Introduction

"What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." - D&C 1:38

The Lord has commanded that we "shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God."¹ As laid out in another chapter of this book, God speaks his word to us through his own presence, his voice, angels, and sometimes even men. We are told that,

...whatsoever [the Elders of the church] shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation. (D&C 68:4)

An example of this principle is given by Mormon's seeking the word of God in relation to whether or not infants should be baptized. He seeks the Lord and obtains the word of God in a writable response:

Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me. And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me; wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before God, that ye should baptize little children. (Moroni 8:9)

Several important factors are worth pointing out here. First, Mormon says that the source of this revelation was not a personal visit of Christ, but the Holy Ghost. The still small voice, in other words, is actually a voice; an audible, transcribable voice. This is consistent with how Joseph described the still small voice: "Yea, thus saith the still small voice, which whispereth through and pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest, saying..."² He then goes on to give a lengthy "thus saith the Lord" revelation. Since the word of God is the word that God speaks, it must necessarily come via a "thus saith the Lord" revelation. Now, often revelation comes in a flash of intelligence that must be put to words by the recipient. However, the vital point is that there is transcribable substance to true revelation-not just emotion. It need not be long-an answer to a question of yes or no is certainly the word of God and is a single word revelation.

When the Elders (or whoever else) are speaking, the mind of the Lord, the word of the Lord, the voice of the Lord, and power unto salvation are only present inasmuch as their words are actually given to them by God. If God is speaking to them via the Holy Ghost and they repeat those words given to them, they are speaking the mind of the Lord. However, D&C 68:4 does not mean that whatever a holder of church office says is God's mind; man cannot dictate the mind of God. The word of God must actually come from God!

We can understand this further by analyzing the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants. Here we encounter verse 38, usually quoted without the rest of the section:

What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

As we have shown elsewhere in this book, in order for words to have the power of God, they must proceed from the throne down, not from earth up. Therefore, taken in conjunction with what God said elsewhere in the scriptures, the Lord can only be saying here, "if someone speaks the words of God, it doesn't matter whether that someone is me or someone else, I will own those words, because they came from me." Note that this is not the same as saying, "whatever a church office holder says, I will consider that as if I had said it, even though the words did not come from me." He explicitly says "what I have spoken." In fact, he says it twice. The "whether by mine own voice" is not variable in the source of the word, but only variable in terms of which messenger (the Lord himself, an angel, or a man) delivered it. The word "servant" here does not indicate an office, but simply a role that can as easily be filled by a child³ as a patriarch, or a heathen as a saint. The only qualification for a true messenger is that the word they carry, as brief as it may be, originates from God. It is supremely important to heed God's word no matter who the messenger may be.

And wo be unto him that will not hearken unto the words of Jesus, and also to them whom _he hath chosen and sent among them_; for whoso receiveth not _the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent_ receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the last day; (3 Nephi 28:34)

Messengers of God can be a motley crew. On the one hand, we see that Caiaphas' role as a messenger of God was not abrogated despite his being guilty of the blood of Christ, for it was he who prophesied (or, in other words, spoke God's word) that it were better that one man die than a nation. On the other hand, we see Jesus of Nazareth, not only void of church authority or office, but also grossly unorthodox, whose only credential was that his message actually came from God. He did not use any other signet of authority besides simply claiming that his message was from God. He said, "He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me."⁴ Even to the Nephites, to whom he appeared in resurrected glory and in plain display of his divinity, his authority was simply as the messenger of the Father, come to deliver his word:

Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you-that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, _because my Father sent me_...And this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth _the words which he hath given_, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words. (3 Nephi 27:13,18)

Interestingly, like Abinadi, John the Baptist, Lehi, and the majority of scriptural prophets, Jesus' message was from God and supremely official despite his never having been appointed by the duly recognized authorities nor sustained by the body of the church. This did not invalidate the source of his message nor nullify God's word as preached through him.

The origination from God is critically important. Even Joseph, whose words God commanded us to receive as his own (an endorsement I am not aware of any other man having received in this dispensation), had a limitation placed in his endorsement. God explicitly limits his commission as a messenger to his word: "Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;"⁵ Thus we call these people messengers and not, say, authors. No man can dictate God's word independent of God giving it to him.

Because messengers are only true when their message emanates from God, true messengers always plainly identify the heavenly source of their message. Nephi son of Helaman "declare[d] unto them the word of the Lord which had been spoken unto him."⁶ Jesus commanded the Nephite twelve to "declare the words which I have spoken, unto the ends of the earth."⁷ He told Abraham, "I show these things unto thee before ye go into Egypt, that ye may declare all these words."⁸ Enoch saw a vision where "the Lord spake with me, and gave me commandment" to speak specific words to specific people.⁹ King Benjamin's famous speech was an exposition of "the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of the Lord" the night before.¹⁰ Jacob spoke on the errand of the Lord, who explicitly gave him the words to say:

Wherefore, I must tell you the truth according to the plainness of the word of God. For behold, as I inquired of the Lord, thus came the word unto me, saying: Jacob, get thou up into the temple on the morrow, and declare the word which I shall give thee unto this people. (Jacob 2:11)

He said, "Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker."¹¹ His brother Nephi similarly received the text of his sermons not only from his encounters with angels but from the "words of [his] Maker"¹²:

And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye-for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness. (2 Nephi 33:11)

Alma Jr. tells us that his father and Abinadi both spoke the words that were given them from God:

Behold, I can tell you-did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them? (Alma 5:11)

The foregoing personalities are the most powerful preachers in scripture. If they (including the Savior) would not pretend to preach the gospel except God dispensed his word to them, should we? God said,

Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men. (D&C 11:21)

He has told us that we need to treasure his word up in our minds in order to be blessed to be given his words when the necessity arises:

Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man. (D&C 84:85)

Note that the phrase "every man" seems to indicate that this command is to every man, not just those who are wont to have spiritual experiences. God makes this explicit by explaining that those who preach are only to do so by (or in accordance with or through the means of) the Comforter, thus giving them God's word.¹³ Joseph said the same: "All are to preach the Gospel, by the power and influence of the Holy Ghost; and no man can preach the Gospel without the Holy Ghost."¹⁴ "If ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach."¹⁵ God has commanded us to declare his word, not our own: "And in this place let them lift up their voice and declare my word with loud voices..."¹⁶

And what of those who do not preach God's word but teach by "some other way?" All the pretense of a false messenger is worthless if the individual does not, in fact, possess a message from the throne of God. For all his office, King Noah and the like never delivered the word of God. Abinadi tells us that though King Noah's priests considered themselves teachers over the people and knew at least a few verses, they failed to teach the people even the simplest saving doctrines, and were woefully ignorant of the gospel. The church office of Noah and his priests (who had been duly ordained by those who had authority and were sustained by their people) was insufficient to empower them to speak God's word without God having given it to them. Office isn't enough, even if God himself calls the individual.

For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him. (D&C 3:4)

Many personalities in the scriptures, including Judas Iscariot, King Saul, King David, and several Old Testament prophets, had at least seasons where their rebellion led to a dearth in the word of God-sometimes permanently. The truthfulness of messengers is not permanent; their status as a nexus between heaven and earth can be transitory. It is subject to their own status with God and God's ever-changing will.

In Noah's priests we see an example of how false priests, not having a dispensation of God's word, must necessary fill their sermons with misapplied scriptures they do not understand. Samuel the Lamanite tells us that false prophets fill their sermons with praise for people, since they have not received God's word which is always to repent. Though they are sometimes helpful in expounding scripture, platitudes, stories, or personal interpretations are not God's word and are powerless to save in and of themselves.

Let's take a look a the rest of D&C 1, the Lord's preamble to the Doctrine and Covenants:

And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. And they shall go forth and none shall stay them, for _I the Lord have commanded them_. Behold, _this is mine authority, and the authority of my servants_, and my preface unto the book of my commandments, which I have given them to publish unto you, O inhabitants of the earth. (D&C 1:4-6)

The Lord's command is the Lord's authority, and the Lord's command is the authority of his servants. Without the Lord's command, his servants have no authority. Without the Lord's command, he has no servants. When one ceases to receive commands from the Lord, one ceases to be the Lord's servant.

Receipt of the continually flowing word of God is essential to increasing faith in the world, as the Lord continues:

And also gave commandments to others, that they should proclaim these things unto the world; and all this that it might be fulfilled, which was written by the prophets-The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh-But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; That faith also might increase in the earth; That mine everlasting covenant might be established; (D&C 1:18-22)

The phrase "arm of the flesh" as used in the scriptures refers to the supposed authority, wisdom, or power of men who speak their own words and act in the absence of or in opposition to God's commands. Contrary to implying that a set of men possess God's power independent of his dictations to them,¹⁷ this section condemns those who suppose God has given his power to men and that there is any wisdom in hearkening to men whose words do not come from God and who replace God's commandments with their own.

Without faith, no man can please God. Without the word, no man can have faith. This is taught plainly by Joseph Smith in the "Lectures on Faith."¹⁸

Note how God's word is necessary that his "everlasting covenant might be established." Joseph taught that "[God] set the ordinances to be the same forever and ever, and set Adam to watch over them, to reveal them from heaven to man, or to send angels to reveal them."¹⁹ Thus we see that, in order to be valid, ordinances must be dictated from the throne of God, through his angels, to man. God does not acknowledge ordinances created or modified by man for "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise."²⁰ And again, "I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing."²¹

John the apostle taught that the power of God is found in his word and only in his word. Jesus, he taught, is the one and only mediator-the only being between us and our Father in heaven. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."²² Nephi provided a second witness that he does not delegate this position to any other.²³

The Lord, in several cases, gives a commandment and then says, "whatsoever is more or less than this, cometh of evil."²⁴ Because "truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come," and because God is "the Spirit of truth," or the source of all truth available to us, "whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning."²⁵ The words which God utters and are delivered to us are the rock. Words uttered by man are not the rock, but sand. They did not originate from the source of all truth. God will not own them, and in them is no power. The word of God can only lead to life, and the commandments of men can only lead to death. Therefore,

...whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon a sandy foundation; and when the rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow, and beat upon them, they shall fall, and the gates of hell are ready open to receive them. (3 Nephi 18:13)

Let us build upon the rock.