From “The Fullness” Blog:
One of the primary markers of a true Zion community is the sharing of both spiritual and physical resources. As the title of this post suggests, the church of Christ founded after the visit of the Messiah to the Nephites treated the material possessions of the members as ‘common property.’ We read in Fourth Nephi of the establishment of this community:
…behold the disciples of Jesus had formed a church of Christ in all the lands round about. And as many as did come unto them, and did truly repent of their sins, were baptized in the name of Jesus; and they did also receive the Holy Ghost.
And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.
And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift. (4 Nephi 1:1-3)
This community, more than any other in the scriptures, enjoyed the ‘fruits of the Spirit’ and the bounty of the Lords blessings. In the description of their ‘continued peace in the land’ we read of the following attributes:
Connor’s Conundrums shares with us this study of what the Book of Mormon does and doesn’t teach about preventative war theory:
The doctrine of preventive war implies fighting your enemy on your terms, before they (may or may not) fight you on theirs. It is an extension of the idea that “the best defense is a good offense,” and requires a massive network of surveillance and spies to supply the necessary and credible intelligence upon which such operations can be successfully based. It is the pursuit of an alleged enemy to prevent a possible (though not imminent, as is the case with pre-emptive war) future attack.
This doctrine has, in recent decades, come to replace America’s adherence to its opposite, the Just War Theory. This theory of war holds that military action must meet certain moral criteria, such as being in true defense, being initiated by and waged under the proper authority, and being used as a true last resort after all diplomatic and other efforts have failed. The aggression of initiating an attack without meeting the aforementioned criteria is rejected, even when masked in the cloak of pseudo-defense.
There are plenty of statements from modern leaders rejecting preventive war. Two examples will suffice for illustration purposes. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once remarked that he “wouldn’t even listen to anyone seriously that came in and talked about such a thing,” also commenting that “there are all sorts of reasons, moral and political and everything else, against this theory, but it is so completely unthinkable in today’s conditions…” (source). Similarly, in a letter to the US Treasury in 1941, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wrote that “…we do not believe that aggression should be carried on in the name and under the false cloak of defense. We therefore look with sorrowing eyes at the present use to which a great part of the funds being raised by taxes and by borrowing is being put… We believe that our real threat comes from within and not from without…” (via Quoty).
Recent opposition to this war theory aside, it is beneficial for truth-seekers to explore the Book of Mormon for examples and patterns that have modern-day application. After all, President Hinckley said of this book that “in its descriptions of the problems of today’s society, it is as current as the morning newspaper and much more definitive, inspired, and inspiring concerning the solutions of those problems” (source). (more…)
OneWhoIsWatching continues his previous study:
In part one of this article we reviewed corroborating accounts of the calling of Lyman Wight and others to the High Priesthood of Melchizedek and his testimony of the Father and the Son.
He was the first Elder in this dispensation to be given the Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son of God, which has been named after Melchizedek, a great High Priest who established Zion and translated his people.
As we saw from the testimony provided, the spirit in Joseph would reveal who God wanted to ordain and then the spirit within Lyman would ordain that person. Lyman ordained 16 people including Joseph and Sidney. Joseph ordained Lyman and the remaining elders of the 23 who were ordained. Some were called by the voice of the Lord out of heaven and others were chosen by the voice of the Lord out of heaven.
OneWhoIsWatching is “Searching for the Holy Order and 23 High Priests“:
From JST Exodus 34 we learn that as a result of the wickedness and idolatry of the children of Israel Moses breaks the first set of plates that contained the higher law and he was commanded to hew two other tablets containing the lesser law;
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two other tables of stone, like unto the first, and I will write upon them also, the words of the law, according as they were written at the first on the tables which thou brakest; but it shall not be according to the first, for I will take away the priesthood out of their midst; therefore my holy order, and the ordinances thereof, shall not go before them; for my presence shall not go up in their midst, lest I destroy them.” Exodus 34: 1-2, 14
From this and modern revelation we can surmise that the fulness of the Gospel and the LAW OF ZION sometimes referred to as GOSPEL LAW and the LAW OF CONSECRATION as contained in section 42 of the D&C, was contained in the first set of plates that Moses broke.
We are also informed that it is the Holy Order of the Priesthood according to the Son of God that must administer the LAW of ZION and ESTABLISH ZION.
From the Mormanity blog -
I’ve had a number of people ask me what I think of “born again Christians.” While some of those who use that term are often critical of Latter-day Saints, LDS doctrine is actually all about becoming born again Christians. Here’s one of my favorite passages from the Book of Mormon, a scene where a great king and prophet, King Benjamin, has been teaching his people about Christ and urging them to repent and follow Him in a covenant relationship. As we read in Mosiah chapter 5, the people accept his call:
[5] And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he shall command us, all the remainder of our days, that we may not bring upon ourselves a never-ending torment, as has been spoken by the angel, that we may not drink out of the cup of the wrath of God.
Ray, a guest blogger at Mormon Matters, gives us this insight -
The Bible Dictionary defines “repentance” as: “a change of mind, i.e., a fresh view about God, about oneself, and about the world”. It goes to say, “Since we are born into conditions of mortality, repentance comes to mean a turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined.” That is absolutely fascinating, since it describes repentance without mentioning any particular “process” at all. It leaves it simply as the turning of our heart and will to God. In that light, I submit the following:
Being poor in spirit is, essentially, recognizing one’s dependence on God and turning to Him in true humility — knowing that He provides not what we deserve (justice) but what He desires to give as a reward for our effort (mercy). “Perfection” is defined as being “complete, whole, fully developed”. (Matthew 5:48 – Footnote “b”) Therefore, being “imperfect” means being “incomplete, part, partially developed” — being, to some degree, an unfinished work — a “natural (wo)man”. This leads to an interesting meaning of repentance that is radically different than what was taught in ancient Israel (the Law of Moses perspective), with its emphasis on the Law (works).
The “classic” definition of repentance can be summarized in the following way: “feel sorry for your mistakes and stop making them”. It is, in a very real way, a process of surgery — attempting to cut out and discard the “bad” from within us, so that we will stop making mistakes. This can be incredibly destructive for three reasons: (more…)
Secco, on the Faith Promoting Rumor blog, writes …
… I think that we have been badly misinterpreting a story that is commonly used to support these concepts. The traditional Mormon interpretation of the story of Uzzah and the ark in 2 Samuel 6 and 1 Chr 13 is familiar to most of us: Uzzah reaches out to steady the ark during its transport and is killed for touching it. The modern-day interpretation for us has been that we should not correct Church leaders or Church policy, for despite our good intentions, the leaders of the Church are in charge and it is not our place to correct them. To quote from the D&C Student Manual for Religion 324/325, p188:
I definitely have some reservations about this article, but consider it a very interesting treatment of the subject -
Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been asked, “Are you saved?” Most would be properly reluctant to answer this question affirmatively. We know that we must continue to “work out our salvation.” When asked this question we might think or even respond, “Sure, I’m saved from death, everybody is. But what I want isn’t just salvation, I want exaltation.” This is, of course, ducking the question. We know that the questioner is intending the term “saved” to describe a state similar to that which we call exaltation. Elder McConkie makes this answer even more misleading with the clarification that, “Salvation in its true and full meaning is synonymous with exaltation.”(1) If pinned down, you might say something similar to what I’ve said many times: “No man in this life can be sure that he’s saved. We must first endure to the end. Only then is our salvation secure.” While this answer is certainly true, it’s not very helpful when responding to an Evangelical’s query, and is almost certain to either end the conversation or begin an argument. (more…)
Andrew Miller gives us some good scripture cross-references not in the current LDS scriptures -
On a message board that I frequent someone started a post asking for people to give good cross references that are not in the LDS edition of the scriptures. I added a few of my own and found some of the others really interesting. I add them here for your enjoyment. (more…)
An alternative view of the Oath & Covenant of the Priesthood -
There have been a gazillion talks in the church on the oath and covenant of the priesthood. Virtually all of them state the same thing. I have a different take. Here is my understanding of this scripture:
The sons of Moses are the Melchizedek priesthood holders who are sanctified. The sons of Aaron are the holders of the priesthood of Aaron who are sanctified. The Lord explains that “whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods…and…are sanctified by the Spirit…become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and…the elect of God.” (See D&C 84: 33, 34.) Also, the elect (chosen) of God is defined as the sanctified. (more…)
