As a Latter-Day Saint I observe the Word of Wisdom, found in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 89. In that revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord revealed his law of health. Essentially, it is a code of dietary conduct meant to preserve and enhance our “tabernacles of clay”, based on various food and drink consumption. Initially the Lord did not give the Word of Wisdom to the Saints as a commandment, but he wanted us to know that our temporal salvation depends upon our physical and spiritual well-being, and that we will be rewarded for following the strictures contained within its advice. It is clear in these days that use of harmful substances has made it easy to be under the influence of those with evil designs upon the faithful.
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89.5-9?lang=eng#4

Similarly, Judaism also teaches and observes the Kashrut – a body of dietary laws and regulations prescribed for Jews primarily. Kashrut/kosher laws are standards of eating that originated in Torah writings. They discuss what foods are fit/proscribed for human diet. Essentially, kashrut laws take into account many categories outlining which foods can and cannot be eaten, how they are prepared, and the rituals that accompany them. Foods that are not kosher are called treif (trayf) =torn and must be rejected from a diet. Kosher laws are based on spiritual imperatives. The proper observation of these regulations by Jews will insure them against God’s retribution and help to guarantee a life of internal cleanliness and religious piety before Him.
http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm
When I was young, my Yiddishe grandmother and mother kept kosher. We had two sets of dishes, utensils, pots and pans and more. Every Sabbath and holy holidays we used the special set. I well remember the admonitions:
• Certain animals may not be eaten at all. This restriction includes the flesh, organs, eggs and milk of the forbidden animals. Essentially, we may not eat any animal that eats other animals. They are unclean.
• Of the animals that may be eaten, the birds and mammals must be killed in accordance with Jewish law.
• All blood must be drained from the meat or broiled out of it before it is eaten.
• Certain parts of permitted animals may not be eaten.
• Meat (the flesh of birds and mammals) cannot be eaten with dairy. Fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables and grains can be eaten with either meat or dairy. (According to some views, fish may not be eaten with meat).
• Utensils that have come into contact with meat may not be used with dairy, and vice versa. Utensils that have come into contact with non-kosher food may not be used with kosher food. This applies only where the contact occurred while the food was hot.
• Grape products made by non-Jews may not be eaten.
• We may eat any animal with cloven hooves and chews its cud (Lev 11:3, Deut 14:6)
• We may eat anything with fins and scales (Lev 11:9, Deut 14:9). Shellfish are forbidden.
• Forbidden birds other than chicken, geese, ducks and turkeys (Lev 11:13-19, Deut 14:11-18).

• Most winged insects, rodents, reptiles and the like are forbidden according to other scriptures in Leviticus. Of course, any products from these forbidden animals also cannot be eaten.

• The Word of Wisdom is of course a single inspired admonishment. As the writer of the link below states: Instead of arguing from a position of fear, the Word of Wisdom argues from a position of confidence and trust. The revelation invites hearers to trust in a God who has the power to deliver great rewards, spiritual and physical, in return for obedience to divine command. Those who adhere to the Word of Wisdom, the revelation says, shall “receieve health in their navel and marrow to their bones & shall find wisdom & great treasures of wisdom & knowledge even hidden treasures.”26 These lines link body to spirit, elevating care for the body to the level of a religious principle.27

https://history.lds.org/article/doctrine-and-covenants-word-of-wisdom?lang=eng
Pay particular attention to the Word of Wisdom, vs 10. The Lord has told us numerous times in bible verses to find and prepare herbs for healing. “I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Genesis 1:29

There are plants that can be used as food, medicine, tea, skin, hair and dental care and much more! Mormons ignore much use of herbal remedies to my dismay.

With all this inspired teaching I believe the Saints have all they need to heed the words of their God and their Savior to live a life clean of transgressions against their body, mind and spirit, regardless of Jewish or Gentile beliefs. Truth is the eternal denominator of our lives. Cleanliness is closely aligned with godliness…

Handout #4 – Nature of Man, Plan of Salvation, Jewish baptism, Original Sin, early Church, early temples, Jewish view of Garden, Creation scenario, Ebla Tablets, Hebrew Tree of Life Jan 2014
The Book of Moses reveals that mankind is basically good. See Moses 6:54, D&C 93:38. We are born into a world of sin and as we mature, sin conceives in our hearts. Moses 6:55, Ether 3:2, D&C 93:38. We are free agents, knowing good and evil. Moses 6:56. We become carnal,sensual and devilish when we give heed to Satan. Moses 5:13, 6:49. Om a state of sin, we cannot gain salvation or inherit the Kingdom of God. Moses 6:57. We each have the spirit of Christ within us when we are born to save us.
Because of Adam’s fall, it was possible for a person to be born in a world where he could walk by faith. As man grows to the age of accountability, he is influenced by the evils of the world unaided. While Jesus’ atonement unconditionally redeems man from Adam’s fall (Moses 6:54), men and woman are redeemed from their own sins only on condition of repentance and keeping the commandments. That was their hope: Jesus Christ – Yeshua – is the only name whereby mankind can be saved (Moses 6:52). Through obedience to the Gospel, mankind will have eternal life with Heavenly Father. The Plan of redemption was in place before mankind was on the earth.

God made it very clear that we all need to follow the Plan to receive eternal glory (Moses 6:62) What are the fundamental steps?
Hearken to the Lord and exercise faith – believe in Christ and in his saving and cleansing power

Repent of all sin and continually keep mind, body and spirit clean
Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
Become sanctified from sin through temple ordinances and continue to grow in the Gospel

Jewish baptism practice: As religious ablution signifying purification or consecration. The natural method of cleansing the body by washing and bathing in water was always customary in Israel. The washing of their clothes was an important means of sanctification enjoined on the Israelites before the tablets were given to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19: 10). The rabbis connect with this the duty of bathing by complete immersion “ṭebilah,” and since sprinkling with blood was always accompanied by immersion, tradition connects with this immersion the blood lustration mentioned as having also taken place immediately before the Sinai experience (Ex. 24: 8), these three acts being the initiatory rites always performed upon proselytes to Judaism, “to bring them under the wings of the Shekinah – Holy Breath”. (Talmud). The only conception of baptism at variance with Jewish ideas is displayed in the declaration of John, that the one who would come after him would not baptize with water, but with the Holy Ghost (Mark 1: 8; John 1:27). Baptism was practiced in ancient (Ḥasidic or Essene) Judaism, first as a means of penitence, as is learned from the story of Adam and Eve, who, in order to atone for their sin, stood up to the neck in the water, fasting and doing penance—Adam in the Jordan for forty days, Eve in the Tigris for thirty-seven days. (Greek reference).
Jews, like Mormons, do not believe in the concept of Original Sin (Adam’s yielding to temptation in the Garden) or that one person can die as punishment committed by another. They teach no doctrine of “inherited sin”: we are born sin-free and untainted. Regarding Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden because of their yielding to temptation to disobey Father’s mandate and become immortal, Jews realize mankind chooses to sin, bring suffering upon themselves, hence the essential need for repentance and forgiveness from God and from one another. Articles of Faith #1:2: We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
As we study the O.T. and PGP, some will question the nature of the Lord’s church before the dispensation of the meridian of time. Language like: baptism unto repentance, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and gift of the Holy Ghost are missing from ancient scripture. But 1Ne 10:18, D&C 20:12 and Hebrews 13:8 remind us “God is the same yesterday, today and forever”. We have been counseled to study scripture as a whole to understand the Gospel message. Jacob 4:4-5 teaches that all holy prophets prior to his time knew and believed in Christ and worshipped the Father in his name. And Jesus in 3Ne 20:2-4 witnessed that truth. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that the early inhabitants of this earth were as aware of the plan of salvation as those who have been instructed since the time of his coming. We must know that during several thousand years of being conquered vassal states under Egyptian, Assyrian, Islamic, Persian and Roman rule, through upheavals and adjustments, destruction of the Temples and more – Hebrews, Israelites and Jews endured it all with spiritual consequences: lost and destroyed scriptures, scribal omissions to texts, damaged documents, political maneuvering, the centuries-long antagonism between Christian sects and monotheism – it is a wonder the Five Books of Moses were saved! Judaism has failed to comprehend its spiritual roots, purpose and example, centering instead on religious expression.
There are evidences that even in patriarchal days, in the days of Adam there was the equivalent of temples, for the priesthood was held in its fulness, as far as the people needed it; and there is every reason to believe that from Adam to Noah, temple worship was in operation. After the Flood the Holy Priesthood was continued; and we have reason to believe, in sacred places, the ordinances of the temple were given to those entitled to receive them. The Book of Mormon indicates that from about 600 years B. C. until about 35 or 40 years A. D., temples, under the authority of the holy priesthood, were found on this continent. (JAWitdsoe, 1964 address)
The Jewish view of Gan Eden can be viewed as symbolic of man’s fortune in the world: Adam – all of mankind. Garden of Eden – world. Tree of Life – Torah. Serpent – evil inclination. Just as Adam/Eve are in Garden where Tree of Life stands, so man is placed in the world to observe commandments of Torah. Punishment=banishment from Divine approval. Physical death explained: Three partners in creation of a human: father and mother supply physical parts, God supplies the spirit. All Jewish sources explain that after death the soul (spirit, personality) continues to live. In Talmud- commentaries on Gan Eden: Refers to the life of the righteous in Heaven (Olam haba). Main characteristic: The pious who suffered privation on earth now come into their own. The Holy One, Blessed be He, will open the treasures of Gan Eden. Symbolized as a wondrous banquet but the chief joy will be living in the presence of God. “I will walk among you.” (Lev. 26:12) “I will be your God and you shall be my people” (Jer 30:22). “The Holy One, Blessed be He, sits in their midst and expounds the Torah to them” Talmud cite.

Creation scenario: Three scriptual accounts: Genesis 1-2, Moses 2-3, Abrarham 4-5.
Day 1: Earth was without form. God caused darkness in the watery deep. He asked for light and divided light from darkness.
Day 2: Expanse of sky in midst of water. Division of waters above and below the firmament, which was named Heaven. Evening, morning created
Day 3: Waters separated from dry land. Earth grows grass, herbs, fruit tree all after their own kind.
Day 4: Lights in heaven, sensitive to seasons. Created sun, moon and stars to divide light from darkness.
Day 5: Creation of animals, fowl, bugs, all beast of earth, on earth and in the seas and oceans. Animals given agency to multiply their own kind.
Day 6: Creation of mankind and womankind in image of God (and Heavenly Mother). Gave them dominion over all earth and all living things upon it and all clean herbs for health.
Day 7: The Sabbath rest. For comparison with Genesis, see Genesis 1:3-31, Abraham 4:1-31, D&C 101:32-34.

The prophet Joseph Smith taught: Moses was reared in an atmosphere of idolatry. There were numerous deities among the Egyptians. In commencing the work which the Lord said he had for Moses to do, it was necessary to center his mind and faith upon God the Eternal Father as the only Being to worship. (Verses 12-25). God the Eternal Father, stands supreme and alone, and it is in the name of the Only Begotten that we thus approach Him, as Christ taught always. “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; He judgeth among the gods.” (Psalms 82:1.) Jesus quoted this and did not dispute it (John 10:34-6).

The Ebla Tablets: There were correspondences between peoples in the Middle East prior to the Bible’s codification. Some of the earliest were the Ebla Tablets found around 2250 b.c. in today’s Syria. Approximately 20,000 cuneiform plates found in a language not understood, and a sort-of dictionary that helped scholars decipher the Sumerian script. These contained the earliest written account of the Creation. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls a “Genesis Apocryphon” scroll was revealed, 20+ centuries old, containing references to the Creation. On the first of October, 1975, this remarkable discovery was made near an obscure village in northern Syria called Tell Mardikh, the site of the ancient city of Ebla. These clay tablets and fragments had lain undisturbed for 4500 years. A preliminary reading of batches of tablets established beyond question that this was the archive of the royal palace of ancient Ebla. It consisted mainly of the economic accounts (covering trade and tribute) of the rulers of the city-state during a period of perhaps a hundred to a hundred and fifty years in the middle of the third millennium B.C.
“Of particular interest are the names of places and persons. We find an extensive area of overlap between the Ebla tablets and the biblical text (of Torah). Among the many personal names in both the Bible and the tablets are the following: Abram, David, Esau, Ishmael, Israel, Micaiah, Michael, and Saul. We have normalized the spelling of these names to conform to the biblical pattern, but the spelling in Eblaite is so close in all cases that there can be no question of the identity of the names. … Such occurrences point back to a common basis in language and culture for the ancestors of the Israelites and the people of Ebla.
… the Bible, while not mentioning Ebla, does point to this region as the fatherland of the Israelites. The patriarchs came to Canaan from Haran, where elements of their kinship group continued to live long after Abraham and his family had departed…Haran is not very far away from Ebla, and is often mentioned in the Ebla texts… Ebla draws from the common pool of terms, names, and traditions which was shared by the biblical people.
Place names are of great significance, especially since Ebla, being west of the Euphrates, was oriented mainly toward the west and south, and therefore its trade and other concerns overlapped heavily with the biblical territory. Many names of places in Syria and Palestine are the same as those mentioned in the Bible. Often the cities in the Ebla texts are mentioned as the receivers of shipments of goods from Ebla… One tablet that was found contained the names of the five cities of the plain… They are mentioned together as a five-city league in only one chapter in the Bible—Genesis 14. Now, from a mathematical point of view, to have the same five names in the same order is remarkable.” (That chapter details the capture of Lot in the battles of kings Sodom and Gomorrah, the great teacher Melchizedek administering sacrament and Abram paying tithes to Melchizedek.)
“It means there is some relationship yet to be defined between the list in Genesis 14 and the list on the Ebla tablet… The destruction of cities was a most common phenomenon in Ancient Near East… Cities that were most important to history of Israel and Judah, see 2 Kings 17.” David Noel Freedman, “The Ebla Tablets and the Abraham Tradition,” in Reflections on Mormonism: Judeo-Christian Parallels, ed. Truman G. Madsen (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1976. Also: http://www.icr.org/article/92/

The Hebrew Tree of Life – The Tree is mentioned ten times in scripture, beginning in Gen 2:9, 3:22-4, as the center of Paradise. In Proverbs it is a metaphor for the life of wisdom. Traditional Judaism identifies the study of the O.T. as the Tree of Life. The figure below is the layout of the processes by which, in Hebrew thought, our universe came into being: Limitless light, wisdom, understanding (a feminine energy), kindness (loving grace of service), severity (strength, judgment, awe of God), beauty (symmetry and balance), eternity, splendor (surrender sincerity), foundation (memory, coherent knowledge of all things), the Kingship=Messiah. These energy forces accomplish the Divine Plan of God. Proverbs 11:30: The fruit of righteousness is the tree of life. Book of Mormon: The Tree of Life represents God’s love- 1Ne 8:2, 10 as a symbol of spiritual nourishment and salvation. Has critical elements found in Old World cultures. (For deeper investigation in Hebrew symbol of the Tree, email Marlena) See: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/06/the-tree-of-life-in-ancient-cultures?lang=eng Wilfred Griggs: Book of Mormon.

By Marlena Tanya Muchnick-Baker: www. marlenatanya@gmail.com 206-335-9339 Renton Stake, WA. May Creek ward. Please visit my blogs: http://judaicaworld.wordpress.com, http://mormonsandjews.net, http://judaicaworld.blogspot.com for more posts and articles. Forward these posts to others to enjoy and give out at your Sunday school meetings. To request specific information on Judaism and/or research you would like done, email Marlena anytime. For firesides, classes other info: www.jewishconvert-lds.com.

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Torah is made up of five books that were given to Moses directly from God after the Exodus from Egypt = Mitzrayim (misery). Torah was handed down through the successive generations from the time of Moses. Also called the Pentateuch = Greek for “five scrolls”. Torah means “teaching”.

Five books of Torah Include the creation of the earth and the first humans, the Great Flood and the covenant with the gentiles, the Hebrew enslavement and Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, giving of the Torah, renewal of Covenant given to Avraham, establishment of the festivals, wandering through the desert, the Mishkan (tabernacle), Ark, and priestly duties, and the death of Moses = Moischeh. The original covenants made between the early prophets and God originated in Torah and are traceable to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Book of Mormon and all other LDS scripture speaks of the restoration of eternal covenants between Heavenly Father and mankind.

Note: Some LDS bibles include the JST of the Old and New Testament, following the Bible Index and Dictionary.
LDS quads include Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Book of Moses selections, considered a part of the JST, The Pearl of Great Price – Abraham, JST Matthew, Joseph Smith History – and the Articles of Faith.
• Books: Bəreshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית‏, literally “In the beginning”) Genesis,
• Shemot (שְׁמוֹת, literally “Names”) Exodus,
• Vayikra (וַיִּקְרָא, literally “And He called”) Leviticus,
• Bemidbar (בְּמִדְבַּר‎, literally “In the desert [of]”) Numbers
• Devarim (דְּבָרִים, literally “Things” or “Words”) Deuteronomy, “Second-Law”)

The Nevi’im covers the time period from the death of Moses through the Babylonian exile and contains 19 books. Includes the time of the Hebrews entering Eretz Yisrael (land of Israel), the conquest of Jericho, the conquest of Eretz Yisrael and its division among the tribes, the judicial system, Era of Saul and David, Solomon’s wisdom and the construction of the First (Beit HaMikdash – house of the sanctuary) kings of Israel and Judah, prophecy, messianic prophecies, and the Babylonian exile.

The Ketuvim covers the period after the return from the Babylonian exile and contains 11 books. The Ketuvim is made up of various writings that do not have an overall theme. This section of the Tanakh includes poems and songs, the stories of Ruth, and Ester, the writings and prophecies of Daniel, and the history of the kings of Israel and Judah.

The Tanakh is also called Miqra (meaning “reading” or “that which is read”). During the Second Temple Period”, Tanakh was not used as a word or term. Instead, the proper title was Miqra, because the biblical texts were read publicly. Miqra continues to be used in Hebrew to this day alongside Tanakh to refer to the Hebrew scriptures. In modern spoken Hebrew both are used interchangeably.
http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Heb-Xn-Bibles.htm This link outlines the various biblical arrangements.

Handout #3 The Levant, Gan Eden, Ish/Ishah, Avraham, Israel, Jewish People January 2014
The Levant (to rise – also “country where the sun rises”): Light shaded areas. A geological region encompassing the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea from roughly the Isthmus of Suez to the Taurus Mountains, including present day Israel, Lebanon, western Jordan, the Sinai in Egypt and part of Syria. About 75,000 square miles. Ecologically diverse.

Until the time of the Israelite conquest under Joshua, the southern part of the Levant, often called Palestine, was known as the land of Canaan. The Hebrew Scriptures refer to the people occupying the land as the Canaanites. With the conquest it became, along with other conquered territories, the land of Israel (eretz Israel). From “Dan to Beersheba,” the usual the way of describing Palestine and for most periods the limits of settlement, is about 150 miles. After AD 132 the Romans renamed the region Palestina. Aware of Jewish history, the Romans chose to name the land after Israel’s most bitter enemy, the Philistines, to humiliate their vanquished Jewish subjects. The Romans made the point, after Jewish zealots rebelled twice against Roman authority, that this region was no longer eretz Israel but rather Roman turf. The word Palestine comes from the Latin Palestina meaning “land of the Philistines.” Israel and Judah were related Iron Age (1200 BC – 539 BC). The Judean kingdom ended in 63 BC in the conquest of Rome. Jewish Revolt by Israel due to civil trouble ended in destruction of Second Temple, emergence of Rabbinical Judaism and Christianity and eventual conquest by Roman and Byzantine empires, and the Arab conquest of 7th century AD. Jews and Arabs lived together with relative cordiality for several hundred years. There has been a Jewish presence in Arab-Muslim countries since before Islam was introduced in the sixth century BC. (Authoritative book: Abraham Divided by Daniel C. Petersen.)
Garden of Eden (Gan Eden) the biblical garden of God. (Genesis 2, 3 and Ezekiel, Zechariah and Psalms) According to Jewish eschatology (concerned with the end of days) in the Talmud (six orders of instruction in living, commentaries on the books of Moses) it is called “Garden of Righteousness” which will appear gloriously and celestial at end of time. The righteous will see the throne of God at that time. Each person will walk with God who will lead them in a dance. Moses 3:8 tells us God planted a garden in Eden and placed His human creations in it. Before they were mortal, they were spiritual only. There, in that perfect place He gave, not loaned, moral agency, and instructed Adam and Eve in the consequences of their choices. (2Ne 2:14-16) He let them be tempted together and let them work out their salvation through their faith in Him and their trust of one another. In His wisdom, Heavenly Father distinguished Himself from His creations, but remained spiritually bound to them as their eternal Father and spiritual Home.
Moses met the Lord in the Garden. He told Moses about the man He formed there (Moses 3:8). In Hebrew the root is “ish” (אישׁ). It has many nuances, including husband and mankind. The first theological consideration is that man is distinguished from God. The relationship between Heavenly Father and mankind and the differentiation of human nature from God is determined by God’s creation of man and by the Old Testament belief that all human nature is in His Hand and He is the breath of all created things (Job 12:10). See: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/06/the-tree-of-life-in-ancient-cultures?lang=eng:- Wilfred Griggs – Book of Mormon.
Ish – meaning husband – is in a parallel to baal – owner, lord – the man of the household and of all things earthly. In the Genesis narrative the creation of male and female emphasizes that mankind is not related to animals – man has a God-given need for a partner of his own kind. Everything that perverts such a relationship is offensive to God.
In the Hebrew Bible (The woman/wife = (אהשׁ)”ishhah” contrasts with man – she is smooth whereas he is rough shaven. Physical and spiritual qualities are emphasized by the differences between the sexes. God has brought the woman to her husband, to establish a blood relationship signifying they are of the same nature, indicating their position in creation. Moses in Genesis emphasized the identity of the nature of and the equality of man and woman. Their relationship extends beyond sex. It extends back to the Father. It is not until after the Fall that the woman receives her name – Eve. (Gen. 3:20) after establishing that there is a fellow creature for adham – man – named Adam. Her name is inherent in his. They are symbolically the same flesh. Without the woman/wife at his elbow, Adam cannot be whole. God is responsible for establishing marriage. Before God and in the presence of the woman, the man acknowledges the equality of the partnership between ish and ishah and makes a covenant with her “berit elohim” – a covenant of God and calls her his wife (Gen 2:24 and Ezek 16:8) which indicates that monogamy is the foundation of the human race. She becomes the wife of his bosom (Deut 28:54, his esheth cheqo). She is placed under her husband’s authority. They are equal before God ( but not socially in this world). Two souls sealed in Christ = One flesh. See The Family: A Proclamation To The World:
WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children… HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. WE DECLARE the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.
The great patriarch Abraham (Hebrew, אברהמ-Avraham-father of a multitude). His original name was Abram, exalted father. See D&C 132:29,37. Numerous meanings in O.T.: grandfather-Gen 28:13, founding father-1Kings 15:11, others, forefather, counselor, wise teacher. Semitic language originally referred to a distinction between generations, not people. Since Israel was one of the Semitic nomadic peoples, her social life was more closely knit together than that of the city culture of the ancient Near East, and tribal fellowship was most important. The father is the center from which strength and will emanate. Remember 1Ne 8:12.
The insertion of an “h” in the name (also the addition of an “h” to Sarai = Sarah, his wife) is a marker to show the initiation of the covenant made with God and a connection with generations to come. He was the founder of the Jewish nation, the founding patriarch of the Israelites, Ishmaelites, Edomites, and the Midianites and kindred peoples. But he was neither Israelite nor Jew: The name “Jew” comes from the name “Judah” who was a great-grandson of Abraham. Israelites were the descendants of Israel and God gave that name first to Jacob, Abraham’s grandson. Also, Romans 4:11-12 tells us Abraham received circumcision later in life. All those baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are essentially Israelites, born of the tribal families and heritage of ancient Israel. We want to study the O.T. as an essential part of our understanding of and appreciation of our religious heritage.
Israel – יִשְׂרָאֵל – “ivri” – to pass over – the people across the river –Also: God contended, God Strives or El (God) Persisteth. Represents the action of struggling with God- related to the story of Jacob wrestling with the Angel (Gen 35:1-7).Synonymous with Semitic Israelites, especially when they were nomadic. In the Old Testament, Israel (who was formerly named Jacob – Genesis 32:28) wrestles with an angel. The ancient and modern states of Israel took their names from him, so Jacob’s
(Ya a cov) descendants are Israelites, eventually forming the kingdom of Israel! Remember the 10th Article of Faith: We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
Historian Paul Johnson writes of the Jewish people:
They were the first to create consequential, substantial and interpretive history. They knew they were a special people who had not simply evolved from an unrecorded past but had been brought into existence, for certain definite purposes, by a specific series of divine acts. They saw it as their collective business to determine, record, comment and reflect upon these acts. No other people have ever shown, particularly at that remote time, so strong a compulsion to explore their origins… The Jews wanted to know about themselves and their destiny…. about God and His intentions and wishes. (in History of the Jews)

Timeline of Ancient Near Eastern Events
Influential to Hebrew Writings

• 10000 BC
Beginnings of agriculture in the Middle East. Mesopotamia – 2100 – 1900 b.c., possible exodus route for Abram’ family
• 7700 BC Time of Abraham = around 2000 b.c. (Gen 11-25)
First domesticated wheats in the Fertile Crescent. Israelites in Canaan-tribal, monarchic periods-15-16th centuries b.c.
• 7000 BC Dates of Exodus from Egypt- began around 1370 b.c. (1Kgs 6:1, 1 Chr 6:33-37)
Domestication of goats. Estimated birth of Moses – 1393 b.c.? (7th of Adar. Lived 120 yrs)
• 6500 BC Settlement of Israelites in Canaan – around 1200 b.c
Dead Sea Scrolls – First Temple Period – 960-586 b.c.
First pottery in the Near East. Assyrians destroy kingdom of Israel, later Judah 722 b.c.
• 5000 BC Babylonians conquer Judah – 598-586 b.c.
Irrigation and agriculture begin in earnest in Mesopotamia. Babylonians destroy Temple from time of Ezra – 444 b.c. – 397 b.c.
• 853 BC Alexander in Greece, Seleucids – 336 b.c. – 312 b.c.
Babylonian kings depend on Assyrian military support. Christian persecutions – Vespasian – 60 – 64 b.c.
• 850 BC Massacre at Masada – a.d. 73
Medes migrate into Iran from Asia. Fall of Jerusalem to Rome – a.d. 70 Rabbinic rule – Talmud development – 70 b.c. – a.d. 500
• 750 BC Arabs, Islam, Persian influence – a.d. 632 – 570
Persians migrate into Iran from Asia. Spanish Visigoth invasion – Massacre of Sephardic Jews – 5th century
• 750 BC – 705 BC British persecution of Jews relating to “blood libel” – 12th century
Peak of the Assyrian empire. Spanish Inquisition- baptism or death. Expelled from Spain – 14th-15th century
• 734 BC Ottoman Empire-Turks overrule Islamic Jews – World War 1
Babylon is captured by Chaldeans. British Mandate in Jerusalem – 1920
• 729 BC Russian Purges in Poland, Russia – 1935-40
Babylon is occupied by Assyrians. German 3rd Reich – Hitler – Millions of Jews murdered -1940-44
Arab-Palestinian wars – 1970s
State of Israel – May 1948 –Only country with a national religion
Prophets revealed the Tanakh over a 1000-year period. From the books of Moses – revealed about 1400 B.C. to the book of Malachi revealed about 425 B.C. The Hebrew Bible has been preserved and transmitted by Jewish scribes, in Babylon and Palestine; these scribes in Palestine were known as the Masorites. The manuscript source for the King James Bible is the Masoretic Text, as copied from the St. Petersburg Manuscript dated about 916 A.D.
When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, a portion of every book of the Tanakh was found, except for the book of Ester, including two complete versions of the book of Isaiah. When compared to the oldest existing Masoretic manuscripts, the much older Dead Sea scrolls, dated from 100-200 B.C., demonstrated a virtually flawless manuscript transmission over the eleven hundred-years, which separated the two copies.

These facts indicate that Heavenly Father preserved the scriptures for these latter days. Though all the events of history in that region, these books were preserved. However, many changes and omissions were made through the centuries, so the text that was finally codified is lacking in some of the essential teachings of Christ. One more reason for the LDS church to finally restore true scriptures, ordinances and temples.
By Marlena Tanya Muchnick-Baker: www. marlenatanya@gmail.com 206-335-9338 Renton Stake, WA. May Creek ward. Please visit my blogs: http://judaicaworld.wordpress.com, http://mormonsandjews.net, http://judaicaworld.blogspot.com for more posts and articles. Forward these posts to others to enjoy and give out at your Sunday school meetings. To request specific information on Judaism and/or research you would like done, email Marlena anytime. For firesides, classes other info: www.jewishconvert-lds.com.

The post Tanakh versus Old Testament and LDS Bible arrangements appeared first on Judah and Joseph: Scepter and Birthright.

In the Second Edition of the Pearl – 1878, (the first edition was printed in 1851), edited and rearranged by Elder Orson Pratt, then Church Historian, numerous differences in the text of the Moses material were rearranged to be chronological corresponding to the order in which it is found in Genesis and also in the printed Inspired Version  They were accepted by the general conference, Oct. 10, 1880. (Robert J. Matthews, Joseph Smith’s Translation of the Bible). The O.T.’s Genesis has the same sequence of events.

As we study the Hebrew Bible (in King James translation), we learn how our experiences gradually change us and affect all our decisions throughout our mortal lives. Evolution of the human spirit is slow and gradual, but ultimately will be positive if we can grow living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Moses 6:62)

The kingdom of God in this world is the supreme desire to do the will of God and an unselfish love of others. We enter the kingdom by faith, repentance, sincerity, trust in the Father, open-mindedness, hunger for truth, and the desire to find God and be like Him. Acceptance of God’s forgiveness creates a path that ensures the continuing progress of children of God toward righteousness. Heavenly Father loves us, His children. See 1John 3:6-8. The Father told Moses (Moses 1:26)

And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days; for thou shall deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen.

The term, “kingdom of heaven” was one that had many meanings in Jesus’ era. Jews thought of the kingdom as the Jewish community; gentiles thought of it as a church.  Jews thought the kingdom would mark the coming of the Messiah who was to establish Jewish power on earth. Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven centered in the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. He taught the apostles to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done.”  Christ will return to earth in glory and establish the literal Kingdom of God on this earth (Rev 11:15, Matt 6:33).

As Moses encounters our Lord in the wilderness, he is given a report of Creation (Moses 2). Moses can only refer to his small knowledge of mortal things. He is, as we are, hampered by the limitations of mortal language, his mortal mind, his inability to grasp an eternal viewpoint, the development of the universes, what is really meant by pre-existent or post-mortal life.

The root word for man is adhamah. Hebrew: אדמה, to be red. This also refers also to the noun and concept of “land”.  The word occurs 221 times in the O.T. As a substance it forms cohesive earth, productive, to be cultivated by man. It is distinguished from wilderness in its arability. It is the dwelling place of man and the domain in which animals live. In the Fall, life and destiny connect mankind with the land – cursed because of man’s sin (Gen. 3:17-19) and he is alienated from the elementary base of his existence. The land loses its original fertility. But God swore (Num 11:12, 32:11, others) that He would give them land as their base.

In another view anciently, adhamah is the dry earth used for making an altar (Ex 20:24), so it can be regarded as holy ground. YHVH (God) is asked to bless the ground along with strict obedience to the law and guarantee the reward for labor. His people lost the land when carried into exile, but He will return the land to the Israelites if they obey His commands. Then he will give them menuchah (peace) on their land. Their allegiance to God and His Son will guarantee the promise of adhamah forever to Israel.

2Ne 29:14 tells us …my people, which are of the house of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the lands of their possessions … I am God, and … I covenanted with Abraham that I would remember his seed forever. The Hebrew root for a covenant is berit or b’rith,  בךית. Our God is a covenant-keeping God. In one definition it reflects the ceremony performed when concluding the ceremony. Originally, the word implied a liability or obligation, a bond or oath of allegiance. Other words that relate are testimony and oath. Concluding a covenant is called in Hebrew karath berith, “to cut a covenant or oath” and denotes a superior prescribing terns to an inferior, granting rights and privileges. These commitments must be made with the whole full heart (2Kgs 23:3). Breaking covenants, hephar berith, means to transgress against, to forsake and be faithless. In addition to the Abrahamic covenant which binds the Jewish people and those who are adopted into that promise – to be recipients of God’s purposes and election.

The Israelites, those who traveled to Canaan in the Exodus were given the essential commandments of God and asked to covenant with Him to keep His word and His ways. Their faith was severely tested and they often failed, but they learned to understand the spirit of the commandments in their trials. God endeavored through his prophets to teach the Israelites the cardinal principles of the Kingdom of Heaven:

1. True righteousness comes from within the individual – a personal religion of respect for all
2. The individual is pre-eminent and his/her will determines the experiences that will unfold (D&C 84:46)
3. We should seek spiritual fellowship with our Maker, God the Father, and serving mankind. Those who walk in the light receive the love of Christ and enjoy fellowship with the children of God. (Psalms 56:13, 89:15, Isaiah 2:5, John 8:2)
4. Those who walk in the light receive the love of Christ and enjoy fellowship with the children of God. (1John 1:7)
5. We should strive for the transcendency of the spiritual life over the material life to find personal fulfillment, because the Spirit of Christ, which is given to every person who comes into the world, “shall not always strive with man. (D&C 1:33).

These are the major covenants.

(a) Conditional

A covenant which guarantees that God will do His part when the human requirements stipulated in that covenant are met.

(B) Unconditional

Distinguished from a conditional covenant by the fact that its ultimate fulfillment is promised by God and depends upon God’s power and sovereignty for its fulfillment.

The EDENIC covenant (conditional), Gen. 1:26-31;2:16-17

Made with Adam in which life and blessing or death and cursing depended on the faithfulness of Adam. Adam and Eve failed, died spiritually and physically and their sin plunged the whole human race into its pattern of sin and death.

2. The ADAMIC covenant (unconditional), Gen. 3:16-19

Here God declares to man, after the fall, what his lot in life will be because of his sin. It includes the promise of the Redeemer.

3. The NOAHIC covenant (unconditional), Gen 9:1-18

Made with Noah and his sons after the flood, introducing human government to curb sin, the normal order of nature reaffirmed (Gen. 8:22; 9:2) and the permission for man to eat the flesh of animals. Also His promise never to destroy all flesh again by water.

4. The ABRAHAMIC covenant (unconditional), Gen. 12:1-4;13:14-17; 15:1-7; 17:1-8

This covenant is one of the great revelations of God concerning future history. Abraham would have numerous posterity, personal blessing, his name would be great, and he, personally, would be a blessing. Through Abraham would come a great nation (Israel) and through him (via that nation) all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Messiah). Through Abraham’s descendents (the Jews) came the prophets of God, the writers of God’s written Word (the Bible) and Christ/Messiah according to the flesh.

5. The MOSAIC covenant (conditional), Ex. 20:1 – 31:18

It is contained in Exodus but amplified in many other portions of Scripture. It was given through Moses as its mediator for the purpose of governing Israel’s (national) relationship with God. It was mainly made up of (a) the commandments, the express will of God, (b) the judgments, the social and civic life of Israel, (c) and the ordinances. It was temporary and would terminate at the cross of Christ. Though it had gracious elements it was basically a covenant of works. It could not impart life to the sinner in Adam (Gal. 3:21) but it served as a tutor which would lead those who were under its jurisdiction to the only One who could impart LIFE (Christ Jesus, Gal. 3:24).

6. The LAND covenant (unconditional), Deut. 30:1-10

It is erroneously called by theologians the “Palestinian Covenant.” However, the Bible does not recognize the land by that name. It is the land of Israel because it was divinely covenanted to Abraham’s descendents through Jacob (Israel). It is an unconditional promise regarding Israel’s final possession of their ancient land.

The DAVIDIC covenant (unconditional), 2Sam. 7:4-16; 1Chron. 17:3-15 God promised David an unending, royal lineage, throne, and kingdom. Though God reserved the right to interrupt the actual reign of David’s sons for chastisement, the perpetuity of the covenant cannot be broken. The Abrahamic covenant guaranteed the nation and the land. The Davidic covenant guarantees an everlasting Throne, King and Kingdom connected to that people (the Jews) and the land. Jesus Christ, the Son of David, is the rightful heir of this promised Throne (Matt. 2:2; Lk. 1:32-33) and on it He will reign over this literal, promised, earthly, future Messianic Kingdom from Jerusalem at His second advent.

The New and Everlasting Covenant (unconditional) Jer 31:31-40  is a new covenant with Israel in contrast with the old (Mosaic, “which they broke,” Jer. 31:32). Christ Jesus is the Mediator (in His blood) of this new covenant which was inaugurated at the cross and is described in Scripture as, “enacted on better promises” (Heb. 8:6). The Mediator of this covenant has become, for all mankind, “the source of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9) to all who obey Him; as well as the cornerstone and Head of the Church (Eph. 2:20-22; Col. 1:18; Eph. 5:23) which is being built during this dispensation; individuals called out from both Jews and Gentiles alike. Ultimately and literally, this new covenant with its unconditional and eternal blessings will be established with NATIONAL Israel at Christ’s Second Coming to earth.  (Jer 31:31-33, Matt 26:28), Mark 14:24), Luke 22:20), others.

The Covenant of Circumcision – (Unconditional) Gen 17:11-13  Token of the Covenant and everlasting. The promise of a kingdom of 12 tribes (Gen 17:20). Ephraim “fruitful”. It is the birthright tribe (family). Judah ‘praise” is the scepter tribe. Heavenly Father wants these two parts of His kingdom to unite in brotherhood and works before the arrival of our Savior. Ephraim has the priesthood and the Savior, whereas Judah is protector of the faith, the temple, the people, the avenger and warrior. But without Ephraim, Judah is a sword of undirected energy!

Websites to research: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Israel – Israelites.  www.judaism.about.com – Brit Milah-circumcision. Also see www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/circumcision.html  

We are heirs to the blessings and responsibilities of the Abrahamic covenant. • As the seed of Abraham, Church members are heirs to the blessings and responsibilities of the Abrahamic covenant. How do we become heirs to this covenant? (When we are baptized into the Church, the Abrahamic covenant’s promise of salvation is renewed with us. When we are sealed in the temple, the Abrahamic covenant’s promise of exaltation is renewed with us. To receive the blessings of the covenant, we must fulfill the associated responsibilities and live worthily.)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained: “Abraham first received the gospel by baptism (which is the covenant of salvation); then he had conferred upon him the higher priesthood, and he entered into celestial marriage (which is the covenant of exaltation), gaining assurance thereby that he would have eternal increase; finally he received a promise that all of these blessings would be offered to all of his mortal posterity. (Abra. Abraham 2:6–11; D. & C. D&C 132:29–50.) Included in the divine promises to Abraham was the assurance that Christ would come through his lineage, and the assurance that Abraham’s posterity would receive certain choice, promised lands as an eternal inheritance. (Abra. Abraham 2; Gen. Genesis 17; 22:15–18; Gal. Galatians 3.)

By Marlena Tanya Muchnick-Baker:  marlenatanya@gmail.com   206-335-9338.   Renton Stake, WA.  May Creek ward.  Please visit my blogs: http://judaicaworld.wordpress.com, http://mormonsandjews.net,  http://judaicaworld.blogspot.com for more posts and articles. Forward these posts to others to enjoy and give out at your Sunday school meetings. To request specific information on Judaism and/or research you would like done, email Marlena anytime. For firesides, classes other info: www.jewishconvert-lds.com.  Tell your Sunday School teacher about these blogs as a teaching help.

The post Handout #2 – Pearl of Great Price – Moses. Kingdom of Heaven , Israelite Covenants, Adhamah, Abrahamic Covenant appeared first on Judah and Joseph: Scepter and Birthright.

The  earliest civilizations in history were established in the region now known as the Middle East around 3500 b.c. by the Sumerians, in Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Sumerians and the Akkadians – later Babylonians-  all flourished in this region.  It begins with the rise of Sumerin the 4th millennium BC covering the Bronze Age (from 3300 b.c. – 1200 b.c.) and the Iron Age (1200 b.c. – 539 b.c.) in the region, until the conquest by the  First Persian Empire (600 b.c. by Cyrus the Great)  or Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.

The ancient Near East is considered the cradle of civilization. It was the first to practice intensive year-round agriculture, it gave the rest of the world the first writing system, invented the potter’s wheel and then the vehicular- and millwheel, created the first centralized governments, law codes and empires, as well as introducing social stratification, slavery and organized warfare, and it laid the foundation for the fields of astronomy and mathematics.

Moses (Hebrew: Mosheh – drawn out or he who draws out, in the sense of deliverer).  Also called Moshe Rabbenu – “Moses our Teacher/Rabbi”), he is the most important prophet in Judaism; he is also an important prophet in Christianity and Islam, as well as a number of other faiths. Rabbinical Judaism calculated a lifespan of Moses corresponding to 1391–1271 BC. But possibly 1592 as his birth year, around the Middle Bronze Age that included early Babylonia and the middle period of the Egyptian Kingdom. His death at 120 is recorded Deut. 34:7. This predates the kingdoms of Israel and Judah which were important powers around 800 b.c.

In the Hebrew Bible, the narratives of Moses are in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses was a son of Amram, a member of the Levite tribe of Israel descended from Jacob, and his wife, Jochebed. She  (Hebrew:  Yocheved: Yahveh is glory) was  of the royal family in Egypt and was kin to Amram’s father Kehath (Exodus 6:20). Moses had one older (by seven years) sister, Miriam, and one older (by three years) brother, Aaron. According to Genesis 46:11, Amram’s father Kehath immigrated to Egypt with 70 of Jacob’s household, making Moses part of the second generation of Israelites born during their time in Egypt. He elected to cast his lot with the people of his father and we learn that he was interested in freeing them from their captors.

Moses was thus the human instrument in the creation of the nation of Israel by communicating to it the Torah.  More humble than any other man (Num. 12:3), he enjoyed unique privileges, for “there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom YHWH knew face to face” (Deut. 34:10).  See also Jude 1:9 and Zechariah 3.

In Josephus’ (37 – c. 100 AD) Antiquities of the Jews, Moses is mentioned throughout. For example Book 8, chapter 4 describes Solomon’s Temple, also known as the First Temple, at the time the Ark of the Covenant was first moved into the newly built temple:  When King Solomon had finished these works, these large and beautiful buildings, and had laid up his donations in the temple, and all this in the interval of seven years, and had given a demonstration of his riches and alacrity therein;  he also wrote to the rulers and elders of the Hebrews, and ordered all the people to gather themselves together to Jerusalem, both to see the temple which he had built, and to remove the ark of God into it; and when this invitation of the whole body of the people to come to Jerusalem was everywhere carried abroad, … The Feast of Tabernacles happened to fall at the same time, which was kept by the Hebrews as a most holy and most eminent feast. So they carried the ark and the tabernacle which Moses had pitched, and all the vessels that were for ministration to the sacrifices of God, and removed them to the temple… Now the ark contained nothing else but those two tables of stone that preserved the ten commandments, which God spake to Moses in Mount Sinai, and which were engraved upon them..

Josephus  attaches particular significance to Moses’ possession of the “cardinal virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.” He also includes piety as an added fifth virtue. In addition, he “stresses Moses’ willingness to undergo toil and his careful avoidance of bribery. Like Plato’s philosopher-king, Moses excels as an educator.”

From Moses to John the Baptist there extended an unbroken line of faithful teachers who passed the monotheistic torch of light from one generation to another while they unceasingly rebuked unscrupulous rulers and ever exhorted the people to adhere to the worship of the supreme YHVH (Hebrew name of God – the Tetragrammaton = 4 letters).  Similar to YHWH – the W was eventually absorbed into Hebrew, replaced by the V. The text derives Yahweh (יהוה) from the Hebrew word hayah (אהיה), meaning he who is he, or  I AM THAT I AM = the uncreated Creator.

Moses was an extraordinary combination of military leader, social organizer and religious teacher until the time of Jesus. Because the Hebrews had no written language at the time of the Exodus, little has been brought forward. He had a great vision of God and taught the Hebrews that if they would obey God, He will love, bless, multiply you and the fruit of your womb and your land. He forbade the making of images. There is little of the mercy of God shown in these times in scripture. The Hebrews learned of God as the Almighty, the God of battles, glorious in power, He who hardened Pharaoh’s heart and cursed the enemies of the Israelites. But the children of Israel slowly learned to trust the God who spoke to Moses from Mt. Horeb more than other tribal gods which for centuries earlier they had been taught to worship by the Egyptians, Sumerians, Persians.

Remember the First Commandment: Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. (Ex 20:3, Deut 5:7) This commandment establishes the exclusive nature of the relationship between the nation of Israel and its national god, Yahweh the god of Israel, a covenant initiated by YHVH after delivering the Israelites from slavery through the plagues of Egypt and the Exodus.

The burning bush is an object described by the Book of Exodus (Ex 3:1-22)] as being located on Mount Horeb; according to the narrative, the bush was on fire, but was not consumed by the flames, hence the name. In the narrative, the burning bush is the location at which Moses was appointed by Yahweh (God) to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into Canaan.

As a powerful religious symbol, the burning bush represents many things to Jews and Christians such as God’s miraculous energy, sacred light, illumination, and the burning heart of purity, love and clarity. From a human standpoint, it also represents Moses’ reverence and fear before the divine presence. The Hebrew word used in the narrative, that is translated into English as bush, is seneh, which refers in particular to brambles. When challenged on his identity, Yahweh replies that he is the God of the Patriarchs – Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob and that he is Yahweh.

The Jews have no conception of Holy Ghost – they are a visual people. The Burning Bush episode is accepted as a sign of God’s presence – called the Ruach ha Kodesh – the Holy One, blessed be He. The basic meaning of ruach is both ‘wind’ or ‘breath,’ but neither is understood as essence; rather it is the power encountered in the breath and the wind, whose whence and whither remains mysterious. Ruach as a designation for the wind is necessarily something found in motion with the power to set other things in motion…  Not a presence or a person, but  the carried life force of God.  Other Hebrew names for the Holy Ghost:

Comforter, Eternal Spirit, Holy Spirit of Promise, spirit of Adonai (God), Spirit of Revelation, Spirit of the Living God, Spirit of the Messiah, Spirit of the Truth, Spirit of Wisdom, Spirit of Yeshua our Messiah, Spirit of YHVH.

“Hebrews are the children of Israel; the twelve-tribe confederation – the descendants of Abraham. All Jews are Hebrews, but not all Hebrews are Jews. Initially, Jews are those tribal factions of Judah and Benjamin [and a smattering of Levitical Priests] who nationalized themselves, during the Divided Monarchy, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, as “The Yehudim” [the Jews], while the ten tribal factions of Israel which seceded from the twelve, and resided in and about Samaria, retained their Hebrew identities until their dissolution in the Syro-Ephraimite conflicts of 735-721 B.C.E. and the Assyrian Diaspora.”

By Marlena Tanya Muchnick-Baker   marlenatanya@gmail.com   206-335-9338

www.mormonsandjews.net

www,mormonsandjews.org

See diagram next page.

lass.

The post Handout #1 – Ancient Near East, Times of Moses, Yocheved, YHVH, Josephus, Hayah, Israel Jan 2014, 2018, appeared first on Judah and Joseph: Scepter and Birthright.

The Jews in Jerusalem had become very influential. They were
intimately involved with organizing trade in the Mediterranean
world, as many routes passed through Palestine toward the seaports
to the east. Many prosperous Jews became citizens of an everexpanding Greco-Roman worldly outlook as well. Their court, the
Sanhedrin (formerly Council of Elders), was entrenched there with its
chief priests and scribes (See Luke 22:66) and recognized as legitimate by the Romans who tolerated their religious ceremonies.3 They were recognized in matters of law which did not directly affect Roman interests, and as such it had no power to carry out sentences of death.

By Jesus’ time, the first century of the new era, the city of Jerusalem had grown in size to about three miles in circumference. The emperor Titus built a wall around the three million inhabitants it housed.Perhaps the most famous Roman governor of Judea was Augustus
Caesar (31 b.C. – a.d. 14), an energetic ruler who demanded order in
his government. He worked for financial reform while including
careful registration of persons of each conquered town or city,
according to their ancestral birthplace. Augustus was essentially
concerned with power. He was always suspect of other powers
arising in that area that would challenge Rome’s further expansion.
Palestine was therefore allowed to be only a semi-independent state
within a gentile dictatorship full of military sites.

Indications of the Roman presence were everywhere, especially near Jewish places of worship. Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator in Judea who later would give up Jesus to be crucified, is rumored to have built his palace near the Jewish Temple.Herod the Great ruled Judea for a time (Josephus estimates 34 years until his death in 4 b.C.)4 as successor to the throne of his father Antipater. Herod was a prodigious builder, but also a murderer.

His wife and children suffered death at his possessive and jealous
hand. After the death of Herod during Jesus’ childhood, Palestine
was divided thrice into areas governed by Herod’s sons, Philip
(areas northeast of Galilee), Antipas (Galilee and Perea) and Pontius
Pilate who was made procurator over Judea, Samaria and Idumea.
Josephus tells us that Pilate planned to abolish the Jewish laws.5
Antipas and Pilate shared a love of power in their regions. Both were
involved in the trial of Christ.

But it was increasingly difficult for the Romans to rule the Jews
because they were mutinous, stiff-necked and insurgent as a captive
people in their own country. Pilate even encouraged ongoing conflicts
in his attempt to govern them. The more oppressive he became, the
more they robbed and protested his edicts, always in the name of
socio-political causes. He had a reputation for always denying the
Jews what they asked for. His final concession to them in allowing
Jesus to be crucified he made reluctantly in an effort to restore order and to protect his reputation with emperor Caesar, for the Jewish zealots exhorted Pilate that “…whosoever maketh himself a king
speaketh against Caesar.” (John 19:12)
)
By the time of Jesus’ birth the Jews had become but a remnant
of their once huge Davidic nation. Ten of the original Twelve Tribes
had been led north only to become lost in antiquity following the
breakup of Judah and Israel in the latter part of the tenth century.
Around 587 b.C.6 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Chaldea, led thousands
of Jews from Jerusalem into captivity in Babylon before burning
Solomon’s Temple and destroying the city, killing its king. Jerusalem
was eventually rebuilt in time for Alexander the Great—son of
Macedonian king Philip—and his armies to capture it. There were
several more conquests by Egyptian kings who offered sacrifices to
pagan gods within the city walls.

By the time Jesus was born, Jerusalem had been conquered nine
times, many hundreds of thousands of Jews paying the price of
the spoils until the Roman high priest John Hyrcanus begged the
Romans for help. They had not long since thrown off some of the
yoke of Syria, Greece and Egypt through their great freedom fighter,
Judas Maccabeus (who many Jews regarded as their Meshiach),
rededicating their precious temple in 165 b.C.7.

Roman rule in Palestine was habitually neutral but could turn
suddenly into open hostility. Pilate, a pagan, was increasingly
scornful of Jewish customs. He had a fondness for erecting graven
images, even flags with Caesar’s likeness. These probably were
done rather as a display of power than of open demonstration. This
angered and threatened the various Jewish sects. Veiled and then
open rebellion followed. Pilate increased his troops at the walls and
byroads of the city. Roman watchmen checked incoming visitors and
made sure that the Jewish priests never forgot their presence was
subject to Roman approval. With time the situation worsened until
Pilate’s men responded to a Samaritan disturbance by massacre.
Pilate’s ten-year rule of tyranny ended and he was sent to Rome.

Part 4 next week

The post Life Changing Testimonies of the Lord Jesus Christ, part 3 appeared first on Judah and Joseph: Scepter and Birthright.

Jesus the Christ is the royal king of all who have and who will live on this earth in any age. In all ways the Savior Jesus Christ is a miracle among mankind—an everlasting symbol of all we can be to each other. We sing his praises. He is beloved by those in Heaven who attend him, as well as those mortals who serve him on earth.
He belongs to the ages.

The four gospels, unfortunately, are protracted in their reports of the life of Jesus. They present few comments on his childhood and early life as a young Jewish man, working for his father as a carpenter and learning the ways of men. Even the records of his short ministry are void of any long narratives or time lines. The result of this dearth
of material has been that most of the mortal life of Christ, Son of God and son of Man, is unavailable to us. Or is it?

From those several narratives, prophecies and insights from the Old Testament and a close attention to those eternal principles which Jesus taught us, it is possible to come to a fuller understanding of the way our Master perceived himself and his mission among the Hebrews and Romans he met and influenced for good. Though little of what he said is recorded, it is obvious that he spoke a great deal
to multitudes of people in his travels. Greater insight can be gained from his messages to them through pondering the ideas he taught, his demeanor among his disciples and the deeper, less obvious meanings which were essential to his ministry.

Though volumes have been filled with echoes of the prophecies
made about the birth and saving mission of Jesus, who among us
is really aware of the extent of Jesus’ love for the Torah and other Jewish writings or his intense devotion for his Heavenly Father? What can we say of his effort to convince his contemporaries of the truth of his discipleship and his mission? What essential lessons do his parables have for us? We can only wonder at his own anxieties and triumphs as he taught, healed, performed miracles and finally
let himself be overcome at the hands of one of his own apostles and then, without using his divine power to save himself, Jesus allowed the Jewish Court of Sanhedrin to condemn him to death, the infinite sacrifice from which he rose in glory.

Only when we understand how perfectly he lived the ideals he
taught can we really understand that Jesus Christ was the living embodiment of divine, eternal principles. Then we can more fully appreciate the greatest truths of all; that he lives, that he administrates this earth and its creatures whom he saved forever from physical and spiritual death, and that he will return to live among usin the majesty of perfect grace.

The birth date of Jesus cannot be known but might be very
roughly estimated. Luke, in his gospel, says that Jesus was baptized in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, about 29 a.d. (See Luke 3) Luke’s timing may not have been more than an estimate, for he says that Jesus at that time “began to be about thirty years of age,”(Luke 3:23) thirty being only the then legal age for proselytizing
in that region. According to Matthew’s account, Jesus was born
during the reign of King Herod the Great, who died several years later, rumored to be around 4 a.d.

Errors in calculating the Christian calendar used then (the
Dionysian system, which asserts Jesus was born 753 years after
the founding of Rome) make it impossible to know for certain, but various scholars have estimated the birth of Jesus to be between 5-1 b.C. Latter day scripture places the birth at 1 b.C. (Doctrine and Covenants 20:1, 21:3) We know that Jesus’ crucifixion occurred prior to the death of Herod Phillip in 33 a.d. and the historian Josephus records it occurring that year on April 3rd,1 so it is reasonable to assume that Jesus (the mortal) lived fewer than forty years on earth.

Jesus appeared on earth at a time when there was favorable
spiritual thinking. In prior centuries the Jews had been subject to Greek culture and language, which had spread over the Occident. The Jewish Diaspora (dispersion after the destruction of Israel and then Judah) saw many thousands of Jews adopt Greek ways or outwardly appear to embrace them under fear of death should their own ceremonies, held mainly in secret, be discovered. In Jerusalem there was at the time internal accord and what seemed like prosperity in the Greco-Roman world, known as the Pax Romana.

The Greeks spread culture, language, and philosophy. The Romans built the roads and ruled in the Mediterranean and the Roman Empire spanned the borders of Britain, Mesopotamia and Egypt.2 Under no threats of war for a time, they kept a somewhat tolerant political rule. A great era of trade was opening up, not to be rivaled until the nineteenth century. Travel for Jews was common then and encouraged throughout the region—the gospels record Jesus’ journeys with his apostles as far north as Tyre in Syria.

Part 3 of Chapter one next week.

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Palestine at the new era

For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round. Doctrine and Covenants 3:2
Jesus Christ is our savior. he Came to this earth to save our souls from certain death at the hands of the Adversary of the world. He came to cleanse this world of its sinfulness, to soothe and teach us in our pain and sadness and sorrows. He came to show us the fount of true joy and fulfillment. He came to teach us of his Heavenly Father who is also our Creator.

Corollary to that lesson, Jesus taught brotherly love as an eternal principle of living, presenting the hearers of his Word with many examples from his private and public life. Jesus Christ gave the earth and all people on it an unprecedented opportunity: eternal life with God in Heaven who reigns supreme in the cosmos and Who is the Judge of all things.

Jesus came to save us from the wages of sin we create by our disobedience and our maligning. He came, he taught, he conquered death and sin for us all through his infinite and eternal Atonement. Though we can never fully understand the magnificent gift we have been given, the Atonement is a reality and the only way to our salvation.

It is a terrible thing to contemplate that if no Messiah had come to us, God’s immeasurable gift of eternal life could never be bestowed upon the race of men. Through five saving principles of God: propitiation, reconciliation, mediation, intercession and advocacy, Christ appeased the demands of divine justice by which all who desire to again dwell in their Father’s presence may do so.

Because of Jesus Christ we are redeemed from death and sin.…even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory. For by the water ye keep the commandment, by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified. Moses 6:59-60, Pearl of Great Price.

The Plan of Redemption, also called the Plan of Happiness or the Plan of Salvation, is based upon a dual foundation: the Fall of Adam and the divine Sonship of Jesus Christ. Man cannot resurrect or save himself. It had to be done by an infinite being—God Himself, manifested through His only begotten Son in the flesh, Jesus Christ.

The Atonement satisfied two necessary requirements; temporal(body) and spiritual. Jesus Christ voluntarily shed his blood to atone for Adam’s transgression, a condition which changed his and Eve’s deathless and holy state to a mortal one through their expulsion from the Garden (shut out from the presence of God) bringing upon them physical changes (their bodies became subject to death). But our Heavenly Father does not want any of His children to perish. Through his mercy our first parents could be reconciled again to Him through faith, repentance and obedience to the commandments. Because they reconciled themselves to the will of God their trials helped to prepare the way for all of us to experience the sametrials and blessings, the same gift of mortal life and the priceless opportunity if we are worthy to return to live with God after death.

Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment. Wherefore, if you have sought to do wickedly in the day of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God… 1Ne 10:20-21 Book of Mormon.

Because of the intercession of Jesus Christ mankind does not carry Adam’s transgression, but each of us are answerable to God for our sins. Very briefly stated, we are redeemed from physical death as a gift. In keeping with the principle just stated, redemption from spiritual death is a lifelong process which we participate in through faith, our solemn and constant repentance, righteous longsuffering,taking upon us the name, i.e. the character of Christ in baptism by one having proper authority, and the bestowal of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then we are saved by grace after all we can do. This is the central principle of the divine Plan whereby we may, except for the sons of perdition—those who fight against God—be cleansed of sin and renewed of body and spirit in this world and in our lives to come.

Jesus Christ was and is today the greatest of heroes, a masterpiece of creation by his immortal Father, our Supreme God. We need to learn of him, of his ways in the world, his trials, his purpose here among our ancestors, his true feelings as he walked gently, bravely and so boldly through his short but matchlessly powerful life. This is Jesus Christ—the risen, the perfect, the only Begotten Son of the Father. This is a bit of his story.

Jesus came to earth as a babe in Bethlehem, born to a woman named Mary and her husband Joseph, his stepfather. These two raised him. In his lifetime, Jesus was sought after by kings who wanted him destroyed. He was attacked many times by men who would have him lose his way, his life, his holy name and divine purpose. But Jesus never ran from his trouble—he never gave less than his all to the people who crowded around him and he never complained when they took his precious life and spilt his blood. Instead, he willingly offered himself to show us the way, conquering life and death forever through his resurrection. In forgiving us our sins, his Atonement makes possible our eternal life, with him, for every worthy soul.

Third instalment next week.

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Scholar Hugh Nibley clarified that Jesus and his apostles knew that the early Church would apostatize soon after the apostles were martyred. Jesus himself announced that the world would reject him, his followers, his doctrine, and his Church. Read 2Thess 2:3-4. This states that an apostasy must come before the Second Coming of Christ. 2Tim 3:1,5-7. Also Matt 24, Mark 13, Luke 21. The early apostles set up the church for only a temporary existence.

The English word “apostasy” derives from the Greek apostasia or apostasis (defection, revolt). It is mentioned in a religious context in the Septuagint (Greek translation of Old Testament made by 72 Palestinian Jews in 70 days) and the New Testament. Is 24:10 – A city of confusion.

Romans in the first three centuries after Jesus were more concerned with what they could make of religion than with its truthfulness. Religion should be a function of the state, not involved with personal salvation. They thought many gods played as guardians of the Roman state. The ancient forum at Rome was a mass of pagan temples and shrines, representing deities from many parts of the ancient world. It was governmental policy to seeking divine aid for the political state. Into this world was Christianity introduced. Eventually it led to apostasy in the Church and from the Church.

Overall causes in the 1st century
Christianity was considered an illicit religion. It had no status. Had not grown up with the status of the Roman empire. It didn’t have religious status that the Jews had acquired. It had not placed itself under the direction of the Pontifex Maximus, the minister in charge of the Roman religious bureau. His duty was to regulate the number of pagan religions within the empire and keep friction from interfering with them. Christianity had no protection. The Apostle’s Creed was written in this and the second centuries.

The major causes of persecution: These were charges of aetheism and anarchy. They would not place God alongside the pagan gods. The Christians declared that the pagan gods were demons. Charges of cannibalism. Romans thought the Lord’s Supper meant the Christians were eating the body of dead men.
The Holy Kiss was a suspect idea. In Paul’s epistle he asked that the brethren be greeted with a holy kiss. Rumors started that there was promiscuousness in the church meetings.

Persecutions came because of: 1)violations of the Roman constitution because the churches held some night meetings, punishable by death. 2) Christian church was a third race – Jews who did not assimilate with Roman citizens. 3) Also, scriptures contained the Old Testament and membership included many Jews. Many thought Christianity was an offshoot of Judaism. Romans thought that any religion outside the state protection had no right to exist. They were therefore denied the right of property, construction of buildings and holding services, and offered no redress of grievances.

When the pagan religions became week and Christianity became strong, Romans thought the gods were angry with them. Persecution began and then ran rampant through Rome. Nero ordered these. They were of no fixed duration and limited to the city of Rome. These began with the Emperor Domitian in a.d. 86 and ended with Diocletion’s Degree of Tolerance. After the close of the first century, there was no evidence of apostolic leadership but the church leaders professed to be guided by revelation. Christianity spread rapidly. Missionary work was carried on by traders, craftsmen and sailors.

Variants began appearing in the East, Greek Orthodox, Syrian, Russian, Armenian, Coptic and Abyssinian Catholic. In the west, sects began to form, they eventually became Roman Catholic. There was no recognized headquarters of Christian movement after Jerusalem destroyed. The Centers of Christianity moved to cities like Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth and Rome. The Gospel was taken to Britain and France, to the Sahara in Africa. These numbered about 5% of the empire’s religions. Presiding officers were bishops but they had no jurisdiction to make policy for other churches. There was no canonized distinctly Christian scripture. Gospels were known but no scriptures that received church-wide support at that time.

In the second and third centuries: Christians found themselves in a society of emperor worshippers. They were a lot of loyalty cults, for getting support for the political state. They had a religion of local deities. Sacrifices were offered for the continuation of blessings. Some of the main players:

Marcion – 140 a.d. He believed in baptisms for the dead. He was declared a heretic. The wealthy son of a bishop, Marcion stirred controversy by trying to create the first canonic list of biblical texts. He taught that the god of the Old Testament was not the true God but rather that the true and higher God had been revealed only with Jesus Christ. Marcion was excommunicated from the Roman church c. 144 CE, but he succeeded in establishing churches of his own to rival the Catholic Church for the next two centuries. He created such controversy that, when they excommunicated him, they even gave him back all the money he had donated to the Church. Now that’s serious!

Montanus – claimed to be the embodiment of the Holy Ghost, whom Jesus had promised to send. He strongly criticized the growing corruption in the Church, denouncing the lack of revelation and spiritual gifts as evidence of apostasy. The Montanist sects believed in continuing revelation, but acted without benefit of the keys of authority.

The resulting controversies stirred by these heretics caused the mainstream Church to declare an end to close the canon of scripture and declare that revelation had ceased. In addition to the Marcionites and Montanists, there were other heretical offshoots such as the Gnostics, Ebionites, Simonians, Cleobians, Dositheans, Gortheonians, Masbotheans, Meandrians, Carpocratians, Valentinians, Bsilidians, and Saturnillians, each of which introduced new false teachings into the Church.

Third Century
After a period of intense pagan persecution during the second century which killed off many professing Christians, there came period of relative peace, wealth, and luxury for them. It may well be the increased affluence and acceptance may have weakened Christianity more than the persecutions did. Here are some descriptions from the Christians of this period.
Origen- “Several come to church only on solemn festivals; and then not so much for instruction as diversion. Some go out again as soon as they have heard the lecture, without conferring or asking the pastors questions. Others stay not till the lecture is ended; and others hear not so much as a single word; but entertain themselves in a corner of the church. (Milner, 1836)

Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage-
“Each had been bent on improving his own patrimony; and had forgotten what believers had done under the apostles, and what they ought always to do. They were brooding over the arts of amassing wealth; the pastors and the deacons each forgot their duty; works of mercy were neglected, and discipline was at its lowest ebb; luxury and effeminacy prevailed; meretricious arts in dress were cultivated; fraud and deception practiced among brethren. Christians would unite themselves in matrimony with unbelievers; could swear not only without reverence but even without veracity. With haughty asperity they despised their ecclesiastical superiors; the railed against one another with outrageous acrimony, and conducted quarrels with determined malice. Even many bishops, who ought to be guides and patterns to the rest, neglected their stations, gave themselves up to secular pursuits. They deserted their places of residence and their flocks; they traveled through distant provinces in quest of pleasure and gain; gave no assistance to the needy brethren; but were insatiable in their thirst of money. They possessed estates by fraud and multiplied usury. What have we not deserved to suffer for such conduct? Even the divine word hath foretold us what we might expect: ‘If his children forsake my law and walk not in my judgments, I will visit their offenses with the rod and their sins with scourges.” These things had been denounced and foretold, but in vain. Our sins had brought our affairs to that pass, that because we had despised the Lord’s directions, we were obliged to undergo a correction of our multiplied evils and a trial of our faith by severe remedies” (Milner, 1836).

Eusebius-
“Nor was any malignant demon able to infatuate, no human machinations prevent them so long as the providential hand of God superintended and guarded his people as worthy subjects of his care. But when by reason of excessive liberty, we sunk into negligence and sloth, one envying and reviling another in different ways, and we were almost, as it were, upon the point of taking up arms against each other with words as with darts and spears, prelates inveighing against prelates, and people rising up against people, and hypocrisy and dissimulation had arisen to the greatest height of malignity, then the divine judgment, which usually proceeds with a lenient hand, whilst the multitudes were yet crowding into the church, with gentle and mild visitation began to afflict the episcopacy; the persecution having begun with those brethren in the army. But as if destitute of all sensibility, we were not prompt in measures to appease and propitiate the Deity; some indeed like atheists, regarding our situation as unheeded and unobserved by a Providence, we added one wickedness and misery to another. But some that appeared to be our pastors deserting the law of piety, were inflamed against each other with mutual strifes, only accumulating quarrels and threats, rivalship, hostility and hatred to each other, only anxious to assert the government as a kind of sovereignty for themselves (Eusebius, 1833).
In addition to growing worldliness, negligence, and wickedness among the general population of the Church, Mosheim’s “Ecclesiastical History” tells us that the government of the Church also began to change.

“The ancient method of ecclesiastical government seemed in general still to subsist, while, at the same time, by imperceptible steps, it varied from the primitive rule and degenerated toward the form of religious form of a religious monarchy . . . This change in the form of ecclesiastical government was soon followed by a train of vices, which dishonored the character and authority of those to whom the administration of the Church was committed . . . The bishops assumed in many places a princely authority, particularly those who had the greatest number of churches under their inspection, and who presided over the most opulent assemblies. They appropriated to their evangelical function the splendid ensigns of temporal majesty. A throne, surrounded with ministers, exalted above his equals the servant of the meek and humble Jesus; and sumptuous garments dazzled the eyes and the minds of the multitude into an ignorant veneration of their arrogated authority. The example of the bishops was ambitiously imitated by the presbyters, who, neglecting the sacred duties of their station, abandoned themselves to the indolence and delicacy of an effeminate and luxurious life. The deacons, beholding the presbyters deserting thus their functions, boldly usurped their rights and privileges, and the effects of a corrupt ambition were spread through ever rank of the sacred order(John Lawrence Mosheim, 1811)

Copying the pagan temples and rituals, candles and incense began to be used as part of Christian worship. Also introduced during this period was the veneration and worship of martyrs. Virtues and prodigies were attributed to the bones of saints and martyrs. True spiritual gifts, as described in the New Testament, were no longer manifested or expected.

The Apostles’ Creed, drawn up in the first or second century, emphasizes the true Humanity, including the material body of Jesus, since that is the point that the heretics of the time (Gnosticss, Marcionites, later Manicheans) denied. See 1John 4:1-3. The Gnostics held that the physical universe is evil and that God did not make it.

Apostles’ Creed: https://www.ccel.org/creeds/apostles.creed.html

The manner of baptism changed as well as the manner of excommunication. Baptism, a simple rite of immersion administered upon repentance became an elaborate ceremony including milk and honey, ceremonies borrowed from military traditions and rituals marking the liberation of slaves, the lighting of candles and the wearing of white robes and crowns. Infant baptism became common as did sprinkling or the pouring of water on the head instead of immersion.

The simple ordinance of the sacrament became the elaborate mass. Transubstantiation began to be taught as doctrine. Ultimately, the lifting up of “the host” for veneration and worship as God itself became common. Later, only the priest would drink the wine, administering only the bread to the communicants, thus changing or ignoring the commandment to eat and drink in remembrance of Jesus.

Paul had carried the message of personal revelation. Through the atonement of Christ, a plan of salvation had been offered and it was exclusive, not just an added way to gain salvation, but the only way. It provided the foundation for the Roman government’s opposition.

The second great change was in the field of administration. The presiding officer was a bishop only and each had independent jurisdiction. Non-biblical books emerged from leaders of the church who had not known the apostles. Some of these were on the mysteries of Christ’s church, some championed paganism against Christianity. People began putting stock in them.

Docetism and Gnosticism arose. This may or may not have begun with the church. This was untenable to Christianity because it robbed it of its great proof that Jesus is the Messiah. Ideas of priesthood beliefs about mankind’s pre-existence, concepts of universal salvation, and other beliefs were changing. These changes resulted in lack of unity and no divine priesthood. Disorganization ruled. Doctrines that were plain and simple were now complex. Belief in a pre-existence on earth led to identification of humans with fallen spirits. Scripture was coming to be interpreted allegorically or symbolically. The Church groped for inspired leadership but found none.

Gnosticism: Origins are not known. The believed the most important Christian doctrines were reserved for a select few. The orthodox belief was that the fullness of the Gospel was to be preached to the entire human race. They were agreed that the orthodox Christians were wrong in supposing that God had taken human nature or a human body. Some distinguished between Christ, whom they acknowledged to be in some sense divine, and the man Jesus, who was at most an instrument through whom the Christ spoke. The “Others” affirmed that there was never a man Jesus at all, but only the appearance of a man, through which appearance wise teachings were given to the first disciples. Against this, the orthodox Christians affirmed that Jesus was conceived through the action of the Holy Spirit (thus denying the Gnostic position that the Spirit had nothing to do with Jesus until his baptism), that he was born (which meant he had a real physical body) of a virgin (which implied that he had been special from the first moment of his life, not just from baptism on). Gnostic ideas influenced many ancient religions[2]that teach that gnosis (variously interpreted as knowledge, enlightenment, salvation, emancipation or ‘oneness with God’) may be reached by practicing philanthropy to the point of personal poverty, sexual abstinence (as far as possible for hearers, entirely for initiates) and diligently searching for wisdom by helping others.[3] However, practices varied among those who were Gnostic.
In Gnosticism, the world of the demiurge is represented by the lower world, which is associated with matter, flesh, time and, more particularly, an imperfect, ephemeral world. The world of God is represented by the upper world and is associated with the soul and perfection. The world of God is eternal and not part of the physical. It is impalpable and timeless.

Copying the pagan temples and rituals, candles and incense began to be used as part of Christian worship. Also introduced during this period was the veneration and worship of martyrs. Virtues and prodigies were attributed to the bones of saints and martyrs. True spiritual gifts, as described in the New Testament, were no longer manifested or expected.

The manner of baptism changed as well as the manner of excommunication. Baptism, a simple rite of immersion administered upon repentance became an elaborate ceremony including milk and honey, ceremonies borrowed from military traditions and rituals marking the liberation of slaves, the lighting of candles and the wearing of white robes and crowns. Infant baptism became common as did sprinkling or the pouring of water on the head instead of immersion.

The simple ordinance of the sacrament became the elaborate mass. Transubstantiation began to be taught as doctrine. Ultimately, the lifting up of “the host” for veneration and worship as God itself became common. Later, only the priest would drink the wine, administering only the bread to the communicants, thus changing or ignoring the commandment to eat and drink in remembrance of Jesus. People were placing themselves under the supervision of bishops. Latin Christianity was replacing that of the earlier Greek cultural period. Christian congregations numbered several thousands. Finally, there was a Latin translation of scriptures. Disunity and disorganization was rampant.

Fourth Century – By then, Christianity had lost much of its concept of worth and the dignity of man. The Pre-existence was perverted into a relationship that identified humans with fallen spirits. Scripture was coming to be interpreted allegorically or symbolically. Churches were groping for inspired leadership to preserve unity.
It appears that without apostles to guide the ancient church, that men of good reputation were submitted to the people for their approval to head congregations. The bishops chosen in this manner relied upon the body of elders as a council of sorts. In the fourth century, the principle of common consent was abandoned and power was consolidated in the bishops. The lay members were excluded from ecclesiastical affairs. The organization of the church began to shift, mirroring the political government’s organization. Bishops of large cities established smaller communities in the suburban areas and surrounding countryside. They ordained bishops that were subordinate to their own authority.

Thus the church began to coincide with the political organizations of the Roman territories, with archbishops overseeing large areas corresponding to Roman civil authority. The links between the civil government and the church began to consolidate. By this point, doctrinal innovations and controversies consumed the Church. Gnosticism, Hellenism, and pagan ritual began to infect the teachings and practices. The Arian Controversy led to such contention the Emperor Constantine called the Nicene Council to resolve the matter: Was Christ man or God? Was he created or eternal? Are God the Father and God the Son separate or simply manifestations of the same being? The Nicene Creed, intended to unite the Church, fractured it. Arius was banished and his writings burned. When readmitted to fellowship, he was murdered in Constantinople, with disciples of Athanasius being the chief suspects.

Eventually, under Constantine the Great(313-337) Christianity received favors and government help an became a tolerated religion. It became favored. Constantine, not a member of church was chief priest of all religions of state and promoted paganism as well as Christianity and supported both. Bishops were given positions of responsibility in government. The churches finally gave financial support. The Edict of Milan was issued in a.d. 313. It gave tax breaks, granted Sunday as a Sabbath rest and worship day, and granted his subjects the right to give money to the church.

But in a.d. 392 the Roman emperor Theodosius proclaimed it the sole religion and ordered all pagan religions abolished. Thereafter, Christianity began to persecute the pagan religions. But pagan culture was strongly embedded. Church leaders solved problems by making interpretations drawn from pagan backgrounds. They thought the Lord’s Supper merely a memorial service. Mysticism entered. Many questions arose and could not be answered by revelation, as it was thought to be unnecessary. Prophetic leadership had disappeared, and revelation. By then Christianity had lost much of its concept of the worth and dignity of man. The truth of the pre-existence was perverted into a relationship that identified humans with fallen spirits. Scriptures were being interpreted allegorically or symbolically. Churches groped for inspired leadership to preserve unity.

a.d. 325 – The Nicene Creed. This was a calling of the Council of Nicea. Called by Emperor Constantine who wanted Christianity to give the empire the benefit of a unified god theory. The church accepted leadership from one who was not a member. Only 318 bishops came, plus 200 churchmen. Constantine presided. He was not a member of any church. They were to determine the relationship between church and state. A compromise doctrine emerged. But the current Creed came from several changes made at future councils. From this time on, churchmen would be withdrawn from purely ecclesiastical functions and put into the service of the state. These beliefs have been officially adopted into most Christian churches.

The basic meaning of the Creed developed from the word “substance”. This means immaterial essence, the force behind nature, an immaterial spirit. The Creed was in answer to the Gnostic idea that Christ had a material body. A creed generally emphasizes the beliefs opposing those errors that the compiles of the creed think most dangerous at the time. The Creed of the Council of Trent, which was drawn up by the Roman Catholics in the 1500s, emphasized those beliefs that Roman Catholics and Protestants were arguing about most furiously at the time. The Creed was emphatic in affirming the Deity of Christ, since it is directed against the Arians, who denied that Christ was fully God.

The Nicene Creed: http://www.ancient-future.net/nicene.html

When the Nicene Creed was drawn up, the chief enemy was Arianism, which denied that Jesus was fully God. Arius was a presbyter (priest-elder) in Alexandria, Egypt, in the early 300s. he was fond of saying: “the Logos is not eternal. God begat him, and before he was begotten, he did not exist.” He taught that the Father, in the beginning, created the Son, and that the Son, in conjunction with the Father, created this world. Arius insisted the Son was inferior to the Father and could not be co-eternal with Him.

The result of this was to make the Son a created being, and hence not God in any meaningful sense. It was also suspiciously like the theories of those Gnostics and pagans who held that God was too perfect to create something like a material world, and so introduced one or more intermediate beings between God and the world: God created A, who created B, who created C, who created Z, who created the world. A bishop, Alexander, said the Son was equal to the Father and created from his substance. The council was called to straighten this our and arrive at a universal theory. Read Matt 24:25.

The Council of Nicea was an important event in history of changing Christianity. At Nicea, Christianity turned to pagan speculation for definition of the nature and attributes of God. Jesus’ advice to keep separated the things of Caesar and God was lost sight of. Christianity was no longer a religion to assist men to live in accord with the gospel ideals and in gaining eternal salvation. It was a department of government within the political state. The essence of gospel principles became based on theological definition which was based on philosophical processes.

Men broke the everlasting covenant. The must pay the penalty. Is 24:4-6. Much evil was done. This heresy promoted an antagonism between body and spirit. The body was regarded as a curse. Like Gnostics. This gave rise to hermit practices where men sought to torture their bodies in self denial. This led to monks, monasteries, reclusiveness, celibacy, corruptions. They believed that to have true and full felicity with God it was necessary to separate the body from the spirit and deny the body. They developed a disregard for truth. It was okay to lie if it promoted the church interests. Lies were acceptable to God, it was thought, if they perpetrated in a cause that man calls good. This lasted until the 15th century.

Fifth Century through the Seventh Century
Rival bishops contended for primacy. Prelates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem sank below the patriarchs of Rome and Constantinople in wealth and dignity. The latter two contended for the title of “universal bishop.” The rise of Islam in Asia Minor diminished the power of the Bishop of Constantinople, permitting the Bishop of Rome to claim the triumphant title of Pontiff. When classical Rome fell, the Church became an alternative political structure and the bishops became the ultimate powers in their realms, commanding armies and ruling over the nobles. Corruption and vice were rampant because no secular authority could effectively check the clergy.
The attempts to live in celibacy gave rise to scandal. It became the custom for priests to live with “sub-introduced women,” who passed as sisters of the priests (Roberts, 1895)

Salvian-
“The very church which should be the body to appease the anger of God, alas! What reigns there but disorders calculated to incense the Most High? It is more common to meet with Christians who are guilty of the greatest abominations than with those who are wholly exempt from crime. So that today it is a sort of sanctity among us to be less vicious than the generality of Christians. We insult the majesty of the Most High at the foot of his altars. Men, the most steeped in crime, enter the holy places without respect for them. True, all men ought to pay their vows to God, but why should they seek his temples to propitiate him, only to go forth to provoke him? Why enter the church to deplore their former sins, and upon going forth–what do I say?–in those very courts they commit fresh sins, their mouths and their hearts contradict one another. Their prayers are criminal meditations rather than vows of expiation. Scarcely is service ended before each returns to his old practices. Some go to their wine, others to their impurities, still others to robbing and brigandage, so that we cannot doubt that these things had been occupying them while they were in the church. Nor is it the lowest of the people who are thus guilty. There is no rank whatever in the church which does not commit all sorts of crimes” (Jackson, 1884).

Eighth through the Eleventh Centuries
Perhaps no other references outside the 8th-11th centuries are necessary to establish that the Church had fallen into complete and total apostasy, bereft of the Spirit of God, without authority, a rejected harlot that had committed fornication with the kings of the earth. Just consider the manner in which the “Vicars of Christ” ascended to the throne of power.

757 A.D. – Upon the death of Pope Paul I, the Duke of Nepi compelled some bishops to consecrate Constantine, one of his brothers, as pope.

768 A.D. – A more “legitimate” group of electors chose Stephen IV and Constantine’s eyes were put out and the Bishop Theodorus’ tongue was amputated. The Bishop was left in a dungeon to die in agony of thirst.

795 A.D. – Nephews of Pope Adrian seized his successor, Pope Leo III in the street, forced him into a nearby church and attempted to put out his eyes and cut out his tongue.

816 A.D. – Stephen V was driven from the city of Rome. Paschal I, his successor, was accused of blinding and murdering two ecclesiastical rivals in the Lateran Palace.

872 A.D. – Pope John VIII secretly allied himself to pay tribute to Muslim invaders and the Bishop of Naples maintained a secret alliance to receive a share of the plunder from them.

891 A.D. – Formosus, a conspirator who had been excommunicated for the murder of John, was elected pope.

896 A.D. – Boniface VI becomes pope despite his being deposed as a deacon for his immoral and lewd conduct. Stephen VII, his successor, had the body of Formosus disinterred, clothed in papal robes, and tried before a council. The indecent scene ended with cutting off three of the deceased’s fingers and the corpse being cast into the Tiber River. Stephen was ultimately deposed and thrown into prison where he was strangled to death.

896-900 A.D. – No less than five popes were consecrated and deposed.

904 A.D. – Leo V was thrown into prison by Christopher, who usurped his place. He was expelled from Rome by Sergius III, who seized the papacy by military force.

905 A.D. – Sergius lived with a celebrated prostitute, Theodora, who exercised extraordinary influence and control of the Pope. Theodora also was romantically involved with John X, leading to his ascending to the papal throne in 915 A.D. He maintained the papacy with Theodora’s help for 14 years. However, the hateful intrigues of her daughter Marozia led to his overthrow. John X was thrown into prison where he was killed, smothered with a pillow.

931 A.D. Marozia engineered her son’s becoming Pope John XI. Another of her sons, jealous of her devotions to the first, had Marozia thrown into prison. The grandson of Marozia then became Pope John XII in 956 A.D.

956 A.D. – John XII was only 19 when he became pope and his reign was so shockingly immoral that the Germanic Emperor Otho I was compelled by the German clergy to intervene. John was tried on the charges of selling ordinations of bishops for bribes, as well as having ordained a ten year-old as bishop. He was charged with incest and multiple adulteries. He was deposed and Leo VIII reigned in his stead.

963 A.D. – Leo VIII, upon gaining power, seized his antagonists, cut off the hand of one, the nose, fingers, and tongues of others. He was killed by a man whose wife he had seduced.

John XIII was strangled in prison. Bonficace VII imprisoned Benedict VII and killed him by starvation. John XIV was secretly put to death in the dungeons of St. Angelo castle. The body of Boniface was dragged by the populace through the streets.

Emperor Otho took the liberty of the Italians from appointing the “successor of Saint Peter.” By his royal authority, he places his own kinsman, Gregory V on the pontifical throne, only to have him flee before the opposition of the Romans.

There was even an “anti-Pope, John XVI. Emperor Otho seized him, put out his eyes, cut off his nose and tongue, and sent him through the streets mounted on an ass facing backwards with a wine-bladder on his head.

1033 A.D. – Benedict IX, a boy of less than 12 years sat on the “apostolic throne.” One of his successors, Victor III said the boy’s life was so foul and shameful that he ruled like “a captain of a banditti.” Unable to bear his adulteries, homicides, and abominations, the people rose up against him. Knowing he was about to lose his position, Benedict put the papacy up for auction! It was purchased by a presbyter named John who became Pope Gregory V in 1045 A.D.

Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries
The doctrine of the granting of indulgences and exemptions from temporal penalties became common. This led to the selling of forgiveness for sin for monetary considerations. This practice, among others, contributed to the rise of Protestantism. An agent of the Pope, John Tetzel boasted that he had saved more souls from hell through the selling of indulgences than Saint Peter had by preaching Christianity.

Fourteenth through the Sixteenth Centuries
Three popes at one time! Rivalries between Rome and Avignon in France resulted in a period where there were two popes simultaneously? Which one of them had Peter’s keys? This fiasco continued until 1409 when a general council of the Church was convened at Pisa. The two popes were deposed and a third installed in their stead. However, neither deposed pope would bow to the will of the council. The Church would not be reunited under a single Pope until 1414 (Talmage, 1909).
Rise of the Court of the Inquisition in Spain- Thousands were burned at the stake and tens of thousands tortured.

Through the challenging influence of Protestants, the Roman Church abandoned the practice of indulgences at the Council of Trent. Nevertheless, it had done so for four centuries. The practice placed the Popes in the position of sitting in judgment as God himself, fulfilling the scripture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

The Council of Trent also forbade the reading of the scriptures by non-clergy. It declared, “…the holy scriptures were not composed for the multitude, but only for that of their spiritual teachers.”

The Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther-
A German priest, an Augustinian monk. Martin Luther defied the Roman Church and is excommunicated. John, Elector of Saxony undertook the establishment of an independent church based on Luther’s teachings. By what authority was this done? What authority did Luther have? If the Roman Church had no authority, by what authority could a church be established? In this case, the state assumed the authority that belongs only to God.
He opposed the papal indulgences. He said the whole system of church penances and indulgences was contrary to scripture, reason and right. He wrote 95 theses and nailed them to the door of his church. He was excommunicated. This caused the Protestant uprising. He proclaimed the doctrine of absolute predestination and of justification by faith alone. The effect of this belief resulted in the nullifying of free agency as God-given.

There was a popularization of the Bible and the invention of printing, the discovery of cheaper ways of producing paper so the Bible could be printed for everyone. Protestants developed the idea that salvation was an individual processes which needed neither priestly no saintly mediation to secure supernatural aid for salvation. Each should seek knowledge concerning the will of God. The Lord said all truth can be circumscribed into one great whole. Christianity was broken into many sects. Protestants introduced that people should have right to choose their religion. This led to the formation of many sects: Quakers, Anabaptists, Methodists. The sacrament service was corrupted. When Jesus ate and drank with his disciples, his body was yet unpierced, blood unshed. They ate with him in remembrance of him. The sacrament became perverted in that worshippers were taught that the crucified Jesus was offered up anew as a constantly recurring atonement for sins of current congregants.

Joseph Smith in his first vision in 1820 was told by Jesus that all existing churches had gone astray, both in their teachings and in heir practice, although they had “a form of godliness” (JS-H 1:18-19. Thus it was necessary for a “restoration” of the Gospel to take place. JST Thess 2:1-9… After reformation, Joseph Smith sought knowledge from the only source from which it could come. Men had forsaken the whole gospel system – its laws, ordinances, saving truths.

Ulrich Zwingli-
Led the reformation movement in Switzerland. His trial by the state eventually led to civil war between Catholics and Protestants. In the battle, Zwingli was killed and his body was brutally mutilated.

William Tyndale-
Tyndale was “condemned by virtue of the emperor’s decree, made in the assembly at Augsburg. Brought forth to the place of execution, he was tied to the stake, strangled by the hangman, and afterwards consumed with fire, at the town of Vilvorde, A.D. 1536; crying at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice, ‘Lord! Open the king of England’s eyes.'” His crime? Translating the Bible into English (Foxe).

John Calvin-
Calvin appeared as another leader of the Swiss reformation movement. A doctrinal extremist, he taught the depravity of man and the false doctrine of predestination, denying the truth of man’s agency. In 1553, Calvin was found at Geneva consenting to the burning at the stake of Servetus because he published views Calvin considered heretical.

Henry VIII and the Church of England-
King Henry VIII sought and failed to obtain permission to divorce his wife. He and the English Parliament broke away from the Roman Church and founded the Church of England. Again, we must ask, by what authority was this done. What revelation or dispensation from God enabled an earthly king to establish a church in God’s name?

The Church of England established the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1646, which still serves as the functional creed for modern Protestantism. It includes the following claims:

“The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men . . . The Supreme Judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture” (Westminister Confession of Faith, n.d.).

The Confession denies the possibility of current and future revelation from God and limits God to only speak through the Bible. It also declares God’s nature to be “a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions” in clear contravention to many scriptures that describe God with a body, parts, and passions.

Seventeenth Century to Present
As we can see, the Roman Church’s claim to the unbroken transmission of the keys of the kingdom from Saint Peter are not supported by history. John was the last surviving apostle who receive his authority from Christ. Only he would have had the authority to ordain any successors. The Roman Church does not and cannot claim authority from John. Even if it were the case that Peter somehow ordained a successor, we can clearly see that the papacy has been the nexus of political intrigue, murder, corruption, and abominations throughout the centuries. Men murdered for it. It was even auctioned and purchased. There is no possible way that the authority of the ancient apostles comes down to the present day through this corrupt lineage. This authority was lost and with it, the keys of Christ’s kingdom on earth. If it were possible that a corrupt tree could produce pure branches, the assertions of Protestantism to have reformed the Church might be valid. However, there was no possible way any reformer, however sincere or influential, could restore the keys of the kingdom that were lost in the apostasy. This would require a new gospel dispensation–a new revelation.
The Church of England’s sermon “Perils of Idolatry” it states:

“Laity and clergy, learned and unlearned all ages and sects and degrees have been drowned in abominable idolatry, most detested by God and damnable to man, for eight hundred years and more” (Sermons or Homilies Appointed to be Read in Churches, 1824)

Roger Williams-
Roger Williams, pastor of the oldest Baptist Church in America at Providence, Rhode Island, refused to continue as pastor on the grounds that, “There is no regularly-constituted church on earth, nor any person authorized to administer any Church ordinance: nor can there be, until new apostles are sent by the great Head of the Church, for whose coming I am seeking.” (Bryant, 1872)

Williams also said, “The apostasy… hath so far corrupted all, that there can be no recovery out of that apostasy until Christ shall send forth new apostles to plant churches anew.” (Anderson, 1966)

John Wesley-
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism wrote in his sermon, “The More Excellent Way” the following indictment of Christianity:

“The cause of this [decline of spiritual gifts following Constantine] was not, (as has been vulgarly supposed,) `because there was no more occasion for them,’ because all the world was become Christians. This is a miserable mistake; not a twentieth part of it was then nominally Christian. The real cause was, `the love of many,’ almost of all Christians, so called, was `waxed cold.’ The Christians had no more of the Spirit of Christ than the other Heathens. The Son of Man, when he came to examine his Church, could hardly `find faith upon earth.’ This was the real cause why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were no longer to be found in the Christian Church; because the Christians were turned Heathens again, and had only a dead form left.” (Russie, 2011)

Alexander Campbell-
The founder of the Church of Christ (Disciples) wrote “The meaning of this institution (the kingdom of heaven) has been buried under the rubbish of human tradition for hundreds of years. It was lost in the dark ages and has never, until recently been disinterred” (Roberts, 1895)

Dr. William Smith-
“In a work prepared by seventy-three noted theologians and Bible students, we read: “…we must not expect to see the Church of Holy Scripture actually existing in its perfection on the earth. It is not to be found, thus perfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom, or still less in any one of these fragments. . . ” (Smith, 1896)

Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick-
A prominent American Baptist clergyman and author, described the decadent condition of the Christian churches of the first half of the twentieth century in these words:

“A religious reformation is afoot, and at heart it is the endeavor to recover for our modern life the religion of Jesus as against the vast, intricate, largely inadequate and often positively false religion about Jesus. Christianity today has largely left the religion which he preached, taught and lived, and has substituted another kind of religion altogether. If Jesus should come back to now, hear the mythologies built up around hint, see the creedalism, denominationalism, sacramentalism, carried on in his name, he would certainly say, ‘If this is Christianity, I am not a Christian'” (Associated Press, 1925)

Summary
The scriptures clearly predict the falling away of the ancient Christian church. Not only did the world reject the apostles and their authority, but the Church did also. In the centuries that followed, it descended into corruption. Attempts to reform it could not restore the authority that was lost and the teachings that no future revelation could be expected and that any claims to such must be rejected outright prevented this from occurring.

Protestant reformers have been cited, indicating that they understood that a new gospel dispensation must come before the Church could be restored. Reformation was not enough. Man could not, of himself, restore the authority that only comes from God.

The Restoration
Latter-day Saints testify that God himself brought to pass the restoration of the primitive Christian Church again in modern times with all its gifts, powers, keys, and authority. God the Father and the Son appeared to the prophet Joseph Smith in 1820, restoring the true knowledge of God, forever invalidating the creeds of man’s religions.

In 1823, a heavenly messenger named Moroni revealed the location of the plates upon which was engraved a sacred, ancient record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas. Joseph Smith was given power to translate this record into English and publish it as the Book of Mormon in 1829.

In 1829, John the Baptist appeared and restored the Aaronic Priesthood, which includes the keys of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Later in that same year, the ancient apostles Peter, James, and John appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood and ordained them as apostles of Jesus Christ.

In 1836, Moses, Elias, and Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in Kirtland, Ohio and conferred priesthood keys related to the gathering of Israel, the gospel of Abraham, and the power to bind the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers.

All the powers and authority possessed by ancient Christians is present once again on the earth today. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the repository of those keys and the Church is governed as it was anciently by living apostles and prophets. I invite you to investigate these claims, bearing witness that they are true. You can learn the truth of them for yourself through the Holy Ghost. It is by the Holy Ghost that I know that they are true, in the name of Jesus Ch

The post Gospel Doctrine Class The Great Apostasy Through the Centuries to the Restoration appeared first on Judah and Joseph: Scepter and Birthright.

What is a testimony? How does it come about and what does it
mean to the bearer? In 1Cor 12:3 the Apostle Paul, teaching of the
gifts of the Spirit said “…no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but
by the Holy Ghost.” John the Baptist gave a perfect testimony to the
Jews and priests: “And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of
God.” (John 1:32) It is also true, I believe, that a young boy named
Joseph Smith asked his Heavenly Father to direct him to the correct
church one fateful day in 1820, and that as a result of his ensuing
testimony he endured from that time forward naught but hardship,
persecution and eventually murder, finally sealing with his own
blood his testimony of what he heard and saw that day in the grove
near his father’s farm.

Like a court witness who gives affirmation of fact, a testimony is
actual evidence of an event. It does not come simply, in most cases. If
it is a spiritual affirmation, it comes by the power of the Holy Ghost
to one who has dutifully studied, prayed and perhaps fasted in faith
to know for certain some great point of eternal truth. The Holy Ghost
(or Holy Spirit) then gives its revelation. But this sacred prompting
must be received as truth when revealed, for that holy messenger
of the Lord will not linger with unbelievers. Those who deny what
they have felt or who look to intellectualize or criticize it will find the
prompting slipping away and their inspiration lost in confusion.
A testimony, then, is a witness of things which are true, constituting
a knowledge that cannot be denied by the believer, who feels
the impressions made by the Holy Ghost become indelible upon his
enlightened soul. How many mortals have willingly given their lives
because they could not deny the knowledge so convincingly given
them by the Holy Ghost?

It is the same with those who have contributed
to this book, and through their inspirational stories and special
affirmations all who partake of their great faith can be uplifted.
When this compilation of testimonies of Jesus Christ was begun,
there was one strongly held goal in everyone’s mind. Every contributor
wanted to tell the salient events of their life; how they had
changed, especially after their conversion to the Gospel of Christ,
much as one who has discovered great wealth wants to share that
special story with others who also seek precious treasure. Each
person felt prompted to relate to me some of their most private
beliefs concerning the one we call our Savior and Redeemer, and our
Heavenly Father. They felt the need to express their gratitude for
the Christ who has risen from the dead to save us all that we need
not fear death or torment and each one gained great satisfaction in
expressing in this way their love of the Savior, regardless of the scope
of their knowledge, the complexity of their background, their station
in life or the color of their skin.

The post Life Changing Testimonies of the Lord Jesus Christ appeared first on Judah and Joseph: Scepter and Birthright.

Zechariah (Hebrew: זְכַרְיָה,) =YHVH has remembered, was considered author of his book, 11th of 12 minor prophets. He was a prophet of the two-tribe Kingdom of Judah, and like Ezekiel was of priestly extraction. According to Ezra 5:1; 6:14 Iddo is the father of the prophet Zechariah, according to Zechariah 1:1 Berechiah is the father of Zechariah, and Iddo is his grandfather. Discrepancy has several probabilities.

His prophetic career began in second year of Darius, king of Persia (520 b.c.) about sixteen years after the return of the first company from their Babylonian exile. He was a contemporary of Haggai. (Ezra 5:1) He was a Levite born in Babylon (Neh. 12:1, 16), and he was both a prophet and a priest.

Because of Israel’s rebellion against the ways of God (Zech. 1:2-6), not only did the Assyrians exile the northern kingdom in 722 BC, but also the Babylonians took the southern kingdom of Judah captive in 586 BC (Zech. 1:2-6). This second exile ended when the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persian Empire (539 BC), and Cyrus the Great decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple (Ezra 1:2-4). Shortly after their return, Levitical sacrifices were reinstituted on a rebuilt altar of burnt offering (Ezra 3:1-6), and in the second year of the return, the foundation of the temple was laid (Ezra 3:8-13; 5:16). However, because of external opposition and internal depression, the building of the Temple was halted for about 16 more years.

Zechariah opens his book with an exhortation for Israel to repent quickly so that they could be in the position to receive God’s blessing. God confirmed that He was very angry with the forefathers of Israel who did not hearken to the words of the prophets, who were sent to call them to repentance.

However, even though God used Gentile nations to come up against Israel in judgment, He was even angrier with them because they went too far. At this point, Zechariah received eight prophetic visions for Israel, which all follow the same pattern, 1) introductory words, 2) description of the things seen, 3) question by Zechariah to the angel for the meaning, 4) the explanation by the angel.

1. The Man Among the Myrtle Trees (Zech 1:7-17)
Meaning: God’s anger against the nations and blessing on restored Israel. In this vision, there was a man riding a red horse, standing in a grove of myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses. The angel of the Lord explained that these horses were sent throughout the earth, and found the world at rest and peace. But, Israel was not at rest and peace. In fact, it had been exiled for 70 years and Jerusalem was in ruins. Then God lamented over His beloved people and the land of Israel. He declares, “I am
very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. (Zech. 1:14b-15,17). The message of this vision is that God was angry at the nations of the world, which spoiled Israel, and that He would bless restored Israel again, showing His faithfulness
2. The Four Horns and the Four Craftsmen (Zech 1:18-21)
Meaning: God’s judgment on the nations that afflict Israel. In this vision, Zechariah saw four horns and four craftsmen. When asked, the angel was clear in the interpretation of these symbols: “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and cast out these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people” (Zech. 1:18, 21).
In prophecy, a horn when used symbolically indicates invincible strength (Micah 4:13) or often a Gentile king who represents his kingdom (Dan. 7:24; Rev. 12:3). These clearly represent nations, compare these horns with the four great and powerful empires that came against Israel (Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece and Rome). Although Babylon had been subdued, the vision was truly prophetic because the other three empires were yet to inflict their oppression upon Israel and receive judgment for it.
3. The Surveyor with a Measuring Line (Zech 2:1-12)
Meaning: God’s future blessing on restored Israel. In this vision, Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line go and measure Jerusalem to find out how long it is. An angel came up and told the angel talking to Zechariah, “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within'” (Zech. 2:4-5).
This is an incredibly prophetic statement because Zechariah was seeing his visions and giving his messages to the returning exiles of Israel who were in the process of building a wall around Jerusalem. The vision was showing that there would be a Messianic day when Jerusalem would grow to vast proportions and not need a wall because of God’s protection.
4. The Cleansing and Crowning of Joshua, the High Priest (Zech 3)
Meaning: Israel’s future cleansing from sin and reinstatement as a priestly nation. The first three visions pictured Israel’s external deliverance from Captivity, her expansion, and the material prosperity of the land. However, in the fourth, God is focusing on the internal state of Israel, which is in need of cleansing from sin and reinstatement as a priestly nation and a light to the world. This vision is a bit different from the others in that there are no questions about it from Zechariah, or explanations by the angel. The characters are identifiable and used symbolically. We see Joshua, the son of Johozadak, the high priest who returned with Zerubbabel from Babylon, who is representing the nation of Israel; the Angel of the Lord; Satan, the accuser; the attending angels; and Zechariah, who becomes a vocal participant in the vision.
5. The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees (Zech 4)
Meaning: Israel as the light to the nations under Messiah, the King-Priest. In this vision, Zechariah saw a gold lampstand with a bowl of oil at the top, from which seven channels continually supplied the seven lights on the lampstand. Then, there were two olive trees standing on each side of the lampstand with two gold pipes that continually supplied golden oil to the bowl.
Zechariah asked the meaning of the lampstand with seven lights, and was told, “These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range throughout the earth” (v. 10b). And of the olive trees, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth” (v. 14). The whole vision is connected to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and the rebuilding of the Temple. The angel says that he would finish the Temple (v. 9) through the abundant supply of the Spirit of God, and then everyone would know that God’s hand was in it. Thus, the oil for the lamp is associated with the Holy Spirit. Jewish sources say that God would shed His light on Israel, in contrast to their present darkness, and this would enable God’s plans to be fulfilled.
6. The Flying Scroll (Zech 5:1-4)
Meaning: The severity and totality of divine judgment on sin in Israel. The last three visions have to do with the administration of judgment on sin in Israel, and on the Gentile nations who have not responded to the God of Israel. In the sixth vision, Zechariah saw a flying scroll, 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. Interestingly, it is the exact dimensions of the tabernacle, perhaps indicating that the message on it was in harmony with God’s presence in the midst of Israel. The scroll was not rolled up, but flying open so that both sides could be read.
The angel explained to him what it meant: “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. … It will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My Name. It will remain in his house and destroy it” (Zech. 5:3-4).
7. The Woman in a Basket (Zech 5:5-11)
Meaning: The removal of national Israel’s sin or rebellion against God. In this vision, Zechariah saw an ephah, which is a measuring basket for grain and other household commodities. The basket represented “the iniquity of the people throughout the land.” (v. 6). When the lid was lifted, inside the basket sat a woman. The angel said that the woman represented wickedness, and he pushed the wickedness back into the basket and shut the lid (v. 8). This is not to suggest that women are wicked. Rather, the Hebrew word for wickedness is in the feminine form, and the “woman” was wickedness personified. Then, Zechariah saw two women with the wind in their wings like a stork, and they lifted the basket up into the air between heaven and earth.When Zechariah asked where the basket was being taken, he was told: “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it” (Zech. 5:11). Babylon is the place of ancient and future idolatry and rebellion against God, so an apt location for the removal of idolatry from Israel. Putting wickedness and idolatry back in Babylon also sets the stage for her final judgment (Rev. 17-18).
8. Four Chariots (Zech 6:1-8)
Meaning: Divine judgment on Gentile nations. Then Zechariah saw four chariots coming out from between two bronze mountains. In this instance, the bronze mountains could symbolize the righteous, divine judgment of God against sin (Rev. 1:15; 2:18) meted out by chariots of war going out into the world. The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, and the fourth dappled ¬ all of them powerful. It has been suggested that the colors represent: red = war and bloodshed, black = death, white = triumph, and dappled = pestilence.
The angel told him that: “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world. The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horse towards the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south” (Zech. 6:5-6). They were sent throughout the world. The four spirits of heaven may refer to angels of divine judgment or to the power of God to accomplish His judicial purpose. The phrase, “the Lord of the whole world,” connotes a Messianic phrase when Messiah will exact universal rule from Zion.
Zechariah 10:4. What Is the Meaning of the Symbols As They Relate to Judah? “Out of them is repeated four times in this verse. Judah will provide the corner-stone for security. In Is. 28:16 this is a figure for the Davidic king. The tent peg, or nail, was the hooked peg built into a wall to hold the implements of war as well as the household utensils. This is the attribute of reliability (cf. Is. 22:23). The battle bow refers to effective power in leadership (cf.Ho. 1:5). Every ruler (lit. ‘oppressor’); usually the word is employed in a bad sense, but here it is used positively. Their prince-leader will not oppress by unjust taxation or impose crushing burdens too great for the poor to bear, but will exact tribute from their vanquished enemies. Oesterly ascribed the above titles to Simon, Judas, and Jonathan Maccabeus, but each one of the four is undoubtedly Messianic. The ultimate reference is to the Lion of the tribe of Judah, by whose aid His people will conquer every foe.” (Guthrie and Motyer, New Bible Commentary, p. 796.)
(33-37) Zechariah 11. Armageddon
Zechariah 11–13 deals with the battle of Armageddon and its attendant horrors. Ezekiel also referred to this battle (see Ezekiel 38–39). This battle will take place before the Second Coming of the Savior. Zechariah 11 is a preface to chapters 12–13, in which Zechariah prophesied of the battle of Armageddon.

(33-38) Zechariah 11:1–3. Destruction of the Political Kingdom of Judah
The land of Israel, with all its powerful and glorious creatures, is to become desolate. Now, inasmuch as the desolation of a land also involves the desolation of the people living in the land, and of its institutions, the destruction of the cedars, cypresses, etc., does include the destruction of everything lofty and exalted in the nation and kingdom; so that in this sense the devastation of Lebanon is a figurative representation of the destruction of the Israelitish kingdom, or of the dissolution of the political existence of the ancient covenant nation. This judgment was executed upon the land and people of Israel by the imperial power of Rome. This historical reference is evident from the description which follows of the facts by which this catastrophe is brought to pass.”

Malachi, Malach (Hebrew: מַלְאָכִי,) “Messenger”, writer of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Neviim (prophets) section in the Jewish Tanakh. He does not directly mention the restoration of the temple. He probably prophesied after Haggai and Zechariah (Malachi 1:10; 3:1, 3:10) and possibly delivered his prophecies about 420 BC, after the second return of Nehemiah from Persia (Book of Nehemiah13:6),
Malachi 1:1. Little is known of the life of Malachi, apart from what can be learned in his book. Malachi lived after the prophets Haggai and Zechariah and is believed to have been a contemporary of Nehemiah. The book was probably written about four hundred years before the birth of Christ. Lehi and his family left Jerusalem in 600 B.C., nearly two hundred years before the time of Malachi. The Nephites, therefore, could not have obtained the words of Malachi except from the Lord. The plates of Laban could not have contained them.
Malachi 1:2–5. Did the Lord Really “Hate” Esau? The word hated in Hebrew means to be loved less than someone else, not to be disliked with bitter hostility (compare Genesis 29:31). Esau was the brother of Jacob, who became Israel, father of the twelve tribes. So complete was the rejection of the Lord by Esau’s descendants that they came to symbolize to the prophets the wickedness of humanity in general (see D&C 1:36). Before Malachi’s time they were known as Edomites, or Idumeans, and their place of habitation was known as Edom. Esau symbolized the world, Jacob=Israel.
Malachi 1:6–14. Of What Sins Was Ancient Judah Also Guilty and Why? The people of Judah, and particularly the Levites living among them, were polluted and corrupt. As the spiritual sons and servants of the Lord (see v. 6), their offerings to God had become common and worthless.
The priests and Levites of Malachi’s day were mocking God by offering sacrifices to the Lord with sick, blind, and lame animals and calling them acceptable (v. 8). They had no reverence for what they were doing. The Lord told them: “I have no pleasure in you, . . . neither will I accept an offering at your hand” (v. 10). They were selfish and worldly, and not one of them would kindle a fire on the hearth of the altar unless he were paid for it. The Lord had been insulted. The table on which the offering was made was polluted. The offering itself was “contemptible” (v. 12). Such action, Malachi promised, would result in cursing rather than blessing. (Jesus the Christ, p. 21; for the special requirements of a sacrifice under the law of Moses, see Leviticus 22:18–22; Deuteronomy 15:21; 17:1.)
Malachi 2:5–7. What a Priesthood Holder Should Be Like The faithful priesthood bearer is a sincere worshiper. He acts as if he were in the Lord’s presence when upon the Lord’s errand. He is honest in all his dealings with others, and his speech is dignified and appropriate. He walks with the Lord with confidence and assurance and is comfortable in his role of blessing others and leading them into a better way of life. He is a student of the scriptures and has the capacity to teach the words of life to others. “He is the messenger [teacher, tool, representative] of the Lord of hosts” (v. 7).
Malachi 2:8–10. The Lord’s Anger toward Unfaithful Priesthood Bearers In these verses the Lord reminded the priests and Levites that His representatives were men who formerly walked with Him in peace and equity and turned many away from iniquity (see v. 6). He then spelled out the sins of Judah and her priesthood. The latter, for example, had “caused many to stumble at the law” by rendering unjust and immoral decisions, thus bringing them to spiritual destruction and ruin (v. 8). When compared with the instructions to the Levites set forth in Deuteronomy 33:8–11, such conduct falls short of God’s intended standard. For this reason they were contemptible to the people rather than loved by them as the Lord had intended (see vv. 8–9).
Malachi 2:11–17. Of What Sins Was Judah Guilty? As a result of the failure of the priests to judge and lead in righteousness, Judah had fallen once again into a serious sin. She “hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange God” (Malachi 2:11). This passage calls to mind again the often used figure in the Old Testament of the husband (Jehovah) and the wife (Judah/Israel). As solemn a bond or covenant exists between Jehovah and Israel as exists between a husband and his wife. But Judah had chosen another partner, “the daughter of a strange God,” meaning that Judah had formed a temporal or spiritual alliance with a nation that did not regard Jehovah as the Lord of heaven.
Malachi 3:1. Who Was the Messenger Sent to Prepare the Way of the Lord, and Who Was the Messenger of the Covenant? One of the messengers sent to prepare the way of the Lord at His first coming was John the Baptist. John’s mission was performed in the spirit and power of the priesthood of Elias (see Luke 1:17). Elias is a name for a forerunner, one who goes before or prepares the way for someone or something greater. In that sense the Aaronic Priesthood is the priesthood of Elias because it prepares and qualifies individuals for greater blessings.
Joseph Smith explained: “The spirit of Elias is to prepare the way for a greater revelation of God, which is the Priesthood of Elias, or the Priesthood that Aaron was ordained unto. And when God sends a man into the world to prepare for a greater work, holding the keys of the power of Elias, it was called the doctrine of Elias, even from the early ages of the world.Joseph Smith was also an Elias in that he was a forerunner, one who prepared the way, who laid the foundation for the Second Coming through the restoration of the gospel.
In the meridian of time the way was prepared by John for the Messenger of the Covenant Himself to come and bring the greater blessings (see Matthew 3:1–3, 11–12). He who was mightier than John and followed after him to baptize with fire and the Holy Ghost was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is called the Messenger of the Covenant because He mediates the gospel of salvation unto men.
“This sudden latter-day appearance in the temple does not have reference to his appearance at the great and dreadful day, for that coming will be when he sets his foot upon the Mount of Olivet in the midst of the final great war. The temple appearance was fulfilled, in part at least, by his return to the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836; and it may well be that he will come again, suddenly, to others of his temples, more particularly that which will be erected in Jackson County, Missouri.
(34-9) Malachi 3:2. “Who May Abide the Day of His Coming?” The Lord’s return to earth in glory will be a great and dreadful day. As John the Baptist told the Jews, the Savior will gather in the wheat (the righteous), and the chaff (the wicked) He will burn with “unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12). The only ones who survive will be those who have kept their covenants with the Lord or who are worthy of at least a paradisiacal, or terrestrial, glory. All wickedness will be destroyed from the earth.
Malachi 3:3–6. What Is the Offering in Righteousness to Be Made by the Sons of Levi? There is more than one meaning for the “offering in righteousness” to be made by the sons of Levi at or near the Second Coming of the Lord.
Malachi 3:7–9. “Will a Man Rob God?” At this point the Lord, through Malachi, engaged Judah in a series of questions and answers. He said they have strayed from His ordinances, and He begs them to return. “Wherein shall we return?” they ask (v. 7). He replies that they have robbed Him, even God. Again they question, “Wherein have we robbed thee?” to which He replies, “In tithes and offerings” (v. 8). Therefore, He says, they “are cursed with a curse” (v. 9). Ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house.’
Malachi 3:10–12. Blessings for Paying Tithes To Israel, ancient and modern, the Lord promised to “open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (v. 10). All material and spiritual things are His to give as He sees fit. Included in His “blessings from heaven” are revelations from Him in one’s personal life. All blessings are, of course, conditional (see D&C 82:10;130:21; 132:5). He desires to bless His faithful children abundantly (see 1 Corinthians 2:9).
“The devourer” may mean locusts and other pests to agriculture, but it may refer to Satan as well. The Lord promised that the fruits of the ground and vine will not come forth ahead of their time when they would be of little or no value. The implication is that our efforts to provide for ourselves would be blessed and bear fruit in their season. Because of the blessings that will come to the faithful, they will be recognized by the world around them, both individually and as a people.
Malachi 3:13–15. Is It Vain to Serve the Lord? One truth about covenant relationships is that both parties must observe their promises in order to keep the covenant in force. Sometimes when those lacking faith lose promised blessings, they blame the Lord (see D&C 58:29–33). But the Lord is God; He never breaks a promise (see D&C 82:10).The difficulty, as described by Malachi, is that the critics of the Lord have twisted the truth. They question the profit stemming from observing the ordinances of the Lord and maintain that “it is vain to serve God” (v. 14). They see inequity when the wicked prosper and those who work evil are elevated, and they blame the Lord for permitting such things to exist. Thus, their words of criticism are “stout” against the Lord (v. 13).
Malachi 3:16–18. What Is the “Book of Remembrance”? Those who devote themselves to the Lord earn for themselves the privilege of having their names recorded in the Lamb’s book of life. This sacred “book of remembrance” (v. 16) is kept in heaven and contains the names of the faithful children of Father in Heaven, or, in other words, those who are His precious jewels. (See D&C 128:6–7; Psalm 69:28; Revelation 3:5; 21:27.) They are those who will inherit eternal life, for this book contains “the names of the sanctified, even them of the celestial world” (D&C 88:2). Those whose names are written there and who afterwards return to sinful ways will have their names blotted from the book (see Revelation 13:8; 17:8; 22:19).
(34-17) Malachi 4:5–6. What Is the Great Work Elijah Commenced? This earth has a destiny. Its purpose is to provide a place for people to work out their eternal salvation before the Lord. Part of that salvation depends on their acquiring the necessary ordinances, in righteousness, that will seal them to God and to each other for time and all eternity. But the ordinances are not for the living only. Otherwise, billions would have been denied these blessings simply because the necessary priesthood power was not available in the time or place they lived.
Joseph Smith was told by Moroni that Elijah would come. Moroni mentioned the “promises made to the fathers” (JS—H 1:39) in ancient times. These promises, Moroni said, would assist in turning the hearts of the children to their fathers. President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote: “What was the promise made to the fathers that was to be fulfilled in the latter-days by the turning of the hearts of the children to their fathers? It was the promise of the Lord made through Enoch, Isaiah, and the prophets, to the nations of the earth, that the time should come when the dead should be redeemed. And the turning of the hearts of the children is fulfilled in the performing of the vicarious temple work and in the preparation of their genealogies.” (Doctrines of Salvation,2:154.)
Elijah came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise recorded by Malachi. His visit occurred on 3 April 1836 in the Kirtland Temple. The priesthood keys Elijah brought were the sealing powers of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the means whereby that which is bound and sealed on the earth is also bound and sealed in the heavens. (See D&C 110:13–16.)
Commenting on the meaning of turning hearts, Joseph Smith said: “Now, the word turn here should be translated bind, or seal. But what is the object of this important mission? or how is it to be fulfilled? The keys are to be delivered, the spirit of Elijah is to come, the Gospel to be established, the Saints of God gathered, Zion built up, and the Saints to come up as saviors on Mount Zion.” (Teachings, p. 330.)
Some of the lessons and insights that make a careful study of the Old Testament not only meaningful but critical are—
1. The testimony of the existence of God.
2. The record of the beginnings of mankind as a divine race placed on the earth for eternal purposes.
3. The importance of establishing a covenant relationship with God.
4. The history and purpose of the establishment of the elect lineage through which the priesthood would be restored and the blessings of the gospel extended to all in the last days.
5. The revelation of a divine law upon which civil and criminal codes of many nations would be built.
6. The knowledge that God intervenes directly in the lives of men and nations and that through Him many are divinely led, directed, and protected.
7. The blessings of obedience to the laws of God and faith in His name.
8. The consequences of disobedience and rebellion against God and His laws.
9. The corruption that results from any form of idolatry and the reasons for the commandments of the Lord against it.
10. The need to live and endure throughout mortality in obedience to God’s laws, even though suffering and pain and persecution may come.
11. The way by which the Saints can escape the corruptions and resulting judgments of the last days.
12. The promises of a literal gathering of Israel in the last days and a time of restoration and redemption for Israel.
13. The greatness and the dreadfulness of the day when the Lord will come in His glory.
14. The testimony that the God of the Old Testament is Jesus Christ and that He came to earth to free us from death and make it possible for us to be freed from sin and thus return to the presence of God the Father.

The Last Recorded Prophet in Old Testament Israel
For years Israel had denied, dishonored, persecuted, fought, and rebelled against the prophets. Malachi was the last of the true prophets in Israel in the Old Testament period of whom we have a record. God had desired that this nation be holy, His peculiar treasure. Upon them He had promised to heap His riches, glory, and power: “I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.” (Psalm 132:15–16.) Not only this, but He desired to have them sufficiently pure that He could make their cities His place of habitation. They were to become Zion, where the Lord declared He would make His abode forever. (See Psalm 132:13–14.) By rejecting the prophets, Israel forfeited the promises and potential of becoming like Enoch’s people.

After the Babylonian exile, the Jewish nation zealously taught and practiced the law and gathered and preserved the words of the prophets. This in itself was good, but by the time of Christ, the learning of scribes gained precedence over continuing revelation, and the oral tradition in many cases had come to overshadow the law. The temptation for the Jews during this period was to honor dead prophets over living ones. Dead prophets do not have power to say “no,” any more than did the false gods worshiped by the Israelites in earlier times. Dead prophets call only past generations to repentance, or so it seems to those who reject the living ones.

The word of God to dead prophets can be falsified, misinterpreted, and bent to where it has lost its power to bring people to the Lord. Individuals are able to maintain a false sense of piety and righteousness even as they reject the living oracles. Christ criticized the people of His day for building the tombs of the prophets (Luke 11:48), and Samuel the Lamanite called the Book of Mormon people to repentance for the same sin (see Helaman 13:25–27).

The men who guided Israel during the period of Persian domination, unlike Moses, did not derive their authority from divine revelation but from the commission of a foreign emperor. A human king gave status and authority to the Torah, encouraged its codification, and threatened any offender of Mosaic precepts with fines, banishment, or death. In this way the law of Moses was established and made known to, even imposed upon, all Jewry under foreign rule. Unfortunately, the human hand by itself can preserve only the letter of the law.

Being a part of the empires of the day was a blessing for physical, if not spiritual, Israel. Throughout Israel’s history the sedentary Israelites were continually pressured by the Arabic and Aramean nomads. The power of the Persian, and later the Greek, armies preserved the security of the Jewish population during those periods when the nation was too weak to defend itself. Had Judah not been part of the gentile empires, the nomads might have overwhelmed the inhabitants of Judea. They could have pushed the Jews into the sea. Thus, as in so many other things, the centuries of subjection brought Israel both blessings and problems.

The Rise of the Scribes
When Judah returned from exile in Babylon, they brought back with them a number of things that were not a part of their original beliefs. If one of these things could be picked out to typify all the rest and symbolize what they meant, it would be the scribes. The scribes were originally educated men who made their livelihood keeping the records of the empire or as copyists of the scriptures.

These they studied diligently, both to detect scribal errors and to understand the scriptures’ meaning. Eventually their role expanded. Not only did they supply copies of the scriptures to the growing number of synagogues, but they also became teachers of the law. As long as Israel had prophets, the scribes remained teachers and copyists. But when the prophetic voice ceased in Israel, these experts in the law of Moses began to fill the vacuum.

“Once the true prophet has been duly rejected and passed to his reward, swarms of experts descend upon his words to begin the learned business of exegesis [drawing meaning out of the written word]. The words of the dead prophets become the peculiar possession of armies of specially trained and carefully conditioned scholars.”
A major factor contributing to the escalation of the power of the scribes was the shift of the common language of the people from Hebrew to Aramaic. Though a sister tongue, Aramaic was still sufficiently different that it made the Hebrew of the scriptures hard to understand. So, the people had to rely on the scholars for their information and understanding. The titles the scribes took upon themselves reflected their growing importance: lawyers, doctors, elders, and rabbis. It should not be surprising that there was no unity of interpretation among these scholars.

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