"Beware Lest Thou Forget"

So that the children of Israel would not forget the Lord their God, he asked them to bind the words on their hand and for frontlets between their eyes and to write them on their doorposts.  He asked them to say them in the morning when they rise up and at night when they went to bed.

To fill this commandment the children of Israel made Phylacteries which they wore on their foreheads and bound to their right arm and wrapped them down to their hand.  The verses from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 were written on parchment and placed within the box.

These verses were called the Shema, which means HEAR named after the first word of verse 4 which was HEAR.

The box that contained these scriptures and nailed to their doorpost was called a Mezuzah.  On entering the home one would touch the Mezuzah as shown in the picture below.  

Deut  6:4-9
 4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD:
 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Deut  11:13-21
 13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
 14 That I will give [you] the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
 15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
 16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
 17 And [then] the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and [lest] ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
 18  Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
 19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
 21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.

Also, in Numbers 15:38-41 the Lord commanded them to wear the prayer shawl.

Num  15:38-41
 38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.
 41 I [am] the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I [am] the LORD your God.

Pictured below are Phylacteries, Prayers Shawl, and a Mezuzah:

Why Forty Years In The Wilderness

We learn from Numbers 13-14 that Moses sent 12 spies (one from each tribe) into the land of Canaan to see what things looked like there.  We know that the land was fruitful and productive but ten of the spies thought they were not sufficiently strong to overpower the people of the Land.  Only Joshua and Caleb felt that they could accomplish the task.  The people wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb.  The Lord pronounced that the people would now spend one year in the wilderness for each day that the spies spent in the land of Canaan.  That would add up to forty years until all the rebellious had died off.

There is a powerful type here in understanding the purpose of the Millennium which was represented by the forty years in the wilderness.  Like a paradisiacal state, food and clothing were supplied to the children of Israel.  They ate manna and their clothing and shoes did not wear out.  By having all the rebellious die before they could enter the promised land they became a new creature in Christ having rid themselves of their rebellious nature.  It must be remembered that they left Egypt as if they were one person and that person was Christ (see Exodus 4:22-23, Hosea 11:1, and  Matthew 2:15 below) so this forty years gave them the time to conform to the image of the Son.  One of the major purposes of the Millennium is for us to rid ourselves of all Telestial traits and to conform to the image of the Son while the earth is transfigured and baptized by fire and the Holy Ghost.

Ex  4:22-23
 22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn:
 23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.

Appearances to the Prophet Joseph Smith

Personages Who Appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith or Who Were Seen by Him in Vision   
List Compiled by H. Donl Peterson (Used by Permission)   

#          Personage     References   

1.     God the Father      JS-H 1:17; HC 1:5; D&C 76:20

2.   Jesus Christ           JS-H 1:17; HC 1:5-6; D&C 76:20-24; D&C 110:2-10
  
3.   Moroni                JS-H 1:30-49; JD 17:374

4.  Elijah       D&C 110:13-16; JD 23:48

5.  John the Baptist         D&C 13; HC 1:39-40

6-8.    Peter, James, John        D&C 27:12; D&C 128:20; HC 1:40-42;
                                             JD 18:326   
9.  Adam (Michael)          HC 3:388; D&C 128:21; HC 2:380;  JD 18:326
  
10.    Noah (Gabriel)          D&C 128:21; JD 21:94

11.  Raphael              D&C 128:21

12.    Moses               D&C 110:11; JD 21:65

13.   Elias               D&C 110:12; D&C 27:6; JD 23:48
 
14.  Joseph, son of Jacob       D&C 27:10

15.    Abraham              D&C 27:10; JD 21:94
 
16.    Isaac               D&C 27:10; JD 21:94
 
17.  Jacob               D&C 27:10; JD 21:94


18.     Enoch               JD 21:65
 
19-27. Twelve Jewish Apostles   JD 21:94   
(Peter, James, and John already counted above.) (Names are in Matt 10:1-4 & Luke 6:13-16)

28-39. Twelve Nephite Apostles JD 21:94   
(Including Three Nephites; names are recorded in 3 Nephi 19:4)
 
40.   Nephi               JD 21:161; Orson Pratt Letter Box 3/11/1876 (CHO)


41.   Seth               JD 21:94;  HC 3:388; D&C 107:53-57


42.   Methuselah            JD 21:94;  HC 3:388; D&C 107:53-57

43.  Enos               JD 21:94; HC 3:388; D&C 107:53-57
  
44.  Mahalaleel            JD 21:94; HC 3:388; D&C 107:53-57


45.   Jared (Bible)           HC 3:388; D&C 107:53-57


46.   Lamech              JD 18:325   

47.    Abel               JD 18:325;  HC 3:388
 
48.   Cainan              HC 3:388; D&C 107:53-57
  
49.   Zelph the Lamanite        T&S 6:788   

50.   Alvin Smith      HC 2:380   
              
51.  Mormon              JD 17:374   

52.    Paul               TPJS 180   

53.    Eve                Oliver B. Huntington Diary, Part 2, 214, BYU Library
 
54.    Alma               JD 13:47   

55.   Unnamed Angel           D&C 27 (Concerning wine in Sacrament) HC 1:106                        
56.    Unnamed Angel           Sent to accept  dedication of Temple. Life of Heber C.   
                                           Kimball, 106;  Temples of the Most High, 159   
57.   Unnamed angel           Visited Joseph Smith three different times   
                                         and commanded him to practice polygamy-   
                                        Eliza R. Snow, Biography and Family Records of Lorenzo   
                                         Snow 69-70   
58.  "I saw many angels"        Warren Cowdery's Account of the First Vision.   
                                             Joseph Smith's First Vision, 159   
59.  Satan, as an angel of Light (and his associates)  D&C 128:20; JD 3:229-30
 
            (Susan Easton Black and Charles D. Tate, Jr., eds., Joseph Smith: The Prophet, The Man, p.184-186)

   

Interesting Research On The First Vision

Meridian Magazine has and article concerning the first vision with some interesting material contained therein.  Click here for the article.

Also, here is a great article for your files on the First Vision by Richard L. Anderson found in the April 1996 Ensign.  Click her for the article.

Delegate for Precinct 3510

I am the elected state delegate for Precinct 3510.  I have a blog to keep precinct members updated on the political races.  Click here for the blog.

March 11, 2009 Post (EXODUS AND EXALTATION)

For those of you teaching the gospel doctrine class I am giving the link to my post on March 11, 2009 on Exodus and Exaltation.  Click here for the link.

A Restoraion of All Things

John Taylor, Mediation and Atonement, p.122 - 123
The remarks of President Joseph Smith are very plain and explicit, and are a strong confirmation of the passage he himself refers to, pertaining to the times of the restitution of all things; which will embrace all systems, doctrines, ordinances, dispensations, and Priesthoods connected with the Church and Kingdom of God. That there will be a full manifestation of all these things, relating to the various times and dispensations, is assured; yet, as Joseph Smith has very properly said, the details of those rituals and observances cannot now be fully defined. But as ancient Israel preserved in the Ark of the Covenant memorials of God's power, goodness and mercy, manifested during the exodus from Egypt, in the two tables of stone and the pot of manna; and of the recognition of the Aaronic Priesthood in Aaron's rod that budded; and as the sword of Laban, the sacred plates already revealed, as well as numerous others yet to be made manifest, and a Urim and Thummim were preserved on this continent; so will there be an exhibition an evidence, a memorial, and an actual manifestation of matters pertaining to laws, ordinances, ceremonies and dispensations, from the commencement of the world to the present time, preserved and manifested in the dispensation that the Lord in His loving kindness has now inaugurated. This will be in accordance with the eternal plans and purposes of God, and with the rights, ceremonies and ordinances belonging to the Priesthoods of God in the different ages, pertaining to the organization of this world, the proposed mediation and atonement of the Son of God, the manifestations and developments of the Melchizedek Priesthood, as the Prophet Joseph has referred to, as well relating to sacrifices in early days as in other matters, the introduction of the Aaronic Priesthood, together with the Ark and the Tabernacle, which we are told were made after the patterns shown unto Moses in the mount-patterns which existed in the heavens; the eternal existence, authority and power of both Priesthoods as connected with God and administering in time and eternity; the attempts of Satan to overthrow the dynasty, power and authority of Jehovah and his complete failure and discomfiture; exhibiting in a panorama all the leading, prominent details of the creation, atonement, redemption, salvation and exaltation of the world and man, the organization of a new heaven and a new earth, and all the purposes of God, His plans and ordinances, manifested through the Priesthood from the first inception of the organization of the world to the final consummation, purification and exaltation of the world and its inhabitants, according to the foreknowledge and determinate counsel of the Almighty.