“The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is a temporary institution which will cease to
exist after this life. There is no vision, revelation, scripture or
statement promising us that the church as an institution will
continue to exist after mortality. What the scriptures, visions, and
revelations do tell us about the eternal description of the saved is
that it is “the Church of the Firstborn” or “the Church of the
Lamb.” Membership in that group is separate from membership in The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Nephi uses “Church of the Lamb”
(see e.g., 1 Ne. 14: 12) to describe the latter-days group over whom
the Lord will watch. Interestingly, although Joseph had this
revelation before him when he organized the church, he did not choose
the “Church of the Lamb” as the organization’s name.
When modern revelation refers to those
who inherit the Celestial Glory, it calls them members of the “Church
of the Firstborn” (see, e.g., D&C 76: 67 also 93: 22). Those
who are chosen in our day to belong to the Church of the Firstborn
are shown only one way in which that takes place. In a revelation
given to Joseph Smith while translating the New Testament, Section
77, Joseph gave this explanation of the latter-day 144,000 saved
persons in verse11: “they are they who are ordained out of every
nation, kindred, tongue, and people, by the angels to whom is given
power over the nations of the earth, to bring as many as will come to
the church of the Firstborn.”
At the time Joseph received the
explanation recorded in Section 77 (March 1832) the church had
existed for over two years. When the official name was given in 1838
(D&C 115: 4) the name chosen for the earthly, temporary
organization was The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints –
not the Church of the Firstborn.
The
Church of the Firstborn exists on the “other side” so to speak.
You qualify to get there by how you live here. But you have to be
invited into that church by the “angels to whom is given power”
to extend that invitation.” (DS 2-12-10)
Nephi made that interesting observation, passing along information which he received from an angel as do all true Prophets. He did not deem that information "too sacred" to share.
ReplyDeleteThis is completely in keeping with what Moroni said: "Behold, I say unto you, Nay, neither have angels ceased to minister to the children of men" "showing themselves unto them of strong faith" "by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of Him. And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ". (Moroni 7:29-32)
Where does that statement from an angel leave all the many claims by numerous churches that they are the Lord's "only true church"?
James Russell Uhl