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CANONICAL REVELATION ON POLYGAMY D&C 132
1992 ENCYCLOPEDIA ON MORMONISM ARTICLE ON "FUNDAMENTALISTS"
FULL TEXT OF BRIAN MITCHELL'S REVELATION 2002
This page will examine the growing fundamentalist movement among Mormons. It will look at the history and development of the different parts of the movement. It will also present modern articles from LDS sources showing how the Utah church treats this movement.
This is a confusing study because the earliest Mormon documents refelct an antipolygamist stance. This is true of the 1830 Book of Mormon and the earliest Doctrne and Covenants. We will see how late in his life Joseph Smith made a quality choice to canonize polygamy.
Since the Utah church officially rejected this part of Mormon doctrine in its Manifesto, we will begin by looking at previous revelations that have been energizing the movement for nearly two centuries.
This revelation was received by President Taylor in connection with his pleadings with the Lord for direction on this principle and the resultant difficulties. At this time, President Taylor spent much of his time in hiding, as he was trying to avoid arrest for continuing to maintain his plural wives. Consequently, communication among the brethren and to the Saints was often times difficult.
At President Taylor's death about a year later, George Q. Cannon came out of hiding to assist with the funeral arrangements, and was subsequently arrested for his own practice of plural marriage. The original text of this revelation was written down by hand by President Taylor himself, and upon his death this copy came into the hands of his son and later Apostle John W. Taylor. It was Apostle John W. Taylor who transcribed this revelation and made it available to others. (See minutes of meeting of the Quorum of 12 Apostles, 22 February 1911--the Trial of Apostle John W. Taylor)
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| 1. My Son John. You have asked me concerning the New and Everlasting Covenant and how far it is binding upon my people; 2. Thus saith the Lord: All commandments that I give must be obeyed by those calling themselves by my name, unless they are revoked by me or by my authority, and how can I revoke an everlasting covenant; for I the Lord am everlasting and my everlasting covenants cannot be abrogated nor done away with, but they stand forever.
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| 3. Have I not given my word in great plainness on this subject? Yet have not great numbers of my people been negligent in the observance of my laws and the keeping of my commandment and yet have I borne with them these many years and this because of their weakness, because of the perilous times, 4. And furthermore, it is more pleasing to me that men should use their free agency in regards to these matters. Nevertheless, I the Lord do not change and my word and my covenants and my law do not.
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| 5. And as I have heretofore said by my servant Joseph: All those who would enter into my glory must and shall obey my law. And have I not commanded men that if they were Abraham's seed and would enter into my glory, they must do the works of Abraham? 6. I have not revoked this law, nor will I, for it is everlasting, and those who will enter into my glory must obey the conditions thereof; Even so Amen.
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Section 132
Date:July 12, 1843
Place:Nauvoo, Illinois
To:Joseph SmithD&C 132:1
1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Joseph, that inasmuch as you have inquired of my hand to know and understand wherein I, the Lord, justified my servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also Moses, David and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines--D&C 132:2
2 Behold, and lo, I am the Lord thy God, and will answer thee as touching this matter.
![Joseph Smith Jr.]()
D&C 132:3
3 Therefore, prepare thy heart to receive and obey the instructions which I am about to give unto you; for all those who have this law revealed unto them must obey the same.D&C 132:4
4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.D&C 132:5
5 For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.D&C 132:6
6 And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God.D&C 132:7
7 And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.D&C 132:8
8 Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion.D&C 132:9
9 Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name?D&C 132:10
10 Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?D&C 132:11
11 And will I appoint unto you, saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto you, before the world was?D&C 132:12
12 I am the Lord thy God; and I give unto you this commandment--that no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord.D&C 132:13
13 And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God.D&C 132:14
14 For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed.D&C 132:15
15 Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.D&C 132:16
16 Therefore, when they are out of the world they neither marry nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels are ministering servants, to minister for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory.D&C 132:17
17 For these angels did not abide my law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation, in their saved condition, to all eternity; and from henceforth are not gods, but are angels of God forever and ever.D&C 132:18
18 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife, and make a covenant with her for time and for all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom I have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me, saith the Lord, neither by my word; when they are out of the world it cannot be received there, because the angels and the gods are appointed there, by whom they cannot pass; they cannot, therefore, inherit my glory; for my house is a house of order, saith the Lord God.D&C 132:19
19 And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them--Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths--then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.D&C 132:20
20 Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them.D&C 132:21
21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory.D&C 132:22
22 For strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it, because ye receive me not in the world neither do ye know me.D&C 132:23
23 But if ye receive me in the world, then shall ye know me, and shall receive your exaltation; that where I am ye shall be also.D&C 132:24
24 This is eternal lives--to know the only wise and true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. I am he. Receive ye, therefore, my law.D&C 132:25
25 Broad is the gate, and wide the way that leadeth to the deaths; and many there are that go in thereat, because they receive me not, neither do they abide in my law.D&C 132:26
26 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man marry a wife according to my word, and they are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, according to mine appointment, and he or she shall commit any sin or transgression of the new and everlasting covenant whatever, and all manner of blasphemies, and if they commit no murder wherein they shed innocent blood, yet they shall come forth in the first resurrection, and enter into their exaltation; but they shall be destroyed in the flesh, and shall be delivered unto the buffetings of Satan unto the day of redemption, saith the Lord God.D&C 132:27
27 The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, which shall not be forgiven in the world nor out of the world, is in that ye commit murder wherein ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death, after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant, saith the Lord God; and he that abideth not this law can in nowise enter into my glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord.D&C 132:28
28 I am the Lord thy God, and will give unto thee the law of my Holy Priesthood, as was ordained by me and my Father before the world was.D&C 132:29
29 Abraham received all things, whatsoever he received, by revelation and commandment, by my word, saith the Lord, and hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne.D&C 132:30
30 Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins--from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph--which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.D&C 132:31
31 This promise is yours also, because ye are of Abraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself.D&C 132:32
32 Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.D&C 132:33
33 But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father, which he made unto Abraham.D&C 132:34
34 God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.D&C 132:35
35 Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it.D&C 132:36
36 Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.D&C 132:37
37 Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.D&C 132:38
38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.D&C 132:39
39 David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord.D&C 132:40
40 I am the Lord thy God, and I gave unto thee, my servant Joseph, an appointment, and restore all things. Ask what ye will, and it shall be given unto you according to my word.D&C 132:41
41 And as ye have asked concerning adultery, verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man receiveth a wife in the new and everlasting covenant, and if she be with another man, and I have not appointed unto her by the holy anointing, she hath committed adultery and shall be destroyed.D&C 132:42
42 If she be not in the new and everlasting covenant, and she be with another man, she has committed adultery.D&C 132:43
43 And if her husband be with another woman, and he was under a vow, he hath broken his vow and hath committed adultery.D&C 132:44
44 And if she hath not committed adultery, but is innocent and hath not broken her vow, and she knoweth it, and I reveal it unto you, my servant Joseph, then shall you have power, by the power of my Holy Priesthood, to take her and give her unto him that hath not committed adultery but hath been faithful; for he shall be made ruler over many.D&C 132:45
45 For I have conferred upon you the keys and power of the priesthood, wherein I restore all things, and make known unto you all things in due time.D&C 132:46
46 And verily, verily, I say unto you, that whatsoever you seal on earth shall be sealed in heaven; and whatsoever you bind on earth, in my name and by my word, saith the Lord, it shall be eternally bound in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you remit on earth shall be remitted eternally in the heavens; and whosesoever sins you retain on earth shall be retained in heaven.D&C 132:47
47 And again, verily I say, whomsoever you bless I will bless, and whomsoever you curse I will curse, saith the Lord; for I, the Lord, am thy God.D&C 132:48
48 And again, verily I say unto you, my servant Joseph, that whatsoever you give on earth, and to whomsoever you give any one on earth, by my word and according to my law, it shall be visited with blessings and not cursings, and with my power, saith the Lord, and shall be without condemnation on earth and in heaven.D&C 132:49
49 For I am the Lord thy God, and will be with thee even unto the end of the world, and through all eternity; for verily I seal upon you your exaltation, and prepare a throne for you in the kingdom of my Father, with Abraham your father.D&C 132:50
50 Behold, I have seen your sacrifices, and will forgive all your sins; I have seen your sacrifices in obedience to that which I have told you. Go, therefore, and I make a way for your escape, as I accepted the offering of Abraham of his son Isaac.D&C 132:51
51 Verily, I say unto you: A commandment I give unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice.D&C 132:52
52 And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.D&C 132:53
53 For I am the Lord thy God and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things; for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.D&C 132:54
54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.
![Emma Smith]()
D&C 132:55
55 But if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him and multiply him and give unto him an hundredfold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of eternal lives in the eternal worlds.D&C 132:56
56 And again, verily I say, let mine handmaid forgive my servant Joseph his trespasses; and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she has trespassed against me; and I, the Lord thy God, will bless her, and multiply her, and make her heart to rejoice.D&C 132:57
57 And again, I say, let not my servant Joseph put his property out of his hands, lest an enemy come and destroy him; for Satan seeketh to destroy; for I am the Lord thy God, and he is my servant; and behold, and lo, I am with him, as I was with Abraham, thy father, even unto his exaltation and glory.D&C 132:58
58 Now, as touching the law of the priesthood, there are many things pertaining thereunto.D&C 132:59
59 Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him.D&C 132:60
60 Let no one, therefore, set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him; for he shall do the sacrifice which I require at his hands for his transgressions, saith the Lord your God.D&C 132:61
61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood--if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.D&C 132:62
62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.D&C 132:63
63 But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified.D&C 132:64
64 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law.D&C 132:65
65 Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all things whatsoever I, the Lord his God, will give unto him, because she did not believe and administer unto him according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife.D&C 132:66
66 And now, as pertaining to this law, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will reveal more unto you, hereafter; therefore, let this suffice for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. Amen.
Section 132Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.820 This Revelation is dated the 12th of July, 1843. William Clayton, who was Temple Recorder and private clerk of the Prophet Joseph at that time, relates the following:
Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.820–p.821 "On the morning of the 12th of July, 1843, Joseph and Hyrum Smith came into the office of the upper story of the 'Brick-store,' on the bank of the Mississippi River. They were talking of the subject of plural marriage, [and] Hyrum said to Joseph, 'If you will write the Revelation on celestial marriage, I will take and read it to Emma, and I believe I can convince her of its truth, and you will hereafter have peace.' Joseph smiled and remarked, 'You do not know Emma as well as I do.' Hyrum repeated his opinion, and further remarked, 'The doctrine is so plain, I can convince any reasonable man or woman of its truth, purity, and heavenly origin,' or words to that effect. * * * Joseph and Hyrum then sat down, and Joseph commenced to dictate the Revelation on Celestial Marriage, and I wrote it, sentence by sentence, as he dictated. After the whole was written, Joseph asked me to read it through slowly and carefully, which I did, and he pronounced it correct" (Hist. Rec. pp. 225-6).
This was not the first mention of the subject among the Saints. Sarah Ann Kimball and many others knew of it in 1842, and Joseph B. Noble heard of it in the fall of 1840. Orson Pratt says that the Prophet Joseph, in the forepart of 1832, while he was living at the house of Father Johnson at Hiram, Ohio, told Church members that he had enquired of the Lord concerning this doctrine, and received the answer that it was true, but that the time to practice it had not come (Discourse by Orson Pratt, Salt Lake City, October 7th, 1869). Consequently, the Law of the Church remained as stated in Doctrine and Covenants 42:22, and as it is to-day, "Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shall cleave unto her and none else."
The Revelation is divided into two parts. The first, comprising vv. 3-33, deals mainly with the principle of celestial marriage, or marriage for time and all eternity; the second, comprising the remaining verses, deals with plural marriage. The doctrine of celestial marriage remains in force; the practice of plural marriage was abandoned by the acceptancy by the Church, in Conference assembled October 6th, 1890, of the Manifesto of President Woodruff.
Section 132 contains (1) an introductory statement (1-2); (2) a reminder to the Prophet that knowledge demands obedience (3-6); (3) a definition of the celestial law (7-14); and (4) how the law applies to marriage covenants (15-20); (5) a demand for obedience (21-7); (6) the Law of the Priesthood (28-33); (7) the doctrine of plural marriage (34-40); (8) a declaration that plurality of wives is not adultery (41-9); (9) that it is a sacrifice (50-7); (10) that it is a law of the Priesthood (58-66).Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.821
1. Introductory Statement
1-2. From this introductory statement it is evident that the Prophet had made the question of marriage a subject of earnest prayer, as he did with matters concerning which he was perplexed and desired to know the truth. He did not understand how the Patriarchs, and David and Solomon could find favor with the Lord, while living in a manner contrary to certain modern moral standards, and he asked the Lord for light. Elder B. H. Roberts (Hist. of the Church, Vol. V., Intr., p. 29) suggests that it was in the year 1831, when the Prophet was studying the lives of the Patriarchs in the Old Testament, in the course of his Bible revision, that he was led to offer the prayer referred to in the first verse, and received the answer contained in this Section, though it was not then committed to writing.2. Knowledge Demands Obedience
3-6. The truth is here emphasized that when the Lord reveals a law, man must obey it. Knowledge entails this responsibility. God may, as Paul expresses it, "wink at" the time of ignorance (Acts 17:30), but when the ignorance is removed, obedience is expected.3. Prepare thy heart] That is the first step. God demands the obedience that comes from the "heart." He demands obedience as a result of affection.
4. A new and everlasting covenant] The marriage covenant had, for many centuries, been considered valid only "till death doth us part"; now a new covenant was about to be revealed, which would cover both eternity and time. It would be everlasting as well as new. It is new; and yet, it is as old as the gospel; it is as old as the plan of salvation adopted in the Council of Heaven, before the foundations of the world were laid (v. 5). It is part of that plan, that covenant, of which Jesus Christ is the Representative and Mediator.
If ye abide not that covenant * * * damned] That is to say, when the eternity of the marriage covenant has been revealed, those who reject that revelation and neglect to enter married life through the holy Priesthood, in which alone the authority to seal for eternity is vested, will be "damned." Their damnation will consist in not being permitted to enter into "my," that is, celestial glory. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.822
This verse has sometimes been supposed to refer to plural marriage. But that is not the case. It refers to celestial marriage—marriage for eternity. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.822–p.823
6. For the fulness of my glory] The eternal marriage covenant is precedent to increase, to eternal posterity, and as our Lord is the Head of the race, man's posterity, ever increasing, means to Him eternal glory, power, and dominion. Isaiah had this in view, when he said, "When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand" (Is. 53:10). The redeemed are his seed, for they belong to Him. By not entering into an eternal marriage covenant, according to celestial law, we neglect to contribute our share to the fulness of the glory of our blessed Lord and Redeemer, because there can be no eternal increase outside that law. What difference is there between deliberately taking a course that ends in no further increase in eternity, and the course taken by many who already in this life are guilty of what has been called "race suicide"?
3. The Celestial Law
7-14. The celestial law is here explained. All covenants, agreements, promises, etc., not entered into for eternity are of no force after death. Only the covenants that are sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, through one who holds divine authority, remain in force after death.7. Him who is anointed] Refers to the President of the Church, who holds the keys of the kingdom of God on Earth.
But one * * * at a time] Only one man at a time holds this authority. He may delegate others to act for him, but he remains responsible for the administration of the kingdom. For "mine house is a house of order" (v. 8). Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.824
13. Everything that is in the world * * * shall not remain] The important truth is here taught that all institutions in this world, not founded on divine law but erected by human ingenuity, cease to exist on this side of the veil. Man-made governments are obliterated, as are the sand castles children build on the tide-swept beach. Man-made religions and churches are swallowed up in death. Not a trace of them will be seen on the shores of eternity. Social customs and habits not sanctioned by God, will not continue. On the other hand, all institutions founded on the Word of God will remain throughout all eternity. The Church will remain. The family will remain. All the organizations of which God is the author are eternal (v. 14).
4. The Celestial Law Applied to Marriage
15-20. From the preceding paragraphs (7-14) it follows that a marriage contract, entered into by worldly authority alone, ends at death. It is binding and perfectly legal and honorable as far as this life is concerned, but it is dissolved by the grim reaper's work. Nor is it sufficient for a man and a woman to make a private contract on the supposition that such an agreement will be binding for eternity (v. 18). The covenant must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise, through him who is divinely authorized to do so. Then it is valid for eternity. Then it is a celestial marriage (v. 19).Note the incomprehensible and immeasurable glory and exaltation that are the attendants in eternity on celestial marriage, provided the contracting parties live worthy and pure lives.
16. Appointed angels] Those who do not enter their family relations under the celestial law remain single in eternity; for there "they neither marry, nor are given in marriage." They are appointed angels; that is, "messengers," with the special duty to minister to those who, under the celestial law, are worthy of a greater exaltation. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.826
"He [God] has revealed to us * * * that marriage is destined for eternity as well as time—that the marriage covenant between male and female must be entered into in this life, and the ordinance performed here by those whom God has appointed and ordained to hold the keys and authority to seal on earth that it may be sealed in heaven; for in heaven there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage; no such thing can be attended to there. Now, persons among the Latter-day Saints who do not enter this covenant of marriage, but prefer to lead a single life, can not enjoy all that fulness of exaltation which will be possessed by those who have this covenant sealed upon them. They might not have forfeited the right to have wives by which only they could have a posterity in the eternal worlds.
Who will be the subjects in the kingdom which they will rule who are exalted in the celestial kingdom of our God? Will they reign over their neighbor's children? Oh, no! Over whom will they reign? Their own children, their own posterity will be the citizens of their kingdoms; in other words, the Patriarchal order will prevail there to the endless ages of eternity, and the children of each Patriarch will be his, while eternal ages roll on" (Orson Pratt, Jour. of Dis., Vol. XV., p. 319). Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.826
19. And it shall be said * * * next resurrection] The first resurrection was at the resurrection of Jesus Christ; but we speak of the first resurrection as that which will take place at his coming, which is the first to us. There will be some who will not come forth until the second resurrection. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.826–p.827
20. Then shall they be gods] What a wonderful Revelation this is. when compared with the narrow ideas held in the world! Children of kings are princes and princesses, associating on terms of equality with their royal parents, and having a good chance of becoming kings and queens themselves. But when we say that the privilege of God's children is to associate with Him in the eternal mansions, and that they may become gods, then the world does not understand us, and many deem us guilty of blasphemy. They seem to think that they honor God by supposing that His children are infinitely inferior to Him. What kind of father is He, then, that He should feel it an honor to be the progenitor of an inferior offspring?
Is there a king on earth that would feel honored by having degenerates and beggars for children? Do not fathers and mothers rejoice in the progress of their children? Is it not their ambition to educate and train their loved ones, until these shall reach the highest possible degree of intelligence and efficiency? Surely, we can do no greater honor to God, our Father, than to admit the divine possibilities which He has implanted in His offspring, and which will be developed under His tuition in this life and hereafter, until His children are perfect as He is perfect. Says President Brigham Young: Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.827
"Man is made an agent to himself before his God; he is organized for the express purpose that he may become like his Master. You recollect one of the Apostle's sayings, that when we see Him, we shall be like him; and again, 'We shall become gods, even the sons of God.' Do you read anywhere that we shall possess all things? Jesus is the elder brother, and all the brethren shall come in for a share with Him * * * We are created, we are born, for the express purpose of growing up from the low estate of manhood, to become gods, like unto our Father in heaven" (Jour. of Dis., Vol. III., p. 93).
5. Obedience Required
21. Except ye abide my law * * * glory] To "abide my law" means to "conform to," and then to remain obedient to, that law, in all its requirements. Celestial glory cannot be obtained except through obedience to celestial law. That is reasonable. If, in any country, an alien desire to obtain the highest possible honor and advantage that can be conferred on a naturalized citizen, he must submit to the laws and rules of the country. The same is true of the celestial kingdom of our God.24. This is eternal lives] "Lives" here and in v. 22 means posterity in the Hereafter. To know God and our Lord Jesus Christ is to be on the road to exaltation, and this includes eternal increase. But to know God is not merely to have heard of Him. It is "to walk" with Him, as Enoch did; it is to "believe," or "live by" Him, as Abraham did; it is to be familiar with Him, as a child with its father.
This verse is not a quotation of John 17:3, where our Lord teaches His disciples that His mission was to give eternal life to those whom the Father had given Him, "in order that they may know" the true God and His Son. Earthly life is too short for that study. This is a new Revelation, in which we are taught that eternal increase, or "lives," is part of the glory of eternal life; but the language closely resembles that of John, as is frequently the case in these Revelations. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.828
25. The way that leadeth to the deaths] The parallel passage, Matt. 7:13, has "destruction" for "deaths." In this paragraph "deaths" stands for the opposite of "lives" in vv. 22 and 24. It is the end of eternal increase. Note that there are only two gates and two roads. One gate is broad and one is strait; one road is wide and one is narrow; there is no middle road; few find the strait gate and the narrow way; many enter the broad gate and walk on the wide way.
The illustration seems to be drawn from a mansion having a large portal at which many enter, and a narrow entrance known only to a few. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.829
26. Any sin or transgression] This verse has been greatly misunderstood and by some grossly abused. Unfortunately there are some who seem to think that after they are married for time and all eternity, the Lord, in this passage, grants them immunity against sin, as long as they do not shed innocent blood or deny the Holy Ghost. It should be remembered that the Lord taught during his ministry this same doctrine as given in the Doctrine and Covenants. (Matt. 12:31-32.) He has never granted to any person the privilege of sinning wilfully and then obtaining the reward of faithfulness without repentance. John said:
"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he should pray for it." (I. John 5:16.) Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.829
In this passage we are taught that all manner of sin which is forgivable on repentance, or "not unto death," may be forgiven on repentance, but some sins may call for a most dreadful punishment even then—the destruction in the flesh and being turned over to the buffetings of Satan until the day of redemption. This punishment is most severe. The Lord has not at any time contradicted Himself and he has said: "And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. (III. Nephi 27:19.) The wilful sinners who remain in their sins, "shall return unto God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins." (II. Nephi 9:38. Compare Mormon 9:3-4.)
Blasphemies] A blasphemy is an indignity offered to God in words or acts, and in the Scriptures it means also "heresies? Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom Paul "delivered to Satan" (I. Tim. 1:20), were blasphemers," but their "blasphemy" seems to have consisted in teaching the false doctrine that the resurrection had already taken place (II. Tim. 2:17). Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.829
27. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost] This unpardonable sin is explained to mean "murder, wherein ye shed innocent blood, and assent unto my death, after ye have received my new and everlasting covenant." Some of those who have been instrumental in shedding the blood of the martyrs, from Stephen, who was stoned in Jerusalem, to Joseph and Hyrum, who were slain at Carthage, may ultimately be found among those who come under this condemnation. God alone is their judge.
6. The Law of the Priesthood
Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.830 28-33. The celestial law, an explanation of which has been given in vv. 7-20, is here called, 'The law of my Holy Priesthood." It was ordained by God before the world was (v. 28). In accordance with that law, Abraham received "all things" by revelation and commandment. Among the things received were promises concerning his seed—that his children should continue in this world and in the next, as innumerable as the stars (v. 30). This law is celestial, because by obedience to it, the works of God, the Father, continue, to His glory (v. 31). Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.83029. Hath entered into his exaltation] This is said of Abraham. He has already ascended his throne. When this took place is not stated, but it evidently occurred after our Lord ascended in glory. If Abraham is exalted and occupies a throne, others must enjoy a similar privilege. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.830
30. Innumerable] Abraham's children were to be innumerable. If we believe in an eternal increase, under the Celestial Law this promise is intelligible, for then there is no end to the increase.
7. Plural Marriage
34-40. In the preceding sections, this Revelation deals with celestial marriage—marriage for eternity. In this section and those following, plural marriage is the subject; and it is first shown that some of the greatest characters in the Old Testament had wives and concubines. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.83134. Because this was the law] Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham in accordance with law. It is known now that, according to the Code of Hammurabi, which, in many respects, resembles the later Mosaic law, if a man's wife was childless, he was allowed to take a concubine and bring her into his house, though he was not to place her upon an equal footing with his first wife, or the first wife might give her husband a maid-servant. This was the law in the country from which Abraham came. A concubine was a wife of inferior social rank.
37. Isaac also] There is no other record of any plural marriage of this Patriarch, but, aside from this Revelation, the probability is that he followed the custom of his age. How is it, on any other supposition, to be explained that Jacob accepted Laban's arrangement without protest? Where, if not in his home, had he learned that plural marriage was not at that time unlawful?
"It is not to be supposed that, in a time when polygamy was usual, the young sheyk remained celibate till forty. The marriage to one of the kin, Rebekah, was the political marriage for the clan, to set up a fresh chieftainess after Sarah was dead." (W. M. Flinders Petrie, Egypt and Israel, p. 24.) Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.832
Have entered into their exaltation. See verse 29.
40. Restore all things] The mission of the Prophet Joseph was that of a restorer of all things in accordance with the divine plan of redemption.
8. Plural Marriage is not Adultery
Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.833 41-9. The Prophet, in his prayer on this subject, had asked the Lord for information concerning the ground on which the Patriarchs were justified in their domestic relations, and the answer was the definition of adultery here given. Plural marriage, the Revelation says, in substance, is not adultery, but to violate the marriage covenant is to commit that sin, the penalty being destruction (vv. 41, 52); but God Himself will execute that judgment (v. 54). Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.835 58-66. The truth is here reiterated, that whatever is done in the name of God, according to His law and by His direction, cannot be sin. What human law regards as a crime may, or may not, from the Divine point of view, be a sin. Sometimes the Innocent dies on Calvary, because criminals have acted as judge and jury.General Notes
As has been stated in the introductory notes, the doctrine of plural marriage was made known to the Prophet in 1831, or 1832, although the Revelation on the subject was not committed to writing until the year 1843. It should be noted that even then it was not given to the Church. This step was taken on the 29th of August, 1852, when the Revelation was read to a General Conference in the "Old Tabernacle," Salt Lake City, and accepted by the assembly as a revelation from God and part of the law of the Church. In voting for the Revelation, the Saints firmly believed that they were only exercising their legal right as American citizens. They believed that, as a majority, they had the indisputable constitutional right to regulate their domestic affairs, within the boundaries of their own territory, and that the Supreme Court of the United States would uphold this view, even if Congress should be of a different opinion. And they were strengthened in their position by the fact that not until ten years after the action taken by the Church in 1852 was any effort made by Congress to stamp plural marriage as illegal. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.836The first Congressional enactment against plural marriage, passed in 1862, remained a dead letter for twenty years. By that time, the anti-Mormons had evidence that the Supreme Court would uphold legislation of that kind, and laws more drastic than the first were passed by Congress. The Church leaders appealed to the Supreme Court, as was their prerogative. For years there was a legal conflict. At last, when the Supreme Court had declared the anti-polygamy laws constitutional and there was no prospect that there would be a reversal of this decision, the Church loyally and gracefully accepted it.
Wilford Woodruff 1890 Manifesto
President Wilford Woodruff issued his Manifesto against the practice of plural marriage, and this was accepted by a unanimous vote of the General Conference assembled in Salt Lake City, Oct. 6th, 1890. This was done by divine revelation to President Wilford Woodruff. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.836Smith, Hyrum M., and Sjodahl, Janne M. The Doctrine and Covenants Commentary Containing Revelations Given to Joseph Smith, Jr., the Prophet With an Introduction and Historical and Exegetical Notes. Rev. ed. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1954.
"Press dispatches having been sent for political purposes, from Salt Lake City, which have been widely published, to the effect that the Utah Commission, in their recent report to the Secretary of the Interior, allege, that plural marriages are still being solemnized end that forty or more such marriages have been contracted in Utah since last June or during the past year, also that in public discourses the leaders of the Church have taught, encouraged and urged the continuance of the practice of polygamy, Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.836
TEXT OF THE MANIFESTO "I, therefore, as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, do hereby, in the most solemn manner, declare that these charges are false. We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage nor permitting any person to enter into its practice, and I deny that either forty or any other number of plural marriages have during that period been solemnized in our temples or in any other place in the Territory. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.836–p.837
"One case has been reported, in which the parties allege that the marriage was performed in the Endowment House, in Salt Lake City, in the spring of 1889, but I have not been able to learn who performed the ceremony; whatever was done in this matter was without my knowledge. In consequence of this alleged occurrence the Endowment House was, by my instructions, taken down without delay.
"Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, end to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise.
"There is nothing in my teachings to the Church or in those of my associates, during the time specified, which can be reasonably construed to inculcate or encourage polygamy, and when any Elder of the Church has used language which appeared to convey any such teaching, he has been promptly reproved. And I now publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.
Wilford Woodruff,
President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
After the Manifesto had been read to the Conference, President Lorenzo Snow offered the following:
"I move, that, recognizing Wilford Woodruff as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the only man on the earth at the present time who holds the keys of the sealing ordinances, we consider him fully authorized by virtue of his position to issue the manifesto which has been read in our hearing and which is dated Sept. 24th, 1890, and that as a Church in General Conference assembled, we accept his declaration concerning plural marriages as authoritative and binding."
The vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous.
SMITH SJODAHL COMMENTARY CONTINUES
By this action the Church voted to conform to the laws of the land as interpreted by the highest tribunal, and to leave the issue with God. Since that conference, and, in fact, for some time previous to the acceptance of the Manifesto, no plural marriage has been performed anywhere with the sanction of the Church, or the approbation of the First Presidency, or anyone representing them, as was fully proved during the so-called Smoot investigation in the United States Senate, which commenced January 16, 1904. Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.837
"I want to say to this congregation, and to the world, that never at any time since my presidency in the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints have I authorized any man to perform plural marriage, and never since my presidency of the Church has any plural marriage been performed with my sanction or knowledge, or with the consent of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and therefore such unions as have been formed unlawfully, contrary to the order of the Church, are null and void in the sight of God, and are not marriages" (President Joseph F. Smith, at the General Conference of the Church, Oct. 4th, 1918). Smith and Sjodahl, Doctrine and Covenants Commentary, Sec. 132, p.837
"Fundamentalists" "Mormon Fundamentalism" denotes the beliefs and practices of contemporary schismatic groups that claim to follow all the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith. They often style themselves believers in the "fulness of the gospel," which they assert must include plural marriage and sometimes the United Order.The Fundamentalist movement began after the issuance of the Manifesto of 1890, which publicly declared an official end to plural marriage in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The period from 1890 to 1904 was one of confusion for some over the application and extent of the ban on new plural marriages in the Church. For example, since the Manifesto referred to "marriages violative of the law of the land," some felt the prohibition did not apply outside the United States. In 1904 the Manifesto was therefore officially and publicly proclaimed to be worldwide in jurisdiction and overall scope.
Following this second pronouncement, unyielding Fundamentalists continued to hold that God requires all "true" believers to abide by the principle of polygamy, irrespective of Church mandate. This insistence has separated Fundamentalists from mainstream Mormonism. In the 1920s, Lorin C. Woolley of Centerville, Utah, claimed God had authorized him to perpetuate plural marriage, saying he received this commission while a young man in 1886 through the ministration of Jesus Christ, John Taylor, and Joseph Smith. His assertion further polarized the Fundamentalists and the Church.
Some Fundamentalists of the 1920s rejected Woolley's claims to authority and went their separate ways. Charles Kingston settled in Bountiful, Utah, and set up a type of United Order community that persists as a relatively closed society. Alma Dayer LeBaron moved to Mesa, Arizona, and eventually to Juarez, Mexico, laying the groundwork for the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times and offshoots such as the Church of the Lamb of God. Other Fundamentalists have broken away through the years, making various religious claims.
Despite these defections, the majority of Fundamentalists remained an organized group, showing small but steady gains in adherents. In the mid-1930s, a United Order colony was established in an isolated community near the Utah-Arizona border called Short Creek, now Colorado City, Arizona. Property was held in a trust called the United Effort. This colony has become a haven for many Fundamentalists, although a majority of their followers still reside in the Salt Lake City area.
In the mid-1940s, Utah and Arizona law officials raided the Short Creek community and broke up polygamous families, putting husbands in jail and children in foster homes. Fundamentalist leaders remained in state prison until September 24, 1945 (the fifty-fifth anniversary of the Woodruff Manifesto), when they issued a public statement indicating their intention to cease ignoring the law of the land. They returned to their families and refrained from violating the law for a time.
A few years later, a major schism in the Colorado City group occurred over the question of priesthood authority and the right to rule. Joseph Musser (the ostensible leader of the group), Rulon Allred, his brothers, and a few others broke away and started their own group, which has grown to about 2,000 members through conversion and births and is now known as the United Apostolic Brethren. In 1976, Rulon Allred, then leader of the group, was murdered, evidently by a plural wife of Ervil LeBaron, of the Church of the Lamb of God. Owen Allred replaced his brother as leader. The Colorado City group reorganized, with Leroy Johnson assuming leadership, and in 1990 was one of the largest fundamentalist groups, numbering in the thousands. Upon Johnson's death (Nov. 25, 1986, at Hilldale, Utah) a power struggle ensued; schisms continue in the Colorado City group over authority and legal title to property.
Fundamentalists claim to believe in the four LDS standard works, the early History of the Church, and the prophets of the restoration up to, and including, John Taylor. Fundamentalist doctrines of priesthood presidency are derived from a unique interpretation of Doctrine and Covenants section 84, which they claim refers to a priesthood council or hierarchy of seven men designated as "high priest" apostles. Various claims to succession have led to the current schisms in these groups. Many independent Fundamentalists believe the claims to authority of the two main groups are flawed; they thus live and believe apart from those groups.
The thread that binds all Fundamentalists together is their belief that the LDS Church has improperly changed doctrines and practices. One independent Fundamentalist published a book listing ninety-five purported changes, thus mimicking Martin Luther's ninety-five theses. Prominent among these criticisms are the abrogation of plural marriage, cessation of living the United Order, alleged loss of revelation to the Church since 1890, purported forfeiture of keys of the priesthood due to termination of the practice of plural marriage, supposed repudiation of "true" knowledge of the Godhead, changes in the method of missionary work (failure to preach without purse or scrip), asserted corruption of temple garments and ordinances, cessation of the gathering of Israel to Utah, changing the method of priesthood conferral, and allowing all worthy male members of the Church to hold the priesthood, regardless of race.
Bibliography
Anderson, J. Max. The Polygamy Story: Fiction and Fact. Salt Lake City, 1977.
Kraut, Ogden. Ninety-five Theses. Dugway, Utah, n.d. Truth Magazine. Salt Lake City, 1935-1956.
J. MAX ANDERSON
http://www.sltrib.com/
The first section of the "Book of Immanuel David Isaiah" is dated "6 April 2002," Christ's birthday in the minds of many Mormons. On the first of 27 pages, this one dated Feb. 9, 2002, Brian David Mitchell speaks first in the voice of God, saying that he has chosen his servant, Immanuel David Isaiah, to be his voice. Later in the book, Immanuel will be the voice of Jesus.
"God proclaims that a darkness has enveloped the world and that 'Satan reigns and his dominions are great . . . and the humble followers of Jesus Christ suffer and mourn under the heavy hand of oppression and murder and secret combinations, which they do by their secret crafts and arts, their secret governments and societies, with their false traditions and churches, subject the whole earth to the iron yoke of bondage, misery and death; and the true and faithful and humble followers of Christ cry out in the anguish of their souls for relief and deliverance."
"Repent, God says, and deliverance will come; and 'for this cause I have raised up my servant Immanuel David Isaiah, even my righteous right hand, to be a light and covenant to my people . . .'
Jesus says that he established, through Joseph Smith Jr., 'the only trued and living church upon the face of the whole earth with all the keys and powers and ordinances of the Holy Priesthood for the salvation of mankind, being the same church that I established through Peter, James and John in the meridian of time, and it was lost through apostasy and a falling away. And this priesthood and this power have continued with my last day church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, through a succession of prophets until the present day.' "
"Wherefore, I, the Lord God, will not be mocked, for verily, I say unto you that I have seen the wickedness and abominations of my people in these last days, even all the house of Israel, for they have rejected the new and everlasting covenant, even the Book of Mormon, and they have not heeded the words of mine anointed prophets who cry unto them. Repent ye, repent ye of all your idolatries, and your abominations, and your secret combinations, wherein ye murder to get gain, and my people will not hear."
"Therefore, I, the Lord God, take away even the light which they have. And I hide up the true prophets who are still among them. And I give them false prophets who speak vain and foolish and lying words unto them. And the fullness of priesthood keys, authority and power, I bestow upon another who is in their midst and they know him not, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood and the keys of the kingdom for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days."
"One who is mighty and strong I have ordained in the stead of him who was ordained of God. For he, who was ordained of God and sustained by the people, has acted deceitfully, and is lifted up in the pride of his heart, and he has rejected the fullness of my gospel, even with new and everlasting covenant, and he seeks the praise of the world and exalts himself, and he leads the children of the promise with a flaxen cord down to their destruction."
"Nevertheless, I am a God of perfect mercy, justice and order, therefore, a portion of priesthood keys and power to perform outward ordinances I leave with them for a short time . . ."
In section two, the book speaks of the Seven Diamonds Plus One -- Testaments of Jesus Christ -- Study and Fellowship Society, founded Sept. 24, 1997.
The seven diamonds are: the Bible, King James version; the Book of Mormon; "the inspired words of the prophets" of the LDS Church; The Golden Seven Plus One by C. Samuel West; Embraced by the Light by Betty J. Eadie; The Literary Message of Isaiah by Avraham Gileadi; and The Final Quest by Rick Joyner. "The Seven Diamonds Plus One -- Testaments of Jesus Christ -- Study and Fellowship Society is where my true disciples will be gathered in against the day of burning, for it is The Church of the Firstborne, even the society of heaven, and the sanctified, and the redeemed of God. It is the true and living Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its purified and exalted state."
"The Seven Diamonds Plus One -- Testaments of Jesus Christ -- Study and Fellowship Society is where my true disciples will be gathered in against the day of burning, for it is The Church of the Firstborne, even the society of heaven, and the sanctified, and the redeamed of God. It is the true and living Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its purified and exalted state.
"Woe unto ye, scribes and pharisees, ye doctors and lawyers and priests, who wear the habiliments of the priesthood, even as ravening wolves in sheeps clothing, hypocrites! Ye are a generation of vipers, and how can ye escape the damnation of hell, for ye give fine speeches but your works are the works of darkness. Did I not testify unto you, by the mouth of my latter-day prophet Ezra, that the whole church was under condemnation because they did not receive the new and everlasting covenant, even the Book of Mormon? And what is the covenant of the Book of Mormon? Is it not to care for the widow and the fatherless, and to succor the needs of the poor, the sick, and the afflicted? Is it not to stand as a witness for me, even Jesus Christ, in all things, and in whatsoever circumstances you are in? I ask you, have you done these things? I say unto you, ye have not!"
"I gave unto you The Word of Wisdom, that he, through obedience, might receive health in your navel and marrow in your bones, and run and not be weary and walk and not faint, and find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures, and I, the Lord, gave unto you a a promise that the destroying angel would pass you by as the children of Israel and not slay you."
"Therefore, Hephzibah Eladah Isaiah, thou art called and chosen to be a helpmeet unto my servant Immanuel David Isaiah, and to be his wise counselor and best friend, and to be submissive and obedient unto thy husband in all righteousness, and to be a comfort and a strength and a companion to thy husband in every time of trial and affliction unto the end."
"Wherefore, Hephzibah, my most cherished angel, thou wilt take into they heart and home seven sisters, and thou wilt recognize them through the spirit as they dearest and choicest friends from all eternity, and they shall bring thee great joy, even a multiplicity and an eternal weight of blessings and glory and eternal happiness. And lo, though shalt be healed and made whole every whit, and thine own womb shall be opened, and thou shalt bring forth a son to sit upon the throne of his father David. And thou shalt take into they heart and home seven times seven sisters, to love and to care for; forty-nine precious jewels in they crown, and thou art the jubilee of them all, first and last, for all are given unto them, for thou art a Queen, Oh Hephzibah!
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/rnb/archives/00002738.html 3/19/03 2:10 PM
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,465033465,00.html
Editor's note: The following text is taken from the 27-page manuscript titled "The Book of Immanuel David Isaiah," written by Brian David Mitchell. Dated April 6, 2002, the transcript, on letter-sized pages that appear to have been printed from a computer word-processing program, was provided to the Deseret News by The Associated Press. Capitalization, punctuation and spelling are unaltered from that transcript.
9 February 2002 One
Hearken! Oh ye inhabitants of the earth. Listen together and open your ears, for it is I, the Lord God of all the earth, the creator of all things that speaketh unto you. Yea, even Jesus Christ speaking by the voice of my servant whom I have called and chosen to be a light and a covenant to the world in these last days. I have called him and given him a name to be had in remembrance before me, even the name Immanuel David Isaiah, which name being interpreted means: God with us — Beloved of God — The Lord is salvation — signifying the deliverence that shall come to my people by my mighty hand in these last days.
For lo, I am even now making bare my holy arm in the eyes of all nations, for gross darkness covers the earth and gross darkness envelops the minds of the people, for Satan reigns and his dominions are great, and he sitteth upon many waters, even Babylon the great, that great whore of all the earth. And the peoples of the earth stumble and grope in darkness at noonday, and the humble followers of Jesus Christ suffer and mourn under the heavy hand of oppression and murder and secret combinations, which do by their secret crafts and arts, their secret governments and societies, with their false traditions and churches subject the whole earth to the iron yoke of bondage, misery and death; and the true and faithful and humble followers of Christ cry out in the anguish of their souls for relief and deliverance. I, the Lord God, the Savior of the world, have long heard their cries, and the cries of all the holy prophets and saints who have cried unto me, and do still fervently petition me, and to whom I have promised and covenanted that the day of deliverance will come. And verily, verily, I say unto all, Repent ye, Repent ye, while the day lasts, before the night comes, wherein no work or labor for my kingdom can be performed. Yea, verily, I say unto all in every nation, in every land among all peoples, repent, and come unto me that I may heal you. Forsake all your works of darkness wherein ye seek for riches and the vain and foolish things of this world, wherein ye seek to obtain power and gain and popularity and to satisfy all the lusts of the flesh. Yea, cease to do evil, and learn to do good, and come unto me, and I will heal you.
For this cause I have raised up my servant Immanuel David Isaiah, ever my righteous right hand, to be a light and a covenant to my people — to all those who will repent and come unto me, for in my servant, Immanuel is the fullness of my gospel, which I, the Lord brought forth out of obscurity and out of darkness through my servant Joseph Smith, Jr.
And by the hand of my servant Joseph, I, the Lord God, Jehovah, brought forth out of the bowels of the earth the Book of Mormon, which book contains my true doctrine, and stands with the Bible to witness for my name unto all the earth, to show unto all people that I am the very Christ who suffered and died for their sins, and rose again the third day, that all men who will believe in me, and will repent, and be baptized in my name, shall have eternal life.
And I, even Jesus Christ, appeared unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., and I sent mine angels unto him, and I revealed unto him many great and marvelous truths pertaining to my everlasting gospel, and I conferred upon him and other faithful ones the holy priesthood of God and ordained them prophets, seers, revelators, and priests and teachers unto my people.
And I gave them power to baptize in my name and to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost, which gift I pour out upon all who are worthy of the same — showing forth works of faith and repentance. And to all those who receive these things of which I have spoken and endure to the end will I give eternal life with me and my Father in my Father's kingdom, for I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one cometh unto the Father but me.
For this cause I established, through my servant Joseph Smith, Jr., the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth with all the keys and powers and ordinances of the Holy Priesthood for the salvation of mankind, being the same church that I established through Peter, James, and John in the meridian of time, and it was lost through apostasy and a falling away.
And this priesthood and this power, which was lost, I reestablished in these last days through my servant Joseph. And this priesthood and this power have continued with my last day church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, through a succession of prophets until the present day. Wherefore, I, the Lord God will not be mocked, for verily, I say unto you that I have seen the wickedness and the abominations of my people in these last days, even all the house of Israel, for they have rejected the new and everlasting covenant, even the Book of Mormon, and they have not heeded the words of mine annointed prophets who cry unto them Repent ye, Repent ye of all your idolatries, and your abominations, and your secret combinations, wherein ye murder to get gain; and my people will not hear. Therefore, I, the Lord God take away even the light which they have.
And I hide up the true prophets who are still among them. And I give them false prophets who speak vain and foolish and lying words unto them. And the fullness of priesthood keys, authority and power, I bestow upon another who is in their midst and they know him not, unto whom rightly belongs the priesthood and the keys of the kingdom for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days.
Nevertheless, I am a God of perfect mercy, justice, and order, therefore, a portion of priesthood keys and power to perform outward ordinances I leave with them for a short time, for my spirit has not wholly ceased to strive with them. For I have granted unto them an interim period of time to choose whom they will serve, and whom they will follow and obey, even as I did when I annointed David to be king over Israel by the hand of my prophet Samuel while Saul continued king for a time by the voice of the people.
As also with the Jews when I walked and ministered among them, I accepted a portion of their sacrifices and outward ordinances for an interim period of time, but that space of time came to an end, for others were annointed in their stead, and the interim time was granted for them to choose a new and everlasting covenant. So it is now. One who is mighty and strong I have ordained in the stead of him who was ordained of God. For he, who was ordained of God and is sustained by the people, has acted deceitfully and is lifted up in the pride of his heart, and he has rejected the fullness of my gospel, even the new and everlasting covenant, and he seeks the praise of the world and exalts himself, and he leads the children of the promise with a flaxen cord down to their destruction.
Wherefore, the cup of my wrath and indignation is nearly full to overflowing, for there has never been from the beginning of man upon the earth such great wickedness among the house of Israel, and among the inhabitants of the earth as there now is. And I, the Lord God hold in reserve a swift judgement against every worker of iniquity who will not repent while the day lasts; and lo, lo, I am even at the door. Yea, great and marvelous shall be the destruction of the wicked. Yea, a great and marvelous shall be the deliverance of my people.
For I, the Lord God will deliver my people with a mighty hand. Yea, I will bring to pass my strange act, my unwonted act, to make all the glorying in the flesh a reproach. Yea, I will bring to utter shame and execration all those who exalt themselves. And all those who humble themselves before me, and who are not ashamed of me, and who glorify me in their flesh, will I lift up and clothe them in mine own power and in mine own glory, even that of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
The Seven Diamonds Plus One Two
— Testaments of Jesus Christ —
Study and Fellowship Society
Founded 21 September 1997
Statement of Intent and Purpose
The American Encyclopedic Dictionary defines the word "testament" as: "A covenant esp. between God and man." The world "covenant" is defined as: "A solemn and binding agreement." Definitions for the word "study" are: "1) application of the mind to the aquisition of knowledge by reading, investigation or reflection; 2) to examine or investigate carefully and in detail; 3) to think deeply, reflect or consider; 4) to apply oneself to the aquisition of knowledge by reading, investigation or practice. The word "fellowship" is defined as: "The condition or relation of being a fellow." Definitions for the word "fellow" are:
"1) to make or represent as equal with another; 2) belonging to the same class or group, united by the same occupation, interests, etc; being in the same condition: fellow students, citizens, etc.; fellow sufferers."
In light of these definitions and with that portion of the Holy Spirit which dwells within us, we, the founders of this society make the following statement:
The intent and purpose of The Seven Diamonds Plus One — Testaments of Jesus Christ — Study and Fellowship Society is: To examine carefully and in detail the covenants between God and man as contained in the Testaments of Jesus Christ that are herein set forth; and to think deeply upon, to reflect and consider how we (individually and together) may fulfill the solemn and binding agreements that we have entered into with our God, and to practice — to perform all that we have covenanted to do that in so doing God might thereby bless us according to all that He has covenanted to do.
In other words, to associate together as members of this society, in full fellowship and brotherly love, being equal in the temporal things of this earth that we might also be equal in the eternal things of heaven, being fellow sufferers for the testimony of Jesus Christ — together mourning, weeping, fasting, praying, rejoicing, testifying, and singing praises unto God, lifting one another up in all things and thus, "living after the manner of happiness."
The Seven Diamonds Plus One
—Testaments of Jesus Christ are as follows:
1. The Holy Bible — King James Version
2. The Book of Mormon — translated by Joseph Smith
3. The inspired words of the prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
4. "The Golden Seven Plus One" by Dr. C. Samuel West
5. "Embraced By The Light" by Betty J. Eddie
6. "The Literary Message of Isaiah" by Avraham Gileadi
7. "The Final Quest" by Rick Joyner
Plus One
1. Inspired sacred music and song and the testimonies of all the humble followers of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost
These Seven Diamonds Plus One — Testaments of Jesus Christ together form a brillant shining diadem of truth that reveals, on one hand, that awful hell and misery that awaits All those who have known Christ in their hearts and have rejected Him in their hearts; and on the other hand, the crowning glory, eternal life, and great joy that Jesus Christ bestows upon all of His humble and faithful followers to the end — those who have His heart. They are His royal heirs; for truely He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. All praise and honor and glory be unto Him, even Jesus Christ, our Saviour, our Redeemer, our righteous judge and our wise eternal friend.
May we, as members of this society, be faithful and true with this great trust of light and knowledge — these priceless diamonds forming a brillant shining diadem of truth. Let us be obedient in all things and willing to sacrifice all things — even our very lives, if necessary. May we love one another, even as He has loved us. Though we be of mortal clay; though we be clothed in rags or riches, weakness or strength, ignorance or wisdom, ugly and vile sin or beautiful and holy virtue, let us remember that we are each a King or Queen in His eyes and in His heart — He who suffered and died for each of us.
Our intent and purpose in this society is to truely worship Him, praise Him, honor Him and glorify His name forever, even Jesus Christ. Amen.
Immanuel David Isaiah Hephzibah Eladah Isaiah
23 February 2002 Three
Thus saith the Lord God, even Jesus Christ, who speaketh unto you, wherefore, give heed to all my words and trifle not with sacred things, for I say unto all, both young and old, both rich and poor, both learned and unlearned, yea, I speak unto all men in every nation, in every land, and among all peoples, that I, your Lord and your God, inspired my servant Immanuel David Isaiah, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to write the Statement of Intent and Purpose for The Seven Diamonds Plus One — Testaments of Jesus Christ — Study and Fellowship Society.
Verily, verily, I say unto all the world, that each of The Seven Diamonds Plus One, which are set forth in the Statement of Intend and Purpose, are most precious in my sight, even as each of the souls of the children of men are most precious in my sight.
For I say unto you that each of The Seven Diamonds Plus One has come forth by the power of God, even be revelations and by the power of the Holy Ghost, which inspired the hearts and minds of my faithful and chosen ones, to bring forth the fullness of my everlasting gospel, even from Adam unto Enoch and from Enoch unto Noah and from Noah unto Abraham, Issac and Jacob and from Abraham, Issac and Jacob unto Moses and from Moses unto Jesus Christ and from Jesus Christ unto Peter, James and John and from Peter, James and John unto Joseph Smith, Jr. and from Joseph Smith, Jr. unto Immanuel David Isaiah and from Immanuel David Isaiah unto the end of the earth. I am Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior of the world, even the word of truth and the light of truth, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and this is my light which shines in and through The Seven Diamonds Plus One, for they are they which testify of me.
For I, even Jesus Christ, descended below all things that I might be lifted up above all things, that I might draw all men unto me. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my light and my love and my glory, that I lift up all who will come unto me, that they may be where I am, that we may be one, even as I and the Father are one, that they may be in me and I in them, even as I am in the Father and the Father in me, that we may be one. Yea, follow my light and come unto me.
Follow my light which shines in and through The Seven Diamonds Plus One, for therein shines the testimony of my true and faithful ones who testify of me by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the light of truth and the word of truth, even Jesus Christ who speaketh unto you. Whoso hath an ear, let him hear!
For within my church the wheat and the tares grow together, and the time of the harvest has come, wherein I now begin to gather out the wheat from among the tares against the day of burning, which must shortly come to pass, wherein the tares that are left shall be bundled and bound and burned.
For I will purge and sanctify my church from all iniquity, even as if by fire, that I may receive her unto myself, pure and spotless and holy. Whoso hath an ear, let him hear! The Seven Diamonds Plus One — Testaments of Jesus Christ — Study and Fellowship Society is where my true disciples will be gathered in against the day of burning, for it is The Church of the Firstborne, even the society of heaven, and the sanctified, and the redeemed of God. It is the true and living Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in its purified and exalted state.
Wherefore, it is I, the Lord your God who is the righteous judge and knowein my sheep. Fear not man who is as the grass which wanes before the flame. I alone see and know the hearts of men, and I alone know which are the wheat and which are the tares, and I give unto those of humble heart and contrite spirit, who earnestly desire and seek to have my knowledge and my wisdom and my love and my righteous judgement, the ability to discern between the way of the wheat and the way of the tares, or, in other words, between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdoms of this world.
These are the mysteries of Godliness, and a fullness of my knowledge and my wisdom and my love and my righteous judgement and only to be obtained through the holy priesthood of God and the ordinances thereof. And in every dispensation of priesthood authority and power and blessings upon the earth there has been and is a corruption and a perversion in the priesthood. For Satan doth creep in unawares and doth sow tares among the wheat. Hear oh heavens and give heed oh earth!
For it is through this corruption and perversion in the priesthood of God that he who is expert at putting on all of the appearances of righteousness, to deceive the very elect if it were possible, doth creep in unawares to destroy my flock and scatter my sheep. Therefore, I, the Lord God have given The Seven Diamonds Plus One to light your way that ye be not deceived. And if you have these Seven Diamonds Plus One in your heart, you will have my heart and my righteous judgement to discern and to know and to love and to be wise and to be even as I am.
But beware and give heed, oh man! That ye be nor lifted up in the pride of your heart to revile the things of God, for I say unto you that the least of these Seven Diamonds Plus One, or that which is considered the least in the eyes of the world, is of far greater worth and is much more precious than all of the combined knowledge and wisdom and wealth and substance of the whole world and the corruptibleness thereof. Judge not these things unrighteously but look ye to them that ye might judge aright and not be deceived, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Yea, give careful heed to all my words, and do not rest the scriptures to your own understanding and put darkness for light and light for darkness, and call evil good and good evil, or by and by and unawares ye find yourself bound up as a tare, having despised the words of plainness, and having reached beyond the mark, and having wasted the days of your probation, and having put your trust in man and in the arm of flesh; and having persecuted the humble followers of Christ and having crucified your Lord and Savior unto yourselves afresh, and ye find yourself bound to be burned instead of gathered to be saved, because ye did not search and seek with humble heart and contrite spirit all my words unto you. Amen.
Therefore, search these things, even The Seven Diamonds Plus One — Testaments of Jesus Christ, for they are faithful and true. Yea, take the Holy Spirit for your guide and trust in no man, except he hath the gifts and fruits of the spirit, and the love of God in him. Yea, put your trust in him who is mighty to save, that he may gather you as a mother hen doth gather her chicks under her wing that ye might be saved in the everlasting kingdom of God, to go in and sit down and no more go out. All praise, honor and glory be unto our Eternal God, who hath given us his Holy Son and the words of eternal life, that leadeth our souls in a straight course through the mists of darkness, and into the light and love and presence of Jesus Christ, to sing praises unto our Eternal God and His Christ forevermore. I so testify in the name of him whose servant I am, even Jesus Christ. Amen.
27 February 2002 Four
Woe unto ye, scribes and pharisees, ye doctors and lawyers and priests, who wear the habiliments of the priesthood, even as ravening wolves in sheeps clothing, hypocrites! Ye are a generation of vipers, and how can ye escape the damnation of hell, for ye give fine speeches but your works are the works of darkness. Did I not testify unto you, by the mouth of my latter-day prophet Ezra, that the whole church was under condemnation because they did not receive the new and ever-lasting covenant, even the Book of Mormon? And what is the covenant of the Book of Mormon? Is it not to care for the widow and the fatherless, and to succor to the needs of the poor, the sick, and the afflicted?
Is it not to demand justice and to stand up for the oppressed? Is is not to stand as a witness for me, even Jesus Christ, in all things, and in whatsoever circumstances ye are in? I ask you, have ye done these things? I say unto you, ye have not! For the way was given unto you to discern and to know the secret combinations in your midst, who for power and gain and popularity and to satisfy all the lusts of the flesh, oppress and afflict and slay the children of Israel.
I will give unto you an ensample in this thing that ye might see and hear and understand, and repent and come unto me, and be healed of your blindness of mind and your hardness of heart and the sickness of your soul. I gave unto you The Word of Wisdom, that ye, through obedience, might receive health in your navel and marrow in your bones, and run and not be weary and walk and not faint, and find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures, and I, the Lord, gave unto you a promise that the destroying angel would pass you by as the children of Israel and not slay you. Wherefore, I testified through my prophets Joseph Smith and Brigham Young that when ye are sick, ye should not seek unto doctors and the wisdom of the world, but rather ye should exercise faith in me and minister one to another, and with wisdom use herbs and fruit and mild food and tender care that ye might be healed.
Hearken and rejoice! Oh ye children of Israel, for in these last days I have revealed many glorious truths that shed far greater light and truth upon my Word of Wisdom and my laws of health.
Wherefore, I, even Jesus Christ, appeared unto my servant William J. Gonzalas as he lay dying and I healed him, and I told him that he would with his own hand write a book, and I told him that the name of the book would be The Golden Seven Plus One.
And lo, my servant William was the scribe for my servant C. Samuel West whom I raised up to be an Elias in these last days to teach and to testify many glorious truths that shed far greater light and truth upon my Word of Wisdom and my laws of health, and the book, The Golden Seven Plus One, was given by the power of the Holy Ghost unto Samuel, and by the power of my spirit he received it, and my servant William wrote all that Samuel spoke by the power of the Holy Ghost, and thus, they finished the book, The Golden Seven Plus One, and it came forth by my power.
And I, even Jesus Christ, will bring forth my great and marvelous work in these last days, and I declare unto all the world, and unto all the house of Israel that I, the Lord your God, brought forth the book, The Golden Seven Plus One, that I might thereby prepare a people and raise them up, and bring them forth to live upon the earth in peace, without pain or disease and with no poor among them.
Wherefore, my servant Samuel has testified both long and loud, as with the sound of a trump, and he doth even now testify unto all the world that these things of which I have spoken are verily true. And thousands of my children have received the truth and have rejoiced in it, and I have healed them of all manner of disease and pain and affliction through their faith in me and in the truths brought forth through my servant Samuel.
And lo, my servant Ezra Taft Benson testified unto many that Samuel was my servant and that the book, The Golden Seven Plus One, was inspired of God and that it was verily true. Wherefore, the Holy Ghost did witness unto many that the testimonies of my servants were true, but because of false traditions and unbelief and priestcrafts and secret combinations which blinded the minds and hardened the hearts of my people, my church did not receive their testimonies.
Wherefore, an ever increasing desolation and scourge covers the whole earth, and hundreds of thousands and hundreds of millions of the children of men lie down in agony and suffer exceedingly, and die with all manner of incurable diseases and pain and sickness of every kind; and unspeakable horror and death by disease is poured out upon the children of men in an ever increasing desolation and scourge that fills the whole earth with the blood of those who cry out from the ground unto their Eternal God for the sword of vengeance to come down upon the heads of all those who profit and prosper and gain exceedingly from building up those secret combinations, which profit and prosper and gain exceedingly from the suffering and pain and disease and death of the children of men. Know ye not that this great plague of incurable diseases is a great pestilence and curse and judgement that rests upon all, and more especially upon all those who have been called of God to testify of me in all things and have not.
For verily, verily, I say unto you that it must needs be that many of my children suffer these things, but woe unto you who cause the suffering and death of one precious soul by withholding the truth from them, and by not testifying of these truths unto all men when ye have known the truth, that thereby I might have healed my children.
Yea, who unto all those who despise the truth and do not walk in the truth when the truth shines as bright and glorious as the noon day sun, but because of blindness of mind and hardness of heart, ye will not see and hear and understand, and repent, and come unto me, that I may heal you. Know ye not that all disease and pain will most assuredly be done away? For I will most assuredly raise up a people to live on this earth in peace, without pain or disease, and with no poor among them.
And lo, it will not be done by the wisdom of the world or by the precepts and learning of men, but it will be done by strict obedience to all my laws of health and to all my commandments, and to all my Words of Wisdom unto you. Yea, Hear oh heavens! And give heed on earth! The people I will raise up to live in peace upon the earth, without pain or disease and with no poor among them, will live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. And they will be my people, even a peculiar and chosen people unto me for they shall be mine own people. Is not this according to the promise I have given unto the children of Israel in my Word of Wisdom, that the destroying angel shall pass them by and not slay them, and they shall have health in their navel and marrow in their bones, and they shall run and not be weary and walk and not faint, and they shall have great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures?
How long, oh man, will ye persist in seeking the praises of men and the world that ye may be popular and profit thereby, and ye care not for the poor, and the sick, and the afflicted of my people? How long, oh man, will ye persist in putting on a great show of righteousness when inwardly ye are filled with all manner of abominations and iniquity?
Yea, did not my prophet Ezra Taft Benson testify boldly unto all the world, both long and loud, as with the voice of a trump, testifying of all those secret combinations, who even now, at this time, seek to overthrow the freedom of all nations and the whole earth, and even now, by their fine words, and their secret works, and by the sword, reign with blood and horror upon the earth.
Yeah, and lo, they sit enthroned at the heads of all the governments of the earth in this the day of their power. And this promised land of the United States of America is the seat of untold depravity and idolatry and murder and secret combinations. And because of exceedingly great pride and self-righteousness and exceedingly strong secret combinations, this nation of the United States of America is the most wicked and depraved of all the nations of the earth. And this nation of the United States of America seeks, in concert with all the rest, to bring the whole earth into complete subjection, and the iron yoke of bondage and servitude and misery and death. And all this for power and gain and popularity and to satisfy all the lusts of the flesh.
Have ye testified against these things? I say unto you, ye have not! But rather, ye uphold them and build them up, and put your truth in man and in the arm of flesh to deliver you and to save you instead of he who is your Savior, your Redeemer, your Righteous Judge, and your Wise Eternal Friend, even Jesus Christ, who speaketh unto you, who is mighty to save and deliver. Will ye not now hearken and obey, and forsake all your works of darkness that the people of Nephi and the Jaredites were destroyed after having great blessings bestowed upon the them even as ye yourselves have had great blessings bestowed upon you!
Know ye not that Moroni testified unto you in the Book of Mormon that whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations to get power and gain until they shall spread over the nation behold, they shall be destroyed for the Lord will not suffer that the blood of his saints, which shall be shed by them, shall always cry unto him from the ground for vengeance upon them and yet he avenge them not.
Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain — and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be. 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.
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 lair 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.
Wherefore, I commanded Moroni 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. And if ye know these things, why have ye not taught them? It is because ye are even as Moroni foresaw, for I showed you unto him, and he knew your doing, and he know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts. For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.
O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies — because of the praise of the world? Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life and yet suffer the hungry and the needy and the naked and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you and notice them not? Yea why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads?
Behold the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer. Will ye persist in seeking for a sign that these things are true when all things, both in the heavens above and in the earth below, do witness and testify that these things are verily true? Yea, awful is your situation, for the sword of justice hangs over you and the ax is laid at the root of the tree, and every tree that will not bring forth good fruit will be hewn down and cast into the fire. And only those who are not ashamed of me will inherit the earth.
And all whoredoms and priestcrafts and idolatries and shining images will be swept away, even Babylon the great shall fall and crumble to the dust, and great and marvelous shall be the fall thereof. Awake! And arise! Oh Israel! Shake yourselves loose from the awful chains which bind you. Awake! And arise from the dust and wash yourselves clean and clothe yourselves in the garments of truth and put on the whole armor of righteousness and go to with your might to testify boldly, as with the voice of a trump, both long and loud, with humble heart and contrite spirit that my words are faithful and true. And all those who seek me and find me and fight for me in the last great battle, I will cloth in mine own power and in mine own authority to stand against all the powers of darkness and all the fiery darts and shafts in the whirlwind wherein Satan and his demonic hosts rage.
Yea, take the Seven Diamonds Plus One into your heart that ye be not deceived, and take the Holy Spirit for your constant companion that your faith fail not, and hearken unto my true and living prophets who have my mantle of light and truth and love. Though the whole world seeks their destruction and yours and ye are hated and despised, mocked and scorned, ridiculed and condemned, and counted as dross and refuse upon the face of the earth, for even so they hated my true prophets from the very beginning, and they cast them out and stoned them, and killed them.
And even I, the Savior of the world, was hated by mine own and was taken and crucified upon the cross and suffered and died for all, and I rose again the third day with healing in my wings. Even the wings of my power to heal and make whole all those who come unto me. It is the power given me of the Father. It is the power of the resurrection. It is the power of eternal lives. And it is the power I desire to give unto you through The Seven Diamonds Plus One that ye may come to know me and be even as I am.
This is life eternal that ye might know the only true and living God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. I am Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. I am Eternal life. I am the resurrection. I am the life. And no man cometh unto the Father but by me. I alone have the power given me to heal and to make whole all those who come unto me, and I alone give my power to my true and faithful servants. Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my true servants, it is the same. Amen.
3 March 2002 Five
Shall I, the Lord God of heaven and earth, withhold blessings from mine own children? I cannot, for even as the gentle summer rains fall softly down upon the mountains, my blessings flow down and water and make fruitful and green every living thing that lives and grows. And ye, who are my children, the workmanship of mine own hand, I delight to bless, even as a tender mother does the suckling babe upon her breast, and the contented child upon her lap, and the growing young one standing close within her arms.
Wherefore, I, the the Lord God caught up into the heavens my daughter Betty J. Eadie, ? and gave into her heart the mysteries of my love, and sent her back to earth to write the book, Embraced By The Light, and I commanded her to testify to all the world the wonders of my love. I chose her who is a woman, a sister, a daughter, a mother, for this great and marvelous task that you, my children, might know my love which beats warmly within a mother's heart, in the heart of a woman.
For all women are given special gifts to nurture, teach, and love my children but each of my daughters must, with great care, protect and develop these gifts or they will be lost. I the Lord God created man and woman to be one flesh that they as one, might bring forth children and raise them up unto me. Wherefore, it is to fulfill the measure of their creation that a man and woman are joined together; and if they are faithful and obedient in all things, and are valiant in the testimony of Jesus Christ and they receive all things from my hand, even from those having this authority, they are sealed up together as one throughout all eternity.
This is the new and everlasting covenant of marriage according to the order of the highest degree of the celestial kingdom and the holy Melchizedek Priesthood of God. This is in fulfillment of the promise I gave unto Abraham, and unto all the house of Israel, and unto all the children of the promise, whether by blood or adoption, all are heirs who receive me and keep all my commandments, saith your God, even Jesus Christ, who speaketh unto you. This is the covenant and promise of eternal life, even eternal lives, even endless lives, for they have no end.
Wherefore, I speak of these things again out of the heavens, of which I have spoken of before, that ye may know that the hour has come and is at hand that I now make bare my holy arm in the eyes of all nations. Yea, the day of my power is at hand.
For behold, I restored the power of my priesthood and the fulness of my gospel and my true and living church through my servant Joseph, and since that time there have been only a few who have walked in my power and in the fulness of my gospel and priesthood ordinances.
For, from the very beginning of this dispensation, my church and my people refused my law of consecration that they were commanded to obey and would not walk in it. Wherefore, it was taken away and they were cursed. For having refused the law, they could not have the blessing, and instead received a lesser law and a lesser blessing. Furthermore, it was because my people and my church continued in their disobedience to consecration that their enemies came upon them to destroy them. And my prophets sought with great diligence to restore the law unto them but the people and the church would not receive it. And in consequence of their continued disobedience, I, the Lord God took away from my church the fulness of the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, and I commanded them to have one wife only.
Wherefore, they received a lesser law and a lesser blessing. Nevertheless, I, the Lord God am merciful and just and I know the hearts of my children, and I restore every blessing lost to them so long as they sin not against the Holy Ghost. Wherefore, if ye have not charity, ye have no promise, and ye are cut off! Hearken, oh my people, for I say unto you that the law of consecration is my law of charity, and it is the very foundation of my gospel and the very cornerstone of my eternal kingdom.
For behold, it is through obedience to the law of consecration that, I, the Lord God humble the rich, that I might lift up the poor of my people, that thereby all envying, strife, malice whoredoms and priestcrafts and secret combinations are done away. And pride is done away and my people live in peace, and there is no lying or stealing or murdering, and my people are blessed and receive a multiplicity of blessings, even an eternal weight of glory and joy and eternal happiness.
Yea, the law of consecration is my law of charity, and it is the fulfillment of all my laws, even the new and everlasting covenant, wherein every worthy son and daughter who obey all my laws may receive every blessing, both in time and throughout eternity. Wherefore, I say unto all that there are many more of my daughters who are found worthy of every blessing than there are of my sons, and wherein shall I bless my daughters with every blessing except in the fullness of the new and everlasting covenant?
For it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence, many are called but few are chosen. Wherefore, take heed, and judge not that ye be not judged, for all men are born with the nature and disposition to do good and are created in he image and likeness of God. And it is because of the great and eternal weight of responsibility that rests with the priesthood of God, with all the keys, powers, rights and blessings thereof, that great are the temptations to exercise unrighteously that which is given.
And it is the nature and disposition of almost all women, when they have a worthy bearer of the priesthood at their head, to be submissive, obedient, and faithful to all that I the Lord God ask of them, and to nurture and love my children with all tenderness and natural affection; and to teach them knowledge and wisdom and virtue and Godliness. This is the order of heaven; and even my son David, who was after mine own heart in all things except wherein he sinned with Bathsheba and Uriah, lost his wives which I had given unto him and they were given to another; nevertheless, I am merciful and just and left not his soul in hell, and made him a ministering angel unto those who are worthy of a far greater glory.
And his priesthood I gave unto another who is called David, even Immanuel David Isaiah, even my righteous right hand whom I have raised up to be a light and a covenant unto my people, to bring to pass the restoration of all things spoken of by the mouth of all my holy prophets from the very beginning, and to bring about a fulfillment of the work that my servant Joseph Smith, Jr. commenced in this the dispensation of the fullness of times.
Wherefore, as I said, my church is left with a portion of priesthood keys and power to perform outward ordinances; for the inward ordinances are the sealing powers of eternal lives and eternal blessings by the Holy Spirit of promise, and are conditioned upon obedience to all my laws, otherwise, they are left with only empty rituals, having no efficacy or power.
Nevertheless, I am merciful and just and I will honor their outward performances with my sealing power inasmuch as they do not commit the unpardonable sin, which is to sin against the Holy Ghost, and this I will do for an interim period of time. Wherefore, the whole church is cursed for breaking the new and everlasting covenant of my gospel, which is the oath and covenant of my holy priesthood, which is: my people shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God, otherwise they have no promise. Amen.
8 March 2002 Six
A revelation from God unto David, commencing in the year before the death of Ezra Taft Benson and continuing after his death. As I was ministering in the holy temple of God, performing the ordinances of the holy endowment, the Lord God spoke unto me saying, my son David, thy sins are forgiven thee, for I have seen the faithfulness in testifying of me and in doing all that I have asked of thee.
I say unto thee, David, that thy offerings and thy sacrifices are accepted of me, and thou art found worthy, through the blood of the Spotless Lamb, to do a far greater work than that which thou hast hitherto done. Yea, I have called thee and chosen thee from before the foundation of the world, for even as I chose Abram and named him Abraham, and even as I chose Jacob and named him Israel, even so I have chosen thee, David, my son; and I name the Immanuel David Isaiah, for thou wast foreordained to be a light upon a hill, an ensign to the nations, a sign and a portent in Israel.
Then I cried out, Oh Lord! How can this be, for I am unlearned and slow of speech, and I am the least among all thy servants, for thou knowest my weakness, oh Lord! And the Lord answered me saying, fear not man whose arm is flesh, for I give thee weaknesses that ye might be humble and know that it is I, the Lord your God, who is they strength, and I shall make weak things strong unto thee. Yea, I shall make thee mighty and strong, as the arm of the Lord. And lo, lo, I shall give unto thee spokesmen to speak for thee.
Yea, I shall give unto thee one hundred and forty and four thousand spokesmen to declare all my words which I shall give unto thy mouth and they shall testify of me to all the world as with the voice of thunder, and by the still small voice, to shake the whole earth by the power of my spirit. Wherefore, Immanuel, my friend, I give into thy hands the keys of my kingdom, to establish it and to build it up, from its foundation, walls and gates to the celestial ceiling thereof. For I say unto thee that I shut the mouth of my prophet Ezra who held the keys of my kingdom because my people would not abide his testimony. And the wolves came prowling at the gate to take the kingdom by force. Yea, they did outwardly feign support and pretended to uphold my prophet Ezra but inwardly they accused him of treachery because he testified against their weakness. And lo, they are the treacherous ones and they seek to enter in by another way and to pass by the Shepherd of Israel who stands at the gate.
Therefore, I took my prophet Ezra unto myself. And the wolves at the gate pretend to the same power and authority that Ezra walked in, but it is taken from them, and I gave the keys of priesthood power and authority that Ezra held into thy hands, Oh Immanuel! Wherefore, a veil of darkness has fallen over my people and the light is taken from them, and my people mourn the lose and their hearts lament, and they desire to have the light back again, but it is taken away! It is taken away!
And I, the Lord God, hid up my true servant Immanuel in the wilderness, and he is in their midst and they know him not. Then I cried out, Oh Lord! Because I am unlearned and slow of speech, the children of men will mock me and hate me, and they will not receive thy words from my mouth. And the Lord spoke unto me saying, my grace is sufficient for all who are humble and meek and lowly in heart, as a little child, for I am humble and meek and lowly in heart, as a little child. And whosoever will receive me, will receive my servant whom I have sent.
And unto all those who mock thee and hate thee and who will not receive my words from my mouth, I will bring down upon their heads great sorrow and shame and anguish of soul, and if they repent not, I will destroy them from off the face of the earth. Yea, I will destroy them even as I destroyed all the inhabitants of the earth in the days of Noah when the people would not repent; and they mocked Noah and hated him and would not hearken unto my words from Noah's mouth.
Therefore, I destroyed them from off the face of the earth. And I saved and delivered Noah and his family alive. And I will save and deliver thee and thy family alive, Oh Immanuel! And I will save and deliver all those who follow my light and who walk in all of my covenants, and they shall live long and peaceably upon the earth.
And lo, my servant shall be taken by the enemies of righteousness and they will seek to take away his life. And they will marr my servant nigh unto death, but they will not take away his life, and I will heal him; that the words of Isaiah might be fulfilled. My servant, being astute, shall be highly exalted; he shall become exceedingly eminent: just as he appalled many — his appearance was marred beyond human likeness, his semblance unlike that of men — So shall he yet astound many nations, rulers shutting their mouths at him — what was not told them, they shall see; what they had not heard, they shall consider. He shall see the toil of his soul and be satisfied; because of his knowledge, and by bearing their iniquities, shall my servant, the righteous one, vindicate many.
I will assign him an inheritance among the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty, because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the criminals — he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Who has believed our revelation? On whose account has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Thus saith the Lord God Almighty, It is on my account that the arm of the Lord is revealed. A Am the Great Jehovah. I am Jesus Christ. I Am the Spotless Lamb. And thus shall my servant suffer for me, and he shall suffer in similitude of me; and thus shall he suffer for my people; that thereby I might lift him up, to be a light and a covenant to my people. And this is my covenant with thee, Immanuel, my friend, I shall make of thee a great nation, and thou shalt be a king and a lawgiver unto my people, for my righteousness shall be in thee and in thy seed after thee unto endless generations. And thy posterity shall be as the sands of the sea, and thy reign and thy dominions and thy rule shall be endless, without beginning of days or end of days. This is my covenant with thee and with thy seed. Amen.
Wherefore, hearken all ye inhabitants of the earth, and all ye children of the house of Israel, for I say unto you that all the words of Isaiah, even all my words unto you, shall all be fulfilled. And I shall deliver my people by my mighty hand, and I shall, by my righteous right hand, build a New Jerusalem, and I shall establish my kingdom throughout the whole earth. See, I create new heavens and a new earth; former events shall not be remembered or recalled to mind.
Rejoice, then, and be glad forever in what I create. See, I create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will delight in Jerusalem, rejoice in my people, no more shall be heard there the sound of weeping or the cry of distress. No more shall there be infants alive but a few days, or the aged who do not live out their years; those who die young shall be a hundred years old, and those who fail to reach a hundred shall be accursed. When men build houses, they will dwell in them; when they plant vineyards, they will eat their fruit.
They shall not build so that others may dwell, or plant so that others may eat. The lifetime of my people shall be as the lifetime of a tree; my chosen ones shall outlast the work of their hands. They shall not exert themselves in vain, or bear children doomed for calamity. For they are of the lineage of these blessed by the Lord, and their posterity with them. Before they call I will reply; while they are yet speaking I will respond. The wolf and the lamb will graze alike and the lion will eat straw like the ox; as for the serpent, dust shall be its food: there shall be no harm or injury done throughout my holy mountain, says the Lord.
And as the new heavens and the new earth which I make shall endure before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and name endure. And New Moon after New Moon, Sabbath after Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord. And they shall go out and look upon the corpses of the people who transgressed against me, whose worms do not die and whose fire shall not be extinguished. They shall be a horror to all flesh. Wherefore, I raised up my servant Avraham Gileadi and I inspired him by the power of the Holy Ghost to write the Book The Literary Message of Isaiah.
And this I did that I, your Lord and your God might reveal unto you, by the hand of my servant, Avraham Gileadi, the literal message of Isaiah. And now behold, I say unto you again that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you, that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah. For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore, it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake. And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of these things. Amen.
12 2002 Plus One
A revelation from God unto Eladah, commencing in the year before the death of Ezra Taft Benson and continuing after his death. As I was ministering in the holy temple of God, performing the ordinances of the holy endowment, the Lord God spoke unto me saying, my precious daughter Eladah, thy sins are forgiven thee, for I have seen they faithfulness in testifying of me and in doing all that I have asked of thee. I say unto thee, Eladah, that thy offerings and thy sacrifices are accepted of me, and thou art found worthy, through the blood of the Spotless Lamb, to do a far greater work than that which thou hast hitherto alone.
Yea, I have called thee and chosen thee from before the foundation of the world, for even as I chose Sarai and named her Sarah, even so I have chosen thee Eladah, my daughter; and I name thee Hephzibah Eladah Isaiah, which name being interpreted means My Delight is in Thee — God Adorneth — The Lord is Salvation — signifying that thou art highly favored and blessed among women, and thou wast foreordained to be the Mother of Zion, and the New Jerusalem, and of the Kingdom of God in this the dispensation of the fullness of times.
Then I cried out Oh Lord! How can this be, for I am unlearned, and I have been hated and despised among the children of men ever since my birth? And the Lord answered me saying, Of a truth Hephzibah, my delight is in thee, and I say unto thee, thou art the most cherished angel in the heavens, and thou dost not need an earthly school for I will be thy teacher, and the heavens will be opened to thy view that thou mayest be taught from on high. And lo, Satan has hated thee from thy birth for he knoweth thy calling, and he has sought every means to destroy thee, and he has tempted all those whom thou lovest most to turn against thee, to destroy thee. Nevertheless, Satan's bounds are set and he cannot pass beyond them.
For I have long heard thy prayers, my daughter Hephzibah, which have ascended up to me from the deep wellspring of thy tender heart, upon the fountain of thy tears; and I am moved, with all the Hosts of Heaven to plead fervently in thy behalf before the throne of mercy, justice, and grace. And know this, my daughter, that all thy suffering and anguish of soul has been for thy good and has given thee experience, and thou hast learned to detect the very most subtle appearances of evil, and to put all thy trust in me.
Therefore, my daughter, be patient with those people who do not understand thy calling, for in a future day they will understand, and thine own mother shall weep upon thy neck and plead for thy forgiveness. And great shame and sorrow and anguish of soul shall pierce the hearts of all those who have hated and despised thee, mocked and scorned thee, ridiculed and condemned thee; and if they repent not, they shall be destroyed from off the face of the whole earth, saith thy Lord and thy God.
For I knoweth thy heart, my daughter, for thou art after mine own heart in all things and thou doth delight to honor and glorify me in thine every thought, word, and deed. And it is thy greatest joy to love my children most affectionately and tenderly, and to teach them knowledge and wisdom and virtue and Godliness. And it is the greatest desire of thy heart to glorify thy God an