In this retrospective, Denver recounts some of the many ways the Lord has labored in His vineyard over the past ten years, following the Ten Talks.







We’re reaching the end of another year, and with New Year’s resolutions coming up that are generally looking out to the future, it occurs to me that we ought to take a moment to think about what has happened over the course of the last 10 years since the completion of the Ten Talks that were given (beginning in Boise and ending in the Phoenix area), which has now been a decade. It was in connection with those talks that the declaration was made that the heavens were open and that the Lord had set His hand again a second time to recover His people, Israel. 



We tend to look at that in a very narrow lens, as if everything that the Lord has been doing to further His work has occurred within our eyesight or within our area of responsibility. But there are many things that the Lord has done that made possible His work (but wasn't done by us). It was made available to us by the work of other people. 




For example, in the last 10 years, we have been the beneficiaries of collaborative, technological tools that make it possible for people located in very different geographic locations to work together in order to complete projects. Most notably, the Restoration Scripture Project was only possible because we have collaborative tools that have been made available that didn’t exist just a short while ago. 



We have new digital technology that has been made available, including instant communications and multiple ways to collect and transcribe and preserve, publish, engrave, share, search, and learn from the material that we have that’s sacred and important for us to be able to dispense and disperse. 



We have live video conferencing and webinar capabilities that we’ve been able to use to bring people together in ways never before possible and that have enabled conversations to take place about/in the study of the gospel to be achieved in a way that didn’t exist before.



We have live video and audio streaming technology that’s made it possible for covenants to be administered worldwide at the same time, in fulfillment of prophecy.




We’ve been publishing a great deal of material, including: 




A restoration of the Testimony of St. John. 



We’ve got many revelations from the Lord that have been added to the Teachings and Commandments, including some very important replacements for corrupted Doctrine and Covenants sections, as well as further teachings and commandments that are addressed specifically to our generation. 



We have had canonized by a vote of acceptance the Restoration Edition of the Scriptures, including the Book of Mormon and the fullness of the Scriptures. (The Book of Mormon, in the form that it got published by the LDS Church, was really taken from a version that got published in the British Isles that contained many errors and omissions and problems, and the restoration project attempted to recover, correct, and finish up the Book of Mormon in the most correct way that it had ever been printed before.) Joseph Smith also referred to the fullness of the Scriptures as being both the Book of Mormon and the Bible as he had corrected it. We found out in the Scripture project that the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible had never been accurately published, and so the Restoration Edition of the Scriptures includes the fullness of the Scriptures as Joseph Smith described it, with the most complete and accurate Joseph Smith translation of the Bible that has ever been in print. 



We have been able to publish the Restoration Edition of the Sc...

In this episode, Denver discusses the meaning of the three historic solar eclipses we have witnessed over the past 7 years.







If you look up in the morning sky, right now you can see Orion on the Eastern horizon. And that's been true, twice a year, since the beginning. It's been true that all of the ordinances ordained by God in the heavens above have remained true from the day that He set them there until today. They are so well established, they are so regular, they are so permanent, and they are so far beyond the ability of man to touch, alter, or destroy, that the only way to have an apostasy from those ordinances—from our perspective—is for you to forget what knowledge there is that are written in the heavens. But the Lord wrote it there; it remains there. And it’s still yet part of what is to be restored. 



Well, the definition of salvation or life eternal, given in John 17, verse 3: This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (John 17:3; see also John 9:19 RE). This is the knowledge of the Lord that he's talking about here. This is the day that Jeremiah prophesies. No one needs to say, Know the Lord—for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest (Jeremiah 12:9 RE). This is what the Gospel was intended to restore, offer, promise, suggest to each one of us. 



The ordinances that are referred to here in the heavens… If you go to Genesis chapter 1, verse 14 (and for those that aren’t familiar with their scriptures, Genesis is like page one): And God said [this is verse 14]: And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and [for] years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so (Genesis 1:14-15; see also Genesis 2:6 RE). And so, He sets this up, and He sets this up in order to communicate things. 



If you go back to the book of Abraham chapter 4 (and this is the other end of the four standard works), go to Abraham chapter 4, beginning at verse 14: 



And the Gods organized the lights in the expanse of the heaven, and caused them to divide the day from the night; and organized them to be for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years; And organized them to be for lights in the expanse of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And the Gods organized the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day...the lesser light to rule the night; with the lesser light they set the stars also; And the Gods set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth...to rule over the day and over the night...to cause to divide the light from the darkness. And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed. And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning [and] it was night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening [and] it was day; and it was the fourth time. (Abraham 4:19; see also Abraham 7:5 RE)



This is not a bunch of gratuitous language. This is describing something that took place with absolutely deliberate intent. Everything that is written in scripture and all of the ordinances that were ordained upon the earth—in the heavens—were reckoned from the position of the earth. It's not that the ancients were ignorant of what’s going on in the heavens. It’s that they viewed the heavens as being a testimony given to us on the earth. It is a geocentric; that it is from the surface of the earth that that testimony is written. From the surface of the earth, the sun occupies a space… Even though the sun is over 100 times larger than the earth, the space that the sun occupies in the firmament of the eart...

In this podcast, Denver discusses the corruption of church and state, how it happens, why it happens, and what we can do to avoid it and counteract it.







There are a lot of prophecies that are requiring fulfillment right now that must precede the return of the Lord in His glory. 



In addition to everything else that you learn from the Book of Mormon, there are prophecies about a kingdom, an incipient planting, a return of a religious body (small though it may be) that will build what’s called a New Jerusalem—an antecedent to the establishment of Zion—and that the Old Testament prophecies about Zion and Jerusalem at the time of the Lord’s return is not talking about one location. It is talking about two separate locations—because when the Lord returns, the sun will never set on His kingdom: One of them will be on one side of the world, and the other will be on the other side of the world. And He will establish in Jerusalem (that is, at old Jerusalem) a kingdom. And He will establish in the New Jerusalem (that is, in Zion) a second part of His kingdom. And out of Zion and out of Jerusalem will go the law and the teachings that will constitute the effort and the government and the society and the culture that’s gonna finally free itself from the toxic influences and the corrupt traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation, being influenced all the way back to Babylon. 



That’s why the prophecies of John talk about the fall of Babylon the Great. Because the head of gold is still with us. The Babylonian influence remains with us still in our banking, in our profit motive, in our culture, in our education, in our false ideas about what’s important and what’s not, in our desire for power and wealth and influence. All of those things remain with us still today. And they corrupt everything. They corrupt business. They corrupt governments. They corrupt churches. They corrupt society. Everyone is vying with one another to gain influence, power, and in turn, wealth and the acclamation of this world. And it all goes back to Babylon, which is why John prophecies the fall—not of every one of these components of the great image that Nebuchadnezzar saw, but he goes right to the head, because as soon as you destroy the head, everything else is gonna unravel. And he prophecies about the destruction of Babylon, the head of gold that holds sway over all else. 



Creating unified people who qualify to worship God in truth (that is, knowing accurately the past, present, and future) is an extraordinary challenge. Only God can do it, and He must have willing people. It will require a new civilization. Prophecy likens that civilization to a stone carved out of a mountain that will roll out to destroy all the corruptions of Babylon, Medes and Persians, Greeks, Romans, and modern societies. 



The Lord is equal to the challenge. He will establish a new civilization. It will be founded on the fullness of His gospel. Lost truths will be restored; the path of righteousness will be returned. 



Society is broken. Everywhere we see corrupt cultures based on corrupt laws, corrupt religions, corrupt values, and ultimately, corrupt thought. Beginning again requires re- civilizing people. To be free from corruption requires a change in thinking. If the Lord is to accomplish this, there will need to be a new temple at the center of that new civilization. 



The Lord talked with Enoch regarding His return and started with a description of His temple: For there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem (Genesis 4:22 RE, emphasis added). It can only become Zion and a New Jerusalem if the Lord’s tabernacle is there. His temple will be where He teaches all that must be understood to ple...

In this podcast, Denver defends the Covenant of Christ as evidence that our Lord cares for, and is reaching out to our generation just as He has done before.







DENVER: I got an email asking about contacting those involved in the Covenant of Christ text, because the writer wanted to pose questions to have the text defended. I responded with the below answer, which I also forwarded to those who worked on the project, as he requested. The answer to his question may be of general interest, so I am putting it up on this website below:



While I will pass it on, the accountability is confined to me.



During the years of work on moving words into modern meanings, I consulted on choices between variants, but the text remained essentially a restatement of the original with all the difficulties of reading the textual construct of the original.



When it was turned over to me, I trusted all of the predecessor work and went through the text originally believing it was only going to be a sort of commentary. But on the winter solstice I learned otherwise, and the revelation of that night has been put into the prayer I read at the conference.



That changed things. I worked through the text and made more changes to the content structurally, and condensed things that were redundant because it cleared up the text’s message to say it clearly once. I went through the entire text rearranging, condensing, and clarifying often by using fewer words.



Some of the text was particularly difficult and obtuse in meaning, so I highlighted the passage and moved on. As I proceeded I found one place where a sentence was repeated in two different versions. The ones who had it before me had not reached an agreement and one of them rendered the sentence one way and the other rendered it another way. I looked at the original sentence in the Book of Mormon and deleted both of the options and wrote it again plainly.



As I went through I also discovered late in Alma that there was a missing sentence. I found the original text in the Book of Mormon and recovered that missing sentence.



Please understand that I was “inspired” by another, higher intelligence than mine as I uncovered details, such as those I just mentioned and claim that the Lord guided my poor efforts.



After coming to the end I went back and looked at all the highlighted text materials and made the effort to figure out what the text was saying and then put it plainly in English we would understand today. As I did that I looked at the text before and after those places and found that it could be improved still further.



The first pass-through shortened the text by over 20 pages in the MS Word format I was using.



So I returned to the start and went through the text a second time from beginning to end. Then, after completing it I returned and did it again a third time. Then again a fourth time. Each time through the text was clarified and condensed, and sharpened in the statement the text was conveying.



By this time the text was shortened by over another 27 pages in the MS format I was using., reducing the text by over 47 pages total,



As I finished, there were still some things that I knew needed to be standardized but I did not want to keep the text from my predecessors and returned it to them with instructions about standardization and asked for their reactions/input. They completed their assignment and returned the text to me.



I then went through the text for what I believed would be a final pass through, and made still more changes and corrections as inspired to do, trusting this would be the end of the work.

This is part six of a series about the Family of God, what it consists of, and how it is and willbe organized.

This is part five of a series about the Family of God, what it consists of, and how it is and will be organized.

This is part four of a series about the Family of God, what it consists of, and how it is and will be organized.

This is part three of a series about the Family of God, what it consists of, and how it is and will be organized.

This is part two of a series about the Family of God, what it consists of, and how it is and will be organized.

This is part one of a series about the Family of God, what it consists of, and how it is and will be organized.

This is part seven of a series looking at the role of suffering in the life of the Savior, and how our own suffering brings us closer to Him.

This is part six of a series looking at the role of suffering in the life of the Savior, and how our own suffering brings us closer to Him.







Christ was essentially an Eastern mystical teacher with whose deepest teachings the Buddhists and the Hindus resonate. Because the kind of allegories He spoke with, the kind of similes He used, the language that He used, it’s music in the ears of some of the Eastern cultures. And to us, we want to measure it, we want to define it, we want to put it on ourselves and we want to accomplish it. We’re task oriented. We have a scientific approach. We are coarse, Christ was not. Christ dealt in hues, He dealt in feelings, He dealt in sentiments, He dealt in the heart. And it’s very hard to take a faith that is grounded essentially in the heart of man and to make that something so outwardly visible that it is possible for you, as a wolf, to walk about in sheep’s clothing because that’s the kind of people we are. We need to be willing to accept truth from wherever it comes.



There's an incident. Boy, I really have to tell you, we have new scriptures. And when I say we I mean those that have been about trying to recover the original restoration, and I brought them with me. If you think you look like a pharisee carrying about a quadruple combination in the LDS Church, these new scriptures are -- well, they announce from at least two blocks away, “I’m devout. I’m religious. I don’t have sticks, I have logs. Get back.” 



See:



...there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias, and to him the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus; for, behold, he prays, and has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on your name. But the Lord said unto him, Go your way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel; for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way and entered into the house, and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, ... Jesus, that appeared unto you in the way as you came, has sent me, that you might receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes [as it were] scales, [they left out - There is a missing part. Ananias, when they finished talking, ran for the door. ] and [immediately] he received his sight, … and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples who were at Damascus. (Acts 5:9 RE)



See, Ananias responded to the Lord’s invitation to go minister to this fellow with the kind of healthy skepticism that comes whenever you’re asked to go visit with people that are other, that are viewed as threatening. All of you probably come from congregations that suggest staying away and not cross pollinating is the best and most safe way in which to conduct a religious society. But Ananias went and did what the Lord told him that he needed to do, in any event. And when Saul was blessed, scales fell from his eyes. Now, I’ve always thought that the scales that fell from his eyes were like the scales that you see on a fish when you clean the scales off. But scales are also a balance that you use to wrongly apportion, wrongly measure, wrongly weigh the value of others. And I think the word scales is ambiguous precisely for that reason,

This is part five of a series looking at the role of suffering in the life of the Savior, and how our own suffering brings us closer to Him.







Christ was born a King. In fact, wise men from the East came inquiring saying: "Where is he that was born King of the Jews?" Because that was His status, that was what the prophecies said of Him. That was the role He occupied. And the person they approached to find out where they might identify the newborn king was the king of the land who knew nothing about the matter, and had to go to the scriptorians to ask them, who after some fumbling came up with "Bethlehem.” Bethlehem of Judea, thou art not the least. 



Christ was born as a King, but He explained how He discharged His Kingship. In John chapter 18 beginning at verse 36, Jesus answered. This is when he was on trial for His life:



Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.



That’s the King. He suffered Himself to be surrendered into the hands of wicked men who despitefully used, abused, beat, and humiliated Him and then killed Him publicly on a thoroughfare where the notoriety of His death would be on public display. No one entering or leaving on that day, the city of Jerusalem, could do so without noticing the humiliation of our Lord. That’s our King. 



He explained Himself further in contrasting who He, the King, the Almighty Father, the Wonderful, Counselor, of the end of His government there shall not be a failure of increase, He explained Himself and how He rules to his disciples. This is in Luke chapter 22 beginning at verse 25:



And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doeth service.



The great King came, above all else, to serve. Zion will come. It will come, not because of the worthiness of any of us, it will come because of the repentance of us, and the worthiness of those with whom God covenanted to bring it to pass, including Adam and Enoch and Abraham and Melchizedek. It will come as a consequence of the righteousness of those who went before and with whom God, who cannot lie in a covenant, made a covenant to cause it to happen in the last days. It will surely come.  



The Lord does everything according to His higher way of teaching. By beginning with a vision of His return, He set out the foundation for understanding His course, which is one eternal round. Since His first appearance He has sent divers angels from Adam or Michael to Hyrum and Joseph Smith, giving line upon line, to confirm my hope in Christ. The most important thing for us is to repent, be baptized, and let virtue and righteousness guide our thoughts, deeds and words. We ought to deal fairly with one another, and to be kind. You may remember abuses from priesthood “leaders” in your last church. Do not bring that with you. Leave behind all the sins and errors found in other organizations and show Christ-like patience and charity to one another.



We follow Christ to become more like Him. He requires faith, repentance and baptism, and bestows the Holy Ghost to bring all things back to our remembrance. 

This is part four of a series looking at the role of suffering in the life of the Savior, and how our own suffering brings us closer to Him.







You cannot endure a Terrestrial glory in a Telestial state. Lying, and stealing, and deceiving, and adultery, and whoremongering (all of the abominations that people prize in this generation), your lusts, your ambitions, your desires to lord it over one another (the common affliction of the Gentile)—all of those things are a level below what Zion requires. And so, if one happily strolls into Zion while profaning the conditions upon which it will be established, they subject themselves to the penalty of being where they should not be, in a condition in which they cannot endure. 



The destruction that occurred at Christ's death on the Americas was the destruction of the wicked only. If you look at 3 Nephi chapter 10, verse 12 (see also 3 Nephi 4:8 RE), you find out that the more righteous were saved. Those who live a Telestial law will be destroyed.



Turn to Doctrine and Covenants section 76. I wanna begin at—well, I may as well back up. I was gonna begin a little later on. I want you to remember the chant, “Follow the Prophet, Follow the Prophet,” which we can drill in mindlessly to the youth with a drumbeat cadence that sounds rather like [Denver makes Native American chanting sounds]; you know, “Follow the Prophet, Follow the Prophet”—you do that. “Follow the Brethren, Follow the Brethren.”



The glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial world; For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of Cephas. These are they who say they are some of one and some of another—some of Christ, ...some of John, ...some of Moses, ...some of Elias, ...some of Esaias, ...some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch; But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant [yet to be established]. Last of all [and this is a general description of those who have Telestial behavior], these...are they who will not be gathered with the saints, to be caught up unto the church of the Firstborn, and received into the cloud. These are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. These are they who suffer the wrath of God on earth. These are they who suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. (D&C 76:98-105; see also T&C 69:26-27)



That is a broad description of those who can not be in Zion. And, notably, it begins with a list of those who “follow the prophets,” almost as if the Lord (in the revelation to Joseph Smith) anticipated your day and warned you: “Do not go thither! Do not partake of that! Receive the testimony of Jesus! Prepare when He offers the Everlasting Covenant! Do that!” To the extent that a church or an organization worships or trusts a man in lieu of Christ, it will lead you to Telestial destruction. It will not… Those who believe in it will not survive the destruction of the wicked that precedes the Lord's return.



I'll tell you what you get from a Strongman model. What you get from a Strongman model is a multibillion-dollar shopping mall. What you get from a Strongman model is a red Cadillac Escalade stopped on a back road in Nevada with $54,000 of cash in the back of the car when ‘the prophet’ is arrested for child abuse and child sexual exploitation (that's Warren Jeffs). I'll tell you what you get with a Strongman model: You get pretenders, and you get fools. You get people who hold onto their power (like the LeBaron's did) by murdering one another so that they can claim that they have ‘the keys.’ I'll tell you what you get with the Strongman model...

This is part three of a series looking at the role of suffering in the life of the Savior, and how our own suffering brings us closer to Him.







Doctrine and Covenants section 93, verse 1, says: VERILY, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am (see also T&C 93:1).



Every soul who forsaketh his sins—you’re not gonna get past your sins until God forgives you. But you need to awaken to the fact that you possess them, and turn from them. Because turning from them is repentance—turning to face Him. You can still have a load that needs to be dropped because we are all heavy laden with sin. But forsaking your sins means that you would prefer Him over everything else there is. So turn and face Him. 



Cometh unto me—well, the only way you can leave that load behind is to get down in prayer, seeking Him, and asking Him to free you from the load, and to allow you (as Alma recounts in his 36th chapter of the book of Alma: the terrible agony that he felt and calling upon God to be redeemed and then, when God answered, he could remember the pain—the distress that he had—was equaled by the joy and the exhilaration he felt on the other side of that)—being cleansed. 



Calleth on my name—you have to do that. 



And obeyeth my voice—that would include not merely the things that were given to us by Joseph Smith that you may be neglecting, but obeying His voice in what He tells you here and now, because your agenda is different from mine. Your needs are different from mine. Your responsibilities are different from mine. You have your own family; you have your own ward; you have your own neighbors; you have your own issues. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters—you’re part of a community somewhere. And inside of that, all of you need to listen to the voice of God because He loves everyone. He loves that eccentric aunt that you just dread having come around. And you can't, for the life of you, understand why she thinks cloves should be poked into a turkey on Thanksgiving. And you wonder if maybe there shouldn’t be a procedure that more easily confines her to someplace where they administer psychotropic drugs [audience laughter]. God loves her as much as He loves you. God loves all of us. And the agenda that you have, and the people you can affect, and the relief that you can administer, and the needs that go in front of your eyes day by day are uniquely yours. And the relief that you can grant to those around you—that's yours. It was given to you by God as a gift. Don't harden your heart. 



I was reading about the problems that the early saints experienced in that 1857/1856/ 1858 timeframe—from the diaries; not the official history, not from the stuff that is made public; these are the private diaries and journals—I was reading from that in sacrament (we went home, and I attended my church meetings this morning), and I literally cried as I read what they were called upon to go through. I am very disinclined to be critical and non-appreciative of the fact that those who went before us suffered as they suffered, in order to preserve and make possible for us today the programs, the scriptures—the fact that they would not allow the restoration, through Joseph, to lapse into silence and neglect. It doesn't matter that they made mistakes. We make mistakes, too—every one of us. If you'd lived a perfect life, you wouldn't be here. The fact is, we all are broken, and we are all in need of repair. 



Come to Him, because the only repairman that exists in the universe—inside of this matrix—is Christ, whose assignment it is to repair and redeem and to heal...

This is part two of a series looking at the role of suffering in the life of the Savior, and how our own suffering brings us closer to Him.







From what, then, were your spirits organized? Light and truth. Okay... At your core, at your nub, at the very essence of what it is that constitutes you to be you, what is it that constitutes you to be you? Light and truth.



There’s another place where a description is given of the Lord—Christ—in the pre-existence: In the beginning was the Word (John 1:1; see also Testimony of St. John 1:1 RE). Now, that’s an interesting thought, that word. So, what you have at your core is light and truth or intelligence, which is...what? The glory of God—God the Father; you’re derivative from Him. He is the Creator or the Organizer. But what He created or organized you from is light and truth.



Okay. Now, this ought to become increasingly obvious to you as you look at what we were reading in section 93. Why is it necessary, therefore, for you to keep His commandments in order for you to receive truth and light? Why? Why is that the way it works? Why must you keep the commandments if you want to get more of this?



We’re trying to harmonize ourselves with Him. We’re trying to get back to Him. We’re trying to get ourselves aligned correctly so that when we resonate in the same way that He resonates, we can pick up on things that are not pick-up-able in the absence of that resonance. We’re trying to get in harmony with God.



So, what are the commandments? What use are they? Well, He’s giving us a blueprint. And some portions of the blueprint may appear altogether ridiculous. We’re supposed to do them anyway. And why are we supposed to do the things that may seem even ridiculous anyway? Because at your very core, you know... You know if it comes from Him, and you know when you’re getting light and truth from Him. There is never a futile act. You know when you pay tithing that you’re doing something He asked you to do. And you know what? If it involves a sacrifice, you know all the more by that sacrifice.



This is what Joseph was trying to get across in the Lectures on Faith. Would you like to know God? Then go inconvenience yourself by following what He asks of you, and you will unlock inside yourself resonance with the light and truth of God. And it’s an unfolding process.



It grows...



That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. (D&C 50:24; see also T&C 36:4)



Proverbs 4:18 (Proverbs 1:18 RE) is a similar thought. But it’s a dynamic process. It involves your (again, you know, we’re victims of our time), your interface with God—another 500 years and the gospel will be perverted by computer terminology—but the way you link up to God (See? There it goes again!) is by this mechanism of obeying the commandments that He’s given you. And it’s never futile, and it’s never superfluous. It’s how you, as a being at your core made of light and truth, know that you’re pleasing God.



In the Lectures on Faith, Joseph said you had to know that the sacrifice that you are making was pleasing to God. How can you know that? You can know that because in your core you have light and truth, that’s why I read the quote a few minutes ago. The nearer you come to God and the more obedient you are—the more “heed and diligence” were the words he used in that statement—the more heed and diligence that you give, the more correct your understanding will be. Well, why is that the case? Because you are enlightened, because you are enlivened,

This is part one of a series looking at the role of suffering in the life of the Savior, and how our own suffering brings us closer to Him.







The incident that I want to look at is recorded only one place in Scripture. And even though it only appears one place in the Scripture, I think it’s one of the most thought-provoking and potentially rewarding discussions about the Lord that appears anywhere else. I’m talking about the incident that Luke records of two disciples who were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the day that the Lord rose from the dead. I’m gonna be using the Luke material throughout this as the exclusive source if Luke talks about it. If someone else talks about it and Luke didn’t, then we’ll look at that. 



But the distance that they’re going to walk is beyond what was then viewed as a Sabbath days’ journey, so they couldn’t take this walk on the Sabbath. They had to wait until the first day of the week when the Sabbath was over, which was also the day on which the Lord would be resurrected. 



The incident appears in Luke chapter 24, and it begins in chapter 24: Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared (Luke 24:1; see also Luke 14:1 RE). 



He doesn’t tell us this, but there’s a detail you can find over in John chapter 20: The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark (John 20:1; see also John 11:1 RE and Testimony of St. John 12:1 RE). All that Luke says is it was “very early in the morning.” John lets us know that this was not only very early in the morning, it was still dark out. If you brought your Scriptures it might be useful to use them as we go along. 



So, there is a walk that’s going to take place in which two disciples (we have the names of only one of the two) are walking back to Emmaus, and this is what the account reads, beginning in verse 13: 



Behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. (Luke 24:13; see also Luke 14:2 RE)



That’s about seven miles, which (clearly, under their tradition) would have been too far. 



And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him. (vs. 14-16; see also 14:2 RE)



“Their eyes were holden.” The Lord is with them. He’s resurrected. He’s walking along with them, and they don’t recognize Him. Christ has the capacity to withhold His identity. As Paul reminded us in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 2: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. From this incident, on this day with the Lord, we learn that the strangers can include the Lord Himself. And so when He says to be careful how you treat “the least of these my brethren,” you ought not be surprised if, on the day of judgment, one of those “least” was the Lord Himself, and your eyes were holden that you should not know Him. 



And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that [you] have one to another, as [you] walk, and are sad? (v. 17; see also 14:2 RE)



Clearly a rhetorical question. This is the risen Lord joining this fellowship in their walk, and He's asking them, "What are you talking about?" That ought to tell you something about Him. The Lord doesn't make any effort to displace their attention from the subject they're discussing. He joins them right where they are, on the subject that they're focused on,

This is the fouth part of a series on ascension, the process of rising up to the throne of God.







The Lord is equal to the challenge. He will establish a new civilization. It will be founded on the fullness of His gospel. Lost truths will be restored; the path of righteousness will be returned. 



Society is broken. Everywhere we see corrupt cultures based on corrupt laws, corrupt religions, corrupt values, and ultimately, corrupt thought. Beginning again requires re- civilizing people. To be free from corruption requires a change in thinking. If the Lord is to accomplish this, there will need to be a new temple at the center of that new civilization. 



The Lord talked with Enoch regarding His return and started with a description of His temple: For there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem (Genesis 4:22 RE, emphasis added). It can only become Zion and a New Jerusalem if the Lord’s tabernacle is there. His temple will be where He teaches all that must be understood to please God. Then, when people rise up to become what the Lord expects, His risen Tabernacle of glory, and the Lord Himself, will come to dwell there. 



There is a great deal of work to be done to establish a foundation. And an even greater work thereafter. When God has His people, they are always commanded to build a temple. Joseph Smith explained: 



What was the object of gathering the...people of God in any age of the world? ...The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose. (Joseph Smith Papers, History, 1838–1856, Vol. D-1, p. 1572)



Joseph Smith taught the Relief Society that “the church is not now organized into its proper order, and cannot be until the temple is completed” (Joseph Smith Papers, Relief Society Minute Book, p. 36). Some believe that meant temple rites would fit inside the existing church organization. However, it is possible, if the temple had been completed, the people might have been organized in a new and different order, resembling the order in the age of the patriarchs. Joseph never had the opportunity to participate in that advancement. Before the temple was finished, Joseph was dead; and those who were leading had no intention or ability to reorganize the church into the “proper order.” 



The need for covenant people to cooperate in building a temple has been the same in any age. Temple builders founded the earliest civilizations. They did this to imitate the antediluvians. The Book of Abraham account suggests there was something in Egypt below the floodwaters worth waiting for the waters to recede. Some observers claim there is physical evidence that the earliest temple-complex structures in Egypt were built prior to the flood. They use archeological evidence at the Giza site to conclude the place was once under water, consistent with the description in the Book of Abraham. 



When the first temples were built, or inherited by ancient civilizations, the center of life, government, education, culture, and art was at the temple. This was handed down from the first generations. The temple was founded before and will be needed to be the foundation again. When there has been an apostasy, temple building has been part of restoring. A new civilization will only become possible through teachings learned in the future House of God. The necessary ordinances can only be restored in that setting. There you will receive an uncorrupted restoration of the original fai...

This is the third part of a series on ascension, the process of rising up to the throne of God.







In the tenth talk, given in Phoenix two years ago, you were warned about false spirits, as happened in Kirtland, which you were warned would come among us. That warning has proven true. False spirits have mislead some into foolish errors. I am astonished at vain, foolish and prideful ideas that are anti-Christ, degrading and dark, but have been welcomed by some. Remember Pharaoh’s magicians also enchanted their rods to become snakes (see Exo. 7:11-12), and conjured frogs to mimic the sign given by God through Moses and Aaron (see Exo. 8:7.) Pharaoh’s heart was hardened by these imitations. Do not let yours become so likewise.



For two years I have watched, attended some of your meetings, gathered reports, and tried to let you stand and display your strength and understanding. Even God left Adam and Eve in the Garden, and allowed Lucifer the common enemy to tempt and try them, promising to return again to visit them. They transgressed His commandment, and He provided the means to cover their shame, repent and return. He also promised to later send messengers. But God did not “babysit” Adam and Eve, informing them that it was given unto them to choose, even when He forbids something. God is the same now as in the beginning. We are all required to display our understanding, obedience and prove our understanding. 



People have come among you preaching falsehoods, and inviting others to follow false spirits: Adulterers and adulteresses who justify sins, and mock the commandment “thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exo. 20:14.) False claimants are pretending to seal others up to eternal life, changing the ordinances and introducing foolish and vain ideas borrowed from pagans and heathen, who do not know Christ nor His righteousness. I do not oppose them directly by debate or counter-argument. I declare the truth and leave it for everyone to decide between clearly opposing teachings. If people cannot discern, then they will need to learn from sad experience to choose between good and evil, perhaps only coming to understand after their destruction in this world.



There are those who use well-reasoned arguments to expound their understanding of scripture who have declared with certainty it is impossible for what I say to be true. These voices come from both the fearful anonymous and proud academics. I do not respond to either.



In a letter on August 24, 1834, Joseph Smith described the only way falsehoods could be avoided.  He wrote:



If the Saints are very humble, very watchful and very prayerful, that few will be deceived by those who have not authority to teach, or who have not the Spirit to teach according to the power of the Holy Ghost, in the scriptures (JS Papers, Documents Vol. 4, p. 117).



Only the truth is at issue. Individuals other than Christ do not matter. The message I have and do preach is from the Lord. His sheep hear His voice. If they accept it as His, then deceivers, false spirits and men’s learning are powerless to destroy faith in Him. He promised He “will take care of our flocks” (D&C 88:72) and therefore it will be Him, and not me, who will keep His flock shepherded.



Following Christ’s death He was buried and rose on the third day. I know He lives for I have seen Him. He showed me the morning of His resurrection. I testify as a witness that He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, as the Gospels declare. Like those who wrote the New Testament, I am also a living witness the Lord rose from the dead:



When I saw His resurrection, I was surprised to see it was still dark. I had always thought it occurred at sun up,

This is the second part of a series on ascension, the process of rising up to the throne of God.







I’m gonna read from the Seventh Lecture on Faith, paragraph 9, about Christ: 



Where shall we find a saved being? for if we can find a saved being, we may ascertain without much difficulty what all others must be in order to be saved…. We think that it will not be a matter of dispute that two beings who are unlike each other cannot both be saved, for whatever constitutes the salvation of one will constitute the salvation of every creature which will be saved. And if we find one saved being in all existence, we may see what all others must be or else not be saved. We ask, then: Where is the prototype? Or where is the saved being? We conclude as to the answer of this question there will be no dispute among those who believe the Bible that it is Christ. All will agree [with] this, that he is the prototype or standard of salvation, or in other words, ...he is a saved being. And if we should continue our interrogation, and ask how [is it] that he is saved, the answer would be, because he is a just and holy being. And if he were anything different from what he is he would not be saved, for his salvation depends on his being precisely what he is and nothing else. For if it were possible for him to change in the least degree, so sure he would fail of salvation and lose all his dominion, power, authority, and glory, which constitutes salvation. For salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, power, and dominion which Jehovah possesses, and in nothing else, and no being can possess it but himself and one like him.



We read this, and then we immediately gloss over it as if what salvation consists of is Him and “fairy dust,” which He can distribute to make us like Him. This teaching that appears… This was what Joseph Smith worked on editing for the months prior to the publication of the Doctrine and Covenants in 1835. He doesn’t say in his diaries that he spent any time on the revelations—that was trusted to a committee, and the committee was responsible for getting those ready for publication. And they did a bunch of freelancing and embellishing and expanding; and some of the stuff they added to the revelations was remarkably more expansive than what Joseph had received revealed to him. That’s not where Joseph spent his time. He spent his time on the Lectures on Faith. And this is early in his ministry—this is when he wanted to make sure that the doctrine was correct. And this is the doctrine that came rolling out in that first publication. And yet, despite that, we tend to read this and not take it seriously. If you are going to be saved, you must be exactly, you must be precisely what Christ is and nothing else. K? You! At that moment, that is when you are saved. 



As a consequence of that, to speak of Christ is necessarily to speak of salvation. To understand Christ is to understand salvation. Despite how plainly this has been put, we still stop short of comprehending the doctrine. Joseph Smith’s mind returned to this topic again, all the way down at the end of his ministry in April of 1844—the last General Conference of the Church that Joseph Smith would be alive for. And in April—April 7th of 1844—Joseph gave a talk. I'm gonna first read to you the version that appears in The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. But then, to make sure that you realize how important the point was, I'm gonna go back to the talk as recorded by various of those who were present that day, because one matter in this is picked up by every one of those who was present in recording what was said in their diaries. Joseph says,



I wish I was in a suitable place to tell it, and that I had the trump of an archangel, so that I could tell the story in such a manner that persecution would c...