Lectures on Faith 2: 1-4

Intro | Preface
Lecture 1: 1 |  2-9 | 10-11 | 12-17 | 18-24

Now I'll move on to lecture 2:

"Having shown in our previous lecture 'faith itself--what it is,' we shall proceed to show, secondly, the object on which it rests.

"We here observe that God is the only supreme governor and independent being in whom all fullness dwell; who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient; without beginning of days or end of life; and that in him every good gift and every good principle dwell; and that he is the Father of Lights; in him the principle of faith dwells independently, and he is the object in whom the faith of all other rational and accountable beings center for life and salvation." (Para. 1-2)

This is a lot of "givens" (if you don't remember that term from geometry or debate class, it essentially means "a basic, foundational condition"). I wanted to go over each title and attribute of God listed here, to see if there's more to learn about God here.

-The only supreme governor-
Perhaps, even if there are other governors, He is the only supreme one? The head Governor of governors, King of kings, and Lord of lords? (That would imply, as Abraham 3:22-4: 1 suggests, that there are other gods that work in harmony with our Father in Heaven, and are even among those who are proving us here on Earth . . . but that's another topic.)

-The only . . . independent being in whom all fullness dwell-
All other beings depend on His fullness to exist, as King Benjamin noted: "[He] has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another" (Mosiah 2: 21). He is the only one who acts independent of an external Power supporting Him. This also applies in an eternal sense; even if we receive the fullness He promises (see, e.g. D&C 93), we receive it from Him, and cannot say it is our fullness. The close we look at our lives, the more we realize we must rely upon Him.

-Who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient-
The usual definition of omnipotent is "unlimited power to do anything," or "ability to do whatever one desires to do." Technically, this is true of God--He has power to do anything that is possible to do--but the Book of Mormon teaches something more about this. Multiple times, the writers of the Book of Mormon explain how, if God changed in any way from what and who He is (which is within His power to do), "God would cease to be God" (Alma 42: 13, among others). So, while God has power to do all things, He also knows which things are best to do, or not do, for our highest good. Joseph gets back to this topic later in the Lectures.

Omnipresent, when referring to God, usually means "everywhere at once." However, we're warned against the traditional Trinitarian definition, where He is somehow everywhere and nowhere, topping a topless throne, completely unknowable yet intimately known by everything and everyone. Such a "being" (if it is one) would be utterly incomprehensible. Yet Christ taught "this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God" (John 17: 3, emphasis mine), so such unknowable somethingness wouldn't lead to life eternal. However, another definition of "Omnipresent" can be found in D&C 88: 1-13, which makes much more sense. For sake of space, I'll leave the link here for you to peruse, but it is a great definition and study source.

Omniscient, thankfully, is much simpler to understand. It means "knows everything." Since Christ literally is "the Spirit of Truth," and since "truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come" (D&C 93: 9, 24), the notion that God knows all things is plain to see.

-Without beginning of days or end of life-
At its most basic, this can mean "has no beginning and no end." Joseph taught this same thing, and also taught that our spirits are co-eternal with Him (TPJS, pg. 353). A question for further study, though: Does Without mean "Lacking," or does Without mean "Outside of" (as in, outside of time)? Could it mean both?

-In Him the principle of faith dwells independently-
As mentioned in the last Lecture, we rest our faith in Him, because He is the only one capable of saving us. Lectures 3 and 4 specify why we're able to rely on Him so perfectly. But, being perfect, God does not need to rely on others for His faith.

-The object in whom the faith of all other rational and accountable beings center for life and salvation-
Again, we'll come back to this topic as the Lectures continue, and a little more in this Lecture.

"In order to present this part of the subject [the object on which saving Faith rests] in a clear and conspicuous point of light, it is necessary to go back and show the evidences which mankind have had, and the foundation on which these evidences are, or were based, since the creation, to believe in the existence of a God." (Para. 3)

So, to better explain how we need to have faith in God, we need to look at the evidence given to our ancestors throughout history, and at the foundation of that evidence; we need to see why our ancestors believed in God's existence.

"We do not mean those evidences which are manifested by the works of creation, which we daily behold with our natural eyes [so, the physical things we see every day, from the tadpoles to the mountains]: we are sensible, that after a revelation of Jesus Christ, the works of creation, throughout their vast forms and varieties, clearly exhibit his eternal power and Godhead. Romans 1:20: 'For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made: even his eternal power and Godhead.' " (Para. 4)

This phrase matches a lot of what Joseph taught and revealed; how gazing into heaven for 5 minutes can teach a man more than anything that's been written on the subject (TPJS, p. 324), how all things testify of Christ (Alma 30: 44, Moses 6: 63), and how anyone who becomes better acquainted with God's hand in the scriptures becomes able to see His hand in everything around them (TPJS, p. 56). While those are important to study and look into, Joseph is trying to go even deeper:

"But we mean those evidences by which the first thoughts were suggested to the minds of men that there was a God who created all things." (Para. 4)

The first thoughts in the minds of humanity. Back to the very beginning. What allowed the first people on Earth to believe there was a God? What gave them this necessary beginning baseline? Logically speaking, Genesis would be the starting point for such research.

Joseph uses a lot out of Genesis, though, so I'll continue on that topic in the next post (or posts).

Lecture 1 Catechism

Intro | Preface | Lecture 1.1 | Lecture 1.2 | Lecture 1.3 | Lecture 1.4 | Lecture 1.5

Most of these lectures had a list of questions, or a "catechism," at the end of the lecture. A catechism is a teaching tool or format where the instructor lists questions relating to the lesson, and then gives the answer directly beneath the questions. To test the student, the teacher would provide the questions, and the student would either recite or write the answers from memory (and if the Lectures' catechisms are any indication, old schools used to require a lot more memorization than they do now).

Because it's a catechism, they're designed to be very, very basic and simple; I'm just going to post them as-is, with a few notes here and there to help with older grammar and wording.

Question 1: What is theology?
It is that revealed science which treats of the being and attributes of God, his relations to us, the dispensations of his providence, his will with respect to our actions and his purposes with respect to our end. (Buck's Theological Dictionary, page 582)

("Dispensations" here has a more broad definition, referring to whenever God's providence is dispensed to His children. While that can apply to the modern LDS definition--a period of time where new truths are dispensed through a prophet of God--it can also apply to God dispensing truth and blessings to you personally, whenever and wherever that happens.)

Question 2: What is the first principle in this revealed science?
Faith. (1:1)

Question 3: Why is faith the first principle in this revealed science?
Because it is the foundation of all righteousness. Hebrews 11:6: Without faith it is impossible to please God. 1 John 3:7: Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness, is righteous, even as he [God] is righteous. (1:1)

Question 4: What arrangement should be followed in presenting the subject of faith?
First, Should be shown what faith is: (1:3)
Secondly, The object upon which it rests; and (1:4)
Thirdly, The effects which flow from it. (1:5)

Question 5: What is faith?
It is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen: Hebrews 11:1. That is, it is the assurance we have of the existence of unseen things. And being the assurance which we have of the existence of unseen things, must be the principle of action in all intelligent beings. Hebrews 11:3: Through faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God. (1:8-9)

Question 6: How do you prove that faith is the principle of action in all intelligent beings?
First, By duly considering the operations of my own mind; and secondly, by the direct declaration of scripture. Hebrews 11:7: By faith Noah, being warned of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. Hebrews 11:8: By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out not knowing whither he went. Hebrews 11:9: By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. Hebrews 11:27: By faith Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. (1:10-11)

(In the past, I've read this as if the reader--the student--is asking the teacher these questions. Just now, though, I'm realizing this could be going the other way: this could be the teacher asking a question of the student, and providing what the student ought to learn. That way, I the student realize that I can prove "faith is the principle of action" through "duly considering the operations of my own mind" and studying "the direct declaration of scripture." It's a slight shift, but it seems powerful to me.)

Question 7: Is not faith the principle of action in spiritual things as well as in temporal?
It is.

Question 8: How do you prove it?
Hebrews 11:6: Without faith it is impossible to please God. Mark 16:16: He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved. Rom. 4:16: Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed: not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. (1:12-13)

(Joseph added to the verse in Romans later on in his life: "Therefore ye are justified of faith and works, through grace, to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to them only who are of the law, but to them also who are of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all. (JST)" So how important are works, if that line had to be re-inserted into the Bible through revelation? And who are they who are "of the faith of Abraham," as opposed to those who are "of the law" of Moses?)

Question 9: Is faith any thing else beside the principle of action?
It is.

Question 10: What is it?
It is the principle of power, also (1:13)

Question 11: How do you prove it?
First, It is the principle of power in the Deity, as well as in man. Hebrews 11:3: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (1:14-16)
Secondly, It is the principle of power in man also. Book of Mormon, Alma 14:23-29: Alma and Amulek are delivered from prison. Helaman 5:37-50: Nephi and Lehi, with the Lamanites, are immersed with the Spirit. Ether 12:30: The mountain Zerin, by the faith of the brother of Jared, is removed. Joshua 10:12: Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. Joshua 10:13: And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. Matthew 17:19: Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? Matthew 17:20: And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Hebrews 11:32 and the following verses: And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again, and other were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection. (1:16-22)

Question 12: How would you define faith in its most unlimited sense?
It is the first great governing principle, which has power, dominion, and authority over all things. (1:24)


Question 13: How do you convey to the understanding more clearly, that faith is the first great governing principle, which has power, dominion and authority over all things?
By it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeably to the will of God; and without it there is no power; and without power there could be no creation, nor existence! (1:24)

Lectures on Faith 1: 18-24

Intro | Preface
Lecture 1: 1 |  2-9 | 10-11 | 12-17 | 18-24

Here at the end of the lecture, after describing what true Faith is, we finally get to the examples in scripture of those who obtained and exercised this Faith:

"The Savior says, Matthew 17:19-20, in explaining the reason why the disciples could not cast out the devil, that it was because of their unbelief: 'For verily, I say unto you,' said he, 'if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place! — and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you' " (para. 18).

Back in the intro to this study, I mentioned what the Book of Mormon means by "unbelief." Christ said this caused of His disciples to lack both power and Faith. So, if having Faith in the right things is key to moving mountains, what are those right things? Joseph gets back to that in the next Lectures, so I'll cover that later.

As for moving mountains, look at the wording Joseph used: "If ye have faith . . . ye shall say unto this mountain. . ." Every time I've read this verse, I've seen it as saying "mustard seed-sized faith is all you need to move mountains." That doesn't seem to be what its saying. Rather, it seems to be describing a process. It seems to be saying "if you currently have as much faith as a tiny mustard seed, you will eventually have enough faith to move mounains," since "shall" would here refer to a promise they will later receive (1828 dictionary). In fact, Christ taught this "mustard seed" likeness after His parables about the Kingdom of God (Matthew 13: 31-32); the mustard seed needed to grow into a tree before it could house the Gifts and Hosts of Heaven, as symbolized by the birds (TPJS, pg. 98).

This seems to be a process, then, that necessarily begins as small as a seed sprouting underground, out of sight, until it gains the strength to appear before the world. Here are the examples of mature Faith Joseph gave:

"Moroni, while abridging and compiling the record of his fathers, has given us the following account of faith as the principle of power: he says, in Ether 12, that it was the faith of Alma and Amulek which caused the walls of the prison to be rent, as recorded in Alma 14: 26-29; that it was the faith of Nephi and Lehi which caused a change to be wrought upon the hearts of the Lamanites when they were immersed with the holy spirit and with fire, as seen in Hel. 5: 45-50; and that it was by faith the mountain Zerin was removed when the brother of Jared spake in the name of the Lord. See also Ether 12: 30. In addition to this we are told in Hebrews 11:32-35, that Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, and that women received their dead raised to life again, etc. Also, Joshua, in the sight of all Israel, bade the sun and moon to stand still, and it was done. Joshua 10:12" (para. 19-21)

This is quite an impressive list; for us in our Hollywood-focused media, this sounds like something that'd fit right into any superhero movie. However, I came across a question in another discussion on this Lecture that added a new dimension to these powers, and to the phrase "principle of power:"

"Whose power?"

Are these scriptures describing people who wielded their own mystical powers, to the awe and wonder of their onlookers? Were they seeking to fulfill their own wills and desires?

Or are these scriptures describing people who acted on God's errand, did God's will, and received God's power only to fulfill His will? Were they simply declaring God's word and delivering His power?

Look at the wording. It's not Alma and Amulek that destroyed the prison; it was their Faith. It wasn't the Brother of Jared who moved Mt. Zerin; it was his Faith, as he spoke "in the name of the Lord." Read through the scriptures Joseph listed and decide for yourself. But to me, it certainly looks like any power demonstrated by those with true Faith must be demonstrated in conformity to God's will. Even if, technically, a person has received some portion of God's power, they are only borrowing that power, and must use it according to God's will.

Two examples fortify this interpretation for me: Nephi and Moses.

For Moses, after the children of Israel started rioting against Moses for water, God told him to speak to a rock in order to bring forth water (Numbers 20: 2-3, 7-8). However, he had already been entrusted with a portion of God's power. Instead of speaking to the rock, he complained to the people of Israel of how much work they expected of him, and smacked the rock twice with his staff. Water still came forth from the rock, but because Moses didn't do it in the way God directed, he was punished: he would not be allowed to enter the promised land. (vs. 10-12)

On the other hand, Nephi had also received a portion of God's power when he broke his brothers' bands out in the desert. (1 Ne. 7: 16-18) Therefore, when they tied him up again on the boat, they had already seen him break out once before. But this time, Nephi didn't get to break himself free; he was required to stay in those bands for about four days, causing great swelling in his hands and wrists (1 Ne. 18: 9-16). If he had broken out again, instead of submitting patiently, perhaps Laman and Lemuel wouldn't have received the broken hearts necessary for the Liahona to guide them. Whatever would have happened, it wouldn't have been a blessing for Nephi to exercise this power at his own will; it would have proven to be a cursing instead (D&C 41: 1).

Joseph sums up the examples (and the whole Lecture) like this: "We here understand that the sacred writers say that all these things were done by faith. It was by faith that the worlds were framed: God spake, chaos heard, and worlds came into order by reason of the faith there was in him. So with man also: he spake by faith in the name of God and the sun stood still, the moon obeyed, mountains removed, prisons fell, lions’ mouths were closed, the human heart lost its enmity, fire its violence, armies their power, the sword its terror, and death its dominion, and all this by reason of the faith which was in him. Had it not been for the faith which was in man, they might have spoken to the sun, the moon, the mountains, prisons, lions, the human heart, fire, armies, the sword, or to death in vain!" (para. 22-23)

Note the wording: "spake . . . in the name of God," or doing so "in vain." This mirrors the commandment "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain (Mosiah 13: 15)." That's another tie to the idea that these powers must be at the Lord's direction; otherwise, we would appear to others to act "in the name of God," as though we had the Lord's approval, when we did not. That would be taking the Lord's name in vain, in this case.

By these descriptions, it seems clear that these powers are inseparably connected to true Faith in God, tested and tried over time to prove such Faith and obedience is true. A Sioux Holy Man by the name of Frank Fools Crow taught this same thing. He considered himself to simply be a "hollow bone," or someone who cleans himself out (through obedience and sacrifice) to deliver God's power to his people for healing and guidance. "The cleanest bones serve Wakan-Tanka and the Helpers (Sioux names for God the Father and His Angels) the best, and medicine and holy people work the hardest to become clean. The cleaner the bone, the more water you can pour through it, and the faster it will run. It is this way with us and power, and the holy person is the one who becomes the cleanest of all." (Fools Crow: Wisdom and Power, p. 26)

It takes work to clean out a bone, to make it into a pipe; but once it's cleansed, nothing would obstruct or taint the flow of water. It would simply be pure water, unaffected by the bone, to the health and healing of whoever needed it. 

By the looks of it, we can't expect to just pay some guru to teach us how to harness the universe; rather, we have to work at cleansing ourselves, repenting, and holding true to our Faith throughout the tests that will inevitably come. Thankfully, we have these examples in our scriptures to show such things are possible.

There is an ancient Taoist saying that says "The sage is he who has attained the central point of the wheel and proves it without himself participating in the movement and remains bound to the Unvarying Mean." It's pretty tricky grammar--as many ancient Chinese proverbs are when translated into English--but to put it plainer, it says "The sage is he who truly understands where the center of the circle is, and proves it by centering his outward actions around that point, always bound in his movement to that which never varies." The sage's actions reveal God to us, as if God is the center point which the sage draws a perfect circle around. And, as was mentioned in the post on this Lecture's first paragraph, if "religion" means to bind us to God, then the purpose of religion would be to make us all sages, "bound to the Unvarying Mean," or to God. As Moses put it, "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His spirit upon them!" (Numbers 11: 26-29)

This teaching can also be found in one of the temple's oft-repeated symbols: the circle within the square.

Like in the Taoist saying above, the circle often symbolizes God, the Highest Power, the Ruler of all things, and the Unity among the Divine (as the Father and the Son are united as one; see John 17: 21-23 and TPJS, pg. 372). Numerically, it's compared to the number 1. The square, like the number 4--which I described in that post on the lightning strike--symbolizes the Earth, or Mortality. In that way, this symbol refers to bringing Heaven to reside on Earth, which temples ideally facilitate.

This is how God's will is done on Earth as it is in Heaven: by a Temple making God's will visible and tangible on this fallen Earth, because Heaven dwells in that Earthly Temple, "which Temple ye are" (1 Cor. 3: 16-17; see also 3 Ne. 24: 1). There's a lot that can be said on this topic, but I believe the topic comes up again in these Lectures, so I'll leave it here. (If not, the topic's worth its own post anyway.)

"Faith, then, is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things: by it they exist, by it they are upheld, by it they are changed, or by it they remain, agreeably to the will of God. (If it's true Faith, it can't be any other way.) Without it there is no power, and without power there could be no creation, nor existence!" (para. 24, emphasis added)

Faith is the power behind everything that exists, everything that happens, and even everything we think. And as we have Faith in God, all things can be possible, as long as it's according to His will. Seems like this is something important, if not vital, to understand and obtain in our lives.

In the next Lectures, Joseph will show how this saving Faith is obtained.