A Funeral Sermon-part I

I remember the first time I was introduced to the King Follet Sermon. I was called to a mission and getting ready to leave. It was a time of personal doctrinal exploration. I was endowed around the same time so naturally I started asking questions about topics of the Temple. Naturally this sermon came up. It seems that most people are first brought to this discourse while on their mission or immediately prior. I say that because I have spoken to many girls who have never heard of it. I have spoken to many returned missionaries that were exposed to it on their mission while staying up late with other missionaries getting into the "deep" doctrine discussions. 

An example of a grove where the Prophet Joseph Smith instructed the saints. The King Follet Sermon would have been given in a grove such as this.

When I first heard the name of the sermon, I thought it was either given to a king or about a king or something to that nature. That is not the case. Well, at least not on the surface as I was thinking. In fact, quite the opposite. The title of the remarks were not the “official” title: it was simply a funeral talk. The talk was given at a General Conference of the Church but the aim of the talk served, at least in part, to comfort the family and friends of King Follet.* King Follet was a simpleton (not a King) who had died that week. I mention this as the history because there is something remarkable about the circumstances. We have similar talks in the Church today. The Bishops and Branch Presidents get up and talk about the Plan of Salvation at a church member’s memorial service. This is to offer comfort, hope, understanding, and perspective during a tough time. By happenstance King Follet's death occurred the week of a conference of the Church; however, the talk, by nature, should be very similar to talks we would give at a funeral.

 King Follet was not a king at all. But Joseph Smith was giving a discourse on how he could one day be a king. It is a landmark talk concerning the doctrine of the Church and I think the setting could not be any better. Joseph Smith was offering comfort to a family who had lost a loved one. And here Joseph Smith uses the opportunity to teach doctrine and comfort the family. I cannot think of a better place or circumstance to reveal such a doctrine.  

 The sermon taught numerous things about Deity that had previously been lost. These facts and principles are vital to our faith today. Most notable was the fact that Deity was more like us than we could originally conceive:

 “God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form--like yourselves in all the person, image, and the very form as a man.”

 He further taught that "You have got to learn to become Gods yourselves, the same as all Gods before you have done."

 What makes this more fascinating is the fact that the discourse came out just months before his death. It seemed that Hell’s foundation shook at the thought that this would be revealed to the World. When we realize our divine potential we immediately recognize that God loves us more than we imagine. We have purpose in life. We have meaning attached to our existence. We feel both happy and hopeful. 

 What most people do not realize is that there was a talk given after this known as The Sermon in the Grove. This sermon was given less than 2 weeks before his death. It points out similar doctrines. It can be found in the History of the Church volume 6, pages 473-479, or in Joseph Fielding Smith’s compilation, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith pages 369-376. 

 This discourse is great because it is after Joseph Smith gains a bit more confidence in his understanding of the Hebrew language. Among other things he points out that things are not created out of nothing and he used Hebrew to do so. Around the same time a similar scientific discovery was made to validate Joseph Smith’s teaching: we call it the Law of Conservation of Energy.

 If this is truly the case then it reveals much about the character and being of God the Father and His role in creation. Albeit the mainstream Christian community scoffs at the sermons, one cannot help but notice that similar discoveries have been made. 

 More than a scientific approach what I call the paternal approach. For so long in history Deity was seen as unknown and unknowable and incomprehensible. Joseph Smith however invites us to learn how close the Heavens really are. In fact, Joseph Smith spent his life attempting to show others the nature of God. 

 Although Joseph had seen the Father and the Son 24 years earlier, it seems to only dawn on him later that in fact, Deity was made of a body as we have. It was a body like our body, but without the carnal blood running through the veins making them subject to the Fall. It is almost exactly 1 year before the King Follet sermon that we first hear Joseph Smith make a bold declaration as to the nature of the Godhead (see D&C 130:22-23). It seems that around that same time, Joseph Smith also learns of many deep and important things pertaining to the Plan of Salvation. 

 To actually put down all of my thoughts on this would take dozens upon dozens of pages (maybe even hundreds); and I know that I have only skimmed the surface. I think that those who want to learn more about what we may call “the essence” of our religion would do well to study D&C 76 (note the placement of the verses within the vision and the particular details of our natures in the resurrection), The King Follet sermon, The Sermon in the Grove, Romans 8, and D&C 130 (again, emphasizing the idea of resurrection, sociality, and the nature of the Godhead and why it is placed where it is in the Doctrine and Covenants).

 I will relate this to the Temple if it is not making quite a lot of sense yet. 

*I read a blog that argued "that this is a significant misinterpretation of Joseph Smith, but I also fail to see how that teaching would have been any comfort for a funeral sermon." I would however argue that the interpretation that God was once as we are is the most quintessential and comforting doctrine that Joseph Smith had to offer.