Introductory Article:
A Testimony:
It’s Not Just A Matter Of The Heart

The witness of the Holy Ghost comes not just to the heart, but to the “mind and to the heart” (see D&C 8:2, 9:8-9, 11:13, 43:34, 64:34, 84:85), which indicates that the intellect is involved. We must find joy in the seeking. We must love the learning of history in order to gain context. We must know what is in our scriptures. We must compare the written word against current church teachings. We must face and seek to resolve seeming contradictions in scripture, until it dawns on us, by the light of the Holy Ghost, exactly what we were missing in our understanding.

These intellectual exercises open the way for the Holy Ghost to do his work of leading us unto all truth and righteousness. We cannot, and must not, rely upon any man or office to do this ground work for us. We must, at all cost, reject the Catholic doctrine of infallibility which has crept into our own religion. This doctrine states that the Lord will never allow the Pope to err in his official teachings to the church. The Mormon version is essentially the same, stating that “the Lord will never allow the president of the church to lead the church astray” – thereby removing all cause for the membership to discern him.

No single doctrine has done more to dumb down the membership, since it influences them to reject all personal responsibility to discern the church they are part of. No single doctrine is more blatantly contrary to all scripture, all history, and to the conscience – not to mention its obvious denial of the principle of agency itself. Joseph Smith was concerned that the doctrine of infallibility would produce an unhealthy dependence upon the prophet, when the people ought to depend upon the Spirit of the Lord:

“President Joseph Smith read the 14th chapter of Ezekiel–said the Lord had
declared by the Prophet, that the people should each one stand for himself, and
depend on no man or men in that state of corruption of the Jewish church–that
righteous persons could only deliver their own souls–applied it to the present
state of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints–said if the people departed from the Lord, they must fall–that they were depending on the Prophet, hence were darkened in their minds…” (TPJS p.237)

Brigham Young also warned, on several occasions, about the possibility of the church being led astray if the saints, themselves, become unworthy to discern it:

“I am more afraid that this people have so much confidence in their leaders that
they will not inquire for themselves of God whether they are led by him. I am
fearful they settle down in a state of blind self-security, trusting their
eternal destiny in the hands of their leaders with a reckless confidence that in
itself would thwart the purposes of God in their salvation, and weaken that
influence they could give to their leaders, did they know for themselves, by the
revelations of Jesus, that they are led in the right way. Let every man and
woman know, by the whispering of the Spirit of God to themselves, whether their
leaders are walking in the path the Lord dictates, or not.” (Discourses of
Brigham Young, John A. Widtsoe [1941], 135).

We hold in our hearts a natural affection, and rightly so, towards those men who are officially called to lead the church. But if a testimony were based merely on affections, all religions would be on equal standing with God. I once heard the testimony of a young and virtuous Catholic girl, who was moved to tears as she touched the hem of the Pope’s garment passing by. The intensity of the experience was, in her perception, a witness from the Spirit reassuring her that the Pope is God’s mouthpiece on earth. We tend to make this same mistake, as Mormons, assigning our own interpretation to our feelings, and taking it for a spiritual witness. By this unbalanced regard for feelings in the absence of proper mental exertion and seeking, we defy the Lord’s instructions regarding how to recognize the voice of the Spirit. To be guided by the Holy Ghost we must be willing to regard more than feelings:

“But behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you
must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom
shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” (D&C
9:8)

Notice that, in the above instruction given by the Lord, the use of the mind and the importance of “study” are emphasized as a necessary prerequisite before the burning of the bosom (feelings) can be appropriately identified as a witness from the Holy Ghost. Without the mental process to engage the workings of the conscience within, emotions are just emotions and bear no special relation to that divine witness.

The process of “study it out in your mind” naturally alludes to the importance of the written word. Else, what are we to study? By studying the words and acts of God to his people in all ages, we begin to open our minds to the eternal perspective of things. It is a perspective that rises above that of the natural man. If God is our eternal Father, shall we not seek to understand him, above all else? Shall we be offended when we see him in his anger, and in his judgment, and in his fierceness? In times of peace, it is the written record alone that puts us in contact with that particular aspect of God’s character and nature. We must come to understand him, and comprehend the eternal principles by which he operates, whether in wrath or in loving kindness. By regarding the written record in this way, we will not be shocked and dismayed when the season of divine wrath is manifested upon our own church and society.

Because the LDS people today, like the world, are so in love with love itself, they are prone to avoid the judgment aspect of God’s character. This corresponds to the historical pattern of Israel’s apostasy in all ages, who found themselves attracted to the love-gods of the neighboring heathen nations, and turned away from the God of righteousness who sits as a judge and a disciplinarian over his people, who manifests both love and wrath, always in response to the demands of the covenant that is in place.

In order to comply with the Lord’s mandate to “study it out in [our] mind,” the written word of God is the beginning place, or the foundation, of divine knowledge. Without due regard to the written word, we end up being governed purely on our own opinions and emotions of the moment. Further, without the written word, we cannot discern current teachings coming from our church leaders. Is it not our duty to discern our official prophets? With admirable honesty, apostle Joseph Fielding Smith said:

“My words, and the teaching of any other member of the Church, high or low, if
they do not square with the revelations, we need not accept them. Let us have
this matter clear. We have accepted the four standard works as the measuring
yardsticks, or balances, by which we measure every man’s doctrine. You cannot
accept the books written by authorities of the church as standards in doctrine,
only in so far as they accord with the revealed word in the standard works.
Every man who writes is responsible, not the Church, for what he writes. If
Joseph Fielding Smith writes something which is out of harmony with the
revelations, then every member of the Church is duty bound to reject it. If he
writes that which is in perfect harmony with the revealed word of the Lord, then
it should be accepted”. (Answers to Gospel Questions, vol.2, p. 113-114).

By taking seriously our personal responsibility to discern all things, we gradually come out of the shell of our human perceptions and learn to think at God’s level. If we don’t do this, we become self-righteous rather than righteous. A self-righteous man is simply one who believes that his own level of thinking is sufficient to make him holy, and to land him in the presence of God.

There are many places in scripture that advise us not only to love God, but to "fear" him. I think it's important that we take this word seriously, for while it is easy to say that we love him, fear conveys the message of caution. Love, standing alone, can be, and usually is, rather reckless.

The idea of fearing the Lord indicates that no matter how much we may think we love him in our feelings, knowing his will and his manner of thinking is a matter of great caution, study, consideration, and awareness. Love, itself, is an attribute of both the wicked and the righteous - in fact, the wicked perceive themselves as righteous because of their love. They love their own version of God, for they have mentally created him in their own image. Thus, the presence of love is not enough. The word fear is designed to keep us cognizant of God's covenantal right to chasten us in the process of our eternal upbringing. He chastens us despite our love for him, just as a parent chastens his child even while the child loves its parent according to its ability. In other words, it is God's determination to create us in his image! - which he can only do once he has established a healthy fear in our hearts, towards him.

The Lord’s people have always apostatized by thinking that love is enough, and that there is no need to fear God. Indeed, this very idea is reflective of the philosophy held by the flatterer, Nehor:

“And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the
last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up
their heads and rejoice…” (Alma 1:4)

The spirit and basic philosophy of Nehor is alive and well in the LDS church today. This is an example of “the doctrines of men mingled with scripture” which we are warned against in the endowment ceremony. Many things are taught, over the pulpit, which subtly destroy faith in Christ, causing the people to become lax in their personal discernment. The prevailing attitude in the church, today, is that “all is well in Zion.”

“And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they
will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well – and thus the
devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.” (2nd
Nephi 28:21)

This attitude is encouraged, of course, by the doctrine of infallibility previously mentioned. If the church isn’t allowed to go astray, we might as well understand that faith in church is as much a saving principle as faith in Christ. This false doctrine sets up the church as our standard, rather than the gospel, despite the continuous testimony of scripture that the church, since the days of Joseph Smith, is under condemnation:

“Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation. And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all. And they
shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new
covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written.”
(D&C 84:55-57)

This blog contains my testimony of the fullness of the gospel, as laid down by the Prophet and Lawgiver for the dispensation, Joseph Smith. The head of a dispensation is always more than a prophet (see D&C 135:3, also Numbers 12:6-8). Succeeding prophets within the dispensation do not carry the same authority. Their duty is to keep pure all that the dispensational head laid down for the people.

My testimony stems from the spirit of prophecy, which is available to every man and woman who is willing to search the Lord's written word, and believe. Mine is a saving testimony for those who have ears to hear, a heart to understand, a desire to seek, and a nature to obey the Lord in all things.