Mormon Theology no. 30 - Continual Revelation

The main complaint of the critics of the Book of Mormon as well as the LDS Church in regards to revelation is that one cannot add or take away from scripture and also that no other revelations will be given anymore.  This is not true, and is contrary to the scriptures.  President John Taylor taught, "We believe that it is necessary for man to be placed in communication with God, . . . not revelation in former times, but present and immediate revelation" (“What the Gospel Teaches,” February 1, 1874, in Journal of Discourses 16:369).  We will examine the need for immediate revelation in our day.

Do Not Add to or Take Away

The critics quote Revelation 22:18-19, which read, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:  And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (emphasis added)."  Notice herein that the phrase "this book" is used in some form or another four times.  John the Seer is here stating that if anyone adds unto (or takes away from) the book of Revelation, then shall the plagues not be stayed.  Moses said the same thing in Deuteronomy chapters four and thirty, but the Bible is much longer than just Deuteronomy.

One must also remember that the Bible (the Old and New Testament) was not completely compiled into what we know today until well after John the Revelator's translation.  Dr. Bruce M. Metzger stated that of the entire library of 5,366 known Greek New Testament manuscripts, only 35 contain the whole New Testament as we now know it, and 34 of those were compiled after A.D. 1000 (see Bruce M. Metzger, Manuscripts of the Greek Bible: An Introduction to Greek Paleography (1981), 54–55). 

The Word of God

When I was on my mission in California, I had nearly identical experiences within the same week.  When my missionary roommates and I went to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, we were told (although incorrectly) that the Bible was the Word of God and nothing else, or in other words the Bible is all the revelations of God and God would send no more revelations.  Later that week, my companion and I were told by a ten-year-old kid that the Bible was the Word of God and no other scripture exists.  Both the Pastors at Saddleback Church as well as the child were wrong .  In John 1:1, John the Beloved calls Jesus Christ the Word of God: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  The Joseph Smith Translation of John 1:1 states it differently, but clear enough to agree with my position.  "In the beginning was the gospel preached through the Son.  And the gospel was the word, and the word was with the Son, and the Son was with God, and the Son was of God."  We learn from both these verses that Christ is the Word of God; the Gospel of Christ is also the Word of God, which Word of God is revealed anew in each new dispensation of time.

Revelation 19:13 states that Jesus' "name is called The Word of God."  Again is Christ mentioned as the Word of God - not the Bible or the Book of Mormon - but Jesus the Christ, the source of the Word of Eternal Life, the source of all revelation, past, present, and yet future. 

Now, when Mormons state that they know the Bible, Book of Mormon, etc., are the word of God, they are saying that God inspired those books.  The meaning of the phrase " . . . is the word of God" is not the end-all be-all to what God will reveal to His people, but rather that God gives His word (the Gospel) to His people and that He will give more if they will receive His teachings.  Nephi put it plainly when he wrote, 

And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible!  A Bible!  We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible. . . . Know ye not that there are more nations than one?  Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?  Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word?  Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness  unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another?  Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.  And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure.  And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.  Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my words; neither need ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written. (2 Nephi 29:3, 7-10)

In other words, revelation from God is continual, and will never cease as long as God has a prophet on the earth.

I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are true; that they teach of Jesus Christ the Word of God, our Savior and Redeemer.  They also both teach the principle of continual revelation.  I know that if we truly receive the Bible and Book of Mormon as they are, they will lead us to the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  In the name of Jesus Christ the Word of God, amen!

Mormon Theology no. 9 - Becoming Worthy and Receiving Forgiveness

I remember on my mission to California attending Saddleback Church in Rancho Santa Margarita.  At the end of a sermon, Pastor Rick Warren looks at us and says, "It's not about works!", referring to the misconception that Mormons believe they work their way into Heaven, and that its actually all about grace.


In this essay, we will examine, from an active Latter-day Saint's Bible and Triple Combination, the Lord's commandments to remain worthy of His grace and receive His forgiveness - every single day of our lives - not just once.  It must here be remembered that the men herein quoted (including Christ) were Apostles of Jesus Christ and Prophets, Seers, and Revelators in their day, dispensation, and time.  Remember, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7)."  God always works in this way, anciently as well as in modern times.

In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth.  "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them (Gen. 1:27)."  God gave unto Adam and unto his wife Eve two commandments whilst they dwelt in the Garden of Eden.  "And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen. 2: 16-17)."  He then married Adam and Eve, and the record states, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh (Gen. 2:24)."  The two commandments received were to not eat of the Forbidden Fruit and to multiply and replenish the earth.  But, Adam and Eve transgressed the law, ate of the Fruit, and were kicked out of the Garden and out of the presence of God and the Lamb.  "And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying; Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?  And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.  And then the angel spake, saying; This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.  Wherefore, thou shalt to all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore (Moses 5:6-8)."  God, through His angel, commands Adam to "not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness (Alma 12:32)."  It is through the Son Jesus Christ - and Him only - that forgiveness is possible, as taught to Adam by the angel.  Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon confirm this fact.

When the Savior was in His mortal ministry, He plainly taught the keeping of His commandments and repentance are needful to receive God's forgiveness.  "If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15)."  The Lord of the Earth also said, "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish (Luke 13:3)."  Mark wrote of Jesus that He Himself said, "repent ye, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15)."  During the Last Supper of our Lord, He instituted the ordinance of the Sacrament, saying, "this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19)."  The purpose of the Sacrament is to renew a covenant, which the Apostle Paul says, "shew[s] the Lord's death till He come.  Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:26-27)."  Here we remark that the Apostle Paul (upon who's teachings the majority of Christendom's churches are based) says that one must be worthy - no questions asked - to partake of the Sacrament, and thus receive the Lord's fellowship.  What exactly does "fellowship" mean?  The Lord said, "If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love (John 15:10)."  The Lord's "fellowship" is literally the love of the Savior, love for the Savior, and love from the Savior.  Thus, if the Savior states that He needed to keep commandments to abide in God the Father's love, certainly we should all follow the Prince of Peace and keep His commandments, shall we not?

What has the Lord said about repentance and forgiveness in the present dispensation through His prophets?  "I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven (D&C 1:31-32)."  Christ states in a similar but more clarifying tone, "Nevertheless, thou art not excusable in thy transgressions; nevertheless, go thy way and sin no more (D&C 24:2)."  Lastly, "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.  By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins - behold, he will confess them and forsake them (D&C 58:42-43)."


What do the Standard Works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (including the Bible) say about it's own teachings?  The words of the Son of Man Himself, "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33)."  Speaking of these words of the Savior, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Because Christ had overcome the world . . . all mankind would be given . . . immortality!  Additionally . . . there would be the richness of eternal life!  These . . . justified the Twelve being of good cheer - not their grim, temporary circumstances (Neal A. Maxwell, "Be of Good Cheer”, Ensign, Nov 1982, 66)."  Also, we can read more of the non-despair-laden teachings from the Book of Mormon: "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven . . . (Mosiah 2:41)."

I urge the reader to consider the facts.  There is a God in heaven.  He has sent His Son as a ransom for all sin, pain, and loss if we but give heed through repentance, commandment and covenant keeping, and being of good cheer.  The Lord has called a Prophet to restore Ancient Christianity named Joseph Smith, Junior.  There is a Prophet of God on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson.  The Book of Mormon does lead people to be of good cheer, for I have witnessed it in my own life and in the lives of hundreds of Californians and many others.  I know this is true.  In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen!