Find Your Answers In The Scriptures

There’s seems to be a widening gap in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It involves speculation and ignorance on questions and discussions that could be answered from the church’s standard works.

Too many members of the church have not read or studied ALL of the standard works and thus do not know what answers these scriptures have for often-asked questions.

Also, ever since President Gordon B. Hinckley challenged church members to read the Book of Mormon in 2005-2006, for too many church members that is all they seem to do – read the Book of Mormon over and over again.

They neglect other modern revelations, like the Doctrine and Covenants and say they aren’t up to the challenge of reading the symbolic and often hard-to-grasp Old Testament.

The Book of Mormon is the “keystone” to the gospel, but it is but one of the four standard works of the church.

The newest church members need the Book of Mormon most for their diet of milk. But, soon, they need meat and that’s where the other scriptures come in.

Also, reading the other standard works of the church will affirm to members the validity and consistency of the Book of Mormon, as well as boost testimonies.

In the past few months, I've met church members who speculated about such things as if this was the wickedest earth and what Kolob is. The answers to these questions are in the scriptures (but not in the Book of Mormon).

President Harold B. Lee said it best when he gave this counsel in the December 1972 Ensign Magazine (and it has not been repeated nearly enough over the decades):

“I say that we need to teach our people to find their answers in the scriptures. If only each of us would be wise enough to say that we aren’t able to answer any question unless we can find a doctrinal answer in the scriptures! And if we hear someone teaching something that is contrary to what is in the scriptures, each of us may know whether the things spoken are false—it is as simple as that. But the unfortunate thing is that so many of us are not reading the scriptures. We do not know what is in them, and therefore we speculate about the things that we ought to have found in the scriptures themselves. I think that therein is one of our biggest dangers of today.

“When I meet with our missionaries and they ask questions about things pertaining to the temple, I say to them, as I close the discussion, “I don’t dare answer any of your questions unless I can find an answer in the standard works or in the authentic declarations of presidents of the Church.”

“The Lord has given us in the standard works the means by which we should measure truth and untruth. May we all heed his word: “Thou shalt take the things which thou hast received, which have been given unto thee in my scriptures for a law, to be my law to govern my church.” (D&C 42:59.)”

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Amp Up Your Testimony With The 'Inspired Version'

There’s more than just the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price as proof that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living Church on the face of the Earth.
(All too many church members these days read ONLY the Book of Mormon over and over again and nothing else.)

There’s also, among other things, the “Inspired Version” of the Bible, that Joseph Smith produced.

Sometimes also  referred to as “The Joseph Smith Translation,” much of this work is footnoted in the LDS Church’s Standard Works.

However, you can amp up your own testimony of both Joseph Smith and the Church by studying this marvelous work on your own and cross referencing it with the King James Version of the Bible.

Although never completed by the Prophet Joseph Smith, I’ve compared his Inspired Translation word-for-word with the entire Bible and I came away with a greater testimony, as well as some enhanced Gospel knowledge.

Joseph Smith didn’t go through the Bible word-for-word, or even book-by-book in the Bible when he used direct revelation to produce his own Biblical version. He went through the Bible by subject and that work led to many other great revelations, such as D&C section 76.

The Lord did caution Joseph Smith to “hold thy peace” and “not teach them until ye have received them in full.” (D&C 42:57)

This is a direct reference to this “Inspired Translation” of the Bible and this injunction from the Lord is obviously why the Church does not use the “Inspired Translation” directly and rather the King James Version of the Bible.

However, for personal  use,  there’s likely nothing wrong with reading the Inspired Translation, as long as it is studied in conjunction with the Standard Works.

Note that the King James Bible still works best for all missionary work and related conversations.

It is also worth noting that the copyright to Joseph Smith’s Inspired Translation of the Bible is held by the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So, does that outside copyright mean it is still accurate, as Joseph Smith penned it?

Yes, pretty much.

The late LDS Church Scholar Robert J. Matthews was able to study and compare the original Inspired Translation manuscript with the Community of Christ’s version (see Ensign Magazine, Dec. 1972, p. 63). He found only a few small changes made and on a whole concluded  the work "accurately represents" what Joseph Smith penned.

(The only change made in the Inspired Translation that I have a problem with is also one of the few Brother Matthew pointed out – Revelation 1:6. The word “and” was deleted from that verse, to better conform to a belief the Community of Christ has, that there is no plurality of Gods.)

Notwithstanding, as a whole, the Inspired Translation is simply incredible, majestic and powerful.

It reaffirms the Church’s 8^th Article of Faith, that proclaims a belief in the Bible, “as far as it is translated correctly.” That’s because the Inspired Translation contains a large sampling of just how many errors have crept into the Bible.

And, the LDS Church does use a portion of the Inspired Translation in the Standard Works.

The Book of Moses is simply an extraction from the Book of Genesis from Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible (as stated in the “Introductory Note” at the beginning of the Pearl of Great Price). So also is “Joseph Smith – Matthew”  in the PGP an extraction from the Prophet’s own Inspired Translation of Matthew Chapter 24.

(Brigham Young had copies made of the above portions of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible, before the Saints went westward and this became the Book of Moses and Joseph Smith – Matthew. Meanwhile, the entire Inspired Translation ended up in the hands of Emma Smith, who eventually gave it to the Reorganized Church.)

What are some key samples of Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible that aren’t well known, in contrast to the previously mentioned portions contained in the Pearl of Great Price?

I would give you four  samples, for your own comparison and study.

1. Inspired Version, Exodus 22:18, comparable to Exodus 22:18 in the King James Version: “Thou shalt not suffer a murderer to live.”

2. Inspired Version, Mark 9:20, comparable to Mark 9:23, in the King James Version:  “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt believe all things I shall say unto you, this is possible to him that believeth.”

3. Inspired Version, Luke 23:35, comparable to Luke 23:34 in the King James Version: “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Meaning the soldiers who crucified him.) And they parted his raiment and cast lots.”

4. Inspired Version, Matthew 12:14, comparable to Matthew 12:16, in the King James Version: "Behold, I will send your forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise servants, and as harmless as doves."

Why The 'Intellectual Reserve' Copyright'?

WHY does the LDS Church have an "Intellectual Reserve, Inc." copyright on its manuals and other publications?
This name replaced "Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" at the beginning of the 21st Century, likely around 2001 or 2002.
Nothing to worry about here.
A bunch of church attorneys chose the name and  purely for  legal reasons to keep up with the times.
Despite the "Sunstone-ish" sounding copyright, there's nothing to read into here.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Can You Resign From a Church Calling?

  CAN you actually resign from an LDS Church calling or position?

Most members might say no, but there is a historical precedent for a resignation taking place.
On Oct. 6, 1946, Joseph Fielding Smith (the less well-known leader with that name, that was not the president of the church), submitted his resignation as patriarch to the church.
Although some more contemporary sources state that he was "released," he did submit his resignation for the calling to the First Presidency.
The newer Church News Almanacs state he was released, but the older almanacs confirm his resignation.
So, there you have it, for whatever it may mean, at least one church member did resign from a major calling and his resignation was accepted.
(Eldred G. Smith, the seventh and last patriarch of the church, replaced Joseph Fielding Smith. Eldred was put on emeritus status eventually.)

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Why Church Members Go Inactive ...

Why do some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints go inactive?
It boils down to a lack of testimony and conviction, but often the spark to stop going to church is some negative experience -- usually with a church leader.
A bishop offended or embarrassed the member somehow.
In the case of one of my grandfathers, he traded his two prize plow horses to a friend, who was also his bishop, for a tractor. The machine broke down almost immediately and was no good. So, he took offense and stopped attending church. This continued for decades and he sadly passed away, being inactive.
In the case of one teenager, his bishop stopped him from attending his seminary graduation for a minor sell-confessed moral problem. He took offense that he missed a once-in-a-lifetime event. He was also upset that the prior year, two older boys in the ward did graduate from seminary, even though they stole yearbooks from the local high school and were prevented from attending their own high school graduation. He stopped going to church. His circle of friends even switched to less active members or even non-members.
In another case, a man in his mid-30s went inactive in the late 1970s for something his bishop did. It seemed like the man could not even recall exactly what the bishop did, but he was still mad about it and hadn't been to church since then. That former bishop has long since passed away and about a dozen bishops have served in the ward since then.
For still another case, a man in his late 50s, a smoker and inactive for many years, tried to come to church regularly five years ago. However, he could not stop smoking and said felt like an outcast at church, because of his smoking habit and within a few months he stopped coming again.
These tales are sad.
I'm not saying things that what church leaders do is the only cause of inactivity, but it is certainly one of the key causes. I'm also certain no church leaders plan to drive any members inactive, it just happens with human failings. Yet, I'm also certain church leaders probably work on missionary opportunities a lot and probably mostly ignore the negative -- that things they do could drive someone way from the church.
Obviously in many cases, members are perhaps looking for things to take offense at.
Someone once said that Sampson killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. Sadly, the testimony of some members today is killed the same way.
Once a person stops attending church and doing what they should, their testimony decreases.
Still, this illustrates the grave consequences -- good or bad -- that church leaders can have on members' lives.
Church leaders could strive to be more sensitive to avoid doing things that members could take offense at. There is no way to avoid all such offenses, as some are silly and overblown, but bishops who are too strict and on a letter of the law crusade -- may do some serious damage -- especially to young adults.
I feel that some people, who are inactive, may not be forthcoming and also don't want to seem so shallow by revealing their true reason for going inactive -- that someone offended them.
So, they hide behind some so-called church history inconsistency, or similar things as their stated reasons.
They want to appear intellectual, but in reality are nothing of the sort ...
In 30 years of meeting inactive members in my stake, when I get people to really open up, the spark or cause of their inactivity can more often than ANY OTHER reason be traced to taking offense at what some leader or member did or said.
That's a sad reason for a substantial amount of inactivity, but still true.

--A second, more recent reason for church inactivity relates to the Internet. A member finds unsupported claims against the church, Joseph Smith, or its doctrines on the Web and decides the church must not be true. These members fail to do an extensive investigation and just seem to be looking for an excuse.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

World's Toughest Mission (For Converts)?

What is the toughest mission to serve in for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
A lot depends on how you define "tough."
However, if you define it as how many average converts a missionary baptizes during his/her mission, then I'd peg my mission, England-Bristol, as thee toughest, and at the least one of the toughest of all.
In fact, I'd put ALL of Europe in the toughest in the world category.
I'd estimate the average missionary in the U.K. or Europe only baptizes a few or a handful of converts in two years of service.

Whereas in Central and South America in particular, missions have been divided and multiplied many times over the decades, there are actually LESS missions in the United Kingdom today than in the 1970s.
Missionaries were also "chewed out" in the early 1990s by a regional leader for their low baptism numbers. Eleven years later, in 2002, the mission was disbanded and merged with two adjoining missions. (It was re-instated about 2 decades later, though.)

In addition to being tough for converts, this mission is also among the most expensive in all the world -- though costs missionaries pay are equalized world-wide, except for couples.)

--ALL of Europe is in a steep religious decline overall.
In fact, the England Bristol Mission ceased to exist on July 1, 2002, after some 40 years of existence. The England London mission gained part of the former Bristol mission and the England Birmingham mission received the rest.

 The Church re-instated the England Bristol Mission 20 years later, as it returned in 2022.
But, where else in the world are you going to find LESS missions in existence and likely less full-time missionaries serving, except in the United Kingdom and Europe?
The "why" this may be so is another story.

               (Above photograph is from Bradford, England, a circa year 1300 A.D.  building.)

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

God Does Intervene In Our Lives

THIS life isn't set in stone --- there is always hope.
Even though God the Father likely knew  if we would be faithful and return to his presence or not before we were born, I strongly believe that outcome isn't set in stone.
Here's why.
God can see the future as it will be and I've always wondered if he ever intervenes and allows the possibility of changing the original outcome.
I believe we have our free agency to choose, but at times God will inspire and/or humble us so that we have time to reflect and consider a difference course of action that could ultimately change what will happen.
If this wasn't true, then why come to mortality in the first place, if God knew already if we would only fail or succeed as he could see into the future?
Sure you might need to have a physical body, but otherwise there's no reason to come to Earth if there no chance for a different outcome.
But I think because God does intervene to some degree, stopping short of taking any of our personal free agency away, that the outcome can be changed at many different points in our lives.
Thus, this means there is a reason to live a mortal life. The outcome is not set or certain yet. We repent or change the course as we listen to the spirit.
This hope alone is worth God letting us live our lives to truly prove if we are worthy to return to him.
(Note that this a different look on the subject of a similar blog posting I did int the past.)

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.