“Let us here observe, that after any portion of the human family are made acquainted with the important fact that there is a God, who has created and does uphold all things, the extent of their knowledge respecting his character and glory will depend on their diligence and faithfulness in seeking after Him, until, like Enoch, the brother of Jared, and Moses, they shall obtain faith in God, and power with him to behold Him face to face.” (Lectures on Faith 2:55)
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Obviously, from the above, we are all encouraged to seek after a knowledge of God, yet Saints are also sometimes cautioned to, “leave the mysteries alone,” or, “stick to the first principles.” This series of articles will attempt to outline some of the basic issues involved, enabling Saints to determine what they feel to be the correct attitude to “the mysteries.”
Firstly, the meaning of the mysteries, as the term is used by scripture writers, should be understand. For example, the word “mystery” is exclusively used in the New Testament to denote a spiritual truth that was hidden in former times yet has now been revealed. It is therefore always connected with the principle of revelation, or the publication of revelation. The modern meaning of something “above human intelligence” or “incomprehensible” bears no relation to how the word is used within the New Testament.
As Saints read and ponder the scriptures, they should quickly realise that their role models and heroes, the prophets of old, had both searched for, and drunk deeply of, the mysteries. In the interests of brevity, only one example will be analyzed here, and where better to start, than the Book of Mormon, first chapter, and first verse:
“I Nephi,… having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.” (1 Nephi 1:1)
And how had Nephi gained this knowledge of the “mysteries of God;” had he sought it, or had it come in some other way?
“… having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father.” (1 Nephi 2:16)
Of course there are those who would argue that this type of revelation is reserved only for a leader, or that seeking after the mysteries and having them unfolded to the saints, was the Lord’s way in previous ages, but that it has been modified for our day, where we are to receive these sort of revelations through others. This is false, for as Nephi pointed out; God does not change:
“For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it be so that they repent and come unto him.
For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore the course of the Lord is one eternal round.” (1 Nephi 10:18-19)
Moving forward over 2000 years, to those “times to come,” we see the same counsel echoed, for it is God’s eternal counsel:
“For thus saith the Lord – I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end.
Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.
And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.
Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations.” (Doctrine & Covenants 76:5-8)
Connected inextricably to any understanding of “the mysteries” and the opposing counsel of whether to seek after them or not, must be an awareness of the Priesthood and its Satanic counerfeit, priestcraft. As the Prophet taught:
“And I advise all to go on to perfection, and search deeper and deeper into the mysteries of godliness. A man can do nothing for himself unless God direct him in the right way; and the priesthood is for that purpose.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 364)
The opposite approach to the Lord’s way of being taught by the Priesthood, and then receiving Spiritual confirmation that it is of God, constitutes priestcraft:
“… priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.” (2 Nephi 26:29)
Priest[craft] short-circuits the designs of God by havng the followers reliant on their leaders for guidance, counsel, and revelation, largely removing the need for them to receive individual spiritual communication. This has laways been a successful tool of satan’s, as it appeals to our finite minds that we would be too unimportant, or that God would be too busy to give direct personal revelation or confirmation to all of the saints. Priestcraft also encourages the saints to place the ‘approved interpretation’ of the scriptures and the law, ahead of direct revelation. The existence of these false doctrines in the meridian of time is evidenced by the Saviour’s need to counsel His Apostles:
“Say unto them, Ask of God; ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and unto him that knocketh it shall be opened.
And then said His disciples unto Him, they will say unto us, We ourselves are righteous, and need not that any man should teach us. God, we know, heard Moses and some of the prophets; but us He will not hear.
And they will say, We have the law for our salvation, and that is sufficient for us.
Then Jesus answered, and said unto His disciples, thus shall ye say unto them,
What man among you, having a son, and he shall be standing out, and shall say, Father, open thy house that I may come in and sup with thee, will not say, Come in, my son; for mine is thine, and thine is mine?” (Matthew 7:12-17, Joseph Smith Translation)
Indeed, God loves us enough as His children, to hear our cries and answer our pleadings; no mortal man, no matter who he is, should have to mediate between ourselves and the Godhead.
Though Saints may be encouraged to “stick to the basics,” it is interesting to note that Nephi pronounced woes upon those who [thought they] had received enough of the word of God, and were not seeking for more. (see 2 Nephi 28:29)
The Prophet Joseph Smith echoed his thoughts:
“I believe all that God has revealed, and I never heard of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 374)
“The devil has no power over us only as we permit him. The moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power.” (Ibid, p. 181, see also Matt 13:10-11 Inspired Translation)
Interestingly, one of the scriptures that is sometimes used, often with only the first part being quoted, to deter those who are seeking after the mysteries, is actually a strong encouragement to search, when read in its entirety:
“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)
Indeed, especially when read in its context, it is a strong message to ensure that the saints are aware of those truths that have already been revealed – even if it means searching them out.
Of course, where there is a blessing, there is a resultant responsibility, and a knowledge of the mysteries is not given to satisfy the lusts of men, or to be scattered to the swine. Part One of this study into the subject of ‘the mysteries’ will be concluded with a lengthy, though both humorous and instructive quotation from a discourse of President Brigham Young in 1857:
“You often hear people desiring more of the knowledge of God, more of the wisdom of God, more of the power of God. They want more revelation, to know more about the kingdom of heaven, in heaven and on the earth, and they wish to learn and increase.
There is one principle that I wish the people would understand and lay to heart. Just as fast as you will prove before your God that you are worthy to receive the mysteries, if you please to call them so, of the kingdom of heaven – that you are full of confidence in God – that you will never betray a thing that God tells you that you will never reveal to your neighbour that which ought not to be revealed, as quick as you prepare to be entrusted with the things of God, there is an eternity of them to bestow upon you. Instead of pleading with the Lord to bestow more upon you, plead with yourselves to have confidence in yourselves, to have integrity in yourselves, and know when to speak and what to speak, what to reveal, and how to carry yourselves and walk before the Lord. And just as fast as you prove to Him that you will preserve everything secret that ought to be – that you will deal out to your neighbours all which you ought, and no more, and learn how to dispense your knowledge to your families, friends, neighbours, and brethren, the Lord will bestow upon you, and give to you, and bestow upon you, until finally he will say to you, “You shall never fall; your salvation is sealed unto you; you are sealed up unto eternal life and salvation, through your integrity.”
Let every person be the friend of God, that whatever He reveals to you, you can wisely handle without asking Him whether you shall tell your wife of it or not. You can recollect the backhanded blow I gave to some of the brethren last winter. They were in pain, because they knew something which they could not tell to their wives. I would not trust such men out of sight with my dinner. God will not trust the least thing to such persons. Sisters, if you are in pain, because you cannot tell your husbands everything, you had better take a little catnip tea, and get over it, if you can. What will God reveal to such persons? Just enough to keep them from the gulf of despair, and lead them along until they get a little sense. I say this that you may learn to reveal that which you ought, and to keep the rest to yourselves. By so doing you prove to God that you are His friends, and will keep His secrets.” (Journal of Discourses 4:371-72)
PART TWO
“There are a great many persons who are so anxious to learn about eternity, Gods, angels, heavens and hells, that they neglect to learn the first lessons preparatory to learning the things that they are reaching after. They will come short of them.” (Brigham Young. 8th Oct 1854 Discourse)
The quotation above fits our purposes very well, for it clarifies the need for the milk of the Gospel before the meat, yet at the same time indicates that there is much that we can learn about, including heaven, hell and eternity. Indeed, learning about the Gospel has similarities with seeking for education in other spheres. The youngster may “drop out” of his study of physics at the age of 16 and be quite content with the limits of his knowledge, whereas others will progress on to University and some may even have a study of physics as their employment for the next 40 years or so. The point is – that people make choices, and opt-out of further learning in particular areas and at specific levels. Likewise, one person may have a faith such that he regards himself as a Christian, yet feels no need to search for further understanding either within or outside of any particular denomination. Even within a denomination there can be some who are more converted to the social facets and interpersonal relationships inside a group than they are converted to seeking after a fulness of the knowledge of God. Also, there are those who seek knowledge for its originality or its excitement, even perhaps because it is disapproved to seek after it! But are they willing to apply the knowledge which they have learned? They seek for the glory to be theirs rather than the Father’s and therefore they will, as Brother Brigham says, “come short.” There are truths that cannot be written and there is some knowledge that can be obtained in no other way than by the application of righteousness. Indeed, ultimately, the tutoring is face to face:
“…when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of God.” (T.P.J.S. p.151)
If we truly desire to increase and hence to be of more use to our Heavenly Father, then we surely must desire to become like Him. Indeed, if we are not becoming more like God, then who are we becoming more like?
As Brigham phrased it:
“A true philosopher wishes to grow and increase continually. He wishes his mind to expand and reach forth until he can think as God thinks, as angels think, and behold things as God beholds them.” (Brigham Young. 8th Oct. 1854 Discourse)
Of course we live in a day when we are blessed with much in the way of scripture, and it would be against the economy of heaven for answers to be given through angels and direct ministration when they are already before us, if we would but search them out. However, this is not to limit ourselves to the milk, for there is much meat (often we go over a hidden truth thousands of times before it is revealed to us, and then we wonder why we missed it the first time!) and we should seek it in the scriptures first. Orson Pratt expressed it well, and exhorted us all to seek after the mysteries:
“We should not get into that old sectarian notion, that we have no right to know anything about this, that or the other, and that we must not pry into this, that or the other. That is an old sectarian notion, which we have fought against all the day long, and we do not want it to creep into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the privilege of its members to let their minds expand, and to ponder upon the things of God, and to enquire of him, and by and by, when we have prepared ourselves by getting all the knowledge we possibly can from that which is written, God will give us more.” (Orson Pratt. J.D. 16:336)
With receipt of some of the mysteries comes not only a responsibility to implement them in one’s life, but also a responsibility to only share them with others as inspired and directed by the Spirit of God:
“And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.” (Alma 12:9)
Indeed the Lord is unwilling to share the mysteries with those who do not understand this principle and are willing to abide it. As Brother Brigham said in 1857:
“There is one principle that I wish the people would understand and lay to heart. Just as fast as you will prove before your God that you are worthy to receive the mysteries, if you please to call them so, of the kingdom of heaven that you are full of confidence in God that you will never betray a thing that God tells you that you will never reveal to your neighbour that which ought not to be revealed, as quick as you prepare to be entrusted with the things of God, there is an eternity of them to bestow upon you.” (Brigham Young. J.D. 4:371)
Orson Pratt spoke to the 16th Ward in Salt Lake City on March 14th 1875. During his talk he dwelt on Section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants and covered many of the points so far discussed in this article. Remember the Lord will never force knowledge upon an individual, we must always knock, we must always ask, we must always seek.
“Perhaps you may ask me why I dwell on this mysterious subject I answer, why did the Lord dwell upon it forty-two years ago, if he did not want us, in some measure to understand it? Would he speak at random? Would he give a revelation without expecting that the people would ever try to understand, it? If the Lord wished us to understand something, and condescended to reveal something, why should we, after forty-two years of experience, think that we are stepping over our bounds in trying to approximately comprehend what the Lord desired us to understand, in, some measure, forty-two years ago? It is an old sectarian whim and notion, to suppose that we must not try to understand revelation. You know that when they come to something in the divine records which they do not understand, they will say “Oh, the Lord never intended us to understand that, that is a mystery, we must not search into these things, they are mysteries.” Just as though the Lord would reveal something that he never intended or wished the human family to understand. Saying nothing about the Deity, it would be an act of foolishness on the part of a man to attempt a revelation of something that he never intended his fellow-men to understand. The Lord is more consistent than man; and if he reveals anything, he surely intends that thing to be for the profit and edification of the pure in heart.
I was going to say that we had dwelt too long on baptism for the remission of sins. But no, we should still retain that in our remembrance. Not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, we ought to go on to perfection. I believe that King James’s translation of that passage says, ” Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.” But the translation given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, through the Prophet of the Lord puts in the little word not. “Therefore not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.” I do not want the people to leave baptism, or to cast from their minds, and get the first principles of the doctrine of Christ; but, on the contrary, you should always retain them in your memories. When you repented you did a good work; retain that good work in your minds. When you were baptized for the remission of your sins, through the ministration of a servant of God divinely authorized, you did a good work; retain that in your minds, do not leave that principle. When you had hands laid upon you for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and that was confirmed upon you, you were obedient to one of the principles of the doctrine of Christ do not leave that, but retain it in your minds. Do not suppose, however, that those first principles are the only ones to be learned; do not become stereotyped in your feelings, and think that you must always dwell upon them and proceed no further. If there be knowledge concerning the future; if there be knowledge concerning the present if there be knowledge concerning ages that are past, any species of knowledge that would be beneficial to the mind of man, let us seek for it, and that which we can not obtain by using the light which God has placed within us, by using our reasoning powers, by reading books, or by human wisdom alone, let us seek to a higher source to that Being who is filled with knowledge, and who has given laws to all things and who, in his wisdom, goodness, justice and mercy, controls all things according to their capacity, and according to the various spheres and conditions in which they are placed.
When we reflect upon this subject, the query naturally arises in our minds if he has given a law unto all things and has set bounds and conditions to every law which he has given, will it hurt any intelligent being to learn concerning those laws as far as he possibly can? I think not. To illustrate this, let us suppose that a learned man, by years of research and study, has discovered many of the great laws of nature, and that he has a family of children growing up, do you think that be would be displeased with his children because they had a curiosity and a desire to know something in relation to that which their father understood? No, you say, he would be pleased to see the intellectual faculties and powers of his children expanding, and to hear them inquiring about this, that, and the other thing, with which he was perfectly familiar, but of which they were ignorant. Furthermore, if it would be pleasing to a father to bear his children making such inquiries, would it not be still more pleasing to him to impart useful information unto them? You reply, “Oh yes, nothing would delight me more than to impart useful instruction to my children, and to aid them in developing their mental powers.” Well, that is just the way our heavenly Father feels in relation to his children. Anything that could be for our good to know and all knowledge is for our good if we make a right use of it he is willing to impart, if we but seek unto him in a proper and acceptable manner. Let us then keep all the commandments, and laws, and conditions which God has appointed for us to keep. It is our right and privilege to knock, and we have the promise that it shall be opened to us; to seek, and when we do seek, to do so with the expectation of finding. In this way we may receive more and more information and knowledge, concerning the things of God, and the works of his hands. There are many things that we can learn, already within our reach, without any special and direct revelation, that is, when I say special revelation, I mean without the Lord revealing directly by a vision, the ministration of an angel, or by direct words, as be revealed many things to the ancient revelators, seers, and Prophets. There are a great many things that we can learn independently of these direct revelations; but still we need the help of the Lord, in some measure, in our researches, to learn anything; we need the influence of the Spirit of God to quicken the light that is within us, for light cleaves to light, and the Spirit of God is light, and it cleaves unto the light that enters into the composition of the spirit of man; and when we keep his commandments the Lord is ever ready and willing to quicken the judgment, inform the mind, and lead us along in our thinking and reflecting powers, that we may have power to understand a great many truths, without his coming out and saying, “Thus saith the Lord.”
PART THREE
One of the most important principles of the Gospel is agency. Indeed, some would argue that it is a pivotal principal, with one’s attitude towards agency giving an accurate idea of the extent to which one’s attitudes are Satanic or Christlike. The mysteries are strongly connected to this principle for they are truths that must be sought after rather than casually acquired. This is highlighted in several Sections of the Doctrine and Covenants, especially Section 58:
“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.” (D&C 58:26-28)
The responsibility is therefore upon ourselves to decide how much of the Gospel we would have, for by refusing to receive and accept parts of it we effectively close the door on the fullness of the Gospel. Indeed, it is even argued that closing the door in this fashion not only stops any further enlightenment, but also results in the person involved losing their understanding of earlier doctrines, resulting in confusion and misunderstanding:
“Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!
For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (2 Nephi 28:29-31)
Indeed, verses 27 and 28 describe well the attitude of those who attack the study of the mysteries, describing them as being “angry” because of the truth of God, likening them to those who build upon a sandy foundation, whereas those built upon the rock receive more truth with “gladness.” This is not to say that people should be forced into the mysteries, for this would be contrary to the principle of agency. Rather, it is highlighting that the sometimes lonely and even persecuted search for greater truth, light and knowledge contained in the so called mysteries is pleasing in the eyes of God if not in the eyes of many of his fellowmen.
The mocking of those who point a finger and instruct to leave the mysteries alone is often quite sophisticated and difficult to oppose. They will frequently talk about the dangers of fruitless contention about obscure passages of scripture and emphasise that it is the basic doctrines of the Gospel that will lead to Eternal Life, often pointing to examples of those who have “Gospel hobbies” and referring to others who are spiritually immature and unstable. Whilst their counsel often contains elements of truth and is usually sincere, it is nonetheless given from the vantage point of ignorance rather than knowledge. As the Lord said:
“But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)
Those who have true knowledge will always encourage others to seek after truth.
A significant challenge in these days is that what is regarded as the basic doctrines that will lead to exaltation today is quite different to the viewpoint at the start of this dispensation. Indeed, much of what was regarded as essential to exaltation in the days of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young is now regarded as incidental or as “one of the mysteries.”
Surely, rather than following the counsel of the Scribes and Pharisees, it is better to look to the attitude of men like King Benjamin:
“…I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.” (Mosiah 2:9)
Human effort and intellectual striving will not enable people to grasp the mysteries. They may develop “Gospel hobbies” but there will not be the inspired understanding that the Spirit brings. As King Benjamin pointed out, the mysteries are not to be “trifled” with, and the greatest pre-requisite to an understanding of the mysteries is righteousness. In the words of Alma:
“Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing–unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed;” (Alma 26:22)
Similar conditions are outlined in D&C 76:5-8 and 116, for people must be worthy and prepared in order to receive truth and to qualify themselves to pass these truths onto other seekers. Paul understood the role of disciples as agents or stewards of the mysteries:
“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (1 Corinthians 4:1)
Of course, these mysteries are not to be expounded to all, for they must be sought, they must be searched for:
“And if thou wilt inquire, thou shalt know mysteries which are great and marvelous;…” (D&C 6:11)
“If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things–that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.” (D&C 42:61)
Indeed, he or she that diligently seeks has the Lord’s promise that they shall find; if they ask in faith they shall be answered.
In conclusion, this three part article has briefly covered some of the high points with regard to the mysteries and the search for truth, and it is hoped that an awareness of both sides of the argument has been achieved. Each person must make their own conclusion, yet, for me, the answer is simple, and Paul refers to it in Ephesians:
“And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,” (Ephesians 6:19)
As I see it, the Gospel is the mystery and the mystery is the Gospel, and it is only as we seek for the mysteries of the Gospel that we seek for the fullness of the Gospel. If we desire to tread in the steps of the likes of Abraham, Moses, Nephi, Alma, Peter, Paul, Joseph and Brigham then we must follow them into the mysteries to grasp the fullness of the Gospel and to seek after exaltation. There seems no other way to comprehend the works and mind of God.
From Volume 1, Issue 1 of Truth Seeker magazine.
