Month: April 2023

A friend of mine recently shared this video with me, which I found incredibly touching. Maybe it was something about the earnest spirit conveyed in this cover, maybe it was because my perspective had changed since the last time I paid attention to the lyrics, but I noticed a line I’d never heard before.

The third verse begins: “I believe in the kingdom come, then all the colors will bleed into one.” I don’t know who told Bono to write that, but it’s probably one of the deepest ideas I’ve ever heard expressed in contemporary music. It’s a very poetic description of the redemption of the world.

“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him” (Ephesians 1:10).

Christ is the truth. All things coalesce and come together in Him. He is the fulfillment of the law, and of all prophecy. He is the sum of the scriptures, and all that is good, true, and beautiful.

This is why the testimony of Jesus is the sprit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). Prophecy is more than predicting the future—it is to speak the truth: “for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be” (Jacob 4:13).

Reality is organized in fractal patterns that flow out of God’s character. To speak to any of portion of this truth is to testify of God. “The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44). This is why Jacob says that “none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ” (Jacob 7:11). You cannot prophesy—that is, you cannot speak truth—without testifying of Christ in some degree or fashion.

All of the disparate parts of reality are one in Christ. He is the “kingdom come,” the redemption of the world, and the prototype of a saved being. He is what the world must become in order to be redeemed. As people become more and more like Him, all things will come together. This is what the gathering of Israel is about. The ascent in light towards that which is greatest causes all independent bodies to converge in one.

One way we can think about this pattern is the idea of a mountain. At the bottom, things are desperate and spread apart. As you move closer to the top, all sides come together.

The further you are from God, the more separate ideas seem. The gentiles have put all of these things into different buckets (e.g. biology, physics, psychology, religion, economics, philosophy, music, art, history, etc). The closer you come to God, the more you see that all truth can be circumscribed into one great whole. His Spirit provides a top-down perspective, wherein all things can be perceived as one.

In the end times, as the kingdom comes, all colors will bleed into one. All that is good, true, and beautiful will be gathered together in one in their ascent towards Christ.

The invitation of the gospel is to become like He is. As you ascend in light and truth, the kingdom will be a little more manifest, and the world will be a little more redeemed.

God noted to Noah that the rainbow was a symbol of the covenant He made regarding the “kingdom come.” Anciently, the rainbow was understood to represent the bridge (or ladder) to heaven (e.g. Thor and the bifrost). It was the path of ascension. To Noah and his posterity, it represents the ultimate convergence of heaven and earth that is in Christ.

21 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself.
22 And this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy;
23 And the general assembly of the church of the firstborn shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch. (JST Genesis 9:21-23)

Don’t hesitate, don’t waste any time; come to Him today. Repent of all your sins, live in unity with Him, and seek out His character in greater clarity. Those who do so, pursuing this path to its end, will overcome the world. There is no other way, nor name given under heaven, whereby man can be saved.

“Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48).

There are some who will quote the above verse to support the idea that perfection can only be attained after this life. Therefore, you ought not to worry about doing so here, because your nature and desire to sin will change in the resurrection. This differs from the message of the scriptures.

Alma taught that the resurrection is a restoration: “the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful” (Alma 41:13).

As a matter of fact, this popular line of thinking overlooks the premise of the issue, which is that Jesus led a life of perfect obedience. There is a reason Christ did not include Himself in this category until after the resurrection, and it doesn’t have anything to do with His ability to keep the commandments.

Joseph Smith taught, “[Christ] descended in suffering below that which man can suffer, or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be. But notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God, and remained without sin: Showing thereby that it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin. And also, that by him a righteous judgment might come upon all flesh, and that all who walk not in the law of God, may justly be condemned by the law, and have no excuse for their sins” (Lectures on Faith 5:2).

Those who teach that such obedience is an achievement only attainable in the afterlife actually work against Christ and His purposes—however well intentioned they may be: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:12). They are, in a word, antichrist.

Complete submission and perfect obedience is the narrow path that leads to perfection. The Savior’s injunction to be perfect as He and His Father are is an invitation to get on the path and persist to its end (as He did).

12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;
14 And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.
15 And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son.
16 And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;
17 And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.

19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.
21 And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn;
22 And all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the church of the Firstborn. (D&C 93:12-17, 19-22).

Christ was the first to walk this course to the end—but the day will come when every person who wishes to enter celestial glory must become like He is, or else not be saved.

In not many days hence there will be 144,000 servants with the Father’s name written in their foreheads—144,00 who have the image of God engraven in their countenances (compare to John 14:8-12). They will gather as many as will come into the Church of the Firstborn—and such a ministry will not cease until the earth is full of celestial glory.

The path forward is to repent of all your sins (Alma 22:16), retain a remission of your sins (Mosiah 4:11-12), and grow from grace to grace until you are made perfect in Christ (Moroni 10:32-33).

“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 31:20-21).

At my wife’s insistence, I gave the Exodus roundtable series led by Jordan Peterson a listen—and what a superb recommendation that was. I haven’t found better content from public figures like this in a long time, if ever. It has been very inspiring.

The content is gated, but well worth the cost of the DailyWire+ subscription. It’s an extremely small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things—maybe the cost of a lunch out. I’ll include a sample clip below.

What’s so deeply moving to me about this is that the concepts and ideas they’re discussing are proportional to the depth with which they’re being treated. They understand its concrete practicality—not as abstract theological trivia, but as the meaty stuff of life.

By contrast, I’m grieved by churches, preachers, and the local Christian YouTuber who talk about religious ideas and phrases in a sort of arbitrary way. Most Christians I hear talk about “salvation” (for example) as though it were a pretend game they’re trying really hard to believe in. It often sounds like they’re bad actors reading cheesy lines from a script they didn’t write. They draw near with their lips, but their hearts are far from God (Isaiah 29:13).

In Jacob 5, we read of the Master’s grief at the corruption in his vineyard with an interesting insight: “Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard? And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard—have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?” (Jacob 5:47-48).

The cause of the corrupted fruit on the tree was that the branches had grown taller than the roots were deep. Though they were aware of many religious concepts, phrases, and ideas, their depth and meaning had not reached equally far down into their hearts. Instead, they were just arbitrary rules, weird stories, and an imaginary reward. This is the condition that produces corrupt fruit.

It’s been said that you should beware of wisdom you have not earned. Much of the burden modern Christianity labors under is this: Christ is the greatest revelation of truth this world can know. All truth, prophecy, beauty, goodness, and scripture culminate in His person. We have his life and his teachings. However, such a great revelation is as much a burden as it is deliverance. If we don’t comprehend the depth of what we’ve been given, dialogue and devotion can easily become rote and insincere.

This becomes particular true for “Mormonism” as well—which is a higher-resolution revelation of Christ. The revealed person of Christ is the testimony and doctrine of Joseph Smith. They are among the highest branches the world has access to. As such, those whose roots are not equally deep will either a) seem like they’re acting even more, or b) perceive its doctrines as being even stranger than the rest of Christendom. Situation A often perpetuates situation B.

Instances where religious people go crazy, or are led down some dark trail of deception (like Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell) showcase examples of corrupt fruit caused by shallow roots and tall branches. The spiritual emptiness of modern churches is another example.

When someone is going through a faith crisis, it’s inevitably because their branches are taller than their roots (and they are/are tasting bad fruit). Taller branches are heavier branches. Trying to maintain a belief in ideas that seem so far removed from the way you experience reality can feel like a massive burden. It will feel like trying to defend something that seems indefensible. This is the weight of having access to revelation you have not yet earned.

As Christ said, “I am the head of the corner. These Jews shall fall upon me, and shall be broken. And the kingdom of God shall be taken from them, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof; (meaning the Gentiles.) Wherefore, on whomsoever this stone shall fall, it shall grind him to powder” (JST Matthew 21:52-54).

Every tree which bringeth forth evil fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Though the wicked feel they are separating themselves from faith, the reality is that they are being pruned from the tree (Jacob 5:65-66).

All that being said, the beginnings of our Western religious revival are springing up in places where where roots and branches are equal in strength (Jacob 5:73). People like Jordan Peterson have certainly been a big part of that. In many ways, they’re emblematic of the larger shift taking place among atheist/agnostic types moving towards religion (example; it’s also interesting reading through the comments section on videos like these).

As this revival continues, and branches and roots grow in equal proportion to one another, greater truth will be embraced by a wider number of people. Those who are living according to the light being publicly dispensed now will grow from one degree to another until they come into a fulness.

This wave of revival is currently entering Christianity generally. The time will come, in not too many years, when the roots will grow to be equal in strength with the branches “Mormonism” offers, and will then exceed it. This wave will see the ministry of the end time servant, and all truth will be gathered together in one. Then the work of the Father will commence unto the fulfilling of his covenants to His people—the house of Israel.

The character of Christ is the fulfillment of all truth, prophecy, and covenant. He fulfilled the prophecies and promises made to the house of Israel in His life—and by so doing paved the way that others might do the same. When the seeds of His atoning sacrifice reach full maturity, there will be tens of thousands of people who likewise embody the fulfillment of truth, prophecy, and covenant. This is one reason why the patterns of the prophecy of Isaiah are applied to Christ’s day and the last days.

What we’re beginning to witness now is the work of redemption suddenly reaching its boiling point.

The Master is at work in the vineyard.

Building on the framework of the last episode, I describe what ideal we must worship and attend to in order to escape nihilism and overcome our endemic capacity for self-destruction. We all have an innate desire for life, and a moral sense for what promotes it. By exploring the phenomenological patterns surrounding that conception in heroes and other examples, we can begin mapping out the course we must walk to obtain abundant and meaningful life.

“And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?… And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:14, 26)

It’s important that when we are reflecting on our obedience to God, we do so holistically. If there is some temptation or sin that “doth so easily beset [us],” we would be most benefited by seeing it as a symptom of our heart rather than a a mere behavioral problem.

The most important question we need to ask ourselves is, “Am I willing to obey and submit to God in all things?” This is the strait gate, and it is a binary condition. When you are in it, you walk “keeping yourselves blameless before God” (Alma 5:27). You are stripped of pride and envy (v. 28-29). You do not make a mock of your brother, or heap persecutions upon him (v. 30). You do not set at defiance the commandments of God (v. 18), but can rather look up to God with a pure heart and clean hands (v. 19).

If you have made this commitment once, but find yourself overcome by the world again, do not spend your energy trying to fix one behavior at a time. If you do not pluck the whole thing up by its roots, it will continue to have a hold on you. Instead, view the change in circumstance as a revelation of your heart. Turn to the Lord and give Him all you have without exception. Yield to the upward pull of His Spirit from moment to moment. This level of commitment will open a channel whereby heaven’s power can flow down to you, filling you, and changing your heart.

In my experience, it’s much less about the wrong you’re doing, and much more about the right you’re not doing. Sin is not intended to be the focus of your attention, but feedback towards what you’re heart is set upon. Uncover the deeper desire behind temptation, bring it into the light, and let Christ’s love melt away your chains.

Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ. Give every moment and desire to Him. Look to Him in every thought; when He is at your right hand, you cannot be moved. Seek after and feast upon His words, light, love, and character. Let it change you til your whole body is full of light, and there is no darkness left. “O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life” (Jacob 6:11).

This is the first episode in a series unpacking the unique theological, psychological, and spirutal value Mormonism has to offer. I focus primarily on reframing the modern conception of life, religion, and the world. This initial paradigm shift will provide us the framework necessary to see what is largely missed through our Western lens.