Our Heavenly Father’s mission statement was given to Moses by the Lord Jesus Christ when he, Moses, was caught up into a high mount and spoke with the Lord face to face. “For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Immortality and eternal life are not synonymous terms. Immortality is a free gift we receive as a consequence of Jesus Christ’s atonement, and all who are born into this world will necessarily share in this boon irrespective of their worthiness that is, the degree of their obedience to the commandments of God. Eternal life refers to the quality or nature of the existence that God the Father lives, “Eternal” being one of his names (Moses 7:35).
The glorious truth then at the center of Elohim’s purpose as the Father of our spirits is that we are born into mortality with the potential to eventually become as He is. While at least many if not most individuals in today’s Christian world recoil at such a thought, it is no less the single most important insight that any human being may possess. Once this truth is accepted in principle, the individual has purpose and direction that will last for eternity. And the companion of this wonder is that the knowledge of the means by which this end may be achieved is freely available for our acceptance.
But where in all of the Bible is our Heavenly Father’s mission statement to be found? Were it not for the life and mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we would still be ignorant of God’s overarching purpose. Among other revelations, the Prophet was privileged to received a portion of that which was given to Moses in ancient times including this “pearl of great price.” Indeed, this great truth is not so clearly expressed anywhere else in any scripture within our possession today.
This then brings us to one of the many issues by which the priests, the ministers, and the membership of today’s Christian churches very clearly condemn themselves to remain living in ignorance of God’s great hope for them. For they utter the very words the Lord foretold the Prophet Nephi some twenty-five hundred years ago that they would say in these last days. “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible” (2 Nephi 29:3). How misdirected must a person be to declare that God would reveal Himself to but a portion of His children in time and space leaving the vast majority of His offspring to wander in darkness and be lost because of their ignorance? How misguided must a person be to believe that the words of God given to mankind in some distant time and locality should offer the necessary direction and enlightenment for all of God’s children into whose hands it might fall in all other times and in all other localities? How unenlightened must a person be who fails to understand how incomplete and abused by the workings of men are the words of the modern-day Bible?
Yet it is because of mankind’s present state of spiritual rebellion that the words of the eighth Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sufficient to send many individuals in today’s conflicted Christian world into a state of apoplexy. “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” But what this Article does not say is even more important to people living in this generation. For the truth of the matter is that God has spoken and still does speak to His prophets in our day. The Doctrine and Covenants is a collection of revelations given mostly to the Prophet Joseph Smith. It represents by no means all of them. And all of the Lord’s chosen Prophets who have followed and will follow Joseph Smith until the Savior’s second coming have been, are, and will be the recipients of His revealed word for the benefit of the children of God and the governance of His Church. In addition, we possess additional revelations given to prophets relevant to the Bible’s era that are published under the title of the Pearl of Great Price.
Further, it should be understood that we Saints of modern days are aware that much, much more scripture exists in the world than the small amount that is within our hands today. For God is not a respecter of persons and thus would not and did not leave His deserving spirit children to struggle in this mortal world ignorant of His existence and of a knowledge of His love and expectations for them. The day is coming when these many records will be made available, and the truths of His many works down through the history of this world will be manifest to all who are worthy. For now, He has made it clear that we have that portion of the record necessary for our salvation and commensurate with our worthiness.
No comments:
Post a Comment