Discerning Good from Evil

When I read these verses this morning, they were more deeply impressed upon my mind:

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15)

Life is not about what we accomplish; it is about who we become. There are those, both in and out of the Church, who love God and, for a lifetime exercise their senses within the sphere that God has placed them to discern good from evil, the stated purpose for casting Adam and Eve out of the Garden. Of such, the apostle Paul elsewhere taught that "strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).

Being of "full age" may denote something of being more elderly. Thus, within the Church, those called to serve as stake patriarchs are of "full age" (generally older than 55) and have, by use of the scriptures, exercised their senses to discern good and evil. But I prefer to think of being of "full age" in a spiritual context. Thus, although a mere boy, Joseph Smith was one who the apostle Paul would consider to be of "full age". Note that the apostle uses the conjunction "even" to define what it means to be of "full age"--even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. There are those who, at a very young age, learn to use the gospel to exercise their senses to discern good and evil. Mormon was a sober child and, although 10 years of age, had already used the scriptures (the learning of his fathers) to exercise his senses in like manner (Mormon 1:2).

Thus, the stated-purpose for our being cast out of the Garden, or learning by our own experience to discern good from evil, substantially finds fulfillment in using the truth, as discovered in the scriptures, to discern good from evil. The gospel of Jesus Christ is truth, or good, and comes of God. Therefore, it provides the means to discern that which is evil; for that which is not of God comes of the devil and is evil (Moroni 7:11-22). In the scriptures is a fulness of the everlasting truth. Thus, whatsoever is not found in them must be tested (see 2 Nephi 28:31) to determine whether it cometh of God or cometh of the devil, who is the father of all lies (2 Nephi 2:18).

In sum, learning the scriptures is fundamental to providing us with the ability to discern good from evil and becoming as God is. In fact, there can be no discernment of either good or evil without them, for they are the foil on which good and evil are imprinted.

However, the knowledge obtained from them will not cause one to become as God is. Rather, such knowledge must be used so as to exercise our senses to their right and lawful purposes. In short, a knowledge of the scriptures must be combined with priesthood ordinances and the making and keeping of covenants if the seed of the gospel is to bring forth unto its own likeness (see Alma 32:31).

Although not generally understood, the promise and responsibility of becoming like God is discovered in the Oath and Covenant that belongs to the Holy Priesthood. In D&C 84, this promise and responsibility is summarized:

For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God.

Those who receive TWO PRIESTHOODS by ordinance and magnify their CALLING (i.e., their singular calling as noted in Alma 13:3-9) by service are sanctified unto the resurrection, or renewing of the body. In this process, they become:

1) the sons of Moses and of Aaron,

2) the seed of Abraham,

3) the church,

4) the kingdom (i.e., the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, or Zion, see JST Revelation 12:2-3, 7 and D&C 105:32), and

5) the elect of God.

Few things are more important for us to understand than these things. It is my prayer that each of us will use the scriptures so as to exercise our senses to discern good from evil. In our search of the truths found in them, may we be diligent to discover the five things that we are to become, how each relates to us, and how, by progressively becoming each, we may become a man in the likeness and stature of the fulness of Christ:

For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.

And every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.

And the Father teacheth him of the covenant which he has renewed and confirmed upon you, which is confirmed upon you for your sakes, and not for your sakes only, but for the sake of the whole world. (D&C 84:45-48)

We have a Heavenly Father who desires to teach His children individually and personally (see 1 John 2:20, 27)! The opportunity for this to happen, however, must be according to His way. It cannot happen without the scriptures and by using them to exercise our senses in discerning good and evil, without the ordinances of the temple, and without making and keeping sacred covenants to the end that we become the elect of God.

"Shewing Himself that He is God"

"Lesson 31 of the Sunday School curriculum includes some very familiar verses from the apostle Paul concerning the relationship between the Second Coming of Christ and the Great Apostasy that was to precede his coming. To correct the Thessalonian saints concerning their expectation that Christ would return in their day, the apostle Paul wrote:

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 

That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)

These verses were, and continue to be, favorites used by missionaries. They establish the fact of a universal apostasy following Jesus Christ. They further create the condition that necessitated a restoration of the true gospel through the prophet Joseph Smith. This application of these verses, however, is not what I desire to write about in this blog. Rather, I would like to focus my comments on the man of sin, the son of perdition, that is to be revealed and, moreso, the fact that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

"Anti" Christ Defined

"Anti" is a "a preposition signifying against, opposite, contrary, or in place of" (see Webster's 1828 Dictionary). Hence, when applied to a belief in Christ, two types of antichrist appear; one being, by far, more dangerous and seditious than the other. The first that poses the least threat to God and His saints are individuals, like Sherem, Korihor, or Zoramites, who argue that there is no Christ (see Jacob 7:2, Alma 30:6, 12-44, Alma 31:16). Inasmuch as Christ is the emblem of their religion, it does little good for one to tempt Christians to deny Him or to declare that his works do not redeem. Such antichrists, who outwardly adorn the wardrobe of wolves, are easily discerned and turned out by the congregations of the righteous.

Contrary, the second type of antichrist--the one who argues that he is Christ--is, indeed, a peril to the Saints. Some might argue that such wolves, dressed in their "Sunday best", are easily diagnosed and separated from the flock. NOT SO!! Such antichrists are far too subtle and, in fact, most Latter-day Saints have already embraced their philosophy.

"Anti" Christ Revealed

When he speaks of “the temple of God,” without other qualification, the apostle Paul appears to refer to the existing Temple of Jerusalem (comp. Daniel 11:31; Daniel 12:11, cited by our Lord in Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). Attempts have been made to show that the Apostle’s words were literally fulfilled by certain outrages committed by the Herods upon the sacred building (see Meyer's NT Commentary). The shout of the populace at Cæsarea, hailing “the voice” of Herod Agrippa as that “of a god and not of a man,” illustrates the lengths to which a corrupt and servile crowd was prepared to go in worshipping an unclean beast (Acts 12:20-24).

But the Herods were not alone in demonstrating that the intoxication of supreme power can cause even the vile and common to declare that they are God. Eventually, Sebastos, the Greek rendering of the imperial title Augustus, signified “the one to be worshipped.” Caesar or Christ became the martyr’s alternative after Augustus "consented to be worshipped with temples and statues as a deity." Augustus Caesar died in the midst of the Savior's mortal probation. He believed that his empire was "secure and at peace." His reported last words were twofold. To his subjects he said, “I found Rome of clay; I leave it to you of marble.” But to the friends who had stayed with him in his rise to power he added, “Have I played the part well? Then applaud me as I exit.” Soon after his acknowledgement of this human frailty that visits paupers and kings alike, the Roman Senate officially declared their departed emperor, like Julius Caesar before him, to be a god. These emperors, however, considered individually or together in one big black ball, do not fit the crowning act of profanation described by the apostle Paul. At best, these kings were but a type--a dark shadow--of a day to come.

The Man of Sin Revealed
In his book called Revelation, the apostle John described a day wherein the devil would come "down to earth, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time" (JST Revelation 12:12). The apostle John was undoubtedly identifying the day seen also by the apostle Paul wherein the man of sin, the son of perdition, would be revealed. During a conference held June 3-6, 1931 in Kirtland, Ohio, the apostle Paul's words were, in part, literally fulfilled. In the journal of John Whitmer, Jr., he recorded that "Joseph Smith, Jr., prophesied . . . that the man of sin should be revealed" during the conference. Continuing, Brother Whitmer recorded that, on the following day, "while the Lord poured out his spirit upon his servants, the devil took a notion, to make known his power, he bound Harvey Whitlock and John Murdock so that they could not speak, and others were affected, [B]ut the Lord showed to Joseph the Seer, the design of the thing, [and] he commanded the devil[,] in the name of Christ[,] and he departed to our joy and comfort." Concerning events of that day, Joseph Smith likewise noted:

On the 3rd of June, the Elders from the various parts of the country where they were laboring, came in; and the conference before appointed, convened in Kirtland; and the Lord displayed His power to the most perfect satisfaction of the Saints. The man of sin was revealed, and the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood was manifested and conferred for the first time upon several of the Elders" (see History of the Church, 1:175).

Sanctuaries of the Holy Spirit

Notwithstanding how precisely these accounts accord with Paul's prophecy, the manner in which the man of sin is revealed and reigns, as God, in the temple of God is more subtle and, certainly, more personal than portrayed by the foregoing events. In our day, the great Usurper, who claims for himself that he is God, appropriates the sanctuaries of the Holy Spirit (compare D&C 88:137) and prostitutes them to his own worship. He seeks to possess the dwelling places that are not his (Habakkuk 1:5-11, 6) and to reign “within the temple of God—not in Jerusalem alone,” says Chrysostom, “but in every person's body.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges). 

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?", wrote the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). The Lord requires the hearts of the children of men (D&C 64:22). Unfortunately, this is also the residence of evil spirits (Mosiah 3:6; also D&C 45:55). It is where "anger rages" against that which is good (2 Nephi 28:20). Thus, speaking more precisely of the manner in which the apostle Paul's words would be fulfilled, the prophet Joseph Smith wrote:

Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants, concerning the parable of the wheat and of the tares:
Behold, verily I say, the field was the world, and the apostles were the sowers of the seed;
And after they have fallen asleep the great persecutor of the church, the apostate, the whore, even Babylon, that maketh all nations to drink of her cup, in whose hearts the enemy, even Satan, sitteth to reign—behold he soweth the tares; wherefore, the tares choke the wheat and drive the church into the wilderness (D&C 86:1-3).

Those who are Babylon--the nations of the world enveloped in spiritual wickedness (see D&C 133:14)--are the means whereby the man of sin, the son of perdition, reigns in the temple of God! Their hearts are his throne and gross darkness is the hue of their minds (D&C 112:23).

Avodah: Sorrow and Joy

Avodah is a Hebrew word used in the Bible whose root has three distinct yet intertwined meanings. In some verses the word, Avodah means work, as in to work in the field and to do common labor. To illustrate, speaking to Moses God said, “Six days thou shalt work (adovah).” In other verses, Adovah means service. For example, Joshua declared, "as for me and my household, we will serve (avodah) the Lord.” Finally, Avodah means worship. Such was its meaning when Moses went to Pharaoh and declared: "Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve (avodah) me."

Taken together, Avodah suggests that our work can be a form of service wherein we worship God. Concerning how to worship, we are instructed to offer up sacrifices in similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten. Two words of this instruction—in similitude—are essential. They mean in likeness of, or emulation. “Perfect worship is emulation,” Elder McConkie wrote. “We honor those whom we imitate. How do we worship the Lord,” he added. “We do it by going from grace to grace, until we receive the fulness of the Father and are glorified in light and truth” (McConkie, B. R. (1981). The Promised Messiah: The first coming of Christ. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company., pp. 568-569).

When Adam and Eve were admonished of the Lord, Eve was instructed that "in sorrow" (i.e., in labor) she would "bring forth children" (Moses 4:22) from the dust of the earth (Moses 4:25), whereas, Adam was instructed that "in sorrow" (i.e, in labor) he would "bring forth bread" from the dust of the earth (Moses 4:23, 25). What is often missed in this equation is that both body of man, and the bread of man, are derived from the dust of this earth and that the dust was to come forth into its several shapes and usefulness by the labor, work, or Avodah, of Adam and Eve. In short, "Mother Earth" is more than a beautiful metaphor.

Although Eve's Avodah, labor, or sorrow, lacked duration, it was with an intensity that brought her into the shadow of death. Although lacking intensity, Adam's Avodah, labor, or sorrow, was protracted for a lifetime. And, even while cursed, the ground was also blessed to bring forth beauty and splendor from the labor of the married couple; Adam's labor caused the earth to bring forth its dust to form and sustain the life given by him and conceived and brought forth by Eve. This labor, or Avodah, of Adam and Eve shaped the highest form of their worship, or emulation, of God--the procreative act, whereby, they obtained joy and rejoicing in their posterity. And thus, by labor, sorrow, or Avodah, we worship, rejoice, or Avodah! Indeed, sorrow is rejoicing. Such was the final observation made by Adam and Eve:

And in that day Adam blessed God . . . saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God. 

And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient. (Moses 5:10-11).

This paradox whereby sorrow equals rejoicing is confirmed by the related practice of the Fast, or "afflicting of the soul" (see Isaiah 58:3, compare Leviticus 23:27-29). According to D&C 59:14, fasting, or afflicting the soul, is rejoicing! Such rejoicing or sorrow was experienced by the prophet Joseph Smith as described in D&C 21:8:

Yea, his weeping for Zion I have seen, and I will cause that he shall mourn for her no longer; for his days of rejoicing are come unto the remission of his sins, and the manifestations of my blessings upon his works.

Importantly, the joy, rejoicing, or worship that is borne of sorrow, labor, or affliction can only be realized through Him, and the works of Him, who descended below all things that we might obtain a fulness of joy.

". . . there is none Good but one, that is, God"

17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. (Mark 10)

Why would Christ say that "there is none good but one, that is God"?

Note that the word Good in verse 17 is CAPITALIZED. Hence, the man who came running to Christ was using the word as a noun rather than as an adjective. As a noun, the Greek word for Good is agathos' which means "intrinsically good and is often used as a noun." A person who is intrinsically Good is One who, by His very nature, has the characteristic of good belonging to Him. Hence, since the man used the word as a noun, it was appropriate for Christ to refer to His Father as the only One who is Good, for even Christ obtained "grace for grace" from His Father (see D&C 93:12-14; compare D&C 50:26-27). Christ was simply pointing this out and reminding the man that God, the Father, "should be the only being whom [we] should worship" (see D&C 20:19).

If the man had used the Greek word kalos' instead, it would have been recorded "good Master" by the disciple Mark. Kalos' means "beautiful, morally good, better, fair, honest, or worthy." In that case, the Savior would have made no correcting comment for, indeed, Jesus Christ is these things.

It is instructive to note that the man dropped his usage of Good and afterwards referred to Jesus Christ as "Master" (see Mark 10:20)

Our Duty to FIND

I found myself awake at 12:30am Monday morning simply because I’m getting older. Between then at now, I have found myself studying the Statistical Records of the Church as it pertains to missionary work. Since the time that the number of full-time missionaries has been made public in the Statistical Record (1977), the average number of annual convert baptisms per missionary has fluctuated between a high of 8.03 in 1989 to a present low of 3.4 in 2013 and 3.5 in 2014.

The most interesting result from this exercise shows that substantially increasing the number of missionaries during the past two years, in connection with hastening the work of the LORD, has resulted in NO STATISTICAL INCREASE in the total number of converts!!

So, how should we interpret this anomoly, wherein, a 44% increase in the number of missionaries has resulted in a 9% increase in the number of converts? Following are several of my thoughts on the subject:

First, the number of converts each year is not a function of the number of missionaries in the field. Rather, it is a function of whether or not the members are doing their job of finding the people. It is not the missionarys’ job to find investigators; it is their job to teach and to baptize. In his address to new mission presidents in June 2000, Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught the role of members in conversion:

President Hinckley has called us to make a concerted effort to double the number of converts who are currently being baptized each year. “The big initial task,” he said, “is first to find interested investigators.” To do that, he said, we must join in what he called the “better way”:

That [better] way is through the members of the Church. Whenever there is a member who introduces an investigator, there is an immediate support system.

Continuing, Elder Oak reiterated what President Hinckley had previously requested in 1999:

I request each stake and district president to accept full responsibility and accountability for the finding and friendshipping of investigators within your stake or district. I request each bishop and branch president to accept the same responsibility within your ward or branch. (Oaks, Dallin H., The Role of Members in Conversion, Ensign, March 2003).

In keeping with this directive, sections 5.1.1 through 5.1.6 of Handbook 2 provides that “the bishop and his counselors give priority to member missionary work. They teach the doctrines of missionary work regularly. They encourage ward members to work with full-time missionaries to find, teach, and baptize investigators. They set an example by finding and preparing individuals and families for the missionaries to teach.” The Handbook further stipulates “find[ing] and prepar[ing] people to be taught” as the primary way that members participate in missionary work. To complement these efforts, ward missionaries are likewise called to “find and prepare people for the full-time missionaries to teach.”

Conversely, the Handbook states that “full-time missionaries have the primary responsibility for teaching investigators.” Notwithstanding the dramatic increase in the number of full-time missionaries, members have not likewise increased their efforts to FIND people to be taught. As a result, the number of converts has remained stagnant.

Second, the Statistical Record will show that missionary work enjoyed it greatest success as a result of President Benson’s request for members to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon, on the heels of President Kimball’s emphasis—every member a missionary. The ultimate purpose for increasing the number of full-time missionaries by 44% may yet be known. But one thing is certain, it is a spiritual testimony of the First Vision and the Book of Mormon that brings about conversion and not an increase in the number of missionaries. This conclusion accords with the scriptural mandate that--

--righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem (Moses 7:62).

The “righteousness” that comes down out of heaven is, without contradiction, the prophet Joseph Smith! This is confirmed a hundred times over in other biblical verses (see Romans 11:25-27; Isaiah 57:1; compare 2 Kings 22:19-20; D&C 1:17, D&C 136:33-40). And “truth that comes forth out of the earth” is the Book of Mormon! According to scripture, these two things--the prophet Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon--were sent forth out of heaven and earth to “bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and . . . to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth.” Scripture cannot not be recorded more clearly. As far as I recollect, no other program can replace this divinely-prescribed means of gathering God’s elect. In 1975, Elder Ezra Taft Benson confirmed that “THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK OF MORMON IS STATED ON THE TITLE PAGE. IT IS ‘TO THE CONVINCING OF THE JEW AND GENTILE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST.” (Benson, Ezra Taft, The Book of Mormon is the Word of God, General Conference, April 1975).

Again, the LORD has prescribed the means whereby conversion comes. We do not convert individuals by programs or any other writings of prophets, priests, and kings. True conversion is discovered in the declaration that Joseph Smith is the Lord’s servant through whom the gospel and priesthood keys are restored, that

• he translated the Book of Mormon “by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation”;
• the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth, and the keystone of our religion;
• the Book of Mormon was written to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever;
• the Book of Mormon was written “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations,” and
• “a man [or woman] will get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”

Those who gain a divine witness of the Book of Mormon from the Holy Spirit “will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is His revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the Second Coming of the Messiah” (Book of Mormon, Introduction).

And it is our solemn duty to unashamedly FIND those who are to be gathered by these testimonies so that the increased missionary force will bear an increase of fruit. I bear witness that Joseph Smith is God's prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.