Saturday, July 31, 2010

Priesthood Order: Church President Succession

On three recent Sundays, the elders, high priests, and members of the Relief Society in our ward received instruction concerning various aspects of the Holy Priesthood. While this concentration of lessons on such a vital subject was time well spent, the misunderstanding many members have relative to the succession of Church Presidents may not have been resolved. Unfortunately, the list of the offices in the Melchizedek Priesthood published in our study guide, Gospel Principles, is incomplete. The unenumerated sixth office is “The Presidency of the High Priesthood” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:22 and John A. Widtsoe’s Priesthood and Church Government, 111-112). The effort here will be to bring greater clarity to this subject by reviewing and explaining several primary components of the procedure.


Basic to an understanding of the process of Church President succession are the following assumptions: First, we sustain the members of the First Presidency and of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as prophets, seers, and revelators. Each of these fifteen brethren upon being ordained an Apostle received all of the Priesthood authority and keys that have been restored to the earth in this dispensation. It should be understood that at times there are more than fifteen Apostles functioning in the leadership of the Church. If more than two counselors are needed in the First Presidency, the additional counselors may be ordained Apostles, however, they are not members of the Quorum of the Twelve and are thus not in the order of possible succession to be the President of the Church. Alvin Rulon Dyer (1903-1977) is a case in point. He was ordained an Apostle in 1967 but was not a member of the Quorum of the Twelve. He served as a counselor to President David O. McKay from 1968 to 1970. Upon the death of President McKay, Elder Dyer returned to his previous assignment as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve.


Second, the Quorum of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the First Quorum of the Seventy are all equal in authority. For practical purposes in this writing, the roles of only the first two of these three quorums will be considered.


Immediately upon the death of the President of the Church, two things occur. The Quorum of the First Presidency is dissolved. As is the case in all Priesthood presidencies wherein there are counselors, the counselors serve the president. When the president is released or dies, the counselors lose their presidency purpose, and the presidency is automatically dissolved. The second thing that happens upon the death of the President of the Church is that the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles becomes the President of the Church by virtue of his being the President of the ruling body of the Church. For with the dissolution of the Quorum of the First Presidency, the members of the Quorum of the Twelve become the leadership of the Church.


In time, the President of the Twelve will select his two counselors. These three Apostles will be sustained by the remaining Apostles as the Presidency of the High Priesthood and then be ordained to that office in the Melchizedek Priesthood. In this capacity, the President is the sole individual on the earth who may exercise all of the Priesthood keys for the direction of the Lord’s work here even though he has possessed those keys since the day he was ordained an Apostle. The Lord’s House is a House of order and not one of confusion.


There are certainly several aspects of this process that have not been discussed here and will not be. The intended purpose of this writing has been accomplished. However, possibly one additional point would have merit. The President of the Quorum of the Twelve is the most senior Apostle second only to the sitting President of the Church. If he is serving in the First Presidency, then the next most senior Apostle presides over the Quorum of the Twelve as the “Acting President.” This was the situation during the time President Thomas S. Monson served as a counselor to President Gordon B. Hinckley. During President Hinckley’s administration, the Acting President of the Twelve was Elder Boyd K. Packer. Now that President Monson in the President of the Church, Elder Packer serves as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve. Should Elder Packer survive President Monson, he would be the next President of the Church.


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Priesthood Order: Common Consent

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a theocracy. Simply stated, a theocracy is an entity ruled or governed by God. This Church was established in these last days through the hand of Jesus Christ under the direction of His Father, Elohim, as was the case in other dispensations. As its head, the Lord directs the work of His Church through revelation to its leaders and to its membership. This writing will be concerned with the two forms of revelation directed towards the Church’s leaders at all levels.


The earthly activities of the LDS Church are directed by those who have been called through proper priesthood authority to perform specific duties. At all levels of the organization, the members work to magnify their callings by seeking to do the will of the Lord in order that the Church might fulfill its earthly mission. Those in authority receive revelation from God as to whom He would have serve in any particular calling or assignment under their direction at any given time. Once a member has been called to serve and accepts the new responsibility, the member must be sustained by those over whom he or she will exercise authority. This process of the members sustaining their leaders is known as common consent. Central to the notion of common consent is the understanding that the exercise of personal agency on the part of every member is necessary for that member to make eternal progress. It is understood that callings come from the Lord by inspiration, and the responsibility of the membership of the Church is to sustain His will when called upon to do so. Thus common consent is not a process whereby the membership approves the choices of the Lord but rather gives their assent that they will support those who have been called in their respective assignments.


I sense that an air of familiarity and imprecision is creeping into Church member relations and the conducting of some Church meetings at the local level that is inconsistent with the manner in which business and the meetings themselves are conducted by General Authorities as illustrated in the broadcast sessions of General Conference. In other meetings throughout the world where General Authorities are present and thus presiding, the business of the Church proceeds with precision and decorum. The slackening of traditional formality in many of our meetings today is likely in part a result of a rapidly expanding worldwide Church. Unlike the situation a few decades ago, priesthood training is left more and more to the stakes as fewer stake conferences and their attendant leadership sessions are presided over by a General Authority. Some effects of this situation are becoming apparent in our day. In light of this, more time might be profitably spent training leaders to conduct ward and stake business with greater aplomb.


When those in authority ask the membership under their direction to exercise their right of common consent by sustaining members in their new callings, there is a proper manner in which this action should proceed. Those in the congregation on such occasions are not a party to the calling or release of a specific member. Thus, it is incorrect for the officer conducting the business at hand to say “We are calling or releasing Brother or Sister so and so,” etc. The member has already been called or released by their Priesthood leader. The membership is being asked to sustain the member in their new calling or to provide a vote of thanks for someone who has served and has been released in fact. An example of the proper phraseology might be, “Brother Smith has been called to serve as the Ward Sunday School President. Those of you who will sustain him in this calling,” etc. Recently, I attended a Sacrament Meeting in which the members in attendance were asked to sustain a brother as a “high council representative.” Such a calling does not exist in this Church. The brother should have been sustained “as a member of the Stake High Council.” Some may think that these are small points. Possibly they are, but such distinctions may often make the difference between being right or wrong.


One additional thought on this general topic. We belong to a Church the business of which proceeds through the process of callings and assignments, not one of volunteering. Classroom teachers ask for volunteers to offer the appropriate prayers when they should ask someone specifically to do so. Priesthood leaders seek volunteers to handle assignments rather than making specific assignments. Asking for volunteers is obviously easier than seeking the inspiration necessary to make inspired assignments, and that very likely is the reason that asking for volunteers is becoming more and more the pattern. Asking for volunteers is not proper in almost all cases when we might be inclined to do so.


The other means by which the Lord directs His Church is through revelation or what some might be more inclined to call inspiration. The right of common consent does not include the power to determine what is true revelation and what is not. Those who have been sustained in a calling of authority have the right and the responsibility to receive the revelation or inspiration necessary to magnify their calling and provide the leadership that is expected. The members who have sustained their leaders also have a responsibility to put their sustaining vote into action by actively supporting their leaders and following their directions. Only by doing so, may the Lord direct His Church through these properly called and sustained authorities in these difficult times in such a manner that the members of the Church may prepare for their Savior’s triumphal second coming.


Sunday, July 18, 2010

"Eat, drink, and be merry"

“Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us. And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God--he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 28:7-8).


In my early years of scripture study, teachings on this point conjured up in my mind images of what life in Sodom and Gomorrah might have been like. I envisioned scenes of human debauchery that were to take place at a time far into the future, truly in the very last days. However, I came to realize sometime ago that the days of eating, drinking, and being merry were already a reality, and that examples of this behavior were all around me. Likewise, I have come to more fully understand and appreciate the prescribed consequences of such behavior.


My wife and I attended a major league baseball game recently and one of the young men sitting behind us informed the other members of his party that he had calculated how much it would cost him to get drunk given the ballpark’s price for a cup of beer. It was not many days later that I learned that jewel-encrusted cell phones are available for purchase at $70,000 a piece, and that one man owns four of them. That suffices. The point has been made. Whether speaking of the affluent or those of fewer means, the examples of worldly excess abound about us. Just how much of the world’s bounties ought we to possess? If we place life’s importances into proper priority, then the obtaining of the world’s riches is important in order that we may be safe and live healthy and orderly lives thus enabling us to accomplish that for which we were placed upon this earth.


Speaking personally, from my youth my motto has been “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). This truth has been a guiding principle during my life.


Far too many of this and the next generation are being reared without the advantage of religious instruction. Some religion in a person’s life even if it cannot lead to true salvation is better than no religious training at all. Someone asked years ago, “Why Christ?” His family had purposely ignored discussing the subject of religion with him during his maturing years. His parents’ position was that if he wanted religion in his life, then he could make that determination better when he was mature. As a result of this parental approach, today he understands almost nothing of Christian doctrine.


It is understandable to me that those who were never taught the fulness of the gospel in their youth would as adults not understanding God’s plan for His spirit children. Even those individuals who were or are being reared within the “mainstream” Christian churches are hardly better off on this point. Nevertheless, after all that we as true Saints can do to make the unaware aware of the restored gospel, we may take comfort in knowing that the day is coming whether in this life or the next that everyone will have the opportunity to be taught the gospel.


However, my heart truly aches for those who were reared in a home in which the true gospel was taught and practiced. Their religious training included an understanding of their Heavenly Father’s expectations for them as well as the path they must follow if they desire to return to Him. How painful it is when they reject the blessings of heaven both for this life and forever in order to enjoy the immediate gratifications they hope to derived from worldly pleasures.


For years, I have asked myself why this is so, and the full answer is still beyond my mental reach. I suspect this troubling behavior is rooted at least in part in a lack of faith. The first and most fundamental principle of the gospel is faith. Faith is a gift of God, a gift of the Spirit. If one cannot exercise the required faith on their own, it is unnecessary to throw aside the gospel and its attendant blessings. The Lord taught concerning an alternative means. “To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:14). Those who cannot muster from within the requisite degree of faith required, must only “believe” on the faith and the works of others, and if “they continue faithful” the prize will be theirs also.


It is often the case that those who set their hearts upon the accumulation of the material things of this world embrace and profess the notion that what they have come to possess belongs to them because they have earned these things. They do not understand a fundamental truth of living in this world namely, they have produced nothing on their own, and in reality, they own nothing. Everything they possess is a gift from God, and they possess nothing more than a stewardship over that with which they have been blessed. Moreover, they will be judged by God according to the manner with which they manage the particulars of their stewardship. King Benjamin said it thusly, “I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another--I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants. . . . And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you” (Mosiah 2:20-26).


True to the Prophet Nephi’s teachings, many of the earth’s inhabitants mistakenly believe they will only be punished lightly for their disobedience towards God’s commandments, and that afterward, they will be saved in the kingdom of God. How foolish they are. The day is coming when these will find that they were seriously mistaken. The blessings they thought they would acquire in spite of their rebelliousness are gone and out of reach forever. Indeed, they may be separated from their loved ones for eternity because essentially they lacked the required faith, a proper understanding of the gospel, and a history of faithfulness to higher principles, all of which they were taught from their youth.


Sunday, July 11, 2010

The Atonement

Note: The material for this writing comes from a lesson I taught several weeks ago to our High Priests Group from our current study guide, Gospel Principles.

Without the atonement of Jesus Christ, the creation and peopling of this earth would have been for naught. The Prophet Malachi confirms this truth. Had mankind failed to accomplish God’s purpose for their being here, then “the whole earth would be utterly wasted at [the] coming” of His Son, Jesus Christ (Joseph Smith -- History 1:39). Thus, it is not incorrect to believe that the atonement was the single most important event in the earth’s history.


“For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; 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).


Central to an understanding of why men and women everywhere “are fallen and are lost, and must perish” in the absence of an atonement being performed in our behalf are the relevant events that took place in the garden of Eden. By partaking of the fruit from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” contrary to God’s commandment, Adam and Eve suffered two major consequences of eternal importance. The first of these, spiritual death, they suffered apparently without much delay. They were shortly to learn that they would no longer have the opportunity to converse face to face with their Father in Heaven as they walked in the garden. Their only contact with Him would be through prayer, inspiration, and messengers sent from His presence to instruct them from time to time concerning His will pertaining to them.


The second personal consequence of their misbehavior would not be experienced ultimately for many years to come, other than for the deepening effects of the aging process. Physical death had been introduced into the world as a result of their actions. Consistent with God’s warning and contrary to what Lucifer told them, they would eventually die. In the mean time, they would live in their fallen state of mortality having been responsible not only for their own fall but for the fall of all fauna and flora on the earth as well as the earth itself from a terrestrial to a telestial order of things.


Absent the atonement wrought by Jesus Christ, our first parents and all of their descendants would have of necessity perished as Amulek taught. To perish in this sense does not mean to cease to exist. Rather it means that we all would have found ourselves in hell with Lucifer as our leader for the duration of eternity. The world would have been destroyed, and mankind would have become devils, “angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself” (see 2 Nephi 9:7-9).


The atonement of Jesus Christ is “[t]hat he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness; That through him all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him ” (D&C 76:41-42). How are all saved because of the atonement? The answer is a multi-faceted one. In fact, in only one sense are all of mankind saved by the Lord’s atonement.


The Father communicating through His Son instructed Moses concerning His plan for His spirit children namely, “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 refers to the duration of life while eternal life refers to the quality of life we may enjoy in the future. “Eternal” is one of Elohim’s names, thus eternal life is the quality of life that Elohim lives and is one of the subjects of Section 131 in the Doctrine and Covenants.


As stated, the effects of the atonement concerning who is to be saved are many. To the extent that every human being who ever calls earth home will be resurrected and not spend eternity as a disembodied spirit, it may be truly said that all are saved through the Lord’s atonement. This is the unconditional result of the atonement. All will be resurrected. None may opt out. However, if by saved we mean to say that all of God’s spirit children will return home to live with their Heavenly Father, then by no means will that be the case. And here the situation becomes somewhat complex. Enter the subjects of salvation and damnation. If we assume salvation to mean that an individual has been saved, then clearly, not all who live upon this earth will be saved or inherit salvation. Those who will clearly not be saved in this sense are the sons of perdition. They are they who alone will experience the “second death” and go away to live out eternity with Lucifer and his minions. However, they will keep their resurrected bodies making them superior in nature to the father of lies (D&C 76:43-45).


All of God’s remaining children will inherit some kingdom of glory for eternity. Then what is it that those who inherit the terrestrial and telestial kingdoms have been saved from? Hell and Lucifer’s temptations and corruptions. Those who are resurrected to obtain the celestial kingdom are those who are saved to the degree that they will re-enter their Father’s presence. Thus salvation comes in varying degrees. This then is the conditional aspect of the atonement. It is within our power to determine through our worthiness the degree to which we will inherit salvation or damnation.


Indeed, the terms salvation and damnation may be used correctly to describe the conditions of those who will enter even the celestial kingdom. It is God’s hope for us that we will not only be found worthy to return and live with Him, but more so, that we will be worthy of the progression necessary to eventually live as He does. To obtain eternal life is the real purpose for our existence. Anything short of that is less than what our Heavenly Father hopes for us and will in time prove to be a damnation for us. For those who fail to receive eternal life will not be capable of “increase” which is the clearest distinguishing potential of those inheriting eternal life (D&C 131:4).


Saturday, July 3, 2010

The Admonition of Paul

The thirteenth Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”


In his epistle to the Philippians, Paul gave the new Saints words of comfort as well as direction as to some of the hallmarks that ought to typify the behavior of a follower of Christ not only for their own betterment but also for the improvement of the society in which they lived. “Don’t be unduly concerned about anything; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:6-9). This would have been wise counsel for a Saint living in any of the dispensations.


Quite obviously, we do not literally “believe all things.” If such were even possible, that condition would illustrate the height of foolishness and be more than contradictory. The statement has reference to truth. As followers of Jesus Christ, we seek after those things that have been made manifest by His Spirit, the light of Christ. For this is the source of all truth whether in this world or in the universe. The opposing spirit that makes possible the exercise of agency for the purposes of making choices of eternal importance, the spirit of untruth, emanates from the father of lies, Lucifer. Consistent with God’s plan, all advancements in the fields of discovery, enlightenment, and beauty, with reference to the arts, for example, that are intended for the benefit of His spirit children are made known through the light of Christ. As lovers of truth, we should seek truth wherever it is to be found and embrace it whenever we do.


Our hope ought not to be ultimately concerned with things of this world. The hope of the Saints is rooted in the power and knowledge by means of which we may obtain eternal life. However, our reality is that while in mortality, we must concern ourselves also with earthly temptations and obstacles that have the potential to deflect us from our intended path and goal. The persecutions levied against God’s work in all generations were in reality persecutions levied against individual believers. As such, we hope and prepare ourselves in order that we may be able to endure all that we individually will be called upon to bear whether at the hands of our fellowmen or as a result of the vicissitudes of life being able to maintain our individual worthiness. The ultimate test we face is to determine whether each of us “will do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command” of us (Abraham 3:25). Simply stated that means entering into all of the covenants God holds out to each of us and then living worthy of the promised blessings.