The Restoration of all Things…
God in his infinite wisdom gave us the hope that all things would be restored to their proper form and function. ALL things will be restored and then brought up to date or revealed from the beginning of time.
What is restoration? Well according to the Online Dictionary, restore means:
"To return to live, bring back, repair that which is torn or broken, and bring back into original existence [paraphrased from various definitions found here... "Restore"]"
All of these definitions stand clear and also pertain to the restoration of the Gospel. We lost it, it was torn from our midst, it was broken (priesthood authority was severed). and other things.
The gospel was lost through persecution. The people stoned and killed the prophets. They were crucified, stoned, and murdered one by one, and eventually that power they held was lost for a great time. The dark ages were literally a time without the light of God on the earth. There was little or no progression and development.
The age of enlightenment was the beginning of blind acceptance of a gospel of men, preached to the masses without their knowledge of the truth. Those truths were lost to mankind or corrupted. The rites of the priesthood were twisted to fit the needs and desires of those that preached. Reformation-ists came along and tried to say that the truth was not contained in the Church of the time.
We find peace in knowing that God did not leave us alone. He prepared various families in advance, who were faithful and earnestly seeking for the truth to play a part in the restoration of all things. The blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness were long overdue to the people of earth. We needed His intercession on our behalf to get that done.
In 1820 a young man decidedly studied the words of God, frequented as many meetings as his strength and time would allow him to attend of various religious beliefs and determined in his mind and heart that he would ask God directly, after all God did tell him to do that… "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not and it shall be given him (Epistle of James 1:5)."
In such a vivacious time this young man became enamored with knowing which had a fullness of the truth and to which he should join. His answer was to ask God who was the fountain of all knowledge. This determination of a 14 year old boy showed great courage, because not many young men today would go to such lengths to know the truth, but rather would exert just as much power to hide the truth at any cost.
In any case, the Lord saw fit to clarify once and for all the biggest debate among the world religions. Who is God and how does Christ fit into the picture.
Joseph Smith Jr. prayed to learn which church to join and to know where truth lay. In this one event came the most sublime and blessed event in modern human history, God the Father AND His only begotten Son in the Flesh, Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph. God spoke to Joseph calling him by name and introduced Jesus Christ personally to the world once again. Joseph Smith Jr. though a boy received the ultimate witness of the divinity and distinction that God has and is.
God is the father of our spirits, the spirits of all men who have lived on the earth. Because we are His children, we are all brothers and sisters one to another (spiritually). He is our Father, there is no distinction between us and the 4th world countries of this earth. We are created in His image, we resemble him to an extent. He begat Jesus Christ in Spirit before he came to this earth as Jehovah, God of the Israelites, and as Jesus Christ in the Flesh. That is how Jesus Christ is the only begotten of the Father, not in spirit, but in Flesh! We are his brothers and sisters in spirit. We all hail from a royal line, God the Eternal Father.
This was reaffirmed by Jesus to his disciples, "And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God AND Jesus Christ whom thou has sent (emphasis added)." He is not referring to himself in both words here, for that would confuse, and that was not his purpose, but rather he is saying that He and His Father are two people; distinct in their reality, but united in bringing mankind unto salvation and "life eternal."
Whether the world chooses to believe this or not is up to them, but it does not diminish the fact that it is true. Why would the Savior pray to himself and ask for his own blessings. He did not do these miracles to glorify himself, but to glorify the father. Jesus asked his Father only to glorify him with the glory that he had before he came to earth, because he had been perfect in life, and only to give the ultimate glory to God anyway.
I know these things to be true. The reflect that all things have been restored to earth exactly as they were when Jesus setup his church on the earth during his own personal ministry. We now have access to all the blessings and rites that were part of the ancient church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His kingdom on the earth and it contains the fullness of the truth, restored to us through a prophet, the only functioning church with a prophet and 12 apostles found on the earth.
Such is the power to act in His name. It is just and true. In His Holy Name, even Jesus Christ, AMEN.
What do you mean when you say “the gospel was lost through persecution”? Who were these ancient prophets? Were they the historical apostles and theologians discussed in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible? Or do you also include the early popes of the Catholic church, since you say the Dark Ages was a time when the light of God wasn’t present on the Earth and the Dark Ages didn’t start until after the fall of Rome? How would you account for the technological and philosophical developments in the Far East during this time? Since Joesph Smith didn’t restore your Gospel, and therefore the light of God, until the 1800s, how do you incorporate the Renaissance into your time line?
I genuinely am curious about this. It is not my intention to be offensive with my questions, and if I have offended you then I am deeply sorry. I’m genuinely interested in your answers.
A few years ago I was chatting with a high school acquaintance who had recently returned from his mission in Switzerland. I mentioned in passing some research that was being done regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls, which include copies of Old Testament texts. He was surprised that any original copies of Bible texts in their original language were available for study at all, as if the Bible was given to the world in the same way as the Book of Mormon. Why do you think God would leave many original copies of these older texts on Earth, when there was only one copy of the text that has more significance for Latter-Day Saints, which God removed from Earth promptly after it was translated? I know God works in mysterious ways, but I would think if something was so vital to his Word he would want as much access to it as possible, so that people could study it and learn from it. Or do you feel that the Book of Mormon was so special and important that there could only be one original copy?
Diane said this on January 9, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Diane,
Your comments do not cause me alarm or offense in any way. I am pleased to have conversations about these topics with you. It will not hurt my feelings in the slightest. I know people who are intent on vandalizing my beliefs as opposed to those who earnestly seek to know the answer to a question.
You are welcome at all times to ask questions about the gospel. I am here as a resource. I do not excuse my comments mind you; I only share with you what I know to be true through a very detailed study of the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles and Prophets, in all areas of the world for most of my legitimate life (since I first began to read).
I say that your questions are well founded, and as we have true faith in Jesus Christ as our savior and redeemer we can come to a more perfect knowledge of these ideas and questions. Keep asking them, no offense taken!
As for your questions, regarding the prophets of old, that would be the prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ during and right after his ministry. Before the demise of the Apostles in their day, they took the Gospel to all the world; to both Jew and Gentile (as was the dream of Peter interpreted) and shared with them the Aaronic & Melchizedek Priesthoods, the one draw back to this is that the office of Apostle (which is a requirement of the Church of Christ) was not carried on when the churches rejected the whole truth and began to kill the Apostles. The Apostles could not pass on something if they were not in a corporeal (mortal or resurrected) state, you can’t ordain someone when you are not in the body (dead in spirit). This left the church without the leaders who held the keys of the kingdom and who held all power and authority to act in the name of Christ.
This felled the authority and the ordinances of the church like a forest at the mercy of an exploded meteor, it lay waste the entire church and its binding priesthood power. When this occurred, the authority to administer the ordinances (rites) of the church was lost.
To begin an answer on the other topics you have asked, please let me give some scriptural references beginning with the New Testament. In St. John Chapter 10 verse 16, the Lord speaking to his disciples said, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold (membership or world-wide church) and one shepherd (one leader – meaning Christ).
His intent was to illustrate to them that there were other people that were not living at Jerusalem (specifically the Americas) who would also hear the gospel from him. When Christ visited the people of the Americas after his resurrection, he told them in 3 Nephi Chapter 16 verse one, “And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister.” There were others that he would visit still. This was evident in many of the eastern cultures and their philosophy. This philosophy carried them forward for many generations. This is why many of the eastern cultures still do excellent Genealogy today. That was part of their heritage, passed down from when Jesus visited their ancestors (the wise fathers).
Continuing on in 3 Nephi Chapter 16 from verse 2 through verse 4, Jesus told the people in America,
“2 For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.
3 But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.
4 And I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes whom they know not of, that these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fullness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer.”
The reason that such things were not preserved for the world is the world is not ready to have the fullness of the truth revealed. We still cannot get the simple commandments like Love God and love men as ourselves down, why would he give more or reveal more about future events if we are not willing to listen to the actual events that have transpired.
A second reason is we have not as a people (human race) sufficiently humbled ourselves to merit these things. As he said to the American Church (in Book of Mormon times), the people in Jerusalem had to “…ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes whom they know not of…”
Why then would the eastern philosophies have such a period of enlightenment? They held onto many of the teachings that were left to them by Jesus when he visited them after his resurrection; something that the world does not accept today, yet it is before them, just as plain as the nose on my face. The Book of Mormon is Another Testament (like the Old & New Testaments) of Jesus Christ. It holds the mysteries of the kingdom and fullness of the Everlasting Gospel within its pages.
Men are free to read these things. They are a true record. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has made difficult effort to get all the teachings & doctrines of the church into the hands of all men. They are available on the Internet in their fullness.
The challenge to the world is using faith to ask God a specific question, is the Book of Mormon true? And if it is will you make it known to me in such a manner (by the power of the Holy Ghost)? If it is a true record then he who translated the record is a true prophet (Joseph Smith Jr.), and if that is the truth then The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the fullness of the Gospel. If that Church has the authority and the fullness then all men need to join themselves with it, so there is “…one fold and one shepherd.” It had to be restored because it was lost. Authority cannot be restored by any act of man once they lose it; that power is the power of God.
His ways are mysterious, and for this reason His ways were and remain mysterious. We would be putting a beautiful white Persian rug as a welcome mat at Dodger’s Stadium in Los Angeles. It would serve no purpose other than to be trampled under the feet of mankind. They would not esteem its true value.
The record from which the Book of Mormon is translated was taken back by the Lord because people would hold its weight in gold more valuable than its true worth (spiritual). As you know, the world still rejects the word of God and will not appreciate it with great value.
The reason the Lord would leave these original texts of the Bible on the earth is they were already had in the world, and they could not be melted down for gold bullion. These are meant as a support to the truths evident in the Bible, to throw out the naysayers claims that the Bible is lore and/or myth, or the opiate of the masses. It really happened and many of the accounts (yes, men witnessing the actual events) help us visualize the incentives (either positive or negative) that are promised within their pages. The bible is a compilation by men of the many different writings that were discovered or available to King James’ coalition at the time it was translated. These new things are just coming to us now. The LDS church is a very large player in the translation, preservation, and identification of these texts. The BYU campus has been home to the Dead Sea Scrolls for much of their natural life, using microbiology to piece together the fragmented texts in the correct order. We are just as enthusiastic to see what they contain as is the rest of the world.
That Dead Sea Scrolls and the other recent ancient texts that were discovered in our epoch and are just now being translated didn’t even come to light until the 1930-40’s, and even then they remained a secret to many because of the possibility they could overthrow a particular religion or another. They too, just like the Book of Mormon record, have been preserved and protected by God to come to forth at this time, when we have the technology to restore the record to near original state. These records didn’t come to us in such a dramatic a way as the Book of Mormon, because of the time (epoch) in which it was translated.
The economy in the days of Joseph Smith was very much like it is today. Banks were failing, and people were losing everything they had. Even the crops did not grow and whole harvests were lost. People were looking for something because they were destitute and it came in the form, once again, as a spiritual thing instead of a physical manifestation. The gold it was made of easily equated to a massive fortune at that time. It could have bought a whole string of banks. It was after this spiritual thing (The Book of Mormon) came about that the physical needs of the nation were suddenly taken care of (a fruit of faith and of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ).
I hope that these answers have not in any way offended you. They are as clear as I can make them, and I hope that in doing so I don’t appear condescending in any way. I am not trying to by any means. I tell you what I know and how I have seen these events play a part in the shaping of the developments of mankind since the events have begun to be unfolded.
I love these types of conversations because they help me to bring all my learning together to a focal point and utilize that knowledge toward answering an honest question for a good friend. I appreciate your genuine desire to know. What you do with them is up to you and God, for it is he to whom you are ultimately accountable. I am glad for that. I consider you a great friend who has a wonderful intellect, beyond that of many, a great gift of God, and a very clear identity of choice on you part!
Keep sending your comments and questions they inspire me to keep my blog fresh. It also helps me spend less time watching movies and spend more time with my family!
Thank you!
Jeremy
darringfam said this on January 11, 2009 at 9:27 pm