George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl on Exegesis, Faith, and Repentance

The following quotes are from George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1974)

The importance of proper exegesis

Generally it must be borne in mind that every word should be understood as it was commonly understood at the time that the Bible was written. Much minute inquiry, in fact more than most people are prepared to give, is needed in order to avoid errors arising from a violation of this rule. (p. 36)

To understand the Bible, even the plainest translation, all these things are necessary as helps, and yet, without the Spirit of God to lead them into all truth not all of these helps are sufficient; so numerous and so vast are the difficulties to be encountered in ascertaining the true meaning of the Bible. (p. 38)

The meaning of, and importance of, “Faith”

First of all, let us consider the importance which this message attaches to faith. While theologians of the world either give the preeminence to works, like the Catholics, or like Protestants, give to faith a secondary place in their system, here comes a young man and declares: "Faith is the first principle of revealed religion, and the foundation of all righteousness." He gave to faith its right place as the very beginning of the new life, the foundation of the structure. Where had he learned this? There is not a theological school within the sphere of our knowledge which has discovered this great truth. Men for centuries had been exhorted to repent first and then try to believe, as if it were possible to produce repentance without faith, or, men were instructed to do good, as if works could be meritorious without faith. Not only is faith placed in its right place, but the definition of it is given strictly in harmony with ancient revelations. Faith is declared to be the only principle from which obedience and success can flow. In relation to God faith is, indeed, a confession of our weaknesses and utter inability for everything that is good; and yet, as to success in all things pertaining to our exaltation and glorification, it is omnipotent. (See Doctrine and Covenants, Lectures on Faith.) Now, from where did the youthful Prophet gain the knowledge of this discovery? It is taught in the Bible, but is not understood? Who had pointed out this great philosophical truth to him? Who but God.

Nor is this all. In the message delivered through Joseph the Prophet, faith has been established on the only sure foundation ever given: The Word of God—REVELATION. This was done at a time when almost everybody thought revelation was a thing of the past. No theologian in the whole wide world had discovered the great secret that faith must be based upon communication from God, given not only to people who belong to antiquity, but to the individual who is required to believe. Let everybody honestly investigate the real cause of the weakness of faith as it exists among men. How is it that, notwithstanding all preaching, faith is almost extinct on earth? It is this, that people are required to believe only that which God said in ages past. This is the real cause. We are so constructed that we cannot by any force of will take the same lively interest in what happened thousands of years ago as what happened today; nor can we realize in the same way what happens to others as that which immediately concerns ourselves. Hence, naturally, all the preaching about what God revealed formerly has only a weak impression comparatively, and it does not take the effect it should. The faith it produces is something as powerless as faith possibly can be. In order to produce this, preachers are under the necessity of resorting to all sorts of sentimental anecdotes, death scenes, war scenes, dreams, etc., or even to drums and tambourines. Revivalists know the effects of these artificial methods and prefer them to the simple tale of Him Who died on Golgotha—a proof of the poverty, spiritually, of the prevalent systems. Now, how is this changed by the simple announcement: "God has spoken!" This at once stirs the whole world and the whole hell and something definitive comes out of that. It produces either faith or condemnation. Where faith is the result it is a strong faith. What gave the former-day Saints the power to endure all for their religion? What gave the Prophet and his fellow martyrs power to endure all hardships and death at the hands of enemies? This assurance: "God has spoken." Such faith this assurance will always produce. How had Joseph the Prophet come to discover this fundamental truth? No Catholic, no Lutheran, no Protestant, no Presbyterian, no Methodist, no Baptist, was in the position of teaching Joseph this truth; none but God. (p. 63)

The Meaning of, and Importance of, “Repentance”

The cry to Repent has been a clarion call sounded to every generation of God's children. All the patriarchs and prophets have made repentance their special message, and whether their words come to us through the revelations of old or the seers of our own time, they bring a command of God. To repent is a direct order coming from Him Who presides over all, and not through an ambitious priest who presumes to act as His vicegerent. Repentance from evil is the natural move of those who understand God's holy purposes. To turn from pride and humble oneself before Him is the mark of a true believer. It matters not who one is, we all have need to repent. There is only One Who is good, only One Who has no need to repent. That One is our Father in Heaven.

Repentance is a moral endeavor of the heart, not a vagrant conclusion of the mind. It is a resolve of the conscience, not a calculation. It is not a weatherglass that indicates the high and low of our spiritual devotion, nor is it a mechanical proposition. It is not machine-made, having no thought or feeling. A man may seek to apply stern mathematical rules to his behavior; he may add restraints and take away life's pseudo-joys and follies, or multiply his philanthropies. But in the end, and not withstanding his intents, his arithmetic will not prepare him for life in the kingdom of God which is immortal.

Money is the god of such a man; he would fain purchase the Lord's blessings and thereby make common merchandise of God's most precious gifts. Using that formula of life, his solution of its problems is wrong, just as wrong as is the answer one receives who takes paper and pencil and thereby attempts to prove the Gospel true. It cannot be done!

God, our Father has put us here upon the earth and enjoined that we do His bidding. A keener awareness of His loving kindness and His holy will, "a fuller and freer recognition of His power and His presence in all the experiences of life," should turn us from pursuing life's vanities and thereafter seek only those heavenly treasures that "maketh truly rich."

Repentance is a step forward and upward in the progress to our Eternal Home; it is proof that our footsteps are firm, and a witness to our integrity. Repentance, be it remembered, is a mandate from God.

To forsake one's sins, with that added determination to do them no more, is repentance. Repentance means to amend or resolve to amend one's life as a result of contrition for what has been done or omitted to be done.

Notwithstanding our divine parentage and our birthright, too many, too often, day by day perform their allotted tasks forgetting God's wisdom and guidance. We have no time or thought for else than the world and the things of the world. The burdens we carry, the imposts life lays, its pursuits and pleasures, are the gods that fill the pantheon of our hearts. Pantheon means a peoples' aggregate gods, or a temple dedicated to all their gods. We use that expression, meaning, that place where we honor most the things we love best. If we love the things of the world more than we love the things of God, we turn our hearts into pagan temples, and worldly goods into objects of reverence and adoration. (pp. 155-56)

[Moses chapter 6] VERSE 48. Because that Adam fell, we are. Having commenced to fulfil his God-given command to cry repentance unto the people, Enoch journeyed throughout the land and recounted to all those who listened to his voice, the creation of Adam, the first man. He also reminded them of a fact they well knew: that a multitude of men had followed Adam, the father of all, in settlement of the earth.

Enoch continued in his discourse to prove the necessity of repentance not only for Adam, but for each and all because every descendant of the First Man had inherited the misery and woe of their father. He showed the folly of attributing to Adam each and every sin and evil to which mortal man is heir. For Enoch drew forth from their innermost hearts that if it were not for Adam's transgression they would not be numbered among the living; not part of that "host of men" God hath brought in upon the face of the earth. (v. 44.)

Continuing further, Enoch made mention of death which is a separation of the spirit and the mortal body. Such death also came by Adam's fall.

VERSE 49. Men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish. In the very beginning when Adam and Eve were guests in the Garden of the Lord, Satan intruded upon their privacy and with excuses and pretexts offered them high honor and rich reward if they would transgress God's holy law. They fell to his blandishments and brought misery and suffering into the world. Ever since that time Satan has plotted to do the same thing with Adam's posterity. With flattering words and sophistries that please men's pride and satisfies their whims "he tempteth them to worship him."

We may not immediately grasp its full significance, but nevertheless it is true that it matters little to Satan just what men believe so long as they do not believe in and worship God in the Name of Jesus Christ. That was a fact in Enoch's time as it is now. The Gospel of the Only Begotten Son was declared to Adam and his children by the voice of God and by angels sent down from heaven. Belief in God, repentance from sin, baptism in water, and reliance upon God's grace, were taught definitely in manifold ways.

Satan rages at the very Name of Christ; he is the avowed enemy of the Anointed One; Christ is the friend of man; Satan will do anything to destroy that friendship. Therefore, he goes among "the children of men" seeking to make them miserable as he himself is miserable. (Alma 13:1-9.) One of Satan's choicest bits of propaganda lies in tempting men to seek happiness in doing iniquity. So much has he succeeded in deceiving the unwary that "men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God." Carnal, means fleshy, or of the flesh; sensual, devoted to the pleasures of sense and appetite, voluptuous, sometimes lewd; devilish, resembling, characteristic of, or pertaining to the devil. To be shut out of God's presence, means, to be deprived of His holy word, His wisdom and counsel; to be left alone without His guidance.

That the reader may more fully understand the awful condition into which Satan has lured the children of men, after we quote Nephi, the son of Helaman—than whom there never was a greater prophet of God than he—we will refer such inquirers to the appended list of words spoken by other great men concerning the subject at hand; these words are equally true of Enoch's time:

"O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world! Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow they are to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom's paths! Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide." (Helaman 12:4-6.) (pp. 190-91)

Some insights on the Doctrine and Covenants from Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl

Here are some insights from a book I recently read:

Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary (rev ed.; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1978)

The meaning of “Salvation”

Salvation is the greatest gift; it includes all other gifts. All other gifts are subservient to it. Salvation means deliverance from outward dangers, victory over enemies, remission of sins through acceptance of Christ and obedience to His laws, and eternal exaltation (Compare Exodus 14:13; I. Sam. 14:45; Luke 1:77; 19:9.) “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor. 10:12.)

“Salvation is for man to be saved from all his enemies: for, until a man can triumph over death, he is not saved. A knowledge of the priesthood [and obedience] alone will do this” (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Vol. V., p. 403) . . . Salvation comes through the power of God; yet, only those who “endure to the end” will be saved ([sec 20] v. 25), and generally speaking, those who feel too sure of their salvation are farthest from it. Soren Kjerkegaard has expressed this thought in the following quaint paradox: “If you fear, then fear not; but if you do not fear, then fear.” (pp. 35, 104)

On D&C 10:54 teaching there is truth in all faiths

Not to destroy * * * to build up my church] When the Lord understood to establish again His Church among the children of men, He did not intend to set aside any truth they had discovered, or in which they believed. “Mormonism” embraces all truth, no matter where found. It is a fact that the Latter-day Saints, as the late Bishop F.S. Spalding (Episcopalian), of Salt Lake City, expressed it, believed all the truth that other Christians believe, and then something more. “Mormonism” is constructive, not destructive. It recognizes truth everywhere, and it builds on such truth. Truth is its building material. (p. 57)

Ecclesiology and fallibility of Church leadership and members:

The Church is said to be the “body” of Christ (Eph. 1:23). As a “body” it may have its limitations, and even failings, for the human element in it has not reached perfection; but as long as it has the Holy Priesthood and is true to Him, keeping His commandments, observing His ordinances, and promulgating His gospel, it is His “body,” the object of His love. He is the “head,” although He is on the other side of the veil; for He rules and guides its affairs, and is as really present in the Church, as if He were among us in the flesh. The Tabernacle in the wilderness had two compartments, separated by a veil,--the Holy and the Most Holy. The Presence of God rested on the Mercy Seat in the cap, and all Israel was guided by it. The Church, too, has two grand divisions, one on this side of the veil, and one on the other side. Christ is now, in a special sense, with the Church on the other side, but His presence here is none the less real, for there is only a veil between this side and the other.

The Hebrews, anciently, had their Assembly, which was a representative and ruling body. The institution survived in the ruling body of the Synagogue, which was called the “Church” (Matt. 18:17). The Greek republics also had their representative assemblies, known as “churches” (ecclesiae). They were visible bodies, and so is the Church of Christ. IT is an assembly as tangible as any Congress or Parliament. (pp. 113-14)

On D&C 45:3-5 and the intercessory work of Jesus Christ

3. Him who is the advocate with the Father] That is another reason for obedience. Christ, our Lord, is our legal representative at the eternal bar of justice. He pleads our causes. But a client must follow the counsel of his advocate, or lose his case.

4-5. Behold the sufferings and death * * * spare these my brethren] This is the plea of the Son. In the Mosaic dispensation the priest presented before God a sacrifice slain in behalf of the Israelites. That was a type of Christ’s sacrifice, who presents Himself as the Lamb of God, slain for us, and intercedes in our behalf, on the condition that we are willing to obey Him and leave our cause in His hands. There is but one Mediator between God and man, and that is our blessed Savior. His redeemed and sanctified brethren may pray for one another, but they cannot enter behind the veil in behalf of others, or even in behalf of themselves. Our justification, our salvation, is due only to the mediation of Christ.

That thyself might be glorified] Christ died, that His Father might be glorified, and the salvation of His children in His glory. (p. 253)

On D&C 77:6 and the “seven thousand years” beginning, not at the creation of the world, but the Fall of man:

The book * * * sealed] The book which is sealed contains the history of the seven thousand years of the temporal existence of the earth.

“By the seven thousand years of temporal existence is meant the time of the earth’s duration from the fall of Adam to the end of time, which will come after the Millennium and ‘a little season’ which will follow. The earth and all on it were in a spiritual condition before the fall, for mortality had not come bringing temporal conditions. We are now living in the second period of the earth’s history, which is referred to as being a telestial condition. In other words, a condition where wickedness and all the vicissitudes of morality endure. It is the earth and its inhabitants in the fallen state which Adam brought through his transgression. This condition will continue until Christ comes.” (Ch. History and Modern Revelation, p. 64, second series.) (p. 474)

Joseph Smith as a "Forerunner"/"Elias"

I have written about the use of "Elias" to denote a "forerunner" here:

"Elias" as a "Forerunner" in LDS Scripture

Interestingly, Parley P. Pratt (1807-1857) used "Elias" as a title of Joseph Smith and his role as a "forerunner":

Joseph Smith was the Elias, the Restorer, the presiding Messenger, holding the keys of the "Dispensation of the fulness of times." (Key to the Science of Theology, p. 79)

(Request for Help) Problem with Searching older posts on Dashboard

Been having an issue with the blogger Dashboard search option: I have articles going as far back as August 2013, but the search option on the dashboard in recent days has only been able to go as far back as March 2017. Anyone know how to fix this? Please comment below if you have any pointers. Thanks!

Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl on the importance of Studying Theology

While commenting on D&C 88, Hyrum M. Smith (1872-1918) and Janne M. Sjodahl (1853-1939) emphasised the importance of studying theology:

77. Teach one another] In this paragraph, and those following, the Lord instructs His servants to apply themselves to the study of various branches of science, and first of all to theology—“the doctrine of the kingdom.” They were to study diligently and be instructed “in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God” (v. 78). That comprises the entire range of theology—Exegetical, Historical, Systematic, and Pastoral.

Systematic theology may be divided into (1) Theology proper, which includes all that has been revealed concerning the being and attributes of the Godhead, and the relation of God to the world, in the creation and in providence. (2) Anthropology, which includes the origin and nature of man; the fall, and the effects of the fall upon the human race. (3) Soteriology, which includes the plan of salvation, the work of the Redeemer, and the application of His work for the regeneration, justification, and sanctification of man, (4) Eschatology,, which includes the doctrines concerning the last things; the state of the human spirit between death and resurrection, the Millennium, the judgment, heaven, and hell. (5) Ecclesiology, which includes the doctrine, regarding the Church; its organization and attributes, and the Priesthood.

Theology is the most important of all sciences. “They are one,” says President Brigham Young, “a great many branches of education. Some go to college to learn languages, some to study law, some to study physics, and some to study astronomy and various other branches of science. We want every branch of science taught in this place that is taught in the world. But our favorite study is that branch which particularly belongs to the Elders of Israel, namely, theology. Every Elder should become a profound theologian—should understand this branch better than all the world. (Jour. Of Dis., Vol. VI., p. 317). (Hyrum M. Smith and Janne M. Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary [rev ed.; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1978], 555-56, emphasis added)

Continuing, they also emphasise the importance of studying “hard” and “soft” sciences and other related fields, showing that “anti-intellectualism” is antithetical to “Mormonism”:

But theology is not the only subject the Elders should be interested in. They should study:

79. Things both in heaven] Astronomy.

And in the earth] Everything pertaining to the cultivation of the soil.

And under the earth] Mineralogy, geology, etc.

Things which are] Current events.

Things which must shortly come to pass] Prophecies.

Things which are at home * * * abroad] Domestic and foreign policies.

Wars * * * perplexities * * * judgments] The “signs of the times,” by which the observer may know that “the day of the Lord” is at hand.

A knowledge of countries * * * kingdoms] Physical and political geography languages, etc.

These studies, the Lord considers necessary, “That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you (v. 80). God does not require all His servants to become doctors, or professors, or even profound students of these subjects, but He expects them to know enough of these things to be able to magnify their calling as His ambassadors to the world. The Latter-day Saints have, as George A. Smith remarks (Jour. Of Dis., Vol. VI., p. 84), “been constantly and continually, upon new ground”; they have had to shift for themselves, and it is only because the Elders have tried to live up to this Revelation that they have been able to find a home in a desert and make a Paradise in waste places. It is by the light of this Revelation that the Saints have been able to reach a place in the world of politics, arts, and sciences, second to none. We may say that in the school organized according to this Revelation, the seeds of the future greatness of the Church were sown. (Ibid., 556, emphasis added)

Books by LeGrand L Baker

On this Website, LeGrand Baker has made available his books as PDF downloads, including the following two highly recommended (and lengthy) volumes:

Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord? The Psalms in Israel's Temple Worship in the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon (with Stephen D. Ricks)

Murder of the Mormon Prophet: Political Prelude to the Death of Joseph Smith

Dom Wulstan Mork on the non-Trinitarian Concept of God in the Old Testament and Confirmation

In a work on the sacraments in Roman Catholic theology, Dom Wulstan Mork admitted that the concept of a Tri-une God was unknown until the coming of Christ:

The whole Old Testament is emphatic on this one point: God is not merely a force, an energy, but a person. (There is no revelation of the existence of three persons in God until Christ’s coming.) . . . But Christ revealed that God is one in three Persons, a Trinity. This is a strict mystery that the intellect alone could never discover, nor even now can it understand. (Dom Wulstan Mork, Transformed by Grace: Scripture, Sacraments and the Sonship of Christ [Cincinnati, Ohio: Servant Books, 1965, 2004], 9, 29)

Elsewhere, he offered the following on Confirmation; I have been thinking about this topic recently as I am speaking at a baptism tomorrow and will be participating in the confirmation on Sunday:

Confirmation gives the fullness of the Holy Spirit, therefore the fullness of sonship. This is the essence of the sacrament, its meaning and its purpose.

It is true that we received the Holy Spirit in baptism, we “were all given to drink of a single Spirit.” What more is there to receive? What is this “fullness”? The reason for confirmation is that the Holy Spirit “anointed” Christ on two occasions: at the Incarnation, when he united the human nature to the Son; and after Christ’s baptism, when he descended upon him in the form of a dove. Our baptism was our first anointing by the Spirit, our Incarnation. Because the Son received a second, so must we adopted sons. “Confirmation extends to us the mystery of the baptism of Christ in the Jordan when the Father publicly proclaimed him Son at the inauguration of his messianic mission.” (Ibid., 135)