“Planned Polarization” – The Way of History

How many times have we seen disparate groups living without conflict for generations who suddenly erupt into hostile factions? We have witnessed it in nigh every age and land at some time or other when intense polarization is ignited through politics, culture, race, religion, ideology, opinion, theory, and on and on. Have we observed that a recycling, prominent theme in the Book of Mormon was polarization for purposes of power, gain, glory, and domination?

Today, especially in this land of promise, we seem to have an explosive mix of them all. So as our 2024 Book of Mormon study course winds down, let us review a few insights from Hugh W. Nibley’s Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 4: Transcriptions of Lectures presented to an Honors Book of Mormon Class at Brigham Young University. (All square brackets are in Nibley’s text; bold emphasis is mine.)

... It’s always good guys against bad guys. You’ll always have them and you’ll always have equals against each other and never solve that terrible thing. I’ll give an example of how this works. In the fourth century St. Basil was writing about it. “In the confused political situation everybody wants to give orders, and nobody wants to take them. Men are willing to cooperate on anything only as the most effective means of crippling a common enemy, after which they turn against each other.”

This was in Antioch, too, remember, the city where [men wanted] everybody to be wiped out so they’d be the richest man left. The final survivor and undisputed Number One was Constantine the Great. He interrupted and made them stop fighting. But, to quote our own study on the subject, no sooner had Constantine removed his last civil and military opponents than the issue between the Christians and pagan subjects became acute.² He had to settle that, so he settled that He put the pagans in their place, and then the churchman started accusing each other of heresy in wild abandon. Then it had to be Arias against Athanasius. The whole Christian world was then split again. Then the emperor took sides, came down with one side, and removed the last heretic, and received the undying thanks from the church. The true believers were at each others’ throats as never before. So this is the way it goes.

Nowhere is this process more sharply brought into focus than with Moroni’s inserts in his father’s book on the supreme results of polarizing. This is a very important principle—that the two poles conceive an ever greater antipathy to each other the more they come to be alike. Everyone knows that like poles repel each other, and only opposite poles attract each other. Now we’re talking about right from the beginning. As soon as Trajan and Hadrian took over and took half of Asia, then the trouble began with the two worlds fighting each other. It’s very old, of course. It goes back much further than that. It goes back to the battle of Thermopylae and much older than that: it’s always been going on. The emperors of East and West were fighting each other, in this case the emperors of Rome and Asia. I have particularly Justinian and Chosroes in mind, both very powerful emperors of a revived empire. The emperors of Rome and Asia describe themselves in absolutely identical terms, while each accuses his rival of being nothing but a base forgery and depraved imitation of himself. This is not a real clash of ideologies at all, but only a rivalry of parties that are [motivated] by identical principles and have the same objectives. What they are both after is the Book of Mormon formula, power and gain. The secret of commanding loyalty on both sides was, of course, to play up the wickedness of the other. The empire of the fourth century, when Rome collapsed, was at its very strongest with the biggest army and everything else. The empire of the fourth century was the world of displaced persons, inevitably drawn toward the big city. ... To take the place of the old lost loyalty to hearth and homeland—the prisca fides, the primitive belief in fate—strong measures had to be taken. New super loyalty was needed to guarantee the permanence of the social order. Men were taught to declare allegiance to a super thing—a noble abstraction loosely designated as Romanitas, the binding cement which was carefully cultivated in hostility to barbarians. “We’re the Romans: they’re the barbarians.” Well it was the same with the Babylonians and the Moslems. It was ager pacatus and ager hosticus with the Romans; Dār al-Islām and Dār al-Harb with the Moslems.

You see, that’s being very strongly emphasized. You’re never going to come to an agreement with the Iranians or the Iraqis as long as they say Dār al-Harb. Islam means “to submit”; it means peace also. All those who have submitted are the real people. All outside are the Dār al-Harb. And they threaten us. They were always being threatened and that’s why the emperor expanded [the empire]. They couldn’t stand anyone beyond their borders threatening them. Remember the last line of the fourth eclogue that got Vergil made a saint: “The emperor must inevitably rule over a pacified earth. All the earth must be pacified under his rule according to the virtues of our virtuous ancestors.” We’re the virtuous people, and we must rule the earth because we’re the good guys (p. 273; Nibley's footnote 2 from The Prophetic Book of Mormon, Vol 8-Collected Works ..., 438).

... [this is quoting J.B. Bury] ...“To command loyalty became part of the public education policy. To the lessons of the schools, carefully supervised by the government was added a more aggressive policy of deliberately widening the gulf between the two worlds [planned polarization]. For centuries, barbarian and Roman east and west had been mingling on terms of the greatest intimacy, producing a borderline culture in which it was quite impossible to draw the line between one culture and the other. Priscus, who was sent back in the sixth century, remembers quite casually the presence of people from the West visiting relatives in the camps of the Asiatics. He notes the busy coming and going of merchants between the two worlds. He describes the kind hospitality shown him, a complete stranger, in the home of the Easterners. But with this he gives us the other side of the picture, the official side—the ubiquitous activity of spies and agents in Roman pay, the infusion into the very court of Attila of large sums of Roman money to corrupt and divide. The insane mounting conviction of the rulers of the two halves of the world, both barbarians, each that his was the divine calling to liberate the human race from the intolerable ambition of the other.” It still is going on today (p. 274).

So what should we do with all the latest “planned polarization” in our present world? On the same page as the above quote, Nibley references the counsel of the prophet Joseph — that we don’t accuse, aspire, contend, coerce; that we don’t react in kind to polarizing tactics; that we don’t resist evil with evil.¹ But how are we to understand this in light of other scriptures, such as

20 Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 18:20);

and the many instances of “speaking truth to power” found and / or counseled in scripture.² I believe that the prophet Joseph’s counsel is to be understood as: don’t falsely accuse³; don’t aspire to replace God's will with your own⁴; don’t contend against truth; don’t coerce to your or another’s will or ideas.

But what do we do when so much truth seems so elusive? This is the best I can think of in our flawed human condition —  propagandized, opinionated, and stiff-necked as we are.

• Pursue truth by prioritizing facts over feelings.
• Live with intent to receive its proofs.⁵
• Study the repeating patterns of history.
• Speak truth when moved upon by the Spirit.
• Refuse to live by coercion.
• Be awake (as commanded) to our awful situation.⁶
• Pray as Mormon counseled his son Moroni:

27 ... Behold, the pride of this nation ... hath proven their destruction except they should repent.
28 Pray for them,^[7] my son, that repentance may come unto them.
(Book of Mormon | Moroni 8:27–28).

• Above all, pray for our own awakening, awareness, repentance, discernment.

-------------------------------/
1. New Testament | Romans 12:17 ~ Recompense to no man evil for evil.
New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:15 ~ See that none render evil for evil unto any man;
New Testament | 1 Peter 3:9 ~ Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing;
New Testament | Matthew 5:39 ~ But I [Jesus] say unto you, That ye resist not evil [with evil]:
2. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/03/speaking-truth-to-power-new-testament.html
 https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/01/part-two-evil-speaking-discernment.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2023/10/respecting-obeying-authority-what-did.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2023/10/respecting-obeying-authority-what-of.html
https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2023/10/when-to-disrespect-authority.html
3. (and since much of the time, we don’t have all the facts, we let those who have the facts step forward and if they don’t, we either pursue the facts in a lawful way, or, if necessary, pray for exposure of the facts, and wait on God to act.)
4. Old Testament | Isaiah 14:12-14
   12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
   13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
   14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Pearl of Great Price | Moses 4:3-4
   3 Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
   4 And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
5. New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21
   21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
6. Book of Mormon | Ether 8:24-26
   24 Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up.
   25 For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.
   26 Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved.
7. (those who accuse, aspire, contend, coerce)

How to Pray for Enemies: https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/03/what-how-to-pray-for-enemies.html

Confused About the “Lost Ten Tribes”? Part III

First in the Series: Confused About the Jews? Part I: Conflation¹
Second in the Series: Confused About Israel? Part 2: the Gathering?²

Part 3: Confused About the “Lost Ten Tribes”?
Speculations and opinions about the identity and / or location of the lost Ten Tribes are too numerous to review here, so I footnote³ a sampling of thoughts and opinions for those interested, with the observation that from God’s perspective, seemingly exclusive questions (such as: “Is it this? Is it that? or is it something else?) are sometimes answered with “It’s all of them⁴! In the case of the Ten Tribes, could it be all of them: some lost; some scattered; some assimilated; some distinct; some hidden; some here; some there?”

In this post I will just consider what the Prophet Joseph Smith reportedly said about the Lost Ten Tribes because what some believed and witnessed in the 1800s seems to have been discarded⁵ by many in this latter-day as being too fantastic. Here are several “fantastic” testimonies of one of the possibilities:

1. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WANDLE MACE (1809-1846)
Journal of Wandle Mace, typescript, HBLL
(As told to his wife, Rebecca E. Howell Mace)⁶

Chapter 7
I have listened to the Prophet Joseph in public, and in private, in sunshine and shower–as many others have done as he taught from the stand–At my own house, and at his ho[u]se, I have been familiar with him, from the time he escaped from prison in Missouri in 1839 until his martyrdom in 1844, and do know that no man could explain the scripture–throw them wide open to view, so plain that none could misunderstand their meaning–except he had been taught of God.

--- I have many times been pondering upon a subject, and seemed to come to a stand-still, not knowing how to gain farther information, relating to it, when upon going to meeting on the sabbath, the key would be touched by Joseph and the subject would be so plain I wondered why I had not seen it before.

I was in this situation in relation to the Ten lost tribes of Israel. I had read everything I could find relating to them. I had carefully studied the statistics of the Jews, and not withstanding they had been persecuted for hundreds of years, being murdered and driven, until they were now scattered all over the known world, yet they numbered several millions. I reasoned thus, had the `Ten Tribes’, suffered equal disaster, and they had increased in number, in the same ratio as the Jews, the would number nearly ten times as many–or nine times and a half as it is nine a half tribes instead of ten. If they have increased in this proportion, where is there habitable earth for this vast amount of people who are hidden from the rest of mankind? I could not see.

I was in this train of thought, unable to obtain further information from any source, when as usual on a Sunday morning, I took my skiff and crossed the river to Nauvoo, to attend meeting.

Joseph addressed the congregation, and as if for special benefit, touched upon this subject which opened a new field for reflection to me. His subject was: The “restitution of all things spoken of by all the Holy Prophets since the world began,” quoting the twenty first verse of the third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.

In the course of his remarks he spoke of the earth being divided at various times. He said, “When Enoch and his city was taken away, a portion of earth was taken and would again be restored. Also in the days of Peleg, the earth was divided, see Genesis 10th Chapter 25 verse.” He then referred to the `Ten Tribes’, saying, “You know a long time ago in the days of Shalmanezer King of Assyria when the Ten Tribes was taken away, and never been heard of since.” He said, “The earth will be restored as at the beginning, and the last taken away will be the first to return, for the last shall be first, and the first shall be last in all things.” He illustrated the return by saying.

“Some of you brethren have been coming up the river on a steamboat, and while seated at the table, the steamboat run against a snag which upset the table and scatter the dishes; so it will be when these portions of earth return. It will make the earth reel to and for `like a drunken man,’” quoting 24th chapter Isaiah 20th verse. When speaking of the return of the Ten Tribes, he said, “The mountains of ice shall flow down at their presence,” and a highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.”

These remarks satisfied me, it was no longer necessary to hunt the place on this earth where the Ten Tribes were so long hidden, for the earth was divided and taken away, and will be the first to return, as it was the last taken away.

“He shall command the great deep, and it shall be driven back into the north countries, and the islands shall become one land.”

“And the land of Jerusalem and the land of Zion shall be turned back into their own place, and the earth shall be like as it was in the days before it was divided. See [D&C 133:21-24] Appendix. Doctrine & Covenants.

I will introduce a poem upon this subject, by Sister E. R. Snow, as it was published in the Millennial Star 1851, pg. 272 entitled

An Address to the Earth

Thou, earth, wast once a glorious sphere of noble magnitude,
And didst with majesty appear, among the worlds of God.
But thy dimensions have been torn asunder, piece by piece,
And each dismembered fragment borne abroad to distant space.
When Enoch could no longer stay amid corruption here,
Part of thyself was borne away to form another sphere.
That portion where his city stood He gained by right approved;
And nearer to the throne of God His planet upward moved.
And when the Lord saw fit to hide the “ten lost tribes” away,
Thou, earth, was severed to provide the orb on which they stay.
And thus, from time to time thy size has been diminished, till
Thou seemest the law of sacrifice created to fulfil.
The curse of God on man was placed: that curse thou didst partake,
And thou hast been by turns disgraced and honored for his sake.
The vilest wretches hell will claim now breathe thy atmosphere,
The noblest spirits heaven can name have been embodied here.
Jesus the Lord thy surface graced; He fell a sacrifice;
And now within thy cold embrace the martyred Joseph lies.
When Satan’s hosts are overcome, the martyred princely rare,
Will claim thee their celestial home thy royal dwelling place.
A “restitution” yet must come, that will to them restore,
By the grand law of worlds, thy sum of matter heretofore.
And thou, O earth, will leave the track thou hast been doomed to trace
The Gods with shouts will bring thee back to fill thy native place.⁶

2. A website titled NewRevelations.net⁷ has done extensive work in compiling other witnesses. Here is an account (from section 5) given by Homer Brown and Israel Call:

Homer Brown: "‘Then [Joseph Smith] added, ‘In consequence of this great portion [of the City of Enoch] being taken away, it naturally threw the earth out of balance. Now when it comes back, and also the planet on which the Lost Tribes are, the earth will receive its equilibrium and revolve as it naturally was in the very beginning.’

Israel Call: "Yes, my father, Anson Call, was a particular friend of the Prophet Joseph. I have heard him say on a number of occasions that the Prophet Joseph told him in company with others, that the Ten Tribes of Israel were on a portion of this earth that had been taken away."⁷

3. According to Phebe Carter Woodruff, JS [Joseph Smith] had similarly instructed the Saints in Nauvoo in summer 1840.

In a letter to her husband, Wilford Woodruff, Phebe stated that JS had “been advanceing new things to the church and publick of late says that this earth was the largest panat [planet] that ever was made and that there has been parts taken from it several times and at the time the 10 tribes were lost there was a part taken from it and that they would all come back and be joined to it again and that would be the realing to & fro like a drunken man &c &c.”
(Phebe Carter Woodruff, Montrose, Iowa Territory, to Wilford Woodruff, Liverpool, England, 2 July 1840, digital scan, Wilford Woodruff, Collection, CHL; see also Walker, Diary, 10 Mar. 1881, in Larson and Larson, Diary of Charles Lowell Walker, 540; and “Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” Juvenile Instructor, 1 June 1892, 344.)⁸

4. Compilation posted by exmocaptainmoroni⁹ OP•11y ago

More sources. I wish I knew where this pdf file I have came from, but I'm not sure.

Ten Lost Tribes Are On Another Planet Joseph Smith taught that the lost Ten Tribes were on another planet. He taught this to over a dozen individuals, including one of his wives, and several apostles:

Allen, Daniel 1872
Beck, James 1861
Brown, Benjamin 1924
Call, Anson 1924
Cannon, George Q. 1891
Dibble, Philo 1882/4,1906
Gates, Jacob 1881
Hamblin, Jacob ?
Mace, Wandle Before 1890
Pratt, Orson 1875
Richards, Franklin W. 1892
Rogers, Samuel After 1840?
Smith, Bathsheba 1892
Snow, Eliza R. 1881, 1931
Snow, Joseph 1889
Van Cott, John 1931
Young, Brigham 1867

President Young said he had heard Joseph say that the Ten Tribes of Israel were on a portion of land seperated from this Earth. (Wilford Woodruff Journal, September 8th, 1867.)

A portion of the North country containing the Ten Tribes may be separated from the Earth. (Wilford Woodruff Journal, September 25th, 1859.)

Joseph Smith said that the 2 Prophets who would Prophesy in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 years & a half, were Enoch & Elijah. Also the two wings north & South of our earth were inhabited. the north with the 9-1/2 tribes & the south wing by the People of Enochs City – this Earth when first created occupied a Position next to Kolob the highest in glory of all the Creations consequently on account of the high Position we once occupied we have fallen below all of the others in space–consequently our sufferings are greater–the greater the rise the greater will be the fall-when we are Redeemed we will be taken back again & Placed in our former Position. (James Beck Journal (Notebook) 1859-1865; October 8th 1861.)

I heard the Joseph the Prophet say that he had seen John the revelator and had a long conversation with him, whom told him that he John was their leader, prophet, priest, and king, and said that he was preparing that people to return and further said there is a mighty host of us. And Joseph further said that men might hunt for them but they could not find them for they were upon a portion of this planet that had been broken off and which was taken away. And the sea rushed in between Europe and America, and that when that piece returns there would be a great shake; the sea would then move to the north where it belonged in the morning of creation. (Daniel Allen, Minutes of the Parowan, Utah School of the Prophets, 17 August 1872.)

The Prophet Joseph once in my hearing advanced his opinion that the Ten Tribes were seperated from the Earth; or a portion of the Earth was by miracle broken off, and that in the latter-days it would be restored to Earth or be let down in the polar regions. Whether the Prophet founded his opinion upon revelation or whether it was a matter of mere speculation with him, I am unable to say. (Orson Pratt to John C. Hall, December 13th, 1875. [Elder Pratt however seemed to of been of the opinion that they resided on or in the North Pole.])

11 Feb 1881 – Some remarks were made by Sister Green stating that she heard Eliza Snow speak of the 9 and ½ lost tribes being on an orb and would eventually come back to their former place and we should know when they came by certain signs.

6 Mar 1881 – Brother Jacob Gates … Said he heard Joseph Smith say when he was at Bishop Partridge’s house in Far West, Missouri, concerning the ten lost tribes. “They are hid from us by land and air.” Said Bishop Partridge, “I guess they are by land and water,” in a doubting manner as if Joseph did not know what he was talking about. “Yes,” said Joseph, “by land and air; they are hid from us in such a manner and at such an angle that the astronomers cannot get their telescopes to bear on them from this Earth.”

10 Mar 1881 – At night paid Sister Eliza R. Snow a short visit and had some conversation with her on the dividing of the Earth. She told me that she heard the Prophet say that when the Ten Tribes were taken away the Lord cut the Earth in two, Joseph striking his left hand in the centre with the edge of his right to illustrate the idea, and that they were on an orb or planet by themselves, and when they return with the portion of this Earth that was taken away with them, the coming together of these two bodies or orbs would cause a shock and make the ‘Earth reel to and fro like a drunken man.’ She also stated that he said the Earth was now ninety times [percent?] smaller now than when first created or organized.

17 April 1898 – Attended Sunday school theological class. Brother Joseph Snow gave a very interesting lecture on the scattering and gathering of Israel. Said that the papyrus obtained by the Prophet Joseph Smith in connection with the Books of Moses and Abraham fond in the wrappings of the mummies gave an account of the ten lost tribes of Israel, their journeyings geographically to the land of the North country, a place where no man had ever set his foot before, also a diagram showing their present location (in space), also the city of Enoch. (Diary of Charles L. Walker.)

In the afternoon I go uptown and meet Lorin Woolley, with whom I converse for 2 or 3 hours. He told me of some of his experiences in the underground business, and confirmed some points of doctrine I had believed in. He agreed with me that the ten tribes are not on the earth, and moreover said that in reading George Q. Cannon’s Doctrine and Covenants, he had noted in the margin a statement to that effect, which had been made by the Prophet Joseph Smith. (George E. Woolley (his uncle) Journal, September 22, 1891.)

He [Franklin W. Richards] said that the ten tribes of Israel were separated from the earth – so Joseph Smith had said. (Rudger Clawson Diary, Book 10, p. 87 (referring to Richards, 3 Apr 1892 conference talk)

I heard him say, “Peradventure, the Ten Tribes were not on this globe, but a portion of earth had cleaved off with them and went flying into space, and when the time comes when the ‘earth reels to and fro like a drunken man and the stars from heaven fall,’ it would join on again.” Bathsheba W. Smith, Recollections of the Prophet Joseph Smith, The Juvenile Instructor 27:34, 1st June 1892.

Philo Dibble testified in May, 1884 that in 1882 in response to his asking the Prophet of the location of the Ten Tribes he was drawn a diagram showing the Earth with two spheres on either of its sides, one of which was supposed to be their residence. (His son Sidney and Matthew M. Dalton made sworn statements to this effect in January 1906.)⁹

I have not verified the source of all the above references, but my guess concerning the “Lost Ten Tribes” is that the evidence and witness supports in varying degrees that some are lost; some scattered; some assimilated; some distinct; some hidden; some here; some there. God knows.

--------------------------------------/
1. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/05/confused-about-jews-part-i-conflation.html
2. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2024/05/confused-about-israel-part-2-gathering.html
3. Lost Tribes
• https://thefairestgem.com/2020/08/12/the-prophet-joseph-smith-teaches-of-the-ten-lost-tribes/
• https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/old-testament-student-manual-kings-malachi/enrichment-d?lang=eng
• http://www.newrevelations.net/wherearetentribes.html
• https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Question:_Did_Joseph_Smith_believe_that_the_lost_Ten_Tribes_were_living_under_the_polar_ice_cap%3F
• https://byustudies.byu.edu/article/the-ten-lost-tribes-a-world-history/
• http://www.mormonthink.com/QUOTES/losttribes.htm
• https://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/73501-where-are-the-lost-ten-tribes/
• http://www.newrevelations.net/wherearetentribes.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Lost_Tribes
• https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1fzmwv/
joseph_smith_taught_multiple_followers_that_the/
• https://mormonbible.org/old-testament/old-testament-3/the-ten-lost-tribes
• https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ten-Lost-Tribes-of-Israel
• https://aish.com/the-search-for-the-ten-lost-tribes/
• https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27177/27177-h/27177-h.htm
• https://mormonmonsters.blogspot.com/2009/09/ten-tribes-live-on-another-planet.html
• https://rodolfovergara.com/are-the-ten-tribes-of-israel-on-another-planet/
• https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/israel/losttribes.html
• https://www.mormondialogue.org/topic/73501-where-are-the-lost-ten-tribes/
4. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2019/12/could-earth-be-square.html
5. https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Question:_Did_Joseph_Smith_believe_that_the_lost_Ten_Tribes_were_living_under_the_polar_ice_cap%3F

6. https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/history/wandle-mace/
https://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/7610
7. http://www.newrevelations.net/wherearetentribes.html
8. https://www.reddit.com/r/mormon/comments/17oloem/location_of_10_lost_tribes/ (Willy Pete)
Footnote 12 from https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/letter-from-thomas-burdick-28-august-1840/2#12659479498828434175 (p. 175)
9. https://www.reddit.com/r/exmormon/comments/1fzmwv/joseph_smith_taught_multiple_followers_that_the/

Testimonies of Descendants of Joseph & Emma

Joseph Smith, Jr.
Image info below

Further to my two previous posts:
      Conflation of Testimony?¹
      Staying? or Leaving?²

In these latter-days, as we process our own testimonies and witness of what is true, perhaps these experiences, testimonies, and witness of descendants of Joseph and Emma Smith might be of help:

      Gracia Jones Full Interview 1st part³
      Gracia Jones Full Interview 2nd Part⁴ 

      Joseph Smith Descendant Testimonies Kimberly Smith 6 27⁵

See additional resources below.⁶

Emma Hale Smith
Image info below

In light of these testimonies and witnesses,⁷ what should we make of the belief or claims that the Church was rejected years ago, along with its dead? Aren't we all under varying degrees of condemnation because of our propensity to go our own way, to think thoughts that oppose the Spirit of Truth; to confuse, assume, presume, fear, retaliate, mis-perceive, treat lightly, and on and on? The scriptures are full of stories of chosen leaders and followers who made mistakes or sinned, repeatedly — some repented, some did not; thus the continual necessity for the witness of the Holy Ghost in all things  — to be watchmen, not just of the course and claims of things and people, but of our own predispositions.

----------------------------------------/
1. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/04/conflation-of-testimony.html
2. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2022/03/staying-or-leaving.html
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGGw8lgh__0&t=954s
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkOJTQaRCe0&t=1199s
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAqW2AFUV4A&t=316s
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwezWHpMhrs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv25pFpKw9c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJFOV3Y39H8
Short Version of Descendant Joseph Smith Testimonies (Michael Kennedy | Feb 20, 2022 | Time 20:41 min.) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdUqumrgAJs
The Joseph Smith and Emma Hale Smith Historical Society: https://www.josephsmithjr.org/
Michael kennedy's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/RogerAllanKennedy/videos
7. (and thousands of others throughout Church history by Temple workers, family history enthusiasts, and faith-filled saints receiving or acting upon similar dreams and visions)

Image Sources:
Joseph Smith Jr.
Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_smith.jpg
File URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Joseph_smith.jpg
Attribution: unknown painter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Discretion: Joseph Smith, Jr.
Source: http://www.helpingmormons.org/The_Prophets_Have_Spoken.htm
Permision: This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.

Emma Hale Smith:
Page URL: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EmmaSmith.jpg
File URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/EmmaSmith.jpg
Attribution: Lee Greene Richards (July 27, 1878 – February 20, 1950) Original Publisher and Copyright holder: LDS Church Archives (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Description: English: Emma Smith, wife married of Joseph Smith, Jr.. An early leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, during Joseph Smith's lifetime and afterward as a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS, now the Community of Christ).
Date: before 1950
Source: Harold B. Lee Library, Digital Collections, Religious Education Image Archive: here. Courtesy of LDS Church Archives | Can also be viewed here including reference to authorship by Lee Greene Richards.
Author: Lee Greene Richards (July 27, 1878 – February 20, 1950)
Original Publisher and Copyright holder: LDS Church Archives (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
Permission: See "Copyright Status/Owner" on page. Reads "Public Domain, Courtesy of LDS Church Archives".
This work has been released into the public domain by its copyright holder, LDS Church Archives. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: LDS Church Archives grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

The Proxy Question

Joseph Smith, Jr.*

Inasmuch as 2020 marks the 215th anniversary of Joseph Smith's birth, the 200th anniversary of the First Vision, the 190th anniversary of the organization of the Church, and the 180th anniversary of John Cook Bennett's arrival in Nauvoo, it seems a good time to raise this polygamy question:

“How many alleged marriages or alleged sealings to Joseph were done by proxy before his death?”

This seems a relevant and crucial question in light of:

SAN BERNARDINO, California,
December 31st, 1883.
Mrs. Mary Ralph being duly sworn, deposes and says: I lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, close to the house of Joseph Smith, just across the road, sometime. ... and I believe he was a true prophet of God. I was well acquainted with the two Partridge girls and the two Walker girls and their two brothers William and Lorin Walker, they were orphans, and all lived in the family of Joseph Smith, but I never knew they were any of them his wives; but I saw Susy [Lucy?] Walker in 1847 and she had a young baby in her arms,^[1] she told me she had been sealed to Joseph for eternity^[2] and to Heber C. Kimball for time, and Bro. Heber was acting proxy for Bro. Joseph. Dianthy [Diantha] Farr, daughter of Aaron Farr, told me she was sealed in the same way and W[m]. Clayton was acting proxy for Bro. Joseph with her. The first I ever heard of the proxy and sealing business was in 1846. Bathsheba Smith, wife of Geo. A., told me of it then.
MARY RALPH.
Sworn to before me this 31st day of December, 1883, W. J. Curtis, Notary Public in and for San Bernardino county, state of California.³ [Bold emphasis added.]

Of course the alleged Farr sealing could have been performed after Joseph's death as there seems no record of her as a plural wife, but could more proxy sealings like Lucy Walker's(?) have been possible during Joseph's life? This brings up the second crucial question: If there were such sealings, was Joseph aware of them? As far as we know he never wrote of them, and as to witnesses of alleged non-proxy marriages / sealings, how can we place full confidence in any of them with all the confusion of opinion, speculation, rumor-mongering, conflicting accounts, and motivated(?) memory (by both sides) that so plagued the early Church (even beyond the turn of the century)? And knowing our own memory failures, is it possible that years later someone could remember Joseph saying something promoting plural marriage when in fact it was something John Cook Bennett (or some other) had “shared” about what Joseph had allegedly said?

Perhaps the proxy question was explored by Joseph Smith III or others who interviewed some of the involved parties in later years, but so far in my readings, the above quote is the only reference I have come across about proxy sealings regarding Joseph and plural wives before his death. Has the proxy question been thoroughly researched?

I raise this for several reasons:

▪ What if admitted revisions of church records in 1845⁴ and beyond, also encompassed marriage / sealing records? Here is a classic, relevant, revision example⁵:

From Joseph Smith Papers: Document Transcript ~ Book 3, 15 July 1843–29 February 1844
[Red text indicates those words that were deleted when this was subsequently recorded in History of the Church Vol. 6:46]
5 October 1843 • Thursday
Thursday October 5. morning rode out with Esqr Butterfild [Justin Butterfield]. to farm &c.—— P.M rode on prairie to shew the Some brethren some land.— eve at home walked up and down st. with scribe.— and gave inst[r]uction to try those who were preaching teaching or preaching the doctrin of plurality of wives. on this Law. Joseph forbids it. and the practice ther[e]of— No man shall have but one wife229 [6 lines blank] [p. [117]]
[Accessed at https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/journal-december-1842-june-1844-book-3-15-july-1843-29-february-1844/1#full-transcript]⁶

From History of the Church, Vol 6
[Purple text indicates those words that were inserted when the above JS journal account was subsequently recorded in History of the Church 6:46]
Vol. 6: Page 46
Thursday, 5.—This morning I rode out with Esquire Butterfield to the farm.
Instructions Respecting Plurality of Wives.
In the afternoon, rode to the prairie to show some of the brethren some land. Evening, at home, and walked up and down the streets with my scribe. Gave instructions to try those persons who were preaching, teaching, or practicing the doctrine of plurality of wives: for, according to the law, I hold the keys of this power in the last days; for there is never but one on earth at a time on whom the power and its keys are conferred; and I have constantly said no man shall have but one wife at a time, unless the Lord directs otherwise.
[Accessed at https://byustudies.byu.edu/content/volume-6-chapter-2]

NOTE: the interpolations here could easily be understood as the very reverse of what Joseph's journal records (as in the “turning of things upside down”??)

▪ Wouldn't proxy have been the perfect cover for secrecy from Emma and the uninitiated, perhaps even from Joseph if those engaging in “spiritual wifery” wanted to foster the notion that “elite” relationships were sanctioned by Joseph but which he could not acknowledge? Would it not lend heavy-weight justification for secret agendas and actions?
▪ Considering the character of John Cook Bennett,⁷ the proxy concept would have been a (small g) “god-send,” not to mention the possibility of other secret polygamists subsequently inventing and recording marriages / sealings to lay a foundation for pending doctrine. And likely, even before Bennett arrived in Nauvoo, he would have heard the rampant polygamy rumors.
▪ Since memory is so susceptible to distortion, persuasion, and conflation could “witnesses” have subsequently conflated proxy with “in-person” when interviewers did not specifically ask?
▪ With the passage of time, how easy might it be to remember rumor as fact?
▪ The nature of most men and women to self-justify or mis-remember behaviors or beliefs when criticized or under pressure is well known; as is the déjà vu on déjà vu ploy where offenders accuse whistle-blowers or truth-tellers of what they, themselves, are doing.

There seems to be so much evidence supporting both sides in the Joseph Smith polygamy debate that it's unlikely we shall ever know the full truth, this side of the veil, especially with all the conjectures (including this post), and theories, assumptions, falsehoods, and alleged facts (public and private) that have flooded this matter.

Perhaps, in all the confusion, God's witness⁸ of Joseph's honor is the one that matters.

----------------/
1. 1st child of Lucy and Heber C. Kimball was Rachel Sylvia Kimball (28 January 1846 – 12 December 1847), so in 1847 she would have been just over one-year old.
2. The sealing was apparently May 1, 1843 per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Joseph_Smith%27s_wives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Joseph_Smith%27s_wives (though Lucy's account on that site differs from Mary Ralph's report above.
3. Proxy Sealings quote: from Chapter 14 “William Smith Provided Further Insights into the Origin of Polygamy” from the book Joseph Smith Fought Polygamy, Vol. 2 at http://restorationbookstore.org/articles/nopoligamy/jsfp-vol2/2chp14.htm (Bold emphasis added.)
I first referenced this in a footnote (#10) of a Déjà Vu ~ Times II post (Dec. 15, 2015) entitled “Could it Be?” where I also reflected on the probable psychopathy of John Cook Bennett at https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2015/12/could-it-be.html.
Granted, the meaning of proxy here could be viewed / interpreted by some as similar to Levirate marriage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levirate_marriage . Farr is listed as a plural wife of Clayton, (married Jan. 9, 1845) but the conjoined phrase “proxy and sealing business” could lend itself more to one person standing in for another during a sealing ceremony and not as a marriage partner. [Update Jan. 22, 2020: However, I could be wrong. Yesterday, I came across Whitney Horning's references to Levirate marriage. This understanding might reconcile the Mary Ralph account with other accounts, but I believe the proxy question is still a valid one to pursue with all the conflicting accounts and proxy possibilities, especially with no record of Farr as a plural wife to Joseph.]
4. What Is Our Real History? at https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2019/10/what-is-our-real-history.html
5. References are thanks to Whitney Horning from Joseph Smith Revealed: A Faithful Telling: Exploring an Alternate Polygamy Narrative (p. 217). Kindle Edition.
6. NOTICE: how the practice of leaving blank lines after JS journal entries leaves room for additions at some future date without the ability to know for certain when or who added the entry and for what purpose. Of course it can serve a legitimate purpose, but also opens the way for illegitimate use. The 229 pullout in the JS journal quote relies not on the numerous words of Joseph wherein he states his unrelenting opposition to “plurality of wives,” but relies on the oft-belated, alleged witness of others, some of whom were already practitioners or soon-to-be-practitioners in violation of extant scripture: (1835 D&C Section CI [101] Marriage: p. 251) at https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/doctrine-and-covenants-1835/1#full-transcript (Also see “one wife” at p. 192 and in the New Testament | 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6; Doctrine and Covenants | Section 49:16.)
7. I first encountered the FairMormon expositions on polygamy in this new year, January 2020. I do not agree with some of the assumptions, interpretations, and conclusions, but their information is worth considering and attempting to prove otherwise where suspect or based on assumption. None of these FairMormon posts have a date that I could find as to when they were researched or posted, but they confirm some of my thoughts on Bennett's character.
● https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Polygamy_book/John_C._Bennett/John_C._Bennett_Pr
● https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Polygamy_book#John_C._Bennett (draft chapters)ior_to_Nauvoo
● https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Joseph_Smith/Polygamy
Also see the Déjà Vu ~ Times II 2015 post about Bennett's probable psychopathy at https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2015/12/could-it-be.html
8. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 122:1-9 ~ Word of the Lord to Joseph Smith ~ March 1839
1 THE ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee;
2 While the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand.
3 And thy people shall never be turned against thee by the testimony of traitors.
4 And although their influence shall cast thee into trouble, and into bars and walls, thou shalt be had in honor; and but for a small moment and thy voice shall be more terrible in the midst of thine enemies than the fierce lion, because of thy righteousness; and thy God shall stand by thee forever and ever.
5 If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea;
6 If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can't you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb;
7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?
9 Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever. [Bold emphasis added.]
See also:
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 3:6-15
Could It Also Be?: https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2015/12/could-it-also-be.html
Ten-thousand [Malicious] Lies: https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/01/ten-thousand-malicious-lies.html (latter portion of the post.)

* Joseph Smith Painting source: By Unknown - Unknown, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1388993

What is Our Real History?

“There are two ways to be fooled.
 One is to believe what isn’t true;
 the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”¹

“[O]ur own individual point of view makes a great difference to how we see things.”²

Which raises the quandary footnoted (being #10) in a blog post of January 16, 2016.³ The quandary? How can we be sure of church history when so many revisions were made to it in 1845, the year following the martyrdom of Joseph in 1844? Here is the reproduced footnote:

10. Re Mormon history revision: All the following quotes are from History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., [purported author, Joseph Smith], introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts [Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951]. (All bold emphasis added.) Note: [Do we] know what B[righam]Y[oung] meant by revising—just grammar and style errors or something more? [And is correcting the same as revising?]
» Moreover, since the death of the Prophet Joseph, the history has been carefully revised under the strict inspection of President Brigham Young, and approved by him, (1:v-vi; 7:243)
» Tuesday, April 1, 1845.—I [Brigham Young] commenced revising the History of Joseph Smith at Brother Richards' office: Elder Heber C. Kimball and George A. Smith were with me. President Joseph Smith had corrected forty-two pages before his massacre. It afforded us great satisfaction to hear Brother Richards read the history of the infancy of the church. Adjourned at eleven p.m. having read one hundred and forty pages in Book 'A'.
» Wednesday, [April] 2 [1845].—Engaged at Elder Richards' office with Elders Kimball and Smith revising Church History. (7:389)
» Saturday, [May] 10 [1845].—Brother George A. Smith called upon me this morning and I [BY] accompanied him to the Historian's Office where we read and revised Church History. …
» Monday, [May] 12 [1845].—Evening, with Brothers Heber C. Kimball, W. Richards and George A. Smith at Brother Edward Hunter's revising history.
» Tuesday, [May] 13 [1845].—With Elders Heber C. Kimball, W. Richards and George A. Smith reading and revising Church History at Brother Edward Hunter's where we had retired to keep out of the way of writs reported to have been issued against us. (7:408)
» Wednesday, [May] 14 [1845].—Continued at Brother Edward Hunter's as yesterday; my health, and that of Brother Richards poor; but we read and revised history all day. …
» Friday, [May] 16 [1845].—I spent the day at Brother Hunter's in company with Brothers Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards, George A. Smith and N. K. Whitney revising history: …
» Saturday, [May] 17 [1845].—Revising history as yesterday, with the addition of Brother John Taylor: … (7:411)
» Tuesday, [May] 20 [1845].—With the brethren named I remained at Brother Pierce's; Willard Richards and George A. Smith joined us. We read and revised fifty-seven pages of History of Joseph Smith from Book 'B': … (7:414)
» Wednesday, [June] 18 [1845].—I met with Elders Heber C. Kimball, John Taylor and George A. Smith at Brother Taylor's; we revised a portion of the History of Joseph Smith. …
» Thursday, [June] 19 [1845].—I spent the day with Brothers H. C. Kimball and George A. Smith revising history. …
» Friday, [June] 20 [1845].—Elders H. C. Kimball, Orson Pratt, George A. Smith, and myself engaged revising Church History. (7:427-428)
» Saturday, [November] 8 [1845].—Revising history in company with Brothers Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards and George A. Smith till 4 p.m. (7:514)
» Monday, [November] 10 [1845].—I spent the day with Elders Heber C. Kimball, Willard Richards and George A. Smith revising Church History; …
» Tuesday, [November] 11 [1845].—Forenoon, Elders Willard Richards and George A. Smith revising history. Afternoon, Elder Kimball and I joined them, and assisted in revising history. (7:519)
» Wednesday, [November] 26 [1845].—At the Historian's Office with Elder George A. Smith and revised fifty pages history. …
» Friday, [November] 28 [1845].—I went to the Trustees' Office, attending to church business. Elders Willard Richards and George A. Smith read and revised history to the end of 1843. (7:532)
» Monday, [December] 29 [1845].— … Elders George A. Smith and Amasa Lyman revised history. (7:556)

So what was the purpose of so many revisions made to our history? Do we know what and how extensive the revisions were? Were they innocuous? Were they just cleaning up errors? adding things that should have been recorded but had been forgotten as in the Savior's admonition to Nephi⁴?

Maybe someone has researched and written about these revisions in depth (if they can even be ascertained), but the question remains: How can we know the full truth if we are not open to seeking it? And if we refuse to see and hear 360°, how can we take dogmatic positions with only 180° (or less) awareness? Why do we attach ourselves so readily to rigid positions? holding to hard priors⁵ instead of viewing as best we can the 360° view and being truly open to proving all things⁶ with a discerning spirit? Have we not learned from the déjà vus of record-keeping and the prescience of George Orwell's 1984 how easy it is to amend, revise, mis-state, or mis-remember “events”? sometimes deliberately toward error?

What, too, is our real U.S. history? Are we not witnessing every day allegations of “suppressed facts”? of CIA and ST⁷ psych-ops orchestrated without conscience, sometimes just for the “fun and games” of it? Have we not already been put on notice of the “revision / false attribution” strategy of those early deceivers in our own church history⁸? How can we be sure what is original-Joseph and what is revision-Joseph? and in these last days what is deep-state propaganda and what is fact?

Perhaps that is why we need to reserve final judgments⁹ in our Bernayzian¹⁰ world, not only about Joseph, but about US until we are ready to hear and see 360°.

-----------------------------/
1. (Søren Kierkegaard ~ 1813-1855); see https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/35782-there-are-two-ways-to-be-fooled-one-is-to
2. Midgley, Mary. The Myths We Live By (p. 28). Taylor and Francis.
3. https://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.com/2016/01/part-one-evil-speaking-discernment.html
4. Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 23:8–13 ~ And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said: Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so? And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled. And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them? And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written. And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.
5. The science writer Sharon Begley gives insight into such motivated reasoning: “If you have a strongly held belief with an emotional component, the brain defends information that reinforces those ‘priors’ and is skeptical of information that challenges them. … People who hold these hard priors filter information to support their perceptions.” (Bold emphasis mine.) These observations are from the work of political scientist Hank Jenkins-Smith of the University of Oklahoma as quoted, in Newsweek, October 13, 2010, pp. 29-30 by science writer Sharon Begley about voter tendencies—observations that seem applicable to almost everything that requires choice or discernment. We all do it, (even this writer) and without awareness of a “priors” bias, are we not all more prone to biased judgment—whether pro or con? Shouldn’t 360° honesty in dealing with all the facts help control that bias?
6. New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21 ~ Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
7. See L. Fletcher Prouty's, The Secret Team:The CIA and its Allies in Control of the United States and the World
8. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 10:8–37 ~ And because you  [Joseph] have delivered the writings into his hands, behold, wicked men have taken them from you. Therefore, you have delivered them up, yea, that which was sacred, unto wickedness. And, behold, Satan hath put it into their hearts to alter the words which you have caused to be written, or which you have translated, which have gone out of your hands. And behold, I say unto you, that because they have altered the words, they read contrary from that which you translated and caused to be written; And, on this wise, the devil has sought to lay a cunning plan, that he may destroy this work; For he hath put into their hearts to do this, that by lying they may say they have caught you in the words which you have pretended to translate. Verily, I say unto you, that I will not suffer that Satan shall accomplish his evil design in this thing. For behold, he has put it into their hearts to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God, in asking to translate it over again. And then, behold, they say and think in their hearts—We will see if God has given him power to translate; if so, he will also give him power again; And if God giveth him power again, or if he translates again, or, in other words, if he bringeth forth the same words, behold, we have the same with us, and we have altered them; Therefore they will not agree, and we will say that he has lied in his words, and that he has no gift, and that he has no power; Therefore we will destroy him, and also the work; and we will do this that we may not be ashamed in the end, and that we may get glory of the world. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that Satan has great hold upon their hearts; he stirreth them up to iniquity against that which is good; And their hearts are corrupt, and full of wickedness and abominations; and they love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil; therefore they will not ask of me. Satan stirreth them up, that he may lead their souls to destruction. And thus he has laid a cunning plan, thinking to destroy the work of God; but I will require this at their hands, and it shall turn to their shame and condemnation in the day of judgment. Yea, he stirreth up their hearts to anger against this work. Yea, he saith unto them: Deceive and lie in wait to catch, that ye may destroy; behold, this is no harm. And thus he flattereth them, and telleth them that it is no sin to lie that they may catch a man in a lie, that they may destroy him. And thus he flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell; and thus he causeth them to catch themselves in their own snare. And thus he goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men. Verily, verily, I say unto you, wo be unto him that lieth to deceive because he supposeth that another lieth to deceive, for such are not exempt from the justice of God. Now, behold, they have altered these words, because Satan saith unto them: He hath deceived you—and thus he flattereth them away to do iniquity, to get thee to tempt the Lord thy God. Behold, I say unto you, that you shall not translate again those words which have gone forth out of your hands; For, behold, they shall not accomplish their evil designs in lying against those words. For, behold, if you should bring forth the same words they will say that you have lied and that you have pretended to translate, but that you have contradicted yourself. And, behold, they will publish this, and Satan will harden the hearts of the people to stir them up to anger against you, that they will not believe my words. Thus Satan thinketh to overpower your testimony in this generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation. But behold, here is wisdom, and because I show unto you wisdom, and give you commandments concerning these things, what you shall do, show it not unto the world until you have accomplished the work of translation. Marvel not that I said unto you: Here is wisdom, show it not unto the world—for I said, show it not unto the world, that you may be preserved. Behold, I do not say that you shall not show it unto the righteous; But as you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter.
9. New Testament | 1 Corinthians 4:5 ~ Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
10. “The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.” (Source: https://www.amazon.com/Propaganda-Edward-Bernays-ebook/dp/B0097D76MG/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NLE7CZI9MORU&keywords=propaganda+bernays&qid=1570053969&sprefix=propaganda%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-1  |  “Edward Bernays (1891–1995), pioneered the scientific technique of shaping and manipulating public opinion, which he famously dubbed “engineering of consent.” During World War I, he was an integral part of the U.S. Committee on Public Information (CPI), a powerful propaganda apparatus that was mobilized to package, advertise and sell the war to the American people as one that would “Make the World Safe for Democracy.” The CPI would become the blueprint in which marketing strategies for future wars would be based upon. // Bernays applied the techniques he had learned in the CPI and, incorporating some of the ideas of Walter Lipmann, became an outspoken proponent of propaganda as a tool for democratic and corporate manipulation of the population.”

What's in a Name?

Melchizedek?

1 THERE are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic, including the Levitical Priesthood.
2 Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest.
3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.
4 But out of respect or reverence to the name of the Supreme Being, to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name, they, the church, in ancient days, called that priesthood after Melchizedek, or the Melchizedek Priesthood.
(Doctrine and Covenants | Section 107:1-4, bold emphasis added.)

Mormon?

... I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation.--Before I give a definition, however, to the word, let me say that the Bible in its widest sense, means good; for the Savior says according to the gospel of John, "I am the good shepherd;" and it will not be beyond the common use of terms, to say that good is among the most important in use, and though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in opposition to "bad." We say from the Saxon, "good"; the Dane, "god"; the Goth, "goda"; the German, "gut"; the Dutch, "goed"; the Latin, "bonus"; the Greek, "kalos"; the Hebrew, "tob"; and the "Egyptian, "mon." Hence, with the addition of "more," or the contraction, "mor," we have the word "mormon"; which means, literally, "more good."
Yours,
JOSEPH SMITH.
(May 15, 1843.) T&S 4:194.¹

If Joseph is right about God being the superior interpreter of language (see full text below at footnote 1), then perhaps Mormon has more meaning than just as a nickname, even if often abused and maligned, though, there is probably no name more abused and maligned in this world than that of the Savior's.

In addition, we have seen in scriptural history how mortal names have been used to reference things that were clearly sourced in God or were substituted or shadowed for His name or the name of His Father, as in:

» The City of Enoch
» The Law of Moses
» Children of Israel
» Son of David²
» Son of Abraham³
» Aaronic Priesthood (Priesthood of Aaron)⁴
» Levitical Priesthood⁴

ON THE OTHER HAND ...⁵

-------------------/
1. Full text:
Section Six 1843-44, p.300
Here then the subject is put to silence, for "none other people knoweth our language," therefore the Lord, and not man, had to interpret, after the people were all dead. And as Paul said, "the world by wisdom know not God," so the world by speculation are destitute of revelation; and as God in his superior wisdom, has always given his Saints, wherever he had any on the earth, the same spirit, and that spirit, as John says, is the true spirit of prophecy, which is the testimony of Jesus. I may safely say that the word Mormon stands independent of the learning and wisdom of this generation.--Before I give a definition, however, to the word, let me say that the Bible in its widest sense, means good; for the Savior says according to the gospel of John, "I am the good shepherd;" and it will not be beyond the common use of terms, to say that good is among the most important in use, and though known by various names in different languages, still its meaning is the same, and is ever in opposition to "bad." We say from the Saxon, "good"; the Dane, "god"; the Goth, "goda"; the German, "gut"; the Dutch, "goed"; the Latin, "bonus"; the Greek, "kalos"; the Hebrew, "tob"; and the "Egyptian, "mon." Hence, with the addition of "more," or the contraction, "mor," we have the word "mormon"; which means, literally, "more good."
Yours,
JOSEPH SMITH.
(May 15, 1843.) T&S 4:194. (Bold emphasis added.)
found at https://www.boap.org/LDS/Joseph-Smith/Teachings/T6.html (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Deseret Book Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1970, p. 300).
2. New Testament | Matthew1:1; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9, 15; 22:42; Mark 10:47-48; 12:35; Luke 18:38-39
3. New Testament | Matthew 1:1
4. Doctrine and Covenants | Section 107:1-4
5. On the Other Hand: Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 27:3-9 ~ And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church; for there are disputations among the people concerning this matter. And the Lord said unto them: Verily, verily, I say unto you, why is it that the people should murmur and dispute because of this thing? Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day; And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day. Therefore, whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my name that he will bless the church for my sake. And how be it my church save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in Moses' name then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name of a man then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my gospel. Verily I say unto you, that ye are built upon my gospel; therefore ye shall call whatsoever things ye do call, in my name; therefore if ye call upon the Father, for the church, if it be in my name the Father will hear you;
New Testament | 1 Corinthians 1:12–13 ~ Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
New Testament | 1 Corinthians 3:21–23 ~ Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
Doctrine and Covenants | Section 76:98-101 ~ And 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 and some of John, and some of Moses, and some of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;  But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant.

As we can see, things are not always as cut-and-dried as most of us would like.

Discernment?*

A great (déjà vu) dilemma is how to discern what is evil-speaking, deception, guile, etc. and what is truth. Here is what Joseph Smith had to say:

TPJS:202 ~ It is evident from the Apostles' writings, that many false spirits existed in their day, and had "gone forth into the world," and that it needed intelligence which God alone could impart to detect false spirits, and to prove what spirits were of God. The world in general have been grossly ignorant in regard to this one thing, and why should they be otherwise—for "the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." ¶ The Egyptians were not able to discover the difference between the miracles of Moses and those of the magicians until they came to be tested together; and if Moses had not appeared in their midst, they would unquestionably have thought that the miracles of the magicians were performed through the mighty power of God, for they were great miracles that were performed by them—a supernatural agency was developed, and great power manifested.

TPJS: 203 ~ "Try the spirits," but what by? Are we to try them by the creeds of men? What preposterous folly—what sheer ignorance—what madness! Try the motions and actions of an eternal being (for I contend that all spirits are such) by a thing that was conceived in ignorance, and brought forth in folly—a cobweb of yesterday! Angels would hide their faces, and devils would be ashamed and insulted, and would say, "Paul we know, and Jesus we know, but who are ye?" Let each man of society make a creed and try evil spirits by it, and the devil would shake his sides; it is all that he would ask—all that he would desire. Yet many of them do this, and hence "many spirits are abroad in the world."

TPJS: 203 ~ One great evil is, that men are ignorant of the nature of spirits; their power, laws, government, intelligence, etc., and imagine that when there is anything like power, revelation, or vision manifested, that it must be of God.

TPJS: 204-205 ~ Every one of these professes to be competent to try his neighbor's spirit, but no one can try his own, and what is the reason? Because they have not a key to unlock, no rule wherewith to measure, and no criterion whereby they can test it. Could any one tell the length, breadth or height of a building without a rule? Test the quality of metals without a criterion, or point out the movements of the planetary systems, without a knowledge of astronomy? Certainly not; and if such ignorance as this is manifested about a spirit of this kind, who can describe an angel of light? If Satan should appear as one in glory, who can tell his color, his signs, his appearance, his glory, or what is the manner of his manifestation? Who can detect the spirit of the French prophets with their revelations and their visions, and power of manifestations? Or who can point out the spirit of the Irvingites, with their apostles and prophets, and visions and tongues, and interpretations, etc. Or who can drag into daylight and develop the hidden mysteries of the false spirits that so frequently are made manifest among the Latter-day Saints? We answer that no man can do this without the Priesthood, and having a knowledge of the laws by which spirits are governed; for as no man knows the things of God, but by the Spirit of God, so no man knows the spirit of the devil, and his power and influence, but by possessing intelligence which is more than human, and having unfolded through the medium of the Priesthood the mysterious operations of his devices; without knowing the angelic form, the sanctified look and gesture, and the zeal that is frequently manifested by him for the glory of God, together with the prophetic spirit, the gracious influence, the godly appearance, and the holy garb, which are so characteristic of his proceedings and his mysterious windings.

TPJS:205 ~ A man must have the discerning of spirits before he can drag into daylight this hellish influence and unfold it unto the world in all its soul-destroying, diabolical, and horrid colors; for nothing is a greater injury to the children of men than to be under the influence of a false spirit when they think they have the Spirit of God. Thousands have felt the influence of its terrible power and baneful effects. Long pilgrimages have been undertaken, penances endured, and pain, misery and ruin have followed in their train; nations have been convulsed, kingdoms overthrown, provinces laid waste, and blood, carnage and desolation are habiliments in which it has been clothed.

TPJS: 205-206 ~ As we have noticed before, the great difficulty lies in the ignorance of the nature of spirits, of the laws by which they are governed, and the signs by which they may be known; if it requires the Spirit of God to know the things of God; and the spirit of the devil can only be unmasked through that medium, then it follows as a natural consequence that unless some person or persons have a communication, or revelation from God, unfolding to them the operation of the spirit, they must eternally remain ignorant of these principles; for I contend that if one man cannot understand these things but by the Spirit of God, ten thousand men cannot; it is alike out of the reach of the wisdom of the learned, the tongue of the eloquent, the power of the mighty. And we shall at last have to come to this conclusion, whatever we may think of revelation, that without it we can neither know nor understand anything of God, or the devil; and however unwilling the world may be to acknowledge this principle, it is evident from the multifarious creeds and notions concerning this matter that they understand nothing of this principle, and it is equally as plain that without a divine communication they must remain in ignorance. The world always mistook false prophets for true ones, and those that were sent of God, they considered to be false prophets, and hence they killed, stoned, punished and imprisoned the true prophets, and these had to hide themselves "in deserts and dens, and caves of the earth," and though the most honorable men of the earth, they banished them from their society as vagabonds, whilst they cherished, honored and supported knaves, vagabonds, hypocrites, impostors, and the basest of men.

TPJS: 206-207 ~ A man must have the discerning of spirits, as we before stated, to understand these things, and how is he to obtain this gift if there are no gifts of the Spirit? And how can these gifts be obtained without revelation? "Christ ascended into heaven, and gave gifts to men; and He gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers." And how were Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists chosen? By prophecy (revelation) and by laying on of hands—by a divine communication, and a divinely appointed ordinance—through the medium of the Priesthood, organized according to the order of God, by divine appointment. The Apostles in ancient times held the keys of this Priesthood—of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, and consequently were enabled to unlock and unravel all things pertaining to the government of the Church, the welfare of society, the future destiny of men, and the agency, power and influence of spirits; for they could control them at pleasure, bid them depart in the name of Jesus, and detect their mischievous and mysterious operations when trying to palm themselves upon the Church in a religious garb, and militate against the interest of the Church and spread of truth. We read that they "cast out devils in the name of Jesus," and when a woman possessing the spirit of divination, cried before Paul and Silas, "these are the servants of the Most High God that show unto us the way of salvation," they detected the spirit. And although she spake favorably of them, Paul commanded the spirit to come out of her, and saved themselves from the opprobrium that might have been heaped upon their heads, through an alliance with her, in the development of her wicked principles, which they certainly would have been charged with, if they had not rebuked the evil spirit.

Can we learn something of wisdom and caution from these words? how subtle deception can be? how the adversary's chief game seems to be imitation (with a twist)?—a perfect recipe for confusion and deception.

-----------------------/
*Partial repost of footnote 11 at http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/01/part-one-evil-speaking-discernment.html; and footnote 21 at http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/01/part-two-evil-speaking-discernment.html
TPJS = Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976]

#5: FLAGS*

Because:

▪ these seem to be the Last Days;
▪ errors and deceptions (sometimes unintended) often lie between or amongst proven truths;¹
▪ we should never accept ALL a man or woman says just because some of what they say is or rings true;

thus, I wish to consider in this post two more concerns raised by my study of Denver Snuffer’s Preserving the Restoration, being: 1) “first principles;” and 2) a resurrection issue.

First Principles

Snuffer writes:

[Sidney Rigdon’s restorationist congregation in Mentor, Ohio] sidled up to Joseph Smith to bring him aboard their restorationist movement. This allowed them to become a prophet-led congregation with miracles as proof of authority. … The overthrow of Joseph Smith’s incipient faith by the Campbellite converts was not the work of Sidney Rigdon alone. The Kirtland convert aneurysm brought congregants aboard who saw the faith through Restorationist eyes.²

The “first principles of the gospel” were borrowed from the Campbellites and incorporated into Mormonism by those restorationist converts. Joseph Smith’s Wentworth Letter included the “first principles of the gospel” among Latter-day Saint beliefs. Joseph accepted his converts characterization and used their terminology. … This prior [Campbellite] orientation skewed Rigdon’s views, and Rigdon’s influence altered Joseph Smith’s religious trajectory.³

Snuffer recommends Daymon Smith’s writings on the Campbellite connection and the “borrowing” by Joseph Smith of “first principles.”⁴ I encountered Daymon’s “borrowing” idea two years ago and was so amazed at the allegation (and audacity in the face of scripture—especially the Savior’s teachings in Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 11, 12, 18, & 19) that I wrote two blog posts about it.

From Whence? (March 27, 2014)⁵ and
First, Last, In-between, Or ... ? (A Mormon Faux-Conundrum??) (January 31, 2014)⁶

Now Snuffer repeats the “borrowing” accusation, and I stand further amazed that anyone, even vaguely familiar with the Book of Mormon, could actually believe “the first principles of the gospel” were borrowed from the Campbellites. I remain stymied by the accusation and select just two passages from the many quoted in the above posts to illustrate:

Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. ... And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. (Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 31:17-19)

And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God. (Book of Mormon | Moroni 8:25-26)

In addition, Snuffer believes that Joseph corrected his borrowed “first principles” shortly before his death with the “real first principles of the gospel.”⁷ To this, I say: What is to stop God from having more than one set of “first principles”? If we are meant to progress through various degrees, capacities, “estates”, stages, graces, exaltations, and so forth, why can there not be “first principles” marking each phase? Can an overarching truth be that we “transcend and include,” moving on to new levels of growth and progression, yet carrying all truth—including necessary compliance with “first principles”—from lower levels?

In any event, the “first principles” of Joseph Smith’s Article of Faith #4 have ample support in scripture, especially the Book of Mormon (published in March 1830, nine months before Sidney Rigdon even met Joseph Smith), as well as throughout Joseph’s own teachings.⁹

Resurrection

Snuffer writes:

The mortal bodies we temporarily occupy belong to Him. Ultimately He will take them back, convert them to dust, and use the dust to create something new. Nothing is lost. He will continue to use all the materials of creation. Someday He will resurrect us. But even then it will remain His. It will be a long time before we “attain to the resurrection of the dead.” Until then we only borrow from Him. The cycle will continue for as long as is needed to finally attain to the resurrection, as Christ has now done.¹⁰

Is Snuffer suggesting that we will be receiving new bodies rather than renewed ones? And is everyone going to be cycled and re-cycled through creation processes till ALL become like and do like the Savior—no matter how long it takes? till we can resurrect ourselves?¹¹ And what of all those scriptures that state the power of redemption and resurrection is in Christ?¹²

To be frank, I find so many “new” things (tucked between scripture quotes) in Snuffer’s Preserving the Restoration that it feels more like Re-conceptualizing the Restoration. The challenge (for me) in understanding his resurrection and creation-cycling concepts is how our “first” resurrection¹³ is to mesh with the long-delayed resurrection power that he says must be attained by all who reach the “prototype of the saved man,” and thus, the power to resurrect themselves. (See the review in #4: FLAGS.¹⁴)

The following scriptures and Joseph Smith quotes might be considered when trying to “prove all things” that have thus far been revealed about the resurrection (bold emphases added) :

... for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. (Book of Mormon | Alma 34:34)

They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened. (Doctrine and Covenants 88:28)

Now I understand by this quotation [Pearl of Great Price | Moses 7:62], that God clearly manifested to Enoch the redemption which He prepared, by offering the Messiah as a Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world; and by virtue of the same, the glorious resurrection of the Savior, and the resurrection of all the human family, even a resurrection of their corporeal bodies, is brought to pass; (TPJS, 84; footnote references omitted.)

If our souls and our bodies are not looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man; and after we are dead, if we are not looking forth, we shall be among those who are calling for the rocks to fall upon them. (TPJS, 160; footnote references omitted.)

How doth [Abel] yet speak? Why he magnified the Priesthood which was conferred upon him, and died a righteous man, and therefore has become an angel of God by receiving his body from the dead, holding still the keys of his dispensation; and was sent down from heaven unto Paul to minister consoling words, and to commit unto him a knowledge of the mysteries of godliness. (TPJS, 169; footnote references omitted.)

We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. (TPJS, 181; footnote reference omitted.)

[The spirit] existed before the body, can exist in the body; and will exist separate from the body, when the body will be mouldering in the dust; and will in the resurrection be again united with it. (TPJS, 207, footnote references omitted.)

I would esteem it one of the greatest blessings, if I am to be afflicted in this world, to have my lot cast where I can find brothers and friends all around me. But this is not the thing I referred to: it is to have the privilege of having our dead buried on the land where God has appointed to gather His Saints together, and where there will be none but Saints, where they may have the privilege of laying their bodies where the Son of Man will make His appearance, and where they may hear the sound of the trump that shall call them forth to behold Him, that in the morn of the resurrection they may come forth in a body, and come up out of their graves and strike hands immediately in eternal glory and felicity, rather than be scattered thousands of miles apart. There is something good and sacred to me in this thing. The place where a man is buried is sacred to me. This subject is made mention of in the Book of Mormon and other scriptures. Even to the aborigines of this land, the burying places of their fathers are more sacred than anything else. (TPJS, 294; footnote references omitted.)

I have said, Father, I desire to die here among the Saints. But if this is not Thy will, and I go hence and die, wilt Thou find some kind friend to bring my body back, and gather my friends who have fallen in foreign lands, and bring them up hither, that we may all lie together. I will tell you what I want. If tomorrow I shall be called to lie in yonder tomb, in the morning of the resurrection let me strike hands with my father, and cry, “My father,” and he will say, “My son, my son,” as soon as the rock rends and before we come out of our graves. (TPJS, 295; footnote references omitted.)

The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal, with God himself. I know that my testimony is true; hence, when I talk to these mourners, what have they lost? Their relatives and friends are only separated from their bodies for a short season: their spirits which existed with God have left the tabernacle of clay only for a little moment, as it were; and they now exist in a place where they converse together the same as we do on the earth. (TPJS, 353; footnote reference omitted; bold emphasis added.)

All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the abstract, and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; and those revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies. (TPJS, 355; footnote references omitted.)

And they [inhabitants of the telestial world] shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. (Doctrine and Covenants 76:112)

He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. (Book of Mormon | Mosiah 16:9; bold emphasis added.)

***************************

*This is number five in a FLAG series intended to encourage us in these last days to apply these words of wisdom and warning:

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

(New Testament | 1 Thessalonians 5:21) 

▪ Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall continue in the Son, and also in the Father. … These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. (New Testament | JST 1 John 2: 24, 26)
▪ False prophets^[†] always arise to oppose the true prophets^[†]and they will prophesy so very near the truth that they will deceive almost the very chosen ones” (Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 365);

^[†] Note: I am not purporting to know for a surety who is false or true in this latter-day, because, as the Lord told Joseph: “you cannot always judge the righteous, or as you cannot always tell the wicked from the righteous, therefore I say unto you, hold your peace until I shall see fit to make all things known unto the world concerning the matter” (Doctrine and Covenants | Section 10:37). And since my peace comes in writing and in trying to “prove ALL things,” I share in these FLAGS things that concern me, hoping that they might help others who are also seeking for the discerning spirit. And since we have been repeatedly warned about the “arm of flesh,” I try to measure ALL latter-day voices and traditions against the Word of God, as best I can.

--------------------------/
1. The thought has been expressed in various ways by others.
2. Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., Preserving the Restoration, © 2015, p. 280-281
3. Ibid, p. 307 (Last sentence in the above quote is from footnote 802; footnote references have been omitted in the quotes above.)
4. Ibid, p. 307, footnote 802.
5. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/03/from-whence.html
So, if the Savior’s very first teachings to the surviving Nephites / Lamanites (recorded in Book of Mormon 3 Nephi, chapters 11 & 12) were of faith, repentance, baptism, and receipt of the Holy Ghost, could we not consider these as “first principles of the Gospel”?
6. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2014/01/first-last-in-between-or.html
7. Snuffer, p. 306-309 (The corrected first principles being: “attaining to the resurrection from the dead, becoming Gods, and walking the same path as our Lord walked” (p. 308).
8. Snuffer, p. 124 (footnote #s replaced with the footnote citation).
9. (e.g., TPJS, 88, 148, 188, 198, 328.)
10. Snuffer, p. 338-339; see also his discussions on the cyclings of creation at p. 322, or pursue the entire chapter on the “Prototype of the Saved Man,” pp. 295-348.
11. From Preserving the Restoration at p. 304: For us “to attain the resurrection of the dead” requires us to have the power to resurrect, not only ourselves, but also those who are dependent on us. This is what the prototype of the saved man did. This is Who we worship. This is who and what we must precisely and exactly become. (Bold emphasis added.)
12. A small sampling:
Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 2:8 ~ Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.
Book of Mormon | Mosiah 18:2 ~ Yea, concerning that which was to come, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and the redemption of the people, which was to be brought to pass through the power, and sufferings, and death of Christ, and his resurrection and ascension into heaven.
Book of Mormon | Alma 4:14 ~ Looking forward to that day, thus retaining a remission of their sins; being filled with great joy because of the resurrection of the dead, according to the will and power and deliverance of Jesus Christ from the bands of death.
Book of Mormon | Alma 21:9 ~ Now Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ, and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ, and the atonement of his blood.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 14:15 ~ For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord.
Book of Mormon | Helaman 14:17 ~ But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord.
Book of Mormon | Mormon 7:6 ~ And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat.
Book of Mormon | Mormon 9:13 ~ And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.
13. Book of Mormon | Alma 11:45 ~ Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.
14. http://dejavu-timestwo.blogspot.ca/2016/05/4-flags.html