Two TypesThe covenants in the Temple endowment are of two types. In the first, the initiate covenants to abide by certain principles, codes of conduct, laws, and commandments. In the second type the initiate promises to keep secret what D&C 124 calls “the keys of the holy priesthood,” and the “keys whereby [you] may ask and receive” (verses 34 & 95), which are ritual elements symbolizing mysteries received from heaven (Alma 12:9). Read the rest of this entry »
There is often discussion about the need to distinguish between “doctrine” and “culture” in the Church. I think it is a productive exercise, but not as simple as one might think. usually, the examples given are surface-level behaviors or attitudes, like the white shirts and affected postures of the deacons passing the sacrament, or the scrupulous use of the right hand by those taking the bread and wine…er…water. I think we sense there is a more deep-seated issue, or we wouldn’t keep bringing it up. In the end, white shirts don’t matter that much.
If you want to dig deeper and find a more meaningful lode of conversation, the tricky part is actually defining “doctrine”. Read the rest of this entry »
When I was 20 years old, I was one of two designated witnesses to the baptism of an eight year old girl by her father. The father pronounced the blessing as he had memorized it, almost exactly as it is written in our current Doctrine and Covenants section 20. He called her by name and said:
…having been commissioned of Jesus Christ I baptize you, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
I was reviewing the 1949 and 1969 First Presidency letters which reaffirmed and defended the ban on people of black African descent holding the priesthood or receiving Temple ordinances. Both assert that the ban was a commandment from God (a claim the Church has since abandoned), and the 1949 letter ends with this spectacular gymnastic dodge to lay the blame back on the blacks themselves: Read the rest of this entry »
I was recently reminded of Elder Orson F. Whitney’s famous statement:
The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God. (In Conference Report, Apr. 1929, 110.)
From Cabala of Light by Jaime Barylko p 73-74, anonymous translator
PROPHETS AND PRIESTS
In Babylon, Crete, Egypt, Sumeria, in all the world, it is known that existence is divided into well differentiated sectors: the divine and the human; heaven and earth; the world of ideas and the market; the family relationship and relations with other people.
The prophet is an overstated extremist: he wants everything to become One. He is a burning bush. It doesn’t warm. It burns. Read the rest of this entry »
