Elder James E. Talmage on Guardian Angels

This is from an address given by Elder James E. Talmage on Sunday, June 25, 1893 in London, England:

I trust we have learned to value as we should this privilege of reaching the ear of God whenever we approach in a proper way.  If any of us had the means of entering the presence of Her Majesty the Queen, and of presenting our petitions to her with assurances that every righteous request should be granted, would we not think ourselves greatly honored?  Yet in very truth we have greater blessings than any favor of human potentates could give; we have received the promise that cannot be broken, coming not from a lord of the land, but from the Lord of Lords; not from a king of earth, but from the King of Kings; from the Omnipotent Ruler of earth and heaven and the Creator of all, that our petitions, if offered in faith, sanctioned and sealed by the sincerity of the heart, shall receive His attention, and that every such prayer, as far as it would be for our good, shall be granted.  In contemplating the meaning of such honors as these we may well enquire as to the reason for giving them.  This great Being, of infinite power and goodness, whom we cannot think of in His mighty attributes without sinking in our own sense of personal insignificance, He is our Father; and He has greater affection than we can comprehend by father's love for His children.  As a result of that great love, He has set heavenly beings to watch over us and to guard us from the attacks of evil powers while we live on earth.  Do we realize that in our daily walk and work we are not alone, but that angels attend us wherever our duty causes us to go?  It is only when we stray into unholy places, only when we tread upon forbidden ground, that they leave us to ourselves; and then they watch us from the distance with sorrow and tears.  Those holy beings think it not beneath their state to abide in the hovels of the poor, to stand by us in the most menial labor, provided it be honorable employment; but I cannot conceive of their going with us to the dram shop, the gambling den, and the brothel.  But as long as we are where duty calls us we are in no way alone.  Our eyes are so heavy, our ears so dull, that we see and hear only the things of earth.  Could our vision be opened, we would see in this room at this very moment more worshippers than are occupying these seats; could our ears be unstopped we would hear more than our own feeble voices joining in the hymns of praise that we sing. (emphasis added)

When at times trouble comes upon us, and we feel almost given up to despair, and think we have been deserted by friends, let us think of the heavenly companions whom God has assigned to us; who, indeed, would reveal themselves to our eyes but for our lack of faith.  Let us read again and ponder over the wonderful experience of the prophet of old, who, with but a single earthly companion-the servant who was with him-found himself surrounded by the army of a wicked king.  (See  2 Kings  vi:15-17).  In fear, seeing escape by human agency to be entirely impossible, Elisha's servant cried out, "Alas, my master, how shall we do?"  But the prophet answered, "Fear not; for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."  And then Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the young man's eyes, and the servant saw that the mountains were covered with horses and chariots and hosts of angels sent to protect the prophet of God, whose time had not yet come.
            (Brian H. Stuy, ed., Collected Discourses, 5 vols., 3:-)

Elder David A. Bednar "Tender Mercies"

I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and that the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us.

Who Are They Whom the Lord Has Chosen to Receive His Tender Mercies?

The word chosen in 1 Nephi 1:20 [ 1 Ne. 1:20] is central to understanding the concept of the Lord’s tender mercies. The dictionary indicates that chosen suggests one who is selected, taken by preference, or picked out. It also can be used to refer to the elect or chosen of God (Oxford English Dictionary Online, second ed. [1989], “Chosen”).

Some individuals who hear or read this message erroneously may discount or dismiss in their personal lives the availability of the tender mercies of the Lord, believing that “I certainly am not one who has been or ever will be chosen.” We may falsely think that such blessings and gifts are reserved for other people who appear to be more righteous or who serve in visible Church callings. I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and that the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us.

To be or to become chosen is not an exclusive status conferred upon us. Rather, you and I ultimately determine if we are chosen. Please now note the use of the word chosen in the following verses from the Doctrine and Covenants:

“Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

“Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men” ( D&C 121:34–35; emphasis added).

I believe the implication of these verses is quite straightforward. God does not have a list of favorites to which we must hope our names will someday be added. He does not limit “the chosen” to a restricted few. Rather, it is our hearts and our aspirations and our obedience which definitively determine whether we are counted as one of God’s chosen.

David A. Bednar, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2005, 99

The Prophet Joseph Smith As A Counselor

Another example was recalled by a man named Jesse Crosby, who one day accompanied a woman on a visit to the Prophet. She felt she had been maligned unjustly by gossip. Regarding such matters, Joseph would say: "The little foxes spoil the vines-little evils do the most damage in the Church." He also said, "The devil flatters us that we are very righteous, when we are feeding on the faults of others." He pointed out, "The Savior has the words of eternal life"-that is, if you really want to prize words, the Savior has the words of eternal life-and "nothing else can profit us." And then in order to make the point, he added, "There is no salvation in believing an evil report against our neighbor."  
But this sister had been troubled, and she came and asked for redress: she wanted the Prophet now to go to the person who was the source of the story and properly take care of it. He enquired of her in some detail and then counseled her in terms something like this: "Sister, when I have heard of a story about me [and he could have said there had been many], I sit down and think about it and pray about it, and I ask myself the question, 'Did I say something or was there something about my manner to give some basis for that story to start?' And, Sister, often if I think about it long enough I realize I have done something to give that basis. And there wells up in me a forgiveness of the person who has told that story, and a resolve that I will never do that thing again."  
            (Truman G. Madsen, Joseph Smith the Prophet , p.94-)

What Is Happening In The Spirit World?

(click on image to enlarge)

Baptism For The Dead Was Revealed A Little At A Time

The Prophet Brigham Young taught this about baptism for the dead,

Do you recollect that in about the year 1840-41, Joseph had a revelation concerning the dead? He had been asked the question a good many times: "What is the condition of the dead, those that lived and died without the Gospel?" It was a matter of inquiry with him. He considered this question for himself, and for the brethren and the Church, "What is the condition of the dead? What will be their fate? Is there no way today by which they can receive their blessings as there was in the days of the Apostles, and when the Gospel was preached upon the earth in ancient days?" When Joseph received the revelation that we have in our possession concerning the dead, the subject was opened to him, not in full, but in part, and he kept on receiving. When he had first received the knowledge by the spirit of revelation how the dead could be officiated for, there are brethren and sisters here, I can see quite a number here who were in Nauvoo, and you recollect that when this doctrine was first revealed, and in hurrying in the administration of baptism for the dead, that sisters were baptized for their male friends, were baptized for their fathers, their grandfathers, their mothers and their grandmothers, etc. I just mention this so that you will come to understanding, that as we knew nothing about this matter at first, the old Saints recollect, there was little by little given, and the subject was made plain, but little was given at once. Consequently, in the first place people were baptized for their friends and no record was kept. Joseph afterwards kept a record. Then women were baptized for men and men for women, etc. It would be very strange, you know, to the eyes of the wise and those that understood the things pertaining to eternity, if we were called upon to commence a work that we could not finish.     
This, therefore, was regulated and all set in order; for it was revealed that if a woman was baptized for a man, she could not be ordained for him, neither could she be made an Apostle or a Patriarch for the man, consequently the sisters are to be baptized for their own sex only.     
This doctrine of baptism for the dead is a great doctrine, one of the most glorious doctrines that was revealed to the human family; and there are light, power, glory, honor and immortality in it. 16:165.     
            (Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, selected and arranged by John A. Widtsoe, p.398-399)

Important Historical Background to the writing of D&C 121, 122, 123

 

With her husband imprisoned in Liberty Jail, Emma Smith and her children were among the Latter-day Saints who made their way across northern Missouri to Quincy, Illinois, in the winter of 1839. This experience was vivid in her mind when she wrote to Joseph on March 7:

"I shall not attempt to write my feelings altogether, for the situation in which you are, the walls, bars, and bolts, rolling rivers, running streams, rising hills, sinking vallies and spreading prairies that separate us, and the cruel injustice that first cast you into prison and still holds you there, with many other considerations, places my feelings far beyond description. Was it not for conscious innocence, and the direct interposition of divine mercy, I am very sure I never should have been able to have endured the scenes of suffering that I have passed through, since what is called the Militia, came into Far West, under the ever to be remembered Governor's notable order. . . . We are all well at present, except Frederick, who is quite sick. Little Alexander who is now in my arms is one of the finest little fellows, you ever saw in your life, he is so strong that with the assistance of a chair he will run all round the room. . . . No one but God, knows the reflections of my mind and the feelings of my heart when I left our house and home, and allmost all of every thing that we possessed excepting our little children, and took my journey out of the State of Missouri, leaving you shut up in that lonesome prison. But the recollection is more than human nature ought to bear. . . . The daily sufferings of our brethren in travelling and camping out nights, and those on the other side of the river would beggar the most lively description. The people in this state are very kind indeed, they are doing much more than we ever anticipated they would; I have many more things I could like to write but have not time and you may be astonished at my bad writing and incoherent manner, but you will pardon all when you reflect how hard it would be for you to write, when your hands were stiffened with hard work, and your heart convulsed with intense anxiety. But I hope there is better days to come to us yet."

 

On March 19, less than two weeks after the failure of the second jailbreak attempt, Joseph Smith received his wife's letter, along with letters from his brothers Don Carlos and William, and from Bishop Edward Partridge. This correspondence called forth an immediate response. The following day Lyman Wight noted that the Prophet was "writing an epistle to the church, " and on March 21 Joseph wrote to Emma. The lengthy letter produced on March 20 was signed by all the prisoners in the Liberty Jail and contained sentiments that were later published as sections 121-123 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Although this epistle was addressed to the "church . . . scattered abroad and to Bishop Partridge in particular," Joseph sent it to his wife with instructions for his family to have the first reading and then convey it to the Church.

(Joseph Smith, The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, compiled and edited by Dean C. Jessee, p.389-)

The full context of the Prophet Joseph Smith's letter can be found in Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith by Joseph Fielding Smith, pp. 129-148.

Far West Missiouri Is Most Holy - Why? (D&C 115:7)

D&C  115:7
 7 Let the city, Far West, be a holy and consecrated land unto me; and it shall be called most holy, for the ground upon which thou standest is holy.

On June 1, 1966 President David O. McKay, President Joseph Fielding Smith, and President Alvin R. Dyer made a trip to Missouri to tour Church History site there.  After they left Adam-Ondi-Ahman they drove to the Far West temple site.

"At the site our car turned east so that the temple excavation baring the four cornerstones was to our immediate left and the site of the city square, now a cornfield, was to our immediate right. . . . Four of the brethren stood one each on the four cornerstones of the temple excavation. This enabled President McKay to judge the outline of the temple. . . .   
"Elder Dyer related to President McKay that the two counties, Caldwell, of which Far West was the center of gathering for the saints, and Daviess, of which Adam-ondi-Ahman was the center, had been created largely for the 'Mormon settlers' through the efforts of the Honorable Alexander W. Doniphan of the Missouri legislature. . . .   

"Caldwell County in 1836 was a wilderness. By the spring of 1838, it had a population of 5,000, 4,900 of whom were Mormons. The city of Far West at one time had 150 houses, four dry goods stores, three family groceries, half a dozen blacksmith shops, a printing establishment and two hotels. A large and comfortable school served as a church and courthouse. . . .   

"As President McKay gazed out at the temple site with thoughtful contemplation, President Smith got out of the car and walked the short distance to the temple site. Elder Dyer told of the persecution of the saints at that time, which reached a climax at Far West. To the right of the car, once the city square, is where the exterminating order of Governor Boggs was read. . . .   

"President Smith told of his father being born somewhere just west of the temple site. He lived to become the sixth president of the Church.   
"At Far West we all stood amazed at the fact that there remained nothing of Far West except the four stones of the temple excavation which at one time was dug and cleared by 500 brethren in preparation for a house of the Lord. President McKay seemed pleased and elated at the fact that the Church owns 80 acres at Far West, including the dedicated temple site. He seemed visibly affected in the reflections of that which transpired at this hallowed and sacred place designated by the Lord as most holy. . . .   
"It was a momentous and historically important trip. All marvelled at that which had been accomplished in just a little over one day. President McKay was in fine spirit and had been all during the trip. . . . President Smith too was feeling fine and enjoyed the visit, speaking of his happiness that President McKay had visited these historically sacred places in Missouri. . . ."   

Elder Dyer, whom President McKay subsequently ordained an apostle and later set apart as a counselor in the church presidency, offered some interesting after-thoughts on Far West:   
"In connection with President McKay's visit at Far West, it is to be noted that while there the President appeared somewhat overwhelmed. The place made a deep impression upon him; so much so that he referred to Far West a number of times in the ensuing days as a place of deep impression.   

"The feeling that President McKay had at Far West registered upon me once again, but now with greater impact. The events that transpired there are significant: (a) The Lord proclaimed Far West a holy and consecrated land unto him, declaring to Joseph Smith that the very ground he stood on there was holy. (b) The Prophet Joseph Smith contended with the devil face to face for some time, upon the occasion of the power of evil menacing one of his children in the Prophet's home just west of the temple site. Lucifer declared that Joseph had no right to be there, that this was his place. Whereupon the Prophet rebuked Satan in the name of the Lord, and he departed and did not touch the child again. (c) The overwhelming feeling that President McKay had when he visited this sacred place.   

"The Answer: I have often pondered the holy significance of Far West, and even more so since President McKay's visit. The sacredness of Far West, Missouri, is no doubt due to the understanding that the Prophet Joseph Smith conveyed to the brethren, at these early times, that Adam-ondi-Ahman, the place to which Adam and Eve fled when cast out of the Garden of Eden, is where Adam erected an altar unto God, and offered sacrifices, and that

Far West was the spot where Cain killed Abel.

"This information tends to explain why the Lord declared Far West to be a holy consecrated place; and no doubt explains why Satan claimed that place as his own, as it was here that he entered into a covenant with Cain, resulting in the death of Abel, the first of mortal existence [to die] upon this earth.   

"It would appear that President McKay while there felt the spirit and significance of this holy place."   
One reason President McKay chose to tour the Missouri historic sites was to gain impressions helpful in making decisions in regard to further church expenditures for buildings and monuments in that area. He gave his approval to construction of a half million dollar visitor center near the temple lot site in Independence and to monuments and improvements at and near the Far West temple lot site. (emphasis added)  

(Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., and John J. Stewart, The Life of Joseph Fielding Smith, p.338-340,342)

How To Know The Truth Of The Restoration

TO THE HONORABLE MEN OF THE WORLD. By Joseph Smith

TO the honorable searchers for truth, we, in a spirit of candor and meekness, are bound by every tie that makes man the friend of man, by every endowment of heaven, that renders intelligent beings seekers of happiness, to show you the way to salvation. In fact, we are not only bound to do thus for those that seek the riches of eternity, but, to walk in the tracks of our Savior, we must love our enemies; bless them that curse us; do good to them that hate us, and pray for them that dispitefully use us, and persecute us, or you and the world may know, that we are not the children of God. Therefore, to be obedient to the precepts of our divine master, we say unto you, Search the Scriptures—search the revelations which we publish, and ask your heavenly Father, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you do it with an eye single to his glory, nothing doubting, he will answer you by the power of his Holy Spirit: You will then know for yourselves and not for another: You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God; nor will there be any room for speculation. No: for, when men receive their instruction from him that made them, they know how he will save them. Then again we say, Search the Scriptures; search the prophets, and learn what portion of them belongs to you, and the people of the nineteenth century. You, no doubt, will agree with us, and say, that you have no right to claim the promises of the inhabitants before the flood; that you cannot found your hopes of salvation upon the obedience of the children of Israel, when journeying in the wilderness; nor can you expect that the blessings which the apostles pronounced upon the churches of Christ, eighteen hundred years ago, were intended for you: Again, if others' blessings are not your blessings, others' curses are not your curses; you stand then in these last days, as all have stood before you, agents unto yourselves, to be judged according to your works.

(To the Honorable Men of the World., Evening and Morning Star, vol. 1 (June 1832-May 1833), Vol. I. August, 1832. No. 3. 22.)