Personally Pursuing Heavenly Mysteries
Some may think the mysteries of the fullness of the gospel are unnecessary and difficult subjects to understand. The irony is that the mysteries are the plainest, most logical an easiest to understand of all. Woven into these podcasts and transcripts that follow will be some interesting and vitally precious issues that should be comprehended and understood in this lifetime. Many say the mysteries should be left alone while in this life. The scriptures disagree.
Consider these quotations:
In Mathew 13: 8 – 11. “Then the disciples came and (speaking to Christ) said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever receiveth, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; But whosoever continueth not to receive, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”
A couple of things should be understood about what the Lord said; First, when someone hears an eternal truth do they not then incur a responsibility for having heard it? And after having heard a truth are they not implicitly required to decide if they will believe it or not? And if they repeatedly decide to not believe it or ignore it, isn’t their mind eventually darkened on that issue? And wouldn’t it be a wicked thing to thrust a truth upon someone who is not prepared to hear it and make an honest decision?
In 1 Nephi 10:19. It reads. “For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.”
Or in the D&C 42:61. “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.”
It is certainly true that if proselyting to the unwashed masses, the mysteries of the kingdom and the heavens should be left alone, but once baptized and schooled in the basics of the gospel one should continue to learn with the aim of learning the mysteries of the heavens in this life, which comprise the fullness of the gospel and the achievement of life and lives eternal. Many times it is very enlightening to do a search on key words and then read all the results that come out of only the standard works and what Joseph Smith had to say. Try that with the word “mysteries.”
I still use my old InfoBases CD because I love its search engine and how it organizes its findings.
The point I’m making is that we must learn as much as possible in this life because the person that is raised in the resurrection will be the same person previously put into the grave to be raised up with the same beliefs, intentions, and attitudes. If mediocrity is good enough in this life, so it will be in the next and if belief in half-truths are good enough now, it’s hard to imagine that will meet the requirements of the higher realms of the Celestial Kingdom, which are based only on truth and righteousness. Being “deceived by the cunningness of man” is a criteria for the Terrestrial Kingdom. If you think you already know almost all you need to know about the gospel to achieve the highest exaltations, I will share a little wisdom with you.
One of the most effective and insidious weapons the adversary employs agains unsuspecting humans is getting them to believe they have arrived at a destination or the they are well on their way to accomplishing what they desire, when in fact they are woefully short of their goal. This ploy is effective because human nature dictates that when a person believes they have journeyed enough to arrived somewhere comfortable, they stop pushing forward and tend to coast in a restful stupor and become complacent.
The time of our probation and our best and easiest time to learn anything of the eternities, is now. Remember this scripture, which is a statement of eternal truth and the word of God found in the Doctrine of Covenants Section 131 verse 6 that states, “It is impossible for a man to be a saved in ignorance.” If it is an impossibility for anyone to be save in ignorance; I can be quite certain that an exaltation to the higher realms of God’s Kingdom is impossible without knowing the information necessary to inhabit those realms.
Eventually, a regular reader of these posts will notice that very few direct or exhaustive answers will be given, but instead questions, some key hints along with suggested avenues of research and topics for study, and encouragement to pray, will be specifically offered. This is for two distinct reasons. First it is the job of the Holy Ghost to reveal in detail the mysteries of the kingdom and of godliness to one’s mind and heart, not mine, nor is it the job of any other mortal. That’s why the Savior, His Apostles and all the true Prophets of God have never gone into great detail and exhaustive explanation of what they say, what it means and how it impinges on other aspects of the gospel. The higher truths are always the exclusive purview of the Spirit of God. In addition, spoon feeding eternal truths to someone in detail robs that individual of the opportunity and obligation to discover these things through their own diligent efforts and prayers and then receive the blessings and rewarding feelings of accomplishment and enlightenment. These things are to be taught line upon line, precept upon precept, through the Holy Ghost and that may take some time.
Soaking up whatever is said by another mortal as unquestioned truth is not the Lord’s program of the gospel, His kingdom, or His church. If one does not personally already know that what is said is actually true, then what is said by anyone should be tested through study, prayer, and a witness of the Spirit of God. And that applies to everyone with no exceptions.
There is a statement that says …the Lord will never permit any man who stands as president of the church to lead the people astray. It is not in the program.
I hope the author of the aforementioned statement intended and meant the word “permit” to mean the Lord will never inspire, condone or give permission for any man as president to lead the church astray. I hope he didn’t use the word “permit” to say God would prevent such. Or that the president’s agency would be denied and he be prevented from acting freely in his office. I would ask if it was ever in the program or was it ever the Lord’s intention that anyone in His church leadership should ever lead His people astray? Even the church the Lord personally established fell into apostasy and there came leaders of that church who were not only permitted to lead the church astray but eventually they lost the priesthood entirely necessitating a complete restoration some 1500 years later. Is it to be believed that somehow any of us in this dispensation are immune from falling into error? Have not every one of us our agency and it’s attendant accountability? Are any of us beyond human or spiritual jeopardy? God says He is no respecter of persons. Do we believe in the infallibility of the President like the Catholics believe in the infallibility of the Pope? Are we placing our faith in the arm of flesh? We are all mortals with unfettered agency like all others throughout time regardless of the job we have and adequate vigilance should be exercised now as at any other time. God will never deny or interfere in anyone’s agency. The issue of agency and freewill was, after all, the very reason for the spiritual war in the heaven of our pre-earth state of being.
We have only been assured that another full restoration of the gospel will not be needed, not that there will be no errors introduced through the weakness of mortal man. If we have no errors, why must the Lord come and again and set things in order starting with His own house. Don’t we first have to be out of order?
By now it’s been noticed that I haven’t introduced myself and that’s by design. What is to be presented in these posts is not to be about me, my credentials, accomplishments, or reputation. The issues exposed here must stand on their own and be the impetus for more study, conversation, striving with the Spirit of God, prayer, growth, learning and patience. My identity is not a secret and some will know who I am, but I hope to never become the focal point or overshadow any of the things shared in these blogs.
I’m going to share a key of knowledge to assist further investigations and then I will pose a question for you to consider to then find the true answer. In answering this question correctly you will then have a foundational key to understanding many aspects and doctrines of the true fullness of the gospel. All investigations can be done privately or in a group, but ultimately learning is always a personal responsibility.
It should be understood already that there was a peopled earth ruled by the heavens before this one. Afterward there was an interim period we refer to as our pre-existence and then this earth was created, peopled and ruled by a Godhead like the previous earth, and then there will be another interim period after this earth and before the creation of the next peopled earth to be ruled again by a Godhead and priesthood power. Whenever you study the gospel don’t loose track of this understanding and try to view all things in this context. You’ve been taught correctly that the Godhead consists of One individual in the role of the Father, another in the role of the Son, and another in the role of the Holy Ghost.
The question at hand is this: What specific individuals from this earth will occupy the enthroned and godly ruling roles as the Father, the Son of God, and the Holy Ghost in the interim period after this creative cycle is completed and prior to the creation of the next earth? All the parts to this answer have been documented and can be found in the standard works and the sermons of Joseph Smith. However, it will not be obvious or all found in any one place. It is certainly not a canned answer off the top of anyone’s head. If you think the answer is easy or obvious, it’s probably wrong.