Lynn A. McKinlay (and Charles W. Nibley) on the Administrative Changes to the Church Over the Ages

 

 

. . . I’d like to emphasize this all-important principle: We, the people living today, could not receive anything in this world in the way of ordinances, in the way of God’s laws, in the way of sealings, if we did not have legal administration continuously in the Church to authorize and perform these works. Charles W. Penrose, as a member of the First Presidency, has summed up this matter very nicely for us in the October Conference Report of 1917, p. 20, “. . . no matter what may have been taught in olden times in regard to the policy of the Church of God, no matter that commandments have been given in regard to the administration of its affairs at other times, we are today under the direction of the living oracles. The living word of God comes to us through the man that stands at the head, in preference to anything that has been written aforetime, or spoken in our own days. Circumstances change, and a change of instruction becomes necessary. As the different circumstances arise, different policies leads out in any direction in regard to these matters, we will be perfectly safe in following him . . . when we have a man as we have now, and as we have had from the Prophet Joseph down, to lead us and direct us, that is the thing to do, never mind whether it was done aforetime . . . the Church is organized today by the gift and power of God, by revelations direct from on high, not taken out of books. And the power and authority are here, and we should follow our leader, and what he says is right; he does not vary from the things that God has revealed . . . this Church is sui generis. It has something to impart its own age and all that we want for our guidance and direction in it will come through living oracles. Their teachings and philosophy and things contained in the Old Testament and in the New; but in regard to the policies we have to change, because circumstances change, that is another thing entirely. We live in the present and receive instructions suited to the present.”

 

In analyzing the seeming inconsistencies that arise from time to time on our contemplations of Church affairs, we’ll find, upon examining the matter closely, that it is a difference in administration and not in principle; the principles remain the same and have done since the days of Adam. But the differences in administration change from one period to another, and they have a perfect right to change; for the man who is placed at the head has all the powers necessary to change them and represents the Lod Himself. The President holds all the keys and powers of the Kingdom, including the fulness of the sealing power, and is distinctly called The Lord’s Anointed, The Presiding High Priest, and inherent in his office is the right and privilege, even duty, when expedient, of conversing with the Lord face to face. If we could get that fact lodged securely in our heads, we would never find ourselves guilty of criticizing the authorities of this Church, particularly the Prophet; for without living prophets and apostles in the church it would be dead indeed and lacking the power to seal on earth and in heaven. (Lynn A. McKinlay, Life Eternal [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1950, 1954], 91-92)

 

Lynn A. McKinlay on the Exaltation of the Faithful who have Wayward Family Members

  

What of Those Who Might Break the Chain

 

You wonder, sometimes, if someone breaks the link in the chain, who is going to fill it up; how can it go back with full effectiveness to Adam? Many people have been very much concerned when this subject has been mentioned. They have said, “well now, my grandfather was faithful, but my father is not faithful in the Priesthood, not faithful in the Church at all. As a matter of fact, he has a spirit of rebellion. I know inside myself,” says the people, “that my father will not be worthy of exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom unless he repents, and I don’t know whether he is going to repent or not before he dies.” And some people have even a more serious problem. Their parents have died in their sins. They say, “what is going to happen to me> I am sealed to my father, according to the authority of the Priesthood, as was the ancient order of son to father right down the chain. My father has dropped out. Am I going to be deprived of my position, are the blessings going to be withheld from me, because of the transgressions of my father?

 

What can be said? There will be a time when every essential link in that chain will be filled, and there will be a perfect Priesthood contact for family government back to Adam. I’m not saying that every person will ultimately repent and receive the exaltation but no individual will be inhibited in his eternal blessing because of transgression of one of his forbears, and the principle of adoption will undoubtedly be effective in this situation, as it is in other situations that pertain to the Kingdom of God. Every man can get the exaltation that he deserves upon merit. But this is the thing that comes to our minds, when we think of those who have transgressed. Every one who is faithful will want to do everything in his power for those he loves. If it happens to be either his parents, or his children, he will do everything within his power in this world and in the next world to seek out, to search after and to yearn for those people in his chain, to get them back, if there is a possibility in eternity for it to happen. And there is a wonderful hope that the Lord has given, that the prayers and the faith, the labors and the promises sealed upon the parents for the children will have a tremendous effect in the eternities, in bringing those people back again. The final judgment remains with God, but we will do everything in our power to get our parents, our grandparents, our children, our grandchildren—whoever we have influence on in this world or in the next world—to repent so that they may ultimately take their positions, and the chain not be broken. (Lynn A. McKinlay, Life Eternal [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1950, 1954], 174-75)

 

Lynn A. McKinlay on Baptism

 

 

Necessity and Efficiency of the Ordinance of Baptism

 

But as we have already noted in Jacob’s teachings, (II Nephi 9:23) “and he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God,” we see that there can be no forgiveness, no peace, no healing, which is the fruit of true repentance without a bond and covenant between our Savior and ourselves that we do take upon ourselves His name, and that we spend our whole soul’s energy henceforward in obeying in spirit and in deed His every commandment, thus being a living personal witness of Him in every avenue of life. Baptism is the only legal sign of that covenant and means whereby we may signify to the Lord that we are willing to and do accept Him and His saving power. Have we fully understood the nature of baptism? Adam pondered baptism when the Gospel was preached to him. He wondered why he should have to be baptized, and he asked that very question. The Lord gave him the answer briefly as follows, first explaining to Adam that his transgression in the Garden of Eden had been forgiven him and that now he, himself, was eligible, through repentance and receiving the ordinances of the Gospel, for entrance into the kingdom of God; then, concerning Adam’s children He said, “Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin,” that is, they are conceived and brought forth in a condition when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter that they may know how to prize the good. And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves. And I have given unto you another law and commandment; wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the Kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in His presence.” Now, can you see how foolish it would be for us to try to justify ourselves in our sins or be saved in our sins, just because we are born into bodies that have a natural impulse to sin? All, then, must repent or they cannot in nowise inherit the Kingdom of God. “ . . . and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, blood, and the spirit, which I have made and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory.” Now, here are the keys to an understanding of the ordinance of baptism. “For by the water ye keep the commandment.” By going into the water you keep the commandment the Lord has given regarding baptism, and signify by that voluntary act your willingness and desire to enter into covenant with Him. And there is a particular significance in going down into the water. You’ve thought about that; you must have done. Going into the water and being completely immersed is a representation of going back into the element in which your bodies were first prepared—water. “By the Spirit ye are justified.” When you were born into the world and came and came out of the element of water, your spirit took full possession of your body, didn’t it? Well, after you came out of waters of baptism, you had hands placed upon your head; you received the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Lord to be in you. Then, you were born again by water—your body came out of that element—you received a spirit into that newborn body—the Spirit of the Lord to justify your mortal selves before Him that you may receive the revelation of heavenly things—and you became His, because you were baptized in His name, just as you become the sons and daughters of your own parents. “And by the blood are ye sanctified.” The spilling of the unsullied blood of Jesus Christ in an atoning sacrifice applied to us in that ordinance of baptism reconciles the whole condition of mortal life and makes it possible for us to dwell again in the Kingdom of God—seals up and heals for us the breach that was made by that first death, pronounced upon our parents. “Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice and judgment. (Moses 6:52-61)

 

It was an understanding of the profound depth and meaning of the ordinance and covenant of baptism that prompted the Apostle Paul to warn the Church at Corinth emphatically against indulgence in the “works of the flesh,” after receiving the sacred ordinance and say to them, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (I Corinthians 6:19-20).

 

Further Aspects of the Personal Application of Baptism

 

There are other things concerning baptism that are vitally important for us to keep in mind; let’s touch on just a few. Mosiah 18:8-10, presents a beautiful but solemn scene: “And it came to pass that he (Alma) said unto them: Behold, there are the waters of Mormon (for they were called), and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—Now I say unto you if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?” And continuing with verse 13, “And when he said these words the Spirit of the Lord was upon Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; that he may grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world.”

 

Here the prerequisites of baptism are clearly set forth. The candidate should have a strong desire to come out of the world with all its corrupt and false practices and enter into the fold of God, be filled with humility and a pure love for his fellow men, be ready to, and after baptism to actually, stand as a witness of God in all things, not just a few selected things of choice, until he’s dead as to the mortal body. The going into the water with one who has authority to minister in the name of God, constitutes a testimony to a solemn covenant with God, willingly entered into, to be of force until the very end, that the Spirit of the Lord may be legally effective in his life, and the hope of eternal life through the redemption of the Savior may be alive and real and founded on the truth. Does this agree with what Adam was told in the beginning? It does, perfectly.

 

Some further information on this subject is given in a revelation of our own day. D. & C. 20:37: “And again, by way of commandment to be the church concerning the manner of baptism—All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church.”

 

As we try to realize the true value of baptism in our own lives today, I wonder if we think very deeply about this phrase, “and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins?” (Lynn A. McKinlay, Life Eternal [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1950, 1954], 81-84)

 

Lynn A. McKinlay Appealing to Commonly Used Proof-texts Against Latter-day Saint Theology

  

God From Everlasting to Everlasting

 

Reading from Psalms 90:2: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” First, we learn then that God was God from before the world was created, and He was the same identical God after it was created. What a marvelous sense of security and stability that thought gives to the mind, the positive assurance that we don’t have to revise our thinking about God from the time to time; that is, try to comprehend Him in one set of circumstances one time and in another set of circumstances another time, and wonder what and how He will be at some future time. Before the earth and the world were made and after the world and the earth were made, and from everlasting to everlasting, He is the same God, and certainly that is as far as any human mind can stretch. We need not worry or fear about the permanency or irrevocability of His position as God.

 

. . .

 

A God Who Does Not Change

 

In James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” And in Sec. 3 of the Doctrine and covenants, verse 2, “For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.” And in Sec. 35 verse 1 this phrase is added, “the same today as yesterday, and forever.” Thirdly, then, we learn that He changes not, neither is there variableness with Him, but that He is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the same today as yesterday, and forever. His course is one eternal round without variation. As we think about this quality of absolute constancy and consistency and try to let the full scope of it settle in our minds, we thrill with satisfaction, I’m sure; for here we find an answer to a deep need continually moving within us, the need to find a being in whom we can place our full faith and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that being will not vary in the slightest degree throughout all eternity. Such a being cannot be found in this world. Many times those in the world whom we love the most and in whom we place the most confidence vary from time to time in their thoughts and feelings on many things; and we must come to the painful realization at last that we cannot put our trust in the arm of flesh with full and final confidence; for one of the inevitable characteristics of flesh is variableness in some degree. And the thought of variableness produces insecurity and fearfulness within the mind. But here is a being who is the same yesterday, today and forever, and our trust in Him can be infinite.

 

A God of Truth

 

Numbers 23:19 tells us: “God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent.” And so, fourthly, He is a God of truth and cannot lie. Here the difference is very clearly drawn between God and man; the inference is unmistakable in this passage, and we ourselves can testify from our own bitter experience, that man can lie. What more disturbs our peace of mind or bores more stealthily into our hopes and aspirations in the world, than the fear of being deceived, that a man can look us squarely in the eye, to all outward evidences and appearances in full faith, and tell us things that we discover later to be entirely false, or partially false which is the deadliest lie, or so colored by personal influence that a misconception is produced, and know that these things were uttered designedly to deceive, and thus bend us to the selfish will of the speaker? To me, there is only one thing more horrifying than the thought of being deceived by someone else, and that is the memory of the times when I have found myself a victim of this deadly mental poison and have thought to achieve my own selfish ends by employing that same insidious device that I, myself, have been duped by. Thank heaven we have found here a being who not only would not lie but will never lie, for He is a God of truth, and cannot lie. Furthermore, he does not make mistakes of which He must repent. Would you seek such a being in whom to rest your faith? For myself, I must know that such a being exists, and that He will protect me from enough of the deceptions in the world, that I may live out my life with courage and faith, and not be destroyed by the gnawing fear of man’s ability to deceive. (Lynn A. McKinlay, Life Eternal [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1950, 1954], 17, 18-19)

 

Mark E. Petersen on Baptism remitting personal sin committed but the resurrection of Jesus Christ Remitting "Original Sin"

  

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF BAPTISM?

 

It is for remission of sins we personally commit, or is it to remit the Original Sin of Adam and Eve and free us from its consequences? To determine this let us first ask what is the result of the original sin of Adam and Eve from which some say we are freed by baptism?

 

To understand what the original was, and what it brought into the world, let us again resort to the scriptures:

 

Genesis 2:17

 

Catholic Bible: “But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat. For in what day soever thou shalt eat of it, THOU SHALT DIE THE DEATH.”

 

King James Bible: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

 

American Translation (Smith & Goodspeed): “From every tree in the garden you are free to eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you must not eat; for the day that you eat of it you shall certainly die.”

 

New Revised Version: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.”

 

Genesis 3:3-4

 

Catholic Bible: “But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. And the serpent said to the woman: o, you shall not die the death.”

 

King James Bible: “But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:”

 

American Translation (Smith & Goodspeed): “ . . . it is only concerning the fruit of the tree which is in the idle of the garden that God has said, ‘You may not eat any of it, nor touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You would not die at all; . . .’”

 

New Revised Version: “but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ But the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not die.’”

 

1 Corinthians 15:21-22

 

Catholic Bible: “For by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.”

 

King James Bible: “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”

 

American Translation (Smith & Goodspeed): “For since it was through a man that we have death, it is through a man also that we have the raising of the dead. For just as because of their relation to Adam all men die, so because of their relation to Christ they will all be brought to life again.”

 

New Revised Version: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

 

Greek New Testament: (Literal translation into English by Berry.) “For since by man (is) death, also by man resurrection of (the) dead. As for in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive.”

 

From a reading of these scriptures it is plain that the original sin brought death into the world. What does away with death? Baptism? Or Christ’s resurrection?

 

The scriptures quoted above from 1 Corinthians 15 are sufficient to show that death is overcome through the resurrection of Christ, which brings about our resurrection. So it is not baptism at all which does away with the result of Original Sin. It is Christ’s resurrection. Therefore, we are not baptized to do away with the Original Sin.

 

What is baptism for then? It is for remission of which we ourselves personally commit, and of which we are expected to repent. (Mark E. Petersen, One Lord, One Faith! [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1962], 123-25, emphasis in bold added)

 

Further Reading on the Salvific Efficacy of Water Baptism

I have written a full-length book addressing water baptism and related topics (e.g., two appendices refuting imputed righteousness):

"Born of Water and of the Spirit": The Biblical Evidence for Baptismal Regeneration

If one wants a free copy (PDF format), you can contact me at:

ScripturalMormonismATgmailDOTcom

Mark E. Petersen Addressing "Household Baptisms"

  

Others refer to the baptism of the jailer, “he and all his” as spoken of in Acts 16:33, and assume that “all his” implies there must have been infants in the group. But this is merely an assumption, and others might assume that there were no infants. Since the scripture is not conclusive in either direction, it is of no value in trying to prove any point regarding baptism of infants, either for or against. Therefore, it cannot be used as proof either way. (Mark E. Petersen, One Lord, One Faith! [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1962], 119)

 

Jesus Being Crucified For the Sins of the World in "A Brief Outline, Of the Faith & Doctrine of the Latter Day Saints" (1844)

In a one-page tract, "A Brief Outline, Of the Faith & Doctrine of the Latter Day Saints" from 1844, we have the following affirmation that Christ atoned for our sins by means of his crucifixion, showing that early Latter-day Saints (here, the year of the prophet's death) were not averse to appealing to the crucifixion and its centrality to Latter-day Saint soteriology:

The first principle of theology as held by this Church, Father in God the Eternal Father, and in his Son Jesus Christ, who verily was crucified for the sins of the world, and rose from the dead on the third day, and is now seated at the right hand of God as a mediator, and in the Holy Ghost, who bears record them, the same as to day as yesterday, and forever. ("A Brief Outline, Of the Faith & Doctrine of the Latter Day Saints", as found in A True and Descriptive Account of the Assassination of Joseph and Hiram Smith, the Mormon Prophet and Patriarch At Carthage, Illinois, June 27th, 1844, By an Eye Witness, T[HOMAS]. A. LYNE [New York: C.A. Calhoun, 1844], 19, emphasis added)

For more, see:

John Hilton III, Considering the Cross: How Calvary Connects Us with Christ (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021)

Latter-day Saint Women Speaking in Tongues (glossolalia) and Acting as Interpreters in 19th-century Canada

 

 

Canadian Prophetesses

 

Zina Young Williams Card’s husband recorded many of her experiences with glossolalia. Born in Salt Lake City in 1850, the daughter of Brigham Young and Zina D. H. Young, Zina was named after her mother and was one of the “big ten,” which was President Young’s affectionate name for his oldest daughters (Susan Young Gates, The Life Story of Brigham Young [New York: The Macmillan Company, 1938], 345).

 

Married at age eighteen to Thomas Williams, she became a widow with two young sons at age twenty-four. Zina was a refined, educated woman who served as the dean of women at B.Y. Academy and as one of Utah’s two delegates to the First Congress of Suffragettes in Washington, D.C., in 1879. In 1844, she became the second polygamous wife of Cache Stake President Charles Ora Card. In 1887, President John Taylor called the Cards to form the settlement in Canada (Kate B. Carter, Treasures of Pioneer History, 6 vols. [Daughters of Utah Pioneers: Salt Lake City, 1953], 2:50-53). She became known as the “Mother of the Canadian Colonies” and also could be called the “Mother of the Frontier Prophetesses” (Ibid., 50). According to J.D. Higinbotham, “Mrs. Card was a fluent and convincing speaker [who] exercised a far-reaching influence of the life of Southern Alberta” (J.D. Higinbotham, When the West Was Young [Lethbridge, Alberta: Herald Printers, 1978], 130).

 

Zina Card was outspoken about religion (C. Frank Steele, "Latter-day Saint Settlement in Canada," The Instructor, Vol. 83, No. 10 [October 1948]:454) and may have also been frank about her experience with glossolalia. Research shows seven different instances when she participated in the gift of tongues between 1894 and 1899 (Zina D.H. Young, A Weary Traveler: The 1848-50 Diary of Zina D.H. Young, ed. Marilyn Higbee [University Scholar Project, Brigham Young University, 1992]). She may have been introduced to this gift of the Spirit by her mother. Zina’s mother, who served as the third General Relief Society president, “was called on regularly to share her spiritual gifts of speaking in tongues” (Higbee, 2). For instance, in a diary from 1848-50, Young recorded eight different experiences with the gift of tongues (Higbee, 2, 20, 35, 19, 21, 29, 31). The two Zinas had a close mother-daughter relationship, and Mother Zina called her daughter from Canada in June 1897 to serve as her general secretary to the Relief Society (Card, 409).

 

On one occasion, when Mother Young was visiting her daughter, they participated in the gift of tongues together. President Card was conversing with a Brother Jacobs, who had been called on a mission to Europe. At one point in the conversation, Charles Card prophesied that Jacobs would “do a good work.” Zina Young then blessed him in tongues, and Zina Card interpreted. The message included the promise that Jacobs would “return in peace and safety.” Zina also informed him that “his wife behind the veil watched over him, and that his present wife should bring forth many noble spirits, among them prophets of the Lord” (Ibid., 332-33).

 

At a meeting in the Aetna Ward in the Cardston Stake, the gift of tongues was also manifest by two other women, with Zina again as the interpreter. Bishop Hammer and his wife had planned a meeting with the Relief Society. During the meeting, a Sister Hansen and Sarah Hinman “enjoyed the gift of tongues.” Zina Card and Nellie Hinman then “had the gift of interpretation of tongues.” “Many blessing[s] were pronounced upon those present” through the spiritual manifestation (Ibid., 302-3).

 

The same women who participated in this incident were blessed on several occasions with this same spiritual gift. Nellie Hinman was blessed with the gift of tongues five times with Zina Card as the interpreter. On one of these occasions, the message for the Saints was as follows:

 

Angels are watching over us. Some of you think you are exiled from the Church, not so. You are part of the church. Many of your sons here will fill missions in this land for there are many in this land yearning for the gospel and yet this nation will seek you for wisdom. The Lord is watching over us. (Ibid., 296)

 

Another woman who had multiple experiences with glossolalia was Elizabeth (Lizzie) Hammer, who first received this gift at a young age at a testimony meeting in Cardston. Elizabeth began to bear her testimony when “all at once she threw off her shawl and hat and burst out in tongues which was accompanied by the Spirit of prophecy [and] blessed all about her especially the leading priesthood.” She told President Card that he was “the right man in the right place and doing all for the people [he] could and Saints should cease finding fault.” In addition, she informed Card he would “yet behold the face of [the]Redeemer.” She also blessed Cardstone Stake Patriarch H.L. Hinman. Nellie Pitcher interpreted for Elizabeth and “added comforting words to . . . others and rebuked those that spoke evil against others [who] had the first of tongues and interpretation of tongues” (Ibid., 327).

 

Two days later, Lizzie Hammer again “had the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues accompanied by prophecy.” She told a member of the congregation that if he would take a trip to Utah, his children would turn to the Lord and he would be healed. She also told his wife that she was “one of the choice handmaidens of the Lord.” The manifestation ended with a message for President Card and a directive for the membership. Card was to lift up his heat, for he would have every righteous desire, and the congregation was to show more respect for Card’s work (Ibid., 328). In September of that year (1896), President Lorenzo Snow of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and several other Church leaders from Salt Lake City, including John W. Taylor, came to Canada for a conference. During their visit, Hammer experienced glossolalia again, along with “several other sisters.” On this occasion, President Card did not relate the message but did state that the visiting Apostles were the ones who interpreted her message (Ibid., 356).

 

Young women seemed to display this gift often, whereas no records have been found of young men displaying glossolalia in southern Alberta during this time. Rachel Gregson Archibald, for example, was first blessed with the gift of tongues at the age of fifteen during a fast meeting in August of 1896. Zina Card interpreted the exhortation, which told the Saints they should “rise and bear testimony” (Ibid., 354). (Mary Jane Woodger, “Frontier Prophetesses: The Gift of Tongues as Manifested by Latter-day Saint Women in Southern Alberta, 1894-1930,” in Dennis A. Wright, Robert C. Freeman, Andrew H. Hedges, and Matthew O. Richardson, eds., Regional Studies in Latter-day Saint Church History: Western Canada [Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 2000], 123-38, here, pp. 126-28)

 

Julie B. Beck on Election and the Elect

  

WHO ARE THE ELECT OF GOD?

 

We learn in the scriptures that we were elect or “chosen . . . before the foundation of the world was” (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9), to be part of the great latter-day work of the Lord. Those who are of the house of Israel are given special assignments to carry the gospel into all the world. When we receive our patriarchal blessings and have our lineage declared, we are being told that we are elect of God. We are designated to be part of the latter-day work.

 

The elect of God are those who have heard the gospel, been baptized, and have made temple covenants with the Lord under proper priesthood authority. Temple covenants are a key to our election and a natural outgrowth of honoring our baptismal covenant.

 

Essentially, each of us who have made covenants could put our name in that verse of scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants which was given to Emma Smith and say, “Julie )or your name), you are an elect lady, whom the Lord has chosen.”

 

Election is not based upon gender but is available to all who fulfill the qualification of harkening to the gospel and receiving ordinances and covenants (LDS Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Election,” 662).

 

The temple is an important key to our election. President Hinckley has said that the temple is the reason for everything we do (See Russell M. Nelson, “Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings,” Ensign, May 2001, 32: “The temple is the house of the Lord. The basis for every temple ordinance and covenant—the heart of the plan of salvation—is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Every activity, every lesson, all we do in the Church, point to the Lord and His holy house. Our efforts to proclaim the Church, point to the Lord and His holy house. Our efforts to proclaim the gospel, perfect the Saints, and redeem the dead all lead to the temple. Each holy temple stands as a symbol of our membership in the Church, as a sign of our faith in life after death, and as a sacred step toward eternal glory for us and our families). The ordinances of the temple are part of our natural progression as we seek to fulfill our election or calling here on earth. The booklets For the Strength of Youth, Personal Progress, and Duty to God all have the temple as the cover illustration. These books are written for youth who have made their first covenants with God and are being prepared to make temple covenants. Those books are like a preparation course which points young men and young women to the temple as the next most important step in their lives. As a leader of young women, I am often asked how a girl prepares for the temple. If she honors and keeps the covenant she has already made at baptism, she is then preparing to make more covenants.

 

Any single adult woman who qualifies for a temple recommend should be preparing to receive her own endowment if she has not already done so. There is no “super” qualification for those ordinances. Some women postpone those crucial and empowering covenants, thinking that they are somehow tied to a mission or to marriage. In reality, a mission or marriage is an outflow of the endowment and not the other way around. If they are worthy and living the gospel, they should receive the election that can be theirs through the temple and endowment.

 

WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ELECT AND CHOSEN?

 

Election is really an opportunity to serve. As the elect of God, we are elected to serve in our own homes and families first and then in the Church and the world. Those who belong to the house of Israel have a special assignment or election to carry the work of the Lord into all the world.

 

Years ago my husband was elected to serve in our city government. When he won the election, the people of our city expected that he would actually do something and serve the people while he held that office. It was a trust that he carried with him during his term of service.

 

We have each been elected, elected by the Lord to serve in his Kingdom. We must honor our own election. If we do not fulfill the terms of our election then it could be said that we have been elected in vain. Anyone who is elected to anything is expected to do something in return for their election. The purpose of our election is to serve and lead.

 

When we know we are elected we cannot, we must not, be passive observers of life. We participate actively and work to make a difference on the earth.

 

In my scriptures study, I have been particularly interested in the Lord’s first instructions to Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve were the first “elect” people on the earth. They were the first to make covenants and commitments to follow the Lord’s plan. To get them started in living His plan, the Lord told them to “be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion” (Genesis 1:28). When He placed them in the garden, He told them to “dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Did you hear the action words? Replenish! Multiply! Subdue! Dominate! Dress! Keep! There is nothing passive about those words. The Lord never rescinded those instructions. He expected Adam and Eve honored those instructions. They were personally obedient, and then they freely taught those things to their children (Moses 6:58). (Julie B. Beck, “’Thou Art an Elect Lady, Whom I have Called,’” in Rise to the Divinity Within You: Talks from the 2006 BYU Women’s Conference [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2007], 25-27)

 

John R. Rosenberg on the Atonement being a "Propitiation"

John R. Rosenberg (then-professor of Spanish literature and dean of the College of Humanities at BYU), in a discussion of the atonement during the 2005 BYU Women’s Conference, used the term “propitiation”:

 

While we may not be able to fully grasp how the Atonement operated as propitiation, that is, as payment of debt required by divine justice, we can understand the Lord’s offering of mercy. That mercy becomes operative when we are blessed with the central epiphany of our spiritual life: although the Lord’s understanding of my humanity, my failures, my pride, and my fear is through and perfect, so is His life and His optimism for my potential.

 

Kind David shares his recognition of this principle when in the eighth psalm he prayerfully asks, “When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; that is man, that thou art mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:3-4). David states at the stars and knows that he is nothing. Another king—Benjamin—calls us “beggars” to illustrate the same idea. Yet David in his smallness and sinfulness still declares, “Thou hast made [man] a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour” (Psalm 8:5), and Benjamin tells us that because of Christ’s sacrifice, “he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye . . . have become his sons and his daughters” (Mosiah 5:7). In other words, out of the Lord’s perfect understanding of our imperfection we are lifted, talking with Him and our first steps toward the ultimate lifting we call exaltation. (John R. Rosenberg, “’Old Variaunce’ or ‘Newe Atonement’: Marriage and the Imitation of Christ,” in A Light Shall Break Forth: Talks from the 2005 BYU Women’s Conference [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2006], 190-91, emphasis added)

 

Example of the Difficulty Adam-God Apologists have with D&C 78:15-16 and Adam's Baptism

  

Adam Holds Keys under the Direction of the Holy One

 

Some have interpreted the following citation to read that Adam’s keys to the salvation of mankind come under the immediate direction and council of Jesus Christ—the Holy One. If this be true, then Adam would appear to be subordinate to the Savior, which is contrary to the Adam-God doctrine.

 

That you may come up into the crown prepared for you, and be made rulers over many kingdoms, saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Zion, who hath established the foundations of Adam-ondi-Ahman; Who hath appointed Michael your prince, and established his feet, and set him upon high, and given unto him the keys of salvation under the counsel and direction of the Holy One, who is without beginning of days or end of life (D&C 78:15-16).

 

A more objective analysis of this scripture discloses the Holy One not to be Jesus Christ but, rather, Adam’s superior or Father who certainly may also be called a “holy One.” The Savior introduced himself in verse 20 of the 78th section as the personage speaking for and in behalf of the “Lord God” (verse 2). However, in verse 15 he is speaking in the second person by quoting the Lord (Elohim) who said that we “may come up unto the crown prepared . . . and be made rulers over many kingdoms.” It is this Lord (Elohim) who hath given Michael the keys to salvation under His (The Holy One’s) direction. This interpretation was understood by the authorities who compiled the Doctrine and Covenants with its footnotes. The footnote “n” in verse 16 identifies the Holy One as the Holy One of Zion. (This appears only natural as the giver of the keys is superior and ultimately responsible for those keys.)

 

The title “Holy One of Zion” is found nowhere else in revealed scripture; therefore, to associate the title with the Savior without further information would be speculative. Verse 15 does, however, give us further information concerning the Holy One of Zion. He (the Holy One of Zion) appointed Michael our prince and established the foundations of Adam-ondi-Ahman. Reference to this account is found in section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

 

Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all high priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous, into the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing. And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed Adam, and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel. And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him: I have set thee to be at the head; a multitude of nations shall come of thee, and thou art a prince over them forever (D&C 107:53-54)

 

Inasmuch as the Lord in verse 54 is here establishing the foundation of Adam-ondi-Ahman and is establishing Michael as a prince, He (the Lord identified in verse 55) must be the Holy One of Zion. True enough; but, is this not Jesus Christ just the same? One should recall the words of the Savior in appearing to the brother of Jared when he said: “And never [before] have I showed myself unto man . . . “ (Ether 3:15). Who, then, was the Lord who appeared to, spoke with, and blessed Adam? By the Savior’s own words, it was not He, for the brother of Jared was the first man unto whom Christ had personally revealed Himself. The Savior, therefore, is not the Holy One of Zion under whose direction Adam received the keys of salvation. The Holy One of Zion must have been Adam’s priesthood superior—or Father.

 

Did Adam Sin? His Baptism

 

Some interpret the scriptures so as to have us believe that Adam, in bringing about the fall, committed a sin. This would mitigate against Adam’s divinity as it is against God’s nature to sin. These advocates confuse sin with transgression. A transgression is a violation of a natural law, whereas a sin is a transgression of a law of God and is an offense in His eyes. The scriptures bear out that Adam committed no offense in God’s eyes, but, rather, transgressed a law and suffered its attendant consequences Moses 6:53).

 

The doctrine of baptism is explained by the Lord in Moses 6:53-55. In response to Adam’s iniquity as to why man must repent and become baptized, the Lord answered: “Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts . . . “ (Moses 6:55). Adam was not conceived in sin and therefore needed no baptism for remission of sins. With his baptism, Adam did not receive remission of his sins but rather rectification for a transgression. The baptism for forgiveness of sins is applicable to Adam’s posterity who are conceived in and wax in sin. Adam was not baptized for forgiveness as he was a perfect man (D&C 107:43). Perfect men have little need to repent of sin. Adam, like Christ, was baptized to submit to the law to fulfill all righteousness and like Christ be a perfect example of his posterity in the ordinances. As is brought out in the temple, Adam is our archtype.

 

Brigham viewed Adam’s transgression thus: “How did Adam and Eve sin? Did they come out in direct opposition to God and to his government? No. But they transgressed a command of the Lord and through that transgression sin came into the world” (J.D. 10:312).

 

Joseph Fielding Smith also viewed the fall as a transgression rather than a sin:

 

I never speak of the part Eve took in the fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin . . . it is not always a sin to transgress a law . . . Well, Adam’s transgression was of a similar nature, that is, his transgression was in accordance with law . . . This was a transgression of law, but not a sin in the strict sense, for it was something Adam and Eve had to do! I am sure that neither Adam nor Eve looked upon it as a sin . . . We can hardly look upon anything resulting in such benefits as being a sin, in the sense in which we consider sin” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 1, pp. 114-15).

 

It has been the contention of some that the Adam-God concepts as discussed in this book and advanced by Brigham Young are in reality only theory and never actually advanced as doctrine. (Culley K. Christensen, The Adam-God Maze [Scottsdale, Ariz.: Independent Publishers, 1981], 291-94)

 

An Example of the Difficulty of Adam's Death and Jesus being Adam’s Savior Poses for Adam-God Apologists

  

 

Adam dies as the Father said he would through partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam’s spirit and body were separated, and he did not get the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Doctrines of Salvation 1:105)

 

Joseph Fielding Smith uses Adam’s “death” as proof that he was subject to the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ the same as all mankind. This thinking is based upon assumptions which cannot be supported from the scriptures. Firstly, it is more than likely that Adam and Eve possessed the keys of resurrection since they had already been resurrected in a prior estate. And Jesus said the Father has power to “take up his body again.” The Bible says that Moses died too, but we learn from The Book of Mormon that Moses, and possibly Alma, were translated:

 

Behold, this we know that he [Alma] was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this case we know nothing concerning his death and burial. (Alma 45:19)

 

Perhaps Adam’s “death” was also different than we are accustomed to.

 

Some cannot accept that Adam is our Heavenly Father because Jesus would have been Adam’s Savior. They say it would run contrary to the entire plan of salvation. Many people assume that Adam’s need for a Savior is demeaning. Could a son save a father and redeem Him? This author will ask only one question: what better example could be set for us than for our Father to descend below His exaltation and fall, thus showing us the way? We do not know whether our Father had need of a Savior after he left this estate. But even if He did, it would not take away from the truthfulness and splendor of the doctrine of Adam-God. (Craig L. Tholson, Adam-God [Doctrines of the Restoration volume 1; Payton, Utah: Publishment, 1991], 308-9)