Part 2: The Restoration is for the "Last Time" not the "Next to Last Time"

As a follow up to yesterday's post here are a few relevant statements:

"As I have often said, and the same I can say again–it is too late in the day for this people ever to be cast off and disowned by the Lord. The work the Lord promised to do is too nigh accomplished, and he has promised to make short his work on the earth. This work has some time since commenced; and if any of the people will not serve their God and do the work he has given them to do, they will be removed out of the way, and that speedily. It is too late in the day for this people to apostatize and the Priesthood to be taken again from the earth; so there is not much ground for fears even in this respect."

(Brigham Young, August 28, 1859, in Journal of Discourses 6:267. Emphasis added).


Joseph Smith was what he professed to be, a prophet of God, a seer and revelator. He laid the foundation of this Church and kingdom, and lived long enough to deliver the keys of the kingdom to the Elders of Israel, unto the Twelve Apostles. He spent the last winter of his life, some three or four months, with the Quorum of the Twelve, teaching them. . . . Said he, during that period, “I now rejoice. I have lived until I have seen this burden, which has rested on my shoulders, rolled onto the shoulders of other men; now the keys of the kingdom are planted on the earth to be taken away no more for ever.” But until he had done this, they remained with him; and had he been taken away they would have had to be restored by messengers out of heaven. But he lived until every key, power, and principle of the holy Priesthood was sealed on the Twelve and on President Young, as their President. . . . That Kingdom, the germ of which is planted here, will continue to grow and will never be overthrown

(Wilford Woodruff, December 12, 1869, Journal of Discourses 13:164. Emphasis added).


These keys are still on the earth. Here are the servants of the living God, sitting on my right hand and on my left, who have had these keys committed into their hands by authority from the proper source, from those who received them from the heavenly messengers. These keys, being now in the hands of the Priesthood, never will be taken from them while the earth shall stand or eternal duration shall roll on. There may be apostates, those who fight against the anointed of the Lord and lift up their heel against those holding these keys; yet be it known to the Latter-day Saints and to all the ends of the earth that the almighty hand of the Great Jehovah is stretched out and He will accomplish the purposes ordained by Him in regard to this great and important work of the latter-days.

(Orson Pratt, May 5, 1870, Journal of Discourses 13:359. Emphasis added).


We live in a different day to the ancients. They had before them the prospect of Martyrdom and the overthrow of the work with which they were connected. But in these days God has given unto us different promises. These are the last days, and he has said that his kingdom shall triumph in these last days; it shall not be overthrown or go into the hands of another people . . . . The days of the triumph of the wicked are numbered. They can not prevail over this work for any length of time. It will grow and increase and spread abroad until it fills the whole earth, and we and our children after us will enjoy the earth and all the blessings thereof, according to the predictions of the holy Prophets. The prospect, then, before us, concerning this life is a different one from that which presented itself before others who have preceded us.

(George Q. Cannon, August 10, 1873, in Journal of Discourses 16:142. Emphasis added).


The Prophets who have preceded us have been slain generation after generation; they have passed away. The Savior and his apostles likewise passed away, the work, the foundation of which they laid, having been overcome and destroyed by the adversary from the face of the earth. They foresaw that for a long time ahead, apostacy would follow their labors and administrations, and a sorrowful thing it was for them to contemplate: but in our case it is different. We live on the threshold of a new era; the work that God has established in our day shall never be given to another people. The Priesthood which God has restored, the authority by which men can administer in the ordinances of God–that priesthood shall never be taken from the earth. Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, David Patten and other martyrs may fall, Brother Joseph Standing among the rest, their blood may be shed, and the blood of others yet living may yet be shed to confirm the testimony that has been borne, but though this is the case, there is this to console us in contemplating the future for ourselves and our posterity after us, and it is that there is no power on earth, nor in hell that can destroy the church that God has established, nor obliterate the priesthood from the earth again as it was obliterated in ancient days. It was necessary when this church was started that angels should come to restore that which was taken away, the everlasting priesthood, but there will be no future necessity for this. We are at the threshold of a thousand years of peace, we are engaged in laying the foundation of that work which shall stand forever, not only the thousand years but as long as time shall last and as long as the earth itself shall endure. This is the consolation we have that our predecessors did not have, and we can rejoice in the contemplation of the glorious future of this work.

(George Q. Cannon, August 3, 1879, Journal of Discourses 20:250-51. Emphasis added).


But verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will contend with Zion, and plead with her strong ones, and chasten her until she overcomes and is clean before me. For she shall not be moved out of her place. I, the Lord, have spoken it. Amen.

(D&C 90:37-37).


“Ever since the Church was organized, we have been led by revelation. And who has been misled by it? People have always prospered who have listened to the voice of the Shepherd. It was so in the days of Joseph, it was so in the days of President Young, it is so to-day under President Taylor, and it will be so to the end. The Lord has stretched forth his hand to accomplish his purposes, and it will not be withdrawn until all is fulfilled. We shall not be destitute of the voice of revelation. We may do a great many things contrary to the mind and will of God, for which he will chastise us and scourge us, if necessary; but he will not withdraw His Priesthood from us, and his voice will not cease to be heard; it will be given unto those of his servants who live for it, and they will know the mind and will of God for this people. Persecution may go on. People may say we have not the gifts; but the Lord will not leave us; he has not left us; he will make of this people a great nation; and there is no power upon the face of the earth that can arrest the progress of `Mormonism,’ as it is called by the world, but which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It will grow, increase and spread abroad as the Prophet Daniel saw it, until it fills the whole earth.”

(George Q. Cannon, July 25 1880, in Journal of Discourses 22:107-8. Emphasis added).


The Church of God has been organized, the kingdom of God has been established, and the Gospel has been restored to the earth for the last time; and this work which has fairly begun will never cease, but will continue to spread abroad and increase in the earth, and gather to its fold the righteous, the honest, the pure, the meek and the poor of the earth, until "the kingdom" shall be exalted to power and glory in the midst of the world; and it will reign triumphant when Babylon will be broken to pieces, and will fall to rise no more. These are the promises that have been made to us. This fact is indicated by the revelations of God to man through ancient and modern prophets, and through angels that have visited the earth in this dispensation of the fullness of times.

(Joseph F. Smith, June 21, 1883, in Journal of Discourses 24:188. Emphasis added).

A New Day for the Book of Mormon: A Wonderful New Film

I recently watched a new film, "A New Day for the Book of Mormon" which has thoughtful interviews with both LDS and on-LDS scholars about this remarkable Book.

If you have about 45 minutes or so to spare, it is well worth watching.

The Restoration is for the "Last Time" not the "Next to Last Time"

In the allegory taught by Zenos the Lord has a vineyard which represents the world and the House of Israel is likened to an Olive tree with its branches. The story recounts the patient and loving efforts of the Lord to save and encourage the tree to bring forth good fruit. Toward the end of the story, after “a long time had passed away, and the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Come, let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor again in the vineyard. For behold the time draweth near, and the end soon cometh” (Jacob 5:29). When they go down this time they find that all of the trees of the vineyard have become corrupt and that none are producing good fruit. Not willing to allow the corruption to remain the Lord decides to make one final and intensive effort to save the trees.
 

Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time, for behold the end draweth nigh, and this is for the last time that I shall prune my vineyard (Jacob 5:62).

Wherefore, dig about them, and prune them, and dung them once more, for the last time, for the end draweth nigh. And if it be so that these last grafts shall grow, and bring forth the natural fruit, then shall ye prepare the way for them, that they may grow (Jacob 5:64).

And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come (Jacob 5:71). 

After a period of consistent and intense labor the efforts of the Lord’s servants were successful.

And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard (Jacob 5:75).

For behold, for a long time will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto mine own self against the season, which speedily cometh; and for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and dug about it, and dunged it; wherefore I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit, for a long time, according to that which I have spoken (Jacob 5:76).

Although the Lord and his servants had labored with the trees in the vineyard at other times before, this final effort was described by Jacob as “the day. yea even last time that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh (Jacob 6:2). 

Several points in the allegory are noteworthy. When the vineyard had become entirely corrupt and the fruit was all evil the Lord of vineyard took action with his servants to reverse this, but, we are told, this would be the last such effort and the last time that he would send servants to labor in the vineyard and nourish it and prune it. The prophecy says that eventually the branches of the trees, which represent the Lord’s people in the last days before his second coming, would not be forgotten or rejected, but would “grow and thrive exceedingly” however, as they grew, there would also be pruning. Some, the most bitter branches, would be cut off from the Lord’s people, but, and this is noteworthy, the Lord would not allow the pruning of the evil branches from among his people to exceed the strength and size of the good. In the"last time" the labor was to continue until they should grow, bear good fruit, and the bad could be entirely plucked off and cast away.

In the revelations in the Doctrine & Covenants, the Lord makes it very clear that the events described in the Jacob allegory refer to the work of Joseph Smith and those who were to labor with him.

For thou art called to prune my vineyard with a mighty pruning, yea, even for the last time; yea, and also all those whom thou hast ordained, and they shall do even according to this pattern. Amen (D&C 24:19).

For behold, the field is white already to harvest; and it is the eleventh hour, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard (D&C 33:3).

Wherefore lay to with your might and call faithful laborers into my vineyard, that it may be pruned for the last time (D&C 39:17).

Wherefore, labor ye, labor ye in my vineyard for the last time--for the last time call upon the inhabitants of the earth (D&C 43:28).

Therefore, tarry ye, and labor diligently, that you may be perfected in your ministry to go forth among the Gentiles for the last time, as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, to bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which is to come (D&C 88:84).

For the preparation wherewith I design to prepare mine apostles to prune my vineyard for the last time, that I may bring to pass my strange act, that I may pour out my Spirit upon all flesh (D&C 95:4).

The prophecies in the Book of Mormon and the revelations in the Doctrine & Covenants place the restoration of the Lord’s Church during the "last time" that the Lord and his servants, including Joseph Smith and those ordained by him would go forth in the Lord’s power to labor in, nourish and prune the vineyard. The scriptures indicate that through the efforts of the Lord, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his fellow servants, God’s  people would be established, nourished and pruned until they would grow and thrive exceedingly. While these scriptures speak of a pruning away of the most bitter branches, they give no indication of any interruption of the latter day work, that the Lord would abandon his servants, reject the trees with which the Lord and his servants labored, or that they would become corrupt again. The Scriptures do not speak of a restoration of the Restoration. Rather they portray one continuous work, by the Lord and his authorized servants in bringing forth the natural fruit which will eventually culminate in the salvation of his people. A testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presumes an appreciation for where the Church stands in the Lord's timetable to prepare the way before the Lord's Second Coming. The work spoken of in the Book of Mormon and the revelations is for the "last time" not the "next to last time."

A Fragment from the Unabridged Record of Ether

The book of Ether in the Book of Mormon is a relatively brief abridgement of the record of Ether which was recorded in 24 plates of gold and recovered by the people of King Limhi during their unsuccessful attempt to locate the land of Zarahemla (Mosiah 9:9). According to Moroni, what we have in the book of Ether (minus Moroni's own commentary) does not even represent  a hundredth part of what Ether wrote in that record (Ether 15:33). While we do not yet have Ether's full record, we do have what may be a fragment from that account in the prophecies of Alma when he entrusted these records to his son Helaman (Alma 37:21-32).

The Book of Ether recounts how the brother of Jared, fearing that his people would have to make a lengthy journey across the sea in darkness, carefully prepared sixteen small transparent stones and asked the Lord to touch them so that they would be filled with light.

Touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea (Ether 2:4).

Seeing the great faith of the Jaredite's founding pioneer prophet, the Lord responded to this prayer by touching each of these stones, one by one with his finger in full view of the brother of Jared. The prophet then put two of these stones in each vessel to give light to his people during their lengthy journey across the stormy waters.

And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness (Ether 6:3).

In his teachings to his son Helaman Alma quotes an otherwise unattested prophecy from the Lord about the Jaredites which seems to evoke the language and events of this earlier encounter.

And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a stone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may discover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness and abominations (Alma 37:23).

Here the Lord in the Ether fragment uses the language of the brother of Jared to describe what he will do hundreds of years later to an unrepentant Jaredite people but with a new and interesting twist. The Lord because of the great faith of one man once touched stones that they might give light to his people when crossing the sea that they would not have to cross in darkness. Now, when the Jaredites had become unrepentant and chose works of darkness, he again prepares a stone to give light, but in this case, to reveal the secret works of the wicked which they sought to keep hidden in the dark, but which in spite of their efforts God would cause, through the seer's gift, to “shine forth” and be known to their shame.

"From Above the Mercy Seat": A Note on the Lord Acceptance of the Kirtland Temple (D&C 110:1-10)

[At Ether's Cave we generally focus on the Book of Mormon for the most part and will continue to do so, but the recent re-dedication of the Ogden Utah Temple last Sunday has caused me to reflect on many things and I wanted to just share a thought or two about temples, which I may do again from time to time. I don't think Ether would mind].


The Lord instructed Moses to make a “mercy seat of pure gold” which served as a lid for the ark of testimony that was placed in the holy of holies in the desert tabernacle and later in the temple at Jerusalem. (Exodus 25:17-21) It seems to have also represented the footstool of the heavenly throne. At each end of this plate of "pure gold" was a winged cherub facing inward toward the center. “And there,” the Lord promised Moses, “I will meet with thee, and will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony” (Exodus 25:22). It was on the day of atonement, once every year, that the High Priest would pass into the holy of holies with the blood of the sin offering and would sprinkle the blood of the sin offering on the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:14-15). “And he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanliness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins” (Leviticus 16:16). These things foreshadowed the atonement Jesus Christ would make for the sins of mankind (Hebrews 9-10; Alma 34:9).

It is striking to read the opening verses of section 110 of the Doctrine and Covenants with this in mind. There the Prophet Joseph Smith describes the Lord’s appearance to himself and Oliver Cowdery to accept the dedication of the Kirtland Temple as his Holy House.

The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened. We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. His eyes were as the flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth. I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father. Behold your sins are forgiven you; you are clean before me; therefore, lift up your heads and rejoice (D&C 110:1-5).

Here the Lord accepts the Kirtland Temple as his house as his feet stand upon “pure gold” (110:2) which reminds us of the mercy seat where the blood of sin offering was sprinkled yearly (Exodus 25:17) to foreshadow the atoning sacrifice Jesus Christ would make for his people. Lest we miss the significance of this, the glorified Jesus reminds us that he is the one that lives and that was slain and is now our advocate with God the Father (110:4). He then tells his faithful servants that their sins are forgiven and that they are clean before him and that they should therefore rejoice (110:5). The Lord further promises that “I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this house” as he stands in glory upon the mercy seat (110:7). I am not suggesting that the Lord always does this when he appears to his people, but on this occasion at least, his standing upon pure gold as he meets with his servants Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and communes with them as he accepts the Kirtland Temple as his own seems appropriate and highly meaningful for such an occasion.

Interestingly, when the Lord appeared to President Lorenzo Snow in the Salt Lake City Temple and directed him to reorganize the First Presidency following the death of Wilford Woodruff President Snow reported to his granddaughter, “He stood right here about three feet above the floor. It looked as though he stood on a plate of pure gold.” (Lundwall, Temples of the Most High, 141).

Brigham Young and the Land of the Nephites

The following statement from President Brigham Young comes from a letter written in 1876 dealing with the issue of missions and the Mormon settlements in Arizona. Brigham wrote:

"Nor do I expect we shall stop at Arizona, but I look forward to the time when settlements of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will extend right through to the city of Old Mexico, and from thence on through Central America to the land where the Nephites flourished in the Golden era of their history, and the great backbone of the American continent be filled, north and south, with the cities and temples of the people of God. In this great work I anticipate the children of Nephi, of Laman and lemuel [native Indians] will take no small part."

[Brigham Young to William C. Staines, 11 January 1876, Letterbook 14:124-26, cited in Leonard J. Arrington, Brigham Young: American Moses, 382. Thanks to Charles Clark and John Clark for bringing this reference to my attention].

Joseph F. Smith on Forgiveness and the Limits of Tolerance

In the 1907 October Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Joseph F. Smith gave the following counsel in connection with the principle of forgiveness:

Let your light so shine that honest men will see your good works and will be led to glorify your Father who is in heaven. Keep away from the haunts of sin. While you may entertain in your hearts a feeling of love, of charity; a merciful feeling toward sinners, those that transgress the laws of God you do not have to take them into your bosom, nor condescend to their conduct and habits.

I feel in my heart to forgive all men in the broad sense that God requires of me to forgive all men, and I desire to love my neighbor as myself; and to this extent I bear no malice toward any of the children of my Father. But there are enemies of the work of the Lord, as there were enemies to the Son of God. There are those who speak only evil of the Latter-day Saints. There are those--and they abound largely in our midst, who will shut their eyes to every virtue and to every good thing connected with this latter-day work, and will pour out floods of falsehood and misrepresentation against the people of God. I forgive them for this. I leave them in the hands of the just judge. Let him deal with them as seemeth him good, but they are not and cannot become my bosom companions. I cannot condescend to that. While I would not harm a hair of their head, while I would not throw a straw in their path, to hinder them from turning from the error of their way to the light of truth; I would as soon think of taking a centipede or a scorpion or any poisonous reptile and putting it into my bosom, as I would think of becoming a companion or an associate of such a man. These are my sentiments, and I believe that they are correct.

If you can throw yourself in the way of the sinner to stop him in his downward course, and become an instrument in the hand of the Lord of turning him from the way of vice, iniquity, or crime, into the way of righteousness and uprightness, you are justified and that is demanded of you. If you can save a sinner from his wickedness, turn the wicked from the course of death that he is pursuing, to the way of life and salvation, you will save a soul from death, and you will have been an instrument in the hand of the Lord of turning the sinner unto righteousness, for which you will receive your reward.

Some of our good Latter-day Saints have become so exceedingly good (?) That they cannot tell the difference between a Saint of God, an honest man, and a son of Beelzebub, who has yielded himself absolutely to sin and wickedness. And they call that liberality, broadness of mind, exceeding love. I do not want to become so blinded with love for my enemies that I cannot discern between light and darkness, between truth and error, between good and evil; but I hope to live so that I shall have sufficient light in me to discern between error and truth, and to cast my lot on the side of truth and not on the side of error and darkness (Joseph F. Smith, Conference Report, October 1907, 5-6. My emphasis added).