"Denial and Reclusion" (a short essay)

“Denial and Reclusion” cji 2/20/16

In a world living in denial and reclusion men/women have chosen conflict, confusion, contention as their road to traverse this mortality. Making everything difficult, almost impossible, valueless, committing to the worldly way of justification. Never at any other time has it become more apparent the number of those who can see being blind, those who can hear being deaf, those who can feel being cold and non-responsive to the truths of why we’re here, where we came from and where we’ve the potential to go. Replacing self-responsibility and accountability is the socialistic plan of Satan and his minions – called welfare, entitlement, excuse for obedience – and the denial of absolute truths. Men/women who rather join their peers – follow the crowds – avoid being different – thus becoming reclusive to their true nature as children of the one and living God and his only begotten Son. Having ignored the basics – embracing to be put under dominion of another either government or in slavery to the masters of their fates.

We need to get back to the basics. Back to the basics would mean to simplify truth. To simplify truth one must know what is true and what is not. One must take the Scriptures (all of them) literally! Doing away with the interpretations/translations and misrepresentations of men/women. Sadly the men/women of this world are in denial and reclusion when it comes to truth. Therefore it comes to the issue of the basics. Common sense - reason - and what's been repeated over the centuries - 'if it doesn’t make sense it most likely isn't true' and that when confusion/contention come into play it is not of the Lord!  

When one reads Isaiah (a commandment from the Savior for all men/women to understand) - the message is pretty clear - so very few will and even fewer who do read will never understand. Isaiah speaks on two themes: 1) the Mortal and Millennial Lord; and 2) the Covenant people (men/women of this world). The presentation on the mortal and millennial Lord are clear and concise leaving no grounds for misunderstanding what is being said. Now to deal with the Covenant people - you and I - everyone born into this mortality. Understand this is very concise: 1) Isaiah gives a diagnosis of what is going on: 2) he then gives a prescription of how to correct the problem/illness/what is wrong; 3) then he presents the prognosis - what is going to happen if one obeys the prescription or if one ignores part or completely the prescription. The choice is always ours to be obedient and willing or to follow men/women instead.

The world is corrupt - very much so - outside of the educated probably 90%+ haven't a clue what's outside their villages. So what the top .05% or less do (those who supposedly lead) matters less to them - and as a result power corrupts and thus they thirst at any cost for more power. Satan sub-contracts (i.e. 'let me play the devil's advocate') has so many helpers they even appear idle (but they are never allowed to be idle). Satan is a very demanding task master - so those who have it easy feel he's resting when in fact he's already got them where he wants them. Those who on the other hand are in the Refiner's Fire daily understand the meaning of 'enduring to the end' and therefore make applicable that what the Lord wants and not men/women. I'm pretty forward - something is either right or wrong - there is no gray - not any - for gray is just a part of black/darkness/illusion/illusive/opaque/non-transparent and therefore cannot be clear/white/transparent or make common sense.

A simple common sense type test:

1. God is not a God of confusion - so would there be one church or many?

2. God is unchanging - so what would he teach if he were here?

3. God is eternal and we're made in his image - what might we become if we become like him?

4. God has no contention - therefore what in the world of contention is from God?

5. God is a God of miracles/revelations - then why do men/women teach these have ceased?

6. God has always and always will work through Prophets he's called - not who've called themselves - has this changed - making him a changeable God?

7. When men/women repetitively repeat the "Lord's Prayer" what do they ask for? 'Thy Kingdom Come...' if this is the case we've been told in the Scriptures the Kingdom will be established prior to his coming so he has a kingdom to come to ... where is that kingdom?

8. How would this kingdom be organized?

9. Is there such a kingdom now on earth organized the way the Church was organized during the meridian of time? If yes - where? If not - why not?

10. If God is perfect - and men/women are not - why do men/women follow other men/women and not God?

Each of these questions has a definitive answer - if you understand the Scriptures literally - having read them yourself - and pray to understand them - and do what they say to do - however, most pay someone else to interpret them for them - pay them to practice 'pure religion' - to act in behalf of them (governments - clergy - Inman - clerics - rabbis - priests - college professors - and the list is endless who men/women follow and pay well in most cases). Thus we learn men/women put their trust/faith/love in the worldly rather than in their God. This leads to sub-contracting - which leads to larger organizations - which leads to government - who then feel empowered to practice 'Pure Religion' making the people pay for it indirectly skimming off the top more and more for their own uses and it is not for the general welfare of neither nations, people or the world.

God has been replaced by organizations - not created or authorized by him - but self-assumed by men/women. This was done not by 'delegation of authority' but assumption of authority by those unauthorized to do so and it's been going on for several thousand years. People don't want a Prophet (unless he's a dead one) to lead them - therefore they reject those called by authority from God - to establish his kingdom on this earth. He inspired the Constitution so there could be freedom in the land for his kingdom to be restored in these latter-days - and it has whether men/women choose to believe it or not. All of the time one can hear about the 2nd Coming - and this can only occur after his Church (Kingdom) has been restored first. Let's understand - the Lord knows what has taken place - he sees how men have rejected him as they did throughout history - but he also knows that the few who've believed them can receive all of the saving ordinances covenanted with his Prophets in the past and those on the earth today. Men/women have their agency to choose the right or wrong - but once choosing the wrong they've to repent - come back into full obedience with the Commandments and the Covenants they made in the pre-existence with the Father and the Son prior to coming to this earth. Now we’ve a world choosing denial and reclusion – rather than truth and covenants based on obedience.

Read Isaiah – ponder and study – read the Bible – the Book of Mormon – why because they testify of Jesus Christ – of Heavenly Father – of the Holy Ghost – three separate and distinct individuals. Indeed they make two witnesses – (TWO) – and the only reason most read neither is because men/women disciples of the adversary tell them not to – and that they’ll teach them, provide for them, rule over them, make their decisions for them which is where the world is headed – and will be completed upon the destruction of the Constitution of the US. Let’s understand – as long as there’s righteous men/women – obedient to the Commandments and Covenants – the Constitution will stand. Nothing is easy – trials and tribulations will be numerous – enduring to the end is essential – and most will not endure but will submit, surrender, give up – but still a few will endure to the end.

Answer Guide:

1. God is not a God of confusion - so would there be one church or many? One

2. God is unchanging - so what would he teach if he were here? the Scriptures and the Prophets

3. God is eternal and we're made in his image - what might we become if we become like him? Eternal

4. God has no contention - therefore what in the world of contention is from God? Nothing

5. God is a God of miracles/revelations - then why do men/women teach these have ceased? only because men/women have told the world so - (Miracles and Revelations are continuing always)

6. God has always and always will work through Prophets he's called - not who've called themselves - has this changed - making him a changeable God? He is not a changeable God and His Prophets are still alive and well today.

7. When men/women repetitively repeat the "Lord's Prayer" what do they ask for? 'Thy Kingdom Come...' if this is the case we've been told in the Scriptures the Kingdom will be established prior to his coming so he has a kingdom to come to ... where is that kingdom? The Kingdom is on this earth today - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - with a Prophet and Apostles

8. How would this kingdom be organized? The same as when the Church was organized during the Ministry of the Mortal Messiah.

9. Is there such a kingdom now on earth organized the way the Church was organized during the meridian of time? If yes - where? (See 7 above); If not - why not? - Because men/women say it is not

10. If God is perfect - and men/women are not - why do men/women follow other men/women and not God? Because they follow the plan of the adversary men/women running governments and using socialism/dictatorships/demi-gods/kings/queens exercising unrighteous dominion (or what we've got today in the world)

“Denial and Reclusion”

cji

2/20/16

Living a fake life of meaning

pretending to be in love

loving the Father and Son

without the Commandments

then praying for peace

leaving behind the reality

embracing entitlements

including as they wish

welfare, salvation, heaven

believe one goes either

to heaven or to hell

forgetting Paul’s teachings

ignoring what they read

in denial of the basic truth

in reclusion from the right

a fake life of meaning living!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

"Relentlessly"

“Relentlessly”

cji

2/6/16

Continuously pounding

feeling the beach moving

shells by the thousands

broken and punished

once beauties of the deep

now and then one complete

having survived the journey

much like you and I

tossed and tumbled

daily within the mazes

journeys on the beaches

the rushing waters pound

verbal abuses and worse

relentlessly attacked

values, morals, virtues

till as the shells broken

giving in to the worldly

unlike the one here there

able to endure to the end

not perfect but still whole

complete and obedient

relentlessly the adversary

pounding as the waves

telling us as the thousands

give up enjoy the beach

broken and trashed!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

"Hope and Change" (non politically correct look and our nation today)

Voting is a privilege which all legal Americans have in the United States of America. If you meet the age, citizen requirements and have clean record – you can vote! Sadly our Oligarchy doesn’t provide us with much of a choice – and the MSM (Main Stream Media) is a joke in their support of who pays them the most. Thus while we’ve the privilege to vote we do not have the privilege to pick and choose the candidates until the Caucus’ and or the general elections. At this point all of the potential for any hope or change is negated by behind the scenes compromises. Without choice we’re no better than a benevolent dictatorship who tells us who to vote for while allowing us to vote.

Trust is a key word in all relationships – without trust there is no relationship except that of the parasite and host. Within marriage – family and religion one has to have trust in those around them – when as a child my adopted parents told me I should listen to them – however, I replied – if you had more confidence in the way you raised me you’d have more trust in my judgments. When one doesn’t even know who you are – they act as if they own you! Which is the current relationship between our government and the people of the US. They neither trust us or our judgments – and therefore exercise ownership rights of ownership to control us; i.e. this translates to Slavery! They separate us in classes – rich – poor – middle-class – white – black – other – and thus play one against another not unlike divorces parents and their off-spring. Instead of reality – it is all a big game and the bully will always rule over the roost until a bigger bully comes along.

Our current government represents some of the greediest – foulest – selfish people our nation has to offer in the top elected and appointed positions. We’ve druggies, criminals, adulterers, guilty of treasons, admitted baby and mother killers, liars, cheaters, and some of the worse of the power brokers who constantly sell our nation and the people to the lowest or highest bidder depending on what they’re offered in return. If any of the so-called citizens (honest – law abiding) did what any of them have done we’d have been tarred and feathered, hung, and at the least behind bars for life. At no time in our recorded history have so many done so much wickedness in the leadership role to defend and protect the Constitution of the US. Criminals are running the nation – and thus the street wise criminals are getting away with murder and worse. Our judges are corrupt to the point an admitted liar – who’s running for the head office – has said a known druggie with questionable birth credentials could be appointed to the Supreme Court or even the head of the UN (which is another part of the problem). Our nation now bows to others in apologetic sorrow for having preserved this sorry world through multiple wars and conflicts providing the only hope for freedoms which are unknown in most of the world.

Let’s understand without the US and it’s freedoms there are no other nations in this world which would have even the minimal freedoms they enjoy. Do away with the US and the world would come under the dominion of the ‘king of the mountain’ – currently being vied for by China, Russia and ISIS (or Islam). This is what those currently in our leadership are striving for – that the US come under World Law – and therefore be subjected to the laws of those who absolutely hate the US and all it stands for in freedom! No other nation hates us for a lack of faith – immorality – lying – cheating – lack of family values – but only because we keep them from absolute powers. Shakespeare has forewarned the world, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” Sadly when looked at this way there is no room for freedoms – religion – families – or anything of value because the world of acting is just that – pretending to be real but unreal in all ways. However, from a power view point – everyone who adheres to Shakespeare wants to be the director!

Therefore with the above in mind I revert to my usual muse and provide the following:

“Hope and Change”

cji

2/5/16

First there’s hope from birth

we’ve come from Father above

filled with the joy of childhood

looking forth to mortality

able to make choices for self

enjoying for the briefest instant

hope and change realized

then upon awakening wherever

learning of thirst, hunger, cold

seeking change to meet all three!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

(1)

“Hope”

cji

2/5/16

Flying free the beach birds

carried by the winds above

allowed to land for feasting

seeking those of our kind

looking forward to flight

landing – sleeping – feasting

unaware of the time lines

remembering not being born

thus without cares of endings!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

(2)

“Change”

cji

2/5/16

Crushing in change immobile

rustling some of the feathers

no longer able to fly freely

captured by death and sand

noticed by few but carrion

drifting no longer in the winds

change not accounted for

changing from life to death

from freedoms to slavery!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

(3)

“Hope”

cji

2/5/16

Strong shelled and huge

able to fend off enemies

presenting strength once

menacing in appearance

like our government seen

made to protect freedoms

while providing choices

following the rules of order

the Constitution for all

hope in a dream by all!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

(4)

“Change”

cji

2/5/16

Left in the sands of death

uncovered as the enemy

having deceived the elect

making fun of the laws

mimicking dictatorships

king and queen royalty

spending – vacationing

could one say ‘fiddling’

while the Constitution burns

their hand tearing the pieces

under the guise of hope/change!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

(5)

“Hope”

cji

2/5/16

Increasing in our lifetime

is the hope of the return

to the foundations of freedom

to the roots of our ancestors

all religions, colors, creeds

desiring a oneness of purpose

freedom – which has a cost

all have to participate within

none can just be takers

love is essential for this hope

the first two great Commandments

embrace this eternal love

without this love there is no hope

a world in denial of our Father

thus denying his beloved Son

is without hope, love, or life

they’ll live, die, and nothing more

yet we who know the Father

understand the Scriptures

trust in the Lord our Savior

have hope of the eternal

giving our all while here

obedient and serving others

to achieve this same hope!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

(6)

“Change”

cji

2/5/16

Change only is internal

to be long-term lasting

our nation has to change

our attitude has to change

our leadership has to change

fear and incentive temporary

all our leadership provide

their change is limited

without the incentives

there’s no reason to change

without fear no reason to change

only what’s internal can change

and our nation is 50%+ parasites

living off of the other 49%- host

without morals, values, truths

slavery increased they know

ever more oppressed to be

blaming others for their state

giving the government free pass

to bind them in chains of hate

refusing to change selfishly

destroying all about them

but most of all themselves!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

“Change and Hope”

cji

2/5/16

There’s a difference in meaning

changing to being obedient

to the Commandments of God

living God’s Law needed today

very foundation of Constitution

‘God’s Law’ through the centuries

known to Alfred the Great well

practiced by the Nephi’s 200 years

taught by the Savior always

obedience-obedience-always

then comes a change of heart

internal and eternal forever

change provided knowing hope

knowing of the covenants made

between us and our Father

found in all of the Scriptures

made in love and understanding

change and hope still there

reaching out each must do

unselfishly enduring to the end

change and hope only through

our Heavenly Father and his Son!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

"Deistic Belief Systems - and talk on the God Head"

Hi All – over time and place of the past 60 years I’ve written, spoken, and tried to be an example of a ‘truth seeker’. By sharing experiences – discerned study – careful analysis – reasoned questioning – my life reflects travel from 3000BC to the present day of the teachings of the Father, His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ (our Lord and Savior) and the Holy Ghost! This include reading and studying the teachings of all of the Prophets who there is written material which can be directly attributed to them – and witnesses to their truthfulness. What is below is a presentation From an address, “The Godhead,” delivered during the seminar for new mission presidents at the Provo Missionary Training Center on June 23, 2013 by Elder Jeffery R. Holland of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This contains true doctrine – which one can pray about. I add only a short thought to go with it – and this reminder either The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true or it is false! I know it to be true – others disagree – but each of our eternal salvation’s depend on the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ prior to his 2^nd coming to rule and reign on this earth. Thus the only Church who claim this restoration is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – therefore if this is true – then there is but one true Church on the earth today – if it is false then there is no true church (all are creations of men/women) and therefore deistic in their teachings – and void of the authority to act in either the name of the Father or the Son. Does this sound like hard doctrine – to some yes – but if one applies the teachings found in the Scriptures (all of them inclusive-translated correctly) – common sense and understanding then it is easy doctrine. May each of you have blessings needful in your lives – you are my friends – sharing truth is the only reality which makes any sense to me – I testify of in the name of Jesus Christ – amen – c/ork

*A belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation (distinguished from theism ). 2. belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.

“Knowing the Godhead”

By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2016/01/knowing-the-godhead?cid=HP_FR_1-29-2016_dPFD_fLHNA_xLIDyL1-A_&lang=eng#listen=audio

We are to know these Divine Beings in every way we can. We are to love Them, draw near to Them, obey Them, and try to be like Them.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God.”¹Furthermore, he added, “I want you all to know Him, and to be familiar with Him.”² We must have “a correct idea of his … perfections, and attributes” and an admiration for “the excellency of [His] character.”³

I wish to expand the Prophet’s challenge to us and say that we and our missionaries, our members, and our investigators must know for a certainty the character of the members of theGodhead. We must have a correct idea of Their individual perfections and attributes and an admiration for the excellency of Their personal character.

It is not happenstance that the first article of our faith is “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost” (Articles of Faith 1:1). The message is clear for all who teach the gospel. There is no point in going on to the other truths we believe if we haven’t fixed in our minds and in the minds of those we teach the preeminent role of the Godhead in our doctrine and in our eternal destiny. We are to know these Divine Beings in every way we can. We are to love Them, draw near to Them, obey Them, and try to be like Them.

When we bring people into the Church, we are not baptizingthem into the Church of a man, whether that man be Joseph Smith or Brigham Young or Thomas S. Monson—revere those prophets as we do. And we are not baptizing them into the Church of happy families or of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

When we bring people into the Church, we baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. In doing so, we are leading them back to the presence of the Father through the ministry, Atonement, and grace of His Son, with the influence of the Holy Ghost guiding them to this goal. We must always keep uppermost in our minds this preeminence of the Godhead as both means and end as we undertake the work of salvation.

If, as King Benjamin counseled, we truly know these Divine Beings whom we serve and make certain They are not strangers to us and are never far from the thoughts and intents of our heart (see Mosiah 5:13), then we might have the results King Benjamin had. And what were those? His people experienced “a mighty change,” had “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually,” and were “willing to enter into a covenant … to do [God’s] will, and to be obedient to his commandments in all things that he [should] command [them], all the remainder of [their] days” (Mosiah 5:2, 5).

That was the impact of King Benjamin’s teachings upon his congregation, and it is a perfect scriptural definition of the real growth in our converts we are emphasizing as we establish the Church in “all the world” (Mark 16:15).

As the Savior Himself taught, missionary work—the work of salvation—is like a net that we are throwing to a wider and wider world of nations, cultures, and people. As such, we will gather, as the parable says, fish “of every kind” (Matthew 13:47). Many of those “fish” in our expanding frontier do not know who God is or what His Fatherhood is actually like; they do not know who Jesus Christ really is or why His is the only name given under heaven whereby we may be saved (see Acts 4:12); they do not know who the Holy Ghost is or why this member of the Godhead “was sent forth to teach the truth” (D&C 50:14).

Knowledge of the Godhead

Of course, there are a lot of other things these fish gathered of every kind don’t know, but if they are to embrace the restored gospel and truly find salvation for their souls, it will have to begin with some knowledge and understanding of the members of the Godhead. Ultimately, “true and saving worship is found only among those who know the truth about … the Godhead and who understand the true relationship men should have with each member of [what one of the Brethren has called] that Eternal Presidency.”⁴

Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reminded us that Lucifer understands the significance of such doctrine, even if we don’t. He said:

“There is no salvation in believing … false doctrine, particularly a false or unwise view about the Godhead or any of its members. …

“It follows that the devil would rather spread false doctrine about God and the Godhead, and induce false feelings with reference to any one of them, than almost any other thing he could do.”⁵

So no investigator can come into this Church with a realtestimony, with real conversion, with what we are seeking for and calling real growth in each convert, unless he or she has had at least the beginning of some personal, spiritual, true experience with God. That kind of true experience can come only when there is the realization that He is a real being, an actual person, a literal Father of flesh and bone who speaks and sees and feels, who knows all His children’s names and all their needs, who hears all their prayers, and who wants all His children in His Church. These investigators need to know He has a plan for their salvation and that He has given commandments as to how we find our way back to Him.

A God who cares about them as tenderly as a parent cares for a child cannot be an ethereal mist or a vague philosophical First Cause or a deistic absentee landlord. He must be recognized for what He truly is—a merciful, compassionate Father, in whose image every one of His children has been made and before Whom all of us will one day again stand—and then kneel! Few of our investigators will know that kind of God now, in or out of contemporary Christianity.

In that regard, it is most significant that lesson 1 in Preach My Gospel begins with the simple declaration that “God is our Heavenly Father.”⁶ In that lesson the first determination missionaries are to make is what each person being taught understands regarding the true nature of God.

If missionaries can get a proper understanding of God in the minds and hearts of their investigators at the outset of their teaching, everything else will fall into place much more easily in all the instruction that follows.

The Mission and Message of Jesus Christ

In like manner, elder, sister, and investigator alike must appreciate much more than they do the majesty of the mission and message of Jesus Christ, who came down from the Father and taught what the Father taught Him. All must come to realize that Jesus came into mortality to show us the way, the truth, and the life. Indeed, He is the only way, the whole truth, and theperfect life. As such, He is the only child in the human family of whom the Father can fully and completely say, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 17:5).

We are to have faith in Christ, trust that He has redeemed us from death physically and hell spiritually, accept His Atonement as the only means of reconciling ourselves before God, and acknowledge that there is no other path to salvation. The world, if it is to be redeemed, must bend its knee and with tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of the living God. We need to teach with faith and fervor “the doctrine of Christ” (Hebrews 6:1; 2 John 1:9; 2 Nephi 31:2, 21; 32:6; Jacob 7:2, 6) as declared in the scriptures and as summarized in lesson 3 ofPreach My Gospel.

Our fish of the far-flung net need to know that the Holy Ghost is the member of the Godhead with whom they will have their most frequent and most intimate relationship as they receive the missionaries and pray for heavenly guidance regarding their message. It is this member of the Godhead who will leadinvestigators to truth and will then bear witness of that truth when they encounter it. The investigators must be taught to recognize the Spirit when it manifests itself during the course of the lessons. Certainly the missionaries must understand the Holy Ghost’s divine role in the conversion process and must strive to carry the Spirit with them at all times.

“Unto what were ye ordained?” the Lord asks. “To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth. …

“Wherefore, he that preacheth [by the Spirit] and he that receiveth [by the Spirit], understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together” (D&C 50:13–14, 22).

We can be absolutely certain that it will not go well—for the missionaries or for their investigators—if we slide past our teaching of the Divine. We must not point toward mortal leaders before we have taught and testified of celestial ones. We must not try to teach ancillary truths before we have taught the fundamental ones. We must not rush toward baptism and the goal of a new convert before we have taught true faith in God, explained the need for true repentance in Christ, and made certain that those crucial first shoots of a convert’s growing testimony are kept strong and viable through the nourishing agency of the Holy Spirit.

Christian Confusion

Regarding the distinct nature of these Divine Beings, our latter-day revelations teach that “the Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit” (D&C 130:22).

You can’t get a baseline statement clearer than that! But unfortunately, nearly two millennia of Christian history have sown terrible confusion and near-fatal error in this regard. Many evolutions and iterations of religious creeds have greatly distorted the simple clarity of true doctrine, declaring the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost to be abstract, absolute, transcendent, immanent, consubstantial, coeternal, and unknowable; without body, parts, or passions; and dwelling outside space and time.

In such creeds, all three members are separate persons, but they are a single being, the oft-noted “mystery of the trinity.” They are three distinct persons, yet not three Gods but one. All three persons are incomprehensible, yet it is one God who is incomprehensible.

We agree with our critics on at least that point—that such a formulation for divinity is incomprehensible. With such a confusing definition of God being imposed upon the Church, little wonder that a fourth-century monk cried out, “Woe is me! They have taken my God away from me, … and I know not whom to adore or to address.”⁷ How are we to trust, love, and worship, to say nothing of striving to be like, One who is incomprehensible and unknowable? What of Jesus’s prayer that it “is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent”? (John 17:3; emphasis added).

It is not our purpose ever to demean any person’s belief or the doctrine of any religion. We extend to all the same respect for their doctrine that we ask for ours. (That too is an article of our faith.) But no less a source than the stalwart Harper’s BibleDictionary, the gold standard in that field, records that “the formal doctrine of the Trinity as it was defined by the great church councils of the fourth and fifth centuries is not to be found [anywhere] in the [New Testament].”⁸

So we are very comfortable, frankly, in letting it be known that we do not hold a fourth- or fifth-century, pagan-influenced view of the Godhead, and neither did those first Christian Saints who were eyewitnesses of the living Christ.⁹ We are New Testament—not Nicene—Christians.

The Unity of the Godhead

However, I now quickly stress that when we have made the point about the distinctiveness of Their persons, it is equally important to stress how unified They are and how truly One the Godhead is. I think I am safe in saying that part of the reason we are so misunderstood by others in the Christian tradition is because in stressing the individual personages of the Godhead, we have not followed that up often enough by both conceding and insistingupon Their unity in virtually every other imaginable way. For this we have reaped needless criticism, and we have made our LDS position harder to be understood than it needs to be.

Indeed, the great “doctrine of Christ” passage in 2 Nephi 31 ends with this declaration: “This is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end” (2 Nephi 31:21).

We have all read the Savior’s majestic Intercessory Prayer inJohn 17. We know it to be a declaration of unity between the Father and the Son and between Them and us, Their earthly disciples. Read it often, particularly inasmuch as President David O. McKay (1873–1970) once called it “the greatest prayer … ever uttered in this world.”¹⁰ We ought to strive to be one with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, as Jesus prayed we would be.

An Apostle’s Witness

I close with my testimony of each of these Divine Beings, who constitute that “Eternal Presidency” spoken of. I bear witness of the Holy Ghost by the spirit of the Holy Ghost, witnessing and testifying being two of its great roles. I bear witness that the Holy Ghost is a teacher, a Comforter, and the agent of personal revelation. I bear witness that the Holy Ghost will bring all things to our remembrance—a particular blessing inasmuch as remembering is one of the great commandments given to us, including in the sacramental prayers (see D&C 20:77, 79).

I testify that through the power of the Holy Ghost, we can chase darkness from among us and be warned against danger and against untruth. I bear witness that the Holy Ghost is also the Holy Spirit of Promise, confirming and authenticating covenants and ordinances and ultimately sealing all saving blessings unto eternal life. I am in awe that we have such ready access to a member of the Godhead and have it so constantly and repeatedly if we live worthily of it. I express my near-inexpressible gratitude for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I bear witness of Jesus Christ, the living Son of the living God, who paid the liberating ransom for your soul and my soul and the soul of every man, woman, and child from Adam to the end of the world. I testify that the first principle of the gospel is faithin the Lord Jesus Christ and that it is the foundation of and the central message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I testify that every human being born into this world is born with the Light of Christ in his or her soul. I bear witness that He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega of our salvation. I declare that He is the great Jehovah, the redemptive I Am, the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation of the world. I testify that in Him the fulness did dwell and that He was born, lived, and died a perfect, sinless Man, without blemish and without spot.

I am grateful that the authority of Jesus Christ, which regulates everything of eternal significance in this universe, bears His name—the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God. If I were to live to be a thousand years of age, I could never adequately express my wonder and inadequacy at being called to be one of His Apostles, a witness of His name in all the world.

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.¹¹

I bear witness of God the Eternal Father, the grand Elohim, my Father and your Father, who gave us spiritual life. I testify that He is the Man of Holiness, that mercy and goodness, love and compassion only begin to note His chief and eternal characteristics. I testify that Christ came to show us the Father and as such was rightly called the Son of Man (of Holiness).

I bear witness that God our Father is the author of the great plan of salvation and that what came to be known as the gospel of Jesus Christ is also known as “the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1; see also verses 2–3). I bear witness that the Father was and is the Creator of all things, working through Jehovah and other heavenly agents to accomplish that Creation and sharing the title of Creator with His Beloved Son. I testify that we are to serve the Father in the name of the Son just as we are to pray to the Father in the name of the Son.

I testify that Jesus Christ came to do the will of the Father, taught the doctrine of the Father, and worked out His own salvation through the Father. I bear most solemn witness that the Father so loved the world, His children, that He gave His best child, His perfect child, His Only Begotten Child, that whosoever would believe in Him would have everlasting life (see John 3:36; 6:47;Helaman 14:8).

I am grateful for the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, in whose names the sacred and saving ordinances from baptism to temple sealings are performed in this Church. I invite each of you to know deeply these Divine Beings.

Notes

1.    Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 6:305.

2.    Joseph Smith, in History of the Church, 6:305.

3.    Lectures on Faith (1985), 38, 42.

4.    Bruce R. McConkie, “Our Relationship with the Lord” (Brigham Young University devotional, Mar. 2, 1982), 1,speeches.byu.edu.

5.    Bruce R. McConkie, “Our Relationship with the Lord,” 1–2.

6.    Preach My Gospel: A Guide to Missionary Service (2004), 31.

7.    In Owen Chadwick, ed., Western Asceticism (1958), 235.

8.    Paul J. Achtemeier, ed., Harper’s Bible Dictionary (1985), 1099.

9.    For a thorough discussion of this issue, see Stephen E. Robinson, Are Mormons Christians? (1991), 71–89; see also Robert L. Millet, Getting at the Truth: Responding to Difficult Questions about LDS Beliefs (2004), 106–22.

10.          David O. McKay, in Conference Report, Oct. 1967, 5.

11.         “I Stand All Amazed,” Hymns, no. 193.

“Deistic Belief Systems*”

cji

2/2/16

How easy to ignore the Scriptures

intermixing them with philosophy

finding fault or without witnesses

denying that the heavens are open

dehumanizing the Father and Son

repeating as truth rhetorical myths

how easy to justify non-obedience

doing whatever one wants to do

claiming to believe but not to love

for to love is simply to be obedient

choices we make or totally ignore

pretending to know and not to know

satisfying the carnal nature only

and giving lip service to all else

death bed confessions too late

when planed on in advance

deistic belief systems prevalent

when false doctrine’s contention

taught in place of the truthful

Satan’s plan to destroy all

given as his plan of salvation

leading the very elect astray

how easy to ignore the truth!

Copyright © 2016 – cji

 *A belief in the existence of a God on the evidence of reason and nature only, with rejection of supernatural revelation (distinguished from theism ). 2. belief in a God who created the world but has since remained indifferent to it.