From the Mormon Odditoriurm

It is of no benefit in this world for men to preach such false doctrine. And now, every little while, I hear of some one of the Elders, who wishes to be considered smart, trying to teach something he knows nothing about. There is enough revealed to fill the whole earth as long as you live. Preach the truth as you understand it. Do not speculate on things you know nothing about, for it will benefit no one. (Wilford Woodruff, 6 April 1890)

From the Mormon Odditorium

From this week's Mormon Odditorium, the ever quotable Brigham Young:

What is our duty? To promote the kingdom of God on the earth. Every person that confines his thoughts and labours to happifying his own family and immediate friends will come far short of performing the duties devolving upon him. Every sentiment and feeling should be to cleanse the earth from wickedness, to purify the people, sanctify the nations, gather the nations of Israel home, redeem and build up Zion, redeem Jerusalem and gather the Jews there, and establish the reign and kingdom of God on the earth. Let that be the heart's desire and labour of every individual every moment. (Brigham Young, 12 June 1860, JD 8:294).

More from the Mormon Odditorium

This is from last week's Mormon Odditorium:

Many have tried to penetrate to the First Cause of all things; but it would be as easy for an ant to number the grains of sand on the earth. It is not for man, with his limited intelligence, to grasp eternity in this comprehension. This is an eternity of life, from which we were composed by the wisdom and skill of superior Beings. It would be as easy for a gnat to trace the history of man back to his origin as for man to fathom the First Cause of all things, lift the veil of eternity, and reveal the mysteries that have been sought after by philosophers from the beginning. What, then, should be the calling and duty of the children of men? Instead of inquiring after the origin of the Gods--instead of trying to explore the depths of eternities that have been, that are, and that will be,--instead of endeavouring to discover the boundaries of boundless space, let them seek to know the object of their present existence, and how to apply, in the most profitable manner for their mutual good and salvation, the intelligence they possess. Let them seek to know and thoroughly understand things within their reach, and to make themselves well acquainted with the object of their being here, by diligently seeking unto a superior Power for information, and by the careful study of the best books. (Brigham Young, 9 October 1859, JD 7:285).

When We Undertake to Cover Our Sins . . .

From the Mormon Odditorium on April 20:

It has been the doctrine of some Elders in this Church (whence they got it I do not know, without they got it from the Devil,) that all the sin you can hide from your brethren and sisters, no matter what its nature and magnitude, will not be brought against you in the day of judgment. Such persons are greatly mistaken. For the sins you commit against yourselves and you God, unless repented of and forgiven, the Lord will hold his private council and judge you according to the degree of guilt that is upon you; and if you sin against others, he will make that public and you will have to hear it. You need not think that you can hide your sins. (Brigham Young, March 10, 1860, JD 8:362.)

I am not entirely convinced that we can really hide our sins as well as we think we can. Just as we cannot see the back of our head, other people see things about us and our actions that we cannot see ourselves. They know things about us that we do not know ourselves. That can include our strengths, but also our weaknesses and our sins. Those who say that if they do not bring up their sins that no one will notice them are simply deceiving themselves.

Church Approved Tags

This one is from the Mormon Odditorium for April 6:

"We must learn how to form judgments of out own about the value of ideas, opportunities, or people who may come into our lives. We can't depend on somebody else's light to tell us whether a certain idea is 'Church approved,' because new ideas don't always come with little tags saying whether they have been reviewed at Church headquarters. (Bruce C. Hafen, "Ambiguity in Law and Life," Clark Memorandum [Spring 2011], 18).

This is very true. I think it can be extended a bit as well.

It is not just that ideas can come without tags saying that they are Church approved. Sometimes ideas that are not Church approved can come with tags saying that they are. Time, experience, grounding in the gospel, and listening to the Spirit can help detect some of these. Two examples come to mind:

1. When the Church says that it has no official position on Book of Mormon geography, it means that. Individuals who say or imply that their geography is approved by the Church are out of line. They are often seeking the impression of Church imprimatur to lure the gullible into lining their wallets. This has nothing to do with whether or not their geography is correct. It may be perfectly correct in the smallest of details but since the Church has no official position on Book of Mormon geography to claim or imply otherwise is to put oneself in a dangerous position. (I note that individuals like John Sorenson and John Clark argue their geographies on the basis of their own scholarship. I have never heard them claim any other authority for their geographic arguments other than logic, reasoning, and a careful reading of the text.)
2.  Several years ago the ward I was living in had the policy that only hymns were allowed in Church meetings. No other music was permitted. I do not know the origin of the policy in that ward. It was claimed that the policy originated from Church headquarters even though no one could find anything in the handbooks that supported it. I was on the ward council when a letter came to the bishop from the First Presidency stating that that particular policy was explicitly not the policy of the Church and that there were beautiful and inspiring piece of music appropriate for Church meetings that were not hymns and that local leaders should use their own discernment on the issue. (Imagine that! Salt Lake trusted the local leaders enough to let them make their own decisions.)

I tend to be suspicious of those who claim that their ideas are "Church approved" when:

1. they can point to no official written source for their claims, 
2. they are not in a position of authority with direct contact with Church headquarters, and 
3. they obtain direct benefit from their claims.

I tend not to be suspicious of my bishop because bishops get direct mail from Salt Lake almost every week about large and small matters. If I have a question about a policy, the bishop can probably show me the handbook or the letter justifying it. In the case of the music policy mentioned above, however, no one could produce a document from Salt Lake for the policy, which is fine if the policy is the bishop's policy and not claimed to be the Church's policy. I have no problem with the bishop having his own policy on matters that the Church has no position on, as when our bishop asked us all to read the Book of Mormon in a specific three month period last year. In my experience, bishops are usually good about identifying the source of various policies and usually do not directly benefit from their policies.

If the second counselor elder's quorum were to come to me and claim that he had oral instructions from Salt Lake that I was to give him a thousand dollars, however, I would probably hang on to my money.

Catching Up on the Mormon Odditorium

I have been rather negligent in passing on good daily quotes from the Mormon Odditorium. This one is from April 4:

If I find a man, as I do once in a while, who thinks that he ought to be sustained in a higher position than he occupies, that proves to me that he does not understand his true position, and is not capable of magnifying it. (Brigham Young, 5 June 1859, JD 7:162).

 Amen.

From the Mormon Odditorium

I have been neglecting to pass on some of the gems from the Mormon Odditorium. This was yesterday's:

I often ask myself, how can I appear before the Lord Jesus, my Master, if He should call me to account for the charge that He has placed upon me: can I stand up and say I have not obstructed the work with which I am connected; I have not obscured the light of heaven; I have not acted in any way to divert the rays of truth from shining in the midst of the children of men--I ask myself, can I stand in this position and look upon the face of God without feeling condemned, and that my garments are unstained with the blood of this generation; that I have been a faithful minister of the Lord, a faithful shepherd of the flock of Christ, a watchman who has never slept at his post, who has never failed to utter the cry of warning when danger has menaced the Zion of God. This is a feeling it seems to me every man who bears the holy Priesthood ought to have. (George Q. Cannon, 2 September 1889)

If you want the rest, read the Odditorium or the original.

Today in the Mormon Odditorium

Another worthwhile quote from today's Mormon Odditorium:

I have learned one thing to a demonstration since I became a member of this Church, that if a man is determined to be damned, nothing can hinder it. I have argued with men for hours, for weeks, for months, and for years, to prevail on them to serve the Lord; but my labours have generally been spent in vain on persons who needed so much persuasion to do good. The Spirit of the Lord does not inspire me to trouble myself any more about men who will do wrong. It is enough for me to do the will of the Lord my God, even those things I am dictated to do by my President; and let every other man act as I do, and be perfectly independent whether to serve God or Mammon. I would not now step one step out of my way to head a man's course that is determined to go to the Devil; but I will say, Go into the fire, that you may be burned out. He will be saved when he comes to himself; but he never will come to himself, until he is burned out like an old pipe that has become impregnated with filthiness. (Heber C. Kimball, April 6, 1854, JD 6:323.)

Today's Mormon Odditorium

From today's Mormon Odditorium comes this thought:

There is a class of persons that persecution will not drive from the Church of Christ, but prosperity will; and again, there is another class that prosperity will not drive but persecution will. The Lord must and will have a company of Saints who will follow him to the cross, if it be necessary; and these he will crown. They are the ones who will wear a celestial crown and have dominion, rule and government. These are they who will receive honour of the Father, with glory, exaltation, and eternal lives. They shall reign over kingdoms, and have power to be Gods, even the sons of God. Those other classes will take different stations and possess inferior glories, according to their works in the flesh. That class who will altogether serve the world and disregard the cause of truth will become servants to the sons of God and be in servitude throughout eternity. What shall we do? I say, Cleave to 'Mormonism,' work with all our might for the Lord, and love him better than any other earthly or heavenly object. And if he requires us to sacrifice our houses, our horses, our cattle, our wives, and our children, let them remain upon the altar; but let us follow him to salvation and eternal life. (Brigham Young, April 7, 1852, JD 6:322.)

From the Mormon Odditorium

From The Mormon Odditorium for today:

The whole people have a vote in the selection of their officers; and if they appoint wicked men for their Governors and for their rulers, and then those rulers go to work and rule unrighteously, tyrannize over the poor and humble, and sacrifice human life to satisfy their wicked ambition, at whose hands will the Lord require the blood of the innocent? He will require it of those who elected the officers; for the responsibility does not rest alone upon the Presidents, or Governors, of Judges, but it rests in a great measure with the people who placed them in power, when a nation becomes corrupt and appoints corrupt and wicked rulers, and sustains them in their wickedness." Wilford Woodruff, January 10, 1858, JD 7:105.

On Today's Mormon Odditorium

Today's Mormon Odditorium has a great feature on John B. Floyd, which is very good and very lengthy (for the Odditorium) and well worth the read. It is too lengthy, however, to post here.

From Today's Mormon Odditorium

Today's quote from the Mormon Odditorium is:

I believe, if you will take the whole circle of the history of apostates from this church, that in ninety-nine cases out of every hundred you will find that the spirit of adultery or covetousness was the original cause. There was a man name John Smith came into the Church, and was somewhat prominent in the State of Indiana. He preached some little, and was considered quite zealous; but he said he had prove that the Book of Doctrine and Covenants was not true; "For it says," said he, "that if a man shall commit adultery, and not repent of it, he shall lose the Spirit of God, and shall deny the faith. Now, I have done it, and have not denied the faith; and so I have proved that the revelation in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants is not from God." The spirit of blindness had so taken possession of him that he could not see that when he was proclaiming that the revelations were not true, he was denying the faith. That spirit has such an effect over the human mind as totally to blind them in relation to their own acts and the spirit that governs them. (George A. Smith, January 1858, JD 7:114-115.)

From the January 18th Mormon Odditorium

The editor of the Mormon Odditorium must have been inspired. Here is yesterday's entry:

I recollect when I first began to discern the operation of the spirit of apostacy [sic]. A small company of us started for Zion. One of the company (Norman A. Brown) lost a horse. This man had been baptized for the remission of sins, rejoiced in the light of truth, and started to gather with the Saints; but his horse died. "Now," said he, "is it possible that this is the work of God? If this had been the work of God, my horse would not have died when I was going to Zion." He apostatized, fought against the work of God, and died a miserable, lingering, and unhappy death; and all because of so great a trial as the loss of a horse. Joseph H. Wakefield, who baptized me, after having apostatized from the Church, announced to the astonished world the fact that, while he was a guest in the house of Joseph Smith, he had absolutely seen the Prophet come down from the room where he was engaged in translating the word of God, and actually go to playing with the children! This convinced him that the Prophet was not a man od God, and that the work was false, which, to me and hundreds of others, he had testified that he knew came from God. He afterwards headed a mob meeting, and took the lead in bringing about a persecution against the Saints in Kirtland and the regions around about. (George A. Smith, January 1858, JD 7:112-113.

From the January 17th Mormon Odditorium

I have been remiss in posting worthwhile quotes from the Mormon Odditorium. This one was for January 17th:

Why is it that our spirits are not always joyous? There may be many different reasons. One reason is that we do not always live our religion. We give way to vanity, frivolity, and nonsense too much, and sometimes to dishonesty and fraud; we do things that are not right and adopt practices that are not good; and when this is the case, the Spirit of the Lord is grieved, and it wanders from us, and we are left to grope in the dark; the visions of eternity are shut out from our minds, and we see through another medium than that of the Spirit of God. . . . We forget, sometimes, that we are the Saints of God; we forget that we have dedicated ourselves to the Lord, with all that we have; and we forget our high calling and our future destiny. We forget, sometimes, that we are engaged, with many others, in establishing righteousness and planting the kingdom of God upon the earth; and we condescend to little meannesses, and become forgetful of the great and glorious calling to which we are called. . . . We forget that God and angels are looking upon us; we forget that the spirits of just men made perfect and our ancient fathers, who are looking forward to the establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth, are gazing upon us, and that our acts are open to the inspection of all the authorized agencies of the invisible world. And, forgetting these things sometimes, we act the part of fools, and the Spirit of God is grieved; it withdraws from us, and we are then lefft to grope our way in the dark. But if we could live our religion, fear God, be strictly honest, observe his laws and statues, and keep his commandments to do them, we should feel very different; we should feel comfortable and happy; our spirits would be peaceful and buoyant; and from day to day, from week to week, and from year to year, our joys would increase. (John Taylor, January 17, 1858, JD 6:165.)

From the Mormon Odditorium

Today's Mormon Odditorium had the following quote of interest:

I would like to see men who never become so old that they cannot learn. I desire to see everybody on the track of improvement, gaining all the knowledge, power, and advancement possible for them to gain and possess. But so it is: many of the first members in this Church appear as thought they never could keep pace with the times, increasing in the knowledge of the truth and improving thereupon. I will tell you how to expand and increase as far as I know. Let your whole soul--affections, actions, wishes, desires, every effort and motive, and every hour's labour you perform be with a single eye to the building up the Zion of God on the earth. If you will pursue this course, you will learn every day and make advancements every hour. But when you so love your property as to quarrel and contend about this, that, or the other trifling affair, as though all your affections were placed upon the changing, fading things of earth, it is impossible to increase in the knowledge of truth. (Brigham Young, 8 October 1859, JD 7:337).