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Church History Matters
157 - D&C 109 CFM - The Beginning of Modern Day Temples - E40 September 29-October 5
01:11:02
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- [00:00]
A
There's a calamity coming before the second coming of Jesus and therefore God called upon his servants and sent them out in order to gather as many people in as he can before the calamities poured out. You see all that being played out here.
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B
It was kind of a spiritual outpouring that we've never seen before. Since this kind of is unique.
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A
It's always the idea you get power, then you go out and share God's good tidings.
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B
Most people are kept from the truth because they just don't know where to find it.
- [00:27]
A
The restoration is ongoing here. Right. There's more to come.
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B
Every person that accepts the covenants can be part of the House of Israel as well and receive the blessings that are laid out in the Scriptures. Anybody can choose to be part of this royal family. It is not exclusive.
- [00:41]
A
It's totally inclusive when you receive Jesus. Welcome to the family.
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B
Well, hello, Scott.
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A
Hello, Casey.
- [00:47]
B
Hey. We have reached a milestone in the Doctrine and covenants, section 109, section 110, which is the dedication of the first temple in the church, the Kirtland Temple.
- [00:56]
A
This is a very big deal. The Kirtland Temple is unlike any other temple in our dispensation. Casey. Right. This, this is a culmination of lots of sections of the Doctrine and Covenants. You could argue, starting with Doctrine and Covenants too. Right. When, when Moroni talked to 17 year old Joseph Smith and said that Elijah would be sent at some point to help turn the hearts of the children of the fathers and fathers to the children before the second Coming. And that promise we know is going to be fulfilled in section 110 of the Doctrine of Covenants. But then specific about the Kirtland Temple. We're talking sections 88 and what in all the 90s, several times the Lord is referring to the Kirtland Temple, trying to urge the Saints to build this. Finally, we're here after about five years of dedicated building. Casey. This is a big payoff. Today we have the dedication in section 109 and then like one of the most important events that's happened in the history of the world in section 110. So lots to talk about this week.
- [01:55]
B
Yeah. And the Kirtland Temple has rightly gotten some attention recently because in 2024 ownership of the Kirtland Temple came back to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was owned and operated by Community of Christ for a long time, but now if you go there today, there's missionaries and tour and they'll talk about everything that's mentioned in section 109 and section 110. So it's a good place to visit if you get a chance to. And it's a historic site. It's not used as an ordinance temple, so no recommend required. Bring your friends of other faiths or whoever else you want to, and they'll be able to see this beautiful structure that the saint sacrif so much to build.
- [02:29]
A
And it's done so well. The church history department, not the missionary department, but the church history department has taken charge of like writing the scripts and getting all the teaching material that you'll experience when you go to the Kirtland Temple or any of the church history sites now. And so that the history is just impeccable. There's nothing like you just got to go and experience it with your friends, with your family, go to Kirtland and experience this at some point. I don't want to say that's a pilgrimage that Latter Day Saints have to do, but it's pretty awesome.
- [02:59]
B
Definitely compliments to the historic sites department. And the missionaries do a great job too. So the missionary department as well. Just a great experience to go there.
- [03:07]
A
So there's so much content. What we're going to talk about this week, we're going to divide it up into two episodes, as we've been doing with some of these larger sections. So episode one here will be section 109, and then stay tuned in our next episode for section 110. So with that, let's talk section 109. Casey I think this is the longest prayer we have recorded anywhere in Scripture.
- [03:34]
B
My understanding is it's only one of two dedicatory prayers that are in the scriptural canon. The other is the dedicatory prayer for the Temple of Solomon, which you can find in 1st Kings 8 or 2 Chronicles 6. But this one is unique and the whole situation is unique because first temple dedication, first time we do things like the hosanna shout the spirit of God, like a fire is burning, is composed for the this occasion. Let's backtrack a little bit because this is the culmination, like you mentioned, of a lot of things coming together. The dedication of what they would have called the house of the Lord was the culmination of years of effort on the part of men and women in the Kirtland community of saints. When the church was less than a year old, the Lord commanded the saints to gather to Ohio, promising them that they would be endowed with power from on high. That's section 38 22. And in the Years following, the Lord identified the location of the city of Zion and commanded the saints to construct a temple there. That's found in section 57 and in section 84. And just a short time after, the Lord commanded the saints in Kirtland to also begin work on a temple with the idea that it would be a school, a place for solemn assemblies, a venue for receiving this endowment of power. That's found in section 88, verses 70, 119, 127, 138, 141. About six months after that, the Lord reproves the saints for not working on the temple and provides further guidance on the size and nature of the structure. That that's section 95. The first presidency was even granted a vision where they saw the building before it was built. So Joseph Smith, Sidney Rigdon, Frederick Cubitt say, they literally saw the building and what it was going to look like. And this really fires up the community. So almost every person in the church in Kirtland sacrifices and contributes to the building of the temple. In fact, Joseph Smith records it this time. He said, I continued to preside over the church in Kirtland, and in forwarding the building of the house of the Lord, I acted as the foreman in the templestone quarry, and when other duties would permit, I labored with my own hands. Not just the men, but the women, too. Elizar Snow, who's a member of the Kirtland community, said at the time, the saints were very few in number and most of them very poor. And had it not been for the assurance that God had spoken and had commanded that a house should be built to his name, of which he not only revealed the form, but also designated the dimensions. An attempt toward building that temple under the then existing circumstances would have been by all concerned, pronounced preposterous.
- [06:05]
A
This was a huge undertaking that took years. What a culmination. So what's fascinating is that section 109 is actually a prayer that had been written out beforehand. Right. And we know it was written on March 26, and the next day it was read at the temple dedication. This was the dedicatory prayer read out by the prophet in front of the whole congregation. And we actually know that the day before when he was writing it, he has the assistance of Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon, Those are two of his scribes, also Oliver's brother. We recently were introduced to Warren Cowdery and another scribe named Warren Parish. They meet in the prophet's office up on the attic floor of the temple. You do a little bit of Touring there today, you'll actually sit down in some chairs and the missionaries will talk to you there in that room today if you go and visit. Oliver wrote in his journal that during this meeting he assisted in writing a prayer for the dedication of the house. Now this had come on the hills of Joseph Smith carefully studying the only other dedicatory prayer in scripture, which as you mentioned was King Solomon recorded in 2nd Chronicles 6 and 1 Kings 8. And this is Joseph Smith's pattern, right? And we saw this, we were talking about the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible as he would study the Bible and that would lead to additional revelations. And in this case he had nowhere else to go but that one. That became the precedent. And what we're going to notice in section 109 here is there's going to be little, little sprinklings of phraseology from King Solomon's dedicatory prayer. So if you ever want to nerd out, go study those side by side. Second Chronicles 6 and DNC 109. We'll point out a couple of them today, but we won't do it justice. But you can see that Joseph was carefully embedded in the scriptures. And like he did, he prayed for understanding and a deeper revelation. And it flows and it's all mixed together with the. The old and the new come together in section 109. It's, it's powerful and it's beautiful. The text of the prayer was actually read, as I mentioned, by Joseph at the dedication and then it was set in type soon after it was printed as a broadside and Casey, it might be fun to talk through kind of sketch the dedicatory service that was held on that Sunday morning. This is March 27, 1836. Now imagine in the Kirtland Temple, a thousand people filling every corner of the building. I think it sits about 400 people comfortably and there are a thousand people in there. There's kids on laps, there's, there's. Everyone wanted to be there and Joseph's going to do a couple sessions so that more have opportunity to attend. But maybe let's walk through a little sketch of how the event proceeded. Do you want to tell us how it begins?
- [08:46]
B
It starts at 9 o'. Clock. 9 o'. Clock. Sidney Rigdon offers the opening prayer and then the service commences. After a hymn, Sidney rose again and gave a two and a half hour sermon. For some reason, whenever Sidney Rigdon comes up, the number is always two and a half hours. Like I guess he just had no problem filling time. But the basis of the sermon is Matthew 8, verse 18:20, which reads in part, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. So after he's done, he presents Joseph Smith to the church as prophet and seer and asks those in attendance to acknowledge him as a prophet by standing up. Everyone in the congregation rose up in response. Later in the meeting, Joseph Smith stands up and presented the several presidents of the church, then present to the several quorums respectively, then to the church as being equal with himself, acknowledging them to be prophets and seers. Then there are several more hymns. Then there's a 15 minute intermission, thank goodness, during which the the history notes, none left their seats except a few females who from having left their infants with their friends, were compelled to do so to take care of them. So it's an enraptured crowd. I can't believe more people didn't leave their seats because it's okay, it's an intermission. But then we pick up the services from there and. Why don't you take it?
- [10:07]
A
Yeah. So then when they come back, they reconvene for part two of this dedicatory session. Joseph Smith stands up, addresses the congregation. Then they sing one more hymn. Then Joseph reads the dedicatory prayer. This prayer, section 109. After he reads that, the choir sings a new hymn that has just been composed specifically for this dedication. We know it as the Spirit of God, like a Fire is burning, composed by W.W. phelps. The sacrament was then administered. And then several more brethren, including Oliver Cowdery, Frederick G. Williams, Hyrum Smith, and Sidney Rigdon, stand and share their testimony. So Sidney gets to speak yet again. Then they participate in the hosanna shout that was performed for the very first time in this dispensation. Following the hosanna shout. This is just fun to read. In the minutes of the meeting, it just says, following the hosanna shout, Brigham Young stood and spoke in tongues. It's like, wait, what? And then after he speaks in tongues, right, Speaking a language nobody knows, he sits down. And then Elder David W. Patton stands up and also speaks in tongues and interprets what Brigham Young had said. It's just like, what is happening. Such a cool meeting to be in. Then Joseph Smith stands up. It's about 4pm now, he stands up, pronounces a blessing upon the congregation, and the service concludes. So from about 9am to 4pm with one 15 minute break there. Casey, what? A meeting.
- [11:35]
B
A temple dedication, which a lot of Church members have had the chance to participate in, especially the last couple years, usually doesn't last more than about an hour, an hour and a half.
- [11:43]
A
I mean, there was so much excitement in the air. Imagine what temple dedications would be like today if we had personally been working on building that temple for, like, five years. Blood, sweat, tears, sacrifice, persecution. And then that moment comes. Like, I think we'd be able to sit longer than a couple hours in that case. I mean, think about these people, right? The ones on whose back this temple had been built. And so I think it was incredibly satisfying for them to sit there and to be there as long as it. As it took. I think it's inspiring. Honestly.
- [12:16]
B
Honestly is. And they definitely had more stamina than we do. So I salute them in every way possible. Well, let's dive into the content.
- [12:30]
A
Imagine Joseph standing up at the. The pulpits of the Kirtland Temple and then reading this out to a congregation of a thousand people. Verse 1. Thanks be to thy name, O Lord God of Israel, who keepest covenant and showest mercy unto thy servants who walk uprightly before thee with all their hearts. Boom. That's verse one. And again, if you crack open second Chronicles 6 or first Kings 8, you'll find that Solomon used very similar phraseology. Here's what Solomon said when he began his dedication of the Solomon Temple. He said, lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above or on earth beneath. Who keepest covenant. Here's the phrase. It's exact, almost, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart. That's 1st Kings 8, 23, for instance. Again, we're not going to keep doing this back and forth. But it's interesting to look at them and read them side by side for interesting phraseology that they share. Now, verse 2. Thou who has commanded thy servants to build a house to thy name in this place, Kirtland. And now thou beholdest, O Lord, that thy servants have done according to thy commandment. And notice that Joseph begins this prayer by asking God to accept the temple on the terms that he had given the saints back in Section 88, which the Saints had sacrificed so much to fulfill. He says, and now we ask thee, Holy Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of thy bosom, in whose name alone salvation can be administered to the children of men. We ask thee, O Lord, to accept of this house the workmanship of the hands of us, thy servants, which thou didst command us to build. For thou knowest that we have done this work through great tribulation, and out of our poverty we have given of our substance to build a house to thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest himself to this people.
- [14:23]
B
Let me take a moment here and just address when he says out of our poverty. We do know a little bit about the economic conditions in Kirtland. For instance, when the Lord commanded the Saints to build the Kirtland temple in section 88, there were only around 150 Latter Day Saints living in the area. And of Those saints, only 10 church members owned enough property to actually be taxed by the city. Only a few members of the community had any experience in construction and none possessed the knowledge necessary to construct a temple according to the specifications that were given in the revelation. So Brigham Young talks about this later on, and he remembers in his own words, he said the Saints were too few in numbers, too weak in faith, and too poor in purse to attempt such a mighty enterprise. But he also remembered, he said, the great prophet Joseph in the stone quarry quarrying rock with his own hands. And the few then in the church, following his example of obedience and diligence, were ever most needed, with laborers on the walls holding sword in one hand to protect themselves from the mob while they place the stone and move the trowel with the other. When the temple was finally completed, the cost of its construction was estimated to be between about $40,000 and $60,000, which was just a huge amount of money at the time. In fact, one historian observed that given the meager resources of the time, this is probably the most expensive temple that's ever been built by the church. Of course, monetarily, other temples cost more. But adjusting for looking at the number of people that are there and the resources that they have, this temple was probably the greatest sacrifice made to build a temple in the history of the church.
- [16:08]
A
Love that his phrase is, out of our poverty we have given of our substance to build this house to thy name. You just sense the sacrifice in his language there. That's so good. Now he continues, in verse 6 he says, and as thou has said in a revelation given to us, calling us thy friends, saying. And then he actually quotes DNC 88, verses 117 through 120, just quotes them straight through. He says, remember when you said this to us, quote, call your solemn assembly as I have commanded you, and as all have not faith. Still quoting from D. &c. 88. Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom. Yea, seek ye out of the best books, words of wisdom. Seek learning, even by study, and also by faith. Organize yourselves. Prepare every needful thing. Establish a house, even a house of prayer, House of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, house of glory, a house of order, a house of God. That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord. That your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord. That all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord. With uplifted hands unto the Most High. That's the end of the quote. He says. He says, remember when you commanded us to do that, okay? That's the command you gave us. Father, we have done our part. Right now we're asking you for a blessing, namely, here's the blessing, verse 10. And continuing. And now, Holy Father, we ask thee to assist us, Thy people, with Thy grace in calling our solemn assembly. That it may be done to thine honor and to Thy divine acceptance, and in a manner that we may be found worthy in Thy sight to secure a fulfillment of the promises which Thou hast made unto us, Thy people. People, in the revelations given unto us, remember what that promise was. This is Doctrine and Covenants, Section 88, Verse 68. Here's the promise that the Lord gave. If they would do this, and Joseph is referencing that here it says, verse 68. Therefore sanctify yourselves that your minds may become single to God. And the days will come that you shall see him. For he will unveil his face unto you. And it shall be in his own way, in his own time, according to his own will. And this, this is what Joseph is alluding to, that the fulfillment of the promise for convening in the solemn assembly, which will happen shortly after this. He says, so, Father, we've done everything we can, and we're seeking that blessing, verse 12. That thy glory may rest down upon thy people and upon this thy house which we now dedicate to thee, that it may be sanctified and consecrated to be holy, and that Thy holy presence may be continually in this house. And I love that he drills down deeper on this in the next verses. That all people who shall enter upon the threshold of the Lord's house may feel Thy power and feel constrained to acknowledge that thou hast sanctified it, and that it is thy house, a place of thy holiness. And do thou grant, Holy Father, that all those who shall worship in this house may be taught words of wisdom out of the best books, that they may seek learning even by study, and also by faith, as Thou has said, and that they may grow up in thee and receive a fullness of the Holy Ghost and be organized according to thy laws, and be prepared to obtain every needful thing. Man, this is so good. In other words, Casey like he's praying for what Section 88 was talking about, about being sanctified through the laws of God in preparation to see his face, and what section 93 talked about when it referred to Jesus and us growing from grace to grace and receiving grace for grace, until we receive of the Father's fullness as we learn how to obey his commandments, line upon line, grace by grace. And so you see this marvelous blending of some of the revelations that Joseph had received relative to the temple and the promises that would be fulfilled through the temple. Simple. And it's just so good.
- [20:01]
B
Yeah. And then he continues kind of that paraphrase of fulfillment of section 88, verse 16. That this House may be a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of glory, and of God, even thy house. That all the incomings of thy people into this house may be in the name of the Lord, that all their outgoings from this house may be in the name of the Lord, that all their salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with holy hands uplifted to the Most High, and that no unclean thing shall be permitted to come into thy house to pollute it. And when thy people transgress any of them, they may speedily repent and return unto Thee and find favor in Thy sight, and be restored to the blessings which Thou hast ordained to be poured out upon those who shall reverence Thee in Thy house. He's talking about the Kirtland temple as a house of worship, a house of glory. But going back to the experience of what it's like to tour the Kirtland Temple, if you go to the Kirtland temple today, you might be surprised to find that it doesn't contain baptismal font, it doesn't have endowment rooms, it doesn't have ceiling rooms, as are found commonly in Latter Day Saint temples today. The Kirtland temple was actually used for a number of different purposes that are outlined here in verses 6 through 21. In fact, in many ways, it was a chapel, it was a school, it was a temple, and it was the church office building kind of all rolled into one structure. The temple was a multipurpose facility. And in contrast to modern temples, it was open to all people. In fact, it still is. The first floor of the temple was commonly called the house of worship, because that's where worship services, including the sacrament ordinance, were held. In that space, the second floor of the temple was called the House of Learning. So they took this idea of a house of worship and a house of learning literally to where they would call the second floor the House of Learning because it was used primarily for educational purposes. Both floors have these iconic kind of raised stands that have become familiar with the Kirtland Temple. And both floors had those stands that represent offices in the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood. But we need to keep in mind the ultimate purpose of the Kirtland Temple was to prepare the saints to receive what the Lord had promised back in 1831, which was an endowment of power. And that's what the next few verses address.
- [22:17]
A
Yeah. Picking up in verse 22, Joseph prays specifically for power. He says, and we ask the Holy Father that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them. Which, by the way, is kind of a symbol of God's power, his protection, his presence. In fact, notice the word name. That's a great study. We're not going to probably go too deep into it now, but a great study to look at how the word name is used in connection with this section and with 2 Chronicles 6 and in section 110 that we're going to study as part 2 of this week. There's this invitation to have God's name placed upon us. There's this invitation to have God's name placed in the temple and on the temple. And you see here, Joseph is associating the name of God with the power of God or the presence of God, or like his. His protective influence. So just kind of notice that as we go through this. Let me. Let me pick it up again here. We ask the Holy Father to Thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy name may be upon them and thy glory round about them. And thine angels have charge over them. And from this place they may bear exceedingly great and glorious tidings in truth, truth unto the ends of the earth, that they may know that this is thy work, and that thou has put forth thy hand to fulfill that which thou has spoken by the mouths of the prophets concerning the last days. This is the imagery the Lord had given earlier about my. My servants need to be endowed with power from on high, so that they can then go forth out into the world, clothed in power, to bear these tidings to the nations of the Earth. That's as early as Section 38 of the Doctrine and Covenants, when he first uses this phrase, endowed with power. It's always the idea you get power, then you go out and share God's good tidings. You see that here again. Which, by the way, Casey, isn't that the pattern today? We don't send any missionaries out into the world until they have first been endowed in the temple.
- [24:15]
B
Yeah, exactly.
- [24:16]
A
So it's a powerful pattern. And we're just. We're just seeing that initially. Right? Here he goes on. Verse 24. We ask the Holy Father to establish the people that shall worship and honorably hold a name and standing in this thy house. House to all generations and for eternity. That no weapon formed against them shall prosper. That he who digeth the pit for them shall fall into the same himself. That no combination of wickedness shall have power to rise up and prevail over thy people, upon whom. Here it is again. Thy name shall be put in this house. And if any people shall rise against this people, that thine anger be kindled against them. And if they shall smite this people that will smite them. Thou wilt fight for thy people as thou didst in the day of battle, that they may be delivered from the hands of all their enemies. We ask thee, Holy Father, to confound and astonish and to bring to shame and confusion all those who have spread lying reports abroad over the world against thy servant or servants, if they will not repent when the everlasting gospel shall be proclaimed in their ears, and that all their works may be brought to naught and be swept away by the hail and. And by the judgments which thou would send upon them in thine anger, that there may be an end to lyings and slanders against thy people. For thou knowest, O Lord, he continues, that thy servants have been innocent before thee in bearing record of thy name for which they have suffered these things. Therefore, we plead before thee for a full and complete deliverance from under this yoke. Break it off, O Lord. Break it off from the necks of thy servants by thy power that we may rise up in the midst of this generation and do thy work. Casey, what's going on in the background here? Like, why is he praying for such protection at that time against persecution?
- [26:01]
B
Yeah, this is kind of the physical persecution portion of the prayer where they're asking for deliverance. The prophet, in fact, pleads that angels will protect the saints against their persecutors. But let's put this in context. Remember, the construction of the temple took place in the midst of. Of serious concerns over the physical safety of the leaders of the church. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had been badly beaten by a mob in March 1832. And during the construction of the temple, the saints constantly feared that mob violence would reoccur. And remember, too, the persecutions they'd received in Kirtland from people like our buddy Dr. Philastas Hurlbut. And then, obviously, Missouri. The first temple that was intended to be built was intended to be built in Missouri. But we don't always realize there was also physical persecution happening in and around Kirtland. For instance, Heber C. Kimball said it this way. He said, we were persecuted and under the necessity of laying upon the floor with our firelocks by our sides to sustain ourselves, as there were mobs gathering all around to destroy us and prevent us from building the temple. And when they were driven, every man that was in the church arose. We took our firelocks blocks to reinstate our brethren. And in the night we laid upon the floor. We laid upon Brother Joseph's floor and upon Sidney Rigdon's floor so as to be ready to keep our enemies at bay. So imagine sleeping in the middle of a construction site with a gun when he says, on Brother Joseph's floor and on Sidney Rigdon's floor. Another thing you can see geographically when you go to Kurtland is that Joseph Smith's house is less than a block away from where the temple is being built. Sidney Rigdon's house. House is right across the street. So they're saying, we tried to be as comfortable as possible, but we had to be there to make sure that they literally weren't going to attack and destroy what we were building during the day. Picking it up. In verse 34, he prays and says, o Jehovah, have mercy upon this people. And as all men sin, forgive the transgressions of thy people and let them be blotted out forever. Let the anointing of thy ministers be sealed upon them with power from on high. And let it be fulfilled upon them, them as upon those on the day of Pentecost. Let the gift of tongues be poured out upon thy people, even cloven tongues as of fire and the interpretation thereof. And let this house be filled as with a rushing, mighty wind with thy glory. What's unique about the Kirtland temple is spiritual manifestations are experienced. But we're used to saying, okay, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery or one other person saw something wonderful and they recorded it during the Kirtland Temple.
- [28:37]
A
Temple.
- [28:37]
B
Almost everybody that was there experienced something. It was kind of a spiritual outpouring that we've never seen before or since in the history of the church. Like this kind of is unique. For instance, Joseph Smith records the Savior made his appearance to some while angels ministered unto others. And it was a Pentecost and an endowment indeed long to be remembered. For the sound shall go forth from this place into all the world and the occurrences of this day shall be handed down, down upon the pages of the sacred history to all generations. As the day of Pentecost, so shall this day be numbered and celebrated as a year of jubilee and a time of rejoicing to the saints of the most high God. Joseph Smith records it. But the outpouring of the spirit that happens during the dedication of the Kirtland Temple extends to all ages, both genders. Among the saints, for instance, Benjamin Brown and Eliza Arsenal. This is one of my favorite Kirtland temples. Simple dedicatory stories. They both attend the dedication and they remembered seeing a woman who entered holding a two month old child. And because this young mother was there with the baby, because she couldn't find anybody to take care of the baby, but she still wanted to attend the service. So she pleaded with Joseph Smith Sr. To allow her to attend even though young children were not supposed to be allowed in the meeting. And Father Smith eventually spoke to the doorkeepers telling them, brethren, we do not exercise faith. My faith is this child will not cry a word in the house today. Benjamin Brown then observed on this the woman and child entered and the child did not cry a word from 8 till 4 in the afternoon. But when the saints all shouted hosanna, the child was nursing but let go and shouted also. When the saints paused, it paused. When they shouted, it shouted. For three times they shouted amen. It shouted also for three times and then resumed its nursing without any alarm. And I've always looked at that and wondered, was the baby shouting Hosanna or did the baby just start to cry while everybody was shouting hosanna? At any rate, keeping a baby quiet from 9am until 4pm is a spiritual feat that needs to be written up into the scriptures. That's one of my favorite stories.
- [30:47]
A
That's so good. Let me read a couple more. Just in fulfillment of verses 36 and 37, Oliver Cowdery, he wrote this. He said the spirit was poured, poured out. I saw the glory of God like a great cloud come down and rest upon the house. That's by the way a fantastic, like, parallel to the cloud that comes down in the Solomon's temple, like Oliver's. Like, I saw that same thing happened. And then he said it filled the same. Filled the house like a mighty rushing wind. That's Acts 2, Pentecost, right. He said, I saw cloven tongues like, as a fire rest upon many while they spake with other tongues and prophesy. Some of these events are happening in other meetings at the Kirtland Temple. It's not all just happening at the dedication, but it's all around this. You know, the one that Oliver just said was. Another was a different meeting where 316 were present. He said, here's another one by this guy named Levi Jackman who compared the events of the dedication to the New Testament. Pentecost. Just the same word Joseph just used here. He wrote this. He said, quote, I believe that as many great things were heard and felt and seen as there was on the day of Pentecost with the apostles. And that's what's happening inside the temple. But there's even others who are outside the temple, like Benjamin Brown, who wrote to his wife Sarah. He recorded that on the evening of the dedication, one person outside saw a pillar or a cloud rest down upon the house as bright as when the sun shines on a cloud, like as gold. He said, just this illumination, again, has these really interesting Old Testament connections that they. The Shekinah, the cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night. All these connections are happening with the Kirtland Temple. So cool. There's a fantastic book if you want to read as many as we have. I think it's a book called Opening the Heavens, compiled by Jack Welch, and it's got just story after story after story of those who were there and witnessed the fulfillment of what Joseph is praying for right here in verses 36 and 37. So go check it out.
- [32:45]
B
Yeah. Another great resource is Carl Anderson's the Savior in Kirtland, which he has a chart in there where he actually lists the manifestations, the date they happened, how many people were there, and then what they recorded specifically. And it's not just the dedication. I mean, there's stuff that starts happening in January, the dedications in March. And then, of course, the peak of everything is the Savior's appearance, which is section 110, which. Which we're going to get.
- [33:10]
A
Yeah. And maybe it's helpful to just kind of like, frame this experience as starting in January and culminating in April, like you're saying. And. And let's frame that whole thing with the phrase Kirtland endowment, like when the Lord said he would endow the saints with power from on high. It's all this stuff. It's the spiritual outpourings. And then it's going to, as you said, culminate when Jesus appears in the Kirtland temple and we get the restoration of priesthood keys. But all these spiritual outpourings, the gift of tongues, people seeing angels, the cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night, the rushing of mighty winds, like, all of this is part of what God was talking about when he said he would endow the saints with power. Because talk about a group of people who are pretty jazzed to share the gospel after all this happens, Casey. Like, these people are ready. They're empowered to go out and bear witness of this new thing that God is doing, the fulfillment of ancient covenants. And so that's the endowment.
- [34:03]
B
Yeah, we're used to referring to the ceremonies in the temple. Temple as the endowment that hasn't been revealed yet. And the saints take the endowment when its original meaning as a gift. And they see all of these spiritual experiences they have in the temple as the endowment. In fact, your idea about them going forth, that's the next part of the prayer where, okay, we're praying that we're going to have something happen here, but also that we can take what happens here out to other people. Pick it up in verse 38. Put upon thy servants the testimony of the covenant, that when they go out and proclaim thy word, word, they may seal up the law and prepare the hearts of thy saints for all those judgments thou art about to send in thy wrath upon the inhabitants of the earth because of their transgressions, that thy people may not faint in the day of trouble. And whatsoever city thy servants shall enter, and the people of that city shall receive their testimony. Let thy peace and thy salvation be upon that city, that they may gather out of that city the righteous, that they may come forth to Zion or to her. Stake the places of thine appointment with songs of everlasting joy. And until this be accomplished, let not thy judgments fall upon that city. Whatsoever city thy servants shall enter. And the people of that city receive not the testimony of the servants. And thy servants warn them to save themselves from this untoward generation. Let it be upon that city, according to that which thou has spoken, by the mouths of thy prophets. But deliver thee, O Jehovah, we beseech thee, thy servants from their hands, and cleanse them them from their blood. So again, the idea is we're going to have something special happen here, but we want to take it to other places. We want to give other people the opportunity to experience what we're receiving right.
- [35:41]
A
Now and give them the chance to receive it before the calamities come that you have foretold. That's the sobering piece to this. I mean, that starts with section one, right? There's a calamity coming before the second coming of Jesus. And therefore God called upon his servants and sent them out. Out in order to gather as many people in as he can before the calamities poured out. You see all that being played out here in these verses. Again, not that the saints were asking and praying for God to bring his judgments upon the wicked. It's not like that at all. In fact, the next verse, I think, shows this really clearly. Joseph says, o Lord, we delight not in the destruction of our fellow men. Their souls are precious before Thee. But thy word must be fulfilled. So help thy servants to say, with thy grace assisting them. Thy will be done, O Lord, and not ours. We know that thou has spoken by the mouth of thy prophets terrible things concerning the wicked in the last days. That thou wilt pour out thy judgments without measure. Therefore, O Lord, deliver thy people from the calamity of the wicked. Enable thy servants to seal up the law and bind up the testimony that they may be prepared against the day of burning. This idea of sealing up the law and binding up the testimony is a fancy Old Testament way of saying to go and rid your garments of the blood of this generation by warning them and inviting them to come into the covenant to receive Christ. And once you've done your part, like you've done your part, and the rest is in the hands of the Lord. That's all we enable. Thy servant, he prays here, verse 46. Enable us to do a good job at that so that those people can be prepared against the dead day of burning. It's an incredibly merciful prayer.
- [37:23]
B
Yeah. And then he kind of switches from the apocalyptic warnings to current events. Because the next set of verses are going to deal with the saints in Missouri and what they're dealing with, who at this time, they're still regrouping from being refugees being kicked out of Jackson County. Verse 47. We ask the Holy Father to remember those who have been driven by the inhabitants of Jackson County, County, Missouri, from the lands of their inheritance and break off, O Lord, this yoke of affliction that has been put upon them. Thou knowest, O Lord, that they have been greatly oppressed and afflicted by wicked men. And our hearts flow out with sorrow because of their grievous burdens. And again, just a reminder, intense persecution had driven the saints away from the chosen ground, the place where the first temple was really intended to be built in Jackson County. And the prayer just recognizes the suffering of the saints in that region. It also, I mean, it is worth noting, the construction on the temple in Kirtland was delayed because Joseph Smith and most of the able bodied men in Kirtland leave to go and march with Zion's camp. We talked about that in section 103 and 105. Many of the saints who suffered from the persecutions of Missouri, in turn, had traveled to Kirtland and were there to participate and receive the blessings of the temple in the Kirtland temple dedication. And Joseph Smith and other church leaders were painfully aware that, again, the first temple was not supposed to be built in Kirtland. It was supposed to be built in Missouri. So in the dedicatory prayer, the prophet prays for the saints of Missouri to be redeemed and to be restored to the place place designated for the city of Zion. But the prayer also looks forward to the establishment of stakes of Zion throughout the world and states that the redemption of Zion will come in due time. In the meantime, the saints throughout the world are counseled to gather to the stakes among them. And that's where the prayer picks up.
- [39:20]
A
In verse 49, Joseph prays, O Lord, how long wilt thou suffer this people to bear this affliction? And the cries of their innocent words, ones to ascend up in thine ears and their blood to come up in testimony before thee and not make a display of thy testimony in their behalf. Have mercy, O Lord, upon the wicked mob. Whoa, okay, hold on. I gotta read that again. Have mercy, O Lord, upon the wicked mob who have driven thy people, that they may cease to spoil, that they may repent of their sins if repentance is to be found. Casey, what is going on here? Why? He's praying for his enemy. Like, who prays for his enemies?
- [39:59]
B
That's what we're supposed to do, right? Very few people do it. But that is a teaching of Jesus Christ, right? Is to pray for those who persecute you and despitefully use you. The prophet's a Christian, so he's following those instructions.
- [40:13]
A
He's actually doing it here. That's so cool. That's so inspiring. But then he says, so please bless them if they'll repent. And then he pivots verse 15:51 but if they will not, make bare thine arm, O Lord, and redeem that which thou didst appoint a Zion unto thy people, please redeem that place. And if it cannot be otherwise, that the cause of thy people may not fail before thee. May thine anger be kindled and thine indignation fall upon them, that they may be wasted away, both root and branch, from under heaven. And we talked about how that occurs to a degree during the Civil War in our last episode last week. But verse 53, inasmuch as they will repent, Thou art gracious and merciful, and will turn away thy wrath when thou lookest upon the face of thine anointed. I just think it's so inspiring to think about both Joseph's largeness of soul here to be able to create that space in his. In his heart and mind to pray for those people who've legitimately, like, done horrible things to the saints, stolen property, people have died. I mean, it's horrific stuff. And on the one hand, that's really impressive. On the other hand, the fact that God is that kind of God who will actually forgive people who've done horrible stuff like, Joseph knows this, and he's asking God to give them space to repent. But if they won't repent, if that's not going to happen, then please help us get Zion back. Even if it means that you unleash your fury on them. Right, But. But if they will repent, please turn away your wrath from them. There's so many things happening here about the character of God, and I think a glimpse into the character of Joseph Smith here to see that beautiful prayer about mercy upon their enemies in Missouri.
- [41:58]
B
Yeah. And from their enemies. The next section of the prayer is going to deal with other nations. So let's pick it up in verse 54. Have mercy, O Lord, upon all the nations of the earth. Have mercy upon the rulers of our land. May those principles which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely the constitution of our land by our fathers, be established forever. Remember the kings, the princes, the nobles, and the great ones of the earth, and all people and the churches, all the poor, the needy and the afflicted ones of the earth, that their hearts may be softened when thy servants shall go out from thy house, house, O Jehovah, to bear testimony of thy name, that their prejudices may give way before the truth and thy people may obtain favor in the sight of all, that all the ends of the earth may know that we, thy servants, have heard thy voice and that Thou hast sent us that from among all these thy servants, the sons of Jacob, may gather out the righteous to build a holy city to thy name, as thou hast commanded. We need to keep in mind here, too, that this blessing to the leaders of the nations and those who are not members of the church is remarkable, that it does take into account those that persecuted the saints. But it does include this teaching that Joseph Smith is going to share more commonly in the years following this, which is that most people are kept from the truth because they just don't know where to find it. It's not really wickedness, it's ignorance that is the great affliction of the age. And that if people could hear it, the prophet also pleads that their hearts can be softened and that their prejudices may give way before truth. It's significant, too, that this discussion about leaders is going to lead into less than, oh, what is it? About three years after this, Joseph Smith literally meets with the president of the United States after the persecutions in Missouri, and missionaries go forth to Western Europe, countries all around the world where this is being fulfilled, where they're meeting with leaders, some of whom have soft hearts and some of whom who don't.
- [43:55]
A
And Joseph wanted so badly for religious tolerance to thrive in America and among the nations. And again, that's reflective of what's going on in his own soul and his own character. Like, there's a meeting of the council of 50 that was held several years after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, where Joseph spoke at length on the importance of cooperation and tolerance among different religions. Listen to this. He. He said, God cannot save or damn a man only on the principle that every man acts, chooses and worships for himself. So the prophet continued, hence the importance of thrusting from us every spirit of bigotry and intolerance towards a man's religious sentiments. That spirit which has drenched the earth with blood, we gotta get rid of that. He says, continuing quote, when a man feels the least temptation to such intolerance, he ought to spurn it from him immediately. Like having been on the receiving end of horrible religious intolerance. Like Joseph didn't become bitter and then fight back with same kind of intolerance. He did the opposite. He learned from that. And he's teaching his people, like, we have got to be tolerant toward other people's beliefs. God can't save or damn people only on the principle that they get to choose for themselves what to do, how to act, how to worship. And if we don't cultivate an environment of religious tolerance. How's anyone ever even going to hear the Gospel? We have to share, right? Like, we have to create that environment. And it goes both ways. It goes both ways. Now let's pick it up. In verse 59, he says, we ask thee to appoint unto Zion other stakes beside this one, referring to Kirtland, which thou hast appointed, that the gathering of thy people may roll on in great power and majesty thee, that thy work may be cut short in righteousness. The plan has always been to create Zion and then create stakes and to gather all in before the calamity comes. So there's a people prepared for the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Like you just. You see that template all over the place. There it is again. Verse 59. Continuing verse 60. Now these words, O Lord, we have spoken before thee concerning the revelations and commandments which thou hast given, given unto us who are identified with the Gentiles. But thou knowest that thou hast a great love for the children of Jacob. Now he starts switching the focus over to the Jews who have been scattered upon the mountains for a long time in a cloudy and dark day. We therefore ask thee to have mercy upon the children of Jacob, that Jerusalem from this hour may begin to be redeemed and the yoke of bondage may begin to be broken off from the house of David. David and the children of Judah may begin to return to the lands which thou didst give to Abraham their father. And cause that the remnants of Jacob, who've been cursed and smitten because of their transgression, be converted from their wild and savage condition to the fullness of the everlasting Gospel. So that verse 65 is a reference to the seed of Lehi, always called in the Book of Mormon, the remnants of the house of Israel that was would be in Joseph's conception here the Native Americans, who are often called wild and savage at this time. And he's saying, please help them to come into the fullness of the gospel. So scattered Israel, the Jews, let them begin to return to Jerusalem, and then also bless the seed of Lehi, the remnant of Jacob, that they verse 66 may lay down their weapons of bloodshed. Another Book of Mormon allusion there. And cease their rebellions. And may all the scattered remnants of Israel, Israel who have been driven to the ends of the earth, come to a knowledge of the truth, believe in the Messiah, and be redeemed from oppression, and rejoice before thee. These are all promises that Joseph is praying for that have been prophesied in Scripture would happen like as, as early as, like the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, when the Lord says that if, if Israel rebels against him, they will be scattered, but that he will not leave them forever in that condition, but would again gather them together. That's the first mention of the gathering of a scattered Israel. It's all throughout the Book of Mormon, both for the Jews and for the seed of Lehi. And so Joseph is weaving all of these together here in this prayer and asking not that it will happen at some point, because he knows that's going to happen, that's the promise in Scripture, but that it may begin to happen right now.
- [48:13]
B
There's a really fascinating interplay here where the prayer is to gather Israel, which is very, very founded in Old Testament sources. Like this longing that Israel will gather back together again, particularly the children of Judah, to their homelands, which Jewish people weren't exactly popular in various nations around this time. This is expressing deep sympathy towards them and that they can go to their homelands. But we also need to remember the interplay here. So most members of the church are Israelites, either by lineage or adoption. And the local Lord doesn't make any distinction. I don't know if I'm a literal descendant of Israel or if I'm adopted, and I don't think the Lord really cares, to be honest with you. But the prayer, Interestingly in verse 60 also points out that most members of the Church, this is the wording there, are identified with the Gentiles. And this wording distinguishes between Jew and Gentile in the same way the Book of Mormon does on its title page. That a Jew is a Jewish national, while a Gentile is a person from a Gentile nation. Someone like Britain, France, number of other locations. We have this kind of unique joint Israelite and Gentile heritage that's become an important part of the Latter Day Saint identity. Every member of the church kind of grapples with this. And every member of the Church can celebrate and find joy in the culture they were born into and the culture they inherit as part of the House of Israel. So for instance, look at how Joseph filled Joseph. Fielding Smith navigates this. He says, let us also remember that we are of the Gentiles. By this I mean that the Latter Day Saints have come to their blessings through the Gentile nations. President Brigham Young said that Joseph Smith was a pure Ephraimite. This is true. Yet Joseph Smith also came of Gentile lineage. So do most all members of the Church. We may boast of our lineage and rejoice in the fact that the patriarchs have declared us to be of Ephraim. But at the same time, let us not despise the Gentiles, for we are also of them. If it were not so, the Scriptures would not be fulfilled. In other words, think of this house of Israel language and this idea of lineage not as exclusive, like we're descendants of Israel, so we're better than everybody else, but as inclusive, meaning every person that accepts the covenants can be part of the house of Israel as well and receive the blessings that are laid out in the Scripture. So just does a nice job kind of playing between those two things, saying, yes, it's great to be of Israel, but anybody can choose to be part of this royal family. It is not exclusive.
- [50:40]
A
It's totally inclusive, 100%. I mean, that's from the very beginning when Jesus, like, commissioned his apostles to go out and preach to the Gentiles. Like, from that moment on, Gentiles have been fully welcomed in. And then Paul tells us in Galatians and Romans that anyone who receives Jesus becomes of the house of Israel. It doesn't matter your biological lineage when you receive Jesus. Welcome to the family. That's it. So now, picking it up in verse 68, we'll notice another shift in this prayer that now turns very personal for Joseph Smith. Here's what he says. O Lord, remember thy servant Joseph Smith Jr. And all his afflictions and persecutions, how he has covenanted with Jehovah and vowed to the Almighty God of Jacob, and the commandments which thou hast given unto him him, and that he hath sincerely striven to do thy will. Have mercy, O Lord, upon his wife and children, that they may be exalted in thy presence and preserved by thy fostering hand. Have mercy upon all their immediate connections, that their prejudices may be broken up and swept away as with a flood, that they may be converted and redeemed with Israel, and know that thou art God. Just a couple tender little verses in there asking for God's blessing upon him and his family, family and his immediate connections. I think we call that extended family. Please bless our extended family members to be converted and to know that you're God.
- [52:02]
B
And then a shift in the next couple verses to the leaders of the church. Verse 71. Remember, O Lord, the presidents, even all the presidents of thy church, that thy right hand may exalt them with all their families and their immediate connections, that their names may be perpetuated and had an everlasting remembrance from generation to generation. Remember all thy church, O Lord, with all their families and all their immediate connections, with all their sick and afflicted ones, with all the poor and meek of the earth, that the kingdom which thou hast set up without hands may become a great mountain and fill the whole earth. That thy church may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness and shine forth as fair as the moon, as clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners, and be adorned as a bride for that day when thou shalt unveil the heavens and cause the mountains to flow down, down at thy presence, and the valleys to be exalted, the rough places made smooth, that thy glory may fill the earth. So a general prayer that the church can come out of obscurity, which we're still working on, to be honest with you. Sometimes I'm amazed at how ignorant people are of who we are and what we do. And I don't mean ignorant in a really negative sense, just they don't know and they're not aware. But this prayer has also been fulfilled in really striking ways where a lot of people, people do know who we are and what we do. And more and more it's increasing all the time, hopefully in good ways. But any publicity is no such thing as bad publicity, I guess we'd say.
- [53:25]
A
I love how biblical all this language is. Joseph just almost effortlessly is just tying in the Daniel prophecy of the stone cut out of the mountains. In the book of Revelation, chapter 12, this, the church fleeing into the wilderness. We've talked about that to some extent, length. Casey, number 73. We should just put a fine point on this when he says that thy church may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners. Like, this is a reference to that Revelation chapter 12 Imagery of the church during what we call the great apostasy, fleeing into the wilderness. And this is the reversal of that, right? And you might say, well, this is 1836. Like, has the church not been restored? Is the church not out of the wilderness? Like, come on. I think this is a fun verse to say there's. There's more. The restoration is ongoing here, right? There's more to come. And I think it's super cool that the Nauvoo Temple, okay, Next time you go to the Nauvoo Temple, dear listeners, like, look at the facade of the temple and notice that it's got these. It's got these sunstones, it's got these Moonstones down at the bottom and at the very top, up as these star stones. And the architects of the Nauvoo Temple said that that was a representation of the church in Revelation, chapter 12. This woman who's clothed with the sun, wearing stars on her head, standing on the moon. It's a reference here, verse 73. This idea that the. The church will come out of the wilderness and be unmistakable, like the thing that the. The sun, the moon, and an army with banners that are marching towards your city have in common coming is that you can't mistake them, you can't miss them, right? Like, you can't miss the sun in the sky, the moon at the night, and you cannot miss an army that's coming for your town, like the church is going to come out of obscurity and shine. And so the Nauvoo Temple is like this monument in stone that's announcing that the church has come out of the wilderness. Now, there's still a lot of people that need to know about us and know what the gospel is all about and to hear the message for the first time. Time, yes, but by the end of Joseph Smith's life, like, the Nauvoo Temple represents the fact that everything was now on earth, necessary to, like, bring about all of God's purposes for mankind. So I think it's just so interesting that here in 1836, that had not happened yet. But by 1844, by the end of Joseph's life, like, everything was on earth, necessary to bring about the salvation of mankind. The full gathering of Israel on both sides of the vein, like this prayer will be answered in beautiful ways, culminating in Nauvoo. And now we scale that around the world. We're still trying to scale that around the world, but that prototype was there by the end of Joseph's life.
- [56:02]
B
Then the last part of the prayer addresses this future millennial world that the saints are looking Forward to. Verse 75. When the trump shall sound for the dead, we shall be caught up in the cloud to meet thee, that we may ever be with the Lord. Lord, that our garments may be pure, that we may be clothed upon with robes of righteousness, with palms in our hands and crowns of glory upon our heads, and reap eternal joy for all our sufferings. O Lord God Almighty, hear us in these petitions and answer us from heaven thy holy habitation, where thou sittest enthroned with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness. From everlasting to everlasting. O Hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord, and answer those petitions and accept the dedication of this house unto thee, the work of our hands, which we have built unto thy name, and also this church, to put upon it thy name. And help us by the power of the Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright shining seraphs around thy throne with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the legend Lamb, and let these thine anointed ones be clothed with salvation. And thy saints shout aloud for joy. Amen. And Amen. So there is the first dedicatory prayer ever given for a temple in this dispensation. Just really, really amazing. And I'll mention it includes a number of firsts, including right after the dedicatory prayer, they sing the Spirit of God. The hosanna shout is performed for the first time in this dispensation. The word hosanna is just Hebrew for for save, we pray. Hosanna shows up several times in the King James version of the Bible. Matthew 21, Mark 11, John 12, mostly associated with the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. And it also appears in the Book of Mormon. Shouted by none other than the Holy Ghost himself. Nephi witnessed that the Spirit cried with a loud voice saying hosanna to the Lord, the most High God. And the Nephites later shout hosanna after they're delivered from their enemies.
- [58:04]
A
And since it was first utilized in the Kirtland Temple, the hosanna shout has, as most church members today know, become a cherished tradition that we still do today. Every temple that's dedicated has the Saints participate in a hosanna shout. It's also rarely been used for other special occasions, such as the dedication of the conference center in the year 2000. And some of us will remember this recently in the recognition of the 200th anniversary of the first vision right there in April 2020. General Conference President Nelson led us in a hosanna shout. Is that just a shout of, like, gratitude for what's come since that 200 year period of the Father and the Son appearing to Joseph Smith? Again, pretty rare. And we also notice that it's typically paired with a performance of the Spirit of God by W.W. phelps. Right. Who wrote that hymn specifically for the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. And when the Spirit of God was performed at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, they sang it with gusto. In fact, if you look at the layout of the Kirtland Temple, you'll notice that in every corner there were Benches for the choir. And so, literally, there's surround sound happening in the Kirtland temple, and the choir and congregation are singing, singing the spirit of God. It's just coming from all sides. This must have been so powerful. And there's even, like, a secret verse. Casey. Okay, it's not actually a secret verse, but it's been cut from our current version. But it's. It's kind of got more temple language in it. Tell us about that verse.
- [59:35]
B
They finished the first hymnbook. The hymn book that Emma's commanded to put together all the way back in section 25, was completed in time for the Kirtland temple. And you can find the spirit of God on the very, very last page of the hymnbook. And the extra verse, which we don't sing today, probably because it acknowledges what was called the Kirtland endowment, which there was a kind of washing and anointing that came along with the Kirtland endowment. The verse reads, will wash and be washed and with oil be anointed with all, not omitting the washing of feet, for he that receiveth his penny appointed must surely be clean at the harvest of wheat. It's probably archaic. I make my classes sing the lost verse when we talk about the Kirtland temple, but it acknowledges that the endowment was all of these spiritual experiences. But there was a ceremony called the endowment. It's not the same as what we do in the temple today. That's revealed later on in Nauvoo, but it's not that far off from some of the washings and anointings that take place in sacred temples today as well, where people are blessed and anointed.
- [60:34]
A
Yeah. And we're going to do a special Voices of the Restoration episode where we're going to dive into the details of the Kirtland endowment, including. Including how they washed, anointed, blessed. We'll talk about the washing of feet. We'll talk about more details of these extraordinary outpourings of the spirit there. And the culmination of the temple keys that came, all of that collectively together, is this Kirtland endowment. So stay tuned for a special Voices of the Restoration this week where we'll dig into the details of all of this. So we'll look forward to that, but as well.
- [61:14]
B
All right, section 109 controversies. The big one is one that, honestly, like, I've cruised past for years and only recently sort of noticed in a close examination of the text. But one question is, who's being addressed here? It sounds like the prayer is being given to Jehovah, which we understand in our modern understanding to be Jesus Christ. Christ, that it's the premortal name of Jesus Christ. So if we're supposed to pray to the Father, that's the Savior's instructions, then how come the prayer in several places addresses Jehovah? Who's Jesus Christ?
- [61:48]
A
Great question. Yeah, I'm with you. I didn't recognize this for most of my reading of section 109, but once you see it, you can't unsee it. For instance, like verse 42. But deliver thou, O Jehovah, we beseech thee. Another time, Jehovah is used. It's used four times in this section, verse 56, O Jehovah, verse 68. How he has covenanted with Jehovah and vowed to Thee, Almighty God of Jacob. Who's he talking to here? And then, did I mention verse 34 as well? Yes. Oh, Jehovah, have mercy upon this people. We typically think that's talking about Jesus. And how many times does it use the word Lord, which we typically use to refer to Jesus? Like verse one, thanks be to thy name, O Lord, God of Israel. Verse 3, Thou beholdest, O Lord. But it's not till verse 4 that the ambiguity is wiped away. Okay, verse 4 is really clear who he's praying to. Look at this. And now we ask thee, Holy Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of thy bosom. Very clearly, verse four just erases the ambiguity. This is a prayer to God the Father, just like Jesus commanded us to pray. But then that leads to the question, why does he keep calling the Father all these different names he calls, calls him Lord, Lord, God of Israel, Jehovah. Maybe the most confusing one, it's the Father, verse 10, Holy Father, verse 14, Holy Father, verse 24. We ask the Holy Father. You can just kind of see that punctuated verse 29, Holy Father. But in the midst of that Jehovah, Lord Jehovah, verse 47, Holy Father. So I think what's really helpful to understand as you read this is that early on, they didn't distinguish that Lord and Jehovah were specifically about Jesus, even though the name Elohim is sometimes referred to Jesus. In fact, case in point here, if you look over in section 110 that we're going to be covering in our next episode here, Jesus is clearly referred to as Jehovah. Verse 3. They heard his voice as even the voice of Jehovah, saying, I am the first and the last, it says. Etc. It's clearly a reference to Jesus. So Jesus is called Lord back in the 1830s. So is the Father. Jesus is referred to as jehovah in section 110 and God the Father is referred to as jehovah in section 109. They just interchangeably use these terms, kind of like we do the name God. God can refer to the Father or the Son. And so they don't have it really pinned down yet in terms of like calling Father Elohim Jesus Jehovah, and that's it.
- [64:20]
B
And it seems like this is a thing in the 19th century, right, where they play around a lot with titles. Probably the most famous example is the Adam God Teaching, which again, might be them playing around with titles. But here, you know, it seems to me the big thing that sets Latter Day Saints apart is the separation of the three members of the Godhead, which I'm going to argue is really clear in their minds. And if it's not clear here, it's crystal clear by 1843 when Joseph Smith gives the discourse that's recorded as section 130 in the doctrine and Covenants. So that's the stakes for me. It's interesting that we don't realize that it's an ongoing restoration. And this morning, as we were prepping our material for this, we tried to say, well, when did they pin down this whole Jehovah is Jesus Christ, Elohim is the Father. There's movements towards it by people like Wilford woodruff in the 1890s, but it's really Joseph F. Spent Smith, who is the great codifier of church teachings. Joseph F. Smith just decides he wants to have an official statement that clears up some muddy things. So he does a statement on the origin of man. He does a wonderful revelation that becomes section 138, which clarifies a lot about the afterlife. And he commissions James E. Talmadge to write what becomes known as the doctrinal exposition on the Father and the Son that clarifies the roles of the Father and the Son Son. And that seems to be when it all becomes sort of settled doctrine. But it is a little wishy washy until then, and that's okay. Again, our major thing is that God is our Father and Jesus Christ is our Savior and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and comforter, and that they're three separate beings. The titles again took a little bit longer to work out, but I'm okay with that.
- [65:59]
A
Yeah. And it's primarily about naming conventions, right? There was never any ambiguity that the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost were separate in Joseph Smith's mind from the first vision forward. But the naming conventions don't get settled on until, like you're saying, like the turn of the 20th century. We're now getting Charles W. Penrose, James E. Talmage under the direction of Joseph F. Smith. That's when they're really sitting down and codifying this. And there's references in the temple endowment to Elohim being the Father, Jesus being Jehovah very clearly and distinctly. We don't know exactly when that was put into the temple endowment, when that great amount of clarity was there. It's hard to get at that as a researcher, so we don't know for sure. But an allusion was made to that by Charles W. Penrose in General conference in, like 1915 or 16, where he refers to that as already being a settled issue in the temple. And so, yeah, we don't know exactly when it becomes really codified. But the bigger picture here is this is just a name convention. When you see Elohim in the Old Testament, that could be a reference to Jesus or the Father or talking about both of them working together. Like, we just, we don't know. We've just picked. We just chosen to call God the Father Elohim sometimes, like. Like in the temple and other rare places. And we've chosen to call Jesus Jehovah. But both names can apply equally to both, as we see here in section 109. It's totally appropriate to call them that, Although if you try it now, you're going to to confuse the heck out of members of your ward if you try it. The naming conventions are fixed now, so don't do it. But just know that in section 109, that's still pretty fluid.
- [67:36]
B
There's a great article by Ryan Davis and Paul Hoskisson where it's free. You can just Google it online where they talk about the use of the word Elohim. And it's messy because Elohim in some senses is plural. They can refer to more than one person. Like when Jesus is on the cross and he's dying, he doesn't say Elohim, he says Eloi, which just means my God. But we'd refer you to that to just note that there is a little bit more complexity to how the names are used than most church members assume. And that's okay. What we have to believe is a Father, Son and Holy Ghost and the names and a few other things like that can be a little bit fluid and it doesn't really disturb the doctrinal foundation of things.
- [68:17]
A
Yeah. So again, the name of that article is usage of the title Elohim, and it's by Ryan Davis and Paul Hoskisson. Google that. Great read.
- [68:27]
B
Okay, let's talk consequences.
- [68:34]
A
I think Stephen Harper actually summarized this really, really well in an article that he wrote about this. Here's what he said. Section 109 dedicated the first house of the Lord in the last dispensation and set the path pattern for all subsequent solemn assemblies meant for the same holy purpose. He goes on. It teaches the saints how to pray, including what to pray for and to ask according to the will of God. It teaches the doctrine and evokes the imagery of the temple, perhaps most poignantly in the idea that temple worshipers can grow up by degrees of glory until they become like their heavenly Father. That was a reference to verse 15. And again, we can cross reference that with section 93. That's a powerful idea. He goes on. That's the meaning of being exalted in God's presence. Joseph's temple revelations call this fullness, including fullness of joy. Section 109 continues the expansive work of the temple revelations from sections 76, 84, 88 and 93, and points us forward to the culminating revelation on exaltation, section 132, verses 1 through 20. He concludes, Section 109 invites mortals who occupy a polluted telestial planet where they cannot think of more than one thing at a time, and generally only in finite terms, to be endowed with power that will enable them to journey to the presence of God, where God lives. And then he quotes verse 77. Enthroned with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fullness, from everlasting to everlasting. So that's the consequences of section 109. Thank you, Casey. That was fun. That was part one of this week's. Come, follow me. So stay tuned. Part two, section 110.
- [70:28]
B
Part two is the big stuff. This is the major event that happens in the Kirtland Temple, Section 110. So make sure you stick with us for that, because that is the really, really important stuff that happens in Kirtland.
- [70:39]
A
The grand finale. Yes. See you in the next episode.
- [70:42]
B
Till next time.