"A Key That Will Never Rust": The Majority of the Church Will Never Be Led Astray.

In the Doctrine and Covenants teaches that the Church is the governed by the Law of Common Consent (D&C 20:65; 26:2; 28:13; 38:34; 41:9; 51:4; 124:144). This is a principle which is not always fully appreciated by members of the Church today, but remains an important safeguard given by the Lord in his revelations against deception and imposition by evil and aspiring individuals in the last days. On several occasions the Lord had to remind early Church members of this principle as in the episode with Hiram Page in New York (D&C 28:1-16) and a woman  in Kirtland Ohio(D&C 43:1-7).

This principle also is practiced in the government of priesthood quorums as set forth in one revelation on priesthood:

And every decision made by either of these quorums must be by the unanimous voice of the same; that is, every member in each quorum must be agreed to its decisions, in order to make their decisions of the same power or validity one with the other–a majority may form a quorum when circumstances render it impossible to be otherwise–Unless this be the case, their decisions are not entitled to the same blessings which the decisions of a quorum of three presidents were anciently, who were ordained after the order of Melchizedek, and were righteous and holy men (D&C 107:27-29)

So in addition to the general membership of the Church, the decisions of quorums (The First Presidency, the twelve and the Seventy are specifically mentioned) are to be preferably unanimous, but certainty by no less than a majority of members in each respective quorum to be considered valid.

“And in case that any decision of these quorums is made in unrighteousness, it may be brought before a general assembly of the several quorums, which constitute the spiritual authorities of the Church; otherwise there can be no appeal from their decision (D&C 107:32).

And in such a case the same principles would apply.

This principle outlined in section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants can also be found in another revelation given to Joseph Smith on January 12, 1838, in Kirtland, Ohio among the records of the Church. This revelation, while not a part of the standard works today, provides good historical evidence for this principle of common consent as well:

Thus saith the Lord, Let the first Presidency of my Church, be held in full fellowship in Zion and all her stakes, until they shall be found transgressors, by such an high Council as is named in the above alluded section, in Zion, by three witnesses standing against each member of said Presidency, and these witnesses shall be of long and faithful standing, and such also as cannot [p. 51] be impeached by other witnesses before such Council, and when a decision is had by such an Council in Zion, it shall only be for Zion, it shall not answer for her stakes, but if such a decision be acknowledged by the Council of her stakes, then it shall answer for her stakes, But if it is not acknowledged by the stakes, then such stake may have the privilege of hearing for themselves or if such decision shall be acknowledged by a majority of the stakes, then it shall answer for all her stakes

And again, The presidency of my Church, may be tried by the voice of the whole body of the Church in Zion, and the voice of a majority of all her stakes

And again Except a majority is had by the voice of the Church of Zion and a majority of all her stakes, The Charges will be considered not sustained and in order to sustain such Charge or Charges, before such Church of Zion or her stakes, such witnesses must be had as is named above, that is the witnesses to each President, who are of long and faithful standing, that cannot be impeached by other witnesses before the Church of Zion, or her stakes, And all this saith the Lord because of wicked and aspiring men, Let all your doings be in meekness and in humility before me even so Amen.

[Revelation given in the presence of J. Smith Jr., S. Rigdon, Vinson Knight and Geo. W. Robinson, 12 January, 1838 at the French farm in Kirtland, Geauga County, Ohio, in Dean C. Jesse, Ronald K. Esplin and Richard Lyman Bushman, eds., The Joseph Smith Papers: Journals (Salt Lake City: Church Historians Press, 2008) 1:282-83. Emphasis added. I have slightly corrected spelling].


Here again we see the principle of common consent applied to a potential trial of Church leaders in Zion (Missouri) or in the stakes of Zion wherever they may be. In either case a majority votes is required to sustain the charge were such an event to occur.

In addition to the above, it appears that this principle of the Church being governed by the law of common consent, which required at least a majority vote was taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith and was remembered by many of the early Saints who heard him do so (The emphasis in each of these references in mine).

Orson Hyde

Joseph Smith said, some know that this work is of God, and some may not know, but if they believe the testimony of those who do know and follow on they will go into the Celestial kingdom. He also said, always follow the majority of the church, for they will never go wrong. It is not by reason and philosophy, which are after the world, that will regulate His church, but God will regulate it by the power of the Holy Ghost through his representative on the earth. If any people on the earth have reason to be faithful to god in all things it is the people of the Latter-day Saints, who have in their midst His living oracles (Orson Hyde, 11 September, 1867, in Deseret News, 25 September, 1867. Emphasis added).

[It] reminds me of the words of Joseph the Prophet, when he said, “Brethren, remember that the majority of this people will never go astray; and as long as you keep with the majority you are sure to enter the celestial kingdom” (Orson Hyde, 5 May 1870, JD 13:367. Emphasis added).

Edward Stevenson

The writer [Edward Stevenson] heard the Prophet say on the stand at the east end of the Nauvoo Temple, that the time was coming, when there would be many dissensions from the Church. “But,” said he, “I now see the time which I have long desired to see. Let me go where I may, the Gospel tree is planted never more to be rooted up, for there are those present who are prepared to carry on the Gospel, whatever may become of me.” He also said: “I will give you a key by which you may never be deceived, if you will observe these facts: Where the true church is, there will also be a majority of the saints, and the records and history of the Church also” (Andrew Jenson and Edward Stevenson, Infancy of the Church, [1889], 5).

Ezra T. Clark

I heard the Prophet Joseph say he would give the Saints a key whereby they would never be led away or deceived, and that was: the Lord would never suffer the majority of this people to be led away or deceived by impostors, nor would he allow the records of this church to fall into the hands of the enemy (Ezra T. Clark, I.E. 5 [January 1902]: 202).

William G. Nelson

I will give you a key that will never rust. If you will stay with the majority of the twelve apostles, and the records of the church, you will never be led astray (William G. Nelson recollection, YWJ 17 [December 1906]: 543).

My brother William and I were baptized into the Church by the Prophet Joseph during the summer of 1842. I well remember many of the sayings of the Prophet which are on record in the Church. But one I will mention here. He said: “I will give you a key that will never rust; if you will stay with the majority of the twelve Apostles, and the records of the Church, you will never be led astray (“William Goforth Nelson,” Mormon Biography File Church Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah).

Lyman O. Littlefield

Once in Nauvoo I heard the Prophet declare to the people how they might always know where to find the true Church. He gave it as a guide for them ever afterwards, and said they day would come when they would need it. He said: “Factions and parties will arise out of this Church, and apostates will lead away many. But in the midst of all this, keep with the majority, for the true leaders of God’s people will always be able to have a majority, and the records of the Church will be with them. Keep with the majority, for where the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Lyman O. Littlefield, Millennial Star 45/25 [18 June, 1883]: 389. Emphasis added).

Mosiah Hancock

Brother Joseph gave us to understand that it was our duty to follow the Twelve. The majority of this people will be right; but when you see people thirsting for the blood of the Saints, you may know they are not right (Autobiography of Mosiah Hancock, 28. Emphasis added).

Brigham Young

Among a great many other things he said, and he had a foreboding that he would be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. “I will give you a key to govern your actions if I should be slain by my enemies. If ever this transpires, some persons will stand forth who honor and hold the keys of the holy priesthood, and the main body of the people will follow that individual. You may depend upon this.” many of your are witnesses with regard to the truth of this saying (Brigham Young Address, 7 October 1863, HDC, Ms d 1234 Box 49, folder11. Emphasis added). 

           

Joseph Smith said that where the keys of the Kingdom were, there would be the place to gather. Wherever the Twelve and Council are, there will the keys be, and the place of gathering (Brigham Young, 3 May, 1846, Manuscript History of Brigham Young, 149-52)

W. W. Phelps

“It takes a majority of any quorum, according to the order of God, as declared in the Doctrine & Covenants, which I hold in my hand, and the common consent of the whole church, to make any act valid; every ordination, therefore made by Sidney Rigdon, he being one only out of a quorum of three, even if he had not otherwise transgressed is illegal” (Trial of Sidney Rigdon, Times & Seasons 5/18 [1 October, 1844]: 663).

This principle also seems to have been known to Oliver Cowdery as reported by additional witnesses of his public testimony when he returned to the Church in 1848.

Oliver Cowdery

Brother Hyde has just said that it was all important that we keep in the true channel in order to avoid the sand bars. This is true. The channel is here. The priesthood is here. I was present with Joseph when a holy angel from God came down from heaven and conferred, or restored, the Aaronic Priesthood and said at the same time that it should remain upon the earth while the earth stands. I was also present with Joseph when the Melchizedek Priesthood was conferred by the holy angels of God which we then confirmed on each other by the will and commandment of God. This Priesthood is also to remain upon the earth until the last remnant of time (Oliver Cowdery, Reuben Miller Journal, 21 October, 1848. Emphasis added).

Oliver Cowdery, who had just arrived from Wisconsin with his family, on being invited, addressed the meeting. He bore testimony in the most positive terms of the truth of the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the priesthood to the earth, and the mission of Joseph Smith as the prophet of the last days. And told the people if they wanted to follow the right path, to keep in the main channel of the stream–where the body of the Church goes, there is the authority; and all these lo here’s and lo there’s, have no authority. But this people have the holy priesthood, “for the angel said unto Joseph Smith, Jr., in my hearing, that this priesthood shall remain on earth unto the end” (George A. Smith to Orson Pratt, Council Bluffs, Iowa, 20 October 1848, MS 11 [1849]: 14. Emphasis added).

O. Cowdery is dead. His last testimony will never be forgotten by many. He said to his friend, [there] was no salvation but in the valley and through the priesthood there (Phineas Young to Brigham Young, Kanesville, 25 April 1850).

Oliver Cowdery said to the people, when he came to Pottawotamie and requested to be restored to the Church, “Follow the Twelve: they are the men with whom the priesthood rests. If you follow the main channel of the stream, you will go right; but if you run into a bayou, you will find yourself among snags” (George A. Smith, 10 January 1858, JD 7:117. Emphasis added).

This Gospel is the “stone taken from the mountain without hands.” John the Baptist, holding the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood; Peter, James, and John, holding the keys of the Melchisedek Priesthood, have ministered for those who shall be heirs of salvation, and with these administrations ordained men to the same Priesthoods. These Priesthoods, with their authority, are now, and must continue to be, in the body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Blessed is the Elder who received the same, and thrice blessed and holy is he who shall endure to the end (Oliver Cowdery to Samuel W. Richards, 13 January 1849, IE 2 [December 1898]: 95-96. Emphasis added).

Here it is important to observe that the Saints were never taught to follow the majority of the world or the wicked, but to follow the majority of the Twelve and the Saints. Again, this is consistent with the other revelations in the Scriptures about the nature of the Church in the Latter-day Days (Even the parable of the ten virgins suggests at least half of the Saints would remain wise Matthew 25:1-13). Knowing that Joseph Smith lived and died a true Prophet, and knowing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true, entails an understanding of where the Church stands in the Bridegroom's timeline.

The Keys of the Kingdom

As noted in a previous post the Lord speaks of the restoration of the priesthood in the Doctrine & Covenants and says that the keys of authority were bestowed for the last times and for the last time. For example:
 

And also with Peter, James and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them; whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the Gospel for the last times; and for the fullness of times (D&C 27:12-13).

Therefore, thou art blessed from henceforth that bear the keys of the kingdom given unto you; which kingdom is coming forth for the last time (D&C 90:2).

For unto you, the Twelve, and those, the First Presidency, who are appointed with you to be your counselors and your leaders, is the power of this priesthood given, for the last days and for the last time, in the which is the dispensation of the fullness of times. Which power you hold, in connection with all those who have received a dispensation at any time from the beginning of creation. For verily I say unto you, the keys of the dispensation, which ye have received, have come down from the fathers, and last of all, being sent down from heaven unto you (D&C 112:30-32).

The revelations also repeatedly say that the kingdom has been given to the Church.

Hearken, O ye people of my church, to whom the kingdom has been given (D&C 45:1).

Wherefore, gird up your loins and be prepared. Behold the kingdom is yours, and the enemy shall not overcome . . . . Therefore, be ye strong from henceforth; fear not, for the kingdom is yours (D&C 38:9, 15). 

In his revelation on the law of the Church the Lord says, 

“Lift up your hearts and rejoice, for unto you the kingdom, or in other words, the keys of the church have been given (D&C 42:69). 

So having the Kingdom and having the keys of the Church are the same. Those keys are the keys of the Kingdom restored by Peter, James and John. As described in the scriptures, they refer to the Melchizedek Priesthood which they committed to Joseph Smith which administers the gospel and holds the key of the mysteries of the kingdom” (D&C 84:19) and holds “the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church” (D&C 107:18). Hence, the “keys of the Church” (D&C 42:69). The Kingdom or in other words the keys of the Church are to be held by and with the Church “until I come” the Lord says (D&C 35:27)

The Lord also says, 


“Zion shall rejoice upon the hills and flourish; And Israel shall be saved in mine own due time; and by the keys which I have given shall they be led, and no more be confounded at all (D&C 35:24-25). 

The Lord’s people were to be “led” and “saved” by the keys which have been given (in 1830), and no more confounded. And so the keys are to continue through the Church whose foundation of apostles and prophets was restored and established in these Latter-days through Joseph Smith (D&C 1:30).

The Church and Kingdom of the last days "shall never be destroyed" or "be left to other people" but "shall stand for ever" (Daniel 2:44).

Daniel prophesied that in the latter days the God of heaven would, set up a kingdom, which should never be destroyed and that this Kingdom would not be left to other people, but would eventually break in pieces all worldly kingdoms, and that this, God’s Kingdom to be set up on the earth in the latter days, would stand for ever. That Kingdom was compared to a stone cut out of a mountain without hands, signifying that it was God’s work and kingdom and not man’s. Set up by God on the earth, it was to roll forth and grow larger until it would fill the earth (Daniel 2:34-35, 44). This is also discussed in the revelatory prayer through the Prophet Joseph Smith found in section 65 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one sent down from on high, who is mighty and powerful, whose going forth is unto the ends of the earth, yea, whose voice is unto men--Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 

The voice of the Lord, his word, the Gospel or glad tidings of the King is unto all men. It is to go forth “unto the ends of the earth” for the purpose of preparing way before the Lord who is the King who is coming back to the earth to reign as King of Kings.

The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth

The Keys of the Kingdom are committed to man on the earth (This is 1831). The Church had just been restored a year before this. The keys were already committed to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery from heavenly messengers sent by God from heaven. These are the keys of the kingdom committed to them by which the Church of Christ was organized and through which the Gospel could be legally preached and administered. They are on the earth. And where the keys are, there is the Kingdom. 

And from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth.

This is the “Gospel of the Kingdom” and it is to go forth from on the earth unto the ends of the earth. Unlike previous times, The stone set up already by God in the latter days is not to be removed or taken away. It is set up to go forth and grow and be prepared to meet the King on the earth when he comes. But the Gospel of the Kingdom cannot roll forth on the earth without the Kingdom itself or without the keys and authority to administer it with its covenants and ordinances. Hence the need for the keys to be first bestowed upon the Lord’s servants on the earth, as they were upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The Gospel rolls forth as the Kingdom does and it rolls forth with the Kingdom. They go together, hand in hand, the Kingdom with its message rolling forth as a stone to gather up the elect who help who then assist in building up the Kingdom and preparing to meet their King.

Yea, a voice crying—prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the supper of the Lamb, make ready for the Bridegroom

The Kingdom with its Gospel rolls forth inviting guests to the supper. Only those who are a part of the Kingdom get to go to the supper of the King. 

Pray unto the Lord, call upon his holy name, make known his wonderful works among the people. Call upon the Lord that his kingdom may go forth upon the earth, that inhabitants thereof may receive it

The Kingdom grows on the earth as people on the earth receive and obey the Gospel and thereby join it.

And be prepared for the days to come in which the Son of Man shall come down in heaven clothed in the brightness of his glory to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth.

Notice that the Kingdom is still on the earth when the Son of Man returns since the keys were first committed to Joseph Smith and it has remained there since it was first set up and established by God. They have not returned to heaven again and left the Saints alone. The Bride, that is the Church, still has the Keys of the Kingdom and she has remained on the earth with keys of power to prepare the Kingdom already set up on earth for Bridegroom’s arrival.

Wherefore, may the kingdom of God go forth, that the kingdom of heaven may come , that thou, O God, mayest be glorified in heaven so on earth, that thine enemies may be subdued; for thine is the honor, power and glory, forever and ever. Amen (LDS D&C 65).

The Kingdom, represented by Daniel’s stone can only go forth and fill the earth by growing. It grows as people join it. They join it by receiving the Gospel message and its saving covenants. So it is necessary that the Kingdom set up on the earth, originally small, grow and increase, in order that God may be glorified both on earth and in heaven and in order to subdue the enemies of God in the latter days. It is clear from the above that the Gospel and the Kingdom set up by God through the ministering of heavenly messengers sent from heaven to Joseph Smith was not to be lost or fail in its mission, but starting small, would grow and eventually subdue its enemies and fill the earth.

Further support of this can be found in the dedicatory prayer of the Kirtland Temple in 1836. Joseph Smith identified this latter-day Kingdom, spoken of by the prophets, with the Lord’s Church which had recently been restored to the earth. “Remember all thy church, O Lord, with all their families, and all their immediate connections, with all their sick and afflicted ones, with all the poor and meek of the earth; that the kingdom, which thou hast set up without hands, may become a great mountain and fill the whole earth; (Latter Day Saints’ Messenger and Advocate 2/6 [March 1836]: 280; LDS D&C 109:72). The revelations call the Lord’s Church the “last kingdom”  (D&C 88:70, 74), which administers the “last covenant” and which is to go forth for the “last time.” It was to “never be destroyed” and would “not be left to other people” and “would stand forever.”

The Resurrection: "And their joy shall be full forever" (2 Nephi 9:18).

According to Brigham Young:

"I think it has been taught by some that as we lay our bodies down, they will so rise again in the resurrection with all the impediments and imperfections that they had here; and that if a wife does not love her husband in this state she cannot love him in the next. This is not so. Those who attain to the blessing of the first or celestial resurrection will be pure and holy, and perfect in body. Every man and woman that reaches to this unspeakable attainment will be as beautiful as the angels that surround the throne of God. If you can, by faithfulness in this life, obtain the right to come up in the morning of the resurrection, you need entertain no fears that the wife will be dissatisfied with her husband, or the husband with the wife; for those of the first resurrection will be free from sin and from the consequences and power of sin.

[Brigham Young, October 6, 1862, in Journal of Discourses, 10: 24].

The Great Division: The 1845 Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles

Nephi spoke of a great division in the latter-days before the return of the Son of God to reign as King of Kings.

For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other--either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken (1 Nephi 14:7).

In 1845, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued an official proclamation that was widely circulated. In 1841 Joseph Smith had been commanded by God to "make a solemn proclamation" of the Gospel addressed to "all the kings of the world, to the four corners thereof, to the honorable president-elect, and the high-minded governors of the nation in which you live, and to all the nations of the earth scattered abroad." The Lord said, "Let it be written in the spirit of meekness and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which shall be in you at the time of the writing of the same; for it shall be given you by the Holy Ghost, which shall be in you at the time of the writing of the same" (D&C 124:2-4). Leaders of the world were to be invited to give heed to the restoration of the Gospel in the Latter-days and to lend support to the building up of the Lord's Kingdom. Other demands and difficulties and his murder in 1844 prevented the Prophet from completing this assignment, although in November 1843 he had directed several Apostles to proceed with the work. In 1845 the Quorum of the Twelve finally published the document in fulfillment of the earlier commandment. This remarkable document, notable for it's boldness, was published under the title, Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: To All the Kings of the World, To the President of the United States of America; To the Governors of the Several States, and To the Rulers and People of All Nations (Liverpool: 1845). The entire sixteen page document is worth reading, but in light of the passage cited above from Nephi, I find the following reference to be interesting:

"As this work progresses in its onward course, and becomes more and more an object of political and religious interest and excitement, no king, ruler, or subject--no community or individual will stand neutral: all will at length be influenced by one spirit or the other, and will take sides either for or against the kingdom of God and the fulfillment of the prophets in the great restoration and return of his long-dispersed covenant people. Some will act the part of the venerable Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, or the noble Cyrus, and will aid and bless the people of God; or like Ruth, the Moabitess will forsake their people, and their kindred, and country, and will say to the Saints, or to Israel--`This people shall be my people, and their God my God,' while others will walk in the footsteps of Pharaoh or a Balak, and will harden their hearts and fight against God, and seek to destroy his people."

[Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles, 1845, 6. Emphasis added).

As Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, "All the easy things in the Church have been done. From here on out its all high adventure."
 

Seconding the Motion

I wanted to second Matt's post about the column in the Deseret News. It discusses how an environmental explanation of certain points in the Book of Mormon fails as an explanation. It is worth a read.

When Criticisms of the Book of Mormon Cannot Be Taken Seriously

I recommend a very good column this morning from the Deseret News by my friend and colleague Daniel C. Peterson. It's pretty good except that he cites several articles by that Roper fellow.