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. My Testimony Regarding the Revelation presented in the Kirtland Temple - April 30, 2000.
When I first received a copy of this message I was immediately troubled by it, and set it aside for a couple days to pray that the Lord would prepare my heart to receive the message if it was given of Him. I read it again, later, and as I read, I found that there was no single statement in the message which I did not already believe to be true. I was also aware that others would interpret the message differently than it appeared to me in meaning and this still bothered me somewhat, even though I was entirely at peace with the message itself. I continued to seek the Lord to have a clearer testimony concerning it. I felt impressed that I should look for the chiastic structure in the message, and I believe I was shown the structure below by the Spirit of God. This clear chiastic structure was a strong witness to me that this message was not the work of a man.
A couple days later while driving south from the job-site I had been working at in Canada, I was suddenly overcome with a flood of the Spirit of God, and the words poured out from my heart – "He leadeth me, Oh blessed thought! Oh words, with heavenly comfort fraught". As these words filled my soul with peace and comfort, I was immediately caused to remember the message through Gary, and I believe it was an additional witness, that this message holds a great key to our being led by His spirit to accomplish this work. It was also impressed on me that we must begin to agree upon the commandment of God, and commit to keeping them, just as we have been commanded for the elders to meet together to "agree upon my word", and to "note with a pen" how to act, that we may begin to do these things.
Peter P. Gould
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Message through Gary Wheeler:
I have prayed about the gathering to the Kirtland Temple planned for April 29 and 30, 2000, sponsored by the Association for the Unity of the Restoration Saints. On the morning of April 3, 2000, I began to pray more earnestly and expectantly, and I immediately received the following message from the Lord. Also, the Lord has reminded me of Jesus' words in Matthew 6:8. "For your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." He also reminded me of his words in Isaiah 65:24. "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." The message I received is given now. Gary Wheeler.
If you will hear the voice of the Lord, then hear the voice of the Lord. My law is given in the book of Doctrine and Covenants. Why do my people want me to speak to them when many of them do not accept what I have already said?
You do well to gather together and seek greater unity, but how can you be unified with me when you as a people deny my words to my face many times. Stop fighting against my word given by the two prophets Joseph Smith.
Stop saying you are waiting on direction from the Lord, when it is I, the Lord, who am waiting on you to repent, and believe, and obey my words which I gave a long time ago. You do not allow me to lead you when you refuse to heed my word. I want to speak to my people and lead them when they are willing to listen to my voice. When you do not heed that which I have already given you, why should I speak again just to add to your condemnation? If you, as a people, will turn from your own way and follow me more fully, I will lead you out of your ignorance and confusion with great joy. Take heed to that which has already been given and then I will add to it, line upon line, precept upon precept, as I see fit, according to your need.
Section 17 and Section 104 were arranged as numbers 2 and 3 in the original Doctrine and Covenants, by my servant Joseph and others, because of their great importance in governing the Church.
If you will hear the voice of the Lord, then hear my voice today, that you may carry my work forward and be prepared for the great day of tribulation which is nigh at hand. I am your Savior, Jesus Christ, and I love those who hearken unto my words. Amen.
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Message – chiastically diagramed:
By careful and prayerful consideration of this message, the following chiastic form present in the message through Gary Wheeler became apparent:
A-) If you will hear the voice of the Lord, then hear the voice of the Lord.
B-) My law is given in the book of Doctrine and Covenants.
C-) Why do my people want me to speak to them when many of them do not accept what I have already said?
Central) You do well to gather together and seek greater unity, but how can you be unified with me when you as a people deny my words to my face many times. Stop fighting against my word given by the two prophets Joseph Smith.
C-) Stop saying you are waiting on direction from the Lord, when it is I, the Lord, who am waiting on you to repent, and believe, and obey my words which I gave a long time ago.
Parenthetical Aside – a parallelism, with a central point and future promise:
a --) You do not allow me to lead you
b --) When you refuse to heed my word.
a --) I want to speak to my people and lead them when they are willing to listen to my voice.
b--) When you do not heed that which I have already given you, why should I speak again, just to add to your condemnation?
a--) If you, as a people, will turn from your own way, and follow me more fully, I will lead you out of your ignorance and confusion with great joy.
b--) Take heed to that which has already been given and then I will add to it, line upon line, precept upon precept, as I see fit, according to your need.
End of Parenthetical Aside:
B-) Section 17 and Section 104 were arranged as numbers 2 and 3 in the original Doctrine and Covenants, by my servant Joseph and others, because of their great importance in governing the Church.
A-) If you will hear the voice of the Lord, then hear my voice today, that you may carry my work forward and be prepared for the great day of tribulation which is nigh at hand. I am your Savior, Jesus Christ, and I love those who hearken unto my words. Amen.
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Consideration of the main body of the message:
Before looking at the chiastic mapping of this message, I would like to note a few items about chiasms found elsewhere in the scriptures. Most of them have a central theme, that is pointed to by the chiastic structure. Consider this example:
THE COVENANT OF THE RAISING UP OF A "CHOICE SEER" TO RESTORE THE "RIGHTEOUS BRANCH" TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE MESSIAH -- IINephi 2:5 - 12
A – The covenant to Joseph
"For behold, thou art the fruit of my loins; and I am a descendant of Joseph, which was carried captive into Egypt. And great were the covenants of the Lord, which he made unto Joseph; wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day."
B – A promise from God to "raise up" a righteous branch from the loins of Joseph
"And he obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins, the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; Not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off; never the less, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins, the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel;"
CENTRAL – the Messiah to be revealed to them in power in the latter days
"That the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light; yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom."
B – A promise from God to "raise up" a choice seer from the loins of Joseph
"For Joseph truly testified saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, which shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins. Yea, Joseph truly said, Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins."
A – The covenant to the fathers (i.e. Joseph)
"And unto him will I give commandment, that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with they fathers."
In this example we see clearly that the structure of this portion of the prophecy "points" to the central message of importance, which is that the house of Israel would be brought to a knowledge of the Messiah, being liberated from the captivity of the darkness which binds them down. Note that before the central idea is the introduction of the matter starting with the fact that God had made certain general promises to Joseph (the son of Jacob). These covenants culminate with bringing of the knowledge of the Messiah to his descendants in the "latter days" – which is the central theme. After the central theme there is a discussion of some of the specifics of how this will be accomplished beginning with the raising up of a "choice seer", and the word that he would do, which would result in the great deliverance that is promised here. This is the general pattern of chiastic structures in the scriptures. The statements before the central theme are to introduce the center, and the statements afterward tend to give specifics of how these things are to be accomplished.
Now consider the message above given through Gary. Looking at the structure of the revelation as diagramed above, we can look at the message without the parenthetical statements, which will help get the outline of the main over-all message as follows:
A-) If you will hear the voice of the Lord, then hear the voice of the Lord.
B-) My law is given in the book of Doctrine and Covenants.
C-) Why do my people want me to speak to them when many of them do not accept what I have already said?
Central) You do well to gather together and seek greater unity, but how can you be unified with me when you as a people deny my words to my face many times. Stop fighting against my word given by the two prophets Joseph Smith.
C-) Stop saying you are waiting on direction from the Lord, when it is I, the Lord, who am waiting on you to repent, and believe, and obey my words which I gave a long time ago.
(parenthetical aside – remove from here, to make the main chiasm more clear)
B-) Section 17 and Section 104 were arranged as numbers 2 and 3 in the original Doctrine and Covenants, by my servant Joseph and others, because of their great importance in governing the Church.
A-) If you will hear the voice of the Lord, then hear my voice today, that you may carry my work forward and be prepared for the great day of tribulation which is nigh at hand. I am your Savior, Jesus Christ, and I love those who hearken unto my words. Amen.
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What is the message?
A-) If we want to hear what the Lord has for us, all we have to do is open our ears to Him.
B-) He has given us direction as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants.
C-) Why do we cry for him to speak more, when we do not accept what is already given?
Main Point: - These three items "point" to the central theme which tells us that it is a good desire in the Lord’s eyes for us to seek unity, but unity among us can only be achieved if we will stop fighting against the direction given through two prophets – both named Joseph Smith. The main question that we need to ask in response to this central message is this: What direction have we been "fighting"? Since this is the central point of the message, it is the central question to answer. What revelations given through brother Joseph Smith Jr are we "fighting" as an association? We each must answer, but also this whole unity effort must answer if we are to proceed. We now proceed to the specifics which are given to help fulfill the central purpose.
C-) We are commanded to no longer say that we are waiting for the Lord to direct us, because he has given more than sufficient direction for us in the past. This commandment is elaborated upon in the parenthetical aside, considered below.
B-) We are called particularly to pay attention to the guidance in sections 17 and 104. Section 17 contains the "Articles and Covenants" of the church. These articles were to be the base-line beliefs and teachings of the church, and their importance was noted in their placement in the first D&C. We should note that these Articles and Covenants of the church are referred to in other commandments for the guidance of the church. If we are to begin to operate as the church established in April of 1830, then we need to examine these Articles and Covenants of the church, and begin to live by them. Section 104 contains the instructions of the Lord relative to the establishment of the various quorums of the church, and presidents for each of these quorums and for the church. If we do not establish these quorums and presidents, then this revelation is effectively denied – to the Lord’s face. If these revelations contain the relative information necessary to establish the proper order of the church, and we continue to say that we are waiting for the Lord to speak on the matter – are we not "fighting" against these things, and need to repent?
A-) In summary, if we wish to hear the Lord’s voice, we must open our understanding and hear, and by doing so we well be blessed and prepared for those things shortly to come to pass.
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Consideration of the parenthetical aside:
The parenthetical hangs off of "C’" and as such it is meant to clarify the command - "Stop saying you are waiting on direction from the Lord".
C-) Stop saying you are waiting on direction from the Lord, when it is I, the Lord, who am waiting on you to repent, and believe, and obey my words which I gave a long time ago."
Parenthetical Aside – a parallelism, with a central point:
a --) You do not allow me to lead you
b--) when you refuse to heed my word.
a--) I want to speak to my people and lead them when they are willing to listen to my voice.
b--) When you do not heed that which I have already given you, why should I speak again, just to add to your condemnation?
a--) If you, as a people, will turn from your own way, and follow me more fully, I will lead you out of your ignorance and confusion with great joy.
b--) Take heed to that which has already been given and then I will add to it, line upon line, precept upon precept, as I see fit, according to your need.
End of Parenthetical Aside:
This aside to the text is to clarify the direct command which is given in this message – "Stop saying you are waiting…" It is in a triple a – b parallelism which makes it chiastic as well. The first point (a-b statement) basically says that we should stop saying that we are waiting, because we aren’t allowing God to lead us when we refuse to heed what we have been given. The central of this aside continues by showing that the Lord WANTS to lead us if we show ourselves willing to listen, BUT when we refuse to heed his direction, it only brings us under greater condemnation for him to speak and given additional guidance. This is central to the "aside" – that God wants to direct us more fully, but he does not desire to bring us under greater condemnation. The third a-b statement specifies what we must do, to obtain the promise that he will begin to lead us if we repent of our disbelief, and when we heed what is already given. THEN he will add to what we have already been given – "line upon line, precept upon precept". All three of these a-b statements are given to clarify the command – "stop saying you are waiting…". After this, the message continues with the other specifics we must focus on to progress in our efforts.
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