Christmas Book Citations Discourses of Brigham Young Part 4

His teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints viewpoint when Mormonism is sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism. Our thanks to Adam program for that musical introduction welcome to this edition of viewpoint on Mormonism. I'm your host, Bill McKibben, founder and director of Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson.

My colleague at MRM we continue looking at books that were given away as Christmas gifts by the first presidency during the years 1981 and 2017.

This week we are looking at a book that was given away for Christmas of 1992, a book titled discourses of Brigham Young. It's a compile relation of quotations from Brigham Young, many of which are going to find in the Journal of discourses, a 26 volume set of various speeches, mostly by Brigham Young during the 19th century, Eric. If somebody wants to get a list of a lot of the quotations that were citing work and they find they can go to MRM.org our website and in the search engine. Just type in Christmas gift and the first article that comes up will contain links to all of the books in this series that we been doing these past few weeks, and what will do for a few more weeks and so all the quotes from discourses of Brigham Young. The ones that were using as well as ones were not using. You can look those up and that might be nice if you have a quote you might like to send to somebody for them to look and see what these things say so go ahead and go to MRM.org and type in Christmas gift in yesterday show. We were talking about some of the quotations that did not find their way into the discourses of Brigham Young and we were kind of wondering will.

How did John with so the Mormon apostle who compiled all these quotes in the book come to the conclusion as to which coach would be inserted as opposed to those which would not be inserted in that show. I mentioned that the subject of blood atonement seems to be ignored and I was thinking about that afterwards.

It probably a lot of our listeners don't really understand what blood atonement is really all about. In the context of Mormonism. I'm not talking about the blood that Jesus shed for the atonement of mankind's sin know this is a completely different doctrine entirely in discourses of Brigham Young.

There really is a quote that hints to this, but by itself, you probably would not know what it's referring to. Had you not understood what the doctrine of blood atonement as taught by Brigham Young was all about.

One of the quotes that is often cited to give you an understanding of this unique doctrine is found in the Journal of discourses, volume 3, page 247 and again this is a quotation that did not find its way into the book discourses of Brigham Young, Young said. Suppose you found your brother in bed with your wife and put a javelin through both of them you would be justified and they would atone for their sins and be received into the kingdom of God. I would at once do so in such a case, and under such circumstances, I have no wife whom I love so well that I would not put a javelin through her heart and I would do it with clean hands and I would do it with clean hands now take that citation that Eric just gave and I'm going to apply it to this quotation found on page 385 of discourses of Brigham Young. There is not a man or woman who violates the covenants made with their God that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out your own blood must atone for it and the judgments of the Almighty will come sooner or later, and every man and woman will have to atone for breaking their covenants not to read the whole citation year so no one can say where you took that out of context. You have to understand the citations in discourses of Brigham Young are just put there they'll give you a context is just a bunch of quotations one right after another kind of like teachings of Presidents of the church, a series that the church came out with several years ago.

He goes on to say, to what degree will they have to go to hell they are in hell enough. Now I do not wish them in a greater hell when their consciences condemn them all the time. Let compassion reign in our bosoms try to comprehend how weak we are, how we are organized, how the spirit and the flesh are continually at war.

The point I'm trying to make here is the fact where it says that the blood of Christ will never wipe out a particular sin and that the individual sinner must shed their own blood to atone for it. This goes along with the statement that Brigham Young gave on September 21, 1856 found in the Journal of discourses volume for page 53 again another citation that did not find its way into the discourses of Brigham Young. He said there are sins that men commit for which they cannot receive forgiveness in this world or in that which is to come. And if they had their eyes open to see their true condition. They would be perfectly willing to have their blood spilt upon the ground that the smoke thereof might ascend to heaven as an offering for their sins and the smoking incense would atone for their sins, whereas, if such is not the case, they will stick to them and remain upon them in the spirit world. I know when you hear my brethren telling about cutting people off from the earth that you consider it a strong doctrine but it is to save them not to destroy them. Let me just give one more quote that comes on the next page on page 54.

He adds this. It is true that the blood of the son of God was shed for sins through the fall and those committed by men. Yet men can commit sins which it can never remit now when the New Testament tells us that the blood of Christ can forgive all sins. Remember in this week we were talking about how Brigham Young was saying that the Bible, the book of Mormon, the doctrine and covenants, even things that he was teaching don't conflict. I certainly see a contradiction here because as Christians, we certainly do believe no matter what the sin, no matter how grievous matter how heinous the blood of Christ can forgive that sin but yet Brigham Young was saying that is not true in all cases, there's one more quote that I'd like to throw in here. Also, this one did not make it into the discourses of Brigham Young. It's found in volume 4 of the Journal of discourses, pages 219 and 220. He said all mankind love themselves and let these principles be known by an individual and he would be glad to have his blood shed that would be loving themselves even onto an eternal exultation. We love your brothers or sisters. Likewise, when they have committed a sin that cannot be atone for without the shedding of their blood will you love that man or woman well enough to shed their blood. That is what Jesus Christ meant now those quotations we admit are not found in the discourses of Brigham Young, but now that you've heard them.

Let's go back to the statement that is found on page 385 because now it's probably going to make more sense as to what Brigham Young was talking about when it is cited from Journal of discourses, volume 3, page 247. Again, this quote is at the bottom of page 385. He said there is not a man or woman who violates the covenants made with their God that will not be required to pay the debt. The blood of Christ will never wipe that out your own blood must atone for it in the judgments of the Almighty will come sooner or later, and every man and woman will have to atone for breaking their covenants.

You see a person reading that citation right there without a proper context of what he's really talking about could probably draw the conclusion. Well, that sounds like it's merely talking about capital punishment but that's not what blood atonement is all about. It's much deeper than that. Certainly it is a type of capital punishment, but not as we understand it in the 21st-century. So when I made that comment yesterday that comments such as those referencing blood atonement are not found in discourses of Brigham Young, I stand by that, although I think this one here certainly is talking about that if you understand the background of the statement itself that we have to add that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not teach this today, but this was something that Brigham Young did teach I think is very disturbing when you hear him say that if you found your brother in bed with your wife that you would be justified in putting a javelin through her basically killing her and it would be good because that blood would therefore atone for her sins and then when he says from volume 4, page 219 into 20 Journal discourses that it would be okay if somebody committed a sin that you would go and kill that person. I mean how many people may have taken this literally in a way that maybe Brigham Young meant it to be taken and committed murder.

Well, it says will you love that man or woman well enough to shed their blood. That is what Jesus Christ meant we did Jesus say anything like that. I can't recall any verse in the New Testament attributed to Jesus. It sounds anything like what he just described. Now I've had Latter Day Saints say yeah but blood atonement that was just Brigham Young spouting off. It was never practiced. We don't really have any examples of people who were killed to atone for their sins. Well, maybe not.

But Brigham Young seemed to think that there were some examples.

This is taken from that same volume that Eric was just reading page 220 Brigham Young said I could refer you to plenty of instances where men have been righteously slain in order to atone for their sins. I have seen scores in hundreds of people for whom there would've been a chance in the last resurrection. There will be if their lives had been taken and they are blood spilled on the ground as a smoking incense to the Almighty, but who were now angels to the devil until our elder brother Jesus Christ raises them up conker's death, hell and the grave.

I have known a great many men who have left this church for whom there is no chance whatever for exultation, but if their blood had been spilled, it would have been better for them the wickedness and ignorance of the nations for bid. This principles being in full force, but the time will come when the law of God will be in full force and then uses that phrase again. This is loving our neighbor as ourselves. If he needs help help him.

And if you want salvation, and it is necessary to spill his blood on the earth in order that he may be saved since billet. This takes a whole different meaning that I did not understand if I'm in a take Brigham Young as properly exegete in what it means to love your neighbor then.

While this goes way beyond anything I've ever imagined.

Sounds to me what Brigham Young is saying is if you really love a man or a woman that has gotten themselves into such a predicament. You need to take him out.

That's showing love towards that individual if they're going to be exalted, and he uses that expression in these quotations that isn't even close to the New Testament message but yet Latter Day Saints believed that this man Brigham Young was a modern prophet of God and according to John with so that citation on page 385. You would think the first presidency believed when they gave this book as a Christmas gift in 1992.

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