Gospel Patterns

While vacationing in Hawaii recently, we attended a stake conference to which Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, was the visiting authority. During a portion of his remarks, he addressed the topic of patterns in the gospel. This experience serves as the springboard for this writing.

The Lord taught the Prophet Joseph Smith the importance of understanding gospel patterns a little more than a year after the organization of His Church in these last days. “And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations” (Doctrine and Covenants 52:14). This was an important lesson for not only the Prophet but for our church membership in general. In the early years of the restoration when all of the Saints were new to the true gospel, Satan and his minions had a relatively easy time diverting many from the true practices of their newly acquired religion with often dire consequences. While “drift” from proper practices and patterns will always be a challenge for us, in long-established communities of the Saints, many decades and generations of experience lessen significantly the occurrences of inappropriate practices being adopted in our places of worship.

Possibly, the brief mention of several fundamental gospel patterns would be appropriate here. Under normal circumstances, the Lord will not reveal to us that which is important for our understanding and direction absent our approaching Him for such enlightenment. He expects that we will come to an understanding of our needs as a result of our personal study and contemplation. Once we have formulated a question, concern, or need, we are to prayerfully approach Him in faith. Joseph Smith studied the Bible and determined that the Lord was willing to provide answers to questions and concerns when approached in faith. He contemplatively prepared his question for God before he went into the grove to pray. Oliver Cowdery was chastened by the Lord for thinking that he, Oliver, would be able to translate without first studying the matter out in his own mind and then asking God if his translation was correct (D&C 9:7-9). The Prophet Moroni was very clear on the procedure one must use to prove the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. “And when ye shall receive these things, [In verse three, Moroni makes clear that to ‘receive’ means to ‘read’ the book.] I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost” (Moroni 10:4).

Another gospel pattern is illustrated in the relationship that exists between covenants and ordinances. Each time we participate in one of the five saving ordinances, we conclude a multi-part covenant with God. When we are baptized and confirmed for example, we promise to “serve God” and “keep his commandments” (Mosiah 18:10). The Melchizedek Priesthood is conferred upon a brother with an “oath and covenant” (D&C 84:33-41). The concluding of covenants with God is an integral part of participating in temple ordinances. The importance of concluding covenants with God was explained simply by Elder John A. Widtsoe: “The covenant made in the temple, or elsewhere, if of the right kind, is merely a promise to give life to knowledge, by making knowledge useful and helpful in man’s daily progress. Temple work, or any other work, would have no meaning unless accompanied with covenants” (See page 17 of the temple preparation manual).

One may see a gospel pattern in the saving ordinances themselves. Here I have reference to the Plan of Salvation or Plan of Happiness. Our demonstration of faith and works in the pre-mortal, mortal, and post-mortal phases of our existence will determine our condition, circumstances, and opportunities for eternity. Even within the celestial kingdom itself there are “three heavens or degrees” (D&C 131:1). The minimal number of ordinances in which we must participate in order to obtain the least of these degrees is two, namely baptism and confirmation. To be worthy to obtain the highest of these degrees requires that an individual participate in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage (D&C 131:2).

Finally for my purposes here, marriage and family illustrate a most important gospel pattern. In 1995, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a proclamation concerning “The Family.” Making no attempt here to summarize the details of this Proclamation, it suffices me to say that “the family” is a pattern of heaven. There, we will be organized in a patriarchal order that will eventually link the generations of the earth back to our first parents.

As the Lord instructed the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1831, understanding and participating in these gospel patterns will very much work in our favor as we attempt to avoid being deceived by Satan and those around us who support his ends willingly or unknowingly.

Individual Enlightenment

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “. . . And we shall at last have to come to this conclusion, whatever we may think of revelation, that without it we can neither know nor understand anything of God, or the devil; and however unwilling the world may be to acknowledge this principle, it is evident from the multifarious creeds and notions concerning this matter that they understand nothing of this principle, and it is equally as plain that without a divine communication they must remain in ignorance. The world always mistook false prophets for true ones, and those that were sent of God, they considered to be false prophets, and hence they killed, stoned, punished and imprisoned the true prophets, and these had to hide themselves ‘in deserts and dens, and caves of the earth,’ and though the most honorable men of the earth, they banished them from their society as vagabonds, whilst they cherished, honored and supported knaves, vagabonds, hypocrites, impostors, and the basest of men” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 205-206).

In his address at the Church’s April 2011 General Conference, Elder David A. Bednar spoke to this subject. “The spirit of revelation is available to every person who receives by proper priesthood authority the saving ordinances of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost--and who is acting in faith to fulfill the priesthood injunction to ‘receive the Holy Ghost.’ This blessing is not restricted to the presiding authorities of the Church; rather, it belongs to and should be operative in the life of every man, woman, and child who reaches the age of accountability and enters into sacred covenants. Sincere desire and worthiness invite the spirit of revelation into our lives” (“The Spirit of Revelation” was the title of his address).

Addressing Elder Bednar’s thought on the role revelation must play in the Lord’s true Church, I am reminded that between the General Authorities and the Church’s membership there are two levels of administration, stake presidents and bishops, that are critical to the well being of the Kingdom. This past weekend, Sister Linford and I attended a stake conference in the Honolulu Hawaii Stake. The visiting authority was Elder Kevin W. Pearson, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. He reminded the congregation of the important role bishops play in the Church due much in part to the revelation they receive in support of their members.

In the opening chapters of the Book of Mormon namely, chapters eleven through fourteen of 1 Nephi, Nephi was shown the vision that his father had received earlier which foretold the future circumstances of Lehi’s family as well as major events in the unfolding and entwining history of the House of Israel and the gentiles down through the ages to this very dispensation. While admittedly his experience is an extreme example of personal revelation, in Nephi’s case, it was a necessary one. For upon him rested the responsibility of establishing a pattern of interactions between those of his followers who would remain righteous on the one hand as opposed to the religiously rebellious followers of his brethren on the other. The latter group, the Lord intended to use as a “scourge” upon Nephi’s “seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction” (2 Nephi 5:25).

No matter how exceptional, Nephi’s example of seeking personal revelation and acting in accordance with the particulars of the resulting inspiration is very much an appropriate example for all Saints. Many particulars concerning our personal course in mortality will be made known to each of us if we sincerely seek such direction in faith. It behooves us then to follow Nephi’s pattern of righteous living through dedicated obedience to our Father’s commandments followed by a humble but specific request to be shown the way we should proceed. “For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceeding high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot. And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou? And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw. And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken? And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father” (1 Nephi 11:1-5).

Personal revelation is a gift from God to those who desiring to obey His commandments have joined His earthly Kingdom through the ordinances of baptism and confirmation. By means of the Holy Ghost, we may not only come to know the mysteries of the kingdom but also the particulars of what we should be about in this life. A desire to know and being worthy of such inspiration are understood prerequisites. Once we seek to use personal revelation as a directional beacon in our lives, the Prophet Joseph Smith has given us the key to its successful use. While John Taylor was serving as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve, the Prophet told him “Elder Taylor, you have been baptized, you have had hands laid upon your head for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and you have been ordained to the holy priesthood. Now, if you will continue to follow the leadings of that spirit, it will always lead you right. Sometimes it might be contrary to your judgment; never mind that, follow its dictates; and if you be true to its whisperings it will in time become in you a principle of revelation so that you will know all things” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church--Joseph Smith, 132-133).

As independent individuals seeking to realize our full eternal potential, we have been given the power to act and not to be acted upon (2 Nephi 2:13). By capitalizing on the opportunities that in part we may open for ourselves through heavenly direction, we improve our chances of staying the course and realizing that end.

Gospel Saints

Some few days ago in a mass conducted before well more than a million followers of the Roman Catholic faith gathered in St. Peter’s Square and connecting streets, Pope Benedict XVI beatified former Pope John Paul II. The act of beatification is the third of four steps necessary in that Church to declaring an individual to be canonized. Canonization is the earthly, institutional recognition that the subject is in heaven and is a saint. Importantly, the process of canonization does not make the individual a saint, it is simply a recognition of the belief that the subject has arrived at that station by means of other, non-earthly processes. It is further assumed that all who make it to heaven are saints, however, the Church does not canonize most of them for what should be obvious reasons. Beatification, additionally, places these deceased individuals in a position of interceding on behalf of mortals who pray to them seeking heavenly intervention in the resolution of their personal challenges. In the Protestant Christian world, the term saint is used more generally. Historically, saints in this context were and are the mortal followers of Jesus Christ. Clearly in the complex Christian world of today, the uses and understandings of the term “saint” are confusing and vary widely.

Within the communities of true believers in Jesus Christ from the days of Father Adam to our own there has been and is no confusion as to the meaning and use of the term “saints.” However, for most interested others, our understanding and practice on this matter provides little assistance. It is not uncommon for members of the LDS Church to be confronted with something other than acceptance when they announce that they are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The use of the term "saint" in reference to the general membership of the church is in fact widely unknown and little accepted in the supposedly Christian world of today. In this writing, several references from our standard works, holy scriptures, illustrating the use of the term “saint” down through the ages will be considered.

Approximately six hundred years before the birth of Christ, the Prophet Nephi explained to his brethren the meaning of an important vision that had been given earlier to their father, Lehi. Speaking of the river that figured prominently in the vision, Nephi said “that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God,” those in the vision who were seeking to be faithful to the word of God (1 Nephi 15:28). A short time earlier, Nephi, himself, had been shown a vision narrated by an angel that gave Nephi an understanding of future, major events that would occur spanning from his day to ours. In our generation, he saw that there would be only two churches, the church of God and the church of the devil. Nephi reports: “And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I behold that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw” (1 Nephi 14:12). There was no question in Nephi’s mind concerning the name of the members of Christ’s true Church. They were the Lord’s saints.

Other prophets and writers during Old Testament times were not confused either concerning the appropriate use of the term “saints.” In the Fifth Book of Moses, Moses clearly understands the saints to be all of the true followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Deuteronomy 33:2-3). The Psalmist, King David, declared, “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice” (Psalms 50:5). Daniel saw in vision the great priesthood meeting yet to be held at Adam-Ondi-Ahman (verses 9 to 14 of chapter 7) as well as the saints of God receiving His Kingdom: “But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. . . . Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. . . . And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him” (Daniel 7:18, 22, 27).

On the subject of saints, the dialogue between the Lord and Ananias in New Testament times is instructive. Paul, blinded by the vision wherein he became acquainted with the Savior, awaits Ananias’ arrival to restore his vision. “And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts 9:11-16). Much later, Paul begins one of his epistles to the Corinthians with these words: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:1-3).

In all dispensations from the beginning of this world, the living, faithful followers of Christ were known and are still known as saints. They are they who exhibit faith in Jesus Christ and His gospel, who honestly repent of their sins, who seek forgiveness of their sins and entrance into the Kingdom of God on the earth through the ordinances of baptism by immersion and confirmation by the laying on of hands in order that they may receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. There is no other way that this may be accomplished other than by and through the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood.

The Seventy

The role of the seventies in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has evolved much during the course of this dispensation as the membership of the Church has grown rapidly consequently making the administration of the Kingdom more and more complex.

The oldest references in our standard works of seventies being called to serve are to be found in the Old Testament. After Israel’s departure from Egypt and while the Melchizedek Priesthood was still in force among the people, seventy elders of Israel were assisting Moses in his leadership. They were among those who along with Moses were called up onto the mount and saw God (Exodus 24:1 and 9). At a subsequent time after Israel was operating under the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood, the Lord told Moses to “Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone” (Numbers 11:16-17). In the days of Ezekiel there is also passing mention of the seventy (Ezekiel 8:11).

During the meridian of time, Luke records that at least two groups of seventy were sent out by the Lord to preach His gospel and to bless the people if they were receptive to the message of warning that the Kingdom was at hand. They returned from their assignments filled with joy and surprise at their success (Luke 10:1-17).

In this dispensation, the Lord directed that seventies be called to assist in the work of building up the Kingdom of God. “The Seventy are also called to preach the gospel, and to be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world--thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling. And they form a quorum, equal in authority to that of the Twelve special witnesses or Apostles just named” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:25-26). “The Seventy are to act in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Twelve or the traveling high council, in building up the church and regulating all the affairs of the same in all nations, first unto the Gentiles and then to the Jews” (D&C 107:34). From the first quorum of seventy, seven presidents are called with the responsibility to not only preside over the “first seventy to whom they belong,” but to recommend the calling of further seventies over whom they will preside also. The number of quorums of the seventy is not limited and quite obviously will increase as the work of the ministry increases over the generations of this dispensation (D&C 107:93-97). Late in the Prophet’s lifetime, the Lord reaffirmed the respective roles of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and the Quorum(s) of the Seventy. “Which quorum is instituted for traveling elders to bear record of my name in all the world, wherever the traveling high council, mine apostles, shall send them to prepare a way before my face” (D&C 124:139).

Realizing that not everyone who reads this writing has access to the Church News, I will present here in abbreviated form important information concerning the organization of the Seventy at this moment in time as outlined in the April 16, 2011 issue of this publication.

There are at present eight Quorums of the Seventy. The members of the First and Second Quorums are sustained as General Authorities. The members of the other quorums are sustained as Area Seventies, and each is assigned to a quorum based upon the geographical location of their individual assignments:

Third Quorum:

Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and Africa

Fourth Quorum:

Mexico, Central America, and Northwestern South America

Fifth Quorum:

Western North America

Sixth Quorum:

Central and Eastern North America as well as Northeastern South America

Seventh Quorum:

Central, Eastern, and Southern South America

Eighth Quorum:

Asia, and the nations of Oceania southward including Australia

One measure of the Church’s growth in the coming years will be apparent in the expanding number of the quorums of the seventy as well as the numbers of their total membership.

Twice Born Innocent

As we mortals contemplate our past in light of God’s revelations since the days of Adam, we come to understand that we have experienced two births in our material development. As offspring of our heavenly parents, our uncreated intelligence was clothed with a spirit body, and we commenced a great and critical period of learning and development in those heavenly realms. At the time of this birth, we were all innocent of any wrong doing. However, with time the experiences that shaped our development in the pre-mortal existence necessarily provided us with opportunities to exercise agency and to choose between good and evil as well as to take advantage of many opportunities to demonstrate our faith in God. By the time we were prepared to come to earth, we were no longer innocent. However, an innocent beginning in mortality was required for God’s spirit children under the terms of His plan of salvation. Therefore, the atonement of Jesus Christ necessarily had to reach back in time to pay the price for our contrary behavior in the pre-mortal world. By this means, it was possible for us subsequently to be born a second time in innocence. On these points, the scriptures are very clear.

In the Prophet Mormon’s powerful writing in opposition to the practice of infant baptism, we read, “But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!” (Moroni 8:12) How could he have expressed this truth with anymore clarity? Through Christ’s atonement, we all enter this world innocent having been freed of our responsibility for our wrong doings even before the earth was created.

In September 1830, the Lord revealed confirmation of this truth to the Prophet Joseph Smith. “But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me” (D&C 29:46-47). And again in 1833, the Lord revealed that “Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God” (D&C 93:38). Man again became innocent. So it is, we have been born twice in innocence.

Class discussions on this topic often include a question as to whether a child is even capable of committing an act that if committed by one who is accountable would be deemed a sin. Actually, the question is without importance. From a vision that the Prophet received in the Kirtland Temple in 1836, we have reaffirmed the promise that children are not held accountable for any acts they may commit whether or not the actions would otherwise be deemed sinful. “And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven” (D&C 137:10).

So was it possible for us as the spirit offspring of our heavenly parents to choose evil as opposed to good and also to demonstrate acts of faith in the pre-mortal world? Absolutely. Please consider the first nine verses of chapter thirteen in the Book of Alma. In his discourse on the eternal role of the Melchizedek Priesthood and the calling of High Priests who administer to the inhabitants of this world, the Prophet Alma confirms that all of us were born into the realm of our heavenly parents, our first estate, with equal standing one to another. “Or in fine, in the first place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not harden their hearts, . . .” (Alma 13:5).

Although we all started with the same standing, our probation in the spirit world would distinguish between those who would be obedient and excel and those who demonstrated lesser faith and thereby make less of themselves in their first estate. From the faithful, the Prophet Joseph Smith taught, God called and ordained His servants who would serve Him during the time of our mortal probation, or second estate. “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 365). On this point, Alma gives us considerable insight. Speaking of the process that took place in the pre-mortal existence whereby the high priests who would serve in this world were called, Alma taught, “And this is the manner after which they were ordained--being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place [our first estate] being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such” (Alma 13:3).

Our Father in Heaven knows us personally, and those of us who exercise the Melchizedek Priesthood in the interest of the growth and strengthening of the Kingdom of God on the earth today were chosen for this work before we were sent to earth. Once we have knowledge of this fact in addition to an understanding our Father’s plan for His spirit children, how can we do otherwise than to be faithful and diligent in all that pertains to the purpose of our being in these blessed mortal circumstances?

The Fulness of the Priesthood

In my last writing, the subject of the “fulness of the gospel” was considered. This terminology is used in revelations and church writings and has reference to the existence of a basic understanding of gospel principles to be found in each one of our standard works. However, we recognize further that not one or even all of these books of scripture together contains a collection of all gospel truths. In this writing on the fulness of the priesthood, a distinction between priesthood power and the fulness of the priesthood will be discussed.

As pertaining to the Melchizedek Priesthood, Elder Bruce R. McConkie writes: “The priesthood is greater than any of its offices. No office adds any power, dignity, or authority to the priesthood. All offices derive their rights, prerogatives, graces, and powers from the priesthood. . . . Every elder holds as much priesthood as an apostle or as the President of the Church, though these latter officers hold greater administrative assignments in the kingdom” (Mormon Doctrine, 595-596).

Even though the Melchizedek Priesthood was restored to the earth in 1829, in 1841 the Lord commanded the Saints to build a temple in Nauvoo in order that He might restore therein “that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood” (Doctrine and Covenants, 124:28). The Lord has reference here to the ordinances of the temple that are necessary for exaltation or eternal life. Indeed, the fulness of priesthood authority had already been conferred upon the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in 1836 in the Kirtland Temple when they received the fulness of the keys of the priesthood from Moses, Elias, and Elijah (D&C 110:11-16). It is important to note here that the keys necessary to perform the temple ordinances were restored to the earth years before a house of the Lord existed wherein the required temple ordinances could be performed for the Church’s membership and their kindred dead. Once these ordinances were available to the membership, those who entered into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage received a fulness of the priesthood. The blessings of the fulness of the priesthood are available to all worthy, married couples in His Kingdom today and will be realized for eternity once their demonstrated worthiness is such that the Holy Ghost seals them up to that end (D&C 132:19).

What is illustrated here is the knowledge that was made known by the Prophet when he taught concerning the “three grand orders of the priesthood.” These orders are the Levitical Priesthood, the Melchizedek Priesthood, and Patriarchal authority (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 322-323). The order of the priesthood known as Patriarchal authority is that into which couples enter by way of the temple sealing ordinance. President Ezra Taft Benson stated the matter thusly: “To enter into the order of the Son of God is the equivalent today of entering into the fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is only received in the house of the Lord” (as quoted in Andrew C. Skinner, Temple Worship, 40).

The Fulness of the Gospel

The fulness of the gospel is to be found in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon according to the word of the Lord. “And again, the elders, priests and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel” (D&C 42:12). Why might that be news to some? Because of the frequency with which we say, hear, and read that the Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the gospel. Consider for example the following testimony of the Lord concerning the Book of Mormon: “Which contains a record of a fallen people, and the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles and to the Jews also” (D&C 20:9). For this reason, it is just possible that some members of the Church are of the mistaken opinion that the fulness of the gospel is not to be found in the Bible. Such is clearly not the case. Well then, as long as this question is being explored, where do the Doctrine and Covenants as well as the Pearl of Great Price stand on this issue? Clearly, they contain the fulness of the gospel as well. If so, then why did the Lord not include them in the revelation we know as Section 42? In February 1831, neither of those two books existed.

What is meant by the fulness of the gospel? In this context, we do not mean that any one of these books of scripture contains every gospel truth. No book existing on this earth today does. However, what is meant by this statement is that all of the information needed by any truth seeking individual to discern the correctness of the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is contained therein. Thus the sincere investigator will find in any one of these sources sufficient information for them to understand the basic principles of the gospel which understanding is required of one seeking to be baptized and confirmed into the Lord’s true Church. Moreover, any one of these books of scripture contains those gospel truths that will assist new members having set their feet upon the strait path to salvation to prepare themselves and make the necessary advancement toward receiving the additional saving ordinances required for exaltation or eternal life that are available only in the Lord’s temples.

As a temple sealer, I use often in my remarks to couples who have come to the temple to be sealed for time and for all eternity a particular verse of scripture that should be enlightening to any member of the Church whether new or more seasoned. In Section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord quotes to the Prophet Joseph Smith from the writings of John the Baptist wherein the Baptist bears testimony concerning the pre-mortal and earthly works and mission of the Savior. And then the Lord tells the Prophet the following: “I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness” (verse 19). Very simply, if we have any hope of receiving eternal life, the fulness of what our Heavenly Father is offering us, we must “understand and know” who it is that we are worshipping and how we are to worship them. The gospel truths that we need in order to succeed in fulfilling our full individual potential are to be found in our standard works of scripture and in our temple worship combined.