Saturday, February 29, 2020

Brigham Young on Why Not All Revelations Have Yet Been Inscripturated


In a sermon dated May 20, 1860, Brigham Young gave some reasons why not all revelations received by the leadership of the Church have yet been inscripturated:

You may ask whether this is reasonable. I can prove it to be so in a few sentences. There are men upon whom God has bestowed gifts and graces, and women who are endowed with strong mental ability, and yet they cannot receive the truth; and then the truth condemns them: it leaves them in darkness. When they cannot receive every truth, let it be ever so important or unimportant to them, their neglect to grasp in their faith the truth God reveals for their benefit weakens them, comparatively, from the crowns of their heads to the soles of their feet, and the enemy may have the advantage over them in an hour when they think not. To please our Father in heaven, and do his will in all things, to walk up faithfully in the discharge of every duty preparatory to being crowned in his kingdom, when a truth is presented to an intelligent person he ought to grasp it and receive it in his faith. There are revelations, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding yet to be proclaimed, and whether they will please the world, or not, is immaterial to me. I shall not pledge myself upon a single point. (JOD 8:58-59)

In other words, as an act of mercy, the Church has not yet put into the canon certain revelations as to ensure that members will not be condemned, less they “neglect to grasp in their faith the truth God reveals” as many are not yet spiritually ready to receive such things.