Learning of the Jews

Learning of the Jews

2 Nephi 11: 2 RE

     “For I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews, and I know that the Jews do understand the things of the prophets. And there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews.”

     Nephi’s eyes beheld the things of the Jews, and because he beheld the things of the Jews he had first hand, first person knowledge of Jewish learning and its effect on the religious mind and in turn the effect of that mind upon correct worship and correct religious belief. Nephi says that the “Jews do understand the things of the prophets”. This statement, outside the context of what Nephi says before and after it, appears to be Nephi endorsing the “learning of the Jews”. We will look deeper to see what Nephi says before and after this statement, and most importantly we will look at what Nephi does with his firsthand knowledge of what the learning of the Jews leads to and how to avoid those negative consequences.

     As an aside, the scriptures are not a series of sound bites that can be understood in a vacuum or in isolation from the entirety of the Word of God. Scripture clarifies, often seemingly contradicts itself, and qualifies meaning based upon the context of ideas and thoughts God is attempting to communicate to mankind in a particular moment in particular contexts to teach lessons, spread across the vastness of the scriptural texts, and often hidden in parables and mystery writing. If you remove this statement or any other from the context and complete meaning of the passages in which they are placed, meaning can be corrupted or confounded. What does Nephi mean when he writes about Jewish understanding of prophets? Is it an endorsement of Jewish learning? As a ruler, Nephi is given of God to be the one authorized to measure or weigh things and to draw out truth or discern between two or more things. How does Nephi measure or weigh the learning of the Jews?

     Let’s look deeper at the words: “there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews.” Let’s parse this. This is not an endorsement of Jewish learning. It is simply saying that no one understands the prophecies the same way the Jews understand the prophecies. There is no validation of the learning of the Jews here, only a statement that Jews understand like Jews understand, and if you are not a Jew you will not understand like they do unless you are taught like a Jew. There is no implicit validation of the learning of the Jews in Nephi’s statement.

     It’s like saying, Englishmen understand the things of prophets like Englishmen understand things, and unless you are a Englishman or have been taught like a Englishman, you will not understand the prophets like a Englishman. There is no value attached to the learning except to say that unless you understand things a certain way you won’t understand like those who understand them that way. Jews understand the prophets like Jews or those who have been taught like Jews. That’s it. Jews get Jewish learning that non-Jews don’t get. Whether Nephi endorses and vouches for the learning of the Jews is not found in this statement alone about Jews understanding prophets, rather, Nephi’s endorsement or ruling, is found in what he states in the verses around this one, and in what he does! Nephi is being clever, and how we read and interpret the words tells God about what is in our hearts. Will we follow Nephi’s example and instruction? Or will we seek the same learning of the Jews that has led to captivity and the Judgement of God?

     What source for your understanding do you seek? For Gods ways are not man’s ways and true understanding of the meaning of the Word requires the honest seeker of Gods Truth to seek Gods ways and accept God’s definitions. The greatest and most trustworthy source of the authentic Word of God that is True and Faithful to Gods mind, way, and definitions, is found in the Book of Mormon. If more people trusted the meanings given us in this book contention would disappear from among those willing to do so. Don’t contend against the Word of God. Don’t do that. But if you do, understand that Nephi is warning you that to do so is to risk God’s judgement and you are going to find yourself in the dark and worshipping abominations before Him.

     I gave a talk on confounded language that addresses this issue, go listen to it, or read it for more detail on perception and understanding according to Gods ways.  This is a continuation of that topic and was edited out because of time restrictions put upon me in giving that talk. What is your source for truth? The learning of the Jews? The Holy Spirit? The Book of Mormon? What is Nephi, who saw our day, attempting to communicate to us? That we must understand the prophets like Jews? If that is the case we need Jewish commentators and scholars to come and teach us and educate us in Jewish understanding so that we “get it”. If the learning of the Jews is not what Nephi is testifying of, what is Nephi’s solution to fixing our awful situation?

The Eyes of the Blind Shall See

  I spoke this last weekend in Provo Utah on the idea of confounded language. Here is the link for the transcript for any who are interested in reading my comments. This is a vital concept to understand for all those interested in bringing again Zion and this paper is a very basic introduction to the idea and is in no way a comprehensive discussion. Much more could be said on the subject and my hope is that this will begin a dialogue on how to act within your person and then within your sphere of influence to bring about some of the last days prophecy by sanctifying yourself according to the laws ordained before the foundations of the world to do so.

The talk was based on Isaiah 6 and Isaiah's prophetic injunction to preach that "seeing they perceive not and hearing they understand not." This is more about the foreknowledge of God in how the people would receive the message than in Isaiah's ability to blind and deafen his audience, nevertheless, it is clear as the talk will outline, that the default condition of the carnal man and woman is to see and perceive not, hear and understand not, and that it is Gods work and glory to reverse this condition and return light to those who sit in darkness and understanding to those who sit in the shadow of death, and to heal the lame that they may publish peace upon the mountains. (Luke 1)

The Eyes of the Blind Shall See

Accountability Part 2

"Until we have perfect love we are liable to fall and when we have a testimony that our names are sealed in the Lamb's book of life we have perfect love and then it is impossible for false Christs to deceive us...many of us have gone at the command of the Lord in defiance of everything evil, and obtained blessings unspeakable, in consequence of which our names are sealed in the Lamb's book of life, for the Lord has spoken it. It is the privilege of every Elder to speak of the things of God; and could we all come together with one heart and one mind in perfect faith the veil might as well be rent today as next week, or any other time, and if we will but cleanse ourselves and covenant before God, to serve Him, it is our privilege to have an assurance that God will protect us" section one  TPJS, heading: Perfect Love a Safeguard Against Falling from Grace, section One

In defiance of everything evil, or in other words in defiance of all that denies the Holy Ghost, and denies access to the Holy Ghost for any soul on earth that has knowledge, for as Christ said, "Who having knowledge have I not commanded to repent?"

1. Little children are not all children under the age of 8. Little children according to the Book of Mormon and D&C are infants. (Mosiah 3: 16-18; D&C 93: 38-41) To assume Mormon is referring to all children under age 8 when he refers to "little children", is conflating his words with a future restriction Mormon knew noting of. Mormon knew little children were infants or those without knowledge because he had just abridged King Benjamins record teaching this truth. (see Mosiah 2-4)

2. Accountability is not related to age which is arbitrary and forbidden by God. (see Moroni 8:15)

3. Accountability is knowledge and understanding. (D&C 29:49; Mosiah 2-4; Moroni 8:19)

4. Because the early saints asked for a specific age they were given one; Joseph was influenced by Rigdon who was directly involved with the JST translation specifically, and by the Campbellites who brought with them all of their false traditions and detoured the restoration God was attempting. Part of that false belief was a question of age of accountability. Instead of Using agency and personal responsibility allowing each to decide for themselves by the Holy Spirit, when to baptize using the standards of knowledge and understanding, the saints demanded an age to let them off the hook from deciding according to the Spirit on a case by case basis, thereby obtaining an idol or king, or in Josephs words a creed to tell them what to do. (see PTR on Campbellite perversion of restoration)

5. This is part of the perversion of the Campbellites coming aboard, along with them desiring priesthood offices instead of real connection to the Powers of Heaven as their priesthood. These two are actually related, as restricting baptism from those who have knowledge actually restricts priesthood and prophecy from those who are most recently arrived from the other side of the veil. This restriction stunts them because they know they are sinful and they know Christ can fix them, but tradition denies them the Holy Ghost and fulness of fellowship with Them. 

6. This is similar to God forbidding a king, and then allowing it when the people asked for it. It was Gods will not to have a king. It was allowed due to hardness of heart and unbelief. So Kings are in scripture among Gods people but God would prefer it otherwise. So too we have age restriction and accountability as knowledge in scripture, but that doesn't mean God sanctions both.

7. This is the reason we have been commanded to replace D&C 20. If we are going to replace section 20 because the Campbellites detoured the restoration by demanding a New Testament church rather than an ancient one, conflating priesthood with church office, we should also restore and return age of accountability to its proper and Godly form, or at least account for Gods word proclaiming such. If priesthood is an association with the Powers of Heaven or the Holy Ghost, then restricting it from those who know but cannot yet receive the ordinance denies that fellowship based only on age despite the understanding of the individual. This would make God partial.

8. Age 8 requirement then is a false tradition of men, and is not of God although God allows it for the hardness of our hearts. It stifles His work, prevents the Holy Ghost from coming to the tender branches among us and goes against His very nature, attributes and perfections, as He is just and does not judge one child from the next on so arbitrary thing as the ticking of the clock. (See Moroni 8)

Because I believe accountability is based on knowledge and understanding, I have taught my children the wages of sin as commanded me. I have also taught them about redemption through Christ through faith on His Name and repentance followed by the “firstfruit of repentance”, which is baptism. After they were taught this they are accountable because they have knowledge of sin and how to come to Christ to repair that breach. They cease to be an infant, or a being who doesn't know or is ignorant. The child gets it. It’s a Bongard problem. They know they don't know things and they know they make mistakes and sin. They want a way to come to Christ, but the traditions of our fathers prevent them from doing so until they become a certain age. This denies the Holy Spirit. This is forbidden by God. Using the same criteria for baptism for all mankind is just and is Gods will. For He is the same yesterday today and forever.

Telling children fairy tales about accountability is akin to telling them Santa and the Easter Bunny are real and then later telling them mommy and daddy were lying the whole time for fun. We are teaching them through this false tradition of age restricted access to God, an incorrect attribute about our Lord. That He is arbitrary. That He will save one child for being innocent due to age, and damn another because they are a day older. It tells them that despite knowing of their own sin and desire to repent, God doesn't hold them accountable despite their knowledge. It ingrains into the psyche a false belief or understanding of God. This is part of our condemnation we currently struggle under. Doing what the Book of Mormon says, requires us to shed this false tradition of our fathers and teach our children in light and truth (D&C 93;38) by allowing them access to the atonement as soon as they desire to repent and come unto Christ and be baptized. This is the God I believe in. I reject the false God who is changeable and partial and judges based on random rules for one set of His children while judging others on another standard. 

Whenever God has been reduced to rules and minutia it is referred to in scripture as the “lesser law”. (see D&C 84) It is a reduction of what could have been. It becomes a way for those who accept it to be condemned for their aaronic behavior. It denies the Holy Ghost, and it prevents the fulness and Zion. When you change the ordinance to fit your religious anxiety and fear of choosing for yourself, you loose what God offers. This religiously enshrined false and changed ordinance is what scripture calls abomination. It becomes difficult to reverse because those who practice it are very religiously devout and become angry when it is suggested that they are abominable and following false Gods. I suppose its reasonable enough in their minds to cast out those like Abinadi, Nephi, Lehi, Samuel, Alma, Mormon, Moroni, Joseph and even the very Son of God as wildmen or unfit neighbors when they feel so religiously justified. 

Can God's people live under rules and creeds which establish accepted orthodoxy? Is having rules and creeds what is meant by "one heart and one mind" which is a reality of those who reside in Zion? Or is one mind and one heart a function of knowing God? Is it doing as Joseph suggests above that we receive the mind of God for ourselves by what we sacrifice, what we know and what we do to defy evil, receiving covenants by what we do? 

God is a Principle. We must be in agreement or accord with Him and His Principles to be united with them. These Principles are who He is and who we must be or not be saved. These Principles are the Powers of Heaven or the Fathers we must unite ourselves with in order to be one with Them. The unity we seek between each other comes as a result of knowing and possessing Them. Love is Truth. Love is reality of who God is. God is real because He is reality or He is what is, because He caused what is to be. If we base ourselves on Him who is and was and will be, we will continue on because we are like Him. If we are not like Him then we will continue on in the deaths, worlds without end. 

Why do we not repent of our ignorance when truth is taught plainly revealing our folly? Especially when it is given us in love and charity? God is not a creed or a rule. Christ consistently broke rules and creeds to obey His Father because He was principle based, or in other words He obeyed the higher law of principles which allowed Him to remain in obedience to the Father while not necessarily staying true to rules and creeds.

"People are quickly and easily drawn away from repentance  into some other vain and foolish track." (Denver Snuffer, Preserving the Restoration, p. )

Repentance and baptism is the Way. It is the only mechanism given by heaven to grant a greater abundance of the Holy Spirit (Mosiah 18:10) and to establish equity and equality of all people.(see Moroni 6:1 and 7) It is the ONE doctrine of Christ and apparently we just don't have the patience to abide in that doctrine long enough to be cleaned up and filled with enough light to be one with God and thereby one with all who also are one with God. And our children languish and fade in the Spirit because the earth is defiled with an altered ordinance which curses the whole earth and makes it desolate or without the Holy Spirit, and in so doing are living under a broken covenant no longer everlasting to salvation but only to separation from that Spirit which is designed to fill us with light and truth, but we will not. Therefore will the earth be burned and few men left. (Isaiah 24:5-6)

O let us repent while it is day! Let those who are the most tender among us be reconciled to Christ and filled with His Holy Spirit as they gain understanding! Let those who have knowledge come into the house of the Lord and be united back with their Christ! Let those who do not know of Christ and His mercy be taught the good news of the gospel, and then having knowledge repent and be baptized! Let those who are willing to come unto Christ as He has commanded then be filled with the Spirit of God, pressed down shaken together and overflowing with light and truth! That our young men and our young women may prophecy in the name of the Lord and no one will need say "know ye the Lord" for all will know Him and be like Him for they will all be filled with the same Spirit all in all! (Joel 2) May those who come fall upon the necks of all those who will remain as Followers of the Way in steadfastness and humility! For God is coming! And He will burn up those who cannot abide who He is, and with that same fire will quicken or make fast those who see Him as He is because they are like Him and have a fellowship with Them. 

The Gall of Bitterness

“For he [John the Baptist] was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is given all power.

(D&C 84: 28)

Here we find an example in scripture of a mortal man being “baptized while he was yet in his childhood”. If we say little children means "under the age of eight", it is fair to also say that "in his childhood" also means under age eight as well. John the Baptist lived at the time of Jesus during His mortal ministry. John was Christ’s cousin.  Interestingly, the book of Moroni chapter eight, which is an epistle from Mormon to his son Moroni, informs us of a possible contradiction.

"Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell. For awful is the wickedness to suppose that God saveth one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism.

If we define “little children” as under the age of eight years old, then these two scriptures are not compatible. If Mormon meant to say, “he that supposeth that children under the age of eight need baptism is in the gall of bitterness”, then what we have is someone baptizing John, before the allowed age of eight in direct violation of the edict of Mormon. If we presume that the person performing the baptism is the angel mentioned in the above verses, then we are forced to conclude that an angel of God is in the “gall of bitterness, the bonds of iniquity, for he hath neither faith, hope nor charity”, and that this angel, or whomever baptized John before his eighth birthday, “must go down to hell” just for thinking about doing this, let alone actually doing it.

If on the other hand, if “little children” means what King Benjamin meant, that little children are infants, (see prior post: Accountability) and those without knowledge and understanding of their awful and fallen situation and of the need for a Savior, then what we have is a person in John the Baptist who came to this earth already possessing great enough knowledge for the angel of God to baptize him without an age requirement. We are being shown what accountability really means. Accountability is not age related at all, it is based on the knowledge of the individual. Mormon continues:

"Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner, for they shall perish except they repent. Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear. And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and partakers of salvation.

For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity.

Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them, for they are all alive in him because of his mercy.” (Moroni 8:14-17)

Don't pervert the ways of the Lord. Don’t do that! Don’t fear man. Mormon didn’t fear man because he was filled with perfect love or in other words he was filled with charity. He knew what he was talking about. All children are alike to Mormon. Children are “all alike and partakers of salvation”. How charitable is it for one child being 7 years, 11 months, 30 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds old to be saved by Christ, and then a few seconds later be subject to the fall and be damned to hell? All this while they slumber in bed! Is this charitable? Is this equitable? Is this viewing all children alike? Or is this condemning some to hell and some not based on the arbitrary tick of the clock? Do you “suppose that God saves one child because of baptism, and the other must perish because he hath no baptism”?

This is a perversion of the ways of the Lord! I speak with boldness for I fear not what man can do! All children are alike to me, and those who are without the law or in other words, those who do not know or understand, are “all alike and partakers of salvation.”

For I know that God is not partial, neither is He changeable! If God would allow for John the Baptist to be baptized based on the knowledge he possessed, which allowed him to repent-he being under the law by his knowledge, then could an unchanging God prohibit another child of any age the same blessing if they possessed understanding of their need for a Savior? If God did forbid it, would He thereby be changeable? If changeable, would He cease to be God and lose His own salvation?

It is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God! The first fruit of repentance is baptism. (Moroni 8: 25) Without baptism then, there is no fruit of repentance. Repentance is null and void, and pure vanity and iniquity if it is not followed by baptism. Repentance without baptism is in a word, fruitless. Multiply and be fruitful, Adam was told, or in other words, humble yourself down into the depths of humility and repent and be baptized in my Name—be fruitful! 

Does a child under 8 years old understand they have done wrong? Is wrongdoing sin? If we teach a child of sin and error, and then teach them to repent, but then deny them baptism because they are not 8, what have we done? Have we not damned them? For now they have knowledge because we taught them they have offended God; we taught them to repent; and then we deny them the fruit! We literally place them under the law by giving them understanding, and then deny them Gods pure mercies! We enshrine our own lack of understanding as a false tradition upon our children, teaching them to set at naught the mercies God offers through the fruit of repentance, even baptism. Mormon says don’t do this! Mormon views all children alike! 

We hardly understand this most correct of books! We see ourselves as Nephi and really we are Laman and Lemuel, never getting the answers because we won’t ask God to reveal to us what lies just beyond our perception in the the scriptures that lay before us. We revel in our darkness and call it light. We refuse to see that it is US that is denying the pure mercies of God and US that is denying the Holy Ghost to the children we say we love. Mormon wants you to be clear on why he can say he truly loves children: its because he is equitable and fair to them and does not differentiate based on anything other than knowledge; He does not discriminate child from child based on age, and this he calls, “everlasting love”. 

Wo be unto them that shall pervert the ways of the Lord after this manner! Those who continue after being brought into the light shall perish except they repent. I speak with boldness, having authority from God! I fear not what man can do for I am filled with charity and everlasting and perfect love, which casteth out all fear, and which makes all children alike unto me, wherefore, I love little children with a perfect love, and they are all alike and partakers of salvation.

He that supposes that children need baptism based on any criteria other than knowledge and understanding, is in the gall of bitterness, the bonds of iniquity and has neither faith, hope nor charity. For who having understanding has God not commanded to repent?

Accountability

Before i begin, I would like to acknowledge the sensitive nature of this topic and the emotions that run high when its being discussed. I am humbly asking for you to open your mind and heart and read the whole thing before you make a decision to discount what i write. I would also like to state that I believe this is extremely important to the founding of zion or i wouldn’t bring it up at all. 

In D&C 29: 45-50 LE. it states:

For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey. But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; Wherefore, they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me; For it is given unto them even as I will, according to mine own pleasure, that great things may be required at the hand of their fathers. And, again, I say unto you, that whoso having knowledge, have I not commanded to repent? And he that hath no understanding, it remaineth in me to do according as it is written. And now I declare no more unto you at this time. Amen.

This is Christ speaking and He is telling us that, “little children”, are:

1. Redeemed from the foundation of the world
2. they cannot sin
3. satan has no power to tempt them,

UNTIL: they begin to become accountable

When is that? Why does the Lord use the word “begin” to become accountable? Are we accountable for the knowledge we don’t have yet? Is accountability a process? Is accountability a process of becoming like the Gods? Of being precisely what They are?

Continuing: “And, again,” [same topic, stressing the point or accountability—again] “I say unto you, that whoso having knowledge, have I not commanded to repent?” [Is there anyone who has knowledge, that God hasn’t commanded to repent? Anyone?] 

…continuing, “And he that hath no understanding, it remaineth in me to do according as it is written.” Here, the Lord tells us who He means when He says “little children” in the lines just prior to these we read. Little children are “he that hath no understanding”. With those who have “no understanding”, God will do with according as is written just prior which is: they are “redeemed from the foundation of the world, they cannot sin, satan has no power to tempt them”. This is true because of their lack of knowledge and understanding! They are redeemed from the fall to be sent down to another world that God already has prepared for those who are not like Him yet. (Moses 1:38)

This is why Joseph Smith said, “a man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge” and “knowledge saves a man”. Joseph understood what he was talking about! Salvation wasn’t an arbitrary age. It was and is and always will be knowledge that saves! So God instituted baptism as a mechanism to pour out His Spirit more abundantly upon us. (see Mosiah 18:10) In other words, baptism is designed to pour power back into dormant or apostate priesthood, and to give the mind of God to mankind in greater measure. Baptism gives more abundance of the Holy Spirit, which in turn gives knowledge; Godly knowledge! 

So as a principle, an age requirement for baptism is blocking God from giving His mind or the Holy Spirit to those who happen to be under that age. Despite that a child under 8 may know that they are fallen and in need of a Savior and desire to repent and be filled with the Holy Spirit with greater abundance, such a discriminatory rule prohibits them from progressing in the knowledge God wants to pour out to them. It fights Gods purposes to restrict children in this way. It contradicts the words quoted above by the Lord. And as we shall see as we continue, it is opposite of how King Benjamin taught his people.

So why and when did this age requirement occur? Shouldn’t we honor Josephs words in JST Exodus and D&C 68?

Good question! In the 10 Lecture series, now Preserving the Restoration, Denver makes it clear that the Campbellite assimilation into the movement Joseph started was like a giant lump in a snake, a giant “aneurysm”! These Campbellites, “saw the faith through restorationist eyes.” This “overthrow of Joseph’s incipient faith” was led by Sidney Rigdon. So we know that Joseph was easily influenced by Rigdon and other Campbellites. We see this all through the D&C where God is answering the questions Joseph asks at the behest of these well meaning folks, while intertwining in, what it is He, God, wanted to establish.  We are removing D&C 20 and engaging in this project for that exact reason! 

So what was one of the questions on the minds of the various Restorationist movements in the years leading up to Gods hand beginning again with Joseph? Because we know Joseph was able to be influenced, and we know the Campbellites and Rigdon were the primary influencers that got Gods restoration off track. What was one of their concerns? A debate that was raging then and still is a question between Catholics and many protestants today, is the “age of accountability” debate. It was a time of debate regarding original sin and when one needs baptism. “What is the age of accountability?”, is a question asked then and still today! So Jospeh was pushed to get an answer. Rigdon shows up to translate the Bible with a young Joseph. It is possible and very likely that Rigdon and the Campbelittes asked for a “king” so to speak, by influencing Joseph to ask for or to mistakenly seek, a hard and fast age requirement for baptism, and we see that influence in that one verse in Exodus, and the other in D&C 68. Sidney Rigdon shows up to assist Joseph in the translating, and we find the same issues being debated in the Restorationsist movement then underway, show up in the translating and later the D&C.

If you look at the verse quoted above in section 29, the contradiction between where the Lord says, “whoso having knowledge, have I not commanded to repent?”, and then equates understanding and knowledge to accountability, contrasted with an arbitrary age requirement where from one second to the next one suddenly becomes accountable as one second earlier they weren’t accountable, and based on no action or work or knowledge other than the ticking of the clock they suddenly become so. This seeming contradiction fits this pattern that exists in the D&C between what a restorationist campbellite audience wanted, contrasted with what Gods intention was and is. We see the two conflicting themes intertwined in scripture as God gives the saints what they wanted, and also what He wants simultaneously. We are left to find the light by the light within us. 

You cannot conflate Mormon condemning baptism of “little children” with section 68 or Exodus. Both of the latter occurred after Mormon wrote Moroni 8. What we can do is look at what Mormon understood by the words “little children” by looking at the material that he just abridged and rewrote on metal plates. He had just finished that work when he wrote Moroni 8, and therefore his understanding would have come from the words of the prophets whom he just abridged. 

“And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins.”

So we are talking about “little children” and the idea that Christ atoned for their sins. So what does King Benjamin mean by “little children”? Continuing, next verse…

“And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the INFANT perisheth not that dieth in his INFANCY; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

Mosiah 3:16-18

So we have a message about children and accountability given by King Benjamin. He (just like Christ did in Section 29) first establishes that “little children” are saved from the fall by Christ. He then expounds and tells us exactly who he means by “little children”. It is infants! Which puts this right back into Josephs own time and the very debates of his day regarding original sin or guilt that was raging as religious freedom was being explored following the Protestant Reformation. Joseph tells us that it was a “tumult of opinion” and that voices were crying "lo here and lo there”. How was a boy as young as he was to know the truth? Well, he lacked knowledge. He lacked Wisdom. So he asked and got an answer. 

Mormon knew this definition and understanding that King Benjamin gave in this sermon. He did not have Josephs material brought on by apostate christians in the 1800’s before him. It is therefore more reasonable to believe that Mormon was referencing infants when he speaks of “little children”, than that he was referencing all people under the age of 8. It also solves the contradictions between everything Jospeh taught the rest of his life and those two verses that condemn us still today. There is another message God wants us to see in the material Joseph gave us. The term blindness used in scripture is important because it tells us we can’t see what we can’t see. Unbelief being that we believe something that is incorrect, to be the truth, then it stands to reason we are going to be surprised when the thing that we were blind to that was in the dark is revealed to our understanding. If it wasn’t surprising we would have already known it. If we weren’t blinded to the truth, we would have already seen. 

So why is this important to the establishment of zion?

In Joel we read:

28 ¶And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; [what is the mechanism God uses to “pour out His Spirit”?] and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions

32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.”

(Joel 2:28, 32)

If God is to pour out His Spirit upon our young men and women, they need a greater abundance of the Holy Spirit. By the time a child turns 8 years old they are already so engrained in the ways of the world, and corrupted with TV, internet, and public schooling, that it takes years maybe decades for God to pour out His Spirit abundantly enough to counteract the violence, sex and vulgarity that washes over them on a constant basis. Remember, accountability is a process that doesn’t end until one knows all things. If we waited until we “knew enough” before we got baptized, we would miss the very mechanism God intends to fix that very deficiency in us.

Heres how Alma puts it.

“what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantlyupon you?”

If you lack the Spirit in any degree, Alma at least will tell you the way to get more! Go repent and be baptized!

In Mosiah 2, King Benjamin addresses the need for children to be involved in the gospel according to their knowledge: 

"For behold, there is a wo pronounced upon him who listeth to obey that spirit; for if he listeth to obey him, and remaineth and dieth in his sins, the same drinketh damnation to his own soul; for he receiveth for his wages an everlasting punishment, having transgressed the law of God CONTRARY TO HIS OWN KNOWLEDGE. (Wow! Accountability defined!) I say unto you, that there are not any among you, except it be your little children that have not been taught concerning these things, but what knoweth that ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render to him all that you have and are; and also have been taught concerning the records which contain the prophecies which have been spoken by the holy prophets, even down to the time our father, Lehi, left Jerusalem…O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you LITTLE CHILDREN WHO CAN UNDERSTAND MY WORDS, for I have spoken plainly unto you that ye might understand, I pray that ye should AWAKE TO A REMEMBRANCE of the AWFUL SITUATION of those that have fallen into transgression.”

Is it really true that a child younger than 8 years old cannot understand the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why does Christ say, “suffer the little children to come unto me” if He doesn’t mean it? Are children under the age of 8 taught the gospel? If so, and they awaken to their awful situation as King Benjamin says, who would deny salvation and redemption to such a soul by denying them the blessing of baptism and its attendant outpouring of the Holy Spirit because of an arbitrary rule that is found only in scripture after the Campbellite distortion of Gods work?

The idea that at a single moment in time, independent of knowledge and understanding, one second a soul is innocent and does not need baptism, and at the striking of midnight suddenly becomes accountable is so contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ that its laughable and seems absurd when seen in its true light. In the future it will be seen as unthinkable to deny an entire segment of the worlds population the salvific blessings of baptism because of so arbitrary and ridiculous a rule established by churchmen who wanted to be the boss of other people and tell them what to do and when and who can come unto Christ.

I take the words of a servant, given us in our day as my guide and instruction in this matter.

"The only condition for baptism is to accept the Doctrine of Christ, set out by Christ in His own words. Christ commanded it be done, and has reiterated that it is to be done anew in our day. We will be disappointed at His coming if we fail to obey.” 

‘Any who want to be baptized should be. If you have this power given by Christ and anyone comes to be baptized, do not refuse them.” (Italics on the word ‘anyone” are Denvers)

—Denver Snuffer

I add my witness before God that the age restriction was wittingly left out by Christ, Mormon, Moroni, Alma, Nephi, Joseph (in all his writings other than two spots), King Benjamin, and in our own day, Denver. It is not a principle of truth but a rule. I also witness that it is knowledge that saves, and knowledge and understanding that makes a soul accountable before God. Lets put aside the rules that bind us to darkness and deny the Holy Ghost, and establish principles that remove the condemnation and scales of darkness upon us and our children as promised us in D&C 84, if we will not only say but do what the Book of Mormon tells us: Repent and be baptized until you know all Things. The rising generation needs more Holy Spirit as soon as they understand and awaken to their awful situation as King Benjamin taught. 

“Who having knowledge have I not commanded to repent?”

“the first fruit of repentance is baptism”

Will ye deny the Christ and the Holy Spirit to your children any longer?

Perhaps it is at long last time we change JST Exodus and D&C 68 to reflect correct principles and lay aside this condemnation under which we suffocate and deny the Holy Spirit to the souls who need it most if we are to have Zion.

Approaching the Holy Order of Zion

In order that a holy people may be established upon the earth, that the covenants to the Fathers may be fulfilled, of which have been prophesied, in which Gods people may return and bring again Zion, it is necessary according to the pattern of heaven that a people of God understand and know correct principles and laws upon which a holy people can be established in righteousness and truth according to the Word of God. These sayings are given that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.  For if you keep my commandments, by following your Lord and Savior down into the waters until you are clean without spot, even until you are made Holy, you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me even as I am glorified in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, if you do this, you shall receive grace for grace until you are able to bear all things, whether under heaven or the earth, or above them, for all things shall be yours and you will be mine, and I Am the Fathers, for He has given me all that He hath. And He has given me all things in the exact same way I give it to any who will. For this is the law of Heaven, and of Zion, that City of Holiness given as a light to all living, but they perceive it not. 

Hear Me my little flock, let your hearts be comforted; for all Things shall work together for good-- to them that walk uprightly in Wisdoms paths, even to the sanctification of them by the blood of the Lamb unto the renewing of their bodies.  For I will raise up unto myself a pure and holy people, that will serve me in righteousness; And all that call upon the name of the Lord, and keep his commandments, shall be saved. For, for this purpose is the revelation given of the prophet who should come and baptize the Lamb of God in the waters of the Jordan river. 

Hear you the words of Wisdom: How is it that the Lamb of God, He being Holy, or in other words, He is a Holy Being, without beginning of days or end of years, how is it that this Christ-being Holy has need of baptism? For He is from everlasting to everlasting! But He submitted to the will of the Father to show His people the way. Even to show any who would have Him to be their God, that inasmuch as any person or peoples are in need of repentance, or in other words, inasmuch as you are not holy, or not a Holy Being, then the way given to become so, is to repent and be baptized and receive more Holy Ghost, and to continue in this way until you receive the entirety of the mind of God, knowing all things from the first to the End.

And I heard the voice of the Father say to me: This is My Beloved Son, His Words are True and Faithful, hear you His Word! And the Son truly said, Who having knowledge have I not commanded to repent and follow Me down into the waters that I may make them Holy even as I Am? Who can hear it? Who will abide the day? For I will come, and I come with Vengeance and Fury! And they that come with me shall not stop to loose their shoes latchet, nor will they rest until all My words have been fulfilled. For I will flood the earth before that dreadful day of the Lord comes, and I will flood the earth with Truth! Who can hear it? I say to you, that you may understand clearly, that only those who are Mine, who have partaken of the fountain of all Righteousness freely, continually running into this fountain or the waters of baptism, without measure and without restraint, even those who have become without spot therein, shall remain standing at that day.  These are they who shall partake of the fruit of the tree of life freely. For as they freely went down into the water, even so shall they rise up and freely or continuously partake of the fruit of the tree of life. For this is the day of salvation and it is offered to all on the same basis. For in the first place, all were given the same opportunity. And I give liberally unto all those who, finding they lack Wisdom, ask God for more light and truth. And the way to ask for and then receive Wisdom, is to repent and follow your Lord and Savior down into the waters! For in the waters, the fountain of all living, I will pour out My mind, or the Holy Spirit, for even as I poured out My life, even so will I pour My mind out to all those who come unto Me in the depths of Humility, and therein find the Mother of all Living.

This is My doctrine! Not because I said it, although that is true enough, but because this is how I fix a soul into becoming My child! In this process or labor I Engraven and bestow My Name in and to all who will follow Me down continually, for Truly therein I Am engraved in their inward parts, for I Am that I Am. And surely I will cause it to be if My people will again worship Me in the way I have ordained. For in the beginning the Father wrote My Name upon the face of the deep or upon the waters, and if you would take upon you My Name and countenance that you may be even as I Am, you must lay down all that you are in the waters, and upon arising therefrom, My Name which is on the face of the waters, shall be engraved upon your countenance, even My image shall be written upon you. This is My word work and glory! For as one earth passes away, even so at My word, do I bring another earth into being, and this is the covenant I made with your fathers, that I would do this until I could say, and every tongue confess it is so, that God is Merciful! Glory be to the Father! And Glory Light and Life shall be crowned upon those who wait patiently for the Lord to take them by the hand and lead them from grace to grace, light to light, illuminating the light of understanding within them until that same mind, that same light that resides within Me, surely quickens and enlightens them, that they are outside the power of sin, or without sin.

This is My doctrine. This is the Way I have given. This is the strait and narrow way. This is how to walk uprightly on the water even as I walked on it in days of old. For the waters truly are Wisdoms paths, and they who walk penitently therein shall be filled with wisdom, and the sons of God shall return in that day when there shall be a people who will do this work, and those who obey her and have her to be their God  shall have length of days upon the earth. And they who walk uprightly in this strait and narrow way, shall be filled with the mind of God! For it has ever been so, even from before the foundations of the earth. It is so now, for My word shall be fulfilled, and it will ever be so even until the end. In one eternal round, offering to lift all men even as I was lifted up upon the cross, if they would but begin in faith, which leads to repentance, the firstfruits of which is baptism by water, which brings a greater measure of things of light, or the Holy Spirit, which informs them of things that they did not know before about God, which corrects their faith or understanding, leading to a more correct view of Gods nature characteristics and attributes, which brings humility and leads again to repentance, which when followed by baptism, leads again to a greater and greater abundance of Light and Truth. This is the cycle of resurrection and rebirth, being lifted higher and higher in the cavity of the Rock. The flood, even the flood of Truth is come upon the earth and the darkness perceives it not, yet it shines for all those who will be Mine. Come unto me all you who thirst! Come, lay down your earthy things in the waters, and arise up bearing things of Enoch’s city! Go to and find the lost sheep who empower and enlighten all the children of the Most High God! For they are not lost to me but are mine! Come and if you will, you may partake of the waters of life continuously until the perfect day! Even a day when I at last can come and take up my abode with the sheep who are my flock in a city of Holiness on the earth, because there are at last a people who are in fact Holy, even as I Am. A city that is without spot and without sin! A city filled with those who walk in Wisdoms paths! For they are Holy because they have done as I have done, becoming grace for grace even as I Am.

Wherefore, these words are given you, even My doctrine is given you that you may prepare and organize yourselves by this bond or everlasting covenant that cannot be broken. That you may abide the fire that comes. Fear not little flock, for I Am with you until the End if you will but receive my word, and do my work, and walk in Wisdoms paths until I come. For I will come quickly to My Temple, which Temple ye are, to both the quick and the dead, restoring that which is good to good, and that which is evil to evil. For I Am God above all things and so it is, Even so. Amen. 

 (Received by revelation from God on July 22, 2017 to Jonny Durfee)

Confounded Language

"An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven--Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever" (Title page, Book of Mormon)

What if the confounded language of the Jaradites at the time of the great tower has never been 

un-confounded or corrected? What if “language being confounded” has nothing to do with languages being split into chinese, english, spanish and all the many various languages across the globe? What if instead, confounded language is an integral part of the Lords plan? What if confounded language is actually part of last days prophecy and the return of the Lord in Glory? What if confounded language is part of our problem or “awful situation” (Ether 8:24) which we find ourselves in, and from which we must awaken? What if we—you and I—have a confounded language still? How would we know? How would we fix it? What are the promises God makes regarding this dilemma and why does He confound the language of the wicked?

What if zion cannot return unless we have our language un-confouded and receive the “learning or language of our Fathers” (1 Nephi 1-2:1; 2 Nephi 4:15; 1 Nephi 3:19, 21;2 Nephi 31:3-5; Mormon 9:34), even the "Fathers"language and understanding? What does the phrase, “after the manner of the learning of our Fathers” have to do with the phrase “after the order of”? Are they related? How? Does this relate to the promises made to the Fathers spoken of by the Angel who came to Joseph Smith in 1823? If it does, how seriously ought we take the charge to awaken to our awful situation? 

If our language is confounded (and it is) and we as a people are completely ignorant of that fact, how can we even begin to repent of this defect? How awful a situation is it to be ignorant of how you displease God and therefore remain unable to repent? What an awful situation indeed! 

“The problem we must overcome to obtain salvation is our profound ignorance. And what the gospel offers defies ignorance, subdues it, challenges it, destroys it, and leaves it in the dark. So lets try and search into, and obtain some illumination.” (DS, Boise, September 10, 2013)

How does the gospel do this? Does the gospel you follow do this for you? Does the gospel you follow give you illumination into the things of God? If the gospel as you understand it does not:

defy ignorance

subdue ignorance

challenge ignorance

destroy ignorance 

leave ignorance in the dark

then do you have this same gospel being referred to by all the prophets? If you do not, then how awful is your situation!

So lets try and search into, and obtain some illumination on this gospel that brings these wonderful and needful gifts and perhaps we will find therein, that God will un-confound our language and illuminate our understandings in fulfillment of prophecy.