7 Foundational Principles for Book of Mormon believers.

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In the early 1900s, a French Roman Catholic priest, professor, and theologian famously wrote, "Jesus preached the kingdom, but what came was the church." This somewhat cynical-sounding statement was designed to reveal an important truth. Not only had he observed a gulf between what Jesus originally taught and what he saw in the church, but he also observed that the emphasis had been changed from the kingdom to the church.

I shared in my book, *Destiny of the Tribe of Ephraim and the Restoration of the House of Israel*, that around the year 2000, a thought came to rest very powerfully in my conscience. I believed it to be a message from the Holy Spirit, which I have since received confirmation of again and again. And that thought was: "It is the end of the church age and the beginning of the kingdom age." Although I did not fully understand the ramifications of this truth, it permeated the very core of my being and opened my eyes to new possibilities.

Many of the saints are now in a time I call the wilderness experience. It's a time most people experience when the church has failed them and ceased to provide the answers they seek. We enter the wilderness experience when we come to realize that the church is currently a very long ways from being a light to the world, a city set on a hill, and lacking in the true power and authority of Christ to transform this darkened world.

The church age, or the church, is like unto Egypt. Originally, Egypt was the place where God had brought the family of Israel to. And for a time, Egypt, like the church, was a place where Israel could be nourished, sheltered, and allowed to grow. But like Egypt, in time, the church age and its denominations have become a bondage, trapped in the traditions of men and keeping us from our true spiritual destiny. Hence, the need for the wilderness experience, that we may begin to remove the influence of Egypt from our souls and learn to follow God wherever He leads us. The wilderness experience prepares us for the promised land, or the kingdom age.

If you feel like the church has failed you, if you feel like you are now in the wilderness experience, this video is truly for you. Or if you have questions that cannot be answered, or have not been answered, in regards to our spiritual destination, and in regards to the church and where it's headed, this video is for you.

Before we begin this video series, I wanted to answer the question: What is the purpose of this series and where is it headed? When God spoke to me and showed me several visions in regards to His view of politics in the church, He let me know, under no uncertain terms, that we needed to remove our focus, our attention, and our heart from the notion of trying to save the United States of America, especially in trying to save it through political means or by partaking in political divisions. And this is because our enemy is not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). And if His kingdom were of this world, as He told Pilate, then His disciples would fight (John 18:36). But instead, according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, His disciples must defeat evil by returning good for evil, by blessing those who curse and hate us, by loving all men regardless of their wickedness. In the end, the manifest love of God revealed through the body of Christ is what will change this world and change the hearts of men.

Knowing that all of creation awaits the manifestation of the sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:19), see, the Lord revealed to me, it is not His plan to rescue, save, or fix this nation that some of you are contending over in your hearts. This country, along with all the other nations of the world, has had its time and served its purpose. Its time is soon coming to an end. The writing is already on the wall. His plan is not to save it, but instead, cause His kingdom to manifest in the midst of this darkened world, even as this great nation is humbled and begins to crumble to pieces.

But brother Doug, how can we know for certain that what you will say God revealed to you is true? Because it aligns with the scriptures and the prophets in regards to what will happen in these last days. Search it out for yourselves in the scriptures, and then ask in faith to have it revealed to you.

And now, we'll get to the very heart of the main issue and the reason why we are here. The reason why I put together these classes to teach in the various branches and churches, the reason for this video series. Because at this moment in time, the church is utterly ineffective and powerless to change the world. In our present condition, we are not able to fulfill our mission. And if we do not change, but stay on our present course, we will continue to look on helplessly and without power as Christianity is put to shame, until God sees fit to raise up a people who will fulfill their mandate.

Now, the question is this: Do we want to be a part of God's plan to build up His kingdom and tear down the strongholds of the enemy, or do we merely wish to be spectators and watch as our loved ones, friends, and family, co-workers, and neighbors continue in the ways of the world until they fall helplessly to the coming worldwide deception? If we want to heed the call and fulfill our mandate as the body of Christ, we must proactively seek this change. It will not just fall into our laps because we are restorationists, because we have a Book of Mormon. To whom much is given, much is required, and to those, go the greater condemnation if we do not put to use that additional light and the truth we have been gifted with.

And so, for those who are ready to move past this wilderness experience and prepare to enter the promised land, we can start by agreeing to these foundational principles and going on to embrace the full truth of God's word and discover what it will take to enter into God's promises in full, not just in part, but in full. And begin not only to talk the talk, but start to walk in power and the Holy Ghost, even as the Apostle Paul and the early disciples did.

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Jesus said that if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. And every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. Satan has not only divided us in things pertaining to the church, but in things pertaining to the world. He has divided the world, and he has divided this country. He has divided us in politics, political debates over how best to govern this nation. In some topics, due to the political contention, Satan has even got some of the saints divided, even against the word of God itself.

Some time back, I, I had a major revelation regarding politics. I was watching a video, a prophet who was speaking a word that the Lord gave to him. But in his interpreting that word, he put in his own point of view and skewed what God was actually saying. I know this because the Holy Spirit bore witness to it, and I felt the Spirit grieved. And I thought, "How sad it is for the Lord, and how hard it must be for Him to get His word out in purity, especially because so many people have very strong opinions about things on politics and their worldview." And this makes it hard for God, because His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways.

And in this revelation, He told me that our politics and the church are an abomination to Him. I will cover this revelation in a different video. I won't cover it here. But for the sake of this discussion, I wanted to look at the definition of the word "politics" here, taken from Google's Oxford Languages dictionary. And that definition is: "the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, but especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power."

We look at this definition of politics, debate, and conflict, and either having or trying to take power. I want to compare that to what Jesus said when He spoke to Pilate. Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight" (John 18:36).

Recently, I received a word through a sister who is a prophetess, Kristin Peterson. She had a vision in which the Lord spoke a word to her, and she felt, in turn, that she was to give that word to me as well. And now I share it with you, because truly, that is unto the body of Christ. It's a simple and short directive: "Drink only from pure streams." My friends, not only do we need to worry about the contamination of filth that can come from movies and television and so forth, we've known about these dangers for some time. But I would like to direct your attention to the even worse danger that comes, perhaps, from news broadcasts, from 24-hour news stations in particular, and anger and hatred and contention and fear. We fall prey to them and even think that God Himself thinks as we do. But His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We must be careful. Drink only from pure streams.

Satan has divided and divided and divided us again and again, and a house divided against itself cannot stand. Many years ago, when I was a young man, I first came into the ministry in the church. There was something called the Unity Movement. This was after there was a great division in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a division over doctrine, and many people and branches scattered and divided out. But those people who agreed against certain changes in the church moved out under their own to worship according to the dictates of their own conscience. Unfortunately, although they agreed in almost everything with the other people around them who had left, and yet they could not even get along with themselves. And they would disagree as to even the smallest little points of doctrine, and people would divide out and begin new churches, a new branch. And that's still true to this day.

But in the early '90s, a man named Joseph F. Smith, who is a great-great-grandson of Joseph Smith Jr., came to the Restoration peoples with a simple message he had received from the Lord. And that was that we should set aside those small differences that we had, not that we had to put them away entirely forever, but that we should set them on a shelf, at least temporarily, and learn to come together under those things that we did agree on, so that we could in unity seek out the Lord. And this was the message he brought. That movement eventually faded. But although it faded, I have this testimony that it was the work of God.

All those years ago, as I was sitting in a conference in the Unity Movement, and these men who were leading the effort were up front, I had already, in my young life, experienced many disappointments in the church. And I reached out to God in prayer and I asked Him, "Oh Lord, is this truly of You? And will it actually become something and not just fail like everything else I've seen? Another disappointment?" And the Lord answered me in the Holy Spirit, let me know that this was of Him, that it would succeed, and that even if every one of these men failed, and they did, that this work would continue, for "it is My work," He said.

For some time now, the Lord has been laying on my heart certain foundational aspects of a kind of working agreement by which the saints can come together in unity and move forward. Having grown up and lived most of my life in a time of great division among the saints, the subject of unity is near and dear to my heart. It is at the heart of this class. The Lord has plainly shown us the way we can achieve true unity according to His word, and not by embracing every doctrine, sin, or error, but by getting back to the basics, the fundamentals that are most important. We must return to those things that have truly been established by God, not any man. God said He would establish those truths that we could know that they are from Him. And we will learn about that in the series. We must return to the first work that Joseph was called to and discover what this restoration move of God was really all about in its purity. By focusing on that, we can temporarily set aside those things that are not firmly established or foundational to the gospel and the doctrine of Christ. If we do this, we will also have set aside errors that crept into the church over the years, some of it very early on, possibly even in the days when it was initially organized.

In the fields of the restored church, there is both wheat that the Lord has planted and also tares that the enemy planted under the cover of darkness. We should not focus on sorting those things out right now, or trying to convince one another of what came from Satan. But rather, follow the standards God set forth in His word for how we will know that a truth is firmly established. And in those things, we will find harmony between those doctrines that are established according to His word, and the two records that God prophesied would grow together to be one in His hand, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions and establishing peace. In these foundational teachings, we rediscover the path. We learn what it is to set aside dead religion and truly come unto Christ. If we make these foundational truths our focus and simply set the rest aside, we will be focused on Christ and the work He has called us to, and God will help us sort the other things out over time. It's about no longer majoring on the minors and keeping the main thing the main thing. By this, we can once more unify and learn to walk in love and with a solid purpose, even the great calling the Lord has commissioned us to do.

The foundational teachings we will cover in this series are not all-inclusive. This is not everything. I would just share those things that the Lord has laid on my heart at this time. But they are key to understanding scripture and revelation. They are keyed to receiving truth. They are key to avoiding deception (Ephesians 4), that we would no more be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. And they are key to obtaining unity in the body of Christ.

The foundational teachings we will cover at this time, there are seven of them: First, what is the church? How is it defined? Who is the head of the church? Do not trust in the arm of flesh. And as a sub-topic, we will learn about prophets. How does God establish His word? And as a sub-topic to that, how do we know something is from Him? Number five, the truth equals the entirety, or the sum of God's word. Number six, the role of the Book of Mormon. And finally, number seven, worship in spirit and truth. These are the seven principles, foundational teachings, that we will cover.

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What is the church? Scripturally speaking, it is the body of Christ. But even more precisely, it is a people. A people who are the disciples of Jesus Christ. It's not a building or an organization. You can burn the building down, and the church still exists. The organization can be scattered, and yet, where the people are, the church exists.

In our LDS Doctrine Covenants, Section 3, verses 12-13, we have a revelation given to Joseph Smith Jr. The backdrop of this is, it was given in 1828. This is before the Book of Mormon was fully translated, and fully two years before the church was organized. The saints were few, and they met in their homes. And this revelation says: "And now, behold, according to their faith in their prayers, will I bring this part of my gospel to the knowledge of my people. Behold, I do not bring it to destroy that which they have received, but to build it up." What had they received before that? Well, these good people of faith who believed in Jesus Christ had received the Bible, and they had received the enlightenment that came from the Reformation. God here is saying that He is not bringing forth the Book of Mormon, and He is not doing this work with Joseph to destroy that which they have received. This was good, it was from the Lord. These things that they had, but rather, His intention was to build it up.

The revelation continues and says: "And for this cause have I said, if this generation harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them." The word "establish" here means either to organize, but it also means to achieve recognition, or to make it more firm or stable. He continues saying: "Now, I do not say this to destroy my church." Notice, the church is already in existence, and this is before the church was formally organized in 1830. "I do not say this to destroy my church already in existence, but I say this to build up my church. Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven." This was really a reassurance from God. God is recognizing the efforts that had preceded the restoration, namely the Reformation movement, and He's reassuring those who had worked to bring forth those truths that they would be rewarded. That these good men and women who were in the Reformation, who were in various movements to discover greater truth, those who believed in Jesus, that they were already considered to be a part of His church, and that He did not come to destroy the work of the Reformation, but rather to build upon it.

You see, the body of Christ can be organized, or it can be disorganized. It can be gathered, or it can be scattered, but it does not cease to be the church, regardless of what state it is in.

In the Book of Revelation, chapter 12, beginning in verse 4: "And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was delivered, ready to devour her child after it was born. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days."

Now, this revelation, this prophecy, has been interpreted by many in the Restoration and Mormonism to be a prophecy regarding what would happen to the church when the great apostasy came, that the Apostle Paul warned about. You see, after the apostles had all died, there began to be division and false doctrines, and eventually a great apostasy. And so, many have interpreted that the thousand two hundred and threescore days is the time between when the great apostasy officially began in God's eyes, and the restoration through Joseph Smith. Now, that is true.

If we continue on to this revelation: "And the dragon prevailed not against Michael, neither the child, nor the woman, which is the church of God, who had been delivered of her pains and brought forth the kingdom of our God and his Christ." This is an amazing prophecy, and it tells us a lot of things. Regardless of personal interpretations, or how we want to look at this, it gives us a lot of information. One, the woman in this prophecy is indeed the church, and here we see that the church has fled into the wilderness, a thousand two hundred and threescore years. The church did not cease to exist; it was simply in the wilderness.

There are other parallel scriptures along this lines, one in the Book of Mormon in particular, that we'll take a look at. But another fascinating part of this prophecy is that the church is to bring forth and birth the kingdom of God.

In the Book of Mormon, in First Nephi, the R LDS edition, beginning in chapter 3, verse 226: "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 the abominations of the Lamanites; nevertheless, I beheld 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 multitude whom I saw." Again, this is a prophecy regarding the church, and here we see that the church is not an organization, but it is simply the saints of God, wherever they are. They are also upon all the face of the earth. And this point, they have them in the wilderness, just like in the Book of Revelation, a parallel scripture. This is showing a scattered state of the church, and their dominion upon the face of the earth is small. You see, they are weak, and they are few in numbers, and yet the church exists.

You see, I was taught or raised in the church to believe that the church had ceased to exist and fled from the face of the earth, in a sense, and that it did not exist during the Dark Ages, and that the attempts to reform were not enough, and they were just the attempts of men to do that which only God could do, which apparently was to recreate something out of nothing. However, God said that He was restoring the church. Now, how can you restore something that doesn't exist? If you go look at restoration projects on the internet, restoring of a house, a restoring of an antique car, you must first have an old car to restore. And so it is with the church. You see, the church already existed before Joseph Smith Jr. It wasn't taken from the earth. It existed even before Joseph Smith received the plates. It just needed to be restored. In other words, add some missing parts, polish it up, fresh coat of paint, work on it, so it will run smoothly again.

And this is why Sidney Rigdon was told that prior to joining with Joseph, he had been called by God to baptize, and that his baptisms were in fact authoritative as being a baptism unto repentance. Because, you see, Sidney was already considered to be a part of the church, even before joining the restoration, and now he would only receive added understanding and authority.

So, who is the church? Well, this is a tough one, because a lot of people have redefined what the Lord has said originally when He first spoke to Joseph Smith. And we believe that you must be a part of this organization or that in order to be considered His church, and that you must have all these various things in place, ordinances and so forth. But hear the word of the Lord. It's simple, and it is plain and easy to understand. Doctrine Covenants, R LDS, Section chapter 3, verse 16, given in 1828. This is one of the earliest revelations, and they are given in purity. The Lord speaking here says: "Behold, this is my doctrine: Whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. And whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me. Therefore, he is not of my church."

You see, this is an astonishing revelation. It makes it very simple and very plain. And that's why He spoke to those people and said that you were a part of my church, and do not fear, I'm only going to build upon that which you've already received. You see, because all it takes is for you to believe on Jesus Christ, to repent, and come unto Him, and you are considered His church. And what has Mormonism done since that time, other than to build and add on to what you must have in order to be considered His church? What did the Lord say here? "If you declare more than this, you're not of Him. In fact, you're against Him, and you're not a part of His church."

Mormonism and Restoration Saints, Book of Mormon believers everywhere, there must be a reconciliation here. We must come to grips with the truth of what the Lord said, or whether we would dismiss His words at our own peril. You see, this revelation is probably obvious to most Christians, but to Book of Mormon believers who believe that Joseph Smith was called of God, we have a harder time with this, because we have been told that we are the one true church, and that we're the only ones with authority, and that the other churches are not real churches, in a sense. But you see, this revelation that Joseph received early on agrees with the Bible. And so we have two witnesses: the Bible, and also the Doctrine Covenants. And as we'll see in the Book of Mormon, it is the same. But somewhere along the way, men made it so much more complicated.

Some time back, the Holy Spirit quoted into my mind the parable in Matthew chapter 13, verses 24-28, where Jesus said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way." Immediately after hearing this parable quoted, I heard the voice of the Lord say, "This is the story of the Restoration." And so I began to understand that the Restoration began as a work of God, and that the Lord brought forth many truths and understandings. But somewhere along the way, Satan came under the cover of darkness, and he sowed tares, and now we have in our midst both wheat and tares. We have both in the church. And sorting through it is something that the wisdom of man cannot do. But what we can do is rely on the testimony of the prophets, on on the word of God, and on the multiple witnesses in the written word of God, sharing the truth. And where those things are in agreement, we know of a certainty that they are established by the Lord. And where they are not, and where the truth, or supposed truth, or revelation is not more witness to and is not in harmony, then we must set it on a shelf and let God reveal the answer at a later time.

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Who is the head of the church? Now, this may seem like a simple question with a simple, straightforward, and obvious answer. But for Book of Mormon believers, some of them, the answer is the same as any Christian. And for others, it may be more complicated. The answer really is as simple as it seems: Jesus Christ is the head of His church. It is not Stephen Veasey. It is not Russell Nelson. It is not Mauricio Berger Brazil, or Joseph F. Smith of Missouri. It is not any Smith, not ever. Nor is it any other man. It is Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians 1:22, it is said: "And he put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him (or Christ) as head over all things to the church." In Ephesians 5:23: "As Christ also is the head of the church: he himself being the savior of the body." In First Corinthians 11:3: "But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man." In Colossians 1:18: "He (speaking of Christ) is also head of the body, the church; and he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he himself will come to have first place in everything."

And the Book of Mormon also, in Helaman 5:52 (that's the earliest edition, or LDS Helaman 13:38b): "Yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and eternal Head, which eternal Head is even Christ Jesus." As the purpose of the Book of Mormon is written, taken from the title page that was written by Moroni himself, that the purpose of the Book of Mormon is "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations."

While it is true that in the body of Christ, God will place people in various ministry roles and leadership positions, Jesus Christ alone is the head of His church. Remember, that's why the church is called the body of Christ. It's His body, and He is its head.

I'd like to look at something in contrast. In the R LDS Doctrine and Covenants, Section 27, or in the LDS, it's 28. It was a revelation given to Oliver Cowdery through Joseph Smith Jr., September 1830, at Fayette, New York. This is just some few months after the church was organized. The backdrop of this is that Hiram Page had come into possession of a stone that he was using to obtain certain revelations, and Oliver Cowdery and the Whitmer family, to whom Hiram was related, tended to accept these claims. This was the cause of concern to Joseph, no doubt, and some others. And the historical understanding at this point is that these revelations were false, and I have no doubt of that.

So, scripturally speaking, what should have been done in that circumstance? Ordinarily, and according to the instructions and the counsel given in the New Testament, that those who are spiritually guided by the Holy Spirit are to confront those persons that are in error. And that's in hopes of not only bringing correction, but also reconciliation, and also to show how those revelations were wrong, so that the church would come to knowledge and understanding how to deal with such matters in the future. I mean, these things will happen, right? So, in a church where you believe in the signs and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including prophecy and revelation, then surely there's going to be times where false prophecy, false revelation could take place. But instead of dealing with the situation in this way, which would have given Joseph a wonderful opportunity to equip the saints to come to understanding, so they would not have to rely on him to judge every single matter, but so they could learn to properly judge these matters for themselves in the future, according to the wisdom contained in the word of God. But instead, a rule was set in place, supposedly to rule out any possibility of anyone ever giving a false revelation to the church ever again, by setting up a law to the church that only Joseph could receive such revelations.

I wonder what Moses would think of that. You see, when he was told by some of his men that there were people in the camp of Israel prophesying, and they told Moses that he should put a stop to it, because, you know, only Moses should receive the word of the Lord for Israel. Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all of the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit in them." You see, it was God's desire to meet with Israel and have a personal relationship with each man, woman, and child, so that they would know God for themselves. But the people of Israel were afraid, and they told Moses to not let God speak to them, but instead asked Moses to go have a relationship with God on their behalf, and they would just let Moses tell them what God had to say. How disappointing. And so, that is what they got, and eventually just a lot of carnal commandments, which they could not even really understand, nor even fully keep. And they had priests then that would be the go-between God and man, until Christ came and the temple veil was rent when Christ was on the cross, so that every man may know and hear God for themselves. Wasn't that the whole point of Joseph Smith's grove experience, that anyone, even a young boy, could go and ask God for themselves and to hear from Him?

So, let's turn to this revelation in Doctrine and Covenants. It says: "Behold, I say unto thee, Oliver, that shall be given unto thee, thou shalt be heard by the church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the Comforter concerning the revelations and commandments which I have given them. But behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this church, except my servant Joseph Smith Jr., for he receiveth them even as Moses." Again, I wonder what Moses would think about that.

And it continues: "And thou shalt be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him." Joseph being like Moses, and he's comparing here Oliver to be as Aaron, to declare faithfully the commandments and the revelations that Joseph gives. "And if thou art led at any time by the Comforter to speak or teach, or at all times by way of commandment unto the church, thou mayest do so, but thou shalt not write by way of commandment, but by wisdom. And thou shalt not command him who is at thy head, and at the head of the church."

Okay, so Oliver Cowdery is not to write any kind of revelation or commandment or anything that's a directive to the church. Only Joseph can. But more importantly, here it says that Joseph is the head. He's the head of Oliver Cowdery, and he's the head of the church at this point.

I want to take a moment to remind us that in order for us to move forward in unity as a people, but more than that, that we might move forward in unity with God, and that we don't continue in any error that may have crept into the church, but also not to stand in judgment of others, and not to second-guess. We must remember that it's not important for us to judge necessarily whether this revelation is of God, or whether it's of Satan, or is it of man? The spirit of man. Those are the three possibilities that Joseph received in a revelation from the Lord. But what we do know is that we can judge whether or not God has firmly established His word to be true. And if it is not established, then we don't have to say necessarily that it's not of the Lord. We can set it aside for now. What we do know is that it is not established as a law into the church.

"In the mouth of several witnesses shall God establish His word." We just got done reading a lot of scriptures, and there's dozens more where we see that Jesus is the head of His church, that He alone is the head. And nowhere do we find where man is appointed as the head, but Christ Himself. And that which is spoken by the prophets today is subject to being in harmony with that which was spoken by the prophets of the past and contained in our scriptures. And so, I ask, or else do we find in the scriptures where God has ever set up a man to be the head of His church in His absence? Not in the New Testament church, and not in the Book of Mormon. When Christ set up His church in the Americas, did He set those in leadership positions, in ministry positions? Yes. But did He set a head in the church other than Himself?

Setting up a fallible man as the head of Christ's church, is this not what the Catholic Church did in the office of Pope? Now, I'll let you question and think for yourself on this, and ask the Lord, and go to the scriptures. You decide. According to the churchofjesuschrist.org, it says: "In what way did Hiram Page violate the true order of divine guidance for the church?" This is an article in regards to the revelation that we just read. And their response to this question is: "The Prophet taught in 1833 that it's contrary to the economy of God for any member of the church, or anyone, to receive instruction for those in authority higher than themselves."

If this is so, then what about the prophet Samuel instructing or chastising King Saul, or King David? What about the Apostle Paul, chosen by Christ? Yes, but whose authority wasn't even officially recognized by James and the church of Jerusalem for some time. And Paul going then to counsel and persuade the leadership in Jerusalem that the Gentile believers did not need to be circumcised. I can cite many other examples of this. What churchofjesuschrist.org is suggesting here is that Joseph Smith Jr., prone to error as any man is, was somehow above receiving instruction or correction, or even the word of the Lord, even if by way of commandment, from any other man, woman, or child. That it would be unseemly and improper. I wonder what Balaam's donkey would think of that.

I would like to share a personal testimony regarding this subject. About a year ago, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and asked me to go to a certain church. The very next Sunday, my wife and I were very familiar with this church. We both knew people who attended there. But that group of people had got themselves a self-proclaimed prophet and a new book of scripture. And we had investigated these claims and asked God and come to the firm conclusion that the whole matter was a deception of Satan designed to further distract and divide the saints. We had attended there to witness them install apostles and organize their church. And based on the spirit at work there, we were not interested in going back.

When I told my wife that the Holy Spirit was directing us to go, she was less than thrilled. The next evening, she came to me and with conviction in her voice announced that we needed to go to that church this coming Sunday. I asked her what had changed her mind, and she said that the Spirit had asked her to do this. So we had two witnesses, and the matter was settled. The only further instruction we received that week as we prayed about it was that we needed to go in love.

So we prepared ourselves. The night before the church service, as I crawled into bed, a demon sat down on the bed beside me. The mattress moved as it did, and I immediately felt the presence of evil as threats against my life if I went to the church were impressed into my mind. Now, this wasn't my first experience with a demon, and I was knowledgeable in spiritual warfare. So I told it to depart in the name of Jesus. And as is my practice, immediately began to praise God out loud with all of my heart. You see, praise and worship of God makes the enemy nauseous, and he must retreat. The demon departed, and in complete peace with the Holy Spirit, I turned off the light and fell to sleep. Almost immediately, the next morning, I told my wife, and it happened. And so we both wondered what we were in for that morning. Needless to say, we prayed and contemplated the matter. During the 40-minute drive, we arrived to discover that their prophet, who was scheduled to speak that morning, was ill and could not make it. The presider was a man I did not know and had met only once, very briefly.

After letting the congregation know that the prophet was not able to make it and why, he said that he was impressed by the Spirit the two men should come up and pray for the prophet immediately. The Holy Spirit told me that this man would call upon me, but that seemed questionable to me. For one, I wasn't even sure this man knew my name. And secondly, because I had privately told the leadership of that church that they were deceived. However, my wife then leaned over and whispered that he was going to call upon me. And then the presider did indeed call upon me by name. And as I approached the microphone to pray, after the first man had, I was confronted by one of the members in a loud voice, challenging me that I must first answer a question before I should be allowed to pray. Now, this was highly unusual in the church, of course. But I also recognized immediately that it was not this woman, but rather a demonic spirit within her that was speaking. She asked me to first declare, "Who is the prophet of the church?" The nature of the confrontation was somewhat jolting, and I could see the shocked look on many of the faces of the congregation as well. I knew that the spirit wanted me to declare their prophet as the head of the church of Christ. Thankfully, the Spirit of God was with me, and without hesitation, I knew the answer. And so I voiced what the Holy Spirit gave me, and I said, "Jesus Christ."

"No," the demonic spirit responded. And then rephrased the question, "Who is the prophet and the head of the church in the United States?" But the answer was the same: Jesus Christ is the head of His church. A second member, a man, stood up and shouted, "No!" in a very loud voice. And the woman also began to shout at the man presiding over the service that he should not let me pray. As I stood there before the whole congregation, I saw the shocked and horrified looks on the faces of many of the membership. They could not even comprehend why this was happening. One couple stood and departed the building and never came back. They later told others that they could not comprehend such a reaction to simply letting a person pray. My wife spoke up and testified to the congregation that it was the Lord Himself they had sent us there that day, not to cause any problems, but that we came in love.

The man presiding then told those who objected that they needed to allow him to preside according to the direction of the Holy Spirit, and that the Spirit had directed him to have me pray. Three people now joined the chorus of this demonic spirit and left, refusing to stay if I were allowed to pray. There was shouting heard as they angrily departed the building. At the direction of the presider, I went on and prayed for their prophet, and I prayed for him as a brother, asking God to bless him. For I knew that even though he was deceived, that we are all capable of falling into deception. And knowing that I had once been the recipient of much grace and mercy in times past when I was deceived, I desired that God would truly minister to this man and help him.

After praying, the piano player had to get up and leave, saying that she had an emergency to attend to at home, which then left the congregation without a piano player. My wife, who knew how to play, silently got up without being asked and sat at the piano, and she dutifully played the hymns that were to be sung that day. During the course of the service, the man who took their prophet's place as the speaker of the hour delivered a beautiful sermon that almost seemed prepared for what was going to take place that day. It was all about how we needed to treat each other tenderly and with love. He personally apologized to us with humility and much tenderness.

As we departed the church, a woman who had attended many of my classes in the past, and other congregations, one that I had not heard from in some years, messaged me on Facebook and said that she had had a spiritual dream involving me that night, the night before. That she almost never dreams at all and doesn't remember her dreams, but in this dream, it was very vivid to her. And she saw me handling a venomous snake and subduing it without harm to myself. And in this dream, she asked someone how it was that I was able to so easily handle this dangerous serpent. And the Spirit answered her in the dream and said, "That my grandfather was a righteous minister who had passed this authority to me."

It was significant that a witness had been given this testimony that I would know of a surety that what had taken place that day was of God. You see, the evil spirit that confronted me that day was the serpent in the dream. And personally, it was a blessing to hear this dream. I dearly loved my grandfather and greatly missed him. And this dream explained a vision I had had many years ago, after my grandfather had passed away, and when I was a newly ordained teacher. My grandfather appeared to me in a vision, and he blessed me, laying his hands on my head, and I felt a great surge or transfer of power just coursing through my body. And I had never really understood what that meant, or what the significance of it was, until now.

And here is the extraordinary thing, really. I came to realize about this very strange day at this church. God had orchestrated the entire thing from start to finish. You see, He had arranged it so that both me and my wife would receive instruction to go to that church on that particular day. And they'd arranged it that their prophet would not be able to attend. That this man who heard the instruction of the Holy Spirit was set aside to preside that day, and that he would call upon me. And all of this, so my presence, whom Satan had somehow understood was a problem, even sending a demonic presence to threaten me the night before, that my presence would trigger the demons in those three individuals, causing them to manifest before the congregation in such a way as to wake

Up many of its membership, causing them to realize that there was a serious spiritual problem at this church, one that had been previously unseen. In other words, this event was not about me. It wasn't about those individuals who were demon-influenced, nor was it about their prophet. But everything that took place that day, it was orchestrated by God because of His great love for those people in that congregation who did not yet realize that they had been deceived.

In conclusion, I'm happy to report that the people of that congregation eventually came to realize there was a real problem, and they began to understand that there were demonic influences in some of the leadership and with this prophet. And then most of them then rejected this deception and voted to turn this prophet out of their building. So they have rejected those things that were taught and returned to the fundamentals of the doctrine and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Praise God!

And above all, I would return your attention then to the point of this entire contention and conflict that took place at this church on that day. The very thing that the demons cried out against, and that is that Jesus Christ Himself is the head of His church.

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It is a foundational truth written in the word of God that we should not trust in the arm of flesh. "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength." (Jeremiah 17:5) "I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh." (RLDS Book of Mormon, Second Nephi 3:62) "Neither trust in the arm of flesh, but that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world." (RLDS Doctrine and Covenants 1:4c)

Most of us have people in our lives that we trust completely. But in regards to your spiritual walk and salvation, we are instructed to never trust in flesh, regardless if we have known them for years, they are a close friend of ours, or even if they're family. For we know that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) And if this is so, why would we put our trust in flesh that we know will sin, will fall, will make mistakes? There's only one we can trust in, and that is God.

Regarding the prophets, we see multiple prophets at a time in our scriptures. In the Old Testament, we have mentors teaching younger prophets, like Elijah and Elisha. And in fact, we have mention of a "school of the prophets" and hundreds of prophets being put to death during the time of Elijah. We have multiple prophets at a time throughout the pages of the New Testament. And in the Book of Mormon, we have long been taught that there is a pattern in everything the Lord does, including the church, a pattern in all things, and that "He is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

After visiting with some Mormon elders one day, they gave a testimony to me about how wonderful it was for them that they had the prophet to guide them. Now, the prophet, it's a term that started all the way back in the days of Joseph Smith Jr. But I have a question. A question that I put to those Mormon elders: If Jesus established the pattern for His church in the scriptures, and my question is, who was the prophet that Christ set up in the New Testament church of the Bible? And who was the prophet of the church of Christ that Jesus established in the Book of Mormon? If this is supposed to be the pattern, why did Jesus not set up His church this way?

Ephesians 4:11 and 12 says that "He [Christ] gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." All of this is plural, "for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the service." You see, the pattern is that there have always been prophets, plural. Prophets in the Old Testament, prophets in the New, prophets in the Book of Mormon. Nowhere do we see a pattern in the scriptures before us of a single prophet, much less that prophet being the head of the church, or being a president. And in fact, if you look scripturally speaking, Bible, Book of Mormon, the prophets have always been just outside the camp of Israel, just outside the church, in a sense, or part of the membership. Now, as they are members of the body of Christ under the new covenant, they would give the word of the Lord, whether it was to a king or to a people, to the camp of Israel or to the nation of Israel, to the Nephites or to the Lamanites or a Lamanite king. They give the word of the Lord, and then the church, or the people, or the nation must decide whether it is the word of the Lord and suffer the consequences if they ignore it.

Where do you see the pattern of a prophet who is the prophet whom the church must hear because he is in charge, in command, as the head? I do know of a prophet, one that I would call "the Prophet," and he, I would follow in anything. And He is the head of the church, and His name is Jesus.

Now, in Joel chapter 2, verse 28, we have a prophecy: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions." Here we have a prophecy about what takes place at the Day of Pentecost. Under the new covenant, the Spirit of God is put in our flesh, in our bodies, and that sons and daughters, men and women, and children, that they will dream dreams, see visions, and prophesy. You see, prophecy is to the body of Christ, not for one man alone.

And in Jeremiah 31, verses 31-34, another prophecy: "And this prophecy, listen to none of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them." What a marvelous prophecy! A time when we don't have to have someone teaching us and telling us what we need to know that is of the Lord, because every one of us, from the greatest to the least, we will know the Lord for ourselves. What a tremendous event!

Now, my question is, when is this to be fulfilled? The answer, my friend, is it's already been fulfilled. Let's look at Hebrews chapter 8, verses 1-13. "Now, this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected, and not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices: therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, 'See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.' But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for the second. Because finding fault with them, He says, 'Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind, and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know Me from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.' In that He says, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

You see, the writer of Hebrews is telling us that under the new covenant, this prophecy in Jeremiah is now fulfilled. It was fulfilled at the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the coming of the gift of the Holy Spirit to His people. This isn't a prophecy for some future date far down the line or at the end of the world. It's now. It's been here. So why are we so earnestly desiring to return to that which we had under the old covenant?

Under the new, better covenant, man is reconciled to God, and every man, woman, and child can have a direct relationship with God by what Christ did for us at the cross. No longer do we need any sinful man to act as high priest to go to God on our behalf. No longer do we have to go to a prophet to get answers or to receive revelation. You are a part of the body of Christ, connected to the Head, and able to receive word directly from Him in all things.

And as members of the body of Christ, we each have our own function, gifts, and callings, and differing ministries. There are some in the body to act as teachers, prophets, apostles, and pastors. And there are those who speak in tongues, and some that interpret. There are those who are gifted with spiritual dreams and visions, and those who have discernment, or speak a word of wisdom, or given words of knowledge. Some who have the gift of healing, and some who are knowledgeable and gifted in deliverance and spiritual warfare, exercising authority over demons. But no member is above another, and all serve with honor and are esteemed as being equal in importance in such a body as this. And with every member connected to the Head, what a powerhouse of truth and wisdom and knowledge and discernment and insight we can have as we work together. And in the mouth of several witnesses, may every word be established. And let every prophecy and word be judged and discerned as to its source and validity, using the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are to the body. What an army such a church would be! And how difficult it would be for Satan to easily penetrate or get a foothold when every member can know for a certainty, directly from God, whether something is from God, or from Satan, or from man.

And oh, how much easier is it if the enemy could convince us that we must all rely on one fallible, sinful man for our answers and our direction. What a victory if Satan can penetrate the church with a doctrine that the general membership is not worthy or esteemed to be capable of hearing God for themselves, or to bring counsel or correction to one who has been placed in authority above them. But they should all trust instead in the arm of flesh to receive the word of the Lord to the church. How easy for the enemy it would be then for him to destroy the church, or simply render it incapacitated or ineffective by only needing to take down a single man, their head, their prophet, seer, revelator, their president, who has been put in the place of Christ.

When I was a young man, my family departed from the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we ended up attending and becoming members of a new organization called the Church of Christ Restored. And it was in that church that I received the calling of teacher. And in this church, we never did have the office of prophet, though we did have some called to apostle and some to seventies, and we had a body of elders, and they were the highest functioning quorum in the church. And although we did not have a prophet who is the head of the church, we had a certain tradition. Once a year, when we were at our reunion camp for a week, worshiping together, we had a tradition of selecting three elders from the body to go and separate themselves out to seek the mind and will of the Lord on behalf of the body.

After some years had come and gone, a time came when I was selected as one of these three elders to go and seek the mind and will of God. And when the three of us came together, we discussed how we would go about this, and it was decided that it would be best if the three of us would also separate from each other and seek out the Lord as individuals, and then meet back and compare notes. And we did this prayerfully and in fasting. And when we came back together, we found that the Lord had given us a common message. And it is interesting, because part of the message was that this was wrong, what we were doing.

Let me share a portion of the message that we received and shared, dated June 23rd, 2011: "A Report from the Three Elders Set Aside by Action of the Elders Conference. As the three of us fasted and prayed, the Spirit of God bore witness to us individually. When we met together and shared those individual testimonies, we found commonality in our experiences and received confirming testimony regarding some of the concerns the Lord has for us at this time. At the forefront of our testimonies was a strong witness each of us received regarding how God would have us as a body of people to seek further direction from Him. In the Old Testament, after God had brought Israel out of Egypt, He desired that all of the people of Israel prepare themselves to meet with Him. But the people, fearing God, stood afar off and wanted Moses to speak with God alone and then report to them what he had to say. The scriptures make it clear that this was displeasing to God, and Israel was not able to enter into His rest. Israel had clearly missed out on an opportunity to meet their God and be transformed by Him. Brothers and sisters, although God has been gracious in sharing some concerns with us, it is our testimony that rather than asking a presidency, a quorum, a prophet, or three elders to go and seek the mind and will of God for the rest of the body, we should all seek those answers by coming into His presence together through much prayer, fasting, and worship. It is God's desire to speak to us all. And when a group of people truly seek the Lord together, there should be occurrences of prophecy, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, tongues and interpretation of tongues, dreams and visions among them. From such revelatory experiences, and out of the mouth of three or more witnesses, God has said He will establish His word. It will take great effort and sacrifice on the part of all of us if we are to truly succeed as a people. Many have become disheartened and distracted from their high calling. We need to rededicate ourselves and seek the presence and the mind of God together."

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This next foundational principle is one that we've been touching on again and again as we've covered the previous foundational principles, and that is, how does God establish His word? Or another way to put it is, how do we know that something is of God? Whether it's true or not, how does God establish something to be true? Beginning in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 19:15, it says, "At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established." This is a matter of the law, but Jesus later upheld and confirmed the validity of this law as being the principle that God has set down when He said, "If he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." (Matthew 18:16) And again, under the new covenant, in which the Apostle Paul was an apostle of the new covenant, again, "Every matter must be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses." (Second Corinthians 13:1) And so by this, we know that this is not just a law of Moses, but a foundational principle that God operates this way, and it's a matter of the church and how it ought to operate as well.

For further witnesses, the Book of Mormon also confirms this truth. "And none shall behold it, save it be that three witnesses shall behold it by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered." (RLDS Second Nephi 11:1333) And in the Book of Mormon, "And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established." (RLDS Ether 2:3) And again, in latter-day revelation, in the Doctrine and Covenants, RLDS, it's section 6:13b: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." And in Doctrine and Covenants 5:3e: "And the testimony of three witnesses will I send forth of my word; and behold, whosoever believeth on my words, then will I visit with the manifestations of my spirit, and they shall be born of me, even of water and of the Spirit."

The principle of every truth being established in the mouth of two or three witnesses, and the scriptures say, "Even so, He will bring even more witnesses." And so, in the mouth of multiple witnesses, God establishes these truths that are truth. However, having several witnesses does not automatically make something true. Far from it. You see, having multiple witnesses is only one of the requirements for establishing that something is true, that it is truly the word of God. Just to give an example of that, there are thousands of witnesses that will tell you that the beliefs of the Jehovah's Witnesses are true, but do you believe it? And there are millions of Muslims who will testify of Allah and Muhammad as being his prophet, but do you believe that is true? And there were dozens who testified that David Koresh was Jesus come in the flesh again, but do you believe that?

And so, it's just not a matter of three or more people saying that something is true for truth to be established. It must also be in harmony with previous scripture. You must receive a witness of the Holy Spirit that it is true. And if it's a prophecy, it must come to pass, otherwise it is false. And it must bear the right fruit, the fruit of the Spirit. That is how we judge matters.

Now, let's talk about the quality of witnesses. When we talk about something being established in the mouth of two or three witnesses, those witnesses must be independent of one another, and each one must have their own independent revelation through one of the gifts of the Spirit. And the gifts of the Spirit are dreams, visions, the voice of God or the Holy Spirit, the word of knowledge, prophecy, an angel of the Lord appearing. There are many ways in which God can reveal something. But if someone has a revelation, they should be able to specify how it happened. It should not be vague. Did you have a dream? Did you have a vision? Did you hear the voice of God? These things need to be communicated, and they must be independent to one another. And so, the quality of witnesses is very important. Again, this testimony should be specific. It should be clearly communicated so the body of Christ understands that God has communicated or revealed His will to mankind, and not man revealing his own desires or thoughts or feelings or will.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard over the years that someone said, "God told me this," or "God told me that." That's to really tell me enough. What do you mean God told you? Did you hear an audible voice? Was it an impression in your mind? Was it a thought that came to you? We need to be honest. We need to be forthright, and above all, transparent about the nature of our revelation experiences. And just because, as an over-the-top, just because you don't hear an audible voice or see a burning bush doesn't mean it isn't of the Lord. But when it comes to evaluating the quality of the witnesses and defining what is truly a witness and a true revelation and prophetic experience, we need to be able to know very clearly and have it communicated to us exactly what took place. Did an angel appear in your room? That doesn't make it true either. If an angel of light appears and teaches any other gospel than the one that has been taught to us in the scriptures, in the Bible and then the Book of Mormon, the Apostle Paul says, "Let that be counted cursed." But we need to know what happened specifically. It's not sufficient to just say, "God told me." It's very vague, and often it comes to be no more than the person had a feeling or a thought that came to them, and possibly it is inspired of God. But when we are evaluating the level of revelation, when we're evaluating what took place and what is happening, we need to separate out our own thoughts and our feelings from that of a true revelation experience of God.

It's also important to understand that if you hear someone else's testimony and you have a good feeling about it, or maybe you have the "burning of the bosom," or you think you do, or this confirmation of the Holy Spirit, this may indeed serve as a personal witness to you. But these things do not qualify as three independent witnesses to establish a truth for the body of Christ. You see, these three independent witnesses must each have a true revelation of God, separate and distinct from each other, and not be influenced by one another.

If one man stands up under the Spirit and bears witness to something, the rest of us feel very strongly, we get emotional, we feel like it's true, we feel like maybe God's spoken to us. That's good. There's nothing wrong with that. And you can believe based on the confirmation of the Spirit to yourself. You may believe that that was of the Lord. But that person said, there's nothing wrong with that. But what we're talking about here is establishing a matter for the church, whether something becomes law, whether it becomes something the body must act upon, whether it becomes the word of the Lord which we must heed. Then we need to be very careful, because simply being in the same room with someone when they share something and you feel that it is right, you are not an independent witness from him. You are unduly influenced, or could be.

Let me tell you an experience of mine. But it was a revelation on politics, where God told me that the politics in the church were an abomination. It took me several days to fully comprehend and understand all that He was showing me, and this allowed me time to ask questions and to clarify, and finally sit down and begin to write the experience out. And little did I know that another person, a woman I know named Kristen Peterson, had almost the same experience with the Lord. And she had her experience just before I had mine. And she wondered whether she should write and share it with me or others. But the Lord asked her to hold off. That she could write it, but not share it yet, because He said that the word would be given to me, and that I would share, and that she would bear witness. Now, as to why the Lord chose to do it that way, I do not know. That's how He chose to do things. But it's interesting, her experience came before mine, and I was completely unaware of her experience. And it was extraordinary to find out that she had written up this testimony and was waiting for me to bear witness of it, because the Lord had told her that He would speak to me, and that I would be the first to share, and then she would bear witness to me. And that is two separate, independent witnesses. I was not influenced by her, and she was not influenced by me.

If you're praying about priesthood callings in a congregation, and the Lord gives you a dream, or the voice of the Lord speaks to you and tells you that a certain person is called to a certain ministry, and then you go to a congregational meeting where the pastor stands up and says that he had a revelation, and he describes the revelation, and that this certain person is called to a certain office, and it's the same as what you had received beforehand, you know that you have not been unduly influenced by his testimony. You have your own independent testimony. These are the things that we need to be looking for, and we need to insist on them. Actually, that God established His word in the mouth of several witnesses, and as He said, even that He would bring even more additional witnesses. When He establishes the truth, He will continue to share that truth with others, and we will meet other people, people we don't even know, and perhaps we'll pick up a book that someone has written, and they had their own experience, and you'll find that they had the exact testimony that you had about a certain matter. Now, you see, these are separate witnesses. These are stronger witnesses than just simply believing something, or feeling good about it, or being influenced to believe in something that one person says is true.

Now, I have a potentially controversial question: If we find three places in the Doctrine and Covenants where Joseph Smith Jr. gives a revelation on a particular topic, does that constitute three witnesses? I hope the answer is clear to you by now.

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This principle comes from Psalm 119:160. If you read the King James Version of this verse, you won't get the same truth out of it. It's a little muddled in its translation. Joseph Smith Jr. in his revision of the Bible also never touched on or modified this part of the Bible. But all later versions of the Bible, including the New King James Version, when scholars went over this, they saw that there was a very poor translation in the King James. All other versions of the Bible now render this verse much more meaningful, and they have a variety of ways of saying this, but it's either "the entirety of God's word is the truth," or "the sum of God's word is the truth." In other words, the basis of this scripture verse here is that if you want to arrive at the full truth of something, or come to true understanding, and not be led astray, not go down the wrong path, then to understand a topic, a biblical topic, a topic of the scriptures, you must read all that the word of God has to say about it, and not just some.

This truth is so imperative. The adversary, I think, what the great lengths to muddle the translation in King James. And how I came upon this verse is that one day, the Holy Spirit spoke this verse to me, and how He said it was, "The sum of thy word, O Lord, is the truth." And it was so powerful, and I knew it was a scripture that the Holy Spirit was quoting. And so powerful was it, and it was such an important truth for me at this time in my life to apply this truth, that I went looking for it. And because I was using the Inspired Version, I couldn't find it. I searched for it. I also searched in the King James, and I wondered, did the Holy Spirit give me a new scripture that's not even found in our scriptures? I mean, the truth of it is so apparent, it's self-evident, really. And I'm sure you could justify that truth through a great number of other scriptures. But where was this scripture? The Holy Spirit had spoken it. So I asked a friend, and he started looking around, and then he found it when he just searched one of the other Bible translations. And so then I looked in the King James, and the Inspired Version is just the same as the King James, it was never touched. And I looked at other versions of the Bibles, and ones that I trusted more than others. The New King James is one that I've come to trust in in its translation efforts. And all of the other versions of the Bible where scholars went back and looked at the original Hebrew, anywhere where they found scrolls of this, this is the truth of this verse, how it should be rendered, that it's the entirety, or all of God's word together, is what shows you the truth of a matter.

This is important because almost every contention in the church over the years over doctrine that I have witnessed personally, almost every time someone went down the wrong path, almost every time, what was behind it is that people would select certain scriptures that they thought backed up their position or their belief about something. And every time there was a controversy, every time there was a contention, every time there was a division, and every time someone went off on the wrong path, supposedly following the word of the Lord, what I noticed is that every one of these instances, they were ignoring other parts of the word of God that would have set them straight. You see, they didn't have all the truth, they had a partial truth, and based on that partial truth, they did not fully understand the truth of the whole matter, but it justified what they wanted to believe at that time. I had done the same in my own life. How many times I had gone down a path and found I was wrong later, and only revealed to me that had I had taken into account other scriptures and other verses that would have set me straight. You see, it's the entirety of God's word that truly reveals the truth.

Now, I'm going to show you an example of this. This is not one of the basic foundational principles of which I'm teaching today, but it's an example of this truth that it's the entirety of God's word that shows us the truth. And that example is laying on hands on the sick. What do our traditions teach about laying on hands on the sick? Well, if you're from the restoration background, RLDS, LDS, name it, and tell you that tradition is that only priesthood elders can lay on hands. Is that true? What does the word of God say? Here are a number of scriptures, the biggest ones I could find, the ones that most directly tackle this very thing. There are many scriptures on healing, but these are the ones specifically having to do with laying on hands, and we'll go through them one by one so we may arrive at the whole truth and not just a partial truth.

In Mark chapter 16, the last chapter of the book of Mark, it says, "And he [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; 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."

Look at the promise in this scripture. This is Jesus after the resurrection. He's commissioning His apostles to go into all the world to preach the gospel, and what He says here is, "unto the believers." He that believeth, those who believe in the words of the apostles, those who believe in the gospel message and are baptized, they shall be saved. And what does it say next? "These signs shall follow them that believe." These are the believers. This is the body of Christ. It is the general membership of the church. And what does this say? "In my name shall they lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

But in the Doctrine and Covenants, in RLDS, it's section 17, LDS section 20, it says, "But neither teachers nor deacons have authority to baptize, administer the sacrament, or lay on hands." Let me tell you a testimony. Many years ago, my wife suffered from headaches. And eventually, she got her eyes checked. The doctor found she needed prescription glasses, that this was a reason for her headache. So she got those glasses, and the headaches went away. It was only about six months or so, maybe a year, and the headaches returned. And they came back, and they wouldn't go away. And she returned to the eye doctor, and he said, "Well, you're gonna need stronger prescription glasses. Your, your eyes have changed again." Well, they ordered glasses again, and this was expensive. And I had been reading about what the believers can do in the name of Jesus, that they can lay on hands and heal the sick, and I believed it. And I'd read some books, and it built my faith up so high. I said to my wife, "I know that if I lay hands on your eyes, that they can be healed in the name of Jesus." And she said, "I believe it." And I laid my head on her eyes, and I prayed in the name of Jesus, and we thanked God. And after I'd laid hands on her eyes, the headaches went away.

And some time passed, and the glasses came in, and she picked them up. Now, this is many years ago, and so I don't remember the circumstance, or why, I don't know. But for some reason, she put those glasses on and started wearing them, and then her headaches returned. And she went back to the eye doctor. Only this time, there was a different doctor there. And when he examined her eyes, he asked, "Why are you wearing glasses?" And she told him. And he said, "Well, you have perfect vision. No wonder you have a headache. You need to take your glasses off." And she took those glasses off, and the headaches went away.

But when I shared this testimony at a priesthood retreat, I was told that I was wrong. And this is a scripture that had been quoted to me: "But neither teachers nor deacons have authority to baptize and administer the sacrament, or lay on hands." So here's the thing. We have an apparent contradiction here. On the one hand, in the Bible, it says that the believers can lay on hands on the sick, that they will recover. And then in another, we have modern revelation through Joseph Smith Jr. saying that only the elders can. That a teacher, such as myself, an ordained teacher, was not supposed to be able to lay hands on. But listen to me, context is everything. And in addition to context, there is principle number five: "The entirety of God's word is the truth." And so we cannot rely on just one verse. We must look at all of the scriptures together to find out the full truth of the matter.

So, Doctrine and Covenants section 17, if we read additionally in there, and not just the one verse that was quoted at me, it says, "An apostle is an elder, and it is his calling to baptize, and to ordain other elders, priests, teachers, and deacons, and to administer bread and wine, the emblems of the flesh and blood of Christ, and to confirm those who are baptized into the church by the laying on of hands, for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost." And so the context of the revelation, the verse that had been quoted to me that I cannot lay hands on my own wife to heal her eyes in the name of Jesus, the context, the true context of that quote is that this revelation is about laying on hands in reference to one, ordaining the priesthood, and two, laying on hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. And these are ordinances. They're ordinances in the church that the elders perform. Now, laying on hands to heal the sick is not an ordinance, but it is one of the gifts of the Spirit that is to the body of Christ. And we're going to go further with this, and we're going to prove this out. We're going to look at all the scriptures to speak of this and come to understanding. So stick with me a little while longer. I'm not going to convince you, the word of God will.

So when the very next verse in that revelation reads, "But neither teachers nor deacons have authority to baptize and administer the sacrament, or lay on hands," we know it cannot be forbidding them to lay hands on someone in the use of a gift of healing, because if it were, it would also forbid the priests. You see, because this says, "neither teachers nor deacons have authority to lay on hands." But in the proper context, why would priests not be forbidden to? Well, because priests are not mentioned here, because it is very specifically talking about ordaining, not healing. And priests can ordain other priests, you see. And so, in proper context, the reason why it says teachers or deacons cannot lay on hands, the priests can, even though they're not elders, is because it's talking about ordaining other priests. It's not talking about laying on hands on the sick. None of that is in this revelation. This revelation is only about laying on hands either to ordain or for the gift of the Holy Ghost. But let us continue with what else the word of God has to say, because it is the entirety of God's word that is the truth.

Let's go to James chapter 5. This is quoted a lot in the restoration churches, I imagine, perhaps in the LDS. And it says, "Is any sick among you? let them call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

And when we look at this verse, the takeaway for most people is that elders come and lay hands on the sick. But actually, there's no mention of laying on hands here, but of anointing with oil. The ordinance says nothing at all about laying on hands. It does speak of anointing with oil. And additionally, it makes no reference to a physical healing, at least in the context of this ordinance. It mentions being saved, you'll be saved, and it mentions being raised up. This may be in reference to salvation, but also in particular to the resurrection. Hold that thought for now. Now, this set of verses does mention confessing sins, though, and saints praying for one another for what? That we may be healed. So the only healing that is spoken of here is in the context of the members of the body of Christ praying for one another, not in the elders of the church coming.

Stick with me for a moment. Joseph Smith Jr. received further light and truth about what James writes about in regards to the elders anointing the sick. So in our LDS Doctrine and Covenants 42:12c and d, Doctrine and Covenants 42 for the LDS as well, it says, "And whosoever among you are sick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be nourished with all tenderness with herbs and mild food, and not that by the hand of an enemy. And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and they shall pray for and lay their hands upon them in my name. And if they die, they shall die unto me; and if they live, they shall live unto me."

It is interesting to note that in this revelation that Joseph Smith received, companion to James, there is no mention of anointing with oil as James wrote, but it does add laying hands on the person in His name. Now, I believe this is God simply adding to what James has already said or written, and not taking away from it. So both oil, as James has written, and laying on hands on the person, as Doctrine and Covenants suggests, I believe is scriptural. And these are the only two witnesses in our scriptures that tells us about this particular ordinance and evidently used in the early church.

When the gifts of healing did not work, because what do these two revelations reveal? What do these two scriptures reveal? That with the ordinance of the elders, there's no promise of a physical healing, but there is a promise of a spiritual blessing. It says the sins will be forgiven, and that the Lord will lift them up again. Usually, this is a reference to the resurrection. He will lift them up at the last day. And whether they live or they die, they are in the Lord. No promise of the physical healing here, not that it couldn't happen. The Lord may choose to bless and heal someone through this means, but there is no promise of it.

Now, in First Corinthians chapter 12, verses 5 and 6, it says, "And now we will see that there are differences of administrations, but it is the same Lord; and there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." You see, there are many ways in which God works.

And John 14:12, Jesus speaking said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me..." Who's that? All those who believe on Jesus, the believers, the general membership of the church, the body of Christ. All those who believe on Christ, "the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father." What did He do when He went to the Father? He brought us gifts, the Holy Spirit. And so, is this for priesthood only? No. Again, even as in Mark, a second witness here, "all those who believe on me, the works they see that I do, they shall do also." And what did Jesus do? Well, He laid hands on the sick. He commanded the sick. He took the hand of the daughter and raised her up. These things also the believers will do. It is not priesthood only.

Again, from Mark, let us read: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe in my name; they shall 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." Do we believe the word of God?

If we want more witnesses, let us go to the Book of Mormon. To Mormon 4:86-88. In the LDS, it's Mormon chapter 9: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe." Doesn't this sound familiar? It's exactly as it is in Mark. Jesus repeats Himself in the Book of Mormon as a second witness. "And these signs shall follow them who... those who believe in my name, they shall do these things. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." This is the believers, all those who believe.

The testimonies of the saints, the early saints in the restored church, is replete with testimonies of non-priesthood men and women laying on hands, even anointing with oil, and healing spouses and children. And in the Relief Society, the women laid hands on each other and were healed. Emma Smith, Sarah Cleveland, and Elizabeth Whitney, all three of them ministered, it says, to Sister Smith. The following week, Sister Smith testified that she had been healed, and that she thought the sisters had more faith than the brethren. This comes from the minutes of the Nauvoo Female Relief Society, April 1842.

In their next meeting, Joseph Smith Jr. addressed the subject of the women exercising this gift of healing. You see, the reports of the women laying hands on one another and obtaining healings had seemed to cause a stir among some of the men. Joseph addressed this to the women by stating, "If God gave His sanction by healing, there could be no more sin in any female laying hands on the sick than in wetting the face with water." In that same meeting, he expressed support for the fact that some women were called by God to be able to heal the sick, and that it was their privilege to do so. Joseph ended his comments stating that, "quote, if the sisters should have faith to heal the sick, let all hold their tongues."

If you want to go on from that, two witnesses, the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The Doctrine and Covenants also says that the believers, or in other words, members of the church, can walk in these gifts of the Spirit, and it includes the gift of healing. All three books agree that those qualified to heal the sick are those who believe in Jesus and get baptized. But does everyone walk in this gift? The Apostle Paul answers that pretty well in First Corinthians 12:29-30, where he asks the rhetorical questions, "Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles? Have all..."

The gifts of healings, do all speak with tongues? And do all interpret? The answer here is no. You see, because he talks about how we are all members of the body of Christ. And if we're all an eye, then how would we hear? And if we were all a mouth, how would we walk? You see, we're all different members of the body, and each one of us have different ministries, and each one of us receive various gifts of the spirit. We don't all do the same thing. And so, some may have a gift to healing, where others have a gift of a word of knowledge. Some have gifts of prophecy.

In the Book of Mormon, in Moroni, it says, "And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they will come unto every man, severally, according as he will." You see, in other words, all the members of the body of Christ are given gifts. Any number of gifts, they may have several gifts, but we don't generally walk in all of the gifts. You see, we need each other. We all have our gifts and our talents.

And again, in Doctrine and Covenants, and they are all at section 46, 7c says, "And again, to some it is given to have faith to be healed, and to others it is given the faith to heal." This is given to the general membership of the church, not the priesthood alone.

And in the RLDS edition of the Book of Mormon, in Mormon 4:82-83, says, "And behold, I say unto you, he changeth not; if so, he would cease to be God. And he ceaseth not to be God, and he is a God of miracles. And the reason why he seeth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and they depart from the right way, and they know not the God in whom they should trust." So miracles begin to cease among the children of men. Why? Unbelief.

What sort of unbelief could prevent you from healing someone, laying hands on someone, and healing someone? Well, if you're told by the priesthood of the church that you're not allowed to do that, that it is only a privilege of the elders to lay hands upon the sick. Well, isn't that a form of unbelief? If the priesthood say you can't, or your traditions say that you can't, but you have three books of scriptures that say that you can, then in the mighty name of Jesus, and by his authority, by his spirit moving upon you, that you can do these things, that you can perform miracles, that you can lay hands on the sick, that you can prophesy. If you don't believe the scriptures, that's a form of unbelief.

And in the oldest version of the Book of Mormon, in Mormon 4:89-90, "And now behold, who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his saying? Who will rise up against the Almighty power of the Lord? Who will despise the works of the Lord, and who despise the children of Christ?"

You see, it is the entirety of God's word that is the truth. This has just been one example that I give to you when it comes to any matter or any doctrine or any truth or any question that we have as a people. We must turn to our scriptures, and in the mouth of several witnesses, we will find scriptures that cover these topics. But no one scripture necessarily covers the entirety of the truth. You see, we must see all of the scriptures, see what they have to say on the matter, and read them in context. And when we do that, it is the sum of God's word, the entirety put together in the proper context, that allows us to finally see the light and to see the truth and be set free.

In a church where the gifts of the spirit, and you can go read them in the books of scripture, all three books, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants, gives lists of the gifts of the spirit. They're to the body, and in those are the ability to heal the sick. If you believe those scriptures, if you believe that a church in its proper form has membership that is working in the gifts of the spirit. There are times when people don't get healed, and it's a mystery to us. We don't know the reasons why people have prayed, but the person hasn't gotten better. What do we do? That's where we turn to the book of James, and in the Doctrine and Covenants for more light on that same scripture.

So here we are in a church where healings are replete. We see healings everywhere. When people are healed left and right, and yet there are some in the body of Christ who are not being healed. What do we do? I call for the elders, they pray over them. There's no promise of a physical healing. There may be one. There may be one, but it's a blessing. And it says, "if they do die, they die unto the Lord; but if they live, they will live unto the Lord." Either way, they are blessed. They are blessed in Christ.

[Music]

In 1823, an angel of the Lord appeared to a young man and pronounced that a great and marvelous work was about to commence, beginning with the coming forth of an ancient record written by the former inhabitants of the land. This record was to be a second witness to the world, to convince both Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God. Its coming forth was prophesied in Ezekiel, that it, together with the Bible, would become one in God's hand, and that its job was to clarify and make plain the truth of the gospel and the doctrine of Christ. This ancient record was finally allowed to be retrieved and translated in 1829, and it took Joseph Smith less than three months to complete the translation. The people entrusted with this record, even the Book of Mormon, were instructed to take it to the Native Americans, the remnant of Lehi's seed, who were revealed to be a tribe of Manasseh.

The work God began with Joseph Smith was to bring forth out of obscurity and out of darkness the true and living church that was to be a light to the world, a city on a hill. This record, along with the living church, which is the body of Christ manifest in the world, were to be a powerful testimony of Christ. But Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word. Mark 4:14.

A dear brother in Christ, Todd Peterson, had an experience where the voice of the Lord told him to go back and study what I began through Joseph Smith. That work must get back on track. I believe his experience to be related to my own, when the Holy Spirit quoted to me Jesus's parable of the man who planted wheat in his field, only to have an enemy sow tares under the cover of darkness. After quoting this parable to me, the Spirit then stated, "This is the story of the Restoration. The importance of returning to that first work Joseph was called to was indelibly impressed upon my friend's heart and mind, and it has also worked in my own conscience."

And the obvious question, I believe, then is, if that is true, what did God first begin with Joseph? What work is it that has been sidetracked, which we must get back on track? I don't think many would argue that, aside from establishing that God still interacts with mankind today through Joseph's experience in the woods, that the work God first called Joseph to was the bringing forth of the Book of Mormon, and after that, to declare the fullness of the gospel to the world, including very specifically the Native Americans. The first elders, priests, and teachers were instructed to use the Bible and the Book of Mormon, as these two records used together were to correct many errors and make plain the truth of the doctrine of Christ.

The Lord has likewise revealed to me the importance of the Book of Mormon and its role in this work, even as he impressed upon me that its role was to be one of the fundamental principles I should bring forth in this teaching series. As I continue to study and pray about the subject, it has been revealed to me how this crucial record, the Book of Mormon, very quickly began to be displaced in its importance by another book that was not prophesied of, a collection of revelations that God specifically told the saints not to publish to the world.

The Lord had seen fit to bring forth out of the earth a second witness, the Book of Mormon, that would bear witness to the truth of the first record, the Bible. Additionally, the Book of Mormon was to help clear up many errors that had crept into the belief systems of the various Christian denominations and make very plain the doctrine of Jesus. In fact, it records Jesus plainly revealing his doctrine in its entirety to the ancient inhabitants of this land. That doctrine is in full agreement with the Bible and made even more plain, as he was able to share from the perspective of having already gone to the cross and been resurrected, having finished that work, making possible the reconciliation of man to God through the new covenant.

After he finishes outlining his doctrine in its entirety, from start to finish, Jesus finishes with a warning found in Third Nephi 5:32 (that's in the RLDS edition of the Book of Mormon, or Third Nephi 11:40 in the LDS), "And whosoever shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil."

The early church then published another book, which contained additional doctrines, and was even given the title of Doctrine and Covenants in 1835. I have been shown that the revelations published in this third book, which was then added to and updated from time to time, would soon begin to eclipse that which was written in the Book of Mormon in terms of becoming the principal guiding light in regards to all things concerning the church.

However, prior to the existence of this third book, back in 1829, when Oliver Cowdery was scribing for Joseph as he translated the ancient record of the inhabitants of this land, Oliver expressed his personal concern to the Lord in prayer, asking whether what he was scribing, the Book of Mormon, was truly from God. The Lord answered his concern by revelation, telling him to rely upon those things which are written, that being in the Bible and in the record that he was scribing, for in them are all things written concerning my church, my gospel, and my rock.

This revelation was later modified and printed as RLDS Doctrine and Covenants 16:1c, and in the LDS Doctrine and Covenants 18:34, where the words "the foundation of" were inserted to make it read, "For in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock." This wasn't an insignificant change. Why these words were inserted, changing a revelation from God, is anyone's guess. But the effect of adding those words seems plain enough, because the updated revelation now denies that all things regarding Christ's church and his gospel are found in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, but instead suggests that they contain only a foundation or a beginning point from which to build upon.

Chapter 4 of the 1833 Book of Commandments matches the original handwritten manuscript of the revelation as it was originally scribed and is currently housed at Brigham Young University Library for all to see. However, when it was later printed as Section 32 in the 1835 RLDS Doctrine and Covenants, or Section 33 of the LDS Doctrine and Covenants, changes were made from the original revelation, in which they removed completely an entire paragraph. That paragraph reads: "And thus, if the people of this generation harden up their hearts, I will work a reformation among them, and I will put down all lions and deceivings, and priests' crafts, and envyings, and strifes, and idolatries, and sorceries, and all manner of iniquities; and I will establish my church like unto the church which was taught by my disciples in the days of old."

Once again, there is no mention recorded anywhere in history as to why a revelation from God would be later edited to remove an entire paragraph. But the effect of removing this paragraph would be to remove the knowledge that it was God's plan to establish his church to be like the church we find preached by his disciples of old, which would be the New Testament church of the Bible and the New Testament church of the Book of Mormon. So whether intentional or not, the unintended effect of this could be to open the door for a different kind of church to be established, possibly one with other doctrines, or possibly even other gospel than that which was preached by the disciples of old, even as Paul warned the Galatians: "But even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed." Galatians 1:8.

Another change, for these early revelations, even changed the nature of Joseph Smith's role in this work. In the original revelation printed in the Book of Commandments 4:2, it states that he, meaning Joseph Smith, "has a gift to translate the book [the Book of Mormon], and I, this is the Lord speaking, have commanded him that he shall pretend to no other gift, for I will grant him no other gift." This would seem to be pretty final. This is Joseph's main gift and calling in this work, along with being a witness to the world and preaching and teaching the fullness of the gospel, along with the other elders, priests, and teachers.

But this revelation was changed in a very significant way when it was published again in 1835: "And you, Joseph Smith, have a gift to translate the plates; and this is the first gift that I bestow upon you; and I have commanded that you should pretend to no other gift until my purpose is fulfilled in this, for I will grant unto you no other gift until it is finished." Here we see that Joseph would have no other gift or work until after he completed the task of translation, which is the very opposite of what the original revelation states. With this change, Joseph was now able to engage in other works, including presiding over the church as the prophet, the president, and a seer. He would now be able to possibly translate other records, reveal additional doctrine, and continue to expand upon the basic precepts of the church.

Were these changes to the original revelations a correction? As some have suggested, perhaps the original revelation as written was an error? Somehow, there's only one who knows for sure who can answer that question, and he is a God who reveals the truth to all those who seek him out and are willing to hear the truth.

The Spirit of the Lord told my friend Todd, "Go back and study what I began through Joseph Smith. That work must get back on track." The Lord began with the Book of Mormon, a record so important that its coming forth was prophesied by Ezekiel: "Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in my hand." Ezekiel 37:19.

Joseph Smith and others who received patriarchal blessings learned by revelation that they were descendants of Joseph, the son of Jacob, and in particular from the tribe of Ephraim. The Book of Mormon reveals that those who wrote this ancient record were also descendants of Joseph, and more specifically, though from the tribe of Manasseh. The word "stick" referred to in Ezekiel is a word used to represent the scroll in Hebrew, or in our modern terminology, a book. With this understanding, let's look at the prophecy again: "Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will take the record of Joseph, the Book of Mormon, a record that was written by the descendants of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim (it was in the hand of Joseph Smith and others who are of the tribe of Ephraim), and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the record of Judah (that's the Bible), and we'll make them one record, and there shall be one in my hand." God's hand.

How important was this ancient record, the Book of Mormon? On February 9, 1831, the church received instruction: "And again, the elders, priests, and teachers of this church shall teach the principles of my gospel which are in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, and which is the fullness of my gospel." According to this revelation, these are the two records the church is to use to teach about Christ, and that there was nothing missing from it, but that it was the full gospel. The full gospel was to be found in these two records.

In First Nephi, it tells us about the words contained in the Book of Mormon, saying that "the things which are written in this record should be kept for the instructions of my people who should possess the land, and also for other wise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord." What was this "other wise purpose"? Second Nephi goes on to tell us that "in that day, the day when this record would go forth to the world, shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. And the meek also shall increase, and their joy shall be in the Lord. And the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine."

Then it mirrors what was written in Ezekiel, stating: "Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins, the descendants of Joseph of Egypt, shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah, the Jews, they shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins."

Here we have it: the truths contained in these two records, the Bible and the Book of Mormon, when we join them together and we act upon them, it will confound false doctrine, it will lay down contention, and it will establish peace among mankind.

An early revelation given through Joseph Smith in 1828, prior to the translation of the Book of Mormon, states the following regarding the purpose of the Book of Mormon: "And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that they were a branch of the house of Jacob; and I will bring to light their marvelous works which they did in my name. Yea, and I will also bring to light my gospel which was ministered unto them; and behold, they shall not deny which you have received." In other words, it will not deny the testimony of the Bible. The Book of Mormon will not deny the testimony of the Bible, but they shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me. And this I do that I may establish my gospel, that there may not be so much contention. Yea, Satan does stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine, and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them. Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery. For behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings. And if they will not harden their hearts, yea, if they will come that they may and partake of the waters of life freely, behold, this is my doctrine."

This is Christ speaking here in this revelation: "Behold, this is my doctrine: Whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. And whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore, he is not of my church."

Despite this warning within, only a few years later, they began to declare more than this as the doctrine of Christ. After this early revelation was given, revealing the true doctrine of Christ, the Book of Mormon was then translated, and its contents verified, stood in agreement with that revelation given in 1828. Of the Book of Mormon, Third Nephi says: "Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine." This is Christ speaking here to the inhabitants of this land, the Nephites. "And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father has given me. I bear record that the Father commandeth all men everywhere to repent and believe in me. And whoso believeth in me and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And who so believeth not in me and is not baptized shall be damned. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, that is not built upon my rock."

I am reminded once again of the parable of the man who sowed wheat in his field. The man in this parable represents the Lord, and it's a good seed he planted. It's the truth of the gospel as found in the New Testament church of the Bible and the New Testament church of the Book of Mormon, which are in agreement, which is again planted at the beginning of the restoration work with Joseph Smith. This good seed, the wheat, is sowed by Christ.

Please understand, I am not dismissing the revelations as printed in the Doctrine and Covenants. Many of them are certainly from the Lord, especially, I feel, the earliest ones, though some have been modified. I do believe that God spoke to Joseph from time to time, and that he did receive light and truth, and I embrace all that is good and true and in harmony with what is found in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. I'm not that smart or that wise that I can set out to tell you what is true or what isn't true. However, what I do suggest is that we follow principle number three and number four in this series. Regardless of who the revelation came through, whether we believe them to be a prophet or not, we are instructed by the word of the Lord not to trust in the arm of flesh, and that is principle three that we covered in the series. And whatever is given through that prophet, it must be in harmony with what was given before, and it must be established in the mouth of multiple independent witnesses, which is principle four that we covered. And this because all men are fallible and susceptible to error. We do not have to judge or decide what revelations are in error or from man or from the enemy. All we need to do for sure is to realize or come to understanding what is in harmony with what God has given before, and what has God firmly established in the mouth of numerous witnesses according to his word. And then recognize what has not been firmly established yet, and set those things aside, at least temporarily.

I've come to believe that the act of restoration God began with Joseph Smith was never completed, but rather came to a halt soon after the enemy in this parable, which is Satan, sowed tares under the cover of darkness into the field of the restoration, and the saints have not been able to properly discern the difference between the two. That is why Isaiah, referring to the northern tribes of Israel who had been scattered and lost, prophesied that "it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which are left from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea." Isaiah 11:11.

Ask yourself, when in all of recorded history did God ever recover the northern ten lost tribes of Israel the first time? Search your Bible history. He has recovered and gathered many of the Jews, the tribe of Judah, in the Middle East, as he prophesied that he would. But when did God previously restore the ten lost tribes? The answer is in the work begun with Joseph Smith and in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. Ephraim is at the head of the northern tribes, which became its own separate nation from that of the kingdom of Judah in the south, and it was named Israel in the Bible by God himself after the kingdom was divided, Judah in the south and Israel in the north. Since the time of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, God has been physically gathering the ten lost tribes from out of every nation, even the isles of the sea, as the Bible has prophesied would happen, and unto a gathering place for Israel, the northern tribes, even the great melting pot that is the United States of America. But God will also gather them spiritually, which is to awaken them to a knowledge of who they are and the covenants he has made with their fathers. This is an act of restoration. It will happen before the eyes of the entire world, and nothing can stop it.

Once again, I am reminded of what the Spirit of the Lord told my friend Todd: "Go back and study what I began through Joseph Smith. That work must get back on track." What began with Joseph Smith and others in the early 1800s got off track. God is calling us back to that original work to participate with him in this great act of restoration. God alone can restore us, but he's looking for people who will no longer follow after men, but make Christ alone their head. He is looking to dwell in such a body of people, even the living body of Christ on earth, whom the whole creation eagerly awaits for, even the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:19.

That is why God must set his hand a second time to recover us spiritually, so if we may know finally fully becoming his people, having discerned the difference between the wheat and the tares, by finally coming fully unto Jesus and having our very nature changed by his presence, that we may receive the full indwelling of his Holy Spirit. And this way, we can become the living church, even the body of Christ, fully manifesting the power and authority that can only come when we do the will of the Father. Only then can we finally and truly be a light to the world and a city set on a hill.

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In 2019, after I and others had previously received testimony of the Lord regarding a coming revival, I inquired of the Lord regarding how this revival would begin. The answer I received was, "It begins with genuine worship in spirit and truth." I knew this paralleled John 4:24, which says, "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." But why is worship so important to revival? You see, there can be no revival without the presence of the Lord. Or, in other words, without the presence of the Spirit. And genuine praise and worship, both in spirit and in truth, are essential to entering into his presence. Even as the psalmist wrote, "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise." Psalms 100, verse 4.

I am reminded of the dedication of the temple Solomon built in Second Chronicles 5:11-13. It says, "And it came to pass when the priests came out of the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves without keeping to their divisions), and the Levites who were singers, and all those of Asaph and Heman and Jeduthun with their sons and their brethren, stood at the east end of the altar, clothed in white linen, having cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, and with them 120 priests sounding with trumpets. Indeed, it came to pass when the trumpeters and the singers were as one to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, 'For he is good! For his mercy endures forever!' that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God." What a tremendous vision!

As you can see, genuine praise and worship of God preceded the presence of the Lord at the temple dedication. One of the components of true worship must also be the liberty to worship and praise God in an atmosphere that is free of judgment and restrictions that are based not on the word of God, but on the traditions of men. "Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." Second Corinthians 3:17.

Last summer, my wife and I went up north to the Great Lakes, Lake Superior, and the second night up there, I had a spiritual dream. It began with me standing at the back of a church sanctuary, watching Book of Mormon believers worship in spirit and in truth. The gifts were manifesting among them, and some were prophesying, others healing, but mostly they were caught up in the Spirit, just worshiping God. The Holy Spirit filled the place and everyone in it. As I was enjoying this wonderful scene, I became aware of a newcomer who was standing at my side. I do not recall who he was, but I somehow knew that he was an elder from one of the restoration branches. He seemed to be in awe, and then, almost as if he thought I was in charge or somehow responsible for what he was witnessing, he asked me, "How did you accomplish this?" I answered him that I didn't do it, but rather that we had simply stopped trying to run the church services and instead got out of the way and let the Holy Spirit preside over our meetings.

In Moroni 6:9, in the Book of Mormon, it states, "And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner and the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost; for as the power of the Holy Ghost led them, whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing, even so it was done." Moroni is talking about allowing the Holy Spirit to preside over every gathering of the church body. That's a vital way that the body of Christ can get connected and stay connected to its true head, even Christ.

There are many spirits abroad in the world, and we know that aside from the Spirit of God, there is also the spirit of Satan and the spirit of man that is at work among men, and that many false spirits are at work, even in the church, and some even pretending to be the Spirit of God, deceiving people and preventing the church from rising up to fulfill its destiny. But how can we know the true from the false? The wheat from the tares? Matthew 24:24 says, "For there shall rise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, in so much that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." This verse reveals that it's actually not possible to deceive the very elect, and if that is so, then it is very unlikely that we are at this point, anyway, the very elect.

So how do we become the elect, a people who cannot be deceived? The first six principles covered in this series are important truths that can help the saints avoid deception by understanding how God truly works. But it is the seventh principle, "Worshiping in Spirit and Truth," that is the gateway we must pass through that makes us the very elect. Let me explain. When we worship in spirit and truth, we go deeper than what book learning can accomplish, and we enter into his very presence. The scriptures indicate that we are changed by his presence. It is how we rise above simple religious belief and truly come to know God. To know him. The more we are in his presence, the harder it is to be deceived, thereby becoming the very elect, changed by his presence.

In Doctrine and Covenants 22 (that's in the RLDS version) or in the Book of Moses chapter 1, it says, "And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, and Moses was left unto himself; he fell unto the earth. And now it came to pass that Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me. And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan, and he said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God in the similitude of his Only Begotten. And where is thy glory, that I should worship thee? Blessed be the name of my God, for I can judge between thee and God."

As we see here, Moses was in the very presence of God when Satan came. It was easy to see the difference between the two. One was light, and one was darkness. It is the only way we can truly know and discern the false is to know the true, to truly know God. If we are to avoid being swept up in the coming great deception, or have any hope of helping others to do so, we must go so much deeper in our relationship with the Lord. It's time we stop playing at the shoreline of God's great blessings, instead of merely dipping our toes or swimming only in the shallow waters. God is calling us now to wade out into the deep with him, for "deep calleth unto deep." Psalms 42:7.

The Jews during the time of Jesus knew God from the scriptures that they revered. They knew the law, they knew the writings of the prophets. They memorized the word of God. They knew their scriptures backwards and forwards. Yet, when their God, the very One who had given them their scriptures, stood before them in the flesh, they crucified him. How did this happen? According to the Apostle Paul: "Now we have such trust through Christ toward God, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." Second Corinthians 3:4-6.

You see, the letter of the law, where the letter of the word itself can kill. We must go beyond the truth and into Spirit. That is why we must worship in spirit and truth. The Spirit gives life. The Spirit is relationship, relationship with the living God. That's the only way you can truly know him. You can know your scriptures and still be deceived. You can know your scriptures and still be working under the wrong spirit.

When Israel was led out of Egypt into the wilderness, they did not want to hear God speak, and thereby they rejected a personal relationship in favor of managing that relationship through Moses. The end result is that they did not truly know God. They were religious, yes. They were zealous for the law, a nation of priests and kings, it says. And yet, most of them did not really know God. How many Book of Mormon believers, or how many restorationists, or Mormons, are in the same predicament? They know a lot of things about God, but they don't really know him personally, intimately. Many have never heard the voice of God, or even imagine that he would speak to them. While the Israelites knew of God, they did not truly know him. And yet, the prophets, whom the Israelites often rejected or killed, they did know him.

How like the Israelites! The prophets started with the word of God. They knew the law and the scriptures, but they were not content with that. They desired more than just head knowledge. They wanted to go deeper. They had within them a deep, abiding hunger for God. And deep calls unto deep. True disciples, true disciples of Christ, go beyond religion. They step out in faith, and the word of God becomes a launching point into a very real relationship with a living God who reveals himself and his will.

There is much more that could be said on this topic, but I'm going to leave that possibly for other videos. More importantly, I leave it for you to explore genuine worship in spirit and in truth. It's the gateway we must pass through. You see, it brings us into his presence, and it is his presence that changes us, changes the heart, and causes us to become the very elect. We may all learn to do this as individuals, and we need to. But brothers and sisters, the time is soon coming, we must learn to do this together. We must set aside our differences, set aside our religious affiliations, our church denominations, set aside those things that are in question, things that God has not truly established in the mouth of multiple witnesses. Set aside many things that we have that have been added to our religion, but are they all from God? Let's get back to the core: the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and the great calling that God has given us as a people. Can we not unite under those main principles of which this work first began? For their sole purpose, not to create yet another denomination or another church, not to follow men, but to follow after God, to worship him, to praise him, to enter into his presence together, a people with many differences, focused on that which they can agree on, even Jesus the Christ, our great head, that we desire him above all else, that we desire to come unto him, for he has the answers. Can we not do this? This is my prayer, in Jesus' name, amen.

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