Sin of Sodom was NOT Homosexuality #GDOT08 #GDTalkingPoints

In Lesson 8 of the Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Manual, titled "Living Righteously in a Wicked World," we cover chapters on Sodom and Gomorrah. I was glad to see the lesson does not specifically address "homosexuality," but we can be sure that that will be the focus of the lesson in many Gospel Doctrine classes around the world.

Interestingly, the current online version of the LDS scriptures has the following footnote 5a connected to the word "know":

“Know” is used in both Hebrew and English in this kind of context as a euphemism in place of a sexual word. Judg. 19:22 (22–28); Isa. 3:9. TG Homosexual Behavior.

The old version of the scriptures used to have "TG Homosexuality" rather than the newer "TG Homosexual Behavior."

 Let me first provide the relevant passage for this blog post, Genesis 19.4-11 (emphasis mine):

4 ¶ But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 

5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. 

6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, 

7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. 

8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. 

9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. 

10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. 

11 And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with ablindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door.

"Men of Sodom"

"Men of Sodom" does not actually only men. This statement in gender inclusive and means "men and women." Just as is done in other languages, like Spanish and Portuguese, the masculine noun dominates such that, for example, a group consisting of 1,000,000 girl (niñas) and only 1 boy (niño) is called a group of "niños."

This is true just from knowledge of the Hebrew language. Verse 4 makes this even more clear by:

• The use of the merism "young and old" means a totality, or everyone
• Clarification at the end of the verse that "all the people from every quarter" came to the house

"Bring Them Out Unto Us, That We May Know Them"

First, it should be clear that the men in house aren't going out on their own accord. They don't want to participate in or be subject to whatever the crowd wants to do.

Second, the crowd means when they say they want to "know them" is that they want to have sex with them. Since it is not consensual, as mentioned above, the crowd wants to rape them. This "knowing" is the same "knowing" we've seen before in the bible:

• Genesis 4.1: "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord."
• Genesis 4.17: "And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch."
• Gensis 4.25: "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew."

A parallel version of this story occurs in Judges 19-20. See Judges 19.22-25:

22 ¶ Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. 

23 And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. 

24 Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing. 

25 But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.

So, was rape the Sin of Sodom? 

Actually, the Bible itself, in Ezekiel 16.49, tells us what the "sin of Sodom" was (emphasis mine):

49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 

50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

Just so it is clear, I will provide the same scripture as translated in the NRSV, for clarity:

49 This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 

50 They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them when I saw it. 

So, here were the sins of Sodom:

1. Pride
2. Excess of food
3. Prosperous ease 
4. Not giving aid to the poor and needy
5. Haughtiness
6. Committing abominations

Giving Aid to the Poor and Needy

Does this sound familiar? Caring for the poor and needy was added as the fourth mission/purpose of the church by President Monson in 2009. In my opinion, this may have been the most prophetic act that President Monson did. Unfortunately, many still seem unaware we now have four missions/purposes of the church and some have dubbed this as the "Fourthgotten" mission of the Church.

Who are among the poor and needy? Certainly immigrants and resident aliens which would describe the two men in the story in Genesis 19. See Genesis 19.9:

9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. 

Robert Alter makes this clear in his translation and commentary:

The verb “to sojourn” is the one technically used for resident aliens.

So, they were resident aliens who Lot showed hospitality to while no one else would, see Genesis 19.1-3. We know this because without his hospitality they would be sleeping in the street:

2 And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and awash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.

 Abominations=Homosexuality?

But, you might say, Ezekiel 16.50 also says the committed abominations. That must be referring to homosexuality, right?

No.

Yes, it is true that male prostitution and/or other male homosexual acts were called an abomination in the Old Testament (see Leviticus 18.22, Leviticus 18.27-30, Leviticus 20.13), but so was oppressing for the poor and needy, Ezekiel 18.10-13 (note that this is the same book Ezekiel):

10 ¶ If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, 

11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife, 

12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 

13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

Do you know what else were considered abominations in the Old Testament?

• idolatry or idols (Deuteronomy 7.25, Deuteronomy 13.14, Isaiah 44.19) 
• illicit sex (e.g prostitution, adultery, incest) (Ezekiel 16.22,58, Ezekiel 22.11, Ezekiel 33.26) 
• illicit marriage (Deuteronomy 24.2-4) 
• male prostitution and/or other male homosexual acts (Leviticus 18.22, Leviticus 18.27-30, Leviticus 20.13) 
• temple prostitution (1 Kings 14.24) 
• offerings from the above (Deuteronomy 23.18) 
• child sacrifice to Molech (Jeremiah 32.35) 
• cross-dressing (Deuteronomy 22.5) 
• cheating in the market by using rigged weights (Deuteronomy 25.13-19, Proverbs 11.1) 
• dishonesty (Proverbs 12.22) 
• dietary violations (Deuteronomy 14.3) 
• stealing, murder, and adultery, breaking covenants (Jeremiah 7.9,10) 
• usury, violent robbery, murder, oppressing the poor and needy, etc. (Ezekiel 18.10-13) 

Concluding "abominations" must be homosexuality is just a projection of your desired meaning on the text.

Further Learning

• Blog Post: "Lesson 8: Living Righteously in a Wicked World #BCCSundaySchool2018" (BCC)
• Blog Post: "Was the Sin of Sodom Multi-Level Marketing?" (BCC)
• Blog Post: "A Holiday Visit to Sodom and Gomorrah" (BCC)
• AuthorCast #89: Gospel Doctrine Lesson 8 with David Bokovoy (LINK)
• "The Old Testament Does Not Prohibit Homosexuality" (Rational Faiths)
• "Sodom and Gomorrah: Arrogant, Overfed and Unconcerned" (No More Strangers)
• "Why Doesn’t the Book of Mormon Say Anything About Homosexuality?" (Ploni Almoni)
• "What was Sodom's Sin?" (Light of Torah)

Rob Porter's Church Leaders Are Mandated to Hold a Disciplinary Council. Will It Happen?

It is currently worldwide news that Rob Porter, (former?) staff secretary for Trump, has resigned from his position due to multiple credible allegations of abuse of his ex-wives and a former girlfriend.

The national media has been presenting the angle that this is another bad story for the White House. Some of those reasons are:

• Chief of Staff John Kelly was clearly defending and fighting for the alleged serial abuser to keep his job
• The White House and, specifically John Kelly, apparently did a poor job vetting Porter for a job that has access to some of the most sensitive information in the government
• Porter is currently in a relationship with Hope Hicks who, as White House communications director, crafted the White House response and defense when she should have recused herself due to their relationship
• This is another White House employee, and Trump associate, apparently with a history of violence towards the women in his life

All of that is important, but I think this also is, and should be, a growing problem for the LDS Church. And they need to do something about it.

Deseret News story about a Mormon in the White House

Last year, Hal Boyd of the Deseret News ran a story titled "Meet the Mormon helping run Donald Trump's White House." Clearly he and the Deseret News, as most Mormons usually are, were proud to see a Mormon at such a high level in the government (unless that person is a Democrat like Harry Reid). They were even so bold to say he had utmost integrity (because he is good at writing a lot):

"Having sat down with Porter in the months prior to his appointment, I can vouch for his intellectual acuity, professional comportment and policy prowess. And as far as integrity is concerned, anyone who wrote a doctoral-length dissertation on C.S. Lewis — as Porter did at Oxford — should be presumed ethical until proven otherwise."

Clearly, it looks like it is now being "proven otherwise."

Media Mentioning the Mormon Angle

Last night, Lawrence O'Donnell's show  The Last Word opened with a segment that every single person (any every single Mormon!) should watch  titled "Why One Punch Wasn't Enough For John Kelly." Watch it below before proceeding.

In the segment, Lawrence rightly goes after Porter's former bishops for failing to protect the women he was allegedly abusing.

Orrin Hatch, a former Mormon bishop himself, initially released a "personally dictated" statement attacking the women. He later admitted he wasn't aware of the details of Porter's personal life.

[An aside to Orrin Hatch: Well, Orrin, if you weren't aware then don't attack the women! Instead of defending Porter, look into it before responding. Clearly you haven't learned anything from the #metoo movement.]

The Friendly Atheist also laid out the problems with for the Mormon Church in his recent article "The Mormon Church Was Complicit in Rob Porter’s Alleged Abuse."

Laurie Goldstein, New York Times National Religion Correspondent, tweeted:

Sad religion angle on the Rob Porter domestic violence story: his ex-wife says the Mormon bishops she confided in failed her, and a secular counselor helped her get free from abuse.

Here is a good list of more articles about the situation. One of the best articles came from The Intercept. Ruth Marcus also had a great opinion piece titled "Explain the Rob Porter story. Any of it."

Finally, here is Jennifer Willoughby's blogpost about why she stayed with her abusive husband. It is a must-read.

Wives went to Mormon Bishops...Nothing happened

Here a few relevant excerpts from The Intercept article:

One summer, when [Colbie Holderness, Porter's first wife] was interning at a federal agency, she had access to a counselor through her job. “When I explained to him what was happening, he had a very different reaction from the Mormon bishops,” she said. “It was weirdly validating to hear that from somebody else.” Speaking about the counselor, she said, “He was very concerned to hear Rob was choking me.”

In her blog post, Willoughby wrote, “When I tried to get help, I was counseled to consider carefully how what I said might affect his career.” She told The Intercept that she had described Porter’s anger issues to a lay official in the Mormon church. She said the official had told her to think carefully about what she said publicly about Porter’s behavior. “Keep in mind, Rob has career ambitions,” she recalled the official saying. (The press office at the Mormon church’s headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, declined to comment for this story.) 

Willoughby [Porter's second wife] said the first year of their marriage was the most volatile. During a period of separation that spring, Porter showed up at her apartment and refused to leave. According to a protective order, which the Daily Mail published and Willoughby confirmed to The Intercept was authentic, “I asked him several times to leave with his things, but he did not until I picked up the phone to call our clergy member. While he was gone, I took his clothes and put them in a suitcase on the front porch. When he returned a few minutes later, he punched in the glass on the door. I called the police, afraid he would break in.” 

A Disciplinary Council is mandatory, will it happen?

So, clearly local Mormon leaders were aware of the alleged abuse, but some seem to have been more concerned about his career than her safety.

Now that basically everyone believes abuse was actually happening to his two ex-wives (as well as most recently to a girlfriend he lived with), will anything happen to this "Mormon helping run Donald Trump's White House"? I don't know, but The Church Handbook of Instructions Book 1 (CHI1) is clear that at this point a Disciplinary is "mandatory" and "must be held."

The relevant section begins in CHI1 Section 6.7.3 by saying:

A disciplinary council must be held when evidence suggests that a member may have committed any of the following transgressions.

Let me reiterate that: 

a disciplinary council MUST BE HELD when evidence SUGGESTS that a member MAY HAVE committed ANY of the following transgressions.

It doesn't require that the transgression be proven first, just that there is evidence suggesting it may have happened.

So what transgressions are we talking about? One of those transgressions is explained in the same CHI1 section as:

Pattern of Serious Transgressions

A disciplinary council must be held for a member who demonstrates a pattern of serious transgressions, especially if prior transgressions have resulted in Church discipline.

Two ex-wives and an ex-girlfriend, is that a pattern?

What is a "serious transgression"? Section 6.7.2 defines what a "serious transgression" is:

As used here, serious transgression is defined as a deliberate and major offense against morality. It includes (but is not limited to) attempted murder, forcible rape, sexual abuse, spouse abuse, intentional serious physical injury of others, adultery, fornication, homosexual relations (especially sexual cohabitation), deliberate abandonment of family responsibilities, robbery, burglary, theft, embezzlement, sale of illegal drugs, fraud, perjury, and false swearing.  

It seems pretty clear to me that this fits the requirement.

So, will the LDS Church follow its own rules and initiate a Disciplinary Council for this man they were once very proud to profile as the "Mormon helping run Donald Trump's White House"? I don't know, but they should.

Is It Okay That Mormon Sunday School is Boring? David Bednar vs. Terryl Givens

Mormon Sunday School is boring. Sorry, it just is. The main reasons are a combination of the following, among other things:

• Correlation is literally sucking the life out of the Church
• The LDS Church is true so who cares if if it is boring?
• Everyone in the Church is a volunteer, so don't be critical of the bad teachers, right?
• Mormons don't expect and demand that things improve

Interestingly, both Terryl Givens and David Bednar have recently talked about the sad state of affairs at church. 

Terryl Givens believes, I think it is fair to say, that the current state of things is that it is bad and that we are likely boring people right out the front door of the Church (emphasis mine):

TERRYL: I’ll answer that a couple of ways. First of all I’ll ask you a question. As a bishop who do you think, to what position is the bishop supposed to appoint the most talented spiritually powerful individual in the ward? What would you say?

LLDS: That the bishop is supposed to be that person?

TERRYL: No, after the bishop or even [00.46.00] in view of the Bishop what calling should that person have in the ward?

LLDS:  Right, now this is a great question. Which I’ve talked about on leading LDS before but I would say in my opinion this is, I remember early on in the church in the 50s and 60s the Sunday school superintendent as I used to call it was this calling they held up. That like ah you’re the Sunday school superintendent. Which is now a Sunday school president, in my mind if you can get the Sunday school president right, then it solves a lot of problems in that Sunday experience.

TERRYL: I would say it and I think typically you’d say well the Elders Quorum president, or your [00.46.30] counselor, or the Relief Society President if it’s a woman. And I say no, it’s the Sunday school teacher, the Gospel Doctrine teacher. Because here’s here’s the point. No other person is a constant in the weekly Sabbath experience of the majority of adults. Relief Society President may or may not be, Elders Quorum President may or may not be. But if you go to Sunday school that is the staple that’s that’s the constant. And so I don’t think any calling in the ward is more important than the Sunday school teacher. [00.47.00] And I think that’s where we’re falling down because we think of some school teaching. Oh well you know she needs to grow or he needs to experience it. And it’s no, you’ve got to call the most talented individual and then the second thing is that you’ve got to inculcate in the Sunday School Teacher. I think the fact we’ve got to ask genuine questions and that’s what’s wrong with Sunday School teacher. You know a lot of people leave the church over polygamy, a lot leave over the priesthood ban, or LGBT issues. But you know it’s entirely possible that the majority people leaving are falling into inactivity or leaving because boredom. [00.47.30] It’s boredom because the Sunday School has become a ritual. Yeah. “What is tithing?”, somebody raised their hand “Ten percent of earnings.” “That’s right.” “Why do we pay tithing?” “Well because we’re blessed.” “Yeah right.”

LLDS: So superficial

TERRYL: Right, ask real questions. It isn’t that hard.

Elder Bednar, on the other hand, decides to defend the poor state of affairs of our Gospel Doctrine classes by blaming the victims (those that expect a little more). Of course, I'm not surprised by this (emphasis mine):

[00:28:50] Can you tell where I am going with this? How many of you have ever been in a Sunday School class? "Oh, not again?" When are me moving on from the Plan of Happiness. "Okay, I can draw the pictures. I got this." No, you don't have it if you think you have it. I want to emphasize that. If you think you get it, by definition you don't get it. If you are in sacrament meeting and you aren't dazzled by an entertaining speaking, "Oh, this is boring," excuse me but it says nothing about the speaker and it says everything about you. The objective of somebody in sacrament meeting is not to dazzle you and entertain you. It is not to have a well-crafted message. It is to preach the gospel by the power of the Spirit and that invites you to get connected to the Holy Ghost so that the Holy Ghost is teaching you what you need that has nothing to do with what the speaker is saying.

It's no wonder our Sunday School classes are so boring since our apostles choose to deny reality.

Bednar Teaches Learning "Line Upon Line Revelation", But Refuses To Learn It Himself

During Elder Bednar's Houston talk, he shows, in the very same paragraph, that he is incapable of learning his own lessons.

Here is the relevant section (emphasis mine): 

[00:34:09] ... Now, when you are a General Authority there are some things that provide some great entertainment. So, I listen to members of the Church everywhere I go, "When are the Brethren going to start talking about this stuff in General Conference? We get the same stuff over and over and over." Now judge not that you be not judged, but if all you hear is the same stuff over and over and over then you ought to be taking a look inside. It's not the same. If all you hear is what is said before you're not paying attention to the line upon line revelation.

In the first section emphasized above he admits that he hears the same things from members all the time. May I suggest some of those things he might be hearing from those members:

• Church is boring
• Correlation is killing the Church
• The Church lags behind on every social issue, changing only after receiving outside pressure
• When is the Church going to end its homophobic policies?
• When is the Church going to rid itself of its sexist and patriarchal structure?
• When is the going to update its outdated and incorrect manuals?
• Will the Church ever allow (embrace) non-literalism (for example, of The Book of Mormon) amongst its members and, even, leaders

Immediately after complaining to the audience about hearing members' concerns (even taking it as entertainment), he goes on to demonstrate that he is above his own rules.

If he is hearing the same things from members, over and over again, then he needs to take a look inside. To quote him: "It's not the same. If all [he] hear[s] is what is said before [he is] not paying attention to the line upon line revelation."

Bednar Contradicts Himself: Does He Live on a Different Planet or Not?

Yesterday I posted my transcript of Elder Bednar's Houston talk. It is terribly problematic talk. Here is one example.

Around the 01:50 mark, Elder Bednar says (emphasis mine):

I think there are members of the Church who think that we live on a different planet, we have a different life, and that nothing ever goes wrong. Uh, we're pretty normal.

 Later, around the 19:20 mark, he says (emphasis mine):

I have had the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting just today more than you will in 5 or 10 years and you learn something when you have that many opportunities so close together. Whenever we travel internationally we might meet with the missionaries for 3 hours, say, from 9 to 12 o'clock. We might go meet with government officials in the afternoon. We might then have a devotional with members at night.... from 5 to 7, 7-9, whatever it is. Just all day long. Some of you teach a Relief Society lesson once a month. Now, that's great, I'm not saying that doesn't matter. It's just that we live in a totally different world, and it enables you to see and learn stuff that you can't see and learn when there is such a time gap between your opportunities to teach in Relief Society, or whatever it is you do. Okay?

Elder Bednar, I have an honest and serious question for you: do you live in a "totally different world" or not? 

If I am being generous, it sounds like (from your first paragraph) you believe you physically live on the same planet as the rest of us, but (from your second paragraph) you believe you mentally live in a "totally different world." Hhhmmmmm.........

Transcript of Elder Bednar's Talk in Houston

MormonLeaks recently posted the audio of a talk Elder Bednar gave in Houston, TX. I believe the talk was delivered on January 21, 2018. 

I found portions of the talk very terribly. I also found at least two parts of the talk where Elder Bednar directly contradicts himself. I will address these in future posts. I also found Elder Bednar to seemingly be very condescending and into himself.

For these reasons, I felt it was important to have a transcription available to hear what this prophet, seer, and revelator is telling members--specifically, those recently "hammered" by the hurricane in Texas.

Disclaimer: This is a good faith attempt in accurately transcribing Elder Bednar's words. I am sure there are errors, but they will be minor. The timestamps are provided so you can listen to him yourself.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[00:00:00] Brothers and sisters, good afternoon, what a blessing to be here. it's always a privilege to extend to you the love, the blessings, and the greetings of President Nelson, President Oaks, and President Eyring. You have heard that before, haven't you? And all of my associates in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. 

[00:00:20] For almost 14 years, I have been on the stand in the Conference Center looking into the congregation. For many decades before that I was seated where you sit, looking at the people on the stand. There's an interesting transition when you go from the congregation to the stand. I don't know about you, but I always wondered "I wonder what they do? I wonder what it's like? What don't they tell us about what goes on?" And I've always had they desire to share as much as possible about what goes on that you don't see. Do you remember the movie The Wizard of Oz and this incredible, you know, wizard? And it's a little guy behind the green curtain pulling the levers. Remember that? Well, I don't want to make light of this, I'm not trying to be silly, but I'd like to take you behind the curtain a little bit on a couple of things because it is extraordinarily faith promoting. You don't get to see the other members of the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency when they have family challenges, when they have physical difficulties. I think there are members of the Church who think that we live on a different planet, we have a different life, and that nothing ever goes wrong. Uh, we're pretty normal.

[00:01:59] And you have members of the Quorum of the Twelve that have knees that wear out and they have to have knee replacements, or hips, or they deal with loved ones who have illnesses, and you'd never know that. Now, I'll never disclose the name, but in the almost 14 years that I've been in the Quorum of the Twelve, one of these men who was not young had both of his knees replaced, he had that done after the Conference in October so he could walk to the pulpit in April and you would never know it. And you didn't. And you never will. He's not trying to impress anybody, he just has a ministry to perform. And I don't what you know about knee replacement surgery, but three weeks later with a walker, with both knees replaced he was back in the office. And this is somebody who is more than 80 years old.

[00:02:59] And you don't know anything about that. As good as you believe these men are when you see them in public I am a witness they are many, many times better in private when they have to confront things that are really, really hard. To those of you that got hammered in the flood and say "Well, I don't know". Can I just tell you, "They know." I don't want to overstate this: A part of occupying this office is to not be spared from things that hard in your personal life. Was the Savior spared things that were hard in his life? That was his life. How can you be his servant, his apostle, and not have similar kinds of experiences. Members of the Church would say, "Why does this have to happen to me? How come I have stuff happen?" Why do you think it wouldn't happen to you? You're going, "Elder Bednar, we got hammered. Don't pound on us." I'm not pounding on you, but why would we profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ following him and expect our path to be different than his? These are learning opportunities and trials and adversities and they measure who we are and they help us see where we need to improve and that’s not supposed to be, that’s part of the plan of happiness.

[00:04:29] So, let me take you into the meeting that Elder Pearson and I had, that Elder Jones talked about. Where Elder Jones did a fine job of proposing an array of meetings that we would have an Elder Pearson brought that to me and I said that is so good. I said, "Elder Pearson let me tell you an unusual thing about my wife and me. We have for a long time, in all the places that we have lived watched devoted faithful saints respond in magnificent ways when people encounter difficulty." Let’s say for example member of the family dies and the members of the ward are right there and they love and they hug and bring casserole dishes. All of this is good. I’m not saying anything bad about that. I do want to point out that it does not last very long. Two things happen with the death, with the grieving, with the arrangements for a funeral. 273 casseroles come through the front door, which is great, what do we do with them. In the midst of trying to deal with all the stuff they are dealing with now they have to farm out all of these casseroles, still frozen, before they go bad. What do you do? Here is my point, who brings a casserole six months later? Nobody. Who goes and just listens them when they are really lonely, and the stunning shock of what has happened is over, who goes 6 months later? Not very many. So, I learned this from my wife, I'm not taking any ,... My wife and I try to go 5 or 6 or 7 months later and just show up or have have them come to dinner or do something. And just go when nobody is going. 

[00:06:36] So, it's about 5 or 6 months after the flood. President Uchtdorf was here. That was phenomenal, but who comes later when you're still not back in your house and you're still not trying to figure out, "Is this ever going to be normal again?" And you're wondering "When are they going to open up the temple?" and "When is my life going to back to some level of normalcy?" 

[00:07:05] So I said, "Elder Pearson, let's take them a casserole 6 months later." So, we are not feeding you lunch today. You don't want anything Elder Pearson would prepare, in the way of food. But maybe we, today, can provide a little bit of spiritual nourishment.

[00:07:25] To those of you who go hammered in the flood, I wish you could be in the council meeting of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and listen to Jeffery R. Holland or Dallin H. Oakes or Dale G. Renlund pray for the saints in Houston who .... You know what? Those prayers weren't just for 3 weeks. They still go on. You don't know that. You'll never hear those prayers. I'm there every week to hear them. I wish you were there to hear them. We love you. We pray for you. And it's not just in the immediate aftermath. And may I be so bold to say those prayers in the councils of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles changed the events of the earth if it is accordance with God's will.

[00:08:21] So, if you have felt extra strength there are millions of prayers being offered to you and no one of those prayers is better than another, but I can tell you 15 prophets, seers, and revelators have been praying for you for a long time because we love you.

[00:08:38] Now, you would say we have combined all these wards and we've got a member of the Twelve and these two Seventies. They're here to announce something. No, we're not. Well, they've got to be here to reorganize something, someone's in trouble. We're not here to reorganize anything. I'm just here to let you peak behind the curtain a little bit.

[00:08:58] So, the very first thing we did Friday when we arrived in Houston was drive to the Houston temple. Not now, but I formerly served on the Temple and Family History Council of the Church. And so I said I;m going to go take a look at the temple so I can go report to President Nelson. Elder Jones, give them a quick update. We're not here to announce when it's going to be rededicated. Not go say.... We're not announcing anything. We just want to give you an update because I think Elder Jones was surprised when he saw what's going on in the temple. Please.



[00:09:29] ELDER JONES: Elder Bednar, I see some of the fine temple workers here and we're grateful for those who love the House of the Lord. Brothers and Sisters, as we walked through the temple yesterday, I had seen it shortly after the floods, and we walked---the day before yesterday, I'm sorry--the walls are all back up. Most of them are covered with wall coverings. The paint is beginning to be applied to many of the locations in the temple. The flooring is starting to be put down. Now, we've told the temple will be rededicated in the Spring and I believe it will still be rededicated in the Spring. And I can tell you it looks wonderful, Elder Jones. And I know all of us want to be in the House of the Lord. I am grateful that it will be available to us before too much time.



[00:10:22] ELDER BEDNAR: There is a universal thing that occurs everywhere in the world where they have a temple and that is in anticipation of the temple, while it's being built, everyone's so excited. "We can't wait. We can't wait" And then when the temple comes it's filled for a while. Now, I don't know why there was a hurricane here. Hurricanes happen. Someone said, "Why did the Lord let the temple get damage?" I don't know, it just did. Question: Will you learn the lesson you need to learn by not having access to the temple? Now, in most instances, when the temple gets old enough you need to go in and redo the carpet and refresh everything. And they always announce that so you know it's coming. You had it gone in an instant. It was kind of sudden, maybe shocking. It is the case that the people the greatest distance from the temple are the most faithful in worshipping and serving in the temple. Did you hear what I just said.

[00:11:35] I lived in Arkansas for 17 years. You may not know this, but I'm part Texan. I was on the faculty at Texas Tech University, so we lived in Lubbock, and I knew a lot of people from Houston because I think half of Houston goes to college at Texas Tech University, out in the high plains. Brothers and Sisters, we take it for granted because of the ease when it's close. When we lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas it was 6 hours to the Dallas temple and the people who were the least regular and dependable were the people in Dallas and the people who were the most devoted and faithful were the people from Springfield, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma who had the greatest distance.It's just our being human., When it's close we take it for granted.

[00:12:43] Now, I'm saying the Lord had anything to do with causing this to teach you this lesson, but we have a chance to learn a lesson with the suddenness of the temple being closed. Will we take it for granted or will we, once it's opened again, just like when it was first open, will we fill it up for a while? We have an opportunity to repent and I recommend that we do it and that we not take for granted the ordinances of the House of the Lord wherein we are blessed with the power of godliness. The answers to the most troubling questions of this day are very simple to answer. If you see increasing chaos and growing darkness in the world, you will find everything you need in the power of godliness that comes through the ordinances of the priesthood: sacrament, confirmation, the ordinances of the temple. Do not look beyond the mark. The mark is Christ. 

[00:13:58] I want to highlight something about ordinances. After the Savior said, "My time is at hand" what did he do? When he said, "My time is hand" he is announcing, "I will soon die." Is it reasonable to assume that with not much time left in his mortal ministry, after her says "My time is at hand," is it reasonable to assume that he would emphasize what matters most, after he says, "My time is at hand?" I believe that's reasonable. What's the first thing he did? Institute the sacrament. 

[00:14:35] In the new world, he appears to the people gathered at the temple in the land of Bountiful. We all know he knows he will there for a short time. What was the first thing he did? Confer authority, teach the proper mode of baptism, and emphasize that contention is of the devil. What's the very first thing he did in the old world? An ordinance. What's the very first thing in the new world? An ordinance. Why? In the ordinances of the priesthood the power of godliness is made manifest unto men and women in the flesh and without the ordinances of the priesthood and the authority thereof the power of godliness is not made manifest to men and women in the flesh, period.

[00:15:25] Brothers and sisters, this work of this church is about priesthood authority and ordinances. Period. Exclamation point. End of sentence. There is no Relief Society work, there is no Young Women work, there is no Sunday School work, there is not separate quorum work. It is all the same thing. One work: worthiness to receive ordinance and associated covenants and live according to those ordinances and covenants. Remember them and honor them. That's it. We're not running programs. We're not managing an organization. These are eternally essential ordinance, that's why they are called "saving." That's what this work is about. And ti have a temple like this, so close, be underutilized is heartbreaking. That's enough. Get the point?

[00:16:28] Now, I don't get to control my own assignments, but I'm coming back. And if I come back in about 4 years and I'm in this building with some of you, I'll ask the question, "How long did it last?" And the question better be---the response I hope would be, "Brother Bednar, it's never diminished. We've learned a great lesson through an experience we would never want to have with that hurricane." Okay? Alright.

[00:17:04] Let's go behind the curtain for just a few more minutes. What I'm about to describe, I think, only 15 of us can describe. I invite you to listen more than try to copy down notes and stuff. Now, I want you to try to imagine the day we have today from 8:00 until 9:30 we were in a sacrament meeting just like this and we were preaching the gospel. From 10:30 to noon we were in another one like this and we were preaching the gospel and now we are here with you and we're doing it again. This is what I do all day, everyday. It kind of cracks me up, people, they say, "Do you just sit in your office in Salt Lake and study the scriptures and write a General Conference talk and that's all you do?" We have council and committee assignments. If you were to be our buddy at work for a day, follow us around, you would drop dead by 1:00. And if you tried to follow President Nelson, it would probably be at 9:30 in the morning. President Nelson at 93 comes back China. Have you ever had jet lag? Try it when you're 93. He gets in on a plane at 10:00 at night and he's the first one in the Quorum of the Twelve meeting the next morning at 8:30 as bright as can be and he doesn't get dozy 1:30 in the afternoon. He's 93. Two weeks later he goes to China. He was in Russia. Okay, you go around the world one way and that knocks you body clock off in a particular way. Two weeks later he goes around the world the other way, that really messes you. He was in China and you'd never know it. 

[00:19:04] "For whosoever is faithful unto the obtaining and honoring of these two priesthoods are renewed by the Holy Ghost." You see that taking place in these incredible men. 

[00:19:20] Well, all we do is, all day long, everyday, is teach and testify about the Lord Jesus Christ. I have had the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting just today more than you will in 5 or 10 years and you learn something when you have that many opportunities so close together. Whenever we travel internationally we might meet with the missionaries for 3 hours, say, from 9 to 12 o'clock. We might go meet with government officials in the afternoon. We might then have a devotional with members at night.... from 5 to 7, 7-9, whatever it is. Just all day long. Some of you teach a Relief Society lesson once a month. Now, that's great, I'm not saying that doesn't matter. It's just that we live in a totally different world, and it enables you to see and learn stuff that you can't see and learn when there is such a time gap between your opportunities to teach in Relief Society, or whatever it is you do. Okay?

[00:20:31] Turn with me to the Joseph Smith-History, please. Now, I want to emphasize something that is very important as we have a new First Presidency. It's important in your life always. And I'll try to point out why I think that is so as we go through a portion of the Joseph Smith-History. Now, We're going to go to verse 29 and I'm going to begin where the sentence says, "when, on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September." Can you find that in verse 29. It's not the very beginning of verse 29. It's where it says," when, on the evening of..." Are you there? Are you there? Okay, here we go.

[00:21:33] "when, on the evening of the above-mentioned twenty-first of September, after I had retired to my bed for the night, I betook myself to prayer and supplication to Almighty God for forgiveness of all my sins and follies, and also for a manifestation to me, that I might know of my state and standing before him; for I had full confidence in obtaining a divine manifestation, as I previously had." Now, before we continue, there are 4 appearances of Moroni to Joseph Smith in a very short period of time and in the culture of the Church we always say, "And Moroni delivered the same message four times." That is not true. And I'm going to explain why understanding that that is not true is so important, and especially, as you prepare to listen to the teachings of President Russell M. Nelson. Okay

[00:22:42] Verse 30 is the beginning of the first appearance: "While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor." Now, I'm going to scoot very quickly, I'm not going to read this whole thing, I'm just going to scoot very quickly. 

[00:23:10] Verse 31 is a description of what Moroni looked like. So is verse 32. Verse 33 "He called me by name." That is very significant. What is the very first thing the Father said in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times? "Joseph." He called him by name. There is a remarkable pattern to learn and understand that heavenly messengers call somebody by name. Then it goes on and says "Joseph, you have work to perform. You're going to be known for good all over the earth." How ostentatious is that, for this young boy to believe that his life, some how, some way, all over the earth, his name will be known for good and for ill. And then there is a whole series of scriptures specifically about the coming forth of The Book of Mormon and of the priesthood. Now, if you'll go over to verse 43: "After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him; when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance." End of the first visitation of Moroni.

[00:24:49] So, everything that we get from verse 30 to 41 contains that message given by Moroni that we always so that he came back and delivered four times. Okay? Verse 44 is the beginning of the second appearance of Moroni: "I lay musing on the singularity of the scene, and marveling greatly at what had been told to me by this extraordinary messenger; when, in the midst of my meditation, I suddenly discovered that my room was again beginning to get lighted, and in an instant, as it were, the same heavenly messenger was again by my bedside." Please, read and listen carefully.

[00:25:30] Verse 45: "He commenced, and again related the very same things which he had done at his first visit, without the least variation." Did he repeat the exact same message? Yes. Now watch: "which having done, he informed me of great judgments which were coming upon the earth, with great desolations by famine, sword, and pestilence; and that these grievous judgments would come on the earth in this generation. Having related these things, he again ascended as he had done before." Was it the exact same message? No. Was the previous message exactly the same? Yes, and there was something that was added. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.

[00:26:32] Now you are probably thinking, "Brother Bednar, you are making a big deal out of nothing." Well, let me take you behind.... In the last almost 14 year, I don't know how many times I have recited the Joseph Smith story. I bet it is close to 28 million. Now, my wife is not here. I'm not trying to change it. The best way to do that,.... But if my wife were here and if she were sitting right there you would see her with a little red journal in which she would be writing and you might kind of wonder what she is writing. Come behind the curtain with me. She is not listening and taking notes about what I am saying. She is listening for what I teach in the Joseph Smith story that I haven't ever taught before. Did you hear what I just said? 28 million times, whatever the number is, there is always something new that I hadn't taught before.

[00:27:39] Now, you don't know that if you're teaching a Sunday School lesson once every 8 years on the same subject. You don't recognize that unless you speak in six sacrament meetings in one day. And you don't get up and read a talk. You're being directed by the Spirit. And you might need to emphasize a principle, or a truth, for a particular congregation as you are inspired by the Holy Ghost, but you never ever do it exactly the same way even though you may be talking about the exact same thing. In my world there is a time compression that enables you to see that that you may not ever see in your world. Am I losing you or is this making sense? Do you know what my wife asked? She has almost 14 years worth of notes about line upon line, precept upon precept revelations she has heard come through her husband when he teaches the same thing over and over and over again.

[00:28:50] Can you tell where I am going with this? How many of you have ever been in a Sunday School class? "Oh, not again?" When are me moving on from the Plan of Happiness. "Okay, I can draw the pictures. I got this." No, you don't have it if you think you have it. I want to emphasize that. If you think you get it, by definition you don't get it. If you are in sacrament meeting and you aren't dazzled by an entertaining speaking, "Oh, this is boring," excuse me but it says nothing about the speaker and it says everything about you. The objective of somebody in sacrament meeting is not to dazzle you and entertain you. It is not to have a well-crafted message. It is to preach the gospel by the power of the Spirit and that invites you to get connected to the Holy Ghost so that the Holy Ghost is teaching you what you need that has nothing to do with what the speaker is saying. Have you ever had some speaker in sacrament meeting talking about X and you are receiving inspiration about B? That's how it is supposed to work. The worst thing in the world that can happen is all that you do is hear what the speaker says. You want to hear what is not being said by the speaker that is being delivered to your heart by the power of the Holy Ghost. So, what my wife has helped me see is, she says, "David, I think you were an apostle today because I know you're not smart enough to say this. I heard you do this so many times, this was never there and you never connected it to this." Now, do you see why I'm making a big deal about this? This pattern is evident in these four successive appearances of Moroni in a very short period of time and we never talk about this. All we ever say is that the same message got delivered four times. That's not right. It's incorrect.

[00:30:57] Okay. Verse 46. This is the beginning of the third appearance of Moroni: "By this time, so deep were the impressions made on my mind, that sleep had fled from my eyes, and I lay overwhelmed in astonishment at what I had both seen and heard. But what was my surprise when again I beheld the same messenger at my bedside, and heard him rehearse or repeat over again to me the same things as before;" Did he deliver the exact same message? No. Did he deliver the same message as he had delivered in times one and two, the core? Yes. Now watch this: "and added a caution to me, telling me that Satan would try to tempt me (in consequence of the indigent circumstances of my father’s family), to get the plates for the purpose of getting rich. This he forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom; otherwise I could not get them."

[00:32:16] Core message is the same. First edition, judgment is coming to the world. Second edition, Joseph don't mess with the plates, a personal warning to him. Verse 47: "After this third visit, he again ascended into heaven..." Now skip over to verse 49. No, let's go down to 48. Joseph: "I shortly after arose" He's totally spent. Verse 48: "I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, went to the necessary labors of the day; but, in attempting to work as at other times, I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable. My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home. I started with the intention of going to the house; but, in attempting to cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a time was quite unconscious of anything."

[00:33:23] Verse 49 is the beginning of the fourth appearance: "The first thing that I can recollect was a voice speaking unto me, calling me by name. I looked up, and beheld the same messenger standing over my head, surrounded by light as before. He then again related unto me all that he had related to me the previous night, and commanded me to go to my father and tell him of the vision and commandments which I had received." I love the beginning of verse 50: "I obeyed."

[00:34:09] Judgments, an individual caution and warning, a commandment to go to your father. They're not all the same. Now, when you are a General Authority there are some things that provide some great entertainment. So, I listen to members of the Church everywhere I go, "When are the Brethren going to start talking about this stuff in General Conference?" We get the same stuff over and over and over. Now judge not that you be not judged, but if all you hear is the same stuff over and over and over then you ought to be taking a look inside. It's not the same. If all you hear is what is said before you're not paying attention to the line upon line revelation. You could have thought "President Monson tells so many stories repeated." Yeah, he does for a reason. They're never the same even though they're the same. Do you have eyes to see and ears to hear? What's not the same in the story that you think is exactly the same? Even if he repeated the same words, is the Holy Spirit delivering to you the exact same message He brought last time or are you in a different place in your life where the same story brings something different into your life that you need? Do you know who determines what we talk about in General Conference? You! If you don't want us to talk about tithing, you pay your tithing and we'll stop talking about it. This is easy. If you're not paying your tithing and you're not being morally clean, we've got work to do to get people to understand that. So, if you want us to move on, help us out here. And in the meantime, if you check out in a Sunday School class, in sacrament meeting, or in General Conference, "Oh no, I've heard this before." I hope my voice from this day haunts you. I hope wherever you're seated my voice comes into your mind and says, "It's not the same. Are you hearing what is not said? Are you hear to be entertained? Are you an object sitting on a pew in church waiting for somebody to dazzle you and entertain you or are you an agent, asking, seeking, knocking, inviting individualized revelation by the power of the Holy Ghost?" 

[00:36:59] So, when you hear President Nelson and if he emphasizes being children of the covenant, he has talked about that hundreds of times, I will be terribly disappointed if he does not talk about it again. "Oh, am I going to listen because I know what he said....." I study that very carefully, you should too. And I'm going to be listening for whatever is not said in exactly the same way, something that he has learned and is now sharing with us. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.

[00:37:42] That's my best shot at trying to take you behind the curtain a little bit. When I sat there I always wondered what do they learn...that they don't talk about. Well, on Sundays like this I try to talk about that stuff for one very simple reason: it's not mysterious, it's simple. This is the Lord's church and He runs it and the patterns that He chooses to direct the affairs of His church apply to ever single member of this church, not just the people who sit on the stand in General Conference. 

[00:38:21] Now, I want to conclude with this brief description. In Salt Lake City right now it is 1:30. One week ago, right now, I was on my way home from the Salt Lake Temple. At 8--7:50 last Sunday, in the morning, the 13 living apostles assembled in the Salt Lake Temple, on the fourth floor, in the Council Room of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. Prior to that time we were in a period of apostolic interregnum. That means that the First Presidency has been dissolved, that occurs at the death of the President of the Church. The presiding quorum of the Church, in that moment, is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is the President of the Church. Does that make sense?

[00:39:19] Last week, you have heard, read in the Church News, that President Nelson as the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles signed mission calls for more than 1200 missionaries. "Well, he can't do that, he's not the President of the Church." Excuse me, yes he is. Because there is no First Presidency, the presiding quorum is the Quorum of the Twelve and the president of the Quorum of the Twelve is the President of the Church. The senior apostle on the earth is the President of the Church. So the question on Sunday, a week ago, was not what to do or who should it be. That pattern has been long established. The question is whether we should continue in period apostolic interregnum or should we reorganize the First Presidency now. The unanimous expression by the Brethren was that we should ..... Elder Dallin H. Oakes made the motion that Russell Marion Nelson become the 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We unanimously sustained that motion. And then President Nelson was ordained and set apart by Dallin H. Oakes. Why Dallin H. Oakes? Because he is the next most senior apostle. This has really been established..... It was after President Nelson was set apart and ordained that he nominated Dallin Oakes and Henry Eyring to be his counselors. They were set apart. In the setting apart, not only did President Oakes become a counselor in the First Presidency, he became the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After the two counselors were set apart, President Nelson then set apart President M. Russell Ballard to be the Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles because President Oakes cannot function in the office of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles when he is serving in the First Presidency. This is orderly. This is simple. And this is spiritually dignified. I'll just close with one question. Each man called to the apostleship, ordained to the office of apostle, receives all the priesthood keys restored to the earth in this dispensation. How do you think that would work out in any worldly organization, to have 15 people with equal authority? Anybody want to take a chance on that working? Utter chaos. 

[00:42:01] Compare that to this simplicity. No campaigning. No nothing. Everybody knows the pattern, it just moves forward. In that period of just a few hours, the kingdom of God moves forward. We love and we miss President Monson, but we're moving on.

[00:42:26] Now, I want to conclude with this. This was a testimony born by Elder Bruce R. McConkie:

"Now, I have what every true disciple has. It is called the testimony of Jesus. In our day it includes the revealed knowledge that the earthly kingdom—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—will triumph. In this connection may I set before you this illustration: 

"The Church is like a great caravan—organized, prepared, following an appointed course, with its captains of tens and captains of hundreds all in place. 

"What does it matter if a few barking dogs snap at the heels of the weary travelers? Or that predators claim those few who fall by the way? The caravan moves on. 

"Is there a ravine to cross, a miry mud hole to pull through, a steep grade to climb? So be it. The oxen are strong and the teamsters wise. The caravan moves on. 

"Are there storms that rage along the way, floods that wash away the bridges, deserts to cross, and rivers to ford? Such is life in this fallen sphere. The caravan moves on. 

"Ahead is the celestial city, the eternal Zion of our God, where all who maintain their position in the caravan shall find food and drink and rest. Thank God that the caravan moves on!"

[00:44:29] My beloved brothers and sisters, I am an absolute witness that President Nelson was called of God out of prophecy and by the laying of hands, has received the necessary authorization to be the Lord's prophet, seer, and revelator.... As I quote element of the Article of Faith, by the laying on of hands, with my hands on his head,... I can't take you behind that curtain. I don't know how to do that. I am willing to say I am a witness that the Lord lives. He has risen. The tomb is empty. He directs the affairs of His Church. And, as we conclude, I invoke a simple blessing upon you that you may more fully see and understand the Lord's pattern of line upon line, precept, upon precept, here a little and there a little. And blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, for they shall receive more. And from them who say, "Enough," From them shall be taken that which they have. May you have the eyes to see and may you always have the faith to hold your position in the caravan because the caravan moves on. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.