Wilford Woodruff's Revelations: November 24, 1889

Revelation Received Sunday, November 24, 1889, by President Wilford Woodruff, (Journal of Wilford Woodruff), (Also Messages of the First Presidency 3:175), at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory.  This revelation came to President Woodruff as he was contemplating issuing the Manifesto a year prior to its actual issuance, which occurred on October 6, 1890:


Thus saith the LORD to My servant Wilford, I the
Lord have heard thy prayer and thy request, and
will answer thee by the voice of My Spirit.
2 Thus saith the LORD, unto My servants, the
Presidency of My Church, who hold the keys of
the Kingdom of God on the earth.
3 I the Lord hold the destiny of the Courts in
your midst, and the destiny of this nation, and all
other nations of the earth in Mine own hands; all
that I have revealed, and promised and decreed
concerning the generation in which you live,
shall come to pass, and no power shall stay My
hand.
4 Let not My servants who are called to the
Presidency of My Church, deny My word or My
law, which concerns the salvation of the children
of men.
5 Let them pray for the Holy Spirit, which shall
be given them, to guide them in their acts.
6 Place not yourselves in jeopardy to your
enemies by promise;
7 Your enemies seek your destruction and the
destruction of My people.
8 If the Saints will hearken unto My voice, and
the counsel of My servants, the wicked shall not
prevail.
9 Let My servants, who officiate as your
Counselors before the Courts, make their
pleadings as they are moved upon by the Holy
Spirit, without any further pledges from the
Priesthood, and they shall be justified.
10 I the LORD will hold the Courts, with the
officers of government, and the nation
responsible for their acts towards the inhabitants
of Zion.
11 I, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, am in
your midst. I am your Advocate with the Father.
12 Fear not little flock, it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
13 Fear not the wicked and ungodly.
14 Search the Scriptures, for they are they which
testify of Me; also those revelations which I have
given to My Servant Joseph, and to all My
Servants since the world began, which are
recorded in the records of divine truth.
15 Those revelations contain the judgments of
God, which are to be poured out upon all nations
under the heavens, which include great babylon.
16 These judgments are at the door, they will be
fulfilled as God lives.
17 Leave judgment with Me, it is Mine saith the
LORD.
18 Watch the signs of the times, and they will
show the fulfillment of the words of the LORD.
19 Let my servants call upon the LORD in
mighty prayer, retain the Holy Ghost as your
constant companion, and act as you are moved
upon by that spirit, and all will be well with you.
20 The wicked are fast ripening in iniquity, and
they will be cut off by the judgments of God.
21 Great events await you and this generation,
and are nigh at your doors.
22 Awake, O Israel, and have faith in God, and
His promises, and He will not forsake you.
23 I, the Lord will deliver My Saints from the
dominion of the wicked, in Mine own due time
and way.
24 I cannot deny My word, neither in blessings
nor judgments.
25 Therefore let Mine anointed gird up their
loins, watch and be sober, and keep My
commandments.
26 Pray always and faint not; exercise faith in
the LORD and in the promises of God; be valiant
in the testimony of Jesus Christ.
27 The eyes of the Lord and the Heavenly Hosts
are watching over you and your acts.
28 Therefore be faithful until I come. I come
quickly, to reward every man according with
deeds done in the body.
Even so, Amen.

Wilford Woodruff's Revelations: The Sunset Wilderness Revelation

Revelation Received Monday, January 26, 1880, by Apostle Wilford Woodruff, at Sunset, Arizona Territory.  (Wilford Woodruff Journal, recorded Twice: on Dec. 28, 1880 and April 17, 1897).  He was at this time on the run from Federal Authorities attempting to arrest him for practicing plural marriage:

Thus saith the LORD unto My servant Wilford
Woodruff, I have heard thy prayer, and will
answer thy petition.
2 I will make known unto thee My will
concerning the nation who encumbers the land
of promise, and also concerning Zion and her
inhabitants.
3 I have already revealed My will concerning the
nation through the mouth of My servant Joseph
Smith, who sealed his testimony with his own
blood, which testimony has been in force upon
all the world from the hour of his death.
4 What I the LORD have revealed in that
testament, and decreed upon this nation, and
upon all the nations of the earth, shall be
fulfilled, saith the Lord of Hosts.
5 I the LORD have spoken, and will be obeyed;
My purposes shall be fulfilled upon this nation,
and no power shall stay My hand.
6 The hour is at the door when My wrath and
indignation shall be poured out upon the wicked
of this nation. Their murders, blasphemies,
lyings, whoredoms and abominations have come
up before My face, and before the heavens, and
the wrath of Mine indignation is full.
7 I have decreed plagues to go forth, and lay
waste Mine enemies, and not many years hence
they shall not be left to pollute Mine heritage.
8 The devil is ruling over his kingdom, and My
Spirit has no place in the hearts of the rulers of
this nation, and the devil stirs them up to defy My
power, and to make war upon My saints.
9 Therefore, let Mine Apostles and Mine Elders
who are faithful obey My commandments which
are already written for your profit and guidance.
10 Thus saith the LORD unto My servant John
Taylor, and My servant Wilford Woodruff, and
My servant Orson Pratt, and to all the residue of
Mine Apostles;
11 Have you not gone forth in My name,
without purse or script, and declared the gospel
of life and salvation unto this nation, and the
nations of the earth, and warned them of the
judgments which are to come, as you have been
moved upon by the power of the Holy Ghost, and
the inspiration of the LORD?
12 You have done this, year by year, for a whole
generation as men count time.
13 Therefore, your garments are clean of the
blood of this generation, and especially of this
nation.
14 Therefore, as I have said in a former
commandment, so I the LORD say unto Mine
apostles: Go ye alone by yourselves, whether in
heat or in cold, and cleanse your feet with water,
pure water, it matters not whether it be by the
running streams or in your closets, but leave
these testimonies before the LORD and the
heavenly hosts;
15 And when you have all done this, then gather
yourselves together in your holy places, and
clothe yourselves in the robes of the Holy
Priesthood, and there offer up your prayers
according to My holy law.
16 Let him who presides be mouth, and kneel
upon the holy altar, and there let Mine apostles
bring all their testimonies before My face, and
before the heavenly hosts, and before the justified
spirits made perfect.
17 And thus saith the LORD unto you Mine
apostles, when you bring these testimonies before
Me, let them be presented by name, as far as the
Spirit shall present them unto you:
18 The Presidents of the United States, the
Supreme Court, the Cabinet, the Senate and
House of Congress of the United States, the
Governors of the States and Territories, the judges
and officers sent unto you;
19 And all men and persons who have taken any
part in persecuting you, or bringing distress upon
you or your families, or who have sought your
lives, or sought to hinder you from keeping My
commandments, or from enjoying the rights
which the constitutional law of the land
guarantees unto you.
20 And what I the LORD say unto you Mine
apostles, I also say unto My servants the seventies,
the high priests, the elders, the priests, and all My
servants who are pure in heart, and who have
borne testimony unto this nation.
21 And then, saith the LORD unto Mine apostles
and Mine elders, when ye do these things with
purity of heart, I the LORD will hear your
prayers, and am bound by oath and covenant to
defend you and fight your battles.
22 As I have said in a former commandment, it is
not My will that Mine elders should fight the
battle of Zion, for I will fight your battle.
23 Nevertheless, let no man be afraid to lay
down his life for My sake, for he that layeth
down his life for My sake shall find it again, and
have Eternal Life.
24 The nation is ripened in iniquity, and the cup
of the wrath of Mine indignation is full, and I will
not stay My hand in judgment upon this nation
or the nations of the earth.
25 I have decreed wars and judgments upon the
wicked, and My wrath and indignation are about
to be poured out upon them, and the wicked and
rebellious shall know that I am God.
26 As I the LORD have spoken, so will I the
LORD fulfill. I will spare none who remain in
babylon, but I will burn them up, saith the Lord
of Hosts.
27 As I the LORD have suffered, so will I put all
enemies under My feet, for I the LORD utter My
word, and it shall be obeyed; and the day of
wrath and indignation shall come upon the
wicked.
28 And I say again, woe unto that nation or
house or people who seek to hinder My people
from obeying the Patriarchal Law of Abraham,
which leadeth to a Celestial glory, which has
been revealed unto My saints through the mouth
of My servant Joseph.
29 For whosoever doeth these things shall be
damned, saith the Lord of Hosts, and shall be
broken up and wasted away from under heaven
by the judgments which I have sent forth, and
which shall not return unto Me void.
30 And thus with the sword, and by bloodshed,
and with famine and plagues, and earthquakes,
and the vivid lightnings, shall this nation, and the
nations of the earth be made to feel the
chastening hand of an Almighty God, until they
are broken up and destroyed, and wasted away
from under heaven; and no power can stay My
hand.
31 Therefore, let the wicked tremble, let them
that blaspheme My name hold their lips, for
destruction will swiftly overtake them.
32 All that I the LORD have spoken through the
mouth of My prophets and apostles since the
world began concerning the last dispensation and
fullness of times, concerning My church which
has been called out of the wilderness of darkness
and error, and concerning the Zion and kingdom
of God, and concerning babylon the great, and
what I have spoken through the mouth of My
servant Joseph, shall be fulfilled.
33 And though heavens and earth pass away,
My words shall not pass away, but shall all be
fulfilled, saith the LORD.
34 These revelations and testimonies you have
before you; let My saints search the word of the
LORD and treasure up wisdom, and be prepared
for that which is to come.
35 As I have decreed, so shall My judgments
begin at the house of God.
36 There are those in My church who have a
name among you, who are adulterers and
adulteresses, and those who blaspheme My name,
and those who love and make a lie, and those
who revel and drink with the drunken.
37 If they do not speedily repent of their
wickedness and abomination, they shall be
severed from the ordinances of My house, saith
the LORD.
38 There are many who have need to repent,
whose hearts are set upon the things of this
world, who aspire to the honors of men, and do
not honor the priesthood, nor seek to build up the
kingdom of God as they should.
39 Neither do they learn or comprehend that the
rights of the priesthood are inseparably
connected with the powers of heaven, and that
the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor
handled, only upon the principles of
righteousness.
40 Such should repent and turn unto the LORD,
and seek for the Holy Spirit to guide them.
41 Judgments will begin at My house, and from
thence will they go forth unto the world, and the
wicked cannot escape.
42 Blessed are the pure in heart, for My
blessings await them in this life, and Eternal Life
in the world to come.
43 Thus saith the LORD unto you, My servants
the Apostles, who dwell in the flesh, fear ye not
your enemies.
44 Let nor your hearts be troubled; I am in your
midst, I am your Advocate with the Father.
45 I have given Mine angels chard concerning
you; Mine eyes are upon you, and the eyes of
your heavenly Father, and the heavenly hosts,
and all justified spirits made perfect are watching
over you.
46 Your works are manifest before the face of
My servants who have sealed their testimony
with their blood, and before all of My servants of
the Twelve Apostles whom I have taken unto
Myself.
47 The veil is taken from off their faces, and they
know your works. They await your coming
when you have finished your testimony in the
flesh.
48 Therefore, be ye faithful until I come; My
coming is at the door.
49 Call upon the LORD in mighty prayer. Ask
and you shall receive. Whenever you are
agreed as touching anything, and ask the Father
in My name, it shall be given unto you.
50 Seek diligently to build up Zion, and magnify
your high calling and your enemies shall not
prevail over you.
51 Zion shall not be moved out of her place;
Zion shall prevail against her enemies.
52 My people shall not be hindered in the
building of My temple unto My holy name, if
they will hearken unto My voice and do as I
command them.
53 The blood of My servants Joseph and Hyrum
and of Mine apostles and elders which has been
shed for the word of God, and the testimony of
Jesus Christ, cries from the ground for vengeance
upon the nation which has shed their blood.
54 But their blood shall speedily be avenged, and
shall cease to cry unto Me, for the hour of God's
judgment is fully come, and shall be poured out
without measure upon the wicked.
55 But hearken and hear, O ye apostles, elders,
and people of My church, to the word of the
LORD concerning you:
56 That for all the blessings that I will pour out
upon you and the inhabitants of Zion, and the
judgments and destructions upon the wicked,
that I will be inquired of by you to ask the Father
in My name to do and to perform these things for
you.
57 As I told all the House of Israel by My servant
Moses, that they should ask at My hand for all
those blessings which I the LORD have promised
unto Israel in the latter days.
58 And as I the LORD ordained Mine apostles
who were with Me in My ministry, and promised
them that they should sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the Twelve Tribes of Israel, so I say unto
you Mine apostles, whom I have raised up in
these last days, that I have ordained you to bear
record of My name, and of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, to the Gentiles first, and then to the House
of Israel.
59 I have also ordained you to sit upon thrones
and judge the Gentiles and all of the inhabitants
of the earth unto whom you have borne
testimony of My name in the day and generation
in which you live.
60 Therefore, how great is your calling and
responsibility before Me; therefore, gird up the
loins of your minds, and magnify your callings in
the fear of God, and prepare ye for the coming of
the Son of Man, which is nigh at the door.
61 No man knoweth the day nor the hour, but
the signs of both heaven and earth indicate His
coming, as promised by the mouths of My
disciples. The fig trees are leafing, and the hour
is nigh.
62 Therefore, prepare yourselves, O ye saints of
the Most High God, with oil in your lamps, for
blessed is he that watcheth for the coming of the
Son of Man.
63 Again, hear ye the word of the LORD, O ye
Mine apostles whom I have chosen in these last
days to bear record of My name, and to lead My
people Israel until the coming of the Son of Man;
64 I the LORD have raised up unto you My
servant John Taylor to preside over you, and to be
a lawgiver unto My church. He has mingled his
blood with that of the martyred prophets.
65 Nevertheless, while I have taken My servants
Joseph and Hyrum unto Myself, I have preserved
My servant John Taylor for a wise purpose in Me.
66 I have also taken many others of the apostles
unto Myself, for I take whom I will take, and
preserve in life those whom I will preserve,
according to the counsel of My own will.
67 And while My servant John Taylor is your
President, I wish to ask the rest of My servants of
the apostles the question:
68 Although you have one to preside over your
Quorum, and over the church, which is the order
of God in all generations, do you not, all of you,
hold the Apostleship, which is the highest
authority ever given to man on the earth? You
do.
69 Therefore, you hold in common the keys of
the kingdom of God in all the world.
70 You, each of you, have power to unlock the
veil of eternity, and hold converse with God the
Father, and His Son Jesus Christ, and to have the
ministration of angels.
71 It is your right, privilege, and duty to inquire
of the LORD as to His mind and will concerning
yourselves, and the inhabitants of Zion and their
interests.
72 And whenever any one of you receives the
Word of the LORD, let it be written, and
presented in your councils.
73 And whatever by a united consent you deem
wisdom to be presented unto the people, let it be
presented by the President, My servant John
Taylor, as the word of the LORD.
74 In this way you will uphold him, and
strengthen his hands, as all the burden should not
rest upon one man.
75 For thus saith the LORD, all of Mine apostles
should be full of the Holy Ghost, of inspiration
and revelation, and know the mind and will of
God, and be prepared for that which is to come.
76 Therefore, let Mine apostles keep My
commandments, and obey My laws, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against you.
77 Fear not, for lo I am with you until I come. I
come quickly.
Even so, Amen.

Wilford Woodruff's Revelations: February 22, 1877

Revelation Received Wednesday, February 22, 1877, by Apostle Wilford Woodruff, (Wilford Woodruff Journal, March 1, 1877), at St. George, Utah Territory, while he was serving as the President of the St. George Utah Temple:

The Spirit of the LORD rested upon me, and
conveyed the following testimony to me;
2 Let My servant Wilford call upon the virgins,
maidens, daughters and mothers in Zion, an let
them enter into My holy Temple on the first day
of March, the day that My servant Wilford has
seen the time allotted to man, three score years
and ten.
3 And there let them receive their washings and
anointings and endowments for and in behalf of
the wives who are dead, and have been sealed to
My servant Wilford, or they who are to be sealed
to him; and this shall be acceptable to Me, saith
the LORD.
4 And the dead of My servant shall be redeemed
in the spirit world, and be prepared to meet My
servant at the time of his coming, which shall be
at the time appointed unto him, though not
revealed to man in the flesh.
5 Now, go to and perform this work, and all
shall be accomplished according to the desire of
your heart.

Wilford Woodruff's Revelations: October 2, 1840

Revelation Received Friday, October 2, 1840, by Elder Wilford Woodruff, then of the Twelve, while he was serving in the British Mission with the Quorum of Apostles.  (Wilford Woodruff Journal).  He was at the time serving in Manchester, England:

Elder Heber C. Kimball and myself arose from our
beds in the morning with the power of God
resting upon us; yea, the Spirit of God is like fire
shut up in my bones.
2 O my God! Why is Thy Spirit thus upon me?
Why is mine eyes this morning a fountain of
tears? What art Thou about to do, O my God,
that does this thing?
3 I ask Thee, Father, to tell it unto me in the
name of Jesus Christ, Thy Son.
4 Thus saith the Lord God unto thee, My servant
Wilford. This is My Spirit that resteth upon thee
to enlighten thy mind, to show thee things to
come;
5 Not only upon thee, but upon all My faithful
servants upon the face of the whole earth.
6 Therefore, lift up thy voice and spare not, for I
am about to perform a great work upon the face
of the earth, saith the LORD.
7 Mine indignation is about to be poured out
without measure upon the heads of this nation,
and all the nations of the earth, and they shall not
escape.
8 The cry of the poor, the widow and orphan is
ascending into Mine ears, saith the LORD, and I
am about to avenge the cry of Mine elect by
laying low the oppressor, and executing the
decree of Mine heart upon all the ungodly from
among men.
9 Therefore, I put My Spirit upon thee and say
unto thee, Lift up thy voice and spare not! And
call upon all men to repent that come within the
sound of thy voice-- and many souls shall be
given unto thee, and great shall be thy reward,
and eternal shall be thy glory, saith the LORD.

Why the Lord takes the young in Death

Many have wondered why the Lord would cause a Mormon infant, baby, child, youth, or young adult to die, when he clearly has his whole life ahead of him.  To console such mourners, I quote the words of President Wilford Woodruff, which will give my answer:

One evening, as I fell asleep, I was very much troubled with evil spirits that tried to afflict me; and while laboring to throw off these spirits and their influence, there was another spirit visited me that seemed to have power over the evil spirits, and they departed from me.  Before he left me he told me not to grieve because of the departure of Abraham Hoagland Cannon [of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who died at 37 years of age]; for the Lord had called him to fill another important mission in the spirit world, as a pure and holy apostle from Zion in the Rocky Mountains - a labor which would not only prove a great benefit to his father's household, but to the Church and kingdom of God on the earth.  I feel to name this, because it is true. I have become acquainted with many things in our history that I have marveled at. While in the St. George temple I had a son, who was in the north country, drowned.  He had a warning of this.  In a dream he was notified how he would die.  We had testimony of that after his death.  I asked the Lord why he was taken from me.  The answer to me was, "You are doing a great deal for the redemption of your dead; but the law of redemption requires some of your own seed in the spirit world to attend to work connected with this."  That was a new principle to me; but it satisfied me why he was taken away.  I name this, because there are a great many instances like it among the Latter-day Saints.  This was the case with Brother Abraham Cannon.  He was taken away to fulfil [sic] that mission.  And where we have anything of this kind, we should leave it in the hands of God to reconcile. (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, 292)

"There shall be a record kept among you"

The Prophet's first journal, spanning late 1832-1834

Journal writing and recording keeping are held in high esteem in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We are commanded to keep journals "for the benefit of [our] posterity that shall come after [us]" (Abr. 1:31).  Of the importance of journal writing, President Spence W. Kimball said, "Every person should keep a journal and every person can keep a journal.  It should be an enlightening one and should bring great blessings and happiness to the families.  If there is anyone here who isn’t doing so, will you repent today and change—change your life" ("Let Us Move Forward and Upward", April 1979 General Conference)?

Importance of Records
But, why is it so important to keep records, such as a journal or diary?  President Joseph Fielding Smith taught concerning the Great Judgement Day, "We are informed that the books will be opened.  One of these books will be the record of our lives as it is kept in heaven.  Other books which will be opened are records which have been kept on earth.  From the very organization of the Church the Lord has given instruction that records should be kept of the members of the Church" (The Way to Perfection, p. 342).  President Wilford Woodruff wrote, "We are living in one of the most important generations that man ever lived on earth, and we should write an account of those important transactions which are taking place before our eyes in fulfillment of the prophecies and the revelation of God.  There is a great flood of revelations fulfilling in our day, and as they are transpiring before our eyes we want a record made of them” (Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 4:444).  Additionally, President Kimball also taught, "Get a notebook, my young folks, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity" ("The Angels May Quote From It", New Era, October 1975).

Even the Prophet Joseph Smith kept a journal of daily events in his life.  In the first entry of his 1832 Journal, President Smith wrote, "Joseph Smith Jr's Book for Record Baught on the 27th of  November 1832 for  the purpose to keep a  minute acount of all  things that come under  my obsevation etc.— —

oh may God grant that  I may be directed in all  my thaughts O bless  thy Servent Amen" (Journal of Joseph Smith, 27 November 1832, p. 1, spelling and spacing in original).

I have found that when I write in my journal about the day's events (whether spiritual or temporal), my thoughts are clearer, and I have more confidence in approaching God the Almighty in prayer.  Because I review how I act during the day, whether for good or evil, I can then review those just-written thoughts with my Heavenly Father during my evening personal prayer, and thus get a better idea as to what I must ask Him to bless me with in order that I might improve.  I hope we all can do better in making a record of our lives, as the Prophets and Apostles have taught.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Strong, Elder Walker, and their Ministry beyond the Veil

At the funeral service for Elder Strong, who was killed last week in a hit-and-run accident in Texas, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles comforted the family of the slain Missionary by saying, "To get through this we need to couple forgiveness with faith . . . be faithful . . . live our religion . . . and one day you will see Trevor as he is: a brother, a saint and a son of the living God" ("'He is still a missionary'", Deseret News, Tuesday 15 November 2011, B5).  Also, during the funeral services for Elder Walker up in Idaho, Elder Craig A. Cardon of the Seventy remarked, "[Elder Walker] loves his family, but he wants them to know he is happy, engaged in the work on the other side" (Ibid.).

Location of the Spirit World
Many have wondered where the spirits of the disembodied go after death.  President Ezra Taft Benson taught, "Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin. Our loved ones who have passed on are not far from us” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1971, p. 18; or Ensign, June 1971, p. 33).  President Brigham Young taught, "How frequently the question arises in the minds of the people—‘I wish I knew where I was going!’  Can you find out?  Well, you will go into the spirit world" (Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, 28 July 1874, p. 1).  He further taught, "Where is the spirit world?  It is right here. . . . Do [spirits of the departed] go beyond the boundaries of the organized earth?  No, they do not. . . . Can you see it with your natural eyes?  No.  Can you see spirits in this room?  No.  Suppose the Lord should touch your eyes that you might see, could you then see the spirits?  Yes, as plainly as you now see bodies" (DBY, p. 577).

Duties of the Righteous Dead
President Young was a masterful preacher on things of the Spirit.  He taught concerning the righteous in the Spirit World, "What are they doing there?  They are preaching, preaching all the time, and preparing the way for us to hasten our work in building temples here and elsewhere" (DBY, p. 378).  President Wilford Woodruff taught, "The same Priesthood exists on the other side of the veil. . . . Every Apostle, every Seventy, every Elder, etc., who has died in the faith as soon as he passes to the other side of the veil, enters into the work of the ministry” (Deseret News, Jan. 25, 1882 p. 818).  This is exactly what Elders Strong and Walker are doing - preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who desire to hear them.  Their success will be far more than they ever had in Texas, because the only Church in the Spirit World is The Church of Jesus Christ.

The revealed word has come to the Latter-day Saints upon this subject, and to no other religion.  Only The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the Authority to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Elders Strong and Walker knew this, and are continuing their missionary labors diligently in the Spirit World, eager to serve Him who so loved them unto death.  I know this is true.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mormon Theology no. 40 - Keys of the Priesthood Only in LDS Church

In this post, I will show that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only Church acknowledged by Heavenly Father as His Church.

We must always remember that Joseph Smith said, "I will give you a key that will never rust - if you will stay with the majority of the Twelve Apostles and the records of the Church, you will never be led astray." (Young Woman’s Journal, Dec. 1906, p. 543).  Therein lies the key of the subject.


Before President Joseph Smith died, he gave the Keys of the Priesthood to the Twelve Apostles, and it is they who had a right to lead the Church, simply because they had all the Keys, and all the men who formed the splinter groups never rose higher than Seventy, which office of Seventy were only Elders - not High Priests as the Twelve Apostles were.  Also, President Joseph Smith knew that the Latter-day Saints would one day go to the Rocky Mountains.  Said he, 

I prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains, many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives in consequence of exposure or disease, and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains. (History of the Church 5:85)

Law of Witnesses
There are at least six witnesses testifying to whom the Keys of Priesthood were given.  President Brigham Young bore witness, "Joseph conferred upon our heads all the keys and powers belonging to the Apostleship which he himself held before he was taken away, and no man or set of men can get between Joseph and the Twelve" (Essentials in Church History, p. 320).

 President Wilford Woodruff said, "I bear my testimony that . . . in Nauvoo, the Prophet Joseph Smith called the Apostles together and he delivered unto them . . . all the keys and powers that God had bestowed upon him. . . . (Statement, 19 March 1897, Church Archives)"  

President John Taylor wrote, "A special conference of the Church was held in Nauvoo on the 8th [of August 1844], and it was carried without a discenting [sic] voice, that the 'Twelve' should preside over the whole Church" (Times and Seasons, 5:632, 2 September 1844).

 Elder Orson Hyde recalled, "We were in council with Brother Joseph almost every day for weeks. . . . He conducted us through every ordinance of the holy priesthood . . . and said, 'now if they kill me you have got all the keys, and all the ordinances'" (Times and Seasons, 15 Sep. 1844, p. 651). 


Elder Parley P. Pratt testified, 


This great and good man [Joseph Smith the Prophet] was led, before his death, to call the Twelve together, from time to time, and to instruct them in all things pertaining to the kingdom, ordinances, and government of God.  He often observed that he was laying the foundation, but it would remain for the Twelve to complete the building.  Said he, ‘I know not why; but for some reason I am constrained to hasten my preparations, and to confer upon the Twelve all the ordinances, keys, covenants, endowments, and sealing ordinances of the priesthood . . . for, said he, the Lord is about to lay the burden on your shoulders and let me rest awhile; and if they kill me . . . the kingdom of God will roll on, as I have now finished the work which was laid upon me, by committing to you all things for the building up of the kingdom according to the heavenly vision, and the pattern shown me from heaven.’ (“Proclamation,” Millennial Star, 5 [March 1845]: p. 151).

Lastly, President Joseph Smith testified, "I have lived until I have seen this burden, which has rested on my shoulders, rolled on to the shoulders of other men; . . . the keys of the kingdom are planted on the earth to be taken away no more for ever. . . . No matter what becomes of me" (Deseret News, Dec. 21, 1869, p. 2).  Thus we see that the LDS Church has the keys, and not any other Church.

I say boldly that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only Church God acknowledges.  I know with all the fervor of my soul that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that he gave all the keys bestowed upon him to the Twelve.  I have a witness of the Holy Ghost.

The real issue lies in the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith.  If he was a prophet, what greater mission had he than to establish the Kingdom of God, never again to be thrown down?  This he did by giving the temple Endowment and the fullness of the Keys of the Priesthood (which is only found in the House of the Lord) to the Twelve.  President Brigham Young taught, "All that want to draw away a party from the church after them, let them do it if they can, but they will not prosper" (History of the Church, 7:232; also Millennial Star 25:216).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only Church that:
1. Is acknowledged by Christ as His own (D&C 1:30-31; 115:4)
2. Was established by Joseph Smith himself, through revelation (D&C 115:4).  The only Church the Prophet was a member of was The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
3. Teaches all the doctrines Joseph Smith taught (Endowment of the Holy Priesthood, Baptism for the Dead, tithing, the Word of Wisdom, continual revelation through the President of the Church, eternal marriage, the proper mode and manner of baptism and bestowing the Gift of the Holy Ghost, temple work for the dead, the three degrees of glory, the need of the Sealing Authority, missionary work, gift of tongues, the importance of the Fall, the infinite reach of the Atonement, the age of accountability, the innocence of little children, etc.)

If a church is missing any one of the above criteria or doctrines, it is not the Church of Jesus Christ, but the church of the devil.

Also, the fact that those who broke off from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to form their own church were never sustained in an open conference by the regular membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is further evidence of their lack of Authority. The entire Quorum of the Twelve were unanimously sustained by the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in an open conference (meaning, as Paul says, "this thing was not done in a corner" (Acts 26:26)).

I know what I have said is true, and that God knows it is true. God is a God of order, and had everything in order (through revelation), so that when Joseph Smith died, the Twelve could lead the Church.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mormon Theology no. 29 - Polygamy and the LDS Church

With the myriad of articles about the Polygamist groups and their Trust Fund issues saturating the press, The Mormon Eagle feels to announce the LDS Church's official policy on Plural Marriage or Polygamy.

At one time the principle of Plural Marriage was sanctioned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and for a time was connected with the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage, but is no longer connected therewith.  Therefore, Plural Marriage is no longer a policy of The Church of Jesus Christ.  President Wilford Woodruff stated in 1890, "We are not teaching polygamy or plural marriage, nor permitting any person to enter into its practice" (Official Declaration - 1).

President Joseph F. Smith had this to say in 1904, after hearing that new plural marriages were being conducted after the issuance of the Manifest in 1890.  He said, "I hereby announce that all such marriages are prohibited, and if any officer or member of the Church shall assume to solemnize or enter into any such marriage, he will be deemed in transgression against the Church, and will be liable to be dealt with according to the rules and regulations thereof and excommunicated therefrom" (Conference Report, April 1904, p. 97).

In the October 1998 General Conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, 

If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose.  Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. . . . There is no such thing as a "Mormon Fundamentalist."  It is a contradiction to use the two words together.  More than a century ago God clearly revealed unto His prophet Wilford Woodruff that the practice of plural marriage should be discontinued, which means that it is now against the law of God.  Even in countries where civil or religious law allows polygamy, the Church teaches that marriage must be monogamous and does not accept into its membership those practicing plural marriage.

Thus The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' position is stated clear as day, shining as the Sun in a cloudless sky, that none be led astray or brought into the buffetings of Satan.  

I know that the principle of Celestial Marriage is of God, and at this time God has stated that Plural Marriages are to be non-existent in His Church.  If they were to be reinstated, Heavenly Father would make it known through His chosen Prophet, the President of the Church, who at this time is President Thomas S. Monson - chosen because he is the only man on Earth authorized by God to exercise all the Priesthood keys.  In the Name of Jesus our Savior, amen.  

LDS Church History no. 1 - The Original Nauvoo Temple

From 1841-1846, the main focus of the lives of the Prophet Joseph Smith and all the Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois was the construction of the House of the Lord.  Originally quarried from stone located just a few miles from the Temple, that quarry is now buried under water.

This article will focus more on the interior layout of the original Temple, as we have previously discussed the meaning of the exterior stonework, as well as the interior rooms of the newly-built restoration of the Temple.

The original architect was William Weeks.  To say "architect" is misleading, because Joseph Smith retained the title of Chief Architect for himself, as he was the President of the Church, and the one to whom the revelation of what the temple would look like came. To demonstrate this point, the History of the Church gives us insight.  In the sixth volume, page 196, Joseph writes,

In the afternoon [5 February 1844], Elder William Weeks (whom I had employed as architect of the Temple,) came in for instruction.  I instructed him in relation to the circular windows designed to light the offices in the dead work of the arch between stories.  He said that round windows in the broad side of a building were a violation of all the known rules of architecture, and contended that they should be semicircular - that the building was too low for round windows.  I told him I would have the circles, if he had to make the Temple ten feet higher than it was originally calculated; that one light at the centre of each circular window would be sufficient to light the whole room; that when the whole building was thus illuminated, the effect would be remarkably grand.  'I wish you to carry out my designs.  I have seen in vision the splendid appearance of that building illuminated, and will have it built according to the pattern shown me.'

As seen in the above cross-section, the original Temple had two large Assembly Rooms, one above the other, used for meetings and the October 1845 Semi-Annual General Conference.  Above each of the Assembly Rooms were various offices, seven on each side, with a total of 28 offices underneath the attic, 14 on each of the floors above the Assembly Rooms.  The Endowments were conducted in the attic story of the temple. 

The Nauvoo Illinois Temple is an exact blueprint of the original as compared in the following two photos:

The above is a copy of a daguerreotype taken around 1847 by Louis R. Chaffin.  Notice the small building on the bottom left of the photo.  It was probably the Temple Recorders Office. 

When I was in Nauvoo the week of 14 March 2011, I marveled at the size of the temple, but most especially the fact that the early Saints built the temple with no modern-day equipment, and all within five years.

These are the eastern pulpits of the rebuilt Nauvoo Temple's Assembly Room.  The original Assembly Room took up the remainder of the first floor of the Temple after entrance through the vestibule.  The Assembly Room had two four-tiered pulpits, one on each end, with gilded lettering.  Many have wondered what the lettering on the original pulpits stated.  We have two completely different sources giving the answer.  One is J. H. Buckingham, who apparently was a non-Mormon.  He lists the following letters and meanings when he toured the Nauvoo Temple in the late 1840s (Buckingham, Papers in Illinois History and Transactions, 1937; "Illinois as Lincoln Knew It", Illinois State Historical Society, Springfield, Illinois, p. 172).  On the east end of the pulpits was set in gilded letters (from the highest pulpit to the lowest) P.H.P. (President of the High Priesthood); the next lower had P.S.Z. (President of the Seventies in Zion); the next lower had P.H.Q. (President of the High priests Quorum); and the table at the bottom P.E.Q. (President of the Elders Quorum).  The second source for the meanings of the gilded lettering of the original Nauvoo Temple pulpits comes from a Latter-day Saint who happened to be in the Temple on 1 May 1846, when it was publicly dedicated.  His testimony agrees with Mr. Buckingham.  The Mormon spoken of was James A. Scott.  He wrote in his journal the meaning of the letters (Journal of James A. Scott, p. 4, LDS Church Archives).  These initial do not appear in the current Assembly Room's pulpits, unfortunately.  Painted in gold letters in the arch above the Melchizedek (east) pulpits were the words "The Lord Has Seen Our Sacrifice - Come After Us."  It is also unfortunate that these words are not seen in the new Temple.

The west end of the Hall also had pulpits like the east end.  The west end's pulpits were reserved for the Aaronic Priesthood, and bore the initials: P.A.P. (President of the Aaronic Priesthood) at the highest pulpits; the next lower had P.P.Q. (President of the Priests Quorum); the next lower had P.T.Q. (President of the Teachers Quorum) and the table at the bottom P.D.Q. (President of the Deacons Quorum).

On 17 September 1846, the mob took control of the Temple.  Nearly a month later, first reports were given (in the Hancock Eagle, 5 October 1846) of the desecration of the House of the Lord at Nauvoo.

The damage done to the Temple is considerable.  Some who have examined it say that less that $1,000 will not cover the damage.  Holes have been cut through the floors, the stone oxen in the basement have been considerably disfigured, horns and ears dislodged, and nearly all torn loose from their standing.  Names have been chiseled in the wood engraving in the upward passage, in a very careless manner - clearly portraying the mechanical ingenuity and refinement of the authors.

The House of the Lord stood for just two years and one month before it was burned down by Joseph Agnew, an arsonist.  The town of Nauvoo stood vacant of mobocracy from 1846 until 9 October 1848, when Joseph Agnew burned the building.  From A Comprehensive History of The Church by Elder B. H. Roberts, we read on pages 22 and 23 of volume 3, "One Joseph Agnew, confessed to being the incendiary."  In Roberts' footnote to this statement, he writes that he was told this "upon the Authority of M. M. Morrill, mayor of Nauvoo, at the time of [my] visit to the city in the summer of 1885."

An account of the arson was written in The Nauvoo Patriot on 19 November 1848:

On Monday the 19th of November, our citizens were awakened by the alarm of fire, which, when first discovered, was bursting out through the spire of the Temple, near the small door that opened from the east side to the roof, on the main building.  The fire was seen first about three o'clock in the morning, and not until it had taken such hold of the timbers and roof as to make useless any effort to extinguish it.  The materials of the inside were so dry, and the fire spread so rapidly, that a few minutes were sufficient to wrap this famed edifice in a sheet of flame.

It was a sight too full of mournful sublimity.  The mass of material which had been gathered there by the labor of many years afforded a rare opportunity for this element to play off some of its wildest sports.  Although the morning was tolerably dark, still, when the flames shot upwards, the spire, the streets, and the houses for nearly a mile distant were lighted up, so as to render even the smallest objects discernible.  The glare of the vast torch, pointing skyward, indescribably contrasted with the universal gloom and darkness around it: and men looked on with faces sad as if the crumbling ruins below were consuming all their hopes.

It was evidently the work of an incendiary.  There had been, on the evening previous, a meeting in the lower room: but no person was in the upper part where the fire was first discovered.  Who it was, and what could have been his motives, we have now no idea.  Some feeling infinitely more unenviable than that of the individual who put the torch to the beautiful Ephesian structure of old, must have possessed him.  To destroy a work of art, at once the most elegant and the most renowned in its celebrity of any in the whole west, would, we should think, require a mind of more than ordinary depravity: and we feel assured that no one in this community could have been so lost to every sense of justice, and every consideration of interest as to become the author of the deed. (Nauvoo Patriot, 19 November 1848)

Despite the burning of the Nauvoo Temple, President Wilford Woodruff was satisfied that the Lord had accepted the Saints' sacrifice.  He said, "The Saints had labored faithfully and finished the temple and were now received as a Church with [their] dead.  This is glory enough for building the Temple. (Journal of Wilford Woodruff, vol. 3, 3 May 1846, Family and Church History Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 46–47)"

The west facade of the House of the Lord (with the Spire and Angel Moroni) stood until at least 1860, according to Presiding Patriarch John Smith, eldest son of Patriarch Hyrum Smith (John Smith to Joseph F. Smith, 18 April 1860, LDS Church archives; also "Sons of the Martyrs' Nauvoo Reunion - 1860", BYU Studies, volume 20, issue 4, p. 356).