Truth Filling The Earth - The Vision of Daniel

Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
Forasmuch as though sawest that stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.  (Daniel 2:44-45) 

We live during a unique time in the history of the Earth.  Most people will not deny that, whether they believe in God or not.  However, for those that do believe and that also believe in modern prophets and modern revelation, this time is particularly important.  These are the end times of the world as we know it.  Someday the Lord, Jesus Christ will return to the Earth and usher in an era of peace for both the Earth and it's inhabitants.  However, to prepare for this era of peace (and judgement) it is necessary that the knowledge of the gospel be spread throughout the world.  God has an established pattern of calling prophets and apostles to spread His kingdom on the Earth.  Sometimes the prophets are rejected and there are none for a time, however we live in a time where there are prophets.  Since 1820 there has been a living prophet, called of God by revelation, on the Earth.  The gospel of Jesus Christ has spread throughout the world and continues to gain momentum despite those that oppose it.  This kingdom will continue forward until it fills the Earth and the inhabitants thereof have the opportunity to learn of and either accept of reject the teaching of Jesus Christ.  


The prophet Joseph Smith once gave the following statement in the Wentworth Letter, a document about the church and it's teaching that he prepared for a newspaper called the Chicago Democrat.  It is now called the Standard of Truth and has been very prophetic thus far in predicting the rise and progress of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Here it is:

The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, and calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say, 'the work is done.'   (Joseph Smith - The Wentworth Letter)

The gospel will continue to spread, even to areas where it currently is not allowed such as the middle east and mainland China.  One place where the church is relatively new is India, which has a population of nearly 1.2 Billion people.  Recently Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles had the opportunity to travel to India and establish the first Stake of the Church there (Read this news article here).  A stake is one of the fundamental units of the church, which consist of multiple smaller local congregations called wards.  (For reference sake there are around nine stakes in the town in Idaho that I am from).  However, this news means that the Church is growing in India and that the knowledge of the Lord is expanding to more of the Earth.  

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

The total membership of the Church as of December 31, 2011 was 14,441,346 (source), with just over 3 million of those in the United States (as of 2008, source).  The Church also has more members outside of the United States than they do in it, which hasn't always been the case.  Now take this into perspective for a minute; if the US, with a population of roughly 312 million people, has about 3 million members of the Church, imagine what a country like India could do for Church membership if the same ratio of members to total population were reached (the US population is roughly 0.0097% Latter-day Saints).  There would be 11.5 million members of the Church in India (based on a population of 1.2 Billion x 0.0097%).  That would nearly double the membership of the church. 


Now before you think that I only feel that numbers are important I want to assure you that they aren't, so to speak.  The only reason why the larger numbers in Church membership excited me is because it means that that many more people have had an opportunity to hear the gospel, accept it and decide to become a part of it.  That is what is important.  Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God (Doctrine and Covenants 18:10) and the more that can come to Him the better.  


We are living in a time and seeing the prophecy of Daniel coming to pass.  The kingdom of God has begun to fill the Earth and this Kingdom will never be destroyed because it is the truth and God is at the helm.  

The Patriarchal Blessing - Requesting a Copy

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who live worthily have the privilege of receiving a Patriarchal Blessing when they are old enough to appreciate such a blessing.  A patriarchal blessing is a special blessing, given by the ordained patriarch and authorized by using the Melchizedek Priesthood, that a person receives for their own guidance and benefit.  These blessings give counsel as well as promise blessings that can be those of the recipient if they keep the commandments of the Lord.  These blessings also reveal which tribe of Israel the person belongs to; Ephraim (Joseph), Judah, Levi, etc.  While such a declaration does not necessarily have any bearing on that person's position in the church it can help the person to understand the blessings that can be theirs if they are faithful.  The blessings are those that were promised to the sons of Isaac (Israel) in Genesis Chapter 49, as well as other blessings promised those the children of Israel from the Lord.  


A person only receives one patriarchal blessing from the patriarch during the course of their lives, however it should also be noted that any blessing given to a child by their father, by the Melchizedek Priesthood, is also considered a patriarchal blessing, although these blessings are not kept as official church records.  


These blessings are also considered sacred and are not to be generally shared with others, with the occasional exception of close family members or someone of a similar closeness.  Often, as is with most personal inspiration, the things revealed in the blessings are for the receiver only and would generally not benefit anyone else.  The Lord's house is a house of order and he does not give revelation to someone regarding someone else who they have no stewardship over.  


For those in the church who have received their Patriarchal blessing and are in need of another copy of it (for whatever reason), the church has enabled you to request another copy directly from the home page of LDS.org.  You can see a photo of the page below and the link to the site will also be posted below. 

Click "tools" and select "patriarchal blessing."

LDS.org

The Meaning of the Temple

"The temple is there to call us back to our senses, to tell us where our real existence lies, to save us from ourselves.  So let us go there often and face the reality, brethren and sisters."   - Hugh W. Nibley in Temple and Cosmos, vol. 12

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I have a fond admiration for the lessons learned in the house of the Lord.  The teachings of the temple center around Jesus Christ and those lessons teach us how to arrive back in the presence of our Heavenly Father.  However, despite my admiration, it is no secret that many in the contemporary Christian world despise the necessity of ordinances in order to obtain this blessing.  Many mock the temple as a foolish teaching of Mormonism, ignoring the fact of the importance that the symbolism of a temple has played in all eras of Christianity, dating back to Moses and continuing after the resurrection of Jesus Christ himself.  Many are unaware that (in both apocryphal writings, and otherwise) the Apostles gathered themselves together to fast and to pray after the Lord had once again ascended into heaven (see The Early Christian Prayer Circle by Hugh W. Nibley - FARMS at Brigham Young University, also The Acts of John apocryphal writings from the 3rd century AD).  If temples were needed by the Apostles after the ascension of Christ then we can rest assured that they are needed now, for God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  


Clearly the modern day temples are mysteries to those who are not enlightened by the Spirit of the Lord, but that does not destroy their importance nor the beauty of the revelations found in them.  In fact, Elder John. A Widtsoe of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said the following about the temple teachings in our day.

"The endowment is so richly symbolic that only a fool would attempt to describe it; it is so packed full of revelations to those who exercise their strength to seek and see, that no human words can explain or make clear the possibilities. . . . the endowment which was given by revelation can best be understood by revelation."  - John A. Widtsoe in Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine (April 1921)

The temple and its ordinances are designed to be mysterious to those who are not ready for the teachings, which are only understood by revelation.  So, it becomes the responsibility of every man and woman to learn about revelation from God and learn how to receive it for themselves before they will be ready to enter such a place that is so fundamentally  designed around receiving revelation.  In no other way can it be understood and it is foolishness to try and go about it any other way.  


Even without the understanding of what goes on in the temples, it is possible to understand why there are temples and why there have always been temples on the Earth.  In the following document by Hugh W. Nibley, we are taught about the history of temples from the beginning of the world to our present day.  And while specifics about the temple ceremonies are not given here (for this isn't the proper place for it) there is enough information given for someone to understand the reason why temples are, and have always been, so fundamental to civilization.  


While there is much that must be learned in order to understand the "why" of temples, do not be discouraged.  The prophet Joseph Smith taught

"There is nothing made known," said Joseph Smith, speaking of the day he taught the Twelve the ordinances of the temple, "but will be made known to all saints of the last days as soon as they are prepared to receive."But, know this, he said, they are only to be received by the spiritually-minded.  - Truman G. Madsen in The Temple and the Atonement

The following 10 pages contain the full text of the document "The Meaning of the Temple" by Hugh W. Nibley.  The citation for the document is given on the first page.

And It Came To Pass - Authenticity of the Book of Mormon

The phrase, "And it came to pass" occurs in the English translation of the Book of Mormon 1,381 times.  It is found in all books except the book of Moroni (the last book).  It can vary in how it is recorded, sometimes being used as "now it came to pass" or "for behold it came to pass" or "but behold, it came to pass" or "and it shall come to pass" but all variations contain the same root meaning.  


The phrase is not unique to the Book of Mormon, however.  The Bible uses the phrase, or one of its derivatives, some 613 times (526 in the Old Testament and 87 in the New Testament).  This supports the fact that the phrase "and it came to pass" is Hebrew in origin, which correlates well with the statement from Nephi, "Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians" (1 Nephi 1:2).  


It has been discovered that the Maya people, who lived in the Southeast part of Mexico and in Guatemala, may have adopted the phrase " and it came to pass."  Recent discoveries in the translation of the glyphs of the 7th Century Mayan ruins of Palenque show the phrase "and then it came to pass" and "it had come to pass" both used frequently.  Even more recently, another glyph has been directly interpreted as "and it shall come to pass."  This glyph has been named "Utchi" and it comprised of three separate glyphs; (U)T, CH and I.  Combined the three glyphs mean "and it came to pass."    

Three parts of the Utchi glyph

Here is a brief explanation of the glyphs history from "Things Mormon."

In 1985, a Mayanist scholar, Davit Stuart, observed that the Anterior Date Indicator (ADI) and Posterior Date Indicator (PDI) named by Eric Thompson functioned as a grammatical and literary feature both in colonial and modern Maya languages.  He speculated correctly when he interpreted the sound of the glyph as "Ut" in the Chol language and "Utchi" in the Maya language, meaning "to happen, or to come to pass." (Schele 1987:26)  Two years earlier, John Justeson and Will Norman found a consistency in an event indicator that appear as the word "IWAL," which means the action is ongoing at the time, such as "and" or "and then."  Together, UT_IWAL in the PDI in Maya glyphs read "and then it came to pass" or "and now it came to pass."   

It is interesting, and kind of ironic, that one of the things used to criticize the Book of Mormon has actually become one of the means to help prove its authenticity.  It is my testimony that the book is true and I am confident that as time goes on many other things will come to light to help further help the case of the authenticity of this great book.