Sherem and Oaks

 I was reading in Jacob about Sherem, the anti-Christ. A couple descriptions of him really caught my attention:

“...he began to preach among the people, and to declare unto them that there should be no Christ. And he preached many things which were flattering unto the people; and this he did that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ.

3 And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people, insomuch that he did lead away many hearts; and he knowing that I, Jacob, had faith in Christ who should come, he sought much opportunity that he might come unto me.

4 And he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil” (Jacob 7:2-4).

First, Sherem taught “there should be no Christ.” The majority of prophecy in scripture is of the coming of the Lord in the flesh to offer himself as an atonement and of his second coming. Today I thought about how rarely the prophecies of his second coming are mentioned by the modern LDS church. For example, when the 4 blood moons happened on 4 consecutive Jewish feast days 2014-2015, mum was the word. The blood moons and solar eclipse are mentioned throughout the standard works (D&C 29:14; D&C 34:9; D&C 45:42; Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20) yet the only reference to the eclipse was a spiritual analogy. The LDS church has forgotten the purpose of these heavenly signs. “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:” (Genesis 1:14). One of the purposes of their creation is to be for signs, for God to speak to his people. The church is ignoring the signs of Christ’s coming and failing to point the people to them as a testimony of the Lord’s return. Rather, “all is well in Zion.” Just keep your eyes on the current President of the church and he will never fail you. This seems contrary to keeping your eyes on the heavens and the scriptures that you may be prepared for his coming. The heavens and scriptures are given by God, sure markers of truth that cannot be altered easily by men. 

Second, Sherem taught “many things that were flattering unto the people.”

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines flattery as:

1. Gratifying with praise; pleasing by applause; wheedling; coaxing.

2. adjective Pleasing to pride or vanity; gratifying to self-love; as a flattering eulogy. The minister gives a flattering account of his reception at court.

3. Pleasing; favorable; encouraging hope. We have a flattering prospect of an abundant harvest. The symptoms of the disease are flattering

4. Practicing adulation; uttering false praise; as a flattering tongue.

Who tells you things you want to hear? True prophets from God rarely waste time and energy telling us how great we are. I think of Jacob in chapters 2-3, regretting having to give the message to his people that they have broken the hearts of their wives and children by entering into polygamous relationships and they had been seeking riches inappropriately. Abinadi came to tell the church leadership they were out of line and pretending to teach the law when they did not understand it. Samuel the Lamanite had arrows shot at him because his message was so unflattering. Do current church leaders, called prophets, teach messages that have them worried for their lives or are these messages from the obscure, humble followers of Christ. I’ve seen the current church leadership chase many of the obscure from their congregations and label them as apostates, crazy and deceived by the devil. All because their message is of repentance. Flattery is something worth looking for in any message from any man claiming to have a message from God. 

Third, we are warned that Sherem used this flattery “that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ.” What is the doctrine of Christ?

Nephi lays it out quite simply in 2 Nephi 31-32. He speaks of exercising faith unto repentance, entering the gate of baptism, receiving a remission of sins by the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. He speaks of enduring in faith, feasting on the words of Christ until the Lord shows himself unto you in the flesh. That is the doctrine of Christ. Nephi is frustrated because he lays it out plainly but men don’t understand. He said, “I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be” (2 Nephi 32:7).

This caught my attention as I remembered a couple statements by Dallin H. Oaks. He said, “The suggestion that [seeing the face of the Savior] must happen in mortality is a familiar tactic of the adversary” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, June 13th, 2015) https://youtu.be/g0js6xWv6bc, (also this statement where Oaks declares that neither he nor his brethren have seen the Lord https://youtu.be/GrMJ2YZD62M).

This is in direct contrast to Nephi telling us the plain doctrine of Christ is to seek the Lord in the flesh. Hmmmm? Let alone all of Joseph Smith’s teachings on the subject of seeking the second comforter or Jesus in John 14, telling us he and Father will come and make their abode with us. Joseph even received clarification from the Lord that the appearance spoken of by the Lord in John 14 is a literal appearance of the Lord. “John 14:23—The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false” (D&C 130:3).

So, someone is teaching false doctrine. It’s either Nephi, Joseph Smith and Jesus or it’s Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a sustained prophet, seer and revelator by the general LDS church membership. Let’s turn to an excerpt I found from Bruce R. McConkie years ago. He puts a lot of scripture together that may help us understand who is telling the truth. This is long so I’ll book end the beginning and end with the reference:

"Seek the Face of the Lord Always"

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

of the Quorum of the Twelve

(excerpts from The Promised Messiah, Chapter 31, p.575-595)

The Pure in Heart Shall See God

After the true saints receive and enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost; after they know how to attune themselves to the voice of the Spirit; after they mature spiritually so that they see visions, work miracles, and entertain angels; after they make their calling and election sure and prove themselves worthy of every trust—after all this and more—it becomes their right and privilege to see the Lord and commune with him face to face. Revelations, visions, angelic visitations, the rending of the heavens, and appearances among men of the Lord himself—all these things are for all of the faithful. They are not reserved for apostles and prophets only. God is no respecter of persons. They are not reserved for one age only, or for a select lineage or people. We are all our Father's children. All men are welcome. "And he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." (2 Ne. 26:33.)

Seeing the Lord is not a matter of lineage or rank or position or place of precedence. Joseph Smith said: "God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what he will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them, for the day must come when no man need say to his neighbor, Know ye the Lord; for all shall know him . . . from the least to the greatest." (Teachings, p. 149.) The fact is that the day of personal visitations from the Lord to faithful men on earth has no more ceased than has the day of miracles. God is an unchangeable Being; otherwise he would not be God. The sole issue is finding people who have faith and who work righteousness. "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showeth not himself until after their faith." (Ether 12:12.)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matt. 5:8.) The Book of Mormon rendition is even more express. It says: "And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (3 Ne. 12:8.) Ten days after the laying of the cornerstones for the Kirtland Temple, the Lord said to his little flock: "Inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it; Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God. But if it be defiled I will not come into it, and my glory shall not be there; for I will not come into unholy temples." (D&;C 97:15-17.)

By January of 1836 the saints were getting ready to dedicate the Kirtland Temple. Because of their faith and as an expression of the divine approval that attended their labors, the Lord poured out upon them great Pentecostal manifestations. On January 21, the Prophet Joseph Smith; his father, Joseph Smith, Sr.; Oliver Cowdery; and the two counselors in the First Presidency, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams, were participating in sacred ordinances in an upper room in the Kirtland Temple. "The heavens were opened upon us," the Prophet said, "and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son." (JS-V 1-3.)

That same day, and on others that followed, the Prophet and many others saw vision upon vision. Included among them were these: "The visions of heaven were open to them also," the Prophet said with reference to the First Presidency and the members of bishoprics and high councils from both Zion and Kirtland. "Some of them saw the face of the Savior, and others were ministered unto by holy angels, and the spirit of prophecy and revelation was poured out in mighty power; and loud hosannas, and glory to God in the highest, saluted the heavens, for we all communed with the heavenly host." (History of the Church, 2:382.)

On January 28, 1836, "president Zebedee Coltrin, one of the seven presidents of the Seventy, saw the Savior extended before him, as upon the cross, and a little after, crowned with glory upon his head above the brightness of the sun." (Ibid., p. 387.) Of a meeting attended by about three hundred members, on March 30, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple, the Prophet wrote: "The brethren continued exhorting, prophesying, and speaking in tongues until five o'clock in the morning. The Savior made his appearance to some, while angels ministered to others, and it was a Pentecost and an endowment indeed, long to be remembered." (Ibid., pp. 432-33.) The crowning appearance of the Lord during that special period of grace occurred, of course, on April 3, when the Great Jehovah appeared in his glory and majesty to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. (D&;C 110.) These appearances of the Lord to his saints are but samples taken from a fragmentary account and covering a brief period of spiritual rejoicing, but they suffice for our purposes. There is no question but that the pure in heart do see God.

Associated with the promise that the pure in heart shall see God is the decree that those who are not pure in heart shall not see their Lord. Even Moses, with whom it was the practice of God to converse on a face-to-face basis, was denied that privilege on one occasion, as these words of scripture attest: "And he said unto Moses, Thou canst not see my face at this time, lest mine anger is kindled against thee also, and I destroy thee and thy people; for there shall no man among them see me at this time, and live, for they are exceeding sinful. And no sinful man hath at any time, neither shall there be any sinful man at any time, that shall see my face and live." (JST Ex. 33:20.)

How to Seek and See the Lord

If we keep the commandments and are true and faithful in all things, we shall inherit eternal life in our Father's kingdom. Those who attain this high state of glory and exaltation shall dwell in the presence of God. They shall see his face and converse with him mouth to mouth. They shall know him in the full sense of the word because they have become like him. And all who are now living those laws to the full which will enable them to go where God and Christ are, and there enjoy eternal association with them—that is, all those who are now living in its entirety the law of the celestial kingdom—are already qualified to see the Lord. The attainment of such a state of righteousness and perfection is the object and end toward which all of the Lord's people are striving. We seek to see the face of the Lord while we yet dwell in mortality, and we seek to dwell with him everlastingly in the eternal kingdoms that are prepared.

Our scriptures contain such counsel as: "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." (Isa. 55:6-7.) "Seek the Lord, and ye shall live. . . . Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion. . . . The Lord is his name." (Amos 5:6, 8.) "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness." (Zeph. 2:3.) "Seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life." (D&;C 101:38.)

We know that all things are governed by law, and that "when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." (D&;C 130:20-21.) "For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing," the Lord says, "and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world." (D&;C 132:5.) This means that if we obey the law that enables us to see the Lord, so shall it be, but if we do not meet the divine standard, our eyes shall not behold him. There is no secret as to what laws are involved. They are everywhere recited in the scriptures. That which must be done is described in various ways in different passages. But the general meaning is the same. It all comes down to one basic conclusion—that of keeping the commandments. Let us now consider some of the specific things the scriptures say we must do if we are to see the face of God while we yet dwell as mortals.

The pure in heart shall see God. This we have already seen, but we restate it again because the process of becoming pure in heart is the process that prepares us to see the face of Deity. In an early revelation, the Lord spoke of the members of his newly set up earthly kingdom as "mine own elect." Of them he said: "They will hear my voice, and shall see me, and shall not be asleep, and shall abide the day of my coming; for they shall be purified, even as I am pure." (D&;C 35:21.) John spoke similarly when he described what is now our Lord's imminent appearance: "When he shall appear, we shall be like him," he said, "for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purified himself, even as he is pure." (1 Jn. 3:2-3.) Knowing that Christ is pure, and that if we are to see him now, or be with him hereafter, we must be pure as he is pure, this becomes a great incentive to the purifying of our lives.

A perfectly stated and marvelously comprehensive formula that shows us what we must do to see the Lord is given us in these words: "Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am." (D&;C 93:1.) Who made the promise? The Lord Jesus Christ. To whom is it given? To every living soul. What must we do to see his face? Five specifics are named [notice the slight twisting of scripture by McConkie. We need to interpret scripture by the power of the Holy Ghost and let no man stand between us and God]: (1) Forsake our sins, for no unclean or impure person, no sinful man, can abide in his presence. (2) Come unto him; accept him as our Savior; receive his gospel, as it has been restored in our day. (3) Call on his name in mighty prayer as did the brother of Jared. (4) Obey his voice; do what he directs; put first in our lives the things of his kingdom; close our ears to the evil voices of the world. (5) Keep the commandments; endure in righteousness; be true to the faith. Those who do these things, being pure in heart, shall see God.

Faith and knowledge unite together to pave the way for the appearance of the Lord to an individual or to a whole people. The brother of Jared saw the Lord because he had a perfect knowledge that the Lord could and would show himself. His faith on the point of seeing within the veil was perfect; it had become knowledge. Because he knew, nothing doubting, he saw. Moroni, who had the plates of Ether and who summarized the account of Moriancumer's great vision, tells us why that prophet saw his God: "Because of the knowledge of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil," Moroni says, "and he saw the finger of Jesus, which, when he saw, he fell with fear; for he knew that it was the finger of the Lord; and he had faith no longer, for he knew, nothing doubting. Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil; therefore he saw Jesus; and he did minister unto him." (Ether 3:19-20.)

It was on this same basis that Jared's brother saw all the inhabitants of the earth and many other things that he wrote, but that "shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord. And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are. And he that will contend against the word of the Lord, let him be accursed; and he that shall deny these things, let him be accursed; for unto them will I show no greater things, saith Jesus Christ; for I am he who speaketh." (Ether 4:6-8.) The message here is so clear that it cannot be clarified by commentary. The brother of Jared saw the Lord because of his faith and knowledge and because he sanctified himself before the Lord. Other men do not receive the same blessings because they have not built the same foundation of righteousness. If and when we obtain the spiritual stature of this man Moriancumer, then we shall see what he saw and know what he knew.

Commenting upon the appearance of Christ to the thousands of Nephites in the land Bountiful, Moroni says: "Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. For it was by faith that Christ showed himself unto our fathers, after he had risen from the dead; and he showed not himself unto them until after they had faith in him; wherefore, it must needs be that some had faith in him, for he showed himself not unto the world." (Ether 12:6-8.)

In a revelation addressed to those among the saints whom he considered to be his "friends," the Lord gave this commandment: "Call upon me while I am near—Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Surely, this is what we must do if we ever expect to see his face. He is there waiting our call, anxious to have us seek his face, awaiting our importuning pleas to rend the veil so that we can see the things of the Spirit.

"Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name," he continues, "it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you." Would it be expedient for us to see and know what the brother of Jared saw and knew? Are there blessings others have received that should be withheld from us? "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things." Clearly this is the state attained by Moriancumer when he saw and understood all things and when the Lord could not withhold anything from him.

"Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God"—and now we come to the crowning promise of the gospel—"and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will." That is the Lord's promise, his great promise, his crowning promise, his last promise. What is there that can excel in importance the obtaining of that spiritual stature which enables one to see the Lord? And so the next words spoken by the Lord to his friends were: "Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you."

Then follows some counsel relative to right living, which is climaxed with these words, the full import of which is known only by those who are endowed with power from on high in holy places: "Sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean; That I may testify unto your Father, and your God, and my God, that you are clean from the blood of this wicked generation." Why? "That I may fulfil this promise, this great and last promise," this promise that you shall see me and that I will unveil my face, that I may fulfill this promise "which I have made unto you, when I will." (D&;C 88:62-75.) To those of understanding we say: The purpose of the endowment in the house of the Lord is to prepare and sanctify his saints so they will be able to see his face, here and now, as well as to bear the glory of his presence in the eternal worlds.

In a poetic passage, which can only be understood, as is the case with most of the book of Isaiah, by those with a background knowledge of the gospel, Isaiah says of the righteous in Israel: "Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty." That is: You shall see the face of the Lord. Any who so obtain are identified with this language: "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil." (Isa. 33:15.) These are the ones who shall see the Lord in this life and dwell with him in the life to come.

"How do men obtain a knowledge of the glory of God, his perfections and attributes?" asked the Prophet Joseph Smith. His answer: "By devoting themselves to his service, through prayer and supplication incessantly strengthening their faith in him, until, like Enoch, the Brother of Jared, and Moses, they obtain a manifestation of God to themselves." (Lectures on Faith, p. 32.)

Again- the reference: "Seek the Face of the Lord Always"

Elder Bruce R. McConkie

of the Quorum of the Twelve

(excerpts from The Promised Messiah, Chapter 31, p.575-595)

The Pure in Heart Shall See God

So, maybe instead of calling the doctrine of Christ a “familiar tactic of the adversary,” we should focus on repentance, sanctifying ourselves and becoming pure in heart, that we might enter into the presence of the Lord in this life! 

As quoted above, McConkie said, “What is there that can excel in importance the obtaining of that spiritual stature which enables one to see the Lord?” Contrast that to Oaks, “familiar tactic of the adversary.” 

I’m calling a spade a spade. Dallin Oaks teachings here are anti-Christ, just as Sherem’s were. 

So, back to Sherem. The record states that “he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people,” We might ask ourselves, “why is Oaks laboring to preach the false doctrine that we shouldn’t seek the Lord’s face as has been taught by Jesus and all the holy prophets? Where does he want the heart of his people focused? 

A common tactic of the adversary is to convince people to follow a man without question. Get the focus on the leader, not on truth. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. If people focus on truth they will inevitably land on Jesus Christ but the adversary can’t have that. 

We are warned by Nephi, “priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion” (2 Nephi 26:29).

It’s interesting that Nephi delivered the doctrine of Christ and exhorted us to labor until Christ visits us in the flesh and he also warned not to trust in men who hold themselves up for a light. 

If our hearts are blinded by continually focusing on doing what the leaders of an organization desire, even a church leader, our hearts will lose focus from Jesus and end up on pleasing a man or institution. God wants our hearts and so does the adversary. Any distraction from the Lord is a victory for the devil. 

And finally we learn that Sherem “was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil.” 

I would invite you to consider if Oaks has this same power of speech. Does he have a perfect knowledge of the language of the people? Does he use it to direct people to Christ or to himself and his brethren? 

I believe the scriptures filled with the words of Christ have laid out plainly who are the enemies of Christ, anti-Christ’s, and who are on the Lord’s side. We must choose wisely which teachings are from God. 

If you watch general conference of the LDS church this weekend, I invite you to consider how many messages speak about coming unto Christ and being taught by him personally compared to how many focus on following the prophet. It may surprise you what you find. Subtle, vain teachings lead a soul to hell. 

I agree with Nephi, he has spoken plainly. Sometimes it’s not so confusing as it is difficult to leave false traditions, false beliefs and even be rejected for receiving additional light and truth. Jesus prophesied that if they rejected Him, they would also reject you. 

Jesus taught this great truth, perfect for the topic of coming into His presence:

“But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 10:33-39).

Come unto Jesus. In him ye shall find rest.