Art Bulla
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Joseph, My Joseph!
Further light and knowledge concerning the Political Kingdom of God including a revelation concerning the same given to John Taylor, third President of the Church in 1882:
Years later when John Taylor was president of the Church, a revelation given to the Church stated: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I called you by my servant Joseph, and by my servant Brigham, and by my servant John. You did not teach and instruct me; but I have taught and instructed you and organized you according to my eternal laws. Ye are my Constitution, and I am your God; and I will be acknowledged; and my will and my word and my law shall bear rule in my Kingdom, saith the Lord. If it does not, then it is not my Kingdom, and then are ye not my spokesmen; saith the Lord. For if it is by the wisdom of man, by the intelligence of man, and under the direction of man, then it is a Kingdom of man and not of me, and I acknowledge it not, saith the Lord God. Have I not instructed you in all that you know, and is not this Kingdom organized and directed by revelation from me? Is it not called the Kingdom of God? If, therefore, it is not my Kingdom, why do you make use of my name and invoke my authority and my aid? Is this Kingdom not called, the kingdom of God and his laws, with the keys and power thereof, and judgment in the hands of his servants. Amen Christ."
(Joseph Fielding McConkie, Here We Stand, p.132)
· President Young then spoke of those who was not in the Church--as there were some present--that they would be protected in their rights but they must not introduce wicked men in the camp for it would not be suffered. He then spoke of the standard and ensign that would be reared in Zion to govern the Kingdom of God and the nations of the earth. For every nation would bow the knee and every tongue confess that JESUS was the Christ and this will be the standard: The Kingdom of God and his Laws and Judgment in -------------- [a shorthand entry which completes the full name of the Council of Fifty: The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and Powers thereof and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants]. And on the standard would be a flag of every nation under heaven.
(The Historians Corner Edited by James B. Allen, BYU Studies, vol. 14 (1973-1974), Number 1 - Autumn 1973, p.107)
Brigahm, my Brigham!
· But is it not possible that a more important reason why the Saints failed to cooperate with the State or Illinois is that, according to the jurisprudence of the Kingdom or God, justice was to be in the hand of the Lord as administered by his servants. According to a revelation by Joseph Smith, the official and secret name of the Council of Fifty was "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the keys and powers thereof and judgment in the hands of his servants." Under the concept of legitimacy of the Kingdom of God, the laws of the Kingdom, as administered by its servants, were the only truly legitimate ones. To the extent that secular governments administered the law, they had merely usurped that power. Unlike the gentiles, then, the Mormons. at least according to their own jurisprudence, were not resorting to a higher law, but to the only legitimate law.
(Book Reviews, BYU Studies, vol. 16 (1975-1976), Number 3 - Spring 1976, p.440)
· The Kingdom of God was a shortened name of the authorized title of the Council of Fifty. The full title of the organization, given in a revelation to the Prophet 7 April 1842, was "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and powers thereof and judgment in the hands of his servants, Ahman Christ" (Abraham H. Cannon Journal, 5:24, under date of 9 October 1884, Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah). The date that Joseph Fielding became a member cannot be determined precisely by available documentation, though he was probably present at the two Council of Fifty meetings held prior to the excommunication trial of William Law, et al. This would give, at the latest, 18 April 1844 as the day of his entrance into the Council. Fielding reports in his journal for 11 March 1849: "It is five Years to the Day the 11 of March since the Council, now called the Legislative Council, was first formed by the Prophet Joseph Smith." Speaking earlier of this organization date, he says (sometime in the winter of 1847), "I still hold a Place in the Council of Fifty, and have done from its first organization by Joseph Smith." (Joseph Fieldidng 1841-59 Journal. The first quotation is under the date given on p. 149, and the latter quotation is on p. 126.)
("They Might Have Known That He Was Not a Fallen Prophet"-- the Nauvoo Journal of Joseph Fielding Transcribed and Edited by Andrew F. Ehat , BYU Studies, vol. 19 (1978-1979), Number 2 - Winter 1979, p.166)
· Original documents not only assign various dates of establishment but also designate this special organization by a variety of names. The specific names must be known in order to identify the Council of Fifty and to avoid assuming that every oblique reference to "council" applies to the Council of Fifty. In a revelation presented by John Taylor to the Council of Fifty on 27 June 1882, as well as in the minutes of the 10 April 1880 meeting of the Council of Fifty and in the journals of William Clayton, Franklin D. Richards, and Joseph F. Smith, the official, revealed name of the Council of Fifty is "The Kingdom of God and His Laws with the Keys and[Power[s] thereof, and Judgment in the Hands of His Servants, Ahman Christ."
(The Council of Fifty and Its Members, 1844 To 1945 by D. Michael Quinn , BYU Studies, vol. 20 (1979-1980), Number 2 - Winter 1980, p.166)
· Verily thus saith the Lord, This is the name by which you shall be called, The Kingdom of God and His Law, with the Keys and power thereof, and judgment in the hands of his servants, Ahman Christ.
· . . . The organization of the Kingdom of God on 11 March last is one important event. This organization was called the Council of Fifty or Kingdom of God, and was titled by revelation as follows, "Verily thus saith the Lord, this is the name by which you shall be called, the Kingdom of God and his Laws, with the Keys and power thereof, and judgment in the hands of his servants. Ahman Christ." In this Council was the plan arranged for supporting Pres. Jos. Smith as a candidate for the presidency of the U.S. Prest Joseph was the standing chairman of the council and myself the Clerk. In this Council was also devised the plan of establishing an emigration to Texas, and plans laid for the exaltation of a standard and ensign of truth for the nations of the earth. In this council was the plan devised to restore the Ancients to the Knowledge of the truth and the restoration of Union and peace amongst ourselves. In this Council was Prest Joseph chosen our Prophet. Priest and King by Hosannas. In this Council was the principles of eternal truth rolled forth to the heavens without reserve and the hearts of the servants of God made to rejoice exceedingly.
("It Seems Like Heaven Began on Earth": Joseph Smith and the Constitution of the Kingdom of God by Andrew F. Ehat , BYU Studies, vol. 20 (1979-1980), Number 3 - Spring 1980, p.254,268)
· Since the council was considered as the nucleus of God's future government on earth, it was also termed the "Council of the Kingdom." This name may have originated from an unpublished revelation to Joseph Smith on the subject of the political aspects of the Kingdom of God. By this name, it stated, ye shall be known: "The Kingdom of God and His laws, with the keys and powers thereof and judgment in the hands of his servants." When viewed in this light, the term Kingdom of God had a broader meaning than is usually applied to it when it is used to denote the Church of God. Brigham Young explained by first referring to the various organizations that make up the Church and then stating:
(Hyrum L. Andrus, Joseph Smith and World Government, p.4)
· Years later when John Taylor was president of the Church, a revelation given to the Church stated: "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. I called you by my servant Joseph, and by my servant Brigham, and by my servant John. You did not teach and instruct me; but I have taught and instructed you and organized you according to my eternal laws. Ye are my Constitution, and I am your God; and I will be acknowledged; and my will and my word and my law shall bear rule in my Kingdom, saith the Lord. If it does not, then it is not my Kingdom, and then are ye not my spokesmen; saith the Lord. For if it is by the wisdom of man, by the intelligence of man, and under the direction of man, then it is a Kingdom of man and not of me, and I acknowledge it not, saith the Lord God. Have I not instructed you in all that you know, and is not this Kingdom organized and directed by revelation from me? Is it not called the Kingdom of God? If, therefore, it is not my Kingdom, why do you make use of my name and invoke my authority and my aid? Is this Kingdom not called, the kingdom of God and his laws, with the keys and power thereof, and judgment in the hands of his servants. Amen Christ."
(Joseph Fielding McConkie, Here We Stand, p.132)
· 81. This name, with variations, is given in several sources. The above version is in a revelation to John Taylor, June 27, 1882. Abraham H. Cannon gave its name as "The Kingdom of God and its laws, and the keys thereof and judgment in the hands of His servant, Ahman Christ."-Journal of Abraham H. Cannon, October 9, 1884, Brigham Young University Library. The minutes of the Council of Fifty, April 10, 1884, City Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah, gives still another version: "The Kingdom of God and His laws, with the keys and powers thereof and judgment in the hands of his servants." See also John D. Lee, A Mormon Chronicle: The Diaries of John D. Lee, 1848-1876,ed. Robert Class Cleland and Juanita Brooks (San Marino, California, 1955), I, pp. 97-98.
(Hyrum L. Andrus, Doctrines of the Kingdom, p.60)
The Revelations of Jesus Christ: http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000020307/The-Revelations-of-Jesus-Christ.aspx- "But we ask, does it remain for a people who never had faith enough to call down one scrap of revelation from heaven, and for all they have now are indebted to the faith of another people...does it remain for them to say how much God has spoken and how much He has not spoken?" Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Two 1834-37 Pg.60
- Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Section Six 1843-44 Pg.365
When a man goes about prophesying, and commands men to obey his teachings, he must either be a true or false prophet. - Our website: http://www.artbulla.com
- "All men are liars who say they are of the true Church without the revelations of Jesus Christ and the Priesthood of Melchizedek, which is after the order of the Son of God." Joseph Smith; TPJS p. 376
- "He that can mark the power of Omnipotence, inscribed upon the heavens, can also see God's own handwriting in the sacred volume: and he who reads it oftenest will like it best, and he who is acquainted with it, will know the hand wherever he can see it...." (T.P.J.S., p. 56)
· 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (New Testament | Galatians 1:10 - 12)
The Revelations of Jesus Christ: http://bookstore.iuniverse.com/Products/SKU-000020307/The-Revelations-of-Jesus-Christ.aspx
