We were all told to receive personal revelation in the matter:
I have posted this quote before, but I think it needs to be posted once again. Something that I’ve learned in my life is that God doesn’t protect you from the consequences of your own choices. This includes when you think you’re following Church counsel that turns out to be harmful like the po I son clo t shot. The following quote from Joseph Smith is interesting.
“Martin Harris having boasted to the brethren that he could handle snakes with perfect safety, while fooling with a black snake with his bare feet, he received a bite on his left foot. The fact was communicated to me, and I took occasion to reprove him, and exhort the brethren never to trifle with the promises of God. I told them it was presumption for any one (sic) to provoke a serpent to bite him, but if a man of God was accidentally bitten by a poisonous serpent, he might have faith, or his brethren might have faith for him so that the Lord would hear his prayer and he might be healed; but when a man designedly provokes a serpent to bite him, the principle is the same as when a man drinks deadly poison knowing it to be such. In that case no man has any claim on the promises of God to be healed.” (HC 2:95-96)
I know many people have wondered how a mistake can be made such as recommending that members get the v@ x shun ation when it was a dangerous chemical. A lot of people have been sickened, mai med, and k ill ed because of it. This next quote from Joseph Smith also explains that. “This morning, I read German, and visited with a brother and sister from Michigan, who thought that ‘a prophet is always a prophet’; but I told them that a prophet was a prophet only when he was acting as such” (HC 5:265). This means that a prophet has his own opinions and feelings that may not necessarily be in harmony with the Spirit. To most LDS, at the least, this is horribly disloyal to suggest it and to many, it’s barely short of blasphemy. However, it’s the truth.
There’s also the belief that a person will be protected from their choices because they were “following the prophet.” That’s also not true. We are supposed to have the Holy Spirit as our guide (D&C 45:56-57) so that we cannot be deceived by anyone. If we do not have that relationship, that is our fault, and we cannot claim we were “following the prophet” to be relieved of responsibility for our own decisions and salvation. Brigham Young had something to say about this type of person:
“These persons do not depend upon themselves for salvation, but upon another of their poor, weak, fellow mortals. ‘I do not depend upon any inherent goodness of my own,’ say they, ‘to introduce me into the kingdom of glory, but I depend upon you, brother Joseph, upon you, brother Brigham, upon you, brother Heber, or upon you, brother James; I believe your judgment is superior to mine, and consequently I let you judge for me; your spirit is better than mine, therefore you can do good for me; I will submit myself wholly to you, and place in you all my confidence for life and salvation; where you go I will go, and where you tarry there I will stay; expecting that you will introduce me through the gates into the heavenly Jerusalem.’… Now those men, or those women, who know no more about the power of God, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, than to be led entirely by another person, suspending their own understanding, and pinning their faith upon another’s sleeve, will never be capable of entering into the celestial glory, to be crowned as they anticipate; they will never be capable of becoming Gods” (JD 1:312).
Elder Orson Pratt also had some interesting things to say on the subject of deception. “…It may be inquired, how are the humble, honest souls to discern between truth and falsehood? Must they be condemned with liars, because they are deceived with lies? We answer, that all will be condemned who suffer themselves to be deceived: for there is a way for every person to come to the light of truth; and it is not in the power of the devil to invent lies so plausible as to prevent the really honest person from discovering the truth that pertains to his salvation. The scriptures have expressly declared, that ‘cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm’" (The Seer, Vol. 2 No. 3, p 234).
No one can guarantee our salvation except ourselves. Let me repeat that: no one – not any other person – no matter their calling in the Church, be it bishop or prophet, can guarantee our salvation. It is our choices that determine whether or not we return to God. We - only we - are responsible for creating a relationship with the Holy Spirit that will guarantee that we cannot be deceived by anyone. If you do not do that, no amount of following the prophet will save you. Remember what Brigham said.
"No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith...every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are." -Brigham Young
ReplyDelete"The Lord will never permit me or any other man who stands as President of this Church to lead you astray. It is not in the programme. It is not in the mind of God. If I were to attempt that, the Lord would remove me out of my place, and so He will any other man who attempts to lead the children of men astray from the oracles of God and from their duty." - Official Declaration 1
I believe the urging from Pres. Nelson in an official letter was him acting as a prophet. Prophets may not always teach what we expect. For example:
"Jeremiah 27–28 is one story. As directed by the Lord, Jeremiah made a yoke and put it on his neck. A yoke is something put on the neck for the purpose of carrying burdens. The yoke symbolized captivity or slavery. Jeremiah taught the people that Judah and her surrounding nations would be under the “yoke” of Babylon. He warned that false prophets might teach otherwise, but the captivity would certainly happen. Jeremiah told King Zedekiah that if he and the people would humbly submit to the “yoke” of Babylon, they would not be destroyed. As a sign that his words would be fulfilled, he prophesied that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, would carry away the rest of the treasures and holy articles from the temple. The prophecy was fulfilled."
I don't recall anywhere in scripture where it was promised that the Lord would not permit his prophet or president of the church to lead the people astray. Not even from Joseph Smith. Is this a statement that has been placed into the D&C? Is every word a general authority says scripture and was it voted on and approved by the membership or even the all the General Authorities?
DeleteThe Lord, as far as I know, is real big on free agency, no matter what. The Lord will certainly not remove a Leader out of their place. He may permit events to take place that would remove someone our of their position. In the D&C Joseph does speak of the one Mighty and Strong to come and set things in order. That must mean the leadership have gone astray to some degree.
I suppose people want their warm fuzzies to feel confident and not have to know truth for themselves. Just listen to the prophet. But when he declares the noculations are safe and effective, what do you do? Although the church will say this is not the President speaking as a prophet, it sure confused a lot of people.
I have noticed that no real new doctrine has come to the church since Joseph. Leadership has always built upon, even extrapolated upon what Joseph has brought to us. It is up to us to determine and verify. Joseph expected everyone to know for themselves the truths. Most truths will take time, usually all our lives. Ideally we should be our own prophets.
I can't blame people for following the advice of the President of the Corporation of the LDS church after all they are all deceived by the globalist media complex. My advantage is that I have followed alternative media for years and found it made more sense than what the dominant media puts out. Joesph Smith Jr has urged people to be knowledgeable of all things. Which requires some level of curiosity. But most are so busy in their lives and sports or media occupy their time and are not concerned because the Prophet is looking out for them and they just focus on their reading in preparation for next weeks sunday school lesson. The other side is what Joel Skousen talks about is being able to listen or be aware of the thoughts that enter our head and act to the positive ones to be able to recognize the negative, or something to that effect, to recognize that feeling of something off when confronting the issue. Which for me may be hard to do, but then again my curiosity is what has saved me and maybe that has been by following the promptings. People are social creatures and are heavily influenced by other people, friends, family and a constant media hype, even to be like the rest of the world.
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