 31:17).  Make no mistake, there are no easy roads back to full fellowship with our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ except along the "thorny path" described by Elder Whitney.

I loved what Elder Packer said about repentance in this talk:

In the battle of life, the adversary takes enormous numbers of prisoners, and many who know of no way to escape are pressed into his service. Every soul confined to a concentration camp of sin and guilt has a key to the gate. The adversary cannot hold them if they know how to use it. The key is labeled Repentance. The twin principles of repentance and forgiveness exceed in strength the awesome power of the adversary.

I know of no sins connected with the moral standard for which we cannot be forgiven. I do not exempt abortion. The formula is stated in forty words:
Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.
By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins — behold, he will confess them and forsake them.  (D&C 58:42–43).

I'm not certain when this thought occurred to me, but I was a much older man:  There is only one general class of people who will inherit the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom and be exalted -- repentant sinners.

Doctrinal Questions from the Youth II

Doctrinal Questions from the Youth II

October 30, 2005

Introduction:

Always remember that the best answers to gospel doctrine questions come from the scriptures – the four “standard works” – The Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price. I also prefer The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, compiled by Joseph Fielding Smith.

The next best source is from the writings and sermons of the subsequent Presidents of the Church. All other sources, while they might be enlightening, should only serve to confirm the answers you have obtained from these primary sources. Brigham Young once taught, “Study the word of God, and preach it and not your opinions, for no man’s opinion is worth a straw. Advance no principle but what you can prove, for one scriptural proof is worth ten thousand opinions.” (History of the Church, vol. 3, 395-96).

The Doctrine of Deity:

If we will become gods, then did God live in a previous world just like we do?

Joseph Smith answered this question directly in his famous King Follett Discourse, which can be found in The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 342–362, (hereafter “TPJS”). “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! . . . It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another, and that he was once a man like us; yea, that God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth, the same as Jesus Christ himself did.” (TPJS, 345-346, emphasis mine).

Lorenzo Snow penned a couplet, which has become familiar: “As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.” Not until after Joseph Smith taught the King Follett Discourse in 1844, did Lorenzo Snow feel at liberty to teach the doctrine of his little couplet, because he felt it was so sacred when it was first revealed to him in 1840, he dared not utter it publicly.

Later, Lorenzo Snow, a modern Apostle, wrote a poem (I quote only one verse) to his ancient counterpart Paul, who taught: ". . .[Christ] thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (see Philippians 2:5-8):

A Son of God, like God to be,
Would not be robbing Deity,
And he who has this hope within,
Will purify himself from sin.
(Improvement Era, June 1919, 661.)

The most distinctive doctrine we teach that sets us apart and makes us unique among all Christian denominations is this idea that someday we may become like God. It is true, and the scriptures are full of proofs of this doctrine, often referred to as the “plurality of gods.”

We are created in “God’s” image – Mother or Father God. Why don’t we hear more about Her?

Why we don’t hear more about our Mother in Heaven is a matter of pure speculation. The General Authorities rarely speak publicly of our Mother in Heaven, and we in the Church would do well to follow their example, not because it is not a correct doctrine (it is), but it seems to be more a matter of propriety since the doctrine is so sacred. The temple provides the perfect pattern and foundation for understanding this sacred doctrine, and we are cautioned not to speak publicly about things we learn in the temple.

Since the 1980s, when the failed Equal Rights Amendment was proposed to change the Constitution, and a small minority of women protestors within the Church demanded priesthood ordination, the topic has mostly been quieted. There was widespread confusion then, some advocating that women be given priesthood authority to perform ordinances and to offer prayers in the name of our Mother in Heaven, and so forth.

That said, this concept of a Mother in Heaven is one that women especially and rightfully may cherish. As to Her reality and Her rightful place in the crowning doctrine of the Church there can be no doubt. Eliza R. Snow, a plural wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith, penned the famous words to “O My Father,” the popular hymn we sing regularly in the Church. The third verse teaches:

“In the heav’ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason, truth eternal,
Tells me I’ve a mother there.”

There is little doubt that Joseph Smith taught without question that we have a Mother in Heaven:

"An interesting sidelight is given to this time through a possible glimpse of the thought-kernel which grew into such fragrant bloom in the full-voiced poem of Sister Snow. It was told by Aunt Zina D. Young to the writer as to many others during her life. Father Huntington lost his wife under the most trying circumstances. Her children were left desolate. One day, when her daughter Zina was speaking with the Prophet Joseph Smith concerning the loss of her mother and her intense grief, she asked the question:
" 'Will I know my mother as my mother when I get over on the Other Side?'
" 'Certainly you will,' was the instant reply of the Prophet. 'More than that, you will meet and become acquainted with your eternal Mother, the wife of your Father in Heaven.'
" 'And have I then a Mother in Heaven?' exclaimed the astonished girl.
" 'You assuredly have. How could a Father claim His title unless there were also a Mother to share that parenthood?'
"It was about this time that Sister Snow learned the same glorious truth from the same inspired lips, and at once she was moved to express her own great joy and gratitude in the moving words of the hymn, 'O my Father.' " [Susa Young Gates, History of the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from November 1869 to June 1910 (Salt Lake City: General Board of the Y.L.M.I.A., 1911), 16, footnote, emphasis mine.]

When did it all start?

Great question. I like the answer Joseph Smith gave us to this question. He learned a lot about the order of things throughout the universe by studying the writings and revelations that were given to Abraham (see Abraham 3:19-28; read the whole chapter). Joseph said:

I learned a testimony concerning Abraham, and he reasoned concerning the God of heaven. "In order to do that," said he, "suppose we have two facts: that supposes another fact may exist — two men on the earth, one wiser than the other, would logically show that another who is wiser than the wisest may exist. Intelligences exist one above another, so that there is no end to them."
If Abraham reasoned thus — if Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that He had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor? And everything comes in this way. Paul says that which is earthly is in the likeness of that which is heavenly, hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that He had a Father also? I despise the idea of being scared to death at such a doctrine, for the Bible is full of it.
I want you to pay particular attention to what I am saying. Jesus said that the Father wrought precisely in the same way as His Father had done before Him. As the Father had done before? He laid down His life, and took it up the same as His Father had done before. He did as He was sent, to lay down His life and take it up again; and then was committed unto Him the keys. I know it is good reasoning. (TPJS, 373).

We could say it all started for us when we were born. Or maybe it all started when the earth was created. But for us it really started as spirit children in the pre-existence even before the creation, and before that according to Abraham we were something called “intelligences.”

But where did Heavenly Father come from? And did He have a Father in Heaven before Him? Joseph Smith certainly believed it, but wasn’t prepared to go any further back into the eternities that preceded this one. This is one of those fabulous questions to which there is no revealed answer, and you can quote me on that.

Doctrinal Questions from the Youth (cont.)

Patriarchal Blessings:

How does one become a Patriarch?

First, the word “patriarch” means father. There are “natural” patriarchs in the Church and “ordained” patriarchs. An ordained patriarch holds the office of patriarch in the Melchizedek Priesthood – referred to as an "evangelical minister" in the revelation (see D&C 107:39) – and gives patriarchal blessings to worthy members of the Church. He is selected as needed in the stakes throughout the Church by revelation to the Apostles as they visit among the stakes.  [After this was written, stake presidents were designated to submit names for patriarchs to the First Presidency and the Twelve for approval.]

The duties of a patriarch include providing blessings for members living within the boundaries of their stakes. A “natural” patriarch is one who has entered into the patriarchal order of celestial marriage in the temple, receiving for himself and his wife and their children the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and thereby becoming a natural patriarch to his posterity.

Joseph Smith, Sr., was ordained as the Patriarch to the Church by the Prophet Joseph Smith on December 18, 1833. (HC 4:190). In that capacity, he gave hundreds of blessings and much good counsel to the Saints during his lifetime. From that time forth after his death a presiding Patriarch to the Church was selected from among Father Smith’s descendants. The Patriarch to the Church, like the Apostles and members of the First Presidency, was sustained as a prophet, seer and revelator.

Eldred G. Smith [see right, still living] was the last man to serve as the Patriarch to the Church, when the office was discontinued.

What should I do to prepare for my patriarchal blessing?

Your bishop will give excellent counsel as to how you may prepare to receive a patriarchal blessing. When you decide that you are ready, the bishop will interview you and discuss it with you in detail. He will explain that this blessing is different than normal priesthood blessings, because this blessing happens only once in your life.

The stake patriarch who gives you your blessing will declare your lineage, naming the tribe of Israel to which you belong. It is usually recorded electronically, then written down, and a copy will be retained in the archives of the Church for future reference in case you lose the original. He will also explain that it is sacred and personal, and is usually not shared with anyone else because it applies only to you. No doubt he will encourage you to prepare for your patriarchal blessing by suggesting that you fast in order to prepare your mind for the spiritual experience that you will receive.

What kind of blessing can one expect from a patriarchal blessing?

The First Presidency (David O. McKay, Stephen L. Richards, J. Reuben Clark, Jr.), in a letter to all stake presidents, dated June 28, 1957, gave the following definition and explanation: "Patriarchal blessings contemplate an inspired declaration of the lineage of the recipient, and also where so moved upon by the Spirit, an inspired and prophetic statement of the life mission of the recipient, together with such blessings, cautions, and admonitions as the patriarch may be prompted to give for the accomplishment of such life's mission, it being always made clear that the realization of all promised blessings is conditioned upon faithfulness to the gospel of our Lord, whose servant the patriarch is. All such blessings are recorded and generally only one such blessing should be adequate for each persons life. The sacred nature of the patriarchal blessing must of necessity urge all patriarchs to most earnest solicitation of divine guidance for their prophetic utterances and superior wisdom for cautions and admonitions." (As cited in Mormon Doctrine, 558).

How can a patriarchal blessing help me throughout my life?

President Thomas S. Monson has answered this question. He said: “The same Lord who provided a Liahona to Lehi provides for you and for me today a rare and valuable gift to give direction to our lives, to mark the hazards to our safety, and to chart the way, even safe passage — not to a promised land, but to our heavenly home. The gift to which I refer is known as your patriarchal blessing. Every worthy member of the Church is entitled to receive such a precious and priceless personal treasure. . . Your patriarchal blessing is yours and yours alone. It may be brief or lengthy, simple or profound. Length and language do not a patriarchal blessing make. It is the Spirit that conveys the true meaning. Your blessing is not to be folded neatly and tucked away. It is not to be framed or published. Rather, it is to be read. It is to be loved. It is to be followed. Your patriarchal blessing will see you through the darkest night. It will guide you through life’s dangers.” (Ensign, Nov. 1986, 65-66).

Church Policies and Practices:

What is the most important thing for a missionary to know before he/she leaves?

There are many answers to this one, and they will differ depending on whom you ask. Here’s my answer: To know how to recognize the Spirit of the Holy Ghost in your life.

Each of our missionary sons [and later a daughter -- seven in all] has asked me this question, and I always tell them the same thing. Missionaries must rely totally upon the Spirit of the Holy Ghost for direction. They enter an environment in the mission field where there is no longer anyone telling them what to do – no parents, no teachers, no bishops, no one except the Spirit of the Holy Ghost.

They must learn to speak the language of angels:

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. . . if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do. (2 Nephi 32:3-5).

Remember that the iron rod alongside the path in Lehi’s dream was a representation of the word of God. (1 Nephi 11:25). As you feast upon the words of Christ in the scriptures you will discover the Spirit, then you will invite the Spirit to be with you always by immersing yourself in the scriptures.

Soon after being sustained as President of the Church, President Ezra Taft Benson said “that one of the most important things you can do as priesthood leaders [and I would add missionaries] is to immerse yourselves in the scriptures. Search them diligently. Feast upon the words of Christ. Learn the doctrine. Master the principles that are found therein. There are few other efforts that will bring greater dividends to your calling. There are few other ways to gain greater inspiration as you serve.” (“The Power of the Word,” Ensign, May 1986).

Why don’t we kneel when we pray in church?

In Moroni 4:2, we learn that the priests who administered the sacrament in Moroni’s day “did kneel down with the church” when they administered the emblems of the Lord’s atonement. Today this practice of the Church is not observed for reasons that are mostly obscure and insignificant. Practices of the modern Church should be contrasted and differentiated from doctrines. The doctrines of the Church are eternal and unchangeable. But practices and policies change routinely, such as the change in the consolidated meeting schedule, changes in the published scriptures, changes in the temple endowment, changes in the temple garment design, changes in who may hold the priesthood and so forth.

The doctrine in this case is prayer – and we are commanded to pray often. Whether we kneel, bow our heads, close our eyes, pray vocally or silently there is no difference. We are encouraged, and have even been taught by the Savior to kneel when we pray (see 3 Nephi 17, for example). But in public Church meetings it is customary now for us to remain seated while others pray (the priests who kneel, and others who stand at the pulpit) on behalf of all present.

The “pop” question – can we or can’t we drink soda with caffeine in it?

Here are the promises the Lord makes to those who observe the Word of Wisdom:

All saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.” (D&C 89:18-21).

This revelation was given “for a principle with a promise, adapted to the capacity of the weak and the weakest of all saints, who are or can be called saints” (verse 3).

My first reaction to this question was that you can drink anything you please. There are no caffeine policeman at work in the Church to check up on people and report them to the bishops if they catch them drinking Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew or Pepsi.

Having said that, I have never heard a Church leader advocate the benefits of caffeine. BYU serves no caffeine drinks on campus. Neither does the cafeteria in the Church administration building, or any other cafeteria in a Church-owned and operated building, including the temples. The General Authorities have never altered the Word of Wisdom in D&C 89. It has stood the test of time.

All you really need to know is that the Lord gave this revelation “in consequence of the evils and designs which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days” (verse 4).

Manufacturers of caffeine drinks put caffeine in their products for only one reason – caffeine is addictive and harmful to the human body, and they want to enslave you to their products to ensure future sales. Their marketing strategy works.

The “law” of the revelation is simply stated – “wine, strong drinks (interpreted to mean alcoholic beverages), tobacco, and hot drinks” (interpreted to mean tea and coffee) are forbidden. These are the only substances mentioned.

Meat is to be used “sparingly.” We are encouraged to use wholesome herbs, fruits and grains.

The “spirit” of the revelation should be obvious – don’t take any harmful substance into your body knowingly and willingly, because your body is the temple of Spirit of the Holy Ghost, and your own spirit that God created. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; D&C 93:35).

The revelation does not specifically mention heroin, cocaine or marijuana either, so this is just one of those questions that the Lord trusts you to answer for yourselves.

Why do Mormons always act like we are better than everybody else just because they are of different religions or even the same religion, but do some things that are not acceptable to the “holy ones?” We always seem to judge people. Why do we do this, when Christ told us not to, even if some people do certain things? What do you think the atonement is for? They can be forgiven. It really bugs me when we think we’re better than other people, or we judge them.

We can do no better than to follow the example and the counsel of the Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, who has admonished the Church repeatedly to be tolerant and forgiving of our neighbors, while not surrendering our values. Most recently in his dedicatory prayer of the Conference Center, he offered this plea:

We invoke Thy blessings upon this community and this state. This is the area to which Thy people came seeking asylum from the oppression they had known. Now this has become a great cosmopolitan society to which people from all over the nation and the entire world have gathered. May all who live here and all who come here recognize a community environment that is unique and attractive. May we of Thy Church be hospitable and gracious. May we maintain the standards and practices for which we are known and accord to others the privilege of worshiping who, “where, or what they may” (Articles of Faith 11).
Bless us to reach out as good neighbors and be helpful to all. May we lift up the hands and strengthen the faltering knees of any in distress. May we all live together in peace with appreciation and respect one for another. (Ensign, November 2000).

No, Mormons are not “better” than anyone else. In fact, some I have known are worse than most non-members. Ted Bundy was an infamous Mormon who was eventually executed for his serial murders. Mark Hoffman is spending a life term in the state penitentiary for murder. So we have plenty of bad Mormons out there.

The underlying gospel principle here involved is what Amulek taught, a thought already alluded to in your question: “All mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened [all means all – even the Mormons]; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.” (Alma 34:9).

Alma taught that our greatest need as fallen mortals was to be born again. “Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people [that sounds to me like it includes all the Mormons too], must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters.” (Mosiah 26:25).

One final observation – it feels like the tone of this question is filled with anger, as though the one asking the question seems to have felt the sting of harsh judgments by others referred to as the “holy ones.” Sometimes leaders of the Church, seeking what is in the best long-term interest and well-being of the youth of the Church, offer guidance and counsel that may feel more like a harsh punishment or judgment than loving concern. That counsel might have come even as recently as the last conference when the Prophet specified the Church’s position on tattoos, pierced body parts, drug use and “rave” parties. The invitation of our leaders to us in those instances is not to condemn them or reject their wisdom for making a judgment about what is harmful to us, but rather to get in tune with the Spirit and obey.

It would seem that the hardest work we do in this life is to overcome our “natural man.” King Benjamin said:

For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticiings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Mosiah 3:19).

Sometimes it takes great patience and faith to obey the counsel of our leaders, especially when it applies directly to us. Then we avoid being the one offering the harsh judgments of our leaders.

How does the Church feel about interracial marriage?

Since 1978, the Church has extended all the blessings of the priesthood and the temple to everyone, “without regard for race or color.” (See Official Declaration 2). Nevertheless, every church I know anything about, including our Church, has routinely discouraged interracial marriage. The reasons are usually practical, not religious. Marriage, even on the best of days, is hard work. To complicate all the pressures that come to bear on a marriage with different cultural expectations and customs simply adds to the factors that tend to break marriages down over time.

While the couple might be very successful at managing their marriage between them, even making all the necessary concessions to ensure success in their marriage, it is often the children of interracial couples who suffer most. Skin color in our “more liberated society” today does not seem to be as dominant a factor as cultural background. Where there are vast cultural differences, for example in a marriage where the wife comes from Korea and the husband comes from America, there are greater obstacles than skin color. These children are trapped between two worlds, having to decide one way or the other which path culturally they will pursue in their adult lives.

However, the world is changing. If Tiger Woods can become the poster child for the successful product of an interracial marriage, perhaps there is even more cause for hope in the years ahead!  [Interestingly, I gave this answer referencing Tiger Woods back in 2000 -- now he's a "poster child" for something else.]

Despite the discouragement by Church leaders to interracial marriages, there are many exceptions. Many couples I know have adopted children of color and cultural backgrounds different than their own and have helped their children successfully transition into happy and fulfilling marriages in a culture different than the one from which they sprang.

It seems to me that the most important factor for success in marriage is that the two partners are equally yoked in their conversion to the gospel, their commitment to each other and to the Lord. I have observed many couples who have been able to overcome racial and cultural differences in their marriages and succeed because their faith in the gospel transcended every other consideration. In those cases, I see no difference between successful interracial marriages and marriages between two individuals of the same race.

What happens when someone objects to a sustaining?

Whenever anyone is asked to hold an office or fulfill a calling in the Church, that person is sustained by the congregation from which the person is called to serve. They must be called by those who have the proper authority, and sustained, or voted on, in an appropriate meeting, and then ordained or set apart by one who has the proper priesthood authority. This is called “common consent,” or the voice of the people. (See (D&C 41:9). This follows the instructions given in revelation: “Again I say unto you, that it shall not be given to any one to go forth to preach my gospel, or to build up my church, except he be ordained by some one who has authority, and it is known to the church that he has authority and has been regularly ordained by the heads of the church.” (D&C 42:11).

Notice, there are two requirements: First, we must receive authority from someone who has it and has been ordained by the heads of the Church. Next, it must be known in the Church that he has the authority.

The sustaining in the priesthood and the setting apart to other offices in the Church are done openly where it can be known to the Church who has authority, as the scriptures require. There is great safety to the Church in having the names of those called to offices in the Church presented in the proper meeting. (See D&C 20:65). Anyone who is a pretender or a deceiver will be immediately recognized by the congregation.

If someone claims to have been secretly ordained to a special calling or higher order of the priesthood, you may know immediately that the claim is false!

If someone objects and refuses to sustain a person in a particular office, the presiding priesthood authorities  note the objection publicly in the meeting. Following the meeting, the person who has objected is invited to meet privately with their priesthood leaders to discuss their concerns. The ultimate decision about what to do with the information thus obtained still rests with the presiding priesthood authorities.

Other than the calling, what determines [who] becomes a High Priest?

Generally, high priests are ordained to that office in the Melchizedek Priesthood when they are called to serve in a presiding position in the Church, such as a bishopric, stake presidency, high priests group, or high council.

The authority of an elder with respect to Melchizedek Priesthood ordinances, however, is no less than that of a high priest. The high priests have no specific age and there is no specific number in a high priests quorum. High priests are organized into groups in wards with group leaders. The stake presidency is the presidency of the high priests quorum in the stake.

The bishop must be a high priest (see D&C 68:19; D&C 84:29; D&C 107:17, 69-73) and is designated by revelation as the presiding high priest in the ward. In this capacity, he may preside over the ward council and ward priesthood executive council meetings, where elders quorum and high priests group officers are in attendance.

While the bishop may recommend that a man be ordained an elder or high priest and verify his worthiness, the approval and ordination are under the direction of the stake presidency.

A bishop does not call, nor can he release the presidency of an elders quorum. They are under the direction of the stake presidency.

Doctrinal Questions from the Youth (cont.)

The Doctrine of Living Prophets in the Church:

Why do we have a Prophet?

This relates directly to the last question about the Second Coming. The obvious answer is that we have a prophet because God has always operated through prophets, but that’s not too satisfying to young people today. God himself has declared: “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7). Again, introducing the Doctrine and Covenants and the reasons why God chose Joseph Smith as a prophet in this dispensation, the Lord offered this direct answer:

Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments;
And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets –
The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh –
But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world;
That faith also might increase in the earth;
That mine everlasting covenant might be established;
That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.
Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.
And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known;
And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed;
And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent;
And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time. (D&C 1:17-28).

So that’s the Lord’s own answer, and it’s the best one there is – for all the reasons he stated, he called a Prophet in these last days.

Does the Lord still appear to Prophets today?

Who better to ask than a living Prophet? I have always loved President Spencer W. Kimball, who gave the best answer to this question. These are his words:

The foreverness of this kingdom and the revelations which it brought into existence are absolute realities. Never again will the sun go down; never again will all men prove totally unworthy of communication with their Maker. Never again will God be hidden from his children on the earth. Revelation is here to remain. . .
There are those who would assume that with the printing and binding of these sacred records, that would be the "end of the prophets." But again we testify to the world that revelation continues and that the vaults and files of the Church contain these revelations which come month to month and day to day. We testify also that there is, since 1830 when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, and will continue to be, so long as time shall last, a prophet, recognized of God and his people, who will continue to interpret the mind and will of the Lord. . .
In our day, as times past, many people expect that if there be revelation it will come with awe-inspiring, earthshaking display. For many it is hard to accept as revelation those numerous ones in Moses’ time, in Joseph’s time, and in our own year – those revelations which come to prophets as deep, unassailable impressions settling down on the prophet’s mind and heart as dew from heaven or as the dawn dissipates the darkness of night.
Expecting the spectacular [like a personal appearance of the Father and/or the Son], one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed communication. I say, in the deepest of humility, but also by the power and force of a burning testimony in my soul, that from the prophet of the Restoration to the prophet of our own year, the communication line is unbroken, the authority is continuous, and light, brilliant and penetrating, continues to shine. The sound of the voice of the Lord is a continuous melody and a thunderous appeal. For nearly a century and a half there has been no interruption. (In Conference Report, April 1977, 115).

Here is another answer to this question. Soon after he was called as an Apostle almost thirty [now forty] years ago, President Boyd K. Packer, now the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, offered these insights:

Occasionally during the past year I have been asked a question. Usually it comes as a curious, almost an idle, question about the qualifications to stand as a witness for Christ. The question they ask is, “Have you seen Him?”
That is a question that I have never asked of another. I have not asked that question of my brethren in the Quorum, thinking that it would be so sacred and so personal that one would have to have some special inspiration, indeed, some authorization, even to ask it.
There are some things just too sacred to discuss. We know that as it relates to the temples. In our temples, sacred ordinances are performed; sacred experiences are enjoyed. And yet we do not, because of the nature of them, discuss them outside those sacred walls. . .
I said there was a question that could not be taken lightly nor answered at all without the prompting of the Spirit. I have not asked that question of others, but I have heard them answer it — but not when they were asked. They have answered it under the prompting of the Spirit, on sacred occasions, when “the Spirit beareth record.” (D&C 1:39).
I have heard one of my brethren declare: “I know from experiences, too sacred to relate, that Jesus is the Christ.”
I have heard another testify: “I know that God lives; I know that the Lord lives. And more than that, I know the Lord.” (“The Spirit Beareth Record,” Ensign, June 1971).

How do we know that the Church is true? How do we know the Prophet is really speaking the truth? How do we know?

This is really more than one question, but they are closely related. If you were a missionary, when investigators ask the question, “How do you know the Church is true?” how would you respond? You would say to them, “Read The Book of Mormon, pray and ask God to reveal the truthfulness of the message of this Church to you.” You would also tell them to attend Church services, to truly repent of their sins, to walk in a newness of life in the Spirit. Then you would try diligently to help them identify the Spirit of the Holy Ghost as you teach them.

But, when the youth of this ward ask that question, they are really asking a different question, and that question is, “How do I get a testimony?” The answer, however, is the same one – do the things that converts have to do to gain their testimony. The youth of the Church must do the same things to gain a witness of truth for themselves. We can’t convert anyone in this Church, much less the converts we seek to make. We give them principles, we give them scripture, we give them lessons, we teach by the Spirit, but these are only tools to assist each human heart in its own conversion. I love this scriptural description of how the Spirit works and bears witness of the truth in our lives. The revelation (Section 6) was given to Oliver and Joseph through the Urim and Thummim:

Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you.
Now, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion;
Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich. . .
Behold thou hast a gift, and blessed art thou because of thy gift. Remember it is sacred and cometh from above --
And if thou wilt inquire, thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous; therefore thou shalt exercise thy gift, that thou mayest find out mysteries, that thou mayest bring many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways. . .
Trifle not with sacred things.
If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.
Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;
Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart. . .
Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love. . . (D&C 6:5-7; 10-16; 20).

Now another revelation on how to find the Spirit that will help you to know the truth:

And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good – yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;
And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive. (D&C 11:12-14).

And another revelation that admonishes us to simply ask the Lord to help us know the truth:

Behold, you have my gospel before you, and my rock, and my salvation.
Ask the Father in my name, in faith believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient unto the children of men.
And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing.
Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil.
Take upon you the name of Christ, and speak the truth in soberness.
And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved.
Behold, Jesus Christ is the name which is given of the Father, and there is none other name given whereby man can be saved. . .
These words are not of men nor of man, but of me; wherefore, you shall testify they are of me and not of man;
For it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my Spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to another; and save it were by my power you could not have them;
Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words. (D&C 18:17-22; 34-36).

So the answer is that if you want to know if something is true, ask the Lord. It has always been interesting to me that Joseph, surrounded by inquiring minds of his disciples, rather than making them dependent upon him as a man, told them to inquire of God for their answers. So it is for us. We should always introduce others to the processes of revelation, rather than seek revelation for them.

Now what about the words of living prophets? How may we know whether or not they are speaking the truth to us? Notice in his classic answer to this classic question that President Harold B. Lee turns the responsibility right where it should be – on our shoulders as members of the Church, not on our leaders:

It is not to be thought that every word spoken by the General Authorities is inspired, or that they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost in everything they read and write. Now you keep that in mind. I don't care what his position is, if he writes something or speaks something that goes beyond anything that you can find in the standard church works, unless that one be the prophet, seer, and revelator -- please note that one exception -- you may immediately say, “Well, that is his own idea.” And if he says something that contradicts what is found in the standard church works (I think that is why we call them “standard” – it is the standard measure of all that men teach), you may know by that same token that it is false, regardless of the position of the man who says it. We can know or have the assurance that they are speaking under inspiration if we so live that we can have a witness that what they are speaking is the word of the Lord. There is only one safety, and that is that we shall live to have the witness to know. President Brigham Young said something to the effect that “the greatest fear I have is that the people of this Church will accept what we say as the will of the Lord without first praying about it and getting the witness within their own hearts that what we say is the word of the Lord.” (Harold B. Lee, Annual Seminary and Institute Fireside, July 8, 1964, 11).

How do we know the other churches aren’t true?

Jesus Christ and his Father settled the answer to that question on a morning early in the spring of 1820. The fourteen year-old boy prophet Joseph Smith, seeking to learn which church to join by asking God in prayer was told “that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: ‘they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.’” (Joseph Smith History 1:18-19).

However, other churches have much in them that is good and honorable. Joseph said many years later after that initial answer, “Have the Presbyterians any truth? Yes. Have the Baptists, Methodists, etc., any truth? Yes. They all have a little truth mixed with error. We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true ‘Mormons.’” (TPJS, 316).

Why do the General Authorities preach about the same topics over and over again?

The first thing that came into my mind when I read this question was the Lord’s explanation to Moroni why the complete account of the visions of the brother of Jared were not to be included in The Book of Mormon: “I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared.”

But then Moroni was told that, “I should seal them up. . . for the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord. 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 4:4-7).

So I suppose some things are being held back from us until we are ready to receive more:

And when they have received this [speaking of The Book of Mormon in its present format], which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall be so that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them.” (3 Nephi 26:9).

It has been my observation that the same people who are clamoring for more than the “same old, same old,” are the very ones least prepared to receive more. Some may wonder why General Authorities speak of the same things from conference to conference. As I have studied the utterances of the prophets through the centuries, their pattern seems consistent and very clear to me. They seem to seek, in the words of Alma, to teach people “an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity.” They preach “repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Alma 37:32–33). They praise humility. They seek to teach people “to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Alma 37:33). They teach the people “to never be weary of good works.” (Alma 37:34).

Prophets say the same things because we face the same problems in every dispensation of time. Satan helps us thrive on boredom and procrastination in rejecting the counsel of prophets. I am fond of saying that the plot never changes in the struggle of good against evil, only the names in the program. It seems to me that the solutions to these basic problems have not changed. It would be a poor lighthouse that gave off a different signal to guide every ship entering a harbor. In our mountain community where many are lost each year, it would be a poor search and rescue team member who, knowing the safe route back home, took his trusting rescued ones down unpredictable and perilous paths.

Earlier in this dispensation the Lord promised that at General Gonference “it shall be made known unto you what you shall do.” (D&C 73:2). As stated, this promise is fulfilled with each and every conference. Although the issues and problems may change and temptations may take on a new face, the living prophets provide the guidance on both temporal and spiritual matters that will enable us to stand “steadfast and immovable amidst the storms of the day. . . We meet together often in the Church in conferences,” President Spencer W. Kimball testified, “to worship the Lord, to feast upon the word of Christ, and to be built up in faith and testimony. . . The purpose of this conference is that we may refresh our faith, strengthen our testimonies, and learn the ways of the Lord from his duly appointed and authorized servants. May we take this opportunity, then, to remind each other of our covenants and promises and commitments.” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 521).