That Faith Might Increase in the Earth

{12/24/96 Note: This section still has need of polishing, softening, streamlining. Please bear this in mind. --S.A.}

  ...As a people, we have yet to bring forth a broken heart and contrite spirit whereby we might become sanctified. This can be deduced from the fact that things in the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon are yet withheld from us. Ether 4:6 states that these treasures "shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord." That has not happened yet, therefore, we must not be clean yet. We are not clean because we have not come unto Christ with a broken heart and contrite spirit, according to the doctrine of Christ.

...What of the timeless promise of the Lord when he said, "And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover"? (Mark 16:17,18; Mormon 9:24,25; D&C 84:65-72.)

"And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them. And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out." (1 Ne. 11:30,31.)

...A favorite rationalization is that we need these challenges to make us better people -- to refine us and make us stronger. Why then are there no accounts in the scriptures of the Savior refusing to heal someone because they yet had something to learn by their affliction? The only limitation has been and always will be faith. We also placate ourselves by redefining (reducing) miracles to fit the hustle-bustle world of the 20th century. The miracles of Jesus, including complete and instantaneous healings, of which he said that whoso believe in him, "even greater works than these shall he do" (John 14:12), are substituted today by the so-called "miracles" of modern medicine, even though they usually carry tremendous financial burdens and side-effects that are sometimes worse than the ailment treated in the first place.

...Where have the prophecies gone? Where anymore is the speaking in the name of the Lord? When was the last time we received the word of the Lord to us, speaking first person? Where are the prophets who have been given messages by angels to proclaim to the people? We boast to the world that the true church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth, and indeed it was, but what has happened to it since then? We do not seem to have had a problem in perpetuating the structure -- the form of worship -- but what of the power? Where has it gone? If we have a living prophet, why does he not prophesy or speak the direct word of God to us? Instead of claiming direct revelation, we boast of "inspiration," but are not even the heathen entitled to as much? Where are the other scriptures prophesied yet to come forth? Where is Zion?

What does the Book of Mormon have to say about this diminution of faith and miracles? What does it have to do with the doctrine of Christ? How much of a bearing does it have on our salvation? Moroni seven provides the paramount treatise on this subject, in which Moroni pointedly asks his latter-day readers: "Has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain." (Moro. 7:35-37.) His next statement has direct bearing on the doctrine of Christ, in which he says that "no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name." (Moro. 7:38.) He next states the corollary, saying that "if these things [miracles, angels, etc...] have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made." (Ibid.) No faith; no baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; no redemption. Mormon commented at one point that "there [is] not any man who [can] do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he [be] cleansed every whit from his iniquity." (3 Nephi 8:1.) With a dearth of signs following those who profess to believe comes a famine of faith in Christ sufficient to receive the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. "Therefore," saith the Lord, "as I said unto mine apostles I say unto you again, that every soul who believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost. And these signs shall follow them that believe -- in my name they shall do many wonderful works; in my name they shall cast out devils; in my name they shall heal the sick; in my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf; and the tongue of the dumb shall speak; and if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not hurt them; and the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them." (D&C 84:64-72.) The diminished manifestation of miracles among those calling themselves of the true church by virtue of their affiliation with the institution is a sober indication of what great need we have to repent and heed the words of Christ as they are so powerfully taught in the Book of Mormon. Really, "if ye have not faith" in Christ, which is manifest by signs following them that believe, "then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church." (Moro. 7:39.) That church, as also defined in Doctrine and Covenants 10:67-69, is doctrinal, not institutional. As for the institution, Christ said, "If it so be that the church is build upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it. But if it be not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you they have joy in their works for a season, and by and by the end cometh, and they are hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence there is no return. For their works do follow them, for it is because of their works that they are hewn down." (3 Ne. 27:10-12a.) The choice is ours. If there were no reason for us to be cognizant of such a valley of decision, as if such were not to come before us because of a supposed assurance that the institution would never falter, why would the Lord conclude this statement admonishing, "Therefore remember the things that I have told you"? (3 Ne. 27:12b.)

When speaking to the Lehites during his second visit, Christ excoriated the latter-day Gentile institution in a prophetic utterance, saying, "At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them." (3 Nephi 16:10.) The Lord then prophesies of the treading down of the Gentiles should they become as salt that has lost its savor; and repeats this prophecy yet two more times in chapters 20 and 21. Is it too late now to invoke the repentance clause, the conditions of which are the same as are incumbent upon all mankind: namely that they repent and be born again, according to the doctrine of Christ? Hear the voice of the Lord: "Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel." (3 Ne. 30:2.) "And inasmuch as [ye] do repent and receive the fulness of my gospel, and become sanctified, I will stay mine hand in judgment." (D&C 39:18.)

I offer it as my opinion that after their period of tribulation in which the kingdoms of the world prevail against them for three and a half years (Dan. 7:21,25; Rev. 13:7,5; D&C 103:8; 76:29,30), the main body of repentant Saints (akin to Limhi's remnant) will undergo a baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost akin to the 300 Lamanites in prison and of the Nephites on the day of Jesus Christ's second appearing to them. "They shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire." (1 Ne. 22:17.) While, according to the Father, "at that day, whosoever will not repent and come unto my Beloved Son, them will I cut off from among my people, O house of Israel." (3 Ne. 21:20.) "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple" (Mal. 3:1); and Zion, the New Jerusalem, the manchild, at long last, shall be established here upon the American Continent, to which the righteous from around the world, including the ten lost tribes, will repair under the ministry of the 144,000 high priests, while the rest of the world continues on in wickedness, prior to the final show-down in Jerusalem, at which a scenario very similar to that which has transpired in America will be repeated. Then will come the glorious second coming of Jesus Christ to the entire world in the clouds of glory. Then will come the city of Enoch after the world has been cleansed by fire, and the kingdom of heaven will come down to meet the kingdom of God which has been established on the earth. Then at long last will the world be at peace and Satan be bound for a thousand years. But let us not get bogged down in an attempt to set forth and document a prophetic time-line, for the present purpose is a discussion of the doctrine of Christ and the church of God.

Therefore, those who do not repent but who "worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb" (Rev. 14:9,10) -- perhaps the very angels that will be simultaneously administering to those who have repented and come unto Christ. Having refused the grace of God, they must suffer even as he, "Which suffering," said he, "caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit -- and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink -- nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men." (D&C 19:18,19.) Thus when he appeared to the Nephites he was able to say, "I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." (3 Ne. 11:11.) I wonder how those who had been destroyed "because of their wickedness and their abominations" (3 Ne. 9:12), who already suffered an ignominious death, now felt as they, as spirit personages, beheld the glorious events that transpired upon the land after their mortal bodies were taken from them so as to not be able to participate. Though being "in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb," yet they would have been racked with torment rather than being filled with joy, having no part of the redemption that was taking place among their very people -- which could have included them if they had not hardened their hearts. In this case, the fire, rather than having a purifying power, would be that everlasting fire, even the "lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end." (2 Ne. 9:16.) This bifid nature of fire to either punish or purify is depicted in Lehi's dream in which he "saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end." (1 Ne. 15:30.) "Wherefore," the Lord said, "I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power; and that you confess your sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my Spirit." (D&C 19:20.)

Following his statement about the Gentiles sinning against the gospel, Christ then prophesied, "Then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them." As for those among the Gentiles who "will repent and hearken unto" the words of Christ, "and harden not their hearts," Christ says, "I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob...." (3 Ne. 21:22.) Note the context of this establishment of the church of God. It is post-tribulation. Because of the covenant, those people of the covenant, who for so long have been trodden down, as they come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, repenting of all their sins, will enter into the waters of baptism and will also receive the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; then, pressing forward with steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, enduring to the end, feasting upon the word of God, they shall be saved in the kingdom of God, according to the doctrine of Christ.

Should we at all be surprised that along with the new heavens and the new earth there should be a people with a new heart? A prophecy of Ezekiel states: "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezek. 36:26,27.) Then shall the stone which was cut out of the mountains without hands (D&C 65:2) break in pieces all kingdoms of the earth; and the kingdom of God shall be established forever, and shall never be destroyed, for according to the promise of the doctrine of Christ, the kingdoms of this world shall not be able to prevail against the people of the Lord thus founded upon the rock of Jesus Christ (Dan. 2:44,45). Thus shall be fulfilled the prophecy through Moroni to the house of Israel, saying, "When ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel. And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed. Therefore, repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name. And blessed is he that is found faithful unto my name at the last day, for he shall be lifted up to dwell in the kingdom prepared for him from the foundation of the world. And behold it is I that hath spoken it. Amen." (Ether 4:15,16,18,19.)

"Would God that ALL the Lord's People Were PROPHETS"

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