What is the purpose of life? My thoughts as a new father. A Funeral Sermon-part III

I remember as a missionary talking about how we had the answer to the most important and sacred questions. Among them, "what is the purpose of life?" would be a common one for missionaries to prepare to answer. I was always geared up to give a discourse from 2 Nephi chapter 2 on this important topic. I thought for sure I had the complete and full answer. I have realized more and more that my understanding was pretty limited. 2 Nephi chapter 2 was not limited by any means. In fact, it is replete with details to this soul-searching question. I would always tell people that the purpose of life is to learn good from evil as Adam and Eve had through their own personal fall. I would then explain that we likewise, though not through the same avenue, chose to have a personal fall from the presence of God in order that we could return with glory and honor. We chose to come to earth and be tested. I would extract this from 2 Nephi 2:25-27. I basically had it memorized; however, what I failed to do was look at the entirety of the context:


First of all, Lehi is speaking to his child. This is an important detail. I think I should have allowed the sermon to speak for itself in its entirety. I think of particular importance is verse 23. Lehi states, "And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence having no joy, for they knew no misery..." The first part of that is key because the fact that children bring joy almost seems like a common-doctrine to them: one that did not need a lot of emphasis. He simply states "And they would have had no children" as if that phrase alone signaled to his children the importance of the fall.


Furthermore, they would have had the Adam and Eve story in its fullest. They would have known that God commanded Adam and Eve to have children. I knew that having children was important but I never realized that this was a central purpose to life. I would always say "the purpose of life is to choose good over evil in the midst of temptation so that we may be more righteous and qualify to become like God the Father."


I realize now that children are an integral part of the plan. I remember hearing our sealer make the same bold command to my wife and I that was given to Adam and Eve. Then later, while studying on my roles as a patriarch in my home I stumbled across President Kimball's first General Conference address as the Prophet of the Church. He read an excerpt from a First Presidency message given in 1942 (think about the time-period they were giving this in!). That message was simply titled "Parenthood" and reads, in part:


"Motherhood thus becomes a holy calling, a sacred dedication for carrying out the Lord's plans, a consecration of devotion to this uprearing and fostering, the nurturing in body, mind, and spirit, of those who kept their first estate and who come to this earth for their second estate ' to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them' (Abr 3:23.) To lead them to 'keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever.'


"This divine service of motherhood can be rendered only mothers. It may not be passed to others. Nurses cannot do it; public nurseries cannot do it; hired help cannot do it--only mother, aided as much as may be by the loving hands of father, brothers, and sisters, can give the full needed measure of watchful care. 


"The mother who entrusts her child to the care of others, that she may do non-motherly work, whether for gold, for fame, or for civic service should remember that 'a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame (Prov. 29:15.) In our day the Lord has said that unless parents teach their children the doctrines of the Church 'the sin be upon the heads of the parents.' (D&C 68:25.)


Motherhood is near to Divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels. To you mothers in Israel we say, God bless and protect you, and give you the strength and courage, the faith and knowledge, the holy love and consecration to duty, that shall enable you to fill to the fullest measure the sacred calling which is yours. To you mothers and mothers-to-be we say: Be chaste, keep pure, live righteously, that your posterity to the last generation may call you blessed." ("Message of the First Presidency" Deseret News Weekly Church Edition, October 1942, p. 5.)

Brigham Lloyd Brown--May 31st, 2012

Recently I became a father to my first. We thought we were having a little girl (hence why my blog intro said "soon-to-be father to a baby girl"). When the baby was born I had an overwhelming sense of love and devotion to him. It seemed like only minutes had passed and I already knew about him. It was odd to even ever think that we were expecting a girl. Even today when I mention it, I feel awkward saying it because it is literally impossible to imagine it any other way.


So, how come I relate this to the "funeral sermon" or the "King Follet Discourse"? Because when Joseph Smith states "Here, then, is eternal life--to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn to become gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you...they shall be joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. What is it? To inherit the same power, the same glory, and the same exaltation, until you arrive at the station of a God, and ascend the throne of eternal power, the same as those who have gone before. What did Jesus do? Why; I do the things I saw my Father do when worlds come rolling into existence. My Father worked out his kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my kingdom, I shall present it to my Father, so that He may obtain kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt him in glory."


In other words, our exaltation and inheritance come as a result of the success of our children. If no children brought their own kingdom to Christ's gospel, then it would not allow the Father to advance in his own glory. We will never be co-equal with God as some faiths allege; however, we can inherit that same glory that he has.


As a Father this makes much more sense. I cannot envision a Father who would not want his children to have absolute joy and success equal or more than he has. I want for Brigham (my new little boy) to have more opportunity and greater happiness than I have ever experienced. Note that I want him to have more! The Father, realizing that he has reached the maximum potential, wants for us to enjoy all that he now enjoys: maximum blessings. As a parent I have learned to a greater degree the nature of my Heavenly Father."


And this is how we "learn to become gods". It is through parenthood that we can have eternal increase (see D&C 131) and everlasting joy.


This is the end of "The Funeral Sermon" blogging; however, I would suggest that one would read it and become familiar with the doctrines contained therein.

The Law of Adoption

"A man, as a man, could arrive at all the dignity that a man was capable of obtaining or receiving; but it needed a God to raise to the dignity of a God. For this cause it is written, "Now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear we shall be like him." And how and why like Him? Because, through the instrumentality of the atonement and the adoption, it is made possible for us to become of the family of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ; and that as He, the potential instrument, through the oneness that existed between Him and His Father, by reason of obedience to divine law, overcome death, hell and the grave, and sat down upon His Father's throne, so shall we be abel to sit down with Him, even upon His throne." --John Taylor

One of the most misunderstood doctrines surrounds that of adoption into the family of God. It becomes a source of anti-Mormon attacks and seems to be really misunderstood both outside and inside the Church.

In Moses 6:64-68 we read,

"And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.

"And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.

"And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever,

"And thou art after the order of Him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all Eternity to all Eternity.


"Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons."

I underlined 2 important segments. Concerning what it means to be "after the order of Him..." President Ezra Taft Benson taught:

"Three years before Adam's death, a great event occurred. He took his son Seth, his grandson Enos, and other high priests who were his direct-line descendants, with others of his righteous posterity, into a valley called Adam-ondi-Ahman. There Adam gave to these righteous descendants his last blessing.

"When our Heavenly Father placed Adam and Eve on this earth, He did so with the purpose in mind of teaching them how to regain His presence. Our Father promised a Savior to redeem them from their fallen condition. He gave to them the plan of salvation and told them to teach their children faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance. Further, Adam and his posterity were commanded by God to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, and to enter into the order of the Son of God. To enter into the order of the Son of God is the equivalent today of entering into the fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is only received in the house of the Lord. 


"The Lord then appeared to them. The vast congregation rose up and blessed Adam and called him Michael, the prince and archangel. The Lord himself declared Adam to be a prince forever over his own posterity. Then Adam in his aged condition rose up and, being filled with the spirit of prophecy, predicted 'whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation.' All this is recorded in section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants (verses 53-56) [D&C 107:53-56]."

"The Prophet Joseph Smith said that Adam blessed his posterity because "he wanted to bring them into the presence of God." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938, p. 159.)

"Here is an illuminating passage from Section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants which tells us how Adam was able to bring himself and his righteous posterity into God's presence:   

"'The order of this priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and tightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were made.

"'This order was instituted in the days of Adam, and came down by lineage in [order] … that his posterity should be the chosen of the Lord, and that they should be preserved unto the end of the earth.' (D&C 107:40-42; italics added.)

"How did Adam bring his descendants into the presence of the Lord? The answer: Adam and his descendants entered into the priesthood order of God. Today we would say they went to the House of the Lord and received their blessings.

"The order of priesthood spoken of in the scriptures is sometimes referred to as the patriarchal order because it came down from father to son.

"But this order is otherwise described in modern revelation as an order of family government where a man and woman enter into a covenant with God--just as did Adam and Eve--to be sealed for eternity, to have posterity, and to do the will and work of God throughout their mortality.

"If a couple are true to their covenants, they are entitled to the blessing of the highest degree of the celestial kingdom. These covenants today can only be entered into by going to the House of the Lord.

"Adam followed this order and brought his posterity into the presence of God. He is the great example for us to follow." (From "What I Hope You Will Teach Your Children About the Temple," Temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pp. 42-43; also, Ensign, Aug. 1985, p. 8; emphasis added.)* 

The second word to highlight from the Moses scriptures and from what President Benson emphasizes: become. Often in LDS Theology we forget that although spirit children of Heavenly Parents, we are physical children of mortal, fallen parents. We have to seek to "become" the sons and daughters of Christ. It is only those who have become His sons and daughter that will inherit the Celestial Kingdom. in D&C 76, concerning those of the Celestial Kingdom it reads:

"Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God" (v. 58) meaning that they are special. Concerning this doctrine Bruce R. McConkie wrote:

"We are well aware that all men are the children of God, the offspring of the Father, his sons and his daughters. . . What is not so well known is that nearly all the passages of scripture, both ancient and modern, which speak of God as our Father and of men on earth being the sons of God, have no reference to our birth in preexistence as the children of Elohim, but teach rather that Jehovah is our Father and we are his children.   

"In setting forth that all men must be born again to gain salvation, we have seen that this means they must be "born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters." (Mosiah 27:25.) Whose sons and whose daughters do we become when we are born again? Who is our new Father? The answer is, Christ is our Father; we become his children by adoption; he makes us members of his family.... 

"But there is more than this to the doctrine of becoming sons of God. Those who so obtain are adopted also into the family of Elohim. They become his adopted sons so that they can receive, inherit, and possess along with his natural Son. 

"To envision what is meant by being sons of God, meaning the Father, let us follow Paul's reasoning in two passages of superlative insight and inspiration. To the Romans our apostolic friend of old wrote: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Standing alone, this could be taken to mean that by faith the saints become the sons of the Lord Jesus. But the perspective begins to change when our apostolic colleague says: 


"Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." That is, we call upon our Eternal Father in a familiar and friendly way, as children here call to their fathers with whom they maintain a familiar intimacy. Having attained this state of friendship with the Eternal One, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit," Paul continues, "that we are the children of God." He has now laid the groundwork. A pronouncement of deep and wondrous import is immediately forthcoming. "And if children"–note it well–"then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." (Rom. 8:14-17.) ...

"The reasoning is perfect. The Father had a Son, a natural Son, his own literal Seed, the Offspring of his body. This Son is his heir. As an heir he inherits all things from his Father–all power, all might, all dominion, the world, the universe, kingship, eternal exaltation, all things. But our revelations speak of men being exalted also and of their ascending the throne of eternal power. How is it done? Paul has explained it perfectly. They are adopted into the family of the Father. They become joint-heirs with his natural Son ... 

They constitute the sole and only way the eternal increase of an Eternal Father can become like their great Progenitor. As pertaining to this earth, they were revealed first to father Adam. He was baptized, born again, received the priesthood, and kept the commandments. As a result thereof, "a voice out of heaven" proclaimed: "Thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons." (Moses 6:65-68.) "Our father Adam taught these things," the scripture says, "and many have believed and become the sons of God, and many have believed not, and have perished in their sins." (Moses 7:1.)  (The Promised Messiah [1981], pp. 351-357; emphasis added)

For many years in the Church people were sealed up, or vertically, (not across, or horizontally, as in the Marriage sealing) to the Prophets and Apostles (rather than to their parents), but never did it sit quite right. Brigham Young wondered about this and it caused him concern. John Taylor had the same concern and finally, Wilford Woodruff was able to ponder on the matter. It should be remembered that President Woodruff had a very sound understanding of Temple Doctrine. He was the first President of the St. George Temple and thus the first designated President of any of the Latter-day Temples. 

Wilford Woodruff shared his concern publicly after receiving the revelation on how to appropriately seal the entire family of God together for the Eternal blessings:

"We have not fully carried out those principles in fulfillment of the revelations of God to us, in sealing the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. I have not felt satisfied, neither did President [John] Taylor, neither has any man since the Prophet Joseph who has attended to the ordinance of adoption in the temples of our God. We have felt that there was more to be revealed upon this subject than we had received."

"When I went before the Lord to know who I should be adopted to (we were then being adopted to prophets and apostles), the Spirit of God said to me, “Have you not a father, who begot you?”  “Yes, I have.”  “Then why not honor him?  Why not be adopted to him?”  “Yes,” says I, “that is right.”  I was adopted to my father, and should have had my father sealed to his father, and so on back; and the duty that I want every man who presides over a temple to see performed from this day henceforth and forever, unless the Lord Almighty commands otherwise, is, let every man be adopted to his father.  When a man receives the endowments, adopt him to his father; not to Wilford Woodruff, nor to any other man outside the lineage of his fathers.  That is the will of God to this people.  I want all men who preside over these temples in these mountains of Israel to bear this in mind. What business have I to take away the rights of the lineage of any man? What right has any man to do this?. No; I say let every man be adopted to his father; and then you will do exactly what God said when he declared he would send Elijah the prophet in the last days. Elijah the prophet appeared unto Joseph Smith and told him that the day had come when this principle must be carried out. Joseph Smith did not live long enough to enter any further upon these things. His soul was wound up with this work before he was martyred for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ. He told us that there must be a welding link of all dispensations and of the work of God from one generation to another. This was upon his mind more than most any other subject that was given to him.(The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff [1946], p.155; Teaching of Presidents of the Church: Wilford Woodruff [2004]).

Wilford Woodruff had revelation on the matter that would completely change how we approach our Temple worship. It was the final fulfillment of the prophet Elijah's visit to the Kirtland Temple (recorded in D&C 110). I also personally feel that it caused a shout for joy on the other side of the veil. This made the salvation of our kindred dead an urgent matter--for now we truly could not be saved without our dead; not just our dead could not be saved without us.

To the faithful Church member who has children in the Covenant, no adoption is needed. On this matter Elder James E. Talmage taught,

"Although this is incomplete, it may give someone some ideas appertaining to the Sealing Ordinance of a child to Parent. Furthermore, if one is to completely understand this they first will need to understand, in more full sense, the Abrahamic (or Marriage) Covenant.

"Children born to parents thus married under the celestial law are heirs to the Priesthood; 'children of the covenant' they are called; no ordinance of adoption or sealing is required to give them place in the blessed posterity of promise. (The House of the Lord [1976], p.88.)

Other Scripture References: John 1:12; 3 Nephi 9:17; Moroni 7:26, 48; D&C 11:30; D&C 34:3; D&C 35:2; D&C 45:8; Moses 7:1

*should be noted that this was given at the centennial devotional of the Logan Utah Temple. I strongly suggest that people read as it is a great doctrinal commentary on the Temples.

The Latter-Day Ladder

I have received several questions as to what Mormons believe. Surprisingly most of these questions have come from members of the Church confused about little things they read here and there on the internet. I of course cannot declare doctrine: my comments may not necessarily reflect the official position of the Church, but I feel that I can offer some helpful insights. Questions that have arisen include "What is adoption? What if we are literal offspring from Abraham?" or "Why do we keep D&C 132 canonized when we shun polygamy [should really be called "plural marriage"]?"


Most questions revolve around the Temple. This becomes problematic because so often people attempt to answer these questions defensively or, even worse, they answer it with a limited understanding of Temple doctrine. Or worst of all: they answer it with an antagonistic mission. As I have explored the online "blogernacle choir", I have realized that the trend, when it comes to Temple, is to talk about either the wrong things or speculative doctrine. 


Too often, in my opinion, Church members grow confused as to the reason we teach and discuss certain doctrines. For example, I hear over and over again in Sunday School teachings concerning the scattering of Israel. Most of the facts are correct; however, the point is almost always lost. There is no honest evaluation in the class as to why the Lord scattered Israel and what it means to us today. This becomes problematic when we look at the whole picture because the scattering of Israel is, at least in large part, the reason we have the Restored Gospel. The scattering is thus seen as "an event" those many years ago that we have to clean-up in these the Latter-days. This is not right; or at least, it is not the way that we should be viewing it. It was "an event" that proved later to be a tender mercy of the Lord but we fail to see what purpose the scattering serves in the Plan of Salvation and thus we lose the doctrine altogether. The scattering is an integral part of the Plan of Salvation and we would not have the missionary effort today preaching to all the world if we did not first have the scattering of Israel.


What I think is most important is that we as members of the Church focus our attention on the Plan of Salvation. Everything revolves around it. The Temple doctrine, Scattering of Israel, Orders of the Priesthood, the doctrine of intelligence and light, the doctrines of becoming like the Father, the Kolob doctrine, ... would all be much more clear if you and I had a firm foundational understanding on the Plan of Salvation. I hope to keep people focused on that Plan. When we discuss doctrines and do not put it in the context of The Plan of Salvation, then we always run the risk of losing sight as to what the Lord wants for us to learn.


Jacob has an experience in which he learns about the great Plan of the Father and is Endowed. After fleeing from his brother Esau, he stops in a place he would later name Bethel (literally "House of God"). While there he has a dream in which he sees a ladder with the Lord at the top offering Jacob sacred promises and he is promised the great blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. It was the place that he learned of his royal heritage (Genesis 28:10-16; 32: 24-30). The ladder dream was therefore a learning experience.


To Jacob the Lord promises him the land, as he did Abraham years earlier. To Jacob this is his first Temple experience and is also the point when the promises made to his father and grandfather was bestowed upon him. This sacred covenant becomes an integral part of the Plan of Salvation for us. In fact, exaltation in the highest sense depends upon this: we too must have this covenant offered to us. 


Jacob's experience is compelling to say the least because it is a very non-traditional Temple experience. But, as Elder Holland taught,  "You can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in any situation you are in. Indeed, you can have sacred, revelatory, profoundly instructive experiences with the Lord in the most miserable experiences of your life--in the worst settings, while enduring the most painful injustices, when facing the most insurmountable odds and opposition you have ever faced." 


Because Jacob's experience is a learning experience, and I hope to provide learning experiences, I have decided to call the website (as of March 15th) Latter-dayLadder. 


Finally, Above all I hope to be a missionary through this website. I loved my mission. I thoroughly enjoy being able to teach others about the purposes of our Father in Heaven. As I do this I am reminded of my zeal as a missionary. In the Wentworth Letter Joseph Smith wrote, "Our missionaries are going forth to different nations . . . the Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” While serving a mission in southern Colorado and western Kansas, we would quote this at every district meeting and discuss it often in companionship study. I pondered it often and gained a firm testimony that I, as a member and as a missionary (at the time) was serving these purposes and was part of something much bigger than anyone could really recognize. And so it is, with or without me, the purposes of God will move forward. My hope is to keep adding what small momentum I can to those purposes.


I encourage and welcome everyone to comment on it. Please let me know your own insights as I realize that my understanding on these topics can be very limited and I feel that other people's insights are equally valuable. It makes the blogernacle worth it.