Trinity or Godhead ? ?

So I have had quite a few questions about the 'Trinity'.  This post is to help others understand where the Trinity came from and how it was conceived.

"And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me."

-- John 8:16
If I am not alone then there must be another person standing by, and I cannot send myself somewhere, I would just GO there.

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
-- John 14:26

Again being sent is a command from someone else, and if 'he' (the Holy Ghost) shall bring all things which Christ had said unto them, why would He not have said that, 'I shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have already told you'?

"How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."

-- Acts 10:38
To anoint is like giving a blessing.  The priesthood of God is used to bless and help others, not yourself.  Being selfish is against the will of the Lord, and prevents one from exercising the priesthood.  When Christ was baptized by this same priesthood authority, 'God was with him'.  I cannot be with myself, I simply am myself.

"And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."
-- Luke 3:22
The Holy Ghost has the form of a body all on his own, and if Christ was in the water then how could He be speaking from Heaven.  'Thou' and 'Thee' are pronouns like 'you' and are used when talking with someone else, not yourself.

The notion of the Trinity was conceived by men because after the Death and Resurrection of Christ, His apostles were also killed.  In war if you don't like the King you kill all of the Kings servants as well to prevent them from rebelling against your dominion.  The Jewish senate known as the Sanhedrin condemned Christ, so also afterward they sought to destroy His apostles.  After those apostles were gone there was no one left on the earth with the priesthood authority to speak with God concerning doctrines taught in the scriptures.  So several hundred years went by with honest men giving what they thought about the Bible.

These concepts were than taken to be correct because their was very little opportunity to actually read the Bible itself without having someone else who could read Greek, Latin, or Hebrew.  It wasn't until about 1500 AD that William Tyndale translated the Bible into English.  This even had to be done secretly as the church and national governments did not agree with giving the common folk access to sacred scripture.  Tyndale once said to a priest, "If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of the scriptures than you!" (source)

This was realized about 300 years later when a 14 year-old farmboy in New York was reading the Bible, which was made possible by Tyndale's efforts to translate it into English. 

Excerpts from the history of how this farmboy, Joseph Smith, learned more about scripture than an educated priest, is as follows.  For the entire record see Joseph Smith History.


"There was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion.

"During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit....but so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong.

"In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?

"I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

"Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.

"At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.

So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.

"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God.

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

"When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

"My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right and which I should join.

"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.” "


Joseph Smith was called as a Prophet of God, to restore the church that Christ had established during His mortal ministry.  Through him we have the Knowledge that God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ appeared in the year 1820, side by side.

In regard to the Godhead the scriptures teach that They are each individual, yet one in purpose.  Separate physically, but united spiritually.  Even as I and my mortal father are united in our labors when we go out into the field to work, so also was Christ united with the Father while laboring here in His vineyard.


"Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me."

-- John 8:42

I cannot be my own father.  That would require being of age before I was born.  If God works by natural laws, and is not a God of confusion (1 Corinthians 14:33), then Jesus Christ could not have also been His own Father.

"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me."

-- John 17:20-21

Here Christ prays for His apostles, but not them alone also all who believe on their words.  Therefore there must needs be a way for us to be 'one', or 'united', with each other while still in possesion of our own individual bodies.

"Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."

-- John 20:17

The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are not each other.  However they each hold the title of God.



"Thus Ends Mormonism"

This video tells about what many thought would happen if they could kill the Prophet of the Lord.

What they didn't think about is that the people in the Old Testament Killed the Prophets all the time.

Nevertheless the Work of the Lord is NEVER frustrated . . .

only the work of Man. (Doctrione and Covenants 3:3)

(Acts 5:34-39)

Restoration of the Priesthood - Anniversary

Do you know what today is?

Today is the 183rd Anniversary of the Restoration of the Aaronic Priesthood.

On May 15th, 1829, John the Baptist (as a resurrected being, see Matthew 27:52-53 and 3 Nephi 23:11) came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on the bank of the Susquehanna River.  He then Ordained them to the Priesthood which he held, which is the same Priesthood that Christ was Baptized by.

Without this Authority nothing that we do in this life would be of any effect out of this life.

When asked who the Apostles said Jesus was, Peter replied,

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

-- Matthew 16:16

It was upon this, the Testimony of the Godhead, that is the keystone of the Church, upon which the Devil has no power to overthrow.

Christ then stated:

"I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven:

and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth

shall be bound in heaven:

and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth

shall be loosed in heaven."

-- Matthew 16:19

It is through this Sealing Power, to bind on Earth and in Heaven, that we may be with our Families Forever.
Without the proper Authority of the Priesthood, nothing done in any religious ceremony is of any effect after we depart this life.  Only by doing what God has Commanded, in the way He commanded it, may we truly be saved at the last day.

Joseph Smith : Prophet of the Restoration

This is one of my favorite movies.  The Bible speaks of the "restitution of all things."(Acts 3:21)  The Bible also says that there would be a general or great Apostasy, or a "falling away."(2 Thessalonians 2:3)

In Ezekiel 37 The Lord speaks to His Prophet of two books of Scripture, the Stick of Judah and the Stick of Ephraim.  The Stick of Judah is the Bible, because it was written by the Jews.

What then is the Stick of Ephraim?

What book of Scripture did the tribe of Ephraim write?

The Stick of Ephraim is the Book of Mormon.

The Book of Mormon was written upon the American continent.

The Book of Mormon was brought forth in modern times by a Prophet of God.

The Book of Mormon was Translated by the Gift and Power of God.

This movie is a depiction of what Joseph Smith went through in order to restore the Church to the Earth.

ENJOY

Click HERE for a free copy of the Book of Mormon

Lamps and Lightbulbs

So this one time I was trying to explain how priesthood Authority works, and why it is important.  I came up with my own story, and it goes something like this.


     Once upon a time there was a Lamp.  That Lamp was the Gospel.  Then Christ came to teach the Gospel, perform the Atonement, and establish His church.  The church Christ established is like a LampShade, it holds all the 'Light and Knowledge' of the Gospel.

     However, after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ the church was persecuted, and the Apostles who received Priesthood Authority were killed.  This means that the Lamp was broken, because no one had the Authority to direct Christ's Church.

     Less than 500 years later there were a small number of churches that had pieces of the broken Lamp.  People knew that something had been lost and they tried as best they could to reform the Lamp.  Roughly 1000 years later there were many churches, or many Lamps, that all claimed to be the "True Lamp".  That they each had part of that Lamp it is true, but none were the Lamp of the Gospel as it was supposed to be.

     Now we have a world where we can choose from many churches, almost like going to the store to buy a Lamp, there are planty of options.  Some Lamps are tall and flexible, some are short and round, others may be there more for looks than for light.

  

 


But even if the Lamp came close, the Lightbulb of Authority was still missing.  You see Christ is the 'Light of the world', and so even if you have all the components of a functioning Lamp only when He puts in the Lightbulb does that church give Light.

     In 1820 Joseph Smith asked God in prayer, which church to join.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and called him to be a new Prophet to restore His church to the Earth, exactly as it was when Christ was on the Earth.

     The same Lamp of the Gospel, with the same church organization or LampShade, was once again found on the Earth.  God gave the Authority of the Priesthood to Joseph Smith, who ordained others, and the Priesthood has never again left the Earth.

ELIAS - WHO or WHAT??

The following is taken from the Bible Dictionary.

Elias. There are several uses of this word in the scriptures. 

(1) It is the N.T. (Greek) form of Elijah (Hebrew), as in Luke 4:25–26, James 5:17, and Matt. 17:1–4. Elias in these instances can only be the ancient prophet Elijah whose ministry is recorded in 1 and 2 Kings. 

(2) Elias is also a title for one who is a forerunner, for example, John the Baptist, as in Matt. 11:13–14, Matt. 17:10–13, and John 1:19–28. These passages are sufficiently clarified to show that anciently two Eliases were spoken of, one as a preparer and the other a restorer. John was sent to prepare the way for Jesus, Jesus himself being the Restorer who brought back the gospel and the Melchizedek Priesthood to the Jews in his day (see John 1:20–28). In this particular instance there is reflected also the comparative functions of the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods.

(3) The title Elias has also been applied to many others for specific missions or restorative functions that they are to fulfill, for example, John the Revelator (D&C 77:14); and Noah or Gabriel (D&C 27:6–7, cf. Luke 1:11–20). 

(4) A man called Elias apparently lived in mortality in the days of Abraham, who committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland (Ohio) Temple on April 3, 1836 (D&C 110:12). We have no specific information as to the details of his mortal life or ministry.

Thus the word Elias has many applications and has been placed upon many persons as a title pertaining to both preparatory and restorative functions. It is evident from the questions they asked that both the Jewish leaders and the disciples of Jesus knew something about the doctrine of Elias, but the fragmentary information in our current Bibles is not sufficient to give an adequate understanding of what was involved in use of the term.

Unlearned Translation

"A . . . marvel of the translation process is that although he was intensely involved in translating an ancient record, the Prophet Joseph himself was clearly unschooled in things ancient. For example, early in the work he came across words concerning a wall around Jerusalem and asked Emma if the city indeed had walls. She affirmed what Joseph simply hadn't known. (See E. C. Briggs, "Interview with David Whitmer," Saints' Herald, 21 June 1884, 396.)

"He knew nothing, either, of the literary form called chiasmus, which appears in the Bible at various places and, significantly, also appears in the Book of Mormon. . . .

". . . We marvel that the Prophet Joseph Smith worked completely without referring to any other sources. None of the 12 people who either participated or merely observed mentioned Joseph's having any reference materials present. . . . Since the Prophet dictated openly, these individuals would have been aware of any suspicious behavior or procedures. Emma was emphatic on this very point: 'He had neither manuscript nor book to read from, [and] if he had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me' ("Last Testimony of Sister Emma," 289, 290).

"Thus the Book of Mormon came through, but not from, Joseph Smith!"

-- Neal A. Maxwell, "By the Gift and Power of God," Ensign, Jan. 1997, 36

Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration

This is one of my favorite movies.  If everyone had the faith, and was humble like unto a child, the power of the Devil would be shattered forever.

ENJOY