Chapter 18—Modern Gentiles' Provocation 2

Provocation Two—Rejecting Keys and Knowledge of God
     No matter how vast our earthly assets are, it is impossible to progress spiritually if our hearts are set on the world. Knowledge of God is required for eternal life, but “many professing to be saints seem to have no knowledge, no light to see anything beyond a dollar, or a pleasant time, or a comfortable house, or a fine farm.”

Those [who] can see the spiritual atmosphere can see that many of the Saints are still glued to this earth and lusting and longing after the things of this world in which there is no profit . . . The people are still shaking hands with the servants of the devil instead of sanctifying themselves.

     Alleviating the needs of the poor is far from Gentile hearts. They expect Zion, but it cannot come if they are not transformed in spirit. The tragic reality—that the very laws and doctrines needed to establish Zion have been minimized or dismissed—is obscured by their prosperity and religious rigor. Many devout people have “a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:2–3).
     Joseph observed, “Many, having a zeal not according to knowledge have, no doubt in the heat of enthusiasm, taught and said things which are derogatory to the genuine character and principles of the Church.”
     Zeal without knowledge will “prove dangerous and cause them to be rigid in a religious capacity.” Knowledge is the key. “The cure for inadequate knowledge is ‘ever more light and knowledge’ . . . True knowledge never shuts the door on more knowledge, but zeal often does.”

Taking Away Knowledge
     Jesus came at “a time of deep intellectual crises. The Israelite culture had experienced a severe apostasy from the Abrahamic covenant. The Judaism of his day had long been divided over the revelatory heritage of the prophets and a rational religious perspective that succeeded in dominating the local power structure” and hierarchy. They “had forsaken ‘the key of knowledge’ and replaced it with their own reasoning.”
     Having ‘supposed’ authority, the ruling priests take away the key of knowledge by their vanity, unbelief, erring interpretations, and convenient or self-serving modifications. It is the pattern of apostasy. Historical Christianity committed this error as have we in modern times.

[The priesthood] would not suffer any doctrines that had the smallest tendency to diminish their despotic authority; but obliged the public teachers to interpret the precepts of Christianity in such a manner as to render them subservient to the support of papal dominion and tyranny . . . [which] led them to place the whole of religion in vain ceremonies, bodily austerities and exercises, and particularly in a blind and stupid veneration for the clergy.

The scholastic doctors, who considered the decisions of the ancients and the precepts of the Dialecticians as the great rule and criterion of truth, instead of explaining the doctrines of the gospel, mined them by degrees and sunk divine truth under the ruins of captious philosophy. The consequences of all this were superstition and ignorance, which were substituted in the place of true religion and reigned over the multitude with a universal sway.

     Many important truths have been removed today from scripture and teachings, causing even the zealous to walk in darkness by believing error. This leads to the unfortunate result that our understanding diminishes until truth is outright rejected, forbidden, and denied.
     One example is the 1832 prophecy and revelation of “one mighty and strong” who, “like as Moses,” will be sent “to utter words, eternal words” and “to set the house of God in order” to establish Zion. Having the seven-fold Spirit of God, “he shall execute judgment in righteousness” (1 Nephi 22:21). Decades after Joseph’s death the saints knew that “before we can go back to inherit this land in all its fullness of perfection, God has promised that He would ‘raise up a man like unto Moses’.” The prophetic nature of this role is confirmed by His words “it shall come to pass” (D&C 85:7) and “as the Lord speaketh, He will also fulfill.”
     Early apostles knew this referred to “a future messenger promised,” but by 1905 the First Presidency fully denied this prophecy. In 1917 it was reported, “The greater portion of the Latter-day Saints have heard many of our present leaders declare the equivalent that all authority and power of the Priesthood have been restored and that nothing will come forth unto the Saints except through them.” Some leaders went so far as to declare that “whoso says that a Mighty and Strong [One] is to come has no place among us, but if he ever comes he will be ordained through the authorities of the church.” President Penrose took it further, saying that “some go off on the tangent of the Mighty and Strong One, others the Elias, but it is the spirit of Lucifer which prompts them all.”
     To deny God’s word makes us more like unbelieving Gentiles than a faithful remnant. For some it is more desirable to deny scripture than to acknowledge that His restored church needs to be set in order again. To consider this evokes fear or frustration in those who prefer to believe all is well in their version of Zion.
      Doctrines that make us uncomfortable are easy to dismiss, but our responsibility to receive truth remains. False doctrines discourage us from believing that the Lord will do His great and marvelous work in the manner He chooses. If we accept scripture, we must believe that God gives His authority and power to whom He will, without deference for hierarchal position alone.
     Other knowledge, including the Gentiles’ obligations, true relation to Israel, and responsibilities to the remnant have been lost. George Lee, the only Native American to receive a high leadership position in the LDS church before his ex-communication, disagreed with leaders on the role of Indians in the last days. He felt the church was “bent on changing the meaning of Mormon scripture. It got to the point where I had to follow them or Jesus Christ,” Lee said, “and I chose to follow Jesus Christ.” Lee’s beliefs came from taking the Book of Mormon seriously and recognizing that the LDS were neglecting their covenant obligation to Israel’s remnant. Lee was outspoken in his warnings to the LDS church:

You have set yourself up as a literal seed of Israel when the Lord Jesus designated you as Gentiles or ‘adopted Israel.’ You have set yourself up as true seed of Ephraim, thereby displacing the true seed of Israel. You have . . . diminished the role of true Israel. This has resulted in great confusion, misinterpretations, and misunderstandings of the scriptures as they relate to Gentiles and Israel . . .

[You] have forgotten your blessings and the divine sacred role you were to play. I am afraid that the same thing that has happened to the Nephites is happening to you . . . Didn’t the Nephites have all the blessings of the gospel, priesthood, and authority? But look what happened to them . . . [LDS have] little or no obligation or sense of responsibility to the Lamanites and other true seed of Israel. This kind of teaching runs counter to the instructions of the Lord Jesus and collides with the will of God.

     Lee continued his bold rebuke, “You are slowly causing a silent and subtle scriptural and spiritual slaughter of the Indians and other Lamanites. While physical extermination may have been one of the Federal government’s policies long ago, your current scriptural and spiritual extermination of Indians and other Lamanites is the greater sin and great shall be your condemnation for this.” Lee reprimanded fellow leaders for their “pride, arrogance, love of power, and no sense of obligation to the poor, needy, and afflicted. In short, you (are) betraying and turning your backs on the very people on whom your own salvation hangs.”
     The Gentiles cannot fulfill their covenant duties without properly understanding their role in the last days. Gentiles were given His gospel with the warning to “not harden their hearts, that they may repent and come unto me and be baptized in my name and know of the true points of my doctrine, that they may be numbered among my people, O house of Israel” (3 Nephi 21:6). Much is riding on it.

Thou shalt preach the fulness of my gospel which I have sent forth in these last days . . . and inasmuch as they do repent and receive the fulness of my gospel and become sanctified, I will stay mine hand in judgment. (D&C 39:11, 18)

     What is the fulness of His gospel that is so important that it can stay judgment? While the LDS typically consider the fulness to include offices, scriptures, doctrines, programs, ordinances, or anything the church says or does, Christ defines it differently: it includes all the ordinances required to receive “the covenant which I have sent forth to recover my People, which are of the house of Israel” (D&C 39:11), even “his everlasting covenant” that we may “be made partakers of the glories.” Understanding this fulness, and our obligation to receive it, has been lost.
     The fulness was offered to latter-day Gentiles so that believing remnants could “come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer” (1 Nephi 10:14). The Book of Mormon contains the fulness, the covenant to recover His people, but we are still condemned for taking it lightly (D&C 84:49–58).
     To not seek the fulness or fulfill our duties provokes God. “Wo be unto the children of men if this be the case” (Moroni 10:25). We cannot preach the fulness until we understand His gospel and its covenants, but the doctrine of Christ, explicitly revealed in scripture for the salvation of men, has been dismissed today. The necessity of the purifying baptism of fire has been eliminated from curriculum. Doctrinally it has become synonymous with ritual baptism and confirmation. The resurrected Christ said His gospel requires faith and repentance sufficient to receive the baptism of fire and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
     Misinterpreting, altering, censoring, or removing knowledge reduces our understanding until we lose sight of things of eternal worth, wandering in darkness while believing it is a day of light. After Christ’s death understanding of His doctrine diminished too. The “most prized things of the kingdom . . . were carefully kept out of circulation” to such a degree that 2nd-century Christian theologian “Origen can report no clear official teaching in his day ‘not only regarding minor matters, but on the very first principles of the gospel’.”
     In 2013, not long before he became President of the LDS church, apostle Russell Nelson admittedly offered a “leaner model” of the doctrine of Christ. Nelson’s interpretation was not the doctrine of Christ as defined in scripture, but merely “facets” of gospel principles. Instead of boldly proclaiming the doctrine of Christ as revealed, Nelson’s much-reduced version redefined it by removing essential components. Nelson concluded by apologizing if any “feel that I have given you a heavy load of doctrine this morning.” Christ warned,

Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church. (D&C 10:67–68)

     Christ reiterated, “This is my doctrine, and whoso . . . shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil and is not built upon my rock” (3 Nephi 11:39–40). True prophets must declare the pure doctrine of Christ (2 Nephi 28–32). “How great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth” (2 Nephi 2:8), but have we obtained any more knowledge of God and His gospel beyond the basics that others teach to them? Is what is taught correct or properly understood? Are they receiving the light and seeking knowledge, even further light and knowledge through the veil? Christ’s doctrine is so important that He refuses to give more until we receive it from Him in the flesh.

Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do. (2 Nephi 32:6)

     Shortly after Nelson assumed leadership in 2018, the Articles of Faith on lds.org stripped some important elements and presented the church’s beliefs in a manner that seemed to appeal more to the world. Minimizing or changing doctrine is Satan’s most effective way to destroy a church. When doctrine is changed, beliefs change. When beliefs stray, priorities change and faith dies. When belief systems are reformed from what was restored, we will fall. Many err by assuming His gospel is inseparable with the church, but there is no guarantee His doctrine will remain pure once entrusted to men. Dismissing Christ’s doctrine removes His name and power. What He revealed, the priesthood profaned.
     Their error is hidden because it is not as if they reject temple attendance. In fact, it is just the opposite. Israelite priests also encouraged people to regularly “come to Bethel,” the house of God (Amos 4:4). At one point, God had dwelled at Bethel. There Abraham established an altar, Jacob received the name Israel and had a vision of climbing a ladder to heaven, and the prophetess Deborah judged Israel. Bethel once housed a prophetic guild—a school of the prophets—but worship became corrupted. It was at Bethel that Elijah was mocked and Jeroboam instituted idolatrous worship, again with golden calves. Transgressions increased at Gilgal, home of the northern prophets. God mimicked the prevailing but spiritually destructive attitude of the self-righteous people and priests:

Come to Bethel and transgress; to Gilgal and multiply transgression. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days; offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O people of Israel! (Amos 4:4–5, ESV)

     Believing “this is for acceptance,” their faithless rituals increase sin because they fail to worship Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). God had commanded them not to worship this way. “They come to the temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me,” but He is not fooled—they must repent (Isaiah 58:2, NLT).
     The commandment was, “Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God” (Exodus 23:17). To appear at the temple is not enough—they must come to see Him. “The Hebrew actually says: three times a year shall all your men see the face of the Lord.” Deuteronomists influenced a different reading of the text “to avoid the expression ‘see the face of the Lord’.” What was once the glorious purpose of temple worship was modified in scripture and lost to our understanding. True worship seeks His face.

For what purpose are your abundant sacrifices to me? says Jehovah. I have had my fill of offerings . . . When you come to see me, who requires you to trample my courts so? Bring no more worthless offerings. They are as a loathsome incense to me . . . Your monthly and regular meetings my soul detests. They have become a burden on me. I am weary of putting up with them. (Isaiah 1:11–14, Gileadi)

     Displeased by temple work that does not invoke His presence, God “regardeth not the offering anymore” (Malachi 2:13). “They leave off righteousness” so their holy place “shall come to naught” (Amos 5:7, 5). “Hear, my people, and take in the words of my lips. If any one bring any gifts to an earthly ruler and have disloyal thoughts in his heart, and the ruler know this, will he not be angry with him, and not refuse his gifts, and not give him over to judgment?” (2 Enoch 46:1–2).
     “This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God” (Alma 34:32), but many who claim His name will not “seek His face” (D&C 101:38). Priesthood keys, offered for this very purpose, are useless if we do not live up to our covenants or refuse His invitation (D&C 84:19–22). Keys and power come by “obtaining the voice of Jehovah,” but most will not seek it and “cast off the thing that is good” (Hosea 8:3). Coming to Him leads to knowledge from Him, even the promise of eternal life.

I would exhort you to go on and continue to call upon God until you make your calling and election sure for yourselves by obtaining this more sure word of prophecy, and wait patiently for the promise until you obtain it.

     “The more sure word of prophecy means a man’s knowing that he is sealed up unto eternal life, by revelation and the spirit of prophecy, through the power of the Holy Priesthood” (D&C 131:5). It is the promise that we are “sealed in the heavens and had the promise of eternal life in the kingdom of God.” This surety “would support the soul in every hour of trial, trouble, and tribulation.” So “knowledge through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the grand key that unlocks the glories and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.”
     A year before his death, Joseph spoke of this glorious ordinance “to be called, elected and made sure.” Later generations downplayed this doctrine until its mention was removed from lesson manuals and the Church Education System forbid its discussion, keeping many from understanding how to truly ascend to celestial glory.
     Making our election ‘sure’ through personal revelation is a threat to an ensnared priest. “The stronghold of a money-loving priesthood” discourages us from receiving a personal sure witness of our acceptance by God. In other words, “if assurance be the right of every man who believes, then the priest’s occupation is at an end. His craft is not only in danger, but gone. It was the want of assurance [of their salvation] that enabled him to drive so prosperous a trade . . . It was by this craft he had his wealth.” Receiving a personal witness from God absolves us of the need for priests to intercede. “Who will go to [the priests] to make sure that which God has already made sure in a more excellent way than theirs?”
     Some priests discourage people from receiving personal revelation, learning mysteries, or obtaining His comforting surety—taking away keys of knowledge. It is the most wicked of all crimes one can commit against others because it hinders their journey to eternal life.
     God gave us “the great things of my law but they were counted as a strange thing” (Hosea 8:12). He encourages us to receive knowledge of greater things, even mysteries of eternal life. “If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” (D&C 42:61). It is the purpose of existence: “men are that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). Revelation is necessary to fill the measure of our creation.
     An initiate is a daughter or “son of the mysteries.” In a theological sense, a mystery is spiritually significant truth received by divine revelation, hidden from the natural man. Its etymology suggests initiates must shut their mouth to protect sacred rites or doctrines from the unholy. Mysteries are truths the unprepared cannot understand or appreciate. “There are no mysteries pertaining to the Gospel, only as we, in our weakness, fail to comprehend Gospel truth.”

We are called to hold the keys of the mysteries of those things that have been kept hid from the foundation of the world until now.

     God urges us to seek truths that must be hidden from the world. “It is the privilege of the children of God to come to God and get revelation,” to prophesy and receive “the mysteries of godliness . . . It is your privilege to purify yourselves and come up to the same glory, and see for yourselves, and know for yourselves. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
     Knowledge is needed for “doing much good in this generation” and to “bring forth my work” (D&C 6:8–9), but those ‘of the world’ will not recognize or receive it. Many are “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). Truth leads to salvation.

Find out mysteries that thou mayest bring many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, convince them of the error of their ways. (D&C 6:11)

     “Many seal up the door of heaven by saying, So far God may reveal and I will believe,” or ‘I will accept this much that has been revealed but no more!’ Though we possess some scripture, “ye need not suppose that it contain all my words,” for there is “more to be written” (2 Nephi 29:6, 10). “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger” (Luke 6:25). This attitude will cause us to “come short of the glory of God. To become a joint heir of the heirship of the Son, one must put away all his false traditions.”
     Many believe in continuing revelation but deny God an opportunity to reveal more truth. It is sin to believe we have enough and “don’t need much revelation” anymore, as LDS president Hinckley proclaimed in 1997. Shortly after, he reiterated that the church already had “a great, basic reservoir” so “we don’t need a lot of continuing revelation.” This belief contradicts the restored gospel and provokes God. Even in its first pages, the Book of Mormon describes conflict between those who believe we must seek revelation (Lehi and Nephi) and those who believe all is well in the church (Laman and Lemuel).

Wo be unto him that shall say, We have received the word of God and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough! . . . For unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away, even that which they have. (2 Nephi 28:29–30)

     “Wo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord and that shall say the Lord no longer worketh by revelation” (3 Nephi 29:6). Those who “say that they are done away . . . knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them” (Mormon 9:7–8). “Their hearts are corrupt and they cloak their iniquity by saying there are no more revelations.” Joseph said such actions only

reveal their wickedness and abominations . . . As far as we degenerate from God, we descend to the devil and lose knowledge, and without knowledge we cannot be saved. A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power . . . hence [we] need revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.

     “Does it remain for a people who never had faith enough to call down one scrap of revelation from heaven . . . to say how much God has spoken and how much He has not spoken?” “Because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another, for my work is not yet finished, neither shall it be until the end of man” (2 Nephi 29:9).
     Alarmingly, the LDS are also taught that “the order of heaven” can change, and following words of a previous prophet that contradict current opinions can lead to a spiritual death. Given such confusion (which is eerily reminiscent of what Joseph Smith experienced at the time God told him to join ‘no church’), we must be able to discern and receive revelation for ourselves. Only a “fool” will say we have His word “and we need no more” (2 Nephi 29:6).

Without revelation no man could build up the kingdom of heaven on the earth and have it prosper.

     As knowledge departs, will we notice? Many zealously proclaim to revere scripture while losing contact with the very God who reveals it. In this they “betrayed him with the kiss of false devotion. In their professed reverence for that which God had spoken in the past, they denied him the right to continue to speak . . . Their God had spoken and need speak no more.” God has more to say, but do we ask for more?

Now if God should give no more revelations, where will we find Zion and this remnant?

     The wise ask God for “the truth of all things,” which He promises to reveal if we sincerely want to find truth (Moroni 10:4–5). “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). When Joseph experimented on these words, heaven opened to him, but today the heavens are shut to many, including church leaders. Isaiah knew the eyes of “the prophets and your rulers” (Isaiah 29:10, Webster’s) would be closed.
     It is alarming that the last revelation recorded in the LDS scripture canon (D&C 138) was over a century ago, in 1918. In 1882, LDS president John Taylor recorded a revelation wherein the Lord rebuked the priesthood, saying they must “humble themselves before me, and seek not their own will, but my will; for if my Priesthood . . . do not acknowledge me, I will not acknowledge them.”

Salvation cannot come without revelation, it is in vain for anyone to minister without it.

     “The reason that the Priests of the day do not get revelation [is because] they ask only to consume it upon their lusts.” What adds to the challenge is that the devil can also give ‘revelations,’ deceiving us by giving answers we want and making it appear to be from God. Deciding doctrine or direction in council leads to apostasy. Doing “the work of men” instead of “the work of God” will cause our fall.

It is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men; for although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him. (D&C 3:3–4)

     We must not harden our hearts to the many ways God chooses to reveal His word. He hopes that we “might understand the scriptures” as He intended (Luke 24:45). “Scriptures shall be given, even as they are in my own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect” (D&C 35:20). To dismiss or distort what He reveals prevents us from receiving eternal life and makes us enemies to His work.
     Revelation brings “knowledge of me, their Redeemer” (3 Nephi 16:4) and “the fulness of the scriptures” (JST Luke 11:53) but many only want “to know the truth in part, but not all” (D&C 49:2). Warning comes: “Except the Church receive the fulness of the Scriptures they would yet fail.” Yet to this day, most of Joseph’s inspired Bible translation is not included in LDS scripture, being reduced to occasional footnotes or excerpts at best. The Book of Mormon is taken lightly and the invaluable Pearl of Great Price, a doctrinal treasure and “the inheritance prepared for the Saints,” is neglected even more.

What Joseph Smith has given us in the Pearl of Great Price is something that conventional contemporary religion doesn’t have because they lost it, and conventional contemporary science doesn’t have because they never found it . . . The Latter-day Saints have never realized what they have here . . .

We have always treated it as something that can be tossed off in three easy lessons . . . We haven’t taken it seriously. That is an understatement—contempt is a better word.

     “The wicked are too proud to seek God” for “God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4, NLT, KJV). Receiving and believing what He reveals is a condition of the covenant. “A portion of His word which he delivered to His ancient saints has fallen into our hands, presented to us with a promise of a reward if obeyed, and with a penalty if disobeyed.” If we treat His word lightly, penalties will come so judgment is intimately tied to faith. “The doctrine[s] of the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment are necessary to preach among the first principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Further, “the doctrine of eternal judgments belongs to the first principles of the Gospel in the last days.” Those who “pass over judgment” (Luke 11:42)—having “omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matthew 23:23)—will be cursed.
     Holy prophets understand the absolute necessity of experiential knowledge of God. “The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge . . . to advance like himself.” Receiving further light and knowledge differentiates a telestial from a celestial inheritance. Those of lower glory say they are of Christ but do not do what He requires so they provoke God and void the covenant.
     God’s servants preach it, but “who hath believed our report?” (Isaiah 53:1). Widespread unbelief caused Isaiah to ask, “Whom shall [the Lord] teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine?” Only “those that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts” (Isaiah 28:9) are capable of further light and knowledge. And so the righteous lament:

There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. (Romans 3:11, NKJV)

Apostle or Apostate?
     “Led by the vain traditions and precepts of men, [we are] made to believe that the gifts of revelation, vision, the ministry of angels, and prophecy, and all the keys of knowledge which the ancients did enjoy are not now needed, or to be enjoyed.” In 2018, a revised summary of the LDS Articles of Faith removed mention of spiritual gifts like visions, prophecy, interpreting, or speaking in tongues. What once said God ‘reveals’ things to men was reduced to ‘communicates.’
     It is tragic that leadership has distanced themselves from spiritual gifts and experiential knowledge of God. Today, LDS leaders call themselves ‘prophets, seers, and revelators’ without mentioning translation, implying we have enough scripture. Can we expect additional records (which God promises when we are worthy) without the gift of translation? Can we prophesy without ‘the testimony of Jesus’? Can we be a seer if we do not see with the eyes of understanding or receive divine visions? Can we be a revelator if we believe we have enough revelation?
     The Lord explains that “to be a seer, a revelator, a translator, and a prophet” requires “having all the gifts of God” that He may “bestow upon the head of [His] church” (D&C 107:92). Presiding officers must not only be called but chosen, possessing spiritual gifts that are never guaranteed by position alone. Having been proved faithful and true, Joseph received gifts directly from God that made him “a translator, a revelator, a seer, and a prophet” (D&C 124:125).
     A church president is supposed to obtain these gifts to “be like unto Moses” (D&C 107:91). Moses received God’s word directly (Numbers 12:6–8), conversed with Him face to face (Exodus 34:29–30), forsook the world and the power and wealth Pharaoh’s house offered, was a lawgiver who offered the covenant to his people (Exodus 24:8–10), and resisted Satan’s temptations. Moses had sufficient priesthood to work miracles, overcome temptation, and lead people out of spiritual bondage (Exodus 14:21–22). He encouraged them to become sanctified, prophesy, and see the Lord for themselves as he had. Moses was ‘mighty and strong,’ obtaining these gifts by proving himself true and faithful to God. Leaders and people who remain in unbelief will not receive these spiritual gifts.

All these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men . . . And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case, for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one. (Moroni 10:19, 25)

     Many who claim a share in God’s kingdom refuse to know and honor the King. Cain was religious but did not seek God, saying, “Who is the Lord that I should know him?” (Moses 5:16). Many believe the next life is the only time we can see Christ, or that if it occurs in mortality, this experience is reserved only for those in the highest church positions, but this contradicts God’s word. “Every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me . . . shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1).
     Egyptian priests encountered a statue of deity in the holy of holies to remind them of the divine personal experience offered. The Israelite high priest wore garments in the temple to represent a likeness or image of God. The word ‘image’ was later changed to ‘abominations’ by Deuteronomists, effectively vilifying the experience. Scribes changed the phrase ‘to see the face of the Lord’ to read ‘appear before Him,’ causing people “to distance and dematerialize God.” Keeping back the “most precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb” causes many to “remain in that awful state of blindness” (1 Nephi 13:32).
     The LDS took it further by claiming the divine experience is not necessary. In 2014, First Presidency counselor and apostle Dieter Uchtdorf publicly declared that receiving a personal manifestation of Christ is not required: “You do not need to see the Savior, as the Apostles did, to experience the same transformation.”
     This damning but convenient position provokes God and contradicts the original apostolic charge that declared apostles are to be a literal witness of the risen Christ. In 1835, apostles were told they “will have the same difficulties to encounter in fulfilling the ministry that the ancient Apostles had. You have enlisted in a cause that requires your whole attention,” requiring faith to endure “many privations to become perfectly polished.” Apostles knew that seeing God was their obligation.

It is necessary that you receive a testimony from Heaven for yourselves; and so that you can bear testimony to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and that you have seen the face of God. That is more than the testimony of an angel . . . When you bear testimony that you have seen God, this testimony God will never suffer to fall, but will bear you out . . .

Never cease striving until you have seen God face to face. Strengthen your faith; cast off your doubts, your sins, and all your unbelief, and nothing can prevent you from coming to God. Your ordination is not full and complete till God has laid His hands upon you. We require as much to qualify as did those who have gone before us. God is the same. If the Saviour in former days laid his hands on his disciples, why not in latter days?

     In 1890 Lorenzo Snow reaffirmed LDS apostles should “live to see the Savior in the flesh,” but shortly thereafter leadership made major changes in the expectations for apostleship. Quinn explains,

In the twentieth century, charismatic apostleship changed in several ways. First, the ‘charge’ at ordination no longer obligated apostles to seek visions [or God’s face]. Second, the Presidency and apostles began down-playing the importance of these experiences. Third, apostles began speaking of a non-visionary ‘special witness of Christ’ by the Holy Ghost in terms which allowed listeners to conclude that the apostles referred to an actual experience with deity. Fourth, apostles were reluctant to discuss their visionary experiences publicly. Fifth, evidence indicates that a decreasing number of apostles experienced visions before or after ordination.

The change in the apostolic ‘charge’ apparently began with the appointment of Reed Smoot as an apostle in 1900. General church authorities had long regarded him as ‘reliable in business, but [he] has no or little faith.’ President Lorenzo Snow blessed him to receive ‘the light of the Holy Ghost’ so that he could bear testimony of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith. That was an extraordinary departure from the apostolic charge as given since 1835.

A lessening of charismatic obligation continued during Joseph F. Smith’s administration. In 1903, the ‘charge’ to new apostle George Albert Smith spoke of his obligations to attend quorum meetings, to sustain the First Presidency and Twelve’s leadership, to express his views ‘boldly’ in quorum meetings, and to lead an exemplary life. There was no mention of visions. [Later, apostle Hugh B. Brown’s ordination encouraged] a commitment to give all that one has, to keep himself pure and unspotted from the sins of the world, to be obedient to the authorities of the church, and to exercise the freedom to speak his mind but always be willing to subjugate his own thoughts and accept the majority opinion—not only to vote for it, but to act as though it were his own original opinion after it has been approved.

     Remember, following the majority opinion cost the children of Israel a promised land, holy priesthood, and their lives. Decisions must be made “in all righteousness” and “holiness” (D&C 107:30) to avoid curses.
     Perhaps inadequacy felt by apostles who had not attained this glorious experience prompted the redefining of duties. In contrast to the original charge to seek the Lord’s face, in 1907 apostle Anthony Ivins was ordained with the words, “The Twelve are the Special witnesses of Jesus Christ and should be able to testify that he lives even as if he had been seen by them.” Later LDS president Howard Hunter promoted this counsel, testifying, “I know of Christ’s reality as if I had seen with my eyes and heard with my ears.” In 2019, apostle Quentin Cook carefully and strategically claimed, “I know the Savior’s voice and I know the Savior’s face,” but offered no testimony that he had seen Him.
     In 2018, LDS President Russell Nelson also offered his testimony as a “special witness of Christ.” Quoting Joseph Smith’s testimony, “That he lives” (D&C 76:22), Nelson stopped short of quoting Joseph’s very next words: “For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father” (D&C 76:23). Nelson’s testimony of Christ did not include the very experience that defines a true apostle—having a literal witness of Christ.

Thus saith the Lord God, Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! (Ezekiel 13:3)

     Paul declared, “Am I not an apostle? . . . Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?” (1 Corinthians 9:1). He said an apostle “must become a witness with us of his resurrection” (Acts 1:22, NIV). Jacob labored diligently to “persuade all men not to rebel against God to provoke him to anger, but that all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world” (Jacob 1:8). Joseph also knew this was required: “Brethren, now you are prepared to be the apostles of Jesus Christ, for you have seen both the Father and the Son and know that they exist and that they are two separate personages.” True apostles “speak that we do know and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness” (John 3:11).
     Many who testify of Jesus would not recognize His voice or face if He was among them. Hearing His voice defines members of His church. “He that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him also will I receive” (Mosiah 26:21).
     They “profess Christianity, but a Christianity perverted to their own tastes.” They choose “another Jesus”—the one they want Him to be, not the Lord He is. After all, “they have the only Jesus they want.” What you worship is “crafted by your own hands! It is not God!” (Hosea 8:6, NLT). They worship a ‘false Christ,’ a Christ based on false beliefs that deceives and “leads the chosen astray.”

Such a deception could be achieved (and the scripture says ‘they shall deceive’—using the infinitive of result—not ‘they would if they could’) not by any pagan bluster or antiChristian propaganda, but only by a very clever imitation of the real thing . . . The danger that threatens the masses, according to the apostles, is not the same danger that threatens the true disciples: the latter are to lose their lives and win their glory; but for the rest there is another fate. They will go on as followers of ‘Jesus,’ but it is ‘another Jesus’ they follow.

In various ways they ‘pervert’ the truth—not deny it . . . [Priests and] scholars have shown by word and deed that they do not want to know any more about Christ than they do. Instead of joyfully embracing the priceless discoveries which from the Didache to the Dead Sea Scrolls have brought us step by step nearer to a knowledge of the true Church of Jesus Christ as it existed anciently, they have fought these documents at every step. If the resurrected Jesus were to walk among them, they would waste no time beseeching him ‘to depart from their coasts’—They have the only Jesus they want, and they will thank you not to complicate things by introducing new evidence.

     Not only are people deceived by thinking a divine experience is not needed, leaders actually discourage them from seeking this glorious privilege. “Instead of qualifying a man as a special witness and apostle, visions made one vulnerable to apostasy, according to [LDS president Grant]. His first counselor J. Reuben Clark went so far as to reject such visions as ‘testimonies of the flesh’.” Others think those who seek His face are sign-seekers. Apostle Dallin Oaks took it further, “Of course, all of the righteous desire to see the face of our Savior, but the suggestions that this must happen in mortality is a familiar tactic of the adversary.” Such dismissive attitudes prevail in times of apostasy.
     Let us not forget, “The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.” Joseph lamented that “some of the Twelve were so far lost to their high and responsible calling as to begin to take sides” with the enemy unaware. Still, they dismiss experiential knowledge, having the Holy Ghost suffice, saying apostles are “to be witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world. This is not to witness of a personal manifestation . . . To witness of the name of Christ is to witness of the plan, the work, or mission such as the atonement and the authority of the priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which an apostle who holds the keys is uniquely responsible to do . . . Of course apostles are also witnesses of Christ just like all members of the Church who have the gift of the Holy Ghost.” While admitting that “some early apostles” saw Christ, Oaks claims “modern technology” changed things so now “we are counseled not to speak of” sacred experiences, a perplexing view that contradicts the original apostolic charge to “bear testimony that you have seen God” to the world. There is never a more important time than now to testify that Christ lives and comforts all who come to Him.

Never has thy word been so necessary as it is today . . . The rule of Satan has reached its full maturity . . . The only remaining hope is in thy return.

     Warnings to beware of “false prophets, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:13) pervade scripture. “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits” (3 Nephi 14:15–16). “Fruit of the light” (Ephesians 5:9) is accompanied by revelation, visions, prophecy, and sure testimony. Those who have not received these experiences are barren and unfruitful. “He that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits, even according to this pattern, is not of me. Wherefore, by this pattern ye shall know the spirits in all cases under the whole heavens” (D&C 52:18–19).
     True apostles are “witnesses for me” (Acts 1:8, Berean), having a real and personal witness of the resurrected Christ. “The primary qualification and calling of an apostle was to be an eye witness. The calling of a witness is to preach to an unbelieving generation ripe for destruction, with the usual expectation of being rejected.” Meanwhile false prophets and apostles who have not witnessed His resurrection persuade followers that this experience is not necessary, keeping many from a celestial crown.
     “Give heed to that which is written, and pretend to no other revelation” (D&C 32:4). “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord,” claim it is doctrine, then quote each other. They “steal from each other words they attribute to Me” (Jeremiah 23:16, 30, Berean).

You say, We are wise because we have the teachings and laws of the Lord. But I say that your teachers have turned my words into lies! (Jeremiah 8:8, CEV)

     His gospel can bring us to the fulness but we dismiss it for a different path. “In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9). This phrase “is not a denunciation of idolatry, but of those marching under the banner of Christ . . . The name of Christian does not guarantee the Lord’s approval of recognition . . . nor does its presence in the earth prove at any time that Christ’s church has survived . . . ‘The time draweth near [when many shall come in my name] . . . Go ye not therefore after them’ (Luke 21:8).”

Which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? . . . I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message. I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. If they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds. (Jeremiah 23:18, 21–21–22, NIV)

     “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). God “permits false doctrine to be taught in and out of the Church and such teaching is part of the sifting process of mortality . . . True religion is found only where men worship the true and living God.” “Try them by the principles contained in the acknowledged word of God; if they preach, or teach, or practice contrary to that . . . cut them off from among you as useless and dangerous branches.”
     “The world always mistook false prophets for true ones and those that were sent of God, they considered to be false prophets . . . whilst they cherished, honored, and supported . . . hypocrites, impostors, and the basest of men.” The Jews faced similar challenges in Christ’s day.

They were very strict and precise in smaller matters of the law, but careless and loose in weightier matters. They were partial in the law, would pick and choose their duty, according as they were interested or stood affected . . . They were all for the outside, and not at all for the inside, of religion. They were more desirous and solicitous to appear pious to men than to approve themselves so toward God.

     Those claiming to be prophets, seers, or revelators must have prophesied, seen, and had Him revealed. Discernment is a condition of Zion.

For it shall come to pass that the inhabitants of Zion shall judge all things pertaining to Zion. And liars and hypocrites shall be proved by them, and they who are not apostles and prophets shall be known. (D&C 64:38–39)

     The righteous who “tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” will partake of “the tree of life” (Revelation 2:2, 7). What defines a liar? “All men are liars who say they are of the true Church without the revelations of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which is after the order of the Son of God.”
     Melchizedek priesthood is not present if keys of knowledge are lost or forsaken. Without “this greater priesthood” and its keys and power of godliness, “no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live” (D&C 84:19–22). To clarify, “there shall no man among them see me at this time, and live, for they are exceeding sinful. And no sinful man hath at any time, neither shall there be any sinful man at any time, that shall see my face and live” (JST Exodus 33:20). But “if ye turn to him with your whole heart, and with your whole mind, and deal uprightly before him, then will he turn unto you and will not hide his face from you” (Tobit 13:6).
     Ancient saints knew that this testimony was meant to be received in this world. Rejecting His invitation severs us from godliness. The LDS are not the only ones who have succumbed to corrupt doctrine and leader worship, but other religions—like at the time of Restoration—also have lost knowledge and failed to preach the complete and correct path to the Lord. At least for a time the children of Israel knew that seeing God’s face was the purpose of their temple. In the wilderness they foolishly abandoned this privilege, a costly decision that took the high priesthood from them (D&C 84:25)—but did they notice or care?
     Israel said, “Let us alone” when God wanted to manifest Himself (Exodus 14:11). “Israel itself rejected the Lord. In every dispensation they do not seek him. They could find him . . . if they sought him,” but they pursued other interests. “Were the Lord to manifest His powers [today] as He did to the children of Israel, such characters would be the first to say, ‘Let not the Lord speak any more, lest we His people die’.”

The course which the popular clergy pursue at this time in relation to the divine economy looks to me as though they would say, ‘O Lord, we will worship thee with all our hearts, serve thee with all our souls, and be very pious and holy, we will even gather Israel, convert the heathen, and bring in the millennium, if you will only let us alone that we may do it in our own way, and according to our own will. But if you speak from Heaven to interfere with our plan, or cause any to see visions or dreams, or prophesy, whereby we are disturbed or interrupted in our worship, we will exert all our strength and skill to deny what you say, and charge it home upon the devil or some wild fanatic spirit as being its author.

That which was looked upon by the ancient Saints as among the greatest favors and blessings, viz., revelation from God and communion with him by dreams and by visions, is now looked upon by the religious world as the height of presumption and folly. The ancient saints considered their condition most deplorable when Jehovah would not speak to them: but the most orthodox religionists of this age deem it quite heterodox to even admit the probability that he ever will speak again [to man personally].

     Joseph repeatedly warns us about complacency. “Some have thought there would be no more temptation. But the opposite will come; and unless you draw near to the Lord you will be overcome and apostatize.” Sin keeps us from seeing God. “Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God” (Moses 6:49). Tragically, drawing near to the Lord’s presence or getting one’s own direct and real revelation is now discouraged, if not penalized. Instead, we are encouraged to turn to our leaders.
     Those claiming to be apostles believe God changed His requirement to obtain this divine manifestation. Today, an “apostle” may hold a specific church position but God defines it differently. True apostles and prophets are called “not from man nor by a man” (Galatians 1:1, NIV), but ordained “by Jesus Christ and God the Father” (KJV). “All [true] prophets had the Melchizedek priesthood and were ordained by God Himself.” Early Christians knew that office alone guarantees nothing.

If you claim your authority simply by virtue of your office . . . you must be lacking in the authority you claim.

     Those in leadership can easily lead others astray so we must exercise caution. We will all be held accountable for our beliefs and works. “An account of this stewardship will I require of them in the day of judgment” (D&C 70:4).
     Anciently saints knew this testimony was to be had in this world. For this they “made pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The great surge of popular interest beginning in the fourth century alarmed some churchmen, who denounced the pilgrimages as a waste of time and means, dangerous to life and morals, and a disruptive influence on the church . . . [but the pilgrimage] was an attempt to get back to the first order of the church, to retrieve the lost world of visions, martyrs, prophets, and miracles, and this implied dissatisfaction with the present order.” Early writings “furnish abundant evidence for the basic motivation of the pilgrims, which was the desire to reassure oneself the truth of Christianity by seeing and touching the very things the Bible told of and experiencing contact with the other world,” to receive divine knowledge for oneself. This testimony defines an apostle and is the reward of His gospel, the deep desire and lifelong pursuit of all true Christians.

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. (1 John 1:1, NLT)

     He will “show myself unto them” who “hear my voice” (3 Nephi 16:3) because “I know them and they follow me” (John 10:27).
     Levi attained priesthood by diligently seeking these blessings. “The Most High, therefore, has heard your prayer to separate you from unrighteousness and that you should become to him son and a servant and a minister of his presence” (Testament of Levi 4:2). The Lord’s anointed (whom He anoints) will not deny the necessity of seeking or receiving these most glorious blessings—to do so provokes God. “It is the first principle of the gospel to know for a certainty the character of God, and to know that we may converse with Him as one man converses with another.”
     His disciples desire to “be with him.” Possessing His sure word and sure testimony, He can “send them forth to preach” truth in righteousness (Mark 3:14). True apostles are “God’s high priests . . . whom my Father hath given me” (D&C 84:63). “With great power did the apostles give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33, Darby).

And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost . . . abide in you forever. (Ether 12:41)

     Knowing that we can speak directly with and see God is so important that the Restoration began with this very event—the Son and His Father appearing to a faithful boy who sought truth from God. Tragically, His restored church has since dismissed visions and the necessity of a manifestation of Christ, the Second Comforter. For over 30 years, General Conference talks have not even mentioned the ‘Second Comforter’ or making one’s ‘calling and election’ sure.
     Current LDS lesson manuals omit this topic and also Peter’s very important admonition to “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). The LDS solidified their stance in 2013 by changing scriptural footnote a in John 14:16, which previously read “Jesus Christ, Second Comforter” to “Holy Ghost, Comforter,” again contradicting God’s word.
     To not teach a need to receive the Holy Ghost (First Comforter) and the manifestation of Christ (Second Comforter) leaves us comfortless. This provokes God because comforting us is His gospel. “Wo unto all those that discomfort my people . . . a generation of vipers shall not escape the damnation of hell” (D&C 121:23). Discomforting includes more than creating inconveniences. The greater sin lies in spiritual discomfort—dis (without) comfort (the Comforters). Joseph explained,

The other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost (by the laying on of hands), which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted.

When the Lord has thoroughly proved him and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter which the Lord hath promised the Saints [in John 14:12–17] . . .

Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself . . .When any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even He will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. And this is the state and place . . . [of the] Church of the Firstborn.

     “This Comforter is the promise which I give unto you of eternal life, even the glory of the celestial kingdom; which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son,” a “great and last promise” given the faithful initiate (D&C 88:5, 74–75). “I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:16–18).
     Without the Second Comforter, we forfeit high priesthood, Zion, and celestial glory. Those initiated into the Church of the Firstborn have obtained it, but those of the world will not receive this doctrine. When Judas asked the Lord, “How is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us and not unto the world?” Jesus answered, “If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Lest there be confusion, God revealed, “The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance” (D&C 130:3).
     Joseph passionately taught the importance of this ordinance: “Go forward and make your calling and your election sure—and if any man preach any other gospel with that which I have preached,” including the necessity of receiving one’s calling and election, “he shall be cursed.” So important is receiving this experience in mortality that the Lord revealed that those “who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it” are awarded only a terrestrial—not a celestial—inheritance (D&C 76:74). “Deny not the spirit of revelation nor the spirit of prophecy, for wo unto him that denieth these things” (D&C 11:25). “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).
     We cannot have Zion without His personal appearance, for “this is Zion—the pure in heart . . . All the pure in heart that shall come into [His temple] shall see God” (D&C 97:21, 16). “It is your privilege and a promise” that the worthy will rend the veil. “You shall see me,” even “my face, and know that I am” (D&C 67:10, 93:1).
     They say, “We have no god besides you; deliver us, for we are your people,” yet they “abandoned the worship of [their] maker” and refuse this privilege, thus provoking God. Denying this experience has eternal consequence, for “where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Great blessings are lost if we ‘look beyond the mark.’ A mark is a distinguishing sign, a target or object to guide our path. Focusing beyond the target distorts our perspective and can cause our fall. Blindness comes in looking anywhere except to Christ, whose sinless body bore the mark of a world that refused to accept His atoning gift. “Because of the tradition of them and their fathers in setting up stakes,” many are “not coming up to the mark in their probationary state.” Christ is, and has, “the mark” we must come to, to see and feel, if we desire salvation and eternal life. To feel His marks and see His face is the reward of the endowment. He “will lay hand upon you” and “you shall lay hold of Christ.” “Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God” (D&C 45:52).
     We are urged, “Sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will” (D&C 88:68).

I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness. (D&C 93:19)

     The sacrifice and journey is worth it. “The mysteries of his kingdom . . . surpass all understanding in glory, and in might, and in dominion . . . They are only to be seen and understood by the power of the Holy Spirit, which God bestows on those who love him and purify themselves before him, to whom he grants this privilege of seeing and knowing for themselves” (D&C 76:114, 116–117).

Changing the Statutes
     Similar issues 2000 years ago caused many of the faithful to leave behind Jerusalem and its temple. At Qumran they did “according to that interpretation of the Law in which the first men were instructed,” seeking return to the ancient order. Refusing to compromise, the “elect of Israel” turned to God for knowledge and wisdom, did not vary, and “kept the charge” when others strayed (Ezekiel 44:15). We are damned if compromise or convenience enter our worship. Nibley lamented,

In all my years of going through the temple, I have marked a growing list of changes [to the ordinances], a steady subsiding towards what is easier to do, and especially easier to accept, in our busy, telestial business world to accommodate greater convenience, comfort, efficiency, and complacency.

     Very significant changes to the LDS endowment occurred in 1990. Likely in response to a critical article, 3,400 members were surveyed and shortly after the endowment was modified to incorporate some suggestions. In 2019, more serious changes occurred in response to pressure from social movements, paving the way for future changes that some watchers fear will completely defile the temple and bring God’s greatest wrath. One member said of recent changes, “We’ve complained our way into lesser light and we shout for joy and call it ‘progress.’ It feels like the ACLU got a hold of the [endowment] script. Everyone says ‘the ordinances and covenants haven’t changed,’ but they have.”
     The LDS position is that these changes are the result of “modern revelation.” Instead of showing the Gods in the premortal existence, the 2019 endowment starts with a First Presidency video claiming revelation for the many changes but denying they changed the ordinances.
     The Dead Sea Scrolls warn that a Wicked Priest would deal “treacherously with the ordinances,” having his mind and attention on money instead. How soon we forget that we cannot serve God and mammon and that His ordinances cannot change.

Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles.

     The crucial warning that Satan uses erring preachers and ministers to lead us astray was removed from the endowment in 1990. A previous endowment warned that in ‘this community’ these ministers are well received. Removing sacred components of the ordinances is an egregious error, for symbolism is the Lord’s language. In 2020, changes made to temple ceremonial clothing removed important symbolism.
     Only those who do not know God would dare eliminate essential markers on His path. Modifying ordinances is rebellion against God. “These ordinances were given . . . that thereby people might look forward on the Son of God, it being a type of his order, or it being his order, and this that they might look forward to him for a remission of their sins that they might enter into the rest of the Lord” (Alma 13:16).
     It is sin to believe we are righteous while changing His statutes.

     [Folly] raises her eyelids naughtily to look at the righteous man to overtake him, and at the important man to trip him up, at upright men to pervert their ways, and at the righteous elect . . . to bring them down wantonly, and those who walk in uprightness to change the statute.

     In 1990 a highly instructive lecture at the veil was also discontinued in an effort to shorten the endowment. Efforts to reduce the amount of time spent in the ceremony began a century before, when, among other changes, apostle George Richards eliminated moving the priesthood robe to one side to save time, but it was an important symbol.
     In 2019, the endowment was further shortened by not moving any priesthood robes, effectively eliminating any need for the robes at an Aaronic level. In addition, the decision to not remove and replace shoes was another direct assault on our understanding of Aaronic priesthood. Other major changes like removing the sacred embrace, limiting the true order of prayer, and not veiling a woman’s face remove knowledge of God and confirm our ignorance of His revealed way to worship.
     All covenants—ancient and modern—are established with blessings for obedience or penalties if obligations are not fulfilled. But in 1990, penalties (a fundamental component of covenants) were also removed from the endowment. Even if we remove penalties from rituals, penalties will still be invoked if the covenant is broken. “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself . . . my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled” (D&C 1:38).
     It “requires two parties to make a covenant, and those two parties must be agreed or no covenant can be made.” In other words, if any part of a covenant is altered, God must agree to the revision—but He cannot and will not accept change, “for I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips” (Psalm 89:34). If He did, He would “cease to be God” (Mormon 9:19). If one side changes an ordinance, the parties or terms no longer agree, which breaks the covenant.
     Reforming the temple is Satan’s third net. What God reveals or restores must continue without variation. This fundamental component of God’s plan of salvation is a prevalent message in scripture and was foundational doctrine in the Restored church. “We believe that God is the same in all ages; and that it requires the same holiness, purity, and religion to save a man now as it did anciently.” Qumran also knew, “Thou hast spoken and thou wilt not take back thy word.” Modifying truth leaves people blind without understanding. They “had not seen by removing all the ancient things and creating new ones, by breaking asunder things anciently established.” Jesus prayed for God’s will to “be done on earth as it is in heaven” (3 Nephi 13:10). Earthly ordinances must replicate heaven’s to be effective. “There is no stirring above until there is a stirring below.”

Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you establish their rule on earth? (Job 38:33, RSV)

     Ordinances were “ordained for them . . . in accord with his glorious design that they accomplish their task without change,” so innovations have serious eternal consequences. God is “more ready to detect every false way than we are apt to suppose Him to be.” The time allotted to repent will end. “I am the Lord, I change not . . . I will come near to you to judgment. I will be a swift witness against” you (Malachi 3:5–6), for destroying the path to His presence. It is a serious matter—

If there is no change in ordinances, there is no change of priesthood . . . Where there is no change of priesthood, there is no change of ordinances.

     But their changes are many: scripture, priesthood duties, organizational reforms, ordinances, and temple worship have been significantly modified. This removes priesthood. In 2005, the initiatory changed again. The temple robes and especially the priesthood garment have endured many changes in style or length. Sacred markings, originally cut into the garment for permanence, were later sewn on. In 2017, markings were moved inside the garment (another change that proves understanding has diminished) then made by laser, an inferior method that the church admits lasts just a year. This is a generous estimate given reports that the laser marks faded considerably after only a few washings. Manufacture of priesthood garments originally required a valid temple recommend, but in recent years production of garments is outsourced to non-LDS, non-endowed workers overseas. Several decades ago, the Quorum of Twelve even “discussed doing away with garments altogether except when inside the temple.”
     In 2008, initiates no longer stand to make covenants, making the observant wonder, “Who shall stand when He appeareth?” (3 Nephi 24:2). In scripture the iniquitous cannot stand. Iniquities are all that is crooked, perverse, idolatrous, or distorted. Iniquity, aven (H205), means to come to naught or exert ourself in vain, opposing His work. By implication, it is to not stand but to fall.

The Keys of Prayer
     Another major change occurred in 1929 when the First Presidency eliminated private prayer circles because they were ‘exclusive.’ Only leadership was allowed to use prayer circles until May 1978 when “the Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve decided that all such prayer circles, whether held in the temples or outside the temples, be discontinued immediately,” leaving the ritual endowment as the only permissible opportunity to utilize the mighty and true order of prayer. Nephi knew that an “evil spirit . . . teacheth him that he must not pray” (2 Nephi 32:8) in the true manner revealed.
     The First Presidency suggested replacing the sacred prayer ordinance with testimony meetings, but an ordinance cannot be replaced with a meeting. Discontinuing prayer circles is no trivial matter and many sorrowed at the bold change. “Considered by some to be the most spiritual gatherings held in the Church, monthly prayer circles will be deeply missed by those fortunate enough to have participated in them.”
     For many decades high level prayer was encouraged in private and in the temple. Early saints knew that private prayer at an altar was a duty and privilege. A “family altar was the same as an altar in the prayer circle.” “It is absolutely necessary that the Latter-day Saints should come together in the family capacity and, kneeling around the family altar, call upon God” to “offer up praise and petitions to the Throne of Grace.”
     Though God restored this ordinance, its significance has been lost again. A typical prayer with bowed heads, closed eyes, folded arms, and a single voice without unity is not sufficient for a higher order. “We did not know how to pray and have our prayers answered . . . [until Joseph] taught us the order of prayer.”

When we begin to learn this way, we begin to learn the only true God, and what kind of a being we have got to worship. Having a knowledge of God, we begin to know how to approach Him and how to ask so as to receive an answer. When we understand the character of God, and how to come to Him, He begins to unfold the heavens to us and to tell us all about it. When we are ready to come to Him, He is ready to come to us.

     The endowment prepares us to commune with God, who “speaketh to us, desiring us not to go astray like them but to seek how we may approach Him” (Barnabas 2:10). Temple attendees had once been told,

‘Those portions of the priesthood which you have received are all essential matters . . . to put you in possession of the means of salvation and be brought to a proper relationship with God . . . You have now learned how to pray. You have been taught how to approach God and be recognized. This is the principle by which the Church has been kept together.’

     To not approach God the right way would cause division and apostasy within the church. “Prayer rightly offered shall be as an acceptable fragrance of righteousness.”
     Originally, endowed members were encouraged to pray in this manner outside the temple also. Paul urged the faithful to “pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting” (1 Timothy 2:8). Heber Kimball said, “It is necessary for all who have been through the Temple to meet in quorum, in order to become familiar with the signs and tokens, because they are the Keys of the Priesthood.” Early saints knew that priesthood keys were keys of knowledge and the prayer circle was the means to effectively use those keys. The power attending the true order of prayer was greater than the saints could fathom. Facsimile 1 shows that, “by using the keys of prayer, Abraham is able to call down an angel from heaven and thereby save himself.”

If we could understand the nature of the Priesthood—could comprehend it fully—this people . . . when they present themselves before the Lord—would possess keys to unlock the treasury of heaven . . . To us, as a people, the keys of the rich storehouse of the Lord are committed, yet we do not fully know how to unlock and receive.

We receive a little here and there, and the hearts of the people are comforted by the very Priesthood we are in possession of, which has been given to this people for the express purpose of their receiving that which God has given them . . . [One] who holds a share in the Priesthood . . . will secure to himself not only the privilege of receiving, but the knowledge of how to receive the things of God that he may know the mind of God continually; and he will be enabled to discern between right and wrong, between the things of God and the things that are not of God.

     Signs and keys utilized in the true order are vital for discernment. “The keys are certain signs and words by which false spirits and personages may be detected from true.”

The endowment’s purpose ‘is putting you in possession of those keys by which you can ask for things you need and obtain them. This is the Key by which to obtain all the glory and felicity of eternal life. It is the key by which you approach God . . . The principles which have been opened to you are the things which ought to occupy your attention all your lives. They are not second to anything. You have the key by which if you are faithful, you will claim on you and your posterity all the blessings of the Priesthood.’

     Without properly utilizing the true order, we cannot claim promises at the veil. Priesthood is “the channel through which all knowledge, doctrine, the plan of salvation, and every important matter is revealed from heaven,” so early leaders know “we cannot rest day nor night until we put you in possession of the Priesthood” and its keys.
     Those with garments “can at any time offer up the signs,” a belief Joseph confirmed when he “authorized members of the Anointed Quorum to practice the order of prayer apart the rest of the prayer circle.” Joseph included women in prayer circles, but after his death new leadership excluded them. “Rarely privileged to join their husbands in the separate prayer circle meetings after 1846, Latter-day Saints women also discontinued even occasional Relief Society prayer circles by the early twentieth century.”
     Nightly prayer circles were common for 19th century saints. Leadership meetings opened with higher prayer and LDS meetinghouses built rooms specifically for prayer circles. Church history describes faithful worshippers praying in a higher way in temples, homes, mountains, wildernesses, groves, and prairies.
     In 1900 wards were still encouraged to use true prayer. Leaders hoped “there will not be a ward but what will have a prayer circle inaugurated, for it is a strength to the Church.” Apostle Joseph F. Smith said, “It is their privilege to enter into their closets and call upon Him in secret that He might reward them openly.” But a century later, family altars, local prayer circles, and utilizing the true manner to pray in quorum or in private was forbidden and enforced by threat of disciplinary action.
     That a true order exists implies that false versions exist. Joseph assured “the Saints that truth, in reference to these matters, can and may be known through the revelations of God in the way of His ordinances and in answer to prayer,” but privately utilizing the true order of prayer—the very ordinance God restored to receive answers and be recognized before God—has become forbidden by the rule of man.
     Why would God reveal the true way to approach Him if those seeking Him are not permitted to use it? Is there any less need to receive answers today than when this ordinance was restored? If we attempt to enter or ascend any other way than how He revealed, we are “a thief and a robber” of salvation (John 10:8, 1) who will be cursed. “The Lord is not well pleased with such a people . . . Thou art a people robbed and spoiled” because “none saith, Restore” what He revealed (Isaiah 42:22–23).

Woe unto you . . . for ye have taken away the key of knowledge, the fulness of the scriptures: ye enter not in yourselves into the kingdom, and those who were entering in, ye hindered. (JST Luke 11:53)

     “Ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men” (Matthew 23:13). “You don’t go in yourselves and you don’t allow those who are trying to enter to go in” (Luke 11:52, ISV). Clement said heretics do not enter “by drawing aside the curtain” or veil. God is provoked when we dismiss and prevent others from using what He revealed to part the veil. At Christ’s death, the temple veil was rent, a sign that the barrier between man and God was removed by Christ’s atonement. Jewish history confirms the temple’s golden doors also opened miraculously around the time of His death, a second witness that the way to Him was open to the willing.
     Only the few who fear God more than man dare worship in His revealed manner now. The true order is not just a ritual, but a right of those who attain keys of knowledge and power. Its privileges belong to those “Saints whose integrity has been tried and proven faithful.” Yet the LDS chose to prevent initiates from utilizing this ordinance with its “signs of the atonement” in their personal lives. Signs and tokens let us effectively communicate with heaven.
     Limiting our ability to pray in God’s appointed manner only in the endowment ritual presents serious challenges. Since temples close on Sunday, the LDS are prohibited from praying in the true order on the Sabbath itself, a strange irony given its purpose, like the Sabbath, is to commune with God. By restricting the number of participants in the prayer circle, another change from the early church, initiates are not always able to participate in this ordinance. Discontinuing ward or private prayer circles implies that church position, not personal worthiness, determines who can use the true order. Those with geographic or economic constraints or handicaps may never get to experience this ordinance if they cannot do so in private.
     Historically, members took turns being the voice but participants now repeat a prayer uttered by a man pre-assigned the task, and hope his prayer is of one mind with circle participants, so individual needs never can be vocalized. Women, and men who do not hold a temple calling, are never able to offer their own prayers in this manner, according to precedent. This contradicts the endowment, which teaches all participants how to approach God and be recognized. Further, prayer roll requests are not individually addressed, but referred to collectively. The true order was given so we could receive answers to our prayers, but its current form prevents any questions from even being asked. How then do we really get an answer if we cannot use the very method God revealed for us to ‘receive an answer.’ If regular prayer could suffice, there would no be no need for a higher, “true order” to pray. Instead, protocol encourages us to ask leaders for answers. It was prophesied,

Another doctrine will arise and with it confusion; for they will seek their own advancement and bring forth a useless doctrine. And it will cause vexation even unto death; and they will teach and turn away those who believed on me and lead them away from eternal life.

     Much understanding has been lost in the past century, in spite of plentiful warnings. God has

taught us the order of prayer, and how to worship in spirit and in truth. He has given us signs which it is our privilege to use to indicate our determination before Him . . . They are God’s commandments, and keys, His requirements . . . By neglecting, slighting, and putting them aside, by turning away from the course which the Lord has marked out for us to pursue, we weaken ourselves, shear ourselves of our own strength, and deprive ourselves of the light needed to make us more efficient in the discharge of our duties . . . We cannot neglect, slight, or depart from the spirit, meaning, intent, and purpose of these covenants and agreements that we have entered into with our Father in heaven without shearing ourselves of our glory, strength, right, and title to His blessings.

     The 1879 scriptures note that the keys mentioned in D&C 124:95–97 are “the order of God for receiving revelation.” This true order uses “the keys by which we may ask and receive blessings,” keys taught in the endowment so we can “ask and receive and be crowned” (D&C 124:97, 95) with knowledge, glory, spiritual gifts, priesthood. All who interfere (including prophets, priests, or scholars) will be cursed.

It is the sad truth that if prophets and people are unreachable, the Lord generally does nothing for them. Having given them free agency, their Heavenly Father calls, persuades, and directs aright His children, but waits for their upreaching hands, their solemn prayers, their sincere dedicated approach to Him. If they are heedless, they are left floundering in midnight’s darkness when they could have the noonday sun.

     Seeking, asking, and knocking is His order. “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (D&C 88:63).
     If we are forbidden to use this ordinance in our personal life, we cannot approach God in the manner He requires. If we wonder, “Why is it that our prayers are not more fully and perfectly answered than they are?” The answer is, “Because we have not prayed properly.”

“My People are Foolish, They Know Me Not”
     Limiting knowledge provokes Him because God’s entire work and glory hinges on bringing “to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). Many declare, “My God, we know thee” (Hosea 8:2) but they have chosen another way.

For My people are foolish, they know Me not. They are [‘ignorant,’ Jubilee 2000] children and have no understanding . . . They had no light. (Jeremiah 4:22–23, NASB)

     “O ye workers of iniquity. Ye . . . have professed to have known the ways of righteousness, nevertheless have gone astray” (Alma 5:37). “They turn their back unto me and not their face” (Jeremiah 2:26). They have “done evil above all that were before . . . to provoke me to anger and cast me behind [their] back” (1 Kings 14:9).

Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing [in the temple]. So I went in and looked . . . in front of them stood seventy elders of Israel. He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. He said to me, Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do the detestable things they are doing here? . . . I will deal with them in anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not listen to them. (Ezekiel 8:9–11, 15–18, NIV, KJV)

     To worship any other way than what He revealed, to worship men instead of God, or to worship the temple instead of the divine experience it offers turns our back to Him. That 70 elders and 25 men are called out as condemned should alarm the LDS, for a quorum of Seventy plus 25 men lead their church: (3) in the First Presidency, (12) in the Quorum of Apostles, (3) in the Presiding Bishopric, (7) in the Presidency of the Seventy. Twenty-five men shirk from seeking His face and turn their backs to His house even as they continue to frequent it. God asks, “Is it a light thing . . . that they commit the abominations which they commit here” in the temple? (Ezekiel 8:17).

Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets. Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness. (Jeremiah 23:11, NIV)

     Joseph said, “The devil will use his greatest efforts to trap the Saints. You must make yourselves acquainted with men who, like Daniel, pray three times a day toward the House of the Lord.” Those who “receive the oracles of God” will be condemned for treating them “as a light thing” (D&C 90:5). They pray but He will not answer. God commanded, “that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see . . . Whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation” (3 Nephi 18:25).
     It is easier to dismiss or deny His doctrine than to accept His invitation to leave the world behind to ‘come, feel, and see’ for ourselves. The thought of a tangible, personal relationship with Christ makes many Christians and LDS uncomfortable. “If men really want what they say they do, we have it; but faced with accepting a real Savior who has really spoken with men, they draw back, nervous and ill at ease.”

They, with all their boasted religion, piety and sacredness at the same time they are crying out against [true] prophets, apostles, angels, revelations, prophesying, and visions, etc. Why, they are just ripening for the damnation of hell. They will be damned, for they reject the most glorious principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and treat with disdain and trample under foot the key that unlocks the heavens and puts in our possession the glories of the celestial world. Yes, I say, such will be damned, with all their professed godliness.

     Just because ordinances are performed is no guarantee they will be recognized by God. Reforming what God revealed or relying on our own agendas voids ordinances.

Be it known, therefore, that ordinances performed under the administration of such a priesthood, though they may even be correct in form, will be found destitute of the seal of that authority by which heaven will recognize his in the day when every man’s work shall be tried. Though a priesthood may be clothed with the wealth and honors of a great and powerful nation, and command the respect and veneration of multitudes, whose eyes are blinded by the thick veil of popular opinion, and whose powers of reflection and deep thought are confused and lost . . . All this does not impart to it the Divine sanction, or animate it with the spirit of life and power from the bosom of the living God; and there is a period in future time when in the smoking ruins of Babel’s pride and glory, it must fall.

     Priests’ “duties are plain and unless they do them diligently, they cannot expect to be approved.” The priesthood omits truth, offers corrupt interpretation, encourages indulgence and complacency, and introduces a form of worship built on their own will, reforms, and inventions.
     Man’s tendency to improve or embellish what God revealed hinders our spiritual progression In 1894 the Roman Church invited the Greek Catholic Church to merge. The Greek Patriarch would not consider the request until the Bishop of Rome “shall shake off once and for all the chain of the many and various innovations introduced [that are] contrary to the Gospel.” They removed priesthood offices; redefined callings; made unauthorized changes to services and ordinances; sold indulgences for gain; offered forgiveness of sin by confessing to a leader; gave high positions the title of ‘Father;” showed intolerance for sacred things but increased tolerance for worldly ways; withheld God’s word from the public; and tolerated hypocrisy and ungodliness if it “supported the Roman clergy and recognized their doctrines.”
     They were defiled “with their own works and went a whoring with their own inventions” (Psalm 106:39). Reforms are a sure mark of apostasy but many try to make “some new mark of veneration . . . to render their names immortal by introducing a new method” of worship.

O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths. (Isaiah 3:12)

     LDS president Wilford Woodruff admitted that if we introduce our “own form and ceremonies, our temple work would be as diverse as the sectarian world and God would not approve it.” But they changed it. God forbids allegiance to any churches that “teach for doctrines the commandments of men” or “deny the power” offered (JS–History 1:19).

For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at [the Lord’s] mouth . . . but ye are departed out of the way. Ye have caused many to stumble at the law. Ye have corrupted the covenant . . . Ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. (Malachi 2:7–9)

     Today we are also heavily ensnared by Satan’s sophistry and cunning. We lead by consensus and correlation instead of revelation, cater to compromise, modify ordinances, dictate curriculum, conceal His word, forbid personal worship, and interfere with our right to exercise true prayer. We discourage seeking revelation and mysteries, impede those who seek His presence, ignore our responsibility to obtain priesthood with power, and discourage all initiates from seeking these blessings. We turn to scholars for knowledge and leaders for salvation, exchange signs and tokens for gain, control history, and dismiss spiritual gifts. We refuse the very doctrine that defines His church—receiving a personal knowledge of God. How far we have slid when churches hinder or punish those who seek His most glorious gifts. All these sins greatly provoke God by taking away the keys of knowledge. For thousands of years, we have been warned of apostasy before He comes. The parallels between ancient prophecy and today’s world are alarming.

On the eve of His approach, His disciples will forsake the teachings of the [original] Twelve Apostles, and their faith, and their love and their purity. And there will be much contention on the eve of His approach. And in those days many will love office, though devoid of wisdom.

And there will be many lawless elders, and shepherds dealing wrongly by their own sheep, and they will ravage (them) owing to their not having holy shepherds. And many will change the honour of the garments of the saints for the garments of the covetous, and there will be much respect of persons in those days and lovers of the honour of this world. And there will be much slander and vainglory at the approach of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit will withdraw from many.

And there will not be . . . many prophets, nor those who speak trustworthy words, save one here and there in divers places, on account of the spirit of error and fornication and of vainglory, and of covetousness, which shall be in those, who will be called servants of that One and in those who will receive that One. And there will be great hatred in the shepherds and elders towards each other. For there will be great jealousy in the last days; for every one will say what is pleasing in his own eyes.

And they will make of none effect the prophecy of the prophets which were before me, and these my visions also will they make of none effect, in order to speak after the impulse of their own hearts. (Ascension of Isaiah 3:21–31)

     Having “sinned against that great knowledge” (Helaman 7:24), the penalties will come. Those who “pervert the ways of the Lord . . . are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment” (Moroni 8:16, 21). Until we repent, we cannot “inherit the kingdom of God” (Alma 39:8–9). Because “the glory of God is intelligence” (D&C 93:36), not obtaining knowledge has eternal consequence. “They shall not understand the marvels of the Lord because they have not known his Son, and because of their want of intelligence they shall perish.” God “hath a controversy” with man

because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land . . . Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (Hosea 4:1, 5–6)

     “None but fools will trifle with the souls of men.” Instead of turning from iniquity, erring leaders turn people to it so God declares, “I am against thee” (Nahum 3:5). "Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me . . . I will punish them for their ways" (Hosea 4:6, 9).

Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what their hands have done . . . My people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path . . . The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people. It is you who have ruined my vineyard. (Isaiah 3:11–12, 14, NIV)

For footnotes and references, click HERE.