Why can't this be so?
19 Feb '13 02:27> On the 6th of April of 1830, the time had finally come for the Lord to put things right and to restore “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth . . .” (D&C 1:30)
>
> 1. THE CHURCH IS ORGANIZED IN THE LATTER DAYS.
>
> When Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, he quoted numerous passages from the Old and the New Testaments, all of them related to the restoration of the gospel in the last days. Joseph wrote:
>
> After telling me these things [relating to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon], he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi. . .
>
> In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty second and twenty third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when “they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,” but soon would come. . . .
>
> And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. . . . (JSHC1:36-41)
>
> It was on April 6, 1830 that this momentous event took place—an event hardly noticed on this planet but no doubt celebrated in the most remote corners of the Celestial regions. Six men formally and legally organized the Church according to the laws of the state of New York and according to the will of God.
>
> Consider the years of preparation for this event, and particularly the significance of the Book of Mormon in preparing the Prophet and other believers for the restoration.
>
> With the exception of the First Vision in 1820 and the restoration of the Priesthoods in 1829, almost every major event of the 1820s pertaining to the Restoration is related to the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. The book came from the press about the last week of March of 1830, and the following week, on the day specified by the Lord, Joseph proceeded with the organization.
>
> 2. THE LORD COMMANDS CHURCH MEMBERS TO FOLLOW THE PROPHET.
>
> Records indicate that more than 50 people met at the Whitmer home in Fayette, New York on that early spring day to establish what was first called The Church of Christ. The name of the Church that we use now was given by revelation in 1838 (see D&C 115:4).
>
> At this organizational meeting, Joseph and Oliver were sustained as the presiding officers of the Church. The Lord then gave a revelation to the people there assembled in which he clarified the relationship of the Church to the Prophet. The Lord gave the following instruction to the saints in Fayette and in all the world:
>
> Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
>
> For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. (D&C 21:4,5)
>
> These verses are worth careful attention, for the Lord defines some principles in a clearer way than perhaps at any other time in our history.
>
> We are to give heed to “all his words and commandments.” There is no wiggle room here for those who want to distinguish between the commandments of the Lord and the words of the living prophet. We are to give heed to each of them. In addition, we are to do so with “all patience and faith.” How many hundreds of times in our history has the prophet called upon members to do things that require both patience and faith. Married men including fathers with sick families were called on extended missions. Families were directed (forced!) to leave homes and belongings behind again and again. Men and women with newly constructed homes in the Salt Lake area were called to go to remote corners of Zion to colonize new communities. The list is extensive. And those faith-requiring callings were not always dramatic nor earth shaking. Sometimes they seemed to be tiny things.
>
> The words “patience and faith” in D&C 21 seem to warn us that we must not base our obedience on understanding but on conversion. If the Spirit has testified to us that we are led by living prophets, then we ought to be up and doing when they point out the way. Our response ought to be like that of Adam who was commanded without any explanation to offer the firstlings of his flock as a sacrifice unto the Lord. After many days of obedience, an angel appeared and asked him what he was doing. “I know not,” he replied, “save the Lord commanded me.” (Moses 5:5-6)
>
> There are three promises in D&C 21for those who obey in this matter. The Lord promised,
>
> For by doing these things 1 the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and 2 the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and 3 cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory. (D&C 21:6)
>
> This section suggests a way to increase our desire to believe his words. Reflect on these words from D&C 21:9:
>
> For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a mighty blessing, and they shall believe on his words, which are given him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart.
>
> The suggestion of this verse is that those who labor in the vineyard will believe in the words of the prophets, and that such a belief is a “mighty blessing.”
>
> We must learn the will of our Father in Heaven by earnest study. Next, we must act upon it. Study alone is not sufficient; we must act upon the words of revelation before we know of a surety of the truthfulness of the doctrines. On the day the Church was organized in 1830, the Lord gave a wonderful promise to those who labor in the vineyard:
>
> “For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a mighty blessing, and they shall believe on his [Joseph Smith’s] words, which are given him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart.”
>
> If we will follow, with diligence, the counsel and instruction that is the united voice of these Brethren, we will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether they speak of themselves. (L. Aldin Porter, “The Revelations of Heaven,” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 64-5)
>
> Speaking on this same verse, a latter-day apostle observed:
>
> There is one more verse we should note particularly; we can take it as a test to measure personal discipleship: “For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a mighty blessing”—this applies to all of us—“and they shall believe on his words [those of Joseph Smith], which are given him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the word, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart” (D&C 21:9). The test of discipleship is how totally and completely and fully we believe the word that was revealed through Joseph Smith, and how effectively we echo or proclaim that word to the world. (Bruce R. McConkie, “This Generation Shall Have My Word through You,” Ensign, June 1980, 56)
>
> 3. THE LORD ENCOURAGES CHURCH MEMBERS TO MEET TOGETHER OFTEN TO PARTAKE OF THE SACRAMENT.
>
> It may be important to observe that at the first meeting of the church, many of the things we accept as commonplace and necessary were absent. No bishopric presided. No high councilmen spoke. No church hymnals were available. Members did not leave the meeting to attend Sunday school classes or priesthood meetings. All of these things would come later, of course, but the beginning the meeting focused on the most important things in laying the foundations of the Restoration. They had the sacrament. By directing the inclusion of this ordinance in the very first meeting of the restored church in this dispensation, the Lord emphasized the centrality of this ordinance in our worship.
>
> In the revelation given in conjunction with the organization of the Church, the Lord revealed anew (although the words were in the Book of Mormon) the sacramental prayers. He directed: “It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus . . .” (D&C 20:75).
>
> The Lord himself presided over this ordinance two days in a row among the Nephites (see 3 Nephi 18-20). 3 Nephi 26:13 tells us,
>
> Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them. (3 Nephi 26:13)
>
> It must be important to partake often!
>
> The Savior taught in 3 Nephi 18 that when we partake of the bread and water, we bear witness (testimony) of something. After the disciples had partaken of the bread, the Savior commanded,
>
> And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. (3 Nephi 18:7)
>
> After they had partaken of the wine, he taught, “This doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you” (3 Nephi 18:10).
>
> As we partake of the emblems of the sacrament, we witness to the Father that we do always remember his Son and that we are willing to do the things he has commanded us to do. I think as we participate in this holy ordinance we ought to be mindful of those things we are witnessing “unto the Father.”
>
> In a revelation given just four months after the Restoration, the Lord gave additional information about this ordinance. He reminded the members of the church that the importance of the sacrament was not in the materials bein...
>
> 1. THE CHURCH IS ORGANIZED IN THE LATTER DAYS.
>
> When Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, he quoted numerous passages from the Old and the New Testaments, all of them related to the restoration of the gospel in the last days. Joseph wrote:
>
> After telling me these things [relating to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon], he commenced quoting the prophecies of the Old Testament. He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi. . .
>
> In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts, twenty second and twenty third verses, precisely as they stand in our New Testament. He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come when “they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the people,” but soon would come. . . .
>
> And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in. . . . (JSHC1:36-41)
>
> It was on April 6, 1830 that this momentous event took place—an event hardly noticed on this planet but no doubt celebrated in the most remote corners of the Celestial regions. Six men formally and legally organized the Church according to the laws of the state of New York and according to the will of God.
>
> Consider the years of preparation for this event, and particularly the significance of the Book of Mormon in preparing the Prophet and other believers for the restoration.
>
> With the exception of the First Vision in 1820 and the restoration of the Priesthoods in 1829, almost every major event of the 1820s pertaining to the Restoration is related to the translation and publication of the Book of Mormon. The book came from the press about the last week of March of 1830, and the following week, on the day specified by the Lord, Joseph proceeded with the organization.
>
> 2. THE LORD COMMANDS CHURCH MEMBERS TO FOLLOW THE PROPHET.
>
> Records indicate that more than 50 people met at the Whitmer home in Fayette, New York on that early spring day to establish what was first called The Church of Christ. The name of the Church that we use now was given by revelation in 1838 (see D&C 115:4).
>
> At this organizational meeting, Joseph and Oliver were sustained as the presiding officers of the Church. The Lord then gave a revelation to the people there assembled in which he clarified the relationship of the Church to the Prophet. The Lord gave the following instruction to the saints in Fayette and in all the world:
>
> Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;
>
> For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith. (D&C 21:4,5)
>
> These verses are worth careful attention, for the Lord defines some principles in a clearer way than perhaps at any other time in our history.
>
> We are to give heed to “all his words and commandments.” There is no wiggle room here for those who want to distinguish between the commandments of the Lord and the words of the living prophet. We are to give heed to each of them. In addition, we are to do so with “all patience and faith.” How many hundreds of times in our history has the prophet called upon members to do things that require both patience and faith. Married men including fathers with sick families were called on extended missions. Families were directed (forced!) to leave homes and belongings behind again and again. Men and women with newly constructed homes in the Salt Lake area were called to go to remote corners of Zion to colonize new communities. The list is extensive. And those faith-requiring callings were not always dramatic nor earth shaking. Sometimes they seemed to be tiny things.
>
> The words “patience and faith” in D&C 21 seem to warn us that we must not base our obedience on understanding but on conversion. If the Spirit has testified to us that we are led by living prophets, then we ought to be up and doing when they point out the way. Our response ought to be like that of Adam who was commanded without any explanation to offer the firstlings of his flock as a sacrifice unto the Lord. After many days of obedience, an angel appeared and asked him what he was doing. “I know not,” he replied, “save the Lord commanded me.” (Moses 5:5-6)
>
> There are three promises in D&C 21for those who obey in this matter. The Lord promised,
>
> For by doing these things 1 the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and 2 the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and 3 cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory. (D&C 21:6)
>
> This section suggests a way to increase our desire to believe his words. Reflect on these words from D&C 21:9:
>
> For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a mighty blessing, and they shall believe on his words, which are given him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart.
>
> The suggestion of this verse is that those who labor in the vineyard will believe in the words of the prophets, and that such a belief is a “mighty blessing.”
>
> We must learn the will of our Father in Heaven by earnest study. Next, we must act upon it. Study alone is not sufficient; we must act upon the words of revelation before we know of a surety of the truthfulness of the doctrines. On the day the Church was organized in 1830, the Lord gave a wonderful promise to those who labor in the vineyard:
>
> “For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a mighty blessing, and they shall believe on his [Joseph Smith’s] words, which are given him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the world, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart.”
>
> If we will follow, with diligence, the counsel and instruction that is the united voice of these Brethren, we will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether they speak of themselves. (L. Aldin Porter, “The Revelations of Heaven,” Ensign, Nov. 1994, 64-5)
>
> Speaking on this same verse, a latter-day apostle observed:
>
> There is one more verse we should note particularly; we can take it as a test to measure personal discipleship: “For, behold, I will bless all those who labor in my vineyard with a mighty blessing”—this applies to all of us—“and they shall believe on his words [those of Joseph Smith], which are given him through me by the Comforter, which manifesteth that Jesus was crucified by sinful men for the sins of the word, yea, for the remission of sins unto the contrite heart” (D&C 21:9). The test of discipleship is how totally and completely and fully we believe the word that was revealed through Joseph Smith, and how effectively we echo or proclaim that word to the world. (Bruce R. McConkie, “This Generation Shall Have My Word through You,” Ensign, June 1980, 56)
>
> 3. THE LORD ENCOURAGES CHURCH MEMBERS TO MEET TOGETHER OFTEN TO PARTAKE OF THE SACRAMENT.
>
> It may be important to observe that at the first meeting of the church, many of the things we accept as commonplace and necessary were absent. No bishopric presided. No high councilmen spoke. No church hymnals were available. Members did not leave the meeting to attend Sunday school classes or priesthood meetings. All of these things would come later, of course, but the beginning the meeting focused on the most important things in laying the foundations of the Restoration. They had the sacrament. By directing the inclusion of this ordinance in the very first meeting of the restored church in this dispensation, the Lord emphasized the centrality of this ordinance in our worship.
>
> In the revelation given in conjunction with the organization of the Church, the Lord revealed anew (although the words were in the Book of Mormon) the sacramental prayers. He directed: “It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus . . .” (D&C 20:75).
>
> The Lord himself presided over this ordinance two days in a row among the Nephites (see 3 Nephi 18-20). 3 Nephi 26:13 tells us,
>
> Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them. (3 Nephi 26:13)
>
> It must be important to partake often!
>
> The Savior taught in 3 Nephi 18 that when we partake of the bread and water, we bear witness (testimony) of something. After the disciples had partaken of the bread, the Savior commanded,
>
> And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. (3 Nephi 18:7)
>
> After they had partaken of the wine, he taught, “This doth witness unto the Father that ye are willing to do that which I have commanded you” (3 Nephi 18:10).
>
> As we partake of the emblems of the sacrament, we witness to the Father that we do always remember his Son and that we are willing to do the things he has commanded us to do. I think as we participate in this holy ordinance we ought to be mindful of those things we are witnessing “unto the Father.”
>
> In a revelation given just four months after the Restoration, the Lord gave additional information about this ordinance. He reminded the members of the church that the importance of the sacrament was not in the materials bein...
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