Material for all of these chapters can be found in the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:... (the old Priesthood/Relief Society manuals). Resources are in Joseph Smith, p. 224, in Brigham Young, pp. 274-5 and chapter 38, and Wilford Woodruff, pp. 80-81. Go to the new “lds.org” click on “Go to Classic LDS.org” (lower left corner), then click on “Gospel Library” then “Lessons” then “Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society.” The manuals are all found at the bottom of this page.
Another tremendous resource for this lesson is Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Manual. It can be found online at “institute.lds.org” and by clicking on “Course Catalog” (along the top bar).
1 - - Life After Death
Joseph Smith taught the importance of death and “Life After Death” (title to this section):
All men know that they must die. And it is important that we should understand the reasons and causes of our exposure to the vicissitudes of life and of death, and the designs and purposes of God in our coming into the world, our sufferings here, and our departure hence. What is the object of our coming into existence, then dying and falling away, to be here no more? It is but reasonable to suppose that God would reveal something in reference to the matter, and it is a subject we ought to study more than any other. We ought to study it day and night, for the world is ignorant in reference to their true condition and relation. If we have any claim on our Heavenly Father for anything, it is for knowledge on this important subject (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Manual, 83).
The restoration brought back truths lost since New Testament times. President Woodruff explained:
A great many [people] believe when a man dies that is the end of him, that there is no hereafter. Can any sensible man believe that the God of heaven has created two or three hundred thousand million spirits, and given them tabernacles [physical bodies], merely to come and live upon the earth and then to pass away into oblivion or to be annihilated? It seems to me that no reflecting man can entertain such belief. It is contrary to common sense and to serious reflection (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 80).
President Brigham Young taught that with the doctrines of the gospel, death is not as frightening:
True, to most people it is a wretched thought that our spirits must, for a longer or shorter period, be separated from our bodies, and thousands and millions have been subject to this affliction throughout their lives. If they understood the design of this probation and the true principles of eternal life, it is but a small matter for the body to suffer and die (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 274).
Finally, President Kimball puts death in perspective:
If we say that early death is a calamity, disaster or a tragedy, would it not be saying that mortality is preferable to earlier entrance into the spirit world and to eventual salvation and exaltation? If mortality be the perfect state, then death would be a frustration but the Gospel teaches us there is no tragedy in death, but only in sin (“Tragedy or Destiny”, BYU Speeches of the Year, 6 Dec. 1955).
2 - - Where Is the Postmortal Spirit World?
While speaking at the funeral of Elder Thomas Williams, President Brigham Young spoke of the spirit world as follows: “How frequently the question arises in the minds of the people—’I wish I knew where I was going!’ Can you find out? Well, you will go into the spirit world, where Brother Thomas now is. He has now entered upon a higher state of being, that is, his spirit has, than when in this body. ‘Why cannot I see him? Why cannot I converse with his spirit? I wish I could see my husband or my father and converse with him!’ It is not reasonable that you should, it is not right that you should; perhaps you would miss the very object of your pursuit if you had this privilege, and there would be the same trial of faith to exercise you, not so severe a path of affliction for you to walk in, not so great a battle to fight, nor so great a victory to win, and you would miss the very object you are in pursuit of. It is right just as it is, that this veil should be closed down; that we do not see God, that we do not see angels, that we do not converse with them except through strict obedience to his requirements, and faith in Jesus Christ (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 279).
In this section Brigham Young said that the spirit world is “on the earth, around us” (p. 242). Following is more from him on this subject:
Can you see spirits in this room? No. Suppose the Lord should touch your eyes that you might see, could you then see the spirits? Yes, as plainly as you now see bodies, as did the servant of [Elisha] [see 2 Kings 6:16–17]. If the Lord would permit it, and it was his will that it should be done, you could see the spirits that have departed from this world, as plainly as you now see bodies with your natural eyes (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 279).
In a similar vein, Brigham Young stated:
When you lay down this tabernacle, where are you going? Into the spiritual world…Where is the spirit world? It is right here. Do the good and evil spirits go together? Yes they do…. Do they go beyond the boundaries of the organized earth? No, they do not…. Can you see it with your natural eyes? No. Can you see spirits in this room? No. Suppose the Lord should touch your eyes that you might see, could you then see the spirits? Yes, as plainly as you now see bodies (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1408).
While all spirits are “together” there is a definite division, as discussed in section 4 of this lesson.
3 - - What Is the Nature of Our Spirits?
We read in this section:
Spirits carry with them from earth their attitudes of devotion or antagonism toward things of righteousness… They have the same appetites and desires that they had when they lived on earth (p. 242). Brigham Young explained:
Suppose, then, that a man is evil in his heart—wholly given up to wickedness, and in that condition dies, his spirit will enter into the spirit world intent upon evil. On the other hand, if we are striving with all the powers and faculties God has given us to improve upon our talents, to prepare ourselves to dwell in eternal life, and the grave receives our bodies while we are thus engaged, with what disposition will our spirits enter their next state? They will be still striving to do the things of God, only in a much greater degree—learning, increasing, growing in grace and in the knowledge of the truth (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 282).
Brigham Young also stated:
The wicked spirits that leave here and go into the spirit world, are they wicked there? Yes (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 279).
In this section we read, “All spirits are in adult form” (p. 242). President Joseph F. Smith elaborated:
“The spirits of our children are immortal before they come to us, and their spirits, after bodily death, are like they were before they came. They are as they would have appeared if they had lived in the flesh, to grow to maturity, or to develop their physical bodies to the full stature of their spirits. If you see one of your children that has passed away it may appear to you in the form in which you would recognize it, the form of childhood; but if it came to you as a messenger bearing some important truth, it would perhaps come as the spirit of Bishop Edward Hunter’s son (who died when a little child) came to him, in the stature of full-grown manhood, and revealed himself to his father, and said: ‘I am your son.’
“Bishop Hunter did not understand it. He went to my father and said: ‘Hyrum, what does that mean? I buried my son when he was only a little boy, but he has come to me as a full-grown man—a noble, glorious, young man, and declared himself my son. What does it mean?’
“Father (Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch) told him that the Spirit of Jesus Christ was full-grown before he was born into the world; and so our children were full-grown and possessed their full stature in the Spirit, before they entered mortality, the same stature that they will possess after they have passed away from mortality, and as they will also appear after the resurrection, when they shall have completed their mission” (Ensign, Jan. 1977, 47).
Some have speculated that adult spirits in small bodies may be the reason for so much wiggling.
We desired so much to be like Father that we choose in part to come to earth in order to obtain a body. Something not brought out in this section, but may be important to add is that since we have desired a body for so long, when we die our spirits will dearly miss having a body. Elder Melvin J. Ballard explained:
. . . when we go out of this life, leave this body, we will desire to do many things that we cannot do at all without the body. We will be seriously handicapped, and we will long for the body, we will pray for that early reunion with our bodies. We will know then what advantage it is to have a body.
Then, every man and woman who is putting off until the next life the task of correcting and overcoming the weakness of the flesh are sentencing themselves to years of bondage, for no man or woman will come forth in the resurrection until they have completed their work, until they have overcome, until they have done as much as they can do. . . .
The point I have in mind is that we are sentencing ourselves to long periods of bondage, separating our spirits from our bodies, or we are shortening that period, according to the way in which we overcome and master ourselves (The New Testament Institute Manual, 386).
This desire our spirit will have for our body while in the spirit world is verified in scripture:
For the dead had looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage (D&C 138:50).
This is also the reason we want to make and keep temple covenants is that we will then be able to be first in line to get our bodies back—in the first resurrection. In a repeat from Chapter 38 of the blog, President Faust stated this as one of the blessings promised in the temple sealing:
We can see in vision the countless couples… unspeakable joy on their countenances as they are sealed together and as there is sealed upon them through their faithfulness…the blessing of the holy Resurrection, with power to come forth in the morning of the First Resurrection clothed with glory, immortality, and eternal lives (Ensign, Aug 2001, 2).
4 - - What Are the Conditions in the Postmortal Spirit World?
While death is a sad experience for those left behind, it must be different for those already in the spirit world who meet a deceased person. President Woodruff tenderly tutored us concerning this:
When mourning the loss of our departed friends, I cannot help but think that in every death there is a birth; the spirit leaves the body dead to us, and passes to the other side of the veil alive to that great and noble company…
There is rejoicing when the spirit of a Saint of the Living God enters into the spirit world and meets with the Saints who have gone before (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 80-1).
Brigham Young elaborated on this reunion:
We have more friends behind the veil than on this side, and they will hail us more joyfully than you were ever welcomed by your parents and friends in this world; and you will rejoice more when you meet them than you ever rejoiced to see a friend in this life… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 282).
President Young also gave us some interesting insights about “conditions” in the spirit world:
When you are in the spirit world, everything there will appear as natural as things now do. Spirits will be familiar with spirits in the spirit world—will converse, behold, and exercise every variety of communication with one another as familiarly and naturally as while here in tabernacles. …You will there see that those spirits we are speaking of are active; they sleep not. And you will learn that they are striving with all their might—laboring and toiling diligently as any individual would to accomplish an act in this world.
They walk, converse, and have their meetings…
The brightness and glory of the next apartment is inexpressible. It is not encumbered so that when we advance in years we have to be stubbing along and be careful lest we fall down. We see our youth, even, frequently stubbing their toes and falling down. But yonder, how different! They move with ease and like lightning. If we want to visit Jerusalem, or this, that, or the other place—and I presume we will be permitted if we desire—there we are, looking at its streets. If we want to behold Jerusalem as it was in the days of the Savior; or if we want to see the Garden of Eden as it was when created, there we are, and we see it as it existed…when there we may behold the earth as at the dawn of creation, or we may visit any city we please that exists upon its surface. If we wish to understand how they are living here on these western islands, or in China, we are there; in fact, we are like the light of the morning.
When we pass into the spirit world we shall possess a measure of his power. Here, we are continually troubled with ills and ailments of various kinds. In the spirit world we are free from all this and enjoy life, glory, and intelligence… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 281-2).
A good friend of ours, Dale Mouritsen, wrote a wonderful article for the Ensign in which he related:
President George Albert Smith, after an experience with the spirit world, described the part of that world he saw:
“One day … I lost consciousness of my surroundings and thought I had passed to the Other Side. I found my self standing with my back to a large and beautiful lake, facing a great forest of trees. There was no one in sight, and there was no boat upon the lake or any other visible means to indicate how I might have arrived there. I realized, or seemed to realize, that I had finished my work in mortality and had gone home. I began to look around, to see if I could not find someone. There was no evidence of anyone’s living there, just those great, beautiful trees in front of me and the wonderful lake behind me.
“I began to explore, and soon I found a trail through the woods which seemed to have been used very little, and which was almost obscured by grass.” President Smith followed the trail and after some time met his grandfather, with whom he conversed (Ensign, Jan. 1977, 47).
Following is an account of President Jedediah M. Grant, of the First Presidency, of which there will be a fuller introduction later in the section on “Paradise”:
The buildings were exceptionally attractive, far exceeding in beauty his opinion of Solomon’s temple. Gardens were more beautiful than any he had seen on earth, with “flowers of numerous kinds.” After experiencing “the beauty and glory of the spirit world” among the righteous spirits, he regretted having to return to his body in mortality (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1409).
In this section we learn about “two divisions or states in the spirit world” (p. 242). Joseph Fielding Smith stated:
The spirits of all men, as soon as they depart from this mortal body, whether they are good or evil, we are told in the Book of Mormon, are taken home to that God who gave them life, where there is a separation, a partial judgment, and the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness which is called , a state of rest, a state of peace, where they expand in wisdom, where they have respite from all their troubles, and where care and sorrow do not annoy. The wicked, on the contrary, have no part nor portion in the Spirit of the Lord, and they are cast into outer darkness, being led captive, because of their own iniquity, by the evil one.
And in this space between death and the resurrection of the body, the two classes of souls remain, in happiness or in misery, until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth and be reunited both spirit and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works. This is the final judgment (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Manual, 83).
There will be more on this later in section 4 B (Spirit Prison).
3 A - - Paradise
This section states, “…the righteous spirits rest from earthly care and sorrow” (p. 243). Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught:
—the abode of righteous spirits, as they await the day of their resurrection; —a place of peace and rest where the sorrows and trials of his life have been shuffled off, and where the saints continue to prepare for a celestial heaven; —not the Lord’s eternal kingdom, but a way station along the course leading to eternal life, a place where the final preparation is made for that fulness of joy which comes only when body and spirit are inseparably connected in immortal glory! (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Manual, 84).
In this section we read that spirits “are occupied in doing the work of the Lord” (p. 243). Joseph Smith was talking about paradise and this “work” when he declared:
The spirits of the just are exalted to a greater and more glorious work; hence they are blessed in their departure to the world of spirits. Enveloped in flaming fire, they are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and motions, and are often pained therewith (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1409).
We, as children of God, are also “the work of the Lord.” Concerning how at times those who have died can be involved with us and our lives, Robert L. Millet wrote about President Joseph F. Smith:
At the April 1916 general conference President [Joseph F.] Smith…spoke of the nearness of the world of spirits, and of their interest and concern for us and our labors exercised by those who have passed beyond the veil. He stressed that those who labored so diligently in their mortal estate to establish the cause of Zion would not be denied the privilege of “looking down upon the results of their own labors” from their post-mortal estate… In fact, the President insisted, “they are as deeply interested in our welfare today, if not with greater capacity, with far more interest, behind the veil, than they were in the flesh” (Studies in Scripture: The Doctrine and Covenants, 556).
In the Ensign article by Dale Mouritsen referred to earlier, we read:
One sister who visited the spirit world and was recalled to mortality by President Lorenzo Snow had personal experience… “Some inquired about their friends and relatives on the earth. Among the number was my cousin. He asked me how the folks were getting along and said it grieved him to hear that some of the boys were using tobacco, liquor and many things that were injurious to them” (Ensign, Jan. 1977, 47).
Perhaps this is what President Ezra Taft Benson meant when he said:
The spirit world is not far away. Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin. Our loved ones who have passed on are not far from us (Ensign, June 1971, 33).
President Boyd Packer also taught:
It is a veil, not a wall, that separates us from the spirit world. ... Veils can become thin, even parted. We are not left to do this work alone. They who have preceded us...and our forebears there, on occasion, are very close to us. ... Those who go beyond the veil yet live and minister here (Ensign, May 1987, 22).
President Kimball also related:
...my grandfather...searched all his life to get together his genealogical records; and when he died... he had been unsuccessful in establishing his line back more than the second generation beyond him. I am sure that most of my family members feel the same as I do – that there was a thin veil between him and the earth, after he had gone to the other side, and that which he was unable to do as a mortal he perhaps was able to do after he had gone into eternity. After he passed away, the spirit of research took hold of...two distant relatives. ... The family feels definitely that the spirit of Elijah was at work on the other side and that our grandfather had been able to inspire men on this side to search out these records; and as a result, two large volumes are in our possession with about seventeen thousand names (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 543).
President Benson stated that directions from leaders in the spirit world influence the Church today:
Sometimes actions here, by the priesthood of God, the First Presidency and the Twelve, as we meet in the temple, have been planned and influenced by leaders of the priesthood on the other side. I am sure of that. We have evidence of it. (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.35)
Since paradise is a place “work of the Lord” it is also a place of learning and progression. President Woodruff made a wonderful statement about this learning:
If the veil could be taken from our eyes and we could see into the spirit world, we would see that Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and John Taylor had gathered together every spirit that ever dwelt in the flesh in this Church since its organization. We would also see the faithful apostles and elders of the Nephites who dwelt in the flesh in the days of Jesus Christ. In that assembly we would also see Isaiah and every prophet and apostle that ever prophesied of the great work of God. In the midst of those spirits we would see the Son of God, the Savior, who presides and guides and controls the preparing for the kingdom of God on the earth and in heaven…The Son of God stands in the midst of that body of celestial spirits, and teaches them their duties concerning the day in which we live and instructs them what they must do to prepare and qualify themselves to go with him to the earth when he comes to judge every man according to the deeds done in the body. (We Believe, 169)
We know that the “work of the Lord” has included church organization in premortality as well as mortality. This will obviously continue in postmortality. President Brigham Young discussed in part how this will continue:
When the faithful Elders, holding this Priesthood, go into the spirit world they carry with them the same power and Priesthood that they had while in the mortal tabernacle (Ensign, Jan. 1977, 47).
President Benson also taught:
On the other side of the veil, the righteous are taught their duties preparatory to the time when they will return with the Son of Man to earth when He comes again, this time to judge every man according to his works. These righteous spirits are close by us. They are organized according to priesthood order in family organizations as we are here; only there they exist in a more perfect order. This was revealed to the Prophet Joseph. (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 35-36)
Perhaps one of the reasons it is named “paradise” is that Satan is not there. Brigham Young explained:
If we are faithful to our religion, when we go into the spirit world, the fallen spirits—Lucifer and the third part of the heavenly hosts that came with him, and the spirits of wicked men who have dwelt upon this earth, the whole of them combined will have no influence over our spirits. Is not that an advantage? Yes. All the rest of the children of men are more or less subject to them, and they are subject to them as they were while here in the flesh.
Here [the faithful] shall be perplexed and hunted by him; but when we go into the spirit world there we are masters over the power of satan, and he cannot afflict us any more… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 282).
This may also be why Brigham Young instructed concerning paradise a wonderful idea:
…we have the Father to speak to us, Jesus to speak to us, and angels to speak to us, and we shall enjoy the society of the just and the pure who are in the spirit world until the resurrection (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 282).
In the last paragraph of this section, the description of the spirit world from President Jedediah M. Grant is discussed. An expanded account which follows discusses some of the above:
A statement regarding conditions in the spirit world among the righteous was given in 1856 by Jedediah M. Grant, a member of the First Presidency. He had related to President Heber C. Kimball a vision he had had of the spirit world, which President Kimball subsequently discussed at Grant’s funeral a few days later on December 4, 1856. Although an unofficial statement, it represents concepts generally held by Latter-day Saints. A summary follows: Jedediah Grant saw the righteous gathered in the spirit world; there were no wicked spirits among them. There were order, government, and organization. Among the righteous there was no disorder, darkness, or confusion. They were organized into families, and there was “perfect harmony.” He saw his wife, with whom he conversed, and many other persons whom he knew. There was “a deficiency in some” families, because some individuals “had not honored their calling” on earth and therefore were not “permitted to…dwell together” (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1409).
President George Albert Smith tells a story relevant here:
I am here reminded of a story of two brothers who lived in a northern Utah town: The older brother, Henry, was a banker and merchant, and had ample means. The other brother, George, was a farmer, and did not have very much beyond his needs, but he had a desire to do temple work for their dead. He searched out their genealogy and went to the temple and worked for those who had passed on.
One day George said to Henry, “I think you should go down to the temple and help.”
But Henry said, “I haven’t time to do anything like that. It takes me all my time to take care of my business.” …
About a year after that, Henry called at George’s home and said, “George, I have had a dream, and it worries me. I wonder if you can tell me what it means?”
George asked, “What did you dream, Henry?”
Henry said, “I dreamed that you and I had passed from this life and were on the other side of the veil. As we went along, we came to a beautiful city. People were gathered together in groups in many places, and every place we came they shook your hand and put their arms around you and blessed you and said how thankful they were to see you, but,” he said, “they didn’t pay a bit of attention to me; they were hardly friendly. What does that mean?”
George asked, “You thought we were on the other side of the veil?”
“Yes.”
“Well, this is what I have been talking to you about. I have been trying to get you to do the work for those people who are over there. I have been doing work for many of them, but the work for many more is yet to be done. … You had better get busy, because you have had a taste of what you may expect when you get over there if you do not do your part in performing this work for them.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: George Albert Smith, 86)
It seems we must keep the covenants we have made in the temple in order to be with our families in paradise.
3 B - - Spirit Prison
It may be important to help understand how righteous and wicked spirits are all in the same spirit world and yet are divided into two states, as taught in this section. In the Encyclopedia of Mormonism we read:
In Latter-day Saint doctrine the “spirit prison” is both a condition and a place within the postearthly spirit world (p. 1406).
As previously mentioned, in section 4 we learned about the “two divisions or states in the spirit world” (p. 242). It may be important to understand more about the wall that separates paradise from spirit prison. The Savoir talked of this as a gulf in the story of Lazarus and the rich man:
…between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence (Luke 16:26).
The Atonement changed all of that:
Bruce R. McConkie explained, “Until the death of Christ these two spirit abodes were separated by a great gulf, with the intermingling of their respective inhabitants strictly forbidden. (Luke 16:19-31.) After our Lord bridged the gulf between the two (1 Pet. 3:18-21; Moses 7:37-39), the affairs of his kingdom in the spirit world were so arranged that righteous spirits began teaching the gospel to wicked ones.”
An important LDS doctrine states that Jesus Christ inaugurated the preaching of the gospel and organized a mission in the spirit world during his ministry there between his death and resurrection. This is the substance of a revelation recorded as Doctrine and Covenants section 138. Since Jesus’ visit there, the gospel has been taught vigorously in the spirit world (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1409).
The Atonement of Jesus Christ bridged that gulf. D&C 138 is all about how this wall can be breached, allowing movement from one place to the other. Only those who come to Christ through the principles and ordinances in Articles of Faith # 4 can leave spirit prison and enter into paradise. This is what is referred to in the first paragraph of this section:
If they [those in spirit prison] accept the gospel and the ordinances performed for them in the temples, they may leave the spirit prison and dwell in paradise (p. 244).
As we read in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism:
Repentance of imprisoned spirits opens the doors of the prison, enabling them to loose themselves from the spiritual darkness of unbelief, ignorance, and sin. As they accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and cast off their sins, the repentant are able to break the chains of hell and dwell with the righteous in paradise (p. 1406).
Indeed, that this “wall” between paradise and spirit prison literally separates “righteous” from “wicked” can be found in a definition of “wicked” given by the Savior:
…the wicked, for they will not repent… (D&C 29:17).
First, however, those in spirit prison must be taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the fifth paragraph of this section we read, “The spirits in paradise can teach the spirits in prison” (p. 243). President Joseph F. Smith discussed this:
Not a soul that has ever lived and died from off the face of this earth shall escape a chance to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. If they receive it and obey it, the ordinances of the gospel will be performed for and in their behalf, by their kindred, or their posterity in some generation of time after them (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 307).
President Brigham Young also explained about these “spirits in prison”:
Compare those inhabitants on the earth who have heard the Gospel in our day, with the millions who have never heard it, or had the keys of salvation presented to them, and you will conclude at once as I do, that there is an almighty work to perform in the spirit world” (Ensign, Jan. 1977, 47).
Brigham Young taught about those who will help organize this teaching in spirit prison:
…the spirits of good men like Joseph and the Elders, who have left this Church on earth for a season to operate in another sphere, are rallying all their powers and going from place to place preaching the Gospel, and Joseph is directing them, saying, go ahead, my brethren, and if they hedge up your way, walk up and command them to disperse. You have the Priesthood and can disperse them, but if any of them wish to hear the Gospel, preach to them (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 281).
Brigham Young further explained more about who will teach as well as the importance of this teaching:
Father Smith [Joseph Smith Sr.] and Carlos [Smith] and Brother [Edward] Partridge, yes, and every other good Saint, are just as busy in the spirit world as you and I are here. They can see us, but we cannot see them unless our eyes were opened. What are they doing there? They are preaching, preaching all the time, and preparing the way for us to hasten our work in building temples here and elsewhere.
Every faithful man’s labor will continue as long as the labor of Jesus, until all things are redeemed that can be redeemed, and presented to the Father. There is a great work before us (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 280).
Similarly, President Joseph F. Smith declared:
This gospel revealed to the Prophet Joseph is already being preached to the spirits in prison, to those who have passed away from this stage of action into the spirit world without the knowledge of the gospel. Joseph Smith is preaching that gospel to them. So is Hyrum Smith. So is Brigham Young, and so are all the faithful apostles that lived in this dispensation under the administration of the Prophet Joseph [see D&C 138:36–37, 51–54]. They are there, having carried with them from here the holy Priesthood that they received under authority, and which was conferred upon them in the flesh; they are preaching the gospel to the spirits in prison; for Christ, when his body lay in the tomb, went to proclaim liberty to the captives and opened the prison doors to them that were bound [see D&C 138:27–30]. Not only are these engaged in that work but hundreds and thousands of others; the elders that have died in the mission field have not finished their missions, but they are continuing them in the spirit world [see D&C 138:57]. Possibly the Lord saw it necessary or proper to call them hence as he did.
I have always believed, and still do believe with all my soul, that such men as Peter and James and the twelve disciples chosen by the Savior in his time, have been engaged all the centuries that have passed since their martyrdom for the testimony of Jesus Christ, in proclaiming liberty to the captives in the spirit world and in opening their prison doors [see D&C 138:38–50]. I do not believe that they could be employed in any greater work. Their special calling and anointing of the Lord himself was to save the world, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison doors to those who were bound in chains of darkness, superstition, and ignorance (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 411).
President Woodruff added:
Joseph Smith, Heber Kimball, George A. Smith and thousands of the elders of Israel may preach to those spirits, and they may receive the testimonies which the elders bear; but the elders will not baptize believers there; there is no baptism in the spirit world any more than there is any marrying and giving in marriage (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 188).
The above statement seems to refer to Matthew 22:23-32, where Jesus taught:
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven (Matthew 22:30).
Concerning this doctrine, President Wilford Woodruff explained:
As I said before, the God of heaven requires this at your hands. They will not baptize anybody in the spirit world; there is no baptism there; there is no marrying or giving in marriage there; all these ordinances have to be performed on the earth (Journal of Discourses, 18:114).
As a secondary source, utilizing the “LDS Scripture Citation Index” (found online at “scriptures.byu.edu”) under Matthew 22:30, another explanation of this was found from Elder Theodore M. Burton, Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve, and brother to my mission president:
Thus either in this life or in the spirit world each man and woman who has lived upon this earth is given an opportunity to covenant with God through baptism to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Father. However, just as Jesus taught that there is no marrying in heaven ( Matt. 22:30), so there can be no baptism in heaven. Both baptism and marriage are earthly ordinances which must be performed here (Conference Report, April 1964, 71).
This, of course, is where the last lesson on “Temple and Family History” comes into play.
President Woodruff explained that this “missionary work” to the spirits in prison is merely a continuation of what we are commanded to do in this life (see also Chapter 33):
…the spirit leaves the body dead to us, and passes to the other side of the veil alive to that great and noble company that are also working for the accomplishment of the purposes of God, in the redemption and salvation of a fallen world.
Some labor this side of the veil, others on the other side of the veil. If we tarry here we expect to labor in the cause of salvation, and if we go hence we expect to continue our work until the coming of the Son of Man (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 80-1).
Similarly, Brigham Young stated:
The spirits that dwell in these tabernacles on this earth, when they leave them go directly into this world of spirits. What! A congregated mass of inhabitants there in spirit, mingling with each other, as they do here? Yes, brethren, they are there together, and if they associate together, and collect together, in clans and in societies as they do here, it is their privilege. No doubt they yet, more or less, see, hear, converse and have to do with each other, both good and bad. If the Elders of Israel in these latter times go and preach to the spirits in prison, they associate with them, precisely as our Elders associate with the wicked in the flesh, when they go to preach to them (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 280-1).
This “missionary work” in the spirit world apparently sometimes means that some are called from this mortality to help. In a talk, President Wilford Woodruff related the experience of Abraham H. Cannon, an apostle, who inquired of the Lord about his son’s death. Elder Cannon said:
I asked the Lord why he was taken from me. The answer to me was, “You are doing a great deal for the redemption of your dead; but the law of redemption requires some of your own seed in the spirit world to attend to work connected with this.” That was a new principle to me; but it satisfied me why he was taken away. I name this, because there are a great many instances like it among the Latter-day Saints (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 292).
Elder Neal A. Maxwell also explained:
We do not control what I call “the great transfer board in the sky.” The inconveniences that are sometimes associated with release from our labors here are necessary in order to accelerate the work there. Heavenly Father can’t do His work there, with 10 times more people than we have on this planet, without on occasion taking some of the very best sisters and brothers from among us (Ensign, July 2002, 56).
Joseph F. Smith gave an interesting insight about women and this wonderful missionary work in the spirit world:
Now, among all…spirits that have lived on the earth and have passed away…at least one half are women. Who is going to preach the gospel to the women? Who is going to carry the testimony of Jesus Christ to the hearts of the women who have passed away without a knowledge of the gospel? Well, to my mind, it is a simple thing. These good sisters that have been set apart, ordained to the work, called to it, authorized by the authority of the Holy Priesthood to minister, for their sex, in the House of God for the living and the dead, will be fully authorized and empowered to preach the gospel and minister to the women while the elders and prophets are preaching it to the men. The things we experience here are typical of the things of God and the life beyond us. (Latter-day Prophets Speak, p. 35)
This is a terrific parallel to the work done in temples today by sister ordinance workers.
During the last adult institute class that we teach (Chapter 41), we were discussing the idea that to prepare for the Second Coming as the Savior commanded in Matthew 25:36, we should visit those in “prison” by doing temple work for the dead. A member of the class, John Johnson, used his “super powers” (well, super in our eyes, since we don’t have one of those super-advanced phones) to dial up the following quote from the Dedicatory Prayer for the Vernal Utah temple by President Hinckley:
Prison doors will be opened for those beyond the veil of death. Within these sacred walls the dividing line between the living and the dead will soften as Thy glorious work is carried forward.
If you want to read the whole prayer, just block and paste the following link into the address bar:
http://www.ldschurchnews.com/temples/122/Vernal-Utah.html
In the second paragraph of this section is discussed the idea that spirit prison is also referred to as “hell.” Joseph Smith declared:
God has decreed that all who will not obey His voice shall not escape the damnation of hell. What is the damnation of hell? To go with that society who have not obeyed His commands. … I know that all men will be damned if they do not come in the way which He hath opened, and this is the way marked out by the word of the Lord.
The great misery of departed spirits in the world of spirits, where they go after death, is to know that they come short of the glory that others enjoy and that they might have enjoyed themselves, and they are their own accusers (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 224).
Elder Bruce R. McConkie also noted:
That part of the spirit world inhabited by wicked spirits who are awaiting the eventual day of their resurrection is called hell. Between their death and resurrection, these souls of the wicked are cast out into outer darkness, into the gloomy depression of sheol, into the hades of waiting wicked spirits, into hell. There they suffer the torments of the damned; there they welter in the vengeance of eternal fire; there is found weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth; there the fiery indignation of the wrath of God is poured out upon the wicked ( Alma 40:11–14 ; D. & C. 76:103–106)” (Doctrines of the Gospel Institute Manual, 84).
It may be interesting to discuss the concept of “death bed repentance” here. Some have justified this false concept by the statement made by Jesus to the thief on the cross next to Him (only found in Luke):
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).
Joseph Smith discussed this:
I will say something about the spirits in prison. There has been much said by modern divines about the words of Jesus (when on the cross) to the thief, saying, “this day shalt thou be with me in . …There is nothing in the original word in Greek, from which this was taken that signifies ; but it was—This day thou shalt be with me in the world of spirits.
…what is hell? It is another modern term, and is taken from hades. …Hades, the Greek, or Sheol, the Hebrew, these two significations mean a world of spirits. Hades, Sheol, , spirits in prison, are all one: it is a world of spirits.
The righteous and the wicked all go to the same world of spirits until the resurrection (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 309-10).
Here is a final note on teaching those in spirit prison. We repeat from Chapter 40 of this blog the opinion given by President Lorenzo Snow:
… when the Gospel is preached to the spirits in prison, the success attending that preaching will be far greater than that attending the preaching of our Elders in this life. I believe there will be very few indeed of those spirits who will not gladly receive the Gospel when it is carried to them. The circumstances there will be a thousand times more favorable (Ensign, Jan. 1977, 47).
Monday, March 21, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Chapter 40: Temple Work & Family History
Lots of material for all of these chapters can be found in the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:... (the old Priesthood/Relief Society manuals). Resources are in Joseph Smith, chapters 36 and 41; for Brigham Young, chapters 41 and 42; in John Taylor, chapter 20; For Wilford Woodruff, chapter 17 and 18; for Joseph F. Smith, chapters 34 and 46; for Heber J. Grant, chapter 6; for David O. McKay, chapters 13 and 16; for Harold B. Lee 11. These can all be found by going to the new “lds.org” then click on “Go to Classic LDS.org” (lower left corner), then click on “Gospel Library” then “Lessons” then “Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society.” The manuals are all found at the bottom of this page.
A great resource for this lesson is the October 2010 Ensign, a special edition on Temples.
1 - - Heavenly Father Wants His Children to Return to Him
Concerning the title of this section, the chapter in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant in appropriately entitled, “Uniting Families through Temple and Family History Work” and has the heading, “Temple ordinances extend the opportunity of exaltation to God’s children on both sides of the veil” (p. 51).
President John Taylor added:
We are here to cooperate with God in the salvation of the living [and] in the redemption of the dead (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 183).
This wonderful section outlines the plan for those born on the earth without the gospel during their lives to have their work done for them. Joseph Smith taught:
All those who have not had an opportunity of hearing the Gospel, and being administered unto by an inspired man in the flesh, must have it hereafter, before they can be finally judged.
It is no more incredible that God should save the dead, than that he should raise the dead.
There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, which hath no forgiveness, neither in this world, nor in the world to come. There is a way to release the spirits of the dead; that is by the power and authority of the Priesthood—by binding and loosing on earth. This doctrine appears glorious, inasmuch as it exhibits the greatness of divine compassion and benevolence in the extent of the plan of human salvation (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 471).
Brigham Young elaborated:
Hundreds of millions of human beings have been born, lived out their short earthly span, and passed away, ignorant alike of themselves and of the plan of salvation provided for them. It gives great consolation, however, to know that this glorious plan devised by Heaven follows them into the next existence, offering for their acceptance eternal life and exaltation to thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers in the presence of their Father and God, through Jesus Christ, his Son.
There is an opportunity for men who are in the spirit to receive the Gospel. Jesus…Hence you perceive that there, spirits have the privilege of embracing the truth.
You may ask if they are baptized there? No. Can they have hands laid upon them for the gift of the Holy Ghost? No. None of the outward ordinances that pertain to the flesh are administered there, but the light, glory, and power of the Holy Ghost are enjoyed just as freely as upon this earth; and there are laws which govern and control the spirit world, and to which they are subject.
Can we do anything for them? Yes…
This doctrine of baptism for the dead is a great doctrine, one of the most glorious doctrines that was revealed to the human family; and there are light, power, glory, honor and immortality in it.
Many a man I know of, who has fallen asleep [died], we have been baptized for, since the Church was organized—good, honest, honorable men, charitable to all, living good, virtuous lives. We will not let them go down to hell; God will not. The plan of salvation is ample to bring them all up and place them where they may enjoy all they could anticipate.
They have passed the ordeals [of mortality], and are beyond the possibility of personally officiating for the remission of their sins and for their exaltation, consequently they are under the necessity of trusting in their friends, their children and their children’s children to officiate for them, that they may be brought up into the celestial kingdom of God.
What do you suppose the fathers would say if they could speak from the dead? Would they not say, “We have lain here thousands of years, here in this prison house, waiting for this dispensation to come?” … What would they whisper in our ears? Why, if they had the power the very thunders of heaven would be in our ears, if we could realize the importance of the work we are engaged in. All the angels in heaven are looking at this little handful of people, and stimulating them to the salvation of the human family. So also are the devils in hell looking at this people, too, and trying to overthrow us, and the people are still shaking hands with the servants of the devil, instead of sanctifying themselves and calling upon the Lord and doing the work which he has commanded us and put into our hands to do (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 307-8).
President John Taylor also explained:
…so little of the gospel having been revealed in the different ages, and so much of the power of darkness and iniquity having prevailed among men, it was necessary that something should be done for the dead as well as the living. God is interested in the dead as well as the living (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 184).
President Woodruff clarified:
If the dead have not heard the Gospel, the Lord is not going to send them to hell because they have not received it. The Lord is the Father of all. He is merciful to all. … Millions of people have been born in the flesh, have lived and have gone to the grave, who never saw the face of a prophet in their lives; never saw a man that was called of God and had power to administer in one of the ordinances of the House of God. Will God condemn them because they did not receive the Gospel? Not at all.
God is no respecter of persons; he will not give privileges to one generation and withhold them from another; and the whole human family, from father Adam down to our day, have got to have the privilege, somewhere, of hearing the gospel of Christ; and the generations that have passed and gone without hearing that gospel in its fulness, power and glory, will never be held responsible by God for not obeying it. Neither will he bring them under condemnation for rejecting a law they never saw or understood; and if they live up to the light they had they are justified so far, and they have to be preached to in the spirit world (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 186-7).
President McKay related the following story concerning the unfairness without this doctrine:
A Chinese student, returning to his homeland, having graduated from one of our leading colleges, was in conversation with a Christian minister, also en route to China. When this minister urged the truth that only through acceptance of Christ’s teachings can any man be saved, the [student] said: “Then what about my ancestors who never had an opportunity to hear the name of Jesus?”
The minister answered: “They are lost.” Said the student: “I will have nothing to do with a religion so unjust as to condemn to eternal punishment men and women who are just as noble as we, perhaps nobler, but who never had an opportunity to hear the name of Jesus.”
One who understands the truth, as revealed to the Prophet Joseph regarding this doctrine, would have answered: “They will have an opportunity to hear the gospel, and to obey every principle and ordinance by proxy. Every man here or hereafter will be judged and rewarded according to his works.”
Since repentance and baptism by water as well as by the Spirit are essential to salvation, how shall the millions who have never heard the Gospel, who have never had an opportunity either to repent or to be baptized, enter into the kingdom of God? Surely a God of love can never be satisfied if the majority of His children are outside His kingdom, dwelling eternally either in ignorance, misery or hell. Such a thought is revolting to intelligent min (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 128).
We only get hints from the New Testament of the doctrine of baptism for the dead. President McKay elaborated on 1 Corinthians 15:29 (see Additional Scriptures, p. 239):
Paul referred to [the] practice of baptism [for the dead] in his argument in favor of the resurrection. He said, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?” (1 Cor. 15:29). … Not a few commentators have tried to explain away [this passage’s] true significance; but its context proves plainly that in the days of the apostles there existed the practice of baptism for the dead; that is, living persons were immersed in water for and in behalf of those who were dead—not who were “dead to sin” but who had “passed to the other side.”
You may have the opportunity of gathering the names of your ancestors, who, being baptized by proxy, may become members of the kingdom of God in the other world as we are members here (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 129, 130).
As the manual explained, “God has provided a way” (p. 233) for His children. President Woodruff discussed what this restored doctrine meant to him:
In October 1841, soon after returning to Nauvoo from a mission in England, Elder Wilford Woodruff attended a meeting in which the Prophet Joseph Smith taught the doctrine of the redemption of the dead. This was the first time Elder Woodruff heard that living members of the Church could receive saving ordinances in behalf of their ancestors who had passed away. He said: “It was like a shaft of light from the throne of God to our hearts. It opened a field wide as eternity to our minds. …I felt to say hallelujah when the revelation came forth revealing to us baptism for the dead. I felt that we had a right to rejoice in the blessings of Heaven.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 185).
2 - - Temples of the Lord
President John Taylor expounded on the power of a temple:
While speaking at the dedication of the Logan Utah Temple site, President Taylor shared with the congregation the feelings he experienced when he visited the St. George Utah Temple, the first temple completed in the Utah Territory:
“When I visited that holy Temple, accompanied by my brethren who were with me, we experienced a sacred thrill of joy and a solemn, reverential sensation. As we entered its sacred portals, we felt that we were standing on holy ground, and experienced, with one of old, ‘Surely this is the house of God, and the gate of heaven’” [See Genesis 28:17.] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 183).
The first temple in the latter days was in Kirtland. Joseph Smith declared its importance:
The Lord commanded us, in Kirtland, to build a house of God; … this is the word of the Lord to us, and we must, yea, the Lord helping us, we will obey: as on conditions of our obedience He has promised us great things… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 415).
The next temple to be completed was in Nauvoo. Joseph explained its genesis:
In March 1844, the Prophet met with the Twelve and the Nauvoo Temple committee to discuss how to allocate the Church’s meager resources. In this meeting, the Prophet said: “We need the temple more than anything else.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 416).
The Kirtland temple appears to be built mainly to receive keys. Joseph learned more about the importance of temples:
What was the object of gathering the … people of God in any age of the world? … The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 416).
Joseph also learned more about what would happen in the Nauvoo temple concerning work for the dead:
…there must be a particular spot for the salvation of our dead. I verily believe there will be a place, and hence men who want to save their dead can come and bring their families, do their work by being baptized and attending to the other ordinances for their dead (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 418).
The first “particular spot” for baptisms for the dead was the Mississippi River. Joseph explained:
I first mentioned the doctrine in public when preaching the funeral sermon of Brother Seymour Brunson; and have since then given general instructions in the Church on the subject. The Saints have the privilege of being baptized for those of their relatives who are dead. … Without enlarging on the subject, you will undoubtedly see its consistency and reasonableness; and it presents the Gospel of Christ in probably a more enlarged scale than some have imagined it.
At first, baptisms for the dead had been performed in the Mississippi River or in local streams. But in January 1841, when the Saints were making plans for the Nauvoo Temple, the Lord declared: “A baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my saints, may be baptized for those who are dead—for this ordinance belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to build a house unto me” (D&C 124:29–30).
Proxy baptisms in the river were discontinued on October 3, 1841, when the Prophet announced: “There shall be no more baptisms for the dead, until the ordinance can be attended to in the Lord’s House. … For thus saith the Lord!” The Saints quickly began building a temporary wooden font in the newly excavated basement of the Nauvoo Temple. The font, built of Wisconsin pine, rested on the backs of 12 wooden oxen. It was dedicated on November 8, for use “until the Temple shall be finished, when a more durable one will supply its place.” On November 21, 1841, six members of the Quorum of the Twelve performed baptisms for 40 people who had died, the first baptisms for the dead performed in the font. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 469-72).
While baptisms for the dead were being performed, Joseph also revealed the endowment that would be later given in the temple:
The group met in the large upper room of the Prophet’s Red Brick Store, which had been “arranged representing the interior of a temple as much as the circumstances would permit.” Franklin D. Richards, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, wrote: “When the Spirit prompted [Joseph Smith] that his life’s work was drawing to a close, and when he saw that his earthly days might be ended before the completion of the temple, he called a chosen few, and conferred upon them the ordinances of the holy endowments, so that the divine treasures of his mind might not perish from the world with his death” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 413).
Although initially the Nauvoo temple was utilized for baptisms for the dead, it soon became the place for the endowment to be given to all who wanted it:
As persecution increased and the need to leave Nauvoo pressed upon the Saints, President Brigham Young labored in the temple to bless the Saints with sacred ordinances before their departure. He recorded that on one day, “one hundred and forty-three persons received their endowments in the Temple. … Such has been the anxiety manifested by the saints to receive the ordinances [of the Temple], and such the anxiety on our part to administer to them, that I have given myself up entirely to the work of the Lord in the Temple night and day, not taking more than four hours sleep, upon an average, per day, and going home but once a week”. When he arrived in the west, President Young immediately selected a site for a new temple (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 299).
Brigham Young expressed the idea that temples draw Satan’s fire:
Some say, “I do not like to do it, for we never began to build a temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring.” I want to hear them ring again.
We completed a temple in Kirtland and in Nauvoo; and did not the bells of hell toll all the time we were building them? They did, every week and every day (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 300).
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf also stated:
President George Q. Cannon (1827–1901), First Counselor in the First Presidency, once said, "Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple, and every Temple completed . . . lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of God and Godliness (Ensign, Aug. 2010, 4).
President Woodruff was able to dedicate the Salt Lake temple:
While serving as President of the Church, Wilford Woodruff dedicated the Salt Lake Temple. On that occasion he pleaded with the Lord to help the Saints in their efforts to redeem the dead: “Wilt thou … permit holy messengers to visit us within these sacred walls and make known unto us with regard to the work we should perform in behalf of our dead. And, as thou hast inclined the hearts of many who have not yet entered into covenant with thee to search out their progenitors, and in so doing they have traced the ancestry of many of thy Saints, we pray thee that thou wilt increase this desire in their bosoms, that they may in this way aid in the accomplishment of thy work. Bless them, we pray thee, in their labors, that they may not fall into errors in preparing their genealogies; and furthermore, we ask thee to open before them new avenues of information, and place in their hands the records of the past, that their work may not only be correct but complete also” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 186).
President Woodruff also declared how important temples are to us:
There is no labor in which the Latter-day Saints feel more deeply interested than in the building and completing of temples.
No right feeling Latter-day Saint can think upon this subject without being thrilled with heavenly joy for what God has done for us in our generation, furnishing us, as He has done, with every facility to prepare us, our posterity and our ancestors for that eternal world which lies beyond the present life (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 174, 176).
3 - - Temple Ordinances Seal Families Together Forever
Joseph Smith explained that temple ordinances were premortal:
Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 417).
In the first paragraph of this section scriptures regarding the binding of families are quoted. Several prophets have explained that this binding is necessary for the whole human family who accepts Christ. Brigham Young said:
When we come to … sealing ordinances [for the dead], ordinances pertaining to the holy Priesthood, to connect the chain of the Priesthood from Father Adam until now, by sealing children to their parents, being sealed for our forefathers, etc, they cannot be done without a temple. When the ordinances are carried out in the temples that will be erected, [children] will be sealed to their [parents], and those who have slept, clear up to Father Adam. This will have to be done, because of the chain of the Priesthood being broken upon the earth.
The fathers cannot be made perfect without us; we cannot be made perfect without the fathers. There must be this chain in the holy Priesthood; it must be welded together from the latest generation that lives on the earth back to Father Adam (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 303, 310).
President John Taylor also stated:
…that our sealings and ordinances may be performed in a manner that will be acceptable before God and the holy angels; that whatsoever is bound on the earth according to the laws of the eternal priesthood shall be bound in the heavens; that there may be a connecting link between the living and the dead… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 186).
President Woodruff explained:
Unto the Latter-day Saints the sealing ordinances have been revealed, and they will have effect after death, and, as I have said, will re-unite men and women eternally in the family organization. Herein is why these principles are a part of our religion, and by them husbands and wives, parents and children will be re-united until the links in the chain are re-united back to Father Adam. We could not obtain a fullness of celestial glory without this sealing ordinance.
This is worth all you or I can sacrifice the few years we have to spend here in the flesh.
He [Joseph Smith] told us that there must be a welding link of all dispensations and of the work of God from one generation to another [see D&C 128:18]. This was upon his mind more than most any other subject that was given to him.
In my prayers the Lord revealed to me that it was my duty to say to all Israel to carry this principle out, and in fulfillment of that revelation I lay it before this people. … We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 176-7).
President Joseph F. Smith further declared:
There has got to be a welding together and a joining together of parents and children and children and parents until the whole chain of God’s family shall be welded together into one chain, and they shall all become the family of God and His Christ (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 411).
President Woodruff explained that this work is more important than us doing it:
We are blessed with power and authority, holding the Holy Priesthood by the commandment of God, to stand upon the earth and redeem both the living and the dead. If we did not do it, we should be damned and cut off from the earth, and the God of Israel would raise up a people who would do it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 189).
President Lee explained Matthew 16:18 in conjunction with salvation for the dead:
[The Lord] said that the gates of hell should not prevail against Christ’s church (Matthew 16:18). Now, the gates of hell would have prevailed against the Lord’s work if there hadn’t been given the ordinances pertaining to the salvation of those who are dead. During those periods when the priesthood to perform the saving ordinances of the gospel was not upon the earth, there were millions who lived, many of whom were faithful souls. If there hadn’t been a way by which the saving ordinances of the gospel could be performed for those who thus died without the knowledge of the gospel, the gates of hell would have prevailed against our Father’s plan of salvation (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 104).
On answer to meaning of the statement that “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it (D & C 135:3) is provided by President John Taylor:
All the holy priesthood—the ancient patriarchs, prophets and apostles and men of God who have lived in the different generations are looking upon us and expecting us to fulfill the great and important requirements of Jehovah in regard to the welfare and the redemption of the world: the salvation of the living and dead (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 189).
4 - - Our Ancestors Need Our Help
Brigham Young declared:
We want to sacrifice enough to do the will of God in preparing to bring up those who have not had the privilege of hearing the Gospel while in the flesh, for the simple reason that, in the spirit world, they cannot officiate in the ordinances of the house of God. …they are under the necessity of trusting in their friends, their children and their children’s children to officiate for them, that they may be brought up into the celestial kingdom of God (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 280).
President John Taylor added:
The myriads of dead that have slept in the silent tomb without a knowledge of the gospel have their eyes upon us, and they are expecting us to fulfil the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us to attend to, in which they are interested. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 189).
President Joseph F. Smith also declared:
The work for our dead, which the Prophet Joseph laid upon us with more than ordinary injunction, instructing us that we should look after those of our kinfolk and our ancestors who have died without the knowledge of the gospel, should not be neglected (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 246).
President Joseph F. Smith taught how vital is this work:
The dead are not perfect without us, neither are we without them [see D&C 128:18]. We have a mission to perform for and in their behalf; we have a certain work to do in order to liberate those who, because of their ignorance and the unfavorable circumstances in which they were placed while here, are unprepared for eternal life; we have to open the door for them, by performing ordinances which they cannot perform for themselves, and which are essential to their release from the “prison-house,” to come forth and live according to God in the spirit, and be judged according to men in the flesh [see D&C 138:33–34] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 410).
The above statement is impressive when related to the Savior’s instructions about how to prepare for His Second Coming in Matthew 25:36, “I was in prison, and ye came unto me..."
This idea is also verified in latter-day revelation:
Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free (D&C 128:22).
For some of the early prophets, temple work was very personal. Brigham Young recalled:
My father died before the endowments were given. None of his children have been sealed to him. If you recollect, you that were in Nauvoo, we were very much hurried in the little time we spent there after the temple was built. …we had no time to attend to this. My father’s children, consequently, have not been sealed to him. Perhaps all of his sons may go into eternity, into the spirit world, before this can be attended to… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 307).
President Woodruff shared:
Upon hearing this doctrine, Elder Woodruff thought of his mother. “The first thing that entered into my mind,” he said, “was that I had a mother in the spirit world. She died when I was 14 months old. I never knew [my] mother. I thought to myself, Have I power to go forth and seal my mother to my father? The word was, yes.” …“I have had the blessing and privilege of redeeming in the Temple of our God some four thousand of my father’s and my mother’s kindred. I speak of this because it is one of our blessings, the fullness and glory of which we will never know until the veil is opened.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 185-6).
The first question in this section is, “What responsibilities do we have toward our ancestors who have died without receiving priesthood ordinances?” (p. 235). One answer to this question is become what the prophets refer to as “Saviors on Mount Zion.” The title to the Chapter on temple work in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith is “Becoming Saviors on Mount Zion” (p. 469). The similar one in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff is “Temple Work Becoming Saviors on Mount Zion.” The heading in this chapter suggests a reason for the title. It reads, “We hold the keys of salvation for our ancestors who have died without the gospel” (p. 185). The heading to chapter 46 in the Joseph F. Smith manual reads, “Through temple service, we become saviors on Mount Zion for those who have died” (p. 407).
Joseph Smith stated:
But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 469).
Joseph continued:
All those who die in the faith go to the prison of spirits to preach to the dead in body, but they are alive in the spirit; and those spirits preach to the spirits [who are in prison] that they may live according to God in the spirit, and men do minister for them in the flesh; … and they are made happy by these means [see 1 Peter 4:6]. Therefore, those who are baptized for their dead are the saviors on Mount Zion, and they must receive their washings and their anointings for their dead the same as for themselves.
The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead. The apostle says, ‘They without us cannot be made perfect’ [see Hebrews 11:40] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 474-5).
Brigham Young declared:
The Lord has called me to this work, and I feel as though I will do it. We will send the Gospel to the nations; and when one nation turns us away we will go to another and gather up the honest in heart, and the rest we care not for until we come on Mount Zion as saviors, to attend to the ordinances of the house of God for them [see Obadiah 1:21] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 243).
John Taylor also stated:
We came here to be saviors. “What, saviors?” “Yes.” “Why, we thought there was only one Savior.” “Oh, yes, there are a great many. What do the scriptures say about it?” One of the old prophets, in speaking of these things, says that saviors shall come up upon Mount Zion [see Obadiah 1:21]. Saviors? Yes. Whom shall they save? In the first place themselves, then their families, then their neighbors, friends and associations, then their forefathers, then pour blessings on their posterity. Is that so? Yes (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 187).
President Woodruff added:
Do what you can in this respect, so that when you pass to the other side of the veil your fathers, mothers, relatives and friends will bless you for what you have done, and inasmuch as you have been instruments in the hands of God in procuring their redemption, you will be recognized as Saviors upon Mount Zion in fulfillment of prophecy [see Obadiah 1:21].
If we do not do what is required of us in this thing, we are under condemnation. If we do attend to this, then when we come to meet our friends in the celestial kingdom, they will say, “You have been our saviors, because you had power to do it. You have attended to these ordinances that God has required.
We have been called as Saviors upon Mount Zion… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 189, 192).
President Joseph F. Smith also taught:
We will not finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are called to this mission (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 410).
President Heber J. Grant also exclaimed:
The world asks, how can that be, that one can be baptized for another? But if we believe in the vicarious work of Christ, we must believe that one can do work for another, and that we also may become “saviors upon Mount Zion.” [See Obadiah 1:21.]
It is our duty … to be mindful of those children of our Father who have preceded us in death without a knowledge of the gospel, and to open the door of salvation to them in our temples, where we also have obligations to perform (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 56).
President Lee also taught:
Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, the only means by which man can accept the gospel, is an earthly ordinance, and so in the Plan of Salvation, our Father, with equal consideration for all his children, has provided a way for all members of his Church and Kingdom on the earth to be “saviors on Mt. Zion” by performing a vicarious work in behalf of those in the world of spirits, “the prison house,” that they could not perform for themselves.
This work for the dead performed in holy temples by members of the Church does in reality make of them who do this work “saviors” to those who have died without a knowledge of the gospel, for thereby they may claim the complete gift of the Savior promised to all mankind through his atonement.
If we were united in our temple work and in our genealogical research work, we would not be satisfied with the present temples only, but we would have sufficient work for temples yet to come, to the unlocking of the doors of opportunity to those beyond who are our own kin, and thus would ourselves become saviors on Mount Zion. Our failure to be united will be our failure to perpetuate our family homes in the eternity (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 103-4).
President Joseph F. Smith further encouraged:
Teach your children and let yourselves be taught the fact that it is necessary for you to become saviors upon Mount Zion for those who have died without the knowledge of the gospel, and that the temples of God in these mountains, and that are being reared in other lands, have been built and are designed expressly for the performance of these sacred ordinances which are necessary for those who have passed away without them (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 412).
This responsibility is huge for us, as explained by Joseph Smith:
In early 1841, Joseph Smith taught the following, as recorded by William P. McIntire: “Joseph said the Lord said that we should build our house to his name, that we might be baptized for the dead. But if we did it not, we should be rejected, and our dead with us, and this Church should not be accepted [see D&C 124:32]” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 416).
President Woodruff explained how others are anxious for us to do this work:
Our forefathers are looking to us to attend to this work. They are watching over us with great anxiety, and are desirous that we should finish these temples and attend to certain ordinances for them, so that in the morning of the resurrection they can come forth and enjoy the same blessings that we enjoy.
All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.” [D&C 137:7–9.] So it will be with your fathers (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 190-1).
President Woodruff gave a good conclusion to this section:
Never cease that work while you have the power to enter into the Temple. … I have had some thousands redeemed here. I have had baptisms, ordinations, washings and anointings, endowments and sealings for them, the same as if they were standing in the flesh themselves. I shall go and meet them on the other side of the veil. You will go and meet your relatives.
When I lay my body in the tomb and my spirit goes into the spirit world, I shall rejoice and have glory with them in the morning of the resurrection, inasmuch as they receive these principles. “Well,” perhaps you may say, “what if these people whom you have been baptized for do not receive the Gospel?” That will be their fault, not mine. This is a duty that rests upon all Israel, that they shall attend to this work, as far as they have the opportunity here on the earth.
How would I feel, after living as long as I have, with the privileges I have had of going into these temples, to go into the spirit world without having done this work? I meet my father’s house, I meet my mother’s house, I meet my progenitors, and they are shut up in prison; I held the keys of their salvation, and yet did nothing for them; what would be my feelings, or what would be their feelings toward me?
I do not want to go into the spirit world and meet with my progenitors who never heard the Gospel in their day and generation, and have them tell me, “You held in your hand the power to go forth and redeem me, and you have not done it.” I do not want to meet that. I do not want the Latter-day Saints to meet it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 191-2).
5 - - Family History—How We Begin Helping Our Ancestors
President Woodruff declared:
We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 174).
President Joseph F. Smith added:
The saints should take advantage of every opportunity to obtain the records as far as possible of their ancestors, that their redemption through the ordinances of the House of God might be obtained (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 414).
At the end of this section, the question is asked, “How has the Lord helped you or members of your family find information about your ancestors?” (p. 238). President Grant answered this question this way:
This genealogical work, to me, is simply marvelous. It is wonderful how those of us who take any interest in it have the way prepared. It seems miraculous the way my wife has been able in the past to gather genealogical information regarding her forefathers. It is little less than marvelous the way books and other information have come into our possession. When we got right up against a stone wall, in some way there has been a hole made through that wall so that we could crawl through and get on the other side, figuratively speaking, and find something that was of value (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 56).
Over the next four pages President Grant then documents the miraculous events of he wife’s family history.
President Lee added:
[In our genealogical research] the Lord is not going to open any doors until we get as far as we can on our own.
I have the simple faith that when you do everything you can, researching to the last of your opportunity, the Lord will help you to open doors to go further with your genealogies, and heaven will cooperate, I am sure (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 104).
The title of this section includes “begin.” Brigham Young taught that we will finish this work later:
…we will not wait for the Millennium and the fulness of the glory of God on the earth; we will commence as soon as we have a temple, and work for the salvation of our forefathers; we will get their genealogies as far as we can. By and by, we shall get them perfect. In these temples we will officiate in the ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for our friends (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 309).
We end this section on a most powerful note by President Woodruff:
There will be very few, if any, who will not accept the Gospel. … The fathers of this people will embrace the Gospel (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 191).
6 - - Additional Family History Opportunities
The first suggestion listed in this section is:
1. Attend the temple as often as possible. After we have gone to the temple for ourselves, we can perform the saving ordinances for others waiting in the spirit world
Joseph Smith taught:
The question is frequently asked, ‘Can we not be saved without going through with all those ordinances, etc.?’ I would answer, No, not the fullness of salvation. Jesus said, ‘There are many mansions in my Father’s house, and I will go and prepare a place for you.’ [See John 14:2.] House here named should have been translated kingdom; and any person who is exalted to the highest mansion has to abide a celestial law, and the whole law too (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 418).
Brigham Young added and interesting injunction:
You have got to do the work, or it will not be done. We do not want any whiners about this temple. If you cannot commence cheerfully, and go through the labor of the whole building cheerfully, start for California, and the quicker the better. Make you a golden calf, and worship it. If your care for the ordinances of salvation, for yourselves, your living, and dead, is not first and foremost in your hearts, in your actions, and in everything you possess, go! (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 302).
President Grant made a personal decision:
A little over a year ago I made up my mind that by planning my affairs, by staying away from lectures or concerts or theatres or operas, I could go to the temple at least once every week and have ordinances performed in behalf of some of my loved ones who had passed away. By making up my mind that I could do this I had no difficulty whatever in going through the temple once a week during the entire year. … True, I have had to miss perhaps an opera or theatre or some other function at which I should have liked to be present, but I have had no difficulty whatever.
We can generally do that which we wish to do. A young man can find an immense amount of time to spend with his sweetheart. He can arrange affairs to do that. We can arrange our affairs to get exercise in the shape of golf and otherwise. We can arrange our affairs to have amusements. And if we make up our minds to do so we can arrange our affairs to do temple work, judging from my own experience.
I do not know of any one that is any busier than I am, and if I can do it they can (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 54-5).
President Grant also included his family:
In January 1928 he decided to establish every Thursday night as Grant family temple night. Endowed members of the family gathered for dinner and then went to the Salt Lake Temple to receive sacred ordinances in behalf of their deceased ancestors (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 53).
A fitting conclusion is provided by President Woodruff:
We want to continue in these temples. We want them to be occupied by the Latter-day Saints. We want our brethren and sisters to continue to go there and redeem the dead and bless the living.
If [we] knew and understood the feelings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and those of his brethren associated with him, and the feelings of the millions of the human family who are shut up in their prison houses, we would not tire. … We would labor for the redemption of our dead.
The eyes of the heavens are over us; the eyes of God himself, the eyes of every Prophet and Apostle in the spirit world, are watching you, watching this Priesthood, to see what they are doing and what they are going to do. It is of far more importance than we realize and comprehend. Let us awake to the ordinances of the House of God and do our duty, that we may be justified (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 176, 191).
A great resource for this lesson is the October 2010 Ensign, a special edition on Temples.
1 - - Heavenly Father Wants His Children to Return to Him
Concerning the title of this section, the chapter in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant in appropriately entitled, “Uniting Families through Temple and Family History Work” and has the heading, “Temple ordinances extend the opportunity of exaltation to God’s children on both sides of the veil” (p. 51).
President John Taylor added:
We are here to cooperate with God in the salvation of the living [and] in the redemption of the dead (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 183).
This wonderful section outlines the plan for those born on the earth without the gospel during their lives to have their work done for them. Joseph Smith taught:
All those who have not had an opportunity of hearing the Gospel, and being administered unto by an inspired man in the flesh, must have it hereafter, before they can be finally judged.
It is no more incredible that God should save the dead, than that he should raise the dead.
There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within the reach of pardoning mercy, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, which hath no forgiveness, neither in this world, nor in the world to come. There is a way to release the spirits of the dead; that is by the power and authority of the Priesthood—by binding and loosing on earth. This doctrine appears glorious, inasmuch as it exhibits the greatness of divine compassion and benevolence in the extent of the plan of human salvation (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 471).
Brigham Young elaborated:
Hundreds of millions of human beings have been born, lived out their short earthly span, and passed away, ignorant alike of themselves and of the plan of salvation provided for them. It gives great consolation, however, to know that this glorious plan devised by Heaven follows them into the next existence, offering for their acceptance eternal life and exaltation to thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers in the presence of their Father and God, through Jesus Christ, his Son.
There is an opportunity for men who are in the spirit to receive the Gospel. Jesus…Hence you perceive that there, spirits have the privilege of embracing the truth.
You may ask if they are baptized there? No. Can they have hands laid upon them for the gift of the Holy Ghost? No. None of the outward ordinances that pertain to the flesh are administered there, but the light, glory, and power of the Holy Ghost are enjoyed just as freely as upon this earth; and there are laws which govern and control the spirit world, and to which they are subject.
Can we do anything for them? Yes…
This doctrine of baptism for the dead is a great doctrine, one of the most glorious doctrines that was revealed to the human family; and there are light, power, glory, honor and immortality in it.
Many a man I know of, who has fallen asleep [died], we have been baptized for, since the Church was organized—good, honest, honorable men, charitable to all, living good, virtuous lives. We will not let them go down to hell; God will not. The plan of salvation is ample to bring them all up and place them where they may enjoy all they could anticipate.
They have passed the ordeals [of mortality], and are beyond the possibility of personally officiating for the remission of their sins and for their exaltation, consequently they are under the necessity of trusting in their friends, their children and their children’s children to officiate for them, that they may be brought up into the celestial kingdom of God.
What do you suppose the fathers would say if they could speak from the dead? Would they not say, “We have lain here thousands of years, here in this prison house, waiting for this dispensation to come?” … What would they whisper in our ears? Why, if they had the power the very thunders of heaven would be in our ears, if we could realize the importance of the work we are engaged in. All the angels in heaven are looking at this little handful of people, and stimulating them to the salvation of the human family. So also are the devils in hell looking at this people, too, and trying to overthrow us, and the people are still shaking hands with the servants of the devil, instead of sanctifying themselves and calling upon the Lord and doing the work which he has commanded us and put into our hands to do (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 307-8).
President John Taylor also explained:
…so little of the gospel having been revealed in the different ages, and so much of the power of darkness and iniquity having prevailed among men, it was necessary that something should be done for the dead as well as the living. God is interested in the dead as well as the living (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 184).
President Woodruff clarified:
If the dead have not heard the Gospel, the Lord is not going to send them to hell because they have not received it. The Lord is the Father of all. He is merciful to all. … Millions of people have been born in the flesh, have lived and have gone to the grave, who never saw the face of a prophet in their lives; never saw a man that was called of God and had power to administer in one of the ordinances of the House of God. Will God condemn them because they did not receive the Gospel? Not at all.
God is no respecter of persons; he will not give privileges to one generation and withhold them from another; and the whole human family, from father Adam down to our day, have got to have the privilege, somewhere, of hearing the gospel of Christ; and the generations that have passed and gone without hearing that gospel in its fulness, power and glory, will never be held responsible by God for not obeying it. Neither will he bring them under condemnation for rejecting a law they never saw or understood; and if they live up to the light they had they are justified so far, and they have to be preached to in the spirit world (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 186-7).
President McKay related the following story concerning the unfairness without this doctrine:
A Chinese student, returning to his homeland, having graduated from one of our leading colleges, was in conversation with a Christian minister, also en route to China. When this minister urged the truth that only through acceptance of Christ’s teachings can any man be saved, the [student] said: “Then what about my ancestors who never had an opportunity to hear the name of Jesus?”
The minister answered: “They are lost.” Said the student: “I will have nothing to do with a religion so unjust as to condemn to eternal punishment men and women who are just as noble as we, perhaps nobler, but who never had an opportunity to hear the name of Jesus.”
One who understands the truth, as revealed to the Prophet Joseph regarding this doctrine, would have answered: “They will have an opportunity to hear the gospel, and to obey every principle and ordinance by proxy. Every man here or hereafter will be judged and rewarded according to his works.”
Since repentance and baptism by water as well as by the Spirit are essential to salvation, how shall the millions who have never heard the Gospel, who have never had an opportunity either to repent or to be baptized, enter into the kingdom of God? Surely a God of love can never be satisfied if the majority of His children are outside His kingdom, dwelling eternally either in ignorance, misery or hell. Such a thought is revolting to intelligent min (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 128).
We only get hints from the New Testament of the doctrine of baptism for the dead. President McKay elaborated on 1 Corinthians 15:29 (see Additional Scriptures, p. 239):
Paul referred to [the] practice of baptism [for the dead] in his argument in favor of the resurrection. He said, “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?” (1 Cor. 15:29). … Not a few commentators have tried to explain away [this passage’s] true significance; but its context proves plainly that in the days of the apostles there existed the practice of baptism for the dead; that is, living persons were immersed in water for and in behalf of those who were dead—not who were “dead to sin” but who had “passed to the other side.”
You may have the opportunity of gathering the names of your ancestors, who, being baptized by proxy, may become members of the kingdom of God in the other world as we are members here (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 129, 130).
As the manual explained, “God has provided a way” (p. 233) for His children. President Woodruff discussed what this restored doctrine meant to him:
In October 1841, soon after returning to Nauvoo from a mission in England, Elder Wilford Woodruff attended a meeting in which the Prophet Joseph Smith taught the doctrine of the redemption of the dead. This was the first time Elder Woodruff heard that living members of the Church could receive saving ordinances in behalf of their ancestors who had passed away. He said: “It was like a shaft of light from the throne of God to our hearts. It opened a field wide as eternity to our minds. …I felt to say hallelujah when the revelation came forth revealing to us baptism for the dead. I felt that we had a right to rejoice in the blessings of Heaven.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 185).
2 - - Temples of the Lord
President John Taylor expounded on the power of a temple:
While speaking at the dedication of the Logan Utah Temple site, President Taylor shared with the congregation the feelings he experienced when he visited the St. George Utah Temple, the first temple completed in the Utah Territory:
“When I visited that holy Temple, accompanied by my brethren who were with me, we experienced a sacred thrill of joy and a solemn, reverential sensation. As we entered its sacred portals, we felt that we were standing on holy ground, and experienced, with one of old, ‘Surely this is the house of God, and the gate of heaven’” [See Genesis 28:17.] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 183).
The first temple in the latter days was in Kirtland. Joseph Smith declared its importance:
The Lord commanded us, in Kirtland, to build a house of God; … this is the word of the Lord to us, and we must, yea, the Lord helping us, we will obey: as on conditions of our obedience He has promised us great things… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 415).
The next temple to be completed was in Nauvoo. Joseph explained its genesis:
In March 1844, the Prophet met with the Twelve and the Nauvoo Temple committee to discuss how to allocate the Church’s meager resources. In this meeting, the Prophet said: “We need the temple more than anything else.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 416).
The Kirtland temple appears to be built mainly to receive keys. Joseph learned more about the importance of temples:
What was the object of gathering the … people of God in any age of the world? … The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 416).
Joseph also learned more about what would happen in the Nauvoo temple concerning work for the dead:
…there must be a particular spot for the salvation of our dead. I verily believe there will be a place, and hence men who want to save their dead can come and bring their families, do their work by being baptized and attending to the other ordinances for their dead (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 418).
The first “particular spot” for baptisms for the dead was the Mississippi River. Joseph explained:
I first mentioned the doctrine in public when preaching the funeral sermon of Brother Seymour Brunson; and have since then given general instructions in the Church on the subject. The Saints have the privilege of being baptized for those of their relatives who are dead. … Without enlarging on the subject, you will undoubtedly see its consistency and reasonableness; and it presents the Gospel of Christ in probably a more enlarged scale than some have imagined it.
At first, baptisms for the dead had been performed in the Mississippi River or in local streams. But in January 1841, when the Saints were making plans for the Nauvoo Temple, the Lord declared: “A baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my saints, may be baptized for those who are dead—for this ordinance belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to build a house unto me” (D&C 124:29–30).
Proxy baptisms in the river were discontinued on October 3, 1841, when the Prophet announced: “There shall be no more baptisms for the dead, until the ordinance can be attended to in the Lord’s House. … For thus saith the Lord!” The Saints quickly began building a temporary wooden font in the newly excavated basement of the Nauvoo Temple. The font, built of Wisconsin pine, rested on the backs of 12 wooden oxen. It was dedicated on November 8, for use “until the Temple shall be finished, when a more durable one will supply its place.” On November 21, 1841, six members of the Quorum of the Twelve performed baptisms for 40 people who had died, the first baptisms for the dead performed in the font. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 469-72).
While baptisms for the dead were being performed, Joseph also revealed the endowment that would be later given in the temple:
The group met in the large upper room of the Prophet’s Red Brick Store, which had been “arranged representing the interior of a temple as much as the circumstances would permit.” Franklin D. Richards, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, wrote: “When the Spirit prompted [Joseph Smith] that his life’s work was drawing to a close, and when he saw that his earthly days might be ended before the completion of the temple, he called a chosen few, and conferred upon them the ordinances of the holy endowments, so that the divine treasures of his mind might not perish from the world with his death” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 413).
Although initially the Nauvoo temple was utilized for baptisms for the dead, it soon became the place for the endowment to be given to all who wanted it:
As persecution increased and the need to leave Nauvoo pressed upon the Saints, President Brigham Young labored in the temple to bless the Saints with sacred ordinances before their departure. He recorded that on one day, “one hundred and forty-three persons received their endowments in the Temple. … Such has been the anxiety manifested by the saints to receive the ordinances [of the Temple], and such the anxiety on our part to administer to them, that I have given myself up entirely to the work of the Lord in the Temple night and day, not taking more than four hours sleep, upon an average, per day, and going home but once a week”. When he arrived in the west, President Young immediately selected a site for a new temple (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 299).
Brigham Young expressed the idea that temples draw Satan’s fire:
Some say, “I do not like to do it, for we never began to build a temple without the bells of hell beginning to ring.” I want to hear them ring again.
We completed a temple in Kirtland and in Nauvoo; and did not the bells of hell toll all the time we were building them? They did, every week and every day (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 300).
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf also stated:
President George Q. Cannon (1827–1901), First Counselor in the First Presidency, once said, "Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple, and every Temple completed . . . lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of God and Godliness (Ensign, Aug. 2010, 4).
President Woodruff was able to dedicate the Salt Lake temple:
While serving as President of the Church, Wilford Woodruff dedicated the Salt Lake Temple. On that occasion he pleaded with the Lord to help the Saints in their efforts to redeem the dead: “Wilt thou … permit holy messengers to visit us within these sacred walls and make known unto us with regard to the work we should perform in behalf of our dead. And, as thou hast inclined the hearts of many who have not yet entered into covenant with thee to search out their progenitors, and in so doing they have traced the ancestry of many of thy Saints, we pray thee that thou wilt increase this desire in their bosoms, that they may in this way aid in the accomplishment of thy work. Bless them, we pray thee, in their labors, that they may not fall into errors in preparing their genealogies; and furthermore, we ask thee to open before them new avenues of information, and place in their hands the records of the past, that their work may not only be correct but complete also” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 186).
President Woodruff also declared how important temples are to us:
There is no labor in which the Latter-day Saints feel more deeply interested than in the building and completing of temples.
No right feeling Latter-day Saint can think upon this subject without being thrilled with heavenly joy for what God has done for us in our generation, furnishing us, as He has done, with every facility to prepare us, our posterity and our ancestors for that eternal world which lies beyond the present life (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 174, 176).
3 - - Temple Ordinances Seal Families Together Forever
Joseph Smith explained that temple ordinances were premortal:
Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 417).
In the first paragraph of this section scriptures regarding the binding of families are quoted. Several prophets have explained that this binding is necessary for the whole human family who accepts Christ. Brigham Young said:
When we come to … sealing ordinances [for the dead], ordinances pertaining to the holy Priesthood, to connect the chain of the Priesthood from Father Adam until now, by sealing children to their parents, being sealed for our forefathers, etc, they cannot be done without a temple. When the ordinances are carried out in the temples that will be erected, [children] will be sealed to their [parents], and those who have slept, clear up to Father Adam. This will have to be done, because of the chain of the Priesthood being broken upon the earth.
The fathers cannot be made perfect without us; we cannot be made perfect without the fathers. There must be this chain in the holy Priesthood; it must be welded together from the latest generation that lives on the earth back to Father Adam (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 303, 310).
President John Taylor also stated:
…that our sealings and ordinances may be performed in a manner that will be acceptable before God and the holy angels; that whatsoever is bound on the earth according to the laws of the eternal priesthood shall be bound in the heavens; that there may be a connecting link between the living and the dead… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 186).
President Woodruff explained:
Unto the Latter-day Saints the sealing ordinances have been revealed, and they will have effect after death, and, as I have said, will re-unite men and women eternally in the family organization. Herein is why these principles are a part of our religion, and by them husbands and wives, parents and children will be re-united until the links in the chain are re-united back to Father Adam. We could not obtain a fullness of celestial glory without this sealing ordinance.
This is worth all you or I can sacrifice the few years we have to spend here in the flesh.
He [Joseph Smith] told us that there must be a welding link of all dispensations and of the work of God from one generation to another [see D&C 128:18]. This was upon his mind more than most any other subject that was given to him.
In my prayers the Lord revealed to me that it was my duty to say to all Israel to carry this principle out, and in fulfillment of that revelation I lay it before this people. … We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 176-7).
President Joseph F. Smith further declared:
There has got to be a welding together and a joining together of parents and children and children and parents until the whole chain of God’s family shall be welded together into one chain, and they shall all become the family of God and His Christ (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 411).
President Woodruff explained that this work is more important than us doing it:
We are blessed with power and authority, holding the Holy Priesthood by the commandment of God, to stand upon the earth and redeem both the living and the dead. If we did not do it, we should be damned and cut off from the earth, and the God of Israel would raise up a people who would do it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 189).
President Lee explained Matthew 16:18 in conjunction with salvation for the dead:
[The Lord] said that the gates of hell should not prevail against Christ’s church (Matthew 16:18). Now, the gates of hell would have prevailed against the Lord’s work if there hadn’t been given the ordinances pertaining to the salvation of those who are dead. During those periods when the priesthood to perform the saving ordinances of the gospel was not upon the earth, there were millions who lived, many of whom were faithful souls. If there hadn’t been a way by which the saving ordinances of the gospel could be performed for those who thus died without the knowledge of the gospel, the gates of hell would have prevailed against our Father’s plan of salvation (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 104).
On answer to meaning of the statement that “Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it (D & C 135:3) is provided by President John Taylor:
All the holy priesthood—the ancient patriarchs, prophets and apostles and men of God who have lived in the different generations are looking upon us and expecting us to fulfill the great and important requirements of Jehovah in regard to the welfare and the redemption of the world: the salvation of the living and dead (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 189).
4 - - Our Ancestors Need Our Help
Brigham Young declared:
We want to sacrifice enough to do the will of God in preparing to bring up those who have not had the privilege of hearing the Gospel while in the flesh, for the simple reason that, in the spirit world, they cannot officiate in the ordinances of the house of God. …they are under the necessity of trusting in their friends, their children and their children’s children to officiate for them, that they may be brought up into the celestial kingdom of God (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 280).
President John Taylor added:
The myriads of dead that have slept in the silent tomb without a knowledge of the gospel have their eyes upon us, and they are expecting us to fulfil the duties and responsibilities that devolve upon us to attend to, in which they are interested. (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 189).
President Joseph F. Smith also declared:
The work for our dead, which the Prophet Joseph laid upon us with more than ordinary injunction, instructing us that we should look after those of our kinfolk and our ancestors who have died without the knowledge of the gospel, should not be neglected (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 246).
President Joseph F. Smith taught how vital is this work:
The dead are not perfect without us, neither are we without them [see D&C 128:18]. We have a mission to perform for and in their behalf; we have a certain work to do in order to liberate those who, because of their ignorance and the unfavorable circumstances in which they were placed while here, are unprepared for eternal life; we have to open the door for them, by performing ordinances which they cannot perform for themselves, and which are essential to their release from the “prison-house,” to come forth and live according to God in the spirit, and be judged according to men in the flesh [see D&C 138:33–34] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 410).
The above statement is impressive when related to the Savior’s instructions about how to prepare for His Second Coming in Matthew 25:36, “I was in prison, and ye came unto me..."
This idea is also verified in latter-day revelation:
Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free (D&C 128:22).
For some of the early prophets, temple work was very personal. Brigham Young recalled:
My father died before the endowments were given. None of his children have been sealed to him. If you recollect, you that were in Nauvoo, we were very much hurried in the little time we spent there after the temple was built. …we had no time to attend to this. My father’s children, consequently, have not been sealed to him. Perhaps all of his sons may go into eternity, into the spirit world, before this can be attended to… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 307).
President Woodruff shared:
Upon hearing this doctrine, Elder Woodruff thought of his mother. “The first thing that entered into my mind,” he said, “was that I had a mother in the spirit world. She died when I was 14 months old. I never knew [my] mother. I thought to myself, Have I power to go forth and seal my mother to my father? The word was, yes.” …“I have had the blessing and privilege of redeeming in the Temple of our God some four thousand of my father’s and my mother’s kindred. I speak of this because it is one of our blessings, the fullness and glory of which we will never know until the veil is opened.” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 185-6).
The first question in this section is, “What responsibilities do we have toward our ancestors who have died without receiving priesthood ordinances?” (p. 235). One answer to this question is become what the prophets refer to as “Saviors on Mount Zion.” The title to the Chapter on temple work in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith is “Becoming Saviors on Mount Zion” (p. 469). The similar one in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff is “Temple Work Becoming Saviors on Mount Zion.” The heading in this chapter suggests a reason for the title. It reads, “We hold the keys of salvation for our ancestors who have died without the gospel” (p. 185). The heading to chapter 46 in the Joseph F. Smith manual reads, “Through temple service, we become saviors on Mount Zion for those who have died” (p. 407).
Joseph Smith stated:
But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 469).
Joseph continued:
All those who die in the faith go to the prison of spirits to preach to the dead in body, but they are alive in the spirit; and those spirits preach to the spirits [who are in prison] that they may live according to God in the spirit, and men do minister for them in the flesh; … and they are made happy by these means [see 1 Peter 4:6]. Therefore, those who are baptized for their dead are the saviors on Mount Zion, and they must receive their washings and their anointings for their dead the same as for themselves.
The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead. The apostle says, ‘They without us cannot be made perfect’ [see Hebrews 11:40] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 474-5).
Brigham Young declared:
The Lord has called me to this work, and I feel as though I will do it. We will send the Gospel to the nations; and when one nation turns us away we will go to another and gather up the honest in heart, and the rest we care not for until we come on Mount Zion as saviors, to attend to the ordinances of the house of God for them [see Obadiah 1:21] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 243).
John Taylor also stated:
We came here to be saviors. “What, saviors?” “Yes.” “Why, we thought there was only one Savior.” “Oh, yes, there are a great many. What do the scriptures say about it?” One of the old prophets, in speaking of these things, says that saviors shall come up upon Mount Zion [see Obadiah 1:21]. Saviors? Yes. Whom shall they save? In the first place themselves, then their families, then their neighbors, friends and associations, then their forefathers, then pour blessings on their posterity. Is that so? Yes (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: John Taylor, 187).
President Woodruff added:
Do what you can in this respect, so that when you pass to the other side of the veil your fathers, mothers, relatives and friends will bless you for what you have done, and inasmuch as you have been instruments in the hands of God in procuring their redemption, you will be recognized as Saviors upon Mount Zion in fulfillment of prophecy [see Obadiah 1:21].
If we do not do what is required of us in this thing, we are under condemnation. If we do attend to this, then when we come to meet our friends in the celestial kingdom, they will say, “You have been our saviors, because you had power to do it. You have attended to these ordinances that God has required.
We have been called as Saviors upon Mount Zion… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 189, 192).
President Joseph F. Smith also taught:
We will not finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are called to this mission (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 410).
President Heber J. Grant also exclaimed:
The world asks, how can that be, that one can be baptized for another? But if we believe in the vicarious work of Christ, we must believe that one can do work for another, and that we also may become “saviors upon Mount Zion.” [See Obadiah 1:21.]
It is our duty … to be mindful of those children of our Father who have preceded us in death without a knowledge of the gospel, and to open the door of salvation to them in our temples, where we also have obligations to perform (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 56).
President Lee also taught:
Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, the only means by which man can accept the gospel, is an earthly ordinance, and so in the Plan of Salvation, our Father, with equal consideration for all his children, has provided a way for all members of his Church and Kingdom on the earth to be “saviors on Mt. Zion” by performing a vicarious work in behalf of those in the world of spirits, “the prison house,” that they could not perform for themselves.
This work for the dead performed in holy temples by members of the Church does in reality make of them who do this work “saviors” to those who have died without a knowledge of the gospel, for thereby they may claim the complete gift of the Savior promised to all mankind through his atonement.
If we were united in our temple work and in our genealogical research work, we would not be satisfied with the present temples only, but we would have sufficient work for temples yet to come, to the unlocking of the doors of opportunity to those beyond who are our own kin, and thus would ourselves become saviors on Mount Zion. Our failure to be united will be our failure to perpetuate our family homes in the eternity (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 103-4).
President Joseph F. Smith further encouraged:
Teach your children and let yourselves be taught the fact that it is necessary for you to become saviors upon Mount Zion for those who have died without the knowledge of the gospel, and that the temples of God in these mountains, and that are being reared in other lands, have been built and are designed expressly for the performance of these sacred ordinances which are necessary for those who have passed away without them (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 412).
This responsibility is huge for us, as explained by Joseph Smith:
In early 1841, Joseph Smith taught the following, as recorded by William P. McIntire: “Joseph said the Lord said that we should build our house to his name, that we might be baptized for the dead. But if we did it not, we should be rejected, and our dead with us, and this Church should not be accepted [see D&C 124:32]” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 416).
President Woodruff explained how others are anxious for us to do this work:
Our forefathers are looking to us to attend to this work. They are watching over us with great anxiety, and are desirous that we should finish these temples and attend to certain ordinances for them, so that in the morning of the resurrection they can come forth and enjoy the same blessings that we enjoy.
All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.” [D&C 137:7–9.] So it will be with your fathers (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 190-1).
President Woodruff gave a good conclusion to this section:
Never cease that work while you have the power to enter into the Temple. … I have had some thousands redeemed here. I have had baptisms, ordinations, washings and anointings, endowments and sealings for them, the same as if they were standing in the flesh themselves. I shall go and meet them on the other side of the veil. You will go and meet your relatives.
When I lay my body in the tomb and my spirit goes into the spirit world, I shall rejoice and have glory with them in the morning of the resurrection, inasmuch as they receive these principles. “Well,” perhaps you may say, “what if these people whom you have been baptized for do not receive the Gospel?” That will be their fault, not mine. This is a duty that rests upon all Israel, that they shall attend to this work, as far as they have the opportunity here on the earth.
How would I feel, after living as long as I have, with the privileges I have had of going into these temples, to go into the spirit world without having done this work? I meet my father’s house, I meet my mother’s house, I meet my progenitors, and they are shut up in prison; I held the keys of their salvation, and yet did nothing for them; what would be my feelings, or what would be their feelings toward me?
I do not want to go into the spirit world and meet with my progenitors who never heard the Gospel in their day and generation, and have them tell me, “You held in your hand the power to go forth and redeem me, and you have not done it.” I do not want to meet that. I do not want the Latter-day Saints to meet it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 191-2).
5 - - Family History—How We Begin Helping Our Ancestors
President Woodruff declared:
We want the Latter-day Saints from this time to trace their genealogies as far as they can, and to be sealed to their fathers and mothers. Have children sealed to their parents, and run this chain through as far as you can get it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, 174).
President Joseph F. Smith added:
The saints should take advantage of every opportunity to obtain the records as far as possible of their ancestors, that their redemption through the ordinances of the House of God might be obtained (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 414).
At the end of this section, the question is asked, “How has the Lord helped you or members of your family find information about your ancestors?” (p. 238). President Grant answered this question this way:
This genealogical work, to me, is simply marvelous. It is wonderful how those of us who take any interest in it have the way prepared. It seems miraculous the way my wife has been able in the past to gather genealogical information regarding her forefathers. It is little less than marvelous the way books and other information have come into our possession. When we got right up against a stone wall, in some way there has been a hole made through that wall so that we could crawl through and get on the other side, figuratively speaking, and find something that was of value (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 56).
Over the next four pages President Grant then documents the miraculous events of he wife’s family history.
President Lee added:
[In our genealogical research] the Lord is not going to open any doors until we get as far as we can on our own.
I have the simple faith that when you do everything you can, researching to the last of your opportunity, the Lord will help you to open doors to go further with your genealogies, and heaven will cooperate, I am sure (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 104).
The title of this section includes “begin.” Brigham Young taught that we will finish this work later:
…we will not wait for the Millennium and the fulness of the glory of God on the earth; we will commence as soon as we have a temple, and work for the salvation of our forefathers; we will get their genealogies as far as we can. By and by, we shall get them perfect. In these temples we will officiate in the ordinances of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for our friends (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 309).
We end this section on a most powerful note by President Woodruff:
There will be very few, if any, who will not accept the Gospel. … The fathers of this people will embrace the Gospel (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 191).
6 - - Additional Family History Opportunities
The first suggestion listed in this section is:
1. Attend the temple as often as possible. After we have gone to the temple for ourselves, we can perform the saving ordinances for others waiting in the spirit world
Joseph Smith taught:
The question is frequently asked, ‘Can we not be saved without going through with all those ordinances, etc.?’ I would answer, No, not the fullness of salvation. Jesus said, ‘There are many mansions in my Father’s house, and I will go and prepare a place for you.’ [See John 14:2.] House here named should have been translated kingdom; and any person who is exalted to the highest mansion has to abide a celestial law, and the whole law too (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, 418).
Brigham Young added and interesting injunction:
You have got to do the work, or it will not be done. We do not want any whiners about this temple. If you cannot commence cheerfully, and go through the labor of the whole building cheerfully, start for California, and the quicker the better. Make you a golden calf, and worship it. If your care for the ordinances of salvation, for yourselves, your living, and dead, is not first and foremost in your hearts, in your actions, and in everything you possess, go! (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 302).
President Grant made a personal decision:
A little over a year ago I made up my mind that by planning my affairs, by staying away from lectures or concerts or theatres or operas, I could go to the temple at least once every week and have ordinances performed in behalf of some of my loved ones who had passed away. By making up my mind that I could do this I had no difficulty whatever in going through the temple once a week during the entire year. … True, I have had to miss perhaps an opera or theatre or some other function at which I should have liked to be present, but I have had no difficulty whatever.
We can generally do that which we wish to do. A young man can find an immense amount of time to spend with his sweetheart. He can arrange affairs to do that. We can arrange our affairs to get exercise in the shape of golf and otherwise. We can arrange our affairs to have amusements. And if we make up our minds to do so we can arrange our affairs to do temple work, judging from my own experience.
I do not know of any one that is any busier than I am, and if I can do it they can (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 54-5).
President Grant also included his family:
In January 1928 he decided to establish every Thursday night as Grant family temple night. Endowed members of the family gathered for dinner and then went to the Salt Lake Temple to receive sacred ordinances in behalf of their deceased ancestors (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 53).
A fitting conclusion is provided by President Woodruff:
We want to continue in these temples. We want them to be occupied by the Latter-day Saints. We want our brethren and sisters to continue to go there and redeem the dead and bless the living.
If [we] knew and understood the feelings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and those of his brethren associated with him, and the feelings of the millions of the human family who are shut up in their prison houses, we would not tire. … We would labor for the redemption of our dead.
The eyes of the heavens are over us; the eyes of God himself, the eyes of every Prophet and Apostle in the spirit world, are watching you, watching this Priesthood, to see what they are doing and what they are going to do. It is of far more importance than we realize and comprehend. Let us awake to the ordinances of the House of God and do our duty, that we may be justified (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff, p. 176, 191).
Monday, March 7, 2011
Chapter 39: Chastity
Wonderful material in the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:... (the old Priesthood/Relief Society manuals). This material is in Joseph F. Smith, chapter 18, in Harold B. Lee 20, and for Spencer W. Kimball, chapters 17. These can all be found by going to the new “lds.org” then click on “Go to Classic LDS.org” (lower left corner), then click on “Gospel Library” then “Lessons” then “Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society.” The manuals are all found at the bottom of this page.
1 - - A Note to Parents
Using “lds.org” and typing in “teaching children chastity” (upper right corner) “Search all LDS.org” again gives great resources. Note that the first one if this lesson. Some of my favorites here that are a great help to parents are "Teaching Chastity to Youth" (Ensign, Feb. 1994, 19) and Terrance D. Olson, "Teaching Morality to Your Children" (Ensign, Mar. 1981, 10). We would also include a classic conference talk, “Why Stay Morally Clean,” by Elder Boyd K. Packer (Ensign, Jul 1972, 111).
The first paragraph of this section discusses teaching children about chastity. President Lee said:
Now the most effective teaching in the church is done in the family where the responsibility upon the father and the mother in the home is to teach their children while they’re yet small the basic principles of faith, repentance, belief in the Savior, those early principles of chastity, virtue, honor, and so on.
You mothers, stay close to your daughters. When they’re little children, don’t let someone else tell them about the so-called facts of life. As soon as your little children begin to ask you questions, little tots about little intimate things, sit down and talk to them about the things to the limit of their intelligence. They will then say, “All right, Mother, that’s fine.” And then a little later when they get in their teenage, they’ll come again a second time, this time a little more sophisticated. Then they begin to date, and where will they come for counsel? If you’ve done your job, they’ll come to ask Mother about her counsel on this and that, and on the night of her marriage, she’ll seek counsel from her mother, not from the women on the street.
And you fathers, be companionable with your boys. Never turn your boy aside when he wants to have your counsel about the things that he wants a father to talk to him about. Therein is the safety in the home. There’s the safety of your young people. Don’t deny them that safety, you fathers and you mothers.
The one who has the chief responsibility is the father of the boy. This doesn’t mean that the father should wake up some morning and call his boy to his bedside and in fifteen minutes tell him all the facts of life. That isn’t what the boy needs. He needs a father to answer when he wants to ask questions of a delicate nature. He is hungering to know; he is curious about things.
If his father will be frank and honest, and tell him up to the limit of his intelligence as he grows up, that father will be the one to whom the son will return for counsel in the years that follow.
That father will be an anchor to that boy’s soul, as the father takes from his book of experience lessons that he can give to his son to help condition him against the possibility of falling into that fatal trap in an unguarded moment (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 190, 192).
In the fourth paragraph of this section parents are counseled to “correct false ideas and vulgar language children learn from others” (p. 225). Interestingly the main two categories of all “swear words” are about God and sacred body parts for procreation. No coincidence, Satan’s campaign.
In the next to last paragraph of this section is an extremely important concept, “Children should understand that these powers are good and were given to us by the Lord” (p. 226). President Joseph F. Smith declared:
President Joseph F. Smith also declared:
The law of chastity is one of the most vital importance, both to children, and to men and to women. It is a vitally important principle to the children of God in all their lives, from the cradle to the grave.
The lawful association of the sexes is ordained of God, not only as the sole means of race perpetuation, but for the development of the higher faculties and nobler traits of human nature, which the love-inspired companionship of man and woman alone can insure. The word of Scripture is explicit as to the Divine intent and command with respect to the sexes. It is not good for man to be alone; and therefore hath it been ordained that “a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh” [See Genesis 2:18, 24.] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 157, 158).
President Kimball counseled:
Your children will learn from you early in their lives that they must never involve themselves in immoral practices of any kind. This cannot be told to them just once. But before they are married they should be told hundreds of times, and they should know that not only their family and their parents expect this great service, but the Lord in heaven, Jesus Christ, expects them to keep clean and free from immorality (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 185).
President Kimball also stated:
Pure sex life in proper marriage is approved. There is a time and an appropriateness for all things that have value.
…sex can be an important and satisfactory part of married life (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 181, 183).
President Lee added:
To the end that man and woman might be brought together in this sacred marriage relationship, whereby earthly bodies are prepared as tabernacles for heavenly spirits, the Lord has placed within the breast of every young man and every young woman a desire for association with each other. These are sacred and holy impulses but tremendously powerful. …To gain the highest bliss in holy wedlock, the fountains of life must be kept pure (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 186).
For some in the past who circulated a myth in Mormonism that sexual intercourse was exclusively for procreation, the following from President Kimball may also be important:
We know of no directive from the Lord that proper sexual experience between husbands and wives need be limited totally to the procreation of children… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 183).
In his powerful conference talk, President Boyd K. Packer explained the two reasons for sexual relations in marriage:
When we obey, we can enjoy these powers in the covenant of marriage. From our fountains of life will spring our children, our family. Love between husband and wife can be constant and bring fulfillment and contentment all the days of our lives (Ensign, Nov. 2010, 74).
President Kimball gave wonderful advice for parents to help their children as they begin dating:
I suggest … the following standard. Any dating or pairing off in social contacts should be postponed until at least the age of 16 or older, and even then there should still be much judgment used in selections and in the seriousness. Young people should still limit the close contacts for several years, since the boy will be going on his mission when he is 19 years old.
Dating and especially steady dating in the early teens is most hazardous. It distorts the whole picture of life. It deprives you of worthwhile and rich experiences; it limits friendships; it reduces the acquaintances which can be so valuable in selecting a partner for time and eternity.
There is definitely a time for the dance, for travel, for associations, for the date, and even for the steady date that will culminate in the romance which will take young people to the holy temple for eternal marriage. But it is the timing that is so vital. It is wrong to do even the right things at the wrong time in the wrong place under the wrong circumstances (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 186-7).
A wonderful challenge for parents would be to prepare youth for the following interviews:
One of our stake conferences closed on an interesting note some while ago. … As the stake president got up to close the conference, he looked up to the balcony filled with youngsters and said, “There is something I want to say to you young people up in that balcony. Perhaps while I am your stake president, every one of you will come to me for an interview—advancement in the priesthood, or for some position to which you are to be called, or for temple recommends—and among other things I am going to ask you one soul-searching question. Are you morally clean? If you can answer honestly, ‘Yes, President, I am morally clean,’ you will be happy. If you have to answer, ‘No, I’m not,’ you will be sad; and if you lie to me, bitterness will fill your soul as long as you live.
One day [we] will have to meet our Maker and as Moroni put it—and this is pretty strong language—he said, “Do you think that you could be happy in the presence of the Holy One of Israel with a sense of guilt of your own uncleanness?” He said, “You would be happier to live with the damned souls in hell than in the presence of the Holy One of Israel with your uncleanness and your filthiness still upon you.” [See Mormon 9:3-4.]
When we break commandments, we hurt ourselves and others too. The error usually results in sadness, depression, hostility, or withdrawal, if we do not repent. We, in effect, diminish our self-esteem; we downgrade our roles as sons and daughters of God; we may even try to run away from the ultimate reality of who we really are! (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187-8).
2 - - The Power of Procreation
Concerning the title of this section, last October in conference, President Boyd K. Packer declared:
To be entrusted with the power to create life carries with it the greatest of joys and dangerous temptations. The gift of mortal life and the capacity to kindle other lives is a supernal blessing. Through the righteous exercise of this power, as in nothing else, we may come close to our Father in Heaven and experience a fulness of joy. This power is not an incidental part of the plan of happiness. It is the key—the very key (Ensign, Nov. 2010, 74).
In this section the questions are asked, “Why should parents teach their children about procreation and chastity? How can they appropriately do this? (p. 226). When children reach puberty, or about the age of twelve, parents should have their own copy of the Church pamphlet Strength of Youth (available from the ward) or go online at “lds.org” then click on the “Menu” bar on top and then click on “Youth” under “Family.” The pamphlet is under “Youth Menu” at the right of the screen. Then click on “Explore Youth Standards” (at right of screen) then click on “Sexual Purity.” The information here is a must for terrific answers to these questions.
The last two sentences in this section are:
God has commanded us that only in marriage between a man and a woman are we to have sexual relations. This commandment is called the law of chastity (p. 226).
The term “sexual relations” is also an important one in temple covenants. This phrase “sexual relations” is a continuum of ideas from accidental exposure to improper ideas through the eye or the ear or sudden thoughts coming into the mind all the way to sexual intercourse.
From True to the Faith comes the following terrific definition of this law:
To be chaste, you must be morally clean in your thoughts, words, and actions (p. 28).
In the third paragraph of the fourth section we learn, “The law of chastity requires that our thoughts as well as our actions be pure” (p. 228). President Joseph F. Smith declared:
Personal purity and proper thoughts … are the bases of all proper action (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 156).
President Lee gave helpful counsel:
Live the law of chastity more perfectly than you have ever done it before, by thinking pure thoughts. Remember what the Master stated, “It was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27–28). Now, our thoughts must be pure. Overcome any habits that you may have that have a tendency to immoral acts, and forbid the immorality that otherwise would blight your lives (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187).
It is most significant that the Savior taught that adultery begins in the heart.
President McKay gives some help concerning this:
A person who indulges his appetites, either secretly or otherwise, has a character that will not serve him when he is tempted to indulge his passions.
What a man continually thinks about determines his actions in times of opportunity and stress. A man’s reaction to his appetites and impulses when they are aroused gives the measure of that man’s character. In these reactions are revealed the man’s power to govern or his forced servility to yield.
Actions in harmony with divine law and the laws of nature will bring happiness, and those in opposition to divine truth, misery. Man is responsible not only for every deed, but also for every idle word and thought (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 87).
The bottom line is this: If a member of the Church accepts in his/her heart in “no sexual relations outside of marriage,” he/she will live the law of chastity. If not, he/she will not.
The Lord taught, “And verily I say unto you, as I have said before, he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, or if any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and shall fear” (D&C 63:16).
3 - - The Law of Chastity
This section concerns prophets and the law of chastity. President Gordon B. Hinckley adds:
Prophets of God have repeatedly taught through the ages that practices of homosexual relations, fornication, and adultery are grievous sins. Sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage are forbidden by the Lord (Ensign, May 1987, 45).
Gordon B. Hinckley also shared a wonderful concept:
Members of the Mike Wallace team spoke with a few students like you when they were here. These were both young men and young women. The reporters told me that the students said that it was easy to turn down a cigarette. There was no problem in refusing beer. The lines were clearly drawn on these things. But sex was a different matter. It was harder to tell where to draw the line.
I replied, “Those students know where to draw the line. They do not have to have that defined in clinical detail. They know when they are on slippery ground.”
My dear young friends, it is all a matter of self-discipline. Of course you know what is right and what is wrong. You have been trained from your childhood in these matters. When you find yourselves slipping in the direction of that which you know is wrong, it may be difficult to stop and turn around. But it can be done. It has been done by hundreds of thousands, millions just like you who experience the same emotional appeals that you experience (Ensign, June 1996, 2).
If youth are taught and then internalize the information in the fourth paragraph of this section, they will “know” as President Hinckley explained above.
Note that in this paragraph, along with immoral acts with others, immoral acts performed alone, such as masturbation, are included in “sexual relations” outside of marriage.
Many in today’s world believe that chastity is now old fashioned and out of date and we no longer need this law. President Kimball proclaimed:
The Lord has only one standard of morality—total chastity for both men and women before marriage and complete fidelity afterward.
That the Church’s stand on morality may be understood, we declare firmly and unalterably it is not an outworn garment, faded, old-fashioned, and threadbare. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and his covenants and doctrines are immutable; and when the sun grows cold and the stars no longer shine, the law of chastity will still be basic in God’s world and in the Lord’s church. Old values are upheld by the Church not because they are old, but rather because they are right.
Total chastity before marriage and total fidelity after are still the standard from which there can be no deviation without sin, misery, and unhappiness (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 179-80).
The following scripture fits any principle of the Gospel, but is especially true for the law of chastity:
Proving to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old;
Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen (D&C 20:11-12).
President Joseph F. Smith declared and warned:
We believe in one standard of morality for men and women. If purity of life is neglected, all other dangers set in upon us like the rivers of waters when the flood gates are opened (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 156).
President Smith decried the concept that men should not be held the same standard as women:
It is a deplorable fact that society persists in holding women to stricter account than men in the matter of sexual offense. What shadow of excuse, not to speak of justification, can be found for this outrageous and cowardly discrimination? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 157).
President Kimball warned those who think chastity is out of date:
Those who seem to flout the institution of marriage, and who regard chastity before marriage with fidelity after as old-fashioned, seem determined to establish a new fashion on their own and impose it upon others. Can they not see the gross selfishness that will lead finally to deep loneliness? Can they not see that, pushed by pleasure, they will become more and more distant from joy? Can they not see that their kind of fulfillment will produce a hollowness and an emptiness from which no fleeting pleasure can finally rescue them? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 179-80).
In the Garden, the Lord provided Adam and Eve with coats of skins to cover their nakedness. Elder Carlos E. Asay, a member of the First Quorum of Seventy, taught:
Prior to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were clad in sacred clothing. We read: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21).
They received this clothing in a context of instruction on the Atonement, sacrifice, repentance, and forgiveness (see Moses 5:5-8). The temple garment given to Latter-day Saints is provided in a similar context. It is given to remind wearers of the continuing need for repentance, the need to honor binding covenants made in the house of the Lord, and the need to cherish and share virtue in our daily living so that promised blessings may be claimed (Ensign, Aug. 1997, 19).
Paul commented on this holy temple garment:
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6:16).
President Lee added to Paul’s powerful comments:
Clothe yourself with the armor of righteousness. Don’t give way in a moment of weakness. Safeguard that citadel of purity. Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, if you will keep it clean and pure (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187).
The last four paragraphs of this lesson concern the practice of homosexual behavior. President Kimball declared:
If one has [homosexual] desires and tendencies, he overcomes them the same as if he had the urge toward petting or fornication or adultery. The Lord condemns and forbids this practice with a vigor equal to his condemnation of adultery and other such sex acts. … Again, contrary to the belief and statement of many people, this [practice], like fornication, is overcomable and forgivable, but again, only upon a deep and abiding repentance, which means total abandonment and complete transformation of thought and act. …Christ’s church denounces it and condemns it. … This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 181).
4 - - Satan Wants Us to Break the Law of Chastity
Satan’s greatest threat today is to destroy the family, and to make a mockery of the law of chastity and the sanctity of the marriage covenant (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187).
One of Satan’s greatest tools: confusing love and lust. President Kimball described a young couple:
“The boy said, ‘Yes, we yielded to each other, but we do not think it wrong because we love one another.’ I thought I had misunderstood him. Since the world began, there have been countless immoralities, but to hear them justified by Latter-day Saint youth shocked me. He repeated,
‘No, it is not wrong, because we love one another.
“They had repeated this abominable heresy so often that they had convinced themselves, and a wall of resistance had been built, and behind this wall they stubbornly, almost defiantly, stood.
To their rationalization, President Kimball responded, “No, my beloved young people, you did not love one another. Rather, you lusted for one another. … If one really loves another, one would rather die for that person than injure him. At the hour of indulgence, pure love is pushed out one door while lust sneaks in the other (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 179).
President Kimball continued:
The young man who protects his sweetheart against all use or abuse, against insult and infamy from himself or others, could be expressing true love. But the young man who uses his companion as a biological toy to give himself temporary satisfaction—that is lust.
A young woman who conducts herself to be attractive spiritually, mentally, and physically but will not by word or dress or act stir or stimulate to physical reactions the companion beside her could be expressing true love. That young woman who must touch and stir and fondle and tempt and use exhibits lust and exploitation.
B
eware of the devil’s trick of making evil seem good by giving it a label that conceals its character. Just such a device is the rationalization that lust is love (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 182-3).
President Lee also declared:
I want to warn this great body of priesthood against that great sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, which has been labeled as a sin second only in seriousness to the sin of murder. I speak of the sin of adultery, which, as you know, was the name used by the Master as He referred to unlicensed sexual sins of fornication as well as adultery; and besides this, the equally grievous sin of homosexuality, which seems to be gaining momentum with social acceptance in the Babylon of the world, of which Church members must not be a part.
For a child of God, and particularly one bearing the priesthood and having been active in the Church, to consider his God-given gift of creative powers as a mere plaything or that his association with his sweetheart is primarily for the satisfying of his lustful appetite is to play the game of Satan, who knows that such conduct is the sure way to destroy in one the refinement necessary to receive the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 189).
President Kimball had similar counsel:
…sexual encounters outside of legalized marriage render the individual a thing to be used, a thing to be exploited, and make him or her exchangeable, exploitable, expendable.
Illicit sex is a selfish act, a betrayal, and is dishonest. To be unwilling to accept responsibility is cowardly, disloyal. Marriage is for time and eternity. Fornication and all other deviations are for today, for the hour, for the “now.” Marriage gives life. Fornication leads to death (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 181).
In the second paragraph of this section, we read, “Satan attacks the standards of modesty” (p. 228). President Kimball gave wise counsel concerning modest:
Another of the many things that lead to unchastity is immodesty.
There is no reason why women need to wear a low-cut or otherwise revealing gown just because it is the worldly style. We can create a style of our own.
We cannot overemphasize immodesty as one of the pitfalls to be avoided if we would shun temptation and keep ourselves clean (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 186).
In this section, President Hinckley is quoted concerning the evil of pornography. He added:
We hope that our parents and leaders will not tolerate pornography. It is really garbage, but today is peddled as normal and satisfactory food. … There is a link between pornography and the low, sexual drives and perversions.
It is ridiculous to imply that pornography has no effect. There is a definite relationship to crime. Murder, robbery, rape, prostitution, and commercialized vice are fed on this immorality. Sex crime statistics seem to reflect a relationship between crime and pornography.
It is utterly without redeeming social value. We urge our families to protect their children in every way possible. We live in a permissive world, but we must make certain we do not become a part of that permissive world, that degenerate world.
Precious souls are at stake—souls that are near and dear to each of us (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 184).
President Kimball decried pornography in his day, but was prophetic in this statement:
…there are false teachers everywhere, using speech and pornographic literature, magazines, radio, TV, street talk—spreading damnable heresies which break down moral standards, and this to gratify the lust of the flesh.
We abhor pornography that seems to be flooding the land.
Legislation makes an effort to curb it, but the best way to stop it is to have men and women, with their families, build barriers against it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 183).
With the internet coming into popularity on household computers about 1995, there was an
extreme escalation in pornography. By going online to ksl.com then typing in “Out in the Light” in the search bar on the top (it has a round blue dot with a magnifying glass on it) you can find lots of help with how to overcome pornography. An excerpt from there indicates the following current problem:
Every second, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography
28,258 Internet viewers are viewing pornography
372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines
Every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the U.S.
President Kimball concludes:
When we see the depravity of numerous people of our own society in their determination to force upon people vulgar presentations, filthy communications, unnatural practices, we wonder, has Satan reached forth with his wicked, evil hand to pull into his forces the people of this earth? Do we not have enough good people left to stamp out the evil which threatens our world? Why do we continue to compromise with evil and why do we continue to tolerate sin? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 184).
In conclusion, President Hinckley also shared the following:
Years ago I had responsibility for our work in Asia. I visited Okinawa many times when there were American servicemen stationed there in large numbers. Some of them had cars, and I noted that most of those cars were badly rusted. There were holes in the fenders. There were holes in the side panels. Whatever paint was left was dull. All of this was the result of corrosive ocean salt which was carried by the wind and which ate through the metal.
That is the way pornography is. This sleazy filth is like corrosive salt. It will eat through your armor if you expose yourselves to it.
I cannot emphasize this too strongly. The makers and marketers of this slimy stuff grow wealthy while the character of their customers decays. Stay away from it. Stand above it. It becomes addictive. It will destroy those who become its slaves (Ensign, June 1996, 2).
5 - - Breaking the Law of Chastity Is Extremely Serious
Scriptures list only the three most serious sins. Chastity is number three.
Know ye not, my son, that these things [immorality] are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost? (Alma 39:5)
And notwithstanding this great abomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue—
And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most cruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death… (Moroni 9:9 - 10)
Prophets have always lifted their voices against immorality. President Joseph F. Smith exclaimed:
We are not here to practice immorality of any kind. Above all things, sexual immorality is most heinous in the sight of God. … Therefore, we raise our voices against sexual immorality, and against all manner of obscenity (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 158).
Concerning the title of this section, President Lee also declared:
I want to warn this great body of priesthood against that great sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, which has been labeled as a sin second only in seriousness to the sin of murder. I speak of the sin of adultery, which, as you know, was the name used by the Master as He referred to unlicensed sexual sins of fornication as well as adultery; and besides this, the equally grievous sin of homosexuality, which seems to be gaining momentum with social acceptance in the Babylon of the world, of which Church members must not be a part (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 189).
President Joseph F. Smith’s words also have found prophetic fulfillment in today’s world:
We desire with holy zeal to emphasize the enormity of sexual sins. Though often regarded as insignificant by those not knowing the will of God, they are, in his eyes an abomination, and if we are to remain his favored people they must be shunned as the gates of hell. The evil results of these sins…are destroying the world. …they weaken and enervate, they kill man spiritually, they make him unfit for the company of the righteous and the presence of God (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 156).
The second paragraph of this section discusses the sin of abortion. President Kimball delared:
Sins spawned by pornography unfortunately perpetuate other serious transgressions, including abortion (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 184).
This section alludes to the pain which affects others, not just those who break the law of chastity. The prophets specifically spoke of this. President Joseph F. Smith said:
Unchastity, furthermore, not only fixes its penalty on the one who transgresses, but reaches out unerring punishment to the third and fourth generation, making not only the transgressor a wreck, but mayhap involving scores of people in his direct line of relationship, disrupting family ties, breaking the hearts of parents, and causing a black stream of sorrow to overwhelm their lives (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 157).
President Lee also added:
The unchastity of parents can send forth a chain reaction that can span the generations, even though the resentment and rebellion of disappointed children may take a different form. The absence of love at home causes ripples of reaction that roll across all of us; mankind pays an awful price for this kind of failure. What could be more relevant to the needs of the human family than for us to be chaste, to develop love at home—in fact, to keep every commandment? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 188).
The last idea presented in this section is, “Members of the Church who break this law or influence others to do so are subject to Church discipline” (p. 230).
President Smith also explained that there is a great difference in the spectrum of sexual sins:
Much as all these sins are to be denounced and deplored, we can ourselves see a difference both in intent and consequence between the offense of a young couple who, being betrothed, in an unguarded moment, without premeditation fall into sin, and that of the man, who having entered into holy places and made sacred covenants, plots to rob the wife of his neighbor of her virtue either by cunning or force and accomplish his vile intent.
Not only is there a difference in these wrongs, judging from the standpoint of intent, but also from that of the consequences (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 159-60).
Concerning church discipline comes the following from President Lee
He used a sorrowful letter from a man who had violated the law of chastity to illustrate the importance of this counsel: “When I was enjoying the Spirit of the Lord and was living the gospel, the pages of scripture would stand open to me with new understanding and the meaning of the pages of scripture would just leap into my soul. Now since the sentence of excommunication, I no longer read with understanding; I read with doubt the passages that before I thought I understood clearly. I formerly enjoyed performing the ordinances of the gospel for my children, to bless my babes, to baptize them, to confirm them, to administer to them when they were sick. Now I must stand by and witness some other man performing those ordinances. I used to enjoy going to the temple, but today the doors of the temple are closed against me. I used to complain a bit about the contributions the Church asks, paying tithing, paying fast offerings, contributing to this and contributing to that, and now as an excommunicant, I am not permitted to pay tithing; the heavens are closed to me now because I can’t pay tithing. I shall never in all my life complain again of the requests of the Church to make sacrifice of my means. My children are very kind to me, but I know that deep down in their souls, they are ashamed of the father whose name they bear” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 185).
King Benjamin told his people, possibly in exasperation:
And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them (Mosiah 4:29).
President Joseph F. Smith also exclaimed:
There are said to be more shades of green than of any other color, so also we are of the opinion there are more grades or degrees of sin associated with the improper relationship of the sexes than of any other wrongdoing of which we have knowledge (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 159).
6 - - Those Who Break the Law of Chastity Can Be Forgiven
Concerning this, President Joseph F. Smith said:
…we say to you, if you will observe the laws of God, and cease to do evil, cease to be obscene, cease to be immoral, sexually or otherwise, cease to be profane, cease to be infidel, and have faith in God, believe in the truth and receive it, and be honest before God and man, that you will be set up on high, and God will put you at the head, just as sure as you observe these commandments (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 160-1).
President Lee encouraged:
Brethren, we must ourselves resolve anew that we are going to keep the law of chastity: and if we have made mistakes, let’s begin now to rectify these mistakes. Let’s walk towards the light… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 189).
False ideas were spawned long ago in the church by an object lesson where a nail was driven into a board, then removed. The moral was, even though the nail is gone, there will always be a hole. Jeffrey R. Holland (before he was an apostle) relates the following:
We learn that when repentance is complete we are born again and leave behind forever the self we once were. To me, none of the many approaches to teaching repentance falls more short than the well-intentioned suggestion that “although a nail may be removed from a wooden post, there will forever be a hole in that post.”
We know that repentance (the removal of that nail, if you will) can be a very long and painful and difficult task. Unfortunately, some will never have the incentive to undertake it. We even know that there are a very few sins for which no repentance is possible.
But where repentance is possible and its requirements are faithfully pursued and completed, there is no “hole left in the post” for the bold reason that it is no longer the same post. It is a new post. We can start again, utterly clean, with a new will and a new way of life (Ensign, Mar. 1977, 79).
With sincere repentance and forgiveness, every one can have the kind of marriage President Kimball witnessed:
President Kimball also testified that joy and peace come from obeying the law of chastity. He saw these blessings in the lives of faithful members, as in this experience he had in the temple:
“Here were peace and harmony and eager anticipation. A well-groomed young man and an exquisitely gowned young woman, lovely beyond description, knelt [at] the altar. Authoritatively, I pronounced the heavenly ceremony which married and sealed them for eternity on earth and in the celestial worlds. The pure in heart were there. Heaven was there” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 179).
7 - - Those Who Keep the Law of Chastity Are Greatly Blessed
Finally, President Kimball stated:
Keep your life clean and free from all unholy and impure thoughts and actions. Avoid all associations which degrade and lower the high, righteous standards set up for us. Then your life will sail smoothly and peace and joy will surround you (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 187).
President Lee added:
If you want to have the blessings of the Spirit of the Lord to be with you, you must keep your body, the temple of God, clean and pure.
That man or that woman who has his eye ever fixed upon that eternal goal of eternal life, is rich indeed, because his whole soul is charged with a fire that comes to him who has kept his life worthy (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 185. 186).
In “Additional Scriptures” under D&C 121:45 is found a wonderful blessing for keeping the law of chastity. After quoting this scripture, plus the next verse, President Lee explained:
But never in the world will we have that dominion, that power, that companionship of the Holy Ghost unless we have learned to be virtuous in thought, in habit, and in our actions (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187).
The converse of this quote, then, is that we will have this blessing by being virtuous.
In conclusion, President Hinckley warned and promised:
The Lord has said, “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly” (D&C 121:45).
That is a commandment. He has repeated it in numerous ways. We cannot violate that commandment without paying a price, sometimes a terrible price. Likewise if we exercise self-discipline, calling into play the mighty power of individual will, accompanied by an invitation of the Spirit of the Lord, happiness will be the result (Ensign, June 1996, 2).
1 - - A Note to Parents
Using “lds.org” and typing in “teaching children chastity” (upper right corner) “Search all LDS.org” again gives great resources. Note that the first one if this lesson. Some of my favorites here that are a great help to parents are "Teaching Chastity to Youth" (Ensign, Feb. 1994, 19) and Terrance D. Olson, "Teaching Morality to Your Children" (Ensign, Mar. 1981, 10). We would also include a classic conference talk, “Why Stay Morally Clean,” by Elder Boyd K. Packer (Ensign, Jul 1972, 111).
The first paragraph of this section discusses teaching children about chastity. President Lee said:
Now the most effective teaching in the church is done in the family where the responsibility upon the father and the mother in the home is to teach their children while they’re yet small the basic principles of faith, repentance, belief in the Savior, those early principles of chastity, virtue, honor, and so on.
You mothers, stay close to your daughters. When they’re little children, don’t let someone else tell them about the so-called facts of life. As soon as your little children begin to ask you questions, little tots about little intimate things, sit down and talk to them about the things to the limit of their intelligence. They will then say, “All right, Mother, that’s fine.” And then a little later when they get in their teenage, they’ll come again a second time, this time a little more sophisticated. Then they begin to date, and where will they come for counsel? If you’ve done your job, they’ll come to ask Mother about her counsel on this and that, and on the night of her marriage, she’ll seek counsel from her mother, not from the women on the street.
And you fathers, be companionable with your boys. Never turn your boy aside when he wants to have your counsel about the things that he wants a father to talk to him about. Therein is the safety in the home. There’s the safety of your young people. Don’t deny them that safety, you fathers and you mothers.
The one who has the chief responsibility is the father of the boy. This doesn’t mean that the father should wake up some morning and call his boy to his bedside and in fifteen minutes tell him all the facts of life. That isn’t what the boy needs. He needs a father to answer when he wants to ask questions of a delicate nature. He is hungering to know; he is curious about things.
If his father will be frank and honest, and tell him up to the limit of his intelligence as he grows up, that father will be the one to whom the son will return for counsel in the years that follow.
That father will be an anchor to that boy’s soul, as the father takes from his book of experience lessons that he can give to his son to help condition him against the possibility of falling into that fatal trap in an unguarded moment (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 190, 192).
In the fourth paragraph of this section parents are counseled to “correct false ideas and vulgar language children learn from others” (p. 225). Interestingly the main two categories of all “swear words” are about God and sacred body parts for procreation. No coincidence, Satan’s campaign.
In the next to last paragraph of this section is an extremely important concept, “Children should understand that these powers are good and were given to us by the Lord” (p. 226). President Joseph F. Smith declared:
President Joseph F. Smith also declared:
The law of chastity is one of the most vital importance, both to children, and to men and to women. It is a vitally important principle to the children of God in all their lives, from the cradle to the grave.
The lawful association of the sexes is ordained of God, not only as the sole means of race perpetuation, but for the development of the higher faculties and nobler traits of human nature, which the love-inspired companionship of man and woman alone can insure. The word of Scripture is explicit as to the Divine intent and command with respect to the sexes. It is not good for man to be alone; and therefore hath it been ordained that “a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh” [See Genesis 2:18, 24.] (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 157, 158).
President Kimball counseled:
Your children will learn from you early in their lives that they must never involve themselves in immoral practices of any kind. This cannot be told to them just once. But before they are married they should be told hundreds of times, and they should know that not only their family and their parents expect this great service, but the Lord in heaven, Jesus Christ, expects them to keep clean and free from immorality (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 185).
President Kimball also stated:
Pure sex life in proper marriage is approved. There is a time and an appropriateness for all things that have value.
…sex can be an important and satisfactory part of married life (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 181, 183).
President Lee added:
To the end that man and woman might be brought together in this sacred marriage relationship, whereby earthly bodies are prepared as tabernacles for heavenly spirits, the Lord has placed within the breast of every young man and every young woman a desire for association with each other. These are sacred and holy impulses but tremendously powerful. …To gain the highest bliss in holy wedlock, the fountains of life must be kept pure (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 186).
For some in the past who circulated a myth in Mormonism that sexual intercourse was exclusively for procreation, the following from President Kimball may also be important:
We know of no directive from the Lord that proper sexual experience between husbands and wives need be limited totally to the procreation of children… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 183).
In his powerful conference talk, President Boyd K. Packer explained the two reasons for sexual relations in marriage:
When we obey, we can enjoy these powers in the covenant of marriage. From our fountains of life will spring our children, our family. Love between husband and wife can be constant and bring fulfillment and contentment all the days of our lives (Ensign, Nov. 2010, 74).
President Kimball gave wonderful advice for parents to help their children as they begin dating:
I suggest … the following standard. Any dating or pairing off in social contacts should be postponed until at least the age of 16 or older, and even then there should still be much judgment used in selections and in the seriousness. Young people should still limit the close contacts for several years, since the boy will be going on his mission when he is 19 years old.
Dating and especially steady dating in the early teens is most hazardous. It distorts the whole picture of life. It deprives you of worthwhile and rich experiences; it limits friendships; it reduces the acquaintances which can be so valuable in selecting a partner for time and eternity.
There is definitely a time for the dance, for travel, for associations, for the date, and even for the steady date that will culminate in the romance which will take young people to the holy temple for eternal marriage. But it is the timing that is so vital. It is wrong to do even the right things at the wrong time in the wrong place under the wrong circumstances (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 186-7).
A wonderful challenge for parents would be to prepare youth for the following interviews:
One of our stake conferences closed on an interesting note some while ago. … As the stake president got up to close the conference, he looked up to the balcony filled with youngsters and said, “There is something I want to say to you young people up in that balcony. Perhaps while I am your stake president, every one of you will come to me for an interview—advancement in the priesthood, or for some position to which you are to be called, or for temple recommends—and among other things I am going to ask you one soul-searching question. Are you morally clean? If you can answer honestly, ‘Yes, President, I am morally clean,’ you will be happy. If you have to answer, ‘No, I’m not,’ you will be sad; and if you lie to me, bitterness will fill your soul as long as you live.
One day [we] will have to meet our Maker and as Moroni put it—and this is pretty strong language—he said, “Do you think that you could be happy in the presence of the Holy One of Israel with a sense of guilt of your own uncleanness?” He said, “You would be happier to live with the damned souls in hell than in the presence of the Holy One of Israel with your uncleanness and your filthiness still upon you.” [See Mormon 9:3-4.]
When we break commandments, we hurt ourselves and others too. The error usually results in sadness, depression, hostility, or withdrawal, if we do not repent. We, in effect, diminish our self-esteem; we downgrade our roles as sons and daughters of God; we may even try to run away from the ultimate reality of who we really are! (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187-8).
2 - - The Power of Procreation
Concerning the title of this section, last October in conference, President Boyd K. Packer declared:
To be entrusted with the power to create life carries with it the greatest of joys and dangerous temptations. The gift of mortal life and the capacity to kindle other lives is a supernal blessing. Through the righteous exercise of this power, as in nothing else, we may come close to our Father in Heaven and experience a fulness of joy. This power is not an incidental part of the plan of happiness. It is the key—the very key (Ensign, Nov. 2010, 74).
In this section the questions are asked, “Why should parents teach their children about procreation and chastity? How can they appropriately do this? (p. 226). When children reach puberty, or about the age of twelve, parents should have their own copy of the Church pamphlet Strength of Youth (available from the ward) or go online at “lds.org” then click on the “Menu” bar on top and then click on “Youth” under “Family.” The pamphlet is under “Youth Menu” at the right of the screen. Then click on “Explore Youth Standards” (at right of screen) then click on “Sexual Purity.” The information here is a must for terrific answers to these questions.
The last two sentences in this section are:
God has commanded us that only in marriage between a man and a woman are we to have sexual relations. This commandment is called the law of chastity (p. 226).
The term “sexual relations” is also an important one in temple covenants. This phrase “sexual relations” is a continuum of ideas from accidental exposure to improper ideas through the eye or the ear or sudden thoughts coming into the mind all the way to sexual intercourse.
From True to the Faith comes the following terrific definition of this law:
To be chaste, you must be morally clean in your thoughts, words, and actions (p. 28).
In the third paragraph of the fourth section we learn, “The law of chastity requires that our thoughts as well as our actions be pure” (p. 228). President Joseph F. Smith declared:
Personal purity and proper thoughts … are the bases of all proper action (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 156).
President Lee gave helpful counsel:
Live the law of chastity more perfectly than you have ever done it before, by thinking pure thoughts. Remember what the Master stated, “It was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27–28). Now, our thoughts must be pure. Overcome any habits that you may have that have a tendency to immoral acts, and forbid the immorality that otherwise would blight your lives (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187).
It is most significant that the Savior taught that adultery begins in the heart.
President McKay gives some help concerning this:
A person who indulges his appetites, either secretly or otherwise, has a character that will not serve him when he is tempted to indulge his passions.
What a man continually thinks about determines his actions in times of opportunity and stress. A man’s reaction to his appetites and impulses when they are aroused gives the measure of that man’s character. In these reactions are revealed the man’s power to govern or his forced servility to yield.
Actions in harmony with divine law and the laws of nature will bring happiness, and those in opposition to divine truth, misery. Man is responsible not only for every deed, but also for every idle word and thought (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 87).
The bottom line is this: If a member of the Church accepts in his/her heart in “no sexual relations outside of marriage,” he/she will live the law of chastity. If not, he/she will not.
The Lord taught, “And verily I say unto you, as I have said before, he that looketh on a woman to lust after her, or if any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and shall fear” (D&C 63:16).
3 - - The Law of Chastity
This section concerns prophets and the law of chastity. President Gordon B. Hinckley adds:
Prophets of God have repeatedly taught through the ages that practices of homosexual relations, fornication, and adultery are grievous sins. Sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage are forbidden by the Lord (Ensign, May 1987, 45).
Gordon B. Hinckley also shared a wonderful concept:
Members of the Mike Wallace team spoke with a few students like you when they were here. These were both young men and young women. The reporters told me that the students said that it was easy to turn down a cigarette. There was no problem in refusing beer. The lines were clearly drawn on these things. But sex was a different matter. It was harder to tell where to draw the line.
I replied, “Those students know where to draw the line. They do not have to have that defined in clinical detail. They know when they are on slippery ground.”
My dear young friends, it is all a matter of self-discipline. Of course you know what is right and what is wrong. You have been trained from your childhood in these matters. When you find yourselves slipping in the direction of that which you know is wrong, it may be difficult to stop and turn around. But it can be done. It has been done by hundreds of thousands, millions just like you who experience the same emotional appeals that you experience (Ensign, June 1996, 2).
If youth are taught and then internalize the information in the fourth paragraph of this section, they will “know” as President Hinckley explained above.
Note that in this paragraph, along with immoral acts with others, immoral acts performed alone, such as masturbation, are included in “sexual relations” outside of marriage.
Many in today’s world believe that chastity is now old fashioned and out of date and we no longer need this law. President Kimball proclaimed:
The Lord has only one standard of morality—total chastity for both men and women before marriage and complete fidelity afterward.
That the Church’s stand on morality may be understood, we declare firmly and unalterably it is not an outworn garment, faded, old-fashioned, and threadbare. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and his covenants and doctrines are immutable; and when the sun grows cold and the stars no longer shine, the law of chastity will still be basic in God’s world and in the Lord’s church. Old values are upheld by the Church not because they are old, but rather because they are right.
Total chastity before marriage and total fidelity after are still the standard from which there can be no deviation without sin, misery, and unhappiness (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 179-80).
The following scripture fits any principle of the Gospel, but is especially true for the law of chastity:
Proving to the world that the holy scriptures are true, and that God does inspire men and call them to his holy work in this age and generation, as well as in generations of old;
Thereby showing that he is the same God yesterday, today, and forever. Amen (D&C 20:11-12).
President Joseph F. Smith declared and warned:
We believe in one standard of morality for men and women. If purity of life is neglected, all other dangers set in upon us like the rivers of waters when the flood gates are opened (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 156).
President Smith decried the concept that men should not be held the same standard as women:
It is a deplorable fact that society persists in holding women to stricter account than men in the matter of sexual offense. What shadow of excuse, not to speak of justification, can be found for this outrageous and cowardly discrimination? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 157).
President Kimball warned those who think chastity is out of date:
Those who seem to flout the institution of marriage, and who regard chastity before marriage with fidelity after as old-fashioned, seem determined to establish a new fashion on their own and impose it upon others. Can they not see the gross selfishness that will lead finally to deep loneliness? Can they not see that, pushed by pleasure, they will become more and more distant from joy? Can they not see that their kind of fulfillment will produce a hollowness and an emptiness from which no fleeting pleasure can finally rescue them? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 179-80).
In the Garden, the Lord provided Adam and Eve with coats of skins to cover their nakedness. Elder Carlos E. Asay, a member of the First Quorum of Seventy, taught:
Prior to their expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were clad in sacred clothing. We read: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21).
They received this clothing in a context of instruction on the Atonement, sacrifice, repentance, and forgiveness (see Moses 5:5-8). The temple garment given to Latter-day Saints is provided in a similar context. It is given to remind wearers of the continuing need for repentance, the need to honor binding covenants made in the house of the Lord, and the need to cherish and share virtue in our daily living so that promised blessings may be claimed (Ensign, Aug. 1997, 19).
Paul commented on this holy temple garment:
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Ephesians 6:16).
President Lee added to Paul’s powerful comments:
Clothe yourself with the armor of righteousness. Don’t give way in a moment of weakness. Safeguard that citadel of purity. Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, if you will keep it clean and pure (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187).
The last four paragraphs of this lesson concern the practice of homosexual behavior. President Kimball declared:
If one has [homosexual] desires and tendencies, he overcomes them the same as if he had the urge toward petting or fornication or adultery. The Lord condemns and forbids this practice with a vigor equal to his condemnation of adultery and other such sex acts. … Again, contrary to the belief and statement of many people, this [practice], like fornication, is overcomable and forgivable, but again, only upon a deep and abiding repentance, which means total abandonment and complete transformation of thought and act. …Christ’s church denounces it and condemns it. … This heinous homosexual sin is of the ages. Many cities and civilizations have gone out of existence because of it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 181).
4 - - Satan Wants Us to Break the Law of Chastity
Satan’s greatest threat today is to destroy the family, and to make a mockery of the law of chastity and the sanctity of the marriage covenant (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187).
One of Satan’s greatest tools: confusing love and lust. President Kimball described a young couple:
“The boy said, ‘Yes, we yielded to each other, but we do not think it wrong because we love one another.’ I thought I had misunderstood him. Since the world began, there have been countless immoralities, but to hear them justified by Latter-day Saint youth shocked me. He repeated,
‘No, it is not wrong, because we love one another.
“They had repeated this abominable heresy so often that they had convinced themselves, and a wall of resistance had been built, and behind this wall they stubbornly, almost defiantly, stood.
To their rationalization, President Kimball responded, “No, my beloved young people, you did not love one another. Rather, you lusted for one another. … If one really loves another, one would rather die for that person than injure him. At the hour of indulgence, pure love is pushed out one door while lust sneaks in the other (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 179).
President Kimball continued:
The young man who protects his sweetheart against all use or abuse, against insult and infamy from himself or others, could be expressing true love. But the young man who uses his companion as a biological toy to give himself temporary satisfaction—that is lust.
A young woman who conducts herself to be attractive spiritually, mentally, and physically but will not by word or dress or act stir or stimulate to physical reactions the companion beside her could be expressing true love. That young woman who must touch and stir and fondle and tempt and use exhibits lust and exploitation.
B
eware of the devil’s trick of making evil seem good by giving it a label that conceals its character. Just such a device is the rationalization that lust is love (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 182-3).
President Lee also declared:
I want to warn this great body of priesthood against that great sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, which has been labeled as a sin second only in seriousness to the sin of murder. I speak of the sin of adultery, which, as you know, was the name used by the Master as He referred to unlicensed sexual sins of fornication as well as adultery; and besides this, the equally grievous sin of homosexuality, which seems to be gaining momentum with social acceptance in the Babylon of the world, of which Church members must not be a part.
For a child of God, and particularly one bearing the priesthood and having been active in the Church, to consider his God-given gift of creative powers as a mere plaything or that his association with his sweetheart is primarily for the satisfying of his lustful appetite is to play the game of Satan, who knows that such conduct is the sure way to destroy in one the refinement necessary to receive the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 189).
President Kimball had similar counsel:
…sexual encounters outside of legalized marriage render the individual a thing to be used, a thing to be exploited, and make him or her exchangeable, exploitable, expendable.
Illicit sex is a selfish act, a betrayal, and is dishonest. To be unwilling to accept responsibility is cowardly, disloyal. Marriage is for time and eternity. Fornication and all other deviations are for today, for the hour, for the “now.” Marriage gives life. Fornication leads to death (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 181).
In the second paragraph of this section, we read, “Satan attacks the standards of modesty” (p. 228). President Kimball gave wise counsel concerning modest:
Another of the many things that lead to unchastity is immodesty.
There is no reason why women need to wear a low-cut or otherwise revealing gown just because it is the worldly style. We can create a style of our own.
We cannot overemphasize immodesty as one of the pitfalls to be avoided if we would shun temptation and keep ourselves clean (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 186).
In this section, President Hinckley is quoted concerning the evil of pornography. He added:
We hope that our parents and leaders will not tolerate pornography. It is really garbage, but today is peddled as normal and satisfactory food. … There is a link between pornography and the low, sexual drives and perversions.
It is ridiculous to imply that pornography has no effect. There is a definite relationship to crime. Murder, robbery, rape, prostitution, and commercialized vice are fed on this immorality. Sex crime statistics seem to reflect a relationship between crime and pornography.
It is utterly without redeeming social value. We urge our families to protect their children in every way possible. We live in a permissive world, but we must make certain we do not become a part of that permissive world, that degenerate world.
Precious souls are at stake—souls that are near and dear to each of us (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 184).
President Kimball decried pornography in his day, but was prophetic in this statement:
…there are false teachers everywhere, using speech and pornographic literature, magazines, radio, TV, street talk—spreading damnable heresies which break down moral standards, and this to gratify the lust of the flesh.
We abhor pornography that seems to be flooding the land.
Legislation makes an effort to curb it, but the best way to stop it is to have men and women, with their families, build barriers against it (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 183).
With the internet coming into popularity on household computers about 1995, there was an
extreme escalation in pornography. By going online to ksl.com then typing in “Out in the Light” in the search bar on the top (it has a round blue dot with a magnifying glass on it) you can find lots of help with how to overcome pornography. An excerpt from there indicates the following current problem:
Every second, $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography
28,258 Internet viewers are viewing pornography
372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines
Every 39 minutes, a new pornographic video is made in the U.S.
President Kimball concludes:
When we see the depravity of numerous people of our own society in their determination to force upon people vulgar presentations, filthy communications, unnatural practices, we wonder, has Satan reached forth with his wicked, evil hand to pull into his forces the people of this earth? Do we not have enough good people left to stamp out the evil which threatens our world? Why do we continue to compromise with evil and why do we continue to tolerate sin? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 184).
In conclusion, President Hinckley also shared the following:
Years ago I had responsibility for our work in Asia. I visited Okinawa many times when there were American servicemen stationed there in large numbers. Some of them had cars, and I noted that most of those cars were badly rusted. There were holes in the fenders. There were holes in the side panels. Whatever paint was left was dull. All of this was the result of corrosive ocean salt which was carried by the wind and which ate through the metal.
That is the way pornography is. This sleazy filth is like corrosive salt. It will eat through your armor if you expose yourselves to it.
I cannot emphasize this too strongly. The makers and marketers of this slimy stuff grow wealthy while the character of their customers decays. Stay away from it. Stand above it. It becomes addictive. It will destroy those who become its slaves (Ensign, June 1996, 2).
5 - - Breaking the Law of Chastity Is Extremely Serious
Scriptures list only the three most serious sins. Chastity is number three.
Know ye not, my son, that these things [immorality] are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost? (Alma 39:5)
And notwithstanding this great abomination of the Lamanites, it doth not exceed that of our people in Moriantum. For behold, many of the daughters of the Lamanites have they taken prisoners; and after depriving them of that which was most dear and precious above all things, which is chastity and virtue—
And after they had done this thing, they did murder them in a most cruel manner, torturing their bodies even unto death… (Moroni 9:9 - 10)
Prophets have always lifted their voices against immorality. President Joseph F. Smith exclaimed:
We are not here to practice immorality of any kind. Above all things, sexual immorality is most heinous in the sight of God. … Therefore, we raise our voices against sexual immorality, and against all manner of obscenity (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 158).
Concerning the title of this section, President Lee also declared:
I want to warn this great body of priesthood against that great sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, which has been labeled as a sin second only in seriousness to the sin of murder. I speak of the sin of adultery, which, as you know, was the name used by the Master as He referred to unlicensed sexual sins of fornication as well as adultery; and besides this, the equally grievous sin of homosexuality, which seems to be gaining momentum with social acceptance in the Babylon of the world, of which Church members must not be a part (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 189).
President Joseph F. Smith’s words also have found prophetic fulfillment in today’s world:
We desire with holy zeal to emphasize the enormity of sexual sins. Though often regarded as insignificant by those not knowing the will of God, they are, in his eyes an abomination, and if we are to remain his favored people they must be shunned as the gates of hell. The evil results of these sins…are destroying the world. …they weaken and enervate, they kill man spiritually, they make him unfit for the company of the righteous and the presence of God (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 156).
The second paragraph of this section discusses the sin of abortion. President Kimball delared:
Sins spawned by pornography unfortunately perpetuate other serious transgressions, including abortion (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 184).
This section alludes to the pain which affects others, not just those who break the law of chastity. The prophets specifically spoke of this. President Joseph F. Smith said:
Unchastity, furthermore, not only fixes its penalty on the one who transgresses, but reaches out unerring punishment to the third and fourth generation, making not only the transgressor a wreck, but mayhap involving scores of people in his direct line of relationship, disrupting family ties, breaking the hearts of parents, and causing a black stream of sorrow to overwhelm their lives (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 157).
President Lee also added:
The unchastity of parents can send forth a chain reaction that can span the generations, even though the resentment and rebellion of disappointed children may take a different form. The absence of love at home causes ripples of reaction that roll across all of us; mankind pays an awful price for this kind of failure. What could be more relevant to the needs of the human family than for us to be chaste, to develop love at home—in fact, to keep every commandment? (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 188).
The last idea presented in this section is, “Members of the Church who break this law or influence others to do so are subject to Church discipline” (p. 230).
President Smith also explained that there is a great difference in the spectrum of sexual sins:
Much as all these sins are to be denounced and deplored, we can ourselves see a difference both in intent and consequence between the offense of a young couple who, being betrothed, in an unguarded moment, without premeditation fall into sin, and that of the man, who having entered into holy places and made sacred covenants, plots to rob the wife of his neighbor of her virtue either by cunning or force and accomplish his vile intent.
Not only is there a difference in these wrongs, judging from the standpoint of intent, but also from that of the consequences (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 159-60).
Concerning church discipline comes the following from President Lee
He used a sorrowful letter from a man who had violated the law of chastity to illustrate the importance of this counsel: “When I was enjoying the Spirit of the Lord and was living the gospel, the pages of scripture would stand open to me with new understanding and the meaning of the pages of scripture would just leap into my soul. Now since the sentence of excommunication, I no longer read with understanding; I read with doubt the passages that before I thought I understood clearly. I formerly enjoyed performing the ordinances of the gospel for my children, to bless my babes, to baptize them, to confirm them, to administer to them when they were sick. Now I must stand by and witness some other man performing those ordinances. I used to enjoy going to the temple, but today the doors of the temple are closed against me. I used to complain a bit about the contributions the Church asks, paying tithing, paying fast offerings, contributing to this and contributing to that, and now as an excommunicant, I am not permitted to pay tithing; the heavens are closed to me now because I can’t pay tithing. I shall never in all my life complain again of the requests of the Church to make sacrifice of my means. My children are very kind to me, but I know that deep down in their souls, they are ashamed of the father whose name they bear” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 185).
King Benjamin told his people, possibly in exasperation:
And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them (Mosiah 4:29).
President Joseph F. Smith also exclaimed:
There are said to be more shades of green than of any other color, so also we are of the opinion there are more grades or degrees of sin associated with the improper relationship of the sexes than of any other wrongdoing of which we have knowledge (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 159).
6 - - Those Who Break the Law of Chastity Can Be Forgiven
Concerning this, President Joseph F. Smith said:
…we say to you, if you will observe the laws of God, and cease to do evil, cease to be obscene, cease to be immoral, sexually or otherwise, cease to be profane, cease to be infidel, and have faith in God, believe in the truth and receive it, and be honest before God and man, that you will be set up on high, and God will put you at the head, just as sure as you observe these commandments (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, 160-1).
President Lee encouraged:
Brethren, we must ourselves resolve anew that we are going to keep the law of chastity: and if we have made mistakes, let’s begin now to rectify these mistakes. Let’s walk towards the light… (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 189).
False ideas were spawned long ago in the church by an object lesson where a nail was driven into a board, then removed. The moral was, even though the nail is gone, there will always be a hole. Jeffrey R. Holland (before he was an apostle) relates the following:
We learn that when repentance is complete we are born again and leave behind forever the self we once were. To me, none of the many approaches to teaching repentance falls more short than the well-intentioned suggestion that “although a nail may be removed from a wooden post, there will forever be a hole in that post.”
We know that repentance (the removal of that nail, if you will) can be a very long and painful and difficult task. Unfortunately, some will never have the incentive to undertake it. We even know that there are a very few sins for which no repentance is possible.
But where repentance is possible and its requirements are faithfully pursued and completed, there is no “hole left in the post” for the bold reason that it is no longer the same post. It is a new post. We can start again, utterly clean, with a new will and a new way of life (Ensign, Mar. 1977, 79).
With sincere repentance and forgiveness, every one can have the kind of marriage President Kimball witnessed:
President Kimball also testified that joy and peace come from obeying the law of chastity. He saw these blessings in the lives of faithful members, as in this experience he had in the temple:
“Here were peace and harmony and eager anticipation. A well-groomed young man and an exquisitely gowned young woman, lovely beyond description, knelt [at] the altar. Authoritatively, I pronounced the heavenly ceremony which married and sealed them for eternity on earth and in the celestial worlds. The pure in heart were there. Heaven was there” (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 179).
7 - - Those Who Keep the Law of Chastity Are Greatly Blessed
Finally, President Kimball stated:
Keep your life clean and free from all unholy and impure thoughts and actions. Avoid all associations which degrade and lower the high, righteous standards set up for us. Then your life will sail smoothly and peace and joy will surround you (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, 187).
President Lee added:
If you want to have the blessings of the Spirit of the Lord to be with you, you must keep your body, the temple of God, clean and pure.
That man or that woman who has his eye ever fixed upon that eternal goal of eternal life, is rich indeed, because his whole soul is charged with a fire that comes to him who has kept his life worthy (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 185. 186).
In “Additional Scriptures” under D&C 121:45 is found a wonderful blessing for keeping the law of chastity. After quoting this scripture, plus the next verse, President Lee explained:
But never in the world will we have that dominion, that power, that companionship of the Holy Ghost unless we have learned to be virtuous in thought, in habit, and in our actions (Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee, 187).
The converse of this quote, then, is that we will have this blessing by being virtuous.
In conclusion, President Hinckley warned and promised:
The Lord has said, “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly” (D&C 121:45).
That is a commandment. He has repeated it in numerous ways. We cannot violate that commandment without paying a price, sometimes a terrible price. Likewise if we exercise self-discipline, calling into play the mighty power of individual will, accompanied by an invitation of the Spirit of the Lord, happiness will be the result (Ensign, June 1996, 2).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)