Introduction
"...which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things." - D&C 88:13
The LDS endowment ceremony teaches us the preeminence of God's word. It is God's word that causes the organization of our world,1 as well as all things that occupy it. It is God's word that causes a man's sins to be forgiven. It is obedience to God's word that sanctifies man. It is God's word that brings a man back into God's presence.
Throughout the endowment, we are exposed to a system for the distribution of God's word. We see Heavenly Father speaking to Jesus Christ. We see Jesus Christ speaking to angels. We see angels speaking to men. Through each messenger, the word of God remains true to its original content. Neither Jesus nor his angels add to, take away from, or modify the message they receive. There is not an individual in that series who is authorized to remove from, alter, or invent, even when the chain is augmented by adding a final link of a human messenger. Were removal, modification, or invention to occur, the changed portion would cease to be God's word and there would be no power in it. All happiness is found in the word of God.2
The Lord commands us to heed his word:
And I give unto you a commandment, that ye shall forsake all evil and cleave unto all good, that ye shall live by every word which proceedeth forth out of the mouth of God. (D&C 98:11)
It is exceedingly important for us to obey this commandment. After all, the righteous are not those who profess a particular creed or are members of a particular culture, but those who serve God.3 To serve God, one must seek, discern, and heed his word. Understanding the origin of God's word, where we receive it from, and how we receive it is essential to being counted among the righteous. This chapter explores just how the word proceeds forth from the mouth of God.
Footnotes
- 1. "And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day." (Moses 2:5) ↩
- 2. "And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us." (Alma 44:5) ↩
- 3. See Malachi 3:18 ↩