Waking Up
I started waking up about four years ago. I agree with Hugh Nibley who said that "nobody likes to be awakened from a deep sleep. So we choose to sleep on." I chose to sleep on for years. The Lord told us to “awake from a deep sleep”. (2 Nephi 1:13.) I "stumbled upon" different books in the process of awakening from my deep sleep and seeking the Truth. The two that stand out the most are "The Second Comforter: Conversing with the Lord through the Veil" and "Passing the Heavenly Gift." Both books by Denver Snuffer. The former I believe is a manual, as one friend put it, on receiving the Second Comforter, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the flesh and the latter is an honest and accurate account of the changes that took place in the church since the time of Joseph Smith.
Denver Snuffer uses the Scriptures, the words of Joseph Smith and the church’s own historic journals and publications to back up his ideas. Before I share some of the truths I learnt from his books, I would like to mention that having the Holy Ghost enter your life to wash away “the precepts of men” (2 Nephi 28:14) and “the abominable traditions” (Helaman 15:7) is not always a process filled with “warm fuzzies” or “a good feeling”. It may be quite uncomfortable to “awake from a deep sleep”. I can’t imagine anybody would be very pleased and happy if woken up in the middle of the night. Sometimes, the gratitude and joy come after you woke up not in the process of doing so.
Denver Snuffer uses the Scriptures, the words of Joseph Smith and the church’s own historic journals and publications to back up his ideas. Before I share some of the truths I learnt from his books, I would like to mention that having the Holy Ghost enter your life to wash away “the precepts of men” (2 Nephi 28:14) and “the abominable traditions” (Helaman 15:7) is not always a process filled with “warm fuzzies” or “a good feeling”. It may be quite uncomfortable to “awake from a deep sleep”. I can’t imagine anybody would be very pleased and happy if woken up in the middle of the night. Sometimes, the gratitude and joy come after you woke up not in the process of doing so.
I would like to start by sharing some of the truths I learnt in "Passing the Heavenly Gift", specifically in chapters 10 and 14. I will continue in the next post.
The Nauvoo Temple
In Section 124 of D&C Joseph Smith received the revelation from the Lord as commandment and instructions for the saints, which, if followed, would bring blessings, the fullness of the priesthood and protection from the enemies. But if ignored, they would be cursed and suffer His wrath:
And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my people; For I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times. And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house, and the priesthood thereof, and the place whereon it shall be built. And ye shall build it on the place where you have contemplated building it, for that is the spot which I have chosen for you to build it. If ye labor with all your might, I will consecrate that spot that it shall be made holy. And if my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place. But if they will not hearken to my voice, nor unto the voice of these men whom I have appointed, they shall not be blest, because they pollute mine holy grounds, and mine holy ordinances, and charters, and my holy words which I give unto them. And it shall come to pass that if you build a house unto my name, and do not do the things that I say, I will not perform the oath which I make unto you, neither fulfil the promises which ye expect at my hands, saith the Lord. For instead of blessings, ye, by your own works, bring cursings, wrath, indignation, and judgments upon your own heads, by your follies, and by all your abominations, which you practice before me, saith the Lord. (D&C 124:40-48)
God said that He wanted to reveal to the saints things hidden from before the foundation of the world and the fullness of the priesthood in the Nauvoo Temple that they would have to build for Him. The temple was never finished even at the time of Joseph’s death. If Joseph knew that the fullness was conditioned to be given by God in the Nauvoo Temple, why would he start performing endowments in his store?
It is interesting to ponder why Joseph would introduce a form of endowment in his red brick store before his passing if he already knew that the Lord was going to reveal the fullness to the saints upon completion of the Nauvoo Temple. Perhaps there was something Joseph foresaw the saints would fail to receive so he wanted to give them a form? A form that would invite through the ceremonial rites those able to hear back into God's presence.
God said that He would only bestow the fullness of the priesthood inside the Nauvoo Temple. Brigham Young later claimed that he received the fullness of the priesthood from Joseph outside of the Nauvoo Temple in direct contradiction to the revelation given by the Lord.
The Lord promised to the saints that “if my people will hearken unto my voice, and unto the voice of my servants whom I have appointed to lead my people, behold, verily I say unto you, they shall not be moved out of their place.” Is there any evidence that they met the Lord’s requirement? Were they not “moved out of their place?” Or were they driven from Nauvoo by angry mobs never having performed the ordinances in the completed temple? Have they really succeeded in meeting the Lord’s condition and avoided His wrath? Perhaps the fact that they were forced by the mobs to leave the city without ever being able to use a completed temple and that the temple itself was first burned and later destroyed by a tornado (Roberts. B.H. The Rise and Fall of Nauvoo. Salt Lake City: Deseret News Publisher, 1900, p. 369.) may help us answer that question.
The saints who fled the Nauvoo and their descendants always claimed that the requirements have been met and they did everything asked of them. But let’s look at the facts:
- The spot was never consecrated by the Lord or made holy as He said He would if the conditions were met.
- The saints were moved out of the spot what He said would not happen if the conditions were met.
- The temple was completely destroyed what He said would not happen if the conditions were met.
- The saints suffered greatly going westward as He said they would if the conditions were not met.
